8. " My righteous servant shall justify many." That this term, used thus absolutely, " My righteous servant," is not applied to any in the Scripture besides Jesus Christ, hath been declared ; especially where that is ascribed to him which here is spoken of, it can be no otherwise understood. P''1T-, "shall justify," that is, shall absolve from their sins, and pronounce them righteous. Grotius would have the word here to signify, " to make holy and righteous by instruction and institution,''' as Dan. xii. 3, and dixaiouv, Rev. xxii. 11. That both these words are to be taken in a forensical signification ; that commonly, mostly, they are so taken in the Scriptures ; that scarce one and another instance can be given to the contrary ; that in the matter of our acceptation with God through Christ they can no otherwise be interpreted, — have been abundantly manifested by those who have written of the doc- trine of justification at large: that is not now my present business. This I have from the text to lay in the way of the interj^retation of the learned annotator.
The reason and foundation of this justification here mentioned is in the following words, which indeed steer the sense of the whole text: —
4. "For he shall bear their iniquities." Now, what justification of men is a proper effect of another's bearing their iniquities? Doubt- less the acquitting of them from the guilt of their sins, on the ac- count of their sins being so borne, and no other. But, says our an- notator, " To bear their sins is to take them away," by a figurative expression. If this may not be understood, I suppose every one will confess that the annotator hath laboured in vain as to his whole endeavour of applying this prophecy unto Jeremiah. If by " bear- ing our iniquities" be intended the undergoing of the punishment of those iniquities, and not the delivering men from their iniqui- ties, the whole matter here treated of can relate to none but Jesus Christ; and to him it doth relate in the sense contended for. Now,
DIGEESSION CONCERNING GROTIUS ON ISAIAH LIII. 483
to evince this sense, we have all the arguments that any place is ca- pable to receive the confirmation of its proper sense by. For, —
(1.) The word, as is confessed, signifies properly to " bear " or " carry," and not to " take away," nor is it ever otherwise used in the Scripture, as hath been declared ; and the proper use of a word is not to be departed from and a figurative one admitted without great necessity.
(2.) The whole phrase of speech of " bearing iniquity" is constantly in the Scripture used for bearing or undergoing the punishment due to sin, as hath been proved by instances in abundance, nor can any instance to the contrary be produced.
(3.) The manner whereby Christ " bore the iniquities of men," as described in this chapter, namely, by being " wounded," " bruised," " put to grief," will admit of no interpretation but that by us in- sisted on. From all which it is evident how violently the Scripture is here perverted, by rendering, " My righteous servant shall justify man}^, for he shall bear their iniquities," by "Jeremiah shall instruct many in godliness, and so turn them from their sins."
Verse 12, " Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong ; because he hath poured out his soul unto death : and he was numbered with transgressors ; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the trans- gressors."
A farther fruit of the travail of the Lord Christ, in his conquest over all oppositions, in the victory he obtained, the spoils that he made, expressed after the manner of the things of men, with the causes and antecedents of his exaltation, is summarily comprised in these last words. Hereof thus Grotius : —
" Dispertiam ei plurimos. Dabo ei partem in multis; id est, multos servabunt Chaldsei in ejus gratiam, vide Jer. xxxix. 17.
" Etfortium dividet spolia; id est, Nabuzardan magister militum, capta urbe, de prseda ipsi dona mittet, Jer. xl. 5. Oblatum etiam ipsi a Chaldeis terra? quantum vellet.
" Pro eo quod tradidit in mortem animam suam. In Hebrseo, ' Quia effudit in mortem animam suam,' Id est, periculis mortis semet objecit colendo veritatem quas odium parit. Vide historiam ad banc rem oppositam, Jer. xxvi. 13. Sic ndsmi •v|/u;^^i' dici pro pe- riculo mortis semet objicere diximus ad, Johan. x. 11.
" Et cum sceleratis reputatus est. Ita est tractatus quomodo sce- lerati sol en t in carcere, catenis, et barathro.
" Et ipse peccata mtdtorum tidit, pessime tractatus fuit per mul- torum improbitatem, uti sup. ver. 5.
" Et pro transgressorihus rogavit. V^^r^l e^i deprecari. Sensus est: eo ipso tempore cum tam dura pateretur a populo, non cessavit ad Deum preces pro eis fundere, vide Jer. xiv. 7," etc.
484- VINDICI^ EVANGELIC^.
" ' I will divide him a portion with the great/ or many ; that is the Chaldeans shall preserve many for his sake, Jer. xxxix. 17.
"'He shall divide the spoil with the strong;' that is, Nebiizara- dan, the chief captain, the city being taken, shall send him gifts of the prey, Jer. xl. 5. As much land also as he would was offered him l)y the Chaldeans.