John xv. 25, "But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause"-compared with Psalm cix. 2, 3, "They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause." Verse 3d was originally applied to David and his enemies, and in an accommodated sense to Jesus and the Jews of his day.

Quotation made by Jesus himself, agreeing with the
Hebrew in sense, but not in words.

Matthew xxi. 16, "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise"-compared with Ps. viii. 2, and its preceding verse, "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast ordained strength, because of thine enemies; that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger."

Quotation taken from combined Passages of Scripture.

Matthew xxi. 13, "And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer: but you have made it a den of thieves"-compared with Isaiah lvi. 17, "For mine house shall be called the house of prayer for all people." Ch. vii. 11, "Is this house which is called by my name become a den of robbers in your eyes?"

Quotation differing from the Hebrew, but agreeing with the Septuagint.

Matthew xv. 7-9, "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto

But in vain they do wor

me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. ship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men"-compared with Isaiah xxix. 13, which in the Septuagint corresponds exactly with the Gospel, but which in verse 9, differs from the original Hebrew, thus translated in the common version: "And their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men."

Quotations in which there is reason to suspect a different Reading in Hebrew, or that the Apostles understood the words in a sense different from that expressed in our Lexicons.

Matthew xi. 10, "This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee"-compared with Malachi iii. 1, “Behold I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me." Matthew xxvi. 31, "I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad"-compared with Zechariah vii. 8, "Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered."

Luke iv. 8, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve"-compared with Deut. vi. 13, "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him."

Quotations slightly varying from the Septuagint.

Luke iv. 18, 19, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind; to set at liberty them that are bruised; to

preach the acceptable year of the Lord"-compared with Isaiah Ixi. 1, 2, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

Now I beg the attention of my readers to these quotations ascribed to Jesus himself, and to appeal to them, whether he assumed in any of these references the character of the Deity, or even equality with him. I am certain that they will find nothing of the kind: Jesus declared himself in these instances entirely subordinate to the Almighty God, and subject to his authority, and frequently compared himself to David or some of the other Prophets.

No. II.

On the Refferences made to the Old Testament in Support of the Deity of Jesus.

TRINITARIAN Divines quote John i. 14, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth," as a reference to Isaiah, ix. 6, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace," though the evangelist John made no allusion to this passage of Isaiah in the verse in question. The passage of Isaiah thus referred to was applied to Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, figuratively designated as the son of the virgin, the daughter of Zion, to wit, Jerusalem, foretold by the Prophet as the deliverer of the city from the hands of its enemies, though its utter destruction was then threatened by the kings of Syria and Israel. The words "a virgin," according to the English translation, are "the virgin," both in the original Hebrew and in the Greek of the Gospel of Matthew, as well as in the Septuagint. But unless Ahaz was aware of the allusion of the Prophet, the use of the definite article in this passage must be quite inexplicable; and no one will contend for a moment, that it was given to that wicked king to understand that the mother of Christ was the virgin alluded to; what then could Ahaz have comprehended by the expression "the virgin ?" On

referring to 2 Kings, xix. 21, we find the same Prophet make use of the very expression, where he informs the king, Hezekiah, of the denunciation of God against Sennacherib, the blasphemous king of Assyria, who was at that time besieging Jerusalem. "This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn." It is impossible to conceive that these words, expressly spoken of the king of Assyria, bear any allusion to the virgin, the mother of Christ; and it illustrates clearly the otherwise obscure expression of the Prophet addressed to Ahaz, when he foretold to him the happy reign of his successor Hezekiah. In Isaiah, x. 32, “He (the king of Assyria) shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem." The epithet "The daughter of Zion," which in the last passage was used as synonymous with "the virgin," here signifies Jerusalem itself, in which sense it was commonly used in the figurative language of the Prophet, and no doubt well understood by Ahaz: for we find the same words in many other passages used to signify either a city or the people of a city. Isaiah, xxii. 12: "And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zion." Ch. xlvii. 1: "Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon."-Jeremiah xiv. 17: "Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them : Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach." Ch. xviii. 13: "Therefore thus saith the Lord; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things; the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing." Ch. xxxi. 4: "Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel; thou