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ADVERTISEMENT

To ihefirji American Edition of EDWARDS's History of Redemption, wiih Notes,

X HE following edition of this in.'valuahle work is humbly dedicated to the patronage of the Mini-fters and Churches of every Chriltian denomination throughout thefe United States, and throughout the world:—

And the Editor cannot think of any thing better calculated to give energy to the reputation which this work has already acquired; or to quicken the attention of the Chriflian world to the careful peru-fal and ftudy of it; than to fay—In this volume the reader will find a full and well authenticated Journal of the Ark of God; of that Ark in which we now fail, and on which we depend for a fafe and fpeedy paflage to glory.

The Ark, by Noah, is confidered as a ftriking emblem—a lively figure of our Lord Jefus Chrift, whilft he bears, in fafety, from generation to generation, through the tempefts of time, his myftical body, the Church.

Perufing this Hiftory of Redemption—this Journal of the Ark of God, v/ho can fail to admire the wifdom of the Great Master-Builder in the

A 2 original

ADVERTISEMENT.

original defign—the fteadinefs of his hand—the

ftabihty of the purpofes of Heaven in the regular courfe of this Mighty Fabric !—Who, but muft be aflonifhed at the power of that arm, which, not-withflanding the tempefluous weather with which the Ark has been aflailed—the rocks and fhoals to which file has been often expofed—the ignorance, contradiction and mutiny of thofe to whom, under God, its navigation has been committed;—and laft of all, notwithftanding the unceafmg machinations of the Prince of the Power of the Air, who, I fay, but mufl be aftonifhed, and admire that the Ark flill fails; that flill fhe makes good her courfe;—ftill, flie receives paffengers for the Haven of Celeftial Glory!

Though, to the eye of unbelief, the Ark may feem, now, to be involved in tempefluous weather, and foon to be foundered through the probable failure of borrowed llrength;* yet, to the joy of the paffengers there are thofe, who, looking through the mifts of human or infernal jars, do hail the approach of Millennial Day!

On the Ocean of the Millennium—the foon approaching feventh-thoufand years, it is predicted,

that

* It is a remark, not unworthy of obfervation, that the Chrif-tian reb'gion has never had opportunity to fliew what its efFefts would he, uiifupported, or unoppofed by human power—that now, bsoinning with the Civil and Religious liberty of thefe United States, trial is to be had; whether, depending on its own bafis, it will ftand or fall—whether it be of God, or whether it will come to nought.

The idea, no doubt, may be of ufe to thofe who are ftiled— workers together with God.

that the Ark fliall fafely and uninterruptedly fail; and, in her courfe around the globe, receive a thou-fand-fold more paflengers, for the port of her def-tiny, than have ever, before this period, lived upon the earth:—that, after thefe profperous gales, tem-pefts fhall arife, as the laft efforts of expiring Hell:— but through the fkilful management of him who fits at helm, no danger fliall be fuftained; but fafety to the Ark, and vi6lory to the Zion of God, fhall welcome the invaluable treafure into the Haven of Eternal Reft !—

To fupport the faith of the called of God, and to quicken the exertions of thofe, through whofe management, under God, the Ark now fails, is the defign of the publication of this firft American edition of Edwards's Hiftory of Redemption, with Notes.

That the defign may meet the good wiflies of all friends to Zion, and, efpecially, that it may receive the patronage of Heaven, is the ardent prayer of one, whofe profeifed ambition it is, to approve himfelf as an induftrious hewer of wood, and dravv^er of v/ater, for the Church of God.

Elizabeth-Town, 1 Dec. I, 1793. j"

DAVID AUSTIN.

PREFACE

PREFACE

To the First Edition.

XT has long been defired by the friends of Mr. Edwards, that a number of his manufcripts fhould be publifhed ; but the difadvantages under which all pofthumous publications muft neceffarily appear, and the difficulty of getting any confiderable work printed in this infant country hitherto, have proved fufficient obftacles to the execution of fuch a propofal. The firfl: of thefe obftacles made me doubt, for a confiderable time after thefe manufcripts came into my hands, whether I could, confiftently with that regard which I owe to the honour of fo worthy a parent, fuffer any of them to appear in the world. However, being diffident of my own fentiments, and doubtful whether I were not over-jealous in this matter, I determined to fubmit to the opinion of gentlemen who are friends both to the character of Mr. Edwards and to the caufe of truth. The confequence was, that they gave their advice for publilhing them.

The other obftacle was removed by a gentleman in the church of Scotland, who was formerly a cor-refpondent of Mr. Edwards.* He engaged a book-feller to undertake the work, and alfo fignified his defire that thefe following difcourfes in particular might be made public.

Mr.

*Dr. Erskinh, of Edinbui-o:!).

Mr. Edwards had planned a body of divinity, in a new method, and in the form of a hiftory ; in which he was firil to fhew, how the moft remarkable events in all ages, from the fall to the prefent times, recorded in facred and profane hiftory, were adapted to promote the work of redemption; and then to trace, by the light of fcripture-prophecy, how the fame work fliould be yet farther carried on even to the end of the world. His heart was fo much fet on executing this plan, that he was confiderably averfe to accept the prefidentlliip of Prince-town college, left the duties of that office fhould put it out of his power.

The outlines of that work are now offered to the public, as contained in a feries of fermons preached at Northampton in 1739,* without any view to publication. On that account, the reader cannot rea-fonably expert all that from them, v/hich he might juftly have expefted, had they been written with fuch a view, and prepared by the Author's own hand for the prefs.

As to elegance of compofition, which is now efteemed fo elTential to all publications, it is well known that the Author did not make that his chief ftudy. However, his other writings, though defti-tute of the ornaments of fine language, have, it feems, that iolid merit which has procured, both to them-felves and to him, a confiderable reputation in the world, and with many an high efteem. It is hoped

that

* This is necefTary to be remembered by the reader, in order to underftand fome chronological obfervations in the following work.

TO THE FIRST EDITION. Ix

that the reader will find in thefe difcourfes many traces of plain good fenfe, found reafoning, and thorough knowledge of the facred oracles, and real unfeigned piety: and that as the plan is new, and many of the fentiments uncommon, they may afford entertainment and improvement to the ingenious, the inquintive, and the pious reader; may confirni their faitli in God's government of the world, in our holy Chrilbr.; religion in general, and in many of its peculiar doctrines ; may affift in fludying with greater pleafure and advantage the hiftorical and prophetical books of fcripture ; and excite to a converfation becoming the gofpel.

That this volume may produce thefe happy effefts in all who fhall perufe it, is the hearty defire and prayer of

The reader's mofl humble fervant,

Jonathan Edwards.

New Haven, Feb, 2^, I yy^^.

B ADVER-

ADVERTISEMENT

TO THIS EDITION.

X HE preceding Preface, by Dr. Jonathan Edwards of NewHaven, (fon of President Edwards, and Member of the Connecllcut Society of Arts and Sciences) has fufficiently apprized the reader of the nature of the following Work; we have only to add, that the original papers, being remitted to Dr. Er-SKINE, were by him reduced from the form of Sermons to that of a Treatife, and publifhed at Edinburgh.

Two material defeats were, however, complained of in that edition : Firft, that only mere hints were fometimes dropt of an important idea, which the Author would doubtlefs have enlarged on, had he prepared the work for publication : and fecondly, that many of the hiflorical and critical obfervations were not fupported with proper authorities, v/hich in pulpit difcourfes v/ould have been impertinent, but became highly neceffary in a pubhcation.

For thefe defe(Sls there appeared no remedy, but fupplying, in the form of notes, what, probably the Author would for the moft part have inferted in the body of the work.

The celebrity of the Author, from whom many of the notes are felefted, will (lamp thcjn with fufficient credit: for the others, the publiflier has to confefs his obligations to Gentlemen, whofe names he would be proud to mention if permitted.

The Life and Experience of the Author, the Syllabus, General Index, Table of Texts explained, and other improvements of this Edition, will, it is hoped, alfo contribute to render it more generally acceptable and ufeful.

LONDON,

DTC. 27, 1788.

Authors

( xi )

Authors cited in the following Work.

Addifon.

Ainfvvorth.

Allen, Dr.

Allix, Dr.

Bacon, Lord.

Barnabas, St.

Baxter, R.

Bede.

Bennett, B.

Bingham.

Blackwell.

Blair, Dr.

Burnett, Dr.

Calvin.

Cave, Dr.

Celfus.

Claude.

Clemens Roman.

Cofins, Bp.

Cruden.

De Laune.

De Lolme.

Diodorus.

Dryden.

Dupin.

Edwards, Prei".

Eliezer.

Eufebius.

Fergufon.

Findlay.

Flavel.

Fox.

Faulke, Dr.

Fuller, Dr.

Geddes, Dr

Oerundenfis.

Geffner.

Gibbon, E.

Gill, Dr.

Glynn, Dr.

Glruterus.

Guife, Dr.

Hammond, Dr.

Heidegger.

Harris, Dr.

Helvicus.

Henry, M.

Herodotus.

Hervey.

Homer.

Howe.

Hurd, Bp.

Hunter, Dr. H.

Hutchinfon, J.

Jamblicus,

Jarchi.

Jenyns, Soamc.

Ignatius, St.

Jofephus.

Juflia Martyr.

Kennett.

Kimchi.

La6lantius.

Lardner.

Le Pluche, Abbe.

Le Clerc.

Levi.

Lightfoot, Dr.

Lipfius.

Locke.

Xll

)

Lowman.

Lowth, Bp.

M'Ewen.

Maimonides.

JM'fher.

Mede.

Menrichem.

Michaelis.

Middleton, Dr.

Milton.

Moore, Dr.

Newcome, Bp.

Newton, Sir Kaac.

Bp.

Mr.

Owen, Dr.

Parklunft.

Patrick, Bp.

Pearfon, Bp.

Pike.

Platina.

Pliny.

Plutarch.

Pope, A.

Prideaux, Dr.

Poole.

Potter, Abp.

Rapin.

Reader.

Reinerus.

Robinlon, R.

RoUin.

Roufleau. Rowe, Mrs. Saurin. Schindler. Scott, Dr. Serces. Shakefpeare. Sherlock, Bp. Shuckford, Dr. South, Dr. Stackhoufe. Tacitus. Targums. Taylor, J. Tertullian. Thuanus. Tacitus. Tennifon, Abp, Toplady. Turner, D. Tertullian. Virgil.

Un'tverfal Hiji. Watts, Dr. Warburton, Bp.-Ward, Dr. Whitby, Dr. Whitfield. Winter, R. WolHus. Young, A. Dr. E.

THE

THE

LIFE AND EXPERIENCE

OF THE REVEREND

JONATHAN EDWARDS.

B

lOGRAPHY is confeflcdly a very agreeable ftudy, and when eminent and good men are the fubjc6i:s of it, no lefs inftru6live and improving. We contemplate with pleafure thofe who have attained degrees of virtue or knowledge which ourfelves are feeking; and there is a voice in a£l:s of piety and benevolence, like that of the Redeemer, ' Go thou and do likewife:' but Christian Biography has another end in view; we are taught to confider believers as ' The workmanfliip of Chrift fefus, * created anew unto good works:' and certainly the freenefs and power of divine grace are no lefs confpicuous in thefe, than are the other attributes of Deity in the works of nature and providence. Or, to borrow another metaphor of infpiration, they are the living Epiftles of Jefus Chrift, and have thefe particular advantages over thofe infcribed with ink and pen, that they are both more durable and more legible—they are living and as durable as eternal life ; they are ' feen and read of all men :' for the moft illiterate can read the language of a holy life, though they may not be able to read a line or a letter of the infpired volume.

President Edwards, the author of the enfuing Hif-tory, was one of the wifeft, bcft, and moft ufeful preachers

this

this age lias produced ; his writings exhibit a remarkable ftrength of intellect; the pcrfpicuity of thought and depth of penetration difcovered in his vindication of the great dodtrines of Chriftianity, prove him to be a good fcholar, a bright genius, and a great divine.

This learned and moft excellent man was born at Wind-for, in the province of Conne6licut, 0£l:ober ^th, 1703; was entered at Yale College in 1716, and made bachelor of arts in 1720, before he was feventeen years of age. His mental powers opened themfelves fo early and fo vigoroufly, that he read Locke's Effay upon Human Underftanding with uncommon delight at thirteen years of age : even at that period difcovering a depth, folidity, and penetration of mind, which found nothing fo pleafant to itfclf as the exercife of its own powers.

He lived at college near two years after taking this firil degree, preparing himfelf, principally, for the facred function. After paffing the ufual trials, he was licenfed, according to the cuflom of the college and the form of religion in the province, to preach the gofpel as a candidate.

In Auguft 1722, he received a calico preach to the Englirti Prelbyterians at New York, where he continued with approbation above eight months. This fociety was then too fmall to maintain a minifter; and therefore, in the fpring of the year 1723, he returned to his father's houfe in Conne6licut, where, during the following fum-mer, he followed his ftudies with the clofell application. It appears, however, that he had a deep fenfe of the chriftian and miniflerial profcffion upon his mind during his abode at New York, that the people he watched over became very dear to him, and that he left them at laft with great regret.

In the fpring of the year 1724, having taken his mafter's degree in the year before, he was chofen tutor of Yale College, and he followed this duty above two years. It muft be owned, that this was an engagement of great confequence for a young man of twenty-one, who, by his early introdu£tion into the minillry, and other avocations, could not have fouod too many opportunities

tunltles for his own improvement; but the ftrength of his mind overcame what are ufually infuperable difficulties in the way of the generahty ; and perhaps his genius a6led more forcibly from its not being confined with academical fetters, which elevated geniufes can feldom endure.

In September, 1726, he refigned his tutorfliip, in con-fequence of the invitation of the people at Northampton, in Conne£licut, for afliflance to his mother's father, Mr. Stoddard, who was the fettled minifter of the town. He was ordained colleague on the x 5th of February, 1727, in the twenty-fourth year of his age, and continued in the minifterial fervice there till the 22d of June, 1750, when he was difmifled for attempting to reform the church.

What feems at firft to have rendered Mr. Edwards an obje6l of hatred, was a circumftance, which fliould have made him, and certainly would, among perfons truly religious, an obje6t of love. Some young perfons of his flock had procured fome obfcene publications, which they commented upon among themfelves for their ow» proficiency in lafcivioufnefs, and propagated, with the ufual decency of fuch perfons, for the infe6tion of others. This came in a fhort time to Mr. Edwards's ears; and therefore taking cccafion after a fermon upon Heb. xii. 15, 16. preached for the purpofe, to call the leading members of his charge together, he informed them of what he had heard, and procured a confent that the matter ihould be examined. A committee was appointed for this purpofe, and to affill: the paftor. When this was done, Mr. Edwards appointed a time of meeting; and then read a lift of the names of young perfons, ac-cufmg and accufed, without fpecifying under which predicament they ftood, who were defired to come together at his houfe.

Upon the declaration of names, it appeared tliat al-moft all the families in the town had fome relation or other concerned in the matter: and therefore a great number of the heads of families not only altered their

minds

minds about examination, but declared, that their cliil-dren, &c. fhould not be called to account for fuch things as thefe. The town was immediately in a blaze: and this fo ftrengthened the hands, or hardened the faces of the guilty, that they fet their Paftor at defiance with the greateft infolence and contempt.

Thus Mr. Edwards's hands were weakened ; and we are told, that he afterwards had but little fuccefs in his miniftry ; but, on the contrary, that fecurity and carnality much increafed among his people, and the youth in particular became more wanton and dilTolute.

All this paved the way for fomething more. It had been a ftanding opinion among this people for fome time, countenanced alfo by their late paftor, " That unconverted perfons," known to be fuch by the ungodlinefs of their lives, or their ignorance of divine truth, " had not-"withftanding a right in the fight of God to tlie facrament of the Lord's fupper ; and that, therefore, it was their duty to partake of it, even though they had no appearance of the grace and holinefs, which the gofpel ftates to be infeparable from true believers. It was fufE-cient if they were outward and vifible members; fo that they, who really rejeiled Jefus Chrifl:, and difliked the gofpel-way of falvation in their hearts, and knew that this was true of themfelves, might (inconceivable as it appears) make the profeffion without lying and hypocrify."

To the common inconveniences always attending a national church, where it is impoflible to examine every man's profeffion, or to keep him from difgracing it, here is an addition becoming the difciples of Ignatius of Loyola, by which men may be hypocrites without the guilt of hypocrify, and lyars without the imputation of fm. A convenient fort of principle indeed to men of a certain caft; but by no means to thofe, who are never to forget, that ' Fornication and all uncleannefs, filthinefs, orfoolidi * talking, Ihould not be even named amongft them, as be-' cometh faints.' [See Eph. v. 3—7-']

Mr

Mr. Edwards had long been uneafy upon the prevalence of this principle, (one of the moft ftrange that ever any church of Chrifl avowed) and upon his own yield-in'^ to the example of his predeceffor and to a pra6lice fettled before he came thither. His doubts and uneail-nefs, as might be expelled from fo good a man, increafcd upon him, and drove him at length to a thorough in-veftio-ation of the fubje6l; the rcfult of which was a clear convi6tion of the error, and a firm determination to ex-pofe it. He was convinced, that " To be a v'lfible Chrif-tian was to put on the appearance of a real one ; tliat the profeffion of chrilHanity was a profeffion of that, in w-hich real chiSftianity confifts;" and that, therefore, as the Lord's fupper was intended for real Chriftians, none ought to come to it, who were not at Icafl profefibrs of real chriflianity, and to whom no imputation of allowed ungod-liuefs could juftly be made.

The declaration of his mind upon this head, among fuch a kind of men, raifed an immediate clamour, and put the town into as great a ferment as the preaching of an holy apoftle had long before occafioned at Ephelus. They were all in an uproar : and ' Difmifs him, difniiis ' him,' was the unlverfal cry of men, women, and eiders. He had touched a favourite fin, and a favourite principle which protedted it: and (what was a very great truth, though not in their fenfe of it) he was no longer fit to be their pallor. He attempted to reafon with them calmly ; but it was oppofing his breath to the winds, the general cry was to have him difmiffed.

Mr. Edwards, when they would not hear him, wiihed to refer thg matter to fome neighbouring miniders; but this being rejedted, he attempted to difcufs the matter in a courfe of ledfures, which he began for the purpofe ; but although numbers came from the adjoining parts, very few of his own congregation would attend. So intoxicating is the nature of human prejudice, when once indulged, that men v/ill rather renounce their reafon than refume their temper.

C He

He ufed all means in his power to reduce them at leaft to a calm, if not a charitable, temper; to hear and weigh, with a little attention, what he had to fay for himfelf; and not to condemn him, were it only for their own fakes, without fome fliadow of a reafon! But his meeknefs and modefty were treated as conceffions againft himfelf, and only raifed the infolence and fury of his adverfaries, inftead of foftening them into peace. Nothing would ferve their turn (how plainly foever againft their fpiritual and real intereft) but an abfolute feparation.

Mr. Edwards, finding all methods ineffedlual to re-flrain the torrent of virulence, flander, and falihood rolling upon him, at length yielded to the artifice of thefe men in packing a council, compofed chiefly of their own friends; thefe, after fome unavailing attempts for a reconciliation, pafled a refolve, by the majority of one voice onlv, to this effeil, That it was expedient that the paftoral relation between Mr. Edwards and his church fhould be diffolved, if they perfifted in requiring it. This being reported to the people, they immediately voted his difmiffion by a majority of two hundred againft twenty, and he was accordingly difmiffed June 22, 1750.

Thus had thefe people the infamy of endeavouring to ruin the moft able and celebrated divine, who hath as yet been born in America. But they knew not their own mercies ; fuch a man as Mr. Edwards would impart honour to any coimtry or profeffion, and be readily embraced by the wife and good in all. The few abhor-rers of this atrocious a6l entered an unavailing proteft againft it. The good man, fliocked rather for his enemies than for himfelf, preached a moft folemn and af-fcdling farewell difcourfe, which was "afterwards publiih-ed, on 2 Cor. i. 4. on which he raifed this dodlrinc, " That minifters, and the people who have been under their care, muft meet one another at ihe tribunal of Chrift." The malice of his enemies did not ftop here ; for when at times there was no preacher to fupply the pulpit, he cheerfully gave them his fervice, rather than it fhould be

empty.

empty. This kindnefs, which would have conciliated more ingenuous minds, only increafed the unhappy flame kindled in theirs, inlomuch that they called the town together and voted that he iliould preach among them no more. And fo they frequently went without preaching, rather than have the free miniftrations of a man, of whom the world Itfelf was not tvorthy.

Thus ended his fervice of near four-and-twenty years to an undifcerning and ungrateful people, who had been much upon his heart, and for whom he had always ex-prefled a very tender concern. " For their good he was always writing, contriving, and labouring ; for them he had poured out ten thoufand fervent prayers; and in their welfare he had rejoiced as one that findeth great fpoil." Yet all their deteftable conducL did not alter the frame of his mind. " He was calm, fedate and humble under the moft injurious treatment; his refolution and con-du61: in the whole affair were wonderful, and cannot be fet in fo beautiful and afFe6ling a light by any de-fcription, as they appeared in to his friends who were eye-witnefles."

This incomparable man was now in the decline of life, with little or no income befidcs his Itipend : and this throws the greateft light upon his faithfulnefs and fincerity : nor had he any view of fupport from another appointment; for he knew not how far the malice of his people might extend to prevent it, or the prejudice of his difmiflion operate againft him elfewhere: neither was he capable (alas, what pity he ihould be driven to think of it!) to take up any other bufmcfs for a fupport. Thus poverty and difgrace were before him. But he knew that he had a good Mafter. He had divine comfort in his foul; and in a lliort time Providence provided for both him and his family.

Aihamed of this unparalleled bafenefs to fo excellent a man, his friends, or rather the friends of god-linefs, adminiftered to his relief: and he was foon after appointed to the miifion at Stockbridge ; but not before

C 2 fome

fome other infolent and bitter attempts had been made to ruin his reputation, as well as to deprive him of bread.

It may not be improper here to add, that one of the ringleaders in this iniquitous bufmefs was fo flung with his condu6l towards Mr. Edwards, that he afterwards made a public confcffion of his guilt, in a letter to the Rev. Mr. Hall, of Sutton, which letter, after having enu-^r.erated the particulars of his oppofition to that good man, concludes thus, " In thefe inflances. Sir, of my condutSl, and others (to which you was not privv) in the courfe of that moft melancholy contention with Mr. Edwards, wherein I now fee that I was very much influenced by vafl: pride, felf-fufficiency, ambition, and vanity, I appear to myfelf vile; and doubtlefs much more fo to others vi'ho are more impartial ; and do, in the review thereof, abhor myfelf, and repent forely: and if my own heart condemns me, it behoves me folemnly to remember, that God is greater, and knoweth all things; and I hereby own, Sir, that fuch treatment of Mr. Edwards, as is herein before mentioned, wherein I was fo deeply concerned and a61:ive, was particularly and very aggravatedly finfui and ungrateful in me, be-caufe I was not only under the common obligations of each individual of the fociety to him, as a moft able, diligent, and faithful pafior; but I had alfo received many inftances of his tendernefs, goodnefs, and gene-rofity to me, as a young kinfman, whom he was dif-pofed to treat in a moft friendly manner. Indeed, Sir, I muft own, that by my conduct in confulting and a6t-ing againft Mr. Edwards, within the time of our moft unhappy difputes with him, and efpccially in and about that abominable rcmonitrance, I have fo far fymbolized with Balaam, Ahithophel, and Judas, that I am confounded and filled with terror oftentimes when I attend to the moft painful fimilitude. And I freely confefs, that en account of my conduct above mentioned, I have the grcateft reafon to tremble'at thofe moft folcmn and awful words of our Saviour, Matt, xviii. 6. and

thofe

REV. JONATHAN EDWARDS. n

ihofe in Luke xth, at the i6th : And I am moft forely fcnfible that nothing but that infinite grace and mercy, which faved fome of the betrayers and murderers of our blefled Lord and the pcrfecutors of his martyrs, can pardon me: in which alone I hope for pardon, for the fake of Chrif!:, whofe blood (blefTed be God) cleanfeth from all fin. And I moft heartily wiih and pray, that the town and church of Northampton would ferioufly and carefully examine whether they have not abundant caufe to judge, that they are now lying under great guilt in the fight of God. and whether thofe of us, who were concerned in that moft awful contention with Mr. Edwards, can ever more reafonably expect God's favour and bleffing, until our eyes are opened, and we become thoroughly convinced that wc have greatly provoked the moft High, and been injurious to one of the beft of men ; and until we ihall be thoroughly convinced that we have dreadfully perfecuted Chrift by perfecuting and vexing that jufl man and fervant of ChrilT; ; until we fliall be humble as in the dull therefore, and till we openly in full terms, and without baulking the matter, confefs the fame before the world, and mofl humbly and carneftly feek forgivenefs of God, and do what we can to honour tiie memory of Mr. Edwards, and clear it of all the afperfions which are unjuflly cafl upon him ; fince God has been pleafed to put it beyond our power to afk his forgivenefs. Such terms I am perfuaded the great and righteous God will hold us to, and that it will be in vain for us to hope to efcape with impunity in any other way. This I am convinced of with regard to ray-felf, and this way I moft folemnly propofe to take to myfelf (if God in his mercy ihall give me opportunity) that fo by making free confcflion to God and man of my fin and guilt, and publickly taking fhame to myfelf therefore, I may give glory to the God> of Ifrael, and do what in me lies, to clear the memory of that venerable man from the wrongs and injuries I was fo active in bringing on his rcp\itation and character ; and I

thank

thank God that he has been pleafed to fpare my life and opportunity therefore to this time, and am forry that I have delayed the affair fo long."

Mr. Edwards, who was able to fliine in the feats of learning, and fome time hence was called to prefide over one, was now delegated to the inftruftion of favage Indians at Stockbridge. This place is in the weflern part of Maflachufctts Bay, and about fix miles from Mr. Edwards's former refidence at Northampton. He was fixed here on the 8th of Augufl, 1751 ; and here he continued his labours, in more peace and quietnefs than he had ever known before, for fix years. In this interval, though much in years, he made greater attainments in knowledge, and wrote more for the church of God, than he had ever been able to do, within the fame fpace of time, during the former part of his life. In this retirement, he compofed his deeped and mofi; valuable works ; fo that when, in his own judgment, as well as that of others, his ufefulnefs feemed to be cut off, he found greater opportunities of fervice than ever. A pleafing calm, after fo grievous a florm, to his troubled mind !

On the death of Mr. Aaron Burr, prefident of New Jerfey College, which was on the 24th of September, 1757, the truftees of that feminary unfoHcIted cliofe Mr. Edwards to fuccced him : but our excellent author was witli difficulty prevailed upon to accept it; modeflly alledging his own infufficiency, ill health, and difufe to that kind of life. At length, upon the arguments and, perfualions of his brethren in the miniftry, he accepted of this prefidency, and went from Stockbridge to Prince Town in January, 1758. But the end of his labours was ajiproaching; he had only preached two or three fer-mons, and had not entered fully upon the duties of his new office, when he was called to glory. The fmall pox, which has always been unufually fatal in America, had infefted Prince Town, which, induced the phyfician of the place to advifc him to be ^inoculated, with tlie confent of the corporation. Accordingly he was inocu-

» lated

lated on the 13th of February, and his diforder at firft feemed to be favourable; but a fever coming on, and the puftules laying much in his throat, noproper medicines could be adminiltered, and therefore the violence of it raged, till it put an end to his ufeful life, on the 22d of March, 1758, in the iifty-fifth year of his age.

When he was fenfible that death was approacliing, he called his daughter (who was the only part of his family which had yet removed with him,) and addreffed her in the following words: ' Dear Lucy, it feems to me to be

* the will of God, that I muft fliortly leave you : there-

* fore, give my kindeft love to my dear wife, and tell her,

* that the uncommon union, which has fo long fubfifted

* between us, has been of fuch a nature, as 1 truft is fpi-

* ritual, and therefore will continue for ever. I hope

* fhe will be fupported under fo great a trial, and fubmit

* cheerfully to the will of God. And as to my children,

* you are now like to be left fatherlefs, which I hope will

* be an inducement to you all to feek a father, who will

* never fail you.' He defired that his funeral might not be attended with parade (as is ufual in America,) but rather fomething be given to the poor. He could fay but little in his ficknefs, owing to the nature and feat of his diforder ; but jufl: at the laft, when furrounded by friends lamenting their own lofs and that of fhe church and college, he faid, to their great furprize, as they did not imagine he heard them or was able to fpeak, ' Trull in God,

* and ye need not fear:' and then, almoft literally, fell alleep in Jefus.

We are perfuaded our readers will be abundantly gratified with the account of our author's experience as written by himfelf; and therefore fhall make no apology for fub-joining almoft the whole of it.

In this narrative we find our great and celebrated me-taphyfician relating the manner of God's dealings with his foul, in a ftile that breathes all the humility and fimplicity of a little child. " It is peculiarly fwect to obferve," fays an evangelical writer, ««that in matters of

fpiritual

fplritual concern, the philofopher and the ploughman, if truly regenerated, have the fame feelings, and fpenk the fame langiiage : they all ' eat of the fame fpiritual meat, and drink of the fame fpiritiaal rock, which follows them, and that rock is Chrift.' Hence that fimilitude of experience or (to fpeak figuratively) that llrong and flriking family likenefs, which obtjiins among the converted people of God, in every period of time, and in every nation under heaven. They all without exception feel thcmfelves totally ruined by original fm ; they all without exception take refuge in the righteoufnefs and crcfs of Chrift ; and unite in afcribing the whole praife of their falvation to the alone free grace and fovereign mercy of Father, Son, and Spirit."

" I had," fays Mr. Edwards, " a variety of concerns and exercifcs about my foul from my childhood ; but had two more remarkable feafons of awakening, before I met with that change by which I was brought to thofe new difpoiitions, and that new fenfe of things, that I have fince had. The firft time was when I was a boy, fome years before I went to college, at a time of remarkable awakening in my father's congregation. I was then very much affected for many months, and concerned about the things of religion, and ray foul's falvation i and was abundant in duties. I ufed to pray five times a day in fecret, and to fpend much time in religious talk with other boys; and ufed to meet with them to pray together. I experienced I know not what kind of delight in religion; my mind was much engaged in it, and had much felf-righteous plcafure; and it was my delight to abound in religious duties. I, with fome of my fchool-mates, joined together and built a booth in a uvamp, in a very fecret and retired place, for a place of prayer. And, befides, I had particular fecret places of my own in the woods, wliere I ufed to retire by myfelf, and ufed to be, from time to time, much affected. My affeilions feemed to be lively and enfily moved, and 1 feemed to be in my clement, when I engaged in religious duties : and I am ready to think, many are de'ccived with fuch affections,

lions, and fuch a kind of delight, as I then had in religion, and iniftake it for grace.

" But in pvocefs of time, my convi6lions and affections wore off, and I entirely lofl all thofe affe6lions and delights, and left oiF fecret prayer, at lead: as to any conllant performance of it: and returned like a dog to his vomit, and went on in ways of iin.

" Indeed I was at fome times very uneafy, efpecialiy towards the latter part of the time of my being at colleo-e. Till it pleafed God, in my lafl: year at college, at a time when I was in the midft of many uneafy thoughts about the ftate of my foul, to feize me with a pleurifv; in which he brought me nigh to the grave, and fliook me over the pit of hell.

" But yet, it was not long after my recovery, before I fell again into my old ways of fm. But God would not fufFer me to go on with any quietnefs; for I had great and violent inward ftrugglcs: till after many conflids with, wicked inclinations, and repeated refolutions, and bonds that I laid myfelf under by a kind of vows to God, I was brought wholly to break off all former wicked ways, and all ways of known outvs^ard fm, and to apply myfelf to fcek my falvntion and pradife the duties of religion ; but without that kind of affe6lion and delight that I had formerly experienced. My concern now wrought more by inward ftruggles and confiids, and felf-refle6lions: I made feeking my falvation the main bufmefs of my life ; but yet it feems to me, I fought after a miferable manner; which has made me fometimes fmce to queftion, whether ever it iffued in that which was faving ; being ready to doubt, whether fuch miferable feeking was ever fucceeded. But yet I was brought to feek falvation in a manner that I never was before ; I felt a fpirit to part with all things in the world for an intereft in Chrift. My concern continued and prevailed, with many exercifing thoughts and inward ftruggles; but yet it never feemed to be proper to exprefs my concern that I had, by the name of terror.

*' From my childhood up, my mind had been wont to be full of objeaions againft the doarine of God's

D fove-

fovereignty, in choofing whom he would to eternal life, and rejeiting v/hom he pleafed; leaving them eternally to periih It ufed to appear like a horrible do6lrine to me; but I remember the time very well, when I feemed to be convinced, and fully fatisfied, as to this fovereignty of God, and his juf-tice in thus eternally difpofing of men according to his fovereign pleafure; but never could give an account how, or by what means, I was thus convinced; not in the leaft imagining, in the time ot it, nor a long time after, that there was any extraordinary influence of God's Spirit in it; but only that now I faw farther, and my reafon apprehended the jufticc and reafonablenefs of it. However, my mind relied in it; and it put an end to all thofe cavils and obje6lions that had till then abode with me all the preceding part of my life. But I have oftentimes, lince that firft conviftion, had quite another kind of fenfe of God's fovereignty than I had tlien. I have often fince, not only had a conviction, but a dellghtfiil con-yiftion. The do6lrine cf God's fovereignty has very often appeared an exceeding pleafant, bright, and fweet do6lrine to me ; and abfolute fovereignty is what I love to afcribe to God. But my firfl conviction was not with this."

Tills part of our excellent Author's experience reminds us of the feventeeth Article of the Church' of England, which afferts, that " The godly confideration ot prcdef-tination, and of our ele6llon in Chrill:, is full of fweet, pleafant, and tmfpeakable comfort to godly perfons." Such indeed liave many found it; but let it be remembered, it is only the godly conjidcration of predeftination that is thus comfortable; that this mufl: be conne6led with the evidence of our ele5l'ion in Chrift, and that to godly perfons only is this contemplation fweet and profitable; to others it may be dangerous, and it mull be painful. An amiable divine has obferved, " That none fliould go to the unlverfity of Predeflinatlon, until they have been at the grammar fchool" of Faith and Repentance."

'« The

'' The firfl: that I remember that ever I found any thing of that fort of inward fvveet dehght in God and divine things, that I have lived much in fmce, was on reading thofe words, [i Tim. i. 17.] ' Now unto the King etcr-

* nal, immortal, invifihle, the only wife God, be honour

* and glory for ever and ever. Amen.' As I read the words, there came into my foul, and was as it were dif-fufed through it, a fenfe of the glory of the Divine Being ;

quite different from any thing I ever experienced before. Never any words of fcripture feemcd to me as thefe words did. I thought with myfelf, how excellent a Being that was, and how happy I fliould be, if I might enjoy that God, and be wrapt up to God in heaven, and be as it were fwallowed up in him, I kept faying, and as it were fmging over thefe words of fcripture to myfelf; and went to prayer, to pray to God that I might enjoy him •, and prayed in a manner quite different from what I ufed to do; with a new fort of affe6lion; but it never came into my thought that there was any thing fpiritual or of a faving nature in this.

*' From about that time, I began to have a new kind of apprehenfions and ideas of Chrift, and the work of redemption, and the glorious way of falvation by him. I had an inward fweet fenfe of thefe things, that at times came into my heart, and my foul was led away in plea-fant views and contemplations of them ; and my mind was greatly engaged to fpend my time in reading and meditating on Chrift, and the beauty and excellency of his perfon, and the lovely way of falvation by free grace in him. I found no books fo delightful to me, as thofe that treated of thefe fubje6ls. Thofe words, [Cant, ii, i,]

* ufed to be abundantly with me, ' I am the rofe of Sharon, ' and the lily of the vallies.' The words feemed to me fweetly to reprefent the lovelinefs and beauty of Jefus Chrift. And the whole book of Canticles ufed to be plea-iant to me, and I ufed to be much in reading it about that time; and found, from time to time, an inward Iweetnefs that ufed, as if were, to carry me away in my contemplations. The fenfe I had of divine things,

D 2 would

would often of a fudden, as it were, kindle up a fwect burning in my heart, an ardour of my foul, that I know not how to exprefs.

" After this my fenfe of divine tilings gradually in-creafed, and became more and more lively, and had more, of that inward fweetnefs. The appearance of every thing was altered; there feemed to be, as it were, a calm, fweet cafl: or appearance of divine glory, in almoft every thing. God's excellency, his wifdom, his purity and love, feemed to appear in every thing ; in the fun, moon, and flats ; in the clouds, and blue iky; in the gtafs, flowers, trees; in the water, and all nature; which ufed greatly to fix my mind. I often ufed to fit and view the moon for a long time : and fo in the day-time fpent much time in viewing the clouds and iky, to behold the fweet glory of God in thefe things; in the mean time fmging forth, with a low voice, my contemplations of the Creator and Redeemer: and fcarce any thing, among all the works of nature, was fo fweet to me as thunder and lightning; formerly, nothing had been fo terrible to me. I ufed to be a perfon uncommonly terrified with thunder, and it ufed to ftrike me with terror when I faw a thunder-ftorm rifing: but now, on the contrary, it rejoiced me. I felt God at the firft appearance of a thunder-ftorm, and uled to take the opportunity, at fuch tiiues, to fix myfelf to view the clouds, and fee the lightnings play, and hear,the majeftic and av^^ful voice of God's thunder, which oftentimes was exceedingly entertaining, leading me to Iweet contemplations of my great and glorious God ; and while I viewed, ufed to fpend my time, as it always feemed natural to me, to ling or chant forth my meditations; to fpeak my thoughts in foliloquies, and fpeak with a fmging voice.

" I felt tlicn a great fatisfaflion as to my good eftate ; but that did not content me. I had vehement longings of foul al"tcr God and Chrift, anxl after more holinefs, wherewith my heart feemed to be full, and ready to break ; which often brought to my mind the words of the Pfalmift, [Pfa. cxix. 28.] * My foul brcaketh for the

' lonoing

♦ longing it hath.' I often felt a mourning and lamenting in my heart, that I had not turned to God fooner, that I might have had more time to grow in grace. My mind was greatly fixed on divine things ; I was almofi: perpetually in the contemplation of them : fpent moft ot my time in thinking of divine things, year after year; and ufed to fpend abundance of my time in walking alone in the woods and folitary places for meditation, folilo-quy, and prayer, and converfe with God : and it was always my manner, at fuch times, to fing forth my contemplations ; and was almoft conftantly in ejaculatory prayer wherever I was. Prayer feemed to be natural to me, as the breath by which the inward burnings of my heart had vent.

" The delights which I now felt in things of religion were of an exceeding different kind from thofe fore-mentioned, that I had when I was a boy; they were totally of another kind ; and what I then had no more notion or idea of, than one born blind has of pleafant and beautiful colours: they were of a more inwaid, pure, foul-animatino; and refreflrins: nature. Thofe former delights never reached the heart ; and did not arife from any fight of the divine excellency of the things of God; or any tafte of the foul-fatisfying, and life-giving good, there is in them."

Mr. Edwards mull certainly be the befl: judge of his own feelings ; but we have fometimes queried whether our author and fomc other excellent men have not erred in imputing their hrft convi6tion and early experience in religion to fome other caufe, which ought rather to be attributed to the agency of the Divine S{)irit. It certainly does not follow, that becaufe our firft views of divine things are lefs clear, and our firft religious affecllons lefs ipirltual, than afterwards, that they do not proceed from the famecauie. The early beamings of the dawn, and the noon-tide fun beams, though they differ immenfely in their degree ot light and heat, are certainly of the fame nature, and proceed from the fame caufe. When our Lord ilrft anointed the eyes of the blind man, [Mark viii. 24.I

he

he faw * Men as trees walking ;' but when he put his hands on him again, ' he faw every man clearly ;' yet bv the fame hands were both effe6ls prodviced, and to the fame Redeemer was the glory of both due.

** My fenfe of divine things feemed gradually to in-creafe, till I went to preach at New York, which was about a year and a half after they began. While I was there, I felt them, very fenfibly, in a much higher degree than I had done before : my longings after God and holinefs were much increafed; pure and humble, holy and heavenly chriftianity, appeared exceeding amiable to me. I felt in me a burning defire to be in every thing a complete Cliriflian; and conformed to the bleffed image of Chrift ; and that I might live in all things according to the pure, fwcet, and bleffed rules of the gofpel. I had an eager thirfting after progrefs in thefe things ; my longings after it put me upon purfuing and preffing after tbem. It was my continual ftrife day and night, and conflant inquiry, how I fliould be more holy, and live more ho-lily, and more becoming a child of God, and difciple of Chrift. I fought an increafe of prace and holinefs, and that I might live an holy life, with vaftly more earneft-nefs than ever I fought grace, before I had it. I ufed to be continually examining myfelf, and ftudying and contriving for likely ways and means how'I Jhould live holily, with far greater diligence and earneftnefs than ever I purfued any thing in my life ; but with too great a dependence on my own ftrength, which afterwards proved a great damage to me. My experience had not then taught me, as it has done fmce, my extreme fecblcnefs and impotence, every manner of way; and the innumerable and bottomlefs depths of fccret corruption and deceit that there were in my heart. Hov>ever, I went on with my eager purfuit after more holinefs, and fweet conformity to Chrift.

" The heaven I deftred was a heaven of holinets ; to be with God, and to fpend my eternity in divine love, and holy communion with Chrift. My mind was very much taken up with contemplations on heaven, and the enjoyments

ments of thofc there; and living there in perfe6l holinefs, humiHty. and love. And it ufed at that time to appear a great part of the happinefs of heaven, that there the faints could exprefs their love to Chrift. It appeared to me a great clog and hindrance, and burden to mc that what J felt within, I could not exprefs to God, and give vent to, as I defired: the inward ardour of my foul feemed to be hindered and pent up, and could not freely flame out as it would. I ufed often to think how in heaven this fweet principle fhould freely and fully vent and exprefs itfelf. Heaven appeared to me exceeding delightful as a world of love. It appeared to me that all happinefs confified in living in pvire, humble, heavenly, divine love.

*' I remember the thoughts I ufed then to have of holinefs. I remember I then faid fometimes to myfelf, I do certainly know that I love holinefs, fuch as the gofpel pre-fcribcs ; it appeared to me, there was nothing in it but what was ravifhingly lovely: it appeared to me to be the highefl: beauty and amiablenefs, above all other beauties, that it was a divine beauty, far purer than any thing here upon earth; and that every thing elfe was like mire, filth, and defilement, in comparifon of it.

*' Holinefs, as I then wrote down fomc of my contemplations on it, appeared to me to be of a fweet, pleafant, charming, ferene, calm nature ; it feemed to me, it brouphr an inexpreflible purity, brightnefs, peacefulnefs, and ra-vifhment, to the foul ; and that it made the foul like a field or garden of God, with all manner of pleafant flowers, that is all pleafant, delightful, and undiflurbed ; enjoying a fweet calm, and the gentle vivifying beams of the fun. The foul of a true Chriflian, as I then wrote my meditations, appeared like fuch a little white flower as we fee in the fpring of the year, low and humble on the ground, opening its bofora to receive the pleafant beams of the fun's glory ; rejoicing, as it were, in a calm rapture, difFufing around a fvv^eet fragrancy, flanding peacefully and lovingly in the midfi: of other flowers round about; all in like mamier opening their bofoms to drink in

the light of the fun.

" There

" There was no part of creature-holinefs that I then,' and at other times, had fo great a fenfe of the lovelincfs of, as humility, brokennefs of heart, and poverty of fpi-rit; and there was nothing that I had fuch a fpirit to long for. My heart, as it were, panted after this, to lie low before God, and in the dull:, tliat I might be nothing, and that God mig];t be all; that I might become as a little child.

" While I was there, at New York, I fometimes was" much affected with refledlions on my paft life, confider-ing how late it was before I began to be truly religious, and how wickedly I had lived till then ; and once fo, as to weep abundantly, and for a conluierable time together.

" On January 12, 1722-3, I made a folemn dedication of myfelf to God ; and wrote it down; giving up myfelf and ail that I had to God; to be for the future in no refpe6t my own; to adl as one that had no right to himfelf in any refpecl; and folemnly vowed to take God for my whole portion and felicity ; looking on nothing elfe as any part of my happinefs, nor a6ling as if it were ; and his law for the conflant rule of my obedience, engaging to fight with all my might againft the world, the fiefh, and the devil, to the end of my life. But have reafon to be infinitely humbled, when I confider how much I have failed of anfwcring my obligation.

" I had then abundance of fweet religious converfation In the family where I lived, with Mr. John Smith, and his pious mother. My heart was knit in affection ro thofe, in whom were appearances of true piety ; and I could bear the thoughts of no other companions, but fuch as were holy, and the difciples of the bleifed Jefus.

*' I had great longings for the advancement of Chrift's kingdom in the world; mv fecret prayer ufed to be in great part taken up in praying for it. If I heard the leaft hint of any thing that happened in any part of the world, that appeared to me, in fome refpe6l or other, to have a favourable afpeft on the iutereft of Chrifl's kingdom, my foul eagerly catchcd at it. and it would much

animate

animate and refrefli me. I ufed to be carneft to read public news letters, mainly for that end, to fee if I could not find fome news favourable to the intereft of religion in the world.

*' I very frequently ufed to retire into a folitary place on the banks of Hudfon's River, at fome diflance from the city, for contemplation on divine things, and fecret con-verfe with God; and had many fvveet hours there. Sometimes Mr. Smith and T walked there together, to converfe of the things of God ; and our converfation ufed much to turn on the advancement of Chrift's kingdom in the world, and the glorious things that God would accomplish for his church in the latter days.

*' I had then, and at other times, the greateft delight in the holy fcriptures of any book whatfoever; oftentimes in reading it, every word feemed to touch my heart, I felt a harmony between fomething in my heart, and thofe fweet and powerful words: I feemed often to fee fo much light exhibited by every fentence, and fuch a refrefliing ravifhing food communicated, that I could not get along in reading: ufed oftentimes to dwell long on one fentence, to fee the wonders contained in it; and yet almoft every fentence feemed to be full of wonders.

" I came away from New York in the month of April 1723, and had a mofi: bitter parting with Madam Smith and her fon : my heart feemed to fink within me^ at leaving the family and city, where I had enjoyed fo many fweet and pleafant days. I went from New York to Weathersfield by water. As I failed away, I kept fight of the city as long as I could, and when I was out of fight of it, it would affeS: me much to look that way, with a kind of melancholly mixed with fweetnefs. However that night, after this forrowful parting, I was greatly comforted in God at Welkhefter, where we went aihore to lodge, and had a pleafant time of it all the voyage to Saybrook. It was fweet to me to think of meeting dear Chrillians in heaven, where we Ihould never part more. At Saybrook went aOiore to lodge on Saturday, and there

E kept-

kept Sabbath ; where I had a fweet and refreihing feafon, walking alone in the fields.

*' After I came home to Windfor, remained much in a like frame of mind as I had been in at New York, but only fometimes felt my heart ready to fink, with the thoughts of my friends at New York ; and my refuge and fupport was in contemplations on the heavenly ftate, as I find in my Diary, of May i, 1723. It was my comfort to think of that ftate, where there is fulnefs of joy ; where reigns heavenly, fweet, calm, and delightful love, without alloy; where there are continually the deareft expreffions of this love ; where is the enjoyment of the perfons loved, without ever parting; where thefe perfons that appear fo lovely in this world, will really be inexprcfllbly more lovely, and full of love to us. And how fweetly will the mutual lovers join together to fing the praifes of God and the Lamb ! How full will it fill us with joy to think that this enjoyment, thefe fweet exercifes, will never ceafe or come to an end, but will lafl to all eternity !

" Continued much in the fame frame in the general, that I had been in at New York, till I went to New Haven, to live there as tutor of the college; having one fpecial feafon of uncommon fweetnefs, particularly once at Bolton, in a journey from Bofl:on, walking out alone in the fields. After J. went to New Haven I funk in religion, my mind being diverted from my eager and violent pur-fuits after holinefs, by fome affairs that greatly perplexed and diftrailed my mind.

" In September 1725, was taken ill at New Haven, and endeavouring to go home to Windfor, was fo ill at the North Village, that I could go no further; where I lay fick for about a quarter of a year. And, in this fick-nefs, God was pleafed to vifit me again with the fweet influences of his Spirit. My mind was greatly engaged there on divine, pleafant contemplations, and longings of foul. I obferved, that thofe who watched with mc would often be looking out for the morning, and feemed to wiili for it J which brought to my mind thofe words

of

of the Pfalmift, which my foul with fweetnefs made its own language, ' My foul waiteth for the Lord, more than < they that watch for the morning, I fay, more than they « that watch for the morning.' And when the light of the morning came, and the beams of the fun came in at the windows, it refrellied my foul from one morning to another: it feemed to me to be fome image of the fweet light of God's glory.

«« I remember, about that time, I nfed greatly to long for the converfion of fome that I was concerned with. It feemed to me I could gladly honour them, and with delight be a fervant to them, 'and lie at their feet, if they were but truly holy.

*' But fome time after this, I was again greatly diverted in my mind with fome temporal concerns, that exceedingly took up my thoughts, greatly to the wounding of my foul; and went on through various exercifes, that it would be tedious to relate; that gave mc much more experience of my own heart than ever I had before.

<< Since I came to this town,* I have often had fweet complacency in God, in views of his glorious perfeaions, and the excellency of Jefus Chrift. God has appeared to me, a glorious and lovely being, chiefly on the account of his holinefs. The holinefs of God has always appeared to me the moft lovely of all his attributes. The dodrines of God's abfolute fovereignty- and free grace, in Ihewing mercy to whom he would lliew mercy, and man's abfolute dependence on the operations of God's Holy Spirit, have very often appeared to me as fweet and glorious dodrines. Thefc doftrines have been much my delight: God's fovereignty has ever appeared to me as great part of his glory i it has often been fweet to me to go to God, and adore him as a fovereign God, and alk fovereign mercy of him.

«' I have loved the dodrines of the gofpel; they have been to my foul like green paftures: the gofpel has feemed to me to be the richefl treafure; the treafure that I have

E 2 moft

* Northampton.

moildefired, and longed that it might dwell richly in me. The wav of falvation by Chrill has appeared in a general way, glorious and excellent, and moft pleafant and moft beautiful. It has often feemed to me that it would, in a great meafure, fpoil heaven, to receive it in any other way* That text has often been afFe6ling and delightful to me, [Ifa. xxxii. 2.] ' A man fhall be an hiding place from the ' wind, and a covert from the tempeft,' &c.

" It has often appeared fweet to me to be united to Chrlft; to have him for my head, and to be a member of his body; and alfo to have Chrift for my teacher and prophet. I very often think, with fweetnefs and longings, and pantings of foul, of being a little child, taking hold of Chrift, to be led by him through the wildernefs of this world. That text, [Matt, xviii.] at the beginning, has often been fweet to me, ' Except ye be converted, and < become as little children,' &c. I love to think of coming to Chrift to receive falvation of him, poor in fpirit, and quite empty of felf; humbly exalting him alone ; cut entirely off from my own root, and to grow into, and out of Chrift : to have God in Chrift to be all in all; and to live by faith on the Son of God, a life of humble, unfeigned confidence in him. That fcripture has often been fweet to me, [Pfa. cxv. i.] ' Not unto us, O Lord, ' not unto us, but unto thy name give glory,-for thy mercy ' and for thy truth's fake.' And thofe words of Chrift, [Luke x. 21.] ' In that hour Jefus rejoiced in fpirit, and * faid, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, ' that thou haft hid thefe things from the wife and pru-' dent, and haft revealed them unto babes; even fo, Fa-' ther, for fo it feemed good in thy fight.' That fove-leignty of God that Chrift rejoiced in, feemed to me to be worthy to be rejoiced in; and that rejoicing of Chrift feemed to me to Ihew the excellency of Chrift, and the fpirit that he was oi.

" The fweeteft joys and delights I have experienced, have not been thofe that have arifen from a hope of my own good eftate, but in a diredl* view of the glorious things of the gofpel. When I enjoy this fweetnefs, it

fcems

fecms to carry mc above the thoughts of my own fafc cftate: it feems at fuch times a lofs that I cannot bear to take off my eye from the glorious, pleafant objedl I behold without me, to turn my eye in upon mylelf, and my own good eftate."

Such remarks abound in the writings of the New England divines; and we have no right to deny what they affert upon their own experience. But when this attainment is made the teft of Chriftianity, and the criterion of true grace, we muft oppofe it. It is ' the love of God ilied ' abroad in our hearts' that muft enkindle our firft affections to him. And the moft dear and affe6lionate apoftle afferts, that ' We love him becaufe he firft loved us.' [i John iv. 19.]

" My heart has been much on the advancement of Chrift's kingdom in the world ; the hiftories of the paft advancement of Chrift's kingdom have been fweet to me. When I have read hiftories of paft ages, the pleafanteft thing in all my reading has been, to read of the kingdom of Chrift being promoted : and when I have expe6led in my reading to come to any fuch thing, I have lotted upon it all the way as I read; and my mind has been much entertained and delighted with the fcripture promifes and prophecies of the future glorious advancement of Chrift's kingdom on earth.

*' I have fomctimcs had a fenfe of the excellent ful-ncfs of Chrift, and his meetnefs and fuitablenefs as a Saviour, whereby he has appeared to me, far above all, the chiet of ten thoufands : and his blood and atonement has appeared fweet, and his righteoufnefs fweet; which is always accompanied with an ardency of fpirit, and inward ftrugglings, and breathings, and groanings, that cannot be uttered, to be emptied of myfelf, and fwallowcd up in Chrift.

" Once, as I rode out in the woods for my health, Anno 1737, and having lighted from my horfe in a retired place, as my manner commonly has been, to walk for divine contemplation and prayer, J. had a view, that for me was extraordinary, of the glory of the Son of

God,

God, as mediator between God and man; and his wonderful, great, full, pure, and fvveet grace and love, and meek and gentle condefcenfion. This grace, that appeared to me fo calm and fweet, appeared great above the heavens : the perfon of Chrift appeared ineffably excellent, with an excellency great enough to fwallow up all thought and conception, which continued, as near as I can judge, about an hour, which kept me the bigger part of the time in a flood of tears, and weeping aloud. I felt withal an ardency of foul to be, what I know not other-wife how to cxprefs, than to be emptied and annihilated, to lie in the duft, and to be full of Chrift alone; to love him with a holy and pure love; to truft in him ; to live upon him; to ferve and follow him; and to be totally wrapt up in the fulnefs of Chrift; and to be perfe6lly faudified and made pure, with a divine and heavenly purity. T have feveral other times had views very much of the fame nature, and that have had the fame effeds.

" I have many times had a fenfe of the glory of the third perfon in the Trinity, in his office of San6lifier, in his holy operations communicating divine light and life to the foul. God, in the communications of his Holy Spirit, has appeared as an infinite fountain of divine glory and fweetnefs; being full and fufficient to fill and fatisfy the foul; pouring forth itfelf in fweet communications, like the fun in its glory, fweetly and pleafantly diffufing light and life.

<« I have fometimes had an affe6tlng fenfe of the excellency of the word of God, as a word of life; as the light of life ; a fweet, ericellent, life-giving word ; accompanied with a thirfting after that word, that it might dwell richly in my heart.

