have widely differed from the rest in their opinions concerning the God of the Old Testament, the origin of the world, the character and doctrine of Moses, and the nature and ministry of the Messiah, since they maintained that the creator of this world was a being different from the Supreme God, and that his dominion over the human race was to be destroyed by the Messiah. Every one must see that this enormous system was fruitful of errors, destructive of the very foundations of Judaism.

CENT. I.

nal worship

by vain rites

XIV. If any part of the Jewish religion was less The exterdisfigured and corrupted than the rest, it was, cer- of God cortainly, the form of external worship, which was rupted also established by the law of Moses. And yet many and human learned men have observed, that a great variety of inventions. rites were introduced into the service of the temple, of which no traces are to be found in the sacred writings. These additional ceremonies manifestly proceeded from those changes and revolutions which rendered the Jews more conversant with the neighbouring nations, than they had formerly been; for, when they saw the sacred rites of the Greeks and Romans, they were pleased with several of the ceremonies that were used in the worship of the heathen deities, and did not hesitate to adopt them in the service of the true God, and add them as ornaments to the rites which they had received by divine appointment t.

of the corruption, in

and morals,

XV. But whence arose such enormous degrees of The causes corruption in that very nation which God had, in a peculiar manner, separated from an idolatrous world doctrine to be the depository of divine truth? Various causes that reigned may be assigned, in order to give a satisfactory among the account of this matter. In the first place, it is certain, that the ancestors of those Jews, who lived in the time of our Saviour, had brought, from Chaldea and the neighbouring countries, many extravagant

t See the learned work of Spencer, de Legibus Hebræorum, in the fourth book of which he treats expressly of those Hebrew rites which were borrowed from the Gentile worship.

Jews.

CENT. 1, and idle fancies, which were utterly unknown to the original founders of the nation". The conquest of Asia by Alexander the Great, was also an event from which we may date a new accession of errors to the Jewish system, since, in consequence of that revolution, the manners and opinions of the Greeks began to spread themselves among the Persians, Syrians, Arabians, and likewise among the Jews, who, before that period, were entirely unacquainted with letters and philosophy. We may, farther, rank among the causes that contributed to corrupt the religion and manners of the Jews, their voyages into the adjacent countries, especially Egypt and Phoenicia, in pursuit of wealth; for, with the treasures of those corrupt and superstitious nations, they brought home also their pernicious errors, and their idle fictions, which were imperceptibly blended with their religious system. Nor ought we to omit, in this enumeration, the pestilential influence of the wicked reigns of Herod and his sons, and the enormous instances of idolatry, error, and licentiousness, which this unhappy people had constantly before their eyes in the religion and manners of the Roman governors and soldiers, which, no doubt, contributed much to the progress of their national superstition and corruption of manners. We might add here many other facts and circumstances, to illustrate more fully the matter under consideration; but these will be readily suggested to such as have the least acquaintance with the Jewish history from the time of the Maccabees.

Amidst this

ruption,

some remains of

XVI. It is indeed worthy of observation, that, general cor- corrupted as the Jews were with the errors and superstitions of the neighbouring nations, they still preserved a zealous attachment to the law of Moses, to be found. and were exceedingly careful that it should not suffer any diminution of its credit, or lose the least degree of the veneration due to its divine authority. Hence

piety were

u See Gale's observations on Jamblichus, de Mysteriis Egyptiorum, p. 206. Josephus acknowleges the same thing in his Jewish Antiquities, book iii. ch. vii. sect. 2.

synagogues were erected throughout the province of CENT. 1. Judea, in which the people assembled for the purposes of divine worship, and to hear their doctors interpret and explain the holy scriptures. There were besides, in the more populous towns, public schools, in which learned men were appointed to instruct the youth in the knowlege of divine things, and also in other branches of science". And it is beyond all doubt, that these institutions contributed to maintain the law in its primitive authority, and to stem the torrent of abounding iniquity.

XVII. The Samaritans, who celebrated diviné The Sañaworship in the temple that was built on mount ritans. Gerizim, lay under the burthen of the same evils that oppressed the Jews, with whom they lived in the bitterest enmity, and were also, like them, highly instrumental in increasing their own calamities. We learn from the most authentic histories of those times, that the Samaritans suffered as much as the Jews, from troubles and divisions fomented by the intrigues of factious spirits, though their religious sects were yet less numerous than those of the latter. Their religion, also, was much more corrupted than that of the Jews, as Christ himself declares in his conversation with the woman of Samaria, though it appears, at the same time, that their notions concerning the offices and ministry of the Messiah, were much more just and conformable to truth, than those which were entertained at Jerusalem. Upon the whole, it is

See Camp. Vitringa, de Synagogâ vetere, lib. iii. cap. v. and lib. i. cap. v. vii.

