Conference Between a Papist and a Jew 2, Letter

Conference Between a Papist and a Jew 2 · Letter

A CONFERENCE Betwixt a Proteſtant And a JEVV: OR, A Second Letter FROM A Merchant in LONDON, to his Correſpondent in Amſterdam.

LONDON: Printed for Tho. Parkhurſt at the Bible and Three Crowns at the …

Imprimatur,

Geo. Thorp, R^mo. in Chriſto P. & V. D^omino Gulielmo Archiep. Cant. a Sacris Domeſticis. May 28. 1678.

p. 1A Conference betwixt a Proteſtant and a Jew, &c.

Kind Sir,

I Think my ſelf oblig'd partly by mine own promiſe, and partly by your importunity, to give you ſome account of the ſecond Conference at my Houſe, which was managed by Mr. B. and Rabbi J. and I wiſh you may read it with the ſame ſatisfaction that I heard it.

After the Company met (which was now a little augmented by conſent) and all were ſeated and compoſed; Mr. B. began and applied himſelf particularly to Rabbi J. and ſaid, Sir, you know the buſineſs that we are come hither about; that it is to debate, Whether Jeſus of Nazareth be the promiſed Meſſias? This was demonſtrated the laſt meeting by this worthy perſon (pointing to Father S.) by a convincing argument, which was drawn from the many infallible Miracles which were wrought by himſelf in the days of his fleſh, and by his Followers afterwards in his Name; theſe did amply teſtifie that he came from God, and that the teſtimony he gave of himſelf was true, elſe God (as was then ſaid) would never have ſet his own ſeal to it. It is indeed the greateſt confirmation of any teſtimony that poor mortals who can't diſcern the Eſſence and Being of God, are capable of receiving. I don't therefore decline this argument, becauſe of its inſufficiency to prove the matter in queſtion, or becauſe any thing hath or can be offered to evade or invalidate the force of it. But to the end you may ſee our faith doth not hang only upon this hinge, I ſhall advance another argument to prove that Jeſus of Nazareth (in whom we Chriſtians believe) is the promiſed Meſſias. Beſides then the teſtimony p. 2of Miracles, we have the teſtimony of the Scriptures to this truth, and I remember our Lord himſelf doth appeal to both theſe teſtimonies; he ſays, The works he did in his Fathers name did bear witneſs of him; and he bids the Jews to ſearch the Scriptures, for they are they which teſtifie of him. And we find in the Acts of his Apoſtles, that one Apollos did mightily convince the Jews, and that publickly, ſhewing by the Scriptures that Jeſus was Chriſt.

To this Work then I ſhall immediately apply my ſelf, and as I remember 'tis that which I promiſed, and I ſuppoſe you expect.

Rabbi J. aſſented and ſaid, Yes, that was the proof they now expected; only he hoped that by the Scriptures he meant thoſe that the Chriſtians call the Scriptures of the Old Teſtament, to wit, the Writings of Moſes and the Prophets, and the Hagiographa. Mr. B. reply'd that he intended no other; for he was not inſenſible how the Jews would object againſt any citation out of the Scriptures of the New Teſtament; though he added, he could eaſily manifeſt (if that were now his buſineſs) that there lay no exceptions againſt them but what were of equal force againſt the Writings of Moſes and all the Prophets; but that he ſhould confine himſelf to thoſe Scriptures which by the unanimous conſent both of Jews and Chriſtians were of Divine authority. And from theſe (ſaid he) I ſhall make good theſe two grand aſſertions: 1. That the promiſed Meſſias is long ſince come. And, 2. That Jeſus of Nazareth is he. And if I prove theſe two points, I hope you will give us the right hand of fellowſhip, and become members of the Chriſtian Church.

Rabbi J. anſwered, that if thoſe two points were clearly and convincingly proved, he would preſently renounce Judaiſm, and be baptized and become a profeſſor of the Chriſtian faith. He only requeſted that it might not be interpreted an interruption, if as particular places were cited and urged, he made his objections (if he had any) becauſe he was old and of weak memory, and many things might ſlip from him if he defer'd the mentioning of them till the end of a long Diſcourſe. Mr. B. approv'd of his motion, and therefore told him he would purpoſely make a pauſe now and then to wait if any thing might be objected or oppoſed to what he deliver'd.

Then pulling a Hebrew Bible out of his Pocket, he laid it before him, and thus proceeded:

p. 3Mr. B.

The firſt thing I propounded to prove is this, That the promiſed Meſſias is already, yea long ſince come. For the evincing of this aſſertion, I might urge many places out of Moſes and the Prophets; but I ſhall take up only with three which are moſt conſiderable.

The firſt is in the Book which we call Geneſis, in the Hebrew Bereſith; you will find it in Ch. 49. v. 8, 10. there Jacob is giving his Sons his laſt Benediction, and when he comes to Judah, he propheſies of him, That his Brethren ſhould praiſe him, that his hands ſhould be in the neck of his enemies; that his fathers children ſhould bow down before him: and farther, which is the paſſage I aim at, he adds, that the ſcepter ſhall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come, and unto him ſhall the gathering of the people be. I ſhall firſt explain theſe words, and then form my argument from them. By Judah here, is not meant the perſon but the tribe of Judah. Nothing here ſpoken of Judah was in any meaſure fulfill'd in his perſon, he liv'd and dy'd in Egypt without preeminence among his Brethren; and if you look a little higher, you'l find the things foretold by Jacob were ſuch as concern'd not the perſons of his ſons, but their poſterity in the laſt days. By Scepter and Lawgiver is meant the ruling and legiſlative power that in proceſs of time did ſettle and center in that Tribe of Judah; it began in David who was of that Tribe, and continued for ſome Centuries of years, though not without alterations and interciſions; though there was ſome variety in the form of Government; ſometimes it was Monarchical, and ſometimes Ariſtocratical, yet ſtill the Law and Polity amongſt them was the ſame. By Shiloh is meant the Meſſias, or the promiſed ſeed, the ſeed of the Woman; this might be prov'd from the ſignification of the word, as alſo from the following words, to him ſhall the gathering of the people be, or as ſome read it, to him ſhall the obedience of the Nations be. Now to whom can this be applied but the Meſſias, unto whom it is elſewhere promiſed the Nations ſhall ſeek? The Nations of the Earth were to be bleſſed in him, and the Nations of the Earth were to be gathered to him. Of this opinion alſo were all your ancient Maſters. Nothing is of greater authority with you Jews, than your Targums. Ben Ʋzziel renders it, Until the time wherein the King Meſſiah ſhall come; and Onkelos to the ſame purpoſe, Until the Meſſiah ſhall come whoſe is the Kingdom; and in that of p. 4Jeruſalem. Your learned Doctors thus render or rather paraphraſe upon this Prophecy; Kings ſhall not ceaſe from the houſe of Judah, nor Doctors that teach the Law from his childrens children, until the time that the King Meſſiah do come, whoſe the kingdom is, and all the nations of the earth ſhall be ſubject to him. From the words thus explained, I draw this Argument: If the Scepter and Lawgiver be departed from Judah, then is the Meſſiah already come; but the Scepter and Lawgiver are departed from Judah, therefore is the Meſſiah already come. The major propoſition is affirmed in the Text, the minor can't be denied by you Jews your ſelves. You can't but acknowledg, that for about 1600 years, there hath been no ſuch thing as a Tribe of Judah in any national or political conſtitution. 'Tis evident beyond all contradiction that your whole Nation hath been ſcattered over the face of the earth, and have led a precarious life, under foreign and ſtrange Princes, and have had for many Generations, no Law, Government, or Authority of your own amongſt your ſelves. This is not only confeſt but lamented by ſome of your moſt learned Rabbi's. Kimchi on Hoſea thus writes, Theſe are the days of our captivity, wherein we have neither King nor Prieſt of Iſrael; but we are in the power of the Gentiles, and under the power of their Kings and Princes. And the great Abarbinel on Iſaiah tells us, That 'tis a great part of their miſery in their Captivity, that they have neither Kingdom, nor Rule, nor Scepter of judgment; as if he ſhould have ſaid, Scepter and Lawgiver are departed.

The preciſe time of the departure of all rule and authority from Judah, is a little diſputed; ſome ſay it was in the days of Herod an Idumean, who rooted out the Macchabees and Sanhedrim, whereupon the Jews put on Sackcloth, and ſhaved their heads, and lamenting, ſaid, Wo unto us, becauſe the Scepter is departed from Judah, and the Lawgiver from between his feet. Others ſay, it was at that time, when their Country, City, and Temple were deſtroyed by Veſpaſian and Titus; and that till then, there remains ſome footſteps of Rule and Authority amongſt them. I am not concerned at preſent in this diſpute, 'tis enough to prove what I affirm, That it is long ſince ceaſed and departed: for that being abſolutely and irrecoverably gone, if there be any truth or certainty in this Text, then Shiloh or the Meſſiah is come, which was the thing to be proved.

p. 5Rab. J.

The word (Shebet) which you render a Scepter, doth alſo ſignifie a Rod, and the meaning of the place may be this, That the Rod of affliction ſhall be upon the back of Judah, till the coming of the Meſſiah.

Mr. B.

I will not deny, but that Shebet doth properly ſignifie a Rod or Staff; but its metaphorical and moſt uſual ſignification is a Scepter or Enſign of Rule and Government, and ſo it muſt neceſſarily be read and rendered in other places: as in Pſal. 45, The ſcepter of thy kingdom is a right ſcepter. And in Numb. 24, There ſhall come a ſtar out of Jacob, and a ſcepter ſhall ariſe out of Iſrael. And that the word muſt be thus read and rendered in the Prophecy before us, is plain, becauſe it is joyned with Mechbeck a Lawgiver, or one that hath authority to write, or preſcribe Laws to be obſerved. This then is here foretold, that there ſhall be a continuance of a Soveraign power in the Tribe of Judah, when the kingly government ſhall ceaſe, till the coming of Chriſt, in the great Sanhedrim and in other Governors. And 'tis with reſpect to this Prophecy, that God in Pſalm. 60, and in Pſal. 108, calls Judah his Lawgiver; and in 1 Chron. 28.4, 'tis ſaid he hath choſen Judah to be his Ruler. And that it can't be meant of a Rod of Affliction or Correction, is as evident; becauſe a-long while after this Propheſie, eſpecially in the Reign of David and Solomon, the Tribe of Judah was in a flouriſhing and proſperous condition.

Rab. J.

But if this be meant of the coming of Chriſt, then he was exhibited long before you your ſelves ſay he was born; for the Scepter departed from Judah in the Babyloniſh Captivity, and afterwards in the days of the Aſſamonei or the Macchabees.

Mr. B.

The Scepter was not departed from Judah in the Babyloniſh-Captivity, but only ſuppreſſed for a ſeaſon; and God by his Prophets did promiſe the reſtoring of it after Seventy years, and accordingly it was actually reſtored: for after the Captivity, the Jews were governed by Dukes, who were of the Tribe of Judah, as Zerubbabel and his poſterity, to whom were adjoyned Scribes, as Ezrah, Nehemiah, &c. And as for the Macchabees, they were of the Mothers ſide from Judah, and with them were joyned the Sanhedrim conſiſting of Seventy Two Elders, moſt of the Tribe of Judah and family of David, who continued in the Government of that people, till Herod Aſchalonite, p. 6an Idumean and a ſtranger, did root them all out. Theſe things are fully teſtified by Joſephus an approved Hiſtorian, and other authentick Records.

R. J.

Well Sir, you may proceed.

Mr. B.

