unwarily giving into their Opinions,it is most certain the Jews believ'd a future Happiness was the Reward of Obedience to their Law; tho' they are frequently represented, as having no farther Profpect, than a prefent Felicity and Carnal Profperity. It is plain from their Writings, a great Body of the Jews, and especially the most intelligent, who could look beyond the Cortex of the Law, believ'd a future Spiritual Happiness was the Reward of Obeying their Law. Maimonides, in his Preface to his Commentary on the 10th Chapter of the Sanhedrin, fays a great many excellent Things with relation to this Point; and reckons up the feveral Opinions and Expectations of the Jews, for Obedience or Difobedience to their Law. According to our famous Pocock's Translation from the Arabic, thus he Speaks: I thought it proper to difcourfe "here concerning feveral Articles of Religion, of great Moment. It is to be obferved, they who have embraced the Jewish Faith and Law, differ in their Opinions concerning the Happiness which will be attained by Obedience to thofe

Precepts which GOD gave us by the "Hands of Mofes,and concerning the Mifery "which is the Confequence of the Tranfgref"fion of them. Their Notions are as different

as their Capacities, which feem very much "puzzled, fo far that we cannot find any one

C 4

who

"who hath spoken with any tolerable "Clearness and Perfpecuity on this Point; "but there appears to be fomething intri66 cate and confused in all their Difcourfes.

"THus fome have thought the Gar"den of Eden was the promised Hap"piness; and that to be a Place where "they did eat and drink without any bo"dily Trouble or Labour, where there were "Houses of precious Stones, and abundance "of Extravagancies of this Sort. Others did "think, the Happiness to be hoped for was "the Coming of the Meffiah: That in those "Days Men would be all Kings, and of a cr great Stature, and fhould poffefs the whole "Earth for ever; and abundance of other "Things,which it is impoffible should be un"derstood in a literal Senfe. A third Sort "did believe, a carnal Refurrection of the "Dead would be the Reward of their Obe"dience; that a Man fhould be restor❜d to Life "after Death, return Home accompanied "with his Friends and Relations, and eat and "drink as before. A fourth Sort did believe,

a temporal Felicity, the Bleffings of Chil

dren, fruitful Harvests, Victory over Ene"mies, and Health of Body, to be the promi"fed Happiness of Obedience, But a fifth Par

ty have joined the two Opinions of a Re"furrection from the Dead, and the Coming "of the Meffiah,believe the Meffiah will come, and the Dead rife, and go into Paradife,

"and

"and there live in all imaginable Enjoyદુઃ ments for ever.

AFTER having reckon'd up thefe feveral Opinions, Maimonides complains of the Grossnefs of their Apprehenfions, and foolish Expectations of fenfual Pleasures, which many of them entertain'd, reflects on them with a juft Severity, for embracing fuch carnal Hopes; even the Opinion of the Coming of the Meffiah was fo interwoven with carnal and falfe Expectations, he could not avoid faying: "But the Days of the Meffiah are "not to be hoped for, that our Corn or "Riches might be increased. The Pro"phets, and good Men, defir'd it fo earnestly,

that they might enjoy the Society and Con" verfation of good Men, that they might ac"quire Knowledge, and fee the Wisdom and "Justice of that King, and in how near a "Rank to the Creator he is placed, as it is "faid of him, Thou art My Son; and that the "Law of Mofes might be perfectly obey'd "without any Constraint or Disturbance, Thus this great Man, while he cenfures fome vulgar Errors among his own People, makes it appear, he had greater Apprehenfions of a Spiritual Happiness; and fays plainly, it would not be in this World, and during the present State of Things, but in the Life to come, which Life to come and its Spiritual, and not Carnal Felicity, he speaks very magnificently of, in his Tefhuba. Yet tho

the

the Jews were greatly mistaken, in their Notions of Futurity and its Happiness, it is plain, much the greater Part, all indeed except the Sadducees, believ'd, a future Reward, tho' many foolishly thought it a carnal one, was to be the Recompence of Obedience to their Law. The Hope of a future Reward, was a Reafon and final Caufe affigned by all the Jews, for the Resurrection of the Dead; and they were in the right, in believing a future Happiness was the Reward of their Obedience, tho' vain and greatly mistaken in the Apprehenfions of the Kind of Happinefs. I fhall end this Account of the final Causes of a Refurrection, namely the Recompence of Obedience, with an excellent Quotation from R. Saadiab Gaon. "We find Mofes our Law-giver, a "most extraordinary just and devout Man, "to have receiv'd none of those Things "which are the Rewards of this Life. As "when it is faid, *I will give you Rain in its Seafon, and your Threshing fhall reach to the "Vintage; and I will give Peace, and I will

t

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turn me to you, and ye shall eat the old-----"because it is plain, he never entered into "the holy Land. If then the just were to "have no other Rewards befides thofe men"tion'd in that Chapter, the greatest Share of "them ought to be given to Mofes. Which

* Levit. xxvi.

is very well obferved, and is also a Key for the interpreting feveral other Paffages in the Pentateuch; for who could hope for more from the Law, than the obedient LawE giver himfelf had? Therefore we must conclude with the faid Rabbi, " This makes it 66 very manifeft that there must be a Reward "in the World to come. From Reasons 7 like this of R. Saadiah, the Jews therefore concluded there was a future Reward and Refurrection; and from what was observed from Maimonides above, it is plain, the Jews had almost all a Notion of a Recompence hereafter, tho' they were mistaken in their Opinions of the Kind of that Happinefs.

AFTER What hath been said, it will be proper to make the great Question; How then are the Dead raifed? And with what Bodies do they come? And farther, what is the Confequence of a Refurrection? And here I must premise a small Apology for the Jews: For they are known to have confounded together the First and Second Coming of our bleffed Saviour: For the Jewish Authors generally mention the Coming of the Meffiah, and the Refurrection of the Dead together, and frequently confider them as Branches of the fame Propofition, and feem to be under the fame Miftakes with regard to one and the other. They expected a temporal Meffiah, Chrift whofe Kingdom would be of this

World,