Calvin follows in all his commentaries, is attended with great probability of truth; for the main end and work for which the Messiah was promised being, as we have proved, spiritual and eternal, and whereas it is evident that many promises of things relating unto him and the condition of them that believe in him are allegorically expressed (it being the constant way of the Old Testament to shadow out spiritual and heavenly things by things earthly and carnal), this way of interpreting the promises seems to have great countenance given unto it, both from the nature of the things themselves, and the constant tenor of the prophetical style. According unto this rule of interpretation, all that is foretold in the Psalms and Prophets of the deliverance, rest, peace, glory, rule and dominion of the church; of the subjection and subserviency of nations, kingdoms, rulers, kings and queens, thereunto; intends only either the kingdom of grace, consisting in faith, love, holiness, righteousness, and peace in the Holy Ghost, with that spiritual beauty and glory which are in the worship of the gospel, or the kingdom of heaven itself, where lies our happiness and reward. And indeed this interpretation of the promises, as in respect of many of them it is evidently certain, true, and proper, they being so expounded in the gospel itself, so in respect of them all it is safe and satisfactory to the souls of believers; for they who are really made partakers of the spiritual good things of the Messiah, and are subjects of his spiritual kingdom, do find and acknowledge such liberty, rest, peace, and glory, those durable riches therein, as they are abundantly content withal, whatever their outward condition in this world may be. And unto this exposition, as to the main and prime intendment of the promises, the whole doctrine of the gospel gives countenance.

35. Thirdly, Some, acknowledging the kingdom of the Messiah to be heavenly and spiritual, and the promises generally to intend spiritual and heavenly glory and riches, that is, grace and peace in Christ Jesus, do yet suppose, moreover, that there is in many of them an intimation given of a blessed, quiet, peaceable, flourishing estate of the church, through the power of the Messiah, to be in this world. But this they do with these limitations:-(1.) That these promises were not made unto the Jews as they were the seed of Abraham according unto the flesh primarily and absolutely, but unto the church,—that is, the children of Abraham according unto the promise, heirs of his faith and blessing; that is, they are made unto all them who receive and believe in the promised Messiah, Jews and Gentiles, with whom, as we have proved, the privilege of the church and interest in the promises was to remain. (2.) That the accomplishment of these promises is reserved unto an appointed time, when God shall have accomplished his work of severity on the apostate Jews, and of trial and patience towards the called Gentiles.

(3.) That upon the coming of that season, the Lord will, by one means or other; take off the veil from the eyes of the remnant of the Jews, and turn them from ungodliness unto the grace of the Messiah; after which, the Jews and Gentiles, being made one fold under the great Shepherd of our souls, shall enjoy rest and peace in this world. This they think to be intimated in many of the promises of the Old Testament which are brought over unto the use of the church, as yet unaccomplished, in the Book of the Revelation. And herein lies all the glory which the Jews can or may expect, and that only on such terms as yet they will not admit of. But these things must all of them be spoken unto at large, when we come to answer the objections which they take from them unto our faith in Jesus Christ.

36. That which, above all things, manifests the folly and irreligion of the imagination of the Jews about the person and work of the Messiah is the event. The true Messiah is long since come, hath accomplished the work assigned unto him, and made known the nature of the first and consequent promises, with the salvation that he was to effect;-no way answering the expectation of the Jews, but only in his genealogy according unto the flesh. And this is that which is the second supposition on which all the discourses and reasonings of the apostle in his Epistle to the Hebrews are founded, and which, being absolutely destructive of Judaical infidelity, shall be fully confirmed in our ensuing dissertation.

EXERCITATION XII.

[SECOND DISSERTATION]—THE PROMISED MESSIAH LONG

SINCE COME.

