built upon the Foundation of the Veracity of the Jewish Scriptures, it now therefore feems incumbent upon thofe, who call themselves Chriftians, to ftep forth into this Field of Battle, in order to defend their own System; and to fhew that these Prophecies, relating to the Meffiah, were not only fulfilled, but were actually fulfilled in the Perfon of Jefus, whom they affert to be the Meffiah, and to have appeared in the World above 1700 Years ago, and to have been put to Death by the Jews before the Deftruction of the fecond Temple.

And I truft in God it will accordingly appear upon Examination, that this Jefus did answer all the Charafterifticks, which are to be found either in the Scriptures, or even in the Talmud, concerning the Meffiab in his State of Humiliation. For he came before the Sceptre departed from Judah, and about 490 Years after the Commandment to restore and rebuild Jerufalem, and before the Deftruction of the fecond Temple.

He

He had no earthly Father, being born of a Virgin without the Concurrence of Man; he performed Miracles; he published the Law, a new Law, from Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerufalem, not to the Jews only but also to the Gentiles; he was despised and rejected of Men; he was afflicted and oppreffed, yet he opened not his Mouth; he was taken from Prifon and from Judgement; and was cut off from the Land of the Living; not for bimfelf, but for the Tranfgreffion of the People was he ftricken, the Roman Governour that put him to Death at the earneft Sollicitation of the Jews, having declared that he found in him no Fault at all.

Nor did Jefus only anfwer the Defcriptions which are given of the Time of the coming of the Meffiah, or of his Purport in coming to give a new Law, or of the manner of his Sufferingsor Death in general; but many of the particular Incidents of his Life and Paffion anfwer fo minutely, and fo circumftantially, to the Predictions, which are to be found written in the Law of Mofes and the Prophets, and in the

Pfalms

Pfalms concerning the Messiah, that it is almost impoffible to be deceived in them.

Thus when the Prophet Zechariah is fpeaking of the Messiah under the Character of a King, that shall enter into Zion; yet what fort of a King does he describe him to be? Not a triumphant, but a lowly one. For fays he, Rejoice greatly O Daughter of Zion, fbout O Daughter of Jerufalem; behold thy King cometh unto thee: He is juft, and having Salvation, lowly, and riding upon an Afs, and upon a Colt the Foal of an Afs. Now as this Event is recorded to have happened to Jefus, who is acknowledged both by*Jews and Chriftians to have once entered into Jerufalem in this very manner; but which is not fo much as mentioned ever to have happened to any other King, therefore it is to be supposed that Jefus is the particular Perfon here alluded to in this Prophecys especially when we recollect that this fame Jefus who entered into Jernfalem thus riding upon an Ass, and upon a Colt the

Foal

Zach. ix. 9. *Mat. xxi. 1. &c. Sepher Toldoth Jefu.

Foal of an Afs, was there Crucified with this particular Inscription written over him in Letters of Latin, and Greek, and Hebrew, *This is the King of the Jews.

The particular manner of his Death wast alfo foretold, for thus fays the holy David, They pierced my Hands and my Feet. Now as this never happened to David perfonally, the Application of this Saying, which was fulfilled in Jefus, must be understood of the Messiah, who is frequently alluded to § by David under his own Name, and by the reft of the Prophets under the Name and Character of David. And what is remarkable is this, that this kind of Death, that is Crucifixion, which was inAlicted upon Jefus, was not a Jewish but a Roman manner of Punishment. And hence it appears that the Sceptre was at that Time departed from Judah, and of Confequence that Shiloh, or the Messiah, ought according to the Prophecy of Jacob, to be already come.

It

* Mat. xxvii. 37. Lake xxiii. 38. † P. xxii. 16. Pfal. ii. &c.

It is likewife further to be obferved that this Punishment of Piercing his Hands and his Feet, was not inflicted upon Jefus at his own Requeft, or at the Suit of his Friends, in order to have the Prophecy fulfilled, but was ordered by Pontius Pilate the Roman Governor, at the earnest Sollicitation of the Jews who were the most bitter Enemies of Jefus.

Again the holy David fays, * He keepeth all his Bones; not one of them is broken. Which was very remarkably fulfilled in Jefus, when we confider that the other two Perfons, who were Crucified at the fame Time with him, had their Bones broken in order to haften their Death. And what is very particular in this Cir cumftance is, that this fhews that Jefus was that great Sacrifice of which the Pafchal Lamb was but a Type and a Figure. Nor can it otherwise be accounted for why Almighty God fhould be fo particular and pofitive in giving this Direction to Mofes

in

Pfalm xxxiv, 20.