Abraham in his advanced age fo meritorious a work, without any obligation from the law of nature, that God could not hate the children of fuch pious parents. And, as God had made a covenant with Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, and had promifed to blefs their profperity, it was thought that this covenant obliged him to forgive their fins. I will quote a few paffages to this purpose, which I have partly collected myfelf, and partly have borrowed from Whitby.

We read in Hof. iii. 2. I have bought her (the woman whom Hofea married, and who was fuppofed to be a type of the people of Ifrael) to me for fifteen pieces of filver, for a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley.' On this paffage Kimchi comments thus. 'Some interpret this of the merits of Abraham, Ilaac, and Jacob, and the twelve patriarchs.' And of the homer and half-homer he fays, Thefe are fifteen ephahs, which denote Mofes, Aaron, Miriam, and the twelve patriarchs.'

Pococke, in his Mifcellanea, p. 170, 227. has fhewn, that the Jews believed, that the fire of hell had no effect on any one of their nation, becaufe Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob came down to deliver them. This fuperftitious notion has been adopted from the Jews by the Mohammedans, who in contradiction to the Koran believe that at the day of judgement, Chrift, David, and Mofes, will by their interceffion deliver thofe from hell, who have believed in their doctrine, even after it had been abolished by Mohammed. One of the principal maxims of the

that is, * all כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא Jews is

Ifrael partakes of eternal life' and with this maxim begins the book called Pirke Aboth. Another of the Jewish doctrines is, God promised to Abraham, that if his children were wicked, he would confider them as righteous on account of the fweet odour of his circumcited forefkin'.'

YA homer contained ten epaphs.

? Pugio fidei, P. III, Dif, III, cap. 16, sect, 36—37.

The

The fame is objected to the Jews by Juftin Martyr'; Your Rabbins deceive themfelves and us in imagining that the kingdom of heaven is prepared for all thofe, who are the natural feed of Abraham, even though they be finners and unbelievers.'

The Jews even go fo far as to pray in the name of their ancestors, whofe merits they plead before God. The words of the Hebrew, Pfalm lxxxiv. 9. which fignify literally, Behold our fhield,' are rendered in the Chaldee paraphrafe Behold the merits of our fathers:' and the words of Ifaiah, ch. xliv. 5. another shall call himself by the name of Jacob,' are tranflated both by Jonathan and in the Septuagint He fhall pray in the name of Jacob.' See alfo what Wetftein has faid on this fubject in his note to Matth. iii. 9.

St. Paul, in the ninth chapter of his Epiftle to the Romans, has given a complete confutation of this erroneous notion, and has fhewn that the promises of God were not made to all, but only to the faithful descendants of Abraham. The latter half of the fifth chapter is likewife to the fame purpose, where St. Paul confirms the affertion, which he made ch. iii. 29-30. that God was equally the God of the Jews and of the Gentiles and fhews that, as all men, both Jews and Gentiles, incurred death by the guilt of one common father, or head of his covenant with mankind, whom they did not elect, but receive from God, fo it is just that, when God determined to have mercy, he fhould restore life both to Jews and Gentiles by the common head of the new covenant.

2. Another ground of juftification, according to the opinion of the Jews, was the knowledge, which they had of God through the law of Mofes, and their diligence in the ftudy of that law.' Now it is true that in one refpect the Jews had an advantage above the Gentiles but then they eftimated this advantage fo highly,. as to make it a plea for the remiffion of their fins. St. Paul therefore found it neceffary to prove at large in the fecond chapter, that man is juftified, not by the knowledge, but by the obfervance of the law.

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3. A third ground of juftification was the works of the Levitical law,' which were to expiate fin. Among thefe works they reckoned facrifices, to which God had promifed remiffion of fins, and circumcifion. In oppofition to this St. Paul teaches, that the Levitical law does not expiate, but only reveal fin; and that it exemplifies on the facrificed beafts the punishment, which is due to the finner, ch. iii. 20. v. 20.

The inference, which the Jews deduced from the preceding doctrines, is obvious, namely, that they had much eafier access to juftification, than the Gentiles; and that the Gentiles, if they wished to be justified and be faved, muft receive the law of Mofes,

Of the notions entertained by the Jews concerning Election.

