Treatise of the Four Degenerate Sons, Treatise · Part 4 · Section 10 – Prayer
SECT. 10. Of the end of the calling of the Jewes.
THe Lord choſe not the Gentiles that he might caſt off the Iewes,The end of the converſion of the Iewes. but that the Iewes and the Gentiles together might grow up in one bodie: The Lord cuts off ſome ſuperfluous branches and loppes them, that others might be ingrafted in their place; He cut of thoſe ſuperfluous branches for a while to be ingrafted againe; And as when Peter cut off Malchus eare, Chriſt joyned it to his head againe; ſo the Lord ſhall ingraft thoſe Iewes againe, who are now cut off, and after that the fulneſſe of the Gentiles ſhall come in, all Iſrael ſhall be ſaved: By Iſrael hee meanes not that the Gentiles ſhall be ſaved, when ſome Iewes ſhall be joyned to them; for then he had revealed no myſterie here, for we ſee of the Gentiles converted daily, and of ſome of the Iewes alſo, but he is ſpeaking here of Iſrael according to the fleſh, and not of Iſrael ſpiritually, Hee is ſpeaking of their converſion.
The Lord caſts off the Iewes for a while,The Lord caſt off the Iewes, is for a while to ſtirre them up to a holy emulation with the Gentiles. that hee might ſtirre them up to a holy emulation; and the Apoſtle compares them here to two running in a race, God is foreign, here, the maſter of the race, foreign, or the reward is eternall life; foreign, thoſe who runnes in the race; are the Iewes and the Gentiles, foreign, or the ſpectators are the Angels; what were all the Olympick games, if they were compared with this running? But in this race they that are firſt, ſhall be laſt, and the laſt firſt, but in the end they ſhall be equall when the converſion of the Iewes, and the fulneſſe of the Gentiles ſhall kiſſe one another.
SECT. 10. The reaſons why the Chriſtians ſhould be ſo earneſt for the converſion of the Jewes.
The firſt reaſon why the Gentiles ſhould love the Iewes.FIrſt, we ſhould love the Iewes for their good fathers ſake, Abraham, Iſaac, and Iacob: David loved Mephiboſheth, although he was but a dead dog, 2 Sam. 9.8. for his good father Ionathans ſake. So wee ſhould love the Iewes, although they be but as dead dogges, for their fathers cauſe.
Reaſon 2 Secondly, becauſe Chriſt is come of them according to the fleſh, who is bleſſed for ever.
Reaſon 3 Thirdly, wee ſhould love the Iewes becauſe the Goſpell came firſt from them to us: Peter planted the firſt Church of the Iewes at Ieruſalem, Act. 7. but when there aroſe a perſecution at Jeruſalem, the Church of the Iewes was ſcattered amongſt the Gentiles; then they were like a little leaven which leavened the Church of the Gentiles.
Reaſon. 4 Fourthly, we ſhould love them becauſe they have faithfully kept the Scriptures, and tranſmitted them to us uncorrupted; Chriſt ſaith to them; How read you in your Law? Iohn 8.17. that is, in the Law which was concredite to your cuſtodie, they were capſarij eccleſia as Auguſtine termes them, codicem portat Iudaeus ut credat christianus. They were like unto a lanterne that gives light unto others, but ſees nothing it ſelfe; they are monitores veritatis, although they were in darkeneſſe themſelves as Baalam was.
Reaſon 5 Fiftly, becauſe they had ſuch a care of us, when wee were out of the covenant; therefore wee ſhould have a mutuall care of them, beeing out of the covenant, they ſay Cant. 8.1. We have a little ſister what ſhall we doe for her, ſo ſhould wee ſay, wee have an elder brother, what ſhal we do for him; Noah prayed of old, that Iaphet might be perſwaded that he might dwell in the tents of Shem, and ſo did Shem himſelfe, Gen. 9.27. The purpoſe of the Lord there is to ſhew that curſed Cham ſhould be deprived of all dignitie in his fathers familie, and be but like a ſlave: there was a threefold dignity of old in the family, firſt of the Prieſthood; ſecondly, of the double portion; and thirdly, of the private governement. Now Noah by a curſe takes away all theſe from Cham, and he beſtowes all upon Shem, and Iaphet; hee beſtowes upon Shem the priviledge of the Prieſthood, and therefore he ſayes Bleſsed be the God of Shem, and hee gives to Iaphet a large portion of the earth, which we ſee afterward accompliſhed by experience, for who enjoyed the largeſt poſſeſſions of the earth? were they not the Aſſyrians, Caldeans, Perſians, Greekes, Romans, Turkes, Saraſenes, and Maſcovites? Shem as the Prieſt of God, prayed for the converſion of theſe nations Iaphets poſterity ſo Iaphets poſterity now pray; that Shem may dwell in their tents and bee converted againe: the primitive Church prayed much for the eſtabliſhing of the Roman Empyre, becauſe the Antichriſt ſhould not come while he who withheld, was taken out of the way, This is while the Roman Empyre was removed, who kept downe the Antichriſt: The prayer of the Church is now, come Lord Ieſus come quickely, Rev. 22.21. Then wee muſt pray earneſtly that the ſignes preceding might bee fulfilled; and this calling of the Iewes is one of the moſt notable ſignes.
