Page:The old paths, or The Talmud tested by Scripture.djvu/291

 creation could effect so much, how much more would the merits of a righteous man avail, if such an one could be found? The error, then, is not in the principle, but in its application. According to the Scripture, it is true that the innocent may be substituted for the guilty; but the rabbies were wrong in applying this truth to the case of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and other men, who were only sinners as themselves. The Word of God, which gave the principle, also directs us to the right application. It tells us of one for whose righteousness' sake the Lord will forgive sin:—

"The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law and make it honourable." (Isa. xlii. 21.) Who, then, is this person? The preceding verses tell us that it is the servant of the Lord. Who, then, is the servant of the Lord? Kimchi says, on this verse, that the servant of the Lord is the prophet; but this cannot possibly be true, for the prophet was not righteous, but a sinner, as he himself tells us in the sixth chapter—"I am a man of unclean lips." The servant mentioned in the nineteenth verse is the same person as he who is called "My servant," in the first verse of the chapter—"Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." But here Kimchi says,—

"This is the King Messiah, as we have interpreted." If then, in the first verse, "The servant of the Lord" means the Messiah, it must mean the same through the chapter, and the Messiah is the person for whose righteousness' sake the Lord is well pleased.

This same prophet tells us again, concerning this servant,—

"By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities." (Isa. liii. 11.) That the Messiah is here intended no Jew can doubt, who uses the Synagogue Prayers; for on the Day of Atonement and at the Passover, this chapter is applied to him. Here, then, it is expressly stated, that the Messiah, by his righteousness, shall justify the guilty. And, therefore, the prophet calls the Messiah "." (Jer. xxiii. 6.) That the Messiah is here intended there can