The Points in which the Jews differed with, and difputed about with Christ and his Difciples, were then well, nay univerfally known; and when Christ cautioned his Difciples to avoid their Doctrine, and fearch the Scriptures, 'twas plain to every one what they were to search about, which was to fee what the Scriptures faid in thofe Points; one of these Points was no less than having or lofing eternal Life.

The Majefty of the Perfons who offered, and the Dignity of the Offer, could not bear with being treated with Contempt: Chrift was to fuffer the Wrath of the Father, and the Contempt and Cruelty of Men; but when his Part was performed, nay even before, the Meffage was not to be treated with Contempt. If a City rejected them, they were to fhake the Duft off their Feet; they who would hear, or accept, were to be affifted with infpired Men to help them, till the Church was established. But as they were to have their Evidence from the Scriptures, if they would not fearch them they were at Liberty to refuse, and go their own Way. No other Evidence was to be given them. The Jews, according to their Method of trying Prophets, asked for a

Sign, that Chrift fhould control the Names. He would not condefcend to give them any, but fuch as were predicted in Types or Words he would fulfil; the Signs had been given long before, and if the Scriptures had been new written in another Language, the Miracles must have been performed a-new, which then they could not have understood; and who he was who was to come, was proved long before, he was only to perform the things that were predicted of him.

The Jews were fuch a Church before, and in the Time of Christ, that although many of them were wrong in the main Point, he communicated with them, joined to hear their Scriptures read in the Porches of the Temple, and in Prayers with them; which, perhaps, were in Chaldee or Greek, or prayed among them separately, talked with them about their Tranflations, Traditions, &c. which now the Apostles have written; and protested against their Errors, in every Part, does this make him approve of any of them?

We receive that, called the LXX, as it was the Work of, or received by a Church, though a corrupt one, and as this gives us the Senfe of almost every Root or Word, and as we now know

in what Points they deviated from the Truth by the New Testament, and have Chrift's Cautions to fearch the Scriptures: Does the Act of Seventy Men, if any such were, or that Church determine us, and prevent us from fearching and fhewing their Errors, and ufing the Scriptures to prove Chriftianity. I have fhewed it was not proper for Chrift, to meddle with reforming any of thefe Things, nor does it appear he once did, except driving the Money Changers, &c. out of the Temple, and a very few others.

Suppose a Settlement writ in Latin, of a Kingdom, or, &c. and the King was to have no Profit but the Good-will of the Subjects; and two claimed under it, and the Subjects who choosed not right, fhould lose their Lives and Eftates; would it be reasonable that one of the Claimers fhould conftrue it would it not be reafonable to leave it to every Subject, let him conftrue, judge and choose for himfelf. Let the Pope judge, and the Freethinkers think about this.

It was predicted that many Pretenders to be the Meffiah were to come. Therefore the Genealogy, the Time when, and the Marks by which, the People in being then, and we were to know the true One by, were described in the Hebrew ;

and

and Christ was to perform and fuffer them, &c. Every one in being at the Time, was to fee for himself and for us, whether he, or any, or which of the Pretenders performed or answered them. He wanted no other Evidence, nor any other Tranf lations, nor attempted either; even the Traditions, which those who expected fuch a Redeemer had received, were fufficient. The Holy Ghost gave them Power, to underftand and teach the Hebrew Scriptures; and their Hearers had it in their Power to learn, and underftand them, and to teach them in Succeffion; if their Hearers neglected this upon which the whole depended, there was to be no other Manifestation, every Man thenceforward was to fee for himfelf.

Nay, People were then fo full of Expectation, that those who were out of the reach of the Priests and their Traditions, were fo well skilled in the Scriptures; that upon the Baptifm of John, those preached, as Acts xviii. Apollos, born at Alexandria, who was only baptized with the Baptifm of John, preached out of the Hebrew Scriptures, mighty in the Scriptures, mightily convinced the Jews, shewing by the Scriptures, that Jefus was X 4

the

the Chrift. So Chap. xix. Others who when Paul had baptized and laid his Hands upon them, received the Holy Ghoft, fpake with Tongues and prophefied.

Mr. Hutchinson has obferved, Mofes fine Principio, p. 36. ibid. 178. when the Conditions were performed, the Hebrew Terms were to ceafe, and others

were to commence.

If the Obfervator knows any thing of his Masters, or if he had asked his Rabbinical Man, he must know why, Lord and God are fo many times in the Tranflation of the Hebrew Bible; and that there are Words which fignify Lord but a few times, and none that in any of his Senfes, fignify God, in the Original. He knows there is the Word , whofe Meaning will not comport with their and their Mafter's Scheme, fo their Masters

; יהוה Lord in the place of אדן fubftituted

which if he had conftrued, perhaps, the Party would have excommunicated him, and the LXX have tranflated it fo; and the Obfervator cannot find it in Arabick, and fo he thinks this must stand. They have ferved in much the fame. manner, and when two of the fame, or three or four of thefe Words, they tranflated

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