13. yet 'twas a Dream divinely infpired. Here the Ancient of Days reprefents the Divine Being, or God himself, clothed in Light or Brightnefs white as Snow or Wool: one like the Son of Man coming with the Clouds of Heaven, feems to be the Son of God or Jefus Chrift, who is alfo the Son of Man, afcending in the Clouds of Heaven, and he came to the Ancient of Days, that is, to God the Father, and received his Dominion, Glory and Exaltation at his Ascension into Heaven in a bright Cloud: and 'tis probable, that from the Language of this Dream or Vision, Chrift borrows his Name, the Son of Man: and 'tis evident that our Saviour's Defcription of his own future Appearance as the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven, Matt. 26. 64. is borrowed from this Vifion, and his real Afcenfion to Heaven and his Exaltation there, is but an Accomplishment of this prophetical Scene.

Dan. 8. 15. Daniel had seen a Vision just before, and while he was feeking for the meaning of it, Behold, faid he, there stood before me as the Appearance of a Man, and I heard a Man's Voice which called and faid, Gabriel make this Man to understand the Vifion. Surely this Man who appeared feems to be Jefus Chrift, who had command over Gabriel, one of the chief Angels.

Dan. 10. 5. I lift up mine Eyes and looked, and bebold a certain Man clothed in Linnen, whofe Loins were girded with fine Gold, &c. Here is the Description of an Appearance very like the Appearance of Chrift to the Apostle John, Rev. 1. 13. but whether this was the Angel of God's Prefence, (viz.) Christ, or another Angel, is hard to determine, y. 10. Behold an Hand touched me and fet me upon my Knees and upon the Palms of my Hands, and he said unto me, O Daniel, a Man greatly beloved,-ftand upright, for to thee am I now fent Fear not, for from the first Day that

thou

thou didst fet thine Heart to understand and chaften thy felf before God, thy Words were heard, and I am come for. thy Words. But the Prince of the Kingdom of Perfia withftood me one and twenty days: but lo, Michael, one (or the firft) of the chief Princes came to help me, and I remained there with the Kings of Perfia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy People in the latter Days. 20. Then faid he, Now will I return to fight with the Prince of Perfia:-there is none that boldeth with me in thefe things, but Michael your Prince. Here it is very probable that the Prince of the Kingdom of Perfia is one of thofe fallen Angels, Prin cipalities and Powers of Darkness, who by divine Permiflion governed the Heathen Nations, and were worshipped amongst them as Gods, for the Apostle tells the Chriftians that the Gentiles facrificed to Devils, 1 Cor. 10:20. all under Satan their Sovereign, who is the God of this World, until Chrift at his Resurrec tion and Afcenfion fpoiled thefe Principalities and Powers, and difpoffeft them of their Dominions, Col. 2. 15. and led them captive, Pfal. 68. 18. and took the Heathen World for bis Poffeffion, and ins to his own Government. It can't be a good Angel, because he withstood the good Angel that was sent to Daniel with a divine Commiffion twenty-one days; and because the Angel who was fent to Daniel went afterwards to fight with this Prince of Perfia.

It is alfo very probable that Michael is Jefus Chrift, because he is called your Prince, that is the Prince of the Jews, and one, or the first of the Princes, that is the prime Archangel*. And in Dan. 12. 1. he

Yet it has been obferved that tho' fome of the Fathers and our later Divines, fpeak of feveral Archangels, the Scripture uses the Word but twice, (viz.) Jude 9 and 1 Theff. 4 16. and both times in the fingular Number. Perhaps this Michael, i. e. Christ the King of the Jews, is the only Archangel, or Prince and Head of all Angels.

is called Michael the great Prince, which standeth for the Children of thy People, that is the Prince or King of the fees for fuch was Jefus Chrift under the ancient Difpenfation; this was the known Character of the Meiab among the Jews; and as King of the Fews he was fent into this World, then he came to bis own, yet his own received him not, John 1. 11.

