Chap. 17. Part 2. Others inftead of confeffing, that this Text is teo clear to be understood in the literal fenfe; fay, that it is too obfcure, and must be explain'd by others that are more clear. Truly I do not conceive, how men can fpeak at this rate. "Tis obscure, because it faith the contrary to that which these Gentlemen imagin, and becaufe 'tis inconftant with their Hyphotheses. CHAP. XVII. The Second Spring of Arguments to prove the thousand years reign, is the reign promifed to the lews. The promises made to them, have not been fulfilled, but must be. The converfion of St. Paul is a Type of that of the whole Nation. THe fecond spring of my Arguments shall be the Prophecies and Oracles, which promife unto the few's extraordinary bleffings, a reign upon Earth, a profperity that fhall be vifible to all Nations; yea, an elevation to a Kingdom unto which all Nations must pay homage. Thefe Oracles are without number: we muit only produce fome of them. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the Mountain of the Lords house shall be establisht in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all Nations shall flow unto it. 3. And perities to many people shall go and fay, Come ye and let us go Ifai.2.2, cles that the natiou of the Jews. ир to the Mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Iacob, and be will teach us of his ways, &c. And he shall judge among the Nations, and rebuke many people. And in Chapter 25, v.8. He will Swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the rebuke of his people people shall be take away from off all the earth, for the Part 2, Lord hath spoken it. And in the beginning of the 32 Chapter. Behold, a King shall reign in righteousnefs, and Princes shall rule in judgement. And a man shall be a hiding place from the ftorm, and a covert from the tempeft. And in the 41 Chapter, v.8. But thou Ifrael art my fervant, Jacob whom I have chofen, the feed of Abraham my friend,&c.v.10. Fear not, for I am with thee, be not dismay'd, for I am thy God, I will ftrengthen thee; yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righ teoufnefs, v.12, Thou shalt feek them, and shalt not find them, even the men that contended with thee,&c. y.15. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing Inftrument having teeth, thou shalt thresh the mountains, and shalt make the hills as chaff. In the 43. Chapter, verf. 1, 2, 3, &c. But now thus faith the Lord that created thee O Jacob, and he that formed, thee O Ifrael, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee; I have called thee by name; When thou paffeft through the waters, I will be with 53 and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee For I am the Lord thy God, the holy one of Ifrael thy Saviour Fear not, for I am with thee, I will bring thy feed from the East, and gather thee from the Wefts I will fay to the North, Give up; and to the South, keep not back; bring my fons from far, and my daugh ters from the ends of the Earth. And in the 44 Chap. v.2, 3. Thus faith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who will help thee. Fear not O Jacob my fervant; for I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy feed, and my blessing upon thine Off-fpring. And in the 45 Chap.v.14,15, 16,&c. Thus faith the Lord, the labour of Egypt,and merchandife of Ethiopia, and of the Sabeans, men of Nn 2 Stature D. 49. Chap. 17. Parta. ftature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine, they shall come after thee in chains, they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make fupplication unto thee,faying, Surely God is in thee, there is none else,&c. v.23,25. I have sworn by my felf, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousneß, and shallnot return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall fwear. In the Lord shall all the feed of Ifraelbe justified, and glory. In the 4 Chapter throughout, and efpecially from the thir teenth Verfe. Sing, O Heaven, and be joyfull, O Earth, and break forth into finging, O mountains, for God hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Sion bath faid, the Lord hath forfakenme, and my Lord hath forgotten me: Can a woman forget her fucking child, &c. Thy children shall make haste, and thy destroyer and they that made thee wafte shall go forth of thee. Lift up thine eyes round about and behold, all thefe gather themselves together, and come to thee as I live,faith the Lord, thou shalt furely cloath thee with them all as with an ornament, and bind them on thee as a Bride doth, &c. Then shalt thou fay in thy heart, who hath begotten me thefe,feeing I have loft my children and am defolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up thefe? Behold, I was left alone, thefe where bad they been? &c. And Kings shall be thy nurfing fathers, and Queens thy nurfing mothers, and they shall bow down to thee, with their face toward the earth, and lick up the duft of thy feet, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. One might tranfcribe the whole Prophet, for he is filled with thefe great promifes. Read the 54, the 61, the 65, the 66, and above all the 60 Chapter, where he fpeaks to Ierufalem, Arife, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is 197 rifen upon thee; For behold, the darkness shall cover Part 2! the earth, and grofs darkness the people, but the Lord shall arife upon thee,& his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and Kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about and fee: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy fons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nurfed at thy fide. Then thou shalt fee, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged, because the abundance of the Seashall be converted unto thee,and the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee, &c. And the fons of the frangers shall build up thy walls, and their Kings shall minifter unto thee; for in my wrath I fmote thee but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. All the reft of the Chapter hath the fame ftrength, and the fame sense. cles can't Babylonian We ask, when these Oracles have been fulfilled? These Orawas it, when this people was brougt back out of the be applyed, Babylonian captivity? But how can any man fpeak to the reat this rate? what extravagant figures would thefe this people fettling of be? Becaufe this people rebuilt the City of Ierufalem, after the and the Temple, and formed a petty State in Syria, captivity. under the Maccabees; could any one fay, that their Empire fhould be as large as the whole world, that all the Kings of the earth fhould pay them homage, that their children fhould be without number, &c?. Befides, have not all thefe Oracles a Character of pirituality, which thews us, that God promifeth to give the fews light, knowledge,holinels,righteouf nefs? Thy people also shall be all righteous, faith the Prophet. But 'tis well known the government of the Maccabees was not ofthis nature. "Tis therefore certain, yea, 'tis owned by all that are able to pierce into the fpirit of the Prophets,that all thefe bleffings have relation unto the times of the Meffiah, Let Part 2. cles have accomo plisht fince of the Meffiah. Let any one tell us, what bleffings the Nation Thefe ora- of the Jews hath received by the Meffiah? For alnot been most two thousand years, this miferable Nation is fcatter'd throughout the Earth, it is the excreThe coming ment,the curfe & off-fcouring of all; it fighs under a long and cruel captivity. Matters fhall they then go off thus, the end of the World will come; the Jews fhall perish in their miferies! If this be fo, certainly all thefe Prophecies are cheats; the Holy Spirit hath deceived this Nation, all their Oracles are falfe and God hath born them up with vain hopes; for this is trifling with God and men, to fay, that thefe promifes were accomplisht in that fmall number of Jews, who were converted to Christianity: When those lewish Chriftians were fo bad Chriftians, that they only ferved to found a curfed herefy, and fect; which hath born the name of Ebionates and Nazarens, , 'Twill without doubt be faid, that the Iews fhall have the fulfilling of thefe great promifes, through their return and calling, which will beat the end of the World. Indeed 'tis a Pofition in true Christianity, that the Iews shall be called again. A thousand Oracles (fome of which we have cited) promife this. The Miracle, by which God doth preferve this Nation, proveth it, as I think moft irrefiftably. For lafly, 'tis a thing that hath no example, and cannot be imagined, that God should for two thousand years preferve this people, fcatter'd among other Nations, yet without mixing it felf with them, or learning their manners, their Religions, their fashions, which all other difperfed Nations do. This plainly fpeaks, that God preferves them for fome great work. Now this be ing fuppofed, that the Jews fhall be converted, if prefently after, the World fhall end, and if neither. the |