3. A third ground of juftification was the works of the Levitical law,' which were to expiate fin. Among these works they reckoned facrifices, to which God had promised remiffion of fins, and circumcifion. In oppofition to this St. Paul teaches, that the Levitical law does not expiate, but only reveal fin; and that it exemplifies on the facrificed beafts the punishment, which is due to the finner, ch. iii. 20. v. 20.

The inference, which the Jews deduced from the preceding doctrines, is obvious, namely, that they had much easier access to juftification, than the Gentiles; and that the Gentiles, if they wished to be juftified and be faved, muft receive the law of Moles.

Of the notions entertained by the Jews concerning Election.

THE question relative to predeftination and election,

which St. Paul difcuffes in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh chapters of the Epiftle to the Romans, is totally different from that, which has engaged the attention of Chriftians from the time of Auguftin, and feparates at prefent the Lutheran from the Calvinist church. The greatest confufion therefore would be occafioned in the study of the Epiftle to the Romans, if we applied to the modern controversy on predeftination and election what St. Paul has written in this Epiftle against the Jewish notions, which had no refemblance to any of the opinions maintained by Chriftian polemics. God had promised Abraham to blefs his feed, to give it not only the true and fpiritual bleffing, but likewife the land of Canaan, to fuffer it to dwell there in profperity, and to confider it as his church upon earth. This promife the Jews extended to their whole nation, and afferted that God was bound to fulfil it toward every Jew, as being a VOL. IV. defcendant

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defcendant of Abraham, whatever his principles, or what-ever his conduct might be. This pretenfion was not only groundless, but inconfiftent: for the Ifhmaelites and the Edomites were equally defcended from Abraham, and yet the Jews themfelves acknowledged that thefe had no claim to the divine promifes, efpecially to the promife of the land of Canaan. Nor could they deny, that in the time of Ifaiah the greatest part of their nation had been deftroyed by the Affyrians, without any violation of the promifes which had been made to them. Hence St, Paul argues in the ninth chapter, that God would still adhere to his promifes, if he received only thofe as the chofen feed, who believed in Chrift, and condemned all those who disbelieved.

The Jews went even fo far as to affert that, if a prophet, were infpired with prophecies unfavourable to their nation, he ought not to pronounce them, and that he was bound to refift the will of God, by praying, like Mofes, that his name might rather be expunged from the book of the living. It was on this account, that St. Paul, in the five first verses of the ninth chapter, makes fo cautious and almoft timorous a tranfition to the queftion, which he was going to difcufs.

As it may appear incredible that fuch doctrines could be maintained by the Jews, I will briefly quote what Kimchi has written as an explanation of Hof. i. 2.

Our Rabbies relate on occafion of the words, and the Lord faid to Hofea, that the Holy and Ever-bleffed faid to Hofea, the Ifraelites have finned.' He ought to have anfwered, O Lord of the world, they are thy children, the children of thy chofen, the children of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob; have mercy on them. But he not only neglected to speak thus, but even faid the whole world is thine, exchange them for another people.

Then the Holy and Ever-bleffed faid, what fhall I do with this old man? I will fay to him, take thee a harlot: and again I will fay to him, put her away from thee.' If he can do this, I will alfo feparate myself from Ifrael". Now,

b It is to be obferved that in the mean time Hofea prophefied for fome years against the Ifraelites, till three children were born to him.

Now, after he had brought him forth two fons and a daughter, the Holy and Ever-bleffed said to him, Hofea, oughteft thou not to learn from thy mafter, Moses? After I had fpoken to him, he feparated himself from his wife do thou alfo feparate thyfelf from thine. Hofea, anfwered, O Lord of the world, I have children by her, and cannot poffibly put her away. Then faid the Holy and Ever-bleffed, canft thou not do this, Hofea, though fhe is an harlot, and thy children are the children of an harlot? So alfo is it with me: the children of Ifrael are my children, the children of my chofen, of Abraham, Haac, and Jacob, and they are one of my three poffeffions, and yet thou haft faid, exchange them for another people.

As foon as Hofea perceived that he had finned, he begged for mercy. But the Holy and Ever-bleffec fpake: when thou prayeft for mercy, pray for mercy on Ifrael. From that moment he began to blefs, and faid: the number of the children of Ifrael fhall be as the fand of the fea."

