Part 7

It may further be insinuated, “That, if ever Jerusalem was to be destroyed, the obstinate humour of its inhabitants, and the _nature of the place_, would probably draw this destruction upon it, in the way it actually happened, in the way of _siege_[76]: that, then, all the miseries, endured by the Jews, would naturally fall on a desperate people from an irritated and successful conqueror; above all, in ancient times, when conquest and clemency were little acquainted with each other: that, as for the preceding _wars, famines, pestilences, and earth-quakes_ (which are mentioned, in the prophecy, as _signs_ of the approaching desolation) _these_, are such usual things in the course of the world, as may be safely made the prognostics of any predicted event whatsoever: that Jesus, therefore, as any other wise man, might form his prediction on these principles; and trust to time, and the passions of mankind, for the completion of it.”

Now, let all this be allowed (and scepticism itself will hardly make other or greater demands upon us) still, the honour of Jesus stands secure; and this fine fabric of suspicion is overturned at once, if we reflect on _two or three_ circumstances, unluckily, and, if the prophet be not divine, unnecessarily wrought into the texture of this famous prophecy.

_First_, I observe, that this destruction was to come from _the hands of the Romans_[77]; and, without doubt, if it were to happen in any reasonable time, it could not so probably be expected to come from any other quarter. But, then, was it _likely_ that Judæa, at that time a Roman province, should be thus isolated by its own masters? Was it to be _presumed_, that so small a province should dare to engage in a formal contest with Rome, the mistress of the world, as well as of Judæa? with Rome, then the zenith of her power, and irresistible to all nations? Was it _conceivable_, if any future distraction of that mighty empire should tempt the Jews to oppose their feeble efforts to its high fortune, that a vengeance so signal, so complete, should be taken upon them? that nothing less than a total _extermination_ should be proposed, and effected? The ruin of the temple at Jerusalem was to be so entire, that _one stone should not be left upon another_. Allow for the exaggerated terms of a prophetic description; still, was it _imaginable_, that the Romans should, in any proper sense of the words, execute this denunciation? Was it _their_ way, as it was afterwards that of the Goths, to wage war with _stones_? Was it a principle with _them_, to beat down the _pride_ of buildings, as well as of _men_[78]? Would even their _policy_, or their _pride_, have suffered them to blot out an ancient, a renowned, an illustrious temple, the chief ornament of their province, the glory of the East, and the trophy of their own conquests?

Such an event was very improbable, in contemplation: and history shews, that it did not come to pass in any ordinary way. For the instrument, in the hands of Heaven, of this exterminating vengeance, was a man, the most unlikely of all others to inflict it; a man, who by nature abhorred such extremities; who, in fact, did his utmost to prevent this dreadful catastrophe, and _could not_ prevent it[79].—Still, a more unmanageable circumstance, than this, occurs in the prophecy. For,

_Secondly_, it is implied that ONE of our Lord’s disciples should survive this desolation[80]: and it is expressly asserted, that the then _subsisting generation should not pass away, before all these things were accomplished_[81]. They WERE accomplished, within forty years from the date of the prophecy, and before the death of that disciple. The fact is certain and undeniable: I leave the rest to your own reflexions.

_Thirdly_, warning is given in this prophecy to the disciples of Jesus, to fly from this impending ruin; and a signal is held out to them, for that purpose[82]. It is further predicted, that they should avail themselves of this signal and so entirely escape the snare, in which the rest of their countrymen should be taken, that _not a hair of their heads should perish_[83]. And this part of the prophecy was, it seems, completed[84].

_Lastly_, this prophecy was incumbered with another strange event, _needlessly_ incumbered with it, if the whole were an imposture. It is said, _that the Gospel should be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations_, before it should be fulfilled. Was it not enough to say, that the prophecy should be accomplished in the time of that generation, and in the life-time of St. John, without adding so unlikely a circumstance, as that a general promulgation of the Gospel, by a few unlettered and unfriended fishermen, should precede the accomplishment of it?—I know, that this part of the prophecy admits a secondary sense: but, in the primary sense, it was so far fulfilled, as to astonish us with the divine foresight of its author.

I omit other considerations, that might be alledged. But you see that, setting aside such particulars in the prophecy, as sceptical men may think themselves able to draw within the sphere of _human conjecture_, there are several things expressed in it, so strange to all apprehension, so unlikely to happen, so impossible for any natural sagacity to foresee, and yet so certainly and punctually fulfilled, that nothing short of _divine inspiration_ can possibly account for them. The prophecy, in all its parts, is divine: but in _these_, its divinity is clear and incontestable.