The ſecond teſtimony which proves the Meſſiah to be long ſince come, is taken out of the Propheſie of Daniel. You will find in Chap. 9.24, 25, 26, 27, Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finiſh the tranſgreſſion, and to make an end of ſins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlaſting righteouſneſs, and to ſeal up the viſion and propheſie, and to anoint the moſt holy. Know therefore and underſtand, that from the going forth of the commandment to reſtore and to build Jeruſalem, unto the Meſſiah the Prince, ſhall be ſeven weeks, and threeſcore and two weeks, the ſtreet ſhall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threeſcore and two weeks ſhall Meſſiah be cut off, but not for himſelf, and the people of the Prince that ſhall come, ſhall deſtroy the city, and the ſanctuary, and the end thereof ſhall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war deſolations are determined. And he ſhall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midſt of the week he ſhall cauſe the ſacrifice and the oblation to ceaſe, and for the overſpreading of abominations he ſhall make it deſolate, even until the conſummation, and that determined ſhall be poured upon the deſolate.

I intend not a large explication of this Prophecy; this I deſire may be attended to, That the true Meſſiah promiſed unto the Fathers is here ſpoken of. That there is a time limited for his coming, and that this time is long ſince paſt and gone.

That the true Meſſiah is here ſpoken of, is evident: He is twice called by that very name; and indeed the name of the Meſſiah, as appropriated unto the promiſed ſeed, is taken from this place or Prophecy alone: for it is no where uſed of him abſolutely but here. And the addition of the word Nagid the Prince, or the ſupreme Ruler, doth make it yet more evident; for this word in ſundry other places, is peculiarly applied to the Meſſiah. See in Iſa. 55.4, I have given him (to wit the Chriſt) to be Nagid, a Leader or a Prince unto the people. A Learned Critick hath well obſerved, That theſe words Meſſiah Nagid, that is, Meſſiah the Prince, are written in ſuch Hebrew, as muſt needs argue it a proper name, and as is not to be found again in all the Bible.

p. 7To which may be added, The perſon here ſpoken of, is not only called Meſſiah, and Meſſiah the Prince, but he is alſo called the moſt Holy, or the Holy of Holies; the moſt holy place in the Tabernacle and Temple was ſo called, but that can't be here intended. The holy place in the 2d Temple was never anointed; for it was not lawful for them to make the holy Oyl: And beſides, that was burnt with fire and utterly deſtroyed about the expiration of theſe weeks. It is therefore the Perſon, that the holy place tipifies, that is here ſpoken of. The name of the Type is given to the Antitype; he is the moſt holy that was anointed: that is, he was made a Meſſiah. And a great Rabbi of your own doth thus expound it; This Holy of Holies, is the Meſſiah who is anointed or ſanctified from amongſt the ſons of David.

And for a further confirmation of this, do but conſider what work is here aſſigned to be done by this perſon, and you muſt conclude it is the Meſſiah that is here intended. Who, but he, could finiſh or take away tranſgreſſion, and make an end of ſin, and make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlaſting righteouſneſs, and ſeal up Viſion and Prophecy, and confirm the Covenant with many, and cauſe the ſacrifice and oblation to ceaſe? If theſe works could be wrought by any other than the Meſſiah, we had more reaſon to deſire him than the Meſſiah himſelf.

R. J.

I confeſs you have urged good Reaſons, why the Meſſiah promiſed to our Fathers, ſhould be ſpoken of by Daniel the Prophet; yet you muſt give me leave to tell you, that our learned men are of opinion, that all this is ſpoken of Cyrus the Perſian Emperor, and that he is Meſſiah the Prince; and Hiſtory tells us how he was ſlain or cut off. As for the true Meſſiah, we read in the Law, that he abideth for ever. And we are confirmed the more in this opinion, becauſe in Iſaiah the Prophet, he is called the Lords Meſſiah. If you pleaſe, you may conſult the place in the beginning of that which you call Chap. 45. of that Prophecy.

Mr. B.

I am not ignorant that ſome of the modern Rabbies have interpreted Daniels Prophecy of Cyrus; for ſome ages they have abhorred nothing more, than that the true Meſſiah ſhould be there intended; for if once they yield to that, then they muſt give up their cauſe, and they have no cloak for p. 8their unbelief: becauſe, as I ſhall ſhew by and by, the time limited for the coming and cutting off the Meſſiah, is long ſince expired. This Propheſie therefore, if it hath any truth in it, muſt have had its accompliſhment: And it argues the deplorable caſe of the Jews, and deſperate ſhifts they are put to, that they can find no more probable perſon than Cyrus to accommodate this Prophecy to. I pray do but conſider, which of all thoſe works the Meſſiah was to do, can in any tolerable ſenſe be applied to Cyrus? Did he take away ſin? or bring in an everlaſting righteouſneſs? or make reconciliation for iniquity? or ſeal up Viſion and Propheſie? or confirm the Covenant with many? or cauſe the ſacrifice and oblation to ceaſe? Nay, was there any ſuch thing as ſacrifice or oblation in his days, for him to put an end to? Nay, was not he a means of reviving ſacrifices and oblations in after times?

Again let it be conſidered, that the limited time here ſpoken of, doth begin from the going forth of the Commandment to reſtore and to build Jeruſalem, that is expreſt in the Prophecy. Now ſome learned men and good Chronologers are of opinion, that the Commandment here ſpoken of, did not commence or begin till many years after Cyrus his death. This is evident, that there were ſeveral Commandments and Decrees from the Perſian Emperors about this matter. The firſt was made by Cyrus, in the firſt year of his Empire; and ſome think this was not the Commandment ſpoken of in Daniel, becauſe it was only for the building of the Temple; whereas that of Daniel was for the building of Jeruſalem: Beſides, it had little or no effect; within the ſpace of Three or Four years it came to nothing, till anon after the death of Cyrus, there came forth another Decree from Darius (ſuppoſed to be Darius Hyſtaſpes the 3d Emperor of the Perſians) for the building of the Temple. Of this we read Ezra 6. and it ſeems to be a revival of the Decree of Cyrus; the roll whereof upon ſearch made, was found at Achmet in the Province of the Medes. Beſides this Decree of Cyrus and Darius, we read of another Decree or Commandment of Artaxerxes in Ezra 7, who is ſuppoſed to be he that was called Longimanus. This was a more authentick Decree or Commandment than either of the former; for it was made, as 'tis in Ezra 7.14, by the King and his Seven Councellors, which was the higheſt legiſlative power amongſt the Perſians. Here p. 9was not only a proclamation of liberty, but a formal Commiſſion, and that from the King and his Council. Authority is given to Ezra to erect a civil Government and a Magiſtracy amongſt the people, with power over the eſtates, liberties, and lives of men; and this is likely to be the Commandment for the building of Jeruſalem: for it is not Walls and Houſes, ſo much as Rule and Government, that makes or conſtitutes a City.

And if the going forth of the Commandment, to reſtore and build Jeruſalem, which is the epocha of time now limited and determined, be underſtood, as it is by ſome, of the firſt Decree or Commandment of Cyrus, then he can't be Meſſiah the Prince, at whoſe cutting off, the time muſt determine. He did not live long after that Commandment. The Temple was not built, nor was there any ſacrifice or oblation therein during all his ſhort reign. The things here foretold, were not accompliſhed till above Four hundred year after his death.

It's true, he is once called the anointed of the Lord, becauſe he was deſigned and employed by God in that ſpecial ſervice of ruining the Babylonian Empire: But doth it therefore follow, that he is intended in this Prophecy, when no one word or circumſtance therein is applicable to him? and when he was dead ſome hundreds of years, before the determined time mentioned in the Prophet did expire? You may as well ſay Saul or Zedekiah is intended, ſeeing both of them are called in Scripture the Lords anointed.

Having thus proved that the true and only Meſſiah is here ſpoken of, it remains now that I ſhould ſhew how the time limited for his coming is long ſince expired. This is expreſly ſaid to be Seventy weeks from the going forth of the Commandment, to reſtore and build Jeruſalem. That by Seventy weeks, are to be underſtood Seventy ſevens of years, a day being put for a year, and a week for Seven years, which makes full Four hundred ninety years, is generally owned by the Jews as well as the Chriſtians. The learned Kimchi upon this place doth acknowledg it; ſo doth Jarchi, Rab. Leadias and others. And that Four hundred and ninety years are gone and paſt ſince the Commandment came forth for the rebuilding and reſtoring of Jeruſalem, I ſuppoſe will not be denied. There are above Six times Seventy weeks from that time to this. This then will inevitably follow, That the Meſſiah is long ſince come.

p. 10R. J.

The Chriſtians themſelves can't agree when theſe Seventy weeks did begin or end; which weakens their Argument from this Prophecy.

Mr. B.

It is confeſt, what you ſay is true; there is a great difference amongſt Learned men, in their computation of Daniel's weeks; they are not agreed as I ſaid before, at which of the Commandments for the building of Jeruſalem they do begin; nor at the which of theſe Two ſeaſons they end, whether at the death of the Meſſiah, or at the utter ſubverſion and deſtruction of the Temple at Jeruſalem. And there is ſome difference alſo in their Accounts, which is occaſioned by the defect of Hiſtory; the number and years of the Perſian Kings, through whoſe reigns that Account runs, is differently recorded by moſt authentick Hiſtorians: But all this doth nothing invalidate my Argument, nor is that at all concerned in the Chronological computation of thoſe times, or of Daniel's weeks. It is ſufficient to my purpoſe, that by the conſent of all, the time is long ſince paſt, and therefore the Meſſiah is long ſince come. And this I might further tell you, That the differences amongſt the Jews about the beginning and ending of the Seventy years Captivity, are more, and greater than the differences amongſt Chriſtians about the Seventy weeks in this Propheſie: Yea, the ancient Jews were ſo convinced the Meſſiah was to come about the time that theſe Seventy weeks did determine, that nothing extraordinary did appear in any perſon, but preſently they were in ſuſpence whether he were the Meſſiah. Yea, Joſephus tells us in his Seventh Book of the Jewiſh Wars, That it was their confident expectation of the Meſſiah's coming about that ſeaſon, that put them upon that unequal and fatal War with the Romans. Yea, and the Talmud tells us, they were the more obſtinate in the War, by their dayly and hourly expectation, that their Meſſiah, who was to come about that time, would appear to their help; and ſeeing (as they thought) he came not then, they have now no other account or reckoning: Yea, in their Talmud they curſe thoſe who compute the time in which the Meſſiah ſhall come.

After a little pauſe, when nothing was objected, Mr. B. proceeded and ſaid, I ſhall turn you to the third and laſt Teſtimony that I ſhall bring to prove the Meſſiah is long ſince come; and that is in the Prophecy of Malachi, Chap. 3.1, Behold, I p. 11will ſend my meſſenger, and he ſhall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom ye ſeek he ſhall ſuddenly come to his Temple, even the meſſenger of the Covenant whom you delight in, behold he ſhall come, ſaith the Lord of Hoſts. That the Meſſiah is the ſubject here ſpoken of, is granted by the Jews themſelves. Aben Ezra, Rainbam, and Kimchy, and others of your learned Maſters apply this Prophecy to him. The words of Kimchy are expreſs: This is the King, the Meſſiah, and this is the Angel of the Covenant. The Meſſiah was the Lord whom the Jews your fathers ſought, whoſe coming they long looked for, and earneſtly prayed for. He was the Angel of the Covenant, Gods meſſenger, who was, as we obſerved before out of Daniel, to confirm the Covenant with many. By him the new Covenant was to be confirmed and ratified. Now that which is predicated of the Meſſiah by this Prophet is this, that he ſhould come ſuddenly to his Temple; his coming there muſt be whilſt the Temple was yet ſtanding and in being. And 'tis for this reaſon that the Prophet Haggai tells us, Hag. 2.9. that the glory of the latter Houſe ſhall be greater than the former, becauſe the Meſſiah who is there called the deſire of all Nations, ſhall in a little while come to it, and afford it his Perſonal preſence. You know your ſelves that in reſ…ct of any other glory, the latter Temple was far inferior to the former. It was not comparable with it for magnificence of ſtructure; hence it is that thoſe of the fathers who were ancient men, and had ſeen the firſt houſe, when the foundation of the other was laid, they wept with a loud voice; it grieved them to think what a diſproportion there was like to be betwixt the former and the latter Houſe.

