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The king of Syria and the king of Israel (I have already mentioned
that the Jews were split into two nations, one of which was called
Judah, the capital of which was Jerusalem, and the other Israel) made
war jointly against Ahaz, king of Judah, and marched their armies
towards Jerusalem. Ahaz and his people became alarmed, and the
account says (Is. vii. 2), Their hearts were moved as the trees of
the wood are moved with the wind.
In this situation of things, Isaiah addresses himself to Ahaz, and
assures him in the name of the Lord (the cant phrase of all the
prophets) that these two kings should not succeed against him; and to
satisfy Ahaz that this should be the case, tells him to ask a sign.
This, the account says, Ahaz declined doing; giving as a reason that
he would not tempt the Lord; upon which Isaiah, who is the speaker,
says, ver. 14, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;
behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son;" and the 16th verse
says, "And before this child shall know to refuse the evil, and
choose the good, the land which thou abhorrest or dreadest [meaning
Syria and the kingdom of Israel] shall be forsaken of both her
kings." Here then was the sign, and the time limited for the
completion of the assurance or promise; namely, before this child
shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good.
Isaiah having committed himself thus far, it became necessary to him,
in order to avoid the imputation of being a false prophet, and the
consequences thereof, to take measures to make this sign appear. It
certainly was not a difficult thing, in any time of the world, to
find a girl with child, or to make her so; and perhaps Isaiah knew of
one beforehand; for I do not suppose that the prophets of that day
were any more to be trusted than the priests of this: be that,
however, as it may, he says in the next chapter, ver. 2, "And I took
unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah
the son of Jeberechiah, and I went unto the prophetess, and she
conceived and bare a son."
Here then is the whole story, foolish as it is, of this child and
this virgin; and it is upon the barefaced perversion of this story
that the book of Matthew, and the impudence and sordid interest of
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