Declarations of himself and his Actions, might fupport their Pharifaical Righteousness; and that as his, fo their Works might be fufficient without Chrift; and they, fo conftrued, are the only Support, which the apoftate Jews and our Pharifees have; there is nothing tending that Way in any other Part of the Bible: Except fome few Speeches in Efdras and Nehemiah, when they were a little tainted.

Every Fool, fanctified in his own Opinion, fancies he finds Abundance of Inftances in the Pfalms which fuit every Cafe that befals him: and it seems to be Cruelty to disappoint them of their imaginary Happiness; But as this will fet many, and I hope fome of them, right in Matters of greater Moment to all, I must indulge them no longer.

The Pfalms that are Orations of what had been done by the Aleim in the Creation; in their working Miracles; in the Deliverance of the Ifraelites from Pharoah, from Slavery and Idolatry, or from other Enemies; and in deftroying their Enemies; putting them into Poffeffion of Canaan, &c. So in delivering of David and other fingle Men, giving them Poffeffion of Rule, &c. were Hiftory, and perfectly writ elsewhere, and need not have been repeated for the Benefit of that People or fucceeding Ages. If there had not been Inferences of the Power, Wisdom and Goodness of the Aleim, referring to future Actions of much greater Concern to Pofterity, nay to thofe

before,

before, fo to all Mankind; and expreffed by Terms infinitely more defcriptive of the Extention fhall I fay, Perfection of those Attributes than ever had been used in the historical Relations of thofe Actions.

Taking others of the Pfalms to be spoken by King David or others, of their own Perfons, Actions, &c. have made Men aim at performing perfect Righteousness and juftifying themfelves. No mere Man fince Adam before his Fall, nor even he then, as a Prophet or otherwife, could ever fpeak in that Style. The Defcriptions of the Perfections mentioned are fuch as never mere Man had; and the Actions fuch as never any Man performed; and whoever reads those, as of the Perfections, Actions, &c. of a fingle Man, or feveral fuch, must be fo mad as to pretend to come up to them, and challenge God to give him the Reward of his Merits; or when he finds he cannot come up to them, despair.

If what is faid in the Pfalms to, or of, or by Chrift, were faid to, or of, or by any other Perfon; it would fet afide the Merits and Redemption of Chrift; as Pfal. xv. 5. He that doth thefe Things fhall never be moved. The pompous Expreffions of what Jehovah did, or promifed to do for the Perfon described, are fuch as are by no Means applicable to any Actor or Sufferer as Job, David, or &c. nor were they to be pronounced by the Spirit, nor by any Man in his Senfes, for any mere Man. The Prophets

Prophets before Chrift were Emblems of him from having the Spirit in them; and by obeying the Spirit in his Commiffions by them to others, but were not intended to be otherwife Emblems of Christ, as performing all the Will of God, of being perfectly righteous, holy, &c. So the Pfalms could not be writ of them, much less of Priefts or Kings; much less still that it was the Task of the Holy Ghost to keep any of them or even the Apoftles free from Sin o human Errors in their common Actions.

No Man was to pray for, promife to do, much less perform perfect Obedience. Those before Chrift were to avoid committing grofs Sins, to perform that typical Obedience which they were to trust in, and expect that what it reprefented fhould make them holy. Nor were any after to pray for, promise or perform perfect Obedience or claim Rewards upon any fuch Terms; but to rectify their Mind, to love,

&c.

Those before Chrift, whether Kings or even the Prophets except by Revelation, or to work Miracles, had no direct Intercourfe with the Deity but by Means of the Prieft to confult the Oracle; or to join with the Priest to pray, that the Sacrifices might take Effect; much less to teach but by Direction.

Trace all the Affertions, Promises, &c. of Chrift quite through the Pfalms, and (they) fhew that it was not lawful nor poffible for any other to promise, fay or do fuch Things; much

lefs

lefs ftill was it lawful for any King or People to choose out of the Interceffors made, or to make Interceffors for themfelves, much less for any one to make himself Interceffor. The Inter

ceffors chofen by the People, are not Interceffors of Chrift but of the People, by whom Chrift may if he please have Accefs to them. After Christ, even those who had the Gift of Tongues were not Minifters without being fent and ordained. The People cannot fend. I might go through every other Article in the Negative, but 'tis needlefs we must do it in the Affirmative.

The Title, the Word n is Mafculine, fignifies, if not Perfons or Actors (as the Title

b) with Refpect to themselves, as Irradiators; at least it fignifies Illuftrations to the Jews, Reflections of Light, Illuminations to enlighten them for the Time; Confer. Exod. XV. 2. He is my Irradiator of the Aleim of my Father. 11. Who is like unto thee in

-fearful nan doing Wonders. Deut. X. 21. He is and he is thy Aleim. Pfal. xxii. 3. But thou art holy, O thou that of Ifrael. cxix. 171. My Lips fhall utter пban. cxlv. 7. They shall abundantly utter the Memory of thy great Goodness

תהלות inbabiteę

when he made his Lamp בהלו נרו .3 .Job xxix

to irradiate upon my Head. Deut. xxxiii. 2. Hab.

iii.

3. And the Earth was full of his Illumination; And the Brightness was as the Light. They are Irradiations from the three Perfons, and that Man who by Covenant was joined with one of

them,

them, fo Illuminations to all other Men. The Jews call all of them the Pfalms of David: But they were Glimpses of the beloved One, or of the loving One; and they call fome of them Hallel; this Attribute could not be applied to the mere Man David, much lefs to any other Prophet perfonally; or otherwise to David than as he was a Prophet of the Line, was the Father or Representative of Chrift, and not fo otherwise than as Perfonator. The Idea of ¬ is to be collected from Ezek. xxiii. 3, 21. where it is falfely tranflated Mamma and Ubera; fo from 77 fome Fruit which increases that Pleafure: Thence the Name Love, Lover, Delight. It is also used for that in which Flesh, Food was contained, which is another Means of giving Pleasure or Benefit, as a Basket, a Kettle or &c. with a (') prefixed as usual in Names, and with another () in the second Order 7, it is used for One Beloved, the Spouse, who in a spiritual Senfe gives Pleasure and Benefit; without the fod with a Vau in the fecond Order, 'tis used for the Father's Brother. Lev. xxv. 49. The Uncle was one of those named with Brother or Uncle's Son who had Right to redeem a Jew who had fold himself for a Slave to a Stranger; the Word fignifies be loving, which should be the Spouse to the Wife, fo to the Children: For what Reafon 'tis Uncle appears not in the relative Sense; there is fome Mystery that the Spouse was to be the Father's Brother. Where the Wife had no Iffue the