An Expofition of the Epifile ~ And belides that reafon, which many Interpreters g•ve, why he doth fo ~ namely, becaufe he would not feem to upbra1d the Gent1les, as the Jews wer~ wont to do, who called them, Smners of the Gwtlles, Gal. 2. but that he and his Country-Men were as bad as they. I fay, th!!t is not the only reafon but it was to lhew the freenefs of God's Grace, to f.1t>e the Jews, as well ~s lhe Gentiles. For his Scope, why he dot~ mentton the State of Nature fo exaaJy, and apply it thus to both thcfc forts or Perfons, IS, to 1lluftrate the free Grace of Oo"d : Saith he, in the next Verfe, B11t God, who i< rich i, Mercy, for hi< gteat Mercy wherelVtth he loved w, even when we were dead m Sms, hnth q11ic"-.ned"", By Grace f' are faved. So that he would fhew; that all, both Jews and Gentiles needed it. You lhall find likewift', he takes the f?tmc Conrfc, in his EP.ifllc t~ the Romans : In the firft Chapter he protoe•, that the· Gentiles ";ere' ~fl cor– rnpted ; and in tlie fecond Chapter, he conviriceth thet]l; a1id pr6v~th;:· that the Jews were fo alfo: In the third Chapter, he concludeth, .that all were Sinners· Thereis no difforwce, faith he; nO have come foort of the Glory of God: And: Tnere is 11011e riglteow, no not one. And to what end was. all this? Ithwirto glorify the Gr>ce of God, as it follows, ~·e>f 24. 'Being j"ftifed freely b his Grace, &c. And then again, he doth apply it to -the Jews, and he fpe'Jks as hard words, and harder ofthem·, than he cloth of the Gentiles, and ofboth in refpcll: of their Converfanons. The poor Gentiles, they were led, away, he C 1ith, by the World, and by the Devil; he applies that part of Mans Mifery u.mo them: But when he comes to the Jews, Ye were by Nat11re tf.e Children of Wrath, fJith he; and, Ye have had yom· Converfation in the Lujls of tl:e Flejb. He lhe;vs the internal Caufe of Corruption, when he applies it unto them. And "!hat is the reafon? You muft know ~his, that firft for their ConverG1tions, the Jews ~ould not fo much as converfe wnh the Gentiles; they called them, Sinners ofJhe Gen– tiles, Gal. 2. They would not [o ,much as eat With them, ,as· you·re:td in AOs 10. that Peter would not, and according to the ~eremonial Law he ought not. And fo m John 4- when Chnil: converfed wuh !\"' S4mari/an Woman, there was a wonder at it. But faith the Apoftle hero, . You Jews, that il:and fo much upon this Privilege, and therefore think your telves holier, look to your natural Eftate, and you are of the fame Number with the Gentiles: Among whom we alfo aD had 011r Converfatio" in Times pa{l. They ftood likewife upon their Privilege, that they were a holy Seed, and that they were the C11ildren of God, and that all of them were fo by Birth ;· you know, they laid, they wer~ of the Seed of Abraham; And we have Abraham to our Father. He batters down that too, We were by Nature (faith he) the CN!drw of Wl"ath, cvm as otbers. And therefore now he applies it thus to the Perfons of the Jews, Now all the ComroverfY is this, and it is a thing that interpreters differ in, That feeing the word here, which we tranflate, An1ong whom, may be alfo inter– preted as well, In which, whether of thefe two lhould be here intended? The Qyeflion then is, Whether that [Among whom J refer to the Perfons, that is, We Jews walk among yo11 Gentiles, had our Converfations like to you ? Or whether that the meaning be, that we Jews walk 111 the fame Sins? In which n-e alfo h.d o11r Converfotion, as referring unto Sins and Trejpajfes,. whel"ein ilz Tinm P".ft1e walf<!d, veri: 1, z. I for my part think, the Hofy-Ghofl writes the Scripture fo,. as to ta'ke in a comprchenfive meaning; and it bath been a Rule, that I hav!l obferved.all along in interpreting this, and lhall in all other Scriptures. I think he intended both: For to fay both of thefe Jews, that as for their Perfons, they are to be reckoned among the Gentiles, among the fame Number, Among whom 2ve alfo: And to fay, they walked in the fame Sins, and in the fame Lufts; it makes the Scope and the Sence more full', it makes up the Likenefs of their Condition the more and the greater. His Scope WjlS, to h~~ble the Jews in bo"tb refpells, that tho they flood upon it, that they were a pnv1ledged People, yet, fa1th he, you are to be reckoned among the Gentiles, Atnong whom we a!fo walf<!d: And he would prove, that they were to be reckoned among them, becaufc they walked in the lit me Sins, In which we alfo walf<!d 115 well tM the)'. So
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