II. THE DISPERSION OF THE JEWS, is another event, which deserves your consideration.

Moses himself had predicted this circumstance of their fortune, in terms of the greatest energy. He had told them—_that they should be removed into all the kingdom of the earth, and that they should be scattered among all people from one end of the earth even unto the other_—that, among the nations, into which they should be driven, _they should find no ease, nor rest, and that they should be only oppressed and crushed alway_—that they should _become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word among all nations_—and that _their plagues should be wonderful, and of long continuance_[85]. These prophecies had been, to a certain degree, fulfilled in other parts of their history: but there was to be a time, when _the wrath of God should come upon them to the uttermost_[86]. This time was now come, when their city was destroyed, and their land desolated, by the arms of Titus. Then, as Jesus prophesied of them, _were the days of vengeance, that all things, which were written, should be fulfilled_: then, were they _to be led away captive into all nations_: and thenceforth, _was Jerusalem to be trodden down of the Gentiles, until_ THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES SHOULD BE FULFILLED[87].

Nor say, that this _last_ prophecy is _indefinite_: for _the times of the Gentiles_ is a period, well known in the prophetic writings; a period, of long duration indeed, as the event hath shewn; yet a period, marked out by other prophecies (which may come, in turn, to be considered in this Lecture) no less distinctly, than their other captivities had been.

For, to all these predictions there must be added _one_ more, which expressly asserts the return of this people, in some future age, from their long and wretched dispersion: for _blindness, in part_, only, _hath happened to Israel_; and that again, _till the fulness of the Gentiles be come in_[88]. This, St. Paul terms _a mystery_: and yet the ancient prophets had a glimpse of it, when they foretold, _that the Lord would not make a full end of them_[89], and that a remnant of them _should remain, and should return in the latter days_[90]. Moses himself, who had denounced such heavy judgements upon them, and of so _long continuance_, during their dispersion, had mingled, with his woes, this one note of mercy—_And yet for all that, when they lie in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them_ UTTERLY, _and to break my covenant with them_[91].

Consider these predictions, and compare them with the present and past state of this people for seventeen hundred years; and see, if there be nothing to take your attention, or, rather, your astonishment, in the completion of them.

Why is this dreadful vengeance, _singular_ in its circumstances, and never yet experienced by any other people on the face of the earth, why is this peculiar vengeance executed on the Jews?—Or, whatever the _cause_ may be, is not the _fact_ such as was predicted?

“The predictions, you will say, have the appearance of being fulfilled. But where is the wonder, that a people, distinguished by a _singular_ religion, and above measure _addicted_ to it, should continue to exist under that distinction, and should be every where known by it? That a people, on account of their profession, more than commonly obnoxious to the other religious sects, among whom the earth hath been chiefly parcelled out—to the _Heathen_, for their unconquerable aversion to idolatry—to the _Christians_, for the atrocious murder of their founder—to the _Mahometans_, for the constant rejection of their prophet—should be the scorn and outcast of all three; and that, being excluded from the only country, to which they have any attachment, they should be vagabonds on the earth, and should disperse themselves indifferently through every quarter of it, as caprice, or interest, or convenience, invites them? that, lastly, being thus distinguished from all men, and thus at enmity with all, they should never be suffered to enter into any other civil community, or to establish a distinct community of their own?”

But the wonder doth not lie, altogether, where these questions seem to place it. That the Jews, while they profess themselves such, should be thus treated, may be natural enough: but that they should _continue_, for so many ages, under such treatment; every where and always spurned, reviled, oppressed; yet neither worn out by this usage; nor induced by it to renounce their offensive profession, and take refuge in the mass of people among whom they live; that neither time, nor custom, nor suffering, should get the better of their bigotry or patience; but that they should still subsist a numerous, a distinct, a wretched people, as they do, to this day—all this hath something prodigious in it, which the common principles of human nature will not easily explain[92].

We, who admit the divine origin of their religion; and, adore, with them, the extraordinary providence, by which their polity was so long administered and upheld; can, better than any others, explain this difficulty. For, what so likely to produce an invincible attachment to their Law, as the abundant evidence, they had of its authority? But neither will this account of the matter be found satisfactory. For, as if on purpose to discredit this solution, their history informs us, That _ten_, of the twelve tribes, which originally composed their nation, did, in fact, disappear under their last captivity, and were, in a good measure at least, absorbed in it. If such, then, was the fate of _Israel_ in its dispersion, within the compass of not many generations, and yet the relics of _Judah_ are still preserved in all countries to this day, what better or other reason can we assign for this difference of fortune in two branches of the same people, equally attached to the same divine Law, than that the _former_ were left to the natural consequences of a dispersion, and that the _latter_ were purposely kept from being affected by them, as the prophecies had distinctly foretold?

