Treatise of the Four Degenerate Sons, Treatise · Part 4 · Section 9
SECT. 9. Of the manner of the calling of the Jewes
AS a wiſe Phyſitian in curing of a diſeaſe remoues the cauſe firſt, before hee comes to cure the diſeaſe;He will take the vaile of the ceremonies from off their hearts. the cauſe why they reject Chriſt was becauſe the vaile lay upon their hearts, hee removes the vaile firſt, and then he cures them, hee removes the vaile firſt, the vaile of the ceremonies, Ier. 3.16. In thoſe dayes ſaith the Lord, they ſhall ſay no more, the arke of the covenant of the Lord, neither ſhall it come to minde, neither ſhall they remember it, neither ſhall they viſite it, for that ſhall be no more done; The arke muſt be removed, the propitiatotie it ſelfe, and the place where the Lord reſted, his ſtrength and glory, that which the Angels delighted with ſtretched out neckes to looke into, 1 Pet. 1.12. what ſhould become then of the reſt of the beggerlie elements, all were to be caſt out: Secondly, hee removes thoſe ceremonies which were the ſigne of the Iewes ſubjection to the law;He will take away the ceremonies which was a ſeale of their ſubjection to the law. Num. 5.18. for as a woman when ſhe was married to her husband, put a vaile upon her head in token of ſubjection to her husband (hence it was that the woman ſuſpected of adultery ſtood bareheaded before the prieſt, and untill the time that ſhee was cleared of that ſuſpicion ſhee was not under her husbands ſubjection) even ſo the Iewes ſo long as they were married to the law, they were covered with this vaile, but being dead to the law they were freed from this huſband, and the Lord tooke this vaile of their hearts.
He will take a ſtonie heart from them and giuegive them a heart of fleſh.Thirdly, becauſe theſe two vailes had lyen ſo long upon their hearts, they brought on this great hardneſſe upon them that their hearts became like an Adamant, Zach. 7.12. The Adamant is ſo hard a ſtone that ye can ingrave no letters upon it untill it bee ſteeped in goates blood (as Plinie teſtifies) ſo their hearts were ſo hard that the law of the Lord could not be written on them untill they were ſteeped in the blood of Chriſt, then he writes his law on them, Ier. 31. This is the firſt part of the great Phyſitians cure, then hee will pricke and wound their hearts,He will pricke and wound their hearts. he will keepe the ſame order in curing of them which he did at the converſion of the three thouſand who were converted at Peters ſermon; Their hearts were pricked, Act. 2.37. So ſhall the hearts of the Iewes be pricked and wounded in their converſion; it will not be a little gaſh or wound that will open that impoſtume; but a great and a deepe lancing: then will follow exceeding great ſorrow, and they ſhall looke upon him whom they have crucified; it will not be the ſorrow of the publicane that will doe the turne, to knocke upon their breſts, or to caſt downe their eyes, or to waſh their bed with teares as David did,There mourning will be an exceeding great mourning when they repent. Pſalme 6.6. or to chatter as a ſwallow or a crane, or mourne as a dove as Ezekias did, Iſa. 38.14. But this muſt bee a great and exceeding great lamentation, as that which the Iewes took up at Hadadrimmon for the death of Ioſias, Zach. 12.11. Their eyes did faile with teares, their bowels were troubled, and their livers were poured out upon the earth, when the breath of their noſtrills the annoynted of the Lord was taken, Lamen. 4.20. When Ioſias was killed their common wealth decayed, and their Church got a ſore blow, Ier. 22.18. They lamented for him as one laments for their brother or ſiſter; Ah my brother, ah my ſiſter, ah our Lord, ah our glorie: They lamented for him as one mourned for the death of his firſt begotten ſonne, or his onelyonly ſonne, Zach. 12.10. When Ioſias was killed, there was but a man killed; but when they killed our Lord, they killed the Lord of glory; when Ioſias was killed, his death was honorable to him, he died in the warre, 2 Chron. 35.24. But when the Iewes killed our Ioſias, he died an ignominious and ſhamefull death: When Ioſias was killed, it was the enemie that killed him, and not they: But the Iewes themſelves killed the Lord of glory: when Ioſias the breath of their noſtrils was killed, be could not breathe life into them againe, but our Ioſias can breath ſpiritus vitarum into them, Gen. 2. Therefore here is a greater then Ioſias, and his death deſerves a greater lamentation.
