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CHR. It is evident as to the Bocks of Mofes, which are not only a Hiftory of the Jews, but their very Statute-Book, wherein their municipal Law, as well civil as ecclefiaftical, was contained."

DE. This is fo indeed as to the Books of Mofes, to which they always appealed; to the Law, and to the Teftimony; and they had no other Statute-Book. But this will not agree to your Gospel, which is no municipal Law, nor any civil Law at all, and no civil Caufes were tried by it.

CHR. The Law was given to the Jews as a diftinct and feparate People from all other Nations upon the Earth; and therefore was a municipal Law particularly for that Nation only of the Jews. But Chriftianity was to extend to all the Nations of the Earth; and Chriftians were to be gathered out of all Nations; and therefore the Gofpel could not be a municipal Law as to civil Rights to all Nations, who had each their own municipal Laws: This could not be without destroying all the municipal Laws in the World, of every Nation whatsoever; and then none could be a Christian, without at the fame time becoming a Rebel to the Government where he lived. This would have been for Christ to have immediately fet up for univerfal and temporal KING of all the World; as the Jews expected of their Meffiah, and therefore would have made Chrift a King But he inftructed them in the fpiritual Nature of his Kingdom, that it was not of this World, nor did refpect their temporal or civil Matters; which therefore he left in the fame State he found them, and commanded their Obedience to their civil Governors, tho' Heathen, not only for Wrath, but also for Confciencefake: And as to the Law of Mofes, he left the Jews ftill under it, as to their civil Concerns, fo far as the Romans, under whofe Subjection they then were, would permit them: As Pilate faid to them, Ye have a Law; and judge ye him according to your Law.

But the Gospel was given as the spiritual and ecclefiaftical Law to the Church, whitherfoever difperied through al Nations; for that did not interfere with

their

their temporal Laws, as to civil Government; and in this, the fifth Mark is made stronger to the Gospel than even to the Law: For it is eafier to fuppofe that any Forgery might creep into the municipal Law of a particular Nation, than that all the Nations, whither Chrif tianity is fpread, fhould confpire in the Corruption of the Gospel, which to all Chriftians is of infinitely greater Concern than their temporal Laws: And, without fuch a Concert of all Chriftian Nations and People fuppofed, no fuch Forgery could pafs undiscovered in the Goffel, which is fpread as far as Christianity, and read daily in their publick Offices.

DE. But I fay it is difcovered, as appears by the Multitude of your various Lections.

CHR. That cannot be called a Forgery; it is nothing but fuch Miftakes as may very easily happen, and are almost unavoidable, in fo many Copies as have been made of the Gospel, before Printing was known: And, confidering the many Tranflations of it into feveral Languages, where the Idioms are different, and Phrafes may be mistaken, together with the natural Slips of Amanuenfes, it is much more wonderful that there are no more various Lections, than that there are fo many.

But in this appears the great Providence of God, in the Care the Chriftians took of this, that they have marked every the leaft various Lection, even fyllabical: And that among all these there is not found one which makes any Alteration either in the Facts, or in the Doctrines: So that, inftead of an Objection, this becomes a ftrong Confirmation of the Truth and Certainty of the Gofpel; which ftands thus perfectly clear of fo much as any Doubt concerning the Facts, or the Doctrines therein related.

But I will now proceed to a stronger Evidence than even this, and all that has been faid before, which I have made the fixth Mark; and that is the Topick of Prophecy

VI. The great Fact of Christ's Coming into the World was prophefied of in the Old Teftament from the

Beginning

Beginning to the End, as is faid, Luke i. 70. By all the boly Prophets which have been fince the World began.

This Evidence no other Fact ever had: For there was no Prophecy of Mofes, but Mofes himself did prophefy of Chrift, Deut. xviii. 15. (applied Ads iii. 22, 23, 24); and fets the feveral Promifes given of him. The firft was to Adam, immediately after the Fall, Gen. iii. 15. where he is called the Seed of the Woman, but not of the Man; because he was to have no Man for his Father, though he had a Woman to his Mother: And of none other can this be faid; nor that he should bruife the Serpent's Head; that is, overcome the Devil, and

all his Power.

He was again promifed to Abraham, as you may fee, Gen. xii. 3. xviii. 18. See this applied, Gal. iii. 16. Jacob did exprefly prophesy of him, with a Mark of the Time when he should come; and calls him Shiloh, or he that was to be fent, Gen. xlix. 10.

Balaam prophefied of him by the Name of the Star of Jacob, and Sceptre of Ifrael, Numb. xxiv. 17.

Daniel calls him the Meffiah the Prince; and tells the Time of his Coming, and of his Death, Dan. ix. 25. 26.

