OF THE OLD AND

had been born in adultery. This woman, who had been an adulteress, and thee e Idren of adultery, he is commanded to receive into his family; but there no intimation of her being false to him; and a change of character may, we think, fairly be presumed. It may be said to have been an unseemly Gunnexion; but the divine command justifies it; and all who knew of the

NEW TESTAMENTS.

Prophet's conduct would, of course, know the reason of it, and the authority on which he acted. Bishop Horsley is, indeed, of opinion, that she was also unfaithful to the Prophet afterwards, which made her the more correct type of the Jewish Church. Of this, however, we see no necessity, since the object was to teach them, not to practice, but to abhor idolatry.

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

dicts, indeed, in the strongest and clearest terms, the ingrafting of the Gentiles into the church of God. But he mentions it only generally; he enters not, like Isaiah, into a minute detail of the progress of the business. Nor does he describe, in any detail, the previous contest with the apostate faction in the latter ages. He makes no explicit mention of the share which the converted Gentiles are to have in the re-establishment of the natural Israel in their ancient seats; subjects which make so striking a part of the prophecies of Isaiah, Daniel, Zechariah, Haggai, and occasionally of the other prophets. He alludes to the calling of our Lord from Egypt; to the resurrection on the third day; he touches, but only in general terms, upon the final overthrow of the Antichristian army in Palestine, by the immediate interposition of Jehovah; and he celebrates, in the loftiest strains of triumph and exultation, the Saviour's final victory over death and hell. But yet, of all the prophets, he certainly enters the least into the detail of the mysteries of redemption. We have nothing in him descriptive of the events between the two advents of our Lord. Nothing diffuse and circumstantial upon the great and interesting mysteries of the incarnation and the atonement. His country, and his kindred, is the subject next his heart. Their crimes excite his indignation; their sufferings interest his pity; their future exaltation is the object on which his ima

THE prophecies of Hosea which were soon fulfilled are very numerous: but those relating to the state of Israel and Judah for many ages, the conversion of the Gentiles, and the future restoration of Israel, are peculiarly distinct and striking: they coincide with those of the other prophets; and the extraordi nary fulfilment of several of them, in past and present times, both proves the Divine in-paration of the writer, and gives assurance that the rest will in due time be accomplished. His principal subject, as Bishop Horsley observes, is that which forms the principal subject of all the prophets-" the guilt of the Jewish nation in general, their disobedient refractory spirit, the heavy judgFronts that awaited them, their final conversion to God, and to a condition of the greatest national prosperity, and of high pre-eminence among the nations of the earth, under the immediate protection of the Messiah, in the latter ages of the world. He contines himself more closely to this single subject than any other prophet. He seems, indeed, of all the prophets, if I may so express my conception of his peculiar character, to have been the most of a Jew. Comparatively, he seems to care little about other people. He wanders not, hke Isush, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, into the collateral history of the surround ing heathen nations. He meddles not, like Daniel, with the revolutions of the great empires of the world. His own country seems to engross his whole attention; her privileges, her crimes, her punishment, her pardon. He pre-gination fixes with delight.

THE BOOK OF JOEL.

INTRODUCTION.

JEEL the prophet, according to the Pseudo-Epiphanius, was of the tribe of Men, and a native of Bethoron, or rather Bethharan, in that tribe; but noUraz certain is known respecting him, except that he was the son of Pethuel, as he informs us in the title of his predictions. It is even very uncertain Leonz what period be prophesied; though it is evident he exercised the prothetic office in the kingdom of Judah. Jerome, Vitringa. Rosenmuller, Howe, and others, think that he lived in the reign of Uzziah, and consequent ly was contemporary with Hosea and Amos: Calmet, Eckermann, and oriers, plaze him in the reign of Josiah; Kimchi and others refer him to the teen of Joram, while the Jewish Chronicles called Sedar Olam, Jarchi, and sesal Jewish writers, followed by Drusius, Archbishop Newcome, Dr. 4. acad others, mamtain that he prophesied under Manasseh; and, collateral circumstances seem to preponderate in favour of this hypothesis,

Carke

as

we have accordingly adopted it. The book of Joel consists of three chapters; in which the prophet, in consequence of a dreadful famine caused by locusts and other noxious insects, calls upon both priests and people to repent with prayer and fasting, cries unto God for them, and represents the very beasts as joining in his supplications, he predicts still greater judgments by an army of locusts, earnestly exhorts them to public fasting, prayer, and repentance, promises the removal of these calamities on their repentance, with various other blessings, makes an elegant transition to the effusion of the Holy Spirit under the Gospel, and foretels the consequent destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation, interspersed with promises of safety to the faithful and penitent; he then predicts the divine judgments to be executed on the enemies of God's people, and the subsequent peace, prosperity, and purity of Israel.

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

THE style of Joel is allowed by the most competent judges to be inimitably beautiful: containing such an asseinblage of elegance, pathos, and sublimity, as can be found in few remains of ancient poetry. "The style of Joel," says Bishop Loreth, differs much from that of Hosea; but, though of a different kel, is equally poetical. It is elegant, perspicuous, clear, diffusive, and Brang: and, at the same time, very sublime, nervous, and animated. He dennys the whole power of poetic description in the first and second chaptes and at the same time his fondness for metaphors, comparisons, and alle poes: nor is the connexion of his subjects less remarkable than the graces of be diction. It is not to be denied that in some places he is very obscure; which every attentive reader will perceive, especially in the end of his propheng This obscurity, however, does not proceed from the language, which commonly perspicuous, but wholly from the natu nature of the subjects; the of les expression being somewhat shaded by allusions to circumMinors yet anfulfilled. His descriptions are highly animated; and his lanroze, in force, and often in sound, well adapted to his subject. The contex ture of the prophecy in the first and second chapters is extremely curious, and wheight up with admirable force and beauty; in which by an animated represextation he anticipates the scenes of misery which lowered over Judea. It is & Derally supposed, that the prophet blends two subjects of affliction in one geraral consideration, or beautiful allegory; and that, under the devastation

