tation of God's POWER, is in any particular cafe defigned as a mark of his protection and favour, or of his correction and difpleafure.

One can not therefore obferve, without great furprife, that the commentators fhould fo very generally have confidered the miracle, foretold in one of thefe predictions, as a SIGN of the truth, or confimation of the event foretold in the other; when not a word is ufed by the Prophet, to give the leaft intimation of any fuch intention.

But, our furprife is ftill much more increafed, when we confider,

that

that it was upon this very account, that they were totally at a lofs, to give a rational and confiftent explanation of the connection, and interpretation of the two prophecies.

The majority, however, of those who held this opinion, I fuppofe, faw, that as the miracle here foretold, was not to happen, 'till more than feven hundred years afterwards, it could not poffibly be a SIGN to Ahaz, of an event, which was not only to happen during his reign, but within the space of two or three years, from the time of the delivery of the prophecy. They, therefore, in their zeal to defend what was

not

not defenfible, looked out for fome event, which did happen at that time, to which the words, " a virgin fhall << conceive, &c." could be in ANY SENSE applied. For this purpose, they had not far to look ;-as the Prophet had, at the very time he delivered his prophecy, a fon with him, though indeed no mention is made of his age, nor is any thing known of it, and yet it is absolutely neceffary to afcertain, that he was but just born, before the appli

cation could be made to him. This therefore, the commentators took altogether for granted, was fuch, as would be confiftent with their hypothefis.

Others,

Others, looking ftill further, and finding in the next chapter, another fon was to be born to the Prophet, and whose birth could certainly be afcertained-fixed upon him, as the child meant by the Prophet for a fign.

Each, then, of thefe fects of commentators, being perfectly fatisfied, in having found, each of them a fign-though they difagreed as to the particular object of it, perfectly concurred alfo, in making a common event the fign of the predicted event; being, as they thought, typical of the real fign or miracle. Thus, to fupport their interpretation, they did

not fcruple to make the Prophct guilty of the glaring impropriety, of introducing at the fame inftant of time, the most important prophecy, of the most ftupendous miracle, man can conceive,-but, which was not to exift 'till many years

afterwards, between two other pre

dictions, of events foon to occur, with which the former, in it's PROPER fenfe, has not the leaft affinity or connection.

But, even repugnant as thefe interpretations are, to all juft principles of criticism, as appears from the observation I have already made, yet the whole of their incongruity