" I have often, fince 1 lived in this town, had very affeding views of my own finfulnefs and vilenefs; very frequently fo as to hold me in a kind of loud weeping, fometimes for a confiderable time together : fo that I have often been forced to fnut myfelf up. I have had a vaftly greater fenfe of my own wickednefs, and the badnels of my heart, fmce my converfion, than ever I had before.

It has often appeared to me, that if God fhoiild mark iniquity againft me, I (hould appear the very worfl of all mankind, of all that have been fmce the beginning of the world to this time; and that I Ihould have by far the loweft place in hell.

" And yet I am not in the leafl: inclined to think, that I have a greater convidlion of fm than ordinary : 1 know certainly, that I have very little fenfe of my fmfulnefs ; that my fms appear to me fo great, don't feem to me to be, becaufe I have fo much more conviftion of fin than other Chriftians, but becaufe I am fo much worfe, and have fo much more wickednefs to be convinced of.

*' I have greatly longed of late for a broken heart, and to lie low before God. And when I afk for humility of God, I can't bear the thoughts of being no more humble than other Chriftians. It feems to me, that though their degrees of humility may be fuitable for them, yet it would be a vile fclf-exaltation in me, not to be the loweft in humility of all mankind. Others fpeak of their longing to be humbled to the duft : though that may be a proper expreffion of them, I always think for myfelf, that I ought to be humbled down below hell. It is an expreffion that it has long been natural for me to ufe in prayer to God. I ought to lie infinitely low before God."

On this fubjedl Mr. Edwards feems to delight in hyperboles: and may teach us this remark, that true grace is exceedingly humbling. It taught the great apoftle to efteem himfelf the ' chief of fmners,' and ' lefs than the leaft of « all faints.' It is poffible, however, to ufe extravagant expreffions on any fubjeft, and " to be humbled below hell," or " infinitely low," may be thought fuch. The humble and amiable Dr. Watts defined humility to confill in a man's having " a juft opinion of himfelf," not a degrading one. Wc are all fo much indebted to divine mercy, that there feems little danger of hyperboles on that lubje£l; there is no occafion however to fmk our language below the poffibility of a meaning.

*« I have vaftly a greater fenfe of my univerfU exceeding dependence on God's grace and ftrengtth, and mere

eood

good pleafure, of late, than I ufed formerly to h.ive; and have experienced more of an abhorrence of my own righteoufnefs. The thought of any comfort or joy arif-ing in me, on any confideration, or refledHon on my own amiablenefs, or any of my performances or experiences, or any goodnefs of heart or life, is naufeous and deteftable to me ; and yet I am greatly affli6led with a proud and felf-righteous fpirit, much more fenfibly than I ufed to be formerly: I fee that ferpent rifing and putting forth its head continually, everywhere, all around me.

*' Though it feems to me, that in fome refpe6ls, I was a far better Chriftian for two or three years after my lirft converfion than I am now, and lived in a more conftant delight and pleafure ; yet of late years I have had a more full and conftant fenfe of the abfolute fovereignty of God, and a delight in that fovereignty ; and have had more of a fenfe of the glory of Chrift, as a mediator, as revealed in the gofpel. On one Saturday night, in particular, had a peculiar difcovery of the excellency of the gofpel ot Chrift, above all other do6lrines, fo that I could not but fay to myfelf, ' This is my chofen light, my chofen doc-* trine :' and of Chrift, ' This is my chofen prophet.'

Another Saturday night .... had fuch a fenfe

how fweet and blefled a thing it was, to walk in the way of duty, that it caufed me to cry out, < How happy are ' they which do that which is right in the fight of God ! ' They are bleffed indeed, they are the happy ones!' I had at the fame time a very affecting fenfe, how meet and fuitable it was that God ihould govern the world, and order all things according to his own pleafure; and 1 rejoiced in it, that God reigned, and that his will was done."

Thus clofes the extraordinary experience of 6ur Author, and by way of caution to fincere but inferior Chriftians, we beg it be confidered that it was extraordinary \ that few Chriftians have arrived to equal attain-meiits in the divine life, particularly as to a fettled ac-quiefcence in the divine will, and a devotednefs of heart

to

to the Redeemer. But let us not confider his, or any man's experience, as an abfolute criterion to try the fafety of our ftate, or the truth of our converfion. The word of God is our rule, and the only one on which we can rely with certainty. There are as many degrees of growth in grace, as in nature ; the beloved apoftle wrote to children, young men, and fathers in Chrift. And there is no lefs variety in the manner of the Holy Spirit's operation.

* The wind bloweth where it lifteth,' faith our divine teacher, [John iii. 8.] ' and thou heareft the found

* thereof, but canft not tell whence it cometh, and whi-

* ther it goeth; fo is every one that is born of the Spirit.' So free, fo fovereign, fo multiform and incomprehcnfiblc, are the operations of divine grace ; but this remark is not intended to induce any to relt fatisfied in their prefent attainments. It is not only the duty but one of the befl criteria, of a true Chrillian, ' to go on unto perfedlion.' [Heb. vi. I.]

We (hall detain the reader with only one other remark on the preceding narrative, viz. That the fubjeiSl of the fubfequent work [the Hiftory of Redemption] was long one of our author's moft favourite topic's of reflection, *' When I have read," faith he, " hiftories of pail: ages, the pleafanteft thing in all my reading has been, to read of the kingdom of Chrifl being promoted, .... and my mind has been much entertained and delighted with the fcripture promifes and prophecies of the future glorious advancement of Chrift's kingdom on earth." And, what is very obfervable, he even objedVed at firfl: to accept the piefidentihip of New Jerfey College for this among other reafons—" I have had on my mind and heart, which I long ago began, not with any view to publication, a great work, which J call, aHiJiory of the Work of Redemption," 6cc. [See his letter to the truftees of the above college, dated 061. 19, 1757, in the life prefixed to his fcrmons, p. 95.] which circumftance is alfo remarked in a letter of his fon, the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, of New Haven, Feb. 25, 1773-

F We

We (hall clofe our account of Piefident Edwards with the following particulars of his habit of life, and cha-ra6ler:

Though he was of a tender and delicate conftitution, yet few ftudents were capable of more clofe application than he was. He commonly fpent thirteen hours every day in his fludy. His moffc ufual diverfions in the fum-mer were riding on horfeback and walking; he would commonly, unlefs diverted by company, ride two or three miles after dinner to fome lonely grove, where he would difmount and walk a while. At which times he generally carried his pen and ink with him, to note any thought that fliould be fuggefled, which he chofe to retain and purfue. In the winter he was wont, almoll: daily, to take an axe and chop wood moderately for the fpace of half an hour or more. He had an uncommon thirft for knowledge, in the purfuit of which he fpared neither coft nor pains. He read all the books, efpecially books of divinity, that he could come at, from which he could hope to get any help in his purfuit of knowledge. And, in this, he confined not himfelf to authors of any particular feet or denomination ; but took much pains to come at the books of the mofl; celebrated writers whofe fcheme of divinity was moft contrary to his ovim principles: but he fludled the Bible more than all other books, and more than moft other divines do. His uncommon acquintancc with it appears in his fermons, and in moft of his publications : and his great pains in lludying it are manifeft in liis manufcript notes upon it. He was thought by Ibmc, wlio had but a flight acquaintance with him, to be ftiff and unfociable ; but this was owin^ to want of better acquaintance. He was not a man of many words indeed, and w-as fomewhat referved among ftrangers; but among fucli whofe candour and friendfliip he had experienced, he threw off that referve, and was molt open and free ; and remarkably patient of contradiction. He was not ufed to fpend his time in fcandal, evil fpeaking, and backbiting, or in foolifa jelling and idle cliat; but his mouth was

that

that of the juR, which bringeth forth wifdom, and his lips difperfed knowledge ; fo that none of his friends could enjoy his company without inftru6lion and profit, unlefs it was by tlieir own fault: he kept himfclf quite tree trom worldly cares; and left the dire6tion of the temporal concerns of his family almofl: entirely to Mrs. Edwards; who was better able than moft of her fax, to take the whole care of them on her hands.

Thus ornamental to the chriftian name and chara£ler lived the excellent fubject of thefe memoirs ; and his death perfe£Hy harmonized with the tenor of his life: «' Never did any mortal man," fays his phyfician, in a letter to Mrs. Edwards, " more fully and clearly evidence the fin-cerity of his profeflion, by one continued, univerfal calm, cheerful refignation, and patient fubmiffion, to the divine will, through every ftage of his difeafe, than he : not (o much as one difcontented expreffion, nor the leaft appearance of murmuring through the whole."

Prefident Edwards left the following works, befides fun-dry MSS. yetunpublifhed, which will doubtlcfs perpetuate his memory to remote ages of the church.

I. A Narrative of the furprifing Work of God in the Converfion of feveral hundred Souls in Northampton, New England. 1737.

IT. Five Sermons—on Juftification by Faith alone: —Preffing into the Kingdom of God—Ruth's Refolu-tion—The Juftice of God in the Damnation of Sinners —and the Excellency of Jefus Chrift. 1738.

III. Thoughts en the Revival of Religion in New ~i~ England. 1742.

IV. A Treatife on religious AiFe£lion. 1746. -^

V. An Attempt to promote the Union of God' People in extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of Reli

-h

i-

+■

gion. 1747.

VI. The Life of Mr. David Brainerd, Miffionary. ~H

'7^'-'^' ... ^

Vi[. An Inquiry into the Qualification for full Com- \

munion, 2cc. 1749-

F 2 VIII. A

-4 VIII. A Reply to the Rev. Mr. William's Anfwer to

this Inquiry. 1752. ~f^ IX. An Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will. 1754. X. A Number of fingle Sermons, on various SubjevSls and different Occafions. --j-^ XL The Chriftian Doftrine of original Sin. 1758.

A^. B. This was in the prefs when he died; the following works were pollhumous. -f XII. A Hiftory of Redemption. [The fubfequeat

work] 1774.

XIII. His Life and eighteen Sermons. 1785-

SYLLABUS

C 35 ]

SYLLABUS

OF THE-

HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

Text [Ifa. li. 8.] explained.

Obferve, i. How fliort the profperity of the church's enemies. 2. The happy and eternal portion of God's people.

Doctrine. The work of Redemption is a work which God carries on from the fall of man to the end of the world.

Premife, i. An explanation of the terms.

/* 2. God's deligns in this work, were

/ To triumph over his enemies;

\ To rcftore the ruins of the fall;

\ To gather all the ele6l in Chrift ;

! To complete their happinefs ;

! To glorify the blefled Trinity.

Thefuhje^ divided into three Periods.

/ PERIOD I.

From the Fall to the Incarnation. § I. From the Fall to the Flood.

,^ I. Chrift began his office immediately on the fall. ,^2. The firft promife.-.««3. The origin of facrifices.

4. Salvation of Abel.

5. Revival of Religion.

6. Holy life of Enoch.

7. His prophecy.

8. His tranflation.

o. Prefervation of religion in Noah's family.

§ II.

§ II. From th« FLOOD to the Call of Abraham.

I- The Flood.

a. Noah's prefervation in tho ark.

3. New grant to Noah.

4. Renewal of the covenant with him.

5. Deflrinflion of Babel.

6. The confequent difperfion.

§ III, From the Call of Abraham to Moses. I The Call of Abraliam.

2. Farther difcovery of the covenant of grace.

3. Prefervation of the ancient Patriarchs. Deflru6lion of Sodom.

5. Covenant renewed with Ifaac and Jacob.

6. Fliftory of Jofeph.

7. Jacob's prophecy.

f IV. From Moses to David.

1. Ilrael's redemption from Egypt.

2. Other nations given up to heathenifm.

3. The law given at Sinai.

4. The Jewifli typical law.

'—^'"'^ 5. The Pentateuch written by Mofes.

6. Tfrael's paffage through the wildernefs, typical.

7. Human life Ihortened.

8. Miracles in the wildernefs.

9. Prophecies of Balaam and Mofes.

10. God's Spirit poured out on the rifmg generation.

11. Ifrael brought into Canaan. ^f^\i. The tabernacle pitched at Shiloh.

13. The land preferved while Ifrael went up \o

Jerufalem.

14. Ifrael preferved during their frequent apoflafies. 15 Their repeated deliverances from captiviiy,

16. The appearances of Chrill: vmder the Old Teila-ment. --—— 17. The fchool of the prophets iuflitutcd by Samuel.

§ V. From David to the Babylonilli Captivity.

1. David anointed.

2. His life wonderfully preferved.

3. Samuel's-writings.

4. David's infpiration.

5. David crowned.

6. Jerufalem chofen by God.

7. God's covenant renewed with David.

8. Ifrael 6rll pofl'els the whole promifed land.

9. Jewith

9. Jewiili worlhip perfe6^ed.

10. "Writings of Nathan and Gad.

11. Kingdo;n of Judah preferved in David's family.

12. The building of Solomon's temple.

13. The Jewiili church at its higheft glory in his

time.

14. God's Work carried on during the fubfcquent

decline. Obfcrve, this prepared the way for Chrift's coming.

15. The canon of Scripture enlarged.

16. The church kept in times of general apoftafy.

17. The book of the law wonderfully preferved.

18. The tribe of Judah preferved.

19. A fucceffion of Prophets from Samuel. "s^--'

§ VL From the Babyloniih Captivity to the Incarnation. Premife, (i.) This period more the fubjed of Prophecy than Hiltory. (2.) Full of remarkable revolutions. -■

(3.) The church preferved in the midfl: of theni all. ' \

1. The captivity in Babylon—its ufe to the Jews.

2. Additions to the canon of Scripture.

3. Babylon deflroyed by Cyrus.

4. The Jews return.

^. The prophecies of Haggai and Zachariah.

6. The Spirit of God remarkably with Esra.

7. The book of Ezra written.

8. The canon of Scripture compiled.

9. The public reading of the law.

10. The Jews preferved from Haman's cruelty.

11. The books of Nehemiah and Efther writteu.

12. IMalachi's prophecy.

13. The Spirit of Prophecy ceafed.

14. The Perfian Empire deftroyed,

«m!i. 15. The Sept^iagint tranflation. """

16. The church preferved during the Greek Em-

pire.

17. The erection of the Roman Empire. ■-

18. Learning and philofophy at their height.

19. Roman Empire in peace and glory. Improvemfnt, r. Jefus the true Mefliah.

5 2. The Old Teftament infpired. .

^ 3. An objedlion anfwered.

4. God's

4. God's wifdom difplayed in divine rC'

velation.

5. Chrift the grand fubjeft of the Bible.

6. The ufefuhiefs of the Old Teftament.

7. Folly of neglefting the Bible.

8. Grandeur of ChriiVs character and

miffion.

P E R I O D 11.

From Christ's Incarnation to his Resurrection. § L The Incarnation— why neceffary.

1. Included Chrift's conception and birth.

2. Accomplifhed in the fulnefs of time.

3. The greatnefs of this event.

4. Poverty of Chrift.

_^^ 5. Several concomitants of this event ; as The return of God's Spirit; ' ' Notice taken of the Incarnation both in heaven

and earth •, Circumcifion of Chrift; Chrift's appearance in the fecond temple ; The fceptre's departing from Judah. § II. The Purchase of Redemption.

1. The term explained.

2. General Obfervations ; viz.

(i.) Chrift's fatisfa6tion confifted inhis lutFerings. (2.) Duiing the whole of his humiliation. (3.) By the fame things Chrift fatislied for fin, and purchafed eternal happinefs.

3. Confider Chrift's obedience, as to

(i.) The laws he obeyed—as a Man, a Jew, and as a Mediator. A^ B. Obferve the excellency of this obedience,

(2.) The different periods of his obcdieiK;c ; In his private life ;

In his public miniftry ; concerning which, Obferve, Chrift's forerunner ; His baptifm ;

His public works; preacliing, working miracles, and calling his.difciples; His miniliry hnilhed, by counfelling his dif-ciples, inftituting his fupper, and offering himfelf a facritice.

(3.) The

(3.) The virtues heexercifed; with refpeft to God, himfelf, and other men. 4. Confider Chrift's futFerings: (i.) In his infancy ;

(2.) private h'fe;

(3.] public miniflry;

(4.) death.

Improvement, i. Reproof,

Of unbelief; Self righteoufnefs; Negledl of falvation. 2. Encouragement;

Completenefs of Chrift's purchafe; Chrift reje6ts none who come to him.

PERIOD III.

Introduction, i. The times of this period called the

latter days. 2. end

of the world. q. ■ defcribed as a

creation of a new heaven and eartli called the

kingdom of God. Ohfcrve, God's defign to exhibit his wifdom and victories over Satan.

§ I. Thofe things WHEREBY Christ was capacitated for this work.

1. His refurre6tion. .

2. His afcenfion.

^ IT. Dispensation of Providence, by which the means of the fuccefs of it were eftablilhed, viz

1. The end of the Jewifh difpenfation. ,^-—'

2. The Chriftian Sabbath. --»^

3. The inftitutiou of a gofpel miniftry. '"^

4. The gift of the Holy Ghoft. ....■*'—

5. The full revelation of gofpel truth. ^""^

6. The appointment of deacons.

7. The miffion of St. Paul.

8. The inftitution of ecclefiaftical councils.

q. Committing the New Teftamentto writing.

G § in-

§in. This SUCCESS CARRIED ON ill a SUFFERING ftatC.

I. From Chriffs refurrcBion to the dcjiruttmi of Jerufalcm. (i.) Its fuccefs among the Jews, Samaritans, and

Gentiles. (2.) Oppoiition made to it. (3.) God's judgments on the oppofers.

2. From the deJiruSl'ion of Jerufalem to Conjlantine. (i.) Oppofition made by writing and perfecution. (2.) Succefs of the gofpel notwithftanding.

(3.) Particvilar circumftances of diftrefs jufl before Conftantine.

(4.) Revolution in Conftantine's time.

Chriftians delivered from perfecution. Terrible judgments on their enemies. Heathenilm in a great meafure abolifhed. Peace of the church.

Improvement.— 77/<? truth of Chrljllanity.

The gofpel the only means of bringing men to

the knowledge of God. The hand of God vifible in this work. No other caufe fufEcient to account for it. The event agreeable to Chrift's predictions.

3. From Conftantine to the rife oi Antichrift.

(i.) Oppofition made by herefies and paganifm. (2.) Succefs of the gofpel notwith'ftanding.

4. From the rife of Antichrift to the reformation.

(I.) The devil's oppofition by Popery and Maho-metanifm.

(2.) The church wonderfully preferved.

Some nations late in fubmitting to popery. Some in every age oppofed it, Particularly the Waldenfes, Alfo Wickliffe and his difciples. c. From the reformation to x\\c prefent time.

(i.) The reformation itfelf con{idered.

(2.) The oppofition made to it,

— By the Council of Trent,

— By private confpiracies, — By open wars,

^ By bloody perfecutions, By erroneous opinions.

(30 TI^^

(3.) The fucccfs of the gofpel lately, In reformation of do6lnne; In the fpread of the gofpel; particularly in

America, Mufcovy, and the Eaft Indies. Revivals of religion of late, efpecially in Saxony and New England. (4.) The prefent ftate of religion; In fome refpe6ls better, In others worfe. Improvement. ---Evidences of Chriflianity,

From the oppofition of wicked men,

prcfervation of the church,

fulfilment of prophecies,

fpirit of Chrlftianity.

The credibility of remaining prophecies. 6. From the prcfcKt time to the fall of Antichrift.

(i.) A dark time will precede this event.

(2.) The fall of Antichrift will be gradual, though fwift.

(3.) It willbe accomphfhed by the out-pouring of God's Spirit.

(4.) Great oppolition will be made.

(5.) Chrift will obtain complete vidlory.

(6.) Satan's vifiblc kingdom be univerfally de-ftroyed.

(7.) This event compared to the day of judgment.

§IV. This Success carried on in a prosperous ftate for the moft part.

1. Its profperity through the greater part of this

period, (i.) This moft properly the kingdom of heaven

on earth. (2.) This the grand period for the fulfilment of

prophecy. (3.) The duration of this period.

2. The grand apoftafy which will immediately pre-

cede Chrift's coming. § V. Completion of this vvork in Glory. Prcmifc, (i.) How great the fuccefs of Chrift's purchafe. (2.) All preceding deliverances preparatory and typical of this. To accompli/// this work^

I, Chrift will appear in the clouds;

G % 2> The

^z SYLLABUS.

2. The dead fhall be raifed ;

3. The faints ihall meet the Lord in the air;

4. The righteoufnefs of the church and wickednefs

of her enemies fhall be manifeft ; ^. Final fentence pafs on all men; 6. Chrift and his church afcend to glory; J. This world be burnt; 8. The church made completely and eternally

happy. General Improvement.

1. How great the work of redemption !

2. God the Alpha and Omega in it.

3. Chrift in all things hath the pre-eminence.

4. The harmony of divine Providence, c. The truth of the Scriptures.

6. Difplay of the divine power and glory, wifdom. mercy and faithfulnefs.

7'

9. Happinefs of the church. 10. Mifery of wicked men.

HISTORY

HISTORY

O F

REDEMPTION.

Isaiah, li 8.

FOR THE MOTH SHALL EAT THEM UP LIKE A GARMENT, AND THE WORM SHALL EAT THEM LIKE WOOL : BUT MY RIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL BE FOR EVER, AND MY SALVATION FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.

T

H E defign of this chapter is to comfort the church under her fufFerings, and the perfecutions of her enemies; and the argument of confolation infifted on, is, the con-ftancy and perpetuity of God's mercy and faithfulnefs, which fhall be manifeft in continuing to work falvation; prote6ling her againft all affaults of her enemies, and carrying her through all the changes of the world, and finally crowning her with vi(Story and deliverance.

In the text, this happinefs of the church of God is fet forth by comparing it with the contrary fate of her enemies that opprefs her. And therein we may obferve,

I. How fhort-lived the power and profperity of the church's enemies is: ' The moth fliall eat them up like ' a garment, and the worm fhall.eat them like wool;' (a)

i. e.

(a) The MOTH— and the VJov.viJJjall eat them.~\ There is a flight inaccuracy in this rendering which is worth correcting, becaufc

i.e. however great their profperity, and however great their prefent glory, they {hall by degrees confume and vanifh away by a fecret curfe of God, till they come to nothing ; and their power and glory, and confequently their perfe-cutions, eteinally ceafe ; and thenifelves be finally and irrecoverably ruined : as the fined and moll glorious apparel v/ill in time wear away, and be confumed by moth and rottennefs. We learn who thofe are that iliall thus con-fume away, by the foregoing verfc, viz. thofe that are the enemies of God's people : ' Hearken unto me, ye that ' know righteoufnefs, the people in whofe heart is my law,

* fear ye not the reproach of men, (b) neither be ye afraid

* of THEIR revilings.

Obfcrve, i. The contrary happy lot and portion of God's church, cxprelfcd in thefe words, ' My righteoufnefs fhall

<■ be

it will throw a fartlier beauty on the text. It fliould feem that the word [l^'l^] gnajlj, rendered moth, ftrI6lly fignifies, not the moth-Jly, but the moth-worm, or caterpillar, and receives its name from its corroding and d-^roy'ing the texture of cloth. [Park hurst Lex. Heb. in Verb, and Scott in Job.] " The young moth," [or moth-worm] fays the ingenious Abbe Le Pluche, " upon leaving the ^'g'gi which a papiHo [or moth] has lodged upon a piece of ftuff .... commodious for her purpofe, finds a habitation and food .... it grows and lives upon the nap, and likewife builds v/ith it its apartment. . . . The whole is well faftencd to the ground of the ftuff with fcveral cords and a little glue. The moth [worm] . . . devours and demoliflics all about her ; . . . and when ihe has cleared the place . . . . flie draws out all the ftakes of this tent, after which flie carries it to fome little diflance, and then fixes it with flender cords in a new fituation. In this manner Oie continues to live at our expence till fne is fatlated with her food, at which period fiie is firit transformed into a nymph, and then changed mio zpapU'io, or raoth. [Nature Difplayed, vol. i. p. 35.] And this Is what is intended to be exprefied by the latter word [do] fas, whicli is the proper name oi the moth itfelf, from its agility. [vSo the LXX render it S/^tsj, and the Vulgate, Tinea. And hence is derived 2-/^-, ufed in the Greek and Syriac of Matt, vi. 20.] We would read the text thus, * The moth-worm fhall eat them like a garment, and the moth fhall devour them like ■wool.' So fecret, rapid, and complete fliall be the deftruftion of the church's enemies !

(b) * Reproach of men.^'\ BIfliopLowTH [inloc,] renders tiic latter word [iLMJ^j] fomewhat more elegantly and literally, " R.e-

proach of WRETCHED MAN,"

< be for ever, and my falvation from generation to gcne-

* ration.' Alfo who thofe are that fhall have the benefit of this, by the preceding verfe, namely, ' They that know

* righteoufnefs, and the people in whofe heart is God's ' law ;' or, in one word, the church of God. And concerning this tlieir happinefs wc may obferve two things, wherein its conlills, and its continuance.

(i.) Wherein it conilfts, viz. In God's righteoufnefs and falvation towards them. Ey God's righteoufnefs here, is meant his faithfulnefs and fulfilling his covenant pro-mifes to his church, or his faithfulnefs towards his church and people, in bellowing the benefits of the covenant of grace upon them ; (c) which benefits, though they are bellowed of free and fovereign grace, and are altoprcther undcferved ; yet as God has been pleafed, by the promifes of the covenant of grace, to bind himfelf to bellow them, fo they arc beflowed in the exercife of God's righteoufnefs or juftice. And therefore the apoftle fays [Heb. vi. 10.]

* God is not unrighteous, to forget your work and labour

* of love.' And the Evangelift [i John i. g.] ' If we

* confefs our fins, he is faithful and juft to forgive us our

* fins, and to cleanfe xis from all unrighteoufnefs.' So the word righteoufnefs is very often ufed in fcripture for God's covenant faithfulnefs; as in Nehem. ix. 8. ' Thou haft performed thy words, for thou art righteous.' So we are often to undcrftand righteoufnefs and covenant mercy for the fame, as [Pfa. xxiv. 5.] ' He fliall receive the bleffing

* from the Lord, and righteoufnefs from the God of his

* falvation.' [Pfa. xxxvi. 10.] ' Continue thy loving ' kindncfs to them that know thee, and thy righteoufnefs

* to the upright in heart.' [Pfa. li. 14.] ' Deliver me

* from blood guiltinefs, O God, thou God of my falva-« tion, and my tongue fliall fing aloud of thy righteoufnefs.' [Dan. ix. 16.] ' O Lord, according to thy righ-

' teoufnefs,

(c) God's righteoufnefs.2 " The word [pTy] righteoufnefs is ufed in fuch a great l4tltude of fignification . . . that it is noteafy fometimcs to give the precife meaning of it; .... it means here the faithful completion of God's promifes to deliver his people." ^Bp. LowTH, in ver. 5.J

' teoufnefs, I befeech thee, let thine anger and thy fury ' be turned away.'—And fo in innumerable other places.

The other word here uJfed is falvation. Of thefe, God's righteoufnefs and his falvation, the one is the caufe, of which the other is the efFecl. God's righteoufnefs, or covenant mercy, is the root, of which his falvation is the fruit. Both of them relate to the covenant of grace. The cue is God's covenant mercy and faitlifulnefs, the other ititends that work by which this covenant mercy is accom-plillied. For falvation is the fum of all"thofe works of God, bv which the benefits of the covenant of grace are procured and beiliowed.

(2.) We may obferve its continuance, fignified here by two expreffions ; for ever, and from generation to generation. The latter feems to be explanatory of the former. The phrafe for ever, is varioufly nfed in fcrip-ture. (d) Sometimes thereby is meant as long as a man

lives.

(d) The phrife for ever is imr'toujly ufed in fcrlpture.^ The meaning of this and the like expreffions is fo intimately connected with feveral controverfies, particularly the perpetuity of the law of Mofes, the duration of future torments, and the divinity of Chrift, that it is of confiderable confequencc to afcertain it. Schind-LERUS fays of the original tenn in Hebrew, ^^ JEvum, feculum, certum temporis fpacium : longum tempus pr^teritum aut futu-rum : tempus, cujus duratio ell abfcondita: duratio finita juxta fubjeftam materiam, de qui agitur." Parkkurst [Lex. in CD/J^] whofe words perfeftly correfpo.nd, interprets it of " Time, hiddeti or concealed ixom man, as well indefinite and eternal, as finite ; as well paft as future. It feems to be much more frequently ufed for an indefinite than for an infinite time." And even Mr. Levi explains it by " Perpetual; everlafting ; Jigurativelyt a certain num.ber of years.' [Heb. Dift. in Cd'?]^.]

We think the moll accurate method of explaining the different meanings of this phrafe would be, to reduce them to a general term, and none feenns to promife fo fair, or has been fo generally applied to it, as age (sevum, feculum) which we fhall therefore tr)', and apply to the inftances quoted by our author.

I. Forever^ everlafting, and the like terms, are fometimes applied to the age of human life, as in i Sam. xxviii. 2. ' And Achifh ' faid to David, I will make thee keeper of mine head for ever ;' i. e. as long as I live. So our author underftands Exod. xxi. 6. as above cited; but many refer this to the next fenl'c.

2. For

lives. Thus it is faid, [Exod. xxl. 6.] The fervant that had his ear bored through with aa awl to the door of his mafter Hiould ferve him for ever.—Sometimes thereby is meant during the continuance of the Jewifli ilate. So of many of the ceremonial and Livitical laws it is faid, that they fhould be ftatutesyir ever. —Sometimes it means as Ions as the world fhall ftand, or to the end of the (je-neraiionsof men. Thus [Ecclef. i. 4.] ' One generation * paffeth away and another cometh ; but the earth abideth

H '>•

2. For ever means to the year of jubilee, as Levi [ut fupra] and others. The fa£t is, if no jubilee intervened, the fervant whofc ear was bored was to ferve as long as he lived, but the jubilee roleafed him. And the term age might be applied to the period of the jubilee, which was fifty years, with as much propriety, as to that of a century. Seculuni has been differently explained of periods of thirty, one hundred, and even a thoufand years.

3. We frequently reftri£l the term/or ever to the ye-wifj age^ or difpcnfation, and thus account for the abolition of thofe ftatuteS which, as above obferved, were commanded to be keptybr ever. The tim.e of the Jewilh difpenfation may be with as much propriety called an age, as are the periods of other difpenfations:— thus we fay, the Antideluvian age, the Patriarchal age, the Millennial age. So the heathens divided the different periods of the world into the Golden age, the Silver age, the Iron age, &c.

4. The fame term may be extended to the period of the Gofpel difpenfation, or the Gofpel age, the lall which the fcripture warrants us to expeft, the termination of which therefore will be coeval with the end of the world ; and in this view, it will be the fame thing whether we refer the term_/b/- ever to the end of the gofpel difpenfation, or of the world, as our author does.

5. The expreflionybr ever muft certainly be fometimes taken in its utmoft extent, as reaching to eternity, /. e. the age of God and fpiritual beings; and we may obferve, that wlien the term is repeated (for ever arid ever) it is generally fo to be underftood.

6. The \.tixm for ever is frequently taken in a figurative view, as above hinted, for any long period, pafl or future. ' [See in the Heb. Ecclef. i. 10.—xii. 5.] Thus we ufe the term age when we fay, fuch a thing has been an age in doing—fuch a perfon is an age in coming—or fucli an event happened an age ago.

But the moft important thing is to eaftblifh a criterion to determine its full import in any text required. The i-emark of Schind-lerus above cited is certainly juit, namely, that the fuhjed vnijl determine it % may we not venture then to fay, that the termsybr every ^verhiftiug, 3cc. are always to be taken in the utinofl latitude the fub~ jecl ivdl admit of, and therefore to be extended to a proper eternity, when there is nothing dtecLfive to forbid it ?—[I. N.]

' for ever.'' Sometimes thereby is meant to all eternity. Soitisfaid, ' God is bleffed/cr <?z;^r.' [Rom. i. 25.] And [John vi. 51.] 'If any man eat of this bread he flaall ' live/or ever.'' K'ow which of thefe fenfes is here intended the next word determines, ' and my falvation from ' 'reiteration to gencrat'ion ;' that is, to the end of the world. Indeed the fruits of God's falvation fhall remain afterwards, as appears by the 6th vcrfe ; ' Lift up your ' eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath : * for the heavens lliall vanifli away like fmoak, and the ' earth Ihall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell ' therein ihall die in like manner, but my falvation fliall ' be for ever, and my righteoufnefs fliall not be abolifh-' ed.' But the work of the falvation of the church fliall continue to be wrought till then. Till the end of the world God will go on to accomplifli deliverance and falvation for the church, from all lier enemies ; for that is what the prophet is here fpeaking of. Till the end of the world ; till her enemies ceafe to be, or to have any power to moleft the church. And this cx^rt^xoxi, fro7?i generation to generation, may determine us, as to the tim.e which God continues to carry on the work of falvation for his church, both witli refpe6l to the beginning and end. It is from generation to generation, i. e. throughout all generations; beginning with the iirfl: generation of men upon the earth, and not ending till thefe generations end, with the world itfelf. And therefore we deduce from thefe words this

DOCTRINE.

THE WORK OF REDEMPTION IS A WORK WHICH GOD CARRIES ON FROM THE FALL OF MAN TO THE END , OF THE WORLD.

THE beginning of the pofterity of our firfl: parents was after the fall; for all their poflerity, by ordinary generation, are partakers of the fall, and of the corruption of

nature

nature that followed fiom it; and thefe generations, by which the human race is propagated, fhall continue to the end of the world; fo thefe two are the limits of the (Tcneration of men on the earth; the fall of man, and the end of the world. There are the fame limits to the work of redemption, as to thofe progreffive works of God, by which that redemption is accompllfiied; though not as to the fruits of it; for they, as was laid before, ihall be eternal.

The work of redemption and the work of falvation arc the (-Ame thing. What is fometimes in fcripture called God's faving his people, is in other places called his redeeming them. Chrift is called both the Saviour and Redeemer of his people.

Before entering on the propofed Hiftory of the Work of Redemption, I would,

1. Explain the terms made ufe of in the do61:rine ;— and,

2. Shew what are thofe things which are defigned to be accompliflied by this great work.

I. I am to ihow in what fenfe the terms ot the doctrine are ufed.—And, (i.) I Ihall point out how I wouW'; be underriood when I ufe the word redotiptlon ;—and, (2.) When I fay, the work is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world.

(i.) I mufb Ihow how I would be underftood when I ufe the word redemption. —And here it may be obferved, that the work of redemption is fometimes to be taken in a limited fenfe, for the purchafe of falvation ; (for fo the word ftridlly fignities, a purchafe of deliverance ;) and if we take it in this fenfe, the work of redemption was not fo long in doing: but it was begun and iinifhed with Chrift's humiliation. It was begun with Chrift's incarnation, carried on through his. life, and iinifhed with his death, or the time of his remaining under the power-ot deatli, which ended in his refurreclion : and fo we fay, that the day of Chrift's refurredlion is the day when he finiflicd the work of redemption, i.e. then the purchafe

H 2 . was

so HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

was finifned : and the work itfelf, and all that appertained

to it, was virtually done, hut not aHually.

But fometimes the work of redemption is taken more largely, as including all that God doth tending to this end ; not only the purchafe itfelf, but alfo all God's works that were properly preparatory to, orapplicatory of, the purchafe, and accomplirtiing the fuccefs of it: fo then the whole dif-penfation, as it includes the preparation, the purchafe, and the application and fuccefs of Chrid's redemption, may be called the work of redemption. All that Chrift does in this great affair as mediator, in any of his offices, either of prophet, prieft, or king ; either when he was in this world in his human nature, or before, or fmce : and not only what Chrift the mediator has done, but alfo what the Father, or the Holy Ghofi:, have done, as covenanted in this defiiT-n of redeeming fmful men : or, in one word, all that is wrought in execution of the eternal covenant of redemption; this is what I call the work of redemption in the do6lrine ; for it is all but one work, one defign. The various difpenfations or works that belong to it, are but the feveral parts of one fclicme. It is but one defign that is formed, to which all the offices of Chrift directly tend; in which all the Perfons of the Trinity confpire; and all the various difpenfations that belong to it are united. The feveral wheels are one machine, to anfwer one end, and produce one effe6l.

(2.) When I fay, this work is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world ; in order to the full un-derftanding of my meaning in it, I would defire two or three things to be obferved.

[1.] That it is not meant, that nothing was done in order to it before the fall of man. Some things were done before the world was created, yea, from all eternity. The perfons of the Trinity were, as it were, confederated in a defign, and a covenant of redemption ; (e) in which covenant

(e) The Persons nf the TrinitV.] Some fericus perfons have been offended at thefe terms as unfcrlptural and unwarrant-

able=

venant the Father had appointed the Son, and the Son had undertaken tlie work : and all things to be accompliilied in the work were ftipulated and agreed : and befides thefe, there were things done at the creation of the world, in order to that work, before man fell; for the world itfelf feems to have ^been created in order to it. The work of creation was in order to God's works of providence ; fo that if it be inquired, which of thefe are the greatefl, the works of creation, or the works of providence ? I anfwer, tlie works of providence ; becaufe God's works of providence are the end of his works of creation; as the building

able. It is acknowledged well to keep as much as may be to the phrafeology, as well as doftrines of revelation ; but it is not always poffible ; unlefs, at leaft, we will talk Greek and Hebrew. As to the word Trinity, fince it implies no more than the union of Three in 0/2j, without leaning to any particular fcheme of explication, thofe who believe the divine and myfterious union of Father, Son, and Spirit, in one Godhead, need hardly fcruple it, however averfe to human fyftems.

The term Person when applied to Deity is certainly ufed in a fcnfe fomewhat different from that in which we apply it to one another ; but when it is confidered that the Greek words ['YTroraiyir & TLfVTui'nov'] to which it anfwcrs, are in the New Tcftament applied to the Father and Son, [Hcb. i. 3.—2 Cor. Iv. 6.] and that uoJingle term, at leaft, can be found more fuitable, it can hardly be condemned as unfcriptural or improper.

The Perfons of the Trinity are confederated in a covenant, &^c. It would lead us far beyond the compafs of a note to enter here on the doftrine of the covenants ; we fliall therefore only fubjoin a few of the texts on which it is founded.

2 Sam. xsiii. 5. ' He hath made with me an everlafting cove-

* nant, ordered in all things and fure ; for this Is all my falvation ' and all my defire.'

Pf. xl. 6—8. * Sacrifice and offering thou didft not defire—

* then faid I, Lo, I come ; in the volume of the book it is written

* of me.' Compare Heb. :;. 5—9.

Pf. Ixxxix. throughout. ' I have made a covenant v,-Ith my cho-

* fen—then thou fpakefl In vifion to the holy one and faid, I have ' laid help on one that is mighty,'—&c. Compare Hof. ill. 5.

Pf. ex. throughout. * The Lord faid unto my Lord, fit thou

* at my right hand—the Lord hath fvvorn and will not repent, thou ' art a prieft for ever,' &c. Comp. Matt, xxli. 24.

Dan. ix. 27. ' He fliall confirm the covenant with many.' Heb. viii. 6. ' He Is the mediator of a better covenant.' r- xlii. 20. * The blood of the everlafting covenant/'

ing an houfc, or liic forming an engine or machine, is for its future ufe. But God's main work of providence is this great work of redemption, as will more fully appear hereafter.

The creation of heaven was in order to the work of redemption ; it was to be an habitation for the redeemed: [Matt. XXV. 34.] ' Then fnall the King fay unto them 6n ' his right hand. Come, ye bleffed of my Father, inherit ' the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the * world.' Even the angels were created to be employed in this work, (f) And therefore the apoftle calls them, ' miniftering fpirits, fent forth to minifter for them who ' ihall be heirs of falvation.' [Heb. i. 14.] As to this lower world, it was doubtlefs created to be a flage upon which this great and wonderful work of redemption Jliould be tranfafted ; and therefore, as m.ight be fliewn, in m.any refpefits this world is wifely fitted, in the formation, for fuch a flate of man as he is in fincc the fall, imder a poffibility of redemption ; fo that when it is faid, that the work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world, it is not meant, that all that ever was done in order to redemption has been done fmce the fall.

Nor, [2.] Is it meant that there will be no remaining fruits of this work after the end of the vvorld. That glory and bleficdnefs, which will be the fum of them all, will remain to the faints for evei". The work of redemption is not a work ahvays doing and never accomplifhed ;

the

(f) Heaven [and the Angels) creaiecl in order to the ivork of Rcdewpiion. That is, this was one of the ends God had then in view, but the fuprcme end was his own glory. See Prov. xvi. 4.

This World created io be ajlageforthc work of Redemption. This thought is certainly juft and beautiful. Thofe who liave con-fidered the world as defigned for only perfeft creatures, have had many difficulties which this idea at once removes. Wh"&t would have become of our firft parents, had they continued in a ftate of innocency ? How the world would have contained all its fucccfTive generations at once ? And the like inquiries are as impertinent as perplexing. God foreknew the fall—fore-ordained the mediator—r and previoully fitted the world to his own magnificent defigns.

the work has nu iffuc : but in the ilTue the end will be obtained ; which end will never terminate. As thole things that were in order to this work before the beginning of the world, z>iz. God's elefting love, and the covenant of redemption, never had a beginning; fo the fruits of this work, which lliall be after the end of the world, will never have an end. And therefore,

(3.) When it is faid in the do6lrine, that this is a work that God is carrying on from the fall of man to the end of the world, what I mean, is, that thofe things which belong to the work itielf, and are parts of this fcheme, are all this while accomplilhing. There were fome things done preparatory to its beginning, and the fruits of it will remain after it is finiflied. But the work itfelf was begun immediately upon the fall, and will continue to the end of the world, and then be finifhed : the various difpenfations of God in this fpace belong to the fame work, and to the fame defign, and have all one iiTue ; and therefore are all to be reckoned but as feveral parts of one work, as it were, feveral fucceiTive motions of one machine, to bring about, in the conclufion, one great event.

And here alfo we muft diftinguifli between the parts of redemption itfelf, and the parts of that work by which redemption is wrought out. There is a difFerence between the parts of the benefits procured and beftowed, and the parts of that work of God by which thofe benefits were procured and beftowed. As, for example, there is a difFerence between the parts of the benefit that the children of Ifrael received, in their redemption out of Egypt, and the parts of that work of God by which this was wrought. The redemption of the children of Ifrael out of Egypt, confidered as tire benefit which they enjoyed, conlifled of two parts, viz. their deliverance from their forrtier Egyptian bondage and mifery, and their being brought into a more happy ftate, as the fervants of God, and heirs of Canaan. But there are many more things which are parts of that work of God which is called his work of redeeming Ifrael out of Egvpt. • To

this

this belong his calling of Mofes, his fending him to Pharaoh, the figns and wonders he wrought in Egypt, and his bringing fuch terrible judgments on the Egyptians, and many other things.

Such is the work by which God effe6ls the redemption we arefpeaking of: and it is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world, in two refpects.

(i.) With refpeft to the effect wrought on the fouls of the redeemed, Vv^hich is common to all ages. This efteft is the application of redemption with refpedl to the fouls of particular perfons, in converting, juftifying, fanctify-ing, and glorifying them. Thus linners are a6lually redeemed ; and receive the benefit of the work of redemption in its efFe£l upon their fouls. And in this fcnfe the work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world. The work of God in converting fouls, opening blind eyes, unftopping deaf ears, raifing the fpi-ritually dead to life, and refcuing miferable captives out of the hands of Satan, was begun foon after tire fall of man, has been carried on ever fmce, and will be to the end. God has always, ever fince the firll: eredlion of the church of the redeeuicd after the fall, liad fuch a church in the world. Though oftentimes it has been reduced to a very narrow compafs, and to low circurailances ; yet it lias never wholly failed.

And as God carries on the work of converting the fouls of fallen men through all ages, fo he goes on to juftify them, to blot out their fins, to accept them as righteous in his fight, through the righteoufnefs of Chrifi, and adopt and receive them from being the children of Satan, to be his own children ; thus alfo he goes on to fan6lify, and complete the work of his grace, begun in them, to comfort thcnr with the confolations of his Spirit, and to beftow upon them, wlien their bodies die, that eternal glory wliich is the fruit of the purchafe of Chriff. What is faid, [Rom. viii. 30.] ' Whom he did predeftinate, * them he alfo called ; and who!>-i lie called, them he alfo ' jufiified ; and wliom he jufiined, them he alfo glorified ;'

is

INTRODUCTION. SS

k applicable to all ages, from the fall, to the end of the world.

The way that the work of redemption, with refpeck to thefc effects of it on the fouls of the redeemed, is thus carried on, is by repeating and continually efFedliug the fame work over again, though in ditferent perfons, from age to age. But,

[2.] The work of redemption with refped to the grand defign in general, as it refpeds the univerfal fub-je6l and end, is carried on in a different manner, not merely by repeating or renewing the fame efFeft in the different fubjefts of it, but bv many fucceffive works and difpenfations of God, all tending to one great end, all united as the feveral parts of one fcheme, and all together making up one great work. Like as when an houle or temple is being built; firft, the workmen are engaged, then the materials are colle6led, the ground prepared, the foundation laid, the fuperftruilure ere6led, one part after another, till at length the top-flone is laid, and all is £niflied. Now the work of redemption in that exten-five fenfe which has been explained, may be compared to fuch a building. God began it immediately after the fall, as may be Ihown hereafter, and has proceeded, as it were, colle6ling materials, and building, ever fince; and fo will continue to the end of the world; and then (liall the top-ftone be brought forth, and the whole appear complete and glorious.

This work is carried on in the former refpedl, as to the cffe6\ on the fouls of particular perfons, by its bein^^ an effedl that is common to all ages: the work is carried in this latter refpc61:, as it concerns the church of God, and tbe grand delign in general, not only by that which is common to all ages, but by fucceffive works wrought in ditTcrent ages, all parts of one great fcheme. It is this carrying on of the work of redemption that I fliall chiefly infill: upon, tliough not exclufively of the former ; for one neceffarily fuppofes the other.

Having thus explained what I mean by the terms of the dodlrine; that you may the more cleiruly fee how ilie

r^6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

great defign and work of redemption is carried on from tbc5' fall of man to the end of the world,

(2.) I now proceed, to (how what is the defign of this p-reat work, or what things are intended to be accomplifh-ed by it. In order to fee how a defign is carried on, we muft firfl: know what It is r to know how a workman proceeds, and to tinderfland the various fteps he tal^es in order to accomplifh a piece of work, we mull: be informed what he is about, and wliat it is he intends to do; otherwife we may Hand by, and fee him do one thing after another, and be quite puzzled and in the dark; fee nothing of his fcheme, and underfland nothing of what he means by it. If an architect, with a great number of hands, were building fome great palace, and one that was a ftranger to fuch things ihould ftand by, and iee fome men digging in the eartli, others bringing timber, others hewing flones, and the like, he might fee that there was a great deal done; but if he knew not the defign, it would all appear to him confufion. And therefore, that the great works and difpenfations of God which belong to this great affair ot redemption may not appear like confufion to you, I flrall fet before you briefly the main things defigned to be accompliflied in this great work, to accomplifh which God began to work fo early after the fall, and will continue working until the whole fliall be completely finillied. Now the main things defigned arc thefe that follow.

(i.) To put all God's etiomies under his feet, and that the goodnefs of God may finally triumph over all evil. Soon after the world was created, evil entered into the world in the fall of the angels and man. Prefently after God had made rational creatures, there were enemies who rofe up againft him from among them ; and in the fall of man evil entered into this world, and God's enemies rofe up againft him here. Satan rofe up againft God, endeavouring to fruftrate his defign in the creation of this world, to dcllroy his workmanihip here, to wreft the government out of his hands, to \ifurp the throne, and fet up himfelf as god of this world, inftead of tlic God

that

that made it. For thefc ends he introduced Cm into it, and having made man God's enemy, he brought guilt, death, and the nioft extreme and dreadful mifery, into the world.

Now one grand dellgn of God in the affair of redemption was, to reduce and fubdue thofe his enemies till they ihould all be put under his feet; [i Cor. xv. 25.] ' He * mufl reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet.' Things were originally fo planned, that he might dlfap-point, confound, and triumph over Satan, and that he might be bruifed under Chrift's feet. [Gen. iii. 15.] The promife was given, that the feed of the woman /hould bruife the ferpent's head. It was a part of God's original defjgn in this work, to deftroy the work of tlie devil, and confound him in all his purpofes : [i John iii. 8.] ' For ' this purp fe was the Son of God manifeflcd, that he ' might dellroy the works of the devil,' It was a part of his defign, to triumph over lin, and over the corruptions of men, and to root them out of the hearts of his people, by conforming them to himfelf. He deligned alio, that his grace ihould triumph over m.an's guilt, and the infinite demerit which is in fin. (c) Again, it was a part of his defign to triumph over death; and however this is the lafi; enemy that fhall be overcome, yet that Ihall finally be vanquiilied and deftroyed.

Tiius God will appear glorious above all evil, and triumphant over all his enemies, whicii was one grand thin-^ intended by the work of redemption.

(2.) God's defign was perfectly to refiorc the ruins of the tall, fo far as coilcerns the elect part of the world.

I 2 by

(g) God tldfgned that his grace JhouJd triumph overman's guilt.] " Though the guilt of man was like the great mountains, whofe heads are lifted up to the heavens ; yet his [Chrid's] dying love, and hi^ merits in this, appeared as a mighty dehtge that ovei flowed the highell mountains; or, like a boundlefs ocean that fwallows them up ; or, like an immenfe fountain of light, that with the fulnefs and redundance of its brightnefs, fwallows up men's greateft iins, as little rnotes are fwallowed up and hidden in the dilk of the fuu." [Pref, Edwards's Poilhumous Serm. p. 138.]

by his Son; (h) and therefore we read of the reftitution of all things, [Afks iii. 21.] ' Whom the heaven muft

* receive, until the times of the reftitution of all things;' and of the times of refrefhing from the prefence of the Lord Jefus. [A6ts iii. 19.] ' Repent ye therefore and be ^ converted, that your fins may be blotted out, when the ' time of refrefliing fhall come from the prefence of the « Lord.'

Man'sy&tt/ was ruined by the fall; the image of God was defaced ; man's nature was corrupted, and he became dead in fin. The defign of God was, to reflore the foul of man; to reflore life, and the image of God, in conver-fion; and to carry on this work in fandlification, until he fhould perfedl it in glory. Man's body was ruined; by the fall it became fubjedl to death. The defign of God was to reftore it from this ruin, and not only to deliver it from death, by the refurredlion, but to deliver it from "mortality itlelf, in making it like unto Chrift's glorious body. The it'5r/(^ was ruined, as to m::n, as effedlually as if it had been reduced to chaos again; all heaven and earth were overthrown. But the delign of God was, to reftore all, and as it were to create a new heaven and a new earth: [Ifa. Ixv. ly.] ' Behold I create new heavens, and a new

* earth; and the former fliall not be remembered, nor

* come into mind.' [2 Pet. iii. 13.] ' Neverthelefs we, ' according to his promife, look for new heavens, and a ' new earth, wherein dwelleth righteoufnefs.'

The work by which this was to be done, was begun immediately after the fall, and fo is carried on till all is iiniihed at the end, when the whole world, heaven and earth, fliall be reftored ; and there fliall be, as it were,

new

(h) God's defign luas to rejlore the ruins of the fall as far as con-eerns the z-L's.CT.'l Some have carried the propofition farther, and extended it to not only all mankind, but even the fallen angds; and have fiippofed that the very being of moral and penal evil will ceafe. But it will appear in the fequcl of this work, that God's plan does not extend fo far: ' the reftitution,' or rather ' regu-lation of all things,' feems to refer to the general judgment. [See Park HURST, Lex. in A7r&;K«Tar«7if, and Doddridge i.i loc.] [N. N.l

new heavens, and a new earth, in a fpiritual and fublime fenfe, at the end of the world. Thus it is reprefented, [ Rev. xxi. I. ] ' And I faw anew heaven and a new earth ; ' for the firtt heaven and the firll: earth were paffed away.'

(3.) Another great defign of God in the work of redemption was to gather together in one, all things in Chrift, both in heaven and in earth, i. e. all elecSl creatures, (i) in heaven and in earth, to an union in one body, under one head; and to unite all together in one body to God the Father. This was begun foon after the fall, and is carried on throughout all ages, and fnall be finiihed at the end of the world.

(4.) God dcfigns by this work to perfe6l and complete the glory of all the ele6t of Ciirifl:. To advance them to an exceeding pitch of glory, ' fuch as eye hath not feen, ' nor ear heard, nor has ever entered into the heart of ' man.' He intends to bring them to pcrfe6l excellency and beauty in his image, and in holinefs, which is the proper beauty of fpiritual beings; and to advance them to a glorious degree of honour, an ineffable height of

pleafare

( I ) Another defign of God was to gather together in Chrifl all eha treatures ; i. e. Angels as well as men, ' That in the difpenfa-

* tion of the fuliiefs of times, he might gather together all things

* in Chrift, both which are in heaven and which are in earth, even

* in him, .... who is the head of all principality and power.' [Eph. i. 10.—Col. ii. 10.] " That Chrift, God-man, fliould be made the head of the angels, is greatly to their benefit. 1. Be-caufe they thereby become more nearly related to fo glorious a pcrfon. . . .. He is theirs : though not their faviour, yet he is their head of government and head of influence.—2. They, hereby, are under advantages for a far more intimate converfe with God. The divine nature is at an infinite diftance from the nature of angels, as well as from the nature of man. It is thei-efore a great advantage to the angels that God is come down to them in a created nature, and in that nature is become their head. 3. Men are brought in to join with angels ... in their work of praif-ing God. The angels greatly rejoice at this. [Luke xv. 10.] The vacancy by the fall of angels is filled up. 4. It tends to make the angels the more to prize their happinefs, when they fee how much it coll; to purchafe the fame happinefs for man." [Pref. Edwards's Pofthumous Sermons, p. 320.]

pleafure and joy, and thus to glorify the whole church of ele6t men in foul and body; and with them to bring the •o-lory of the eleft angels to its highefl elevation under on« head.

(5.) In all this God defigned to accompliih the glory of the blefled Trinity in an eminent degree. God had a deiign from eternity to glorify each perfon in the Godhead. The end mufl: be confidered as iirfl in order of nature, and then the means; and therefore we muft conceive, that God having profeffed this end, had then, as it were, the means to chufe; and the principal mean that he pitched upon was this great work of redemption which we are fpeaking of. It was his defign in this work to glorify his only begotten fon, Jefus Chrift; (k) and by the Son to glorify the Father; [John xiii. 31, 32.] ' Now is the < Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If * God be gloritied in him, God alfo fliall glorify him ' in himfeif, and fliall ftraightway glorify him.' It was his defign that the Son fhould thus be glorified, and fliould glorify the Father by what fhould be accomplifhed by the Spirit, to the glory of the Spirit; that the whole Trinity conjunftly, and each perfon di6linclly, might be exceedingly gloritied. The work which was the appointed mean of this was begun immediately after the fall, and is carried on till, and finiihed at, the end of the world, when ail this intended glory iliall be fully accom-pllflied.

Having thus explained the terms made ufe of in the dodlrine, and fliown what things are to be accomplilhed by this-great work of God, I proceed now to the propo-fed Hiftory ; that is, to Ihow how the defjgns of God by

the

(k) // luas God's defign to glorify his Son.] " Look round on the fhifting fcenes of glory, which have been exhibited in the theatre of this world; and fee the fuccefs of mighty conquerors, the policy of ftates, the dcftiny of empires, depend on the fccret pur-pofe of God in his Son Jefus ; before whom all the atchlevemcnts and imaginations of men nuift bow down; and to vvhofe honour, all the myllerious workings of his providence are now, liuve hitherto been, and will for ever be, direfted."- [Bp. Hurd's Serm, Jsefore Society for the Propagation of the Gofpel.^

the work of ledemption have been and rtiallbe accomplilh-ed, in the various fteps of this work, from the fall of man to the end of tlie world.

