nally declares that he spake of that house which was then building, which their eyes saw, and which so many contemned as not to be compared with the former, ch. i. 4. this house, ch. ii. 7. this house, ver. 8. this house, so ver. 18. Others say, that the glory of that house did not consist in the coming of the Messiah unto it, but in its duration and continuance; for it stood ten years longer than the former. But this also is contrary, 1. To the catholic persuasion of their forefathers, Targums, Talmuds, and all ancient doctors. 2. To experience; for what could the miserable languishing of ten years by that house, whilst it was by their own confession a den of thieves, contribute unto it to enable it to vie for glory with that wonder of the world the temple of Solomon, in comparison whereof, their forefathers thought it no more, than some of them of old thought themselves when compared to the sons of Anak. 3. To the truth; affirming that the glory of that house was to consist in the corning of the Lord, whom they sought, the desire of all nations, unto it: all which things are vindicated in our Prolego

mena.

6

3. Their temple being utterly destroyed, as well as their state, and their Messiah not yet come, what think they of their sacrifices? Daniel tells them that he was to come, and to be cut off, before the ceasing of the daily sacrifices. But they must confess, that all sacrifices are long since utterly ceased; for surely their offering of a cock to the devil on the day of expiation, is no continuance of them. Some say, that the Messiah intended by Daniel, was king Agrippa, whom Vespasian slew at Rome. But this obstinacy is intolerable. That a semi-pagan, as Agrippa was, should be their Messiah, so honourably foretold, is a figment which, whatever they pretend, they themselves believe not. Nor was Agrippa slain, or cut off, but lived in peace to the day of his death. The most of them know not what to say, but only object that the computation of Daniel is dark and obscure, which Christians themselves are not agreed about: concerning which, I must refer the reader to our Prolegomena; as also for the full and large handling of the things here by the way only touched upon.'

This makes it evident who the persons were who were spoken to in these last days, To us, w; that is, to the members of the Judaical church, who lived in the days of the personal ministry of Christ, and afterwards under the preaching of the gospel to that day, ch. ii. 3. The Jews of those days were very apt to think, that if they had lived in the times of the former prophets, and had heard them delivering their message from God, they would have received it with a cheerful obedience; their only unhappiness they thought was, that they were born out of due time as to prophetical revelations. This is intimated of

them, Mat. xxiii. 30. The apostle meeting with this persuasion in them, minds them that in the revelation of the gospel, God had spoken to themselves, the things they so much desired, not questioning but that thereon they should believe and obey. If this word then they attend not unto, they must needs be self-condemned. Again, that care and love which God manifested towards them, in speaking immediately unto them, required the same obedience; especially considering the manner of it, so far excelling that which before he had used towards the fathers; of which afterwards.

And these are two instances of the comparison instituted, relating unto times and persons.

The next difference respects the manner of these several revelations of the will of God, and that in two particulars. For, 1. The former was made λuegos, by divers parts, one after the other. The branch of the antithesis that should answer hereunto is not expressed, but implied to be, ana, or sQañaž, at

once.

Пoxvμrews, by many parts, and so consequently at sundry times. The gradual discovery of the mind and will of God, by the addition of one thing after another, at several seasons, as the church could bear the light of them, and as it was subserving to his main design of reserving all pre-eminence to the Messiah, is that which is intended in this expression. How all this is argumentative to the apostle's purpose, will instantly appear. Take the expression absolutely to denote the whole progress of divine revelation from the beginning of the world, and it compriseth four principal parts or degrees, with those that were subservient unto them.

The first of these was made to Adam, in the promise of the Seed, which was the principle of faith and obedience to the fathers before the flood; and unto this were subservient all the consequent particular revelations made to Seth, Enos, Enoch, Lamech, and others before the flood.

The second to Noah after the flood, in the renewal of the covenant, and establishing of the church in his family, Gen. viii. 21. ch. ix. 9, 10. whereunto were subservient the revelations made to Melchisedec, Gen. xiv. 18. and others before the calling of Abraham.

The third to Abraham in the restriction of the promise to his seed, and fuller illustration of the nature of it, Gen. xii. 1-4. ch. xv. 11, 12. xvii. 1, 2. confirmed in the revelations made to Isaac, Gen. xxvi. 24. Jacob, Gen. xlix. Joseph, Heb. xi. 22. and to others of their posterity.

The fourth to Moses in the giving of the law, and erection of the Judaical church in the wilderness, unto which there were three principal heads of subservient revelations :

1. To David, which was peculiarly designed to perfect the revelation of the will of God concerning the Old Testament worship, in those things that their wilderness condition was not capable of, 1 Chron. xxiii. 25-28. ch. xxviii. 11-19. To him we may join Solomon, with the rest of the prophets of their days.

2. To the prophets, after the division of the kingdom until the captivity, and during the captivity; to whom it was peculiar to be called to plead with the people about their defection by sin and false worship.

3. To Ezra, with the prophets that assisted in the reformation of the church after its return from Babylon, who in an especial manner, excited the people to an expectation of the coming of the Messiah.

These were the principal parts and degrees of the revelation of the will of God from the foundation of the world, until the coming of Christ in his fore-runner John the Baptist. And all this I have fully handled and unfolded in my discourse of the rise, nature, and progress of Scripture divinity or theology.

But as I shewed before, if we attend unto the special intention of the apostle, we must take in the date of these revelations, and begin with that to Moses, adding to it those other subservient ones now mentioned, which were peculiar to the Judaical church, which taught and confirmed the worship that was established amongst them.

