LECTURE II. A S a fortnight has unavoidably elapfed, fince I gave you the outlines of my interpretation of this much agitated, and, as it appears to me, much mistaken, though moft important prophecy of Ifaiah, referred to by the Evangelift St. Matthew, I apprehend, that with the explanation of the paffage I am now about to give, a recapitulation of fome part of what I have before obferved, may not be tedious to any of you to hear, and may be even neceffary for the Q 2 gene- generality of you to receive, to enable you to understand what is to follow. First. Then, I ftand pledged to you, not to avail myfelf of any TYPICAL, or SECONDARY APPLICA TION of the prophecy, to our bleffed Saviour; but, am engaged to you, to fhow, that it was LITERALLY, or PRIMARILY, and ULTIMATELY fulfilled in HIM. Secondly. I have already fhown you, that the context of the Prophet, doth not at all authorise us to conclude, that this prediction, concerning the birth of the EMA NUEL, NUEL, was delivered at the fame juncture of time with the foregoing prophecy; which both foretells the prefervation of Jerufalem and Judea, from fubjection to the confederated kings, and the annihilation of Ephraim, as a feparate people ;-but, that the hiftory of Ahaz altogether countenances the very reverfe of this fuppofition. Thirdly. I have pointed out to you, that whether you confider the concluding declaration of the Prophet, in his firft addrefs to the houfe of David, to mean, either, that if they did not believe, they fhould not understand, or, that if they they did not believe, they should not CONTINUE TO BE A people,-both translations give a fanction to the interpretation I mean to propose. For, if you prefer the former, then, none of the interpretations, which former commentators have given of the latter prophecy, can be true; because, they all concur in fuppofing. the SAME event is foretold in it, which, the Jews themfelves imagined. Or, if you make choice of the latter; then, it feems reasonable to fuppofe, after the house of David had fhown an intire diftruft of the Lord Jehovah, and a total dereliction of his fervice, that the latter prophecy fhould be a denunciation of of the ruin and deftruction which would befal THEM likewife, as a people, as well as the people of EPHRAIM, or ISRAEL;-the diffolution and deftruction of whom, as a nation, the Prophet had before predicted. Fourthly. I have proved, that the Prophet's command to Ahaz, to afk a SIGN, and his fubfequent declaration, that God himself would give a fign, by no means authorifes the fuppofition, that the fign commanded, or the fign given, was intended as a confirmation, either of the foregoing, or of the fubfequent prophecy. But, that the Prophet's meaning |