When they ſhall behold him, ſundry look upon mens miſeries diverſly;When they ſhal behold Chriſt whom they crucified, then they ſhall lament bitterly. ſome go by with a negligent eye as thoſe who paſſed by the man that lay wounded in the high way, Luke 7.11. they ſcarce tooke notice of him, neither were they touched with any compaſſion. Secondly others behold mens miſerie with a gazing eye onelyonly, as Iobs friends ſate gazing upon him ſeven dayes, but with no compaſſion; thirdly, ſome behold their miſerie, and are touched with ſome compaſſion, as when Ioab had killed Amaſa, and lay wallowing in his blood in the high way, 2 Sam. 22.12. no doubt thoſe who did ſee him were moved at the ſpectacle; fourthly ſome behold with delight,Ra cum beth, ſignifieth to behold, with Delight, Micha 4.11. let our eye look upon Sion that is with delight to behold that which wee would have ſeene. Pſal. 22.17. they looke upon mee, ſee Pſal. 54.9. But the Iewes heere they ſhall behold the Lord with a pitifull eye, as the other was a mercileſſe eye, Chriſtus patitur jam, & Iudaeus compatitur.
They ſhall behold him whom they have crucified: Momus complained of nature, that ſhee made not man with a window in his breſt, that man might prie into his heart, and ſee what was within the heart; but here the Iewes might ſee when they pierced the Lords ſide, what love was in his heart towards them, when hee ſhed his heart blood for them: when they ſaw Chriſt weeping for Lazarus, Ioh. 11. they ſaid, O how he loves him, but they had greater reaſon to ſay, O how hee love vsus, when they ſaw him ſhedding his blood for them.
They ſhall behold him whom they have crucified. When they conſider that it was their ſins which crucified him, and that they were the proper cauſe of his death: they were not the occaſion of his death,The ſinnes were the proper cauſe of his death. as David was of the death of the prieſts, when they gave him the ſhew bread to eate, although he takes it upon him, and ſayes that he was the cauſe of their death; ſo they were not cauſa per accidens of his death, as when Simon of Syrene carried Chriſts croſſe, he was but accidentally a cauſe here; they were not cauſae adiuvantes, helping cauſes; neither were they concauſae as Pilat was in the death of Chriſt, but the proper cauſe were their great ſinnes: when a malefactor is executed, wee blame not the executioner, wee blame not the Iudge by whoſe ſentence he is executed, nor the law, nor the Iury, but only the miſerable malefactor himſelfe; his deſtruction is of himſelfe: Solum pecatum homicida eſt.
They will not deny their ſinne now as the whore did who wipd her mouth, and ſaid, ſhe did it not, Prov. 30.20. They will not transferre their ſinne, as Eva did upon Adam, and the Iewes upon Judas, neither extenuate their ſinne as Aaron did, but they will exaggerate and lay out their ſinne to the full then.
The Monkes and Friers uſe to talke much of the nailes, the ſpeare, the crowne, and the ſcourges which were the inſtruments of Chriſts death; but they inſiſt not upon the proper cauſe, the ſinnes which crucified the Lord of glory; but the Iewes then ſhall behold their ſinnes which crucified their Lord: This beholding of the Lord crucified for them, and by them, will be a happie beholding to them; as they who looked upon the braſen ſerpent in the wilderneſſe, were cured when they were ſtung by Serpents; So ſhall they be cured, when they ſhall behold Chriſt crucified this wayes.
