Treatise of the Four Degenerate Sons, Treatise · Part 4 · Section 2
SECT. 2. The ſecond estate of the Iewes when they are lognammi not my people.
Lognammi. What dignities they loſt when they were not his people.WHen they are lognammi, now they are the tayle and not the head, Deut. 28.37. now the crowne is fallen from their head, Lam. 5.16. and now the Lord hath made them a by word amongst the heathen, and a ſhaking of the head amongſt the people, Pſal. 44.14. when the Iewes of old uſed to imprecate any thing, they uſed their imprecations, wiſhing that ſuch things might befall them, as befell moſt miſerable men, Ier. 29.22. and of them ſhall bee taken up a curſe by all the captivitie of Iudah which are in Babylon, ſaying, The Lord make thee like unto Zedekiah and like unto Ahab whom the King of Babylon roſted in the fire; becauſe they committed villanie in Iſrael and adultery with their neighbours wives: So the Iewes now are become a parable and a hiſſing to all nations, and when they wiſh any miſery to a man, they wiſh that hee may be like a miſerable Iew, and the name is now in deteſtation to all the world. When they were his people, the Lord forbade them to marrie with the heathen, but now no man will marrie with them, no not the Turkes: Of old they deteſted the Publicans as moſt vile ſinners, but now they are the onelyonly Publicans who ſerve under the Turkes; no man will truſt them now, they are ſo perfidious, and their faith is punica fides, and they carrie the markes of gods vengeance.
When men turne from darkeneſſe to light,A bappie change when men turne from darkeneſſe to light. this is a happie change; as when they turned from Paganiſme to Iudaiſme, and then they were called proſylites: So when they turned from Iudaiſme to Chriſtianitie, they were called fratres Iudaei, Act. 15. and beleevers of the circumciſion, Act 10.45. So when they turned from Gentiliſme to Chriſtianitie, they were called foreign, 1 Tim. 3.6. But when men fall from light to darkeneſſe, that is,A miſerable change when men fall from light to darkeneſſe. a miſerable change; as when they fell from the Iewiſh religion to Paganiſme, ſo when they fell from the Iewiſh religion to the Samaritans; So when they fell from the Iewiſh religion to Saduciſme; ſo when they fell from Chriſtian religion to Iudaiſme;Ioſephus lib. 13. & tit. cap. 18. To fall from the Iewiſh religion to Paganiſme. ſo when they fell from Chriſtianitie to Turkiſme; and laſtly, when they fell from Chriſtianitie to Gentiliſme.
Some fell from Iewiſh religion to Paganiſme, as Rabſakeh did (whom the Iewes generally holds to have beene an apoſtate Iew, for he could ſpeake the Hebrew language, 2 Kin. 18.26. and he names the name Iehovah which the heathen knew not, verſ. 25.) and the Iewes uſed not to rent their clothes when they heard any blaſpheme, unleſſe hee were an Hebrew; therefore they rent their clothes when they heard Rabſakeh blaſpheme:Ioſephus de bello Iudaico l. 2. c. 19. & 20. Such was the apoſtacie of the Gergaſites, who fell from the Iewiſh profeſſion to the heathen Greeks.
When the Proſelytes entred within the Covenant of God, they were circumciſed (as the reſt of the Iewes were) and it was the ſeale of the covenant to them; but theſe apoſtates who fell away cauſed to uncircumciſe themſelves, and draw their prepuce which was a ſigne of renouncing of the Covenant, and the Greekes called them foreign, and this uncircumciſion they called it foreign, as they uncircumciſed themſelves in the dayes of Antiochus Epiphanes, Celſus. lib. 7. cap. 25. Epiphanius li. de ponderibus & menſuris.for feare they ſhould have beene knowne to be Iewes, 1 Mach. 1.16. and the Apoſtle alludes to this forme, 1 Cor. 7.17. Art thou circumciſed, uncircumciſe not thy ſelfe. Theſe apoſtates the Hebrewes called Meſhumadim, foreignand Kophar beguickar, Negantes fundamentum; and they oppoſed to theſe Gentiles fundamentales; that is, the Proſelytes converted, who held the grounds of the Iewiſh religion.
To fall from the Iewiſh religion to the Samaritan. Vide Maſium in Ioſhuam. 5.2. pag. 82.So when they fell from the Iewiſh religion to the Samaritan: Such a one was Symmachus who tranſlated the old Teſtament into Greke under the Emperor Severus, and cauſed him to uncircumciſe himſelfe, and then was circumciſed of new againe which was called Parang, denudatio pelliculae, and this ſtood in place of a new circumciſion to him: Theſe who fell from the Iewiſh religion to the Samaritans were moſt of all apoſtates hated by the Iewes, Quia hi miſcebant non miſcenda, becauſe they mixed the true Religion and the falſe together, and they hated them more than any other apoſtates. They would not eate with the Samaritans Ioh. 4. they reckoned bread as if it had beene ſwines fleſh, and when the Samaritans bleſſed, they ſaid not Amen to it, Eccleſ. 50.26, 27. My ſoule abhorreth two nations, and the third is no people; Theſe who dwell in the mountaines of Samaria, thoſe who dwell amongſt the Philiſtines, and the fooliſh people who dwell in Sechem, that is, there are two ſorts of people whom I abhorre moſt; the people who mixeth the true religion and the falſe together, as the Samaritans, and ſecondly, thoſe who are onelyonly Pagans; the Samaritan, he abhorred moſt; for the Iewes ſo held the Samaritans, that they thought them poſſeſſed with a devill, as Iohn ſaith; Say we not truth that thou art a Samaritan, and haſt a devill.
So when they fell from Iudaiſme to Saduciſme;Ioſephus l. 13. antiquitatum cap. 18. ſuch a one was Johannes Hircanus, who through hatred became a Saducee, and commanded Saduciſme to be received through all his bounds.
So when men fall from Chriſtianitie to Iudaiſme:To fall from Chriſtianitie to Iudaiſme. we have a miſerable example of it in one Peffercorie, who was a Iew borne, but afterward became a Chriſtian and was baptized; Hee went to the Emperour to procure that all the bookes of the Iewes ſhould be burnt except onelyonly the bible: This Iew made great ſturres in Germanie, eſpecially againſt one Capnio, who was a reſtorer of the Hebrew language then (the ſtory is ſet downe at length by Sleidan) and after that hee had troubled the Church a long time, at length he returned to Iudaiſme like a dogge to his vomite, and was burnt at Hall in Saxonie: The Iewes have a ſaying amongſt them, That Iudaeo baptizato, & lupo domeſtico, non eſt credendum, that is, we are not to truſt a baptized Iew, nor a tame Wolfe; for he will ſlip the coller and runne to the hills againe; and ſo it fareth with this miſerable Iew.To fall from Chriſtianitie to Turciſme. foreign from foreign
So when men fall from Chriſtianitie to Turciſme, and theſe were called Mamluhim, from Malach emptus, vel mancipatus fuit. Such are thoſe who were begotten of Chriſtian parents, and being bought by the Turkes are circumciſed.
To fall from Chriſtianitie to Paganiſme.The laſt are thoſe who fall from Chriſtianity to Paganiſme: Such a one was Iulian the apoſtate.
Thoſe miſerable wretches who fell from the Iewiſh religion to Paganiſme, as from light to darkeneſſe were in a miſerable condition: but the miſerable Iewes now are in a worſe condition, who calls light darkeneſſe, and darkeneſſe light: The fugitive who flees away from the prince to the enemie, is not ſo badde as hee who keepe their ſtrength, and ſtands out againſt the prince: Thoſe miſcreants now oppoſe themſelves in all things againſt Chriſt.