Notwithstanding, therefore, the additions, mutilations, and corruptions, which the sacred text has suffered through the ignorance, inadvertence, and malice, of frail and designing men, the word of God standeth fast against all the fiery darts of profane infidels, upon this firm, unshaken, foundation, that it always hath been, and always will be, able to make men wise unto salvation.

So far, then, ought we to be from apprehending that any consequences, derogatory to the honour or authority of the Scriptures, may arise from admitting the errors and mistakes of copyists, that the contrary persuasion has, more particularly within the last century, given birth to a more free and impartial examination of the word of God, and opened a very large field for Scriptural criticism; which has enabled several very learned and ingenious divines to reconcile many apparent contradictions, to correct and supply many interpolations and defects, and to elucidate and illustrate many obscure passages: (witness the incomparable labours of the late learned Bishop Lowth, Dr Kennicott, &c.) And let it not be considered as an instance of affected pride and arrogance in one so far inferior, and so little equal to the task, to attempt to make discoveries which have escaped the discernment of such able critics. For, the well-intended endeavours of the meanest of the stewards of the mysteries of God, to understand and explain the Scriptures, it is to be hoped may meet, if not with approbation, at least with venial indulgence. And, on this presumption, I shall proceed to my designed observations on the words of the text, which, with the application I shall draw from them, may not be altogether foreign and impertinent to the present occasion of our assembling ourselves together.

That the passage under our consideration does not stand in the present text as it did originally, seems very probable for the two following reasons; the various versions of it, and the opposite constructions put upon it by those who have attempted to explain it, which have been as numerous as upon any part of the old testament.*

But, not to trouble you with the recital of these several opinions, I shall only observe that those translators who propose an antithesis in each member of the verse, which is wholly lost in our version, seem to come nearest to the intention of the prophet. To complete which antithesis, it is necessary, as Grotius and others have observed, to suppose a transposition and to supply a preposition; but, notwithstanding these alterations, the sense generally given to the words is not very applicable to the subject in hand, which is, to set forth, in the most striking light, the unprecedented ingratitude of the Jews in their idolatrous worship. If, therefore, we might be permitted. to change the position of one letter in the first hemistich, and to add the same in the second, which might be easily dropped from the sameness of that which follows, reading, also, with two antient MSS. or for wn, instead of the present reading,

אם ינטשו ממים זרים קרים נוזלים

which would give this apposite היעזב צור שרי משלג לבנון

sense; "shall the rock of the Almighty be left for the snow of Lebanon? Or shall the cooling streams be forsaken for strange waters?" Or, the streams springing out of a fountain; which sense, Taylor, in his Concordance, gives to p, deriving it from p, fodere fontem. Though it may perhaps be derived from р or р, occurrere, in allusion to the waters flowing out of the rock to meet the children of Israel and to relieve them. And, though this transposition and addition of the is not authorised by any MS. it varies as little from the text as any that has been proposed. The construction put upon the latter part of the text receives some countenance from Junius's translation, which we have in the margin of our bible; but the version of the whole, which corresponds most nearly with that now offered, may be found in the learned Mr Lowth's commentary, "shall one leave the moisture of the field for the snow of Lebanon? Or shall the running waters be forsaken for the muddy or strange waters?" And, translating the verse thus, says he, it is exactly parallel with Ch. ii. 13, 18. Now, to pass over the objections which may lie against interpreting, the dew, or moisture, the similitude between the passages here referred to, and that before us, may appear much stronger, perhaps, by giving the words the proposed sense, the rock of the Almighty. For, it is very obvious to observe that this expression has a beautiful allusion to the rock in Horeb, mentioned Exod. xvii. 6, out of which there came a most plentiful supply of water for the children of Israel, when they were just dying for thirst: whence Jehovah is often emphatically styled the rock. And it is also remarkable, that, in Ps. lxxviii. 16, where this wonderful transaction is most beautifully described, the very word na is made use of," he brought streams also out of the rock;" and, by thus rendering the verse, it contains a most severe sarcasm upon the Jews for forsaking the rock of their salvation, i. e. Jehovah, to follow the vain and empty idols of the heathen; which will appear more fully by a recital of the whole passage. "Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, thus saith the Lord, behold I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you. Return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. And they said, there is no hope, but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart: (a rebellious declaration, very similar to that in Exod. xvii. 3.) Therefore, thus saith Jehovah, ask ye now, among the heathen, who hath heard such things? The virgin of Israel hath done a very heinous thing. Shall the rock of the Almighty be left for the snow of Lebanon? Shall the cold, or cooling, streams be forsaken for strange waters? Because, or rather but, my people hath forgotten me; they have burnt incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the antient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up."

