to all her citizens; it is the ground of a solid and satisfying joy, that passes not away; yea, they may even rejoice with a reverential joy in the prospect of his second coming, as they are exhorted to do in Psalm xcvi, notwithstanding the occasion of it and the terrors that will attend it; "for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth; he shall judge the world with righteousness and the people with his truth."

The second occasion of joy and triumph, which the Lord announces to Zion, is the conversion of the Gentiles to the obedience of the faith. "And many nations shall be joined unto Jehovah in that day, and shall be my people." The prediction of this event, as a subject of joy, plainly implies an appeal to the benevolent affections. The children of Zion, as the worshippers of the one true God, ought to rejoice at the happy prospect of the deliverance of mankind, from the darkness and error of their idolatrous ways, to serve the living and true God. Jealousy, at such an event, could not be apprehended; nothing but mutual congratulation and felicity could be expected. Those too, who were destined to be joined to the Lord, would add greatly to the strength of those, who were already his people, and would be a visible means of accomplishing the promises of safety, protection, and

conquest, given them in the preceding proclamations. At the same time the people of Zion were instructed, that the divine promises did not extend to make them lords and masters over those, who were to become, not their servants, but the people of the Lord, as well as themselves; and perhaps also, that they might look for such alterations in the constitution of their ecclesiastical polity, as might adapt it to the reception of the many nations. The prediction is to the same purpose, as that in Psalm, xlvii. 9; "the voluntary ones* of the people are gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham;" plainly alluding to the promise in Genesis, xvii. 5; " father of many nations have I made thee;" and hinting the divine intention to form one body of a church out of all nations; an intention, which is collected, as a prediction, by St. John, from the murderous proposal of the infidel Caiaphas, in xi. 51, 52, 53, of his gospel, and is magnifi

See the margin of our english bibles; and Bishop Horsley on the Psalms, vol. 1, p. 278. Our translators have rendered the Hebrew word in both places, the people; whereas in the former the original word is in the plural number. The distinction is not only obvious in point of grammar, but highly important in point of meaning, for as

y always signifies nations, Gentiles or heathen, so y, 1 believe is never, or if ever, very rarely, used for any, but the peculiar people of God, either under the old or new covenant. The neglect of this distinction is frequently to be lamented in our authorized translation.

cently illustrated by St. Paul, in ii, iii, iv, of his epistle to the Ephesians.

The reader can hardly fail to remark a striking change of person in this part of the prediction, Jehovah, the person speaking, declares, that

many nations shall be joined to Jehovah and shall be My people." Similar changes however are not uncommon with the Hebrew writers; and therefore too much stress must not be laid upon this. Yet when we find the same speaker, at the conclusion of his message, appealing to the event, as the proper evidence of his having been sent by Jehovah of hosts, it seems not too much to infer from the change of person in this place, an intention in the speaker, to indicate thereby, that the Gentiles who should join themselves to God the Father, would be received and acknowledged as his own people by God the Son*. At least it is certain from the use of the possessive pronoun of the first person, that the angel cannot be the speaker here, but that the words of Jehovah are continued from the foregoing verse.

* The note of Burkius is worth transcribing. Solus Filius Dei eos habet pro populo suo, qui adhærent ad Jehovam patrem. Conf. Joh. 16, 15, init. Sunt autem duo correlata, per orationem semiduplicem mutuo respicientia. Gentes multæ, inquit Filius Dei, adhærebunt ad Jehovam Patrem et me, et erunt in populum mihi Patrique. Ipsæ ad Patrem et me se applicabunt: Ego et Pater eas, tanquam populum gratiæ, elementir admittemus et in sinum recipi, emus. Gnomon, p. 487.

"In that day," is the same thing as to say, during that time; meaning the time of Christ's coming and dwelling by his spirit with his people. The expression is often used in the new testament of an extended period*, during which Christ is in some measure exerting and manifesting his divine power and glory, but what the particular period may be, can be learned only from the context. During all this period the many nations shall be joining themselves, and shall continue joined, unto Jehovah, who repeats his gracious promise; "and I will dwell in the midst of thee," that is to say, in the midst of Zion, now inseparably joined into one body with the nations, who cleave unto Jehovah. although the prediction thus accompanies the Christian church, compounded of Jew and Gentile, through its whole duration, yet it has a more special regard to the latter part of it, when the partial blindness, that hath happened unto Israel, shall be removed, and they shall return unto the Lord their God and to David their King, and when as many of the nations, as the Lord our God shall finally call, shall join themselves unto him. So it is observed by the commentator Lowth, "this promise relates chiefly to the latter times."

* Schleusneri Lexicon. Tom. 1. 981.

p.

But

The Lord concludes his oracle by a repetition of that solemn appeal to the event in proof of his being the true messenger of God the Father "and thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto thee.” This form of words is plainly intended to conclude the passage, to which it is annexed. But then the messenger of Jehovah and speaker of the words will be so clearly proved to be Jehovah himself, that Dr. Blaney's hypothesis founded on Hebrews, i, 1, 2, must fall to the ground. He has therefore endeavoured to cut off these words from the context, by three different means. First he renders the connective particle* "then," instead of "and,” contrary to his own practice in the three other instances in which the phrase occurs. But since

* In his appendix to Zechariah, p. 81. Dr. Blaney contends for his right to assign to the particle, the signification of " then," as 66 being allowed it in other places, and as being a liberty which absolutely and in itself, no sound Hebrew critic will be inclined to disallow." Certainly not. But that liberty must not be used capriciously, but must be regulated by right reason; and the signification of the particle, or rather the mode, in which it connects the following with the preceding words, must be determined by the exigency of the passage Vide Gussetii Comment. Ling. Heb. p. 406, or the citation therefrom, which Tympius has brought forward with approbation in his note on Noldius de particulis, p. 283. Now Dr. Blaney, by rendering the particle, by the English conjunction "and" in other places, where the connection is altogether similar to that before us, has precluded himself from the right of rendering it here by " then;" for I apprehend that the support of his hypothesis cannot be reckoned the same thing, as the exigency of the passage,