As for their ſorrow it ſhall be a ſorrow not to be repented of, and although they ſow in teares, yet they ſhall reape in joy; Rachel when her children were not, ſhe would not be comforted; but they ſhall be comforted: But by what meanes? Even by the Goſpell which they mocked and ſcorned;The Goſpell ſhall be the meanes to comfort the Iewes. foreign foreign before they called avengelina, Nuncium vanum; but then the Goſpell ſhall be the glad tidings of ſalvation to them; Then how beautifull ſhall the feete of thoſe be, who bring the glad tidings of ſalvation to them: there ſhall then be an happie union betwixt the Iew and the Gentile: The Iewes of old thought to have intailed the covenant onelyonly to themſelves, and would have had the Gentiles ſecluded from ſalvation and the meanes of it; therefore they ſay, that when the Law was tranſlated into Greeke by the 70. that there was three daies darkenes, and they ſay, fuit dies ille durus Iſraeli, ſicut dies quo factus eſt vitulus, that was as grievous a day to them, as that day on which the golden calfe was made; and they kept a yearely faſt or humilation for that; This was in deteſtation of the Gentiles, becauſe they willed not their ſalvation:What hatred wsa betwixt the Iewes and the Gentiles of old. But now they will be glad of this union; They called the Gentiles before uncleane, common, and dogges; they would no more eate with them, than if they had beene dogges: Iob when hee ſpeakes of baſe men, Iob. 30.1. he ſaith, he would not have given their fathers libertie to eate with the dogges of his flocke; The Iewes thought not the Gentiles worthy to eate with their dogges; but now they will be glad to ſit downe and eate with them that come from the Eaſt, and from the Weſt, then the multitude of beleevers ſhall be of one heart breaking bread together in ſingleneſſe of heart; And as the Iewes hated the Gentiles before, ſo the Gentiles deteſted the Iewes calling them Verpi, Recutiti Appellae, and Curti; then ſhall all theſe differences be taken away, and they ſhall take the Iew by the skirt, and ſay, Ezach. 8.22. We will goe with you, for wee have heard that God is with you.
This happie union ſhall make a way to the converting of other Heathens and Heretickes, and then there ſhall be great light for the underſtanding of the Scriptures, and hid places in the Prophets, yet not underſtood, and then knowledge ſhall abound as the water of the ſea, and this ſhall be heaven upon earth, and one of the great dayes of the Lord; and the earth ſhall rent when the Iew and Gentile ſhall ſay, Bleſſed is he that commeth in the name of the Lord, the ſhout ſhall be ſo great.
When the Samaritans were excommunicated, it was a terrible day,When the Samaritans were caſt out of the Church, it was a feorefull excommunication. they brought 300. prieſts, and 300. trumpets, and 300. bookes of the Law, and 300. boyes, and they blew with the trumpets, and the Levites ſingnig curſed the Cutteans in the name of foreign or, or Iehovah; and they curſed them with the curſe both of the inferiour and ſuperiour houſe of judgement; and they ſaid, Curſed is he who eates the bread of the Cutteans, Druſius ex Sepher Tanna qui Tilmidemi dicicur.And let not a Cuttean be a Proſelyte in Iſrael, neither have any part of the reſurrection of the juſt: Morinus in Pentatenchū Samaritanum exercit. 1.Theſe curſes they wrote upon tables, and ſealed them, and ſent them through all Iſrael, who multiplied alſo this great Anathema, or curſe upon them: This was a fearefull rejection of the Samaritans, when they were caſt out of the Church; but when the Iewes ſhall be called againe, what a great joy ſhall there be in the Church?When the Iewes ſhall be called to the Church, this will be a day of great joy. Chriſt ſaith at the converſion of a ſinner there is great joy in heaven amongſt the Angels; what joy then ſhall there be in heaven amongſt the Angels? when ſo many thouſands ſhall be gathered to the Church againe: At Saint Peters preaching there were three thouſand added to the Church; but now there ſhall be thouſand of thouſands added to the Church, and then the net ſhall be like to breake for the multitude of beleevers that ſhall be caught in it: A little before Immanuel Tremelius died, ſome that ſtood by deſired to heare his noviſsima, Inter apothegmata morientium habetur hoc.or his laſt words, Hee cried out, Vivat Chriſtus & pereat harabas: This was a joyfull ſpeech to ſhew that he diſclaimed Iudaiſme, and was not like the Iewes who cried, let Barrabas live, and Chriſt die; will it not be a comfortable day then, when the Church of the Iewes ſhall all crie, Vivat Chriſtus, & pereat Barabbas; this will be canticum ex canticis, a moſt excellent ſong.
