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Ingrediens mundum.

Stone upon stone.

That which preceded, that which followed. All the Jews still exist, and are wanderers.

Why did not Jesus Christ come in a visible manner, instead of drawing proof from the prophecies which went before him?

And why did he cause himself to be foretold in figures?

God, to enable the Messiah to be recognised by the good and unrecognised by the wicked, caused him to be so foretold. If the manner of the Messiah had been clearly foretold, there had been no obscurity, even for the wicked. If the time had been obscurely foretold, there had been obscurity even for the good, for their goodness of heart would not have made them understand, for instance, that the closed mem means six hundred years. But the time has been foretold clearly and the manner in figures only.

By this means the wicked, mistaking the promised for material blessings, have gone astray, in spite of clear indications of the time, and the good have not gone astray; for the interpretation of the promised blessings depends on the heart, wont to call that good which it loves, but the interpretation of the promised time does not depend on the heart. Thus the clear prediction of the time, and the obscure intimation of the blessings, deceives only the wicked.

If Jesus Christ had come only for sanctification, the whole of Scripture and all things would tend to this end, and it would be easy to convince unbelievers. If Jesus Christ had come only to blind, all his conduct would be confused, and we should have no means of convincing unbelievers. But as he came in sanctificationem et in scandalum, as says Isaiah, we cannot convince unbelievers, and they cannot convince us; but by that very fact we overcome them because we say that there is nothing in his conduct conclusive on one side or the other.

Jesus Christ has come to blind those who saw clearly,

and to give sight to the blind; to heal the sick and let the sound perish; to call sinners to repentance and justification and leave the just in their sins; to fill the hungry with good things and to send the rich empty away.

We can have nothing but veneration for a man who clearly foretells events which take place, and who declares his design both to blind and to enlighten, and who mixes obscurities among the clear things which happen.

During the life of the Messiah.-Ænigmatis.-Ezek. xvii. -His forerunner. Malachi ii.

He will be born an infant. Is. ix. 6.

He will be born at Bethlehem. Micah v. He will appear chiefly in Jerusalem, and will spring from the family of Judah and of David.

He will blind the learned and the wise, Is. vi. 8, 29, and preach the Gospel to the poor and the lowly, will open the eyes of the blind, restore health to the sick, and bring light to those who languish in darkness. Is. lxi.

He must show the perfect way, and be the teacher of the Gentiles. Is. lv.

The prophecies must be unintelligible to the wicked, Dan. xii., Hos. xiv. 10, but intelligible to those who are well instructed.

He must be the precious corner stone. Is. xxviii. 16. He must be the stone of stumbling and offence. Is. viii. Jerusalem must dash against this stone.

The builders must reject this stone.

Ps. cxvii. 22. God will make of this stone the head of the corner. And this stone will grow into a mountain, and fill the whole earth. Dan. ii.

Thus he must be rejected, disowned, betrayed, sold, Zach. xi. 12, spit upon, buffeted, mocked, afflicted in a thousand ways, be given gall to drink, Ps. lxviii., pierced, Zach. xii., his feet and his hands pierced, killed, and lots cast upon his vesture.

He must rise again, Ps. xv., the third day. Hos. vi. 3. He must ascend to heaven to sit on the right hand. Ps. cx.

The kings will arm themselves against him. Ps. ii. Being on the right hand of the Father, he will have victory over all his enemies.

The kings of the earth and all nations shall worship him. Is. lx.

The Jews will remain as a nation. Jeremiah.

They will be dispersed, without kings, etc., Hos. iii.; without prophets. Amos;

Waiting for salvation and finding it not. Isaiah.

The calling of the Gentiles by Jesus Christ. Is. lii., Ps. lxxi.

The Jews in slaying him that they might not receive the Messiah, stamped him with the final proof of his Messiahship.

And by continuance in denial, they made themselves unimpeachable witnesses; and in slaying him, and continuing to reject him, they have fulfilled the prophecies.

