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over all, is rich unto all that call upon him. 13. For whofoever fhall call upon the name of the Lord,

fhall be faved.

now pleased in much Mercy, to A. D. 57.
accept and receive every Man of
what Nation foever, upon his true
Faith in Chrift; whom he hath
appointed the univerfal Lord and
Saviour of Mankind, according

to the antient Promifes of Ifai. xxviii. 16. Joel ii. 32.
concerning the State and Kingdom of the Meffiah*.

have not heard? and

14 & 15. And if it be fo, How can you Jews be thus difgufted and enraged at our preaching the Gofpel to the Gentile World, and ordaining and fending others to do it? For how should Men embrace this Religion, unless they be convinced of the Truth of it? And how fhould they be convinced of that without fome Perfons to teach them the Doctrines and Evidences of it? And who fhould do that but Men ordained and fent for that Purpofe? Your Indignation therefore at us upon this Account, is very contrary to thofe Words of your Prophet (Ifai. lii. 7, 8.) Welcome and Acceptableness of the

14. How then fhall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they how fhall they hear without a preacher ? 15. And how fhall they preach, except they be fent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gofpel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things? For he speaks of the Gospel Minifters to the Gentiles. 16. But they have not all obeyed the gofpel. For Efaias faith, Lord, who hath believed our report? than what the fame

17. So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

16. And tho' indeed the Succefs of our Ministry has not been anfwerable to the Evidences that have attended it, nor the Pains we have taken in it; 'tis no more Prophet foretold, Ifai. liii. 1.

17. Yet it is ftill our Duty to preach to all Nations; for tho Men's Repentance and Converfion do not always proportionably follow this our preaching; yet without it there could be no converting of Men at all.

18. In

Lord, in and through whom we are to call, agreeably to Aus x. 36. I have expreffed both Senfes.

*See Rom. ix. 33. As ii. 16.

*

A. D. 57. 19. But I fay, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their found went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the

world.

18. In the mean Time, neither few nor Gentile People can excufe their Infidelity, by pretending a Want of fufficient Inftruction. Not the Gentiles, for our preaching to them may be compared to what the Pfalmift fays of

the Beauty, Harmony and Regularity of the Heavens and the Stars, Pfal. xix. 4. It is gone out into all Lands, and even as a Voice unto the Ends of the World.

19. But I fay, Did not Ifrael know? Firft, Mofes faith, I will provoke you to jealoufy by them that are no people, and by a foolifh nation I will anger

19. And can the Jewish Nation plead, this Reception of the Gentile World into the Kingdom and Religion of Chrift, to be a perfectly new and unheard-of Doctrine, and fuch as may well prejudice them against coming into it? Nay, but even Mofes, at the very first Delivery of their Law, foretold it fhould be fo Deut. xxxii. 21.) telling them, That upon their obftinate Infidelity, God would vex and provoke them by taking the very Gentiles for his Church in their Stead.

you.

20. But Efaias is very bold, and faith, I was found of them that fought me not; I was made manifeft unto them that asked

not after me.

20. And Efaias yet more exprefly, Ifai. lxv. 1. I was found of them that knew me not, &c. i. e. my Religion, and the true Way of Salvation fhall be graciously offered to, and accepted and embraced by the Gentiles, who have to it.

been hitherto Strangers

21. But to Ifrael he 21. And as to the Jewish Nafaith, All day long I tion, their Rejection, and their obhave ftretched forth ftinate Infidelity, as the juft Reason my hands unto a difo- of it, are plainly expreffed in the bedient and gain-fay- 2d Ver. of the fame Chap. All the ing people. Day long have I Stretched out my Hand to a difobedient and gainfaying People. CHAP.

* Ver. 18. Their Sound is gone out. In the Hebrew it is, p, Their Line or Direction, i. e. the Order of their Motions; instead of which, 'tis thought the Septuagint read Op, their Voice, whofe Tranflation the Writers of the New Teftament generally follow. But our learned Dr. Pocock in his Mifcellany, cap. 4. p.48. has fhewn the Word to fignify a loud Voice as well as a Line.

СНАР. XI.

The CONTENTS.

The Rejection of the Jewish Nation is not univerfal, abfolute, and irreverfible. Some remain yet the People of God, by embracing the Faith of Chrift, and relying wholly upon his Religion, without any Dependence on the Jewish Law for Pardon and Happiness. The obftinate and harden'd Part of that People, not fo given over by God, as to have no Place left for Repentance and Converfion. The Gentiles taken in to fill up their Vacancy, and the Fulness of Gentile Believers will be an Argument to incite and provoke the Jewish Nation to acknowledge and believe in Chrift, after their Example. Wherefore the Gentile Chriftians ought by no Means to infult over the rejected Jews, who were the antient Church of God, upon whofe Stock they are, in a Manner, grafted; and who are yet capable of becoming their Brethren in Chrift, and by whofe After-Converfion the Gentile Church will receive a vast and happy Addition, and Increase. For God has in their Turns fuffered them both, by wilful Tranfgreffions, to become Objects of bis Difpleafure, and in their Turns offered them both the Means of Pardon and Redemption, and made them, as it were, inftrumental to the Converfion of each other. A wife and wonderful Difpenfation of Pro

vidence!