∞ * Christ insinuates on the contrary, in the strongest manner, the superiority of the Jewish worship to that of the Samaritans, John iv. 22. See also, on this head, 2 Kings xvii. 29. The passage to which Dr. Mosheim refers, as a proof that the Samaritans had juster notions of the Messiah than the Jews, is the 25th verse of the chapter of St. John already cited, where the woman of Samaria says to Jesus, "I know that Messiah "cometh, which is called Christ; when he is come, he will tell us all things." But this passage seems much too vague to justify the conclusion of our learned historian. Besides, the confession of one person who may possibly have had some sin

CENT. I. certain that the Samaritans mixed the profane errors of the Gentiles with the sacred doctrines of the Jews, and were excessively corrupted by the idolatrous customs of the pagan nations.

of Palestine.

Tha state of XVIII. The Jews multiplied so prodigiously, that the Jews out the narrow bounds of Palestine were no longer sufficient to contain them. They poured, therefore, their increasing numbers into the neighbouring countries with such rapidity, that, at the time of Christ's birth, there was scarcely a province in the empire, where they were not found carrying on commerce, and exercising other lucrative arts. They were maintained, in foreign countries, against injurious treatment and violence, by the special edicts and protection of the magistrates; and this, indeed, was absolutely necessary, since, in most places, the remarkable difference in their religion and manners, from those of the other nations, exposed them to the hatred and indignation of the ignorant and bigoted multitude. All this appears to have been most singularly and wisely directed by the adorable hand of an interposing Providence, to the end that this people, which was the sole depository of the true religion, and of the knowlege of one Supreme God, being spread abroad through the whole earth, might be every where, by the force of example, a reproach to superstition, might contribute in some measure to check it, and thus prepare the way for that yet fuller discovery of divine truth, which was to shine upon the world from the ministry and Gospel of the Son of God. gular and extraordinary advantages, is not a proof that the nation in general entertained the same sentiments, especially since we know that the Samaritans had corrupted the service of God by a profane mixture of the grossest idolatries.

y. Those who desire an exact account of the principal authors who have written concerning the Samaritans, will find it in the learned work of Jo. Gottlob Carpzovius, entitled, Critica S. Vet. Testam. part ii. cap. iv.

z See the account published at Leyden, in 1712, by James Gronovius, of the Roman and Asiatic edicts in favor of the Jews, allowing them the free and secure exercise of their religion in all the cities of Asia Minor.

CHAPTER III.

Concerning the Life and Actions of JESUS CHRIST.

CENT. I.

The birth of

I. THE errors and disorders that we have now been considering, required something far above human wisdom and power to dispel and remove them, and Christ. to deliver mankind from the miserable state to which they were reduced by them. Therefore, toward the conclusion of the reign of Herod the Great, the Son of God descended upon earth, and, assuming the human nature, appeared to men under the sublime characters of an infallible teacher, an all-sufficient mediator, and a spiritual and immortal king. The place of his birth was Bethlehem, in Palestine. The year in which it happened, has not hitherto been ascertained, notwithstanding the deep and laborious researches of the learned. There is nothing surprising in this, when we consider that the first Christians labored under the same difficulties, and were divided in their opinions, concerning the time of Christ's birth. That which appears most probable, is, that it happened about a year and six months before the death of Herod, in the year of Rome 748 or 7496. The uncertainty, however, of this point, is of no great consequence. We know that the Sun of Righteous-. ness has shined upon the world; and though we cannot fix the precise period in which he arose, this will not preclude us from enjoying the direction and influence of his vital and salutary beams.

Christ

II. Four inspired writers, who have transmitted The accounts to us an account of the life and actions of Jesus given of Christ, mention particularly his birth, lineage, during his family, and parents; but they say very little respect-infancy and

a The learned John Albert Fabricius has collected all the opinions of the learned, concerning the year of Christ's birth, in his Bibliograph. Antiquar. cap. vii. sect. x.

b Matt. iii. 2, &c. John i. 22, &c.

youth.