to be produced by locusts in the vegetable world, he portrays the more distant calamities to be inflicted by the armies of the Chaldeans in their invasion of Judea. Hence, probably, the studied ambiguity of some of the expressions; while the double destruction to be effected by these fearful insects and those enemies of which they were the harbingers, is painted with the most expressive force, in terms reciprocally metaphorical, and adınirably adapted to the twofold character of the descriptions. These predictions are followed by a more general denunciation of God's vengeance, delivered with such force and aggravation of circumstances, as to be in some measure descriptive of that final judgment, which some temporal dispensations of Providence may be said to prefigure. These several declarations are intermingled with earnest exhortations to solemn fasting, repentance, and prayer, and with promises of deliverance and returning prosperity productive of Gospel blessings; in treating of which, he foretels, in the clearest terms, the general offiusion of the Holy Spirit, which was to characterize the Gospel dispensation, predicting, in the fullest and plainest manner, the awful consequences of obstinately rejecting the sacred influence, especially to the Jews, the event of which, to this day, fully attests his Divine inspiration. In conclusion, he foretels the righteous judgments of God in the final excision of his enemies, and the glorious state of prosperity to be yet enjoyed by the church; representing its perfections and blessings under the poetic emblems of a golden age.

THE BOOK OF AMOS.

INTRODUCTORY AND CONCLUDING REMARKS ON EACH BOOK

THE BOOK OF OBADIAH.

INTRODUCTION.

OF the prophet OBADIAH nothing certain is known; but it is highly pro-deans, and finally by the Jews, whom they had used most cruelly, when

bable, as Abp. Newcome and others suppose, that he flourished between the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, B. C. 588, and the destruction of Idumea by the same monarch, which took place a few years afterwards. Conse quently he was contemporary with Jeremiah, one of whose prophecies, respect ing the destruction of Edom, bears 9 striking similarity to that of Obadiah. ah. In this book he foretels the subjugation and ruin of the Idumeans by the Chal

brought low by other enemies; and he concludes, as almost all the other prophets do, with consolatory promises of restoration and prosperity to the Jews. The prophecy, according to Usher, began to be fulfilled about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem; that is, about 582 years before Christ. Townsend, however, places the prophecy much earlier, viz. B. C. 740. See 2 Chron. xxviii. 17.

CONCLUDING

THE book of OBADIAH is composed with much force and beauty, and unfolds a noble and very interesting scene of prophecy. These predictions began to be fulfilled about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, when the Chaldeans, with whom they had formerly been in alliance, under Nebuchadnezzar, ravaged Idumea, and dispossessed the Edomites of a great part of Arabia Petræa, of which they never after recovered possession. The Jews having returned to their own land, by the decree of Cyrus, at the termination of the seventy years of the Babylonian captivity, their temple was rebuilt, and the wor ship of God restored; and Jerusalem was re-established in prosperity, and the land replenished with inhabitants. They also extended themselves in every direction:-to Edom on the south, to the Philistines on the west, to Ephraim and Phoenicia on the north, and to Gilead on the east. Alexander the Great gave Samaria to the Jews; and John Hyrcanus subdued the same country after his wars with the Syrians. (Josephus.) GOD at various times raised up certain persons as saviours or deliverers of his people, such as Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Maccabees. The Asmonean princes having united the priesthood with the state, the kingdom, or dominion, was actually possessed and exercised by the LORD-that is, the high priest had both the civil and ecclesiastical power in his own hands. The house of Jacob and the house of Joseph did also break out as a flame upon the Idumeans; for under Judas Maccabæus they attacked and defeated them several times, killed no less than twenty thousand at one time, and more than twenty thousand at another, and took their chief city Hebron, "with the towns thereof, and pulled down the fortress of it, and burned the towns thereof round about;" (1 Mac. v. 2 Mac. x. ;) and at last his nephew, Hyrcanus son of Simon, took other of their cities, and reduced them to the necessity of either embracing the Jewish religion, or of leaving their country, and seeking other habitations; in consequence of which they submitted to be circumcised, became proselytes to the Jewish roligion, and ever after were incorporated into the Jewish church and

REMARKS.

nation. (Josephus, Ant.) Thus they were actually masters of Edom, anc judged and governed the mount of Esau. We know, indeed, as Bp. Newton remarks, little more of the history of the Edomites than as it is connected with that of the Jews and where is the name or the nation now? They were swallowed up and lost, partly among the Nabathian Arabs, and partly among the Jews; and the very name was abolished and disused about the end of the first century after CHRIST. Thus were they rewarded for insulting and oppressing their brethren the Jews; and, while at this day we see the Jews subsisting as a distinct people, Edom is no more. Agreeably to the words of this prophet he has been cut off for ever," for his violence against his brother Jacob (ver. 10.;) and there is now "not any remaining of the house of Esau, for the LORD had spoken it." Thus the prophecy appears to have had a very litera and exact fulfilment; but it is probable it also refers to the future conver sion and restoration of the Jews, the destruction of all antichristian opposers, and that prosperous state of the church to which all the prophets bear witness, when "the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our LORD and bis CHRIST; and he shall reign for ever and ever." Rev xi. 15.

This prophet, after describing the pride and cruelty of the Edomites, declares that though they dwelt in fancied security among the clefts of the rocks, yet, that the men of Teman should be dismayed, and every one of the mount of Esau should be cut off by slaughter. The south part of Palestine, from Eleutheropolis to Petra, (the ancient capital of Idumea,) and Elah, was full of rocks, among which the Edomites dwelt. Obadiah's name implies, the servant of Jehovah, a title equivalent to that by which Moses was distinguished, (Num. xii. 7.) and to that in which Paul gloried. The prophet's work is short, but composed with much beauty: it unfolds a very interesting scene of prophecy, and an instructive lesson against human confidence and malicious exultation.

