THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MESSIAH, AS GIVEN BY
THE HEBREW PROPHETS.
Having shewn from the New Testament, and proved from the
nature of the case, that the whole credit and authority of the
Christian religion, rests and depends upon Jesus' being the Messiah
of the Jews; and, having stated the principles which ought to
govern the decision of this question, and established the fact, that
the pretensions of any claiming to be considered as this Messiah,
must be tested solely by the coincidence of the character, and
circumstances of the pretender with the descriptions given by the
prophets as the means by which he may be known to be so--it is
proper, in order that we may be enabled to form a correct opinion,
to lay before the reader those passages of the Old Testament
which contain the promise of the appearing, and express the
characteristics of this hope of Israel, this beneficent saviour, and
august monarch, in whose time a suffering world, was, according
to the Hebrew prophets, to become the abode of happy beings.
Leaving out for the present the consideration of the Shiloh
mentioned in Gen. xlix., the first prophecy we meet with, supposed
to relate to this great character, is contained in Num. xxiv. 17,19,
There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out
of Israel, shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy the children
of Seth. Geddes interprets the latter clause--shall destroy the
sons of esdition; but it probably means, according to the common
interpretation, that this monarch was to govern the whole race of
men, i. e. the children of Seth; for Noah, according to the Old
Testament, was descended from him; and of the posterity of Noah,
was the whole earth overspread. And in verse 19, it is added out
of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion.*
God says to David, 2 Sam. vii. 12, And when thy days shall be
fulfilled, and thou shall sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed
after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels; and I will
establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I
will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his
Father, and he shall be my Son--if he commit iniquity, I will
chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the
children of men. But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took
it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thy house, and thy
kingdom shall be established before me, and thy throne shall be
established for ever. Mention is made of this promise in several of
the Psalms, but it certainly suggests no idea of such a person as
Jesus of Nazareth, but only that of a temporal prince of the
posterity of David. It implies, that his family would never entirely
fail for though it might be severely punished, it would recover its
lustre again. And connecting this promise with that of the glory of
the nation in general, foretold in the books of Moses, it might be
inferred by the Hebrews, who believed them to be of Divine
authority, that after long and great calamities (the consequences of
their sins,) the people of Israel would be restored to their country,
and attain the most distinguished felicity under a prince of the
family of David. This is the subject of numberless prophecies
throughout the Old Testament.
Passing over all those prophecies in which the national glory is
spoken of without any mention of a prince or head; I shall recite,
and remark upon the most eminent of those in which mention is
made of any particular person, under whom, or by means of
whom, the Israelitish nation, it is said, would enjoy the
transcendent prosperity elsewhere foretold.
The second Psalm is no doubt well known to my readers, and
supposing it to refer to the Messiah, it is evident, that it describes
him enthroned upon mount Zion, the favorite of God, and the
resistless conqueror of his enemies.
The next prophecy of this distinguished individual is recorded in
Isaiah ix. 6--Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and
the government shall be upon his shoulder; and the Wonderful, the
Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father shall call his
name* the Prince of Peace. [For thus it is pointed to be read in the
original Hebrew, and this is the meaning of the passage, and not as
in the absurd translation of this verse in the English version.] Of
the increase of his government there shall be no end upon the
throne of David, and his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it
with judgment, and with justice from henceforth and for ever: the
zeal of the Lord of Hosts will do this. Here again we have a
mighty monarch, sitting upon the throne of David, upon earth; and
not a spiritual king placed in heaven, upon the throne of the
mighty God, the everlasting Father.
The next passage which comes under notice, is in the eleventh
chapter of Isaiah, in which a person is mentioned, under whom
Israel, and the whole earth was to enjoy great prosperity and
felicity. He is described as an upright prince, endued with the spirit
of God, under whose reign there would be universal peace, which
was to take place after the return of the Israelites from their
dispersed state, when the whole nation would be united and happy.
There shall spring forth a rod from the trunk of Jesse, and a scion
from his roots shall become fruitful. And the spirit of the Lord
shall rest upon him; the spirit of wisdom, and understanding; the
spirit of counsel, and strength; the spirit of knowledge, and the fear
of the Lord. And he shall be quick of discernment in the fear of the
Lord; so that not according to the sight of his eyes shall he judge,
nor according to the hearing of the ears shall he reprove. With
righteousness shall he judge the poor, and with equity shall he
work conviction# on the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the
earth with the blast of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips
shall he slay the wicked one. And righteousness shall be the girdle
of his lions, and faithfulness the cincture of his reins. Then shall
the wolf take up his abode with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie
down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling
shall come together, and a little child shall lead them. And the
heifer, and the she bear shall feed together, and the lion shall eat
straw like the ox. And the suckling shall play upon the hole of the
asp; and upon the den of the basilisk shall the new weaned child
lay his hand. They shall not hurt, nor destroy in my holy mountain,
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the
waters cover the sea. And it shall come to pass in that day, the root
of Jesse which standeth for an ensign to the people, unto him shall
the nations repair, and his resting place shall be glorious.