R. J.

But this ſecond Temple was greatly beautified and enlarged by Herod about 300 years after it was built, and it might be ſaid with reſpect thereto, that the glory of the latter Houſe ſhould be great above that of the former.

Mr. B.

'Tis true, the latter Houſe was greatly beautified by Herod, but it does not appear that it was enlarged by him; he built it higher, but it was ſtill upon the old foundation; and when he had finiſhed what he undertook, there was no compariſon betwixt this and the former Temple. Do but conſider the Treaſure that David provided, beſides what Solomon added for the building of the firſt Houſe, we find it was 100000 Talents of Gold, and 1000000 Talents of Silver, beſides Braſs and Iron p. 12without weight. We may rationally compute, that Herod in all his wealth and glory was not worth one tenth part of this Treaſure; nay all Herods revenue was hardly ſufficient to find Bread for Solomons Workmen, which were above 330000 men; nor is it likely that he employed ſo many in the whole work as Solomon did to overſee his Labourers. But beſides the Magnificence of the Fabrick, there were ſundry priviledges which added a great glory to the firſt Temple, that were wanting in the ſecond, viz. Fire from Heaven to conſume the Sacrifices, Ʋrim and Thummim, the Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy-ſeat, the Cherubims, and Oracles from thence, the Cloud filling the Temple, the ſpirit of Prophecy; theſe indeed were the chiefeſt glory of the firſt Temple; and the Jews acknowledge this, as they do in their Talmud, that all theſe priviledges and pledges of Gods Preſence were wanting in the ſecond Temple; with what face then can you compare the one with the other, or prefer the glory of the one to the glory of the other? There was nothing doubtleſs that gave the latter Houſe this preference, or rendered it more glorious than the former, but his coming to it, and appearing in it, who was the Lord whom they ſought, and who was the deſire of all Nations, or one to be deſired by them.

The exhibiting of him to the world, was the end of the building of the Temple, and of all the worſhip therein performed; and ſo by his coming unto it, more abundant honour and glory was confer'd upon it.

Thus, I hope, I have ſufficiently proved that the Meſſiah was to come during the ſtanding of the ſecond Temple, and that being long ſince utterly deſtroyed (as it has been for above theſe 1600 years) it muſt needs follow that the Meſſiah is long ſince come, which was the thing to be proved.

R. J.

Sir I muſt needs acknowledg you have offer'd and urg'd ſtrong arguments to prove the Meſſiah is already come; and I may not conceal it from you, that many of our Maſters have been long of this mind, and that for our ſins (which are many and great) he is kept hid in Paradiſe, or in the Sea, or that he dwells among the Lepers at the Gates of Rome, waiting for a call from Heaven, to go and gather the diſperſed Jews, and deliver them out of the hands of thoſe that ride upon their backs; therefore ſuppoſe we grant your firſt aſſertion, That the Meſſiah is long p. 13ſince come, how will you prove your ſecond, that Jeſus of Nazareth is he.

Mr. B.

To that I now haſten, and I do not doubt but by Gods aſſiſtance to make it manifeſt beyond all contradiction. Two Arguments only ſhall be inſiſted upon.

1. That Jeſus of Nazareth hath no other to ſtand in competition with him.

2. That all that was propheſied of old touching the Meſſiah, is verified and fulfilled in him.

1. That Jeſus of Nazareth hath no other to ſtand in competition with him; it is a remarkable Providence of God that he ſhould be without a competitor, that there is none elſe (the Jews themſelves being Judges) that can have the title, dignity or office of the Meſſiah appropriated to him: 'Tis true there have been ſome Pſeudo Meſſiahs, or pretenders to this dignity, but they are diſclaim'd by your ſelves as ſeducers and cauſers of great miſery to your people and Nation. Of this ſort was Theudas and Judas of Galilee; but the more famous falſe Meſſiah was Barchochab the ſon of the Star; he feign'd himſelf to be the Meſſiah, and ſaid that Scripture was ſpoken of him, There ſhall come a Star out of Jacob, &c. Rabbi Akiba, a man of great fame in thoſe times, when he ſaw him, ſaid, This is the King, the Meſſiah. This Barchochab was (as ſome affirm) in Jeruſalem before its deſtruction, and Akiba applied unto him that of the Prophet Haggai, The deſire of all Nations ſhall come. To him not only the common people, but the chief Doctors and Rabbies did join themſelves, and aided him againſt the Romans until he periſht himſelf, and cauſed many others to periſh with him. About 48 years after the Deſtruction of Jeruſalem (if we may credit the moſt approved Hiſtorians of thoſe times) roſe another cheat called Bencozbi, (ſome indeed of the Jewiſh Writers will have this Bencozbi and the forementioned Barchochab to be the ſame perſon.) In ſhort this is his Hiſtory: The Jews that remained after Jeruſalem was deſtroyed, made a City called Bitter, the Metropolis or chief ſeat of the Kingdom, and took this falſe Chriſt for their King. The Emperour Adrian beſieged them in this City, and at length he took it, and cut off the head of Bencozbi. In this War they that ſpeak of the leaſt, affirm that 45000 Jews loſt their lives; and ſuch a devaſtation was made of the whole Nation, as that to this day they could never gather together in conſiderable numbers in p. 14any part of the world. In the reign of Theodoſius the ſecond, one Moſes of Crete acted the part of a falſe Saviour upon the Stage of the World; he gave out that he was a ſecond Moſes, a Prophet like unto him, that God had ſent from Heaven, and he would lead all the Jews that followed him thorough the Sea to the Continent dry-ſhod. For a year together he perſwaded them in their Towns and Cities to leave all and follow him, and he would conduct them into the promiſed land. At an appointed time great multitudes of Men, Women and Children repair to him, whom he brings to an high Promontory hanging over the Sea; at his command many caſt themſelves down, ſome of which were drowned, others were ſaved by Chriſtian Fiſhermen, who diſſwaded them (all they could) from ſo mad and murderous an act. The Jews ſeeing themſelves deluded, thought to lay hands upon the Impoſtor, but their falſe Moſes (as if he had been a true Devil) was gone and vaniſht they knew not how nor whither. This occaſioned many Jews to embrace the Chriſtian Faith, and to leave that way of Judaiſm which was ſubject to ſuch dangerous and coſtly deceits. In the year 1135, one David Etroi, or David & David, gave out that he was the Meſſiah, and that God had ſent him to deliver his people Iſrael. The King of Perſia (in whoſe Dominions he was) laid hold of him; but he being a cunning Magician freed himſelf, and did many pranks to the great enraging of that King againſt the Jews. They to prevent the ruin that was coming upon them by his means, made a great feaſt for this mock Meſſiah, and when he was aſleep in his drunkenneſs they cut off his head and preſented it to the King, who thereupon was appeaſed and reconciled to them.

We read alſo of one called the King of Thabor, who would needs be the Meſſiah, whom Charles the Fifth cauſed to be burnt. And Maimonides reckons up four more falſe Chriſts, that did ariſe among the Jews in Spain and France, that brought great miſery upon themſelves and their followers. But you have heard enough of this ſubject. Evident it is, that unleſs it be Jeſus of Nazareth our bleſſed Saviour, there is none that with any colour of probability can be ſuppoſed to be the Meſſiah. To ſay (as you hinted but now) that he is kept hid in Paradiſe, or in the Sea, till the time of his ſhewing to Iſrael, is ſuch a ridiculous ſubterfuge or fancy, that your own Maſters diſclaim it, and all rational conſiderate perſons are aſhamed of it.

p. 152. The ſecond Particular that I propounded to prove, was this, That all that was propheſied of old concerning the Meſſiah, is verified and fulfilled in Jeſus of Nazareth. The holy Prophets (who were divinely inſpired) did plainly deſcribe and characterize him that was to come, to the end the Church might know and receive him at his coming. Now I ſhall ſhew you how all the Prophetical Characters of the Meſſiah do center in the perſon of our bleſſed Saviour.

1. The promiſed Meſſiah is deſcribed by his lineage and deſcent: he was to be of the ſeed of Abraham, of the Tribe of Judah, and of the houſe of David; this needs no proof, becauſe it is univerſally acknowledged. And yet by the way this very acknowledgment doth mar all expectation of a Meſſiah to come, becauſe you are now at an utter loſs about all Genealogy ſince your diſperſion, and are not in a capacity to diſcover a Meſſiah by this Scripture-ſign of him. Now that Jeſus of Nazareth was thus deſcended, may eaſily be demonſtrated; there is no queſtion of his being of the ſeed of Abraham, and of the Tribe of Judah: the only doubt that can be, is, whether he were of the family of David, unto which the promiſe of the Chriſt was reſtrained. Now this is proved at large by two witneſſes, Matthew and Luke, who wrote the Hiſtory of his Life in the very age wherein he lived. And if it be objected that they were two of his Diſciples, and ſo their teſtimony in that caſe is not to be taken. I anſwer, That the teſtimony they gave as to this matter, was taken out of the unqueſtionable records of thoſe times, or elſe why did not your fathers except againſt what they wrote? and why in the midſt of their rage againſt him and his followers, was it not once objected by them, That he was not of the family of David, and ſo could not be the perſon that he pretended to be?

R. J.

The Hiſtorians you ſpeak of, Matthew and Luke, do not at all prove the matter in queſtion, which is, That Jeſus did ſpring from the family of David; for you Chriſtians believe that he was conceived of the Holy Ghoſt, and born of Mary whilſt a Virgin, and that Joſeph was only his reputed father. Now both the Genealogies of Matthew and Luke belong unto Joſeph alone, as may appear if you conſult the beginning of the one, and the end of the other. Seeing then that Jeſus was no otherwiſe related to Joſeph, but as his mother (as you affirm) was eſpouſed to him, he cannot be reckoned in Joſeph's right to belong unto the family of David.

p. 16Mr. B.

I know this hath been objected of old; but the cavil is occaſioned through a miſtake: for Luke gives us directly the Genealogy of the Virgin Mary the Mother of Jeſus; and therefore if you compare the Evangeliſts or Hiſtorians, as you call them, you'l find that whereas Matthew makes Joſeph to deſcend from David by the line of Solomon, Luke makes Mary to deſcend from David by the line of Nathan; and Heli (the laſt that is mentioned in that line) was the father of Mary, and not of Joſeph; only he is ſaid to be Heli's ſon, becauſe his daughter was legally contracted or eſpouſed to him. And though the Genealogy recorded by Matthew, be the Genealogy of Joſeph, and not of Mary, from David downward; yet herein he proceeds according to the Laws of Genealogies, and the legal way of proving one to be of ſuch a tribe or family. A woman, whatever tribe or family ſhe was of before, after contract of Marriage, ſhe was legally accounted to be of that family into which by her Eſpouſals ſhe was engrafted: and of that family, and no other was he to be reckoned, who was born of her after ſuch Eſpouſals. And this legal relation or tranſlation of families, Luke ſeems to intimate, when he ſays, That the mother of Jeſus was eſpouſed to a man whoſe name was Joſeph, of the family of David. There being no reaſon to mention his family, but to ſhew that the Genealogy of Jeſus (the ſon of her who was eſpouſed to him) was concerned therein.