1. Second principle supposed by the apostle Paul in his discourses with the Hebrews: The promised Messiah was then come, and had done his work. 2. The first promise recorded-Promise with the limitation of time for his coming necessary. 3. First determination hereof made by Jacob, Gen. xlix. 8-10-The promise confined to Judah, afterwards to David; no more restrained. 4. Jews' self-contradicting exceptions to the words of Jacob's prophecy. 5. Interpretation of Rashi; 6, 7. Of Aben Ezra examined. 8, 9. Who meant by " Judah"-The tribe, not his person, proved. 10. "Sceptre" and "scribe," how continued in Judah-The same polity under various forms of government-How long they continued. 11. Did not depart on the conquest of Pompey, nor reign of Herod. 12. Continuance of the sanhedrimThe name, whence-Evvéoprov, the place and court of judges—Jews' etymology of the word. 13. Institution of that court, Num. xi. 16. 14. The orders of the court. 15. Place of their meeting-Alooтparos, 2, John xix. 13. 16. Qualifications of the persons-Who excluded. 17. Their power. 18. Punishments inflicted by them. 19, 20. The lesser courtsMistake of Hilary. 21." Shiloh," who, and what the word signifies. 22. Judaical interpretation of "refuted. 23. Argument from the words. 24.

Rule granted unto Judah, proved by the context. 25. Consent of Targumists. 26. Use of the words. 27. Judaical evasions removed. 28. Rise and signification of the word "Shiloh." 29. Messiah intended thereby. 30. opened and vindicated. 31. Consent of Targums, 32. Talmuds, and most learned rabbins. 33. Sceptre long since departed. 34. Story of Benjamin Tudelensis examined-Messiah long since come.

1. THE second great principle supposed by the apostle in all his discourses with the Hebrews, in his Epistle to them, and which he lays as the foundation of all his arguments, is, that the Messiah, whom we have proved to have been promised from the foundation of the world, was actually come, and had finished the work appointed for him, then when he wrote that Epistle. This the Jews pertinaciously deny unto this very day, and this denial is the centre wherein all the lies of their unbelief do meet; and hereupon, in a miserable, deplorable condition, do they continue crying for and expecting his coming who came long since, and was rejected by them. Now, this being the great difference between them and Christians, and that such a one as bath a certain influence into their eternal condition, as they have endeavoured to invent evasions from the force of the testimonies and arguments whereby our faith and profession are confirmed, so are we to use diligence in their vindication and establishment; which we hope to do unto the satisfaction of the sober and godly wise in our ensuing discourse.

2. The first great promise of the Messiah, at large insisted on before, declared only his coming, and the end of it in general. This promise was recorded pipe, Ps. xl. 8, or, as our apostle, Heb. x. 7, iv nequídi Bhío,—in the beginning, head, or first roll, of the book of God, namely, Gen. iii., as a stable foundation of all the rest that ensued; and it respected all the posterity of Adam, that they might have a refuge whereunto to repair in all their distresses. When the care of it, and respect unto it, and faith in it, were rejected by the world, εἴασε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη πορεύεσθαι ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν, Acts xiv. 16, God left it unto the ways of its own choosing, to shift for itself, and in his sovereign grace and pleasure renewed the promise unto Abraham, with a restriction and limitation of it unto his family, as that which was to be separated from the rest of mankind, and dedicated to the bringing forth of the Messiah in the appointed season, as we have declared. Upon the giving of that promise, with the call and separation of Abraham, whereon the church became in a special manner visible, there wanted nothing, to confirm the faith. and fix the expectation of those that desired his coming, but only the determination of the time wherein he should so do.

And this was necessary upon a double account:-(1.) That those who were to live before his advent, or appearance in the flesh, might not only by faith see his person afar off, and be refreshed, as Cant.

ii. 8, but also behold his day, or the time limited and prefixed unto his coming, and rejoice therein; and that not only as Abraham, who knew that such a day should be, John viii. 56, but also as those who had a certain day so limited as that, by diligent inquiry, 1 Pet. i. 11, they might take some especial prospect of it. (2.) To guide them who were to live in the days of the accomplishment of the promise unto a more earnest expectation of him and desire after him; as Daniel had for the return of the people from the captivity, when he understood by books that the time limited for it was accomplished, Dan. ix. 2, 3. Accordingly it came to pass; for from hence it was that at that season when he was to be exhibited all men were in expectation of him, and prepared thereby to inquire after him, Luke iii. 15.

