Jalan Pee ing, Joseph, thou Son of David, fear not to take unto thee Nazareth. riod, 1709, Mary thy wife : for that which is conceived in her is of Before Val- the Holy Ghost. pa Æn, 5.

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS : for he shall save his people from their sins 16.

His first sort of divine dreams he thus defines, Topèy a pūrov, ήν άρχοντος της κινήσεως θεώ, και υπηχώντος αοράτως τα ημίν μεν άδηλα, γνώριμα δε εαυτώ. The first kind was when God himself did begin the motion in the fancy, and secretly whispered such things as are unknown indeed to us, but perfectly known to himself. Of this sort were the patriarch Joseph's dreams.

The second kind is this, της ημετέρας διανοίας τή των όλων συγκινουμένης ψυχή, και θεοφορήτε μανίας αναπιμπλαμένης. When our rational faculty being moved together with the soul of the world, and filled with a divinely-inspired fury, doth predict those things that are to come. In this definition he permitted his heathen philosophy to supersede his better theology. The God of his fathers, was the Lord of the world, not the soul of the world. Though he fills all space, he rules all space. One mode of communicating his will to man, is well described ; if, for soal of the world, we read, the influences of the Supreme Being.

The third is thus laid down-Συνιστάται δε το τρίτον είδος, οπόταν εν τοίς ύπνοις εξ εαυτής η ψυχή κινουμένη, και αναδινάσα εαυτήν, κορυβαντια και ευθεσιωσα, δυνάμει προγνωστική τα μέλdovta Deariter-i. e. the third kind is, when in sleep the soul being moved of itself, and agitating itself, is in a kind of rap. turous rage, and in a divine fury doth foretel future things by a prophetic faculty, &c. &c.

These things are also contrary to present experience, but they are not contrary to philosophy. An event or action which has aclually taken place, convinces our reason by means of our scases, that the event was real; so did the miraculous impressions of prophetic dreams or visions, distinguish themselves from the sensations, occasioned only by the common circumstances of life, in such manner that the prophet or person favoured with them could not mistake the effect of the extraordinary impulse for any common feeling arising from ordinary situations and events. Ideas, it is true, are usually suggested by the senses only, but wby should we not believe that the Father of Spirits can affect our mind with images and ideas, produced by other agency than that of the senses.-Smith on Pro. phecy, vol. iv. Watson's Tracts, p. 306. Vide Lightfoot, vol. ii. p. 243. Calmet's Dict. Art. Dreams. Smith's Discourse on Prophecy, in Watson's Tracts, vol. iv. p. 306, Witsius Miscell. Sacra, vol. i. p. 27. de insomniis, and p. 289, de Prophetis, in Evang. laudatis.

16 It may be observed bere, how uniformly the idea of a spiritual Messiah is preserved. Joseph, in common with his countrymen, may justly be supposed to have entertained the opinion that a temporal Messiah was coming to deliver his people from the Romans; the angel informs him that he should be called Jesus, (from yv, to save,) for he should save them from their sins. He should save them not merely from the consequences of their sins by his atonement, but from the dominion of their sins by his gift of the Holy Spirit, to lead them both into obedience and truth. We must not hope to be delivered hereafter from the consequences of evil, unless we are at preseat delivered from its power.

gar Æra, 5.

Julian Pe 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled Nazareth. riod, 4709, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet", saying, Before Val

23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife :

25 And knew her not sill she had brought forth her first-born son : and he called his name JESUS.

.קניתי איש את יהוה liverer

The name Jesus, say Castalio and Osiander, Heb. nwn, may
possibly signify“ the man Jehovah,” or Jebovah incarnate, God
in human nature. It is compouoded of mine and v**: the letter
w, being interposed from the latter word, the two others and
* being rejected as serviles, and therefore added or rejected
at pleasure. This name is given at full length by Moses to the
Jehovah Angel who conducted the Israelites through the wilder-
ness, “ The Lord is a man of war” nonba ex 11. The same
name is given likewise at length in the exclamation of Eve, in
which she expressed a hope that her son was the promised do-

.
The angel commands that the name Jesus be given to the
Messiah, because he shall save his people from their sins. The
Angel Jehovah led his people through the wilderness, and saved
them from their enemies, and from the hands of all who hated
them. Christ was to do the same. The analogy between the
enemies of Israel, and the enemies of the soul of man, is com-
plete. Christ in the former instance was the Saviour of his
people from their temporal enemies. He was now to be re.
vealed as their Saviour from their more dangerous and invete-
rate adversaries Death, Satan, and tho evil of their own nature.

