13+ The Faith of the Antient Churchof the Jews Talmudical Maness about the Meffiah, gives many rules and inftruéìions aboutnfite eight underfianding of their fayings, to tree them from open impieties and contra- diQions. And hereunto he fubjoyns, ashe fuppofeth the true Notion of the Mfah and his Kingdom in the enfuing words. As to the dayes if the Meflieth , they are the time when the Kingdom fhall be reffored unto Ifrael, and they Jhall return unto Palefline. And this King fhall be Potent, ,the Metropolis of whole Kingdom Jhall be Sion ; and his Namefhall be famous untothe attermoff parts of theEarth. He Jha!l be greater and richer thenSolomon, and with him the Nations/ball make peace andyield him obedience, becaufè of bit Suffice, and the Miracles that he fhall perform. If any one (hall rife . again([ him Gòd (hall give him up intohis hand to be defìrayed. /Ill the Scripture declares his Happi- net!, and theHappinefl we /[-allhaveby him: Howbeit nothing in the nature ofthingsfhall be changed, only Ifrael Jhall have the Kingdom; for fi our Wife men fay expry, there is no difference between theft dayes, and the dayes of the Mefab, but only the Jisbdning of the Nations under us. So indeed (ayes Kab. Samuel, and others of them , [=arty~ p rt¢ r11t4n iny+w b 1 rnwC1 11 & 7t1: He goes on, In thofi dayesViFrtsals fhall behad at an cafle rate, as if the earth brought forth Cates and Cloathes ; And afterwards, the Mefrah (hall dye, andhaSon, and bis Sons Son ¡hall reign after him ; but his Kingdom (hall endure long, andmen [ball live longin thofe dejes ; fi that fóme think his Kingdom fhall continue a thoufand years. But the dayes of the Meab are notfi much to be defired, that we may have flare of Corn andWealth, ride onHorfes, and drink (line with Mufick, bitt for the fciety and converfation ofgood men, the Knowledge and Righteoufnefl of the King, and that then without wearifomnefl, trouble, or conflraint, the whale Law ofMotes(hall be obferved: 4, 20. This is the fummof the Creed of the moll fober part .of theSews concerning the )(Plitt!, whom they look and long for ; if any are fo joker as to embrace it ; For the fame Author tells us, that there were very few fo minded, it may be'fcarce ansehe in an Age béfides himfelf; generally they look after nothing but Rule, Dominion, Wealth, and Pleafure. But he, and they all own him as a temporal King , a mighty , Warrionr, fubduing the Nations unto the Jews , a Furies Camillus, or an Alexander, or a Csfars of Redemption from fin, death andHell, of Pardon of fin, Jullihcation and Righteoufncfs, of eternal Salvationby him, they know, they believe nothing. Maims- nides thinks indeed, that hisKingdom fhall long continue, not like Msnaffeth of late, who fuppofeth that it might not abide aboveforty years, and thofe immediately pre- ceding the Daypf Judgemente, ç. yt, Ir is fufficiently evident that this Opinion andPerfwafon of theJewswhich is Ca- tholiek unto them, andhath been fo, ever lince they rejeé}ed the true "Me /ah, contains an abfolute renunciation of the faith of the Churchof old, and an utter rejeRion of all the ends for which the Melah was promifed. I (hall not therefore enter here upon a particular refutation of it, for it will occur in our enfuingDifcourfes. Nei- ther is this the Perfon about whom we contend' with them: nor have we any con- cernment in him. when he comes, let themmake their belt of him ; we have already received the Captain of our Salvation. What all() they plead for themfelves as the groundof their obilinacyin refuting the True Mejjilah,mu(t afterwardsbe particularly dif- cuffed. At preferìt therefore, I (hall only relied on thole depraved habits of their minds, which in concurrence with occafrons and Temptations fatted unto them, have (educed them into theft low, carnal, and earthly imaginations about the Pramifèd Seed,'his Perfon, Office, andWork that hewas to perform. sf. 22. In things thereforeof this kind, Ignorance of their miferable condition bynature, both as to fin and wrath, juftly claims the tirlt place. For although, as wasby inftances before manifefled , the Evidence of Truth, and Power of Traditions among(t them, have prevailed with time, to avow the notion of the Sin ofAdam and the corruption of our nature thereby, yet indeed there is not any of them, that have a true feat and convi Pionof their Natural Condition, and the mifery that doth attend it. The Mt/Tah, as we have proved at large, was firn promifed to relieve mankind from that (late whereinto theywere call by theApoflafie'of Adam the Common Root andParent of them all. Such as are mens apprehentions of that condition, fetchalto will be their thoughts concerning theMef ieb, who was promifed to be aDeliverer from it. They who know themfelves call out of the favour of God thereby, madeobnoxious unto his eternal difpleafure, and difenabled to do any thing that (hall pleaR him, as being cali into a flue of univerfalEnmity agairft him, mull needs look on the Me /ah piomifd in theGrace,Goodnefs and Wifdom of God fora Saviour andDeliverer,to be One that mull
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