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and the lightning . The quotation is from the LXX . version of the 104 th Ps * The proper translation of the Hebrew seems to be , " who maketh the winds his messengers , and flames of fire , i . e . lightnings , his servants . " The author of the epistle means no more than that the condition of previous messengers ^ 3 s compared with that of the Son , might be expressed in these words of Scrips ture . ) " But concerning the Son it saith , * Thy throne , O God , is for evef and evef , ' " &c , ( whichever construction of the words we adopt , the person
referred to is spoken of as of exalted rank , and as distinguished by the favour of his God , treated not as a servant , but with distinguished honour * the passage being reputed among the Jews as a prophecy of the Messiah , and capal ) le of being really so understood , though originally applied to Solomon ^ was the more to the writer ' s purpose , ) " and * Thou , Lord , in the beginning , hast laid the foundations of the earth , ' " &c , ( The 102 nd Ps ., from which this passage is taken , cannot , without extreme violence , be considered as applicable to Christ , and no authority possessed by the writer of this epistle
could cause those who are not blinded by prejudice to understand it so ; Some have supposed the words to be by accommodation employed to express ^ still more strongly than the preceding quotation had done , the permanence and glory of Christ's kingdom , and to ascribe to him a new and moral creation ; but this is forced ; and besides it is very unlikely , as Mr . Belshani justly observes , that any writer , addressing himself to Jews , should " presume to hold that language concerning a prophet , however dignified , which , in their sacred writings , was uniformly appropriated to the Deity . " Much more
probable is the interpretation of Emlyn and others , that < c the immutability of God is here declared as a pledge of the immutability of the kingdom of Christ ; " " The God last mentioned , " says Emlyn , " was Christ ' s God , who had anointed him ; and the author thereupon , addressing himself to this God , breaks out into the celebration of his power 9 and especially his unchangeable duration ; which he dwells upon as what he principally cite * the text for ; in order , 1 conceive , to prove the stability of the Son ' s kingdom
before spoken of . "—Emlyn ' s Works , Vol . II . p . 340 . This deserves attention , but we are disposed to think that this passage should rather be connected with what follows than with what precedes it . The writer quotes a remarkable declaration of the power , majesty , and immutability of God , and then argues in confirmation of what he had before said , that this great Being condescended to place the Son at his right hand , to exalt him and cause him to triumph , whilst other messengers were but ministers of his will for the Service
of those Who were "to become heirB of salvation , "—to be admitted to enjoy the blessings of the Gospel . ) " But to which of those messengers ^ said he , at any time-, Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool * ? " ( Applying a clause from the 2 nd Ps ., which * though originally relating to David , was believed to have a secondary application to the Messiah . ) " Are not they all ministering spirits" ( probably ministering winds—servants swift as winds , in allusion to ver . 7 ) " sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation ?"
We have given what we consider as the most consistent and satisfactory interpretation of the passage : respecting the author ' s mode of quoting and applying texts from the Old Testament , we feel no hesitation . With somewhat less confidence , though upon the whole with a feeling that the evidence for it decidedly preponderates , we follow W&kefield , Sim son , and Belshanft , in explaining angels" as here meaning the ancient prophets . Dr . S . 's ob- ^ jection to this , from the change in the sense of the word in ch . ii . 5 , we do not think of much weight as regards such a writer as the author of this epis-
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166 Dr . */ . P . Smith's Scripture Testimony to the Messiah ,
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1831, page 166, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2595/page/22/
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