are. siah, and reckon his horn as the tenth horn of strength granted unto Israel. R. Levi Ben Gershom understands by the king, in the first place, (He shall give strength unto his King), Saul, and by Messiah in the close of the words, David, who was to be anointed by Samuel the son of Hannah, whose words these Kimchi applies the words to the Messiah, whom, as he says, she intended by the spirit of prophecy, or spoke of from tradition. And indeed the words seem directly to intend him. For by him alone doth the Lord judge the ends of the earth, and he was the Anointed, whose power he would signally exalt. And I mention this place only as an instance of the faith of the church of old, who, in all their mercies, still had a regard unto the great promise of the Messiah, which was the fountain of them all. And therefore Hannah here closeth her prophetical eulogy with her acknowledgment thereof, and faith therein. ,מושל באדם צדיק מושל יראת אלהים .3 .Sam. xxiii 2 .15 8 אמר למנאה לי מלכא הוא משיחא העתיר ריקים ישלוט .Targ He that ruleth in man, just, ruler, in or of, the fear of the Lord: "Anna, He said he would appoint unto me a king, which is the Messiah, who shall arise and rule in the fear of the Lord. And it refers this whole last prophecy of David, or his last words that he spake by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, unto the days of the Messiah: whence it gives this preface unto them: These are the words of the prophecy of David, which he prophesied concerning the end of the world, (or for the end of the world, hy), and the days of consolation that were to come." Rab. Isaiah, and Rashi, interpret the words of David himself; and Kimchi also, but he mentions the application of it unto the Messiah, who was to come of David, whom God would raise up unto him, which he approveth of. Christian expositors who follow the Jews, interpret those words, 727, the Rock of Israel spake to me, by by, or a 27, spake concerning me; that is by Samuel, who anointed me to be King. Some, he spake to me by Nathan. Our translators keep to the letter, he spake unto me. And that alone answers unto the words of the verse foregoing, The Spirit of the Lord, 727, spake in me, or to me, so are the revelations of God expressed, see Zech. iv. 1. 4. and it expresseth the communication of the mind of God unto the prophet, bonviv , and not his speaking by him unto others. And from these very words, 727, the Spirit of the Lord spake in me, do the Jews take occasion to cast the writings of David amongst those which they assign unto that kind of revelation which they call wipa min, or in, books written by inspiration of the Holy Ghost. The other words also, nh, *, his word was in my tongue, manifest that it is David himself that is spoken unto, and not of, in the third verse; and therefore it is some other who is prophesied of by him, namely the Messiah. And this the words whereby he is described do also manifest: paw, ruling in man; that is, saith Jarchi, over Israel, who is called שנקר או אדם שנאמר ארם אתם man; as it is said, and ye the flock of my pasture are men: ,לקחת מתנות באדם,,high, thou hast led captivity captive accepisti dona in homine, and thou hast received gifts in man;' that is, in the human nature exalted, whereof the Psalmist treats in that place. For whereas the apostle, Eph. iv. 8. renders these words, sans dopata Tois aveęgwrs, he gave gifts unto men, it is manifest that he expresseth the end and effect of that which is spoken in the Psalm; for the Lord Christ received gifts in his own human nature, that he might give and bestow them on others, as Peter declareth, Acts ii. 33. The remainder also of the words contain a description of the Messiah.. He is p, dincios, the just and righteous One, Acts iii. 14.; and He alone he that rules in the things that concer מושל יראת אלהים is the fear and worship of God, Isa. xi. 2, 3. So that this place doth indeed belong unto the faith of the ancient church concerning the Messiah. § 16. 