The mystery of Israel's salvation, explained and applied: or, A discourse concerning the general…The mystery of Israel's salvation, explained and applyed: or, A discourse concerning the general…

If any should further object that in some places in this Discourse there is too much weight laid upon Rabbinical ⟨image ?⟩observations, &c. To that I would say; far be from u• to give heed unto Jewish Fables; And since the Jews ^(†)ceased to be the Church of God▪ and so have been forsaken of his Spirit, their writing (especially where they speak of Christ) are of far less worth than before that; yet I add, that there is a multitude of places in the New Testament (and in the old too) which no one can clearly understand, except he be acquainted with the notions, customs, phrases, &c. which were formerly in use amongst the Jews. Many terms are found in the New Testament, which are not in the old, but are in the Jewish writing• being in use amongst the Jewish Doctors whilst there was a Jewish Church, and from them (being consonant to the mind and meaning of the spirit) borrowed by the Apostles. So are the terms of Paradise, the (essential) word of God, the kingdom of Heaven, the kingdom of God, the second death, the day of judgment, the world to come, &c. And therefore these things cannot be clearly understood, except recourse be had unto those writings, to see what they meant by them. Why should we for the sake of the •ares, reject the wheat also? of Jewish Interpreters it hath been observed (as is also said of Origen, ubi bene nemo melius, ubi male nemo pejus) that as when they do ill, they are the worst, so when they do well, they are the best expositors. In a word, we may find in some humane Scripts of the Jews, not only the same phrases, proverbs, parabolical notions, and expressions, but also the very same arguments made use of, for the very same end, which is to be seen in the blessed Scriptures of the New Testament. Therefore ⟨image ?⟩surely a good and profitable use is to be made of those writings, and solid Criticisms may be gathered from them. They that are acquainted with the learned works of Drufius, Amama, Buxtorf, Jac. Capellus, with his learned Brother Lud. Capellus, Lud de Dieu, Mede, Ainsworth, Hottinger, Heinsius, ^(†)