The Works of Nathaniel Lardner (Volume 10); Containing Credibility of the Gospel History, Jewish and Heathen Testimonies, History of Heretics, and His Sermons and Tracts with General Chronological Tables, and Copious Indexes (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Judah and the family of David. In a word, if the Jewifh commonwealth and temple ftill fubfifted, all the preceding arguments, taken from their afflidtive circumftances, would be weakened: but that is neither for their, nor our benefit. That it is not for ours, is manifeft j nor is it for theirs: for it is conducive to their beft intereft, that the evidences of Chriftianity fhould be ftrong and affefting; that they may be provoked to jealoufy, and all Ifrael may be faved; that is, that the prejudices, which they are fo apt to indulge, may be weakened and removed; and that all who can be pcrfuaded, may be difpofed to embrace ihe truth as it is in Jefus, and receive him as the Mefliah. ROM. xi. ii. I fay then, have they Jlumbled, that they Jhould fall ? God forbid. But rather through their fall, falvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealoufy. III. Before I conclude this argument I choofe to mention a few remarks and obfervations, which I hope may be of fome ufe. I. The argument afforded us for the truth of our religion from the fubfiftence and afflictive circumftances of the Jewifh people was not abfolutely neceffary j but yet it was expedient, and is very ufeful. It was not abfolutely neceflary: for though the Jewifh nation had been long ago extindl; that is, though they had not now been a diftindt people, but had been loft and mingled with other nations, fo that no remains of them had been now obfervablej following any of the ordinances of the law of Mofes; yet we fhould have had fufficient evidence of the truth of the Chriftian religion, or that Jefus is the Chrift, and his doclrine from heaven. This we could have been affured of from our Lord's character, the excellence of his principles, his miracles, his refurredtion, and ottr-r particula...