If it be still said, “That there is nothing more extraordinary in this continuance of the Jews, under their dispersion, than of other religionists in like circumstances; of the _Christians_ for instance, under the Turkish dominion;” the cases (to say nothing of the difference in point of _time_) are, in many respects, entirely unlike.

The Asiatic CHRISTIANS derive a confidence, and some degree of protection, from the many flourishing Christian empires, which subsist in other quarters of the world.

THEY, can perform all the duties of their religion, as perfectly in the countries, where they reside, as in any other.

THEY, have the future hopes of the Gospel, the proper sanction of their Law, to support them in all the distresses, to which their Christian profession may, at present, expose them. What is it to them, as St. Austin well observed in a like case, that they suffer for a season in a strange land; when even in their _own_, that is, a Christian country, they are still obliged, by the principles of their religion, to consider themselves, _as strangers and pilgrims on the earth_[93]?

The condition of the JEWS, on the other hand, is widely different. THEY, profess a religion, founded on temporal promises, only: and how miserably these have failed them, the experience of many ages hath now shewn.

The JEWS, are shut out from the only country in the world, where the several rites and ordinances of their religion can be regularly and _lawfully_ observed.

The JEWS, have, besides, the sensible mortification of knowing, that all their brethren of the dispersion are every where in equal distress with themselves; and that there is not one Jewish state or sovereignty subsisting on the face of the whole earth.

It follows, that in the JEWS, we find nothing but their _destiny_, so plainly read to them by their own prophets, as well as ours, to account for their long continuance in their present dispersion: whereas, the _Asiatic Christians_ have many resources of comfort within themselves; and may subsist, in Mahometan countries, on the same general motives and inducements, which sustain the courage of other unhappy men.

Yet, notwithstanding the advantages, here pointed out, on the side of the Asiatic Christians, the _fact_ is, that they are reduced to a very small number, and are insensibly melting away under the oppressions of their Ottoman masters; so that in no long time, if that enormous tyranny should be permitted to continue, they may, not improbably, quite vanish out of those countries, where they had formerly so many and flourishing churches: whereas, the Jews continue every where to abound in great numbers; they thrive under their oppressions; and seem to multiply amidst their distresses; as if the order of things were reversed in regard to them, and the same causes operated to the conservation of this people, which tend so naturally to the waste and destruction of every other.

Still, I have another reflexion, or two, to make on this interesting subject.

1. It deserves to be considered, that the _natives_ of any country, though subdued and enslaved by a foreign nation, may, indeed, subsist very long under that distinction. Thus, the Gentoo Indians have preserved their name and race, under their Mahometan invaders: and thus, the Moors, if they had not been violently expelled, might have continued a distinct people for many ages, in their old Spanish quarters. But that small colonies of men, transported into _strange_ and populous nations, should preserve a distinct existence, and not insensibly moulder away, and mix themselves with their numerous native masters; This, I think, is without example in the history of mankind. If the Jews might be expected to abound any where, it should, methinks, be in Judæa; where the sight of the _holy land_, and the memory of their past fortunes, might invigorate their prejudices, and perpetuate their attachment to the Jewish name and worship. But it so happens, that the number of Jews in that country hath now for many ages been inconsiderable, while they swarm in every other.

2. It should, further, I think, be observed, that a _sect_, whether you will call it of _religion_, or _philosophy_, may subsist through a long tract of ages; I mean, that certain opinions may continue to be professed by some people, or other, without intermission; as may be true of the _doctrine_ concerning _the two principles_, at all times so prevalent in the East; of that species of eastern _idolatry_, which consists in the worship of _fire_; and in other instances. But that these opinions, in circumstances any thing like those of the Jews, should still be professed, not only by some, but by the _same_ men, that is, by men known to be of the same extraction, as well as of a certain persuasion; this, again, is, I think, a circumstance of great singularity, and altogether unprecedented in the case of any other people. Who knows, of what race or family the present Manichees are descended, or the professors of the old Persian idolatry? The followers of the Mosaic law, are every where known to be of the stock of Abraham. They are distinguished in all places, as being Jews by _descent_, as well as by _Religion_.

3. Supposing, what I think cannot be shewn, that the history of the world furnishes an instance or two of a people circumstanced in all respects, as the Jews are; these extraordinary cases would not much abate the wonder, we are now contemplating. For how happened it, that a prophecy delivered above three thousand years ago concerning the fate of a _particular_ people, should be so exactly verified, as it has hitherto been, when that fate is so far from being a common one, that it has only taken place, in one or two instances besides, within the compass of so many ages? And still more, how should it enter into the head of Moses to deliver this prophecy, when, at the time of his delivering it, he had absolutely no instance before his eyes of such fate, in the case of _any_ people?