This may juſtifie the method of Matthew in recording the Genealogy of Jeſus, by reckoning up the progenitors of his ſuppoſed father; for if you conſider how Genealogies are not reckoned by women, there was no better or ſurer way of declaring his pedigree who deſcended of Mary, than by his to whom ſhe was ſo nearly related. Although it was not without a remarkable providence, that Jeſus on both ſides deſcended (that is from his mother and ſuppoſed father too) from the family and houſe of David.

R. J.

Sir, your arguing hath ſtrength in it; but yet give me leave to tell you, that it doth much invalidate the teſtimony of theſe two Hiſtorians, that they do not altogether agree in their Genealogies; and our learned men have obſerved ſeveral omiſſions and corruptions, eſpecially in Matthew's Genealogy; and if I had my Books by me, I could ſhew you many knots therein, which I believe you will never be able to untye.

p. 17Mr. B.

I do confeſs the Genealogies of Matthew and Luke are not without their difficulties; but I will aſſure you they are far from being inſoluble or inſuperable; and if you pleaſe (when you have conſulted your authors) to bring or ſend me your objections, I here promiſe you to return a full and ſatisfactory anſwer thereunto, and I queſtion not (by Gods aſſiſtance) but I ſhall convince you that there is neither contradiction nor corruption in the Genealogies of theſe two Evangeliſts.

R. J.

You promiſe very fairly. I pray proceed.

Mr. B.

The promiſed Meſſiah is deſcribed, as by his lineage and deſcent, ſo in the ſecond place by the manner of his birth and production; as he was to be an extraordinary perſon, ſo he was to be born and brought forth in an extraordinary manner; that is, he was to be born of a Virgin that never knew a man: this indeed was implied in that firſt promiſe which God made to our firſt Parents, where he is called the ſeed of the woman. But 'tis expreſt by the Prophet Iſaiah, Chap. 7.14. Behold, a Virgin ſhall conceive and bear a ſon, and ſhall call his name Immanuel. For the better underſtanding of this excellent Prophecy, you may pleaſe to take notice how Ahaz and his people were under great conſternation by reaſon of the invaſion of two potent Princes; whereupon Iſaiah is ſent unto him with good tidings, that though theſe two Princes had taken evil counſel againſt him, it ſhould not ſtand, but they ſhould be diſappointed and broken. Ahaz gave little credit to the words of the Prophet, hereupon he bids him to ask a ſign either in heaven or in earth. Ahaz refuſeth to ask a ſign, and adds that he will not tempt the Lord. Whether he ſpoke this hypocritically, as pretending great veneration and reſpect to that command, where 'tis written, Thou ſhalt not tempt the Lord thy God; or whether he ſpoke it prophanely, as not being willing to try or truſt the Lord, and commit the event of that buſineſs unto him, becauſe he had reſolved to ſend to the King of Aſſyria for help, I ſhall not now diſpute; the Prophet he ſharply reprehends him, and tells him, though he would not ask a ſign, yet God would give a ſign, he would do it voluntarily and of his own accord, A Virgin ſhall conceive and bear a Son, &c. As if he had ſaid, you think God is not able or willing to ſave you from theſe two Kings, he'l give you an inſtance of greater power and goodneſs than this, he'l ſend the Meſſiah that ſhall ſave you from worſe and greater enemies than thoſe; he'l work a miracle, p. 18to cauſe a woman to conceive without any conjunction with man, and therefore he is ſurely able to ſave you out of the hands of theſe men; he'l make good his word concerning his giving his ſon to ſave you from your ſins; much more will he make good his word concerning the ſaving you from the hands of your enemies.

R. J.

We conceive this Prophecy doth no way relate to the birth of Jeſus of Nazareth; we know that Matthew ſo applys it, but we think impertinently; for the birth of the child here promiſed, was to be a ſign to Ahaz of his deliverance from thoſe two Kings that now came up againſt him; and of this the birth of Jeſus (if he were the Meſſiah) was not a proper pledge or aſſurance, becauſe he was not born till ſome hundreds of years afterwards.

Mr. B.

'Tis not unuſual for thoſe things to be promiſed for ſigns, which do not exiſt in themſelves, until after the accompliſhment of thoſe things whereof they are ſigns; inſtances of this abound in Scripture, ſee Exod. 3.12. God there tells Moſes that this ſhould be a ſign that he had ſent him to Pharaoh, the children of Iſrael in after times ſhould ſerve him upon that mountain where now he appeared to him. A further inſtance of this you have in Iſa. 7.10. though the thing it ſelf in its exiſtence can't be made a ſign, yet it may in the promiſe and prediction of it; hereby their faith is confirmed who live in the time of the actual accompliſhment of ſuch promiſes. And as to the caſe in hand, God doth here aſſure Ahaz and the houſe of David, that he would as certainly make good his promiſe in delivering them from the hands of thoſe they fear'd, as he would fulfill that great promiſe of bringing forth the Meſſiah, and that in a miraculous way, for that he ſhould be conceived and born of a Virgin.

R. J.

But pray, Sir, conſider what follows; that the deliverance here promiſed from thoſe two Kings, yea their ruin and deſtruction, was to be wrought before this child ſhould come to years of diſcretion, which is meant by his knowing to refuſe the evil, and chuſe the good.

Mr. B.

It does not appear that he ſpeaks afterwards in the 16. verſe of the ſame child that he doth in this 14 verſe; 'tis evident he makes uſe of another word in the Hebrew, and it is more than probable that he ſpeaks of another child; if you p. 19look into the beginning of the Chapter, you ſhall find the Prophet (and that by the eſpecial command of God) took with him Shear-jaſhub his own Son, when he went with this Meſſage unto the King. This you may ſuppoſe, was for ſome particular reaſon or end in the Meſſage which he was to deliver; his Son being then but a Child, could be of no uſe in that whole tranſaction, unleſs it were to be an inſtance of ſomething to be ſpoken or done; and doubtleſs this Son of his, was the young Child he there intends and inſtanceth in, before whoſe growing up to years of diſcretion, thoſe Kings of Damaſcus and Samaria ſhould be deſtroyed.

Yet if you ſhould quarrel with this Interpretation, there is no force in your objection; for this phraſe doth import no more but this, That in as ſhort a ſpace of time theſe two Kings ſhall be deſtroyed, as any Child, or this promiſed Child, when he ſhall be born, ſhall come to the uſe of reaſon and underſtanding.

R. J.

Suppoſe I ſhould grant what you ſay, yet this Prophecy is not for your purpoſe; for the word that you render a Virgin, doth ſignifie any young Woman, whether ſingle or Married: Nay, in the Proverbs of Solomon, it is uſed for a Harlot. I do not ſee therefore why you Chriſtians ſhould put ſo much ſtreſs or weight upon it.

Mr. B.

If this cavil hath any truth in it, I will yield the Cauſe. There are but two ways to know the ſignification of a word; either it muſt be from the Etimology, or conſtant uſe of it; as to the Etimology of the word, you know it is from Alam, which ſignifies to hide; which in Niphal is hidden or kept cloſe. Hence is Almah a Virgin, and ſhe is ſo called from her being unknown by man, or from the cuſtom in thoſe eaſtern Countries, where Virgins were hid and kept cloſe from all common Converſation. The Grecians alſo, for the ſame reaſon, called Virgins Recluſes, or perſons ſhut up. This then is the derivation of the word, and it properly ſignifies an unknown and an untoucht Virgin. As to the conſtant uſe of it, I can boldly affirm, that wherever you meet with it in Scripture, it hath the ſame ſignification. It is ſeveral times uſed in the Scripture in this ſenſe, and in no other: as for that place in the Proverbs (I know what you mean) 'tis in Chap. 30.19, there Agur ſays, There are three things which are too wonderful for him, yea, four which he knew not; and that fourth was, the way of a man with p. 20a maid. Here is the ſame word, and it muſt ſignifie, ſay you Jews, in this place a Harlot: But we Chriſtians ſee no neceſſity of it; we think an unſpotted Virgin is here alſo intended; and that by the way of a man with a maid, Agur intends nothing elſe, but the way and manner of men in uſing crafty devices to corrupt Virgins, and to compaſs their luſt upon them: This is ſuch as a good man is ignorant of. Thus you ſee, that if you conſider the word either in its derivation, or conſtant ſignification, it muſt be underſtood of an unſpotted Virgin, and no other. And that it ſhould be ſo underſtood in this place, I have yet a further reaſon, becauſe it is ſome miraculous thing which is above, and contrary to the ordinary courſe of nature that is here ſpoken of; and therefore 'tis uſher'd in with a note of attention, Behold! and 'tis given by God himſelf as a miraculous ſign, as great or greater than Ahaz could have asked, either in Heaven or in Earth: and therefore 'tis ridiculous to underſtand it (as you Jews would have it) of an ordinary conception and birth, or of another womans conceiving and bearing a Son; How could that be a prodigy or a miraculous ſign, which was done every hour in the day.

R. J.

But ſtill this can't be meant of Jeſus the Son of Mary, becauſe the name of this Child was to be Immanuel.

Mr. B.

By what I have already heard from you, I take you to be a man of greater reading and underſtanding, than to think there is any force in this objection; when the Prophet ſays his name ſhall be call'd Immanuel, he intends what he ſhall be and do, and not what he ſhall commonly be call'd or nam'd. The plain meaning is, he ſhall be Immanuel, that is, God with us, or God and man in one perſon; and his work ſhall be to reconcile God to man, and man to God. Pray, Sir, let me deſire you to look a little further, and you'l find in the ninth Chapter of this Prophecy, a parallel place; 'Tis ſaid in verſ. 6, that unto us a child is born, unto us a ſon is given, the government ſhall be upon his ſhoulder, and his name ſhall be called Wonderful, Counſellor, the mighty God, the everlaſting Father, the Prince of Peace. This is a manifeſt Prophecy of the Meſſiah; but do you think that theſe are his proper names? or rather is not this the meaning, that he ſhall be all that is there expreſt? and how often in other places is a thing ſaid to be call'd that which it is in its being, quality, or creation?

p. 21R. J.

I am amaz'd at your Anſwers! I made no doubt of wreſting this Scripture out of your hands. I pray go on.

Mr. B.

