"when he cometh into the world, he saith." The Holy Ghost useth these words at his, because they expressively declare his mind and resolution in his coming into the world. On considering the insufficiency of legal sacrifices (the only appearing means) to make reconciliation with God, the Lord Christ, that all mankind might not eternally perish under the guilt of sin, represents his ready willingness to undertake that work.

$2. The season of his speaking these words was, "when he cometh into the world," (EITEPOμLεvos, veniens or venturus) when the design of his future coming into the world was declared, see Matt. xi, 3.

But as the words were not verbally spoken by him, being only a real declaration of his intention; so this expression of his "coming into the world," is not to be confined to any one single act to the exclusion of others, but respects all the solemn acts of the susception and discharge of his mediatory office for the salvation of the church; but it any should rather judge that in this expression some single season and act of Christ is intended, it can do no other than his incarnation, by which he came into the world; for this was the foundation of all that he did afterwards, and that whereby he was fitted for his whole mediatorial work.

§4. (nnabi nai, Avola nai aposPoga) sacrifice and offering; in the next verse the one of them, (vi) sɑcrifice, is distributed into my rendered here ολοκαυλομαία και περι αμαρτίας) whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. It is evident that the Holy Ghost, in this variety of expressions, compriseth all the sacrifices of the law that had any respect to the expiation of sin.

Of these sacrifices it is affirmed, that God "would them not," ver. 5, and that he "had no pleasure in them," ver. 6, (en a, en edeλytaç) thou wouldest not;

thou didst not desire. The Hebrew word is (m) to will freely and with delight. But this sense the apostle transfers to the other word (7) which he renders by (8n eudonyaas ver.6,) thou hast had no pleasure; in the psalm it is, thou "hadst not required;" wherefore, if we grant that the words used by the apostle be not exact versions of those used by the psalmist, as they are applied the one to the other, yet it is evident that the full and exact meaning of both is declared, which is sufficient to his purpose.

The mind of the Holy Ghost is plain enough, both in the testimony itself, and in the improvement of it by the apostle; for the legal sacrifices are spoken of only with respect to that end which the Lord Christ undertook to accomplish by his mediation; and this was the perfect real expiation of sin, with the justification, sanctification, and eternal salvation of the church; with that perfect state of spiritual worship which was ordained for it in this world; all these things were these sacrifices appointed to prefigure; but the nature and design of this prefiguration being dark and obscure, and the things signified being utterly hidden as to their special nature and the manner of their efficacy, many in all ages of the church expected them from these sacrifices, and they had some appearance of being ordained to that end. Therefore this is that, and that alone, with respect to which they are here rejected; God never appointed them to this end, he never took pleasure in them in this view, they were insufficient in the wisdom, holiness, and righteousness of God to any such purpose: wherefore the sense of God concerning them, as to this end, is, that they were not appointed, not approved, not accepted. No new revelation, absolutely, is intimated in the words "thou wouldest not, thou tookest no pleasure," but a mere ex

press declaration of that will and counsel of God, which he had by various ways given intimation of before.

§5. The first part of ver. 5, declares the will of God, concerning the sacrifices of the law; the latter contains the supply that God in his wisdom and grace provided, answerable to the insufficiency of these sacrifices; and this is not somewhat that should help to make them effectual, but what should be introduced in opposition to them, and for their removal; "but a body hast thou prepared me." The adversative, (de) but, declares that the way designed of God for this end was of another nature than these sacrifices were, and yet must be such, as should not render those sacrifices utterly useless from the first institution, which would reflect on the divine Wisdom; for although the real way of expiating sin be in itself of another nature, yet were those sacrifices meet to prefigure and represent it to the faith of the church; and therefore, saith Christ, the first thing that God did, in preparing this new way, was the preparation of a body for me, which was to be offered in sacrifice.

And in the antithesis intimated in the adversative conjunction, respect is had to the will of God; as sacrifices were what he "could not" to this end: so this preparation of the body of Christ was what "he would," and was well pleased with, ver. 9, 10.

§6. We must, first, speak to the apostle's rendering these words out of the psalmist; they are in the original, () my ears hast thou digged, bored, prepared. All sorts of critical writers and expositors have so labored to resolve.this difficulty, that there is little to be added to the industry of some, and it were endless to confute the mistakes of others; I shall therefore only speak briefly to it,so as to manifest the oneness of the sense of both places; and some things must be premised:

It doth not seem probable to me, that the Septuagint did ever translate these words as they are now extant in all the copies of that translation, (owμa de nalepiow poi) but a body that thou preparedst me; for it is not a translation, of the original words, but an exposition of their meaning, which was no part of their design; if they made this exposition, it was either from a mere conjecture, or from a right understanding of the mystery contained in them; the former is altogether improbable; and that they understood the mystery couched in that metaphorical expression (without which no account can be given of this version of the words) will not be granted by them who know any thing of those translators or their work; besides, there was of old a different reading of that translation: for instead of (ouu) a body, some copies have it (wa) the ears, which the vulgate Latin follows; an evidence that a change had been made in that translation, to comply with the words used by the apostle.

The words, therefore, in this place were the words whereby the apostle expressed the sense and meaning of the Holy Ghost in those used in the psalmist; he did not take them from the Greek translation, but used them himself to express the sense of the Hebrew text; in vindication of this we farther remark, that sundry passages have been unquestionably taken out of the New Testament, and inserted into that translation; and I no way doubt but it hath so fallen out in this place, since no other satisfactory account can be given of that translation as the words now stand.

$7. This is certain, that the sense intended by the psalmist, and that expressed by the apostle, are to the same purpose, and their agreement is sufficiently plain and evident; that which is spoken is, an act of God

the Father towards the Son; the end of it is, that the Son might be fit and meet to do the will of God in the way of obedience, so in the text; "mine ears hast thou bored" or a body thou hast prepared me; then said I, lo, I come to do thy will, O God." This is the sole end why God so acted towards him. The ascription of ears to the Lord Christ by an act of God, is a preparation of a state and nature, as should be meet to yield obedience to him. In his divine nature alone it was impossible that he should come to do the will of God as our substitute, wherefore God prepared another nature for him, which is expressed synecdochically by the ears for the whole body, and that significantly, because as it is impossible that any one should have ears of any use but by virtue of his having a body; so the ears are that part of the body by which alone instruction to obedience, the thing aimed at, is received; that is this which is directly expressed by himself; Isa. lix, 4, 5, "He wakeneth, morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned; the Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious," or, I was obedient: and so it is all one in what sense you take the word (75) whether in the more common and usual, to dig, or bore, or in that to which it is sometimes applied, to fit and perfect. I do not judge there is any allusion to the law of "boring the ear of the servant" that refused to take liberty at the year of release; nor is the word used in that case, but another (y Exod. xxi, 6;) but it respects the framing of the organ of hearing which, as it were, is barred; and the internal sense, in readiness for obedience, is expressed by the framing of the outward instrument of hearing, that we may by that means learn to obey.

Wherefore this is, and no other can be, the sense of