for that he was wearied with the impiety of Israel. From this the Prophet takes occasion awfully to proclaim that the Lord whom they sought, should suddenly come, with restoration, as it were, of the divine presence, to his temple, preceded by that messenger who, like an harbinger, should prepare his way; that the Lord, when he should appear, should purify the sons of Levi from their unrighteousness, and refine them as metal from the dross [o]; that then "the offering of Judah," the spiritual sacrifice of the heart, should" be pleasant to the Lord," as was that of the Patriarchs, or their uncorrupted ancestors [P]; and that the Lord would quickly exterminate the corruptions and adulteries which prevailed. He proceeds with an earnest exhortation to repentance: promising high rewards and remembrance to the righteous in that last day, when the Lord should select unto himself a peculiar treasure, and finally discern between the righteous and the wicked [9]. Malachi concludes with an impressive assurance of approaching salvation to those who feared God's name, from that "sun of righteousness which should arise with healing in his wings;" and render them triumphant: enjoining, in the solemn close of his John iv. 21, 22. Levit. ii. Mede's Discourses on the Christian Sacrifice, vol. i. B. II. p. 451. August. de Civit. Dei, Lib. XVIII. c. xxxv.

[o] Chap. iii. 1-3. comp. with Isaiah i. 25. Mark i. 2. Luke i. 76.

[P] Chap. iii. 4.

"As in the days of old."

[9] Chap. iii. 16—18,

N n

exhortation, and uttering, as it were, the last admonition of the Jewish Prophets, an observance of the Law of Moses: till the advent of Elijah [R], the Prophet, who before the coming of that "great and dreadful day of the Lord, should turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children [s] to their fathers;" who should produce an entire amendment in the minds of the people.

Thus Malachi sealed up the volume of prophecy in the description of that personage at whose appearance the evangelists begin the Gospel history [T]; and He who terminated the illustrious succession of the Prophets of the first dispensation, and predicted the coming of the Baptist, was in an especial degree entitled to a share of our Saviour's testimony, when He declared, in terms which defined the objects and extent of Jewish prophecy, that "all the Prophets prophesied until John [u]." Malachi is likewise elsewhere fre[R] Chap. iv. 5. John came in the spirit and power of Elias. Vid. Luke i. 17. and resembled him in office and character. Vid. Mark ix. 12. Ecclus. xlviii. 10. The Seventy following the received Jewish tradition, add "the Tishbite." In this sense John denies himself to be Elias. John i. 21. He was not Elias himself, but another Elias, the antitype of the

first.

[s] It is proposed to translate by, al; not to,' but with.' Vid. Exod. xxxv. 22. et Kimchi. And then the passage means not that Elijah should reconcile religious differences between intimate relations, but that he should produce a general reformation. Vid. Arnald. in Ecclus. xlviii. 10.

[T] Mark i. 1, 2.

[U] Matt. xi. 13. Luke xvi. 16. Jansen, in Ecclus. xlviii. 2.

quently cited as a Prophet by the writers of the New Testament [x].

The work of Malachi was admirably calculated to excite religious impressions, and an observance of that Law which was to direct the chosen people of God till a more perfect institution should be established. He calls upon the people, in animated language, to testify their gratitude and reverence for God; he particularly reminds the priests of the covenant of peace which God had made with Levi for the fear wherewith he feared the Lord, "when the law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips," when he walked with God in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity;" and he emphatically adds, with intimation it might seem of ordinances to be established for a purer ministry, "for the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts [Y]."

The style of Malachi has been represented as of the middle kind; it is not remarkable for beauty, as he lived in the decline of the Hebrew poetry, which decayed much after the Jewish captivity.

[x] Matt. xi. 10. xvii. 10-12. Mark i. 2. ix, 11, 12. Luke i. 17. vii. 27. Rom. ix. 13.

[x] Chap. ii. 4-7. 2 Corinth. v. 20. The Jews, by the messenger of the covenant, understood the Messiah. See Raym. Martini, Pugio Fidei, cap. ix. p. 376. Edit, Lips. 1687, See also, p. 166, on Haggai ii. 7.

PREFACE

TO THE

APOCRYPHAL BOOKS.

THE books which are admitted into our Bibles under the description of Apocryphal Books, are so denominated from a Greek word, which is expressive of the uncertainty and concealed nature of their original [A]. They have not any title to be considered as inspired writings; and though in respect of their antiquity and valuable contents, they

[A] Apocrypha, from amoxgula, to hide. The word seems to have been first applied only to books of doubtful authority; or as it is used by Origen, to imply works out of the canon. It was afterwards employed to characterize spurious and pernicious books. It has been thought, that books of doubtful character were first termed Apocryphal by the Jews, because they were removed από της κρυπλης from the ark of the covenant, where the canonical books were placed, or because shut up from the generality of readers, and concealed, as some assert, in a chest of the temple. In the primitive church, some of these books, especially those of Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus, were imparted to Catechumens, and all of them were allowed to be read under certain restrictions. Athanas, Synop. tom. ii. p. 55. Edit. Par. 1627.

are annexed to the canonical books, it is in a separate division: and by no means upon an idea that they are of equal authority, in point of doctrine, with them; or that they are to be received as oracles of faith; to sanctify opinions, or to determine religious controversies.

It is universally allowed, that these books were not in the canon of the Jews, to whom alone" were committed the oracles of God [B];" and, indeed, that they were composed after the closing of the sacred catalogue. Some writers without, however, a shadow of authority, have pretended that some of them, as Tobit, Judith, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, and perhaps others, were received by the Jews into a second canon [c], said to be made by a council assembled at Jerusalem in the time of Eleazar the high-priest, upon the occasion of sending the seventy-two interpreters to Ptolemy King of Egypt [D]; and that the rest were canonized by a third council, assembled in the time of Sammai and Hillel; but of these councils, the Jews, tenacious as they are of traditions, have no account or memorial; and the books in question were composed after the cessation of the prophetic

[B] Rom. iii. 2. Joseph. cont. Apion. Lib. I. viii. p. 1333. Hieron. Prol. Gal. Introduction, p. 8.

[c] Hence they are sometimes called Deutro-canonical by the Romanists.

[D] Genebard. Chron. Lib. II. p. 190. col. 2. and p. 284. col. 1. Maldonati de Sacram. Poenit. q. de Purgat. p. 145. Serar. in Macc. Prælog. iii.