THE BOOK OF JONAH.

INTRODUCTION.

JONAH, the son of Amittai, was a native of Gath-hepher, in Galilee, and a type of our Saviour in his resurrection, is the most ancient of those Prophets whose writings are preserved in the sacred canon. He predicted the successes of Jereboam, II. the son of Joash, in whose reign he is supposed by Blair and others to have flourished; but Bishop Lloyd and others think he exercised the

prophctical office as early as the latter part of Jehu's reign, or the beginning of that of Jehoahaz. (See the Table of the Prophets.) His prophecy is a simple narrative, containing nothing poetical, excepting his thanksgiving ode (ch. in.) which is most beautiful and sublime. The first mention we have of Jonah is in 2 Ki. xiv. 25.

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

We are here presented with a fine description of the power and tender mer | prepared the worm which caused it to wither in a night. And how easy was

cies of GOD, and the impartiality of the prophet in detailing his own weak ness and folly, (a conduct almost wholly restricted to the sacred writers,) is worthy of particular notice. Some writers, from the supposed difficulties of this Book, have considered it as a parabolic history, or allegory; others have thought that the account of his being swallowed by a great fish, praying in its belly, and being cast on dry land, was a dream which he had when fast asleep in the ship; and others, with equal propriety, have contended that by dag, we should understand, not a fish, but a fishing-cove, or fishing-boat! Such ab surd opinions are scarcely worthy of notice; they are plainly contrary to the letter of the text, and the obvious meaning of language; and are completely overthrown by the appeal of our LORD to the main facts of this history, and especially by the use which he makes of it. (Mat. xii. 40. Lu. xi. 39.) This testimony puts an end to all mythological, allegorical, and hypothetical interpretations of these great facts; and the whole must be admitted to be a miracle from beginning to end, effected by the almighty power of GOD. GOD, who commissioned Jonah, raised the storm; He prepared the great fish to swal low the disobedient prophet; He maintained his life for three days and three nights in the bowels of this marine monster; He led it to the shore, and caused it to eject the prophet on dry land at the appointed time. He miraculously produced the sheltering gourd, that came to perfection in a night; He

all this to the almighty power of the Author and Sustainer of life, who has a sovereign, omnipresent, and energetic sway in the heavens and in the earth! The miraculous preservation and deliverance of Jonah were surely not more remarkable or descriptive of almighty power, than the multiplied wonders in the wilderness, the protection of Shadrach, Moshach, and Abed-nego, in the fiery furnace, of Daniel in the lion's den, or the resurrection of the widow's son: all were deviations from the general laws of nature, and the ordinary course of human events, and evident demonstrations of supernatural and miraculous interference. But foolish man will affect to be wise, though born as a wild ass's colt; and some, because they cannot work a miracle themselves, can hardly be persuaded that Gon can do it! The fame of the prophet's deliverance vera appears to have been widely propagated among the heathen nations; and the Greeks, ever fond of adorning the memory of their

heroes by

every re

markable event and embellishment which they could appropriate, added to the fictitious adventures of Hercules, that of having continued three days and nights in the belly of a sea monster, or shark, cutting and hacking his entrails, and afterwards coming out of the monster without any injury, except the loss of his hair. The fable of Arion and the Dolphin, of which the date is fixed at a period nearly coeval with that of Jonah, is probably also a misrepresentation of the particulars recorded in this sacred Book.

THE BOOK OF MICAH.

OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS.

THE BOOK OF NAHUM.

INTRODUCTION.

NAHUM, the prophet, was a native of Elkosh, a town of Galilee, the ruins | chapters, forming one entire poern, the conduct and imagery of which are truly

of which were still in being, and well known, in the time of JEROME. JOSEPHUS (Ant. I ix. c. 11. §3.) says, that he flourished in the time of Jotham, king

of Judah, and that all the events which he foretold concerning Nineveh

came to pass one hundred and tifteen years afterwards." But JEROME, with more probability, places him in the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and says, that "his name by interpretation is a comforter for the ten tribes being camed away by the king of Assyria, this vision was to confort them in their captivity: nor was it less consolation to the other two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who remained in the land, and were besieged by the same enemies, to hear that there conquerors would in time be conquered themselves, their city taken, and their empire overthrown." This prophecy consists of three

admirable. In the exordium, the prophet sets forth with grandeur the justice and power of God, tempered with lenity and goodness; foretels the ruin ot the Assyrian king and his army, army, and the deliverance of the people of God, with their rejoicing on the occasion; predicts the siege and taking of Nineveh by the Medes and Babylonians, the ruin of the Assyrian empire, the plundering and destruction of the city, and the extinction of the royal family, for their oppression and cruelty; denounces a heavy wo against Nineveh for her perfidy and violence, and idolatries; shows that the desolation of No-Ammon, in Egypt, may lead her to expect similar destruction; and predicts her utter and final rui ruin, and the inefficacy of all methods to prevent it."

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

THE prophecy of NAHUM forms a regular and perfect poem. The exordium | been, as I may say, long ago ruined and destroyed, Such an 'utter end' hath

is grand and truly majestic; the preparations for the destruction of Nineveh, and the description of its downfall, are painted in the most vived colours, and are admirably clear. The destruction of Nineveh took place a little more than a contury afterwards; and its utter desolation is unanimously attested both by ancient and modern writers. "But," as Bp. Newton justly observes," what podability was there, that the capital of a great kingdom, a city which was sixty miles in compass, a city which contained so many thousand inhabitants,

should be totally destroyed? And yet so totally was it destroyed, that the place is hardly known where it was situated. We have seen that it was taken and destroyed by the Medes and Babylonians; and what we may suppose helped to complete its run and devastation was Nebuchadnezzar's soon afterwards enlarging and beautifying Babylon. From that time no mention is made of Nineveh by any of the sacred writers; and the most ancient of the heathen authors, who have occasion to say any thing about it, speak of it as a city that was once great and flourishing, but now destroyed and desolate.

