As for the Jews in the ages next to these para- CHAP. phrases, I ought to observe this one thing of Pirke. XVIII. Eliezer, chap. 14. There they assert that God descended nine times, and that the tenth time he will descend in the age to come, i. e. in the time of the Messias. The first time was in the garden of Eden; the second at the confusion of tongues; the third at the destruction of Sodom; the fourth at his talking with Moses on mount Horeb; the fifth at his appearance on Sinai; the sixth and seventh when he spake to Moses in the hollow of the rock; the eighth and ninth in the tabernacle: the tenth will be, when he shall appear in the times of the Messias. Such is their ancient opinion.

The prophecies that speak of it as being one of the ends of the coming of the Messias, to judge his people and the nations, do constantly ascribe the name of God, or of Jehovah, to the Messias. We see it in Psalm lxxxii. 8. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations. Which is followed by Daniel, chap. vii. 13, 14. in these words; I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days,-and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

The Jews confess three things: one is, that Psalm lxxii. is to be understood of the Messias; the second is, that in the vision of Ezekiel, chap. i. that form of a man sitting upon the throne signifies the true God; the third, that the vision of Daniel, chap. vii. is the same in substance with that of Ezekiel i. So that the Messias, as a man, receives an absolute empire upon all nations, and sits upon a throne as God. Now it would be the most absurd thing in the

CHAP. world to conceive the Messias as a man only, when XVIII. he is invested with such an empire which cannot be governed but by the true God, and by Jehovah, whose character is represented so often as the ruler of all nations. See Gen. xviii. 25.

The prophecies that speak of Jehovah as the King and Bridegroom of his Church are constantly interpreted of the Messias. For example, where God said to his people, Hos. ii. 19, 20. I will betroth thee unto me for ever; I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord. This the Jews generally understand of the Messias. It is the judgment of R. Menachem in Genes. fol. 15. col. 1. where he reflects upon Isaiah Ixii. 3. And it is agreeable to what is said, Psalm xlv. 6, 7, 9, 10, 11. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest iniquity: wherefore, O God, thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. Hearken, O daughter, and consider; forget thy own people, and thy father's house; so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord, and worship thou him. Whereas the Targum, ver. 2. interprets it all of the Messias; so R. Meir Arama says, all agree that that Psalm is to be understood of the Messias.

We cannot have a better proof that the Messias was to be Jehovah, than Zech. xii. 10. which the Targum also interprets of the Messias, and the modern Jews would refer to the feigned Messias, son of Joseph. The words are these; I (Jehovah) will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of sup

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plications: and they shall look upon me whom they CHAP. have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son.

In Malachi iii. 1. we find this expression, Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare. the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger (or the angel) of the covenant, whom ye delight in. Now you may take notice, that whereas it is said after in the Hebrew, Here he is coming, the Greeks have read, αὐτὸς προπορεύσομαι. Now since it is certain that he is the Jehovah to whom the temple is here said to be built and dedicated, and who is worshipped in it; and since the Jews understand this place of the Messias, it must follow that the Messias is Jehovah.

It is evident, that the Lord, and the Messenger or the Angel of the covenant, are the same Person, whose coming is promised to the Jews as a thing very near. But it is no less evident, that this Angel of the covenant is the same who is spoken of by Jacob, Gen. xlviii. 15, 16. as the Redeemer, and is named by Isaiah, chap. Ixiii. the Angel of the face. Now all the ancient Jews agree, that that Angel, or Messenger, is the Shekinah, or Jehovah himself; as we see in R. Menachem de Rekanati, fol. 54. col. 2. and fol. 66. col. 2. fol. 72. col. 4. and fol. 73. col. . And they agree all that the Shekinah and Jehovah is the same. It is a point agreed by the Talmudist and by the Cabalist, as it is explained by R. Menachem, fol. 73. col. 3. and fol. 77. col. 4. and fol. 79. col. 3. This being so, who can deny but that the text of Malachi is an undeniable proof that the Messias was to be Jehovah himself, according to the ideas of the most ancient Jews?

If we had not such confessions of the Jews, it would be an easy thing to supply the want of them by the help of the general tradition that reigns

CHAP. among them, and proves clearly that the Messias was to be Jehovah himself.

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They hold that the Messias shall be greater than all the patriarchs, and even than the angels themselves. Neve shalom, l. 9. c. 5. How can this be, unless he be truly Jehovah? And whence could they take this notion, except from Psalm xcvii. 7. where the angels are commanded to worship him?

It is very easy to reconcile that idea with the notions of the ancient Jews touching the Messias, supposing him to be the Shekinah and Jehovah, and that this Shekinah or Jehovah was to be the same Person with the Messiah, as they confess. R. Menach. fol. 73. col. 3. and fol. 77. col. 4. and fol. 79. col. 3. They teach constantly that the angels receive their virtue from the Shekinah, R. Menach. fol. 8. col. 1. and fol. 12. col. 1. They teach that the Shekinah is the God of Jacob, R. Men. fol. 38. col. 3; that he appeared to him at Beth-el, and promised him to govern him without the ministry of angels, R. Menach. fol. 41,42. They say the Shekinah is the Jehovah who appeared to the patriarchs, R. Menach. fol. 56. col. 1. They maintain that the temple was built to worship the Shekinah therein, R. Menach. fol. 63. col. 1. and fol. 70. col. 2. and fol. 73. col. 4. and fol. 74. col. 2. They maintain on the other side, that it is not lawful to pay any religious worship to angels, although sent by God as his messengers, or as mediators, R. Men. fol. 68. col. 2. They deny that the ancient patriarchs ever paid any other but civil worship to the angels, when they appeared to them, R. Menach. ib. col. 3. But it is impossible to reconcile those ideas with the opinion of the Messias's being only a mere man.

Indeed, he that will seriously consider all these prophecies, will be far from thinking, that, when the high priest asked Jesus whether he was the Son of God or no, and Jesus answered that he was so, the Jews did understand only that he made himself a

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great prophet. Both the Jews and Socinians own CHAP. that in this answer he made himself the Messias, who, according to both of them, is more than a great prophet; and the high priest was so sensible of it, that he called it blasphemy.

In short, the angels, who are God's ministers, could not have served nor obeyed one that was, as well as themselves, a mere creature only. He must be God, to have the angels subjects to him. He must be God, to govern the world, and to discern the thoughts of the heart, without which he could not be a competent judge. And they that imagine a creature could be made capable to know the hearts of men, and to exercise those other acts, which are the characters of the Divinity, do form to themselves the greatest chimera in the world.

It is therefore necessary, that the ancient Jews, having these notions of the Messias, should have conceived an intimate and close habitation of the Word in his person, by which all these prophecies should receive their accomplishment, and all the promises of God concerning the Messias should be perfectly fulfilled.

The Unitarians conceive they have done a great service to the Christian religion, when, to court the Jews' favour, they deny the divinity of the Messias, and condemn, as being idolatrous, that worship which Christians pay to Jesus Christ. In this they argue more consistently than Socinus himself, as I have said in my preface to this book. But after all, I can say, that besides that they cannot answer Socinus's argument for the worship of Jesus Christ, they shall never get from the Jews what they pretend by their opinion: indeed the Jews would be in the right to condemn us as idolaters, if we did worship Jesus Christ as a mere creature. But they cannot do that justly, if they reflect seriously upon the grounds which we lay for the adoration of the Messias.

As it is a thing which, I hope, may be of some