That this is not an improbable sense of the words may, perhaps, be farther confirmed from its remarkable correspondence with other passages in the prophet, who, in the preceding chapter, expresses himself thus: "O Lord, (or rather O Jehovah,) the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me (rather from thee) shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters." with the Sept. Vulg. and Ar. it may appear probable that, for

For, if we consult the MSS. we should read 7101. Again,

; הרבה should read

in c. ii. God expostulates with the Israelites in a very pathetical manner: "Pass over the isles of Chittim, and see, and send unto, Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be any such thing. Hath a nation changed their gods, which yet are no gods? But my people hath changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; be ye very desolate, saith Jehovah; for, my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (But, for 1, which, in this place, does not suit the context, it is probable that we "Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be ye very much afraid, saith Jehovah:" which is favoured by the Syr. version, and for this reading see 2 Sam. xii. 30.) Again, at the 17th verse," Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken Jehovah, thy God, when he led thee by the way? (i. e. in the wilderness, when they forsook the fountain of living waters.) And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? Or, what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?” Now, if I may be allowed a farther conjecture, perhaps the snow of Lebanon, in the words of the text, may answer to the waters of the river; i.e. Euphrates, which was situated in that part of the world, and the strange waters to the waters of Sihor, or Egypt; which are, most probably, described by the very same expression, 2 Kings, c. xix. where Sennacherib, boasting of his extensive victories, delivers himself in this blasphemous strain; "With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedartrees thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof; and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel. I have digged, and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places." Or, as these last words are rendered by the learned Bochart, all the rivulets of Egypt. To confirm which sense of the word ", Mitzor, as signifying Egypt, it may not be improper to cite a passage in Micah, c. vii. 12, (where the same word occurs in the same sense, according to the best commentators,) which, rightly translated, gives an exact description of the land of Israel: "In that day shall he come, even to thee, from Assyria, and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt, even to the river, (i. e. Euphrates,) and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain." Unless, for ", we might read 11; " from Assyria, even to Egypt:" which is countenanced by the following part of the context.

But a farther reason why the rock of the Almighty was contrasted with the snow of Lebanon might be, that, as snow in the hot countries was deemed a necessary, the snow of Lebanon might be in particular estimation with the Israelites. And the learned Dr Hunt, on Prov. xxv. 13, informs us, that it is the custom to this day, in the East, to preserve snow in vessels under ground. As this mountain, then, lay to the north of the land of Judah, and the strange waters, or Egypt, to the south, the words under consideration might be intended to describe the total defection of the house of Israel from the true God to the gods of the nations.

Having now finished the observations I designed to make on the words of the text, which, with the greatest deference and diffidence, are submitted to superior judgement, and adding only a O02 remark

remark of the learned collator of the MSS. very apposite to this purpose, that it is very necessary sometimes to correct the text by mere conjecture, when the Hebrew MSS. and antient versions give us no assistance, I shall proceed to make the intended application.

