and for a due observance of it, promises: "Then shalt thou delight thyself
in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the
earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of
the Lord has spoken it." (20) Thus the prophet for liberty bestowed, and
charitable works, promises a healthy mind in a healthy body, and the glory
of the Lord even after death; whereas, for ceremonial exactitude, he only
promises security of rule, prosperity, and temporal happiness.

(21) In Psalms xv. and xxiv. no mention is made of ceremonies, but only of
moral doctrines, inasmuch as there is no question of anything but
blessedness, and blessedness is symbolically promised: it is quite certain
that the expressions, "the hill of God," and "His tents and the dwellers
therein," refer to blessedness and security of soul, not to the actual mount
of Jerusalem and the tabernacle of Moses, for these latter were not dwelt in
by anyone, and only the sons of Levi ministered there. (22) Further, all
those sentences of Solomon to which I referred in the last chapter, for the
cultivation of the intellect and wisdom, promise true blessedness, for by
wisdom is the fear of God at length understood, and the knowledge of God
found.

(23) That the Jews themselves were not bound to practise their ceremonial
observances after the destruction of their kingdom is evident from Jeremiah.
(24) For when the prophet saw and foretold that the desolation of the city
was at hand, he said that God only delights in those who know and understand
that He exercises loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the
earth, and that such persons only are worthy of praise. (Jer. ix:23.) (25)
As though God had said that, after the desolation of the city, He would
require nothing special from the Jews beyond the natural law by which all
men are bound.