As the Patriarch thus "rejoiced to behold the day of Christ," it cannot be doubted but he communicated to his family this joyful hope, and explained the great object to which it was directed; so that when the same promise was solemnly renewed, first to Isaac,* and afterwards to Jacob,† its meaning and object were distinctly understood by these Patriarchs; and that wherever the blessing of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is referred to, or the covenant which God made with them and their posterity is recognised as the glory and the hope of Israel, this essential part of it, the promise of the Messiah, and the blessing by him to be communicated to all the nations of the earth, must have been equally and perpetually recognised as the great object of the Jewish scheme, to which every other part of it was instrumental and subordinate. So that the original foundation and primary characteristic of this scheme, far from being partial and exclusive, avowedly extended to all the nations of the earth, and centered in that Messiah, who is the grand object of all the divine dispensations, from the creation of the world to its close.

This original and perpetual purpose of God, to extend the effects of the Jewish dispensation to all the nations of the earth, is also most clearly recognised in the celebrated prophecy of Jacob; "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him "shall the gathering of the people be." Whatever difference of opinion may exist as to the event described, and the period marked out by the "sceptre's departing from Judah, and the "lawgiver from between his feet:" there appears no reasonable ground for doubting, that the word Shiloh designates the Messiah, and that the gathering of the people to him pre-signifies the extension of the church to all nations without distinction.

The admission of the Gentiles into the church of God is indeed an event which the inspired Psalmist predicts, in a va

Genesis, xlix. 10.-I am disposed to adopt Warburton's interpretation of this prophecy, in preference to any other; and to believe that it denoted the continuance of the theocratic sceptre over the Jews, which remained until our Saviour came, who instituted in its place his kingdom, "not of this world." Warburton, Book v. sect. iii. subsect. iii. Vol. iv. p. 243 to 266.-The interpretation of Patrick, from Wagenseil, seems the next in clearness and probability.-Consult also Newton's fourth Dissertation; Poli Synopsin, Dodd, and the Bibliotheca Biblica, in locum.

riety of passages, with the greatest clearness; and which all the Prophets dwell on with such distinctness, copiousness and animation, as prove, beyond controversy, that this great consummation was uninterruptedly the leading object of the divine purposes and communications, to which the whole Jewish scheme was merely preparatory and subordinate. It is expedient to cite a few passages to illustrate this assertion; a few however will be sufficient, for its truth is so certain, that it scarcely requires confirmation; and the passages establishing it are so numerous, to transcribe them all would be at once tedious and unnecessary.

86

In Psalm ii. which is clearly and exclusively prophetic of the Messiah, the Psalmist asks; "Why do the heathen rage, and "the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his* Anointed, saying, Let us break their "bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." This clear prophecy of the resistance which would be attempted against the establishment of the Messiah's kingdom, is followe. by as clear a prediction that this opposition would be ineffectual. "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have "them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his "wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set "my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: "the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have "I begotten thee." Thus emphatically and distinctly does the inspired Penman predict the divine nature and supreme exaltation of the Messiah; and he then proceeds to declare the universal extent of his dominion. "Ask of me, and I shall give "thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts

* All the versions agree in translating this passage in a manner applicable to the Messiah. The Chaldee Targum uses the very word Messiah, and the Seventy the word Christ or Anointed. Vide Biblia Polyglotta Waltoni. Indeed the 7th, 8th and 12th verses are entirely capable of being fully accomplished, or clearly understood, except as applied to the Messiah. The only variety of any moment is in the 12th verse, where, instead of "Kiss the Son," (i. e. as we explain it, adore him) all the versions, except the Syriac, read, "receive instruction, lest the Lord be angry," &c. This makes the sense more clear and coherent, and is justified by a very slight change in the original. Yet Houbigant, whose authority is considerable, retains the present reading of our Hebrew text, and translates it," Adore the "Son."

"of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with "a rod of iron: thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's "vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings; be instructed,

ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice "with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little : "Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” It seems impossible to describe in clearer terms the Messiah's reign, as not confined like the Mosaic Law to a single nation, but including within its sway all nations and regions of the earth.

