i. e. from Malachi to John the Baptift; confidering too the difference of national circumftances, every thing in one cafe tending to preserve them in their own land, apart from every other people; and in the other, every thing tending to mingle them, as flaves, outcafts, and traders, with the nations who have conquered them, and among whom they have dwelt and fuffered fince their general difperfion; the former prevalence of idolatry, and the latter inflexible adherence to their law, equally contradict all our notions of probability arifing from human experience. Where then fhall we feek for an explanation of this uniform, this wonderful fingularity of fate and character ? It is written in this. promife," IN THY SEED SHALL ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH BE BLESsed. To this people was affigned, as we have seen, the glorious privilege of giving birth to the Saviour of the world; and I trust the evidence, which will be produced as we proceed in this work, will indubitably prove, that this Prophecy, was clearly accomplished in the birth of Jefus of Nazareth-the Christ-the Son of God whofe name be bleffed for ever! With refpect to the continuance of this wonderful diftinction from the birth of the Meffiah to the present hour, we must look to fucceeding Prophets for as clear an explanation as we can obtain from them, relative to events which are not yet fulfilled. The everlafting covenant which God was pleased to make with Abraham and to his feed for ever, to be their God, and to give them the land of Canaan for an everlasting poffeffion, would fufficiently account for this continued separation from the reft of the world; and this marked distinction might be considered as a fufficient pledge of the future accomplishment of this and other prophecies, relative to the return of the Jews to their own land. But we are authorized to believe, that they are thus preferved to be yet further inftrumental to the execution of the great defign of univerfal falvation. And thus will this Prophecy appear to extend the peculiar covenant with the children of Abraham, to the final developement of the myfteries of God, concerning the prefent world. The confideration of this point must however be deferred to the second part of this work. CLASS CLASS I. CHAPTER THE THIRD. The Promife given by Mofes of another Lawgiver. THE Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken. According to all that thou de-' firedft of the Lord thy God in Horeb, in the day of the affembly, faying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God; neither let me fee this great fire any more, that I die not. And the Lord faid unto me, They have well faid that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall Speak a Y. W. 25 13. B. C. 1491. unto unto them all that I shall command him. And it fhall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which he shall Speak in my name, I will require it of him. It is fuppofed by fome learned Christians, and by the Rabbis of the later ages, that Mofes in these words intended to prefignify the whole fucceffion of Prophets, who after him arose among the Jews. The antient Jewish church understood the expreffions at the conclufion of the Book of Deuteronomy, "And there arofe not a Prophet like unto Mofes," as immediately referring to the Meffiah. Indeed this opinion was fo firmly eftablished, that we find the learned Jofes and Akiba, two eminent Doctors of the Law, who flourished in the reign of the Emperor Adrian, exprefsly afferted, "that a Prophet like unto Mofes, or one greater, muft at some time arife; and that Meffiah the King will be like unto him, or greater than he was." The former of these interpretations is not however inconfiftent with the latter. The Prophecy may in its first and general sense point out a fucceffion of Prophets, though in its principal Deut. xviii. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. Chandler's Defence of Chriftianity, p. 307. and ultimate sense it points to the Mèsfiah. But as one individual Prophet is clearly mentioned in the original Hebrew text, and as the conftant interpretation of the early Jewith church refers the accomplishment of this Prophecy to the appearance of the Meffiah, we might, I think, reft fatisfied that this is the true meaning of the promise, if we had hỏ other authority; and the evidence in favour of this interpretation will furely appear incontrovertible, when we further confider the particular, close, and striking resemblance, which fubfifts between Mofes and Christ. St. Stephen and St. Peter declared that Jefus Chrift was the Prophet foretold by Mofes ; and our Lord himself appears to have had the paffage before mentioned in view, when he faid, "If ye had believed Mofes, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me.' The resemblance between Mofes and Chrift is fo very trong, that it is impoffible to confider it fairly and carefully, without acknowledging that he must be foretold, where he is fo well defcribed. The firft great point of refemblance is, Mofes was a Lawgiver, and the mediator of a covenant between God and man: Chrift was |