637. PSA 40:6-8. JESUS THE TRUE MESSIAH
Psa_40:6-8. Jesus the True Messiah
By Rev. Andrew Fuller.
"Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart."’97Psa_40:6-8.
No Christian can doubt whether the passage relates to the Messiah, seeing it is expressly applied to him in the New Testament, Heb_10:5-10; and, if a Jew should raise an objection, he will find it difficult, if not impossible, to give a fair exposition of it on any other principle. Who else, with propriety, could use the language here used? Certainly, David could not. Whether the Messiah, therefore, be already come, as we believe, or be yet to come, as the body of the Jewish nation believes, it must be of his coming that the prophet speaks. The question at issue between them and us, is not whether the Scriptures predict and characterize the Messiah: but, whether these predictions and characters be fulfilled in Jesus?
That we may be able to judge of this question, let it be observed, that there are three characters held up in the passage I have read, as distinguishing the Messiah’s coming: viz., that the sacrifices and ceremonies of the Mosaic law would, from thence, be superseded; that the great body of Scripture prophecy would be accomplished; and that the will of God would be perfectly fulfilled. Let us calmly and candidly try the question at issue by these characters.
I. It is intimated that whenever the Messiah should come the sacrifices and ceremonies of the Mosaic law were to he superseded by him.
* Preached in the Jews’ Chapel, Church-street, Spitalfields. 1809.
"Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire;’97then said I, Lo, I come." I am aware that modern Jewish writers contend for the perpetuity of the ceremonial, as well as of the moral law; but in this they are opposed both by Scripture and by fact. As to Scripture, it is not confined to the passage I have read, nor to a few others. It is common for the sacred writers of the Old Testament to speak of sacrifices and ceremonies in a depreciating strain, such as would not, I presume, have been used, had they been regarded for their own sake, or designed to continue always. Such is the language of the following passages: see 1Sa_15:22; Psa_50:7-15; Psa_51:16-17; Isa_1:11-12; Jer_7:21-23; Dan_9:27.
Is it not, then, in perfect harmony with the tenor of these Scriptures, that Messiah, when described as coming into the world, should say, "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come?"’97plainly intimating that he would come to accomplish that which could not be accomplished by sacrifices and offerings; and that, as these were but the scaffolding of his temple, when that should be reared, these should, of course, be taken down. See also Jer_31:31-34; Heb_8:13; Heb_10:17, Heb_10:18.
II. It is suggested that whenever Messiah should come, the great body of Scripture prophecy should be accomplished in him. "In the volume of the book it is written of me." That the prophetic writings abound in predictions of the Messiah, no Jew will deny; the only question is, are they fulfilled in Jesus?
In trying the question, whether the prophecies be fulfilled in Jesus? it will be necessary, for the sake of perspicuity, to class them under different heads, such as time, place, family, etc.
1. The time when Messiah should come is clearly marked out in prophecy. It was said by Jacob, when blessing the tribes, "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be," Gen_49:10. All this was true in respect of Jesus. Till he came, though the ten tribes were scattered, Judah continued a people, and retained the government. But soon after his death, they were dispersed among the nations, and have been so ever since. "Kings and princes," says one of your own writers, "we have none!"
If, therefore, Shiloh be not come, he can never come within the limits of time marked out by this prophecy. Again; it is clearly intimated in the prophecy of Haggai, for the encouragement of the builders of the second temple, that the Messiah should come during the standing of that temple; and that the honor that should be done it by his presence, would more than balance its inferiority in other respects to the first. "For thus saith the Lord of hosts: Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts," Hag_2:6-9. All this was literally fulfilled in Jesus. But soon after his death, the second temple was reduced to ashes. If, therefore, Jesus was not the Messiah, it is impossible that this prophecy should ever be accomplished.
Again. The prophet Daniel was informed by the angel Gabriel as follows, Dan_9:20-27. Whether Christian writers agree as to the exact time when these seventy sabbatical weeks, or four hundred and ninety years, began, or not, thus much is certain, that they must have been fulfilled about the time that Jesus appeared and suffered, or they never can be fulfilled. Such was the effect of this, and other prophecies, upon the minds of the Jewish nation, that about that time there was a general expectation of the Messiah’s appearance.
2. The place where Messiah should be born, and where he should principally impart his doctrine, is determined. "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting," Mic_5:2. Speaking of Galilee of the nations in connection with the birth of the child, whose name should be called "the mighty God," it is said, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined," Isa_9:2. These prophecies were literally and manifestly fulfilled in Jesus; and it is scarcely credible that they can be fulfilled in any other.
3. The house, or family, from whom Messiah should descend, is clearly ascertained. So much is said of his descending from David, that I need not refer to particular proofs; and the rather, as no Jew will deny it. The genealogies of Matthew and Luke, whatever varieties there are between them, agree in tracing his pedigree to David. And though, in both, it is traced in the name of Joseph, yet this appears to be only in conformity to the Jewish custom, of tracing no pedigree in the name of a female. The father of Joseph, as mentioned by Luke, seems to have been his father by marriage only; so that it was, in reality, Mary’s pedigree that is traced by Luke, though under her husband’s name; and this being the natural line of descent, and that of Matthew the legal one, by which, as King, he would have inherited the crown, there is no inconsistency between them.