It was foretold that he fhould be born of a Virgin, Ifai. vii. 14. in the City of Bethlehem, Micah. v. 2. of the Seed of fee, Ifai. xi. 1. 10. His low Eftate and Sufferings are particularly defcribed, Pfal. xxii. and Ifai. liii. And his Refurrection, Pfal. xvi. 10. That he fhould fit upon the Throne of David for ever, and be called, Wonderful, the mighty God, the Prince of Peace, Ifai. ix. 6, 7. The Lord our Righteousness, Jer. xxxiii. 16. Jehovah Tfidkenu (an incommunicable Name given to none but the Great God alone), and Immanuel; that is, God with us, Ifai. vii. 14. And David, whofe Son he was according to the Flesh, called him his Lord, Pfal. cx. 1.

The Cause of his Sufferings is faid to be for the Sins of the People, and not for himself, Ifai. liii. 4, 5, 6. Dan. ix. 26.

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And as to the Time of his Coming, it is exprefly faid (to the Confufion of the Jews now) that it was to be before the Sceptre fhould depart from Judah, Gen. xlix. 10. In the fecond Temple, Hag. ii. 7, 9. within feventy Weeks of the building of it, Dan. ix. 24. that is (according to the prophetical known Stile of a Day for a Year), within Four hundred and ninety Years after.

(1). From thefe, and many more Prophecies of the Meffiah or Chrift, his Coming was the general Expectation of the Jews from the Beginning; but more efpecially about the Time in which it was foretold he should come, when feveral falfe Meffiahs did appear among them: And this Expectation ftill remains with them; tho' they confefs, that the Time foretold by all the Prophets for his Coming is past.

But what I have next to offer will be more ftrange to you. You may fay, it was natural for the Jews to expect their Meffiab, who was prophefied of in their Book of the Law, and was to be a Jew, and King of all the Earth: But what had the Gentiles to do with this? There were no Prophecies to them.

Therefore what I have to fhew you is, that these Prophecies of the Meffiah were likewife to the Gentiles : For it is faid, that he fhould be the Expectation of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews. And, Gen. xlix. 10. That the Gathering of the People (or Nations) fhould be to him: In the Vulgar it is rendered Expectatio Gentium, the Expectation of the Gentiles. He is called the Defire of all Nations, Hag. ii. 7. And I will fhew you the general Expectation the Gentiles had of his Coming about the Time that he did come.

They knew him by the Name of the East. Their Tradition was, that the East should prevail; Ut valefceret ORIENs; as I will fhew you prefently: But first let me tell you, that the Holy Scripture often alludes to him under this Denomination. The Blood of the great Expiatory Sacrifice was to be fprinkled towards the Eaft, Lev. xvi. 14. to fhew whence the true Expiatory Sacrifice fhould come. And he is thus frequently filed in the Prophets; Zech. iii. 8. it is faid, according

according to the Vulgar, I will bring forth my Servant the EAST; and Chap. vi, 12. Behold the Man whofe Name is the EAST. Our English renders it in both Places the Branch; for the Hebrew Word bears both Senfes; but the Greek renders it 'AvaTor, which we tranflate the Day-Spring, Luke i. 78. and put on the Margin Sun-rifing or Branch. The Vulgar has it Oriens ex Alto, the Eaft, or Sun-rifing from on High. He is called the Sun of Righteousness, Mal. iv. 2. And it is faid, Ifai. Ix. 3. The Gentiles fhall come to thy Light, and Kings to the Brightness of thy Rifing.

(2.) Now, SIR, how literally was this fulfilled in the Magi (generally fuppofed to be Kings) coming from the East, led by a Star which appeared to them in the Eaft, to worship Chrift when he was born, and to bring Prefents unto him as unto a King? as it is told in the Second of St. Matthew.

DE. Why do you quote St. Matthew to me? You know we make no more of him than of one of your Legend Writers; and believe this Story no more than that these three Kings are now buried at Cologne.

(3.) CHR. You make great Ufe of the Legends, and anfwer every thing by them: And I confefs they are the greatest Affront to Chriftianity; and (if poffible) a Difproof of it, as it must be to those who will place them upon the fame Foot with the Holy Bible, as too many do in the Church of Rome, and cry, we have the Authority of the Church for both; and they are taught to receive the Holy Scriptures upon the Authority of the Church only: But my Bufinefs is not with them now. I fhall only fay, that when they can bring fuch Evidences for the Truth of their Legends, or for any particular Fact in them, as I do for the Truth of the Holy Scriptures, and in particular for the Fact of Chrifi, then I will believe them.

DE. Will you believe nothing that has not all these Evidences you produce?

(4.) CHR. Far from it: For then I must believe nothing but this fingle Fact of Chrift; becaufe no other Fact in the World, no not of all hofe recorded in

Holy

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