136 The Faith of the Antient Chrtrchoftheyen's profpered amongft them, Faith in the Meffiáh, asto the true Ends for which He was promifed, decayed every day more and more ;until] at length it was utterly loft. For as our Apoffle tells them, if Rigbteoufnefl were by the' Law, the Promife of the McJah was to no purpofe ; and if the Law made thingsPerfe£1,, the bringing in of another Priefthood and Sacrifice was altogether needlefs. 1, 54, So is it alto with them as to their Apprehenfion of the Judgement ofGod concerning the Defeert offin. Thenatural notion hereofthe vileff Hypocrites amongft them were fometimes perplexed withal]. SeeIfa. 33. V. r4, 15. Micah6. v.8. But the generality of them have long endeavoured by pr`iudicate Imaginations, to raft out the true and real fenfe of it. That God is angry at fin, that in Tome cafes an Attonement is needfull they will not deny. But fo low and carnal are their thoughts of his feverity, that they think any thing may ferve the turnto appeafehisWrath, or to fatisfie his Juflice, efpecially towards them whom alone he loves. Their Aftlihions and Per- fecufions,the Deathof their Children,and their own Death,efpecially if it beof a pain- ful diftemper , they fuppofe to make a fufficient Propitiation for' all their fins. Such mean andunworthy thoughts have they ofthe MajeftyHolinefs,and Terror oftheLord. Of late alfo, left there should be a failure on any account, they have found out an invention to give their fins unto the Devil by the Sacrifice of a Cock, the manner whereof is at large defcribedby Búxtorfius, in his S'ynagoga judaica. And this alto hath nofinal] influence on their mindsto pervert them from the Faith of their Fore- Fathers. Let the Meffiab provide well for them in thisworld, and they will look well enough unto themfelves,as to that whichis to come. g, 25. And hence arifeth alfo their Ignorance of the whole Nature, Vfe and End of the Mo-- faical Law, which alfo contributes much to the ,producing of the fameEffect upon them. To what Endthe Law was given, whereunto it ferved, what was the nature and proper ufe ofits Iuftitutions, thall bedeclared as occafion is offered in theExpofition of the Epiflle its felf. For the prefent it may future unto our purpofe, to confider their Apprehenfions ofit, andwhat influence they haveinto their misbelief, In ge- neral they look on theLaw and ,their obfervanceof it, as theonly means ofobtain- ingRighteoufnefs, and making an Attonement with God. So theydid of old, Rom. 9v 32, 33, 34 In the obfervatìon of its Precepts they place all their Righteoufnefl beforeGod, and by its Sacrifices they look for Attonement,of all their fins. That the Lawwas not given, that theSacrifices were not appointed for theft 'Ends, that the Fathers of, old never attended unto them abfolutely with any fuch Intention, {hall be afterwards declared. In the mean time it is evident that this Perfwafion corrupts their minds as to their thoughts about the Melfiah. For if Riglsteoufnefs maybe ob- tained, and Attonement made without him, to what End fervés the Promife con- cerning .him ? But having thus taken from him the whole Office and Work whereunto of God he.was defigned, that he might not be thought altogether ufelefs, they have cut out for him the work and employment before mentioned. For looking on Righ- teoufnefs and Attonement with the.confequent of them Eternal Salvation, as the pro. per Effedts of theLaw, they thought meet to leave unto their M ab the work of procuring unto them Liberty, Wealth,, and Dominion, which they found by experi- ence that the Law was notable to do. But had indeed their Eyes been opened in theknowledge of God and themfelvcs, they would havefound the Law no lefs infuf- ficient to procureby its felf an Heavenly, than an Earthly Kingdom for them. And again[} their Prejudicate obftinacy in this matter, doth theApoffle principally oppofe himfelf in his Epiflie unto them. 4. 26. But here by the way, fomemay p,offibly enquire , how the Jews, if they look for Attonement and the Remiffion of fins by the Sacrifices of the Law, can now expedt to have their fins pardoned, without which they cannot, be eternally Laved, teeing they are confeffedly deftitute of all Legal Sacrifices whatever ? Have theyfound out fome other way, or do they 'utterly give over feeking after Salvation? This very &ueffion being put unto one of them, he anfwers s that they now obtain the pardon of their Sins, by Repentance andAmendment ofLife; according to the Promifes made in the Prophets unto that Purpofe; as Ezek. t8. v. zo. And concludes, f uamvis jam nulls nr facrifreia que media erant ad Canto facia:et impetrandkm remiffionem peccatorum, ea- m, coven per pcenitentiam , ac refrpifcentiam declinando a viis malls impetratur. Al- tttgh there are now no Sacrifices which were a means the more eafily to obtain the for- gtvenefl offins, yet it may be obtained by Repentance, and adeparture from wayes of evil.
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