Now for the joyning themſelves to the viſible Church, there can be no ſalvation without the Church,The Iewes ſhall be joyned to a viſible Church. Act. 2.47. The Lord added to the Church daily ſuch as ſhould be ſaved; And where there is a viſible Church, to contemne it, and to ſeparate themſelves from it, that is a great ſinne, and for ſuch there is no ſalvation to be expected.
When they ſhall be gath…red to the Church they ſhall be gathered ſincerely not hypocritically.When they ſhall be gathered to the viſible Church; the number of them which ſhall be gathered to it ſhall be many, before this time there came to the Church but one of a citie, and two of a familie, Ier. 3.14. but now houſes, families, and tribes ſhall be gathered to it; But this muſt be underſtood in toto cōmuni, but not in toto vniverſali, that is, there ſhall be many of them gathered to the Church, although not all When they ſhal be gathered to the Church they ſhall be gathered ſincerely and truly, they ſhal be there not as the chafe amongſt the corne, but as good corne indeede: when the Iewiſh Church was in the integritie of it, many came to it for by reſpects, and not for the truths ſake, ſome for feare became Iewes, and were circumciſed in Mordecai his time, Eſt. 8.17. So ſome for hope of gaine, as the Sechemites were circumciſed, Gen. 34.23. and ſome for credite, as Herod the Idumean cauſed himſelfe to be circumciſed that he might be the King of the Iewes: David when hee was King of Iſrael ſaith, that many ſtrangers came to him, and fainedly ſubmitted themſelves to him, Pſal. 18.44. but the Iewes when they ſhall come to the Church, ſhall in truth ſubmit themſelves to Chriſt, and licke the duſt under his feete.
Thirdly, the Iewes and the Gentiles ſhall make up one Church then;The Iewes and the Gentiles make up one Church. The Iewes were before Populus per ſe habitans, Num. 23.13. and had no medling with the Gentiles, but now they ſhall dwell together, and the name of Iew and Gentile ſhall no more be heard: The two ſtickes which repreſented Ephraim and Iudah, were not ſo cloſely joyned in the Prophets hand, when they became one Ezech. 27.13. as the Iewes and Gentiles ſhall be, when they ſhall be joyned in one, and as the waters that runne into the ſea, loſe their names, ſo ſhall this name of Iew and Gentile be loſt in this full union.
Fourthly when they are once joyned to the viſible Church, they ſhal not returne to the puddle of Iudaiſme againe, as ſome of the Iewes doe now.
The Iewes who dreame of no other converſion,The Iewes doe beleeve that they ſhall bee brought backe to Canaan againe. but of a bettering of their temporall eſtate, they imagine now, firſt that they ſhall be brought backe to Canaan againe: Secondly, that the temple ſhall be built againe, And thirdly that they ſhal live there under a flouriſhing King, one of their owne nation.
