except Jefus Chrift, from attributing that title to himself, and from abufing the credulity of the Jews.

It would be an easy matter for me to make a numerous lift of these characters, according to all the different oracles which God gave to the Jews on this fubject, and to justify the exact fulfilling of them in the perfon of Jefus Chrift. And indeed it was not without cause that God furnished his people with fo great a number of prophecies upon this head, his defign being thereby to give us fuch folid grounds for our faith, by granting to it all these supports, that nothing might be able to fhake it.

But because all of them may be referred to certain heads, and that an explication of the chief of them is fufficient to illuftrate the reft, I fhall ftop there now.

I begin therefore with the character of the time in which the Meffiah was to appear, and in which Jefus Chrift did actually come into the world. And it being utterly impoffible for any man to choose the time of his birth, any more than to choose an illuftrious forerunner, or a certain place where, or a certain family of which he is to be born, and much less of a virgin for his mother; thefe characters may fatisfy us, that all thofe that ever pretended to the title of the Meffiah, could not reasonably do it.

CHA P. V.

That the Time pointed out by the Prophets for the Coming of the MESSIAH, is the very Time in which JESUS CHRIST appeared to the World.

I

HAVE made it appear, in the third part of thefe reflexions, that the oracle of Jacob, Gen. xlix. 10. The fceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, contains a formal character of the time in which our Saviour was to appear. I am therefore at prefent to fhew, that the Jews at that time had wholly loft the authority of which they had been poffeffed for fo many ages, which will moft evidently appear from these four Reflexions on the history of the Gospel itself..

The firft is on the birth of Jefus Chrift, which happened precifely at the time when Auguftus had ordered that all the fubjects of the Roman empire fhould be enrolled; when we find that Jofeph and the Bleffed Virgin went to Bethlehem, their own city, to lift their names in the regifter of the Roman magiftrate, which is an authentic proof of the fervitude of that people to the Romans.

It will not be amifs here to take notice, firft, of Mofes's numbering the people by Divine authority; fecondly, of the numbering which David undertook, and for which he was exemplarily punished by God. Now, as God caufed the people to be numbered, to fhew that they were

all

all his fubjects, and as David numbered them with the fame refpect, so we must confider this action of Auguftus was a public teftimony of his fovereignty over the Jews, who were fubdued by Pompey.

When Tertullian appealed to the public regifters of the Roman empire, in his apologetic addreffed to the Roman magiftrate who refided at Carthage, he gave a fufficient evidence that we have no reason to fufpect the relation of the Evangelifts. One may join to this, the manner of the relation of thefe facts which the Evangelifts give us; as, for inftance, in the baptifm of our Lord, they determine the years in which they were done, not only by the year of the high priest, but also by those of Auguftus and Tiberius, &c.

The fecond reflexion may be made upon the character of one of the Apoftles of Jefus Chrift, Levi, or Matthew; who, before our Saviour made choice of him, was a publican and it seems as if our Saviour had on purpose taken him from that employ, to be one of his Difciples, to give a real inftance, and fuch a one as went every where along with him, that the Jews, by paying tribute to the Roman empire, had wholly loft their temporal authority, which was to continue till the coming of the Meffiah.

Here alfo may be made a third reflexion, which is very natural, upon a paffage related by the Evangelifts. They come and afk our Saviour, Whether it were lawful to yield obedience unto the Romans? For fince God had chofen thefe people, and had given them judges and princes of his own choofing, they had always an extreme averfion for any foreign domination of this we have an illuftrious example at the time of the fiege of Jerufalem, when, notwithstanding the remonftrances by Jeremy, yet they could not confent to fubmit. This is that with which they are upbraided, Ezra iv. verfe 19. Neither were they more content with this their ftate of bondage, at the time of our Saviour; and fome of their zealots took this occafion to tempt our Saviour, that they might make him odious, which fide foever he fhould take. Their question is, Whether it be lawful to pay tribute to Cæfar? To which he anfwers, with a Divine wisdom, Render to Cæfar the things which are Cæfar's, and unto God the things that are God's; which words being joined with the money that he made them produce, which was ftamped with the emperor's image, do evidently fhew that the Romans were fovereign lords in Judea: it is known that the coining of money is the undoubted mark of the fovereignty of that prince who makes it pafs for current.