The converſion of the Iewes ſerve much to the compleating of the myſticall body.Laſtly, the converſion of the Iewes ſerves much for the compleating of the myſticall body of Chriſt, there is an foreign, or emptines in that myſticall body, Rom. 11. untill the Iewes be brought in; When Naomi returned home to Bethlehem wanting her husband, and her ſonnes, ſhee ſaid, Plena egreſſa ſum, ſed revertor vacua, I went out full, but the Lord hath cauſed me to returne empty, Ruth. 1.21. when the Church wants the Iewes, it is emptie as it were, and they with us make up one perfect body.
SECT. 11. How thankefull the Jewes ſhould bee to God for their converſion againe.
THe Caſuiſtes propound a cauſe,Leſsius de gratitudine. How thankefull the Iewes ſhould bee when they are called againe. whether they are more bound to God, who ſtand and have not fallen, then thoſe who have fallen & are reſtored againe by grace; and they ſhew, that they are more bound to God who have fallen & are ſtor'd againe by grace, then thoſe who have not fallen at all; and the reaſon is, although the gift of perſeverance in innocencie of it ſelfe bee greater, and more to bee deſired then that gift which is beſtowed upon the penitent; yet that gift which is beſtowed upon him, is greater then the gift of continency in goodneſſe, and therfore in this reſpect,Whether they are more bound to be thankefull to God, who have not fallen, or thoſe who have fallen, and are reſtored againe. the penitent is more bound to thankſgiving; The penitent before he fell he had the ſame gift of grace beſtowed upon him, which hee had who ſtands, and when the penitent fell, it was not for defect or want of grace, but onelyonly becauſe he abuſed this liberty & freedome, and did not uſe that grace which was offered to him, and ſo in the time of his fall he was equally obliged to God with him who ſtood; for it was a greater benefit to him that the Lord ſuffered him all the time, and gave him leaſure to repent, ſtirring him up againe to repentance, then pardoning him of his ſinne, and reſtoring him to righteouſneſſe: all theſe being conſidered hee was more bound to thankefulneſſe, then hee that continued ſtill and fell not, for the remiſſion of one ſinne to a ſinner ſhould bee highlier thought of, then the hope of life eternall, and the righteouſneſſe that others ſtand in, for as the malefactor when hee is delivered from the fire to the which he was adjudged, will no leſſe eſteeme of that benefit, then a good man would doe if a kingdome were beſtowed upon him, for the freeing of a man from the greateſt evill is even as he ſhould beſtow the greateſt good upon him: this is the caſe betwixt the Angels who have not fallen, and man.
Whether the Iewes or Gentiles bee more bound to God for offering pardon to them.Now the ſecond caſe is betwixt the Iewes and the Gentiles, which of them are moſt obliged to God in offering pardon of ſinne to them: Chriſt cleares this by the parable of the two debtors, hee to whom moſt was forgiven, was bound to love moſt: now if wee ſhall conſider the great ſinnes of the Iewes, and the pardon offered to them, and calling of them to repentance, they are more bound to thankſgiving then the gentiles: Neither can that parable of the forlorne ſonne, and of his eldeſt brother who ſtayed at home bee applyed to the Iewes and the Chriſtians, although the Iewes were the elder brother who ſtayed at home alwaies with their father, and the gentiles the younger brother who went away as the forlorne ſonne.
The prayer of THEODORVS BEZA, for the converſion of the Iewes.
LOrd Ieſus, thou justly revengeſt the contempt of thy truth, and that ungratefull people of the Iewes, deſerves moſt ſeverely to be puniſhed, but Lord remember thou thy ancient covenant, and looke upon thoſe poore wretches for thy Names ſake; and grant (Lord) unto us, upon whom thou haſt beſtowed ſuch great mercies, that we may daily grow in grace, and that wee be not inſtruments of thy wrath againſt them, but rather by the knowledge of thy word, and by our holy converſation, they may be drawne to the right way againe, and ſo at laſt that thou maiſt be acknowledged of all nations and people, and may be glorified for ever. Amen.
FINIS.
foreign
foreign
Benedictus, qui dat laſſo robur,
Et cui non ſunt vires, ei rubur multiplicat.
Perlegi hunc librum cui titulus eſt tractatus de quadrageminis filijs degeneribus, Atheo, Mago Jdololatra & Judeo, in quo nihil reperio ſanae fidei aut bonis moribus contrarium, quo minus cum utilitate publica imprimatur.
Tho. Weekes R. P. Epiſcop. Lond. Capell. domeſt.
Errata.
Page 3. line 11. for Acharon read Acharai. p. 113. l. 24. for fartheſt r. farther. ibid. l. 23. for both r. but. p. 135. in the mar. dele (all lunaticks are not daemoniacks. p. 150. l. 6. adde foreign. p. 207. adde in mar. (le pi Iehova.) in mar. p. 113 l. 22. for foreign r. foreign. p. 259. l. 14. adde (to worſhip Baal, or to halt betwixt God and Baal) p. 279. l. 20. for or. r. and. p. 319. l. 5. for ſo, r. Sow. p. 336. l. 13. for (the world is able to containe thoſe bookes which he wrote, r. (the world could not containe the bookes that ſhould be written of him) p. 9. l. 21. for Iohn, r. Ioſhua. p. 300. l. 3. for might revenge. r. might not revenge. p. 32. l. 34. for greater, r. great. p. 146. l 1. dele therefore. ibid. l. 13. for circularum. r. circularem.
End of the text · John Weemes, Treatise of the Four Degenerate Sons (1636)