The reasons of the Christian religion the first part, of godliness, proving by natural…

Till at last they mutinied against that form of Government, and desired a King like other Nations: Whereupon God gave them a bad King in displeasure; but next him he chose David, a King of great and exemplary holiness, in whom God delighted, and made his Kingdom hereditary. To David he gave a Son of extraordinary wisdom, who by God's appointment built the famous Temple at Jerusalem, yet did this Solomon, by the temptation of his Wives, to gratify them, set up Idolatry also in the land;¹ which so provoked God, that he resolved to rend ten Tribes of the twelve out of his sons hand; which accordingly was done, and they revolted and chose a King of their own, and only the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin adhered to the posterity of Solomon. The wise Sentences of Solomon, and the Psalms of David, are here inserted in the Bible. The Reigns of the Kings of Judah and Israel are afterwards described; the wickedness and idolatry of most of their successive Kings and people; till God being so much provoked by them, gave them up ⟨p. 213⟩into Captivity: Here is also inserted many Books of the Prophesies of those Prophets which God sent from time to time, to call them from their sins, and warn them of his fore-told judgments: And, lastly,² here is contained some of the History of their state in Captivity, and the return of the Jews by the favour of Cyrus; where in a tributary state they remained in expectation of the promised Messiah, or Christ. Thus far is the History of the Old Testament. The Jews being too sensible of their Captivities and Tributes, and too desirous of Temporal Greatness and Dominion, expected that the Messiah should restore their Kingdom to its ancient splendour, and should subdue the Gentile Nations to them: And to this sense they expounded all those passages in their Prophets, which were spoken and meant of the spiritual Kingdom of Christ, as the Saviour of Souls: which prejudiced them against the Messiah when he came: so that though they looked and longed for his coming, yet when he came they knew him not to be the Christ, but hated him and persecuted him, as the Prophets had fore-told: The fullness of time being come,³ in which God would send the Promised Redeemer, the Eternal Wisdom and Word of God, the Second in the Trinity, assumed a Humane Soul and Body, and was conceived in the womb of a Virgin, by the holy Spirit of God, without man's concurrence.