1. I Say then, Hath

God caft away his people? God forbid. For I also am an

I.

BUT

UT what I have been dif- 4. D. 57. courfing about the Rejection of the Jewish People, must not be understood, as if God had abfolutely and univerfally excluded them from his true Church. No, by no Means, for then I fhould exclude myself who am a few born, of the Tribe of Benjamin; yet by being a Čhristian, Í remain a Member of his Church.

Ifraelite, of the feed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

T

2 & 3.

A. D. 57.

2. God hath not

caft away his people
which he foreknew.
Wot ye not what the

2 & 3. God has not thus totally caft off the Nation whom he once made Choice of to be his peculiar Church and People.

fcripture faith of Eli-Tis only now much as it was in as? how he maketh

interceffion to God a

gainst Ifrael, faying,
3. Lord, they have
killed thy prophets,
and digged down

thine altars; and I am
left alone, and they
feek my life.

4. But what faith
the answer of God
unto him? I have re-
ferved to myself seven
thousand men, who
have not bowed the

knee to the image of

Baal.

5. Even fo then at this present time alfo

Elijah's Time, when he complained to God against them (1 Kings xix. 14.) That they were fo generally relapsed into Idolatry, that hardly any of his true Worshippers were left but himself.

4 & 5. But as God answered him, then, That there were still left Seven Thousand that had not committed Idolatry; fo I fay now, There are fome of this Nation, People of God, by embracing who remain_yet the Church and and accepting the gracious Religion of the Gospel.

there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

6. And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwife grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is, it no more grace, otherwife work is no more work.

6. Only let them remember, they are to depend wholly upon the Mercies of God in the Gospel Covenant, for their Pardon and Happiness, and not all upon the Privileges and Performances of the Mofaical Law; for if the Ceremonial Law would have faved them, there had been no Occa

fion for the Gospel Religion.

7. What then? Ifrael hath not obtained that which he feeketh for, but the election hath obtained it, and

7. The Cafe therefore is fhortly this, The Generality of the Jewish Nation pretend to, and would fain have, that Pardon and Mercy which belongs to the Church of God, but have loft it by their prefent Infidelity; but fuch of them as are true Be

the reft were blinded.

I

lievers

1

lievers in Chrift ftill hold that Privilege, while the rest A. D. 37. remain obdurate in refufing the Conditions of it.

8. According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of flumber, eyes that they should not fee, and ears that they fhould not hear unto this day:

9. And David faith, Let their table be made a fnare, and a compenfe unto them.

8, 9 & 10. Such an Obduracy as Ifaiah defcribes God giving the fame People up to, as a Punishment upon their grofs Infidelity, Ifai. xxix. 10. and Chap. vi. 9,

Io. And the woful Effects whereof, are like what the Pfalmift fpeaks of, upon the Enemies of God's Church, Pfal. Ixix. 22, 23. trap, and a stumbling block, and a re

10. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not fee, and bow down their back alway.

11. I say then, have they ftumbled that they should fall? God forbid but rather thro' their fall falvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealoufy.

II. Yet, as I faid, the unbelieving Part of them are not fo utterly caft off, as to be out of all Hopes of Recovery, upon their Repentance and Converfion to the Gospel. In the mean Time, during this their Infidelity, God is pleafed to declare the Gentiles to be his Church and People in their Stead, as a moft proper Argument, and likely Means, the fooner to irritate and rouze them by Way of Emulation, to come in and embrace their MESSIAH as well as the Gentiles. 12. Now if the fall 12. A most happy and wife of them be the riches Proceeding for the Benefit of all of the world, and the Mankind! For if fuch a confi diminishing of them derable Part of the Gentile World the riches of the Gen- are, and will be brought to the tiles: how much more Chriftian Religion, by our leaving that Nation, and preaching to them, how much more will the World flow into it, whenever they see the Jews themfelves repent and embrace their own MESSIAH?

their fulness?

13. For I fpeak to you Gentiles, in as

much as I am the a

poftle of the Gen

tiles,

13 & 14. I make the great Bleffing of the Gentiles being called into the Church of Chrift, to be, as it were, first occafioned T 2

and

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