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of Nazareth. His argument appears to be as follows. Laying this foundation, that Prophecy proceeds from the Holy Spirit, it is a stronger argument than a miracle, which depends upon eternal evidence, and testimony. And this opinion of Peters is corroborated by the words of Jesus himself, who, in Mat. xxiv: 23, 24, Mark xiii: 21, 22, affirms, that miracles wrought in confirmation of a pretenders being the Messiah, are not to be considered as proof of his being so—though they show great signs and wonders, believe it not, is his command to his disciples.

      Besides, prophecies fulfilled, seem the most proper of all arguments to evince the truth of a new revelation which is designed to be universally promulgated to men. For a man who has the Old Testament put into his hands, which contain prophecies, and the New Testament afterward, which is said to contain their completions, and is once satisfied, as he may be with the greatest ease, that the Old Testament existed before the New, may have a complete, internal, divine, demonstration of the truth of Christianity, without long, and laborious enquiries. Whereas, arguments of another nature, such, for instance, as relate to the authority and genuineness of the books, and the persons, and characters of authors, and witnesses, require more application, and understanding, than falls to the share of the bulk of mankind; or else are very precarious in themselves, since we know that in the first centuries there were numberless forged Gospels, and Apocryphal writings imposed upon the credulous as apostolic and authentic; and there were in the Apostles times, as many, and as great heresies and schisms as perhaps have been since in any age of the Church. So that, setting aside the before mentioned internal proofs from prophecy, (which were the Apostle's proofs and in their nature sufficient of themselves) we should have no certain proof at all for the Religion of the New Testament.

      On the other hand, if the proofs for Christianity from the Old Testament, are not valid, if the arguments founded on that Book be not conclusive, and the Prophecies cited from thence be not fulfilled, then has Christianity no just foundation; for the foundation on which Jesus and his Apostles built it is then invalid, and false. Nor can miracles, said to have been wrought by Jesus, and his Apostles in behalf of Christianity, avail anything in the case. For miracles can never render a foundation valid, which is in itself invalid; can never make a false inference true; can never make a prophecy fulfilled, which is not fulfilled; and can never designate a Messiah, or Jesus for the Messiah, if both are not marked out in the Old Testament; no more than they could prove the earth to be the sun, or a mouse a lion.

      Besides, miracles said to have been wrought, may be often justly decided false reports, when attributed to persons who claim an authority from the Old Testament, which they impertinently alledge to support their pretentions. God can never be supposed often to permit miracles to be done for the confirmation of a false, or pretended mission. And if at any time he does permit miracles to be done in confirmation of a pretended mission, we have express directions from the Old Testament (acknowledged by Christians to be of divine authority) Deut. xiii. 1, 2, not to regard such miracles; but to continue firm to the antecedent revelation given by Himself, and contained in the Old Testament, notwithstanding any signs or wonders; which, under the circumstance of attesting something contrary to an antecedent revelation, we are forewarned of as being no test of truth. No new revelation, however supported by miracles, ought ever to be received as coming from God, unless it confirms, or at least does not contradict, the preceding standing revelation, acknowledged to be from God.

      Accordingly, we find from the New Testament, that all the recorded miracles of Jesus could not make the Jews believe him to be the Messiah when they thought that he did not answer the description of that character given by the Prophets; on the contrary, they procured him to be crucified for pretending to be what to them he appeared plainly not to be.

      Nor had his miracles alone any effect on his own brethren, and kindred, who seem (Mark vi. 4; Jo. vii. 6,) to have been more incredulous in him than other Jews. Nor had they the effect, they are supposed to have been fitted to produce, among his immediate followers, and Disciples; some of whom did not believe in him, but deserted him, and particularly had no faith in him when he spake of his sufferings; and thought that he could not be their Messiah when they saw him suffer, notwithstanding his miracles, and his declaration to them that he was the Messiah. And so rooted were the Jews in the notion of the Messiah's being a temporal Prince, a conquering Pacificator, and Deliverer, even after the death of Jesus, and the progress of Christianity grounded on the belief of his being the Messiah, that they have in all times of distress, particularly in the apostolic sera, in great numbers followed impostors giving themselves out as the Messiah, with force, and arms, as the way to restore the kingdom of Israel. So that the Jews, who it seems mistook in this most important matter, and after the most egregious manner, the meaning of their own Books, might, till they were set right in their interpretation of the Old Testament, and were convinced from thence that Jesus was the Messiah, might I say, as justly reject Jesus asserting his mission, and Doctrines with miracles, as they might reject any other person, who in virtue of miracles would lead them into idolatry, or any other breach of their law.

      In fine, the miracles said to have been wrought by Jesus, are, according to the Old Testament, the gospel scheme, and the words of Jesus himself, no absolute proof of his being the Messiah, or of the truth of Christianity; and Jesus laid no great stress upon them as proving doctrines, for he forewarned his disciples, that signs and wonders would be performed, so great and stupendous, as to deceive, if possible, the very elect, and bids them not to give any heed to them.*

CHAPTER III.

       Table of Contents

      THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MESSIAH, AS GIVEN BY THE HEBREW PROPHETS.

      Having shewn from the New Testament, and proved from the nature of the case, that the whole credit and authority of the Christian religion, rests and depends upon Jesus' being the Messiah of the Jews; and, having stated the principles which ought to govern the decision of this question, and established the fact, that the pretensions of any claiming to be considered as this Messiah, must be tested solely by the coincidence of the character, and circumstances of the pretender with the descriptions given by the prophets as the means by which he may be known to be so—it is proper, in order that we may be enabled to form a correct opinion, to lay before the reader those passages of the Old Testament which contain the promise of the appearing, and express the characteristics of this hope of Israel, this beneficent saviour, and august monarch, in whose time a suffering world, was, according to the Hebrew prophets, to become the abode of happy beings.

      Leaving out for the present the consideration of the Shiloh mentioned in Gen. xlix., the first prophecy we meet with, supposed to relate to this great character, is contained in Num. xxiv. 17,19, There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy the children of Seth. Geddes interprets the latter clause—shall destroy the sons of esdition; but it probably means, according to the common interpretation, that this monarch was to govern the whole race of men, i.e. the children of Seth; for Noah, according to the Old Testament, was descended from him; and of the posterity of Noah, was the whole earth overspread. And in verse 19, it is added out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion.*

      God says to David, 2 Sam. vii. 12, And when thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shall sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his Father, and he shall be my Son—if he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men. But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thy house, and thy kingdom shall be established before me, and thy throne shall be established for ever. Mention is made of this promise in several of the Psalms, but it certainly suggests no idea of such a person as Jesus of Nazareth, but only that of a temporal prince of the posterity of David. It implies, that his family would never entirely fail for though it might be severely punished, it would recover its lustre again. And connecting this promise with that of the glory of the nation in general, foretold in the books of Moses, it might be inferred by the Hebrews, who believed

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