The promiſed Meſſiah is deſcribed in the 3d place, as by the manner, ſo by the place of his birth. This was foretold by the Prophet Micah, chap 5.2, to be Bethlehem Ephratah; the words are theſe, Thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thouſands of Judah, yet out of thee ſhall he come forth unto me, that is, to be ruler in Iſrael; whoſe goings forth have beeen from of old, from the days of eternity. That the Meſſiah is here ſpoken of, is the acknowledgement of the Jews themſelves. The Chaldee Paraphraſt thus reads the words, Out of thee ſhall come forth to me the Meſſiah, who ſhall have the rule. That the place of the Meſſiah's birth is here propheſied of, this alſo is acknowledged by the Jews, as well as the Chriſtians: when Herod of old demanded where the Chriſt ſhould be born, the chief Prieſts and Scribes affirmed (and that unanimouſly) that he was to be born at Bethlehem, and proved what they affirmed by this Prophecy of Micah. That Jeſus our Bleſſed Saviour was born or brought forth at Bethlehem, is too manifeſt to be denied: The wonderful Providence of God in bringing this about, is not to be paſt over in ſilence. Joſeph (his ſuppoſed Father) and Mary his Mother, lived in Galilee in a mean condition, and had no deſign, either of dwelling in Bethlehem, or taking a journey thither. But about that ſeaſon, when ſhe was big with Child, there went out a Decree from Caeſar Auguſtus, That all perſons ſhould be taxed, and they muſt repair to the City or Village to which they belong, in order thereunto; this brought Joſeph and Mary at this time to Bethlehem: this ſhewed to what houſe and lineage they belonged, even that of David, as I ſaid before. It was God ſurely that put this into Caeſars mind, or elſe why could they not have been taxed in the places where they dwelt or reſided: but to Bethlehem they muſt come, and that for a double Reaſon (which the only wiſe God foreſaw): Firſt, That they may be publickly enrolled for branches of David's family. And then ſecondly, That Jeſus might be brought forth there according to this Prophecy. Let this be further noted, That an end is now put to the Jews expectation of another Meſſiah, becauſe Bethlehem is long ſince utterly deſtroyed, and is now neither great nor ſmall in the thouſands of Judah. If there be no ſuch place as Bethlehem, p. 22'tis ridiculous in the Jews to expect the Chriſt from thence.

R. J.

Pray, Sir, proceed.

Mr. B.

The promiſed Meſſiah is deſcribed in the 4th place, by his offices which he ſhould execute; the firſt is that of a King. In the place but now cited out of Micah, he was to be Ruler or King in Iſrael. Zach. 9.9, Rejoyce greatly, O daughter of Sion, ſhout O daughter of Jeruſalem, thy King cometh unto thee, he is juſt, and having ſalvation, lowly, and riding upon an Aſs, and upon a Colt the fole of an Aſs. You Jews expect a pompous Prince or King, that like another Alexander ſhall War with the Nations of the World, and as a triumphing Conqueror overcome them; that ſhall redeem you out of your captivity in all lands, and reſtore you again to your own land. Do but ſearch the Scripture, and you'l find no promiſe of ſuch a Prince or King; He is lowly, ſaith Zachary, riding upon an Aſs; he confeſt indeed he was a King, but with all, he ſaid his Kingdom was not of this world; No, as it is an everlaſting, ſo it is a ſpiritual Kingdom; he rules in the hearts of his Subjects, he makes them a willing and obedient people in the day of his power; he makes all his Subjects Kings, and hath provided for every one of them a Kingdom. The 2d office is that of a Prieſt, David ſpeaking of him in Pſal. 110, ſays, Thou art a Prieſt for ever after the order of Melchizedeck. His Prieſthood was not temporary, as Aarons was, but 'tis an everlaſting and unchangeable Prieſthood: the High Prieſt of old was but a Type of him; he offered up himſelf to God and the Father, a ſacrifice of a ſweet ſmelling ſavour; by which offering he hath perfected for ever them that are ſanctified, and made reconciliation for their ſins; he by his own blood (not the blood of Bulls and Goats, which could not poſſibly take away ſins, but by his own blood) is entred into the holy place, (not that made with hands, which alſo was but a figure or Type, but) into Heaven it ſelf, where he appears in the preſence of God for us.

The Third Office is that of a Prophet; ſo Moſes told your Fathers of old, Deut. 18.18, That God would raiſe them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto him; and he would put words in his mouth, and he ſhould ſpeak all that he ſhould command him; and whoſoever would not hearken to his words, God would require it of him. The accompliſhment of this excellent p. 23Prophecy is in the perſon of Jeſus of Nazareth; he was not only anointed to be a King, and a Prieſt, but a Prophet too; he was raiſed up from amongſt your brethren (as you have heard); he was like unto Moſes: the other Prophets that ſucceeded in their ſeveral generations, were none of them like unto him; they inſtituted no new Laws or ordinances for the worſhip and ſervice of God; they all built upon that foundation which he laid; this honour God confer'd upon Moſes to be a Lawgiver to his people: but now in after-times there was a Prophet to ariſe which ſhould be like unto him, and the ſimilitude conſiſted mainly in this, That he ſhould make new Laws and Ordinances in the Church; and who was this Prophet, but the bleſſed Jeſus? He hath revealed the Mind and Will of God in another manner than ever Moſes did; he hath diſcover'd the myſtery and meaning of all the Moſaical Ordinances and Inſtitutions; their nature, uſe and end, was unknow to your Fathers, though they were dayly converſant in and about them.

I dare affirm, that we have thouſands of illiterate perſons amongſt us Chriſtians, that can give a far better account of the uſe, and end, of all the Moſaical Rites, Inſtitutions and Sacrifices, than the moſt learned Rabbins that you have, or that your Church ever had; and having unvail'd and aboliſh'd the old, he hath ſuperinduc'd new Ordinances and Inſtitutions, ſuch as are more eaſie and intelligible, and better ſuited to the adult ſtate of his Church and people; and in this he hath ſhewed himſelf a Prophet like unto Moſes, yea, a greater Prophet than he: And with this agrees the teſtimony of the ancient Jews. The Author of Sopher Ikkarim, thus writes, In all that ſpace of time, wherein the Prophets follow'd Moſes, until the ceaſing of Prophecy, there was none like unto him; but hereafter ſhall ariſe a Prophet (even the Meſſiah) who ſhall be like him, yea, a greater Prophet than Moſes was. Now to cloſe my diſcourſe upon this head, let me ſhew you how the commination contain'd in this Prophecy is fallen upon your people and Nation. God doth here threaten, that he will require it of him, or them, who ſhall not hearken to the words of this Prophet. There is evidently a Meioſis in the words, that is, there is more implyed than is expreſt: the meaning is, that he will utterly deſtroy or reject ſuch for their diſobedience. How ſadly is this fulfilled in the event? Your Fathers, who for deſpiſing and diſobeying the former Prophets, were only for a p. 24ſeaſon corrected and chaſten'd, and after a while delivered again out of their greateſt miſeries; they and their Children for their diſobedience to this Prophet, are utterly cut off and exterminated; ſo ſeverely hath God required this at their hands.

R. J.

Pray Sir go on.

Mr. B.

I ſhall add but one deſcription more of the promiſed Meſſiah; he is in the 5th place deſcribed by his great ſufferings which he was to undergo in the days of his fleſh. The Jews, as I ſaid before, they expected a conquering, and not a ſuffering Meſſiah; nothing could be more contrary to their expectation, than a Meſſiah that ſhould live in a low and mean condition, ſubject to all the miſeries of this life, and at laſt to death it ſelf; therefore this note, or deſcription of him, is more fully aſſerted than all the reſt: this was more than implied in that firſt promiſe or Prophecy, where the Lord ſays, that the ſeed of the ſerpent ſhall bruiſe his heel. 'Tis worthy of our obſervation, that all the particularities of Chriſts later ſufferings, even thoſe that ſeemed to be moſt caſual, were foreknown of God, and foretold in his word. As now for inſtance, his being betrayed by one of his friends, familiars and followers; of this David ſpake as a Type of Chriſt, Pſal. 41.9, Mine own familiar friend in whom I truſted, which did eat of my bread, hath lift up his heel againſt me. See further in Pſal. 55. Again the ſelling of him for Thirty pieces of ſilver (which was the goodly price he was prized at) and the uſe that this money ſhould afterwards be put to (even to make a purchaſe of a potter) this was ſpoken of by Zachariah, chap. 11.12, 13, Again, the flight of his followers, and their forſaking of him, was foretold by the ſame Prophet, Zach. 13.7, Awake, O ſword, againſt my ſhepherd, and againſt the man that is my fellow, ſaith the Lord of hoſts; ſmite the ſhepherd, and the ſheep ſhall be ſcattered. Again, the ſevere and ſordid uſage he met with by being ſcourged, buffeted, and ſpit upon, was alſo propheſied of, Iſa. 50.6, there the Meſſiah is brought in ſpeaking after this manner, The Lord hath given me the tongue of the learned, &c. and then it follows, I gave my back to the ſmiters, and my cheeks to them that pluckt off the hair; I hid not my face from ſhame and ſpitting. Again, his death was foretold by Daniel, that it ſhould be a violent death, Dan. 9.26, After threeſcore and two weeks ſhall Meſſiah be cut off, but not for himſelf. Again, his being lifted up upon a Croſs, that was prefigured and p. 25foreteld by Moſes when he lifted up the Serpent in the wilderneſs; and by David, when ſpeaking in the perſon of Chriſt he ſays, Pſal. 22.14, All my bones are out of joynt. Again, the piercing of his hands and feet, that was ſpoken of in the ſame Pſalm, verſ. 16, They pierced my hands and my feet. And Zachary ſpeaks how the Jews in the laſt days ſhall look on him whom they have pierced. That paſſage about their parting his Garments, was predicted in the ſame Pſalm, verſ. 18, They parted my garments amongſt them, and caſt lots upon my veſture. In that Pſalm alſo you will find a prediction of that cruel mocking and deriſion that he met withal, verſ. 7, All they that ſee me, laugh me to ſcorn, they ſhoot out the lip, they ſhake the head, ſaying, he truſted in the Lord that he would deliver him, let him deliver him, ſeeing he delighted in him. Yea, that bitter cry that came from him upon the Croſs is recorded in this Pſalm, verſ. 1, My God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken me? Yea, their giving him Gall and Vinegar to drink, that alſo is foreſpoken of Pſal. 69.21, They gave me alſo gall for meat, and in my thirſt they gave me vinegar to drink. All theſe things were done, not only to ſatisfie the luſts and wills of men, but to fulfill the Scripture, the Word of God. There is one place in Iſaiah, Chap. 53, of that Prophecy, that ſpeaks more amply of this ſubject, and indeed it ſeems rather to be a Hiſtory than a Prophecy of Chriſts ſufferings. It begins with a deſcription of his mean and low condition, He ſhall grow up as a tender plant, not as a tall and ſtately Cedar; but as a ſhrub or tender plant ready to be cropt by every beaſt, and to be trod under by every foot: and as a root out of a dry ground; this may reſpect the family of Joſeph and Mary, out of which he ſprang, and the low and contemptible condition thereof; he was ſo unſuitable to the expectation of the Jews who lookt for a Meſſiah (as I ſaid before) that ſhould be a temporal Monarch, ſhining in outward glory, and ruling with viſible power and greatneſs; that when he came, they hid their faces from him, they deſpiſed and eſteemed him not; when they ſaw him, he had no form or comlineſs for which they ſhould deſire him. In the next place the Prophet deſcribes his ſufferings and afflictions, and this he doth in great variety of expreſſions; he ſpeaks of him as a man of ſorrows, and acquainted with grief, who bore our griefs, carried our ſorrows, was ſmitten of God, and afflicted; who was wounded for our tranſgreſſions, bruiſed for our iniquities, p. 26the chaſtiſement of our peace was upon him, and with his ſtripes we are healed: all we like ſheep have gone aſtray, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all. He was oppreſſed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the ſlaughter, and as a ſheep before her ſhearers is dumb, ſo he opened not his mouth. He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the tranſgreſſion of my people was he ſtricken. It pleaſed the Lord to bruiſe him, he hath put him to grief. He hath poured out his ſoul unto death, he was numbred with tranſgreſſors, and he bore the ſin of many. I ſhall not ſtand now to open all theſe prophetical paſſages, and apply them to Chriſt. 'Tis the manner of the Prophets to ſpeak of things to come, as if they were paſt or preſent, and that is the reaſon why Iſaiah ſpeaks all along in the paſt or preſent tenſe. This is ſuch a Prophecy of Chriſt as belongs to him, not only properly, but immediately. In other places and prophecies (eſpecially in the Pſalms) David or ſome other as a Type of Chriſt is ſpoken of in the firſt place, when the Meſſiah is principally intended; but here it is quite otherwiſe, Chriſt himſelf is immediately ſpoken of. That the Meſſiah is here intended, is confeſt by your ancient Maſters; the Chaldee Paraphraſt expreſly names the Meſſiah, and interprets the whole chapter of him. So doth the Targum and the Talmud it ſelf. In Alſhech on the very place, it is thus written, That it is concerning Meſſiah the King that theſe words are ſpoken, and this he ſays, is determined by our Maſters with one conſent. In vain therefore do ſome later Jews attempt to make Joſiah or Jeremiah, or the whole body of the nation, the ſubject of this Prophecy. To which of theſe can all or any indeed of the forementioned paſſages in any tolerable ſenſe be accommodated? Rightly therefore doth one call this Chapter of Iſaiah, the torture or rack of the Jewiſh Rabbins. Hulſius the Hebrew Profeſſor in Breda, informs us in a late Treatiſe of the Jewiſh Theology, how ſome Jews told him that their Maſters could eaſily have extricated themſelves from all other places in the Prophets, if Iſaiah in this place had but held his peace: though that was but a vain boaſt, becauſe other Prophecies (ſome of which you have now heard) are as perplexing to them as this. Yet it appears by their own confeſſion, that this Prophecy doth greatly hamper and entangle them. Yea, the very reading and peruſing of this place of Scripture (which is one cauſe why I am ſo p. 27long upon it) hath been a means of converting many Jews to the Chriſtian Religion. Hear the confeſſion of Johannes Iſaac, a German Jew, and afterwards a Chriſtian Profeſſor at Cologne, Anno 1558. This, ſaith he, I do ingenuouſly profeſs, that the 53 of Iſaiah did draw me to the Chriſtian Faith; for more than a thouſand times have I read that Chapter thorow, and I have accurately compar'd it with many Tranſlations, and have found that there is a hundred times more myſtery concerning Chriſt contain'd in the Hebrew Text, than can be found in any other Tranſlation; and then he declares how at Frankford he diſputed with Five Rabbins, and from this very Chapter did ſo ſtop their mouths, that they had not one word to anſwer. Andradius tells us how he knew ſeveral Jews inhabitants of the inner Africa, who by reading and ruminating upon this very Scripture, were induc't to leave their friends and eſtates, and with inflamed deſires to conſecrate themſelves to Chriſt: He adds, that he askt ſome of them what it was in that 53 of Iſaiah, that wrought ſuch a conviction upon them; they anſwered, that one paſſage did more touch them than all the reſt: and that is the clauſe which we tranſlate ſmitten of God and afflicted; the words are mucke elohim umeunne, which they ſaid was thus to be rendred, God himſelf was ſmitten and humbled. By which words they aſſur'd themſelves the whole Chapter was to be underſtood, not of a man, but of God himſelf made man, that he might bear and blot out our ſins.