Great as it was formerly, so little of it was remaming, that authors are not agreed even about its situation There is at this time a city called Mosul, situated upon the western side of the river Tigris, and on the opposite eastern shure are ruins of a great extent, which are said to be the ruins of Nineveh

But it is more than probable, that these ruins are the remains of the Per san Nineveh, and not of the Assyrian. Even the ruins of old Nineveh have

been made of it; and such is the truth of the Divine predictions ! This perhaps may strike us the more strongly, by supposing only a parallel instance. Let us then suppose, that a person should come in the name of a prophet, preaching repentance to the people of this nation, or otherwise denouncing the destruction of the largest city within a few years.....I presume we should look upon such a prophet as a madman, and show no farther attention to his message than to deride and despise it; and yet such an event would not be more strange and incredible than the destruction and devastation of Nineveh. For Nineveh was much the larger, and much the stronger, and older city of the two and the Assyrian empire had subsisted and flourished more ages than any form of government in this country; so that you cannot object the instability of the eastern monarchies in this case. Let us then.....suppose again, that things should succeed according to the prediction; the floods should arise, and the enemy should come, the city should be overflown and broken down, be taken and pillaged, and destroyed so totally, that even the learned could not agree about where it was situated. What would be said or thought in such a case? Whoover of posterity should read and compare the prophecy and event together, must they not by such an illustrious instance be thoroughly convinced of the providence of GOD, and of the truth of his prophet, and be ready to acknowledge, Verily this is the word that the LORD hath spoken, verily there is a GOD D who judgeth the earth?"

THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK.

INTRODUCTION.

On the prophet HABAKKUK We have no certain information; but it is pro | GOD for punishing them by the instrumentality of the Chaldeans; in answer

babke, as EPIPHANIUS and DOROTHEUS assert, that he was of the tribe of Simoon, and a native of Bethzacar. I is evident that he prophesied in Judea before the captivity, and probably, as Abp. USHER supposes, in the reign of Jelenakim, Leing contemporary with Jeremiah. His genuine writings are compriced in the three chapters of which this book consists; in which the prophet, irsenantly complaining of the growth of iniquity among the Jews, GOD introduced as denouncing his vengeance to be inflicted upon them by the Chaldeans; then, making a sudden transition, he humbly expostulates with CONCLUDING

HABAKKUK, as a poet, holds a high rank among the Hebrew prophets. The beautiful connexion between the parts of his prophecy, its diction, imagery, spint, and sublimity, are particularly striking, and cannot be too much admind. The prayer of Habakkuk, in particular, is allowed by the best judges to be a masterpiece of its kind; and it is adduced by Bishop Lowth as one of the must perfect specimens of the Hebrew ode. The prophet illustrates the Bilject of the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian slavery throughout "with

to which complaint, Gop shows the certainty of the vision, and denounces the destruction of the Babyloman empire, with the judgments to be inflicted upon the Chaldeans for their ambition, cruelty, treachery, and idolatry: the prophet then implores God to hasten the deliverance of his people, recounting the wonderful deliverances which God had vouchsafed to his people, in conducting them through the wilderness, and giving them possession of the promised land; and, deeply affected with the approaching judgments, he yet resolves to rejoice in the mercy and goodness of GOD when all other comforts failed.

REMARKS.

equal magnificence, selecting from such an assemblage of miraculous incidents the most noble and important, displaying them in the most splendid colours, and embellishing them with the sublimest imagery, figures, and diction ; the dignity of which is so heightened and recommended by the superior elegance of the conclusion, that were it not for a few shades, which the hand of time has apparently cast over it in two or three passages, no composition of the kind would, I believe, appear more elegant, or more perfect, than this poem."

THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH.

INTRODUCTION.

ZEPHANIAH, according to Epiphanius, was of the tribe of Simeon, and of wat Harabarba, or Baratha; but, though he mentions his ancestors for no less Con four generations, yet nothing certain can be inferred as to what family he

nged. We learn, however, from the commencement of his prophecy, that he delivered his predictions in the reign of Josiah king of Judah, and, from the description he gives of the disorders which then prevailed, it is evident that it mast have been before the reformation made by Josiah, in the eigh teeth year of his reign; and as he predicts the destruction of Nineveh, which, na Cabnet remarks, could not have taken place before the sixteenth of JoCONCLUDING

"EPHANTAR and Jeremiah resemble each other so much in those parts where they treat of the idolatries and wickedness that prevailed in their time, that sidore asserts, that Zephaniah was the abbreviator of Jeremiah; but he apparently prophesied before Jeremiah; and the latter seems to speak of those abuses as partially removed, which the former describes as present in

siah, we must therefore place his prophecy about the beginning of the reign of Josiah, or from B. C. 640 to 609. The book of Zephaniah consists of three chapters; in which the prophet denounces the wrath of God against Judah and Jerusalem for idolatry and apostacy; predicts terrible judgments coming upon sinners of different descriptions; exhorts them to repentance, as the only mean to avert the Divine vengeance; prophesies against the Philistines, Moabites and Ammonites, Ethiopians and Assyrians; sharply rebukes Jerusalem for various aggravated sins and predicts their future restoration, and the ultimate prosperous state of the church in the days of the Messiah.