In order to this, I fhall divide this whole fpace of time into three periods:—The

I. Reaching from the fall of Man to the incarnation of Chrift;—The

IT. From Chrift's incarnation till his refurredlion ; — The

III. From thence to the end of the world.

Some may be ready to think this a very unequal divi-fion ; and it is fo indeed in fome refpedls. It is fo, be-caufe the fecond period is fo much the greatefl:: for although it be much fhorter than either of the other, (being but between thirty and forty years, whereas both the other contain thoufands;) yet in the affair we are now upon, it is more than both the others; I would therefore proceed to fhew diftindlly how the work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world, through each of thefe periods in their order; which I fl:iall do under three propofitions; one concerning each period :

I. From the fall of man to the incarnation

OF CHRIST, GOD WAS DOING THOSE THINGS WHICH WERE PREPARATORY TO HIS COMING, AND EARNESTS OF HIS REDEMPTION.

II. That the time from Christ's incarnation,

TO HIS RESUPvRECTION, WAS EMPLOYED IN PROCURING AND PURCHASING REDEMPTION.

HI. That the space of time from the resurrection OF CHRIST to the END OF THE WORLD IS ALL ENGAGED IN BRINGING ABOUT THE GREAT EFFECT, OR SUCCESS, OF THAT PURCHASE.

In a particular confidcration of thefe three propofitions, the great truth contained in the do6lrine may perhaps appear in a clear light, and we may fee how the work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world,

PERIOD

PERIOD I.

FROM THE FALL TO THE INCARNATION.

M

,Y firfl tafl<. is, to (how how the work of redem])tioo is carried on from the fall of man to the incarnation of Chr'ijl under thtfirf propofitioHy viz.

That from the fall of man to the incarnation OF CHRIST, GOD WAS DOING THOSE THINGS which WERE PREPARATORY TO HIS COMING, AND EARNESTS OF HIS REDEMPTION.

The great works of God in the world, during this whole fpace of time, were all preparatory to this. There were many great changes and revolutions in the world, but they were only the turning of the wheels of providence in order to make way for the coming of Chrift, and what he was to do in the world. They were all pointed hither, and all iffued here. Hither tended, ef-pecially, all God's great works towards his church. The church w-as under various difpenfations and in various circumilances, before Chrift came; but all thefe difpenfations were to prepare the way for his coming. God wrought falvation for the fouls of men through all that fpace of time, though the number was very fmall to what it was afterwards; (l) and all his falvation was, as

it

(L) The number of fouls faved before Chrift's coining, comparal'tvely^ very few.] There is no fiibjeft on which our fpeculatioiis have lefs certainty than that of the comparative number of the faved. Among angels forae have fuppofed thofe who fell to form at leaft one third of the whole; and other confign over a great majority of mankind to the fame awful condemnation. But ' God's thoughts are not our thoughts, neither his ways as our ways.'

As to the antient Jews, althougli their difpenfation was comparatively dark, and their temper naturally rebellious, we have rca-fon to believe an innumerable multitude was faved from among them. If in times of o-encval idolatrv and liccntioufnefs, when a

holy

It were, by way of anticipation. All the fouls that were faved before Chiiil; came, were only, as it were, the earned: of the future harvcft.

God wrought many leffer falv'ations and deliverances for his church and people before Chrilt came. Thefe falvations were all but fo many images and forerunners of the great faJvation Chrift was to work out when he fliould come. God revealed himfelf of old, from time to time, from the fall of man to the coming of Chrifl:. The church during that fpace of time enjoyed the light of divine revelation, and, in a degree, the light of the gofpel. But all thefe revelations were only earnefts of the great light that he ihould bring who came to be ' the light ' of the world ;' that whole fpace of time was, as it were, the time of night, wherein the church of God was not indeed wholly in darknefs, but it was like the light of the moon and ftars, and not to be compared with the light of the fun. It ' had no glory, by reafon of the glory that excelieth.' [2. Cor. iii. 10.] The church had indeed the light of the fun, but it was only as refleiSled from the moon and flars. The church all that while may be con-fidcred as a minor; this the apoflle evidently teaches [in Gal. iv. I, 2, 3.] * Now I fay, that the heir as long as ' he is a child, dIfFereth nothing from a fervant, tlioun-Ji ■^ he be lord of all; bat is under tutors and c:overnors, ' until the time appointed of the Father. Even fo wc, » when We were children, were in bondage under the ele-' lYients of the world.'

K But

holy prophet bewailed himfelf as the only fervant of the true God left: if, in fuch a time God had referved to himfelf fcven thoufand faithful worfhippers, [i. Kings xix. 10.] doubtlcfs at other times, when religion fiouriihed, their number mull be confidcrably greater.

But the Heathen nations are by many totally given up, except here and there a perfon faved by miracle, * God's ways, however, ♦ are not as our ways,' and it was as pofflble for God to fave them without the ufual means of grace, as to fave infants without any external means at all.

After all, had God fuffered our whole world to periih, what is It to the innumerable globes that float in his prefence ? Probably not more than tlie deftruftlon of an ant hill, or a bee hive, to the whole fpccies of ants or bees [N. U.]

But here, for the greater clearnefs and diftindtnefs, I fhall fubdivide this period from the fall of man to the coming of Chrift, into fix leffer periods.

I. From the fall to the flood ;— II. From the flood to the calling of Abraham;—

III. From the calling of Abraham to Mofes ;—

IV. From Mofes to David;—

V. From David to the Babylonifli captivity ;—and the VL From thence to the Incarnation of Chrifl:.

§ I. From the FALL to the flood.

THIS was a period farthefl: of all dift:ant from Chrifl's incarnation; yet then was this great work begun, this glorious building which will not be finiflied till the end of the world ; and this is what I am now to fiievv you: to this purpofe I would obferve,

I. As foon as man fell, Chrifl: entered on his mediatorial work. Then it was that he firfl: began to execute the work and oflice of a mediator. He had undertaken it before the world was made. He fl;ood_ engaged with the Father from eternity to appear as man's mediator, when there ihould be occafion: and now the time was come. When man fell, Chrift immediately entered on his work, and a6tually took upon him that office. Then Chrift, the eternal Son of God, cloathed himfelf witli the mediatorial characfVer, and therein prefented himfelf before the Father. He immediately ftepped in between an holy, infinite, oflcndcd majefty, and offending mankind ; and was accepted in his interpofition ; and thus wrath was prevented from going forth in tlie full execution of that curie which man had brought upon himfelf.

It is manifeft that Chrift began to exercife the office of mediator between God and man as foon as man fell, be-caufe mercy began to be exercifcd towards man immediately.

ately. There was mercy In the forbearance of God, (m) that he did not deftroy him, as he did the angels when they fell:-but there is no mercy excrcifed toward fallen man, but through a mediator. If God had not in mercy reftrained Satan, he would have immediately feized on his prey. Chrift began to dp the part of an interceflbr for man, as foon as he tell. There is no mercy exercifed towards man, but what is obtained through Chrifl's in-tcrceffion ; fo that now Chrift entered on that work which he was to continue throughout all ages of the world. From that day. forward Chrift took upon him the care of the church, in the exerclfe of all his offices; from thence he undertook to teacli mankind in the exercife of his prophetical office; to intercede for them, in his prieftly office ; alfo he took upon him the government of the church, and of the world. He from that time took upon him the defence of his eleft from all their enemies. When Satan, the grand enemy, had conquered and overthrown man, the bufinefs of refifting and conquering him was conimitted to Chrift; and he undertook to manage that fubtle powerful adverfary. He was then appointed the captain of the Lord's hofts, and the captain of their fal-vation, and ever after a6fed, and will continue to act, as fuch to the end of the world. Thenceforward this world, with all its concerns, was, as it were, devolved upon the Son of God: for when man had fmned, God the Father would have no more to do with man immediately, but

K .2 only

(m) There ivas mercy hithe forbearance of God.~\ Milton, with whom our author frequently coincides, puts this fentimcnt into the mouth of Adam, in his confolatory addrefs to Eve.

" Remember with what mild

And gracious temper he both heard and judg'd, Without wrath or reviling : we expefted Immediate difTolution, which we thought

Was meant by death that day ; when lo, to thee *>

Pains only in child bearing were foretold. And bringing forth, foon recompens'd with joy, Fruit of thy womb: on me the ciufe aflope Glanc'd on the ground" . . . [Par. Loft, Book x.]

This fubjed, and Milton's beautiful iiliiftratlun of it, we ihali have occafion lo refume In the fequel of this feftion.

only through a mediatoi'; either in teaching, in governing, or in beflowing any beneiits upon him.

And therefore, when we read in facred hiflory what God did from time to time for his church and people, and liow he revealed himfelf to them, we are to underftand it efpecially of the fecond perfon of the Trinity. When we read of God's appearing after the fall, frequently in fome vifible form, or outward lymbol of his pretence, wc are ordinarily, if not univerfally, to underftand it of the Son of God. (n) This may be argued from John i. i8.

* No man hath feen God at any time; the only begotten *^ Son, which is in tlie bofom of the Father, he hath de-

* clared him.' He is therefore called ' the image of the

* invifible God,' [Col. i. 15.] intimating, that though God the Father be invifible, yet Chrift is his image, or re-prefentation, by which he is feen.

Yea, not only this world devolved on Chrifl:, that he might have the care and government of it, and order it agreeably to his defign of redemption, but alfo in fome refpecl, the whole univerfe. The angels from that time were given unto liim, to be miniflering fpirits in this grand buhnefs; and accordingly were fo from this time, as is manifeft by the fcripture hiftory, wherein we have accounts of their acting as fuch in the affairs of the church of Chrift, from time to timq.

And therefore we may fuppofe, that immediately on the fall, it was made known in heaven (o) that God had

a defi'in

(n) IVhen nuc read of God's appearing after tJ>e fall, ive are to underflatid it of the Son of God.'} The principal appearances here alluded to, and the perfon thus appearing, will be coniidered under § VI. of this period.

(o) God's defign of mercy made knoivn in heaven immediately on the fall.} Milton, with, at leaft, equal beauty and probability, fuppofcs this diicovcry to have preceded the fall. He reprefents the eternal Father as viewing Satan flying tovvards this world, and foretelling his fucccfs, and his own purpofes of grace in the ilTue. The pafTage, as it is extremely -beautiful and will illuftratc not only this, but feveral other of our author's obfcivations under ihis fetiion, we Ihall in part tranfciibc ;

« Him

■A defign of redemption with refpcft to man ; that Chrift had now taken upon him the office and work of a mediator

between

*' Him [Satan] God beholding from his profpeft high, Wherein pad, prefent, future, he beholds, Thus to his only Son forefeeing fpake :

" Only begotten Son, feed thou what rage

Tranfpovts our adverfary ?

■ And now

Through all reftraints broke loofe, he v/ings his way

Not far off heaven, in the precinfts of light,

Direftly towards the new-created world ;

And man there plac'd, with purpofe to effay,

If him by force he can deftroy, or worfe,

By fome falfe guile pervert: and fliall pervert,

For man will hearken to his glozing lies,

And cafily tranfgrefs the fole command,

Sole pledge of his obedience ; fo will fall

He and his faithlefs progeny

Man falls, deceiv'd

By th'othcr firfl: man therefore fhall find grace, The other none : in mercy and juftice both, Through heav'n and earth, fo fliall my glory excell;

But mercy, firft and laft, fhall brighteft fliine.

" Thus while God fpake, ambrofial fragrance hll'd

All heav'n, and in the bleffed fpirits eleft

Senfe of new joy ineffable difFus'd :

Beyond compare the §on of God was fecn

Mod glorious ; in him all his Father fhone

Subftantially exprefs'd ; and in his face

Divine compafTion viiibly appear'd,

Love without end, and without meafure, grace ;

Which uttering, thus he to his Father fpake :

" O Father, gracious was that word which clos'd

Thy fov'reign fentcnce, that man fliould find grace ;

For which both heaven and earth fhall high extoll

Thy praifes. ... -

" To whom the great Creator thus reply'd ;

O Son, in whom my foul hath chief delight.

But all is not yet done ; man difobeying.

He, with his whole poUerity, mufl die ; Die he or juflice mull; unlefs for him Some able, and as willing, pay The rigid fatisfacliun, death for death,

'Sav,

between God and man ; and that the angels were henceforward to be fubfervient to him in that ofl&ce : and as Chrift has been, fince that time, as God-man, exalted King of heaven ; and is thenceforward a Mediator, the Light, and the Sun of heaven, (agreeable to Rev. xxi. 23. ' And the

* city had no need of the fun, neither of the moon, to fhine ' in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb

* is the light thereof;') fo the revelation now made in heaven among the angels, was, as it were, the firft dawning of this light tliere. When Chrift afcended into glory after his paffion, and was folemnly enthroned, then this fun arofc in heaven ; but the light began to dawn immediately after the fall.

2. Pre-

Say, heav'nly pow'rs, where fhaU we find fuch love ? <

He aflc'd ; but all the heav'nly choir flood mute. And iileiice was in heav'n : on man's behalf patron or interceffor none appear'd.

Had not the Son of God,

In whom the fulnefs dvv'ells of love divine, His deareft mediation thus renew'd.

** Father, thy word is paft, man fhall find grace ; And fliall not grace find means ? Behold Me then ; Me for him, life for life I offer; on me let all thine anger fall.

Admiration feiz'd

All heav'n, what this might mean, and whither tend,

Wond'ring." [Par. Loit, b. ill.]

But the idea of Mr. Gessner exaftly coincides with our author's. He introduces an angel addrcfTing our firil parents in the following elegant language :

" Know then, Adam ! on thy tranfgrefling the divine command, God faid to the happy fplrits who worfhip before him, ' Man hath

* difobeyed me; he fhall die.' A denfe cloud fuddenly encom-pafTed the eternal throne, and a deep file nee reigned through the whole expanfe of heaven. . . . The adoring angels were in eager cxpeftafion of v/hat was to follow this nnufual pomp, when the majeilic voice of God founded . . . thcfe words of benignity and grace—' I will not withdraw my favour from the finncr. To my

* infinite mercy the earth fiiall bear v/itncfs. Of the woman fliall

* he born an avenger, who fhall bruifc the head of the ferpent.

* Hell ihall not rejoice in this vidory ; denth Ihall lofe its prey ; ye

* heavens, (hew forth your gladntfs !—Thus fpake the EtcrnaL" [Death of Abel, b. il.l—-[N. U.}

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 69

2. Prefendy upon this the gofpel was firft revealed on earth, in thefe words, [Gen. iii. 15.] < And I will put

* enmity between thee [the ferpent] and tlie woman, and

* between thy feed and her feed : it fliall brulfe thy head, ' and thou flialt bruife his heel.' We may fuppofe, that God's intention of redeeming fallen man was hrft fignified in heaven before it was fignified on earth, becaufe the bu-fniefs of the angels as miniftering fpirits required it that they might be ready immediately to ferve him in that office: fo that the light firft dawned in heaven ; but very foon after was feen on earth. In thofe words of God there was an intimation of another furety to be appointed for man, after the firll had failed. This was the firft revelation of the covenant of grace, the firft dawn of light of the gofpel upon earth.

This world before the fall enjoyed noon-day light ; the light of the knowledge of God, of his glory, and of his favour: but when man fell, all this light was at once extinguiflied, and the world reduced again to total darknefs ; a darknefs worfe than that which was in the beginning of the world. [Gen. i. 2.] Neither men nor angels could find out any way whereby this mip^ht be fcattered. The blacknefs of this darknefs appeared when Adam and his wife knew that they were naked, and fewed fig leaves ; when they heard tlie voice of God walkincp in the garden, and hid themfelves among the trees, when God firft called them to an account, and fald to Adam,

* What is this that thou haft done ? Haft tliou eaten of the ' tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou fliouldeft not

* eatr' Then we may fuppofe that their hearts were filled with ftiame and terror, (p) But thofe words of

God,

(p) ^ilam and Ins <wifc hiciu that they lucre naked, £ffr.] A variety of queries have been Hated from the pafTage here alluded to, [Gen. iii. 8—11.] and a number of folutions given ; feme of thcfe we fliall review, as they conneft clofcly with our fubjeft.

We fliall begin with the ininicdiate conlequence of the fin of our firft parents—* And the eyes of them both w^re opened, and tjiey

* knew that they were naked.' Tlic celebrated Le Clerc, and ibinc other ingenioji coaimcntators, have uippofed the nakcdefs

here

God, [Gen. iii. 15.] were the firft dawning of the light of the goi'pel after this darknefs. Now lirft appeared

fomc

he're alhided to was moral, viz. a lofs of innocence; and it mufl: be confefled, in a few inftances the Scripture ufes the term in this metaphorical fenfe, [See Stackhouse's Hift. of the Bible, voL u p. 74.3 but two circumilances pofitively forbid our fo taking it in this place—one is, that the lafh verfe of the preceding chapter af-fures us that they were naked l^efore the fall, which mufl certainly intend a literal nakednefs ; the other, that in confequence of this nakednefs they made themfelves coveritigs, which certainly were for their bodies, and not their minds. But why fhould they who never had worn any cloathing, be afnamed of appearing in the ftate in Avhich God created them ; elpecially when we confider, that themfelves were the only pevfons in the world, and they v^'ere man and wife ? The anfwer to this involves a very delicate, and as it fliould feem, from the ill fuccefs of commentators, a very difh-cult fubjeft. We muft return to the previous affertion of our infpired writer, that * they were' in a Hate of innocence, ' both

* naked, and not afliamed ;' which certainly implies, not only that their nakednefs was no juft caufc of fliame, but that they woidd never have known it, had their innocency continued. But when they finned, then, as the Tempter had predicted, their eyes were opened. To open the eyes is, literally, to give fight to the blind ; but figuratively, to communicate to any perfon a new kind or degree of knowledge. [See Num. xxii. 31. 2. Kings vi. 17. Afts xxvi. 18.]

And the following phrafe, which we render * they knew that

* they were naked,' implies fomething more than a bare fpecula-tive knowledge, it means to feel as well as to inott-, [See Park-hurst in ];t] and might be here perhaps more accurately and exprefiively rendered, ' they were fen/ili/e that they were naked." Before the fall they doubtlefs knew that they had no cloathing ; but now their eyey were opened, and they had acquired a criminal knowledge, and become fenfible of a pafhon, to which they had ever before been ibangers, namely, fhame. The origin of this will be cafier to account for, if we fuppofe with fome [Uni-\-erfal Hift. vol. i. p. 132.] that the juice of tliis tree was in a degree inebriating ; fince we know from common obfervation, that juices of fuch a quality will excite debauchery, produce ftrange commotions in the animal frame, and give a ftrong predominancy to the animal appetites. Under thefe circumilances we need not wonder at the fubterfuges to which the-y ran, fince it is never ex-pefted that the conduct of perfons under the power of intoxication, or the opprefiion of guilt, fliould be perfeflly confillent witl\ the rules of cool reflection.

There is one circumftance which has not h3tn perhaps fuffici-ently attended to, namely, that they were ufed to cxpeft the di-

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 71

fome glimmering of light; but it was an obfcure revelation of the gofpcl ; and was not made to Adam or Eve directly,

but

vine Prefence, and that probably in a glorious human form ; this might be one reafon of their covering their nakednefs now, as it was immediately after, of their feeking to hide their perfons among the trees of the garden. However, it is remarkable, that the cuftom of covering the private parts fhould fo generally obtain, even among barbarous nations ; an entire difufe of cloath-ing in both fexes, is, perhaps, no where praftifed, except where promifcuous intercourfe is alfo allowed, and men and \vomen couple Hke the brutes.

The materials of which thefe coverings, which We call * aprons,* and fome, ludicroiidy, breeches, but which ought to be, according to the general ufage of the Hebrew word, and the tranf-lations of the LXX and Vulgate, girdles; —the materials of thefe, and the manner of manufacture, have afforded plentiful diverfion for infidels, but without the leaft (hadow of reafon, hnce we know that luitable materials are produced in foreign countries, and manufactured with a fimplicity analogous to that or thefe primitive girdles. We allude to the fewed leaves, which

cover our tea as it comes in chefts from the Eaft Indies. But

to proceed,

' And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the * garden in the cool [Heb.-zy/W] of the day.' We have little doubt but that the voice they firft heard was that of thunder, frequently called the voice of God, [See Pf. xxix.] firft murmuring at a diftance, afterward approaching nearer, and growing louder ; for it is remarkable, that the fame word [walkingj is ap-phed [Ex. xix. & 19. in the Heb.] by a beautiful figure, to the found of the celeftial trumpet at the delivery of the law. Hearing this, which had never founded to them fo awfully before, it was extremely natural for them, in their prefent ftate of guilty con-fufion, to feek to hide themfelves among the trees; a method that many of their children praCtife to this day ; for nothing is more common (though dangerous) than for perfons to run among ihe trees in a thunder ftorm. This happened, as the original ex-preffes it, in the * wind of the day,' /. e. the evening breeze ; and now might that powerful element firft put on its terrors, and double the folemnityof the divine appearance.

But the voice of the Lord, a voice from the Shechinah, [compare John xii. 28, 29.] called to him, 'Adam, where art thou ?

* And he faid, I heard thy voice in the garden ; and I was 'afraid, becaufe I was naked, and I hid myfelf.' Here is are-markable inftance of that confufion which commonly attends, and often betrays a guilty confcience : this confeflion of his fear and nakednefs was a virtual acknowledgment of his crime ; as we fee by the following reply of God :

but in what God faid to the ferpent. It was however very comprehenfive, as might be eafily fliown, would it not take up too much time, (q^)

Here

< And he faid, Who told thee that thou \vaft naked ? Haft thou

* eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou Ihouldft

* not eat?' or as the late Dr. Kennicott [Differt. on the Tree of Life, p. 50.3 tranflates the words with more fpirit and exaft-nefs, 'What! of the tree wliich I commanded thee not to eat, of THAT haft thou eaten ?' This brings Adam to a farther, but not a free, confeffiony and is followed by a fentence on them both. A fentence, however, accompanied by the piomifc of mercy, which will form the fubjedl of the following note. [G. E.]

(q^) The firjl PROMISE luas very comprehenfive. To comprehend more fully the nature of this promife, we muft review the whole of the fentence paffed upon the ferpent, in which, as oui: author obferves, this promife is included.

The punifhment of the ferpent was exadlly fuited to the nature of the cafe, and the matter of facft. Satan had made a tool of the ferpent ; this therefore was degraded to the duft, and to be treated in a peculiar manner as the enemy of mankind. Many conjectures have been indulged as to the original nature of the ferpent; fome of which are ridiculous as well as groundlefs : but the text itfelf implies, that in confequence of the divine curfe it underwent a change, if not in its form, at leaft in its manner of life ; pofBbly it was originally an inhabitant of the trees, for which its ftrufturc feems very convenient, and might have a privilege, which feems to have been denied moft other animals, [Gen. i.-30.] of living upon the fruits : but now, faith God, ' Thou art curfed above all

* cattle, and above every bcaft of the field ; upon thy belly fhalt

* thou go, and duft ihalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I

* will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy

* feed and her feed ; it fliallbruife thy head, and thou (halt bruife

* his heel.' The whole of this has been literally fulfilled : ferpents are confined to the ground—eating the duft—and being pecu-iiarly the fubjei^ts of human averfion. [See Pliny's Nat. Hift. vii. 2.]

If any fliould queftion (and fuch is the temerity of man) the equity of God's thuspunifiiing a creature in itfelf incapable of finning, we. may fuppofc, with Mr. Stackhouse, [Hift. of the Bible, B. I. ch. iii.] tiiat " God intended this debafement of it [the ferpent] not fo much to exprefs his indignation againft it, as to make it a monument of man's apoftafy, a teftimony of his difplcafure againft fin, and an inftruftive emblem to deter all future ages from the commifiion of that which brought fuch vengeauce along with it. In the Levitical law, [Lev. xx. 15.] we find, that if a man eommitted any abomination with a bcaft, thcbeaft was to be flain

a&

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 73

Here was an intimation of a merciful defign hv ' the ieed of the woman,' which was like the firil glimmerings

as well a* the man ; and, by parity of reafon, the ferpent is here punifhed ; if not to ... . allay the triumph of the devil, by feeing the inftrument of his fuccefs fo fhamefuUy degraded, at lead to remind the delinquents themfelves of the foulnefs of their crime.— But God might have a farther defign in this degradation of the ferpent: he forefaw, that in future ages Satan would have a pride in abufing this very creature to ... . ellablifh the vilell idolatry." This we Hiall confider prcfently.

But to confine this paffage to a literal fenfe would be, as Dean Sherlock has fhewn, [Ufe and Intent of Prophecy, Differ. HL3 exceedingly ridiculous ; it would contain but cold comfort to our firft parents in their diftrefs, and exhibit the paffage in a light not only unworthy of God, but of Mofes, or, indeed, as Bifhop Newton obferves, of " any fcnfible writer." [Differ. L on the Prophefiesi] We ffiall therefore proceed to the figurative and more fublime fenfe in which it is above explained.

And obferve, i. that under the ferpent's name the curfe is here levelled at the grand enemy of mankind, * That old ferpent, called ' the Devil and Satan, which deceivcth the whole world.' [Rev. xii. 9.] And very early was he worfliipped under that fimiiitude. Dr. Gill [on Gen. iii. i.] fays, " Taautus, or the Egyptian Thoth, [or Hermes, who, by the bye, is fuppofed to have lived before the flood] was the firft that attributed deity to the nature of the dragon and of ferpents, and after him the Egyptians and Phoenicians ; the Egyptian god Cnepb was a ferpent with a hawk's head ; and a ferpent with the Phoenicians was a good dsemon .-^.. , Herodotus makes mention of facred ferpents about Thcbi^s ; and Alianus, of facred dragons ; and Juftin Martyr fays, the ferpent with the heathens was a fymbol of all that were reckoned gods by them, and they were painted as fuch ; and wherever ferpents were painted, according to Perfuis, it was a plain indication that it was a facred place. Serpents were facred to many of the heathen deities, who were worfhipped either in the form of one, or in a real one ; all which feem to take their rife from the ufe the devil made of the ferpent in feducing our firft parents." And to this day the ferpent is a favourite divinity among many of the Indian nations. In the clofe of the lafl: century, a hog which had by fome means killed and fwallowed one of thefe favourite reptiles, in the country of the Widahs, fo provoked them, tlia-t the mar-buts (orpriefts) procured a general daughter of the fwine, and if the King had not loved pork, a hog had not been left in Widah. [See Hift. of Jamaica, VoL ii. p. 379.]

2. If the ferpent be underflood of the devil, hi: fe-cl or offspring will very properly be underftood of that < generation of vipers,* [Matt. iii. 7.] who our Lord himfelf declared to be of tlieir

L z ' father

ings of light in the eaft when the clay dawns. This intimation of mercy was given before fentcnce was pronounced

* father the devil,' [John viii. 44,] and who fhewed their enmity in all the periods of his life, and wounded his heel in nailing him to the crofs, ivho was, doubtlefs, in a moil remarkable manner,

3. The y^^^ of the ivoman. Here we may adopt the Apolllc Paul's expofition of another pafTage, in which the fame expreffion is ufed : ' He faith not feeds, as of many, but as of one—which is Chr'ijl.^ [Gal. iii. \6r\ And it is obfervable, that not only the generality of Chriftian writers, but even the ancient Jews, both the Jerufalcm Targum and that of Jonathan, befides many other famous rabbies, apply the pafTage to the times and perfon of the Mefliah. [See Helvicus in Protevang. n. 64, and, from him, Poole, Synop. crit. in loc] If it be neceffary to underftand the

* feed of the woman' in a more extenfive fenfe, to correfpond with the former member of the fentence, it may be obferved, that the difciplcs of Chrift owe the fame enmity to Satan as their mafter, and would willingly, as they are able, aflill us to dellroy his kingdom.

4. The meaning of the conflict, here expreffed by hrnifing the ferpent's head and the Saviour's heel.

To underftand this metaphorical language it fhould be obferved that the head is the vulnerable part of ferpents, and that a blow-there is fatal to them ; whereas a wound in the heel is to a man of comparatively fmall confequence. " Bruifmg the ferpent's head, fays Dr. Burnett [Ser. at Boyle's Left. Vol. iii. p. 516.] implies the defeating his contrivances againft mankind. For (i.) as he thought by feducing the pair, to have brought on their death, and fo have made an end of the whole fpecies at once, God promifes that the woman fhould live to have feed. (2.) As he feduced the woman under the fpecious pretence of friendfhip, while he intended her ruin, a war is declared againft the devil and his party, which fhould end in the ruin of them and their devices. And (3.) as the devil thought by drawing them into iin and under the wrath of God, to bring them under a certainty of death, and deprive of the happinefs they were made for, God declares that the devil's policy fhould be defeated by the feed of the woman, in which is imphed a pofitive promife—that mankisd, though by the envy of the devil become fmful and therefore mortal, fhould receive through the feed of the woman, forg'ivencjs of fiii, the refurrcBkn rif the bodjy and Vfe everlajlingy

" So fpake this oracle, then verified When Jesus, fon of Mary, fecond Eve, Saw Satan fall like lightning dovrh from heaven, Prince of the air ; then rifing from his grave Spoil'd principalities and powers, triumph'd In open fhow, and with afcenfion bright,

iCaptivit;

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 75

nounced on either Adam or Eve, from tendernefs to them, to whom God defigned mercy, left they ftiould be overborne with a fentence of condemnation, without having any thing held forth whence they could gather any hope.

One of thofe great things that were intended to be done by the work of redemption, is more plainly intimated here than the reft, viz. God's fubduing his enemies under the feet of his Son. This was threatened now, and God's defign of it now hrft declared. This was the work Chrift had now undertaken, which he foon began, has carried on, and will accomplifh at the end of the world, Satan probably triumphed greatly in the fall of man, as though he had defeated God's defigns : but in thefe words God gives him a plain intimation, that he should not finally triumph, but that a complete viiSlory fhould be obtained over him by the feed of the woman.

This

Captivity led captive through the air, The realm itfcif of Satan long ufurp'd, Whom he fhall tread at laft under our feet."

[Par. Loft. Book x.]

It is not to be fuppofcd however that our parents underftood the firft promife to the extent that we now do with the help of the gof-pel revelation. Milton introduces them as reafoning upon it in this manner : Eve, having hinted the defperate meafure of de-ftroying thcmfelves, Adam replies,

" Let us feek

Some fafcr refolution, which methinks I have in view, calling to mind with heed Part of our fentence, that thy feed fhall bruife The ferpent's head ; piteous amends, unlefs Be meant, whom I conjefture, our grand foe, Satan, who in the ferpent hath contriv'd Againft us this deceit : to crufh his head Will be revenge indeed ; which will be loft By death brought on ourfclves, or childlefs days Refolv'd, asthou propofeft ; fo our foe Shall fcape his puniftiment ordain'd, and we Inftead (hall double ours upon our heads.

Remember with what mild

And gracious temper he both heard and judg'd

Without wrath or reviUng." . . . Par. Loft. Book x. [G.E.]

This revelation of the gofpel was the hrft thing that Chrifl did in his prophetical office. You may remember, that it was faid in the firft of our three proportions that from the fall of man to the incarnation of Chrill:, God was doing thofe things which were preparatory to Chrift's coining and working out redemption, and forerunners and earnefts of it. And one of thofe things which God did in this time to prepare the way for Chrift's coming into the world, was to foretel and promife it, as he did from time to time, from age to age, till Chrift came. This was the iirft promife given, the tirft predidlion made of it upon the earth.

3. Soon after this, the cuftom of facrificing was appointed, to be a ftanding type of the facrifice of Chrift till he fhould come, and ofTer up himfelf to God. (r) S:acrihcing was not a cuftom tirft eftabliflied by the Levi-

tical

(r) 'S)A.CK\Tic%5 origwally appointed by God. Our author's arguments in fupport of this propofition, though concifc, arc certainly forcible ; but in an article of this importance, it may not be improper to ftrengthen them with the following obfervations from another author of confiderable refpcftability in the learned world :

" That animal facrifices were not inftituted by man feems extremely evident—from the acknowledged un'roerfality of the practice—from the wonderful famenejs of the manner, in which the whole world offered thefe facrifices ; and from that merit and expiation, which were conilantly fuppofed in, and to be cffedled by them.

" Now human reafon, even among the moil ftrcnuous opponents of the divine inftitutions, is allowed to be incapable of pointing out the lead natural fitncfs or congruity between Blood and Atonement; between killing of God's creatures, and the receiving a pardon for the violation of God's laws. This confequence of facrifices when properly offered, was the invariable opinion of the Heathens; but not the whole of their opinion in this matter : for they had alfo a traditionary belief among them, that thefe animal facrifices were not only expiations but vicarious commutationg nnd fubftituted fatisfaflions, and they called the animals fo offered, [^their ai'Ti-J/t';)^;* or] the ranfoms of their fouls.

" But if thefe notions are fo remote from, nay fo contrary to, any leffon that nature teaches, as they confeffedly are ; how came the whole world to pra6life the rites founded upon them ? It is certain that the wifeff heathens^Pythagoras, Plato, Porphyry,and others, flighted the religion of fuch facrifices ; and wondered) how an in-

ftitution

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 77

tical law ; for it had been a part of God's inftituted worfliip long before, even from the beginning of God's

V

ifiblc

ftitution fo difmal (as it appeared to them) and fo big with abfur-dity, could difFufe itfelf through the world.

" An advocate for the fufiiciency of reafon [Tindall] fuppofes^ the abfurdity prevailed by degrees; and the priefts, who (harcd with their gods, and referved the bell bit* for themfelves, had the chief hand in this gainful fuperftition. But it may well be afl<cd; who were the priefts in the days of Cain and Abel ? Or what gain could this fuperftition be to them, when the one gave away his fruits, and the other his animal facrifiee, without being at liberty to tafte the leaft part of it? And .... it is worth remarking, that what this author wittily calls the hejl hits, and appropriates to the priefts, appear to have been the flvin of the burnt offering among the Jews, and the flcin and feet among the Heathens.

" Dr. Spencer obfcrves [De Leg. Heb. Lib. iii. ^ 2.] that fa-crificcs were looked upon as gifts, and that the general opinion was—that gifts would have the fame effedl with God as with man ; would appeafe wrath, conciliate favour with the Deity, and teftify the gratitude and afl'eftion of the facrificer; and that from this principle proceeded expiatory, precatory, and euchariftical offerings. This is all that is pretended from natural light to countenance this praftice. But how well foever the comparifon may be thought to hold between facrifices and gifts, yet the opinion that facrifices would prevail with God, muft proceed from an obfervation that gifts had prevailed with men ; an obfervation this which Cain and Abel had little opportunity of making. And, if the coats of flcin, which God direfted Adam to make, were the remains of facrifices, fure Adam could not facrifiee from this obfervation, when there were no fubjefts in the world upon which he could make thefc ob-fcrvations." [Kennmcott's 2d Dlffert. on the Offerings of Cain and Abel. p. 201, &c.]

But the grand objection to the divine origin of facrifices is drawn from the fcriptures themfelves, particularly the following, [Jer. vii. 22, 23.] ' Ifpake not to your fathers, nor commanded ' them, at the time that I brought them out of the land of

* Egypt, concerning the matters of burnt offering or facrifiee ;

* but only this very thing commanded 1 them, faying, Obey my

* vo'icc, an J I •wtU be your God, and ye /hall be my people.' The ingenious writer above referred to accounts for this paffage fpages 153 and 209] by referring to the tranfac^ion at Marah, [Exod. XV. 23—26] at which time God fpakc nothing concerning facrifices : it certainly cannot be intended to contradift the whole book of Leviticus, which is full of fach appointments. Aaothei learned author, to account for the above and other fimi-lar pafTages, obferves, " Tlie Jews were diligent in perfoitning the external fervicos of religion; in offering prayero, iiicenfe, facrifices,

vlfible church on earth. We read of the patriarchs', Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, offering facrifice, and even before them Noah and Abel: and this was by divine appointment ; for it was part of God's worfhip in his church, and that which he accepted, when offered up in faith ; which proves it was by his inftitution, for facri-iicing is no part of natural worfliip. The light of nature doth not teach men to offer beafts in facrifice to God ; and feeing it was ftot enjoined by the law of nature, if it was acceptable to God, it muft be by fome pofi-tive command or inftitution : for God has declared his abhorrence of fuch worihip as is taught by the precept of men without his appointment ; [Ifa. xx-ix. 13.}

* Wherefore the Lord faith, Forafmuch as this people

* draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do ' honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, ' and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts ' of men, therefore behold I will proceed to do a mar-' vellous work,' &c. And fuch worfliip as hath not a warrant from divine inftitution, cannot be offered up in

faith ;

crifices, oblations : but thefe prayers were not offered with faith ; and their oblations were made more frequently to their idols, than to the God of their fathers. The Hebrew idiom excludes with a general negative, in a comparative fenfe, one of- two objefts op-pofed to one another: thus, ' L will have mercy and not facrifice.' £Hof. vi. 6.] ' For I fpake not to your fathers, nor commanded

* them concerning burnt offerings or facrifices ; but this thing

* I commanded them, faying, Obey my voice." [Lowth in Ifa. xliii. 22—24.3 The ingenious Dr. Doddridge remarks, that according to the genius of the Hebrew language, one thing feems to be forbidden, and another commanded, when the meaning only is, that the latter is greatly to be preferred to the former. The text before us is a remarkable inftance of this ; as likewife Joel il. 13.—Matt. vi. 19, 20.—John vi. 27.—Luke xii. 4, 5.—and Col. iii. 2. And it is evident that Gen. xlv. 8.—Ex. xvi. 8.—John v. 30—vii. 19, and many other paffages are to be expounded in the fame comparative fcnfc. [Paraph, on New Teft. § xlix.] So that the whole may be refolved into the apothegm of the wife man, (]Prov. xxi. 3.] ' To do juftlce and Judgment is more accept-

* able to the Lord tlian facrifice.' Sacrificing appointed to he

a Jlanding type of Chr'ijl. This will partly appear in the two following notes on the iirll facrificcb. and more fully when we come to confider the Mofaic inilitutioiii. [J. N.J

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 79

fairh; becaufe faith has no foundation where there is no divine appointment. It cannot be offered up in faith of God's acceptance ; for man hath no warrant to hope for God's acceptance in tliat which is not of his appointment, and to which he hath not promifcd his acceptance ; and therefore it follows, that the cuflom of offering facrifices to God was inftitutcd foon after the fall; for the fcripture teaches us, that Abel offered ' the firfilings of his flock, and of the fat thereof,' [Gen. iv. 4.] and that he was accepted of God in this offering, [Heb. xi. 4.] And there is nothing in the ftory that looks as though the inflitution was firit given when Abel offered up that facritice to God; but it appears as though he only therein complied witii a cullom already eflablillied. (s)

It

(3) Abel OFFERED ihefrJlUngsofhisJlocks, life.'] As this is the firfl inrtance of facrifice, and even of religious worfhip, recorded in fcripture, and was attended with confequences fo fingu-lar and important, we cannot pal's it over without examination ; and as a learned author above cited, [Dr. Kcnnicott] has be-ftowed uncommon pains on this fubjeft, we flatter ourl'elves our readers will be gratified by being prefcnted with the fubflance of his excellent differtation.

Dr. Kennicott introduces his hypothefis with obferving the different charafters and employments of the two brothers: * Abel ' was a keeper of fheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground ;' the one, as Lord Eacon cxpreffes it, devoted to the ^^kr, the other to the ccniemplai'i've^ fccnes of life.

• And in procln'"s of time ;' Heb. at the end of days ; that is, as our author endeavours at large to prove, at the end of the week, on the fabbath day, pofTibly the firft after they had become the heads of families, and entitled to offer facrifices, as was the patriarchal manner, each as the pried of his own family—' It came to ' pafs that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, an otfering to ' the Lord.' It is of importance to be obferved, that the Hebrew v/ord rendered an offering, is mincha, which Dr. K. explains from divine authority to be an offering oi Jine Jlour mingled ivilh oU and ft-anhincenfe, [Lev. ii. i, &c.J This our tranflators commonly ciJl a meat, bat might more properly be called a breads offering. Here our author obferven a very fingular mode of ex-prellion, which he apprehends eliptical, and fupplying the necef-fary v.ords, tranflates the paflage literally thus, ' Cain brought of * the iVuit of the ground a mincha to Jehovah ; and Abel brought ' [a mincha'\ he alfo [brought] of the firftlines of his flocks, and

M ' . « of

It is very probable that facrifice was inftituted immediately after God had revealed the covenant of grace ; [in Gen. iii. 15.] vs-hich covenant and promife was the

foun-

' of their fat,' or rather, ' of the fatted of them.'—Then it follows—' And Jehovah had refpeft to Abel, and to his m'mcha ; but

* to Cain and his m'mcha he had no refpeft.' Now if this tranfla-tion be juft, or the word minchaht rightly explained, it neceffarily follows that Abel offered a vnncha^ or meat offering, as well as Cain, together with a facrifice, which Cain did not offer.

The matter, infhort, feems to be this, Cain came, like a felf-rlghteous Pharifee, with a ' God, I thank thee,' to the Author of Nature, and the God of Providence ; Abel was no lefs fenfible of thefe obligations, and therefore brought his m'lncha as well as Cain; but being humbled under a conviftion of his own frailty and unworthinefs, he alfo brings an animal facrifice, fmites upon his breaft, and cries, ' God be merciful to me a finner.' Not only fo, but Abel looked by faith through the bleeding type to the great atonement it prefigured : Cain rejefted this ; and being ignorant of God's rightcoufnefs, went about to eftablifh his own.

This repiefentation (which as we faid is Dr. Kennicott's) appears to us not only ingenious and juft, but has the advantage of being beautifully confiltent with the New Teftament. Here we fee how it was that ' by faith' in the promifed feed, ' Abel of-' fered to God,' not only 'a more excellent,' but as the Greek imports, a fuller, a 7nore complete facrifice than Cain ; and it was on this account that God had refpeft, firft to Abel, and fecondly, to his offering. We alfo learn from this review of the fubjeft, v.'hat was the error of Cain, which the apoftle Jude alludes to, namely, an enmity againft God's method of falvation.

This leads us to remark the different condu6l of the two brothers fubfequent to their offering. Mofes informs us, that ' Cain ' was very wrath, and his countenance fell,' the ufual fign of a bafe and malicious heart. ' And the Lord faid unto Cain,'—con-defcended to i-eafon with him, probably by means of the divine Sljckinah —' Why art thou wrath, and why is thy countenance

* fallen ? If thou doft well, fhalt thou not be accepted l' Or rather, if thou hadil done well, fhouldeft thou not have been accepted in the fame manner (whatever that might be) as Abel thy brother ? ' And If thou doft not well,' or haft not done well—' fin lieth at the door,' the fault is thine.

But Kennicott, Parkhurst, and many other critics, render the laft phrafe, ' a. Jin-offcring \icth. (couched) at the door.' In this view they point out, not only the'reafon of his non-acceptance, but alfo the remedy—namely, to take a facrifice, and offer it in faith, as his ht oilier had before done.

[I. N.]

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 8i

foundation on which the cuftom of facrificing was built. That promife was the firft flone that was laid toward this glorious building, the work of redemption, which will be tinifhed at the end of the world. And the next flone which was laid upon that, was the inftitution of facrifices, to be a type of the great atonement.

The next thing that we have an account of, after God had pronounced fentence ou the ferpent, on the woman, and on the man, was, that God made them coats of fi^ins, and cloathed them ; which, by the generality of divines, are thought to be the Ikins of beafts flain in facrifice ; for we have no account of any thing elfe that fliould be the occafion of men flaying beafts, but onlv to offer them in facrifices, till after the flood, Men were not till then allowed to eat the flefh of beafts. The food of man before the fall, was the fruit of the trees of paradife ; and when he was turned out of paradife after the fall, his food was the herb of the field : [Gen. iii. 18.] * And

* thou fhalt eat of the herb of the field.' The firft grant that he had to eat flefh as his common food was after the flood: [Gen. xi. 3.] ' Every moving thing that liveth

* fliall be meat for you ; even as the green herb have I

* given you all things.' So that it is likely that thefe Ikins that Adam and Eve weje cloathed with, were the Ikins of their facrifices. God's cloathing them with thefe was a lively figure of their being cloathed with the righ-teoufnefs of Chrift. This cloarhing was not of their own obtaining ; but it was God that gave it them. It is faid, ' God made them coats of fkins, and cloathed them,' [Gen. xiii. 21.] as the righteoufnefs our naked fouls are cloathed with, is not our righteoufnefs but the righteoufnefs which is of God. It is he alone that cloaths the naked foul, (t)

Our

(t) God made them coats of skins, mid cloathed them. "God himfelf furnifhes them with apparel. Animals are flain, not for food, but facrifice ; and the naked criminals are arrayed with the Hiins of thofe flaughtered beafts. The viftims figured the expja-

M 2 tiou

82. HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

Our firfl: parents, who were naked, were cloathed at the expence of life. Beails were flain to afford them cloathing. So Chriit died to afford cloathing to our naked fouls. Thus our firfc parents were covered with Ikins of facrifices, as the tabernacle in the wildernefs, which fignitied the church, was, when it was covered with rams fkins died i<5d, as though they were dipped in blood, to fignify that Chrift's righteoufnefs was vyrought out through the pains of death, under which he Ihed his precious blood.

We obferved before, that the light which the churclj enjoyed from the fall of man till Chrill: canie, was like the light which we enjoy in the night ; not the light of the fun directly, but as refle(9:ing from the moon and planets; which light did foreftiow Chrift, the Sun of 1 ighteoufnefs which was afterwards to arife. This light they had chiefly two ways: one was by predi6Vions of Chrift, wherein his coming was foretold and promiled ; the other by types and fhadows, in which his coming and redemption were prefigured. The hrft thing tliat was done to prepare the way for Chrift in the former of thefe ways, was in the promife above conlidered ; and the firft thing of the latter kind, viz. of types, was the in-ftitutlon of facrifices. As that promife [Gen. iii. i^.] was the firft dawn of gofpel light after the' fall in prophecy ; fo this inftitution was the firft hint of it in types. The giving of that promife was the firft thino-done after the fall in this work, in Chrift's prophetical office ; the inftitution of facrifices was the firft thing that we read of after the fall, by which Chrift exhibited him-felf in his prieftly office.

The

tion of Clirift's death ; the cloathing typified the imputation of his righteoufnefs, \\'\\\ch. is upon all them ivho lelieve." [Rom. iii. 32.] [Hervey's Theronand Afpafio, vol. ii. lett. 4.]

" Nor he their outward only, with the flcins Of beafts, but inward nakednefs (much more Opprobrious! ) with his robe of righteoufnefs Arraying, cover'dfrom his Father's fight."

[Milton's Par. Loll. Bookx.]

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 83

The inftitution of facrifices was a great thing done towards preparing the way for Chriil's coming, and working out redemption. For the facrifices of the Old Testament were the principal of all the Old Teflament types of Chrift and his redemption; and it tended to eftablifli in the minds of God's vifible church the neceflity of a propitiatory facrifice, in order to the Deity's being fatisfied for fin; and fo prepared the way for the recepw tion of the glorious gofpel that reveals the great facrifice, not only in the vifible church, but, through the world of mankind. For from this inftitution of facrifices after the fall, all nations derived the fame cuftom. No nation, however barbarous, has been found without it any where This is a great evidence of the tmth of revealed religion ; for no nation, but only the Jews, could tell how they came by this cuftom, or to what purpofe it was to offer facrifices to their deities. The light of nature did not teach them any fuch thing. That did not teach them that the gods were hungry, and fed upon the flelh which they burnt in facrifice; and yet they all had this cuftom ; of which no other account can be given, but that they derived it from Noah, who had it from his anceftors, on whom God had enjoined it as a type of the great facrifice of Chrift. However, by this means all nations of the world had their minds poffefted with this notion, that an atonement or facrifice for fin was neceflary; and a way was made for their more readily receiving that great dodlrine of the gofpei, wliich teaches us the atonement and facrifice of Chrift.

4. God foon after the fall a6lually began to fave the fouls of men through Chrift's redemption. In this, Chrift who had lately taken upon him the work of Mediator between God and man, did firft begin to exercife his kingly office. In the firft predidion the light of Chrift's rc-|demption firft began to dawn in the prophecies of it; in the inftitution of facrifices it firft began to dawn in the types of it; in his beginning actually to /avc men, it firft began to dawn in ihcfnat of it.

It is probable, therefore, that Adam and Eve were the firfl: fruits of Chrift's redemption; (u) it is probable by God's manner of treating them; by his comforting them

as

(u) Adam and Eve the first fruits of Chr'iJVs redemption, Milton has fo beautifidly and evangelically illuftrated this fup-pofition, that we cannot refift the temptation of again introducing our favourite commentator.

..." They forthwith to the place Repairing where he judg'd them, proftrate fell Before him reverent, and both confefs'd Humbly their faults, and pardon begg'd, with tears-Watering the ground, and with their fighs the air Frequenting, fent from hearts contrite, and fign Of forrow unfeign'd, and humiliation meek.

" Thus they in lowlieft plight repentant Rood Praying ; for from the mercy-feat above Prevenient grace defcending had remov'd The ftony from their hearts, and made new flefh Regenerate grow inftead, that fighs nov\r breath'd Unutterable, which the Spirit of prayer Infpir'd, and wing'd for heav'n with fpeedier flight Than loudeft oratory :..........

To heav'n their pray'rs

Flew up, nor mifs'd the way, by envious winds Blown vagabond or fruftrate ; in they pafs'd Dimenfionlefs thro' heay'nly doors ; then clad With incenfe, where the golden altar fum'd, By their great IntercefTor, came in fight Before the Father's throne : them the glad Son Prefenting, thus to intei cede began :

" See, Father, what firft fruits on earth are fprung From thy implanted grace in man, thcfe fighs Andpray'rs, which in tliis golden cenfor, mix'd "With incenfe, I thy prieft before thee bring ; Fruits of more pleafing favour from thy feed Sown with contrition in his heart, than thofe Which his own hand manuring all the trees Of Paradife could have produc'd, ere fliU'n From innocence. Now therefore bend thine ear To fupplication ; hear his fighs-though mute, Unilcilful with what words to pri^y, let me Interpret for him, me his advocate And propitiation ; all his works on me, Good or not good, ingraft ; my merit thofe Shall perfcdlj and fur thcfe my death pay."

[Par. Loll. Book x. xi,]

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 8^

as he did, alter tlieir awakenings and tenors. They were awakened, and afhamed with a fenie of their cuilt, after their fall, when their eyes were opened, and they law that they were naked and fewed fig-leaves to cover their nakednefs ; like the finner who under his firft con-vi6lion endeavours to hide the nakednefs of his foul by a righteoufnefs of his own. Then they were farther awakened and terrified by hearing the voice of God, as he was coming to judge them. Their coverings of fig-leaves would not anfwer their purpofe ; for notwithfianding thefe, they ran to hide themfelves among the trees of the garden, not daring to truft to their fig-leaves to hide their nakednefs from God. Then they were farther awakened by God's calling them to a flritft account. But while their terrors were raifed to fuch a height, and they flood, as we may fuppofe, trembling and afto-nifhed before their judge, without any thing to catch hold of, whence they could gather hope ; then God con-defcended to hold forth fome encouragement to them, to keep them from the drejdful effe6ts of defpair under their awakenings, by giving a hint of a defign of mercy by a Saviour, even before he pronounced fentence againfl: them. And when, after this, he proceeded to pronounce fentence, whereby we may fuppofe their terrors were farther railed, God was pleaied to encourage them, and to let them fee that he had not wholly cafi; them off, by taking a fatherly care of them, making them coats of £ls.ins and cloathing them. This alfo manifefted an acceptance of thofe facrifices offered to God, (of which thefe were the Ikins) which were types of what God had promifed. when he faid, ' the feed of tlie woman ihall bruife the ' ferpenf's head ;' which promifc, there is reafon to think, they believed and embraced. Eve feems plainly to exprefs her hopes in, and dependence on, that promife, in what (he fays at the birth of Cain, [Gen. iv. I.] 'I have gotten a man from the Lord ;' /. e. as God has promifed, that my feed ifiould bruife the fer-pent's head ; fo now has God given me this pledge and token of it; that I have a feed born. She plainly owns,

that

$6' HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

that this her child was from God, and hoped that hci' promiled feed was to be this her eldeft fon ; though fhe was miftaken, as Abraham was with refpeit to Ifhmael, as Jacob with refpecl to Efau, and as Samuel with refpedl to the tirft-born of Je-Te. (w) Alfo what (he faid at the birth of Seth, exprefTes her hope and dependence

on

(w) I ha-vcgotlen a vian TKOU the Lord,'] The uncertain import of the Hebrew particle eth, here tranflated from, has occa-lioned this text to receive a great variety of interpretationd, mod of which may be fcen in Mr. Poole's elaborate v,'ork. [Syn. Crit. in loc] But when we fee twenty or thirty meanings, many of them inconfiftent with each other, applied to one particle, as the lexicographers have done to this, [See TAYLOii's Heb. Concord.] we cannot help fufpecting tliat they are unncceflariJy and improperly mukiphed.

The root whence this particle is evidently derived, fignifies to approach^ ccme unto; and if the fame idea fhould be preferved in all the fenfes of the particle, as we apprehend in fonie degree it fhould, the common tranflation mult be given up. And aftef examining a great number of paffages'ii; tbe original fcriptures, particularly thoie which were moit perLirier.t to our purpofe, we are fatisfied, that, if it is not to be ta]:en as merely an article of the accufative cafe (which we much doubt whether the lanj^uaire will admit) that it may be refolved into fame or other of the following fenfes :

1. According to the radical idea, to, unto, belonging to, towards^ near, 'with, upon, and the like.

Or, 2. It may be rendered as an emphatic article, the, the very fubllance c ■■" a things (according to the Latin proverb, Proximus film egomet mlhi ;j in which cafe it may often be tranflated eiKu, or iis a pronoun, th-f-^ this, &c.

If theie remjviis are juit, the words may then be rendered ;

1. 'A (or The) man, ev^r, Jehovah.'—So Fagius, Helvlcus, Forller, Schlndler, Luther, Pellican, Cocceius, Schmit, Marir.us, Avenarius, Parkhurlh, Gill, &c.—fuppoiing Eve to have taken her fnft-born to be the MefTiah, God incarnate : but as it may admit of dilpute, whether Eve at this very early period was fo clearly acquainted vnO.x this divine myllery, efpeci;illy as fiie appears not to have fufpedledany thing of the immaculate conception, it might be better to render the words, as they will certainly bear, with rather more latitude,

2. ' The man of, i. e. belonging to, Jehovah.' The Targum of Jonathan favours thi^ reading, 'thearj^el of the Lord ;' and fo Chriil was afterwards called, as well as—the fervant of tiie Lord— fhe man of his right hand, and the word that was ivilb God.

•« Some

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 87

on the promHe of God; [fee ver. 25.] ' For God liath ' appointed me another feed inftead of Abel, whom Cain < flew.'

