Exercitations on the Epistle to the Hebrews

In their Talmud. Tractat. Sanedr. they do nothing but wrangle, conjecture and contend about him, and that under such notions and apprehensions of him as the Scripture giveth no countenance unto. When he shall come, and how, where he shall be born, and what he shall do, they wrangle much about, but are not able to determine any thing at all; at which uncertainty, the Holy Ghost never left the Church in things of so great importance. Hence some of them adhered to Barcosby for the Messiah, a bloody Rebel; and some of them in after ages to David ell David a wandering Juggler, and Moses Cretensis, and sundry other pretenders have they given up themselves to be deluded by (as of late unto the foolish Apostate Sabadia with his false Prophets, R. Levi and Nathan) who never made the least appearance of any one character of the true Messiah, as Maimonides confesseth and bewaileth. The Disputes of their late Masters, have not any thing more of certainty or consistency, then those of their Talmudical Progenitors. And this at length hath driven them, to the present miserable relief of their infidelity and despair, asserting that he shall not come until immediately before the Resurrection of the dead, only they take care that some small time may be left for them to enjoy wealth and pleasure, with dominion over the Edomites and Ishmaelites, that is, Christians and Turks under whom they live, as yet full of thoughts of revenge and retaliation in the days of their Messiah. Now whereunto can any man ascribe this fluctuation and uncertainty, in and about that which was the great fundamental Article of the faith of their Fore-fathers, and their utter renunciation of the true Notion and Knowledge of the Messiah. But unto this, that having long ago renounced him, they exercise their thoughts and expectation about a Chimera of their own Brains, which having no substance in its self, nor foundation ⟨p. 196⟩in any work or word of God, can afford them no certainty or satisfaction in their contemplation about it?

In their Talmud. Tractat. Sanedr. they do nothing but wrangle, conjecture and contend about him, and that under such notions and apprehensions of him as the Scripture giveth no countenance unto. When he shall come, and how, where he shall be born, and what he shall do, they wrangle much about, but are not able to determine any thing at all; at which uncertaintie, the Holy Ghost never left the Church in things of so great importance. Hence some of them adhered to Barcosby for the Messiah, a bloody Rebel; and some of them in after ages to David el David a wandring Jugler, and Moses Cretensis, and sundry other pretenders have they given up themselves to be deluded by (as of late unto the foolish Apostate Sabadia with his false Prophets, R. Levi and Nathan) who never made the least appearance of any one character of the true Messiah, as Maimonides confesseth and bewaileth. The Disputes of their late Masters, have not any thing more of certainty or consistency, then those of their Talmudical Progenitors. And this at length hath driven them, to the present miserable relief of their infidelity and dspair, asserting that he shall not come untill immediately before the Resurrection of the dead, only they take care that some small time may be left for them to njoy wealth and pleasure, with dominion over the Edomites and Ishmalites, that is, Christians and Turks under whom they live, as yet full of thoughts of revenge and retaliation in the dayes of their Messiah. Now whereunto can any man ascribe this fluctuation and uncertainty, in and about that which was the great fundamental Article of the faith of their Fore-fathers, and their utter renuntiation of the true Notion and Knowledge of the Messiah. But unto this, that having long ago renounced him, they exercise their thoughts and expectation about a Chimoera of their own Brains, which having no substance in its self, nor foundtion