4. The kind of miracles that Messiah should perform is specified. Isaiah, speaking of the coming of God to save his people, says, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert," Isa_35:5, Isa_35:6. That such miracles were performed by Jesus, his enemies themselves bear witness, in that they ascribed them to his connection with Beelzebub, Luk_11:15. When his Messiahship was questioned, he could say, in the presence of many witnesses, "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them," Mat_11:5.
5. It was predicted of the Messiah, that he should as a king be distinguished by his lowliness, entering into Jerusalem, not in a chariot of state, but in a much humbler style. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass," Zec_9:9. To fulfil this prophecy, it was necessary that the Messiah should descend from parents in low circumstances; and that the leading people of the land should not accompany him. Had they believed in him, and introduced him as a king it must have been in another fashion. But it was reserved for the common people and the children to fulfil the prophet’s words, by shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest," Mat_21:9.
6. It is predicted of the Messiah, that he should suffer and die by the hands of wicked men. "Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth. As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: so shall he sprinkle many nations," etc., Isa_49:7; Isa_52:14-15; Isaiah 53; Dan_9:26.
7. It was foretold that the Messiah, after being cut off out of the land of the living, and laid in the grave, should rise from the dead. Nothing less can be implied by all the promises made to him as the reward of his sufferings; for if he had continued under the power of death, how should he have seen his seed, or prolonged his days? If his kingdom had been that of a mortal man, how could it continue as long as the sun and moon? How was he to "see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied," unless he survived that travail? But more than this, it is foretold that he should rise from the dead at so early a period as not to see corruption. The argument of Peter, from this passage, has never been answered. David said, "Thou wilt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption," Psa_16:10 : but David did see corruption; he refers to Him, therefore, of whom it is witnessed that he saw no corruption.
Lastly. It was foretold that the great body of the Jewish nation would not believe in. him; and that he would set up his kingdom among the Gentiles. Such is evidently the meaning of the prophet’s complaint, "Who hath believed our report?" and of the Messiah’s words, in another part of the same prophecies,’97"Then I said, I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain; yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God!" etc., Isa_53:1; Isa_49:4, Isa_49:6.
III. It is declared that when the Messiah should come, the will of God would be perfectly fulfilled by him.
"I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart," Psa_40:8. Agreeably to this, the Messiah is denominated God’s servant, whom he would up hold; in whom he would be glorified; and who should bring Jacob again to him," Isa_42:1, etc. The will of God sometimes denotes what he approves, and sometimes what he appoints. The first is the rule of our conduct, the last of his own; and both we affirm to have been fulfilled by Jesus.
(1.) In respect of the Divine precepts, his whole life was in effect conformity to them. All his actions were governed by love.
(2.) But it was not merely to fulfil the divine precepts that the Messiah was to come; but to execute his purpose in saving lost sinners. Even his obedience to the law was subservient to this, or he could not have been "the Lord our righteousness." He was God’s servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, to give light to the Gentiles, and to be his salvation to the end of the earth. In accomplishing this, it behooved him to endure the penalty, as well as obey the precepts of the law. His soul must be made an offering for sin; he must be cut off out of the land of the living’97cut off, but not for himself; and this that he might "make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness," Dan_9:24.
I have lately looked into some of the modern Jewish writings. It would be going beyond my limits to attempt an answer to many of their objections to the gospel; but I will touch upon a few which struck me in course of reading. They find many things spoken in prophecy of the reign of Messiah, which are not as yet fulfilled in Jesus; such as the cessation of wars, the restoration of the Jewish nation, etc.; and argue from hence, that Jesus is not the Messiah. But it is not said that these effects should immediately follow on his appearing. On the contrary, there was to be an increase of his government; yea, a continued increase. Jesus may be the Messiah, and his reign may be begun; while yet, seeing it is not ended, there may be many things at present unfulfilled.
But they object, that the doctrine taught by Jesus was not of a pacific tendency’97that, on the contrary, it was, by his own confession, adapted to produce division and discord. "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household," Mat_10:34-36.
(3.) They further object, with their fathers, that Jesus pretended to be the Son of God, and so was guilty of blasphemy. But, if he were the Messiah, he was the Son of God. Did not God, in the second psalm, address him as his Son; and are not the kings and judges of the earth admonished to submit to him under that character?
(4.) Some of the precepts of Jesus are objected to, as being impracticable; and Christians accused of hypocrisy for pretending to respect them, while none of them act up to them; that is, when they are smitten on one cheek, they do not offer the other. But this is perverse ness. Jesus did not mean it literally; nor did he so exemplify it when smitten before Pilate. Nor do the Jews so understand their own commandments. If they do, however, it will follow that they break the sixth commandment in every malefactor whose execution they promote, and even in the killing of animals for food. The manifest design of the precept is to prohibit all private retaliation and revenge; and to teach us, that we ought rather to suffer insult, than to "render evil for evil."
But I shall conclude with a few words to professing Christians. I can perceive, by what I have seen of the Jewish writings, how much they avail themselves of our disorders and divisions to justify their unbelief. "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." Let us beware of valuing ourselves in the name, while we are destitute of the thing. We may yield a sort of assent to the doctrine just delivered, while yet it brings forth no good fruit in us. These are the things that rivet Jews in their unbelief. "He that winneth souls is wise," Pro_11:30. I hope all the measures that are taken for the conversion of the Jews, will be of a winning nature. If they be malignant and abusive, they must not be opposed with the same weapons.
Autor: JABEZ BURNS