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tedge , or satisfaction on any subject of rational inquiry ; I must give up the first princi p les of evidence as to prophecy and inspiration , and , renouncing all ^ sober rules of interpretation , commit myself to the extravagance of fancy and arbitrary dictates , —if this be not a clear and characteristic description of the Messiah . " Again ,
c < That glorious Person is represented as , in a state of existence previous to his appearance among mortals , contemplating with supreme joy the designs of Divine benevolence , glowing with holy ardour to bear his part in the gracious plan , and ready to assume that human form , which in the appointed time would be prepared and adapted for this all-important design "—Scrip . Test . Vol . I . p . 325 , second edition .
We read with astonishment such confident assertions , resting on so very slight a foundation , and cannot repress the reflection , that the defenders of popular opinions could not attach much importance to passages like this , unless driven to them , by the entire absence of all really satisfactory
evidence-In the second clause of ver . 6 , Dr . S . adopts the reading of the ancient Greek version , *« Then a body thou hast prepared for me , " chiefly because it has been so quoted in the Epistle to the Hebrews . The literal translation of the present Hebrew text is what is found in the Received Version : * ' Mine ears thou hast opened . " There is no variation in the Hebrew MSS ., and no ancient version , except those taken from the Greek , differs from the common reading ; for Dr . S . ' s remark , that there exist MSS . of the very
ancient Syriac Version , having the reading *« a body , " is of no importance , since these MSS ., written by Christians , may have been corrected to the Epistle to the Hebrews , and there is no good reason to doubt the genuineness of the printed Syriac text , which follows the Hebrew reading . Independently , then , of the quotation in the Epistle to the Hebrews , no one would hesitate to prefer the reading of the present Hebrew copies . The Greek translation contains many strange blunders , and though of great interest and value , would not alone in a case of this kind be sufficient to shake our
confidence in a reading which gives a good sense , and is supported by ail other authorities . Many learned men suppose that the word " body , " even in the Greek , is a later corruption , but for this we see no reason , as it has been shewn how , by mistaking a letter or two , they might have derived that sense from the Hebrew words , and it is not a solitary instance of their falling into such a mistake ; but no critic would hesitate ( setting aside the Epistle to the Hebrews ) to adhere to the received text in the Psalm . The question then
is , whether the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews , who , as a Jew acquainted with the Greek language , would be familiar with the LXX . Greek translation , and disposed to quote from it , was protected by his inspiration from following any error that might be found in it , and does by his authority establish a reading which would otherwise be without hesitation rejected . Now , we do not know who was the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews , and the
ancient church differed greatly as to its value ; but granting it the highest authority , the writer quotes the passage from the Psalm , not as prophetic , but in the way of application , as a suitable mode of expressing his doctrine . That doctrine , we doubt not , he received on sufficient authority . Grant that he had it by direct personal inspiration , ( wbich if Paul was the writer was true , and may have been true if it was written by others to whom it has been ascribed , ) yet is it to be supposed , that he not only received the doc-
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112 Dr . J . P . Smith * * Scripture Testimony to the Messiah .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1831, page 112, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2594/page/40/
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