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Chap. lii. 1. Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerufalem, the holy city for henceforth there shall no more come into thee, the uncircumcised, and the 2 unclean. Shake thyself from the dust: arise, and fit down, O Jerufalem : loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion, &c.

This, and chap. lii. of Ifaiah, have been generally applied to the redemption of the Chriftian church; and the contents of the chapters which are prefixed, fignify as much to us. But whoever confiders the passages in these chapters here quoted, will easily perceive that the Prophet speaks of the redemption of the literal Ifrael from their captivity, throughout both these chapters. For to this restoration are applicable the following verses.

XVI.

ISA. lii. 7. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that faith unto Zion, Thy 8 GOD reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice, with the voice together shall they fing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring 9 again Zion. Break forth into joy, fing together, ye waste places of Jerufalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerufalem.

That this chapter relates to the kingdom of Christ is very true. But then it is plainly that kingdom which he shall enter upon at his fecond coming:

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coming: at which time shall be the restoring of Ifrael. For want of attending to this distinction of Christ's first and second coming, commentators have often expounded those passages in the Prophets, which relate to Christ's fecond coming, of his first; in order to which, they have been obliged to depart from the easy and literal sense of the Prophecies, and to allegorize the passages in such a manner, as has given great advantage, as well as offence to the adversaries of Chriftianity, Let us not be afraid, that by allowing those numerous Prophecies, which speak of the great happiness and peace of Jerufalem or Zion, to relate to the second coming of our Lord, we shall any ways hurt the cause of our holy religion, by leaving no predictions of his first coming. For this will be very far from being the cafe. In this very chapter, we have an instance of the latter, wherein the different condition of Chrift at his first and fecond coming are fet in oppofition.

Ver. 13. Behold, my Servant shall deal prudently, be shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. Ver. 14. As many were astonished at thee; (bis visage was so marred more than any man, and bis form more than the fons of men)

Ver. 15. So shall be sprinkle many nations, the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they fee: and that which they had not heard, shall they confider.

Here the 14th verse, which evidently relates to Chrift's first coming, and his suffering state, is opposed to the 15th, which speaks of what shall

happen happen at his fecond coming; when the kings of the earth shall not dare to open their mouths at him, &c. Neither does the word sprinkling here relate to baptism, as has been supposed; but to the cleanfing many nations from the filthiness of idolatry, at the time of the Restoration of Ifrael, as appears by the parallel to this place, Ezekiel xxxvi. 24, 25. 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.

The next chapter also, the fifty-third of Ifaiah, relates wholly to the first coming of our Lord, being nothing else from the beginning to the end but a Prophecy of the fufferings he should undergo. But wherever we meet with the kingdom of Chrift in the Prophecies, represented as a glorious, peaceable, and happy state, let me observe here once for all, that it most certainly relates to the future kingdom, which he shall receive at his fecond coming. Because a state of glory, peace, and happiness, has never yet been the case of that militant state, under which his kingdom has hitherto subsisted. This distinction may be confidered as the key to the Prophecies of the Old Teftament, which chiefly have regard to that state of purity, peace, and happiness, which shall prevail in the latter days, under the glorious reign of Chrift.

XVII.

ISA. liv. 1. Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bare, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the defolate, than the children of the married wife, faith 2 the Lord. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen 3 thy stakes. For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy feed small inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

XVIII.

Is A. lx. 4. Lift up thine eyes round about and fee; all they gather themselves together, they come to thee, thy fons shall come from far, and thy 8 daughters shall be nursed at thy fide. Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their 9 windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy fons from far, their SILVER and their GOLD with them unto the name of Jehovah thy God: and to the Holy One 10 of Ifrael, because he hath glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my fayour have I had mercy on II thee. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually, they shall not be shut day nor night, that men may bring unto thee the forces (wealth) of the Gen12 tiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation or kingdom that will not serve thee, shall perish: yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. 13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee: the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify

beautify the place of my fanctuary, and I will make
14 the place of my feet glorious. The fons also of
them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto
thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow
themselves down at the foles of thy feet; and they
shall call thee The city of Jehovah, TheZion of the

15 Holy One of Ifrael. Whereas thou hast been for-
saken and hated, so that no man went through thee,
I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of
16 many generations. Thou shalt also suck the milk
of the Gentiles, and shalt fuck the breast of kings,
and thou shalt know that I JEHOVAH am thy Sa-
viour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

This whole chapter, part of which I have
Lomitted for brevity fake, does so plainly relate
to the future Restoration of Ifrael, that it is al-
most needless to make any farther remark upon
it. It not only foretels the Restoration, but also
several particulars concerning the manner of it.
The perfons or nations who shall be instrumental
to it, are to be the Ifles, or Europeans; and among
these the ships of Tarshish * shall be principally
concerned. That those who return from far,
shall bring their gold and their filver with them,
is a circumstance rendered very probable with

* By Tarshish, according to the most judicious writers, was meant Cilicia, a country in the lesser Afia, whose principal city was Tarsus, where St. Paul was born; so called from its first planter Tarshish the fon of Javan. But it seems to me, that the Mediterranean Sea in general, was, in the time of Ifaiah, called Tarshish, or the sea of Tarshish. The meaning of the text will then be, that the ships of that fea shall be the first in bringing back the Jerus.

regard

It is probable ÿ. by w ships of Tarshish are meant Ships of Commerce in general - There were several places called by that name at different times, all famous for traffick - By y) Isles is meart w western part of of globs - From thence (w) of Jews more particularly abound) shall they return! in ships. Those settled alya where shall come by

holy Land

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