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MY soul is not free from this fretting fear, O Master, that whereas you and I be∣twixt our selves can boldly say, and affirme, that we are the sons of Jacob and Israel, that for all this God may have fulfill'd that, which he spoke by Esay, God shall slay thee, O Israel, and call his servants by another name. I quake to
think, that we should be of those servants, on whom that name shall be imposed, as Moses writes in Deuteronomie, The Nations shall be the Head, and the unbeleeving people the Tail, as we now are, and have been the hindmost, the very Tail of all the World for 1000 years and more. Of these Nations Jeremie speaks, The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God,* 1.1 as the waters that cover the Seas. Salomon hath of them this, O Lord God, when a stran∣ger, which is not of thy people Israel, shall come to thy holy house, and call upon thy blessed Name, then hear thou, O Lord my God, that all the earth may learn to fear thy Name, as doth thy people Israel. What have wee, O Master, wee proud beggars of the Jews, that we can boast in? Why should we contemne and hold the Gentiles in scorn, seeing Salomon the Prophet hath joyned them as partners with us in the fear of God, and in his holy House? And peradventure God hath shut us out of his House, as unworthy ones, and hath given our room to them, as more worthy; as Moses hath spoken of them, Thus saith the Lord God, the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.* 1.2 After him David, All the ends of the world shall remember, and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the Nation (or, a thousand generations) shall worship before thee.
Of them spoke Esay, O holy house of David, thy light is come,* 1.3 and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and Kings to the brightnesse of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about thee, and see, all they gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from frare. The sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their Kings shall minister unto thee. And who, I pray, O Ma∣ster, are these sonnes of strangers, which came to the house of God, but the Gentiles? who, serving Idols, were meer strangers to God, they, their Princes, and their Kings▪ of whom God said, They shall walk in the light of his ho∣ly house, and we thrust out shall remain in dark∣nesse; and we indeed are in darknesse, and have beene fearfully benighted a thousand years,* 1.4 and upward. Still that Prophet of that people, Behold, thou shalt call a Nation that thou knowest not, and Nations that knew not thee shall runne unto thee. Now our eyes de facto do testifie it, a thousand years and more have worne out themselves, since the Christ came, that was sent according to the Law given to us, And the Gentiles which knew not the Law, they came to him, and he has given them a new, a pure, an holy law. Besides this, in the five and fortieth Chapter,* 1.5 They agreed together, and their Kings were gathered together in the beliefe
of God. I much fear, O Master, that is meant of them,* 1.6 Assemble your selves, come, and draw near ye that are escaped of the Nations; and, I am found of them that sought me not.* 1.7 Jeremie speaks of them, The Nations shall be gathered to the Name of the Lord in his holy House, nor shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evill heart. The same Prophet, To thee shall all the Gentiles come from the utmost ends of the earth, saying, Our fathers have inherited in∣iquitie, and lies. Zephanie the Prophet fol∣lows this stream, The Gentiles shall all call on the name of the Lord,* 1.8 and shall serve him with one shoulder, every man from his place, and all the Isles of the Nations. Zacharie brings his part to this truth, Sing and rejoyce, O daughter of Zion, lo I come, and will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord: and many Nations shall be joyned to the Lord.* 1.9 Again in the 8. Chap∣ter,* 1.10 Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, many nations shall come from many places, and every man shall say to his neighbour, Let us go and seek the Lord our God for good. All these things, O Master, are now fulfilled, and the effects of them abide plainly before our eyes; you see people and languages brought home to God, and studying the Law, all the Prophets, and Book of Psalmes, to which they were stran∣gers, and have left their Idols to imbrace the
Truth. None of them are brought to this belief by the hand of Moses or Aaron, or any of our Prophets. And since their hearts were turned to beleeve in that Righteous One,* 1.11 (of whom Habackuk saith, Thou wentest forth, for the salvation of thy people, with thine Anointed) they have utterly abdicted, and abandoned all their Idols, no Idolatry since that has remai∣ned amongst them.
2 Chro. 6. 32, 33.
Psa. 22. 27.
Esay 60. 1, 3, 4, 10.
Esay 55. 5.
Esay 45. 20▪
Esa. 65. 1.
Ier. 3. 17.
Zeph. 3. 9.
Zach. 8. 2••▪
Our trans∣lations have it otherwise.
Habac. 3.