Thus it is exceedingly probable, if not demonftra-ble, that, as Chrift took on him the work of mediator when man fell, fo he now adtually began his work of redemption, encountered his great enemy the devil, whom he had Undertaken to conquer, and refcued thofe two firft captives out of his hands; therein baffling hira foon after his triumph in the victory he had obtained over our firft parents. And though he might be fure of them and all their pofterity, Chriil the Redeemer foon convinced him of his miftake, and that he was able to fubdue him, and deliver fallen man. He let him fee it, in delivering thofe lirfl: captives of his; and fo ""nve him an inftance of his fulfilment of that threatening, ' The ' feed of the woman fhall bruife the ferpent's head ;' and a prefage of the fulfilment of one great tiling he had undertaken, viz. his fubduing all his enemies under his feet.

After this we have another inflance of redemption in one of their children, viz. ' in righteous Abel,' as the fcripture calls him, [Mark xiii. 35.] whofe foul perhaps was the firfi that went to heaven through Chrift's redemption. In him we have ^at Icaft the firll inftance recorded

N in

" Some interpreters, and not without reafon, fuppofe that fhe

confidered the fon given her, as the promiftd feed And

how foothing to the maternal heart muft have been the }iope of deliverance and relief forherfelf, and triumph over her bitter enemies, by means of the fon of her own bowels ! How fondly does file dream of repairing the ruin which her frailty had brought upon her hufband and family, by this firft-born of many brethren ! The name (he gives him fignities .... ^ pojefton. She flatters herfelf flie has now got fomcthing (he can call her own : and even

the lofs of Paradife feems compenfatcd by a dearer inheritance

But, O blind to futurity! with how many forrows was \l\\ip)Jft[fiou, fo exultingly triumphed in, about to pierce the fond maternal l)reall ! How imlike are the forebodings and wiHies af parental tendernefs and partiality, to the deltinations of Providence, and the difcoveries which time brings to light !"-: [Hunter's Sailed Biog, Lect. iv.]

in I'cilpture of the de-£th of a redeemed perfon. (x) If he ■was the fiiTc, then, as the redemption of Chrifl: began to dav. n before in the fouls of men in their ccnverfion and luftitication, in him it tirfl began to dawn in glorification, and at his death tlie angels beo;an firft to a6l as minifter-5ng (pirits to Chrill:, in conducting the fouls of the redeemed to ijjory. (y) And in him others in heaven had

the

f x) In Alel ive have ihefrjl injlance of death.'} Many and ab-fuvd are the traditions and conjectures refpecting this event ; but the fcripture account of it is fimply this, ' And Cain talked with. ' Abel his brother,' or, as the Samaritan, LXX, and Vulgate read it, ' Cain/aid unto Abel his brother, Let us go into thejield — *■ and it came io pafs when they were in the field that Cain rofe up ' againft Abel his bn)thcr, and flew him.'

*' Cain, it would appear .... decoyed his brother into folitude under the maJk of familiarity and friendfhip, ' he talked with him ;'

* they were in the field.' What a horrid aggravation of his guilt! A deed of violence ! Murder J A good man's, a brother's murder ! Deliberately refolved on, craftily conduced, remorfelefsly executed Now was the death for the firft time feen ; and feen

in its,gha{llie[l form. Death before the time, the death of piety and goodnefs ! Death inflifted by violence, and preceded by pain! Death imbittercd to the fufFerer by refle6ting on the hand from which it came ; the hand of a brother, the hand which fhould have fupported and protefted him. At length the feeble eyei clofe in peace ; and the pain of bleeding wounds, and the pangs of fraternal cruelty, are felt no more. ' The duft returns to the

* earth as it was, and the fpirit returns unto God who gave it.' The fpirit returns to God to fee his unclouded face, formerly feeis through the medium of natural objefts and religious fervices— Happy Abel! thus early delivered from the fins and forrowsof a

vain world ! The materials of which life is compofed,

arc not fo much, days, and months, and years, as works of piety, and mercy, and juftice, or their oppofites ; he dies in full maturity, who has lived to God at whatever period, and in

whatever manner he is cut off: that life isfhort, though extended to a thoufand years, which is disfigured with vice, devotfd to the purfuit of time merely, and at the clofe of which the unhappy man is fuun^ un.ecunciled to God." [Dr. H. Hunter's Sacred Biof^taj'hy, Led. vi.]

(y) At /Ihd's death the angels Jirjl began to acl as ir'intj1er:ng Ipirits,'] " The an'^'el of death called forth the foul of Abel from the cnfanguiued duft. It advant^d with a fmile of joy .... I falute thee, faid the celeilial fpirit, while benignity and joy beamed in his eyes: I faluts thee, O happy fo id ! new difengaged from

thy

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 89

ihe firfl: opportunity o^ feeing fo wonderful a thing, as a human foul, that had been funk into an abyfs of fin and mifery, brought to heaven and glory; which was a much greater thing, than if they had fecn man return to the earthlv Paradifc. Thus they by this faw the glorious effect of ChrilVs redemption, in the great honour and happinefs that was procured for finful, miferable creatures by it.

5. The next remarkable thing that God did in me farther carrying on this great affair of redemption, that I fhali take notice of, was the firft out-pouring of the Spirit through Chrifl:, which was in the days of Enos. We read, [Gen. iv. 26.] ' Then began men to call upon ' the name of the Lord.' The meaning of thefe words has been confidcrably controverted among divines, (z)

We

thy encumbering duft It is to me an incrcafe of felicity,

that I am chofen by the Mod High to introduce thee into the realms of light and blifs, where myriads of angels wait to hail thee. Conceive, if thou canil, beloved foul! Conceive what it is to bell old God face to face, to have communion with him far ever.' [Death of Abel, Book iv.]

(z) Then BEGAN men to call upon the name of the LorrJ.'] " Not but that Adam and Abel and all good men had called upon the name of the Lord, and prayed to him, or worfiiippcd him before this time pcrjonally and in their families ; but now the families of good men being lars^er, and more nunierou.^, they joined tocjcther inyir/^/and public worfliip : or fincc it may be thought thete were public afTemblies for religious worfliip before this time, it may be they had been neglected, and now were revived with more zeal and vigour ; feeing tlie Cainites incorporating themltlves, and joining families together and building cities, and carrying on their civil and religious affairs among themfelves, they alfo formed themfelves into dillinft bodies ; and not only fe-parated from them, but called themfelves by a different name ; for fo the words may be rendered, * Then began men to call

* themfelves,' or, * to be called by the name of the Lord ;' the Sons of God as dliUnft from the fons of men ; which dilllnclion may be obferved in Ch. vi. 2. and has been retained more or lefs ever fince. Some chufe to tranflate tlie words, ' then began men

• to call IN the nair.e of the Lord ;' that is, to call upon God in the name of the Mcfliah, the ?vIediator between God and Man ; having now fince the birtli of Sedi, and efpecially of Enos, clearer potions of the prcmifed feed and of the life of him and his name,

We cannot fupp-^fe the meaning is, that then men lirfl: performed the duty of prayer. Prayer is a duty of natural religion, and a duty to which a fpirit of piety does mod: naturally lead men. Prayer is, as it were, the very breath of a pious fpirit, and we cannot fuppofe therefore, that holy men had lived for above two hundred years, without prayer. Therefore fome divines think, that the meaning is, that then men lirft began to perform public worJhip, or to call upon the name of the Lord in public affemblies. Whether it be fo to be underftood or not, yet certainly there was now fomething new in tlie vifible church of God with refpe6l to the duty of prayer, or calling upon the name of the Lord, which was the confe-quence of the out-pouring of the Spirit of God.

If it was now firft that men were ftined up to m.eet together in affemblies, to alnft one another in feeking God fo as they had never done before, it argues fomething

extra-

in their addreffes to God ; [See John xiv. 13, 14.—xvi. 23, 24.] The Jews [many of them] give a very different fenfe of thefe words ; the Targum of Oakelos is, *' Then in his days the children of men ceafed from praying in the name of the Lord ;" and the Targiim of Jonathan is, " This was the age, in the days of which they began to err, and they made themfelves idols, and fur-named their idols by the name of the word of the Lord ;" v/ith which agrees the note of Jarchi, " Then they began to call the names of men, and the names of herbs, by the name of the blef-fe;! God, to make idols of them ;" and fome of them fay, particularly Maimonides, that Enos himftlf erred and fell into idolatry, and was the iirll inventor of images, by the mediation of which men praved unto God: but all this feems to be without foundation and injurious to the charafter of this antidiluvian patriarch ; nor d.^es it appear that idolatry obtciincd in the pofterity of Seth, or among the people ol: God fo early ; nor is fuch an account agreeable to the hiftory which Mofes is giving of the family of Seth, in oppofitipn to that of Cain ; wherefore oiie or other of the former fenfcs is heft." [Gill in loc.j

If our author's expofition is preferred, which nearly corref-ponds with what is obferved in the former part of this note, it may receive fome illuilration from comparing it with Mai. iii. 16.

* Then they that feared the Lord fpake often one to another, the

* Lord hearkened and heard, and a bnok of remembrance was ' written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that ^ thought upon his na-m'.".' [I. N.l

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 91

efxtraordinary as the caufe; an<l could be from nothing but the uncommon influences of God's Spirit. We may obferve, that a remarkable out-pouring of God's Spirit always produces a great increafe of prayer. When the Spirit of God begins a work on men's hearts, it immediately fets them to calling on tlie name of the Lord. As it was with Paul after the Spirit of God had laid hold of him, then it is faid, [A6ts ix. 11.] ' Behold he praveth!* fo it was in all the inftances which we have any account of in fcripture; and fo it will be at the great effufion of the Spirit in the latter days. It is foretold, that it will be poured out as a fpirit of grace and fupplication, [Zech. xii. 10. See alfo Zeph. iii. 9.] ' For then will I turn

* to the people a pure language, that they may all call ' upon the name of the Lord, to ferve him with one

* confent.'

And when it is faid, ' Then began men to call upon ' the name of the Lord,' no more can be intended by it, than that this v/as the hrft lemarkable feafon of this nature that ever was. It was the beginning, or the hrll, of fuch a kind of work of God, fuch an out-pouring of the Spirit of God. After this manner fuch an expreifion is commonly ufed in fcripture: [i Sam. xiv. 35.] ' And

* Saul built an altar unto the Lord; the fame was the ' firji altar that he built unto the Lord.' In the Hebrew it is, as you may fee in the margin, ' that altar he began ' to build unto the Lord.' [Heb. ii. 3.] ' How fliall we

* efcape if we negiedt fo great falvation, which tirll began

* to be fpoken by the Lord?'

It may here be obferved, that from the fall of man to this day, the work of redemption in its cffe6t has been carried on by the fame means. Though there be a more conflant influence of God's Spirit always in fome degree attending his ordinances; yet the way in which tlie grcateil things have been done towards carrying on this work, always has been by remarkable efl^ulions of the Spirit at Ipecial feafons of mercy, as will fully appeaY hereafter. And this, in the days of Enos, was the lirll Remarkable efFudon of the Spirit of God recorded. There

■ had

had been a faving work of God on the hearts of fome before; but now God was pleafed to grant a larger portion of his Spirit; fo that here we fee that great building which God laid the foundation of immediately after the fall, carried on farther, and built higher, than ever it had been before.

6. The next thing I fhall take notice of, is the eminently holy life of Enoch, who we have reafon to think was a faint of greater eminency than any that had been before him; fo that in this refpecl the work of redemption was carried on to a ftill greater height. With re-fpeiSt to its eff'efl: in the vifible church in general, we obferved above that it was carried higher in the days of Enos than ever before. Probably Enoch was one of the faints of that harveii ; for he lived all the days that he did live on earth, in the days of Enos. And with refpe6t to the degree to which this work was carried in the loul of a particular per/on, it was raifed to a greater height in Enoch than ever before. His foul, as it was built on Chrifl, was built up in holinefs to a greater height than any of his predecelTors. He was a wonderful inflance of Chrift's redemption, and ot the efficacy of his grace, (a) ^_ j^^

(a) Enoch WALKED w.'/>6 Gor/.] Infinite pains ha^e been taken to decorate the charadters of ancient philofophers and heroes, and too frequently their own vanity, the adulation of their dependents, or the partiality of their heirs, has purehafed eulogiums, where eternal infamy was merited. But what is the praife of men to the praife of God ! How mean are the Iplcndid epithets of great, wife, and learned—puiffant, brave, and magnanimous—compared with the charafterof our holy prophet, as drawn by the infpired hillo-rian, ' He walked with God.'

The phrafe is metaphorical, after the eaftern manner, and is explained by an infallible expohtor to mean—* He p'eafed God :' but the metaphorical term is, perhaps, more expreffive than any purely literal, even in the fublime language of the Greeks.

To ivalk 'with God implies, lirft, a Hate of reconciliation w^itli him ; ' Can two walk together unlefs they are agreed :' Certainly not, with any degree of pleafure. But Enoch (any more than Abram) was not born the ' friend of God ;' but rather at enmity with him, a * child of wrath, even as others ;' and it was donbt-lefs the fame atoning blood, the fame divine grace, that reconciled

him

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 93

7. In Enoch's tiine God more exprefsly revealed the coming of Chrifl: than he had beiore done. We have aif" account of the prophecy of Enoch In the 14th and 15th verfes of Jude: ' And Enoch alfo the feventh from Adam,

* propheficd of thefe, laying. Behold, tlie Lord cometh

* with ten thoufand of liis faints, to execute judgment ' upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among ' them, for their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly ' committed, and of all their hard fpeeches which ungod-' ly fmners have fpoken againfl him.' (s) This prophecy

does

him to God, which has in all ages brought near * them that were

* afar off.' Then being reconciled, he enjoyed peace and communion with God.

His name implies dedication, and perhaps, like Samuel, he might be early devoted to the Lord, and initiated betimes into his fervice. But he reftcd not in this ; unfatisfied with any prcfent attainments, he lludied, as the term implies, to xm^e. d^ progrefs in religion, he ' walked with God.'

Tradition, very ancient and extenfive, has celebrated his attainments in atironomy, the mathematics, and other fciences, [See Univ. Hid. Vol. i. p. 162.] and it is not improbable that the fludy of nature might be a favourite employment to one who could contemplate the divine glory in all its objeifls ; nor is it unlikely that fuch exemplary piety was rewarded with confiderable difcoveries in natural, as well as divine things : but this was the fmalleft part of his character ; his mind, doubtlefs, foared above the (tars, and fought an acquaintance with eternal objects—fought the felicity of angels—the image of God. And he iought not in vain ; preffmg towards the mark, he gained the prize, he received his crown, at an age when many, in that period of longevity, had not pafFed half their mortal pilgrimage.

" Him the mod High,

Wrapt in a balmy cloud with winged deeds,

Receiv'd to walk with God,

High in falvation and the climes of blifs.

Exempt from death." [Par. Lod. Book xi.]. [U. U.]

(b) lue PROPHECY of Enoch] —Is mere conedlly rendered thus; ' And Enoch alfo, the feventh from Adam, prophefied ' againd them, when he faid, Echo'd, the Lord comi's with my-

* riads of his holy ones, to eXv:L-utJ judgricnt upm all, and to ' conviv'^ all the ungodly among th^m 01' their impious works

* which they have impioufly committed ; and of all the hard ihings

* which impious fmne/s have fpoken againd him.'

♦' A prceio'js fragment of antidihivian hidory is here [in the Epidle cf Jude j preferved to us, as it feem:- by the fpecial -providence

does not fecm to be confined to any particular coming of Chrill:; but it lias refpe6l in general to his coming in his kingdom, and is fulfilled, in a degree, in every remarkable manifeftation Chrift has inade of himfelf in the world, for the falvation of his people, and the deftrudlion of his enemies. It is very parallel in this refpe6t with many other prophecies given under the Old Teftament; and, in particular, with that in the yth chapter of Daniel, whence the Jews principally took their notion of the kingdom of heaven, [ver. lo.] ' A fiery flream iflfued,

* and came forth from before him: thoufand thoufands

* miniftered unto him, and ten thoufand times ten thou-

* fand llood before him; the judgment was fet, and the ' books were opened.' And [ver. 13, 14.] ' I faw in the ' night-vifion, and behold one like the fon of man came

* with the clouds of heaven, and came to the antient of ' days, and they brought him near before him. And ' there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kins;-' dom, that all people, nations, and languages Ihould ' ferve him : his dominion is an everlafting dominion, ' which fiiall not pafs away, and his kingdom that which

* fhall not be deflroyed.' And though it is not unlikely that Enoch might have a more immediate refpedl, in this prophecy, to the approaching deltrudlicn of the old world by the flood, wliich was a remarkable s'efemblance of Chrifl's deil:ru6lion of all his enemies at" his fecond coming, yet it doubtlefs looked beyond the type to the antitype.

And as this prophecy of Chrift's coming is more ex-preffed than any preceding it; fo it is an inftance of the increafe of that gofpel-Iight which began to dawn prefently after the fall, or of tliat building which is the

fubjea

denceof God, who taught the apolllc Jude to didinguifli between what was gsnuine and fpurious in the tradition. It can by no means be proved that this h 3. quoiation_ (roin. that fooliHi book called Enoch's Prophecy, ris Bp. Sherlock has very rightly urged ; nor would it prove the infplration of the book from whence it was takeq, but only that j&(^r//ni/a/'paffage."— -[Doddridge's Fam. Exppf. ill loc.J

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 95

lubjeot of our prefent difcourfe, being farther carried on, and built up higher than it had been before.

And here, by tlie way, I would obfervc, that the in-creafe of gofpel light, and the progrefs of the work of redemption, as it refpefts the church in general, from its erection to the end of the world, is very limilar to the progrefs of the fiune work, and the fame light, in a particular foul, from the time of its converfion, till it is perfe6ted and crowned in glory. Sometimes the lio-ht ihines brighter, and at others more obfcurely; fometimes grace prevails, and at other times it feems to languilli for a great while together. But in general, grace is growing: from its iirfi: eredlion till it is completed in glory, the kingdom of Chrift is building up in the foul. So it is with refpecfl; to the great affair in general, as it relates to the univerfal fubjedl of it, and as it is carried on from its hrll: beginning to the end of the world.

8. The next remarkable thing in carrying on t]\is work, was the trnaflation of Enoch into heaven. [Gen. V. 24.] ' And Enoch wall'cd with God, and he was not; ' for God took him.' Mofcs, in giving an account of tlie genealogy of thofe that were of the line of Noah, does not fay concerning Enoch, he lived fo long and he died, as he does of the rcll:; but, ' lie was not, for God ' took him;' i. c. he tranflated him; in body and foul carried him to heaven without dying, as it is explained, [in Heb. ix 5.] ' By faith Enoch was tranflated, that he ' fhonld not fee death.' (c) By this wonderful work of God, tlic work of redemption was carried to a greater height in feveral rcfpecls, than it had been before.

You may remember, that when 1 {hewed you what were the great things that God intended in the work of

redemp-

i3

(c) Enoch tuas translated.] For this we have divine authority, as above (hewn, and need not much regard unceitain traditions. They will, however, in this cafe furnifh us with an in-ftrudivc obftrvatiun, viz. that human traditions generally either oppofe divine truths, or deprave them. In this inllance, many of the Jews, thole mailers of tradition, will not believe but that Enoch died like other men j and others, who admit his tranfla-

O tioD,

redemption; among other things I mentioned (p. 57) the perfe6t reftoration of the ruins of the fall, with refpeft to the ele6l, both in foul and body. Now this tranflation of Enoch, was the firfl inftance of this reftoration with refpe6t to the body. There had been many inftances of reftoring the foul of man by Chrift's redemption, but none of the body, until now. At the end of the world, all the bodies of the faints ihall a6lual]y be redeemed; the dead in Chrift by a refurredlion; and them that fhall remain alive by a glorious change. A number of the bodies of the faints were raifed at the refurre£lion of Chrift; and before then there was an inftance of a body glorified in Elijah: but the firft inftance was this of Enoch, of which we are now fpeaking.

Now the work of redemption in this inftance was carried on ftill farther; as thereby was a great increafe of gofpel light, and the church had a clearer manifeftation of a future ftate, and of the glorious reward of the faints in heaven. We are told, [2 Tim. i. 10.] ' That life and ' immortality are brought to light by the gofpel.' And the more of this gofpel is revealed, the more clearly does the light of life and immortality appear. What was faid in the Old Teftament of a future ftate, is very obfcure, in coniparifon with the more full, plain, and abundant revelation given of it in the New. But yet even in thofc early days, the church of God, in this inftance, was favoured with an evidence of it fet before their eyes, in that one of their brethren was a£lually taken up to heaven without dying; which we have reafon to think the church of God knew then, as they afterwards knew Elijah's tranf-lalion. And as this was a clearer manifeftation of a future ftate than the church had had before; fo it was a pledge or earneft of that future glorification of all the faints, which God intended through the redemption of [efus Chrift.

9. The

tion, add to it, that he was taken by a ■whirlwind to the terreftrlal Paradife, where God (hewed him the tree of life in the midlt of it. [See Univ. Hift. Vol. i. p. 163, and Ainfworth's Ann. in loc]

[N. U.]

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 97

9. The next thing that I fliall obferve, was the upholding the church of God in that family of which Chrifl: was to come, in the time of the great and general defedlion before the flood. The church, in all probability, was fmall, in comparifon with the reft of the world, from the time that mankind firft began to multiply on the face of the earth, or from the time of Cain's defection, and departing from among the people of God; [Gen. iv. 16.] ' When Cain went out from the prefence ' of the Lord, (d) and dwelt in the land of Nod;' (e) which being interpreted, is the land of bamfiment ; I fay, from this time of Cain's departure and feparation from the church of God, it is probable that the church of God was fmall in comparifon with the reft of the world. The

O 2 church

(d) The VK'Et'E'HCi. of the Lord.'] " L'tghtfoot, Heidegger, zrA Le Clerc [to whom many more might be added j feem to be of opinion, that what we render * i\\t prefence oi the Lord,' was the proper name of that particular place where Adam, after his expul-fion from Paradife, dwelt; and accordingly we find that part of the country which lies contiguous to the fuppofed fituation of Paradife, [/. e. near Tripoli, in Syria] called by Strabo, * tht prefence of God.' However this be, it is agreed by all interpreters,

that there was a divine glory, called by the Jews Schechinah, which appeared from the beginning, and from which Cain, being now banifhed, never enjoyed the fight of it again."— [Patrick's Comment, and Gill's Expof.]

(e) Cain dnvelt in the land of Nod.] " It Is the fame word which is rendered in the twelfth and fourteenth verfe a vagabond. Why our tranflators In the two former verfes give the meaning of the word, and in the fixteenth verfe the letters of It merely. Is not eafily comprehenfible. Let It be tranflated throughout, the fenfe Is perfedlly clear, and all ground of Idle Inquiry taken away. In the twelfth verfe, God denounces his punlfliment, ' thou fiialt ' not die, but be Nod, a vagabond In the earth.' In the fourteenth verfe, Cain recognizes the juftlce of the fentence, and bewails It,

* I (hall be Nod, a vagabond In the earth :' and In the fixteenth, Mofes gives us the hlftory of Its being put In execution ; * he went

* from the prefence of the Lord, and dwelt In the land,' Nod, a vagabond, flying from place to place, fliulklng In corners, fiiun-ning the haunts of men, purfued Inceflantly by the rcmorfclcfs pangs and tormenting apprehenfions of an 111 confclence. Remove all external danger, ' and the wicked Is as the troubled fea, which

* cannot reft, whofe waters caft up mire and dirt."— [Hunter's Sac. Biog. Led. v.]

church feems to have been kept up chiefly in the pofte-rity of Seth; for this was the feed that God appointed inftead of Abel, whom Cain flew. But we cannot rea-fonably fuppofe, that Seth's poflerity was one fiftieth part of the world: " for Adam was one liundicd and thirty years old when Seth was born." But Cain, who feems to have been the leader of thofe that were not of the church, was Adam's eldeft child, and probably was born foon after the fall, which doubtlefs was foon after Adam's creation ; fo that there was time for Cain to have many fons before Seth was born: befules other children that probably Adam and Eve had before this time, (agreeable to God's blefiing. ' Be fruitful, and multiply, and reple-* nifli the earth ;') and many of thefe children might alfo have children. The hift:ory of Cain, before Seth's birth, feems to imply that there were great numbers of men (f)

on

(f) Great numbers of men on the earth at this time.'] It is generally conjeftured [from Gen. iv. 25.] that Abel was murdered a year or two before Seth was born, which was in the year 130.

" Now though we fhould fuppofe that Adam and Eve had no other fons in the year of the world one hundred and twenty-eight, but Cain and Abel, it mull be allowed that they had daughters, who might early marry with thofe two fons. I require no more than the defcendants of thefe two, to make a veiy confiderable number of men upon the esrth in the faid year one hundred and twenty-eight; for, fuppofing them to have been married,in the nineteenth year of the world, they might eafily have had each of them eight children in the twenty-fifth year. In twenty-five years more, the fiftieth of the world, their defcendants in a diredt line would be fixty-four perfons. In the feventy-fifth year, at the fame rate, they would amount to five hundred and twelve. In the hundredth year, to four thoufand and ninety-fix ; and in the hundred and twenty-fifth year, to thirty-two tlioufand feven hundred and fixty-eight."—[Uiflert. Chronol. Gcog. Cvitiq. fur la Journal de Paris, Tom. li. p. 6.]

" Now if to this calculation we add the high degree of probability that Adam had many more fons befides thofe mentioned in the record ; that families were generally more numerous than the fuppofitlon Hates ; that fimple manners, rural employments, temperature of climate, and largenefs of room, arc circumftances in-conceiveably more favourable to population, than modern fads, and European cuftoms, give us any idea of, we fliall not think it ilrange that Cain, under the prefiure of confcious guilt, and harrowed

FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD. 99

on the earth: [Gen. iv. 14, 15.] ' Behold, thou hafl ' driven me out this day from the face of the eartli; and

* from thy face ihall I be hid, and I Ihall be a fugitive and

* a vagabond in the earth ; and it fliall come to pafs, that

* every one that findeth me fhall flay me. And the Lord ' faid \into him, Therefore \vhofoe\er flayetli Cain, vcn-' geance fliall he taken on him feven-fold. And the ' Lord fet a mark upon Cain, led: any finding him ihould

* kill him.' (g) And thofe that were in being when Seth was born, muft be fuppofed to ftand in equal cnpacity of multiplying their poilerity with him ; and therefore, as I faid, Seth's pofterity were but a fmall part of the inhabitants of the world.

But after the days of Enos and Enoch, (for Enoch was tranflated before Enos died ; I fay, after their days) the church of God greatly diminiHied, in proportion as multitudes that were of the line of Scrh, and had been born in the church of God, fell away, and joined with the wicked world, principally by means of intermarriages

with

rovi'ed with fear, which always both multiplies and magnifies objects far beyond their real number and fize, fhould be alarmed and intimidated at the numbers of mankind, who he fuppofed were ready, and were concerned, to execute vengeance upon him." — [Hunter's Sac. Biog. Vol. i* left. 5.]

(g) The Lord Jet a mark upon Cain.~\ " Almoft all the ver-fions have committed a miflake in tranflating ver. 15, tliat God had * put a mark Vi^ow Cain,' left any fuddenly fliould kill him. The original fays no fuch thing ; and the LXX have very well rendered it thus—* God fet a fign before Cain, to purfuade him that whoever fliould find him fliould not kill him.' This is almoft the fame with what is faid in Exod. x. i. that ' God did fet

* fjgns before the Egyptians ;' and Ifa. Ixvi. 15. that ' he would fet ' a^^« before the heathen ;' where it is evident that God did not mean any particular marh which (hould be fet on their bodies, but only thofe figns and wonders which he wrought in Egypt, to oblige Pharaoh to let his people go ; and the miraculous manner wherein he delivered them from the Babylonifti captivity. This expo-fition is natural and agreeable to the methods of Divine Providence, which is wont to convince the incredulous by figns and wonders ; nor could any thing elfe convince Cain, in the fear he was under, that the firft who met liim fliould not kill him, after

what God had faid to him in exprobration of his crim.e."

[Patrick's Comment, and Saurin's DifFert.]

loo HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

with them ; [as Gen. vi. 1,2, and 4.] ' And it came to

* pafs, when men began to multiply on the face of the

* earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the fons

* of God faw the daughters of men, that they were fair;

* and they took them wives of all which they chofe.—

* There were giants in the earth in thofe days; and alfo

* after that, when the fons of God came in unto the

* daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the

* fame became mighty men, which were of old, men of

* renown.' (h) By the fons of God here, are doubtlefs meant the children of the church : it is a denomination often given them in the fcripture. They intermarried

with

(h) There were giants oh the earth in thofe dnys.'] Here are two inquiries which prefent thcmfelves ; i. What is meant by the fons of GoJintermanylng with the daughters of men ? And what were thefe giants here mentioned ?

As to the former, the expofition of our author is generally ac-quiefced in, and there is but little doubt that is the true one. There is another, however, efpoiifed by fome of the beft Jewlfli writers, as Ben Uzziel, S. Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and the Tar-gums, and which therefore may defervc mentioning, viz. that the fons of God were princes, magiftrates, and great-men ; and daughters of men, thofe of the inferior and poor people, which they took by violence, as the word fometimes means, and debauched. [See Univ. Hiil. Vol. i. p. 175.]

As to the other inquiry, there is no doubt, if we credit hif-tory, either facred or prophane, but there were formerly men of extraordinary ftature, as, indeed, to this day v;e meet with fome accidental inftances ; not to mention the Patagonians, a nation of fuch men, if we may credit the relations in Mr. Pennant's traft. f See the Analytical Review, No. i.]—But however fome critics have thought that the paffage before us does not refer to fuch. Some tranflate the Hebrew word v.ephmm, npo/Iatcs, thofe who have fell from the truth ; fo Jofephus: bat Symmachus and Aquila underftand it more literally of ruffians, men of 'v'lclence, men ivho

attaclif who fall upon others. [See Cruden's Concord, in

Giant.2

The abfurd notion that the fons of God were angels, either fallen or guardian, is too abfurd to deferve refutation. It is fupr pofed, however, that this notion originntedfrom an error in fome old copies of the LXX, which read, the angels, inflead of the fons of God ; and it was in great meafure propagated by the book of

the pretended prophecies of Enoch. [See Unir. Hid. Vol. i.

p. 172, and feq.J

with the wicked world, and fo their hearts were led away liom God ; and there was a great and continual defection : and the cliurch of God, which ufed to be a reftraint on tlie wicked world, diniiniflied exceedingly, and fo wickednefs went on uncontrolled. Satan, that old ferpent, the devil, that tempted our tirft parents, and fet up him-lelf as God of this world, raged exceedingly ; and every Imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually, (i) and the earth was filled with violence. It feems to be deluged with wickednefs now, as it was with water afterwards: and mankind in general were fwallowed up in this deluge. And now Satan made a mod violent and potent attempt to deflroy the church of God ; and had almoft done it: but God reftored it in the midft of all this flood of wickednefs and violence. He kept it up in the line of which Chrift was to proceed. He would not fuffer it to be deftroyed, for a blefling was in it. There was a particular family, a root whence ' the branch ' of righteoufnefs' was afterwards to flioot forth. And therefore, however the branches were lopped off, and the tree feemed to be deftroyed; yet God, in the midft of all, kept alive this root, by his wonderful redeeming power and grace.

Thus I have flievvn how God carried on the great affair of redemption ; how the building went on during the firft period of the Old Teftament, viz. from the fall of man, till God brought the flood upon the earth. And I would here remark, that though the hiftory which Mofes gives us of the great works of God during that fpace be very fliort; (k) yet it is exceedingly comprehen-

11 ve

(i) Man* s heart only evil.]] " The original [text] is very ex-' aft in its ftrufture, as well as very emphatical in its meaning.— The /jeart, or the grand principle, the thoughts of the heart, or the various aftings of that principle, the imaginations of the thoughts, or the produce and refult of thofe aftings ; namely, de-fires and affeftions, counfels and purpofea : of which, not one,

not a few pnly, or the greateft part, but a/I thefc are evil." .

[Hervev's Ther. and Afp. vol. ii. dial, ii.]

( K ) The hijiory of this period very short.] How few chapters contain the hiitory of our world before the flood, although a period

I02 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

five and inflru6tive. And It may alfo be profitable to obferve, the efficacy of that purchafe of redemption that had fuch great effefts, even many ages before Chrifl appeared to purchafe redemption, by the lliedding of his blood.

§ II. From the flood to the calling of Abraham.

I PROCEED now to fhew how the fame work was carried on through the fecond part of this period, from the beginning of the flood till the calling of Abraham : for though that vmiverfal deluge of waters overthrew the world ; yet it did not overthrow tliis building of God, the work of redemption. This went on yet, and continued to be built up to a farther preparation for the great Saviour's coming into the world, and working out redemption for his people. And here obferve,

I. The flood itfelf was a work of God that belonged to this great affair, and tended to promote it. All the great works of God, from the tall to the end of the world, rightly viewed, will appear as parts of this grand work ; and as fo many fleps that God has taken in order to its being carried on : and doubtlefs fo great a work, fo remarkable a cataf-trophc, as the deluge was, cannot be excepted. It was wrought in order to remove out of the way, enemies that were ready to overthrow it.

Satan feems to have been in a dreadful rage juft before the flood ; and his rage then doubtlefs was, as it always has been, chiefly againfl: the church of God. He had drawn alrnofl: all the world to be enlifted under his banner.

riod of near fcventeen hundred years ; and including no lefs events than the creation of the world—the fall of man—and bringing us to the eve of the world's deftruftiori. What are the memoirs of the oldeft patriarchs, but that thi'y were born—propagated their fpecies—and then died ?— Sic tranfit gloria mundi. ' Thus the * fafliion of this world paffeth away.' [i Cor. vii. 31.] [I. N.J

FROM THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM'* CALL. 103

ncr. ' We read that the earth was filled with violence;' and doubtlefs that violence was chiefly againft the church, in fulfilment of what was foretold, ' I will put enmity ' between thy feed and her feed.' And their enmity and violence was fo great, and the enemies of the church fo numerous, the whole world being againft it, that it was come to the lafl: extremity. Noah's reproofs and his preaching of righteoufnefs were utterly difregarded. God's fpirit had ftriven with them an hundred and twenty years, but in vain; (l) the church was reduced to fuch narrow-limits, as to be confined to one family. Neither was there a profpccl of any thing elfe but of their totally fwallowing it up in a very little time ; and fo wholly deftroying that fmall root that had the bleffing in it, from whence the Redeemer was to proceed.

And therefore, God's deftroying thofe enemies of the church by the flood, belongs to this affair of redemption ; for it was one thing that was done in fulfilment of the covenant of grace, as it was revealed to Adam : ' I ' will put enmity between thee and the woman, and be-' tweea thy feed and her feed ; it fiiall bruife thy head.'

P Thus

(l) God's fpirit had striven nvilh them in vain.'] " The word here traiiflated to llrive, fignilies to litigate a point or reafon in a caufc, before it is ripe for judgment

" It is now eafy to difcern in what fenfe the Spirit of God may be oppofcd and rcfiltcd, and ftrive to no purpofe, and in what fenfe not. The things of the Spirit of God are difagreeable to a natural man : it is no wonder that the external miniftry of the word and ordinances are defpifed, oppofed, and refiiled. The external caufe may be rejefted ; yea, fome inward inotions and con-viftions may be over-ruled, ftiflcd, and come to nothing ; nay, it will be granted, that there may be, and is an oppofition and re-fiftancc to the work of the Spirit of God in converfion ; but then the Spirit cannot be fo refilled in the operations of his grace as to be obliged to ceafe from his work, or to be overcome or hindered In it ; for he ac^s with a defign which cannot be fruftrated, and with a power which is uncontroulable ; were It otherwife, the regeneration and converfion of every one muft be precarious ; and where the grace of the Spirit is effeftual, according to the doc-ti Ine of free-will, It would be more owing to the will of man than to the Spirit of God." [Gill's Caufe of God and Truth, Part T. No. 2.1

T04 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

Thus w.-TS the feed of the ferpent, in the midft of tlieir moft violent rage, difappointed, and the church delivered when in the utmoft peril.

We read of fcarce any great deftrutlion of nations in the Scripture, but one grand reafon given for it is, their enmity and injuries againft God's people ; and doubtlels this was one main reafon of the defl:ru6lion of all nations by the flood. The giants that were in thofe days, in all likelihood, got themfelves their renown by their great exploits againft Heaven, and the remaining fons of God that had not corrupted themfelves.

We read that jtift befc^e the world Ihall be deftroyed by nre, ' the nations that are in the four quarters of the ' earth, fhall gather together againft the church as the fand ' of tlie fea, and fliall go up on the breadth of the earth,

• and compafs the camp of the faints about, and the be-

• lovdd city; and then fire ftiall come down from God out ' of heaven, and devour them.' [Rev. xx. 8, 9.] And it feems there was that which was very parallel to it, juft before the world was deftroyed by water. And therefore their deftru6lion was a work of God that did as much belong to the work of redemption, as the deftruction of the Egyptians belonged to the redemption of the children of lirael out of Egypt; or as the deftru6lion of Sennacherib's mighty arm.y, that had compafled about Jerufalem to deftroy it, belonged to God's redemption of that city from them.

By means of this flood, all the enemies of God's church, againft wliom that little handful had no ftrength, were fwept off at once, (m) God took their part, and appeared for them againft their enemies, drowned tliofe of whom they had been atraid in this flood, as he.drowned the enemies of Ifrael that purfucd them in the Red Sea.

Indeed

(m) Tl)e enemies of the church all Jivept off at once by the flood.] Well, faith the apoftle, [Heb. x. 31.] ' It is a fearful thing to fall < into the hands of the living God.' Dreadful judgments follow abufed mercies. One hundred and twenty years had the divine patience waited—one liundredand twenty years liad the holy prophet

FROM THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM'S CALL. lo^

Indeed God could have taken other methods to deliver his church: he could have converted all the world, inftead of drowning it; and fo he could have taken another method than drowning the Egyptians in the Red Sea. But that is no argument, that the method that he did take, was not a method to fliow his redeeming mercy to his people.

By the deluge the enemies of God's people were d'if-pofTcffed, and the whole earth given to Noah and his family to enjov in quiet; as God made room for the Ifraelites in Canaan, hy cafting out their enemies from before them. And God's thus taking the poflefhon of the enemies of the church, and giving it all to his church, was agreeable to that promife ot the covenant of grace : [Pfal. xxxvii. 9, lO, ii.] ' For evil doers fliall be cut ' off; but thofe that wait upon the Lord, they fliall inherit

* the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked Ihal!

* not be: yea, thou Ihalt diligently confider his place. ' and it fliall not be. But the meek Ihall inherit tlic ' earth, and Ihall delight themfeives in the abundance of

* peace.'

2. Another thing belonging to the fame work, Vv'as God's fo wonderfully prcferving that family of which

P 2 the

phct warned that perverfe generation ; but in vain. Imagination is too weak to conceive, as well as language to paint, the av/ful event winch follows—while

" With black wings

Wide hovering, all the clouds together drove

From under heaven

And now the thicken'd flvy

Like a dark ceiling flood ; down rufli'd the rain Impetuous, and continued, till the earth No more was feen ; the floating veffcl fwam Uplifted, and fecure with beaked prow Rode tilting o'er the waves ; all dwellings elfe Flood overwhelm'd, and them, with all their pomp, Deep under water roU'd ; fea covet'd fea, Sea without fliore ; and in their palaces, Where luxury late rcign'd, fea monfters whelp'd And ftabled ; of mankind, fo numerous late, All left, in one fmall bottom fwam embark'd."—

[Par. Loft. Book :;i.] [U. U.J

io6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

the Redeemer was to proceed, when all tke reft of the world was drowned. God's drowning the world, au4 faving Noah and his family, were both^ reducible to this great work. The faving Noah and his family belonged to it two ways ; as that was the family of which the Redeemer was to proceed, and as it was the church that he had redeemed. It was the myftical body of Chrift that Avas there faved. The manner of God's faving thofe perfons, when all the world befides was fo overthrown, was very wonderful and remarkable. It was a wonderful and remarkable type of the redemption of Chrift, of that redemption that is fealed by the baptifm of water, and is fo fpoken of in the New Teftament, [as i Pet. iii. 20,21.] ' Which fometimes were difobedieot, when ' once the long-fuftering of God waited in the days of * Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, ' that is, eight fouls, were faved by water. The like ' figure whereunto, even baptifm, doth alfo now fave us, ' (not the putting away the filth of the ^eih, but the ' anfwer of a good confcience towards God,) by the ° refurre6tion of Jefus Chrift.' (n) That water which

wa (lied

(n) Which fomethne tverc difobedlent, idc.~] At prefent we fliall only fubjoin the tranfiatlon and paraphrafe of this text (including part of the context) from Dr. Doddridge, which perfe-ftly coio' cides with the fenfe of our author, and we think with the truth. But as many have fuppofed it to refer to another period, viz. to Chrift's preaching in the invifible world, v/c Hiall in the proper place reconfider the text with that interpretation of it.

I. Peter iii. i8—22. " I have already obferved, that if it be the will of God you fliould fuiTer, it is better it fhould be for doing well than for doing evil ; and it is very evidently fo, becavfe hereby we are made conformable to Chr'ijl our head and leader, whom it cannot but be our glory and happinefs to refemble ; for he alfo once fuffiredfor Jins ; he, who was fo eminently and pcr-feftly the jtifl, fufFered for the twjuji, for our benefit, and in our Head, that he might introduce us to God, and fix us in a ftate cf acceptance a-nd favourable intereourfe with him, being indeed put to death in thejlejlj, by thofe enemies whom God permitted for a while to triumph over him ; but quickened by the Spirit of God, which foon re-animated his body, and raifed it to an immortal life: f ytn that Spirit by the infpiration of ivhich granted to his faithful

fervant

FROM THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM'S CALL. 107

wafhed away the filth of the world, and ciearetl the world of wicked men, was a type of the blood of Chrift which takes away onr fins. That water which delivered Noah and his fens from their enemies, is a type of the blood that delivers God's church from their fpiritual enemies. That water which was fo plentiful, that it filled the woild, and reached above the tops of the higheft mountains, was a type of that blood, tlie efficacy of which is fo abundant, that it is'fufficient for the whole world ; fufficient to bury the highefi: mountains of fin. The ark, that was the refuge and hiding-place of the church in this time of ftorm and flood, was a type of Chrill, the true

hiding-

fervant Noah, going forth as it Vv ere, in that progrefs in which he employed him, he preached to thofe notorious finners, who for their difobedience, have fince experienced the juft feverity of the divine vengeance, and are now in the condition of feparate^/W/j, referved as it were in prifoti, to the feverer judgment at the great day. I fpeak of thofe, 'who ivere /ongjtttce difobedient, <zvheti once the abufed and infulted long-fujfcring of a companionate God'waited upon them, in the days of the patriarch Noah, during the fuccef-fion of one hundred and twenty years, 'while the ark 'waspreparing : in 'which few, that is, eight fouls, of Noah and his wife, his three fons and their wives, 'were carried fafly through the tvater, in which the refidue of mankind perifhed. The antitype to •which^ (or that whicli correfponds to, and was figured by it, that it, by the prcfervation of Noah's family in the ark,) does tio'w fave uSf or is the inftrument of our fafety and prefervation, as the ark was of theirs ; [/ mean] baptifm, whereby we are received into the Chriftian church, and numbered amongft the heirs of falva-tion ; but then it is to be remembered, that it is not merely the putting away the pollution of thejlejh by the ufe of material water, for that would be very infignificant; lut the anfwer of a good confcience, the reply that it makes when interrogated in the pre-fenct of God, and fpoken in fuch a language as he only is capable of hearing and underftanding ; and when this likewife is found, when we attain falvation, by that great event in which at baptifm we declare ourfelves believers ; I mean the refurredion of our Lord Jefus Chrifl from the dead ; ivho is now fct down at the right hand of God, being gone into heaven, there to take pof-feffion of the glory prepared for him, v/liere he reigns fuprcmc over all worlds, all the angels and authorities and po'wsrs, v.hicli are there enthroned, Icing made fuljcB to him, and humbly l«o\v-in^ before liis funcii-M- dignity and authoritv. [Faai. Expof.]

\l. N.l

io8 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

hiding-place of the church from the ftorms and floods of God's wrath.

3, The next thing obfervable is, the new grant of the earth made to Noah and his family immediately after the flood, as founded on the covenant of grace. The facri-hce of Chrift was reprefented by Noah's building an altar to the Lord, and offering a facrifice of every clean beaft, and every clean fowl. And we have an account of God's accepting this facrifice, and thereupon bleffing Noah, and eftablifhing his covenant with him, and with his feed, promifnig to deftroy the earth in like manner no more; this fignifying that, by the facrifice of Chrifl, God's people are in fafety from his deftroying judgments, and obtain the blefhng of the Lord. And God now, on occalion of this facrificis that Noah offered, gives him and his pofterity a new grant of the. earth ; a new power of dominion over the creatures, as founded on that facrifice, and fo on the covenant of grace. And thus it is to be looked upon as a diftin6l grant from that which was made to Adam, [Gen. i. 28.] ' And God blefTed them, and

* God faid unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and re- | ' plenilh the earth, and fubdue it; and 'lave dominion

* oyer the fiih of the fea, and over the fowl of the air, ^ and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.' Which grant was not founded on the covenant of grace ; for it was o-iven to Adam while he was under the covenant of works, and therefore was rendered void when that covenant ceafed. The firli grant of the eartlt to Adam was founded on the firft covenant; and therefore, when that flrfl covenant was broken, the rigiit conveyed to him by it was forfeited and loft. Hence it came to pafs, tliat the earth was taken away from mankind by the flood ; for the firft grant was forfeited; and God had never made another after that, till after the flood. If the firft covenant had not been broken, God never would have drowned the world, and fo have taken it away from nir^nlvind: for then the firft grant would have flood good. But that being broken, God, after a while, deftroycd the eartli, when the wickednefs of man was great upon it.

But

FROM THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM'S CALL. 109

But after the tlootl, on Noah's offering a facrihce that rcprefented the lacritice of Chrift, God, in fmelHng a fweet favour, or accepting that facrihce (as it was a re-prefentation of the true iacritice of Chriil:, which is a fweet favour indeed to God) gives Noah a new grant of the earth, founded thereon ; or on that covenant of grace which is by the facrifice of Chriffc, with a promife annexed, that now the earth ihould no more be dertroyed, till the confummation of all things; as you may fee in Gen. viii. 20, 21, 22. and chap. ix. i, 2, 3, 7. The reafon why luch a promife was added to this grant made to Noah, and not to that made to Adam, was becaufe this was founded on the covenant oi grace, of which Chrift was the furety, and therefore could not be broken. And therefore it comes to pafs now, that though the wicked-nefs of man has dreadfully raged, and the earth has been filled with violence and wickednefs a thoufand times, one age after another, and more dreadful and aggravated wickednefs than the world was full of before the flood, being againfi: fo much greater light and mercy, efpecially in thefe days of the gofpel ; yet God's patience holds out; he does not dellroy the earth , his mercy and forbearance abides according to his promife ; and his grant eftablilhed with Noah and his fons remains firm and good, being founded on the covenant of grace.

4. On this God renews wirh Noah and his fons the covenant of grace. Gen. ix. 9, 10. ' And I, behold, * I eflablilli my covenant with you, and with your feed ' after you, and with every living creature that is with ' you,' &c. ; which even the brute creation have this benefit of, that it fliall never be deitroyed again until the i onfummation of all things. When we have this expref-fion in Icripture, my covenant, it commonly is to be un-derftood ot the covenant of grace, (o) The manner of

expreffion.

(o) My covr.K.\ST is ^e/!era//y to li vnderfiood of the covenant nj grace.'] Thdcarfied are by no means agreed, either as to the derivation, or radical meaning of the original term berlth. It 16 well known that Mr. Hutchinson infifted on its meaning

the

expreflTion, ' I will eltablifli my covenant with you, and * with your feed after you,' (p) fliews plainly, that it was

a cove-

\h.<ipur'ifi'Tf or a punf.catlon-facnji'ce, and fo conftantly tranflated it: and without entering into all the reveries of that ingenious man on this fubjeft, we think it very probable that the word might originally have fome fuch import ; and if it was not immediately derived from the verb in the fenfe of purifying, it might at leaft have a collateral relation to it. There is no doubt but facrifices were obferved at the inftltution of human covenants, or compa6ls ; as an appeal to heaven for \hz purity and fincerity of the parties? who formed them. Nor can there be any doubt, but that in the facrifices with which the covenant of grace was ratified with Abraham and others (of which hereafter) the offerer looked forward to that great facrifice which was to purify irora. fin. In this view God^s cavenant m\^.\X. very properly fignify \.\it covenant of grace, not only as fealed by typical purifications, but as the conditions of it were fulfilled by that pure and fpotlefs atonement, which cleanfes from all fin.

[But fee Dr. Sharp's, Mr. Bedford's, and Mr. Moody's Differtations on this word ; alfo Mr. Catcott's Sermon on the Elahim; and Mr. Romaine's new edition of Calafio's Heb. Concordance.] [G. E.J

( p) / ivill efiahVifli my covenant.'] As our author has here omitted a circumllance of fome importance, and clofely connefted with the Hiftory of Redemption, namely, Noah^s Prophecy, we fliall take the liberty to fupply it from Bp. Newton's excellent dif-fertcition on this fubjetft.

" It is an excellent charaftcr that is given of Noah,, [Gen. vi. 9.] ' Noah was a jufl man, and perfeft in his generations, and ' Noah walked with God.' But the bell of men are not without their infirmities; and Noah [Gen. ix. 20, &c.j having ' planted ' a vineyaid, and drank of the wine,' became inebriated, not knowing, perhaps, the nature and ftrength of the liquor, or being through age incapable of bearing it ; and Mofes is fo faithful an hiflorian, that he records the failings and imperfections of the moft venerable patriarchs, as well as their merits and virtues. Noaa in this condition lay ' uncovered within his tent: and Ham, * tlie father of Canaan, faw the nakednefs of his father;' and in-llead of concealing his weaknefs, as a good-natured man, or, at leaft, a dutiful fon, would have done, he cruelly expofed it to his two brethren without : but Shem and Japheth, more compafiion-ate to the infirmities of their aged father, took a garment, and went backward with fuch decency and rrfpeft, that they faw not the mikednefs of their father at the fame time that they covered it. When Noah invoke from his wine, he was informed of what his yp'.inger fon bad done unto ln'm. The word in the original fignifies hits liltle fon: and fome commentators, therefore, on account

FROM THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM'S CALL. 111

a covenant already in being, that had been made, and that Noah would by that denomination underftand what covenant it was, viz. the covenant of grace.

5. God's

count of what follows, have imagined that Canaan joined with his father Ham in this mockery and infult upon Noah ; and the Jewifh rabbins have a tradition, that Canaan was the firfl who faw Noah in this poftiirB, and then went and called his father Ham, and concurred with him in ridiculing and expofing the old man. But this is a verj' arbitrary method of interpretation ; no mention was made before of Canaan and of what he had done, but only of Ham the father of Canaan ; and of him therefore mufl the phrafe of little fon oryomigejl fon be naturally or neceffarily underflood.

" In confequence of this different behaviour of the three fons, Noah, as a patriarch, was enlightened, and as the father of a family, who is to reward or punifh his children, was Impoiuered to foretel the different fortunes of their families ; for this prophecy relates not fo much to themfelves, as to their pofterity, the people and nations defcended from them. He was not prompted by wine or refentment; for neither the one nor the other could infufe the knowledge of futurity, or infpire him with the prefcience of events, which happened hundreds, nay thoufands of years afterwards : but God, willing tomanifeil his fuperintendance and government of the world, indued Noah with the fpirit of prophecy, and enabled him in fome meafure to dildofe the purpofes of his providence towards the future race of mankind. At the fame time it was fome comfort and reward to Shem and Japheth, for their reverence and tendernefs to their father, to hear of the blcfling and enlargement of their pofleiity ; and it was fome mortification and puiiilhment to Ham, for his mockery and cruelty to his father, to hear of the malcdiAion and fervitude of fome of his children, and that as he was a wicked fon himfelf, fo a wicked race fhould fpring from him.

" This, then, was Noah's prophecy : and it was delivered, as moR of the ancient prophecies were delivered, [^Lotufh's Prelection, xviii.] in metre, for the help of the memory. [Gen. ix. 25, 26, .27.]

* Curfed be Canaan.

' A fervant of fervants fliall he be unto his brethren.

* BlcfTcd be Jehovah, the God of Shem; ' And Canaan (hall be their fervant.

' God (liall enlarge Japheth,

* And fhall dwell in the tents of Shem ;

* And Canaan fliall be their fervant.'

Canaan was the fourth fon of Ham, according to the order wherein they are mentioned in the enfuing chapter. And for what rea-fon can you believe that Canaan was fo particularly marked out

q^ for

112 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

5. God's diiappointing the defign of building the city and tower ot Babel belongs alio to the great work of

redemption.

for tlie curfe, for his father Ham's trangreffion ? But where would be the juftice or equity to pafs by Ham himfelf, with the reft of his childien, and to punifh only Canaan for what Ham had committed ? Such arbitrary proceedings are contrary to all our ideas of the divine perfections ; and we may fay in this cafe what was faid in another, [Gen. xviii. 25.3 * Shall not the judge of all ' the earth do right ?' The curfe was fo far from being pronounced upon Canaan for his father Ham's tranfgreflion, that we do not read that it was pronounced for his own, nor was executed till feveral hundred years after his death. The truth is, the curfe is to be underftood not fo properly of Canaan, as of his defcen-dents to the latell generations. It is thinking meanly of the ancient prophecies of fcripture, and having very imperfcft, very unworthy conceptions of them, to limit their intention to particular

perfons We muft affix a larger meaning to them, and

undcrftand them not of fmgle perfons, but of whole nations ; and thereby a nobler fcene of things, and a more extenfive profpeft, will be opened to us of the divine difpenfations. The curfe of fcrvitude pronounced upon Canaan, and fo likewife thepromife of bleffing and enlargement made to Shem and Japheth, are by no means to be confined to their own perfons, but extend to their whole race .... The curfe, therefore, upon Canaan was properly a curfe upon the Canaanites. God forefeeing the wickednefs of this people, (which began in their father Ham, and greatly in-creafed in this branch of his family) commiflioned Noah to pronounce a curfe upon them, and to devote thjm to the fervitude and mifcry which their more common vices and iniquities would deferve. And this account was plainly written by Mofes, for the encouragement of the Ifraelites, to fupport and animate them in their expedition againll a people, who by their fins had forfeited the divine protection, and were deftined to flavery from the days of Noah.

" We fee the purport and meaning of the prophecy, and now let us attend to the completion of it. ♦ Curfed .be Canaan ;' and the Canaanites appear to have been an abominably wicked people. The fin and punifliment of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities of the plain, are too well known to be particularly fpecified ; and for the other inhabitants of the land, which was promifed to Abraham and his feed, God bore with them ' till

* their iniquity was full.' [Gen. xv. 16.] They were not only addicted to idolatry, which was then the cafe of the greater part of the world, but were guilty of the worft fort of idolatry ; ' for

* every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they

* done unto their gods ; for even their fons and their daughters *. they have burnt in the fire to their Gods.' [Deut. xii. 31.] And

was

redemption. For that was undertaken in oppofition to this great bxiilding of God which we are fpeaking of.