As the scion here spoken of is said to spring from the root of Jesse,
it looks as if it were intended to intimate, that the tree itself would
be cut down, or that the power of David's Family would be for
some time extinct; but that it would revive in the latter days.
The same Prince is again mentioned, chap xxxiii. 1, 3, where the
people are described to be both virtuous, and flourishing, and to
continue to be so. (v. 15--17.)
Behold a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule
with equity. And the man shall be a covert from the storm, as a
refuge from the flood, as canals of waters in a dry place, as the
shadow of a great rock in a land of fainting with heat. And him the
eyes of those that see shall regard, and the ears of them that hear
shall harken, * * * * till the spirit from on high be poured out upon
us, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field
be esteemed a forest. And judgment shall dwell in the wilderness,
and in the fruitful field shall reside righteousness. And the work of
righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness
perpetual quiet, and security. And my people shall dwell in a
peaceful mansion, and in habitations secure, and in resting places
undisturbed.
The same Prophet, chap. lxii 1, speaks of a person under the title of
Gods Servant, of a meek disposition, raised up by God to
enlighten the world, even the Gentile part of it; to bring prisoners
out of their confinement, and to open their eyes; alluding,
probably, to the custom too common in the East; of sealing up the
eyes, by sewing or fastening together the eyelids of persons, and
then imprisoning thorn for life. It is doubted, however, whether the
Prophet meant, or had in view, in this passage, the Messiah, or his
own nation.
Behold my servant whom I will uphold, mine elect in whom my
soul delighteth; I will make my spirit rest upon him, and he shall
publish judgment to the nations. He shall not cry aloud, nor raise a
clamour, nor cause his voice to be heard in the public places. The
bruised reed shall he not break, and the dimly burning flax he shall
not quench, he shall publish judgment so as to establish it
perfectly. His force shall not be abated, nor broken, until he has
firmly seated judgment in the earth, and the distant nations shall
earnestly wait for his Law.
Thus saith the Lord, even, the Eternal, who created the heavens,
and stretched them out; who spread abroad the earth, and the
produce thereof, who giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit
to them that tread thereon. I the Lord have called thee for a
righteous purpose,* and I will take hold of thy hand, and I will
preserve thee; and I will give thee for a covenant to the people, for
a light to the nations; to open the eyes of the blind, to bring the
captive out of confinement, and from the dungeon those that dwell
in darkness. I am the Eternal, that is my name, and my glory will I
not give to another, nor my praise to the graven images. The
former predictions, lo! they are to come to pass, and now events I
now declare; before they spring forth, behold I make them known
unto you. See also chap. xlix. 1,12, and chap. liv. 3, 5.
In the 3d chapter of Hosea, verses 4 and 5, it is said by the Prophet,
that the sons of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and
without a prince, and without sacrifice, and without a statue, and
without an ephod, and without Teraphim. Afterward shall the sons
of Israel return, and shall seek the Lord their God, and DAVID
their King, and shall fear the Lord, and his goodness in the latter
days.
Micah chap. v. speaks of the Messiah thus, And thou Bethlehem
Ephratah, art thou too little to be among the leaders of Judah? Out
of thee shall come forth unto me, him who is to be ruler in Israel;
and his goings forth have been from old, from the days of hidden
ages. Therefore will He (God) deliver them up, until the time when
she that bringeth forth, hath brought forth, and until the residue of
his brethren shall return together with the sons of Israel. And. he
shall stand and feed his flock, in the strength of the Lord, in the
majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they shall abide, for
now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth, and he shall be
Peace. Jeremiah also speaks of the restoration of the Israelites
under a Prince of the family of David, chap. xxiii. 5, 8.
Behold the days are coming, saith the Lord, that I will raise up
unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign, and act
wisely, and shall execute justice, and judgment in the earth. In his
days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell in security, and
this is the name by which the Eternal shall call him, OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS.# [Heb.] The same is mentioned in chap. xxx.
8, 9. And it shall be in that day, saith the Lord of Hosts, I will
break his yoke from off his neck, and his bands will I burst
asunder, and strangers shall no more exact service of him. But they
shall serve the Lord their God, and DAVID their King, whom I
will raise up for (or to) them. * * * The voice of joy, and the voice
of mirth, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride,
the voice of them that say. Praise ye the Lord of Hosts, for the
Lord is gracious, for his mercy endureth for ever, of them that
bring praise to the house of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts,
yet again shall there be in this place that is desolate (Jerusalem and
Palestine,) without man and beast, and in all the cities thereof, an
habitation of shepherds folding sheep, in the cities of the hill
country, and in the cities of the plain, and in the cities of the south,
and in the land of Benjamin, and in the environs of Jerusalem. * *
* Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform the
good thing which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel,
and concerning the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time,
[he that readeth, let him observe] I will came to grow up of the line
of David a branch of righteousness, and he shall execute judgment
and justice in the earth. In those days Judah shall be saved, and
Jerusalem, shall dwell securely, and this is he whom the Lord shall
call--OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. [Heb.] Surely, thus saith the
Lord, there shall not be a failure in the line of David, one to sit
upon the throne of the house of Israel, neither shall there be a
failure in the line of the Priests, the Levites, of one to offer before
me burnt offerings, and to perform sacrifice continually." See ch.
xxxiiii. 14. In this place, the perpetuity of the tribe of Levi, as well
as that of the house of David, is foretold. See also Jer. ch. xxx. 9.
