This was abfolutely neceffary, that they might not have wherewith to accuse those who received Chrift for the Meffiah, of being deceived in their choice, for not having had the exact idea's of the Meffiah which God had promised.

I fhall upon this account fhew in the third place, That when Jefus Chrift did appear in the world, the model which God had framed in the law of Mofes, whereby the Meffiah might be plainly known, did then subsist in the manner wherein God had framed it.

After this I shall endeavour to fhew by proofs, which are indeed unqueftionable, That in examining all the characters which the Prophets gave, by which the Meffiah might be known; we cannot conceive a more exact execution of God's defign as to the Meffiah, than that which we find in the person of Jefus Chrift, whereof the books of the New Teftament have given us the hiftory.

Laftly, I fhall fhew clearly that this model which God had framed in giving the law, and in forming the common-wealth and religion of the Jews in fo proper a manner, to make the Meffiah certainly known, is not in being at this day; but that it was fo deftroyed by the total dif perfion of that people, that we fhould not be able to know the Meffiah if he fhould now appear again in the world. And that indeed the principal events, which according to the oracles were to follow the coming of the Meffiah, are already come to pass in part, and do ftill come to pass every day.

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I hope to evince thefe truths beyond all conteft; indeed the bare reading of the books of the New Teftament plainly difcovers the coherence which they have with the books of the Old. It fhews clearly that the idea's of the Meffiah were at that time very strong in the minds of the Jews, and it fuppofeth without any affectation that that model which God had made fo neceffary to diftinguish the Meffiah, ftood at that time intire.

In particular, it is certain that the four Evangelifts, by the relation of unquestionable matters of fact, have proved that Jefus the fon of Mary is the Meffiah which God had promised.

Saint Luke fhews in the Acts of the Apostles that after the refurrection of Jefus Chrift, and the effufion of the gifts of the Holy Ghoft, the Golpel was preached to the heathens.

The epiftles are a natural confequence of this vocation of the heathens, and of the abolishing of the law of Mofes which the Apoftles had undertaken. They unanimoufly confpire to fhew that God had refolved to call the heathens to partake of falvation, that the Jews for the greatest part fhould be justly deprived thereof, because they obftinately rejected the Meffiah. Several queftions are examined, which arose either from the calling of the Gentiles, or from the abolishing of the ceremonial worship.

The fucceffion of the hiftory of the Christian church juftifies, That after the destruction of Jerufalem all people imbraced the religion of Jefus Chrift, in receiving him for the Meffiah whom God had promised to the Patriarchs, and to the Jews.

I fhall refume all thefe articles one by one, in that natural order in which I have proposed them.

REFLEXIONS

REFLEXIONS

UPON THE

в о о к
OOK S

OF THE

NEW TESTAMENT,

To

ESTABLISH THE TRUTH

OF THE

CHRISTIAN RELIGION.

С НА Р. İ..

That there appears a very juft Connexion between the Idea's of the OLD TESTAMENT, and thofe of the NEW, the latter borrowing Light from the Former.

CXXS it is not much the character of romances, even then when

Athey are moft tyed up to the rules of probability, to borrow eixx ther the ftile or idea's of thofe authors from whom they take their fubject, fo I fuppofe that in this my undertaking to fhew that the New Teftament is an exact accomplishment of the Old, it is very impor tant to make out, that at the first reading of the Gospels and ApostoliVOL. I.

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cal

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cal Writings, one finds in them a perfect conformity of idea's, with the writings of the Old Teftament.

One may to this purpose obferve in general, That the Gofpel fuppofeth the Divine authority of the book of the Old Teftament, as an unquestionable truth. The gofpels and epiftles have the fame coherence with the books of the law and Prophets, which the writings of the latter Prophets have with those of the former, and which the books of all the Prophets together, have with the books of Mofes, and with the prophecies, laws and hiftories which are contained therein.

