courfe in the following ones, My Praise will I not give to Graven Images. Thus he makes God to speak; and a little further he adds, They shall be turned back, They fhall be greatly afhamed that Trust in Graven Images, that Say to the Molten Images, ye are our Gods. It appears fecondly, that the Prophet taking an Occafion from the forefight he had of the deftruction of Idols in the World, to speak of the calling of the Gentiles, he mentions it as an incredible, ftrange and unusual Matter. Behold New things do I declare unto you, before they spring forth, I will tell you of them, &c. He faith likewife, that the Ifles fhould wait for the Law of God, That is, the Remoteft Nations fhould be called to the knowledge of the True God. For it is often faid in the holy Scripture, that the Ifles, the Ægyptians, Edom, Affur, &c. fhould be made acquainted with Gods holy Name, to fignifie he would fhew his mercy even to thofe Nations he feemed to have utterly caft off Thirdly, he fhews us that the Meffias was referved

enlighten the Gentiles, that he was to declare Judg. ment unto them, as we find it expreffed, in the Character given us of his Perfon, in fo many Eloquent Panegyrics which we shall take Notice of in their proper Place.

And now, I fuppofe, it fuffices to have proved from many clear and evident Texts of Scripture, that the calling of the Gentiles, and the coming of the Meffias, who was appointed to convert all Nations, are two infeparable Events, which the Prophets have reprefented to us, as being effentially and infeparably united together.

Let us not therefore be furprifed after what has been faid, if it were a conftant and unaltered Tradition of the Jews, that there fhould come a Meffias, who was to re-eftablish their decayed State. For we

have more Reason to wonder at their feparating the Calling of the Gentiles, from the coming of their Mejfias, or at their not perceiving that his coming was defigned to bring all Nations to the knowledge of the True God, by making with them a Covenant of Peace, an everlasting Covenant, according to the Prophecies of the Books of the Old Testament.

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CHAP, IV.

That God did not defer one Moment his Sending of the Meffias for the Sins of the People.

TEITHER is it lefs aftonishing, that the Jews fhould be fo blind, and fo unreasonable as to imagin that God deferred his sending of the Meffias, or had refolved at laft not to fend him at all, by reafon of the crying Sins of the People. For 1. This fiction wholly betrays their Caufe, fincerit argues all outward appearances to be against them, and that the time perfixed for his fending of him must needs be confeffedly expired, fince they have no other Salvo to maintain their Errours. 2. As he was not only to Raise up the Tribes of Jacob, but also be given for a Light to the Gentiles, and become the Salvation of Gol unto the end of the Earth, according to the exprefs Terms of the Prophet Efaiah; it was very abfurd to pretend that the confideration of the Sins of the Jews had delayed his coming. 3. The fins of the People Could not have retarded his coming, unless he had

been

been conditionally promised us. Now it appears wholely to the contrary, that it was an abfolute and unlimited fort of promife, whofe time was prefixt, and all other Circumstances very exactly described, which are the properties of all abfolute promises, and cannot without abfurdity be afcribed to any conditional ones. 4. 'Tis certain that a general Malice and Depravation was to predominate in the World, at the Time the Meffias was to come into it. This we prove by Scripture, and the Universal Confent of the Rabbies themfelves, who own that his appearance fhall be in a dif folute and horridly debauched Age. And Daniel in his Prophecy very plainly tells us, that at the coming of the Meffias which he calls the Chrift, God would furely be revenged of the Jews, by fending against them the Prince of the People who should destroy the City and the Sanctuary, &c. by which is fignified how great the Depravation of that Nation was to be at that Time. 5. God never punished the Jews by any public afflicti but when the Crimes of Private Men were fo increased as to turn to a general and public Corruption and Idolatry. Now the Jews neither Prophefie in the Name of Baal; nor Offer up their Children in Sacri fices unto Moloch; they do not make to themselves Gods to go before them: And yet when they plunged themfelves into all fuch Villanies, God punifht them only with a Captivity of 70. Years, nor with that neither, till he often fruitlefly attempted to reclaim them from their Stubbornefs, by the mouth of his holy Prophets, whom they put to Death; and af ter they were carried into Babylon, he still comforted and heartened them up by his holy Oracles, which put them in hopes of a fudden reftauration. 6. That fervent and paffionate defire of the Jews, for the coming of the Meffias, together with their inveterate hatred for all Idolatry, and for those they fup

on,

pofe

pofe to be Gods enemies, and that acceptable Sacrifice they prefume to have offered him, by crucifying him who in their Judgment was the Seducer of the whole World, I fay all this Piety of theirs would seem to deserve a grater fhare of his Mercies than their fore-Fathers had received. And yet you fee them wandering and scattered abroad for above 16. Ages together. It appears, they turn not away to the fuperftitious Worship of any falfe Gods, yet for all that, God will not turn to them, tho' he folemnly declared he would, when ever they should turn unto him, They think themselves guilty of fome hidden transgretfion: But we do not hear of any Prophets coming to clear their doubts. The coming of their Meffias is deferred, but they are not acquainted with the Reason of it. All their Oracles are ceased, the gift of Prophecie is taken away, and the Decrees of Heaven are no longer revealed to them by Visions, or by Dreams, and why all this, if it be not to fhew them, that they are for ever excluded from the promises of Salvation, if they will not quit their willful Blindness and obftinate Incredulity?

In effect, Since their prefent Captivity is a real Unhappiness which they cannot disown, because they feel it fo heavy upon them; they need but confider whether the Evil they endure is a Temporary Chastisement, or a lafting Punishment inflicted on them for their Sins. One of them it must be, because it was brought to pass by the difpenfation of Divine Providence as themselves confefs. Certainly if they'l fincerely perform this Examination, all they meet with will convince them, that their Captivity is not a Temporary Chaftifement. For a Chastisement never lafts fo long, and befides no Body was ever Chaftifed without being advertised of the Crime for which he is Chaftifed; Admonition being an effential Part

of

of Chaftisement. Further, It is ufually sweetned by fome comfortable Promife, and laftly, the Rods used in fuch Chaiftifements when done with, are commonly thrown into the Fire. All which Characters are easily discernible in all the Chastisements God formerly inflicted upon his Ancient People of Ifrael? But here alas! the Scales are altered; and nothing now is to be observed, but the longest Bondage that ever was heard of, a total confufion of their Tribes and Families, a general Lofs of all the marks of their Adoption, a continual ftorm of affections without any comfort, a ceffation of all Prophecies, God keeping a profound Silence with them, the profperity of the Gen. tiles, and what is most remarkable of all, the whole Earth filled with the knowledge of the True God; which is a fenfible mark of the accomplishment of that Bleffing of Abraham, in whom all Families of the Earth fhould be bleffed. And thus the Jews instead of finding out by the confideration of their Sins the caufe of the not coming of the Meffias, fhould rather be induced to believe, that they must needs have been guilty of rejecting him, and that no o ther Sin but that could bear any proportion to the lamentable forfaken condition they have been fo long left in, and the extream mifery, which now without any well grounded hopes of deliverance they groan under.

If there had indeed appeared no Meffias, or if no Man had affumed that Character, the Jews might juftly have afcribed the delay of his coming to the odioufness of their Sins, or to fome other caufe; but to embrace fuch fictions now, is, without excufe, efpecially when fo divine and august an Object is reprefented to them, in the apparent meanness of his Perfon, him whom the Prophets feem to have had before their Eyes, when they spoke of him, fo exactly have they defcribed the Time of his Coming, his Birth, Family, Ali

ons