Pfeiffer is of opinion, with the generality of commentators,
that the name must be derived from yv, to save, and he rejects
therefore the above derivation, which is given with little varia-
tion from Osiander, Reacblin, and Sebastianus Castalio. But
see the whole Dissertatione de nomine Jesu-Pfeifferi dubia
vexata, p. 1154, particularly Th. 6 to 18 inclusive.

I have placed the appearance of the angel to Joseph after Mary's return from the house of Elizabeth, as she came back from Hebron before the birth of John, three months after the annunciation of the Messiah. On her arrival at her own house, when the proofs of her pregnancy became evident, the fears and suspicions of Joseph, we may justly suppose, to have been excited. Before that period, he could have no reasons for suspicion.-Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 421.

17 The Christian may believe that this passage refers to the Messiah on the authority of St. Matthew; and the Jew may likewise believe it, on the authority of the ancient targumists; who, with their countrymen in general, were accustomed to refer these expressions of their early prophets to the expected Messiah. To overthrow the force of the prediction, they have, however, in later days, made use of arguments which their ancestors would have disdained. -Vide Kidder's Demons. of Mess. p. iii. p. 90, &c. &c. &c.

SECTION VIII.

Birth of Christ at Bethlehem.

LUKE ii. 1-7. Julian Pe

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went Bothlehem. riod, 4709. Before Vul- out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world gu Era, 5. should be taxed 18.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria”.)

18 Another proof was now to be afforded to the whole
Jewish nation, that the time of the Messiah had arrived. The
Father of the Patriarcbs had long prophesied that the scep-
tre was never to depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from
between his feet, until Shiloh, tbe sent, the Messiah (a) come,
(Gen. xlix. 10.) The people, though they had long been sub-
jected to the Romans, had been hitherto more immediately
under the controul of their high priests, and the family of
Herod, who called himself a Jew, though he was of the race
of Edom. They were now reduced to a mere province; they
were commanded by a Heathen, a stranger and foreigner, to
enroll their families in the public registers; to take the oath of
fidelity, and probably to pay tribute to him as their sovereign
and ruler (b). What could have been a stronger argument, and
appeal to every individual Jew; that the sceptre bad entirely
departed; and that Shiloh was to be immediately expected; than
this individual taxation, or badge of subjection.
(a) The Targum of Onkelos gives this interpretation-non recedet

, ),
bus ejus in æternum, donec veniat Messias and the Targum of Jona-
than, non cessabant reges, et præsides ex domo Juda, et scribe
docentes legem ex senuine ejus, usque ad tempus, donec veniat Messias:
and the Jerusalem Targum gives the same interpretation. See also
a large number of anthorities from the early, Jewish writers, all
to the same effect, in Schoetgenius Horæ Hebraicæ, vol. ii. p.
492, &c. On the Sceptre of Judah, see the dissertation of School-
genius de Schiloh Dominatore, and a curious and most ingenious
dissertation by Bishop Warburton : who interprets the prophecy
-The Theocracy shall continue over the Jews, uutil Christ come
to take possession of his father's kingdom.- Divine Legation,
vo. iv. p. 245–266. Quod nomen habet Messias ? Qui sunt de
domo xbow R. Schilæ seu scholastici ejus, dixerunt abov Schilo esse
nomen ejus : quia dicitur Gen. xlix. 10. Usquedum veniet Schilo.
Meuschen N.T. ex Talmude, p. 30, and 902. See also Leslie's Case of
hy Josephus, ordered B: 6) About this time Augustus, as is related

oath' of fidelity to be taken to him, as the
superior and sovereigo of the land. In that oath, Herod was considered
as secondary to the Emperor, and the people were not required to give
him their personal allegiance. It is possible that the enrolment ordered
by Angustus was the same as the arroypapr of St. Luke. See the next
note.

19 The word apúrn must be construed in the sense of priority as to time; it bears this sense in some, though not many instances. It is much better thus to render the passage, than to adopt any conjectural emendation; whether po rñs, with Whitby, or #púrn Tpò rñs, with Michaelis, which his translator so decidedly condemns; or than Mr. Benson's, which is very

Julian Pe 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own Bethlehem. riod, 4709, city. Before Vulgar Æra, 5.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem : (because he was of the house and lineage of David :)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child 21

ingenious, but unsupported by the only authority which ought
to induce us to receive any alteration of the vulgate text of
the New Testament ; the authority of manuscripts. It is cer-
tainly a very slight alteration, but it must be rejected, in the
absence of other proof.

He would read 'άυτη η απογραφή πρώτη εγένετο η (απογραφή και
εγένετο) ήγεμονεύοντος της, &c. &c. inserting only the single letter

, between éyévero and nyeuovevovros-and thus render the passage-Thistaxing took place before that, wbich took place, when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.