REMARKS.

the most flagitious extent. Compare Zeph. i. 4, 5, 9, with Jer. ii. 5, 20, 32. Zephaniah conspired with Josiah in his righteous design of bringing back the people to the worship and obedience of the true God. The style is poetical; but it is not distinguished by any peculiar elegance or beauty, though generally animated and impressed."

THE BOOK OF HAGGAI.

INTRODUCTION,

Of the parentage of the prophet Haggai we know nothing; but the general aprice Sounded on the assertion of Epiphanius, is, that he was born at Babylon, omring the captivity, and was one of the Jews who returned with Zerub babel in consequence of the edict of Cyrus. The building of the temple having bren interrupted for about fourteen years, in consequence of the ill offices of the neigatouring satraps, who prejudiced the mind of the Persian monarch against the Jews: Darius Hystaspes, in the second year of his reign, renewed the permission formerly granted by Cyrus; and Haggai was sent to encourage his comtrymen to proceed with the work. The prophet reproves the delay of interspersed, however, with some passages of a highly poetic character.

the Jews in building the temple, and exhorts them to proceed; they obey the prophet's: message, and receive encouragement from God; the prophet comforts the old men, who wept at the diminished magnificence of the second temple, by assuring them that its glory should be greater than that of the first by the presence of the Messiah: he shows that their sins had deprived them of God's blessing, and promises them fruitful harvests from that day forward, and predicts the prosperity of the Messiah's kingdom, under that of Zerubbabel, his ancestor and type. The style of this Prophet is, generally, plain and prosaie;

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

Is order to encourage and cheer those who fondly remembered the glorious | tive meanness of the present building, the prophet Haggai declares to them Krebare which had been raised by Solomon, and who, perhaps, impressed in the name of the Lord, that the glory of this latter house, though it might wsh the description furnished by Ezekiel, must have lamented the compara appear as nothing in their eyes, should be greater than that of the former. INTRODUCTORY AND CONCLUDING REMARKS ON EACH BOOK

A glory more apparent and manifest than was that clouded and symbolical representation of the Divine Majesty, which overshadowed the mercy-seat in the old temple; and which prefigured only that incarnate presence of the Messiah in whom "dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily," (Col. ii. 6.;) and from this temple, which though not decorated with gold and silver should thus surpass the former in glory, should appear the "Prince of peace," (ch. ii. 9. compared with Ep. ii. 14.) This illustrious prophecy the ancient Jews correctly applied to the Messiah, though some modern writers have made objec tions to its exact fulfiument by the advent of Christ. It has been pretended, that the temple in which our Saviour appeared was in reality not a second, but a third temple, rebui't by Herod; but it is certain, that whatever alterations and additions were made by Herod, it did not constitute an entirely new building. There was a temple for the worship of Jehovah according to the law, during all the forty-six years which were spent in repairing or rebuilding it;

and consequently, one part must have been taken down at once, as far

as was needful for the purpose, and no more but the old foundations, and the most essential parts of the structure, no doubt remained. In fact, no nominal distinction between Zerubbabel's and Herod's temple was ever made by the Jews; but, in popular language, both these structures were spoken of as the second temple. On one occasion, Josephus himself mentions only two buildings of the temple; a former in the time of Solomon, and a latter in that of Cyrus; and in the Chronicon Hebræum, &c. Vespasian is said to have destroyed the temple four hundred and forty years after it was built. The Prophet, indeed, could not have used greater precision sion of language, consistent ly with his design of consoling the Jews; for had he adopted such a distinc

application to Jesus of Nazareth, applied it to a third, which they expect at some future period. For the same purpose, other Jewish writers, who are followed by some modern commentators, contend, that chemdath, "desire," which is in construction with a plural verb, oovaoo, "and they shall come," should be read chemdoth, "desires,"-" the desirable things of all nationg shall come:" which they understand of the valuable and rich presents which various nations should bring into the temple. But this alteration, though apparently sanctioned by some of the ancient versions, is not acknowledged by any MS. yet collated; and it was evidently read in the singular by both the Targum and Vulgate; which have," and the Desire of all nations shall come." and the Desired Person shall come to all nations." It has also been justly

objected to this interpretation, that it is inconsistent with the great solemnity of the introduction; and that the language itself, "the desirable things of all nations shall come," is highly improper, as it should rather have been, "the desirable things of all nations shall be brought," a sense which ba never has in Kal, but only in Hophal, In fact, no alteration is needed to clear the grammatical construction; for it is a well known Hebraism for a verb or parLiciple to agree with the latter of two connected substantives, though in sense it strictly relates to the former, and thus oovaoo, "they shall come," agrees, not with chemdath, "desire," its proper nominative, but with goyim, nations," ," with which it is in construction. For similar instances the reader is referred to Gen. iv. 10. Lev. xiii. 9. 1 Sa. ji. 4. 2 Sa. x. 9. 1 Kì. xvii. 16. Neh. ix. 6. Job xv. 20. xxix. 10. xxxii. 7. Prov. xxix. 25. Eccles. xi. 1. Isa. xxv. 3. Jer. 11. 34. in the Hebrew. To nothing else indeed than the advent of the Messiah can this prophecy refer; and nothing but the presence of the incarnate son of God than of the former." This great event, and this alone, agrees with the whole of the context; with the political convulsions by which it was preceded and followed, and with the great and final religious revolution which it introduced.

tion, it would have led them to expect the demolition of the temple then build-could fulfil the prediction, and render" the glory of this latter house greater

ing, and the erection of another in its stead. It is also undemable, that the Jews did, in consequence of this prophecy, expect the Messiah to appear in this temple, till after its destruction by Vespasian; they then, in order to evade its

THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH.

INTRODUCTION.