1 Kings iv. 33. Instead of those words concerning Solomon," He spake of trees from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall;" the ואתנבי על מלכי בית דוד דעתידין למשלט בעלמא,Targum reads And he prophesied of the kings of,הדין ובעלמא ראתי דמשיחא the house of David in this world, (the duration of time and state of things under the Old Testament), and of the Messiah in the world to come; so they call the days of the Messiah. I know of none who have considered what occasion the Targumists could take from the words of the text, to mention this matter in this place. I will not say, that he doth not intend the Book of Canticles, wherein, under an allegory of trees, herbs and spices, Solomon prophesieth of, and sets forth the grace and love of Christ towards his church, and wherein many things are by the latter Targumist applied unto the Messiah also, as we shall see. 17. There is mention likewise made of the Messiah in the Targum, by an addition unto the text, Ruth iii. 15. It was said in the prophecy, that six righteous persons should come of Ruth, David, and Daniel, with his companions, and the king Messiah.' The general end of the writing of this Book of Ruth, was to declare the providence of God about the genealogy of the Messiah. And this seems to have been kept in tradition amongst them. And for this cause doth Matthew expressly mention her name in his rehearsal of the genealogy of Christ, Matt. i. 5. For it being a tradition amongst the Jews, that this was the end of the writing of her story, whereon they add that consideration unto the text in their Targum, it was remembered by the evangelist in a compliance therewith. § 18. The place of Job, wherein he expresseth his faith in him, and expectation of redemption by him, hath been already explicated and vindicated, so that we shall not need here to insist upon it again. The Psalms next occur. In David, the light and faith of the church began to be greatly enlarged. The renovation of the promise unto him, the confirmation of it by an oath, the confinement of the promised seed unto his posterity, the establishment of his throne and kingdom as a type of the dominion and rule of the Messiah, with the especial revelations made unto him, as one that signally longed for his coming, and rejoiced in the prospect which he had of it in the spirit of prophecy, did greatly further the faith and knowledge of the whole church. Henceforward, therefore, the mention of him is multiplied, so that it would be impossible to insist on all the particular instances of it. I shall therefore notice only some of the most eminent, with an especial respect unto the concurrence of the persuasion and expectation of the Jews. 19. Psal. ii. 2. "The rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his Anointed:" His Messiah, as the word should be left uninterpreted. Targum, on, against his Messiah. The Talmudists, in several places, acknowledge this Psalm to be a prophecy of the Messiah, and apply sundry passages thereof unto him. And those words, "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee," are not amiss expounded ,היום אגלה לבריות שאתה בני .5 .by them in Tract. Succah. c I will this day reveal unto men that thou art my Son; for so are they applied by our apostle dealing with the Jews, Acts xiii. 33. Heb. i. 5. namely, unto his resurrection from the dead, whereby he was declared to be the Son of God with power, Rom. i. 4. All the principal expositors amongst them, as Rashi, Kimchi, Aben Ezra, Bartenora, or Rab. Obodia, acknowledge, that their ancient doctors and masters expounded this Psalm concerning the Messiah. Of their more modern teachers, some of them apply it unto David, and say it was composed by some of the singers concerning him, when he was anointed king, of which the Philistines hearing, prepared to fight against him, 2 Sam. v. 17. This is the conceit of Rashi, who therein is followed by sundry Christian expositors, with no advantage to the faith. And I presume they observed not the reason he gives for his exposition, Our masters,' saith he, of blessed memory, interpret this Psalm of the King Messiah; ww 6 ,but as the words sound ולתשובת המינין נכון לפירשו על דור and to answer the heretics, it is meet or right to expound it of David.' Those words, in anh, and that we may answer the heretics, or Christians, are left out in the Venice and Basil editions of his comments, but were in the old copies of them. And this is the plain reason why they would apply this Psalm to David, of whom not one verse of it can be truly and rightly expounded, as shall be manifested