Let me add but one thing more, That the holy Prophets of old did not only foretell the Humiliation, but the Exaltation of the Meſſiah; all which Prophecies alſo have had their accompliſhment in Jeſus of Nazareth: conſult Iſa. 63.1, 2, 3. Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatneſs of his ſtrength? I that ſpeak in righteouſneſs, mighty to ſave? Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine fat? I have trodden the wine preſs alone, and of the people there was none with me. This obſcure Prophecy by many Chriſtian Expoſitors is applied to the paſſion of Chriſt. But Rabbi Samuel, a converted Jew, in a little Arabick Treatiſe doth learnedly apply it to the Exaltation of Chriſt; from him I firſt learnt the interpretation, and for that reaſon I chuſe to urge it; though ſince I find that Mercer, Camerus and others have expounded it the ſame way. All the phraſes p. 28in this Prophecy ſpeak forth the triumph of Chriſt in his Reſurrection and Aſcenſion; he is glorious in his apparel, as being dyed or ſtain'd with the blood of his enemies; his garments are like him that treads in the wine fat, when the juice of the preſſed grapes is ſprinkled upon him that preſſeth them; he is travelling in the greatneſs of his ſtrength; that is, ſtrongly conquering and deſtroying all his adverſaries. Under the name of Edom and Bozrah is ſet out his univerſal conqueſt and triumph over all his and his Churches enemies; he is mighty to ſave and to defend all thoſe that truſt in him, and rely upon him; he does not ſay paſſively that he was trodden in the wine-preſs alone, but actively that he trod the wine-preſs alone; all his adverſaries were under his feet; and therefore it follows, I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, their blood ſhall be ſprinkled upon my garments, &c. There are in that one Book of the Pſalms moſt clear Prophecies of Chriſts Exaltation in all the branches of it.

1. David ſpeaks of his Reſurrection, Pſal. 16.10. Thou wilt not leave my ſoul in hell, nor ſuffer thine holy one to ſee corruption; this he ſpake of the Reſurrection of Chriſt, knowing that God had ſworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins according to the fleſh, he would raiſe up Chriſt to ſit upon his Throne. He could not ſpeak this of himſelf; for after he had ſerved his generation by the will of God, he fell on ſleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and ſaw corruption; but now for Chriſt, he roſe again from the dead, and ſaw no corruption.

2. Again David ſpeaks of his Aſcenſion, Pſal. 68.18. Thou haſt aſcended on high, thou haſt led captivity captive, thou haſt received gifts for men, yea for the rebellious alſo, that the Lord God may dwell among them. The Pſalmiſt here ſpeaks to God, and it muſt be underſtood, ſaith Rabbi Samuel (in the forementioned book) of God in our nature; for God conſidered in his Divine nature and eſſence, can neither deſcend nor aſcend.

3. Again David ſpeaks of his ſeſſion at the right hand of God, Pſal. 110.1. The Lord ſaid unto my Lord, ſit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footſtool. By Davids Lord here, we muſt underſtand the Meſſiah, who though in reſpect of his humane nature he was Davids ſon, yet in reſpect of his Divine nature he was Davids Lord. This Chriſt p. 29then who is the eternal Son of God, being made fleſh, and having aſſumed our nature into a Perſonal union with his Godhead, in that nature which he graciouſly aſſumed, he ſuffered and made ſatisfaction for our ſins, and in that nature he aſcended into heaven, and ſate down at the right hand of the Majeſty on high, from whence he will one day come again to judg the quick and the dead.

Both time and ſtrength would fail me to cite all the Prophecies of the Meſſiah that are in the Law of Moſes, and in the Prophets, and in the Pſalms, much more to expound and apply them. Several of the moſt conſiderable I have a little toucht upon, and have ſhewed you how they are verified and fulfilled in Jeſus of Nazareth, which was the thing to be demonſtrated.

R. J.

Sir your arguing hath not only ſilenc't me; but in ſome meaſure convinc't me. I know not what's the matter, I find a ſtrange and unwonted working within me.

Mr. B.

Take heed of ſmuthering and ſtifling convictions; ſome of your Fathers have done ſo to their coſt. Be not aſham'd to be Truths captive, and to be conquer'd by it. Truth is mighty, and will prevail. What if you ſhould from this day forward become a Chriſtian? you will never repent it. And let me tell you, you are not the firſt of your Nation that hath ſo done. At the firſt publiſhing of the Goſpel of Chriſt, though the moſt of your Nation perſiſted in unbelief, yet many thouſands believed, and repented, and were baptized; and in latter times we are not without inſtances of this very thing. I told you but now of ſome, and I can (if need be) give you a liſt of a great many more. In the year 1310, Nicholas de Lyra, of a Jew became a Chriſtian, and hath written an excellent Treatiſe, proving by irrefragable arguments, that the Meſſiah is come, and that no other is to be expected. About that time Paulus Burgenſis turn'd Chriſtian alſo, and wrote againſt Judaiſm. Elias Levita, commonly call'd the Gramarian, left his Rabbiniſm, and entred the Church of Chriſt by Baptiſm, bringing ſome 30 Jews more with him to be baptiz'd, about the year 1517. Hieronymus de ſancta fide (as he's call'd) from a Jew was converted to Chriſtianity, and wrote a book call'd Hebraeomaſtix, or the Jews ſcourge, in which he whips them with their own Talmud and approved Rabbins, making their own Authors to prove that Jeſus is the Chriſt. When p. 30the book was publiſh't in Spain, it is reported that by the convincing arguments therein contained, above 5000 Jews were turn'd to the faith. One Paulus Ricius in the Court of the Emperor Maximilian, of a Jew was converted to Chriſtianity, and wrote many things againſt his old misbelief. Antonius Margarita converted in heart and baptized, converts his hand and pen againſt the Jews. Erneſtus Ferdinandus, of a Jew became a Profeſſor of the Chriſtian Faith, and writes a book which he calls Flagellum Judaeorum. Paulus Weidnerus turn'd to Chriſtianity, and in his Writings hath call'd upon his backſliding brethren the Jews, and hath found Jeſus himſelf, to bid them come and ſee. I could tell you of Chriſtianus Gerſon, Emanuel Tremelius (who hath worthily contributed towards the tranſlation of the Bible) with a many others. And I doubt not but there be many thouſands of your Nation, that are greatly convinc't and perſwaded that Jeſus is the Meſſiah, though they do not openly profeſs it. Will you give me leave to relate a ſtory that I have met with in the Writings of Epiphanius, a credible and renowned Author; 'tis concerning one Joſeph a Jew, who liv'd in the days of Conſtantine the Great. This learned and worthy perſon doth ſolemnly proteſt he had it, in order as he relates it, from Joſeph's own mouth. This Joſeph laid with the Patriarch of the Jews, called Ellel. The Patriarch being ready to dye, ſends Joſeph to the Biſhop of Tyberias, to deſire him to come to him, under pretence of his being his Phyſician. The Biſhop coming to him, he beſeecheth him to baptize him; whereupon the ſervants are commanded to make ready ſome water, as if it had been for ſome medicinal uſe, and then they were all commanded to withdraw. Joſeph looks through ſome crevice of the door, and ſeeth the Biſhop baptize the Patriarch. Three days after, the Patriarch dying, bequeath'd the tuition of his Son (not yet at age) to Joſeph and another. Theſe things ſtuck in Joſephs mind, and made him deſirous to know more of the Chriſtian Religion. And there being a certain ſecret place of ſuppoſed treaſure, which Joſeph had now the keys of, he opens it, and findeth no money; but the Goſpel of John, and the Acts of the Apoſtles tranſlated into Hebrew, and with them Matthews Genealogy. The reading of theſe increaſed his perplexities, but yet did not perſwade him to be baptized. After this he fell into a ſore and dangerous diſeaſe, and he apprehended that Chriſt appear'd to him, telling p. 31him he ſhould recover, and exhorting him to believe in him; which he promiſed to do, and recovered; but continuing obſtinate, he fell ſick again, and that ſo deſperately, that they had no hope of his life. The Jews coming about him to perform thoſe ceremonies, and give that advice which they uſe to do to dying perſons, one of the chief of them (an ancient man skilful in their Law) came to him, and whiſper'd theſe words in his ear; Believe that Jeſus who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, being the ſon of God, and afterwards born of Mary, is the Chriſt of God: and was raiſed from the dead, and ſhall come again to judge the dead and the living. And thus Joſeph came to know, that among their laſt myſteries, the Jews ſecretly perſwaded dying men to believe. There is a great deal more in the ſtory, which I have not leiſure now to write. It ends thus: That Chriſt appear'd again to him in a viſion, and gave him power to work a miracle for his conviction, and ſtill he delayed, till at laſt being advanced by the young Patriarch Judas to a place of rule, he exerciſed ſo much ſeverity over the wicked Prieſts, that they conſpired againſt him, and ruſhing one day into his houſe, they find him reading the Goſpels; and ſnatching the Book out of his hand, they draw him to the Synagogue, and ſcourge him, till the Biſhop of the City came and delivered him. After this, meeting him on the way, they caſt him into the River Cydrus, and thought they had drown'd him; but being delivered, he then delayd no longer, but profeſt himſelf a Chriſtian; and ſo went to Conſtantine the Emperor, and told him all that had befallen him. The Emperor much eſteem'd him, and gave him power to build Churches among the Jews, which was all that he deſired.