What confirms this Sentiment is that in Revel. 12. 7. when there was War in Heaven, Michael and his Angels fought against the Dragon and his Angels, Chrift as the Head of the good Angels, and Satan as the Head of the evil Angels maintained a War in Heaven, i. e. in the Church, 'till the great Dragon was cast out of the Church, that old Serpent called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole World. Then follows a loud Voice in Heaven, i. e. the Church, faying, Now is come Salvation and Strength, and the Kingdom of our God and the Power. of his Chrift; that is, the Power of Michael prevailing over the Dragon, for the Accufer of the Brethren who accused them before God Day and Night is caft down by the prevalent Interceffion of Chrift pleading for them, and by his Dominion over all things which God gave him at his Afcenfion into Heaven

CAmos 7. 7, 8. Behold the Lord stood upon a Wall made by a Plumb-line with a Plumb-line in his band, and the Lord Jehovah faid unto me, Amos, what feeft thou? And I faid, a Plumb-line. Then faid the Lord, Behold, I will fet a Plumb-line in the midst of my People Ifrael, and Iwill not again pafs by them any more. Here God appears evidently in a Human Figure to the Prophet Amos, and the fame Human Form feems to appear again to Amos, Chap. 9. 1. Ifaw the Lord, Jehovah, fanding upon the Altar, and be faid, Smite the Lintel of the Door that the Pofts may shake. .2. Tho' they dig into Hell, thence shall mine Hand take them;

tho

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tho they climb up to Heaven, thence will I bring them down. And to make it appear that Jehovah is the peculiar Name of the Great God, he repeats, . 6. what he had before said in Chap. 5. . 8. He that calleth the Waters of the Sea and poureth them out upon the Face of the Earth, the Lord or Jehovah is his Name.

In many of the Writings of the Prophets it is faid, The Word of the Lord came unto them; very frequently to Ezekiel, and fometimes to Jeremiah and others; when there is no Evidenge of any perfonal Appearances to them at that time; tho' 'tis not improbable but at fome of thofe Seafons our Bleffed Saviour, who is called the day, or the Word of God, might appear to thena in a human Form, and dictate a divine Meffage. And fome think those Words of our Saviour, John 10. 35. If he called them Gods unto whom the Word of God came, may have a Reference to Chrift's own Appearance to the Prophets, as this glorious Perfon called the Word.d જે

I don't remember any Places which feem to favour this Sentiment fo much as thefe three (viz.) 1.) Gen. 15. 1. The Word of the Lord came unto Abraham in a Vifion, faying, Fear not, Abraham, I am thy Shield and thy exceeding great Reward. (2.) Gen. 32. 24, 28. There wrestled a Man with Jacob till the breaking of the Day; and be faid, Thy Name fhall be called no more Jacob, but Ifrael. Concerning which Appearance, 'tis recorded, 1 Kings 18. 31. The Word of the Lord came to Jacob, faying, Ifrael fhall be thy Name. And (3.) in the beginning of the Book of Jonah, Chap. 1. . 1, 2, 3. Now the Word of the Lord came unto Jonah the Son of Amittai, faying, Arife, go to Nineveh that great City and cry against it. But Fonal rofe up to flee unto Tarfhifh from the Prefence of the Lord, and be found a Ship and went down into it to go unto Tarshish from the Prefence of the Lord. Now if Jonah had only an inward InfpiD 4

ration

ration and no Vifion, how could he imagine that he could flee from this Infpiration by changing his Place and why fhould it be expreft that be fled from the Prefence of the Lord, unless God had manifefted fome vifible Prefence to him?

Yet on the other hand when I read, Micah 1. I. The Word of the Lord which came to Micah, which he Jaw concerning Samaria and Jerufalem; and when I read alfo, Amos 1. 1. The Words of Amos which be faw concerning Ifrael; I am a little inclined to think that this Expreffion in Jonah might be an Hebrew Idiom of Speech among the Prophets, attributing a fort of vifible Prefence metaphorically to the Word or Words of God which came to them by inward Infpiration, or perhaps by a Voice: or it may be, the things themselves which they foretold, were represented to their Imagination, and on this account the Word or Words of God may be reprefented as vifible. But I leave this Matter as a Point of difficulty not fufficiently determined.

Zech. 1. 7. In the fecond Year of Darius came the Word of the Lord unto Zechariah, faying, . 8. I faw by Night, and behold a Man riding upon a red Horfe, and he stood amongst the Myrtle Trees, and behind him were red Horfes fpeckled and white. . 9. Then faid I, *. O my Lord, what are thefe? And the Angel that talked with me faid, I will fhew thee what thefe be. . 10. And the Man that stood among the Myrtle Trees faid, Thefe are they whom the Lord hath fent to walk to and fro through the Earth. . 11. And they answered the Angel of the Lord that stood among the Myrtle Trees, and faid, We have walked to and fro through the Earth, and behold all the Earth fitteth ftill, and is at reft. . 12. Then the Angel of the Lord answered and faid, O Lord of Hofts, how long wilt thou not have Mercy on Jerufalem, and on the Cities of Judah against which thou haft bad Indignation these threefcore and ten Years?

. 13,

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