elsewhere. And it is a wise answer which they give in Midrash Tehillim, unto that testimony of ver. 7. where God calls the Messiah his Son, to מבאן תשובה למינין .prove him to be the natural son of God שהן אומרין יש בן להבה ואתה מותיב ליה בזלי אתה אינו אומר And hence we may have an answer for the : ; אלא בני אתה heretics, who say that the holy blessed God hath a Son. But do thou answer, He says not thou art a Son to me; but thou art my Son.' As though, thou art my Son, did not more directly express the filiation of the person spoken of, than 12 would do. 2, my Son, is more emphatically expressive of a natural relation, than 12, a Son to me; see Gen. xxvii. 21. And in this Psalm, we have a good part of the creed of the ancient church concerning the Messiah, as may be Tearned from the exposition of it. § 20. Psal. xviii. 32. Targum, Because of the miracles and redemption which thou shalt work for thy Messiah. I mention this place only, that it may appear that the Jews had a tradi tion amongst them, that David in this Psalm bare the person of the Messiah, and was considered as his type. And hence our apostle applies those words, ver. 3. 12 on, I will put my trust in him, unto the Lord Jesus Christ, Heb. ii. 13. See also Psal. xx. 7. § 21. Psal. xxi. 1. "The King shall joy in thy strength, O Lord." Targum, now nɔh, the King Messiah shall rejoice. Ver. 7. "For the King trusteth in the Lord." Targum. Messiah the King. And in Midrash Tehillim, those words of ver. 3. Thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head,' are also applied unto him. There is no mention of him in the Tar gum on Psal. xxii. nor in the Midrash; but we shall afterwards prove at large that whole Psalm to belong unto him, and to have been so acknowledged by some of their ancient masters, against the oppositions and cavils of their later seducers. 22. Psal. xlv. The Targum hath given an especial title a Psalm : לשבחא על יתבי סנהדרין דמשה,unto this Psalm of praise for the elders (assessors) of the sanhedrim of Moses:" intimating, that something eminent is contained in it. And those words, ver. 2. "Thou art fairer than the children of שופרך מלכא משיחא עדיך מבני,men :" are rendered in it N, Thy beauty, O King Messiah, is more excellent than that of the sons of men. And grace, in the next words, is interpreted by 813 m, the spirit of prophecy, not amiss. And those words, ver. 7. "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever," are retained with little alteration: " pon roby pbyb, ‹ The seat of thy glory, O God, remaineth for ever and ever: applying it unto the Messiah, which illustrious testimony given unto his deity, shall be vindicated in our exposition of the words, as cited by our apostle, Heb. viii. Kimchi expounds this Psalm of the Messiah. Aben Ezra says, it is או על משיח בנו שכן שמו דוד עבדי נשיא ,spoken of David Bbw nb, or concerning Messiah his Son, who is likewise called David; as, David, my serrant, shall be their Prince for tver,' Ezek. xxxvii. 25. § 23. Psal. lxviii. & Ixix. are illustrious prophecies of the Messiah, though the Jews take little notice of them, and that because they treat of two things which they will not acknow ledge concerning him: the former expresseth him to be God, ver. 17, 18. and the other his sufferings from God and men, ver. 26. both which they deny and oppose. But in Shemoth Rab ba, sect. 35. they say of the pwn, ver. 32. The princes that כל האומות עתירין להביא דורון למלך,shall come out of Egypt , all nations shall bring gifts to the King Messiah,' referring the Psalm to his days and work. The same exposition is given of the place in Midrash, Esther i. 1. and by R. Obodia Haggaon on the place. § 24. Psal. lxxii. 1. "Give the King thy judgments, O God." Gine the sentence of הלכת דינין למלכא משיחא הב .Targ זה מלך המשיח שנאמר ויצא חוטר,agree. Midrash on the title thy judgment unto the King Messiah. And herein they generally This is the King Messiah, as it is said, A rod shall come forth from the stem of Jesse,' Isa. xi. 1. And Aben Ezra נבואת דוד אי אחד המשודרים על שלמה,on the same title by, A prophecy of David, or one of the singers, concerning Solomon, or concerning the Messiah.' And Kimchi acknowledgeth that this Psalm is expounded by many of them concerning the Messiah. Rashi applies it unto Solomon, as |