ZECHARIAH was, as he himself informs us, the son of Berechiah, and grandson of Iddo; but the tribe and family from which he was descended, as well as the time and place of his birth, are equally unknown. It is, however, certain that he was one of the captives who returned from Babylon with Ze rubbabel; and from an expression in ch. ii. 4. there is reason to believe that he vas called to the prophetic office when a young man. He began to prophesy in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, A. M. 3484. В.С. 520., in the eighth month of the sacred year, and consequently two months after Haggai. Ze chariah, after general warnings, and exhortations to repentance, foretels the completion of the temple, (ch. i.;) the rebuilding and prosperity of Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, (ch. ii. 1-5;) the judgments of God upon Babylon, from which he admonishes the Jews to depart previous to its destruction, (ver. 6-9.) promising them the Divine presence, (ver. 10-13;.) under a vision of Joshua the high-priest arrayed in new sacerdotal attire, he predicts the restoration of the temple and its service, (ch. iii. 1-7.;) whence, by an easy transition, he sets forth the glory of Christ, as the chief corner stone of his church, (ver. 8-10.;) under the vision of the golden candlestick and two olive trees, he represents the success of Zerubbabel and Joshua in rebuilding the temple, and restoring its service, (ch. iv. ;) by the vision of a flying roll and an ephah, he shows the judgments which would come on the wicked Jews, and the abject and oppressed state of the nation, after they had filled up the measure of their sins, (ch. v.;) by the vision of four chariots drawn by several sorts of horses, and by two crowns placed on Joshua's hend, he sets forth primarily the re-establishment of the civil and religious polity of the Jews under Zerubbabel and Joshua, and secondarily and principally, the high priesthood and kingdom of Christ, called emphatically the Branch, (ch. vil;) some Jews having been sent to Jerusalem from the exiles at Babylon, to inquire whether they were still bound to observe the fasts instituted on account of the destruction of that city, (ch. vit. 1-3.;) the prophet is commanded to enforce upon them the weighter matters of the law, lest the same calamities befall them which were inflicted on their fathers, (ver. 4-14.,) promising them, in the

event of their obedience, the continuance of the favour of God, (ch. viii. 1-8. ;) encouraging them to go on with the building, (ver. 9-17.;) and permitting them to discontinue the observance of those fasts, (ver. 18-23.:) the prophet then predicts the intermediate events which should happen to the surrounding nations and to the Jews, from the completion of the temple till the coming of Christ, with figurative intimations of the prevalence of the Gospel by the triumphs of his apostles and servants, (ch. ix. x. ;) foretels the destruction of the temple and the rejection of the Jews for their rejection of Christ, and other sins, (ch. xi. ;) and predicts the preservation of Jerusalem against an invasion in the latter ages of the world, and the destruction of her enemies, (ch. xii. 1-9.;) the conversion of the Jews to their crucified Messiah, (ver. 10-14; ch. xiii) the destruction of Jerusalem, and the judgments inflicted on the unbelieving Jews; the preservation of a renmant, and their conversion; the ruin of the nations that fought against her; the final conversion of al. nations, and the peace and prosperity of the church, (ch. xiv.)-Bagster. The design of the first part of this prophecy, like that of his contemporary Haggai, was to encourage the Jews to go on with rebuilding the temple, by giving them assurance of God's aid and protection.

foretel the glory of the Christian church (the true temple From this he proceeds to

of St

of God) under its great

High Priest and Governor Jesus Christ, of whom Zerubbabel and Joshua were
figures. The first six chapters consist chiefly of prop prophetic visions, sions, in the manner
of Ezekiel. Daniel, and the Revelation
John. The following chapters treat
of the death, sufferings, and kingdom of Messiah, in many particulars not men-
tioned by any of the Prophets before him; every thing relating to those great
events becoming more explicit in proportion as their accomplishment drew
nearer. Zechariah's style like that of Haggai, is for the most part prosaic,
only more obscure towards the beginning, on account of his various types and
emblems. Towards the end he is more plain, as well as more elevated and
poetical. The difference in the style, among other reasons, has led many to
conclude, that the last six chapters might be written by Jeremiah, or some
other Prophet, though annexed to this prophecy of Zechariah.

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

"THE style of Zechariah is so remarkably similar to that of Jeremiah, that the Jews were accustomed to observe, that the spirit of Jeremiah had passed into him. The whole book is beautifully connected by easy transitions, and present and future scenes are blended with the most delicate contexture. Epiphanius attributes some predictions to Zechariah, which were delivered ac

cording to his account by the prophet at Babylon, and on the journey in his return from thence, but these are not extant in Scripture, and are of very ques tionable authority. The Zechariah to whom an apocryphal book is attributed by some writers, is supposed to have been a different person from the prophet, and according to Fabricius, he was the father of John the Baptist."

THE BOOK OF MALACHI.

INTRODUCTION.

OF Malachi, the last of the prophets, so little is known, that it has been | date is adopted by Dr. Hales, as sufficiently agreeing with the description of doubted whether his name be a proper name, or only a generic name, signify ing My angel or messenger. Origen entertained the extravagant notion, that he was an angel incarnate sent from GOD; and Calmet, after Jerome and other ancient writers, is of opinion that he was the same as Ezra. Epiphanius, Dorotheus, and the Chronicon Alexandrinum, say that Malachi was of the tribe of Zebulun, and a native of the town of Sapha; and that the name Malachi was given him because of his angelic muldness, and be cause an angel used to appear visibly to the people to confirm what he had said. It is, however, certain, that he prophesied some time after Haggai and Zechariah, for in his time the temple was rebuilt, and the worship re esta plished, (chap. i. 7, 10, 12. iii. 10 ;) and consequently his ministry must have coincided with, or succeeded, that of Nehemiah. Dr. Blair and Archbishop Newcome suppose him to have flourished about B. C. 436; and Archbishop Usher about B. C. 416; but Dr. Kennicott places him about B. C. 420; Which

Josephus, and the varying dates of chronologers. The book of Malachi con sists of four chapters; in which the prophet reminds the Jews of the special favours which God had bestowed upon them; reproves them for not showing due reverence to God; threatening their rejection, and announcing the calling of the Gentiles; denounces the Divine judgments both upon people and priests for their disrespect to God in their sacrifices; and for their unlawful intermarriages with idolatresses, and for divorcing their legitimate wives; foretels the coming of Christ and his harbinger John the Baptist, to purify the sons of Levi, and to smite the land with a curse, unless they all repented; reproving them for withholding their tithes and other oblations, and also for blasphemy: predicting the reward of the good, and the punishment of the wicked, and enjoining the strict observance of the law, till the forerunner already promised should appear, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to introduce the Messiah, and commence a new and everlasting dispensation.