THE

HE question relative to predestination and election, which St. Paul difcuffes in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, is totally different from that, which has engaged the attention of Chriftians from the time of Auguttin, and feparates at prefent the Lutheran from the Calvinist church. The greatest confufion therefore would be occafioned in the ftudy of the Epiftle to the Romans, if we applied to the modern controverfy on predeftination and election what St. Paul has written in this Epiftle against the Jewish notions, which had no refemblance to any of the opinions maintained by Chriftian polemics. God had promifed Abraham to blefs his feed, to give it not only the true and fpiritual bleffing, but likewife the land of Canaan, to fuffer it to dwell there in profperity, and to confider it as his church upon earth. This promife the Jews extended to their whole nation, and afferted that God was bound to fulfil it toward every Jew, as being a VOL. IV, defcendant

G

defcendant of Abraham, whatever his principles, or whatever his conduct might be. This pretenfion was not only groundless, but inconfiftent: for the Ifhmaelites and the Edomites were equally defcended from Abraham, and yet the Jews themfelves acknowledged that thefe had no claim to the divine promifes, especially to the promise of the land of Canaan. Nor could they deny, that in the time of Isaiah the greatest part of their nation had been deftroyed by the Affyrians, without any violation of the promifes which had been made to them. Hence St. Paul argues in the ninth chapter, that God would ftill adhere to his promifes, if he received only thofe as the chofen feed, who believed in Chrift, and condemned all thofe who disbelieved.

The Jews went even fo far as to affert that, if a prophet, were infpired with prophecies unfavourable to their nation, he ought not to pronounce them, and that he was bound to refift the will of God, by praying, like Mofes, that his name might rather be expunged from the book of the living. It was on this account, that St. Paul, in the five firft verfes of the ninth chapter, makes fo cautious and almoft timorous a transition to the queftion, which he was going to difcufs.

As it may appear incredible, that fuch doctrines could be maintained by the Jews, I will briefly quote what Kimchi has written as an explanation of Hof. i. 2.

Our Rabbies relate on occafion of the words, and the Lord faid to Hofea, that the Holy and Ever-bleffed faid to Hofea, the Itraelites have finned.' He ought to have anfwered, O Lord of the world, they are thy children, the children of thy chofen, the children of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob; have mercy on them. But he not only neglected to speak thus, but even faid the whole world. is thine, exchange them for another people.

Then the Holy and Ever-bleffed faid, what fhall I do with this old man? I will fay to him, take thee a harlot : and again I will fay to him, put her away from thee.' If he can do this, I will alfo feparate myself from Ifrael.

Now,

It is to be obferved that in the mean time Hofea prophefied for fome years against the Ifraelites, till three children were born to him,

Now, after fhe had brought him forth two fons and a daughter, the Holy and Ever-bleffed said to him, Hosea, oughteft thou not to learn from thy mafter, Mofes? After I had spoken to him, he feparated himself from his wife do thou also separate thyfelf from thine. Hofea, anfwered, O Lord of the world, I have children by her, and cannot poffibly put her away. Then faid the Holy and Ever-bleffed, canft thou not do this, Hofea, though she is an harlot, and thy children are the children of an harlot? So alfo is it with me: the children of Ifrael are my children, the children of my chofen, of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, and they are one of my three poffeffions, and yet thou haft faid, exchange them for another people.

As foon as Hofea perceived that he had finned, he begged for mercy. But the Holy and Ever-bleffed fpake: when thou prayeft for mercy, pray for mercy on Ifrael. From that moment he began to blefs, and said: the number of the children of Ifrael fhall be as the fand of the fea".'

These Jewish errors illuftrate at once the very difficult ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, in which St. Paul had no other object in view, than to fhew, that God was not obliged to beftow happiness here and hereafter on the unbelieving Jews: and that he could as well permit them to harden their hearts, and provoke his judgments, without violating his word, as he had formerly done in regard to Pharaoh.

SECT. V.

Of the fentiments of the Jews, concerning obedience to the Roman Emperor.

I

T is well known that the Pharifees, at leaft thofe of the party of Judas Galilæus, were not well affected to foreign magiftrates, and that from a falfe interpretation

This whole ftory is taken from the book □DD, Chap. Haisha.

of