and agreeable to the general confused Idea, which the latest Heathens had, of one of their Gods; as they, in almost all their Tranflations, Writings, &c. endeavour to prove that there was no Covenant, but what was made with them about their Land, &c. That Adam's Fall did not affect Men; fo, they needed no Redemption, upon that Account; that all the Sacrifices, Ceremonies, &c. were taken from the Services paid to thofe Heathen Gods, or Devils; and that there was nothing further meant by them, but pofitive Obedience; and that performing thefe, or Penitence without thefe, would toties quoties keep or, after Forfeitures, restore them to their Land; and would, at fome Time, bring them a mere Man, who would make those who fhall be alive when he comes, and their Succeffors, Viceroys, and Governors of the Univerfe, I think, for at least 1000 Years, and all the reft of the World their Slaves.

Their third Defign is, by an infinite Number of groundlefs, impudent Stories, and Affertions, by an infinite Collection out of what was accomplished, and committed to Writing, and by the Perversion of thofe, and of the Senfe of the whole Scriptures, to infinuate; that thofe Scrip

tures

tures were not writ as they were to be read, nor to be understood as written; but that Mofes, in his Time, gave fome fecret Inftructions about what he writ; and that Efdras, or I know not who, had done they knew not what, about the reft; and that these Secrets were kept by a Body of Men instituted, and fucceeding, with vaft Powers, &c. after an unintelligible Manner; and that the Stories, which they writ, and Directions about the Alterations they made, by falfe Conftructions, &c. and the Subftance of the Explanations they gave, and the Sense of each Word and Text fo wrested, were never known publickly, nor written before; but came down to them by Tradition; and, encouraged by their, then, late Success in forging the Alcoran, they fixed all their falfe Conftructions, Readings, &c. by Pointing; and therefore their own poor People were to mind thefe Stories, and be fatisfied. It was a long Time before their own People, who had common Senfe, would come in; but there was no other Subterfuge. I cannot think they ever hoped Chriftians would be fo ftupid as to mind them. There are some of their Rabbies that contradict thefe Defigns, one in one Point, and another in another ;

fo that they scarce all agree in any one Point, nay indeed scarce two in one Point.

To the firft Defign. Man can have no Dependence upon what is revealed, but by Miracles; these Apoftates allow that the Authority of what was revealed by Mofes, and the Prophets, depends upon the Evidence of their Miffion; they expressly declare that a Perfon, under the derogating Names they give Chrift, performed the Miracles the N. T. afcribes to him, and that fome of his Followers performed fome fuch. And, as the Devil afferted there was Power to work a Miracle, in the forbidden Fruit, which the Aleim could not hinder; they affert that there is Power, in the four Letters of the Divine Name that when the Devil, a Man, Prophet, or Apoftate, is poffeffed of it, and can pronounce it, any of them may overturn the World, work any Miracles, raife the Dead, or &c. They tell us alfo, left this should not hold, that the Egyptians had the Secret of this or fome other Word, or Charm, which they term Magick, by which they could perform fuch Miracles; and that they could communicate it to others, who might do the fame. They tell us that Mofes had this Name writ upon his Rod, when he was with Jethro, and every one F knows

knows he lived in Egypt. They tell us that Solomon had this Name writ upon a Ring, and that the Devil got it from him, and plaid abundance of Tricks with it. They tell us that Chrift had been in Egypt, and had ftole the Secrets of their Magick Arts; and that, afterwards, he robbed the - S. Sanctorum, got the Divine Name from a Stone there, upon which Jacob had writ it. Pug. Fid. 713. "Obferve here Reader in the Jews, as our Lord teftifies, both the Irrationality of Foxes, in that they knew not God, and the Cunning, in that they are Wife to do Mischief, viz. in deceiving the Chriftians, and deceitfully Twisting and Perverting every plain Word they find about the Meffiah in the Scriptures." Wagenfel, T.J. Satan. Lib. Told. Jefchu. 6. cited Pug. Fid. 290. "When David was digging the Foundation, he found a certain Stone upon the Mouth of the Abyss, on which was engraved the Name of God, which he took up, and put into the Holy of Holies." ibid. Confut. lib. Told. Fefchu. p. 25, 26. mifprinted for p. 12. Jefus of Nazareth came to Jerufalem, and found in the Temple of the Lord, the Stone on which formerly the Ark was placed, and the Name Hamephorat was written on it, i. e. the Name was writ

(expofitum)

(expofitum) in its own Letters; and whoever got the Letters that fpell that Name, could do whatever he pleafed." Then follows a long Account, how Jefus ftole this Name, worked his Miracles, &c. Pug. Fid. 459. This Story is forged to fhew what the Devil could do, when he got the Ring, with this Name, from Solomon, and to fhew the Power of their imaginary Courts. R. Salomob" This is Amodaus, who drove Solomon out of his Kingdom. The Devils forfooth, are the Sons of the first Adam, for during the 130 Years that He was feparated from his Wife for the Death of Abel, Spirits were conceiving themselves, and borning of him. This is R. Salomoh's Gloff. The Method that the aforefaid Af modaus drove Solomon from his Kingdom by, as they fay, is related in Midrafch Kobeleth, upon Ecclef. ii. 2. The Holy Bleffed God faid to Solomon, what doth that Crown do in thy Hands? Come down from my Throne and immediately an Angel defcended in the form of Solomon, and fat upon his Throne. And Solomon, went backwards and forwards thro' the Affemblies, Schools and Houses of the great Men of Ifrael, faying, I the Preacher was King over Ifrael. Whom they anfwered, King Solomon fits upon his Throne, F 2

and