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

THE Book of Malachi, says Bishop Lowth, is written in a kind of middle | is recognized by the Evangelists, and is admitted by our Lord himself. (Mat.

style, which seems to indicate that the Hebrew Poetry, from the time of the Babylonish captivity, was in a declining state, and having passed its prime and vigour, was then fast verging towards the debility of age. The writings of this prophet, however, are by no means devoid of force and elegance; and he reproves the wickedness of his countrymen with vehemence, and exhorts them to repentance and reformation with the utmost earnestness. It is no mean recommendation of Malachi, as well as a sanction of his prophetic mission, that his Book, though short, is often referred to in the inspired writ ings of the New Testament; and that his claim to the character of a prophet

30

-12.

phous

Mar. 1. 2.; ix. 11. 12.

xi. 10.; xvi. 10-
Luke i. 16, 17.; vii. 27. Rom. ix. 13.)
He terminated the illustrious succession of the prophets, and sealed up the
volume of prophecy, by proclaiming the sudden appearance of the Lord.
whom they sought, in his temple, preceded by that messenger, who, like a
harbinger,
prepare his way before him; the fulfilment of which predic
tion, by the preaching of John the Baptist, and the advent of Jesus of Naza
reth, the true Messiah, and the Lord of life and glory, during the existence of
the second temple, fully attests the divinity of his mission, and the Divinc
inspiration of his prophecy.

OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW.

INTRODUCTION

MATTHEW, surnamed Levi, was the son of Alpheus; but not of that Alphens | much disputed. Of the modern critics. Dr. Townson, Dr. H. Owen, and Bp. who was the father of James. (Matt. x. 3.) Matthew was a native of Gali lee; but of what city, or from what tribe, is unknown. Before his conversion, he was a publican, or tax-gatherer; and is understood to have collected the castoms on all imports or exports at Capernaum, and a tribute from all pas sergers who went by water. While thus employed, Jesus called him to be a discrple, and when the apostles were chosen, he was numbered among the taebe. He was one of the most constant attendants upon our Lord during his afe, and after his resurrection, was, on the day of Pentecost, endowed with the Holy Spint from on high. But how long he remained in Judea after this event, is unknown, as are also the time and circumstances of his decease.

The Gospel of Matthew is uniformly placed first among the Gospels and among all the books of the New Testament. It has always had the same precodence given it. When, however, it was written, is a question that has been

Tomline, date it in A. D. 37 or 38; but Dr. Lardner, Michaelis, and Dr. Hales, between 61 and 65. The only way to reconcile them is, with Eusebius, (an Ecclesiastical historian of the third century,) to admit two original copies, one in Hebrew, and the other in Greek, the former written for the Jews, about A. D. 38, and the latter written, or translated by the author into Greek, about A. D. 61; thus Josephus is said to have written his Jewish war both in Hebrew and in Greek. And we think the arguments adduced by Horne, in his Critical Introduction, on this subject, very powerful, though the Greek is the only original now remaining. We know that several sects of Jewish Christians boasted the possession of a Hebrew Gospel, which we suppose some of them might corrupt, to favour their peculiarities; and this was the more easy, as very few of the Christian Fathers understood Hebrew. Lardner and Jones, however, consider the Greek as the original, and the Hebrew as a translation.

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

MATTHEW being one of the twelve apostles, and from the time of his call, a constant attendant on our Saviour, was perfectly well qualified to write the history of bus life. He relates what he saw and heard with the most natural and unaffected simpheity, and in a plain and perspicuous style. That for which he seminently distinguished, says Dr. Campbell, is the distinctness and par tica'arity with which he has related many of our Lord's discourses and moral Instructio Of these, his sermon on the mount, his charge to the apostles, bis illustrations of the nature of his kingdom, and his prophecy on mount Olivet, are examples. He has also wonderfully united simplicity and energy in resting the replies of his Master to the cavils of his adversaries. Being carly raded to the apostleship, he was an eye and ear witness of most of the things wlach he rolates. And, though I do not think it was the scope of any of these historians to adjust their narratives by the precise order of time wherein the events happened, there are some circumstances which incline me to think, that Matthew has approached at least as near that order as any of them." The cesadostion, that the gospel of St. Matthew is a history of what he heard and sas, merely allowing him to be a man of integrity, would of itself fully prove that he would make no mistakes in his narrative; and when we add to this time influence and superintendence of the Holy Spirit, under which he con

stantly acted, and which our Lord promised to his disciples, (John xiv. 26.) it must be allowed to possess the utmost degree of credibility and authority with which any writing could be invested. It is a piece of history which, it must be acknowledged, is "the most singular in its composition, the most wonderful in its contents, and the most important in its object, that was ever exhibited to the notice of mankind. For simplicity of narrative, and an artless relation of facts, without any applause or censure, or digressive remarks, on the part of the historian, upon the characters introduced in it; without any intermixture of his own opinion, upon any subject whatsoever; and for a multiplicity of internal marks of credibility, this Gospel certainly has no parallel among human productions." "There is not," as Dr. A. Clarke justly remarks, one truth or doctrine, in the whole oracles of God, which is not taught in this Evangelist. The outlines of the whole spiritual system are here correctly laid down even Paul himself has added nothing: he has amplified and illustrated the truths contained in this Gospel; but, even under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, neither ho, nor any of the other Apostles, have brought to light one truth, the prototype of which has not been found in the words and acts of our blessed Lord as related by Matthew."

