branches, be grafted into their own olive-tree?" .To this follow the words in which he clearly and directly fays, what he had before expreffed figuratively. How little does the explanation of a fpiritual Ifrael agree with all this! Let us alfo take the following into confideration. The counfels of God are here laid open to the apoftle, and he lets us perceive a certain analogy between the choofing of the heathen, and the future choosing of Ifrael. After he has made the general remark, that God has not repented of his gifts, or of his calling, and that he will not alter, or depart from his purposes and promises to his chofen people, he adds the following words: "for as ye (the heathen) in times paft have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: (both here and elsewhere the apoftle reprefents the unbelief of the Jews as the occafion of the reception of the Gentiles, and Chrift himself feems to do the fame in the parable of the wedding of the king's fon) even fo have thefe (the Jews) also now not believed, that through your mercy they alfo may obtain mercy." That is, as appears from the context, God will fuffer them to continue in blindness and unbelief, as formerly the heathen world, that he may one day have mercy upon them of his own free grace, without the leaft fhadow of defert in them, more than there had been in the heathen. The apoftle then proceeds to the fundamental principle of the kingdom of God, which clears up the whole of God's conduct both to the Jews and Gentiles, and gives us a key to it. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. He hath fuffered both Jews and Gentiles to continue in like blindness, and the fame condemnation, that all he fhould do to deliver each might be the effect of mercy alone, and be acknowledged as a free and unmerited grace. Difficult as the latter sentence is, from its connection with the whole

whole, it can have no other meaning than that which is here given to it. How much the expectation of a future general converfion of the Jews is confirmed by it, must be obvious to every one. I fay a future general converfion of the Jews: for there are some who allow the chofen people of Ifrael to be here meant, yet maintain that this converfion happened long ago, and foon after the apostle's prediction. This feems to me a forced conftruction of the words, and not suitable to the context. Hiftory mentions no converfion of the Jews in the earlier periods of chriftianity, fubfequent to this prediction of the apostle, fo confiderable as to be deemed an accomplishment of it, with any appearance of reafon. We find no account of any number of the Jewish nation embracing chriftianity that can be compared with the earliest converfions which followed the first and fecond preaching of Peter, or which were brought about by the labours of the other apoftles, previous to this prediction of Paul. Already when Paul wrote, he had quitted the hardened Jews for the heathens, and had given up the hope of effecting more with them than had already been done. If, notwithstanding the confiderable number of Jews already converted, and though the firft ftem of the chriftians confifted of Jews, it be ftill faid, that Ifrael was rejected, how could a fubfequent weaker and very limited converfion be deemed a fulfilling of the words, all Ifrael fhall be faved? Was the fulnefs of the Gentiles already come in, in thofe early days? However limited we may think ourselves juftified in fuppofing the meaning of this all to be, it would be unnatural to fuppofe, that the converfion of some individuals could be termed a general converfion, in oppofition to that of feveral thoufands at once. It would be abfurd to hold up the making a few occafional profelytes to chriftianity as a converfion of the whole, whilft the majority of the nation remained unconverted,

unconverted, and confidered themselves as a chofen people, in oppofition to the christians.

After the important converfions that had already happened, how could the apoftle term fuch inconfiderable ones, which were indeed very probable, and might be foreseen without any divine revelation, a mystery, or an occurrence not to be preconceived by the human understanding? For, after what had already taken place, it might eafily be prefumed that many individuals of the Jewish nation would embrace the chriftian religion. If the apoftle meant to fay no more than this, he spoke very hyperbolically, when he represented this prediction as a mystery. But it was highly improbable, and most mysterious, according to the appearance of things, that a people, which now denied Jefus of Nazareth, should acknowledge him to be the Meffiah, and that a belief in him should become their national religion. If it be faid, that the affurance of a diftant, though great converfion, would have contributed little to the confolation of the then afflicted Jews: I would answer: it would comfort them at least as much as other joyful prophecies of the Old Teftament, predicting very diftant events, in the accomplishment of which they could not participate. But the apostle does not give this as the defign of his prediction: he affigns as a reason for it, that it was intended to prevent the Gentiles from defpifing the Jews, as a nation totally rejected by God. Yet how could the occafional conversion of a few of the Jews contribute to this purpofe? If the confideration that so many Jews had been made profelytes to chriftianity on the firft promulgation of it, in a manner far more ftriking than has ever fince happened, even to the present day, and that the first preachers of the gofpel, and the first christian communities were Jews, were infufficient to induce the heathens to judge more favourably of that people, and its final deftination; how much lefs

would

would the following flighter converfions be capable of bringing them to a gentler and more kind opinion? After all that has happened in that refpect, from thofe times to the prefent day, has a chriftian lefs reason now to confider the Jews as a people forfaken by God, than then?

Finally, if, to weaken these arguments, it be advanced, that owenosta must be tranflated, will be. faved, in a conditional fenfe, included in verfe 23, that is, so far as they do not remain in unbelief, and understand by Tav I'oganλ, all who believe; this would be fuppofing the apoftle to difclofe a very important mystery. He would fay then: now Ifrael is in part blind and unbelieving, till the appointed number of the Gentiles enter into the church, and fo all Ifrael, that is, all who fhall believe, will be faved. An important discovery, indeed, and very capable of abating the pride of the believing heathen!

Nothing remains for us then, but that we underftand the mystery as relating to a future national converfion, which, little as the appearance of it may be at this time, and little as it probably can be in the present state of christianity, and with the now prevailing doctrines, will moft affuredly happen.

Whether a general converfion of the Jews will be accompanied with their restoration to the land of Palestine, feems to me far lefs clearly determined by the prophecies of the Old Teftament, than it does to our author. The prophecies contained in the third and fifth books of Mofes, and other parts of the Old Teftament, that are commonly adduced in proof of this, contain many circumftances from which it clearly appears that these prophecies are already fulfilled by the Babylonifh captivity, and the return from it. At least it is inapplicable to the prefent state of that people, and their prefent long difperfion, as idolatry is every where announced as their prevailing fin, and the cause of their banishment: but it is well VOL. III.

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known,

known, that fince their being fet free by Cyrus, and ftill more fince their difperfion by the Romans, this is a fin to which they have been by no means addicted.

Far more probable, in my opinion, and more clearly grounded on prophecies of the Old Teftament, and fayings of Chrift, is the expectation that the gospel will be fome time or other preached to all nations, and that chriftianity will be the prevailing religion of the earth. Neither reason, nor experience offers any objections to the arguments in favour of this expectation, which our author adduces from the nature of chriftianity, namely, that every important truth will, fooner or later, rife victorious over and fupprefs its oppofing errors. It may be objected, indeed, that chriftianity has yet made little progrefs amongst the nations of infidels: nay, that in countries where it is the established religion, its influence and authority feem daily to decay. But the obvious reafon of both is, that the system of christianity which is preached to unbelievers is too much altered and corrupted by foreign additions, and must be brought back to its original purity and truth, before it can triumph over ignorance, infidelity and fuperftition. Before christianity is fo purified, it cannot produce the expected effects, but muft continue to experience various oppofitions; till at length these oppofitions will become the means and occafion of reftoring it to its first important truth and purity.

PROP.