thereof by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning." Isa. iv. 3. 4. "Then Zion shall be redeemed with judgment and her converts with righteousness. At that time the Lord says, "I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say it is my people, and they shall say, the Lord is my God." "Then Judah will dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.” Joel iii. 20. 21. "For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them." Ezek. xxxvi. 24-27. 29. "He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.'

29

קדש קדשים

Mic. vii. 19. Then God "will remove the iniquity of the land in one day." Zech. iii. 9. When these things are accomplished he will seal up the vision, and (N) prophet, that is ratify and confirm them both. During this period the temple foretold by Ezekiel will be finished, therefore this will be the time to anoint the most holy place. O p here translated the most holy, is in Ezek. xliv. 13. and xlv. 3. rendered the most holy place. By the LXX. ayor ayiwv, by Tremellius and Junius, Sanctum Sanctorum, by Dr. Stonard "an holy of holies," by Houbigant and Dr. A. Clarke "The Holy of Holies." These terms in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin are never applied to the Deity, angels or saints, but invariably to the most holy things, or to the most holy place which contained the ark and the Cherubim. The word place should have been supplied here as it is in all the passages where it occurs. Exod. xxvi. 33. 34. xxx. 25-31. xl. 9. 10. Num. xviii. 10. and Ezek. xliv. 13. xlv. 3. In the latter places it is found without the emphatic as it is here: and some times when it is without it, it is translated "the most holy things." II. Chron. xxxi. 14. Ezra ii. 63. Neh. vii. 65. The 24th verse predicts none but joyful events, but the three following exhibit a chequered scene.

Ver. 25. "Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command

ment to restore and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks:" not seventy weeks as many interpreters say, but seven weeks. Here is the principal division in the verse: it is so marked in the Hebrew Scriptures. Sir Isaac Newton in

his version of the passage has inserted a period, and the sense seems to require it.

This "commandment" has not yet been given: the one that bears the most resemblance to it, is the decree of Cyrus, Ezra i. 2. vi. 3. but there is not one word about "restoring" or "building Jerusalem." The whole of it relates to the building of the Temple, even "the house of the Lord God of Israel.' But commentators are nearly all agreed that this is not the command to which the prophecy refers. Then they go to the decree of Darius. Ezra vi. 1. But this is no more than an order "to search the house of the rolls,' where the public records were kept,—and having searched there they found the desired document, and Ezra gives a copy of it, chap. vi. 3-12. by which it may be seen that it contains minute directions about the building of the temple, the site,-"the foundations,the height and breadth,-great stones and new timber, and an order on the king's treasurer for the expense;―also for bullocks, rams, lambs, wheat, salt, wine and oil," for the service of the house, and he directed

that the priests should "pray for the life of the king and his sons," Ezra vi. 10. but it contains no "commandment to restore and build Jerusalem.

Neither the decree of Cyrus nor of Darius will correspond with the mystic number 70 weeks or 490 years, so as to terminate at the coming of Messiah the prince: therefore commentators have recourse to the decree of of Artaxerxes. Ezra vii. 11-26. This is called a "letter, that the king Artaxerxes

gave to Ezra the Priest." The principal parts of it are as follows,

First. That all the Jews who chose, might return to Jerusalem. ver. 13.

Secondly. That they might take as much silver and gold as was willingly offered them for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem that they might buy bullocks, rams and lambs, with the money, and also meat offerings, and drink offerings.

Thirdly. An order upon his treasurer for whatsoever more was needful for the house of God, "unto an hundred talents of silver, and to an hundred measures of wheat, and to an hundred baths of wine, and to an hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven." Ezra vii. 15-23. This is the decree from which commentators

date the commencement of the 70 weeks or 490 years: yet there is not one word of "command to restore and build Jerusalem!" nor does it pertain to the building of the temple, for that was built and dedicated 58 years before this letter was written; therefore it has no relation whatever to building either the temple or Jerusalem. The Royal grant was for sacrifices, and the general service of the Temple, and the surplus was applied according as it seemed good unto Ezra and his brethren, ver. 18. and they employed it to the beautifying of the House. ver. 27. Now we have inspired authority to prove that these three decrees have been literally fulfilled in reference to the temple. "And they builded and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king." Ezra vi. 14. 15. If London had been destroyed and there was a decree of the king in council similar to that of Cyrus, to build St. Paul's, what should we think of our British judges if they were to interpret it to restore and build the city of London!

The following tabular statement will present a correct view of the Royal decrees and