Men's

was it not a curfe in the nature of things, as well as in the juft judgment of God, defervedly entailed upon fuch a people and nation as this ? It was not * for their own righteoufncfs that the ' Lord brought the Ifraelites in to poffefs the land ; but for the

* wickednefs of thefe nations did the Lord drive them out:' [Deut. ix. 4.] and he would have driven out the Ifraelites in like manner for the very fame abominations. l^Sce Lev. xviii. 25, &c.]

" But the curfe particularly implies fervitude and fubjeftion,

* Curfed be Canaan ; a fervant of fervants fliall he be unto his ' brethren.' It is very well known that the word brethren in Hebrew comprehends more dillant relations. The defcendents therefore of Canaan were to be fubjedl to the defcendents of both Shem and Japheth : and the natural confequence of vice, in communities as well as in fingle perfons, is flavery. The fame thing i% repeated again and again in the two following verfcs, * and

* Canaan fhall be fervant to them, or their fervant;' fo that this is as it were the burden of the prophecy. Some critics take the phrafc of ' fervant of fervants' ftrielly and literally, and fay that the prediftion was exaftly fulfilled, when the Canaanites became fervants to the Ifraelites, who had been fervants to tlie Egyptians. But this is refining too much ; the phrafe of fervant of fervants is of the fame turn and caft as holy of holies, king of kings, fong of fongs, and the like expreflions in fcripture ; and imports that they flrould be the loweft and bafeft of fervants.

*' It was feveral centuries after the delivery of this prophecy, when the Ifraelites, who were defcendents of Shem, under the command of Jolhua invaded the Canaanites, fmote above thirty of their kings, took poffeffion of their land, flew feveral of the inhabitants, made the Gibeonltes and others fervants and tributaries, and Solomon afterwards fubducd the reft. [2. Chron.viii. 7, 8, 9.] The Greeks and Romans too, who were defcendents of Japheth, not only fubdued Syria and PalelHne, but alfo purfued and conquered fuch of the Canaanites as were any where remaining, as for Inftance, the Tyrlans and Carthaginians, the former of whom were ruined by Alexander and the Grecians, and the latter by Scipio and the Romans. " This fate," fays Mr. Mede, " was it that made Hanibal, a child of Canaan, cry out with amazement of his fold, ylgmfco forlitnam Carthaglnls, I acknowledge the fortune of Carthage." And ever fince the miferable remainder of his people have been flaves to a foreign yoke, firft to the Saracens, who defcended from Shem, and afterwards to the Tuiks, who defcended from Japheth ; and they groan under their dominion at this day.

" Hitherto wo have explained the prophecy according to the prefent copies of our bible : but if v,'e were to correct the text, as.

0^2 we

114 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

Men's going about to build fuch a city and tower was an effedl of the corruption that mankind were now again

fallen

we fliould any ancient clafilc author in a like ca{e, the whole perhaps might be made eader and plainer. Ham the father of Canaan is mentioned in the preceding part of the Itory ; and how then came the perfon of a fudden to be changed into Canaan ? The Arabic verfion in thefe three verfes hath the father of Canaan in-flead of Canaan. Some copies of the Septuagint likewife have Ham inftead of Canaan, as if Canaan was a corruption of the text. Vatablus and others by Canaan underftand the father of Canaan, which was exprefied twice before. And if we regard the metre, this line, Curfed be Canaan, is much Ihorter than the reft, as if fomething was deficient. May we not luppofe therefore, (without taking fuch liberties as Father Houbigant hath ■with the Hebrew text) that the copyift by miftake wrote only Canaan, inftead of Ham the father of Canaan, and that the whole paffage was originally thus ? ' and Ham the father of Canaan faw

* the nakednefs of his father, and told his two brethren without. " And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger

* fon had done unto him. And he faid, curfed be Ham the father,

* of Canaan, a fervant of fervant3 ftiall he be unto his brethren.

* And he faid, BlelTed be the Lord God of Shem ; and Ham the

* father of Canaan fliall be fervant to them. God ftiall enlarge

* Japheth ; and he ftiall dwell in the tents of Shem ; and Ham f the father of Canaan ftiall be fervant to them.'

" By this reading all the three fons of Noah are included in the prophecy, whereas otherwife Ham, who was the off'cnder, is excluded, or is only puniftied in one of his children. Ham is charafterlzed as the father of Canaan particularly, for-the greater encouragement of the Ifraehtes, who were going to invade the land of Canaan : and when it is faid, ' Curfed be Ham the father ' of Canaan ; a fervant of fervants fliall he be unto his brethren ;' it is implied that his whole race was devoted to fervitude, but par-ticularly the Canaanites. Not that this was to take effeft immediately, but was to be fulfilled in procefs of time, when they ftiould forfeit their liberties by their wickednefs. Ham at firft fubdued fome of the pofterity of Shem, as Canaan fometimes conquered Japheth ; the Carthaginians, who were originally Canaanites, did particularly in Spain and Italy : but in time they were to be fubdued, and to become fervants to Shein and Japheth ; and the chanp-e of their fortune from good to bad would render the curfe ftill more vifible. Egypt was the land of Ham, as it is often called in fcripture ; and for many years it was a great and flouriftiing kingdom : but it was fubdued by the Perfians, who deicendcd from Shem, and aftervv-ards by the Grecians, who dcfcendcd froni Japheth ; and from that time to this it hath conftantly been in fub-jedion to feme or other of the pofterity of Shem or Japheih. The

whole

FROM THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM'S CALL. 115

fallen into. This city and tower was fet up in oppo-lition to the city of God, as the god that they built it to

was

whole continent of Africa was peopled principally by the children of Ham ; and for how many ages have the better parts of that country laid under the dominion of the Romans, and then of the Saracens, and now of the Turks ? In what wickednefs, ignorance, barbarity, flavcry, mifery, live moft of the inhabitants ; and of the poor negroes how many hundreds every year are fold and bought like beads in the market, and are conveyed from one quar-ter of the world to do the work of beafts in another ?"

" Nothing can be more complete than the execution of the fen-tence upon Ham as well as upon Canaan : and now let us confider the promifes made to Shem and Japheth. And he faid (ver. 26.)

* Blefl'edbe the Lord God of Shem : and Canaan {hall be his fer-

* vant:' or rather, ' and Canaan fliall be fervantto them, or their

* fervant,' that is, to his brethren ; for that, as we obferved before, is the main part of the prophecy, and therefore is fo frequently repeated. A learned critic in the Hebrew language, who hath lately publiflicd fome remarks on the printed Hebrew text, [Ken. p. 561.] faitli, that " if it fhould be thought preferable to refer the word blejfcd direftly to Shem, as the word ciirfcd is to Canaan ; the words may be {and perhaps more pertinently) rendered, ' Blef-

* fed of Jehovah, my God, be Shem!' [See Gen. xxiv. 31."]

[So Mr. Hervey (remarks on Lord Bolingbroke, p. 58.) *' I would not trandate tlie words, * Bleffed be the Lord God of Shem;' but ' bleffcd of the Lord God is Shem.' (As before he reads, not * curfcd Zi^ Canaan,' but ' curfcd w Canaan.') This will put a ftriking contrail between the doom of the religious fcoflFer, and the reward of filial piety This fenfe the original language will very commodioufly bear, and the event feems to require." We would juft add to this digrefiion, that the interpi-e-tation of this ingenious writer nearly coincides with that of his Lordfhip, above cited, except in his correftion of the original text.]

" Or if we choofe (as mofl: perhaps will choofe) to follow our own as well as all the ancient verfions, we may obferve, that the old patriarch doth not fay, V>\t{XcA.hQ Shem, as he faid, Curfed be Canaan ; for mens' evil fpringcth of themfelves, but their good from God: and therefore in a llrain of devotion breaking forth into thankfgiving to God as the author of all good to Shem : neither doth he fay the fame to Japheth : for God certainly may dlf-penfe his particular favours according to his good pleafure, and falvation was to be derived to mankind through Shem and his pof-terity. God prefers Shem to his elder brother Japheth, as Jacob was afterwards preferred to Efau, and David to iiis elder brothers, to (how that the order of grace is not always the fame as the order of nature. The Lord being called the God of Shem particularly,

was their pride. Being funk into a dil'pofition to forfake the true God, the lirft idol they fet up in his room,

was

It IS plainly intimated that the Lord would be his God in a particular manner. And accordingly the church of God was among the pofterity of Shem for feveral generations ; and of them [Rom. ix. 5.] ' As concerning the flefli Chrift came.'

" But ftill Japheth was not difmiffed without a promife, (ver. 47.) ' God ihall enlarge Japheth, and he fhall dwell in the tents of * Shem ; and Canaan fhall be fervant to them, or their fervant.' God fliall enlarge Japheth. Some render the word, (it is fo rendered in the margin of our bibles) God fhall pcrjuade or allure Japheth, fo that he fhall come over to the true religion, and dwell in the tents of Shem. Bat the belt critics in the language have remarked, befides other reafons, that they who tranflate the word by perfuade or allure, did not confider, that when it is fo taken, it* is ufed in a bad fenfe, and governs an accufative cafe, and not a dative, as in this place. God fhall enlarge Japheth, or unto Ja-' pheth, is the beft rendering ; and in the original there is a mahifeft allufion to Japheth's name, fuch as is familiar to the Hebrew waters. As it was faid of Noah, [Gen. v. 29.] this fame fhall comfort us, the name of Noah being thought to fgnify comfort: So it is faid here God fhall enlarge Japheth, and the name of Japheth fignifies enlargement. Was Japheth then more enlarged than the reft ? Yes, he was, both in territory and children : the territories of Japheth's pofterity were indeed very large ; for, befides all Europe, great and extenfive ^as it is, they poflefled the Lefler Afia, Media, and part of Armenia, Iberia, Albania, and thofe vaft rep-ions towards the north, which anciently the Scythians inhabited, and now the Tartars inhabit ; and it is not improbable, that the new world was peopled by fome of his northern defcen-dents palling thither by the ftraits of Anian. The enlargement of Japheth may alfo denote a numerous progeny as well as ample territory : and if you confult the genealogies of the three brothers comprifed in the following chapter, you will find that Japheth had feven fons, whereas Ham had only four, arid Shem only five : and the northern hive (as Sir William Temple denominates it) was always remarkable for its fecundity, a.id hath been continually pouring forth fwarms, and fending out colonies into the more fouthern parts, both in Enrope and in Afia, both in former and in later times.

" The following claufe, ' and he fliall du-el1 in the tents of « Shem,' is capable of a double conftru6tion ; for thereby may be meant either that God or that ^ Japheth ^^^■:^\ dwell in the tents ' of Shem :' in the tents of Shem, faith he, fpeaking according to the fimplicity of thofe times, when men dwelt in tents and not in houfes. They who prefer the former conllruftion, feem to have the authority of the original test on their fide ; for there is no other

noun

FROM THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM'S CALL. 117

was themfelves, their own glory and fame. And as this city and tower had its foundation laid in the pride and vanity of men ; fo it was built on a foundation exceedingly contrary to the nature of the foundation of the kingdom of Chrift, and his redeemed city, which has its foundation •laid in humility.

Therefore God faw that it tended to fruftrate the de-fign of that great building which was founded, not in the haughtinefs of men but in the purpofes of God: thus the thing that they did difpleafed the Lord, and he confounded the defign, net fuffering them fo bring it to perfeclion ; as he will fruftrate all other defigns fet up in oppolition to the great building of the work of redemption.

In

noun to govern the verbs in the period, but God ; there is no pronoun in the Hebrew, anfwcring to the he which is inferted in our Englifh tranflation : and the whole fentence would run thus, ' God will enlarge Japheth, and will dwell in the tents of Shem :' and the Chaldee of Onkelos alfo thus paraphrafeth it, ' and v/ill make

* his glory to dwell in the tabernacles of Shem.' Thofe who prefer the latter conftruftion, feem to have done it, that they might refer this 27th verfe wholly to Japheth, as they refer the 26th wholly to Shem ; but the other appears to me the more natural and eafy conftrucftion. Taken in either fenfe, the prophecy hath been moft punftually fulfilled. In the former fenfe it was fullilled literally, when the Shechinah, or divine prefence, refted in the ark, and dwelt in the tabernacle and temple of the Jews ; and when * the Word who was with God and was God, [John 1. i.

* £o-x»iw«rev,] pitched his tent, and dwelt among us.' [ver. 14.] Li the latter fenfe it was fulfilled firft, when the Greeks and Romans, who fprung originally from Japheth, fubdued and poflefied Judea, and other countries of Afia, belonging to Shem ; and again fpi-ritually, when they were profelyted to the true religion, and they who were not Ifraelites by birth, became Ifraelltes by faith, and lived, as we and many other of Japheth's pofterity do at this day, within the pale of the church of Chrift.

" What think you now ? Is not this a moft extraordinary prophecy \ A prophecy that was delivered near four thoufand years ago, and yet hath been fulfilling through the feveral periods of time to this day ! It is both wonderful and inilruftive. It is the

hiftory of the world as it were in epitome." [Differt. on the

Prophecies, vol. i. Dif. 1.3

[The laft remark vvfill, we hope, fulBciently apologize for the length of this quotation.] [G. E.]

In liie fecond chapter of Ifaiali, where the prophet is ilcfcribing God's fttting up the kingdom of Chrift in the world, he foretells that he will, in order to it, bring down the haughtinefs of men, and how the day of the Lord fliall be on every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, 6cc. Chrift's kingdom is eftabliflied by bringing down every high thing to make way for it, [2 Cor. X. 4, 5.] ' For the weapons of our warfare are

* mighty through God to the pulling down of flrong

* holds, cafting down imaginations, and every high thing

* that exalreth itfelf againft the knowledge of God.' What is done in a particiilar foul, to make way for the fetting up of Chrift's kingdom, is to dcftroy Babel in that foul.

They intended to have built Babel up to heaven. That building which is the fubjedl we are now upon, is intended to be built fo high, that its top fliall reach to heaven indeed, as it will to the higheft heavens at the end of the world, when it fliall be finiihed : and therefore God would not fuffer the building of his enemies, that they defigned to build up to heaven in oppofition to it, to profper. (q^) If they had gone on and profpered in building that city and tower, it might have kept the world of wicked men, the enemies of the church, together, as was their defign. They might have remained united in one vaft, powerful city, and fo have been too powerful for the city of God, and quite fwallowed it up.

This city of Babel is the fame with the city of Babylon ,- for Babylon in the original is Babel: but Babylon was a city that is always fpoken of in fcripture as chiefly oppofite to the city of God. Babylon and Jerufalem, or Zion, are often oppofcd to each other, both in the Old and New Teftament. This city was a powerful and

terrible

( Q^) Godfritjlrated their defign m lu'illing Babe L.J Their dc' Jign and tl)e inetliod in which God frujlrated it are two very important lubjcfts of inquiry, and for brevity fake we fliall coniider them in connedlion ; firll flating the principal hypoihefts of the learned, and then, comparing them with the fcripture account, attempt to tlirow fome new light on this very compHcated fubjed.

FROM THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM'S CALL. 119

terrible enemy to the city of God afterwards, notwith-ftanding this great check put to the building of it in the

beo;in^

We have not only the authority of Mofes for the exiftence of this tower, but (which unhappily is of more weight with fome) the concurrent teftimonies of fevcral heathen writers, particularly Herodotus, who dcfcribes the remains of it in his time; and even fome modern travellers, as RauivoJf and Delia Valle, have feen im-menfe heaps of ruins which they conceived to be thofe of Babel, though they are not well agreed in its fituation. [See Univ. Hilt, vol. i. p. 334—337.]

It is however not fo evident, what induced ' the children of men' to ereft this edifice. Mofes has indeed mentioned their motive, but then the learned are not well agreed as to the import of his, or ratheir of/i'c'/r words; [Gen. xi. 4.] * And they faid, Go to, let

* us build a city and a tower whofe top may reach unto heaven,

* \j. £. very high] and let us make us a name, left we be fcattered

* abroad upon the face of the whole earth.' But how fliould the making them a name prevent their being fcattered? The anfwer to this is not, perhaps, fo difficult as fome have thought. The ereftion of a city and a tower, and forming themfelves into a compadi body, a powerful corporation, as we fhould fay, was the moft natural means to preferve themfelves together, as well as to perpetuate their memory to pofterlty. Nor is this all; their making themfelves a name, impUes the atchievement of fomething deferving one; and certainly the more firm, powerful, and great they were, the lefs danger remained of their being fcattered. Not to fa)--, that in fuch a body, men might enjoy many conveniences and advantages, which a ftate of folitary v.'andering would not admit.

Some learned men, however, not aware of this, or not feeing it in the fame point of view, have, to avoid the difficulty, rendered the words in a different manner. Dr. G. Sharp [Origin of Lang, p. 29.] takes the word [iZDIi'] for a particle of place, and tranflateg it—' Let us prepare — iLwi-h, i^c. for ourfelves there;' and it cannot be denied that the words (without regarding the vowel points) may befo tranflated; but then, as the phrafe to make onefelf a name is perfeftly fcriptural [fee 2 Sam. viii. 13.—If. Ixiii. 12, 14.—Jer. xxxii. 20.—Dan. ix. 15.] and familiar, and we hope has been explained in a rational and intelligible fenfe, there feems to be no iieceffity for departing from it.

Some critics, perticularly Dr. Tennison and Mr. Hutchinson, from the circumilance of the tower being in after times ufed for idolatrous purpofes, have conceived that fuch was its original deiign ; and therefore have fuppofcd this word to be the name ;)f the idol to which it was eredfted : but as this is mere conjecture, little ftrefs can be laid on it. Nor does the erection of an iilol give any reafon why tlicy H^ould not be fcattered. This, however, is a

R verv

beginmng. But it might, and probably would have been vaftly more powerful, and able to vex and deftroy the cliurch of God, if it had not been thus checked.

Thus

very ancient tradition, being found in the Targums both of Jonathan and Jerufalem, befides a Samaritan one; and if it could be proved to be well founded, would perfeftly agree with the expofi-tion above given, and give the cleared reafon of the divine inter-polition, which is the next circumftance to be confidered.

' And the Lord came down to fee the city and the tower which

* the children of men builded. And the Lord faid [or ' had faid']

* Behold, the people is one, [united in one defign] and they have ' all one language ; and tliis they begin to do ; and now nothing

* will be reftrained from them, which they have imagined to do,* that is, without a divine interference. ' Go to, let us go down

* [Comp. Gen. i. 26.] and there confoumi their /anguage, that they

* may not underftand one another's fpeech. So the Lord fcattered ' them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth; and they

* left off to build the city, and [as the Samaritan adds] the tower.

* Therefore is the name of it called Bale/, [i. e. ConfufionJ becaufe ' the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth.'

The common hypothefis fuppofes that, on this occafion, God caufed the builders to forget their former language, and each family to fpeak a new tongue, whence originated the various languages at prefent in the world. [See Gill in loc]

To this, however, it has been objeAed, that to confound a language, and to form new ones, are very diftinft and different ideas* Nor is there any fimilar phrafeology to countenance this in other parts of fcripture.

Mr. Hutchinson, who feems to have been fond of novel and iingular ideas, will have the univerfality of language, or rather Up, as the Hebrew is, to denote a univerfality of religion and religious rites, and that the variety afterward introduced was not of tongues, but of religious principles and confejfions; but this, befide that it wants fupport, has the misfortune to intimate, that God was the author of the different religions extant, the falfe as well as the true—which be far from the Molt High!

Dr. G. Sharp, unfatisfted with either of thefe explications, conceives, that neither a divifion of tongues or religions is intended; but only that in fome vifible and extraordinary manner the Deity came down to earth, and confounded their purpofes, fcattering thern over the face of the earth; and that the different languages were rather the effcEl, than the caufe^ of this difperfion. [See Origin of Lang. p. 24—30.]

A full inveftigation of this fubjedl would lead us back to the origin of the firft langu;ige, and to a variety of inquiries, which

would

FROM THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM'S CALL. 121

Thus it was in kindiiefs to his church in the world, and in profecution of the great defign of redemption, that

God

would fwell this note to a vohime; but we wifli to be as concife as poflible, and fhall therefore only drop hints to be puifued and improved by the refleftions of our readers.

And, I. It appears that God not only created man with a capacity of fpeech, and acquainted him with his powers; but calle4 them into exercife by bringing the animals to him, that he might name them.

2. Yet, that there is no neceflity for fuppofing that God fur-niflied our firft parent miraculoufly with all the words he had oc-cafion for, at once; a thoufand circumftances would daily occur for giving him opportunity and occafion, to enlarge his llock of words, as his ideas increafed.

3. We conceive, that while mankind continued to refide in one climate, and to have communication together, there would be little dlverfity in their language, and this was probably the cafe before the flood, and for fome time afterwards, till the period we are now confidering.

4. Though we fhould not be able exaftly to afcertain the motives on which this building was erefted ; yet, as we find it offen-live to God, it was certainly finful; if not in the a8 itfelf, at leafl in the moiive, which, doubtlefs, originated in vanity and ambition.

5. From the expreflion ' the Lord came down,' it fliould feem there was fome vifible appearance of the divine Majefty; the ear-lieft heathen writers who mention this event, unanimoufly afcribe the deftruftion of Babel to the winds, and as the Lord * rides * upon the whirlwind,' there feems no abfurdity in fuppofing that the tempeft which attended his prefence, might overthrow it, and thus eonfound and terrify the builders.

6. But as the language was confounded, it does not fcem fuffi-clent to confine the text to this: may v/e not therefore fuppofe, that God afFetlied the organs of their fpeech in fome fuch extraordinary manner, as to render certain founds extremely difficult (if not impoffible) to certain perfons, and confequently to occafion a material difference in pronunciation ? As we fee to this day, ho\v feldora foreigners can attain the true found of TH—how vari^-oufly, even in England, (as formerly in Judea) different countries pronounce the fame letter. And this, taken in connexion with the terror occafioned by the divine prefence, was, certainly, abundantly fuflicient to create a raifunderltanding, and make thefe builders defilt from their enterprize. [See Slackhcitfi'i Hlft. of the Bible, vol. i. b. 2.]

7. That after the dlfperfion, this difference would naturally incrcafe—that accident would invent many, neccITity perhaps more,

R z new"

God put a flop to the building of the city and tower of Babel.

6. The difperfion of the nations, and dividing the earth among its inhabitants, immediately after God had caufcd the building of Babel to ceafe. This was done fo ^s moft to fuit that great defign of redemption; and particularly, God therein had an eye to the future propagation of the gofpel among the nations. [Deut. xxxii. 8-] ' When the Moit High divided to the nations their inhe-

* ritance, when he feparated the fons of Adam, he fet the ' bounds of the people according to the number of the

* children of Ifrael.' (r) ' And hath made of one blood

' all

new words; and the learned and ingenious modify them to their own tafte: and we (hould not defpair being able to fiiew, did the occafion fuit, the poffibility of all languages being in this manner derived from one original.

8. The inquiry, whether among all thefe changes any one nation preferved the primitive dialeft, is more curious than ufcful, and chiefly depends on one circumftance, whether Shem and his family had any concern in building of Babel, a circumllance that is not eafily demonftrated either way. Tlie learned authors of the Univerfal Hiftory think nothing can be plainer, than that he was confederated with the reft of mankind. [Vol. i. p. 327, &c.]

But Dr. Gill, [in loc] and the Jewifli expofitors in general, will by no means admit this; but fuppofe the phrafe- children of men, muft be here taken, as a fimilar one in a preceding chapter, [vi. 4]. for the reft of the world, exclufive of God's people. If this notion be right, (as we think it might be juftified) in all probability the original language might be preferved in the family of Shem, and be eflentially the fame which was afterward denominated Hebrew. But this controverfy we mull: wave. [G. E.] (r.) He fet the bounds of the people according to the mimler of the CHILDREN of IsRAEL.] " The fenfe is, that fuch a country was meafured out and bounded, as would be fufiicient to hold the twelve tribes of Ifrael, when numerous, and their time was come to inhabit it; and which, in the meanwhile, was put into the hands of Canaan and his eleven fons to poffefs, not as their proper inheritance, but as tenants at will, until the proper heirs ex-ifted, and were at an age, and of fufficient number to inherit. In which may be obferved the wife difpofiticjn of Divine Providence, to put it into the hands of a people corfed of God, fo that to take it from t])em at any time could have no appearance of any injuftice in it; and their enjoying it fo long as they did was a mercy to

them.

FROM THE FLOOD TO ABRAHAM'S CALL. 123

' all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the ' earth, and hath determined the times before appointed,

* and the bounds of their habitations; that they Ihould

* feek the Lord if haply they might feel after him, and

* find him.' [A6ts xvii. 26, 27.] The land of Canaan was the moft conveniently fituated of any place in the world for the purpofe of fpreading the light of the gofpel

thence

them, for fo long they had a reprieve. Now here was an early inftance of the goodncfs of God to Ifrael, that he fhould make fuch an early provifion of the land flowing with milk and honey for them.— [Gill in loc]

*• For ' Children of Ifrael,' the Greek tranflation reads ' Angels

* of God;' fo the LXX tranflated this place purpofely, left the heathens fhould here take offence, that Ifrael fhould be matched with the fevcnty nations, that is, with all the people of the world : and the Jews fuppofed, there weie fevcnty angels, rulers of the fe-venty nations ; and therefore they fay, according to the number of the angels of God, whereby they mean feventy. Their opinion is to be feen in Rab. Menachem [on Gen. xlvi.] where he faith,

* It is generally a rule that there is one [degree of] glory above

* another, and they that are beneath are a fecret fignification of

* thofe that are above ; and the feventy fouls [Gen. xlvi. 27.]

* fignify the feventy angels that are round about the throne of

* [God's] glory, which are fet over the nations.' But we are warned to beware how we intrude ourfelves into the things which we have not feen." [Col. ii. iS.] [Ainsvv'ORTh in loc]

God * hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell

* upon the face of the earth, and hath determined, or " hath

marhedout in his eternal and unerring counfel, the times fore-allotted \_toeach'\ in their refpeftivc order; ^«J appointed//>? feveral boundaries of their different habitations : all things in the difpofition of his providence centering in this one great end, that they might be excited to feei after tjfje Lord thdr maker. If poJfAly amidft all the darknefs which their own degeneracy and prejudice have brought upon their minds, they might feel after him and be fo happy as to Jind him out, in the knowledge of whom their fupreme hap-pinefs confifts ; who indeed, though he be fo little known, Is not far from every one of us : for In him <zue perpetually live^ and are moved and do exl/l." [Doddridge Fam. Exp. in loc]

Now if we fhould allow the conjefture of our author, that Satan might induce fome individuals to emigrate to the dark corners of the earth (though perhaps this were better referred folcly to the divine Providence) yet muft we admit the fuperior wifdom, power and goodncfs which over-ruled even this event for good ; and wdl m thp end 'cover the earth as the waters do the fea.' [N. U.]

«24 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

thence among the nations In general. In the times immediately after Chrift, the Roman empire included moft of the known world, particularly the countries round about Jerufaleni, which was therefore properly fituated for the purpofe of ^iffufnig the light of the gofpel among them from that place. The devil feeing the advantage of this fitiiation of the nations for promoting the great work of redemption, and the difadvantage of it with refpedl: to the intereft oi his kingdom, might perhaps lead away many into the remoteft parts of the world, to get them out of the way of the gofpel. Thus fome were led into America ; and others into cold northern regions, almoft inacceili-ble.

7. Another thing I would mention in this period, was God's preferving the true religion in the line of which Chrift was to proceed, when the world in general apo-ftatized to idolatry, and the church was in imminent danger of being fwallowed up in the general corruption. Although God had lately wrought fo wonderfully for the deliverance of his church, and had fliewed fo great mercy towards it, as for its fake even to deftroy all the reft of the world; and although he had lately renewed and eftablifhed his covenant of grace with Noah and his fons ; yet fo prone is the corrupt heart of man to depart from God, and to fink into the depths of wickednefs; and fo prone to darknefs, delufion, and error, that the world foon after the flood fell into grofs idolatry ; fo that before Abraham, the diftemper was become almoft univerfal. The earth was become very corrupt at the time of the building of Babel; and even God's people themfelves, even that line of which Chrift was to come, were corrupted in a mea-fure with idolatry: [Jofh. xxiv. 2.] ' Your fathers dwelt

* on the other fide of the flood in old time, even Tcrah

* the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor ; and

* they ferved other gods.* The other fide of tlie flood means beyond the river Euphrates, where the anceftors qf Abraham lived.

We are not to underftand that they were wholly drawn off to idolatry, to forfake the true God. For God is

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 12;

faid to be the God of Terah ; [Gen. xxxi. 53.] * The ' God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of * their father, judge betwixt us.' (s) But they only partook in fonie meafure of the general and almoft univerfal corruption of the times; as Solpmon was in a meafure in-fe6led with idolatrous corruption ; and as the children of Ifrael in Egypt are faid to ferve other gods, though yet there was the true church of God among them ; and as there were images kept for a confiderable time in the family of Jacob ; the corruption being brought from Padan-Aram, whence he fetched his wives.

This was the fecond time that the church was almoft brought to nothing by the corruption and general defection of the world from true religion. But ftill the true religion was kept up in the family from which Chrift was to proceed. Which is another inftance of God's remarkably preferving the church in a time of a general deluge of wickednefs ; and wherein, although the god of this world raged, and had almoft fwallowed up God's church, yet he did not fufFer the gates of hell to prevail againft it.

§ III. From the caUirig of Abraham to Moses.

I PROCEED now to ftiow how the work of redemption was carried on through the third part of this period, beginning with the calling of Abraham, and extending to Mofes. And,

I. It

(s) The God of THT.IR fa/her.] Terah was their father, and he was certainly an idolater, as appears from the text above cited. So it is commonly fuppofed that the true God was not here intended ; *< but the god or gods of Terah, Nahor, and Abraham, worfliipped whilft. idolaters, and Laban ftill continued to do, though perhaps not in fo grofs a manner as fome did." [Gill ill loc. See alfo Ainfw. and Poli. Syn.]

126 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

I . It pleafed God now to fepaiate that peifon of whom Chrift was to come, from the reft of the world, that his church might be upheld in his family and pofterity till that time. This he did in calling Abraham out of his own country, and from his kindred^ to go into a diftant one, that God fhould fhow him, and bringing him firft out of Ur of the Chaldees to Haran, and then to the land of Canaan, (t)

It

(t) a learned Jew, now living, hath obliged the world with the following curious fragment of Jewifh traditions from the book Medrajh Berejhhh, which we infert as a fpecimen of the reft ; and cannot but confider the grave manner in which he introduces it, as an awful proof that the children of Ifrael have yet the ' i)ail * upon their hearts ;' for Certainly Mr. Levi himfelf, who appears to be uncommonly fhrewd, would have highly ridiculed fo abfurd

a legend, had it originated from the Chriftians. The ftory is

this:

" Terach, the father of Abraham, was an idolater, and like-wife a dealer and maker of idols. It chanced one time that Te-raeh went on a journey, and left Abraham to take care of, and dtfpofe of the idols during his abfence.

" When any man came to purchafe an idol, Abraham aflced him his age. When the man had anfwered him, Abraham replied, Can it be poflible, that a perfon of your years can be fo ftupid as worfhip that that was made but yeflerday ! The man being quite overwhelmed with fharae, hung down his head, and departed. In this manner he ferved feveral. At length there came an old woman, with a meafure of fine flour in her hand, which {he told him fhe had brought as an offering to all the idols. Abraham at this was exceedingly wrath, and took a large ftick, and broke all the idols except the largeft, which he left whole, and put the ftick in his hand.

" When Tcrach returned, and perceived all the idols broken, he aflced Abraham how that came to pafs ? Abraham informed him, that there came an old woman and brought an offering of fine flour to the idols; upon which they immediately fell together by the care for the prize, when the large one killed them all with the ftick which he then held in his hand.

" Terach feeling the full force of the fatire, was greatly exaf-perated, and immediately had Abraham before Nimrod, in order to have him punifhed for the contempt fhcwn to his gods.

" Nimrod commanded him to worflrip the fire ; but Abraham anfwered him, that it would be more proper to worfliip the water, which cxtinguifhes the fire.' Why, then, fays Nimrod, worfhip the water. No, fays Abraham, it were better to worfliip the

clouds

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 127

It was before obferved, tliat the corruption of the world with idolatry was now become general ; mankind were almoft over-run with it: God therefore faw it neceflary, in order to uphold true religion, that there Jliould be a family feparated from the reft of the world ; for even Abraliam's own country and kindred had moft of them fallen, and, without fome extraordinary interpofition of Providence, in all likelihood, in a generation or two more, the true religion would have been extindl. And therefore God faw it to be time to call Abraham, the perfon in whofe family he intended to xiphoid religion, out of his own country, and from his kindred, to a far diftant country, that his pofterity might there remain a people feparate from all the reft of the world ; fo that the true religion might be upheld there, while all mankind befides were fwallowed up in heathenifm.

S The

clouds which fuftain the water. Nimrod bid him worship them ; but he told hitn it would be better to worfliip the wind which dif-perfes the clouds. Nimrod then bid him worfiiip the wind. Abraham anfvvered, it would be preferable to worfhip man, who was able to endure the wind. Well, fays Nimrod, I fee it is your intention to deride me ; I mud therefore tell you briefly, that I worfhip nothing but the fire, and if thou doft not do the fame, my intention is to throw you therein ; and then I fhall fee, whether the God you worfhip will come to your relief;' and immediately had him thrown into the fiery furnace.

In the interim, they queftioncd his brother Haran concerning his faith, who anfwered, If Abraham fucceeds, I will be of his, but if not, of Nimrod's. Upon which, Nimrod ordered him. to be immediately thrown into the furnace likewife ; where he was prcfently confumed, but Abraham came out of the furnace without receiving the leaf! injury.

This agrees with the 28th verfe of the eleventh chapter of Ge-nefis.

' And Haran died in the prefence of his father Terab, in the

* land of his nativity, in the fire of the Chaldeans;' [we read

* Ur of the Chaldeans,' as a proper name] for it was by means of the accufation which Terah exhibited againft Abraham, that Haran fuflfered death ; fo that he may juilly be faid to have died in the prefence of his father. Here is an admirable lefTon for mankind : and which clearly points out the difrercnce between thofe which ferve the Lord in truth and fincerity, and thofe which are lukewarm, and eafily turn to that which feems moft profitable in this world. Tin's tranfaclion, the author of Shal/Jjclctb Hakkabala fays, happened in the feventieth year of Abraham. [Heb. Ditt.]

'i^8 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

The land of Clir.ldees, that Abraham was called to go out of, was the country about Babel; Babel or Baby-ion, was the chief city of tiie land of Chaldea. Learned men fuppufe that it was in this land that idolatry firft be^an; that Babel and Chaldea were the original and chiet feat of the worihip of idols, whence it fpread into other nations, (u) And therefore the land of Chaldeans,

or

(u) Idolatp.y began in Chalclca.~\ " The rife of idolatry after the flood is generally attributed by learned men to the Babylonians or Chaldeans; and what conlirms this opinion is, Babylon's being called ' the mother of harlots,' [Rev. xvii. 5. J /. e. as Mr. Mede explains it, the firll parent of idols. There is no doubt, but the firft introducers of it were bred up in the wor-fhip of the true Gcd, agreeably to the revelation he had made of his .will to mankind, in that religion which was profeffed by the true church from Adam to Mofes, and which led thofe who lived up to it to evevlafting h ppinefs. But the ' worfhipping God in

* fpirit and in truth,' was too refined a principle, a religion too angelical, for fuch as feem to have been more delighted with the ritual and ceremonial, than with the Ipiritual and more effential part of it. The outward and vifible obfervances, in the then true church, feem to have been but very few, and thofe orderly and decent; but, it may be, they were multiplied before idolatry was brought in, as it is certain they afterwards were by the introducers of it, to an exceflive degree ; and from being too much delighted with the externals of religion, they were infenfibly led to join vifible and material objefts of worfliip with the infinity of God's majclly, which tranfcended the capacity of their natures ; and fo gratified their fcnfes and imaginations with a vifible objeft of worfliip. And then being naturally invited by the ferenity of their climate, (the weather being generally fair, and the air clear, without either clouds or rain) to the contemplation of the heavenly bodies, which they were forced to make ufe of in their geoponics, [agriculture] having no calender by which to know the feafons, they were foon furprized with their admirable ftruc-ture, beauty, and regular motion ; and obferving what influence thofe celeltial bodies had, and what benefits were communicated to mankind by them, from being ravifhed into an admiration of their regularity and harmony of order, they concluded, that God made ufe of them as his miti't/lers, and that, as fuch, he was as defirous that regard fhould be paid them, as earthly princes are, that their minifters fliould be reverenced and efteemed. Ma'imonidcs, who ....'. fixes this to the time of Enos, [See above, Note (z) p. 89.] tcils us, [In Halacoth~\ that ' in his days the fons of men grievouily erred, and the wife

* men became brutifh, even Enos himfelf being in their number.

* Their

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 120

or the country of Babylon, is in icripture called tlic land of graven images: [Jer. 1. 35, 38.] 'A fword is upon

' the

* Their error %\^as this, that God having created the ftars and

* fpheres, placed them on high to govern the world, and beflow-

* ed this honour upon them, that they (hould be his minijlers and

* fubfervient inftruments, and that therefore men ought to praife,,

* honour and worfhip them: this being the pleafure of the blef-

* fed God, that men (Tiould magnify and honour thofe whom

* himfelf had magnified and honoured, as a king would have his

* minifters to be reverenced, this honour redounding to himfelf.' From wordiipping them as God's minifters, they were foon led to confider them as mediators between him and them; ' For being ' confcious of their own meannefs, vilenefs, and impurity, they

* could not conceive how it was pofiible for them of themfelves

* alone to have any accefs to the All-Holy, All-Glorlous, and Su-

* preme Governor of all Things—and therefore concluded, that

* there muft be a mediator, by whofe means alone they could

* make any addrefs unto him.' \_Pr'ideaux, vol. i. b. 3.] But having no knowledge of the true Mediator ; it may be, having forgot what had been revealed to Adam concerning him . . . they hid recourfe to mediators of their own chufing, by means of wh(/m they might addrefs themfelves to the Supreme God. ' They

* thought thefe the propereft beings to become the mediators be-

* tvveen God and them.' This, probably, might be their opinion ; though I make no doubt but that idolatry came infenfi-bly and by degrees, and that they v.'ho firll introduced it, did not carry the impiety to the height it afterwards arrived at ; they had no fyftem of theology that was either well put together or well un-derftood, but fuch an one as was neither the work of a wife nor intelligent people. And therefore we find, that as they worflilp-ped the heavenly hoft as God's minifters, and as mediators between him and them, fo they did give them the name of gods ; [Wifdom xiii. 2, 3.] ' Being delighted with their beauty, they took

* them to be the gods which govern the world:' foohThly concluding the kind influence of the heavenly bodies to be the infmite goodnefs of the divine nature. Thus Plato [ Apud Eufcb. Preep. Ev. 1. i. c. 9. & 1. iii. c. 2.] alTures us of the firft inhabitants of Greece, that they had no other gods than the fun, moon, &c. and Diodorus, [Lib. i, c. i.] fpeaking of ' the firft generation of men,' who were fuppofed to be Egyptians, fays, that ' contemplating ' the beauty of the fuperior world, and admiring with aftonifli-' ment the frame and order of the univerfe, they judged that there ' were two chief goods that were eternal, that is to fay. the fun

* and the moon, the firft of which was called 0/?rij-, and the otlier

* Jfis:

" The worfliip of the heavenly bodies was, without doubt, the firft idolatry. * There was neither good nor evil daemons wor-

S 2 ^ ftiipped

I30 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

' the Chaldeans, faith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants

* of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wife

' men.

fhipped by them,' fays Eufebius, fpeaking of the moft ancient heathens. [Prcep. Ev. 1. i. c. 9. J . . . Thus we find Job, who is the ancientcft author we have, [unlefs it m^y be the Ixxxviiith and Ixxxixth Pfahiis] vindicating himfelf from it ; [Job xxxi. 26, 27.3

* If I beheld,' fays he, ' the fun when it fhined, or the moon < walking in brightnefs, and my heart has been fecretly enticed, ^ or my mouth has kiffed my hand,' (which was, as St. Jerom and Pliny tell us, the ancient way of paying worfhip and refpeft) . . .

* I fhould have denied the God that is above.' And hence it is that the Egyptians when they came to corrupt their hiftory with the falfe antiquity they affefhed, having defied the heavenly bodies, reprefented them as having reigned in their country before

they were governed by heroes and kings There are a great

many places in fcripture where this idolatry is mentioned ; I fhall take notice but of one of them, [z. Kings xxiii. 5.] where the objeds of this worfhip are particularly diilinguiflied, ' They that

* burnt incenfe to the fun, and to the moon, and to the planets, [or

* conjlellat'ions, as in the margin] and to all the hojl of heamen. — [A. Young, on Idolatrous Corruptions, vol. i. p. 22—30.]

It is highly probable, however, that in different countrieo, and at various periods, idolatry originated from other caufes. So in after <;mes, mankind " having a falfe notion of giatitude for fuch as had founded commonwealths, led out colonies, rendered them-felves famous by th'eir aftions, or by their ufeful inventions, gained a general love and elleem ; they proceeded to rank them likewife in the number of their gods. The refpeti which was paid them while ahve, followed them to their graves ; and they were no fooner interred, than an extravagant efteem of their high qualities, conipiving with the people's gratitude, and a grofs ignorance of the divine natuie, effefted their deification. The Arabian writers [See Dr Pocock's notes on his fpecimen, Hift. Arab. p. 94.] are generally agreed that this was the original of their idolatry. And D'lodorus tells us of the Egyptians, [L. i. c. I.] that bcfides the heavenly gods, they fay there ' are others

* that are terreftrial, who were begotten by them, and were

* originally mortal men, but by reafon of their wildom, and bene-

* ficence to all mankind, have obtained immortality : of which

* fome have been kings of Egypt.' Tiilly [De Nat. Deor.] and Pl'iny [L. ii. c. 7.] both of them affure us, that this was the ancient manner of rewarding fuch as had defcrved well. And it .... fuited the am.bition and vanity t^f princes, as well as the

interell of fubjefls And when they loil their children, it

was fome comfort to them to fee them ranked in the number of their gods .... Thus, [fays the book of Wifdom, ch. xiv. 15.] \ A father afflifted with untimely mourning, when he has made

* an

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 131

* men.—A drought is upon her waters, and they fhall be

* dried up ; for it is the land of graven images, and they are

* mad upon their idols.' God calls Abiaham out of this idolatrous country, to a great diflance from it. And when he came there, he gave him no inheritance in it, no not fo much as to fet his foot on ; but he remained a flranfrer and a fojourner, that he and his family might be kept Icpa-rate from all the world, (v)

This

* an image of his child foon taken away, now honoured him as ' a god, who was then a dead man, and delivered to thofe who ' were under liim, ceremonies and facrifices.'—[Idol. Cor. vol. i.

P- 73—75-]

" Thefe two different objefts of idolatrous worfhip, the hoft of heaven, and their dead princes and heroes, were generally confounded together. This proceeded from their giving the fouls of the great perfonages they had confecrated and made their fove-reign and celeftial gods, the fun, moon, and ftarsfor their habitation, in which they fuppofed them to dwell, as in fo many (lately palaces or temples. The believing the heavenly bodies to have intelligent and rational beings prefiding in them, diffipatcd, as they thought, fome abfurdities attending their theology, and njade it more reafonable than it would otherwife have been. Thus jfamhlicus, [Seft. i. c. 17.] in anfvver to thofe who objedfted to the divinity of the fun, moon, &c. becaufe they were corporeal, jays from the old books of the Egyptians, that they worihipped them indeed as vifible gods, but that they were compounded of foul and body, and to be elleemed the feats of fuch ccleilial fpirits as take care of human affairs. And the philofophers, Pythagoras, Plato, &c. who travelled into the eaft in fearch of knowledge, were not fo abfurd as to believe that the hoft of heaven were really and abfolutcly gods." [Idol. Cor. p. 107, io8.]

We might here add the origin of images and image worfhip, but left we fliould be tedious, will referve it for a future Note.

(v) Ahraham remained a stranger <7n^« sojourner.] So the apoftle, Heb. xi. 13, 14. And on this paffage our author has elfewhere railed the following propofition ; " This life ougiyt to he [0 fpcnt by us, as to be only a journey totuards heaven." Here our author obferves among other things, " That we ought not to rejl hi the 'world and its enjoyments, but JJjoidd defire heaven. This our hearts (hould be chiefly upon and engaged about. We fiiould

* feek firft the kingdom of God.' He that is on a journey, feeks the place that he is journeying to. We ought above all things to defire a heavenly happinefs ; to go to heaven and there be with pod; and dwell with Jefus Chriit. If we are furiounded- with

many

132 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

This was a new thing : God had never taken fuch a method before. Kis church had not in this manner been

feparated

many outward enjoyments, and things that are very comfortable to us ; if we are fettled in families, and have thofe good friends and relations that are very defirable: if we have companions whofe fociety is delightful to us : if we have children that are pleafant and hopeful, and in whom we fee many promifmg qualifications : if we live by good neighbours ; have much of the re-fped of others ; have a good name ; are generally beloved where we are known : and have comfortable and pleafant accommoda--tions ; yet we ought not to take our refl in thefe things. We fhould not be wilHng to have thefe things for our portion, but fhould feek a higher happinefs in another world. AVe fliould not merely feek fomething elfe in addition to thefe things; but fliould be fo far from refting in them, that we fliould chufe and defire to leave thefe things for heaven ; to go to God and Chrill there. We fliould not be willing to live here always, if we could, in the fame flirength and vigour of body and mind as when in youth, or in the midftof our days ; and always enjoy the fame pleafure, and dear friends, and other earthly comforts. We fliould chufe and dcflre to leave them all in God's due tim.c, that we might go to heaven, and there have the enjoyment of God. V/e ought to poflfefsthem, enjoy and make ufe of them, with no other view cr 9im, but readily to quit them, whenever v.-e are called to it, and to change them for heaven. And when we are called away from them, we fliould go cheerfully and wilHngly.

" He that is going a journey, is not wont to refl: in what he meet? with that is comfortable and pleafing on the road. -If he pafies along through pleafant places, flowery meadows, or fliady groves, he does not take up his content in thefe things. He is content only to take a tranfient view of thefe pleafant objefts as he goes along. He is not enticed by thefe fine appearances to put an end to his journey, and leave off the thought of proceeding. No, but his journey's end is in his mind ; that is the great thing tliat he aims at. So if he meets with comfortable and pleafant accom-rnodations on the road, at an inn ; yet he does not refl: there ; he entertains no thoughts of fettling there. He confiders that thefe things are not his own, and that he is but a fl:ranger ; that tluit is not allotted for his home. And when he has refreflied himftlf, or tarried but for a night, he is for leaving thefe accommodations, and going forward, and getting onward towards his journey's end. And the thoughts of coming to his fourney's end are not at all grievous to him. He does not defire to be travelling always and never come to his journey's end; the thoughts of that v>ould be difcouraging to him. But it is pleafant to him to think that fo mucii of the way is gone, that he is now nearer home ; and that

he

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 133

■fcparatcd trom the reft of the world till now ; but were wont to dwell \ . them, without any bar or fence to 'keep them feparate ; the milchievous confequence of which had been found repeatedly. The effc6l l^cfore the ^00//of God's people living intermingled with the wicked world, without any remarkable wall of feparation, was, that the Ions of God joined in marriage with others, and thereby foon became infe6fed, and the church was alraoft brought to nothing. The method that God then took was to drown the wicked world, and fave the church in the ark. And now the world, before Abraham was called, was become corrupt again. But here God took another method. He did not deftroy the world, and fave Abraham, and his wife, and Lot in an ark ; but he calls thefe perfons to go and live feparate from the refl.

This was a new and a s^eat thins, that God did toward the work of redemption. It was about the middle of the fpace of time between the fall of man and the coming of Chrifl ; about two thoufand ye.-^.rs before his incarnation. But by this calling of Abraham, the anceftor of

Chrift,

he fhall prefently be there ; and the toil and fatigue of his journey will be over.

" So riiould we thus defue heaven fo much more than the comforts and enjoyments of this life, that we fhould long to change thefe things for heaven. We fliould wait with an earntil defire for the time, when we fliall arrive at our journey's end. The apoftle mentions it as an encouraging, comfortable confideratlon to Chrif-tians, when they draw nigh their happinefs. ' Now is our falva-

* tion nearer than when we believed.' [Rom. xiii. 11.]

" Our hearts ought to be loofe to thefe things, as it is with a man that is on a journey. However comfortable enjoyments arc, yet we ought to keep our hearts fo loofe from them, as cheerfully to part with them whenever God calls. ' But this I fay, brethren,

* the time is fliott, it remaineth, that both they that have wives, ' be as though they had none ; and they that weep, as though they

* wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not ;

* and they that buy, as though they pofieffed not; and they that

* ufe thi'S world, as not abuhng it; for the fafliion of this world

* paffeth away.' [i. Cor. vii. 29, 30.]

" We ought to look upon thefe things, as only lent to us for a little while, to ferve a prefent turn ; but we fliould fet our hearts on heaven as our inheritance for ever." [Pref. Edward's Pofth. Sermon, p. 371.]

134 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

Chrlll, a foundation was laid for the upholding the church in the world, till Chrill: fliould come. For the world having become idolatrous, there was a neceffity that the feed of the woman Ihould be thus feparated from the idolatrous world in order thereunto.

It was alfo needful chat there fhould be a particular nation feparated from the reft of the world, to receive the types and prophecies that were to be given of Chrift, to prepare the way for his coming : that to them might be committed the oracles of God ; that by them the hiftory of God's great work of creation and providence miglit be preferved ; that fo Chrift might be born of this nation ; and from hence the light of the gofpel ftiine forth to the reft of the world. Thefe ends could not well be obtained, if God's people, through all thefe two thoufand years, had lived intermixed with the heathen world. So that this calling of Abraham may be looked upon as a kind of a new foundation laid for the viftble church of God, in a more diftind: and regular ftate, to be built on this foundation from henceforward, till Chrift Ihould avflually come, and then through him to be propagated to all nations. So that Abraham being the perfon in whom this foundation is laid, is reprefented in fcripture as though he were tlie father of all the church, the father of all them that believe ; as it were a root whence the vifiblc church rcfe as a tree diftin6l from all others'; of which tree Chrift was the branch of righteoufnefs; and from which, after Chrift came, the natural branches were broken off", and the Gentiles were grafted in. So that Abraham ftill remains (through Chrift) the father of the church. It is the fame tree which from that fmall beginning in Abraham's time, has in thefe days of the gofpel fpread its branches over a great part'of the earth, and will till the whole in due time, and at the end of the world be tranfplanted from an earthly foil into the Para-dife of God.

2. There accompanied this a more particular and full revelation and confirmation of the .covenant of grace than ever before had been. There were before this two particular

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 13S ticular and folemn editions or confirmations of this covenant ; one whereby it wac revealed to our firrt parents, foon after the fall; the other whereby God folemnly renewed the fame covenant witli Noah and his family foon after the flood; and now a third, at the calling of Abra-^ ham, which being much nearer the time of the coming of Chriil than either of the former, it was much more full and particular. It was now revealed, not only that Chrift {hould come, but that he fhould be Abraham s leed ; and tliat all the families of the earth fliould be bleffed m him God repeatedly promifed this to Abraham. Firfl, when he HrR called him, [Gen. xii. 2.] ' And I will <- make of thee a great nation, and I will blefs thee, and ' make thv name great: and thou ihak be a bleffing.' The fame'promife was renewed after he came into the Jand of Canaan, [chap. xiii. 14, &c.] Again alter Abraham returned from the flaughter of the kings, [chap.^v. 5, 6.] And a fourth time, after his otFering up liaac, [ch.

xxii. 16, 17, 18] • , Au

In this renewal of the covenant of grace with Abraham, feveral particulars concerning it were revealed more fullv than before ; not only that Chrift was to be of Abraham's feed; but alfo, the calling of the Gentiles, and the brin-lng all nations into the church, that all the families of the earth might be bleffed, was now made known. And •:he great condition of the covenant of grace, which is "-faitht was now more fully revealed. [Gen. xv. 5, 6.] ' /,nd he faid unto him, So Ihall thy feed be. And Abra-^ ham believed God, and It was counted unto him for < rbhteoufnefs.' Which is much taken notice of in the \Tew Teftament, and from thence Abraham was called ^ the father of them tliat believe.' [Rom. iv. 2—11-]

And as there was now a farther revelation ot the covenant of grace, fo there was a farther confirmation ot it bv feals and pledges, than ever had been before; as, particularly, God did now inftitute a certain facrament, to be a ftanding feal of this covenant in the vihble churcn, till Chrift fhould come, viz. circumclfion. Circumci-fion was a foal of this covenant of grace, as appears by

T "^

its firft inftitution, in the xviith chapter of Genefis. (\v) It there nppears to be a feal of that covenant by which

God

(w) God now wjl'tiuted circiimc'ifion.~\ " This was the firfl inftitution of circumciiion, and it was an inllltution of God, and not of man. Indeed Herodotus fays, that ' the Colchi, Egyptians

* and Ethiopians only of all men circumcifed from the beginning ;

* and the Phoenicians and Syrians, which are in Paleiline, learnt it

* of the Egyptians, as they themfelves confefs.' So D'lochrus Si-culiis fpeaks of circumcifion as an Egyptian rite, and fays there are fome who make the nation of the Colchi, and of the Jews, to come from the Egyptians ; hence he obfcrves, that with thefc nations there is an ancient tradition to circumcifc their new-born infants, which rite was derived from the Egyptians: but as the original of the Jewifh nation is miftaken, fo likewife the original of this rite. And they may as well be thought to be miftaken in the one as in the other. Thofe in Paleftine that were circumcifed were the Jews only, as Jofephus obferves; but they did not learn this rite from the Egyptians, nor do they ever confefs it, but on the contrary fnggeft, that the Egyptians learnt it from them in the times of Jolcph ; for their principal lexicographer fays, the Egyptians were circumcifed in the times of Jofeph, and when Jofeph died they drew over the foreflcin of the flefli. The Colchi indeed, who were a colony of the Egyptians, might learn it from them; And fo the Ethiopians, who were their neighbours likewife, and agreed with them in many things. Artapamis, an heathen writer, fays indeed, that the Ethiopians, though enemies, had fuch a regard for Mofes, that they learned from him the rite of circumciiion ; and not only they, but all the priefts, that is, in Egypt ; and indeed the Egyptian priefts only, and not the people, were circumcifed. It is not very difficult to account for it, how other nations bcfides the Jews ftiould receive circumcifion, which was firft enjoined Abraham and his feed ; the Iftimaelites had it from Ifti-mael the Son of Abraham ; from them the old Arabs ; from the Arabs, the Saracens; and fiom the Saracens, the Turks to this d^y : other Arabian nations, as the Midianites, and others, had it from the fons of Abraham by Keturah; and perhaps the Egyptians and Ethiopians from them, if the former had it not from the Ifraelites; and the Edomites had it from Edcm or Efau, the fon of Ifaac, the fen of Abraham; fo that all originally had it from Abraham, and he by a divine command. It is not fo much to be wondered at, that Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus, men either impofed upon by the Egyptian priefts, as the former, or wrote in favour of that nation, as the latter, and \\'holly ignorant of divine revelation, fliould affert what they have done; but that Chriftian writers, who have the advantage of divine revelation, and have read the hiftory of the Bible, fuch as Mar/Jjatn, Spencer, and Le Clerc, Ihould incline to-the fame fentiment, is amazing ; and efpc-

cially

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 137

God proniifed to make Abraham a father of many nations, compare the 5th with the 9th and loth verfes. And we are exprcfsly taught, that it was a feal of the righteoufuefs of faith, [Rom iv. u.] Speaking of Abraham, the apoftle fays, ' He received the fign of circum-* cifion, a feal of the righteoufnefs of faith.' And this facrament chiefly diftinguiflied Abraham's feed from the world, and kept up a feparation between them more than any other particular obfervance whatever.