The saggestion of Mr. Benson, that the decree for the tax. ing, or atoypady, of St. Luke, was the same as the taking the oath of allegiance to Augustus, mentioned by Josephus, is well supported; and if his hypothesis did not require an alteration of the sacred text, which is not warranted by the requisite authorities, might be received without hesitation. But see the next note on the solution of the difficulty in this verse.Vide Benson's Chronology of the Life of Christ.

20 It has been asserted, that this verse contradicts some well supported facts in history. Cyrevius, it is said, was not Governor of Syria till eleven years after this enrolment. At the time of Christ's birth, Saturninus and Volumnius were Presidents of that country.

The following is the correct statement of the fact, according to the best authorities, who have carefully studied the subject. Herod, some few years before his death, had been misrepresented to Augustus. The Roman emperor, to punish his imputed crime, ordered that Judea should be reduced to a Roman province, and a register be taken of every person's age, dignity, employment, family, and office. When this decree was first promulgated Cyrenius was only a Roman senator, and collector of the imperial revenue. Its execution was postponed, through the influence of Nicholas of Damascus, who was sent by Herod to Rome, to vindicate bis conduct to Augustus; and it was only carried into effect eleven years afterwards, when Cyronius had been advanced from the inferior dignity of collector of the public tribute, to the office of Governor of Syria.

The difficulty, therefore, respecting the words in the original will disappear, when the passage is considered in referenee to this statement. Dr. Lardner, who is followed by Dr. Paley, proposes a solution, which has now been generally adopted. i. This was the first enrolment of Cyrenius, wbo, though a Roman senator only, when it was decreed, was Governor of Syria, and is known among the Jews by that title.” When St. Luke wrote the Gospel, Cyrepius was known by his latter title. -Lardner's Works, 4to. p. 136, &c. Paley's Evidences, vol. ii. p. 177. Hales's Anal. vol. ii. p. 705, &c.

" There does not appear to have boen any necessity, from the nature of the tax, for the personal attendance of Mary at Bethlehem. When we consider her situation, it is not improbable

Julian Pe 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days Bethlehera. riod, 4709.

were accomplished that she should be delivered. Before Volgar Æra, 5. 7 And she brought forth her first-born son, and

wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger ; because there was no room for them in the inn.

SECTION IX.

The Genealogies of Christ a.

MATT. i. 1.

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of
David, the son of Abraham.

she might have been induced to have accompanied her husband
to insure his protection: and to preserve herself from the insult,
or contumely of her unbelieving neighbours, to which she might
bave been already exposed. To avoid reproach, or derision,
she might have encountered fatigue and inconvenience. How-
ever this may be, it shews us the manner in which the pro-
phecies of the Old Testament were accomplished, by cir.
cumstances, apparently accidental. No mortal wisdom could
have foreseen the journey of Joseph to Bethlehem, and the
consequent fulfilment of that prediction of Micah, which
the Jews had long referred to, as an undoubted prophecy
of the birth place of Christ. When Herod called the Priests
together, to demand of them “ Where Cbrist should be
born,” they assured him it was at Bethlehem, from the pro-
phecy of Micah, (Mic. v. 2.) This authority, however satis-
factory to a Christian, is not, I have heard, sufficient for the
modern Jew, who is more inclined to depend on the testimony
of his antient Rabbis. I refer him to Joma, f. 10. 1. apud
Meuschen N. T. ex Talmude, p. 19. (in p. 28. it is only a
repetition of the same reference,) and the Targum on Micah,
KTTV pr yap yinə, ex te ante me prodibit Messias, ut faciat po-
tentiam super Israel apud Schetgen, vol. i. p. 3.

* The apparent discrepancies between the Genealogies of
St. Matthew and St. Luke, contained in this section, have given
rise to much discussion. The enrolment ordered by Augustus
must bave compelled every family to review their tables of
pedigree, which were always carefully preserved among the
Jews, with more than usual attention : we may justly therefore
conclude that if any error bad crept into the pedigree of Joseph
and Mary, it would then have been rectified. In addition to
this, we may observe, that St. Matthew and St. Luke published
their Gospels at a time when the general tables of pedigree were
still preserved, and when every genealogical table which pro-
fessed to trace the descent of one who claimed to be the ex-
pected Messiah, would be inspected with the most scrupulous
and jealous anxiety. Yet we do not read that any objection to
the accuracy of the Evangelists was raised by their cotempo-
raries. Satisfactory solutions of the apparent differences have
been given by Archbishop Newcome, Grotius, Whitby, South,
Julius Africanns, and others, as well as Lightfoot, whose opi-
aion on this point is generally the most approved and adopted.