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Babylon, confufion and diforder, by his pride and self exaltation, is pointed out in v. 14. The Meffiah as the true Sampfon, (Sun) carried away the gates of brafs, and broke the chains and bars of iron to pieces. Pfal. 107. and as the power of fight, he will melt the mountains, and rocks, and caft the brass, tin and lead into his furnace, to regenerate and bring it to filver and gold, as the new Jerufalem is fhewn. Ifa. i. 5. Ezek. xxii. 18, 20. For this end, he was lifted up as the brazen ferpent in the figure, and hung up on the cross in our brafs, the coarfe matter of our nature, where his heel, or lower form of the man of forrow and affliction for our fakes, was bruised; and by fuffering which violence and death, he bruised the ferpent's head, his power of death, and fhewed his conqueft over the first beaft; whose degrada tion we behold in Nebuchadnezzar, the name of judgment of forrow, caft from his throne in the city of Babylon, figure of a greater city, and a prior king on high. Ifa. xiv. 14. Ezek. xxviii. 12, 19. Dan. iv. 26, 37. Our Lord, the fecond man from heaven, fhewed his total victory over the chains and bands of matter; when his water and blood fell on the earth, when the graves opened, the rocks rent, the vail of the temple was torn in twain, and the earth quaked, at the loud voice of him, who by the fame voice, will awaken all the dead by fin, to live by his righteousness, and do

minion over the last enemy, death. Mat. xxvii. 51. Luke xxiii. 38. and more openly by bursting the bonds of death, as the first born from that state, vifibly declared fuch. and laftly, by the miffion of the holy fpirit, the life and refurrection in the truth for his elders, when the new heavens and new earth of the prophets, and particularly of Ifaiah and Joel, were manifefted; when the new Jerufalem, the bride of the lamb, and the mother of incorruptible bodies, defcended and fhewed the tabernacles of Jacob, which fcripture represents by various names, by clouds, garments, pillars of fire, and chariots and horfemen of Ifrael. By plains and fmooth places, the wiser part of the Jews underftood the real diffolution of the rocks, metals, and mountains, and all matter in its prefent condensation, revolving by a phyfical regeneration through a divine fire. By emanations, the Jews express the superior heavens, ruling by their spiritual powers over all inferior heavens: and these truths they were taught, from prophefying on the three thrones, called altars, where clouds afcended in figure, on that of brass, and on that of gold in the firft holy place, and the true glory or prefence of God moft high in the holy of holies, during their temple.

Gnaraboth, as Maimonides, (a mere talmudist in general,) in More Nevochim, p. 70. interprets the fupreme fphere. The Chaldée, cited by Calmet and Ainfworth, fpeaks thus: praise him who fitteth on F 4

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the throne of his glory in the ninth heaven. The Jews never mention more than three heavens, fo taught by the prophets from their temples in the three courts, that of the priests at the outer altar of brass, that of the first holy place at the golden altar of incenfe, the cloud of fweet odours filled with the feven lights penetrating it; and that of the inmoft, where God and the angel of the covenant covered the ark and cherubim with the real cloud of his prefence or faces. They afcribed all the movements of the heavens to the firft, where fpirit, or life was united to matter, fo fubtle as to be only represented by emanations of light, air and vapor as the best images we have, to compare fpiritual things with fpiritual. The Chaldee Targum could scarce mean any thing, but the nine numbers, Sephiroth, and that the most high God was the ruler in the tenth. For the understanding part among this people have ever acknowledged this truth, as fundamental; that all matter is the outerface of spirit; and that God never appears but clothed with ten garments; for that all living fpirits can only know themselves by their own internal self-conscioufnefs; the root of their effence being only underftood by the Creator. To this doctrine, the apoftle refers in fpeaking: what * man knoweth the

The prefent ftate of philofophy and divinity will defpife this fpiritual interpretation, because the pride of both is wounded, and

things of a man, fave the fpirit that is in him? fo the things of God knoweth no man but the spirit of God: and which things the holy spirit teacheth and revealeth in believers. 1 Cor. ii. 10, 14. Nor

ftruck through the liver. They have joined hands in defpifing Mofes, the schoolmaster to bring us to a true knowledge of Chrift, and the powers of his priesthood and kingdom within man, or exifting no where at all. They have built a falvation and righteoufnefs from their own works and ability; and have rejected the neceffity of regeneration, phyfically true and real, though the great agent be invisible in his wonderful work. They seem to triumph, as if the scriptures were more understood by critical and philological learning. Hear then the judgment of Bacon, in his excellent chapter on inspired theology. One excefs, in the manner of interpretation, appears at first sight, just and sober, yet greatly dishonours the fcriptures, and greatly injures the church, by explaining the inspired writings in the fame manner as human writings are explained. And again he fays: as God makes ufe of our reafon in his illuminations; fo ought we likewife to exercise it in every way; in order to become more capable of receiving and imbibing the myfteries provided the mind be enlarged, according to its сараcity, to the greatness of the myfteries: and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind. The mode of explaining fcripture introduced by Socinus, Cellius, Grotius, Le Clerk and other idolizers of their own reafon, is like extinguishing the altar of fire, throwing down the laver, putting out the feven lamps, and breaking the golden altar of incenfe, dragging the cherubim and ark from the holy of holies; and then proclaiming with rapture, behold the beautiful fimplicity of divine worship in these empty courts of the Lord's houfe. We have now a worship of God without blood, fire, or vapor of incenfe; without the seven fpirits, or any one real antitype for the kingdom of the Messiah in man: and thus deism is set up, as Dagon was, not on the threshold, but in the holy place of the temple of God under the gofpel. did

did the wifer among this now darkened people, fpeak of fpirit, as measured by local distance, but by interior presence and energy; otherwise God himfelf would be the most distant; the father of spirits and lights would be excluded from his own creations. Of the wheels of the cherubim it is faid, the Spirit of the living creature was in the wheels: fo is all life from the highest to the loweft degree, central; and by irradiations, moveth the circumferential parts of their veffels or bodies. In a paffage from the talmud, in Chagigah. fol. 12. 2. on this verfe, it is faid: there are found the wheels, the feraphim, the facred animals, and miniftring angels; the throne of glory, the king who is the living God, high and lofty, dwelling in the heavens, gnaroboth. This is the fame throne Daniel fees; to which the fon taken from the woman, and separated many ages paft, was revealed to John.. Rev. xii. 5. The knowledge of this was that first confeffion Peter made: thou art the Chrift, the fon of the living God. Bleffed art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my father who is in the heavens.

"In his name JAH, and rejoyce before him. (his faces.")

The name JAH is by many supposed to be the contraction of JEHOVAH, and that it implies the being and eternity of God as far as words can exprefs. The first may be queftioned; and as

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