pe
SECT. 38-42. | MESSIAH VINDICATED. 209
they fancy is far from answering the words of the prophecy, which express a change in the nature of the worst of men by virtue of the rule and grace of the Messiah. I cannot but add, that Abarbanel, writing his commentaries about the time that the European Christian nations were fighting with the Saracens for the land of Palestine, or the Holy Land, he interprets the latter end of the tenth chapter to the destruction of them on both sides by God, whereon their Messiah should be revealed, as is promised in this, which he expresseth in the close of his exposition of the first verse of chap. xi.: mandy pinn a9n pyowy on 72 xS|) wpa nots Sy oy. oy abs ody mnie pa nowy PANT maT ws Ar Sy ynsa wx;—“<And there shall prevail great war between the nations of the world, one against another, on” (or “ for”) “the Holy Land, and strong nations shall fall in it by the sword of one another; and therefore it is said, ‘ Behold, the Lord, the Lorp of hosts, shall lop,’” chap. x. 33. And a little after he adds, mwan qo nbam niondpn ans ino;—“ In the midst of that war shall Messiah the King be revealed.” For those nations he would have had to be Gog and Magog: and in many places doth he express his hopes of the ruin of the Christians by that war; but the issue hath disappointed his hopes and desires.
40, Isa. xvi. 1, “Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land.” Targum, Ssques smwnd pon spon pm;—“ They shall bring their tri- bute unto the Messiah of Israel.” Observing, as it should seem, that the Moabites, unto whom these words are spoken, were never after this time tributary to Judah, and withal considering the pro- phecy of verse 5, which he applies also (and that properly) unto the Messiah, the Targumist conceived him to be the °#, or “ruler,” here mentioned, unto whom the Moabites are invited to yield obe- dience; and I conceive it will not be very easy to fix upon a more genuine sense of the words. So also, verse 5, “Then shall the throne of the Messiah of Israel be prepared in goodness.” Doubt- less with more truth than those Christians make use of who wrest these words also to Hezekiah!
41, Isa. xxviii. 5, “In that day shall the Lorp of hosts be for a crown of glory.” Targum, misax 7 xmwn;—“ The Messiah of the Lord of hosts;” the Lord of hosts in and with the Messiah, who is the crown of glory and diadem of beauty in his kingly office and rule unto the remnant of his people that shall be saved by him.
42, Isa, xlii. 1, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect.” Targum, xn'w s2y NT ;—“Behold my servant the Messiah.” How much better than the translation of the LXX., Iazw€ 6 rats wou, dvr rHrVomos airod, Iopair 6 éxrexrés wov, applying the words to the whole people of Israel, whereas they are expressly referred to the Lord Christ, Matt. xii. 17, 18. And Kimchi on this place, 1) “ay yn mwn qbo;—“‘ Behold my servant;’ that is, Messiah the King.” And
VOL. XVIII. 14
210 PROMISES OF THE [EXERC. IX.
Abarbanel confutes both R. Saadias and Aben Ezra with sharpness, who were otherwise minded. How much better than he of late who interprets these words of Isaiah himself, unto whom not one letter of the prophecy can receive any tolerable accommodation! It is the Messiah, then, by their own confession, who is intended in this pro- phecy; who is described not on horseback in his harness, as a great warrior, such as they expect him, but as one filled with the Spirit of the Lord, endowed with meekness, suffering opposition and persecu- tion, bringing forth righteousness and truth unto the Gentiles, who shall wait for his law, and receive it, when it is rejected by the Jews, as the event hath manifested. Isa. xlii. 10, “ My servant whom I have chosen.” Targum, “ My servant Messiah, in whom I rest.”
43, Isa. lii. 13, “ Behold, my servant shall prosper.” Targum, xen “ay mdyy xn;—“ Behold, my servant the Messiah shall pros- per.’ In these words begins that prophecy which takes up the remainder of this chapter, and that whole chapter that follows, in the tenth verse whereof there is mention made again of the Messiah. And this is an evidence to me that the Jews, however bold and desperate in corrupting the sense of the Scripture to coun- tenance their infidelity, yet have not dared to intermeddle with the letter itself, no, not in the Targums, which are not so sacred with them as the text; for whereas the application of this prophecy unto the Messiah is perfectly destructive to their whole present per- suasion and religion, with all the hopes they have in this world or for another, yet they never durst attempt the corrupting of the Targum, where it is done so plainly, which yet for many generations they had in their own power, scarce any notice being taken of it by any Christians in the world. But concerning this place we must deal with them afterwards at large.
44, Jer. xxi. 5, “I will raise unto David a righteous Branch.” Targum, spss smwp wd pYps;—“ And I will raise up unto David Messiah the righteous.” This is he who in the next verse is called 27¥ 717),—« Jehovah our righteousness.” The Jews gene- rally agree that itis the Messiah who is here intended; and whereas a late Christian expositor would have Zerubbabel to be designed in these words, Abarbanel himself gives many reasons why it can- not be applied unto any one under the second temple: “ For,” saith he, “during that space no one reigned as king of the house of David; nor did Judah and Israel dwell then in safety and security, they being continually oppressed, first by the Persians, then by the Grecians, and lastly by the Romans.” So he, and truly. And I see no reason why one should pervert the promises concerning the Messiah, when they cannot tolerably accommodate them unto any other.