The word Galilee, which the Jewish rabble pronounced as if by chance, in their accusation of Jesus Christ before Pilate, gave Pilate a reason for sending Jesus Christ to Herod, so that the mystery was accomplished, that he should be judged by Jews and Gentiles. Chance was apparently the cause that the mystery was accomplished.

The conversion of the Gentiles was only reserved for the grace of the Messiah. The Jews so long opposed them without success; all that Solomon and the prophets had said was useless. Wise men like Plato and Socrates could not persuade them.

If this was so clearly foretold to the Jews, why did they not believe it, or why were they not exterminated for resisting what was so clear?

I answer first: it was foretold both that they would not believe what was so clear, and that they would not be exterminated. And nothing is more glorious to the Messiah, for it is not enough that there should be prophets, they must be kept above suspicion. Now, etc.

Had the Jews been all converted by Jesus Christ, we should have none but doubtful witnesses, and had they been entirely destroyed we should have had no witnesses at all.

The Jews rejected him, but not all. The saints receive him, but not carnal men. Yet this is far from being against his glory, it is the last stroke which perfects it. The argument on their side, the only one which is found in the Talmud and the rabbinical writings, is that Jesus Christ has not subdued the nations sword in hand, gladium tuum potentissime. Is this all they can allege? Jesus Christ has been slain, they say, he was subdued, he has not had dominion over the heathen by his power, he has not distributed the spoil among us, he does not give riches. Is this all they have to allege? This is the very point

wherein he seems to me so lovable. I would none of such an one as they represent. It is plain that his life only hinders them from receiving him, by their refusal they become irreproachable witnesses, and what is more, they thereby fulfil the prophecies.

There are those who see clearly that man has no other enemy than lust, which turns him from God, and not God, and that there is no other good but God, not a fat land. Let those who believe that the good of man is in the flesh, and evil that which turns him away from sensual pleasures, besot themselves with him and die in them. But those who seek God with their whole heart, whose only ill is not to see him, whose only desire is to possess him, whose only enemies are those who would turn them from him, who are afflicted when they are surrounded and overwhelmed by such enemies, may take comfort, for I declare to them this joyful news: there is for them a Redeemer, whom I will show them; I will show them that there is for them a God, and I will not show him to others. I will show them that a Messiah has been promised, who will deliver them from their enemies, and that one has come to deliver them from their iniquities, not from their enemies.

It is a wonderful thing, and worthy of all attention, to see the Jewish nation existing so many years in constant misery, it being necessary as a proof of Jesus Christ, both that they should exist to be his witnesses, and should be miserable because they crucified him, and though to be iniserable and to exist, are contradictory, this nation still exists in spite of its misery.

When Nebuchadnezzar carried away the people, for fear they should believe that the sceptre had departed from Judah, they were assured beforehand that they would be but a short time in captivity, and would be restored.

They were never without the comfort of their prophets, or the presence of their kings. But the second destruction is without promise of restoration, without prophets, without kings, without comfort, without hope, for the sceptre is taken away for ever.

Proofs of Jesus Christ.-To have been captive with the assurance of deliverance in seventy years was no true captivity. But now they are captives without hope.

God has promised them that even though he should disperse them to the ends of the earth, nevertheless if they were faithful to the law he would gather them together. They are now very faithful to it, yet remain oppressed.

Blindness of Scripture.-The Scripture, say the Jews, says that we know not whence Christ should come. John vii. 27 and xii. 34.

The Scripture says that Christ abideth for ever, and he said that he should die. Therefore, says Saint John, they believed him not, though he had done so many miracles, that the word of Isaiah might be fulfilled: He hath blinded them, etc.

Contradictions.-The sceptre until Messiah come. Without king or prince.

The eternal law, changed.

The eternal covenant, a new covenant.
The good law, evil precepts, Ezekiel xx.

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