One may take notice afterwards, That all the books of the New Teftament have an effential relation to thofe of the Old, in their most principal defigns. I have fhewed that their defign was no other, than to raise men to expectations of the Meffiah, and to paint him to the life, whom God had promised from the beginning of the world; and the only defign of the New Teftament is, to prove that the Meffiah is come according to the Prophets. The firft fpeaks concerning the Meffiah as expected, the latter as already come.

But we muft proceed to a more particular view of this matter. I fay then first of all, That the Chriftians have the fame object of their faith which the Jews had; this Jefus Chrift himself declares, where he faith; This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Fefus Chrift whom thou haft fent. Behold here the true character of the Chriftian religion, as well as of the Jewish, to believe one only God, to own a Meffiah, and to acknowledge that Jefus Chrift is he. The Jews agree with us in the two former articles, tho' they difpute the laft.

I fay in the fecond place, That the laws of the Gofpel, which regulate religion, and the conduct of particular perfons in that fociety, are exactly the fame with thofe of the Old Teftament. Jefus Chrift in his fermon upon the mount, which contains an abridgment of his ethicks, had no other end but to restore the true fenfe and meaning of those laws God had given upon mount Sinai; and tho' in the matter of divorces, it feems oppofite to that law wherein God had before permitted them, yet we may eafily conceive that he began to abrogate those orders and difpenfations which were only given to make the Meffiah known whenever he should appear

The prayer which Jefus Chrift taught his Apoftles, is full of notions which reigned among the Jews, as feveral expofitors have manifefted. I fhall content myself with alledging the inftance of the petition for our daily bread, which has an evident regard to the manna which God gave the children of Ifrael in the wilderness for forty years.

We know alfo that the facraments of the baptifm and the eucharift, are originally Jewish ceremonies, which Jefus Chrift hath applied with a very little variation, to much more important fubjects. Baptifm was a washing which accompanied the facrifices and circumcifion of profelytės. And the washing practifed under the law of Mofes, fignified that the profelyte, who was admitted to the fame, was refolved to renounce his former courses, and for the time to come to follow an oppofite way of living, according to the rules prefcribed him by the Minifters of hea ven, after that they in the name of God had affured him of the remiffion of his fins..

The eucharift was an appendix of the feaft of the paffover, which preferved the memory of the fufferings of the Ifraelites in Egypt, and the deliverance he afforded them, in punishing of the Egyptians. This ceremony did perpetuate the memory of that deliverance till the coming of the Meffiah. Jefus Chrift hath fubftituted to this figure an inftance of the curfe of God against the pofterity of Cham, the idea of his death, by which he hath communicated his bleffing to all nations of the earth according to his promife. And he hath made it a more full and exact memorial of his death, which he would have us to confider as the death of the true Lamb, which takes away the fins of the world. As the old covenant was made in the blood of a lamb, fo Jefus Chrift, with regard to the New Testament or covenant promifed by Jeremiah, Chap. XXXI. ordains the celebrating the memorial of the blood he had spilt, This is the New Teftament in my blood, &c. And lastly, whereas the law ordained the commemoration of the pafchal lamb but once a year, Jefus Chrift feems to appoint a much more frequent celebration of the eucharist, when he faith, As oft as ye shall eat this bread, &c. the reafon of which, without doubt, is taken from the greatnefs of the benefit which his death confers upon us.

It is well worth our obfervation, That ordinarily the fame propheti cal idea's that are found in the Old Teftament may be met with in the New. The book of the Revelations contains abundance of particulars fet down in the prophecies of Zachariah and Ezechiel. Jefus Chrift himself pursues the idea's of the Prophet Joel in the XXIV of Matthew, when he fets forth the deftruction of Jerufalem, and afterwards he describes the fame according to the notions which Daniel gives us thereof.

Daniel foretels in the VII Chapter of his book, the deftruction of the Roman monarchy by the Chriftians, whom he ftiles The People of the moft High. St. Paul follows the fame notion, 1 Cor. VI. 2. where he fuppofeth it as a known thing: The Saints (faith he) fhall judge the world. And St. John in the XX of the Revelations, verfe 4. reprefents Satan bound, and the government put into the hands of believers.