Contemporary with Jeremiah was Ezekiel. He likewise describes
this happy state of the Israelites under a king of the name of David,
chap. xxxiv. 22.
Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey:
and I will judge between cattle, and cattle. And I will set up one
Shepherd over them, and be shall feed them, even my servant
DAVID: he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd, and I
the Lord will be their God, and my servant DAVID a Prince
among them. I the Lord have spoken it. And I will make with them
a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of
the land; and they shall dwell safely in' the wilderness, and sleep in
the woods. And I will make them, and the places round about my
hill, a blessing, and I will cause the shower to come down in the
season: there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field
shall yield her fruit; and the earth shall yield her increase; and they
shall be safe in their land; and shall know that I am the Lord, &c.
In another passage this prophet says, that the two nations, Israel
and Judah, shall have one king, and that this king shall be named
DAVID, who shall reign for ever, chap. xxxvii. 21--28. Say unto
them, thus saith the Lord God, behold I will take the children of
Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will
gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. And
I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of
Israel, and one king shall be king to them all, and they shall be no
more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms
any more at all. Neither shall they defile themselves any more with
their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their
transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places
wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them, so shall they be
my people, and I will be their God. And DAVID my servant shall
be king over them, and there shall be one shepherd. They shall
also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes and do them.
And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my
servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt, and they shall dwell
therein, even they, and their children, and their childrens children
for ever, and my servant DAVID shall be their prince forever.
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them: it shall be an
everlasting covenant with them, and I will place them, and
multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them, for
evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them, and I will be
their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall
know, that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall,
be in the midst of them for evermore.
The natural construction of this seems to be this, that a descendant
of David, called by that name, should reign over the Israelites for
ever.
In the very circumstantial description which Ezekiel gives of the
state of the Israelites in their own country, yet expected by the
Jews, he speaks of the prince, and the portion assigned him, chap.
xlv. 78. And in his description of the temple service, he moreover
speaks of the gate, by which the prince is to enter into it. See chap.
xlvi. 1, 2.
The next, and last, passage I shall quote, is from the book of
Daniel, who, in the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, had a
vision of four beasts, representing the four great Empires. At the
close of his account of which, he speaks of one like the son of
man being brought into the presence of God, and receiving from
the Eternal an everlasting kingdom (chap. vii. 13)--I saw in the
night visions, and behold one like the son of man came with the
clouds of heaven, and come to the ancient of days; and they
brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion,
and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages,
should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed.
I have now gone through the prophecies which are allowed both by
Jews and Christians to relate to one person whom they call the
Messiah. It must be evident from all these passages, that the
characteristics of this, to both parties, highly interesting personage,
as described by the Hebrew prophets, are these:--
1. That he was to be a just, beneficent, wise, and mighty monarch,
raised up and upheld, and established by God, to be the means of
promoting universal peace, and happiness. That Israel should be
gathered to him, and established in their own land; which was to
be the seat of dominion, and the centre of union, and of worship to
all the people, and nations of the earth; who were to live under the
government, and receive, and obey the law of this beneficent
prince; and enjoy unspeakable felicities on the earth, then changed
to a universal paradise. And for all this happiness, they were to
worship, and glorify the true God only, and glorify the Eternal, and
give thanks to Him because He is good, and his mercy endureth
forever.
2. That this prince was to be of the line of David, and as it should
seem, called by that name, and was to reign on his throne in
Jerusalem.
3. That according to Micah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, (see the
quotations)
his manifestation, and (and the restoration of Israel) were to be
contemporaneous. See Hosea, chap. iii. 4, 5. And from Jeremiah
xxxiii. 15, and from Micah v. 2, it should seem also, that he was
not to be born, till the time of that restoration should be nearly
arrived.
The prophecies concerning the Messiah of the Jews being now laid
before the reader, we have only to apply these descriptions to know
whether an individual be their Messiah, or not. For, (according to
the principles laid down, and established in the preceding chapter)
where the foregoing characteristics given by the prophets do centre
and agree, that person is the Messiah foretold; but where they are
not found in any one claiming that character, miracles are nothing
to the purpose, and nothing is more certain, than that he has no
right to be considered as such; and could he with a word turn the
sun black in the face, in proof of his being the Messiah, he is,
nevertheless, not to be regarded; for, whether such a person has yet
appeared, can certainly only be known by considering, whether the
world has ever yet seen such a person as this Messiah of the
Hebrew prophets.