But if we must give fome further light to the foregoing reflexions, we need only obferve the manner of our Saviour's fuffering, as it is defcribed to us. The Jews do agree, as may be feen in the Jerufalem Talmud (e), that criminal judgment was taken away from them forty years before the deftruction of Jerufalem; and the Gofpel fuppofeth the fame thing. The Jews did not put Jefus Chrift to death, but they care › ried him to Pilate, and demanded that he might be crucified. When Pilate faid, Shall I crucify your king? they answer, We have no other king but Cæfar; which confeffion was the confeffion of the whole Jewish nation, who were affembled at the feast of pallover. In short, one fees, that accordingly the Roman magiftrate palled fentence upon him. He

(e) Sanhedr. fol. 24. 2.

Was

was fcourged before they led him to be crucified, which was a punishment amongst the Romans. His body is not taken from the cross but by permiffion from Pilate; and the Roman foldiers are thofe dogs, that is, profane heathens, who enclofed him and tormented him, according to the defcription which David has made, Pfalm xxii.

The Jews have here but one answer to make, which God's former dealing with that people feems fomewhat to countenance; which is, that as their feventy years captivity under the Babylonian empire did not hinder the deferring of the accomplishment of that prophecy of the Sceptre's not departing from Judah, for fome centuries after the faid captivity, fo neither is it neceffary to fuppofe that the Meffiah was to fucceed immediately upon the ending of the kingdom of the Maccabees, and upon the lofs of their liberty under Pompey.

But here is a very great difference; for, firft, during the Babyloni captivity, God ftill preferved amongst them fome form of government, the great lords of the country being chiefly carried away captives, whilf the poorest and most miferable were left behind.

Secondly, the captivity lafted only 70 years, whereas this laft difperfion hath lafted above 1600.

Thirdly, the firft captivity did not at all abolish those necessary marks whereby the lawful lords of Judea might be diftinguifhed; thofe that were of the tribe of Judah, as well as thofe of other tribes, were very well known, though they were not in poffeffion of the kingdom: whereas now every thing is confounded amongst them; and if one looks into Chriftian records, he may find that many of the kindred of Jefus Chrift were put to death, becaufe they could pretend to the throne of Judea.

Moreover, during the captivity of Babylon, they had Prophets amongst them who exprefsly foretold the end of it; whereas, nothing of that kind has yet been fince the laft deftruction of Jerufalem, fince which time no prophet has appeared amongst them, that advantage being transferred to the Chriftians, fome of which, who next fucceeded our Saviour, did foretel the most remarkable events that were to follow to the end of the World.

But if any one fhould be fo nice as to call in queftion the reasons of the difference here alledged; at leaft the Jews will find nothing to object against the prophecy of Daniel, concerning the week at the end of which the Meffiah was to appear, and afterwards to be cut off. In fhort, if it be true that Jefus Chrift was born under the empire of Auguftus, it is no lefs certain that he entered upon his miniftry in the fifteenth year of Tiberius, and was crucified the nineteenth of his reign, that is, in the midft of the four hundred eighty-feventh year from the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, that is, before the end of the last week pointed out by Daniel, as I have fhewed in the eighth chapter of the third part of this book.

CHAP. VI.

CH A P. VI.

That JESUS CHRIST had precifely fuch a Forerunner as the Prophets had defcribed to precede the MESSIAH.

Ο

NE will eafily judge that it was agreeable to the greatnefs of the Meffiah, and the contemptible ftate wherein he was to appear to the world, that he fhould have a forerunner; accordingly, we find Ijaiah expeffing himself in this manner, the year of the world 3292, almoft 700 years before the birth of our Saviour. Malachi had exprefsly foretold the fame in his prophecy, about 420 years before his appearance. If this be once granted, it is easy to conceive that the fon of a priest, living without any worldly fplendor, and dying a violent death, though very glorious for him, was a proper forerunner to that Jefus who himself was to be crucified.

Our business therefore is to inquire whether the characters which the Prophets give to the forerunner of the Meffiah, do agree with John the Baptift, in whom the Chriftians maintain that this prophecy of Malachi was fulfilled. This may be easily made out.