And befides this, there were other occafional feals, and confirmations, that Abraham had of this covenant; as, ^particularly, (i.) God gave Abraham a remarkable pledge of the ftilfilment of the promife he had made him, in his vi61:ory over Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him. Chedorlaomer feems to have reigned over a great part of the world at that day: and though he had his feat at Elam, which was not much if any thing fnort of a thoufand miles from the land of Canaan, yet he extended his empire fo as to reign over many parts of that land, as appears by chap. xiv. 4—y. It is fuppofed by learned men, that he was a king of the AlTyrian empire, which had been begun by Nimrod at Babel.* And as it: was the honour of kings in thofe days to build new cites to be made the feats of empire, [Gen. x. 10—12.] fo it is conjeftured, that he had built him a city in Elam, and made that his feat; and that the other kings, who came with him, were his deputies in the fevcral cities and countries where they reigned. But yet as mighty an empire as

T 2 he

-cially when our blciTed Lord has cxprefsly fald, that circumcifion is of the fathers, [John vii. 22.] Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob; firfl; given to them, and praciifed by them. Even Tbeodotus, an heathen writer, agrees with this facred teftimony of Mofes, when fpcaking of the circumcifion of Shcchem, in the times of Jacob, he traces this rite to its original, and obferves, that when Abraham was brought out of his own country, he was orderedyro??z ksavcn to circumcife every man in his houfe. It may indeed feeni ftrangc how it fliould obtain in the iflands of the Weft Indies, as in Jucu-tana, Sanfta Crux, and others, where the Spaniards fouad in the beginning of the fixteenth century thofe illcs inhabited by idolaterSs S?ho were circumcifed." [Gill on Gen. xvii. 10.] * See Sbuchford's Connex. vol. ii, b. 6.

138 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

he had, and as great an army as he now came with, Abraham, only with his trained fervants that were born in his own lioufe, conquered and fubdued them all. This vic-toiy he received of God as a pledge cf the viclory that Chrift, his feed, ihould obtain over the nations of the earth, whereby he fhould poflefs the gates of his enemies. It is plainly fpoken of as fuch in the xlift Ifaiah. In that chapter is foretold the future glorious vi6iory the church fhall obtain over the nations of the world ; as you inay fee in verfes i, 10, 15, &c. But in verfes 2, and 3, this victory of Abraham is fpoken of as a pledge and earneft of the vi6lory of the church. ' Who raifed

* up the righteous man from the eafl, called him to his

* foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule

* over kings ? He gave them as the dufi: to tire fvvord, and

* as driven ftubble to his bow. He purfued them, and

* paffed fafely; even by the way that he had not gone

* with his feet.' (x)

(2.) Another remarkable confirmation Abraham received of the covenant of grace, was when he returned from the flaughter of the kings; when Mekhifedec the king of Salem, the prieft ot the mofi: high God, that great type of Chrifi:, met him, and bleffed Ijini, and brought forth bread and wine, (y) The bread and wine

figni-

(x) The righteous man from the east. 3 Some explain this of Abraham, others of Cytus ; " I rather think (fays an eminent prelate) that the former is meant, becaufe the charafttr of the righteous man .... agrees better with Abraham than with Cyrus. Befides, immediately after the defcription of the fuccefs given by God to Abraham and his pofterity, (who, I prefume, arc to be taken into the account) the idolaters are introduced, as greatly alarmed at this event. Abraham was called out of the ealt; and his pofterity were introduced into the land of Canaan, in order to deftroy the idolaters cf tliat country; and they were ellablifiied there on purpofe to ftaad as a barrier againit idolatry then prevailing, and threatening to over-run the whole face of the earth. Cyrus, though not properly an idolater, or worfhipper of images, yet had nothing in hio chaiafter to cauic. fuch an alarm among the idolaters," ver. 5—7. [Bp. Lowth on ver. 2.]

(y) Melchisedfc, /'W^'? of the mcjt high God.'] Many and oppofite have been the opinions, both of Jewifh and Chrillian

writers,

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 139

fjgnifieth the fame bleflings of the covenant of grace, that the bread aiid wine does in the lacrament of the Lord's

flipper.

writers, on this extraordinary character ; but we fhall only recite the three principal:

1. Moft of the Jews, and many very learned Chrillians, under-fland it of Shem, who it fliould fcem by the facred chronology, was ftill living.—But to this it has been replied, that Melchifedec was not of that family, ' His defcent is not counted from them ;' [Heb. vii. 6.] —nor could Shem be faid to be ' without father and ' mother,' [Heb. vii. 3.J when we have his genealogy from Adani —nor could Levi be faid with any more propriety to pay tithes in Abraham, than to receive them in Shem, hnce he v^as as truly in the loins of Shem, as in thofe of Abraham—not to fay, that Abraham could hardly be faid to fojourn there, ' as in a llrange coun-

* try,' if his anceltor Shem were king of it.

2. Many expofitor^, to avoid thefe ditliculties, have fuppofed that Melchifedec and Chrill were the fame perfon, and that this appearance mull be accounted for in the fame manner as feveral others under the Old Teilamcnt. But the apolHe feems evidently to diflinguifh the perfons, in making the former a type of the latter, [Heb. vii. throughout] and in affertiag [ver. 6.J that Chrift was a prieft ' after the order of Melchifedec'

3. We therefore think it fafcll:, with our author, and many other very refpeftable divines, to underltand the paffage literally, of a great prince, perhaps a defcendar.t of Canaan, who reigned ia Salem, [not Jerufalem, as fome think, but rather a tov.-n in the neighbourhood of Sodom, perhaps the fame called Shalem, in Gen. xxxili. 18.—See Gill on Gen. xiv. 18.] and who was both a king and prieft, as was not unufual under the patriarchal difpen-fation ; and yet more diftlngulflied by his piety than his rank.

* Now' faith the apoftle, [Heb. vii. i—5.] ' conlider how great

* this man was,'—' for this Melchifedec [was] king of Salem,

* [and] prieft of the moft high God . . . Without fatiier, without 'mother, without defcent, having neither beginning of days nor

* end of life, but made like unto tlic Son of God, [v/ho] abidctli

* a prieft for ever ;' /'. e. " Of whofe father, mother, or pedigree, there is no mention .... (which notes him to be no prieft by defcent, as the Levitical priefts were, and accordingly their geneaolo-gies were preferved cxatily) as neither of his birth nor death . . . and fo ftands In the ftory^ as a kind of immortal prieft without any fucceftbr . . . (perhaps the laft prieft of the true God In Phrenlcla) this Melchifedec, I fay, was in all this an emblem of Cinift . . . • the King of Rightcoufnefs, and Prince of Pc;;ce." [Hammond in loc. See alfo D'jddn(lge.'\

The fa6l feems to be, that Melehliedec is in the hiftory introduced In fo abrupt and auguft a manner, that he might be tiie more fuitable tvpe, and In manv refpe<5ts prefigure our Lord jefus

Chrift,

540 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

fupper. So that as Abraham had a fcal of the covenant in circun^cifion that was equivalent to baptifm, fo now he had a feal of it equivalent to the Lord's fupper. And Mel-chifedec's coming to meet him with fuch a feal of the covenant of grace, on the occafion of this vi6lory, evinces ihat it was a pledge of God's fulfilment of the fame covenant ; for that is the mercy which Melchifedec takes notice of. [Gen. xiv. 19, 20.]

(3.) Another was, the vifion that he had in the deep ileep that fell upon Abraham, of the fmoaking furnace and burning lamp, that pafTed between the parts of the facri-fice, [Gen. xv.] (z) That facrifice, as all facrifices do,

figni-

Chrift, of whom tLefe things were true, in a fenfe far more grand and important.—Infinite Redeemer ! How numberlefs are the rays of glory that form thy mediatorial crown ! How are all the excellencies of the moll illullrious charafters blended to fhadow thy fuperior dignity! [U. S.J

(z) The VISION of the fmoaking funince.~\ "The order and •form of Abram's facrifice dcfcribed in the ninth and tenth vei fes 3S a full illuflration of the meaning of the words ; ' And he faid

* unto him, Take me a heifer of three years old, and a fhe goat

* of three years old, and a ram of tliree years old, and a turtle

* dove and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all thefe, and

* divided them in the midft, and laid each piece one againft ano-"* ther : but the birds divided he net.' And ' the Loid made a

* covenant,' /. e. he cut afunder or divided a purifying victim. [See Note (o) p. 109.] Abram according to God's.comnland took an heifer, a flie goat, and a ram, each of three years old, flew them ; ■divided each into equal parts ; placed the feparated limbs oppofite to each other, leaving a paffage between ; paffed between the parts himfelf, according to the cuftom of tlie facrifice ; and when the fun was down, that the appearance might be more vifible and ftrik-ing, the JJ^echinah, or vifible taken of God's prefencc, paiFcd alfo between the divided limbs of the viftims, as a fmoaking furnace, and a burning lamp ; tlie final ratification of.this new treaty between God and Abram ; whereby God gracioully became bound to give Abram a fon of his own bowels, who ftiould become the father of a great nation, and the progenitor, after the flefh, of the great Saviour and deliverer of the human race; and Abram on his part bound himfelf to a firm reliance upon all God's promifes, and cheerful obedience to all his commands. Such were the awful folemnitics of this important tranfactien They were evidently of divine inllitution, for God honoured them with his pre-

feuce.

\

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 141'

fignified the facrifice of Chrift. The fmoaking furnace that paffcd through the midlT: of that facrifice fignified

the

fence, approbation, and acceptance : they apparently had been long in ufc before this period, for Abram, without any particular inftrucllon, prepares and performs the facrifice ; and they certainly continued long in the church of God after this : for we find the practice as far down as the times of Jeremiah, that is, about the period of the diffolution of the Jewifli monarchy. The paiTage ftrikingly illuftrates and fupports the hiflory of Abram's covenant and facrifice [J^r. xxxiv. 18—20.] ' And

* I will give the men that have tranfgrcfled my covenant, which

* have not performed the words of the covenant which they had

* made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and pafled be-

* tween the parts thereof, the princes of Judali, and the princes of

* Jerufalcm, the eunuchs, and the prieils, and all the people of

* the land, which pafleth between the parts of the calf; I will even ' give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of

* them that feek their life ; and their dead bodies fiiall be for meat ' unto the fowls of the heaven, and the beafts of the earth.' Now the expreflions here employed, of ' polluting ,God's name, tranf-' grefiing his covenant, and not performing it,' [fee the preceding context,] and the threatened puniihment of this violation, * their

* dead bodies fliall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and ' to the beafts of the earth,' explain to us in fome meafure, the meaning of thofe folemn ceremonies with which covenants were executed. And here furely it is not unlawful to employ the lights which are thrown on this fubjeft, by the practice of the Gentile nations, and the writings of profane authors. From them we learn, that on fuch occafions the cuftom was, that the contrafting party or parties, having pafled between the divided limbs of the facrifice, and exprcffed their full afient to the ftipulated terms of the agreement or covenant, in folemn words, pronounced with an audible voice, imprecated upon themlelves a bitter curfe, if they ever fliould break it. ' As I ftrike down this heifer, or ram, fo ' may God ftrike me with death, if I tranfgrefs my word and oath.' ' As the limbs of tliis animal are divided afunder, fo may my body

* be torn in pieces, if I prove perfidious.' To give one inftance of many, from the two nations alluded to. The Greeks and the Trojans, according to Homer, having agreed to determine the great quarrel between them, by the iffuc of a fingle combat between the two rivals, Menelaus and Paris, the terms being folemnly adjufted and confcntcd to on .both fides, the ratification of the covenant is thus defcribed, [Ilialf^ lib. iii. 268.] ' The Grecian

* prince drew the facrcd knife, cut off a lock of wool from each of •' the heads of the devoted lambs, which being diftrlbuted among

* the princes of the contending paities, he thus, with hands lifted -* and in a loud voice praved,

* O firil

142 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

the fufferings of Chrift ; but the burning lamp tliat fallowed, which Ihone with a clear bright light, fignities the

glory

' O firft and greatefl: Pow'r! whom all obey,

* Who high on Ida's holy mountain fway,

* Eternal Jove ! and you bright orb that roll

* From eatl to weft, and view from pole to pole ;

* Thou mother earth ! and all ye living floods !

* Infernal furies, and Tartarean gods,

* Who rule the dead, and horrid woes prepare

* For perjur'd kings, and all who falfely fwear !

* Hear and be witnefs. If, [Pope.]

*' Then, having repeated the words of it [the covenant] in tht audience of all, he cleft afunder the heads of the confecrated lambs, placed their palpitating limbs oppofite to each other on the ground, poured facred wine upon them, and again prayed, or rather imprecated :

' Hear, mighty Jove ! and hear, ye gods on high ! '

* And niay their blood, who hrft the league confound,

* Shed like this wine, diftain the thirfty ground :

* May all their conforts ferve promifcuous luft,

' And all their race be fcattered as the duft !' [Pope.]

*' Thus when it was agreed to fettle the conteft for empire between Rome and Alba by the combat of three youths, biothers, on either fide; after the interpofition of ceremonies fimilar to thofe which have been defcribed, the Roman prieil who prefided, ad-dreffed a prayer to heaven to this effect; ' Hear, Father Jupiter,

* hear. Prince of Alba, and ye whole Alban nation. Whatever

* has been read from that waxen tablet, from firft to laft, according

* to the plain meaning of the words, without any refervation what-' ever, the Roman people engage to ftand to, and will not be the ' firft to violate. If with a fraudulent intention, and by an aft of

* the ftate, they fliall firft tranfgrefs, that very day, O Jupiter, ftrike

* the Roman people, as I to-day fliall ftrike this hog, and fo much

* the more heavily, as you are more mighty and more powerful

* than me.' And having thus fpoken, with a fliarp flint, hedaftied out the brains of the animal.

" Thus in the three moil illuftrious nations that ever exifted, we find the origin of their greatnefs, in fimilar ceremonies; empire founded in religion, and good faith fecured by the fanction of fo-lemn facred rites. And is it not pleafing to find the living and true God, as in refpetl of maiefty and dignity, fo in priority of time, taking the lead in all tliat is great and venerable among men ? We find Mofcs, the prince of facred writers, defcribing a religious iacrifice, performed by Abram one thoufand nine hundred and thirteen years before Chrift, which the prince ot heathen poets fo exaclly defcribes as the praftice of liis own country upwards of

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 143

glory that followed ChrilVs fuffcrings, and was procured by them.

(4.) Another pledge thai God gave Abraham of the fulfilment of the covenant of grace, was his gift of that child of whom Chrifl: was to come, in his old age. This is fpoken of as fuch in fcripture ; Heb. xi. 11, 12. and al£b Rom. iv 18, &c.

(5.) Again, in his delivering Ifiac, after he was laid upon the wood of the facritice to be flain, (a) God gave

Abraham

one thoufand years later : and which the great Rdman hiftorian relates as in ufe among his countrymen, in the time of Tulius Hoftilius, the third king of Rome, before Chrift about fix hundred and fixty-elght years." [Hunter's Sac. Biogr. vol. i. lee. xiii.]

(a) Ifaac laid upon the wood . . . . fo be sLAiy}.^ "Abraham (fays Mr. Hervey) was an eminent and diiringuifhed fervant of the Moll High God. Favoured with peculiar manifeftations of the divine will, and dignified with the honourable title of his Maker's friend. Yet even this man is harralfed vvith a long fuc-ceffion of troubles ; and, which was reckoned in thofc ages the mod deplorable calamity, goes childlefs. Long he waits, worfhipping God with the moli patient refignation. At length, an oracle from the Lord gives him . . . affurance of a fon. Joyfully he receives the promife, and rcfts in humble expeftation of its accomplifhment. .... At lad the handmaid becomes pregnant. But . . . this is the fon of the bondwoman, not of the free.

" How afflicting the cafe of this excellent perfon ! His kinsfolk and acquaintance fee their olive branches flourifhlng round about their tables. Even his ungodly neighbours have children at their delire, and leave the refidue ofthelr fubilance for their babes. But Abraham, the v/orfliipper of Jehovah, the favourite of heaven— this Abraham is dcilitute of an heir, to fupport his name, to propagate his family, or to inherit the bl>;fling. . . God is pleafcd to renew the grant, and alfure him more explicitly, that Sarah fhall have a fon. But this notice comes at a very- late period in life ; when Sarah is advanced in years, and too old, according to the courfe of nature, to conceive. Flowever, the pious patriarch

* daggers not through unbelief; but hopes even agaiad hope.* £Rom. iv. 18—20.]

" At lad, the gift, fo earnedly dcfircd, is vouchfafed. Sarah has a child — 2^ Jon —an Ij'aac. One who ihould be a fource of con-folation and delight to his parents; 'Ihould fill their mouth with

* laughter, and ihelr tongue with joy.' With tender care, doubt-lefs, this pleafant plant is reared. Many prayers are put up, for his long life and great happinefs. The fond parents v.atch over

U ■ him.

14+ HISTORY OF RE D E MPT I O IST. Abraham another confirmation of liis faith in the pro-

mi

fe

him, as over the apple of their own eye. Their life is bound up in the life of the lad. He grows in grace, as lie grows in ftature.

Now, mcthinks, we are ready to congratulate the happy

Sire ; and flatter ourfelves, that his tribulations have an end .... But ' let not him that girdcth on his liarnefs, boall himfelf, as he

* that putteth it off.' Our warfare on earth is never accomplifhed, till we bow our head, and give up the ghoft. The fliarpeft, the fevereft trial is Hill behind.

" Abraham ; fays God—Abraham knows the voice. It is the voice of condefcending goodnefs. He had often heard it with a rapture of delight. Inftantly he replies, ' Here I am. Speak, ' Lord ; for thy fervant is all attention.' Hoping, no doubt, to receive fome frefn manifellatiou of the divine good-will to himfelf and his family ; or fome new difcovery of the method, in which the divine "Wifdom would accomplini the prcmlfes—' I will mul-

* tiply thy feed—I uIU make thy feed as the duit of the earth.— ' In thy feed fliall all the families of the earth be bleffed.'

" Take thy fon ; adds God. And might net Abraham rea-fonably expedf, that, iince his fon was arrived to years of maturity, he fliould be direfced now to, fettle him in the world with honour and advantage ? . . . He is commanded, not barely to take \\\^fon, but his only fon ; his fon Ifaac, whavahs Icveil. . . Mull not fuch an introdu6lion, fo remarkably endearing, heighten his expectation of lome fi-gnal mercy to be conferred on the beloved youth ? And would it not render the blefiing . . . more than doubly welcome ?

" V\7^as he not then ftartled ? Was he not horribly am.azed ? When, indead of feme renewed expreffion of the Divine favour, he received the following orders : ' Take now thy fon, thy only ion, 'Ifaac, whom thou lovelt, and get thee into the land of Moriah,

* and offer hmi there for a burnt offering, upon one of the moun-' tains which I will tell thee of.' Was ever defcriptioft fo affeft-ing, or meffage fo alarming ! . . . . Every word in this injunftion foftens and entenders the parent's heart, and at the fam.c time fliarpens tlie arrow, that mxUc pierce it through and through.

" Abiaham, take thy fon,'—Who, but Abraham, could have forborti remonllrating and pleading on fuch an occafion ?—Ananias, being charged with a commifTion to Saul tlie perfecutor, takes upon him to argue the cafe v^'itll his Almighty Sovereign. —

* Lord, I have heard by many concerning this man, how much

* evil he hath done to l.hy faints at Jerufalem ; and here he hath ' authoiity from the chi=ef priefts to bind all that call upon thy 'name.' [At'f s ix. 13, 14.] Thus Ananias. With how much greater appearance of reafon might Abrajiam have replied?

' L,ord, have I not already left my country; left my kindred, ' and, at thy command, left my father's houfe ? And wilt thou

' now

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 145

■mife that God had made of Chrlfl:, tliat lie fl\ould he oF

Ifaac's

now bereave me of my child ? Mud I part, not with fomc admired folly or darling vanity, but witli the moft worthy objeft of a rational affeftion ; indeed with my only remaining confo-lation ?—Shall I be deprived of my child, almoft as fmn as I have received him ? Didfl: thou give him only to tantalize thy fervant ? Remember, gracious God ! the name he bears. How fhall he anfwer its cheering import i* How fhall he be a fourcc of fatisfaftion to his parents, or the father of many nations, if thou takefthim away in his unmarried ftate, and the very prime of his years ?

* If fin lies at the door, let me expiate the guilt. Let th.ou-fands of rams, let erery bullock in my ftalls bleed at thy altar. My wealth, moft mightv Lord, and all my goods, are nothing-in comparifon of my Ifaac. Command me to be flripped of my poffcllions ; command me to roam as a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth, and I will blefs thy holy name. Only !>.t my child, my dear child, be fpared.

* Or, if nothing will appeafe thy indignation but human blood, let my death be the facrifice ; upon me be the vengeance. I am old and grey-headed. The beft of my days are pall:, and the bell: of my ferviccs done. If this tottering wall tumbles, there will belittle, or no can fe for regret. But, if the pillar of my houfe, and the fupport of my family—if he be fnatched from me, what good will my life do rae ? * 0 my Son ! my Son ! ivouJd God I might die for thee.^ \_z Sam. xviii. 33.]

' If it mufc be a blooming youth, in the flower of his days, be pleafed, moft merciful God, to fcleft the vicftim from fome fruitful family. There are thofe, who abound in Children. Children are multiplied unto them ; and though many were removed, yet would their table be full. There art thofe, who have flocks and herds ; whereas, I have «nly this one little lamb ; the very folace of my foul, and the ftay of my declining years. And fliall this be taken away, while all tly^fe are left ? [2 Sam. xii. 3.]

* Yet, if he mujl die, and there is no remedy ; may he not at leaft expire by a natural difTolution ? May not fom.e common dif-temper unloofe the cords of life, and lay him down gently in the tomb ? May not his fond mother and mvfelf feal his clofing eyes, and foften his dying pangs by our tender ofHces V

No, Abraham. Thy fon muft be flauglitertd on the altar. . . . The facrihcing knife, and not any common difeafe, ftiall bring him

to his end It is the liOrd's will, tliat he be cut in pieces ;

cinfumed to aflies ; and made a burnt offering ' But rf

* all muft be executed ; God forbid, that I fnould behold the dif--* mal tragcdv ! .... O! let it be far, far from tlie f:ght of thcfe ' eyes!'

U 2 " Even

146 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION,

Ifaac's polterity ; and was a representation of the refur-

red:ion

*' Even this mitigation cannot be granted. Thou, Abraham, rnuft fee him flain.—Nay; thou muR be the executioner of thy Ifaac= Is not the wretched father ftunned and thnnderftruck ?.. .

" Nature recoils at the very thought ! How then can the bell of fathers perform the deed ?—How lliall he anfwer it to the wife ofhisbofom, the mother of the lovely youth ? .... Will flie not have leafon to reproach Abraham, and fay in the anguifla of lier fpirit, * A bloody huiband haft thou been to me.—[Exod, iv. i<^-'\ How can he juftify it to the ivorla? They will never be perfuaded that the God of goodnefs can delight in cruelty, or authorize fo

horrid an action. Might not thoufands of fuch confide-

rations crowd into his thoughts, and rack his very foul ?

" But God is unchangeable. Pofitive is his word, and muft be obeyed. Obeyed immediately too. Take wow thy fon. The Lord's command requireth fpeed. . . . This the patriarch knew. Therefore he waits not for a fecond injunftion. He confults not

With flefli and blood But, without a murmuring word,

without a moment's delay, fets forward on his journey.

'■^ And canft thou, Abraham, canft thou perlill in thy purpofe ? Is not this child the heir of the promifes, both temporal, and fpiritual, and eternal \ —Is not the great MefTiah, whofe day thou haft fo paffionately defired to fee ; whofe perfon is the hope of all the ends of the earth ; is not that great Mefliah to fpring from his loins? From/w loins, whom thou art about to kill;—The bk'fimg, thou knoweft, is appropriated to him. The grand entail is fettled upon him—upon Ifaac by name—upon Ifaac alone, if he perifii, all is loft.—Canft thou, then, alone blow, deftroy the life of thy fon ; facrifice all thy earthly joys ; and cut oft'the hopes of the whole world:—Will none of thefe confide-rations difcourage, difliiade, deter thee ?

" Moft triumphant faith indeed ! defervcdly art thou ftyled, The Father of the Faithful. Thy faith is ftroiiger tlian all the ties ofaffeftion; ftronger than all the pleas of nature; ftronger than all the terrors of death—of a death, in its circumftances and in its confequenceg, incomparably more dreadful than thv own.

" Now muft he travel during three tedious, and, one would think, moft melancholy d-nys. . . ' On the third day, Abraham * lift up his eyes, and law the place afar off"!'—Doleful fight! , . . Does not the profpedl alarm all his tender paffions ? No, it only awakens hiscircumfpedlion. The fervants are commanded to advance no farther . . . . He himfelf, with" the fire and the knife in his hands ; and his fon, with the burden of wood on his Ihouldcrs, went both of them together.—Who docs not pity the dear devoted youth, toihng under that load which muft foon reek with his blood, and foon reduce him to alhes ?—Mean while the intended vidxim, wondering to fee ail theie preparations rnadc, ar.d no proper animal

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 147

reilion of Chrill;; [fee Heb. xi. 17--19.] And becaufc this was given as a confirmation of the covenant of grace,

therefore

nial near, afl<s this pertinent queftion; ' My father, behold the

* fire and the wood ! but where is the Iamb for a biirnt-ofFerine?' Nothing could be more tender and moving than this fpeech ; which difcovered fuch a knowledge of religion, and fuch a concern for its duties. Will not this roufe the father's anguifli, and fhake his determination? How can he be the death of fo much innocence, and fo much piety?

" Faith overcomes all difficulties. Unmoved and inflexible the Patriarch replies, • God will provide liimfelf a lamb for a burnt-

* offeiing, my fon.' He hides the awful tidings from the inquiii-tive youth, left they ihould be too lieavy and aftlidlve for him lo bear. . . .

* And they came to the place whicli God had told him of.'—'Tis a mountain. Far from the refort of men. A doleful folitude indeed! .... 'Abraham builds an altar there' .... and . . . that every thing may be tranfafted with the utmoft decorum, he lays the wood in order. . . .

" Every thing is now ready for the moft aftonifliing and dreadful adt of obedience that men or angels ever beheld. And now Abraham difclofcs the llartling fecret—* Didft thou inquire con-

* cerning the lamb ? Thou thyfcIF, my dear ciiild, art the Ir.mb

* provided for the burnt-offering. Be not amazed. Let not thy

* heart fail. Tlie God who bellowed thee on my longing defires, ' is pleafcd to icquire thee again at my hand—the Lord gave, and

* the Lord taketh away ; let us both adore the name of the Lord.

* Let us confide in hispromifedgoodnefs, and unanimoufly profefs, " Thoi;,n;h he flay me, yet will I truft in him."

" It does not appear that the amiable youth rcfifted or gainfayed. He had ftrength enough to oppofe, and fpeed enough to efcape, the attempts of an aged father. [According to Jofephus, Ifaac was, when he fnbmitted himfclf to the flaughter, about twenty-five years old.] Either, or both of which, the law of felf-prefervation might feem to diAate, and the light of reafon to juilify. But Ifaac knew that his father was a prophet. In this prophetical charaftcr, he fees and acknowledges the wairant of heaven ; a;;d fince his Creator calls, he is content to go. . . .

" Nevcrthelefs, that the work of delHny may be Aire, and no one particular relating to a facrifice omitted, Abraham binds Ifaac his Ion .... Having bound him—furpilfing refolntion! — bound liiin for the fword and for the flame, he lays him upon the altar on the wood.—I'hcre, now, lies Ifaac; the dear, the dutiful, the religious Ifaac ! Abraham's joy ; Sarah's delight; the heir of the prcmifes! There he lies, all meek and i-efigned, expelling, every mom.ent, the ftroke of death to fall .... See! the

father

148 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

therefore God renewed that covenant with Abraham on this occaficn. Gen. xxii. j^, 6i;c. (b)

Thus

father ... * ftretches forth his hand;' he hfts the fiiarpened fteel; and determined to finifn at a blow, is even now aiming—when— lejoice, O ye worfliippers of a gracious God! . . . . the Angel of the covenant fpeaks from heaven, and withholds the Patriarch's hand, in the very aft to rtrike. God, who only intended to mani-feft his faith, and make it honourable, bids hiro do no harm to the lad. Yea, God applauds his obedience, and fubftitutes another facrifice in Ifaac's ftead; renews his covenant with the father, and not only I'eprieves the life of the fon, but promifes him a numerous and illuilrious ijfue—Promifes to make him the progenitor of the Mcffiah, and thereby a blefiing to all the nations of the earth. [Ther. and Afp. vol. iii. Ictt. 2.]

(b) I fane ivas a type of ChriJI, raifed from the clead.'\ " So faith the apoftle, [Heb. xi. 19.] Abraham received his fon Ifaac 'from the dead ' in a figure,' \_xct.i a '^o.^aQoXn'] ' even in ?. parable,' type, or n^yilical reprefcntation. [vSee Wolfius, Curre Philolog. vol. iv. p. 762. & Com. Heb. ix. 5.3 A farther illullration of tliis may be taken from the hillory of this event in Genefis [xxii. 14. J wh.cre AVjraham calls the name of the place where he attempted to pffer his fon, fehoimh 'J'lreh. One thing muft be pre-mifed, that the Hebrew word there uCed, if wc wave the ?uthority of the points, may be taken cither aftiveiy or pafiiveiy. Abraham, when his fon had inquired for the burnt-oiTering, replied, ' God

* will provide himfelf,' or rather will fe, looh out, for himfelf a buint-offering—Now, in ver. 14, Abraham ufes the fame word, fuid God having wonderfully provided a buiUt-ofFcring, inflead of Ifaar, he names the place as it {i;iov!ld fcem v/ith a reference both to this event, and a future one reprefented by it, * The Lord

* will fee,' as our tranflators render it in the margin ; /'. e. will provide for his people, in wiiatever ftraight they may be, as he had done for Abraham in this fore trial. So it is laid to this day, is become a proverb, ' In the mount the Lord will fee ;' the fame word as before. Hut tiic v\-ords may be taken pafiiveiy; ' The

* Lord will appear,' i. e. vifibly, he will be feen. Tiius Ifaac inquiring for the facrifice, Abraham replies, ' God will appear for

* it,' /. e. to point it out in fuch a manner as fiiall leave us in no doul:)t or d:fhcir:y to feek it—Ths-'ii he calls the name of the place

* Tlie Lord will appear,' or be feeii ; and from this a tradition arofe, that in that mount the Lord would appear, (or he feen) which had the moft literal and exaft accomplirnment in Solomon's temple being ercfted, and afterwards th'e S;jn of God crucified thereon. Taken eltlier way, the words are beautifully fignificant; and as they run uniformly ambiguous, we conceive ourielves v^•ar-ranted to include both fcnTes, tlujugh wc may not be able to prove

that

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 149

Thus you fee how mnch more fully the covenant of pjacc was revealed and confirmed in Abraham's time than it Ind been before; by means of which Abraham feems to ha\e had a clearer un.lerrcanding and fight of Chrilt, the great Redeemer, and the future things that were to be accom-plilhcd by him, than any of t!\c faints preceding him ; and ihercfove Chrifc informs us, tliat ' Abraham rejoiced to fee ' his day, and he faw it, and was glad.' [John viii. 56.] So great an advance did it pleafe God now to make in this building, wiiich he had been carrying on from the beginning of the war-Id.

3. The next tiling that I would take notice of here, is God's preferring tlie patriarchs fo long in the midft of the wicked inliabitants of Canaan, and from all other enemies. The patriarchs Abiaham, Ifaac, and Jacob, were thcfe of whom Chriit was to proceed ; and they were now feparated from llie world, that in them the clnnxh might be upheld : therefore, in preferving them, the great defign cf redemption was carried on. He pre-

fcrved

that Abraham fo intended them ; fiace often things were fpoken by a prophetic fpirit, which even the fpeaker did not at the time fully undertbnd. [See John xi. 51.] Thus explained, the words will afford the following remarks :

1. That the fame truths which are now taught us iu plain literal terms, were formerly revealed to the Old Tcftarnent believers in figures and tvpes. Thus were they enabled to look forward to a promifed Redeemer by the fame faith with which we view him already come and crucified.

2. There is a clofe conne-dlion between the v/orks of Pi'ovidence and Redemption. The one often (as our author has in many in-ftances fiiewn) prefiguring the other. Ifaac mufc have been in Abraham's view as dead, and he probably entertained no hope of his being faved by a refurre£lion; and this event was carried to the lalt extrk-mity, net jucr^Iy for the trial of Abraham's faitii, but alfo to be the fitter type of Chrift raifed from the dead. Let us learn to view every providence in this conneclion, as fubordinate to th-great ends of redemption : and rcil afTured, tliat fince God has provided a faerifice in the perfon of ' his own fon,' he will ' with ' him air» freely give us all things.' [Rom. viii. 32.]

3. What liroug confolation may a believer derive from this hit-tory to confirm and animate his faitlii' Though ilie Lord fhould fuffer us to be tried to the utmoit, yet in the point of extremity he will appear and fave." [G. E.]

i^o HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

lei ved tliem, and kept the inhabitants of the land where they fojourned from deftvoying them ; which was a remarkable difpenfation of Providence : for the inhabitants of the land were at that day exceedingly wicked, though they grew more wicked afterwards. This appears by Gen. XV. i6. ' In the fourth generation they fliall come ' hither again ; for the iniquity of the Canaanites is not * yet lull:' as much as to iay, Though it be very great, it is not yet full. And their great wickednefs alfo appears' bv Abraham and Ifaac's avcrfton to their children marrvinsr any of the daughters of the land. Abraham, when he was old, could not he content till he had made his fcrvant fwear that he would not take a wife for his fon of the daughters of the land. And Ifaac and Rebecca were content to fend away Jacob to fo great a diilance as Padan-Aram, to take him a wife thence. And when Efau married fome of the daughters of the land, we are told, that they were a grief of mind to Ifaac and Rebecca. [Gen* xxvi. 35.]

Anotlier argument of their great wickednefs, was the inftances we have in Sodom and Gomorrah, Adniah and Zeboim, which were fome of the cities of Canaan though t/iey were probably more eminently wicked.

And they being thus wicked, were likely to have the moft bitter enmity againfl thefe holy men ; agreeable to what was declared at iirfl, ' I will put enmixy between ' thee and the woman, and between thy feed and her feed.' Their holy lives were a continual condemnation of their ■wickednefs. And belides, it could not be otherwife, but that they muft be much in reproving their wickednefs, as we fmd Lot was in Sodom ; who, we are told, vexed his righteous foul with their imlawful deeds, and was a preacher of righteoufnefs to them.

And they were the more expofed to them, being Grangers and fojourners in the land, and having no inheritance there as yet. Men are more apt to find fault with ftran-gers, and to be irritated by any thing in them, as they were wiih Lot in Sodom. He very gently reproved their wickednefs; and they fay upon it, •' This fellow came in

« to

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 151

« to fojourn, and he will needs be a ruler and a judge,' and threatened what they would do to him.

But God wonderfully preferved Abraham and Lot, and Ifaac and Jacob, and their families, amongll them, though they were few in number, and they miglit quickly have defiroyed them ; which is taken notice of as a wonderful inflance of God's preferving mercy toward his church, [Pf. cv, 12, &c.] ' When they were but a few men in

* number; yea, very few-, and ftrangers in it. When

* they went from one nation to another, from one king-

* dom to another people ; he fufFered no man to do them ' wrong ; yea, he reproved kings for their fakes, faying,

* Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no

* harm.'

This prefervatlon was in fome inftances very remarkable ; thofe inflances that we have an account of, wherein the people of the land were greatly irritated and provoked ; as they were by Simeon and Levi's treatmciif of the Sechemitcs, [Gen. xxxiv. 30, &c.] God then ftrangely preferved Jacob and his family, reftraining the provoked people by an unufual terror on their minds, [Gen. XXXV. 5.] ' And the terror of God was upon the ' cities that were round about them, and they did not ' purfue after the fons of Jacob.'

And God's preferving them, not only from the Ca-naanites, is here to be taken notice of, but his preferving them from all others that intended mifchief to them : thus his preferving Jacob and his campany, when purfued by Laban, full of rage, and a difpofition to overtake him as an enemy ; God met him, and rebuked him, and faid to him, ' Take heed that thou fpeak not to Jacob either good ' or bad.' [Gen. xxxi. 24.] How wonderfidly did he alio j)referve him from Efau his brother, when he came forth with an army, with a full defign to cut him off! How did God, in anfwcr to his prayer, when he wrelllcd with Cliriil: at Penuel, wonderfully tuin Efau's heart, and make him, inftead of meeting him as an enemy, with {laughter and dcflruction, to meet him as a friend and brother, doing hiin no harm

jyz HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

And thus vv-eie this handful, this little root that had the. bicfling of the Redeemer in it, prelerved in the midft of enemies and dangers; which was not unlike to the preferv-ing the ark in the midft of the tempeftuous deluge.

4. The next thing I would mention is, the awful de-ll-ru6tion of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the neighbouring cities. This tended to promote the great defign and work that is the fubje6l of my prefent undertaking, two ways. It did fo, as it tended powerfully to reftrain the inhabitants of the land from injuring thofe holy ftrangers that God had brought to fojourn amongfl them. Lot was one of thofe ftrangers ; he came into the land with Abraham ; and Sodom was deftroyed through their difregard of Lot, the preacher of righteoufnefs that God had fent among them. And their deftru6lion came juft upon their committing a moft injurious and abominable infult on Lot, and the ftrangers that were come into his houfe, even thofe angels, whom they probably took to be fome of Lot's former acquaintance, come from his own country to vifit liim. They in a moft outrageous manner befet Lot's houfe, intending a monftrous abufe ot thole ftrangers that were come thither, and threatening to ierve Lot worfc than them.

But in the midft of this God fmote them with blind-nefs, and the next morning the city and the country about it was overthrown in a moft terrible ftorm of lire and brimftone ; which dreadful deftrudtion, as it was in the light of the reft of the inhabitants of the land, and therefore greatly tended to rcftrain tlienv from hurting thofe holy ftrangers any more; it doubtlefs ftruck a dread and terror on their minds, and made them afraid to hurt them, and probably was one principal means to reftrain them, and preferve the jjatriarchs. And when that reaion is given why tlie inhabitanis of the land did not purfue after Jacob, when tliev were fo provoked by the deftrucStion of the Shechemites, viz. ' that the terror of the Lord was ' upon them,' it is very probable that this was the terror referred to. T'hcy remembered tbe amazing deftruclion of Sodom, and the cities of the plain, that came upon

them,

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 155

them, upon their abufive treatment of Lot, and fo durft not hurt Jacob and his family, though they were fo muc h provoked to it.

Another way that this awful deftrudlion tended to promote this great affair of redemption, was, tliat hereby God did }emarkably exhibit the terrors of liis law, to make men fenhble of their need of redeeming mercy. The work of redemption never was carried on without this. The law, from the beginning, is made ufe of as a fchoolmafler to bring men to Chrift. [Gal. iii. 24.]

But under the Old Teflament there was much more need of fome extraordinary, viilblc, and fcnfible mani-feftation of God's wrath againft hn, tlian in the days of the gofpel; fince a future ftate, and the eternal mifery of hell, is more clearly revealed, and finte the awful juftice of God againft the fms of men has been fo wonderfully difplayed in the fufFerings of Chrill. And therefore the revelation that God gave of himfelf in thofe days, ufed to be accompanied with much jnore terror than it is in thefe of the gofpel. So when God appeared at Mount Sinai to give the law, it was with thunders and lightnings, and a tliick cloud, and the voice of the trumpet exceetling loud. But fomc external, awful manifeftations of God's wrath againfl; fin were on fome accounts efpecially necef-iary before the giving of the law : and therefore, before the flood, the terrors of the law handed down by tradition from Adam fervcd. Adam lived nine hundred and thirtv years himfelf,, to tell the church of God's awful thrcaten-jngs denounced in the covenant made with him, and how dreadful the confequences of the fall were, of which he was an eye-witnefs and fubjecSl; and others that converled with Adam, lived till the flood. And the dcftruftion of the world by the flood ferved to exhibit the terrors cf the law, and manifefl the wrath of God againft fin ; and fa to make men fenfible of the ablolute necelfity of redeeming mercy. And fome that h\v the llood were alive in Abraham's time.

But this was now in a great meafure forgotten ; now tiicreforc God was pleafed again, in a \v.o{\ amazing

X 2 manner.

154 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

manner, to fnow his wrath agnlnfl: fin, in the deflruftion of tliefc cities : which was after fuch a manner as to be the livehefl: image of hell of any thing that ever had been; and therefore the apoftle Jude fays, ' They fufl'er the ' vengeance of eternal fire.' [Jude 7.] God rained (c)

ftorms

(c) Sodom dejlroyed by lightning.] " This perfectly agrees with fcripture account, which commonly denominates lighlning^ ' the fire of God.' [See Lev. ix. 24. 2 Kings i. 10—12.]] And lightning is always attended with a fulphuroiis fmell ; and from this clrcum-ftarace, its coming from God, the Greeks call brimilone [0»of, 7. e.'\ divine. [See Le Clerc\ Diflert.] But there are two circumftances cf more importance to be obferyed ; God's feverlty to his enemies, and his mercy and kindnefs to his people: of each of thefe v/e have two remarkable inftanccs.

*' To begin with God's judgment againfl Sodom, which, as our author has obfeived, affords the moft ftriking figure of hell that ever was exhibited. In vain Ihould we ftretch our imaginations to conceive the horror of a deluge of fire poured dowufrom heaven. Human nature flirlnks from it, as too tairlfic a fubjeft for con^ templation.—But let us turn to the caufe of this^«, which

' Brought death into the v/ovld and all our woe!' This winged the dreadful lightning, and pointed the fatal thunderbolt—and we may obferve, that God often fends a punilliment correlpondent to the nature of our fins; as in the inftance before us, they who burned with unnatural luil periflied in the flames of divine difplesfure. * For our God is a confuming fire.' [Heb. xii. 29.]

" But, if not more dreadful, there is fomething peculiarly ftriking, in the death of Lot's wife—flic had efcaped the pollution and dcftruftion of the city;—fhe had obeyed the angel's voice, and fled for fafety;—but, alas! her heart was wedded to the world. She fled, indeed, but with lingering fl:cps, and a heavy heart. She would gladly return, it ftiould feem, to live in eafe and hixury in Sodom, notwithftanding flie couUl not be altefted with Its charac-teriflic fm, rather than enjoy a (late of holy, but obfcure, retirement. Alas! how many that have bidden fair (as we fay) for the kingdom of heaven, have fallen fliort, from the fame principles of covctoufncfs and pride! Let us ' remember Lot's wife.' [Luke xvii. 32.]

*' But this Providence has two voices; a voice of mercy as well as of terror; to impenitent finners it [peaks in rattling tliunder, like that at Sinai; to believing penitents, with -^iJmaU, full, but articulate accent.

* Shall I hide from Abraham, faith God, tliat thing which I do?' [Gen.xviii. I7,&c.] Ble(Fed Abraham, the friend of God, the advocate of men!—' The feeret of the Lord is with thera that fear

* him,

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 155

fliorms of fire and brimftone upon them. The way thnt they were deftroycd probably was by thick flalhes of liglit-ning. The ftreanis of brimftone were fo tliick as to burn up all thefe cities ; fo that they perifhed in the flames. By this might be feen the dieadful wrath of God againll the ungodlinefs and unrightcoufncfs of men ; which tended to ihow men the neceffity of redemption, and fo to promote that great work.

5. God again renewed and confirmed the covenant of grace to Ifaac and to Jacob. He did fo to Ifaac, [Gen. xxvi. 3, 4-] ' And I will perform the oath which T fware ' unto Abraham thy father ; and I will make thy feed to

* multiply as the ilars of heaven, and will give unto thy

* feed all thefe countries ; and in thy feed Ihall all the

' nations

* him, and he will fhew them his covenant.' [Pf. xxv. 14.] The Lord comes to Abraham, and acquaints him with his defign of in-flifting exemplary juftice ; but, fays Abraham, ' Will God deftroy ' the righteous with the wicked .-" No, ' that be far from the

* Lord !' The whole converfatlon between Abraham and God, is left on record, and difplays the fineft fentimcnts of reverence, piety and humanity in the patriarch ; and on the part of Deity an harmonious combination of juftice, mercy, and otlier attributes worthy the divine nature.

*' But before the judgment can be executed, Lot muft be delivered ; * I can do nothing,' fays the commifTioned angel, [Gen. xix. 22.] ' till thou art gone hence.' Thus, * In the midft of

* judgment, he remembers mercy;' and live righteous perfons would have faved the deftrudlion of five cities. Little do the world conceive the blefTings they enjoy through God's people being mingled with them ; but experience will (hew them. When God has ' gathered his wheat into his garner, then rtiall the chafF ' be burnt with unquenchable fire.' [Matt. iii. 12.] When al! his cle6l people are faved ; the reprobate fliall perifh with a difTolv-ing world ;

O power fupremc !

O everlafting King ! To thee I kneel; To thee I lift my voice. With fervent heat Melt, all ye elements! And thou, high hcav'n, Shrink like a fliriveU'd fcroll. But think, O Lord ! Think on the heft and noblell of thy works ; Think on thine own bright image ; think on Lim Who dy'd to fave us from thy righteous wrath, Apd, midll th^ wreck of worlds, remember man !" [Glynn.]

[U. U.]

iS6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

*■ nations of the earth be bleffed.' And afterwards it was renewed and confirmed to Jacob ; firft, in Ifaac's blefling of him, wherein he a£led and fpoke by extraordinary and divine dire6lion. In that bieffing the bleflings of the covenant of grace were eftabliflied with Jacob and his feed ; [as Gen. xxvii. 29.] ' Let people ferve thee ; and nations

* bow down to thee; be lord over thy brethren, and let

* thy mother's fons bow down to thee : Curfed be every

* one that curfeth thee, and bleffed be he tliat bleffeth

* thee.' And therefore Efau, in miffing of this bleffing, miffed of being bleffed as an heir of the benefits of the covenant of grace.

This covenant was again renewed and confirmed to Jacob at Bethel, by his vifion of the ladder that reached to heaven ; which ladder was a fymbol of the way of falva-tion by Chrifi:. (d) For the ffone that Jacob refted on was a type of Chrifi:, the ftone of Ifrael, which the fpiri-tual Ifrael or Jacob refls upon ; as is evident, becaufe this ftone was, on this occafion, anointed, and was made life of as an altar. But we know that Chrift is the anointed of God, and is the only true altar. Vv^hile Jacob was refting on this ftone, and faw this ladder, God appears to him as his covenant God, and renews the covenant of grace with him ; [Gen. xxviii. 14.] ' And thy feed ftiall be as the

* duft of the earth ; and thou ilialt fpread abroad to the

* weft, and to the eaft, and to the north, and to the fouth ;

* and in thee and in thy feed iliall all the families of the

* earth be bleffed.'

And

(d) 'Jacoh's ladder typical.] This vifion, in wliatcvcr partl-cuiar point of view we confidcr it, wa;> a muil beautiful diiplay of the communication opened between heaven and earth, tlnough the medium of a Redeemer. Its extending from eaitli to heaven, points out a way of accefs to God for fallen man. The various ileps mark the progrefs of the divine life, and the walk of a believer, every ilcp of which approaches nearer heaven and gloiy-The angel's afcending and delcending iliews the office of thole mi-nillering fpirits, in performing embaifies of.kindnefs for us. And the Lord fianding above, and renewing hir> covenant, may teach us, that all its bleliingR r.re beilowed in that means of communication, namely, througl; the nxxliation of the Son of God. [U. S.]

FROM ABRAHAiMs CALL TO MOSES. 157

And Jacob liaJ anorher remavlcable confirmation of this covenant at Pcnuel, where he wiefilcd with God, and prevailed ; (e) where Chrift appeared to him in a human form ; in the form of that nature which he was afterwards to receive into a perfonal union with his divine nature.

And God renewed his covenant with him again, after he was come out of Padan-aram, and was come up to Bethel, and the rtone that he had refted on ; and where he had the vifion of the ladder. [Gen. xxxv. 10. &c.]

Thus the covenant of grace was now often renewed, much oftener than it had been before. The light of tlie gofpel now began to fiilne much brighter, as the time drew nearer that Chrift ihould come.

6. The next thing I would obfcrve, is God's remarkably preferving the family of which Chrift was to proceed from perilhing by famine, by the inftrumentality of Joseph, (f) When there was a feven-years famine approaching, God was pleafed by a wonderful providence, to fend Jqfeph into Egypt, there to provide for, and feed Jacob and his family, and to keep the holy feed alive, which otherwife would have perifhed. Jofepli was fent into

Egypt

(e) Jacob WRESTLED iv'ith the nnge/.^ " Jacob was now paf-fing with his whole family into the land of Canaan, to take feizure of it, by virtue of the promife on the behalf of his poltcrity. At the very entrance of it, he is met by his greatcfl: adverfary, with whom he had a fevere conteft about the promife and the inheritance itfelf. This was his brother Efau, who, coming againll him with a power which he was no ways able to withftand, he feared that he would utterly deftroy both his perfon and pofterity. .... Wherefore to fettle Jacob's right, to preferve him with \m title and intcrcfl, /v who was principally concerned in t'le whole matter, doth here appear unto him." [Dr. Owen's Exerclta-tions on the Hebrews, vol. i. p. 118.] But this and the other extraordinary appearances of a divine perfon under the OldTefta-ment, will be colleftively confidered under a future fe(5lion.

(f) JofcJ)//s hijlory remarlal'Ic;.] Few lives in the Old Tefta-ment hillory ate fo interclling as that of Jofeph ; in which the mod obfervable feature is its frequent, fudden, and important vi-ciflitudes. And v.e may truly fay, his life was of as many colours ,83 his coat. Li youth the darling or his parents;—but the envy

158 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

Egypt for that end, as he obferves, [Gen. 1. 20.] ' But ' as for you, ye thought evil againft me ; but God meant ' it unto good to f;ve much people alive.' How often had this holy root, that had the future branch of r,ighteoufnefs, the glorious Redeemer, in it, been in danger of being de-flroved ! But God wonderfully prcferved it.

This falvation of the houfe of Ifrael by the hand of Jofeph, was upon feme accounts very much a refem-

blance

of his brethren. Sold into Egypt for a flave ; made fteward of hismafter's houfe ; thrown into prifon on a falfe but criminal ac-ciifation ; raifed from a prifon to a throne ; honoured as the father even of Pharaoh, the faviour of Egypt, and the favourite of heaven ; he faves the lives and raifcs the fortunes of his father, and of thofe very brethren who hated and fold him ; and clofes his life with honour, happinefs, and tranquility.

But among the many incidents of his life, no one is more remarkable or inftruftive than that of his temptation to inchaftity, and the manner in which he refifted it. On this our author has clfewhere the following obfervations :

" We may obferve, how great the temptation was, that lie was under. It is to be confidered, Jofeph was now in his youth ; a feafon of life, when perfons are moft liable to be overcome by temptations of tin's nature. And he was in a ftate of unexpe6led prof-perity in Potiphar's houfe ; which has a tendency to hft perfons up, efpeciallv young ones, whereby commonly they more eafily fall before temptations.

*' And then the fuperiority of the perfon that laid the temptation before him, rendered it much the greater. She was his inif-trefs, and he a fervant under her. And the manner of her tempting him. She did not only carry herfelf fo to Jofeph, as to give him caufe to fufpeft that he might be admitted to fuch criminal converfe with her, that yet might be accompanied with fome ap-prehenfion, that poflibly he might be miftaken, and fo deter him from adventuring on inch a propofal; but flie directly propofed it to him ; plainly manifelling her difpofition to it. . . . Yea, fhe appeared greatly engaged in the matter. And there was net only her dcfne manifefted to entice him, but her authority over him to enforce the temptation. She was his miftrefs, and he might well imagine, that it he utterly refufed a compliance, he fliould incur her difpleafure ; and flie, being his mailer's wife, had power to do much to his difadvantage, and to render his circumftanccs more uncomfortable in the family. And the temptation was the greater, in that ftie did not only tempt him once, but frequently, day by day, [Gen. xxxix. 10.] And at lad became more violent

with

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 159

blance of the falvation of Chrift. The children of Tf-rael were faved by Jofeph their kinfman and brother,

from

with him. She caught him by his garment, faying, * Lie with me :' as in the verfe of the text. []Gcn. xxxix. 12.]

" His behaviour was very remarkable under thefe terfiptationS. He complied in no degree, either to the grofs act fhe propofed, or any thing tending towards it, or that fhould in a lefTer degree be gratifying to her wicked inclination. And he pcrfilled refolute and unfhaken under her continual folicitations. ' And it came to

* pafs as Ihe fpake to Jofeph day by day, that he hearkened not

* unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.' He, to his utmoft^ avoided fo much as being where (lie was. And the motives and principles from which he aifhed, manifclled by his reply to her folicitations, are remarkable.

" He tirll fets before her, how injurioufly he fhould aft againfl his mafter, if he fhould comply with her propofal: * Behold my

* mailer—hath committed all that he hath in my hand : there is

* none greater in this houfe than I ; neither hath he kept back

* any thing from me, but thee, becaufe thou art his wife.' But he then proceeded to inform her of that, which above all things, deterred him from a compliance, viz. that it would be great wick-ednefs, and fm againft God.—' How (hall I do this, and fin

* againft God!' He would not do any fuch thing, as he would not injure his mafter; but that which influenced more than all on this occafion, was the fear of finning againft God.

*' In the text we have an account of his behaviour under the laft and greateft temptation that he had fiom her. This temptation was great, as we are told it was at a time when there was no body in the houfe, but he and his miftrefs, [ver. 11.] there was an opportunity to commit the fa6f with the greateft fecrecy. And at this time it feems that fhe was more violent than ever before. She ' caught him by the garment'—ftie laid hold on him, as though (he were refolute to attain her purpofe of him.

" Under thefe circnmftances he not only refufed her, but fied from her, as he would have done from one that was going to affaf-finate or murder him; he efcaped, as for his life. He not only would not be guilty of fuch a faft, but neither would he by any means be in the houfe with her, where he fhould be in the way of her temptation.

" This behaviour of Jofeph is doubtlefs recorded for the in-ftruftion of all. Therefore from the words I fliall obferve this dodrine—' It is our duty, not only to avoid thefe things that are

* themfelves finful, but alfo, as far as may be, thofe things that

* lead and expofe to fin.'