First, then, shall the rock of the Almighty be left for the snow of Lebanon? Shall the cooling streams be forsaken for strange waters? Or, to drop the figure, and speak in the plain and nervous language of the apostle, "shall we not count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, our Lord" Shall we not prefer the oracles of God before all the wisdom of this world? Not that we intend any disparagement to human learning; for, that, under proper regulations and restrictions, is highly useful, and even necessary, to any great proficiency in Scriptural knowledge; and, whilst it is made a handmaid to spiritual science, it serves many noble and laudable purposes. Witness the distinguished labours of Boyle, Locke, and Newton. Our meaning, then, is only this, that the study of the Scriptures, as it is the more immediate province of the stewards of the mysteries of God, ought to be the first object of their care and attention. For, every Scribe, who is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, in such a manner as to teach others the way of God truly, is like unto a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasures things new and old. And, that the man of God may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing as a preacher of righteousness, he will be conversant with the law as well as the Gospel; for, by being well versed in the rudiments of the former, he will be much better grounded in the principles of the latter; the law, in this respect, being properly called our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ; the letter of which is oftentimes a proper clue to the spirit and true meaning of the Gospel; as those remarkable words of the apostle, in some measure relative to those under our consideration, may testify; "for, they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ."

Now a highly useful, if not absolutely necessary, step to studying the law and the prophets, to the best advantage, is an acquaintance with the language in which they were originally written. How much light has been thrown upon them by the critical researches of persons versed in the oriental languages, since the revival of learning, must be obvious to every reader. And how much more may we still hope for from the great assistances which the laborious collation of the MSS. and the daily proficiency in these languages must afford.

Nor let any supposed inutility of searching the Scriptures in this manner be a discouragement to the proper pursuit of it. For, though it may be urged that, as such an inquiry relates only to non-essentials, it is unnecessary; yet, surely, if the genuine reading of any passage of sacred writ may be obtained thereby, it is at least as valuable an acquisition as the most judicious correction of any heathen authors, which, either as to the dignity of the subject or the sublimity of the expression, are like to the snow of Lebanon, when compared to the rock of the Almighty, and are

but

but strange waters in comparison of that fountain of living waters which springeth up into everlasting life.*

Men of the greatest abilities and most indefatigable application have, for many ages, been continually searching into this invaluable treasure; and there is still reason to exclaim, with St Paul, "Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out!" Which awful reflection of the apostle points out to us this useful caution, that the study of the Scriptures should be pursued with the greatest humility as well as attention; and that, in this respect, we should be particularly observant of the direction of the apostle, "not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, but to think soberly." For, though the private interpretation of the Scriptures is a privilege to be inferred from our blessed Saviour's express command to search them, yet we must take heed that we do not make a wanton and fanciful use of them, and thereby sacrifice the desire of coming to the knowledge of the truth to a warm imagination. For, those who labour in the word and doctrine should make it their first business to shew uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned, and that may minister grace unto the hearers.

But, to complete the character of the faithful steward, we must take especial heed to ourselves as well as our doctrine; and let our superior knowledge in spiritual things be distinguished by, and adorned with, a suitable exemplariness in all holy conversation and godliness. The same critical exactness which tends to the improvement of our mental endowments should be extended to our personal conduct. Every the minutest peccadillo must be corrected, and every the nicest punctilio be observed, that we may cut off all occasion from them who desire occasion to blaspheme. Notorious vices render the clerical character odious: levity and indecency of manners, in any respect, make it contemptible. The utmost circumspection, therefore, is requisite, that, giving no offence in any thing, the ministry be not blamed. That which is excusable in the laity may be culpable in the clergy; and, though it be enough that the disciple be as his master, he should not be above him in things that pertain unto life and godliness. And, that the rock of our salvation may not prove a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence, we should build upon this foundation only gold, silver, and precious stones, that so all the building, being fitly framed together, may grow into a holy temple in the Lord; being confident of this very thing, that if any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward from the Lord, Jehovah, who is everlasting strength. To whom be ascribed, &c.

* See Lowth's Second Lecture on Heb. Poetry,

A