It is alfo very remarkable, That the promifes and threats of Jefus Chrift are expreffed in terms borrowed from the Old Teftament. Thefe words of Jefus Chrift, He that hears my words, and believes in him that fent me, hath eternal life, and fhall not come into judgment. &c. have not they a plain relation to Adam's unbelief and difobedience, to the judg ment he underwent, and the punishment imposed on him? Is it not from this spirit which penetrates both, that the New Teftament fo oft makes mention of a new Canaan, a new Jerufalem, a new name, &c. and that glory is reprefented to us fometimes under the notion of Paradife, fometimes of a feaft, where Abraham (who is called The Father of the Faithful) fits at the upper end?

Eternal damnation is reprefented to us under the notion of the valley of Hinnom, of a lake burning with fire and brimftone, with regard to the lake of Sodom, and to the place where the filth of Jerufalem was wont to be burnt up and confumed. "Tis upon this account that believers are exhorted to remember Lot's wife, Luke IX. 62. and XVII. 32. and to depart from the midft of the wicked, Hebr. XIII.

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If we confider the election of the Apoftles, and of the feventy Dif ciples, we shall find the reference they have to the heads of the twelve tribes, and to the feventy Elders whom Mofes chofe, to preserve the memory of the feventy fouls Jacob brought with him into Egypt. These paffages, Ye fhall fit on twelve thrones, and your names are written in the book of life and the number of 144000, being the product of 12 times 12, by allufion to the twelve tribes, do all borrow their light from those ancient hiftories.

Throughout the New Teftament we find nothing but a continual allufion to the state of the Jews; all thofe idea's of the liberty of the Sons of God do allude to the ceremony of their jubilee. The first born mentioned there, and the kingdom of Priests, are not to be understood but by cafting our eye on the Old Teftament. If Jefus Chrift be called the chief Corner Stone, if Peter be called a Stone or Rock, Believers living Stones, and the Apostles Foundations, it is by way of allufion to the manner in which the twelve princes or heads of the tribes did contribute towards the building of the temple, and to the manner of the building of it. If the children of Zebedee are called Boanerges, 'tis with reference to the fecond of Haggai, Yet once, and I will shake the heavens and the earth. That the Heathens are defcribed as a people afar off, and what is spoken concerning the wall of partition, hath a vifible refpect to the Gentiles, being prohibited to enter into the holy place of the temple.

If I would inftance in all the mystical relations of the one volume to the other, I might fay that there appears a fingular conformity between them, even in thofe things which feem moft oppofite. Mofes the firft and great minifter of the law, had a ftammering fpeech, Zachary the father of S. John the Baptift was ftruck dumb, when he was to pronounce the folemn bleffing to the people; whereas Jefus Chrift on the contrary has this character given of him, that never man fpake like him. God faid at the beginning, Encrease and multiply, he repeats the fame to Noah, in order to the propagation of mankind, and replenishing the earth; Jefus Chrift faith, Go and teach all nations; and the word is conftantly repre'fented to us as the feed of the regeneration, and baptifm, as the laver or washing whereby we acquire a new birth. We fee Noah receiving the dove into the ark with an olive branch, as a fign of the peace of Heaven, and Jefus Chrift receives a like token.

Fire falls down from heaven on the facrifice of Abel, Noah, Moses, David, Solomon, and Elijah, as a token that God accepted their offerings; and God fends the fame mark of his favour on the day of Pentecoft, to declare that the facrifice of Jefus Chrift was most acceptable to him.

God had forbid the high priest to rend his clothes on any occafion whatsoever, that rending of garments involving a mystery, as appears from the hiftory of Jeroboam; and yet we fee, that the high priest rent his cloaths at the condemnation of our Saviour, and thereby violated for ever the authority of his priesthood, whereas on the contrary we find the garments of our Lord and Saviour were left whole and entire, to <fignifie to us the eternity of his priesthood. We fee that the ear of Malchus the high prieft's fervant was cut off by S. Peter, and that Jefus Chrift reftored it again, to fhew that the fynagogue had loft the true faith, and Jefus Chrift alone was able to restore it. We fee the holy place in the

temple