" Thus did Jofeph : he not only refufed aftually to commit uncleannefs witli his miilrefs, who inticedhim; but refufed .... to lie bv her, or be with her. And in the text we are told, * he

y « fled

i6o HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

from peiifliing by famine; as he that faves the fouls of the fpiritual Ifrael from fpiritual famine is their near kinf-man, and one that is not alhamed to call them brethren. Jofeph was a brother, that they had hated, and fold, and as it v.ere killed; for they had defigned to kill him; So Chrift is one that we naturally hate, and by our wicked lives, have fold for the vain things of the world, and that we have flain by our fms. Jofeph was iirfl; in a ftate of humiliation; he was a fervant, as Chrift appeared in the form of a fervant; and then was caft into a dungeon, as Chrift defcended into the grave ; and then, when he rofe out of the dungeon, he was in a ftate of great exaltation, at the kings riglu hand as his deputy, to reign over all his kingdom, to provide food, to preferve life ; as Chrift was exalted at God's right hand to be a prince and faviour to his brethren, and received gifts for men, even for the rebellious, and them that hated and had fold him. f

n. After this there was a prophecy given forth of Chrift, on fome accounts, more particular than ever any had been before, even that which was in Jacob's bleffing his fon Judah, this was more particular in Ihew-\x\o- of whofe pofterity he was to be. When God called Abraham, it was revealed that he was to be of Abraham's pofteritv- Before we have no account of any revelation concerning Chrift's pedigree confined to narrower limits than the pofterity of Noah: atter this it was conlined to

limits

' fied and got him out;' would by no means be in her company. Though it was no fm in itfelf, for Jofeph to be in the houle where his miltrefs was ; but under tliefe ciicumllances it would expofe him to fin. Jofeph was fenfible he had naturally a corrupt heart, that tended to betray him to fin ; and therefore he would by no means be in the way of temptation ; but with hade he fled, he ran from the dangerous place. Inafmuch as he was expofed to fin in that houfe where he was, he fled out of it with as much haile as if the houfe had been all a light of fire ; or full of enemies, wha ftood ready witli drawn fwords to ftab him to the very heart. When {lie took him by the garment, he left his garment in her hands : he had rather lofe his garment than Hay a moment where he was in fuch danger of lofing his chaftity." [P^ef. Edwakds's Poftli. Serm. p. 150, kc.'\

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. i6i

llmifs ftill more narrow ; for though Abraham had many fons, yet it was to be revealed that Chrill: was to be of Ifaac's pofterity. And then it was Hmited more ftill: for when Ifaac had two fons, it was revealed that Chrift was to be of Ifracl's pofterity. And now, though Ifrael had twelve fons, yet it is revealed that Chrift was to be of Ju-dah's pofterity: Chrift is ' the lion of the tribe of Judah.' Refpedt is chiefly had to his great a£ls, when it is faid, [Gen. xlix. 8,9.] ' Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren ' fhall praife ; thine hand ftiall be in the neck of thine

* enemies ; thy father's cliildren Ihall bow down before ' thee. Judah is a lion's whelp ; from the prey, my fon,

* thou art gone up: he ftooped down, he couched as a lion, ' and as an old lion; who I'hall roufe him up ?' And then this predi6lion is more particularly concerning the time of Chrift's coming, [verfe 10.] * The fceptre fhall not de-

* part from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,

* iintil Shiloh come ; and unto him ihall the gntherinpr of ' liie people be.' The prophecy here, of the calling of the Gentiles confequent on Chrift's coming, feems to be more plain than had yet been, in the exprefliion, ' to him fliall

* the gathering of the people be.' (g)

Thus

(g) "Jacob'sprophecy 0/" Shiloh.] " This remarkable pafTage (fays Mr. Toplady) is a link of that grand chain of prophecv, which was delivered by the patriarch Jacob, on his dying bed. Such are the faithfulnefs and the condefcending grace of God, that he frequently brightens the laft hours of his people, with the richcfl; difplays of his power and prefence : nor does any thing, fhort of heaven itfelf, afford a nobler hght, than that of a believer (landing on the verge of eternity, filled with the faith which cafls out fear, happy in the aflured poffeffion of grace, and h)nging for the completion of that grace in glory.

" For we find him [chap, xlviii. 21.] fpeaking of his own approaching death, with as much eafe and complacency, as if he was only fetting out on a journey of pleafure : ' Ifrael faid unto * Joleph, Behold, I die.' He perceived the fymptoms of advancing diffolution : and the profpccl conduced, not to alarm his fears, not to rivet aim clofer to the world; but operated like the fliining of the fun, or the breathings of zephyr, on a flower. It expanded his hone ; enlarged his defire for heaven ; and dif-

Thus you fee how that gofpel-Iight which dawned imr mediately after the fall of man, gradually increafed.

8. The

fiifed the fragrance of his faith, on all within the fphere of his donverfation.

" Ae, greatly as this ertiinent faint longed to be diffblved, and to be with Chrift; he would not die, until he had taken a folemn leave of his family, by bleffing them in the name of the Lord, and by predicting the fate of their pofterities. At prefent, I fiiall only confider his laft addrefs to Jydah, his fourth fon. ' Judah, thou art ' he, whom thy brethren fhall praife;' i. e. thy tribe fhall be the moft confpicuous and diftinguifhed, on various accounts. In that portion of Canaan, which fliall fall to thy defcendants and to thofe of Benjamin, the city of Jerufalem fhall be built, and the temple of God fhall ftand. But chiefly fhalt thou be celebrated, as the progenitor of that fpotlefs mother, from whom the Son of God fhall derive his inferior nature: and, within the near neighbourhood of thy territory fhall he fuffer and expire, for the falvation of his people.

" But the moft valuable part of the prophecy is that which relates to the incarnation of Jefus Chrift : ' The fceptre fhall not

* depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until

* Shiloh came; and to him fhall the gathering of the people be.'

" Of all regal ornaments, the fceptre is faid to be the moft ancient. And, probably, its OTigin was extremely fimple. It feems to have taken its rife from the crook, wielded, in earlieit times, by the harmlefs hand of a fhepherd. The Greek word \_'ZKr,Tp.^ov~\ (from whence the Latin fceptrum, and the Englifh fceptre,) properly denotes a ftafF, or wand, of fufficient length for a perfon to lean upon : and the Hebrew [tD^IZ/] is in ftridtnefs a ftaff made of a fhoot or ftrait bough of a tree. Such as were the ftaves of the primitive fhepherds and herdfmen.

" By that fceptre, which, for a given time, was not to depart from Judah, is undoubtedly meant, the adminiftration of temporal power. Hence the Septuagint render the pafTage, A fupreme governor fhall not fail out of Judah; .... till the MefTiah's advent. The words, fceptre, and lawgiver, are here explicatory of each other; and mutually denote, a ferles of native governors, who fhould rule the Jewifh nation according to its own law. And the fenfe of the whole is, that Judah fhould continue a diftinft tribe by itfelf; and that its civil jurIfdi(R:ion fhould, under fome form or other, and with a greater or lefs degree of authority, remain in Jewifh hands, till the incarnation of God the Son

*' On this illuftrions prophecy, uttered almoft eighteen hundred years before the birth of Chrift, prophrne hiftory may be confidered as the beft commentary. We-thcre find, that the fceptre did (not adlually depart, but) begin to depart from Judah, or verge towards a departure, within little more than half a century

prior

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 163

8. The work of redemption was carried on in this period, in God's wonderfully preferving the children of

Ifrael

prior to our Lord's nativity, when Jerufalem was beficged and taken by Pompey ; and Ariftobulus II. then king of Judea, was fent prifoner to Rome.

" As the manifeftation of God in human flefh drew nearer, the fymptoms of the departing fceptrc grew ftill more vifible. The fucceflive expeditions of Gabinius, of Craffus, and of CaiTius, againft this devoted people, contributed to prepare the way for the fulfilment of Jacob's prediftion ; and, in fad, proclaimed, that Shiloh would fomi appear.

" The fceptre, however, was not, hitherto, departed from Ju-dah : their civil power and independency, though checked, were not extinguifhed. They were ftill governed by maglftrates of their own ; and were even treated, on various occafions, not as dependents, but as friends and allies of the Roman Itate.

" A few years lower, when Herod (flatteringly furnamed, the great,) a native of Edom, was appointed Tetrarch, and (foon after King) of Judea, chiefly by his intereft with Mark Antony ; the prophecy drew nearer to its accomplifliment. But though the throne was now, for the firfl; time, filled by a foreigner ; ftill, that foreigner was a profefibr of Judaifm.. Herod revered, or at Icafl; affefted to revere, the Mofaic inftitutions ; and even rebuilt [or rather repaired] the temple, at a vaft expence. The fubordinate magiftracy, alfo, confifted of Jews: as did the fanhedrim, which was their higheft court of judicature. The fceptre, therefore, though departing faft, was not entirely gone from Judah, ere Shiloh came. Chrift was born towards the clofe of this Herod's reign ; /. e. while the political and ecclefiaftical conftitution of Judea were fubfifting. Herod, indeed, was in fome fenfe tributary to the Roman empire : but the Jews tliemfelves were, for the moft part, in full pofleffion of their civil and religious rights.

" When our blefled Saviour was about twelve years of age, the fceptre totally departed fram Judah. For, Herod (who died while our Lord was yet an infant) was fucceeded by his fon Ar-chelaiis ; which Archelaiis, after reigning about ten years, was depofed and baniflied by the emperor Auguftus. From thenceforward, the tribe of Judah, which hud fo long been diilinguiflied by its dignity and pre-eminence, was reduced to a Roman province, and became an appendage to the empire. Quirinius, pre-feft of Syria, ys-as commiftioned to take poflTeffion of the country in the emperor's name ; and Coponius, a Roman knight, was fent to prefide over it, as lieutenant governor.

" Thus did the fceptre, at length, depart from Judah, and a lawgiver from between h.is feet. Auguftus drove the nail to the head ; and Titus clenched it, within forty years after our Lord's urucifixion ; when the city and temple were utterly deftroyed, and

thofc

i64 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

Ifrael in Egypt, when the power of Egypt was engaged utterly to deftroy them. They feemed to be wliolly in

the

thofe of the Jews, who efcaped immediate death, were fold for flavesinto every part of tiie known world.

" It is certain, therefore, that the promifed Shiloh is come : and Jefus Chriti the righteous, in whofe childhood the fceptre departed, is both the Son of the mod high God, and likewife the true MelTiah, of whom Mofes in the law, and the prophets, did write.

" Shiloh, may be rendered the Son ; alfo the Saviour ; like-wife, the peaceable, and the profperous one. The Septuagint tranflates, or rather paraphrafes it, by, ' He for whom [all] things

* are laid up, or kept in ilore.' In his adorable perfon, and moft v/onderful ofiices and tranfaftions, Jcfus exhaiifts every one of thofe fignifications. He is, the Son of God ; the only Saviour, the peace-maker between God and men. He profpered and prevailed, to the uttermoft, in the whole and in every branch of his mediatorial undertaking. And, for him, all things are referved.

" To him fl->all the gathering of the people be. It is plain, from this claufe of t-he text before us, that redemption by Chrill is not a random and precarious thing. . . . He was born, and fhed his blood, ' for a peculiar people, whom his own fanftifying grace

* was to make zealous of good works ;' [Tit. ii. 14.] and that he might ' gather together into one glorified company, all the chil-

* dren of God that were fcattered abroad.' [John xi. ^2."]

[Gofpel Mag. Dec. 1776.]

The latter might be rendered, with a flight variation, ' until

* Shiloh come, and the people be gathered unto him,' which flill more exaSly correfponded with the event; for great multitudes, both of Jews and Gentiles, were aftually gathered to Chrifl, befoie the fceptre tofaily departed, by the dellruftion of the Jewiih flate ; and this indeed our Lord liimfelf predifted. [Matt. xxiv. 14.]

But it fliould not be concealed, that a learned Jew of the prefent age (Mr. Levi) has offered another tranflation of part of this verfe, which, if admitted, would overturn the whole of this expo-fition, anel turn the tables on us completely : ' The fceptre fhall .' not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet

* for ever, hecaufe Shiloh \j.e. MefRah] fliall come,' l^c. And in fupport of this tranflation he adds, " I fliall juft mention, that according to the common tranflation, which all the Chriilian writers feem lio have adopted, the adverb, bccavfe, flands for a cypher in the text, as no word is given for it; and wliich, I think, is a de-monlbation of the truth of my expofition, and the fallity of the common tranflation ; whether defignedly or not, is not now before me." But fuppofe for a moment tliat his interpretation were the .Chriflian one, and fav(>ia'ablc to our caufe, would he not have faid,

' VV^hat

FROM ABRAHAM'S CALL TO MOSES. 165

the hands of the Egyptians ; they were their fervants, and were fubje6V to the power of Pharaoh, who fet himfelf to weaken them by hard bondage. And when he faw that did not do, he fet himfelf to extirpate the race of them, by commanding that every male child ihould be drowned. But after all that Pharaoh could do, God wonderfully pre-ferved them ; and not only fo, but increafed them exceedingly ; fo tf^^t inflead of being extirpated, they greatly multiplied.

0. Here is to be obferved, not only the prcfervation of the nation, but God's wonderfully preferving and upholding his iuvifiiile cb.urch in that nation, when in danger of being overwhelmed in the idolatry of Egypt. The children of Ifrael being long among the Egyptians, and beirg

lervants

* What a grofs combination is here of ignorance, prevarication, ' and falfhood ?' At leall he might have faid fo with more appearance of reafon than the ccnfure he has above infinuated; for in printing the Hebrew text he has artfully divided the words, or rather ivurd, in difpnte, not only by ovditting the makkaph [a kind of hyphen] but by inferting feveral lines of Englifli between. But to this evafion we reply,

1. Though the adverb [li/'3 fometimes ^ignx^ts for ever, yet it doth not, when joined with the particle ['D] as in the text. Compare Gen. xxvi. 13.—xli. 49—2 Sam. xxiii. 10.—2 Cliron. xxvi. 15. All which are omitted in /.fw's diftionary. [See T^jy-/cr's Concordance in ly p. 6^.] Some, indeed, (as R. Bechari) pretend that the accent jcthib feparates the words, and makes a paufe upon tlic former; " But this tliey can give no inilance of, efpecially when it hath a/Ziwfli-immediately pieceding it as in thi,> place." [Owen's Exercit. on the Heb. vol. i. p. 149. and Pali Syn. in loc. To which may be added, that the adverb does not fignlfy for ever, abfohitely put without fome antecedent noun or particle. [Gill in loc]

2. We have on our lide thetlu'e,.' Taigumsand the moll ancient and learned rabbies. So the Chaldce paiaphrafe faith, ' He that ' hath dominion fhall not be taken away until Meffiah

* come.' The Jerufaicm Targum, ' Kings Ihall not ceafe until ' Meffiah come.' The other Targum, D. Kimchi, AbentEzia, and R. Sol. Jarchi to the fame effeft. [See the authorities referred to in the authors above cited ; alio Ainf'Lv. in loc]

3. if we mult give two words inftead of one in the Engliflt tranllation, (which is a childiih notion) the moft exa6t will be UNTIL Vv-HEN [fo the LXX St'.; Sici] Shiloli ihail come.

fervants under them, and (o not having the advantage of keeping God's ordinances among themfelves, or maintaining any public worfhip or inftruclion, whereby the true religion might be upheld ; and there being now no written word of God, they, by degrees, in a great meafure loft the true religion, and borrowed the idolatry of Egypt; and the greater part of the people fell away to the worfhip of their gods. [See Ezck. xx. 6, 8.—xxiii. 8.]

This now was the third time that God's church was almoft fwallowed up and carried away with the wicked-nefs of the world ; once before the flood ; a fecond time before the calling of Abraham ; and now in Egypt. But yet God did not fuffer his church to be quite overwhelmed ; he ftill faved it, like the ark in the flood, and as he faved Mofes in the midft of the waters, in an ark of bulrullies, ^vhere he was in the utmolT: danger of being fwallowed up. The true religion was ftill kept up with fome ; and God had ftill a people among them, even in this miierable, corrupt, and dark time. The parents of Mofes were true fervants of God, [Heb. xi. 23.] ' By faith Mofes, when he * was born, was hid three months of his parents, becaufe ' they faw that he was a proper child, and they were not ' afraid of the king's commandment.'

I have now gone through the third part of the Old Tef-tament period ; and have iliown how the work of redemption was carried on from the calling of Abraham to Mofes ; in which we have feen many great things done towards this work, and a great advancement of this building, beyond what had been before.

§ IV. From MosEs to David.

I PROCEED to \h^ fourth period, which reaches from Moles to David.—To ftiow how the work of redemption was carried on through this alfo.

The firft thing that offers itfelf to be confidered is the redemption of the church of God out of Egypt; the moft

remark-

1-emarkable of all the Old Tcftament deliverances, and that which was the greateft pledge and type of the future redemption of Chrift; and is much more infifted on in fcripture than any other. This was by Jefus Chrift, who appeared to Mofes in the bu(h; fent him to redeem that people ; as is evident, becaufe he is called the angel of the Lord; [Exod. iii. 2, 3.] The bufh reprefented the human nature of Chrifi:, who is called the branch. This bu^li grew on mount Sinai or Horeb, (h) which laft name fignifies a dry place, as the human nature of Chrift was a * root out of dry ground.' The bufh burning with fire reprefented the fulFerings of Chrift, in the tire of God's wrath, (i) It burned, and was not confumed ; fo Chrifi:, thoueh he fufFered extremely, yet periihed not» but overcame at laft, and rofe from his fufferings. Becaufe this great myAery of the incarnation and furferings qf Chrift was here reprefented, therefore Mofes fays, ' I < will turn afide, and behold this great fight.* A great fight he might well call it, when there was reprefented, God manifeft in the iiefli, fufFering a dreadful death, and rifing from the dead.

It was this glorious perfon that redeemed Ifrael out ot Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh ; as afterward, by his death and fufferings, he redeemed his ele6l from Satan,

Z the.

(h) Horeb or Si/mr.^ " Horeb is a mountain in Arabia Pe-traea, at fo fmall a diltance from mount Sinai, that they feem to be no more than two tops belonging to the fame mountain. Sinai lies to the eaft, and Horeb to the well; but we find them frequently in fcripture ufedpromifcuoufly." [Stackhouse's Hiit. of the Bible, vol. I. b. iii. chap. 5. note.]

(i) T/je burning bu/h typified Ckrijl's sufferings.] That fomething typical was intended by this vifion, we liave no doubt; but rather apprehend that tlie then ftate of the Jewifh churcli was the objeA intended ; fo the Heb. doflors, '* God dwelt" (fays R. Eliezer) "in the bramble bufh, and the bramble buOi was \j. e. fignificd] afflic'tion and anguifli, and all thorns and briars. And why dwelt he in the midft of affliftion and anguifli ? bur becaufe he faw Ifrael in great affliction, he alfo dwelt with them in the midft of affiiftion, to confirm that which is faid in Ifa. Ixiii. 9. * In all their afflictions he was a/Bided." [See Amfuiorth ia loc]

168 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

the fpiihual Pharaoh.-—Thcfe, he delivered them from hard lervice and cruel drudgery; thefe, from the cruel flavery of fin and Satan.—Thofe he redeemed from the iron furnace ; thefe fi'om everlafting burnings.—Thofe he redeemed with a ftrong hand and out-flretched arm, and oreat and terrible judgments on their enemies; thefe with mighty grace triumphing over principalities, and powers, and executing terrible judgments on their enemies.—Thofe he faved when others were deftroyed, by the fprinkling of the blood of the pafchal lamb; thefe from death and hell by the fprinkling of his own blood. Thofe he brought torth forely againft the will of the Egyptians, when they could not bear to let them go; thei'e he refcues out of the hands of the devil, when his proud Ireart cannot bear to be overcome.

Tn that redemption, Chrifl did not only deliver the people from the Egyptians, but he redeemed them from the devils, their gods; for before, they had been in a flate of fcrvitude to the gods of Egypt, as well as to the Egyptians. And Chrifl, the feed of the woman, did now, in a very remarkable manner, fulfil the curfe on the ferpent, in bruil'ing his head: [Exod. xii. 12.] ' For ' I will pafs through the land of Egypt this night, and ' will fmitc all the lirfl-born in the land of Egypt, ' both man and beaii, and againft all the gods,of Egypt ' will I execute judgment.' Hell was as much, and more, engaged in that affair, than Egypt was. The pride and cruelty of Satan, that old ferpent, was more concerned in it' than Pharaoh's. He did his worll: againfl: the people, and to his utmoll: oppofed their redemption. But it is faid that when God redeemed his people out of Egypt, he broke the heads of the dragons in the waters, and broke the head of leviathan in pieces, and gave him to be meat for the people inhabiting the wiider-nefs, [Pfal. Ixxiv. 12---14.] God forced their enemies to let them go, that they might ferve him ; as alfo Zacha-rias obferves with refpe6i to the church under the gofpel. ("Luke i. 74, 75.]

Tlie

The people of Ifiael went out with an high hand, and Chiift went before them in a pillar of cloud and fire, (k) There was a glorious triumph over earth and hell in that deliverance. And when Pharaoh and his hoft, and Satan by them, purfued the people, Chrift overthrew them in the Red Sea ; ' the Lord triumphed glorioufly ; the horfe ' and his rider he cait into the lea,' and there they fiept their laft fleep, and never followed the children of Ifrael any more ; as all Chrift's enemies are overthrown in his blood,

Z 2 which

(k) The pillar of cloud and fire.']^ There is no doubt but the grand defign of this phcenomenon was to be a guide to the camp of Ifrael in their journies both by night and day; it was alfo a /hade from the burning fun-beams in the defert they were to pafs : and the vehicle of the divine prefence the Shechhiah from which oracles were delivered. A fancy, but moderately lively, will recollect a multitude of objects of which, if this miglit be typical, Clirifl himfelf, the holy fcriptures, but above all the mylleries of divine Providence, are therein beautifully reprefented. Was it alternately luminous and opaque? fo are the providences of God, at one time bright and promifuig ; at another dark and infcrutable. Was it dark to the purfuing Egyptians while it illumined the fleeing If-raehtes? So often has the fame event that has brought falvatlon and glory to God's people, been confufion and deftruftion to their enemies. Was this cloud the guide of Ifrael through all their pIU grimage In the defert? Thus doth God lead his people through all the viclflitudes of this mortal life, and every providence, wbethci light or dark, whether profperous or adverfe, will Inlalllbly forward his people to the heavenly Canaan. But above all be it remembered that God was in the cloud ; yes, believer, and In thy every trial, as well as comfort, may God be found. He inhabits and direfts all the clouds that attend this way ; and though, like Ifrael, ye may be baptlfed In the cloud or in the fea, ye fliall not be overwhelmed.

" Ye fearful faints frefh courage take ;

The clouds ye fo much dread. Are big with mercy, and fhall break

In bleflings on your heads." [Cooper.]

Some learned men have conje^liired that this appearance was not altogether new; but that the fame Shechinah had guided Abraham [and doubtlefs then, others,] \n his travels to the promlfed land, and had direfted him to Mount Moriah ; that thi j appearance fatisfied Ifaac, as well as Abraham, of the divine will; and that therefrom, the angel of the covenant who Inhabited it, called to Abraham. This Is certainly no more than a conjefture, but It is a conjetlure that will account for many difficulties, and feems no wa^-inconfillent with revelation. [See Biblioth. Biblica, voh i.]

17© HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

which by its abundant fufficiency, and the greatnefs of the fufFerings with which it was flied, may well be reprefented by a fea. The Red Sea might reprelent Chrift's blood, as is evident, becaufe the apofllc compares the children of Ifrael's pafiage through it, to baptifm, [i Cor. x. i, 2.] and we know that the water of baptifm reprefents the blood of Chrifl.

Thus Chrift, the angel of God's prefence, in his love and in his pity, redeemed his people, and carried them in the days of old as on eagle's wings, fo that none of their proud and malicious enemies could touch them.

This was another new thing that God did towards this great work of redemption. God never had done any thing like it before. [Deut. iv. 32—34.] This was the greateft advancement of the work of redemption, that had been begun and carried on from the fall of man ; a great ftep taken in divine providence towards a preparation for Chrifl's coming; into the v^'orld, and working out his great and eternal redemption : for this was the people of whom Chrifl: was to come, And now we may fee how that plant flouriflied that God had planted in Abraliam. Though the family of which Chrift was to come, had been in a degree feparated from the vefl of the world before, in the calling of Abraham, yet that feparation appeared not to be fufKcient. For though by that they were kept as llrangers and fojourners, and from being-united with other people in the fame political focieties ; yet they remained mixed among them, by which means, as it had proved, they were in danger of wholly loling the true religion, and of being over-run with the idolatry of their neighbours. God now, therefore, by his redemption, feparated tiicm as a nation from all other nations, to fubfiil by tliemfeives in their own political and ecclefiaf-tical ftate, without having any concern with the heathen nations, that they might fo be kept fcparate till Chrifl; fhould come ; and fo that the church of Chrill: might be upheld, and might keep the oracles of God, till that time ; that in them might be e>ihibited thofe types and prophecies of Chrifl:, and thclb hiftories, and other divine

inftruC"

inflnnSlions, that were neceflary to prepare the way for Chrift's coming.

2. As this people were feparated to be God's peculiar people, fo all other people upon the face of the whole earth were wholly reje^led and given over to heathenifm. This, fo far as the providence of God was concerned in it, belongs to the great affair we are now upon, and was one thing that God ordered in his providence to prepare the way for Chrift's coming, and the great falvation he was to accomplifh : it was to prepare the way for the more glorious and fignal viilory and triumph of Chrift's power and grace over the wicked and miferable world, and that Clirift's falvation of the world of mankind might become the more fenfible. This is the account the fcrip-ture itfelf gives us of the matter. [Rom. xi. 30-—32.] The apoftlc there fpeaking to the Gentiles that had formerly been heathens, fays, ' As ye in times paft have not believed ' God, yet have now obtained mercy through their tin-' belief; even fo have thefe alfo now not believed, that ' through your mercy they may alfo obtain mercy. For ' God hath concluded them all in unbelief that he might ' have mercy upon all.' i. c. It was the will of God, that the whole world, Jews and Gentiles, fhould be concluded in vilible and profefled unbelief, that fo God's mercy and Chrift's falvation towards them all might be vihble and fenfible. For the apoftle is not fpeaking only of that unbelief which is natural to all God's profeftlng people as well as others, but of that which is apparent and vifible ; fuch as the Jews fell into, wh&n they openly rejedted Chrift. The apoftle obfcrvcs, how that firft the Gentile nations were included in a profeffed unbelief and open oppoution to the true religion, before Chrift came, to prepare the way tor the calling of the Gentiles, which was fopn after, that God's mercy might be the more confpicuous to them ; and that the Jews were reje6ied from the viftble church, to prepare the way for the calling of the Jews, which fhall be in the latter days : fo that it may be feen of all nations, Jews and Gentiles, that they are evidently re-(leemed by Chrift, from their being vilibly aliens from

the

172 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

the commonwealth of Ifrael, without hope, and without God in the world.

We cannot with certainty precifely determine at what time the apoftafy of the Gentile nations became univerfal. It was a gradual thing, as we have already obferved. It was general in "Abraham's time, but not univerfal : for then we find Melchizedec, one of the kings of Canaan, was prieft of the moft high God. [See note (y) p. 138.] And after this the true religion was kept up for a while among fome of the reft of Abraham's poflerity, befides the family of Jacob and alfo in fome of the pofterity of Nahor, of which ■we have inftances in Job, his three friends, and Elihu. 'The land of Uz, where Job lived, was a land poffeffed by the pofterity of Uz, or Huz the fon of Nahor, Abraham's brother, of whom we read, [Gen. xxii. 21.] Bildad the Shuhite was of the offspring of Shuah, Abraham's fon by Keturah, [Gen, xxv. 1,2.] and Elihu the Buzite, was of Buz, the foH of Nahor, the brother of Abraham. So the true religion lafted among fome other people, befides the Ifraelites, fome time after Abraham, but not long: and it is probable that the time of their rejeilion, and being given up to idolatry, was about the time wlien God fepa-rated the children of Ifrael from Egypt to ferve him; for they are often pat in mind on that occalion, that God had now feparated them to be his peculiar people ; or to be diflinguiflicd from all other people upon earth, to be his people alone ; to be his portion, when others were rejected. This feem-s to imply that God now chofe them in fuch a manner, that his vihble choice of them was accompanied with a vifiblc rejection of all other nations in the world ; that God came, and took up his refidence with them, as it were, forfaking all other nations.

And as the firft calling of the Gentiles after Chriftcame, was accompanied with a rejection of the Jews ; fo the firft railing of the Jews to be God's people, when they were railed out of Egypt, was accompanied with a rcjeiftion of the Gentiles.

Thus all the nations throughout* the wliole world, ex-(Cept the Ifraelites, and thofc th.it embodied themlelvcs with

them.

them, were left to idolatry ; and fo continued a great many ages, even from this time till Chi ift came, which was about fifteen hundred years. They were concluded fo long a time in unhelief, that they might be a thorough proof of the ncceflity of a faviour ; that it might evidently appear by fo long a trial, that mankind were utterly infufficient to deliver themfelves from that grofs darknefs and mifery, and fubjcition to the devil, that they had fallen under ; that it might appear that all the wifdom of the-philofophers, and the fages that the heathen had among them, could not deliver them from their darknefs, for the greater glory to Jefus Chrift, who when he came, enlightened and delivered them by his glorious gofpel. Herein the wonderful wifdom of God appeared, in thus preparing the way for Chrift's redemption. This the fcripture teaches us, [as in I Cor. i. 21 ] * For after that, in the wifdom of God, * the world by wifdom knew not God, it pleafed God ' by the fooliflmefs of preaching to fave them that be-' lieve.'

3. The next thing done towards the work of redemption is God's giving the moral law in fo awful a manner at mount Sinai. This was another new thing that God did, a new ftep taken in this great affair. [Deut. iv. 33.] ' Did ever a people hear the voice of God fpcaking out ' of the midft of iire, as thou haft heard, and live ?' And it was a great thing, whether we conllder it as a new exhibition of the covenant of works, or given as a rule of life.

The covenant of works was here exhibited to be as a fchoolmafter to lead to Chrift, not only for the ufe of that nation in the ages of the Old Teftamcnt, but for the ufe of God's church tiiroughout all ages of the world, as an inftrument that the great Redeemer makes ufe of to convince men of their fin and mifery, and helplefs ftate, and of God's awful and tremendous majefty and juftice as a lawgiver, and to make men fcnllble of the neceffity of Chrift as a faviour. The work of redemption, in its fav-ing effecl on men's fouls, in all the progrefs of it, is not carried on without the ufe of this law.

It

J74 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

It was given in an awful manner, with a terrible voicey fo exceedingly loud, that all the people which were in the camp trembled ; and Mofes himfelf, though fo intimate a friend of God, yet faid, ' I exceedingly fear and quake ;' [Heb. xii. 21.] the voice being accompanied with thunders and lightnings, the mountain burning with fire and the earth itfslf fhaking and trembling ; (l) to make all fenfible how great that authority, power, and juflice was, that flood engaged to exatSl the fulfilment of this law, and how terrible his wrath will be againft every breaker of it ; that men, being fenfible of thefe things, might have a thorough trial of themfelves; prove their own hearts , know how impoffible it is for them to have falvation by

the ( L) The law accompanied'wUh thunders.]

*' Thus while the labouring angel fwell'd the found.

And rent the llcies, and (hook the ground, Up rofe th' Almighty ; round his fapphire feat Adoring thrones in order fell; The leffer powers at diftance dwell, And cad their glories down fiicceflive at his feet:

Gabriel the great prepares his way, * Lift up your heads, eternal doors,' he cries ; Th' eternal doors his word obey, Open and flioot celeftial day

Upon the lower flcies. Heav'n's mighty pillars bow'd their head, • As their Creator bid. And down Jehovah rode from the fuperior fphere, A thoufand guards before, and myriads in the rear.

His chariot was a pitchy cloud.

The wheels befet with burning gems ;

The winds in harnefs with the flames Flew o'er th' ethereal road :

Down thro' his magazines he pad

Of hail, and ice, and fleecy fnow.

Swift roll'd the triumph, and as fail Did hail, and ice, in melted rivers flovi'.

The day was mingled with the niglit, His feet on folid darknefs trod.

His radiant eyes proclaim'd the God, And fcatter'd dreadful light; He breath'd, and fulphur ran, a fiery fl:ream : He fpoke, and (tho' with unknown fpeed he came) Chid the flow tempcft, and the lagging flame."

[Watts' Horse Lyr. p. 35.3

FROM M.OSES TO DAVID. ty^

the works of the law, and fee the abfolute ncceflity they flood in of a mediator. ^

If we regard this law not as the covenant of works, but as a rule of life; fo it is made ufe of by the Redeemer, from that time to the end of the world, as a dire6tcry to his people, to lliew rhem the way in which tliey muft walk, if they would go to heaven: for a way of iincere and univerfal obedience to this law is the narrow wav tliat leads to life, (m)

4. The next thing obfervable in this period, was God's giving the typical law, in which I fuppofe to he included moll: of thofe precepts which were given by Mofes, that did not pi'operly belong to the moral: not only thofe laws that are commonly called ceremonial, which are the laws prefcribing the ceremonies and cir-cumftances of the Jewiili worlhip, and their ecclefiaftical Hate; but alfo many, if not all thofe divine laws that were political, and for regulating the Jewifli commonwealth, commonly called judicial; thefe were many of them typical. The giving this typical law was another great thing that God did in tliis period, tending to build up this glorious llrufture of redemption that he had been carrying on from the beginning of the world. There

A a had

(m) The laiu not a covenant of works.] " The decalogue or ten commandments uttered by the voice of God himfclf, is an abftraft of that original law under which man was created, but publifhed in a prohibitory form, the Ifraelites, like the reft of mankind, being depraved by fin, and ftrongly inclined to the com-miffion of c\t\-y evil. This law could not be defigned as a covenant, by obedience to which man (hould be juftified,- for long before this the gofpel had been preached to Abraham, [Gal. iii. 8.] ♦ bu.t the law entered that fin might abound,' [Rom. v. 20.] that the extent, evil, and the defert of fin might be known ; for it reaches to the moft hidden thoughts of the heart, requires abfolute and perpetual obedience, and denounces a curfe upon all who continue not therein .... Believers of old were relieved from the moral law by the facrifices which pointed to Chrift ; believers under the gofpel are relieved by a direft application of * the blood of ' the covenant.' Both renounce any dependance on the moral law for juftification, and both accept it as a ride of life, in the hands of a Mediator, and arc enabled to yield a fincere, though not a perfeft obedience." [Vjgil.]

176 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

had been many typical events of providence before, that reprefented Chrift and his redemption ; and fome typical ordinances, as particularly thofe two of facrifices and cir-cumcillon: but now, inrtead of reprefenting the great Redeemer in a few inftitutions, God gives fortli a law full of nothing elfe buf various and innumerable typical repre-fentations of good things to come, by which that nation were diredled how, every year, month, and day, in their religious a6lions, and in their condu6l of themfelves, in all that appertained to their ecclefiaftical and civil ftate, to ihow forth fomething of Chrilt; one obfervance fliowing one thing, exhibiting one do6lrine, or one benefit, another, another : fo that the whole nation by this law was, as it were, conftituted in a typical ftate. Thus tlie gofpcl was abundantly held forth to that nation ; fo that there is fcarce any do6lrine of it, but is particularly taught and exhibited by fome obfervance of this law ; though it was in lliadows, and under a vail, as Mofes put a vail on his face when it ihone. (n)

To

(n) The go/pel revealed in the T-^v'e.s.'] We have already con-fidered feveral of the types, and fhall conlider others as they occur. This note is intended to prove that the ancient Jews themfelves confidered them in the fame point of view.

1. It muft occur to every thinking perfon, ihafmere ceremonies could not of themfelves ever form any very acceptable fervices to that ' God who is a fpirit, and who loves to be worfliipped in fpirit ' and in truth;' and that, unlefs fomething farther was defigned, many parts of the Jewilh ritual muft appear very childifli, others very ridiculous, and fome very cruel. There feems nothing in the wearing of fringes or ringing of bells; in waters of purification or perfumes of incenfe ; much lefs in the flaughtering of hundreds or thoufands of harmlefs animals; I fay, there feems nothing in thefe, in themfelves confidered, that appears worthy the appointment of a wife and holy God, or the obfervation of great and good men. Thefe refleftions would naturally lead them to fufpeft fomething typical muft be intended.

2. This idea would be confirmed by confidering the particular cxaftnefs required in thefe fervices ; with the penalties inflifted on tranfgreflion. Upon any other hypGthefis it would be difficult, if not impoffible to account for fo many being flain for looking into the ark, afpiring to the priefthood, &c. or for Mofes being fo

ftriaiy

To this typical law belong all the precepts that relate to building the tabernacle, which was fet up in the wildernefs, and all the form, circumftances, and utenfils of It.

c. About this time was given to the church the firll written word of God for the regulation of the faith, wor-fhip, and pradi'e of his church in all ages, which was incrcafcd f;oiri rnne to time till it was finiOied, and the canon of fcripture completed, by the apoflle John. It is

A a 2 not

ftriftly charged to make * all things according to the pattern exhi-' bited in the mount.' [Heb. viii. 5.]

3. We have already feen in fome inflances, as in Abraham's offering up his fon Ifaac, and long before, in the facrifice of Abel, that the Old Teftament faints really had fuch views ; and other inflances will occur in the profecutien of our fubjeft.

4. Agreeable to this idea we find the piophets commonly fpoke in figurative language, and accompanied it by typical and fymbo-lical aftions; as we fee in Ifaiah [xx.] Jeremiah [xiii. i—11.J Ezekiel [iii. i—4.] and others. This mull encourage and con» firm fuch a method of interpretation.

5. We Chriflians have the mofl unequivocal alTertions of this in the New Tellament. The law is called a ' fhadow of good things ' to come.' [Heb. x. i.] And the whole Epiflle to the Hebrews, and great part of that to the Galatians, is written to piove and il-lullrate this very point.

6. We are particularly told that the law was ' a fchoolmafler to * kad unto,' to point out the neceffity, excellency, and fuitable-nefs of ' Chrift,' [Gal. iii. 24.] And that the Jewifh church under this difpenfation, is to be confidered as a minor under tutors and governors. [Gal. iv. 2.] We have a method of teaching our children their letters by the ufe of certain pictures affixed to them, the more flrongly to imprefs them on their minds: [as A, an Apple, B, a Book, Sec. So probably the old Hebrews K an Ox, 3 a Houfc, &c. See Sharp^s Origin of Languages.] A method fomewhat fimilar to this the Lord feems to have taken with his ancient people. Now, as he would not be thought a wife inftruclor who taught his little pupils the pictures without the letters, how fiiall wejullify the wifdom of God in teaching the Jews thefc ceremonies, without their meaning and defign ?

7. Some even of the modern Jews have dropt hints of fuch a defign, particularly Rab. Mniachem on the pafchal lamb, though they acknowledore tlieir ignorance of the myilery, " until the fpirit from above fluill Ixe poured out upon thc-m." [Ainfw. in Lev. i. 2.]

The typical import of the tabernacle and itu furniture, and how-far believers might fee tht fufferings of ChriR in the ancient facri-fices, will be confidered in a fubfcqnent note, [L N-l

lyg HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

not very material whether the firft written word was the ten commandments written on the tables of ftone with the finger of God, or the book of Job ; nor whether the book of Job was written by Mofes, as fome fuppofe, or by Elihu, as others, (o) If it was written by Elihu, it was written before this period ; but yet could not be far from it, as appears by confidering whofe pofterity the perfons were that are fpoken of in it, [fee above, p. 172.] together with Job's great age, which was paft before this was written.

The written word of God is the main inftrument Chrift has made ufe of to carry on this work of redemption in all ages fmce it was given. There was a necef-fity now for the word of God being committed to writing as a ftanding rule to his church. Before this, the church had the word of God by tradition, either immediately from eminent men that were infpired, who were then living, or elfe by tradition from former generations, which might be had with tolerable certainty in ages preceding this, by reafon of the long lives of men. Noah might converie with Adam, and receive traditions from him ; and Noah lived till about Abraham's time: and the fons of Jacob lived a conliderable time to deliver the revelations made to Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, to their poflerity in Egypt, (p) But the diftance from the beginning

(o) Whether the booh of Job tuas 'ujntien ^^ Moses.] The learned feem now pretty well fatisficd that the book of Job is an Hebrew poem, written in a dramatic or colloquial form, (as ir. Solomon's fong) and generally give it to Mofes, as the moft probable author: but whether he wrote it from a facl within his obfervation daring his exile from Egypt, whether from traditional records, or had the fafts, as well as afTiftance to record them, immediately from God, is not fo generally agreed, [See Bp. Lo'wthh PrKleft. de Sacra Poefi Heb. praeleft. xix. PoU. Syr.. Crit. in ch. i.— Theo-leg. Rcpof vol. i. page 70.] [U. S.]

(p) The LONGEVITY of the patriarchs.'\ Our author's general remaik of the few hands that might convey traditions through a great number of years is certainly juil: 'but here is a fmall mif-take in the chronology, which in all probability would never have been printed, had our author lived to have been his own editor.

He

nlng was now become fo great, and the lives of men fo fliortencd, (being brought down to tlie prefent ftandard

about

He alTerts that * Noah might converfc with Adam ; but it appears from the following table, and the authorities there referred to, that Adam died above an hundred years before Noah was bom.

I'ears of the luorld.

I, Adam created.

130, Gen. V. 3. at 130 years old Adam begat Seth,

235, 6. at 105 Seth begat Enos.

325, 9. at 90 Enos begat Cainan.

39J, 12. at 70 Cainan begat Mahalaleel.

460, 15. at 65 Mahalaleel begat Jared.

622, 18. at 162 Jared begat Enoch.

687, 21. at 65 Enoch begat Methufelah.

874, 25. at 187 Methufelah begat Lamech.

930, 5. Adam died.

1056, 28. at 182 years old Lamech begat Noah.

The above calculation is according to the Hebrew text : if, Indeed, we admit the Samaritan readings, the fa6l may be granted, [fee Univ. Hiit. vol. i. page 146.] but as our author has every where elfe followed the Hebrew copies, it is very unlikely he meant hereto deviate from them, without giving any intimation of it.

Let us now indulge a reflexion or two on the faft thus ftated. Though not with Noah, yet Adam might converfe with Lamech, Noah's/ather,—Lamech, with Shem, his own grandfon,—and Shem, (though not Noah) with his defcendant Abram, and even Ifaac. Thus four perfons might by tradition convey the fubftance of divine revelation through more than two thoufand years, which would, at the prefent ftandard of human life, on a moderate computation, require forty. Now as the lives of men decreafed, tradition would naturally become more corrupted and uncertain, the more hands it pafFed through ; therefore to prevent the confe-quences of this, God was pleafed by Mofes to give a written revelation. In this we may admire the wifdom and goodnefs of God, who fuits his favours to our circumftanccs and neceflities.

There is fomething venerable in ago, and the grey hairs of four-fcore or an hundred years command refpedl and attention. And in the few inftances in which mr.nkind exceed that age, with the prefervation of their memory and other faculties, how inflru£cive is their converfation ! With what plcafurc, then, might Lamech hear from Adam the ftory of his eai ly life, the hiftory of his firft fons, and the various revolutions of almcft a thoufand years ; and with no lefs fatisfaftion, poffibly, might Abraham receive from 81iem the wonderful hiitory of the flood and re-peopling of the

earth ;

i8o HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

about Mofes's time,) that God having now feparated a nation to be a peculiar people, partly for that end to be the keepers of his oracles, faw it to be a needful and convenient time now to commit his word to writing, to remain throughout all ages, (q^) And therefore, befides the book of Job, God wrote the ten commandments on tables of flone, with his own finger ; and after this the whole law, as containing the fubflance of the five books of Mofes, was by his fpecial command committed to writing, which was called the book of the law, and was laid up in the tabernacle, to be kept there for the ufe of the church. [Deut. xxxi. 24—-26.]

6. God was pleafed now wonderfully to reprefent the progrefs of his redeemed church through the world to their eternal inheritance, by the journey of the children ot Ifrael through the wiidernefs, from Egypt to Canaan.

Here

earth : but the grand fubjeft of their inquiiy would doubtlefs be, the gradual and increafing difcoveries of the divine will: the facrcd vifions, prediftions, and types; the inveftigation of which muft afford, to fanftified minds, peculiar delight and comfort.

One of the moft barren parts of facred writ, (if we may fo fpeak) feems to be the lift of lives and deaths in fome of the firft chapters of Genefis ; hut this is owing to our own inattention and fupinenefs; as appears from the following anecdote, mentioned by Mr. Hervey :

" A certain libertine, of a moft abandoned charafter, happened accidentally to ftroU into a church, where he heard the 5th chapter of Genefis, importing that fo long lived fuch and fuch perfons, and yet the conclufion was they died—' Enos lived 905 years, and ' he died—Seth, 912, and he died—Methufelah, 969, and he died.' The frequent repetition of the words, he died, notwithftanding the great length of years they had lived, ftruck- him fo deeply with the thought of death and eternity, that (through divine grace) he became of an infamous libertine, a moft exemplary Chriftian." llfervey's Letters, No. 147.] [N. U.]

(q^) God's tvord comimHed to 'Loriiing.'] Our author alludes here to the pentateuch, or five firft books of the Old Teftament, which are nowuniverfally afcribed to Mofes on the moft fatisfaftory evidence. The enemies of revelation have indeed objefted to fome pafTages which fpeak of the death and charafter of Mofes, but thefe may eaiily be fuppofed the fuppleijient of a later prophet (perhaps Ezra) without afteding the general queftion. [U. S.J

Here all the various fteps of the redemption of the church by Chrirt were reprefentcd, from the beginning to its confummation in glory.—The ftate they arc redeemed from, is reprefentcd by Egypt, and their bondage there, which they left.—The purchafe of their redemption, was reprefentcd by the facrifice of the pafchal lamb, which was offered up the night that God flew all the firft-bonl of Egypt.—The beginning of the application of the redemption of Chrift's church in their converfion, was reprefentcd by Ifrael's going out of Egypt, and paflTmg through the Red Sea in fo extraordinary and miraculous a manner.—The travel of the church through this evil world, and the various changes through which the church paffes, in the different ftages of it, was reprefentcd by the journey of the Ifraelitcs through the wildernefs.— The manner of their being condu£ted by ChrilT:, was reprefentcd by the Ifraelitcs being led by the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night.—The manner of the church's .being fupported in their progrcfs, and fup-plied from the beginning to the end of it, with fpiritual food, and continual daily communications from God, was reprefentcd by God's fupplying tlie cliildren of Ifrael with bread, or manna, from heaven, and water out of the rock.—The dangers that the faints m.uft meet with in their courlc through the world, were reprefentcd by the fiery flying ferpents which the children of Ifrael met with in the wildernefs.—The conflicts the cimrch has with her enemies, were reprefentcd by their battle with the Amalekites, and others they met with there.—And fo innumerable other things might be mentioned, wherein the things they met with were lively images of things which the church and faints meet with in all ages of the world. That thefe were typical of things that pertain to the Chrifl;ian church, is manifefl: from i Cor. x. ii.

* Now all thefe things happened unto them for enfamplcs^ ' and they were written for our admonition, upon whom

* the ends of the world are come.' Here the apoftle is fpeaking of thofe very things which we have now con-

fidercd,

fidered, and he fays expreffly, that they happened unto them for types ; fo it is in the original.

y, Another thing muft not be omitted, which was a great and remarkable difpenfation of Providence, viz, the fhortening the days of man's life, whereby it was brought down from being between nine hundred and a thoufand years, to but about feventy or eighty. The life of man began to be ihortened immediately after the flood: it was brought down the firft generation to fix hundred years, and the next to between four and five hundred years ; and fo the life of hiain gradually grew fliorter and fliorter, till about the time of the great mortality that was in the congregation of Ifrael, after they hid murmured at the report of the fpies, and their carcafes fell in the wildernefs, whereby all the men of war died ; and then the life of man was reduced to its prefent flandard, as Mofes obferves in that pfalm that he wrote on occafion of that mortality : [Pfalm. xc. 10.] ' The days of our years are threefcore

* years and ten ; and if by reafon of ftrength they be four-

* fcore years, yet is their ftrength labour and forrow : for

* it is foon cut off, and we fly away.'

This great difpenfation of God tended to promote the grand defign of the redemption of Chrift. Man's life being cut fo very Ihort in this world, prepared the way for poor, mortal, Hiort-lived men, the more joyfully to entertain the glad tidings of everlafting life in another world, and more readily to embrace a Saviour, who pur-chafes and offers fach a bleflSng. If men's lives were dill commonly about nine hundred years, how much lefs would they have to move them to regard the proffers of a future life ; how much greater temptations would they have to reft in the things of this world, they being of fuch long continuance, and to negle6l any other life but this ? This probably contributed greatly to the wicked-nefs of the antediluvians. But now how much greater motives have men to feek redemption, and a better life than this, by the great Redeemer,- fmce the life of man is not one twelfth part of what it. ufed to be, and men

now

now univerfally die at the age when men formerly ufed to he but, as it were, fetting out in the world ?

8. The fame work was carried on in preferving that people, of whom Chrift was to come, from totally pe-rilliing in the wildernefs, by a conftant miracle of forty years continuance. I obferved before many times, how God prelerved thofe of whom the Redeemer was to proceed in a very wondertul manner; but this prefervation of the children of Ifrael for fo long a time in the wildernefs was, on fome accounts, more remarkable than any of them. There was, as may be fairly computed, at hrft two millions of fouls in that congregation, which muft have perillicd in Icfs tlian one month's time, had they not been miraculoully lupplied. But yet this vafl; multitude fubfifted for forty years together, in a dry barren wildernefs, without fo-vving or reaping, or tilling any land, having their bread daily rained down to them out of heaven, and being furnifhcd with water to fatisfy them all, out of a rock ; and the fame cloaths with which they came out of Egypt, lailing, without wearing out all that time. [Deut. viii. iv.] Never was an inflance like this of a nation being thus fupporied and fupplied. (rj

Bb 9. God

(r) Never ivas an tnjlance like this.'] Wonderful providence Indeed ! But not lefs wonderful is the gracious provifion that the Lord has made for all his people. Had they manna rained from the ficies ? We have the true bread v/h.\c\\ came down from heaven. Were they alfo miraculouOy fupplied •w'lihjlejh ? The Son of God feeds us with his oivn, infinitely more precious, flefh and blood. Did the rock fupply their drink ? So doth the rock of ages ours. Did not their raiment wear old? Behold, the bell, the everlalling robe of righteoufnefs with which the Lord cloaths his elect people! Finally, did not their feet fwcll, fo as to impede their journey ? The Lord has provided us with fandals which the thorns of the wildernefs cannot penetrate ; and prepared with the gofpel of peace, we need not fear our journey being impeded. But, to de-fcend to temporal concerns; doth not the Lord ilill feed and cloath his people, and afford them every neceffary fupply? And is net the promife Hill faithful and true, < They that feek the Lord Ihall • not wantany good thing?' [Pf. xxxiv. 10.] Let the timorous believer be then encouraged and joyfully fing on his way : " Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,

*' Pilgrim, through this barren land," Sec. [U.U.]

i84 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

g. God was pleafed during this time, to give a farther revelation of Chrift the Redeemer in the predi6lions of him, than had been before. Here arc three propliecies given at this time that I wouJd take notice of. The firiT: is that of Balaam. [Numb. xxiv. 17 — 19.] ' I ihall fee

* him, but not now; I ihall behold him, but not nigh ;

* there fhall come a ftar out of Jacob, and a fceptre fhall ' rife out of Ifrael, and fhall fmite the corners of Moab, ' and deftroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom ihall

* be a poiTeiTion, Seir alfo fliall be a pofTeiTion for his ' enemies, and Ifrael fliall do valiantly. Out of Jacob ' ihall come he that ihall have dominion, and fliall de-' flroy him that remaineth of the city.' (s) This is a

plainer

(s) The prophecy of "Q Ah A k^i.'] "Wonderful as the gift of prophecy is, it was not always (as Bp. Newton obferves) confined to the chofen feed, nor yet always imparted to the heft of men." Balaam is a proof of this, who was neither an Ifraelite nor a good man; however, he acknowledged the God of Ifrael, and profefTed to be his fervant; [Numb. xxii. 8—18.] his worihip was debafed v/ith fiiperftition and enchantments; [Numb. xxiv. i.— xxxii. 12.] and his heart loted * the wages of unrighteoufnefs.' [2 Pet. ii. 15.] And when the Lord would not fuffer him to curfe his people, he contrived to pervert them to idolatry and unclcan-nefs. [Rev. ii. 14.]

It is obfervable, that it was a cuilom among the heathens to devote their enemies to deftruftion at the commencement of their wars ; and Balaam being a prophet of great note, Balak fuppofed him to have peculiar intereil with heaven.—' I wot that he whom ' thou bleCTeft is bleiTed, and he whom thou curfeft is curfed.* [Numb. xxii. 6.]

But the ilrangeft part of the hiftory is that of Balaam's afs fpeaking with a man's voice. Stories of this kind have been current among the heathen, and might probably originate from a tradition of this event. But however extraordinary tlie fafi:, the fcripture attributes it to a fufficient caufe : ' The Loid opened the mouth

* of the afs.' [Numb. xxii. 28.] There is no neceiTity, however, to give the animal a human underftanding, without that he might utter the found of words (as parrots may be taught to do,) and this is all the facred hiilorian afferts.

But we are to contemplate a greater miracle than this : the animal fpake unconfcioufly, but Balaam tvas over-ruled to blefs where he gladly would have curfcd. And the preceding miracle was probably defigned to teacli how much the mouth and tongue were wnder God's direflion, and the folly of oppofing the divine will.

But

plainer prophecy of Chrift, efpecially with regard to his kingly office, than any that had been before. But we

B b 2 have

But to advert to the prophecy itfelf; of which we fhall only con-fider the paflage quoted by our author : ' I fhall fee him, but not

* now ; I fliall behold him, bat not nigh.' This Bp. Newton trandates in the prefent tenfe, and refers to Moab ; but with deference to fo great an authority, we fhould rather adhere to the prefent tranflation, which is more literal, and refer it, with the following claufcs, to the Meffiah, [t^?, Ainjtvorth and Dr. GiU do) whom at his fecond coming ' every eye fhall fee.' [Rev. i. 7. Compare Job xix. 26.]

' There fhall come a (lar out of Jacob, and a fceptre fhall arife

* out of Ifrael.' The ftar and fceptre were probably hieroglyphics of a prince and of a god, as we fliall fee prefently. ' And fliall ' fmite the corners (or princes) of Moab.' This was fulfilled by David, who * fmote Moab and the Moabites became

* David's fervants.' [2 Sam. viii. 2.]

* And deflroy all the children of Sheth :' If by Sheth is here intended the fon of Adam, it includes all mankind, this being the only line preferved at the flood ; and thofe who fo underftand it, tranflate tlie words * he fhall uniuall, fubdue, or rule over all the ' children of Sheth.' But the conflruftion of the paffage, and the rules of Hebrew poetry, which abounds In parallel fentences, [fee Bp. Lowth's Prelim. Dif. to his Tranf. of Ifaiah] flrongly incline us to believe, that Sheth might be the name of fome town or prince of Moab, whofe memory is now loft. This was the opinion of Mr. Poole, and is defended by Bp. Ncivton.

* And Edom fliall be a poffcflion.' ' David put garrifons ....