First, John the Baptift was miraculously conceived, at a time when his parents could not promife themfelves any fuch thing: the angel Gabriel, who had declared to Daniel the coming of the Meffiah, by pointing out to him the number of weeks, was the meffenger of the conception of this forerunner of the Meffiah. Several things paffed at his birth, and at the time when they gave him his name, which were very ftrange, and which could not but be generally known, as well because of the accident which happened to Zacharias in the temple, as of his quality, being a priest. Secondly, the extraordinary life which St. John led, being a Nazarite, ought to be carefully confidered. He lived in a folitary place, as the Prophet Elijah did before him.

Thirdly, his preaching alfo had the character of that ancient Prophet, being thundering, as his was: he neither fpared great men, nor thofe who had the reputation of the greatest fanctity; as the Pharifees particularly,' whose pride and hypocrify he touched to the quick.

Fourthly, he fet forth the coming of the Meffiah as at the door; The kingdom of heaven, faid he, is at hand; alluding to the feventh of Daniel, where the kingdom of the Meffiah is reprefented as a kingdom which was to come down from heaven, whereas the former empires had their rife from the earth.

In fhort, nothing could be more illuftrious than the miniftry of this great man,

He baptized publicly, for the space of one year, fuch as came to him, folemnly engaging them to repentance, in hopes of the fudden appearance of the Meffiah. This ceremony, which was an imitation of their cuftom of initiating profelytes in the Jewish religion, was plainly an effay to eftablish a new religion, or at least to reform thofe corruptions which time had introduced into the Jewish religion. F.f

VOL. I.

In

In a word, we find him fo generally followed, that the great council of the Jews thought fit to fend deputies to him, to know whether he were not the Meffiah they expected: this great man was fo far from abufing the great credit he had gained, that he folemnly protefted that Ire was only the forerunner of the Meffiah, who was already come, but was as yet concealed in the midst of them.

His glory became fo illuftrious, that it stirred up jealoufy in the mind of Herod, who caft him into prifon, and at laft caufed his head to be cut off in the castle of Macherom, to fatisfy the lewd Herodias, whofe marriage, or rather inceft, with Herod, he had reproved.

Before St. John was beheaded, he fends his Difciples to Jefus Chrift, to inform himself whether he were the Meffiah; which our Saviour proves to them by the miracles which he wrought in their prefence, and by the teftimony of the Prophet Ifaiah, which St. John had before alledged as a proof of his call.

All these facts were fo illuftrious, and fo well known, that St. John conftantly paffed for a great Prophet amongst the Jews, the Pharisees themselves not daring to question it he received public deputations from the Jews, who demanded the reafon of his miniftry; and he himfelf fent one to Jefus Chrift, that his Difciples might be acquainted with him, and that they might give him a fecond public teftimony; and last of all, he dies a glorious martyr for his purity, after he had made a vaft number of Difciples, who were fo well difperfed in all places, that St. Luke tells us, in the Acts, that some of them were found in Afia, who received the Gospel and the gifts of the Spirit, in which they had been as it were initiated already by the baptifm of St. John.

It appears afterwards that St. John was looked upon as the forerunner of the Meffiah Jefus Chrift faith he was the greatest of all the Prophets; and when Herod heard of the reputation of Jesus Christ, he suppofed that St. John was raised from the dead.

The Jews not conceiving that John the Baptift was the forerunner of the Meffiah, because they understood the prophecy of Malachi literally(f) which alfo make the LXX add to the text the word Thifbite, in that paffage of Malachi; therefore Jefus Chrift declares, that it was indeed he of whom Malachi had spoken.

I acknowledge that John the Baptift did not do any miracle; but then he uttered, 1. fo plain an oracle concerning the miraculous effufion of the gifts of the Holy Ghoft upon the Disciples, that we find nothing fo great or fo clear in all the ancient prophecies: He that comes after me, faith he, fhall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.

2. He gave a fecond oracle, though not fo plain as the former, concerning the deftruction of Jerufalem: Whofe fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will burn up the chaff with fire.

Thefe two oracles contain the end of the old difpenfation, and the beginning of the new: the miraculous gifts of the Spirit were given to facilitate the publishing of the Gofpel among the Gentiles; and the deftruction of Jerufalem, and of the temple, happened as well to punith the crime which the Jews had committed when they put the Meffiah to

Mal. iv. 5.

death,