To conclude, I look upon theſe and ſuch like particular Converts amongſt the Jews, to be only as firſt fruits; we Chriſtians expect ere long a full harveſt in the converſion of your whole Nation. We believe as well as you, that there are many Promiſes and Prophecies concerning the Jewiſh Nation, that have not yet had their final accompliſhment; give me leave to read ſome of them, Iſa. 11.11, 12, 13, It ſhall come to paſs in that day, that the Lord ſhall ſet his hand again the ſecond time, to recover the remnant of his people which ſhall be left, from Aſſyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cuſh, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hanath, and from the Iſlands of the ſea. And he ſhall ſet up an enſign for the nations, and ſhall aſſemble the outcaſts of Iſrael, and gather together the diſperſed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy alſo of Ephraim ſhall depart, and the adverſaries of Judah ſhall be cut off: Ephraim ſhall not envy Judah, and Judah ſhall not vex Ephraim. You may read much more to this purpoſe in Chap. 60. p. 32and 62 Chap. of Iſaiah's Prophecy, Ezek. 37.21, 22, 23, 24, Thus ſaith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the children of Iſrael from among the Heathen whither they be gone, and will gather them on every ſide, and bring them into their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Iſrael, and one king ſhall be king to them all: and they ſhall be no more two nations, neither ſhall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. Neither ſhall they defile themſelves any more with their Idols, nor with their deteſtable things; but I will ſave them out of all their dwelling-places wherein they have ſinned, and will cleanſe them: ſo ſhall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my ſervant ſhall be King over them, and they all ſhall have one ſhepherd. Hoſea 3.4, 5, The children of Iſrael ſhall abide many days without a King, and without a Prince, and without a ſacrifice, and without an Image, and without an Ephod, and without Teraphim. Afterwards ſhall the children of Iſrael return, and ſeek the Lord their God, and David their King, and ſhall fear the Lord and his goodneſs in the latter days. Zach. 10.6, 7, 8, I will ſtrengthen the houſe of Judah, and I will ſave the houſe of Joſeph, and I will bring them again to place them, for I have mercy upon them: and they ſhall be as though I had not caſt them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them. And they of Ephraim ſhall be like a mighty man, and their heart ſhall rejoyce as through wine: yea, their children ſhall ſee it, and be glad. I will hiſs for them, and gather them, for I have redeemed them: and they ſhall increaſe as they have increaſed. They ſhall remember me in far countries, and they ſhall live with their children, and turn again. I will bring them again alſo out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Aſſyria, and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, and place ſhall not be found for them. And I will ſtrengthen them in the Lord, and they ſhall walk up and down in his name, ſaith the Lord. Theſe and ſuch like Propheſies are the ground of our Faith and Prayer, for the calling and converſion of your Nation. To which I may add, that the ſame thing is foretold in the writings of the Apoſtles of our Lord. Paul tells us, that blindneſs in part is hapned to Iſrael until the fulneſs of the Gentiles be come in; and ſo all Iſrael ſhall be ſaved. For proof of which, he cites a paſſage in Iſaiah, where it is written, there ſhall come out of Sion the deliverer, and ſhall turn away ungodlineſs from Jacob. He ſays, The caſting away of the Jews, was the reconciling of the Gentiles; but the receiving of them again, ſhall be life from the dead to them. He ſays further, That they are beloved for the fathers ſake: and if they abide not in unbelief, though now they are cut off, they ſhall be graffed in; for God is able to graff them in again. And though to this day when Moſes is read, there is a vail upon p. 33their hearts: yet nevertheleſs, they ſhall turn again unto the Lord, and the vail ſhall ſhall be taken away. There is then a greater accord betwixt you and us than you are aware of. Setting aſide thoſe fooliſh dreams that ſome of you have about the enjoying of ſenſual pleaſures, as Behemoth, Cis, the wine of Paradice, and the like; there is nothing in your own expectations, but we believe you ſhall be partakers of. Nay, we ſuppoſe you may return to your own land, enjoy great riches, and rule in the world; and be filled with the Light and Knowledg of the Will and Worſhip of God, ſo as to be a guide, bleſſing, and reviving to the Gentile Churches; but all this we ſay muſt come to paſs in Gods own appointed ſeaſon. When the time, the ſet time is come, then will God take away the vail from before the eyes of your Nation and People, and incline their hearts to receive and believe in him, whom their forefathers rejected. Then ſhall be fulfilled that which is foretold by Zachariah the Prophet, They ſhall look upon him whom they have pierced, and they ſhall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only ſon: and ſhall be in bitterneſs for him, as one that is in bitterneſs for his firſt born.

R. J.

Sir, your words carry a kind of charm in them: I think (were it not for one thing) I ſhould forthwith become a Proſelite to the Chriſtian Faith and Name.

Mr. B.

Pray what is that?

R. J.

I'le be plain with you, 'tis the Idolatry of the Chriſtians. Jehovah is a jealous God; our Fathers have ſmarted for giving his glory to another. This is the abominable thing that God hates. You may imagine 'tis no ſmall offence to us Jews, to ſee as great, or greater Idolatry amongſt the Chriſtians than is amongſt the very Pagans. How oft have I ſeen them worſhipping a Wafer, which they ſometimes call the Hoſt, and ſometimes the Body of Chriſt? and I have heard it is determined in one of their Councils, which I think they call the Council of Trent, That all Chriſtians ought to give the ſame worſhip to it, which they give to God himſelf. Now though you think we Jews have no Faith, yet we have ſo much ſenſe and reaſon, as to know a Wafer-Cake is not the bleſſed Jehovah. And pardon the expreſſion, we think it no leſs than horrid blaſphemy to call it ſo, and no other than groſs Idolatry to worſhip it as ſuch.

Again, You Chriſtians worſhip the Croſs of Chriſt, that is, a piece of wood with a Croſs upon it: for as to the very Croſs on which he was crucified, we ſuppoſe that is not amongſt you; and if it were, we think it ſtrange that you ſhould bow down to it, and worſhip it. Surely the Heathens worſhipping of ſtocks and ſtones was not more direct p. 34Iddolatry. Your Paul hath ſaid, a crucified Chriſt is a ſtumbling block to the Jews; I'le aſſure you the adoring of a Croſs or a piece of wood, is a greater ſtumbling block than the other. Again, you worſhip Men and Women that are deceaſed, whom you call your Saints; theſe you don't only deſire to pray for you, but you alſo direct your prayers unto them, asking of them the ſame bleſſings and favours as you do of God himſelf, and which are beyond the power of any creature in Heaven or Earth to give. To theſe you build Temples, erect Altars, burn Incenſe, make vows and promiſes, and the like. And which is more than this, you adore and worſhip the very images and reliques of ſuch. We Jews are better inſtructed than to adore any Image either of a creature, or of the Creator himſelf. We have the ſecond Commandment of the holy Law of God in high eſteem, though you have ſinfully laid it by, and made an irrational, ridiculous diviſion of the Tenth Commandment, that you may ſtill keep the number of Ten. We look upon it as a pitiful evaſion, a ſilly ſalvo, to ſay you don't worſhip the Image, but God in it; or that your worſhip terminates in God and not in the Image. The Pagans knew as well as you, that their Images were not gods themſelves, and they worſhipped them not as gods, but as the repreſenters of ſome Deity. So ſome of them have expreſly ſaid, It is the gods that we worſhip by Images. They were not ſo ſimple, as to think there were as many Jupiters, or Apollo's, as there were Images of them in the world. When our Fathers fell into Idolatry, and made them a Golden Calf, 'tis evident they intended to terminate their worſhip in God, and to adore him under that ſymbol of his preſence: they were not ſo ſottiſh, as to think that the Calf that was newly made, and that of materials which they brought out of Egypt, was that God that made them, and brought them out of the Land of Egypt: and yet this is their language concerning the Image they had formed, Theſe are thy Gods, oh Iſrael, which brought thee up out of the Land of Egypt: which can bear no other ſenſe, but that they took it for the ſymbol and repreſentation of that God that brought them thence. And the Reaſon why they pitcht upon a Calf for ſuch a repreſentation, is this, becauſe they had lived long in Egypt, where golden Bulls were the ſymbols of their chief God Oſiris.

I need not further to dilate upon this matter: you eaſily underſtand what I mean; 'tis your Idolatry in the forementioned particulars that makes us irreconcilable to the Chriſtian Religion. We have learnt to ſhun this abomination, for which God was angry with our Fathers, and ſo angry, that he hath viſited this iniquity upon their Children unto many p. 35generations. Some of our Maſters have ſaid, that there is no puniſhment upon Iſrael, but there is ſtill an ounce of the Golden Calf in it; that is, God doth ſtill remember againſt us the Idolatry of our forefathers, to puniſh us for it. We are reſolved therefore to keep at the greateſt diſtance from this ſin and to have nothing to do with the Chriſtians, till they keep themſelves from Idols.

Mr. B.