3. Now, this determination of time inquired after was first made by Jacob, Gen. xlix. 8-10, accompanied with a signal demonstration of one especial person from whom the Messiah was to proceed, even in the family of Jacob himself. Such another restriction also, and but one, ensued, when that privilege, which originally rested in Abraham and his family, and was afterwards restrained unto Judah and his posterity, was lastly confined unto David and his offspring, and ever after left at large unto any branch of that family. And this I mention by the way, to prevent any difficulties about his genealogy: for as, in the very first instance of the regal succession in the house of David, there was no respect had to the primogeniture, 1 Kings ii. 22, so there was no necessity that the Messiah should spring from the reigning family, although he did so, but only that he should be of the seed of David. For as, after the promise given unto Abraham, the Messiah might have sprung from any family whatever of his posterity by Isaac, until the limitation made by Jacob unto the person of Judah; and after that limitation might have done so from any family of his tribe or posterity, until the confinement of that privilege to the person of David; so no restriction or limitation being afterwards added, his production by any person of his posterity, whether in an alliance nearer to or farther from the reigning line, was all that was included in the promise. To return: the words of the place above quoted are, "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

S

"The

sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver" (or "scribe") from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and to him the gathering of people." These last words are the seat of our argument, the

former, therefore, we shall no otherwise consider but as they give light and evidence to their interpretation.

4. The great masters among the Jews are exceedingly perplexed with this testimony, and have therefore invented endless ways for the enervating of it, openly and loudly contradicting one another almost about every word in the text. Some would evade the sense of it by interpreting to be only "a rod," of correction, say some, of supportment, say others; and PPP, they would only have to be a scribe, such as they fancy their present rabbins to be. Some by understand the person of Judah, unto whom they ascribe I know not what pre-eminence, and not his family or tribe. Some would have to be separated from ", that follows, because of the accent Jethib, and to signify "for ever." Some by they would have David intended; some, Ahijah the prophet; some, the city Shiloh; and most know not what. "destruction;" some, "instruction and obedience." And on every one of these cavils do they build various interpretations, and provide various evasions for themselves; all which we shall either obviate or remove out of the way in the ensuing discourse.

some would have to be ,יִקְחַת

5. It were endless to consider all their several expositions; and useless, because they are fully confuted by one another; and whatever seems of importance in any of their exceptions will be fully answered in our exposition and vindication of the text and context. Only, to give the reader a specimen of their sentiments, I shall briefly consider the sense and exposition of one of them, and him of such reputation that he hath generally obtained the name of Dann, "The wise;" and this is R. A. B. Meir, Aben Ezra. And that we may the better see the perverseness of this man, and therein of his followers, I shall briefly give an account of the exposition of Rashi his companion in annotations on the Pentateuch, in their rabbinical Bibles. First, By "sceptre," he under

stands "rule and government;" as he doth "scholars in the law" by P, from these words, rap, "from between his feet," expressing, as he conceived, the posture of disciples. By "Judah" he understands the house of David, the ruling family amongst them, the authority whereof was preserved in the n, or "heads of the captivity," whilst they were in Babel. And on these words, , waiving all the former trivial exceptions, he adds ex

666

Until - מלך המשיח שהמלוכה שלי וכן תרגמו אנקלוס ומדרש אגדה,pressly

the Shiloh come,' that is, Messiah the King, to whom that kingdom belongs, as the words are interpreted by Onkelos in his Targuin, and in Midrash Agadah." And Dey, he expounds, Dyn, "The collection" (or "gathering together") "of the people;" so agreeing with the Targum and the truth in the most material passages of the text.