given of the Meffias. St. John Baptift, of whom Jofephus gives a high Commendation, and whom all Men look'd upon as a Prophet, Matt. xxi. 26. had before declar'd Jefus to be the Chrift, though he now fent two of his Difciples to enquire of him, not for his own, but for their Satisfaction, that they might be Witnesses, how the Prophecies were fulfill'd in him. And both the Preaching and Baptism of John was preparatory to that of Chrift, and was foretold by the Prophets, Ifai. xl. 3. Malach. iv. 5.

But befides the Record of John, the Holy Ghoft gave witness to Chrift, visibly defcending upon him at his Baptifm, with a Voice from Heaven, pronouncing the Words prophetically deliver'd before concerning the Meffias, which were always understood by the Jews to be meant of him, Matt. iii. 13. and this Voice was again repeated, though not fo publickly as before, at his Transfiguration, Matt. xvii. 5. 2 Pet. i. 17. and at a third time there came a Voice to him from Heaven, in the Hearing of all the People, Jo. xii. 28. By the Hofanna's of the Multitude, and even of the Children, and by his driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple, feveral known Prophecies concerning the Meffias were fulfill'd in him, Matt. xxi. 16. Joh. ii. 17.

III. The Types and Prophecies concerning the Death of the Meffias, were fulfill'd in our Saviour. His Death was foretold both in the Writings of the Prophets, and by feveral Types or Actions, which did represent and prefigure his Death, with the Manner and Circumftances of it, and this was one kind of Prophefying, by the Refemblance of Actions and Things, as well as by Defcriptions in Words. Thus Abraham's Offering up Ifaac was a Type of Christ's being offer'd upon the Crofs, and Ifaac's carrying the Wood on his Shoulders, was a Type of Chrift's carrying his Cross. The lifting up the brazen Serpent in the Wildernesfs was a Type of Christ's being lifted

up,

up, and the Pafchal Lamb was a plain Type of the Sacrifice of Chrift; and our Saviour Chrift was facrificed upon the Crofs, at the very time of the Passover. A bone of him was not broken, which was typified of him in the Pafchal Lamb; the breaking of his Legs was prevented-by his voluntary giving up the Ghost, when he had so much strength and vigour after all his pains, as to cry out with a loud voice, which by the courfe of nature, a Perfon who had endured fo much before, and had hung bleeding and languishing for three hours at least upon the Crofs, till he expired by the force and extremity of his Torments, could not have done; and his being dead fooner than was expected, and fooner than the Malefactors were, caused the fulfilling this prophetical Type, a Bone of him fhall not be broken, Exod. xii. 46. Numb. ix. 12. "He died likewife in the Year of Jubilee, (as Dr. Lightfoot computes) by which the release and redemption, which he purchased for Mankind was typified: But according to Archbishop Uber, the Jubilee fell upon the Year of Christ's Baptifm, when he began to preach the acceptable Year of the Lord, Luke iv. 19. and that Remiffion of Sins, which was prefigured by the Release in the Year of Jubilee. And as the fulfilling of these several Types concurred in our Saviour, fo the fulfilling of them was brought to pafs by the malice and cruelty of his Enemies, and of thofe very Jews, who had ever understood these Types to relate to the Meffias.

The Prophecies in like manner were fulfilled in him, not by any design or contrivance of his own, but by the mere envy and malice of his Murtherers. He was betrayed by one of his own Difciples, as it had been foretold of him, Pfal. xli. 9. Jo. xiii. 18. The thirty pieces of Silver, for which he was betrayed, were by the Chief Priests given to buy the Potter's