It is too manifeſt to be denied, that there is too much of Idolatry practiſed amongſt many that call themſelves Chriſtians; and God forbid that I ſhould once open my mouth to vindicate or palliate their miſcarriages in this kind: but yet you muſt give me leave to inform you, that the holy Catholick Church, or the generality of Chriſtians, do as much deteſt this abominable practice, as you Jews do or can; 'tis only found with a ſchiſmatical ſect or party amongſt us, to wit, the Papiſts. Theſe are they (as I told you at our former meeting) that have abuſed the world, and ſcandalized Infidels with many forg'd and fictitious miracles; and theſe are they likewiſe that defile themſelves, and offend the Jews with their Idolatrous practiſes: you know better than to impute the misbehaviour of a particular Sect of Chriſtians upon the Chriſtian Religion in general; 'tis as if we ſhould impute the miſtakes of the Sadduces upon the whole Nation of the Jews, and ſay they all deny that there is any Reſurrection, or Angel, or Spirit, becauſe this was the folly and misbelief of that particular ſect. The Papiſts amongſt us, are ſuch as the Sadduces, or rather the Samaritans were amongſt the Jews, who apoſtatiz'd and revolted from the true Religion, and worſhip'd they knew not what; and of whom it is recorded in the Scripture, That they feared the Lord, and ſerved their own gods. Though theſe Papiſts are Chriſtians in name, yet in reality they are Antichriſtian, and great adverſaries to Chriſt and the Chriſtian Religion. The whole Chriſtian World crys out upon them, for reviving and eſtabliſhing the Idolatry of the Heathens in the Church of Chriſt. The Pagan Idolatry was the ſamplar and pattern of Popiſh Idolatry, and the one is exactly parallel with the other. Heſiod, Plato, Plutarch, and other Heathen Authors, have given us an account of the Ethnick Theology and Idolatry, how they acknowledg'd and ador'd an inferior ſort of Deities, which they call'd Daemons, which were a middle ſort between the Soveraign heavenly Gods, and mortal men. That theſe Daemons, as to their original, were the deified ſouls of worthy men, and great Hero's, after their death (though ſome of them were of a ſuperiour quality, and were never impriſoned in mortal bodies); that as to their office, they were as Agents or Mediators betwixt the Soveraign Gods and men; that the way of worſhipping of them, and of receiving p. 36benefits by them, was to bow down to their Images, to adore their reliques, to Temple them, and the like. All this is imitated and upheld by theſe Papiſts in their worſhipping (as you have noted) of Saints, their reliques and Images. As for their Idolatry in worſhipping a wafer, or a cup of wine, that alſo may be reduc'd to Image-worſhip, as being the adoration of a ſign or ſymbol; and to ſpeak freely, I think it a degree above the abomination of the Pagans; for though poſſibly, they ſuppoſed ſome preſence of their Daemons in their Images, yet they could not be ſo blockiſh as to think the Images and Symbols to be tranſubſtantiated into them. Nevertheleſs the Idolatry of this wicked and Antichriſtian-crew, may ſerve to ſtabliſh, rather than ſtagger your faith in the belief of the Goſpel, and of the new Teſtament, becauſe therein it was foretold, that in the later times ſuch a generation ſhould ariſe, as ſhould apoſtatize from the faith, and give heed to ſpirits of error, and Doctrines of Demons, foreign, ſome render the words, Doctrines of Devils, but they are better rendred, Doctrines of, or concerning Daemons; the genitive caſe (as ſome have obſerved) being here to be taken paſſively for the objects of thoſe Doctrines; ſo that it is a plain prediction of the reviving of the Gentiles Idolatrous Theology of Daemons amongſt a ſort of revolting and apoſtatizing Chriſtians, as the Papiſts are; and the event hath anſwered the Prophecy. And to the ſame purpoſe I might ſhew you how Rome, the chief ſeat of this Pſeudo-Chriſtian, or Antichriſtian ſect or party, is called Babylon more than once in the Scriptures of the new Teſtament, yea great Babylon the Mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth. Babylon in the letter was the parent or founder of the worſhipping of Daemons. Baal or Bel, the firſt King of Babel after Nimrod, was the firſt that ever was deifyed or reputed a God after his death; thence afterwards they called all other Daemons Baalim, 'tis with reſpect hereto that Rome is call'd myſtical Babylon; from thence proceeds all this Idolatrous and Daemon-worſhip, for which you are ſo offended at the Chriſtians. The Apoſtle John in the book call'd his Revelation, doth farther tell us, that the Chriſtian Church (which he calls the holy city) ſhall be trod under foot by the Gentiles forty two months, that is, it ſhall be over whelmed with the Gentiles Idolatry. And again, he ſpeaks of a huge Army that ſhall come upon the Chriſtian world, and deſtroy a third part of men (which we take to be meant of the Ottoman, or Turkiſh invaſion, which hath ſwallowed up ſo great a part of Chriſtendom), and yet for all this thoſe which remain will not repent of their ſins, that they ſhould not worſhip Daemons, and Idols of gold and ſilver, and braſs, and ſtone, and of wood, which neither can ſee, nor hear, p. 37nor walk; No, they are hardned in their wickedneſs and Idolatry, and no plagues or judgments of God upon them will turn them from it. But whither hath my zeal againſt this Popiſh and Peſtilent ſect carried me? I pray you, Sir, to believe, that all Chriſtians are not Papiſts, or Popiſh Idolaters, though they abound ſtill in ſome Countreys (in which it may be you have been moſt converſant, as I remember I hinted to you at our laſt meeting), yet bleſſed be God of late years they are greatly diminiſhed. Time was when the moſt of theſe European Nations did drink of the wine of the wrath of this myſtical Babylon's fornication, and the Kings of the Earth did commit fornication with her; but now they begin to hate her, and many Nations and Millions of particular Chriſtians are come out of her: This is the happy caſe of the City and Nation in which you now reſide. I appeal to you whether you have ſeen or heard of any of the forementioned Idolatries ſince you came hither. Let this therefore lye no longer as a block or ſtone of ſtumbling in your way. The Lord cure you of this and all other prejudices againſt Chriſt and Chriſtianity; Oh that he who ſo loved the world, as to give his only begotten ſon, would give you to believe in him, that ſo believing in him, you might not periſh, but have everlaſting life. This is that ſtone which was ſet at nought of you builders, and is now become the head of the corner; neither is there ſalvation in any other, nor any other name under heaven given among men whereby they may be ſaved.

R. J.

Sir, I am oblig'd to you for your patience and pains in hearing and anſwering my objections. I have this to requeſt of you, That you will pleaſe to tell me your name, and the place of your abode, and give me and ſome others leave to wait upon you, to receive information about ſome particulars which are not proper at this time and place to be propoſed.

Preſently Mr. B. told him his name, and where he dwelt, and added, that he ſhould be heartily glad to ſee him, and any he ſhould bring with him, at his houſe; and did hope they ſhould be better acquainted. Upon this they ſaluted each other in a friendly ſort, and the company broke up and departed. Father S. and Mr. B. tarried awhile behind, and when they two were alone, Father S. gave Mr. B. his hearty thanks, and told him, that he was now farther ſatisfied that the principles and practiſes of the Roman Catholicks were a means of hardning and ſcandalizing the poor Jews; that he for his part, for that and other reaſons, ſhould forthwith become a Proteſtant, but that two things did retard his converſion.

1. The diviſions that were amongſt the Proteſtants; he did not know to which party (they were ſo many) he ſhould betake himſelf.

p. 382. The dangers he ſhould incur from the Papiſts, and particularly from thoſe of his own fraternity, the Jeſuits, who would certainly ſome time or other aſſaſſinate or murther him. This being their avowed principle, that it is lawful to kill any man that ſhall forſake his Order, and publiſh the crimes of his Society, if there be no other means to hinder him.

Mr. B. told him he did not queſtion the removal of theſe two remora's. As to the firſt (ſaid he) which is the diviſions amongſt the Proteſtants, it is grounded upon a miſpriſion or miſtake. I am able to demonſtrate that there is a greater Union amongſt the Proteſtants, than amongſt the Papiſts; if you peruſe the ſeveral Confeſſions of Faith in all the reformed Churches, you ſhall find no material differences, they all accord in the main Articles of Religion, or in thoſe points which are the vitals and eſſentials of the Chriſtian Faith; their differences are about Church-Diſcipline, and Modes of worſhip, for the moſt part; wherein each party, according to the light they have received, endeavour to come the neareſt they can to the rule that Chriſt hath preſcribed; 'tis true, there are many Heterodox, heady, high-minded, half-witted perſons that go under the general name and notion of Proteſtants, ſuch as Quakers, Seekers, Socinians, &c. which we diſown, and they are no more of us, than they are of you. Nay, we have good reaſon to believe, that theſe upſtart Sects amongſt us, are of your begetting; therefore 'tis meet that you ſhould father them. Though the Proteſtants go under ſeveral denominations, as Calviniſts and Lutherans abroad, and as Epiſcoparians, Presbyterians, and Independents here at home; yet it is idle and ridiculous to think that, becauſe they are of theſe ſeveral denominations, they are of ſeveral Religions. Do you like to have it ſaid, there are many different Religions in the Papacy, becauſe there are found many different orders and denominations therein, as Thomiſts, Scotiſts, Jeſuits, Janſeniſts, Moliniſts, Dominicans, Franciſcans, and the like? We ſhould be ſorry to hear of ſuch differences and diviſions amongſt us, as are amongſt the ſeveral parties in the Church of Rome. How great are their differences about matter of order and government? The controverſies betwixt the Conformiſts and Nonconformiſts with us, are not like the controverſies betwixt the Regulars and Seculars with them about Epiſcopal Juriſdiction. Again, How great are their differences about matters of Faith and Doctrine? They are utterly divided and diſagreed about that very power in which they ſhould unite, and which they pretend ſhould agree them in other things: one half of them are for the Soveraignty of a Pope above a Council, and the other of a Council above a Pope. The Popes perſonal infallibility is a great Article of Faith amongſt the Jeſuits, when others in the Roman Church (and thoſe, perſons of no ſmall-note and p. 39name) declare it to be down-right hereſie. It is a matter of faith with the Dominicans, that all perſons (Chriſt only excepted) were born in ſin; but others contend earneſtly for the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary; 'tis a matter of faith with the Janſeniſts and Dominicans, to attribute unto God, Predetermination, and the only praiſe of converting grace; but the Jeſuiſts and Moliniſts are otherwiſe opinionated. The deliverance of ſouls from Purgatory by the prayers of the living, is a matter of faith in the Church of Rome: but I can tell you of ſome great names (Members of that Church) who ſtifly deny it, and ſay it was a novel opinion introduc'd by Gregory the firſt, againſt the conſent of antiquity. What need more inſtances! you may find many ſuch like in the Janſenians myſtery of Jeſuits; the book is worth your reading, the Author a Papiſt, and a man of note and learning. The caſe being thus, it ſeems ſomething ſtrange that you ſhould be ſo much ſtumbled at the differences amongſt Proteſtants; when as I can eaſily make it appear (as I have done in part already) that there is far more unity and concord amongſt them, than amongſt the Papiſts.

As to the ſecond obſtruction, which is the danger you run by renouncing Popery, from thoſe of your own fraternity: I have three things to offer for the removing of it.

1. That this practice and principle of the Jeſuits makes all ſober men to abhor the Popiſh Religion; they conclude it can't be the true Chriſtian Religion, for that needs not aſſaſſinations, murders, and ſuch like wicked artifices to uphold and propagate it. God will have no man or men to ſpeak or act wickedly for him: their Religion is vain, and their damnation is juſt, who do apparent evils under a pretence they may do good thereby. This conſideration, therefore, inſtead of delaying, ſhould haſten your renunciation of Popery and Jeſuitiſm.

2. All that are Chriſts Diſciples and Chriſtians indeed, are contented to deny themſelves, and to part with all, even with life it ſelf for his ſake: He hath told us plainly, that if any man come to him, and hate not his own life, he cannot be his diſciple. And again he hath ſaid, That he that will ſave his life, ſhall loſe it; and whoſoever will loſe his life for his ſake, ſhall ſave it. Pray Sir conſider, if you can't come up to this degree of ſelf-denial, to be willing to loſe and lay down your life for Chriſt, you will be but a nominal Chriſtian, and a Hypocrite; and then it matters not (as to your eternal ſalvation) whether you can turn a Papiſt, or become a Proteſtant.

3. There are ſeveral Proteſtant Princes and States, who will protect you and ſecure you from the rage and malice of theſe cut-throat Jeſuits. p. 40You now reſide in a Proteſtant Kingdom, and under a Proteſtant King, from whom in ſuch a caſe you may expect ſufficient countenance.

Father S. after a ſhort pauſe, thus reply'd: Sir, I am abundantly beholding to you for your free and familiar diſcourſe with me, for which I ſhall ever honour and eſteem you. You have ſpoken much in a little, and fully remov'd thoſe two blocks that I mentioned, as lying in my way. I ſhall ſhortly viſit you (with your leave) at your own houſe, and there adviſe farther with you about the things we have now diſcours'd. Mr. B. told him He ſhould at any time be heartily welcom to him; and ſo they parted. I could wiſh my ſelf behind a Curtain when they have their next meeting. If this account may be of uſe to your ſelf, or any other, it is a ſufficient ſatisfaction to him, who is,

Dear Sir, Yours in many Obligations, N. H.

FINIS.

End of the text · Richard Mayo, Conference Between a Papist and a Jew 2 (1678)