"embrace the Jewish religion." But in the case of a prophecy, which is said to be already accomplished, we can scarcely allow a series of conjectures to be a sufficient exposition. After all, even granting the conjectures to be well-founded, still the exposition will be incomplete, Isaiah manifestly speaks of a general conversion of the whole land of Egypt, and that not merely to nominal but to real religion: hence, when he peculiarly mentions five cities, we must not understand him as contradicting and limiting the rest of his prediction, but simply as alluding to five principal cities which he considers as subincluding all the rest*. But Bp. Newton in a great measure confines the conversion to the five cities; and even in those five cities to a part only of their inhabitants, the Jews and their Egyptian proselytes. Onias might very possibly suppose the prophecy to have been accomplished in his day; or rather, with a view to what he conceived would be the accomplishment of it, he might alledge this very prophecy to the king and queen of Egypt, in order to induce them to permit him to build a temple to God in the prefecture of Heliopolis, or the city of the Sun: yet, although he succeeded in his plan, it is not thereby so much proved that the prediction was then really accomplished, as that he was willing to believe it to

* Compare Isaiah xix. 18. with ver. 21-25.

have been then accomplished *. In fine, Bp. Newton himself does not seem perfectly satisfied with his own interpretation: he allows, that the prophecy will be more amply fulfilled hereafter. Thus," says he, "by the means of the Jews and "proselytes dwelling in Egypt and Syria, Israel, "Egypt and Syria were in some measure united in "the same worship. But this was more fully accomplished, when these countries became Chris"tian, and so were made members of the same body in Christ Jesus. And we piously hope and "believe, that it will still receive its most perfect "completion in the latter days, when Moham"medism shall be rooted out and Christianity "shall again flourish in these countries, when the "fulness of the Gentiles shall come in and all "Israel shall be saved." To this last event, I, on the contrary, cannot refrain from thinking that the prophecy ought to be altogether confined, for reasons which have already been sufficiently stated.

* Bp. Lowth, although he adopts in the main Bp. Newton's interpretation of this prophecy, objects much in the same manner with myself to the application of that part of it, which speaks of the city of the sun, to Onias.

PRO

PROPHECY VII.

The dispersion of the Jews-Their restoration from the west-The lamentation of Judah on account of the treachery of Antichrist-His restoration in the midst of great political troubles-The overthrow of Antichrist-The triumph of the restored Jews-The certainty of their restoration and of the overthrow of Antichrist-The exhaustion of the Euphrates and the Nile.

Isaiah xxiv. 1. Behold, the Lord maketh the land empty, and layeth it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. 2. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. 3. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled for the Lord hath spoken this word. 4. The land mourneth, and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the land do languish. 5. The land also is defiled beneath the inhabitants thereof: because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant; 6. Therefore

VOL. I.

hath

hath a curse devoured the land, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore the inhabitants of the land are burned, and few men left. 7. The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merry-hearted do sigh. 8. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. 9. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. 10. The city is broken down; it is become a confused heap; every house is shut up, so that no man may come in. 11. There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened; the mirth of the land is gone. 12. In the city is left desolation; and the gate is smitten with destruction. 13. For thus it shall be in the inmost parts of the land, in the midst of the people; it shall be as the gleaning of an olive tree, as the straggling grapes that remain when the vintage is dore.

14. Yet they shall lift up their voice; they shall exult in the majesty of the Lord; they shall shout from the sea *. 15. Wherefore glorify ye the Lord

by

*They shall shout from the sea.] "Or from the isles of the sea, as it is expressed in the following verse; i. e. from the "isles of the western or mediterranean sea, whither many "of the Jews were scattered, and from whence they should

return into their own country in the latter days. The He"brew word Ijam signifies the West as well as the sea, because the mediterranean sea lay westward of Judèa: and so the "word

by Urim, the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea. 16. From the uttermost parts of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous one. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, wo unto me! the treacherous dealers have. dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.

17. Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. 18. And it shall come to pass, that he, who fleeth from the noise of the fear, shall fall into the pit; and he, that cometh up out of the midst of the pit, shall be taken in the snare for the fissures on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.

19. The

Mr.

"word is rendered by some interpreters here. This verse is "to be understood of the final restoration of the Jews." Lowth in loc.

* From the uttermost parts of the earth.] "From the uttermost parts of the earth means the same as from the isles of the ce sea in the foregoing verses: from these utmost regions have "we heard the joyful acknowledgment of the righteous, "praising God for their deliverance and for all the glorious "things he hath done for them, making them thereby re"markable in the eyes of the world as his favourites-We 66 may observe, that the word Tsebi is often taken for Judea, "as being the glory of all lands-And, if we take the word in "this sense, the meaning of the place will be, That the sub"stance of their hymns was, that now the promised land "should be restored to the righteous seed of Abraham. "Which confirms the interpretation given of ver. 14, that "the context relates to the final restoration of the Jews." Mr. Lowth in loc,