Firſt they dreame that they ſhall be reſtored to Canaan againe;Maimon. H. Mel. 8. The hold ſtill that Canaan is a holier ground then other land. they hold this ground of Canaan to be as holy ever it was, and they hold it a curſe that they cannot inhabite it now, and they count them moſt happie who happens to bee buried there, and if they cannot have that benefit, they thinke them happie who have but a handfull of the duſt of that ground to beſprinkle them after they are dead; and the wiſe men amongſt them uſe when they come neare Canaan to kiſſe the borders and limits of it, and they uſe to roule themſelves in the duſt of that land, miſapplying the words of the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 102.14. Thy ſervants take pleaſure in her ſtones, and favour the duſt thereof. They hold alſo that all their ſinnes are pardoned who dwell in this holy land according to that, Iſa. 33.24. the people that dwell therein ſhall be forgiven their iniquities; and they ſay further, that hee who walkes but the ſpace of foure yards of ground in Canaan is worthy of eternall life, and whoſoever goes out of that holy land, they hold him an Idolater according to that, 1 Sam. 26.19. for they have driven mee out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord; ſaying, Goe ſerve other Gods.Mannonides H. mel. 5.7. & paragraphe ſequente They hold thoſe who die without Canaan, muſt bee tumbled through the caverns of the earth.
Moreover they hold that thoſe who die out of this land of Canaan muſt be tumbled through the ſecret paſſages of the earth, while they come to the land of Canaan, and then they ſhall be raiſed againe, this the Rabbines call Gilgull mechilloth, foreignvolutationem cavernarum, a tumbling through the hollow parts of the earth.
They hope alſo that they ſhall bee reſtored to the promiſed land againe, & they truſt that promiſe which was made to the people in the tyme of the firſt temple Levit. 26.42. miſſapplying it to their eſtate now, the words are Aph ki utique recordabor faederis mei; foreignaph in the Germane tongue ſignifies an Ape, and they ſo rejoyce in this promiſe of their reſtitution to Canaan, that they keepe a yearely feaſt in remembrance of this, and they call this feaſt the feaſt of the golden Ape: and they ſay that thoſe words are worthie to bee written in golden letters, and they draw downe this פ in Aph as ye may ſee in the text, thus we may ſee how thoſe Apes play with the holy ſcriptures.
They hope that the temple ſhall be built againe.Secondly, they hope that the temple ſhall bee built againe, and ſtand to the end of the world; the diſciples themſelves were overtaken with this error that the temple ſhould indure to end of the world Mat. 24.3. And the reaſon was the miſtaking of the phraſe Pſalme 24.7. for the temple there is called domus ſaeculi, Saculum Templi.Lift up your heads ye everlaſting doores, Saeculum Levite, 1 Sam. 1.28.but ſaeculum with the Hebrewes ſignifies any long time; there is ſaeculum Levitarum, that is 50. yeares, 1 Sam. 1.18. He ſhall abide before the Lord for ever: ſo ſaeculum ſervi, he ſhall ſerve his maſter for ever, Saeculum ſervi haebrel. Saeculum ſervi proſelyti ad mortem, Lev. 25.45.Exod. 21.8. That is till the yeare of Iubile, and there is ſaeculum ſervi proſelyti. The temple was called Domus ſaeculi, to diſtinguiſh it from the grave which is called Domus ſaeculi ſui, Domus ſaeculi, that is the Temple. Domus ſaeculi ſui, that is the grave. Anian Marcellnus lib. 23.Eccleſ. 