earth should know the majesty of the Lord mentioned in the preceding expreffions. Besides that transcendent dignity is included in the words, y 2. about the fingular honour redounding to Bethlehem above the thousands of Judah, from this great perfon's coming out of it. It makes this complex description still more fpecial and circumstantial, that with all those characters of dignity, glory, and exaltation, characters of humiliation are mixed in very remarkable expreffions, y 1. intimating, that no circumstance of this person's fufferings, not even his being "fmitten on the cheek," could be too inconfiderable to be matter of inspired prediction. What is faid about his coming out of Bethlehem has a remarkable conformity with the predictions about the Meffiah's defcending from the house of David; and also supposes, as to the time of the event in view, that it would happen during the subsistence, not only of Bethlehem, but of the thousands of Judah ; in comparison of which, Bethlehem is mentioned as a little and defpicable place, though fingularly honoured above them all by this ruler's coming out of it. So that this short prediction contains, in a few words, a confiderable number of the diftinguishing characters of the Meffiah, relating to his perfon, office, benefits, incomparable dignity; his humiliation, his work in enlightening the ends of the earth, and in being the great shepherd of God's flock; and the time of his coming, as well as the place of his birth. When we compare the prediction with the gospel-hiftory, to which all the above characters prove that it agrees truly and peculiarly, befides the Jews declaring to Herod, that they understood this prediction of their Meffiah, it is remarkable, that the decree of the Roman Emperor, which brought Jofeph and Mary from their ordinary refidence to Bethlehem at the time of Chrift's birth, had been given out fome time before: fo that it may be reckoned one end of providence, not excluding other ends, in retarding the execution of that decree in these parts fo long, that it might be a means of accomplishing this prophecy. of. IV. In proving the gospel-interpretation of If. vii. 14. it is needful to observe, that it can be shewn from the context, that y 15. is not meant of Immanuel, but of Shearjashub, Ifaiah's own child; whom the prophet may reafonably be supposed to point to, in saying these words, "For (or Yea) be"fore the child (or this child) shall know-" (for fo these particles may be, and by fome are rendered): because God having commanded the prophet to take that child along with him, ∗ 3. that divine command cannot be in vain; which it would be, unless y 15. be meant of that child, there being nothing else in the chapter applicable to him: And it is one of the most reasonable rules of interpretation, that when a text, confidered by itself, is capable of two meanings; if one of them is inconsistent with the context, or infers an abfurdity in the context, which the other does not, the meaning which infers fuch abfurdity or inconsistency is to be rejected, and the other to be preferred. This removes one chief difficulty against the gospel-interpretation of this text. Another difficulty is, that the birth of the Meffiah being an event at a distance, could not be a fit fign of what the prophet is speaking of to Ahaz. But this difficulty is at least as strong against the Jewish meaning of the text. A young woman's conceiving and bearing a fon, in the ordinary way, and calling him by what name she pleafes, or is advised to, cannot be a fign of any thing that would be otherwise doubtful, if the word fign fignify a proof. It is certain, that befides the figns which are intended as proofs, (as the figns given to Gi leon, and to Zechariah, the Baptift's father), the prophets fometimes gave signs, which, without containing proofs, were intended to excite atten 1 tion, and to fortify the present impression of things foretold; of which kind are the signs mentioned 1f. xx. The birth, and the name of Immanuel, by the Jewish interpretation, cannot be a fign merely of this kind; because it was a thing still future, as well as the event to which it is supposed to excite attention, as it could not be a probative sign, having nothing in it that is any way fingular. By the Chriftian intepretation, applying the prediction to the Meffiah, it was a very real and fingular fign, or proof, of God's special care of that people, and of the continuance of their civil polity, till Shiloh should come, and a fign fit to relieve and encourage God's people among them, amidst the fears mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. To shew that, in the style of the Old Testament, a future event is fometimes called a fign, in a different meaning from what is most commonly apprehended, fee Exod. iii. 12. Others have proved at length, that the word in the text rendered virgin, is justly fo rendered; as indeed it annihilates the fign or wonder to give that word another meaning. The character of Immanuel, born of a virgin, has a fingular conformity with the mysterious characters given of the Meffiah in other prophecies, as a divine person incarnate, who was not only to affume human nature, but to affume it in its lowest and most imperfect state; which is implied in the predictions relating to his extraction, and more directly afferted in the next chapter but one to this 7th of Ifaiah, If. ix. 6. And though the miraculous character of being born of a virgin, does not of itself infer the far more myfterious character of a divine perfon incarnate, yet the latter of these characters necessarily includes the • former. Besides that this character of miraculous conception has a fingular conformity to the words of the first promise about the feed of the woman; a title not applicable to any that come to the world in the ordinary way, neither according to the style of fcripture, or common language, or any propriety of words. To which we may add, that when it is foretold in Jer.xxxi. which treats of the times of the Messiah, and of the new covenant in the last days, that " a woman should compass a man;" and when attention is folemnly demanded to this, as the creating of a new thing on the earth; by the common rule of interpretation, That parallel places, fome of which speak more obscurely, and others more clearly, of the same subject, should be improved for explaining and confirming one another, these two passages in Genesis and Jeremiah confirm the gospelinterpretation of this prediction in Ifaiah. After this 7th of Ifaiah has mentioned a child that was to be born of a virgin, to be called Immanuel, and to be a singular sign of God's favour to his people, the very next chapter, y 8. speaks of the same child by the same name, as one from whom the land of Ifrael should receive the denomination of Immanuel's land; plainly denoting some fingular importance in the prediction concerning him, and implying, in the most literal sense, that he should be, in a peculiar manner, the proprietor of that land. In the 9th chapter, y 6. there is another passage, the clearest of all, concerning an extradinary child, to whom such fingular characters are ascribed, as imply, that he should be Immanuel in the strictest and highest sense of the word, and should be born in a miraculous way, and should alfo be the true proprietor of the land of Ifrael. Such passages in three contiguous chapters, all relating to an extraordinary child, and evidently parallel, shew, that if the first of these passages is of itself fomewhat obfcure, the rest contain a key to it, especially when compared with the other prophecies just now mentioned. All which is farther confirmed by this plain remark, that if we should receive the the Jewish interpretation, (I mean that of the modern Jews), this prediction, so far as we read in scripture, was never fulfilled. Whereas the obscurity that appears in this prediction, does not lie so much in the words of the prediction itself, as in its relation or connection with the context, and the most obvious scope of it; besides that this difficulty is proved to be stronger against any other interpretation than that given in the gofpel, it should be observed, that it is suitable to the most just rules of connection, to take occasion, from present objects of less importance, to speak of more important objects that are diftant and future, if these present objects have any particular resemblance or analogy to them: and if the characters of the Meffiah be of that importance, as to prove, that, in effect, it could never be out of feason to put God's people in mind of him; much less could it be out of season to speak of his birth and childhood, when mention is made of other children as prophetic signs of divine favour, protection, and deliverance, as in the passage in view. But of the feeming obscurity of prophetic conection, it is intended to speak more afterwards; mean time, what is said shews, that, by all the most uncontested rules of interpretation, whether we confider the most natural meaning of the words, or scope of the foregoing and following context, or parallel places, that speak either of one to whom the name of Immanuel may be most strictly applicable, or of a conception and birth that must be supposed to be extraordinary and fupernatural, the gofpel-meaning must be the true meaning, and the only reasonable meaning that can be put on this remarkable text. V. The prophecies concerning the family of which the Meffiah was to defcend, some of the chief of which have been confidered formerly, grow gradually more clear and particular, as the time of his |