Secondly. Whoever confiders language, more as connected with the principles of the human mind, than as derived merely from cuftom and ufe, cannot be at a lofs to discover, why, a term STRICTLY and SPECIFICALLY fignificant of FEAR, fhould amongst the HEBREWS be ufed, to denote an AFFECTION, which had GOD, or any PERSONS and THINGS to HIM for IT'S

APPROPRIATED

OBJECT. For, on For, on account of the prevalence of idolatry in all the furrounding nations, and of the Ifraelites own proneness to the fame fuperftitions, and by reafon of their own ftubborn and obdurate hearts, upon which, works of mercy and kindness

kindness had no effect, it was neceffary, that God fhould often appear to them, as an ANGRY BEING, denouncing threats and punifhments against them; in order to retain them at all, in obedience to his commands, and in an adherence to his worship.

The whole of the fixteenth verfe, then, according to the Septuagint, may be thus rendered.-" Becaufe, "that before he knows by experience

good or evil, the child rejects wick

edness to choose the good, therefore, "the land which thou REVEREST, fhall be deprived of BOTH her kings, "or governments." Or, thus, "the « land

"land which thou REVEREST, fhall "be EVEN deprived of BOTH her

kings."-But, WHAT THAT LAND WAS, nobody now can find any difficulty in difcovering to be the Land of Pron:ife, or WHOLE Land of Ifrael. Nor is the difcovery of the object of the prophecy,the moft material obftacles are levelled, and the paths made fo ftraight, -much more difficult of access.For, it is palpably evident, it must confift in the extirpation of the GOVERNMENT of the MEN of JUDAH in THAT LAND, as the deftruction of the kingdom of Ephraim, had been before accomplished.

Admitting, however, the propriety of this tranflation, (as I am willing to obviate every poffible objection to my interpretation) we may fuppofe fome fill to maintain, that the latter claufe of the verfe may even now be applied to the KINGS of SYRIA and of ISRAEL, as it removes the objection, which I just now made, to the fuppofing them to be JOINT KINGS over any land; but that a new interpretation now fuggefts itfelf, that it may mean only,-that the land of Judea, which the men of Judah (even a fortiori) revered, as the part, and the most facred part of the Land of Promife, fhould

be

be left, or forfaken of BOTH THOSE

KINGS.

But, first. It must be remembered, that IF I have PROVED, and I have not a doubt that any one will deny it, that the fixteenth verfe relates to the SAME child, fpoken of in the thirteenth and fourteenth verses, THEN, I have at the s ME TIME DEMONSTRATED, that the LATTER claufe of this verfe, CAN NOT RE

LATE ΤΟ THOSE KINGS.

Secondly. If the foregoing argument did not render this new fuppofition totally inadmiffible, and we were even for once to admit an