66

In Psalm xxii.* which describes with equal distinctness the rejection, the sufferings, and the death of the appointed Saviour, even to the minutest particulars of " their piercing his "hands and his feet, parting his garments among them, and casting lots upon his vesture," the prophecy goes on to declare, that notwithstanding this apparent depression, God would regard and exalt the sufferer: "he hath not despised nor abhorred the "affliction of the afflicted: neither hath he hid his face from "him: but when he cried unto him, he heard." And it proceeds to declare that the final event would be, his extending universally the dominion of true religion: "All the ends of the "world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the "kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the "kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the "nations."

With equal sublimity does Psalm xlvii. call on all nations. "O clap your hands, all ye nations; shout unto God with the "voice of triumph. For God is the king of all the earth. Sing

ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the Hea"then God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. The "princes of the people are gathered together unto the people of "the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto "God he is greatly exalted."

Psalms lxvii, and lxxii. are not less express in predicting, that a period should arrive, when the dominion of the God of Israel should be acknowledged by all the nations of the earth. The latter especially dec.ares, that a Son should inherit the kingdom of David, wno snowd "judge the people with righteous* Vide Matthew xxvũ. 46 wne's uur Lord appropriates this Psalm as directly ap ulicable to nis quffering. Ver. 16 and 18.

"ness and the poor with judgment." And the extent and effects of his dominion are described in terms applicable only to the Messiah's reign. "In his days shall the righteous flou"rish: and abundance of peace, so long as the moon endureth. "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the "river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wil"derness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the "dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring "presents the kings of Arabia and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, "all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve "him." The nature of this homage, and its motives, are declared to be spiritual and religious. "For he shall deliver the "needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save "the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from de"ceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. His name shall endure for ever "continued as long as the sun and men "him all nations shall call him blessed." glorious prospect of the universal dominion of Him, in whom, according to the promise made to Abraham, "all nations were "to be blessed," the Psalmist exclaims, "Blessed be the Lord "God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. "And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole "earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen.”

66

his name shall be shall be blessed in Enraptured at the

Isaiah, the great evangelic prophet, is still more explicit in predicting the extension of the Messiah's kingdom over the Gentile world; and that the character of the religion to be by him established, would be in the highest degree spiritual and comprehensive, free from any local or national restriction, and unincumbered with any burthensome ritual or ceremonial observances and yet that Israel should be instrumental in forming this kingdom, and should (ultimately at least) partake the blessings it confers. "It shall come to pass," says he," in the "last (or latter) days, that the mountain of the Lord's house “shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be "exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

66

"And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God ". Jacob: and he will teach us of his ways, and we will

"walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the Law, "and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall 'judge among the nations, and shall rebuke* many people : "and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword "against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."+

66

66

This prediction of the extent and effects of the Messiah's reign, though exactly descriptive of the genuine character of the Christian religion, and its perpetual tendency to produce the full effect here described, yet undoubtedly peculiarly relates to a period in the history of the church of Christ not yet arrived; to the final result of a system yet in progress; which, whenever it shall be accomplished, will display in full lustre the wisdom and the mercy of the divine dispensations. But it is such a result as the continuance of the Jewish ritual, and the restrictions of the Jewish law, could never produce. It therefore implies an improvement of that law, and a breaking down of that wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles founded on the Mosaic ritual, which the Messiah, appearing as a new lawgiver, could alone have authority to remove.

In various subsequent chapters, the Prophet with still greater clearness predicts the extension of the Messiah's kingdom over the heathen world. I select only one passage, as remarkable from its connecting this prediction with the declaration of the Messiah's humiliation and therefore proving the kingdom described by the Prophet, was spiritual, not temporal. “And 66 now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his "servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and

my God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light "thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes "of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also 'give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my "salvation to the ends of the earth. Thus saith the Lord, the "Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man "despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of "rulers; Kings shall see and arise; princes also shall worship

Instead of "he shall rebuke many people," Lowth translates, "he shall work con"viction in many peoples," which gives a much more clear and consistent sense. Isaiah, ii 2, &c.