These things, then, deserve to be well and seriously considered.

Lastly, We believe, on the faith of the sacred oracles, that the Jews shall _never be destroyed utterly_, but shall exist a distinct people, as they have hitherto done, _till the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled_. But here, you will say, the prophets indulged a natural prejudice in favour of their own nation; it being the way of all people to delight in such dreams of _existence and perpetuity_. It may be so: But see, whether this _dream_ hath ever yet been so far realized, in the case of any other people. The Romans, for instance, were as partial to themselves, and doted as much on the idea of their _perpetuity_, as the Jews. But what now is become of their _eternal empire_? Consider, therefore, the singular fate of the Jews through so many ages, and see whether it be not credible from what is past, that the prophet was moved by something more than a spirit of _national vanity_, when he said, _Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord, for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee_, BUT I WILL NOT MAKE A FULL END OF THEE[94].

To these prophecies concerning _Jerusalem_, and the _Jews_, I add

III. _A third, concerning_ THE CALL AND CONVERSION OF THE GENTILES TO CHRISTIANITY.

This prophecy is very remarkable, whether we consider—_the matter of it_—_the persons, by whom it was delivered_—or, _the manner, in which it hath been fulfilled_.

1. As it had been declared from the beginning, that in the promised seed, _all the nations of the earth should be blessed_, so the Gospel, or, the good tidings of that blessing, was, in due time, to be communicated to _all nations_. Further still, this Gospel was not only to be published to all nations, but to be acknowledged and received by them. There are numberless prophecies to this purpose in the books of the Old Testament: prophecies, which say expressly—_that God would give unto the Messiah the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession_[95]—_that from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, his name should be great among the Gentiles_[96]—_It is a light thing_, says the prophet Isaiah, addressing himself, in the person of the Almighty, to the Messiah, _that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation to the end of the earth_[97]. And Jesus himself, when he commissioned his Apostles to publish his doctrine, did it in these words—GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD, AND PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE[98].

It is unquestionable, therefore, from these and other passages[99], that not the Jews only, but all nations were to be instructed in the Christian faith; that the Gospel was to be an universal religion; and that, thus, the Messiah was to be, in every sense, the Saviour of mankind. There is no doubt, I say, but that such is the language of the prophets; and that they clearly suppose the dispensation of the Gospel to have these views, and to terminate in this event.

But now, let any man consider with himself, what it is to proselyte the whole race of mankind to one faith, and to one religion. Let him revolve in his mind this great, this magnificent idea. Let him, next, turn his thoughts on what history and experience may suggest to him on the subject. And then let him tell us, whether there be not something extraordinary in this project; whether, indeed, there be any other example of this sort in the annals of mankind.

In the old world, the institutors of _pagan religion_ looked no further, than to single communities: each destined his ceremonies for his own people only; and never presumed so far on the truth or importance of his religious scheme, as to set it up for a standard of belief or worship to the other nations of the earth. Even the _Jewish ritual_ was so constituted as to respect the Jews only, and was even practicable no where but in the land of Judæa.

But this idea of universality was equally strange to the _Doctors_, as to the Legislators, of the ancient world. Sects of philosophy, there were many; espoused with zeal, and propagated with industry; and some of them, of no small extent. Yet the most sanguine, or the most successful of these speculatists never conceived so much as the idea of bringing all nations into their system. They presumed, indeed, that truth, or probability at least, was on the side of their favourite opinions; but they beheld a neglect of them in others, with a sort of indifference; and, contenting themselves with their own superior skill or felicity, left it to the rest of the world to philosophize in their own way, and on their own principles. They seem not to have thought it either necessary or possible, that their own sentiments should become the standing, universal persuasion of mankind.

_Ambition_, I know, hath been sometimes enterprizing enough to think of subduing the whole world. But this was the ambition of _power_, not of religion, or philosophy: it was an ambition to subdue the _bodies_, not the minds of men. This _last_ was a project, too big for a Cæsar or an Alexander, much more, for a Numa or an Aristotle, to entertain. And I think it certain, that, except in the scheme of Christianity, or such other schemes of revelation as have been copied from it[100], we shall no where find the idea of _universality_ to have taken place in any religious or philosophical sect whatsoever[101].

If then this idea was _familiar_ to the Jewish and Christian prophets, you will, at least, conclude that this circumstance is remarkable enough to engage your attention; and you will naturally ask, how it came to pass that those prophets should adopt so strange a fancy, which appears not to have entered into the views or conceptions of other men.

When you are in this train of inquiry, it will surprize you still more to find,

2. _By what persons, these prophecies_, so remarkable for the _matter_ of them, _were announced_.