Field, by which was fulfilled a noted Prophecy, that ftands recorded in the Book of Zechariah; but because Jeremiah had prophefied of the fame thing before him, or for fome other reason, it was better known among the Jews by the name of Jeremiah's Prophecy, unless, as fome fuppofe, Jeremy be put for Zachary by a mistake of the Tranfcriber, which was obvious enough in tranfcribing the Abbreviation of the name of Zachary, 7. as it is now to be feen in fome of the Ancient MSS. not much differing from I. Our Saviour was buffeted and fpit upon, according to a Prophecy of Ifaiah, Ifa. 1. 6. He had Vinegar given him to drink mingled with Gall, and his Garments were parted amongst the Soldiers by cafting of Lots, both which were foretold, Pfal. xxii. 18. Ixix. 21. They pierced his hands and his feet, Pfal. xxii. 16. by crucifixion, a Punishment never ufed among the Jews; which yet had been foretold fhould be inflicted on Christ so many Ages before it was known to them. This Prophecy could not have been fulfilled, unless Christ had been delivered up to the Romans, a Peoplewho had no Being in the World, for divers Ages after this Prediction: And no other Nation, as Scar liger has obferved, had this kind of Punishment, by fastning Men to a Cross with Nails thrust thro' their Hands and Feet. They that pafs'd by, reviled him in the very words of the Pfalmift, and in his Agony he cried out in the words of the fame Pfalm, ver. 1, 8. His death was voluntary, for though it was in the power of his Enemies to crucifie him, yet his Life was in his own power, which he refigned in the words of another Pfalm, Pfal. xxxi. 5. and he caused another Prophecy to be fulfilled, by dying at that very point of time, which, if his death had been deferred a little longer, had not been fulfilled; for the Soldiers broke the Legs of the two other that were cru

• Scaligeran. I.

cified with them, but finding him dead, they broke not his Legs, though one of them fufpecting that he could not be fo foon dead, pierced his fide, to try whether he were really dead or not, by which that Scripture was fulfilled, which faith, they fhall look on him, whom they pierced, John xix. 34. Zach. xii. 10. which Text the Ancient Jews interpreted of the Meffias. The liii. Chapter of Ifaiah is a clear defcription of our Saviour's Paffion almost in every circumstance of it. He was defpifed and rejected of men, a man of forrows, and acquainted with grief; he was wounded for our Tranfgreffions, and bruised for our Iniquities; he was oppreffed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he was brought as a Lamb to the Slaughter, and as a Sheep before her Shearers is dumb, fo he opened not his mouth; his Silence being taken fpecial notice of by Pilate himself, and his meeknefs towards Judas, his most ungrateful Difciple, is wonderful beyond all Example. He made his Grave with the Rich in his Death, though he died in that shameful manner, under the imputation of so much wickedness, yet Jofeph of Arimathea, an honourable Counsellor, was fuffered by PiLate to bury him, which he did in his own new Tomb. He was numbred with the Tranfgreffors; and in that fenfe made his Grave alfo with the wicked, being crucified between two Thieves; and fo was not only reputed a Malefactor, and underwent the punishment of Tranfgreffors, but was executed at the very time and place with them, and buried when they were. He made interceffion for the Tranfgreffors, for the Penitent Thief in particular, whom he promised, that he should be with him that day in Paradife, and for his Perfecutors themselves, praying that they might be forgiven. The Prophecies of this Chapter are so very plainly and directly fulfilled, that I have known a Child apply them to the Paffion of Chrift.

P See Bp. Pearfon.

One

One of the most glorious Characters, by which the Meffias was described by the Prophets, was, that he should be their Prince and King, and this led the Jews into that fatal mistake of a Temporal Messias : for Meffias or Anointed, fignifies King as well as Prophet or Priest, (in which three Offices Unction was ufed,) and they were all united in our Saviour, who was the Meffias anointed and inaugurated by the defcent of the Holy Ghost upon him in a visible shape, and with a diftinct and audible voice declaring him to be the Son of God. And that all the world might know our Saviour to be the King of the Jews, that Title was fixt upon his Crofs in three feveral Languages, the most valgar Tongues then in the world, that no Nation might be ignorant, that Chrift the King of the Jews was then crucified. For Pilate would not alter the Infcription; but though they had frighted him before by obferving to him, that it was Treafon against Cafar to call any one King besides him, yet when they would now have had him change the Infcription, and have written only, that he said, I am King of the Jews, Pilate gave a fhort and refolute Anfwer, what I have written, I have written. How much foever it were at his Peril to provoke a malicious people, in a point, wherein they thought the honour and fafety of their Nation fo much concerned, and in a point, which could not but be exceeding tender to fo jealous an Emperor as Tiberius: But Pilate had fuffered himself to be carried too far already against his own Conscience, and had fhewn great averfion to their proceedings, in the whole management of his Tryal, and the fame providence, which had ordered every circumstance to the manifestation of the Truth, and the conviction both of the Jews and Gentiles, now fo difpofed this remarkable particular, that the laft period of his Life, in oppofition to all the fpight of the Jews, fhould be adorned and dignified with his true Title and Character, under which he had been

fore