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK.

INTRODUCTION.

MARK is generally supposed to be the same with John surnamed Mark, who sister's son to Barnabas, (Col. iv. 10.) and the son of Mary, a pious woman of Jerusalem, at whose house many were assembled together praying when Peter was delivered from prison. (Ac. xii. 12.) St. Peter (1 Ep. v. 13.) cafe lên" Marcus my son," probably implying that he was converted by his minustry, and served with him in the gospel. He accompanied St. Paul in his travele. (Ac. xi. 25; xni. 5, 13; XV. 36-41. 2 Ti. iv. 4. Phil. 24) and he is

sail to have been particularly intimate with St. Peter, under whose inspection, it is generally agreed, he wrote his gospel at Rome, betweenthe years A. D. 60 aad 65. Eusebius informs us, (Hist. Eccles. 1. ii. c. 15.) from Papins and Clement of Alexarsiria, that St. Mark composed his gospel at the earnest request of St. Peter's bearers at Rome; and that the Apostle being informed of what was done by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, authorized it to be introduced

voice of antiquity, have represented it as an abridgment of that of St. Matthew. But, though he doubtless relates many of the same facts, and some of the parables and discourses, in common with St. Matthew; yet he omits many important particulars, and adds others, dilates upon some facts but concisely mentioned by Matthew, not without considerable variation, and now and then departs from the order of time observed by that apostle. Hence there is no reason to suppose, that he intentionally took any thing from Matthew, but that he wrote such things as were especiaily brought to his knowledge, and impressed on his mind; and the coincidence seems to have arisen, rather from the circumstance of their writing the history of the same grand and interesting events, than from any design in the one deducing his materials from the other. That St. Mark wrote his gospel in Greek, is attested by the uninterrupted voice of antiquity, and is now generally admitted; and the occurrence of several

to the churches With this agrees the internal evidence furnished by the Gos-Latin words, which has led some to contend for a Latin original, may easily

pel rolf: for many things honourable to St. Peter are omitted in it, which are mechioned by other Evangelists, while his weaknesses and failings are freely exposed to view. It is also undeniable, that from the earliest ages of the church, this Gospel was received, not only as genuine and authentic, but as a divinely mspired writing. Some learned men, in opposition to the unanimous

be accounted for, by supposing it was written for the use of the Roman people, by a person then resident among them; and it is on this account that he omits the genealogy of our Lord, and some other matters, as being of no importance to Gentile converts, though very necessary for the Jews.

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

of men would not allow his success to be uninterrupted; accordingly, when at Alexandria, the multitudes being assembled for their idolatrous solemnities, broke in upon him during his engagements in the service of God's house, and binding his hands and feet with cords, dragged him through the streets until his flesh was dreadfully, lacerated and his blood gushed out nature sunk under such tortures, and he soon became a sacrifice to the rage of an infuriated and persecuting populace.

MARK, the writer of the preceding Gospel, was doubtless born of Jewish
parents, of the tribe of Levi, and the line of the priesthood. He was sister's
on to Peter, and by some is thought to have been one of the 70 disciples;
while others suppose, that he was converted by Peter's ministry; but, perhaps,
then is to other reason for this, than because he calls him his son. Mark
was constantly with Peter; he accompanied his apostolical progress, and
preached the Gospel in Italy and at Rome; where, at the request of the Chris
tians of those parts, he composed and wrote his Gospel. By Peter he was
Belt into Egypt, there to proclaim the glad tidings of salvation. Eusebius
says, that so great was the success of his ministry, that he was instrumental
in converting multitudes of men and women. The vigilant enemy of the souls | healthy.

Tradition states, that Mark was of a middle size and stature, his nose long, his eyebrows turning back, his eyes graceful and amiable, his head bald, his beard long and gray, his gait quick, and the constitution of his body strong and

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE.

INTRODUCTION.

LUKE. to whom this Gospel has been uniformly attributed from the earliest apes of the Christian Church, is generally allowed to have been the beloved phyncian" mentioned by St. Paul; (Col. iv. 14.;) and as he was the compaBiko of that Apostle, in all his labours and sufferings, for many years, (Acts Xvt 12 xx 16 xxvii. 1,2; xxviii. 13-16. 2 Ti. iv. 11. Phil. 24.) and wrote "The Acts of the Apostles," which conclude with a brief account of St. Paul's imprisonment at Rome, we may be assured that he had the Apostle's sanction to what be dad; and probably this Gospel was written some time before that eveet, about AD 63 or 64, as is generally supposed. He would appear, from 16 11 and his intimate acquaintance with the Greek language, as as well as from his Greek name Loukas, to have been of Gentile extraction; and ac

Cal

coromg to Eusebius and others, he was a native of Antioch. But, from the
Hebraisms occurring in his writings, and especially from his accurate know-
ledge of the Jewish rites, ceremonies, and customs, it is highly probable that
he
he may not have been, as some have affirmed, one of the seventy disciples,
and an eye-witness of our Saviour's miracles, yet his intercourse with the
Apostles, and those who were eye-witnesses of the works, and ear-witnesses
of the words of Christ, renders him an unexceptionable witness, if considered
merely as a historian; and the early and unanimous reception of his Gospel,
as divinely inspired, is sufficient to satisfy every reasonable person.

was a Jewish proselyte, and afterwards converted to Christianity. Though