་ Abraham Jacobs, now, or late, dwelling at Reading, in Berkshire. I have converfed with this man, who, in the course of our conversation owned to me, that he could not refift the convincing evidence contained in the prophecies of a fuffering Meffiah, to be numbered,' though perfectly innocent, *with the tranfgreffors,' and die an ignominious death, antecedently to his entrance on a kingdom, to be given him by God, in reward of his obedient fufferings and death; a kingdom, the diftinguishing characteristics whereof I fhall enlarge upon, in the fequel of this addrefs. But that has happened to Jacobs, which too frequently happens to other men, viz. 'Incidit in Scyllam, qui vult vitare Charybdim,' in steering clear from one rock, he has ftruck upon another; for at the very time, as I frankly in effect told him, he faw his Lord, Christ, be loft fight of his God, Jehovah, having em braced Christianity on the Athanafian plan, by far the moft abfurd of the three fanciful hypothefes, I before explained to you. Now it is very probable, this honeft Ifraelite was fo ftruck with the perfpicuity of the prophecy, respecting the fufferings and death of the innocent Meffiah, that he never gave himfelf C 2 himself leisure to reflect on the manifest abfurdity of fuppofing his perfon, or effence, to conftitute one third part of the fupreme Being. But when a Chriftian appears labouring the point of your converfion, on the ground of a full conviction, that both your facred writings, and genuine Christian Scripture, will fupport him in afferting, that the suffering Meffiah was a man, of the feed of David, as being begotten by the husband, Jofeph, on the body of his wife, Mary, both lineally descended from that king of Ifrael; it furely is incumbent on you, my friends, to re-confider your own prophecies, and, with minds open to conviction, seriously examine, whether the suffering Jefus of the Chriftians, the remote fon of David, and immediate fon of Jofeph and Mary, be your predicted Meffiah or not. I now proceed to defcribe the distinguishing characteristics of that kingdom of the Meffiah, which is to be given him by God, in reward of his obedient fufferings and death. These are two. The firft refpects its nature, viz. that it shall be eftablished in righteoufnefs,' truth and love. The last refpects its duration, viz. that it fhall shall never be deftroyed,' according to the Prophet Daniel, ii, 44, whom you seem to erroneously clafs among your apocryphal writers. The fame Prophet adds, 'it,' the kingdom,' fhall break in pieces, and confume all these kingdoms,' the kingdoms into which the Roman empire was divided, ' ' and it shall stand for ever,' that is, during the whole of the future age of the reign of the Meffiah, at the end whereof, as before. noticed, he is to 'deliver up his kingdom to God, who gave it' him, 'that God may be al1 in all.' Now your Meffiah is called, by Ifaiah,the 'father of this future age, 'which waits the accomplishment of other prophecies, I may hereafter produce to you, before it can arrive, and,confequently, Chrift is not yet entered on that kingdom given him by God, which will take place when he shall perfonally reign, and 'execute judgement and juftice' over your people, converted to a faith in him, in the New Jerufalem, &c. Your ancestors were so captivated with the dazzling profpect of his reigning as a king, that they overlooked his fufferings as an instrumental favior, though exprefsly predicted in your prophecies, and hence became fo enraged at the difappointment, that they put him to death. I remember (for little relative to your converfion and welfare efcapes my attention and memory) to have heard, that many of the learned and wife among you agree in admitting, that your various calculations of the time of your Meffiah's appearance have proved erroneous, and particularly, that the laft of your feveral fuppofed æras of his coming has been past these 200 years; permit then this circumstance to operate with you as an additional motive to a love of truth, to search your Scriptures,' and efpecially the 53d chapter of Ifaiah, where you will find the lamb-like fufferings, and ignominious death of your guiltlefs Meffiah, to be the leading features of his character, "For the tranfgreffions of my people was the stroke upon him, and he made his grave with the wicked, "&c. becaufe,' or, perhaps, though, he had done no violence, neither was deceit in his mouth. But your Prophecies, providentially preferved to us, bleffed be God, through the continued joint care of Jews and Chriftians, when attentively examined, will not only prove a means of correcting your errors, refpecting the character of your Meffiah, but of detecting forgeries, forgeries,in what is called the canon of the New Testament, with refpect to what is ftiled his nature, perfon, or effence; for from these prophecies alone, can fuch points be ascertained and established, or in other words, we cannot be justified in fpeaking of the effence, or indeed of the character and office of your Meffiah, in any any other terms than they authorize us to fpeak. That there has been one interpolation, in the first Epiftle of John, is evident from the testimony of Sir Ifaac Newton, who declares that the celebrated paffage, 1 John, v. 7, is not to be found in any Greek manuscript older than the invention of printing; and it seems to be univerfally given up as fuch, by Athanafians, Arians, and Socinians. In the English translation of the Bible in my poffeffion, published in the year 1549, it is printed in a smaller letter than the rest of the chapter, and included in parentheses; as are also the words in earth,' in the fubfequent verfe, to denote that both were wanting in the original Greek. This interpolation is afcribed to Jerom, and adopted by Cardinal C 4 Ximenes, |