Thefe Jewish errors illuftrate at once the very difficult ninth chapter of the Epiftle to the Romans, in which St. Paul had no other object in view, than to fhew, that God was not obliged to beftow happiness here and hereafter on the unbelieving Jews: and that he could as well permit them to harden their hearts, and provoke his judgements, without violating his word, as he had formerly done in regard to Pharaoh.

SECT. V.

Of the fentiments of the Jews, concerning obedience to the Roman Emperor.

is well known that the Pharifees, at leaft thofe of IT the party of Judas Galilæus, were not well affected to foreign magiftrates, and that from a falfe interpretation

of

This whole story is taken from the book, Chap. Haifa.

By

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of Deut. xvii. 15. they thought it unlawful to pay tribute to the Roman Emperor, and to acknowledge him for their fovereign. And as the Jews in general expected a Meffiah who would establish a temporal kingdom, and free them from the dominion of the Romans this expectation made them ripe for rebellion, and ready at all times to throw off the yoke. Even the Jews at Rome had already begun to create disturbances, which occafioned the command of the Emperor Claudius, that all the Jews fhould leave Rome, of which mention is briefly made by St. Luke, in Acts xviii. 2. Suetonius, in his Life of Claudius, ch. 25, writes, Judæos, impulfore Chrefto, affidue tumultuantes Roma expulit.' • Chreftus' Suetonius meant Chriftus', not knowing the meaning of the word, and fuppofing, that it was written in Greek Xenos. Yet he certainly did not speak of the Christians, and intend to accufe the followers of Jefus Chrift of fedition: for they fubmitted peaceably to the Roman magiftrates, and even if they had been inclined to fedition, they were not fufficiently numerous, nor fufficiently powerful at Rome in the time of Claudius to make the least oppofition. By Judæi' therefore, we muft understand Jews in the ftrict fenfe of the word: and Chreftus' that is, Chriftus,' denotes, not the. perfon of Jefus Chrift, but the Meffiah expected by the Jews, and which they called in Greek Xeros, and in Latin Chriftus.' The Jews therefore being excited to fedition from an expectation of fupport from their • Chriftus,' Claudius and his minifters imagined that this was a real perfon then living in fome place out of Rome, who excited the Jews to infurrection. This is what Suetonius meant in defcribing them as impulfore Chrefto tumultuantes.' However the banishment, which followed this infurrection, appears not to have lasted long,

d

* Compare Matth. xxii. 15-22. with Jofeph. Antiq. Lib. XVII.

C. 2.

e Jofeph. Bell. Jud, Lib. VII. 31. Suetonius in Vefpaf. cap. 4. Taciti Hift. Lib. II. 5.

See Gefner's Thefaurus, under the word Tumultus.

long, and it either terminated with the death of Claudius, or the decree was revoked during his life: for Aquilas the Jew, who met St. Paul at Corinth, after he had left Rome in confequence of this decree, was already returned to Rome, when St. Paul wrote his Epiftle to the Romans. From what has been faid in this paragraph, it is obvious how neceffary thofe exhortations to obedience were, which the Apoftle has given in the thirteenth chapter.

Whoever is converfant with the Roman hiftory, will be able to illuftrate many fingle paffages in this chapter. The city of Rome contained within itself the feeds of infurrection and civil war, and was frequently involved in troubles, even when the provinces were at peace. The fenate was fecretly jealous of the Emperor, and the Emperor in his turn fufpected the Senate. The life of the Emperor was feldom free from danger: Caligula had died a violent death, Claudius had been poifoned, and Nero, who was on the throne, when St. Paul wrote this Epiftle, did not meet with a more fortunate end. The inferior magiftrates afpired to the fupremacy: and as the Romans then believed in astrology, which they had learned from the Chaldees, an aftrologer had only to predict fuccefs to the afpiring party, or to foretel the day, on which the Emperor would die, and the confequence was a certain affaffination. The imperial lifeguard, which confifted of foreigners, efpecially of Germans, and therefore was not interested in the profperity of the Empire, was not, only an object of difguft to the Roman citizens, but became fo powerful after the time of Claudius, that the Emperors were obliged to purchase its favour by confiderable prefents. And in fact they had no other right to their fovereignty over the Romans, than that which they derived either from force or intrigue. Under thefe circumftances, St. Paul judged it neceffary to exhort the Roman Chriftians to fubmit peaceably to the government, under which they lived. He tells them that the powers that be (a toas a) are ordained of God:' he will not confent, that

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they