This then is that which in this word the apostle minds the Hebrews of; namely, that the will of God concerning his worship and our obedience, was not formerly revealed all at once to his church, by Moses or any other; but by several parts and degrees, by new additions of light, as in his infinite wisdom and care he saw meet. The close and last hand was not to be put unto this work before the coming of the Messiah. He, they all acknowledged, was to reveal the whole counsel of God, John iv. 25. after that his way had been prepared by the coming of Elias, Mal. iv. Until that time they were to attend to the law of Moses, with those expositions of it which they had received, ver. 4, 5. That was the time appointed, ¡n Bank , to seal, complete and finish, vision and prophet; as also Mixon Onn, to seal up sin, or as we render it, to make an end of sin, or the controversy about it, which had long been held in agitation by sacrifices, that could never put an end to that quarrel, Heb. x. 1, 2. 14.

לחתם

Now in this very first word of his epistle, doth the apostle clearly convince the Hebrews of their mistake in their obstinate adherence unto Mosaic institutions. It is as if he had bidden them consider the way whereby God revealed his will to the church hitherto. Hath it not been by parts and degrees?

Hath he at any time shut up the progress of revelation? Hath he not always kept the church in expectation of new revelations of his mind and will? did he ever declare that he would add no more unto what he had commanded, or make no alteration in what he had instituted? What he had revealed was to be observed, Deut. xxvii. 29. and when he had revealed it: but until he declare that he will add no more, it is folly to account what is already done, absolutely complete and immutable. Therefore Moses, when he had finished all his work in the Lord's house, tells the church, that God would raise up another prophet like unto him; that is, who should reveal new laws and institutions as he had done, whom they were to hear and obey on the penalty of utter extermination, Deut. xviii.

18.

And this discovers the obstinacy of the modern Jews, who from the days of Maimonides, who died about the year of our Lord 1104, have made it one of the fundamental articles of their religion, which they have inserted in their prayer-books, that the law of Moses is never to be changed, and that God will never give them any other law, or rule of worship. And as they further ground that article in Ezrim Vearba, printed in the end of Bomberg's Bibles, they affirm, that nothing can be added unto it, nothing taken away from it, and that no alteration in its obligation can be admitted;' which is directly contrary both to the truth and to the confession of all their predecessors, who looked for the Messiah, as we shall afterwards declare.'

In opposition to this gradual revelation of the mind of God under the Old Testament, the apostle intimates, that now by Jesus the Messiah, the Lord hath at once begun and finished the whole revelation of his will, according to their own hopes and expectation. So, Jude 3. the faith was once delivered unto the saints:" not in one day, not in one sermon, or by one person, but at one season, or under one dispensation, comprising all the time from the entrance of the Lord Christ upon his ministry, and the closing of the Canon of Scripture, which period was now at hand. This season being once past and finished, no new revelation is to be expected to the end of the world. Nothing shall be added unto, nor altered in the worship of God any more. God will not do it; men that attempt it, do it on the price of their souls.

2. God spake in the prophets, morgonws, after divers sorts or manners. Now this respects either the various ways of God's revealing himself to the prophets, by dreams, visions, inspirations, voices, angels, every way with an equal evidence of their being from God; or the ways of his dealing with the fathers by the prophets, by promises, threats, gradual discoveries of his will, special messages and prophecies, public sermons

and the like. The latter, or the various ways of the prophets delivering their messages to the people from God, is principally intended, though the former be not excluded, it being that, from whence this latter variety did principally arise and flow.

In opposition hereunto, the apostle intimates, that the revelation of God and his will by Christ was accomplished Movidas, in one only way and manner, by his preaching the gospel who was anointed with the Spirit without measure.

The last difference, or instance in the comparison, insisted on by the apostle is, that of old God spake in the prophets, but now in the Son, Ey Tais @gophtais; for dia say most expositors, in for by, δια των προφητών; as Luke i. 70. δια στόματος των άγιων TEOPAT, by the mouth of the holy prophets. But where, answers the Hebrew 2 Num. xii. God spake in Moses. The certainty of the revelation and presence of God with his word, is intimated in the expression. So the word of the Lord was T, in the hand of this or that prophet. They were but instruments to give out, what they had received from God.

Now these prophets in whom God spake of old, were all those who were divinely inspired and sent to reveal his will and mind, as to the duty of the church, or any special concernment of his providence in the rule and government thereof, whether they declared the inspirations they had, or revelations they received, by word of mouth, or by writing. The modern Jews make a distinction between the gift of prophecy and the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, following Maimonides in his More Nebuchim, part ii. cap. 32. 32. His opinion, which he calls the opinion or sentence of the law, about prophecy in general, is the same with that of the Gentile philosophers, as he professeth. In one thing only he differs from them; namely, that prophecy doth not so necessarily follow after due preparation, as that a man cannot but prophesy who is rightly prepared. But the gift of prophecy, he asserts wholly to depend on the temperature of the brain, natural and moral exercises for the preparing and raising of the imagination, upon which divine visions will succeed; a brain-sick imagination, confounding divine revelation with fanatical distempers. But in the eleven degrees of prophecy which he assigns, and attempts to prove by instances out of Scripture, he placeth that of inspiration by the Holy Ghost in the last and lowest place. And therefore by the late masters is the book of Daniel cast into this latter sort, though eminently prophetical, because they are so galled with his predictions and calculations; no other reason of that disposition readily occurs. And this is the ground of their disposition of the books of the Scripture, into , the law, or five books of Moses, given in the highest way and degree of prophecy;

prophets, first (or אחרונים and שונים,of two sorts נבואים