12.5. Man goes to his long home: It was not called Domus ſaeculi, becauſe it ſhould laſt for ever, but for a long time; this ſecond temple was never built againe, for when Iulian was about to buld it there came a fire out of the bowels of the earth, and ſcattered them all; and yet they hope now that this their temple ſhall bee built againe, and whenſoever they pray; they turne their faces towards the place where the temple ſtood; and they doe ſo reverence that place, that if they ſtand in need (Laxare meatus ſuos) (by this phraſe of ſpeech they ſignifie in modeſt tearmes the making of water) then they turne their backes from the temple, but when they cover their feete or majores meatus ſolvunt, that is, when they eaſe nature, then they turne their faces towards the place or the temple, and their backes from it; ſo they hope that the temple ſhall bee built againe; hence is that forme of their prayer Gloria noſtra ſuper te, that is, the glorie and comlineſſe which ſhall befall us in the third temple, wee wiſh that yee may bee partakers of it: but this temple ſhall never be built againe; Ioſua curſed the man before the Lord that riſeth up and buildeth Iericho againe, he ſhall laythe foundations therof in his firſt borne, and in his youngeſt ſonne ſhall he ſet up the gates of it. Whoſoever went about to build this temple againe, the heavie curſe of God hath alwaies followed them, for this conceit hinders them to looke upon him who is greater then the temples, and whereof the temple was but a type; when the Lord caſt Adam out of Paradiſe, hee ſet up cherubims, and a flaming ſword to keepe Adam backe, that hee ſhould not eate of the tree of life any more; as the Lord tooke away all occaſion from Adam, that h ſhould not truſt to get life any more by the tree of life; ſo leaſt the Iewes ſhould truſt any more in the temple; the Lord hath taken away this occaſion from them; that it ſhall never bee built againe; that they may looke to him who is greater then the temple, Mat. 12.
Thirdly,They hope that they ſhall bee united under one head who ſhall be a naturall Iew. they hope that they ſhalbe united under one head, in their owne land of Canaan, and that their dominion ſhall reach to thoſe parts of the world: But they are wonderfull blind in application of the prophecies ſometimes they take the prophecies not to be fulfilled yet, wch are already fulfilled; ſuch is that place, Lev. 26.44. Secondly, ſuch places which are to bee underſtood myſtically, they expound literally as Obad. 20. the captivitie of this hoſt of the children of Iſrael, ſhall poſſeſſe that of the Cananites even unto Zarephath, and the captivity of Ieruſalem which is in Sepharad, ſhall poſseſſe the cities of the ſouth: This prophecie was fulfilled in part, when Iudah & Beniamin were reſtored by Cyrus againe; But this prophecie is moſt to be underſtood myſtically, & not according to the letter, for the ten tribes were never brought backe againe as Iudah was; but the Iewes underſtand this prophecie of the captivity which were taken away by Titus and Veſpaſian, and they literally apply this to themſelves, but falſely; By Zarephath they underſtand France, They hope that theſe parts of Europe ſhall be ſubject to them.and by Sepharad they underſtand Spaine, and ſo the Chaldee paraphraſt paraphraſes it Sephania, & they perſwade themſelves, that they ſhal be Lords and commanders of all thoſe countries, that thoſe Iewes who live abroad out of Canaan ſhall ſend yearely tribute to them into Canaan in token of their ſubjection to them, as when Nehardagna in Babylon ſent a yearely tribute to Ieruſalem in token of their obedience to them; So ſhall the Iewes who live abroad out of Canaan, ſend their yearely collection to Canaan, in token of their ſubjection to their King: but ſince the Iewes ſaid that they would have no other King but Caeſar, and refuſed Chriſt to be their King, they ſhall never have a King of their owne againe; they lived ſo long under the ſubjection of the Romans, and now they live under the Turkes for the moſt part; but when the Iewes ſhalbe called againe, although they have not a King of their own nation, yet the Lord then ſhall incline the hearts of thoſe under whom they live, to further them in the ſervice of God, as hee moved the heart of Cyrus a heathen, to ſend home the captives from Babylon, & to further the worſhip of God.
Some of our Writers more ſubtilely than ſolidly, commenting upon the converſion of the Iewes follow them too neare in this conceit of their converſion,Some of our Writers applies ſome places of Scripture more literally than myſtically to the Iewes. and they apply thoſe places of the Prophets more literally than myſtically; and they hold that the Iewes ſhall be reſtored againe to the land of Canaan, and that they ſhall live under a viſible monarchy there, they diſcribe as it were a new foreign to us, and they hold that the fortie fifth yeare after their converſion, they ſhall overthrow the great Sultan at the lake Genneſareth, and this they goe about to prove out of Ier. 31.42. A woman ſhall compaſſe a man, that is, the weake nation of the Iewes, ſhall conquer the great Empire of the Turkes (whereof the meaning of the place is, A woman ſhall compaſſe a man, that is, ſhee ſhall ſeeke whom ſhee may marrie, contrary to the common cuſtome, for the man ſeekes the woman, and not the woman the man) theſe they call Gog, and Magog; and this battell ſhall be (ſay they) in Canaan, Ezech. 39. and after this battell, they ſhall dwell in Canaan, and the kingdome ſhall be ſetled at Ieruſalem, and they ſhall be all united together under one head their King; then the Iewes from all places ſhall come to Ieruſalem, and they ſhall be preachers of the glad tidings of ſalvation; Then the fulneſſe of the Gentiles ſhall come in; and as Cyrus, when he beſieged Babylon he diverted the courſe of the river Euphrates; ſo ſhall they divert the errors of the Antichriſt, and they being converted, ſhall convert their brethren, not onelyonly thoſe who adhere to Antichriſt, but alſo thoſe who adhere to the Mahumet:The conceit of fabulous Eſdras, of the bringing backe of the ten tribes to the land of Canaan againe. This conceit that they ſhall be gathered under a viſible Monarch to Canaan againe, is not unlikely to that dreame of fabulous Eſdras, who tells us, 2 Eſr. 13.40. when the ten tribes were carried away, and came to Euphrates, then the Lord cauſed the river to part it ſelfe, as Iordan was divided of old, then they went into a farre countrey a yeare and a halfes journey, where never man dwelt before, and ſo when they ſhall returne againe to their owne countrie, then the Lord ſhall cauſe the river Euphrates to give way to their paſſage home againe, as it did before in their going; but theſe dreames are quite contrary to the Scripture, for the Lord threatens that within ſixtie five yeares after the captivitie of Ephraim, Ephraim ſhall be ſo broken, that he ſhall be no more a people, Eſa. 7.8. But this fabulous Eſdras dreames, that theſe ten tribes are now a mightie nation,A vagabond Iew who called himſelf the head of thoſe ten tribes, was …urnt at Mantua. and ſhall come home againe and poſſeſſe their owne land: A certaine vagabond Iew who called himſelfe Salomon, and gave himſelfe out for the King of theſe Iewes who dwell beyond the Caſpian hilles, promiſed that he would bring backe that mighty nation againe, This man was apprehended by Charles the fift, …and was burnt at Mantua in Italie for his couſonage and falſehood: The Iewes in their Cronicle which they call Semach David, call this Salomon Mulcho, and they adore him as a martyre: Are theſe the Iewes who will overcome the Turke? This gathering of the Iewes againe to Canaan, to live under a viſible Monarch ſeeme to be almoſt as fabulous as the other.
And this may ſatisfie us, that they ſhall be gathered to ſome viſible Church, both amongſt themſelves, and with the Chriſtian Churches diſperſed abroad; but that they ſhall be called to dwell in their owne countrie againe, that place, Ier. 23.8. will not make this good, to miſapply a pl…ce from the eſtate of the Iewes, after the firſt captivitie, to their reſtitution after their ſecond captivitie, ſo that they ſhall returne to their ancient ſeats, and poſſeſſe every tribe his owne part, that they ſhall conqueſt their foes, that their ſoyle ſhall be as fruitfull as before, that they ſhall erect in the land of Iudah, a glorious Church, and that they ſhall be rulers farre and neare. Theſe and ſuch like promiſes are ſet out by way of allegorie in terrene ſimilitudes, figuring our deliverance through Chriſt; but we muſt take heede that we doe not expound them really and literally as ſome men doe.