* throughout all Edom,' [2 Sam. viii. 14.] * Seir [the mountains ■* of Edom] alfo fhall be a poffeflion for his enemies ;' that is, for the Ifraelltes. ' And Ifrael fhall do valiantly,' as in the inftanccs jufl hinted. * Out of Jacob fliall come he that fhall have dominion,

* and fhall deflroy him that rcmaineth of the city ;' not only defeat them in the field, but purfue and deilroy them in their flrongefl holds: * Joab fmote every male in Edom.' [i Kings xi. 15,16.3 Thus was the prophecy fulfilled in David : but mofl Jewifh as well as Chriflian expofitors, ancient and modern, refer thefe predidtions, in a more fublime and exalted fenfe, to the Meffiah, David's Son and Lord. And Bp. Warburton [Divine Leg. book iv. § 4.J obferves, that as t\\t fceptre was a popular emblem of a king, fo a

Jlar was a more myflerious hieroglypliic of tlve divinity, [fee Amos V. 25,26.] and doubtlefs pointed to him who was both ' the mighty

* God and Prince of Peace;' [Ifa. ix. 6.] who bore the fceptre of Judah, [fee page 161, note g] ' and is the bright and morning ftar.'

{Rev. xxii. 16.] [See Bp. Newton on the Prophecies, vol. i.

dif. 5. from whom the above is chiefly taken.] [G. E.]

jB6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

have another, that God gave by Mofes, which is plainer flill, efpecially with regard to his prophetical office, [Deut. xviii. 18, &c.] ' I will raife up a prophet from among * ' their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words ' in his mouth, and he Ihall fpeak unto them all that I ' command him,'&c. This is a plainer prophecy of Chrift than any that had been before, in this refpedV, that all the former prophecies were in figurative, myflical language, The firfl:, ' That the feed of the woman ihould break the ? ferpent's head.'—The promifes made to Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, ' That in their feed all the families of the earth ' fhould be bleffed.'—The prophecy of Jacob in bleffing Judah;—and that of Balaam, which fpeaks of Chrill: under the figurative expreffion of ay?(7r,—were all myflical. But this is a plain literal prophecy.

There are feveral things contained in this prophecy of Chrift, and his mediatorial office, [ver. 16.]—Here it is revealed that he ihould be a middle perfon between tliem and God, a being of fuch awful majefty, holinefs, and juftice, that they could not come to him, and enjoy intercourfe with him immediately, without a mediator to fland between them; becaufe, if they came to fuch a dreadful fin-revenging God immediately, they fhould die; God would prove ' a confuming fire' to them. And here is alfo a particular revelation of Chrift with refpe6l to his prophetical office: ' I will raife them up a ' prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee,' &c. And farther, it is revealed what kind of a prophet he fhould be, a prophet like Mofes, who was the head and leader of all the people, and who, under God, had been their redeemer, to bring them out of the houfe of bondage, who was, as it were, their fhepherd by whom God led them through the Red Sea and wildernefs, and was an intercefTor for them with God, and both a prophet and a king in the congregation : for Mofes had the power of a king among them. [Deut. xxxiii. 5.] He was alfo the prophet by whom God built up his church, and delivered his inftru6lions of worfhip. Thus Chrift was to be a prophet like unto Moles; fo that this is both the plaineft

and

and fullefl: prophecy of Chrifl that ever had been from the beginning of the world to this time, (t)

The next prophecy that I fliall take notice of, refpe6ts only the calling of the Gentiles, which fliould be after Chrift's coining, of which God gave a very plain prophecy by Mofes in the wildernefs, [Deut. xxxii. 21.] They moved God to jealoufy, by that which was not a god, by carting him off, and taking other gods, that were no gods, in his room. So God declares that he will move them to jealoufy in the like manner, by cafting them off, and taking other people, that had not been his people, in their room. The apolUe Paul takes notice of this prophecy, as foretelling the calling of the Gentiles, [in Rom. x. 19, 20.] « But I fay, did not Ifrael know ? Firft, Mofes faith, I ' will provoke you to jealoufy by them that are no peo-' pie, and by a foolifh nation I will anger you. But ' Efaias is very bold, and faith, T was found of them that ' fought me not ; I was made manifeft to them that a{ked ' not after me.'

Thus you fee how the light of the gofpel, which firfl: began to dawn immediately after the fall, gradually in-creafes the nearer we come to Chrifi's time.

10. Another tiling by which God carried on his work at this time, was a remarkable pouring out of his fpirit on the young generation in the wildernefs. The generation which was grown up when they came out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, was very fro ward and perverfe. They were tainted with the idolatry and wick-

ednefs

(t) j4 prophet Me unto MosEs.] Some Jewifli writers have referred this to Jofluia, but though we are told Jofliua was full of the fpirit of vfifdom, yet the fame text [Deut. xxxiv. 9.] informs us, ' there arofe not a prophet fince in Ifrael like unto Mofes,

* whom the Lord knew face to face ;' confequcntly Jofhua was not fo. And in another paffage [Numb. xii. 2.] The Lord puts a ftriking difference between Mofes, and all other prophets : The Jews themfelves veiy ftrongly confirm this idea ; and in the New Teftament, this prophecy is exprefsly applied to the Son of God. [A(Ss iii. 22, 23.] * For Mofes truly faid, a prophet will the

* Lord your God raife up,' &c. [See Nciuton on the Proph. vol. i. dif. 6.1

i88 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

ednefs of Egypt, and were not weaned from it, as the prophet takes notice, [Ezek. xx. 6—8.] Hence they made the golden calf in imitation of the idolatry of Egvpt, that was wont to worihip a bull or an ox ; and therefore cattle are called ' the abomination of the Egyptians,' i. e. their idol. [Exod. viii. 26.] This generation God was exceeding angry with, and fwore in his wrath, that they fhould not enter into his reft. But the younger generations were not fo ; thofe who were under twenty years old when they came out of Egypt, and thofe born in the wildernefs, the generation fpoken of, [Numb. xiv. 31.] ' But your little ' ones, whom ye faid fliould be a prey, them will I bring

* in ; and they fhall know the land that ye have defpifed.' This was the generation with whom the covenant was renewed, (of which we have an account in Deuteronomy,) and that entered into the land of Canaan. Thefe God was pleafed to m.ake a generation to his praife, and they were eminent for piety ; as appears by many things faid in fcripture about them; as, particularly, [Jer. ii. 2, 3.]

* I remember thee, the kindnefs of thy youth, the love

* of thine efpoufals, when thou wenteft after me in the ' wildernefs, in a land that was not fown. Ifrael was ' holinels to the Lord, and the firft fruits of his increafe.' Here the generation that went after God in the wildernefs is fpoken of with very high commendations, as eminent for holinefs : ' Ifrael was holinefs to the Lord, and ' the tirft fruits of his increafe.' And their love to God is fpoken of as diftinguiihed like the love of a bride at her efpoufals. The going after God in the wildernefs here fpoken of, is not the going of the children of Ifrael out of Egypt inro the wildernefs of Sinai, but their following God through that dreadful wildernefs, that the congregation long wandered in, atter they went back from Kadelh-Barnea, [Dcut. viii. 15. j ' Who led thee through > the great and terrible wildernefs, wherein were fiery fer-

* pcnts and fcorpions, and drought, where there was no « water.' Though this generation had a much greater trial, than their fathers had before they «came to Kadefh-Barnea, yet they never mr.rmured againft God in any wife, as their

fathers

fathers had done : but their trials liad a contrary effecl upon them, to awaken, convince, and humble them, and fit them for great mercy. They were awakened by the awful judgments of God infli6led on their fathers, whereby their carcales fell in the wildernefs. And God poured out his fpirit with thofe awakening providences towards their fathers, and their own travel in the wildernefs, and the word preached to them by Mofes ; whereby they were made to fee the badnefs of their own hearts, and were humbled, and at length multitudes of them favingly converted ; [as Dcut. viii. 2, 3.] ' And thou ' flialt remember the way which the Lord thy God led ' thee thefe forty years in the wildernefs, to humble thee

* and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, ' whether thou wouldft keep his commandments or no.' And [ver. 15.] ' Who led thee through tliat great and

* terrible wildernefs,—that he might humble thee, and

* that he might prove thee, to do thee good at the latter

* end.' (u) And therefore it is faid, Hof. xiii. 5. ' I

' did

(u) Ifrael led through the nv'ildernefs to do them good.~\ Here is the great fecret of Divine Providence. Infinite wifdom and good-nefs is the fource of all the vicifiitudes and trials believers are called to experience. Ifrael was led through the wildernefs, and had many bitter trials there, but it was ' to do them good.'

Obferve, i. That pride is natural to the human heart; and no degree of meannefs, wretchednefs, or dependence, can exclude it. Like fome difgufting animals, who extraiil polfon from the moil harmlefs vegetables ; pride inflates itfelf from circumllances the moft humiliating. Would one fuppofe that a people, after forty years flavery at the brick kilns—after being treated as the off-fcouring of the earth, and degraded to the very lowed degree—

fhould need the thorns of the wildernefs to humble them ?

But fuch is man !

2. The beft things are not always the pleafanteft ; but the moft efficacious medicines are often the moft unpalatable. Ifrael, as we have obferved, met with many painful and mortifying circum-ftances in the defcrt, but it was to do them good. Humbling providences are often our greateft mercies.

3. Mercies are doubly fweet when intermingled with trials. Contrafts produce great effefts in nature ; and it is by comparilon with other objetts we form our mofl correifl ideas of the excellent and beautiful. So pain and ficknefs teach the value of health and

eafe;

' did know thee in the wildernefs, in the land of great

• drought.' God allured them, and hrought them into the wildernefs, and fpake comfortably to them, as it was foretold that he would do afterwards. [Hof. ii. 14.]

Thofe terrible judgments that were executed in the congregation after their turning back from Kadefh-Barnea, in the matter of Korah, and Peor, were chiefly on the old generation, whom God confumed in the wildernefs. Thofe rebellions were chiefly among the elders of the congregation, that God had given up to their hearts luft ; and they walked in their own counfels, and God was grieved with their manners forty years in the wildernefs.

' But that this younger congregation were eminent for piety, appears by all their hiftory. The former generation were wicked, and were followed with curfes ; but this was holy, and wonderful bleffings followed them. God did great things for them ; he fought for them, and gave them the polTeffion of Canaan. And it is God's manner, when he hath any fpecial mercy to beflow on a vifible people, firll:, to fit them for, and then to bellow it on them. So here, they believed in God, and by faith overcame Sihon and Og, and the giants of Canaan ; and are commended for cleaving to the Lord: [Jo(h. xxiii. 8.] Jolhua fays unto them, ' Cleave unto the Lord, as ye have done unto

* this day.' And fo Ifrael did all the while that generation lived. But when Jolhua and all that generation were dead, there arofe another that knew not the Lord. This pious generation fliowed a laudable and fervent zeal for God in feveral inflances ; as on occafion of Achan's hn ; but efpecially when they fufpe6led the two tribes and a half had fet up an altar in oppofition to the altar of burnt-offering. There never was any generation of Ifrael of which fo much good and fo little evil is mentioned

as

eafe; and to hunger and thirft we principally owe our rclifli for food. Therefore it is, that the Lord mingled the cup of his people with a contrariety of ingredients. Let us then receive it thankfully, with this confolation, that the fweetnefs of our comforts will remain when every tafte of bitternefs is loll and forgot for ever.

[U. U.]

as this. It is farther obfervablc, that in the time of this generation was the fccond general circumcifion, whereby the reproach of Ifrael was fully rolled away, and they became pure ; and when afterwards they were polluted by Achan, they purged themfelves again. [Jolh. vii. 19— 26.] (\v)

The men of the former generation being dead, and God having fanftified this to himfelf, he folemnly renewed his covenant with them, [Deut. xxix.] We find that fuch renovations of the covenant commonly accompanied any remarkable pouring-out of the Spirit, which caufed a general reformation ; fo we i^nd it was in Hezekiah's and Jofiah's times. But it is queftionable whether there ever was a time when religion fo flouriilied in the Ifraelitifli church, as in that generation; and as, in the Chriitian church, religion was in its moft flouriihing circumilances in the day of its efpoufals, in the apolIJe's time, fo it feems to have been with the Jewifli church in the days of its hrft eftabliihment in Mofes and Joihua's.

Thus God at this time did glorioufly advance the work of redemption, both by his word and Spirit. By tins out-pouring of the Spirit of God, the work of redemption was promoted, not only as it was in itfclf a glorious in-ftance of the application of it, but as this was what God made ufe of as a means of eftablifliing the church of Ifrael at its firil beginning, when it was fettled in the regular obfervance of God's ordinances in Canaan: even as the out-pouring of the fpirit, in the beginning of tin". Chriftian ciiurch, was a great means God made ufe of for the well eflabliihing it in the world in all fucceeding ages.

C c II. The

(w) Theywere polluted by Ac H.\}i.'] Obfcrve here the dangerous nature of fin, \vhicli not only brings deftruftion on individuals, but on whole nations and communities ; and no fin has produced more awful confequcnccs than this of covetoufnefs, which, indeed, is the parent of moll others. Whence flowed the blood that has llained families—encrimfoned towns—and deluged nations? From this curfed principle, which brings raifery on the poffeffor, and ruin on all around him. [U.S.]

192 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

11. The next thing I would obferve, was God's bringing the people of Tfrael \inder the hand of Jofhua, and fettling them in that land where Chrift was to be born, and which was the great type of the heavenly Canaan, which Chrift has purchafed. This was done by Jofliua, who was of Jofeph's poftcrity, and was an eminent type of Chrift, and is therefore called ' the lliepherd, the ftone ' of Ifrael,' in Jacob's bleffing of Jofeph. [Gen. xlix. 24.] (x) Being fuch a type of Chrift, he bore the name of Chrift. JoJJiua and jefus are the fame name, only the one is Hebrew, the other Greek ; and therefore, in the New Teftament, which was originally written in Greek, Joihua is called Jefns. [A6l:s vii. 4^.] ' Which alfo our fathers ' brought in with Jefus,' i.e. JoJJiua; [Heb. iv. 8.] ' If ' Jefus, i. e. if JoJIiua had given them reft, he would not ' have fpoken of another day.'

God wonderfully poffefled his people of this land, conquering the former inhabitants of it, and the mighty giants, as Chrift conquered the devil; firft fubduing the gieat kings of that part of the land that was on the eaftern fide of Jordan, Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Balhan ; and then dividing the river Jordan, as before he had done the Red Sea ; caufmg the walls of Jericho to fall down at the found of the trumpets of the priefts; (that typifying the found of the gofjtel by the preaching of gofpel minifters, and the walls of the accurfed city Jericho, the walls of Satan's kingdom ;) and after thus wonderfully de-ftroying the mighty hoft of the Amorites under the five kings, caufmg the fun and moon to ftand ftill, to help the people againft their enemies, at the prayer of the typical

Jefus ;

(x) Shepherd, the Jione of Ifrael,] i.e. From Jacob defcended Jofeph ; or, from the God of Jacob it was that Jofeph, through Divine Providence, was fent into Eg-ypt, to be a ihepherd to feed his father's family, and as a ftone to uphold and fupport it; in which he was a type of Chriit, the great and good (hepherd of the flock, and the ftone that is laid in Zion, on which the whole fpiritual Ifrael of God is built; the foundation ftone on which they aie laid and are fafe, and the corner ftone which knits them together. [Pf. cxviii. 22.]— [Gill in loc]

Jefus ; [ Jof. X. 12.] plainly fignifying this, that God would make the whole courfe of nature to be fubfervient to the affair of redemption ; fo that every thing Ihould yield to the purpofes of that work, and give place to the welfare of God's redeemed people.

Thus did Chriffc ihow his great love to his eleft, that he would make the courfe of nature to give place to their happinefs and profperity ; and fliowed that the fun and moon, and all things vifd')le and invilible, were theirs by his purchafe. (y) At the fame time, Chrift fought as the captain of their hoft, and call down great hailftones upon their enemies, by which more were flain than by the fvvord of the children of Ifrael. And after this he

gave

(y) All things are ovv.s.'] " Chriftians, God has created all things in the world of nature with this defign, that you Hiould derive fome benefit from them, as far as they can come within your reach, or notice, your fervice or ufe. He appointed all things in the couniels of his providence, to bear fome bleffing for you. He has ordained all things in his kingdom of grace for your advantage ; and there are unknown regions of light and glory which he has provided for you. His elefL were ever nearell to his heart, next to the man Chrift Jefus, next to * his only begotten Son ;' for they were all' chofen in him before the foundation of the world.' [Eph. i. 4.] Whether creation or providence, whether nature, grace, or glory, * all things are for youi fakes.' [2 Cor. iv. 15.]

*' I would caution you .... not to underftand it in fuch an incredible fenfe, as though God made every particular creature in the upper and the lower worlds, only to give the pofTeffion of them to the faints ; or that he manages all his providential kingdom merely for the fake of his own people, without any other view. No, this is flretching the words into an extent too large and un-reafonable ; for there arc millions of creatures, millions of plants and animals in earth and fea, that are born, and grow, and live, and die again, which the faints of God never favv, nor knew, nor fliall know ; nor can they receive any immediate benefit from them. But the meaning Is this, that all things whatfoever the faints can or fliall have to do within this or other worlds, were intended to yield fome profit to them ; and efpeclally while they maintain their charafter as the children of God, and walk as becomes their dignity and tlieir profeflion. In all God's general counfels of creation, and providence, and grace, he kept his eye (as I may fay) ftlU upon his faints ; he defigned their good in ten thoufand inllances, in his great and glorious works, and rcfolved C c 2 that

194 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

gzve the people a mighty victory over a yet greater army in the northern part ot the land, that were gathered together

that nothing in all his kingdoms fhould interfere with their laft and beft intereft.

*' Though what he has written down in the book of his decrees, is read only at large by his Son Jefus Chrift, yet he has written out a fweet abftraci: of it in the book of his promifes, that the faints on earth might read and know it. [Rom. viii. 28.] ' And v/e know

* that all things work together for good to them that love God ;

* to them, who are the called according to his purpofe.' It was for their fakes the promifes were written, that they might not only have a prefent relifh of divine bleflings, but a fweet foretaftc of joys long to come.

" The bleflings of the children of God were numbered up, and written down originally for them, in the book of God's everlafting counfels : and in the book of his word has he copied out of them ;

* the bleflings of heaven from above, and of the deep from beneath; ' the precious things brought forth by the fun,' and under the influence of the moon ; ' the chief things of the ancient mountains' on earth, fo far as is needful for them here ; ' and the precious ' things of the everlafting hills' of paradife hereafter. [Deut. xxxiii. 13, 14.]

" Does the great Creator and Lord of all keep the wheels of nature in their fettled courfes? It is for the people's good ; ' The

* liars in their courfes fhall fight for Ifrael:' or does he countermand nature in any of its motions, and bid the ' fun fl:and ftill in Gibeon, ' and the moon in the valley of Ajalon?' It is, that the armies of his people may have long day-light to fiibduc their enemies. Hail-ftones and thunder fliall break out of the clouds to deftroy the Ca-naanites, when Ifrael is at war with them : but if Ifrael want bread in the wildernefs, the clouds fliall drop down manna, and give them bread from heaven." [Watts's Sermons, vol. iii. fer. 38.]

With refpeft to the miracle wrought by Jofliua, we beg leave to add, there is no neceflity, from the text, to fuppofe any real eff"e6l wrought on the bodies of the fun or moon, nor perhaps of the eaith itfelf; the moll natural interpretation feems to he, that the light of the fun, and perhaps alfo of the moon blended with it, was miraculoufly protrafted, not, it may be, on the whole he-mifphere, but from Gibeon to Ajalon, and on the adjacent country. This is confirmed by the obfervation of fome learned men, that the Hebrew words [ii'Di:' and m'] are never ufed flridly for the orbs themfelves, (the language haying other words forthefe) but for the light emitted from them. So that, in fa6^, the light might be continued all night, and thus two days blended together, or, as the fon of Sirach exprefles it, [Ecclef. xlvi. 4.] ' one day

* as long as two.' [Sec Pike's Phil. Sac. p. 47. and Gill on

jofli. X. 13.] • [i.N.:i

gcther at the waters of Merom, as the fand of the fea (hore, [Jofh. xi. 4.]

12- Another thing that God did towards carrying on this affair, was his adlually fetting up his ftated worftiip among the people, as it liad been before inflituted in the wilderncfs. This worfhip was appointed at Mount Sinai, wholly in fubferviency to this great affair of redemption. It was to make way for tlie coming of Chrifl ; and the innumerable ceremonial obfervances of it were typical of him and his redemption. This worfliip was chiefly inftituted at Mount Sinai ; but it was gradually put in pradtice. It was partly fet up in the wildernefs, where the tabernacle and its vefTels were made ; but there were many parts of this inflituted worfhip that could not be obferved in the wildernefs, by reafon of their unlet-tled, itinerant ftate there: and then there were many precepts that refpe61:ed the land of Canaan, and their cities and places of habitation there ; which therefore could not be put in pradlice, till thev came into the land. But pow, when this was brought to pafs, God fet up his tabernacle in the midft of his people, as he had before promifed them, [Lev. xxiv. 11.] ' I will fet my taber-' nacle amongft you.* The tabernacle was fet up at Shi-loh, [Jolh. xviii. j.J and the priefls and Levites had their offices appointed them, and the cities of refuge were alio appointed ; and now the people were in condition to cbferve their feafts of the firft fruits, and their feaft of ingathering, and to bring all the tithes and offerings to the Lord ; and moft parts of God's worlhip were now obferved, though f:here were fome things that were not jill afterwards.

13. The next thing I would take notice of, is God's wonderfully preferving the people, from this time forward, when all the lualcs went up, three times in the year, to the place where the ark was. The people of If-rael were generally furrounded with enemies, that fought all opportunities to deflroy, anj difpoffefs them of their land ; and till David's time there were great numbers in the land of the remains of the Canaanites, and the other

former

196 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

former inhabitants, that were bitter enemies to the people of Ifrael: and thefe had from year to year, three times in the year, a fair opportunity of over-running their country, and getting poflefTion of their cities, when all the rnales were gone, and only the women and thofe who were not able to go up, were left behind : yet they were remarkably preferved throughout all generations at fuch feafons, agreeable to the promife that God had made, [Exod. xxxiv. 24.] ' Neither fliall any man defire thy ' land, when thou ihalt go up to appear before the Lord * thy God thrice in the year.' So wonderfully did God order affairs, and influence the hearts of their enemies, that though they were fo full of enmity againft Ifrael, and defired to difpofTefs them of their land, and had frequently fo fair an opportunity ; yet we never read, in all their hiflorv, of any of their enemies taking thefe opportunities againft them. This was furely a wonderful difpenfation of divine Providence ; to maintain and promote God's great defign of redemption.

14. God's preferving his church and the true religion from being wholly extindl in the frequent apoftafies of the Ifraeliies in the time of tlie Judges. How prone was that people to forfake the true God, who had done fuch wonderful things for them, and to fall into idolatry i And how did the land, from time to time, feem to be almoft over-run with it ! But vet God never futFered. his true worfhip to be totally rooted out: his tabernacle ftood, the ark was preferved, the book of the law was kept from being deftroyed, God's pricfthood was upheld, and God flill had a church among the people ; and time after time, when religion was come to the laft extremity, then God granted a revival, and fent fome angel, or raifed up fome eminent perfon, to be an inftrument of their reformation.

i^. God's preferving that nation from being deftroyed? and delivering them from time to time, although they were fo often fubdued and broi'ght under the dominion of their enemies. It is a wonder, not only that the true religion was not wholly rooted out, and fo the church deftroyed

that

tliat way; but alfo that the very nation in which that church was, was not utterly deftroyed. One while they were fubdued by Chuflian-riihataim king of Mefopotamia, another while under the Moabites; they were fold into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan ; they were brought under the dominion of the Midianites ; were forely dif-trefled by the children of Ammon; and afterward by the Philillines. But yet God, in all thefe dangers, prefcrved them from being wholly overthrown ; and from time to time, when it was come to extremity, and they were upon the very brink of ruin, God raifed up a deliverer, [Deut. xxxii. 36.] ' For the Lord ihall judge his people, and

* repent himfelf for his fervants; when he feeth their

* power is gone, and there is none fluU up or left.'

Thefe remarkable difpenfations of Providence are fet forth in a lively and elegant manner in the cvith Pfalm.

Thefe deliverers that God raifed up from time to time were all types of Chrift, the great Redeemer of his church ; and fome of them very remarkably fo ; as, particularly, Barak, Jephthah, Gideon, Samfon, in many particulars; efpecially in the a6ts of Samfon, as might be ihown, were it not that this would take up too much time, (z)

16. It

( z ) Inftead of running through the various particulars in which thefe worthies may be fuppofcd to have typified the Redeemer, it may be more ufeful to fubjoin the following remarks on typical charaftcrs in general :

** I. In order to conftitute a proper type it is by no means necefTary, that the perfon who anfwers tliis important purpofc fliould poflefs perfect moral qualities ; were this requifite, who ever was worthy to rcprefent the Son of God ?.... It will follow,

" 2. That the comparifon is not to be ftatcd and purfued through every particular incident of the life, and every feature of the perfon typifying. . . .

** 3. Scripture by direft application, or by fair unftrained analogy, ought therefore to lead, to regulate, and to correft all our inquiries of this fort. . . .

" 4. ... It is of importance to inquire, whether or not the refemblance we mean to purfue, has a tendency to promote foms moral, praftical, pious purpofe." [Hunter's Sac. 13Iog. vol. ii. Iecl.5.J

198 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

16. It is obfervable, that when Chrift came to manage the affairs of his church in this period, he often appeared in the form of that nature that he took upon him in his incarnation. So he feems to have appeared to Mofes from time to time, and particularly at that time when God fpakc to him face to face, as a man fpeaketh to his friend, and he beheld the fimilitude of the Lord [Numb. xii. 8.] after he had befought him to (how him his glory ; which was the mofl remarkable vifion that ever he had of Chrift. There was a twofold difcovery that Mofes had of Chrift : . one was fpiritual, when he proclaimed his name, ' The

* Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-fuf-

* fering, and abundant in goodnefs and truth, keeping

* mercy for thoufands, forgiving iniquity and tranfgreflion

* and fni, and that will by no means clear the guilty ; vi-< fiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and ' upon the childrens children, unto the third and to the

* fourth generation.' [Exod. xxxiv. 6, &c.] Another was external ; which was that which Mofes faw, when Chrift paffed by, and put him in a cleft of the rock, and covered him with his hand, fo that Mofes faw his back-parts. What he faw was doubtlefs the back-parts of a glorious human form, in which Chrift appeared to him, and in all likelihood the form of his glorified human nature, in which he fliould afterwards appear. He faw not his face ; for it is not to be fuppofed that any man could fubfift under a fight of the glory of Chrift's human nature as it now appears.

So it was an human form in which Chrift appeared to the feventy elders. [Exod. xxiv. 9—11.] ' Then went up Mofes and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and feventy of the elders of Ifrael. And they faw the God of If-rael: and there was under his feet, as it were a paved work of a fapphire-ftone, and as it weie the body of heaven in his clearnefs. And upon the nobles of the children of Ifrael he laid not' his hand: alfo they faw God, and did eat and drink.*' So Chrift appeared afterwards to Jofhua in the form of the human nature, [Jolh. v, 13, 14.] ' And it came to pafs when Jolhua

' was

* was by Jericlio, he life up his eyes, and looked, and be-

* hold, there ftood a man over againft him, with a fword ' drawn in his hand: and Jolhua went unto him, and ' laid unto him, Art thou for us, or for our advcrfaries ? ' And he faid. Nay, but as captain of the hoft of the

* Lord am I now come.' And fo he appeared to Gideon, [Judg. vi. II, &c.] and fo alio to Manoah, [chap, xiii, 17—21.] ilere Chrift appeared to !Manoah in a repre-fentation botli of his incarnation and death ; of his incarnation, in that he appeared in a human form; and of his deatii and fullcrings, reprefented by his afcending up in the flame of the facrifice ; intimating thereby, that lie was to be tlie great facritice, that mull: be offered up to God for a fweet favour, in the fire of his wrath, as that kid was burned and alcended up in the flame. Chriic thus appeared, time after time, in the torm of that nature lie was afterwards to afiume, becaufehe now came on the fame delign, and to carry on the fame work, that he was to finilh in that nature, (a) Another thing I would mention,

(a) Quvi^i^T appeared'in the human f'jrm.~\ Having repeatedly intimated an intention of coniidciing thefe appearances in a collected view, we fhall now attempt it. But to lave repetition, we muft beg the reader to review our author's obfervations on the Divine appearance to Jacob, (p. 157) and to Mofes, (p. 167) as well as thofe mentioned under thit head, and then he will be prepared to accompany us in the following remarks :

I. The divine Perlon who appears, is frequently called by the auguit names of 'Jehovah and Elohlni, Lord and God. This is particularly obfervable in the appearances to Jacob and Mofes; we flidll only inftance in the former. We are told, [Gen. xxxii. 24, &:c.3

* Jacob was left alone, and there wreilled a man with him until

* the breaking of the day:' whatever is the meaning of this extraordinary circumilance, it is certain that Jacob was aware of his viiltor, by his fo earnellly entreating his blefling, but more cfpecially by his calling the name of that place Penuel, (/. e. the face of God) becaufe he had ' feen God facj to face.' Jacob feems to advert to this circumftance in the lall (lage of his life, for, blefiing the fons of Jofcph, he fays, ' The angel that re-

* deemed me blcfs the lads.' But mod remarkable is a paflagc in the Proph'-t Hofca, [ch. xii. 4.] relating to ihis circumilance;

* He had power over the angel, and prevailed:' tliis refers to his wrelUing, which was doubtlcls a fymbolical action: 'He wept,

D d * and

200 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

tiim, clone in tliis period towards the work of redemption, is the beginning of tlie fuccefiion of prophets, and

eredling

* and made fiipplication unto him;' when he would not let him go without a blcflir/g; ' He found him in Bethel; there he fpake

* with us. Even the Lord God \ Jehovah Elohiml of hofts; the

* Lord \_j'eJxjvah] is his memorial;' /. e. the name by which he will be known. [See Otven on the Hebrews, vol. i. p. 118.] And it is obfervable, that the perfon appearing in moft of thefe vifions feems to be called promifcuoufly both the Lord and the angel of the Lord.

2. The manner in which this angel fpeaks is very obfervable, and fuch as no created being ought to afliime. The angel that appeared to Hagar faid, ' I will multiply thy feed exceedingly;' [Gen. xvi. ic] To Abraham, ' Thou haft not withheld thy fon ' from. me\^ [Gen. xxii. 12.] And to Mofes, [Exod. iii. 4.] * I

* am the God of Abraham, Haac, and Jacob,' 5:c.

3. The perfon thus appearing receives divine honours—' Put

* the flioes from off thy feet,' faid he to Mofes and Joftiua, ' for ' the place whereon thou ftandeft is holy ground.' The latter, we are exprefsly told, did ivorJl.i'ip the captain of the Lord's hoft. [See Dr. AU'ix, Judgment of the Jewifli Church, p. 234. and Bp. Patrkh on Jofh. v. 14, 15.] Though we do not conceive, (as fome have done) that Gideon's prcfcnt was a facrifice, yet the reafon of the angel refufmg a facrifice from Manoah is very fingular, and pertinent to our point, viz. that Manoah knew him not. [Judges xiii. 16.3

4. It is very remarkable that God has fo repeatedly revealed himfelf as a jealous God, and declared that he will not give his glory to another. [Exod. xx. 5. Ifa. xlii. 8.] It therefore follows,

5. That this could not be a created angel.—In the angelic appearances in the Neiv Teftament we find no fuch language ; none of the names of God are applied to them, nor do they aflume any of his prerogatives ; and when the apoflle John offered to worfliip one of thefe, though, it is probable, he did not intend fupreme adoration, yet the angel refufed and forbad him. [Rev. xix. lo.j Or if we fuppofe the apoftle meant to adore him, it muft be on a fuppofition, that he was the Son of God, which, if it could be proved, would very much ftrengthen our hypothefis.

Nor, 6. By the angel of the Lord mult we underftand any mere external form in which the Deity refided, and fpake as a cloud or flame, &c. becaufe he is called * the c'aptain of falvation,' and generally appeared in a human form.

Neither, 7. Muft we underftand God the Father himfelf, for our Lord exprefsly tells the Jews, that they had not at any time either ' heard his voice, or feen hisfhape,' [John v. 37.] And

hecaufc

erefting a fchool of the prophets, in Samuel's time. There was fomething ot this fpirit of prophecy in Uracl after

Mofes,

becaufe the fcilptiires never rcprefent the Father in any delegated or inferior charafter.

But, 8. Thefe reprefentations perfectly agree with the account given in fcripture of the Son of God, who is called the ' angel ' of the covenant,' [Mai. iii. i. in the Hebrew,] and perhaps the

* angel of God's prefence.' [Ifa. Ixiii. 9.]

9. It appears, that of the patriarchs and others to whom this angel appeared, fome knew him immediately to be God himfelf, and in general all were convinced of it after he was departed; hence many of them faid, * We fliall die, for we have feen God.'

10. This was the univerfal opinion of the Chriilian fathers, as has been fhewn at large by Bp. Bull, Dr. JVaterlaucI, and others ; a fmgle palfage therefore, full to our purpofe, fhall fuffice. *' It was Chrill who defcended into communion v.ith men, from Adam unto the patriarchs and prophets in vifions, dreams and appearances or reprefentations of himfelf, inilrucling them in his future condition from the beginning: and God who converfed with men on earth, was no other than the Word who was to be made flefli." [Tkr-TULLiAN. See Owen on the Heb. vol. i. p. 121.3

11. Even fome of the moft eminent Jewifli writers have made confeflions to this purpofe. So Rab. M. N. Gerundensis, of the 13th century; " This angel, if we fpcak cxaftly, is the angel the redeemer, concerning whom it is written, * My name is in him,' that angel who faid to Jacob, * I am the God of Bethel,' &c. \_0'wen on the Heb. vol. i. p. 122.]

12. Moft of thefe remarks, as they go to prove that thefe appearances were of the Son of God, they no lefs prove tlie divinity of his perfon and chara<^ler; which is the principal i"eafon of our infifting fo largely on this fubjeft.

13. We are not however from any of thefe propofitions to Infer, that in all the inftances of God's fpeaking under the Old Teftament, the Son only, as diftinguiflied from the Father, was intended: this notion would involve almoft as great difficulties as the oppoiite one of there being a created angel, as will appear from the following remarkable text, [Exod. xxiii. 20, 21.] ' Behold, I fend an angel

* before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the

* place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice;

* provoke him not; for he will not pardon your tranfgrcffions: for

* my name is in him.' Thefe are evidently the wordr, of the Father promifmg that the angel of the covenant (hould go bciore to be the guide of Ifrael; in which we cannot but obferve, that this angel has the peculiar attributes and prerogatives of Deity afcribcd to him.

14. To this it may be objecled, [from Exod. xxxiii. 2—4.] That when God promifed to fend an angel before them, the Lord

D d 2 thveatened

20Z HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

]Mofes, before Samuel. Jofhua and many of the judges had a degree of it. Deborah was a prophetefs : and fome of tlie high priefls were infpired with this fpirit; particularly Eli: and tliat fpace of time was not wholly without in-flances of thofe that were fet apart of God efpecially to this office, and fo were called prophets. Such an one we read of, [Judg. vi.8.] ' The Lord fent a prophet unto the chil-' dren of Ifrael, which faid unto them,' &c. Such an one he feems to have been that ^^'e read of, [i Sam. ii. 27.] ' And there came a man of God to Eli,' &c.

But there was no fuch order of men upheld in Ifrael for any conftancy, before Samuel ; the want of it is taken notice of, [i Sam. iii. i.] ' And the word of the ' Lord was precious in thofe days ; there was no open J vilion.' (b) But in Samaiel there was begun a fuccef-

fion

threatened that he would not go up himfelf, on which occafion the people mourned : but the Jevvifli dotlors will furnifli us with an caiy folutlon of this difficuhy ; for Aben Ezra obferves, [fee GUI in loc] that this was not the angel promifed before, [chap, xxiii.j but an in'erior one, which the Lord threatened to fend with them Inllead of the former; though afterwards he relented and promifed his own prefence, which feems to be the fame as intended in Ifaiah by the ' angtl of his prefence.' So Rab. Mena-CHEM faith, " This angel is not the angel of the covenant, of whom he fpake in the time of favourable acceptance, ' My prefence fliall ' gc;:' for now the holy bleifed God had taken away his divine prefence from among them, and would have led them by the hand of another angel." [-^i'-f- in Ex. xxxii. 34.]

15. Upon the whole, whenever we re.id of a divine appearance under the Old Teftament, in which a human or angelic form was exhibited, or fome delegated and inferior charadtcr iuilained, and yet combined with fom.e circumftances that forbid our underftand-ing it of a mere angel, we may fafely interpret it of the Son of God, who thus anticipated his future humiliation, and ' whofe delights f from the beginning were with the fons of men.' [G. E.J

( B ) The ivord of the Lord was precious /// ihof days.] " That is, a word from the Lord in a dream or vifion directing, informing, inllrufting, or reproving, this was very rarely had ; of late there had been but very fcv,' inftances, and which accounts for it, why not only the child Sanuiel knew not it was the voice of the Lord that called to him, but £/: himfelf thought nothing of it until he l.ad calbd a third time, fo rare and fcarce was any iullance of this kind;

and

fion of prophets, that was maintained continnallv from tliat time, at leaft with very little interruption, till the fpirit of prophecy ceafed, abo\it IMalachi's time ; and therefore Samuel is fpoken of in the New Teflamcnt as the beginning of the fucceflion of prophets, [A6ls iii. 24.]

• And all the prophets from Samuel, and thofe that follow

* after, as many have fpoken, have foretold of thefc days/ After Samuel was Nathan, and Gad, and Iddo, and He-man, and Afaph, and others. And in the latter end of Solomon's reign, we read of Ahijah ; and in Jeroboam and Rehoboam's time we read of prophets ; and fo continually one prophet fucceetling another till the captivity. We read of prophets as being a conllant order of men upheld in the land in thofe days: and in the time of the captivity there were Ezekiel and Daniel ; and after the captivity there weie Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi.

And becaufe God intended a conftant fucceffion of prophets from Samuel's time, therefore now was begun a fchool of the prophets ; that is, a fchool of young men, that were trained up under fome great prophet, who was their mailer and teacher in the fludy of divine things, and the pradUce of liolinefs, to fit them for this office, as God fliould call them to it. Thofe yo\mg men that belonged to thele fchools, were called the fons of the prophets ; and oftentimes they are called prophets. Thefe at firft were under the tuition of Samuel. [Sam. xix. 20.]

' And

, .. and as every thing that is fcarce and rare, is generally precious, fo the word of God in this way alfo v.as; and fo it is confidcred in every view of it, as the written word of God: when there was but little of it penned, as at this time, and few or none to teach and inftrufl in it, Eli being old and liis fons fo vile ; or when it is forbidden to be read, or the copies of it dcRroyed and become fcarce, as it was in the times of Dioclefian : or when there are but very few faithful evangelical miniitcrs of the word ; which though it is always precious to them that have precious faith in it, the promifcs of it being exceeding great and precious, and the truths of it more precious than fine gold, and the grand fubjeft of it, a precious Saviour, who is fo in his perfon, offices, blood, righteouf-ncfs and facrifice : yet it is generally more precious when there is a fcarcity of it, when God makes a man, a gofpel minillcr, m.cnre precious than fine gold. [See Ifa. xiii. 12.] [Gill in loc.]

304 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

* And when they faw the company of prophets prophe-' fying, and Sajnuel {landing as appointed over them.' The company of the prophets that we read of i Sam. x. 5. were the fame. Afterwards we read of their being under Elijah. Elifha was one of his fons ; but he dehred to have a double portion of his fpirit, as his fucceflbr, as his firfl born : as the cldell; fon was wont to have a double portion of the eftate of his fluher ; and therefore the other ions of the prophets, when they perceived that the fpirit of Elijah refled on Eliflia, fubmitted themfelves to him, and owned him for their mafter, as they had done Elijah before; [2 Kings ii. 15.] ' And when the fons of the

* prophets which were to view at Jericho, faw him, they ' faid, the fpirit of Elijah doth reft on Elilha. And they

* bowed themfelves to the ground before him.' [See alfo 2 Kings iv. 38.]

In Elijah's and Eliflia's time, there were feveral places where there refuled companies of thefe fons of the prophets ; as there was one at Bethel, another at Jericho, and another at Gilgal, unlefs tliat at Gilgal and Jericho were the fame ; and poiTibly that wliicli is called the college, where the prophetels Huldah refided, was another at jeru-falem ; [fee 2 Kings xxii. 14.] It is there faid of Huldah the prophetefs, that ' fhe dwelt in Jerufalem, in the col-

* lep'c.' (c) They had houfes built, where thev ufed to dwell together ; and therefore thofe at Jericho being multiplied, and finding their houfe too little for them, defired leave of their mafter Eli (ha, that they might go and hew timber to build a larger. [2 King vi. i, 2.]

At fome times there were numbers of thefe fons of the prophets in Ifrael; for when Jezebel cut oft' the prophets of the Lord, it is faid that Obadiaii took an hundred of them, and hid them by fifty in a cave, [i Kings xviii. 4.]

Thefe fchoois of the proplicts being fet up by Samuel, and afterwards kept up by fuch propliets as Elijah and

Eliftia,

(c) Huldah dnvelt in the college.] " In the college of the prophets ; in the houfc of inftnidlon, as'the Targum ; the fchool where the yoiuig prophets were inllrucfed and trained up."— fGiLL in loc.]

EHlha, mud be of divine appointment: and accordingly we find, tliat thofe fons o( the prophets were often favoured with a degree of infpiration, while they continued under tuition in the fchools of the prophets ; and God commonly, when he called any prophet to the conftant exercife of the prophetical office, and to fome extraordinary fervice, took them outof thefe Ichools ;—though not univerfally. Hence the prophet Amos, fpeaking of his being called to the prophetical office, fays, that he was one that had }?ot been educated in the fchools of the prophets, and was not one of the fons of the prophets. [Amos vii. 15.] But Amos's taking notice of it as remarkable, that he Ihould be called to be a prophet that had not been educated at the fchools of the prophets, flaows that it was God's ordinary manner to take his prophets out of thefe fchools; for therein he did but blefs his own inftitution.

Now this remarkable difpenfation of Providence, viz. God's beginning a conftant fucceffion of prophets in Samuel's time, that was to laft for many ages ; and to thai end, eftabliHiing a fchool of the prophets under Samuel, thenceforward to be continued in Ifrael, was in order to promote that great affair of redemption which we are upon. For the main bufmefs of this fucceffion of prophets was to forefhow Chrift, and the glorious redemption that he was to acconjplifh, and fo prepare the way for hii coming. [A6ts iii. 18, 24.-—x. 43.]

As I obfcrved before, [fee p. 82.] the Old Teftament time was like a time of night, wherein the church was not wholly without light, but had not the light of the fun directly, but as refle61:ed from the ftars. Now thefe prophets were the ftars that reflected the light of the fun ; and accordingly they fpoke abundantly of Jefus Chrift, as appears by what we have of their prophecies in writing. And they made it very much their bufmefs, when they ftudied in their fchools or colleges, and elfcwhere, to fearch out the work of redemption; agreeable to what the apoftle Peter fays of them, [i Pet. i. 10, ii-] ' Of ' which falvation the prophets have inquired, and fearch-

' ed

2o6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

' ed diligently, who prophefied of the grace that fliould

* come iinto you ; fearching what, or what manner of

* time the Spirit of Chrift that was in them did hgnify, ' when it teftitied beforehand the fufFerings of Chrift, and

* the glory that fliould follow.' (d) We are told that the church of the Redeemer is ' built on the foundation

* of the prophets and apoftles, himfelf being the chief cor-

* ncr-ftone.' [Eph. ii. 20.]

This was the firft thing of the nature tiiat ever was done in the world ; and it was a great thing that God did to-Avards farther advancing this great building of redemption. There liad been before occafional prophecies of Chrift, as was fhovvn ; but now the time drawing nearer when the Redeemer Ihould come, it pieafed God to appoint a certain order of men, in conftant fuccefllon, whofe main buhnefs it ftiould be, to foreflicw Chrift and his redemption, and as his forerunners to prepare the way for his coming ; and God eftablilhed fchools, wherein multitudes were inftru6l-ed and trained up to that end. [Rev. xix. 10.] ' I am thy

* fellow fervant, and of thy brethren that have the tefti-' mony of Jefus ; for the teftimony of Jefus is the fpirit

* of prophecy.' § V.

(d) Of ivh'ichfal'uation the prophets have inquired, y^.] This paflage prefents us with the following important truths :

1. That the fpirit which infplred the antient prophets was the fpirit of Chrill ; an irrefragable argument of his pre-exiilence and divinity.

2. That as Chrift was the author, fo was he the grand fubjeft of their prediftions ; the alpha and omega of the Bible, * The tef-

* timony of Jefus is the fpirit of prophecy', or, as fome invert the words, ' The fpirit of prophecy is the teftimony of Jefus;' [fo Doddridge and Bp. Hurd.~\ ' To him give all the prophets witnefs,* [Ads X. 43.] ' both as to his fufFerings and the glory that fliould

* follow.'

3. That the prophets had only t partial acquaintance with the meaning of their own prediftions. It Avas not neceftary, nor in many cafes expedient, that they fliould ftdly comprehend them, efpecially as to the time of their accomplifhment.

4. That they eftcemed the fubjeft worthy their inquir)' and ardent ftudy : * Prophets and Kings defired' to fee and hear the thin'-'s revealed to us, [Luke x. 24.] How highly then fliould we efteem—how deeply venerate—how ineftlniably prize thefe difcoveries! ' Blefled are our eyes, if they fee—and our ears, if

* they fuitably attend to them.' [J. N.]

§ V. From David to the BahyloniJJi captivity.

I COME now to the fifth period of the times of the Old Teftament, beginning with David, and extending to the Babylonifli captivity ; and would now proceed to fliow how the work of redemption was therein carried en.— And here,

The firft thing to be taken notice of, is God's anoint-int^ that perfon who was to be the anceftor of Chrift, to be king over his people. The difpenfations of Providence which have been taken notice of through the lafi: period, from Mofes to this time, refpeft the notion, but now the fcripture-hiftory leads u:- to confider God's providence towards that particular perfon whence Chrill: was to proceed, viz. David. It pleated God at this time remarkably to feleft out this perfon from all the thoufands of Ifrael, and to put a mofl honourable mark of diftinilion upon him, by anointing him to be king over his people. It was only God that could find him out. His father's houfc is Ipoken of as being little in Ifrael, and he was the voungefi: of all the fons of his father, and was leaft ex-pedled to be the man that God had chofen, by Samuel, (e) God had before, in the former ages of the world, remarkably diftinguifhed the perfons from whom Chrift was to come ; as Seth, Noah, Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob. The laft inftance of this was in Jacob's blcffing his fon Judah ; unlefs we reckon Nahflion's advancement in the wilder-nefs to be the head of the tribe of Judah. [Numb. i. 7.] But this dilfindion in the perfon of David was very ho-

E e nourablc:

(E) David /Z>f kajl likely to be Gael's chofen.'} " Godfeeih not * as ' tnanfeeth.' —Samuel was fent to choofe a king among tbe fons of Jefle. [i Sam. xvi. 6.] When he faw Eliab, he faid, ' Surely the ' Lord's anointed is before him ;' but the Lord faid to Samuel, [ver. 7.] ' Look not on his countenance, nor on the height ot his

* itature, becaufc I have refufed him.* Old Jefle, it may be, was ready to look on his eldell fon too, being pleal'ed with hi* tall and comely figure, and to fay within himfelf, ' It is a pity that Eliab

* was not made a king !' But David was God's beloved."— [Watts's Sermons, vol. i. for. 7.]

2o8 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

nourable : for it was God's anointing liini to be king over his people. And thereby -was fomething farther denoted than in the anointing of Saul. God anointed Saul to be king perfonally ; but God intended fomething farther bv fending Samuel to anoint David, viz. to ertablifli the crown of Ifrael in him and in his family, as long as Ifrael continued to be a kingdom ; and not only fo, but what was infinitely more, eftablifliing the crown of his univerfal church, his fpiritual Ifrael, in his feed, to the end of the v/orld, and throughout eternity.

This was a great difpenfation of God, and a great ftep taken towards a farther advancing of the work of redemption, according as the time grew near wherein Chrift was lb come. David, as he was the anceftor of Chrift, fo he was the greateft perfonal type of Chrift under the Old Tef-tament. The types of Chrift were of three forts; inftituted, providential, and perfonal. (f) The ordinance of facri-iicing was the greateft of the injlituted types ; the redemption out of Egypt was the greateft of the providential ; and David the greateft of the perfonal ones. Hence Chrilt is often called David in the prophecies of fcripture ; [Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24.] ' And I will fet up one fliepherd over them, * and he fliall feed them, even my fervant David ; my ' fervant David a prince among them ;' and fo in many other places: and he is very often fpokcn of as the feed or fon of David.

David being the anceftor and great type of Chrift, his being folcmnly anointed by God to be king over his people, that the kingdom of his church might be continued

in

(f) The Tyve.% of Chrift of three forts.~\ So, Dr. Owen diflin-guillies types into, i. Such as were directly appointed for that end, (which our author calls inftituted) as the facrifices ; 2. Such as had only a providential ordination to that end, as the ftory of Jacob and Efau ; and, 3. Things that fell out of old, fo as to il-luftrate prefent things from a fimilitude between them, as the allegory of Hagar and Sarah. Others diltinguifli them into nW and perfonal; by the former, intending the tobernacle, temples, and religious inftitutlons ; and under the latter, including what our author calls providential and perfonal types. \_Mather on the Types, p. 6i.~\ —Thefe latter we have noticed as they occurred, and the former will be confidered in a proper place. [N. V.]

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 209

in his family for ever, may in fotne refpe6ls be looked on as an anointing of Chrift himfelf. Chrift was as it were anointed in him ; and therefore Chrift's anointing and David's anointing are fpoken of under one in fcripture, [Pfal. Ixxxix. 20.] * I have fomid David my fcrvant;

* with my holy oil have I anointed him.' And David's throne and Chrift's are fpoken of as one : [Luke i. 32.] ' And the Lord Ihall give him the throne of his father ' David.' [Acls ii. 30.] ' David—knowing that God ' had fworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his ' loins, according to the flelh, he would raife up Chrift to ' lit on his throne.'

Thus God's beginning of the kingdom of his church in the houfe of David, was a new eftablifliing of the kinf^dom of Chrift ; the beginning of it in a ftate of fuch vilibility as it thenceforward continued in. It was God's planting the root, whence that branch of rightcoufnefs was afterwards to fpring up, which was to be the everlaft-ing king of his church ; and therefore this everlafting king is called the branch from tlie ftem of Jeffe. [Tla. xi. I.] ' And there Ihall come forth a rod out of the ftem of « Jefie, and a branch ftiall grow out of his roots.' (g) [Jer. xxiii. 5.] ' Behold, the days come, faith the Lord,

* that I will raife up unto David a righteous brancli, and

E e 2 'a king

(g) yl rod from theficm of Jesse.] In the preceding chapter "•' the prophet had defcribed the Affyrian army under the image of a mio^hty foreft . . . cut down to the ground, by the ax weilded by the hand of fome powerful and iliullrious agent: in oppofition to this image he reprefents the great peifon, who makes the fubjedl of this chapter, as a flender twig, fliooting out from the trunk of an old tree, cut down, lopped to the very root, and decayed; which tender plant, fo weak in appearance, fhould neverthelefs become

fruitful and profper We have here a remarkable inllance

of that method fo common with the prophets, and particularly with Ilaiah, of taking occaiion from the meution of fome great temporal deliverance, to launch out into the difplay of the fpiritual deliverance of God's people by the Meffiah; for that this prophecy relates to the Meffiah, we have the exprefs authority of St. Paul, Rom. XV. 12." [Bp. LowTH in Ifa. xi. \. —His Lordfliip adds a paflage from KiMCHi, who alfo applies this text to the Meffiah, as other eminent Rabbins have done, as may be feen in Poll Syn. Crit. 'v\ loci

ZIP HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

* a king fliall reign and profper.' [Chap, xxxiii. 15.] * In

* thofe days, and at that time, I will caufe the branch of -' righteoufnefs to grow up unto David, and he (hall exe-

* cute judgment and righteoufnefs in the land.' So Chrift, in the New Teftament, is called the root and offspring of David. [Rev. xxii. 16.]

it is obfervable, that God anointed David after Saul to reign in his room. He took away the crown from him, who was higher in flature than any of his people, and was in their eyes fittefl: to bear rule, to give it to David, who was low of flature, and in comparifon, of defpicable appearance : fo God was pleafed to fhow how Chrift, who appeared without form or comelinefs, and was defpifed and reje(fled of men, fliould take the kingdom from the great ones of the earth. And alfo it is obfervable, that David was the youngeft of JefTe's fons, as Jacob the younger brother fupplanted Efau, and got birthright and blcffing from him : and as Pharez, brother of Chrift's anceftor, fupplanted Zarah in his birth ; and as Ifaac, another of the anceflors of Chrifl, call out his elder brother lihmael: thus was that frequent faying of Chrift fulfilled, ' The laft ' fhall be firft, and the firft laft.'

2. The next thing I would obferve, is God's pre-ferving David's life, by a feries of wonderful providences till Saul's death. I have above taken notice of the wonderful prefervation of other anceftors of Chrift ; as Noah, Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob ; and have obfcrved how, in that Chrift the great Redeemer was to proceed from them, that in their prefervation, the work of redemption itfelf may be looked upon as preferved from being defeated, and the whole church, which is redeemed through him, from being overthrown. But the prefervation of David '^was not lefs remarkable than that of any others already taken notice of. Plow often was there but a ftep between him and death ? The firft inftance of it we have in his encountering a lion and a bear, (ii) wliich, without miraculous

(h) His encountering a lion and a bear.] Or—" a lion OR i a bear j' the meaning can only be, that at different times they

would

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. tii

raculous afliftance, could at o-.ice have rent this young ftripling in pieces, as eafily as they could the Iamb which he delivered from them : fo afterwards the root and ofF-fpring of David was preferved from the roaring lion that foes about feeking whom he may devour ; who was conquered, and the fouls of men refcued as lambs out of the mouth of this lion. Another remarkable deliverance was from that mighty giant Goliath, who was ftrong enough to have given his flelh to the bealls of the field, and to the fowls of the air, as he threatened : but God preferved David and gave him the victory, fo that he cut ofF his head with his own fword. Chiifi: flew the fpiritual Goliath with his own weapon, the crofs, and io delivered his people. And h6w remarkably did God preferve him from being flain by Saul, when he flrft fought his life, by giving his daughter to be a fnare to him, that the hand of the Philiftines might be upon him: and afterwards, when Saul fpake to Jonathan, and to all his fervants, to kill him ; alfo in inclining Jonathan, inftead of murdering, to love him as his own foul, and to be a great inftru-nient of his prefcrvation, even at the hazard of his own life, though one would have thought that none would have been more wiUing to have David killed than Jonathan, feeing that he was competitor with him for the crown. Again the Lord wonderfully preferved him, when Saul threw a javelin to fmite him to the wall ; and when he fent mefTcngers to his houfe, to watch for and to kill him, when Michal, Saul's daughter, let him down through a window ; likcwife when he afterwards fent meiTengers once and again, to Naioth in Ramah, to take him, and they were remarkably prevented by being fcized with miraculous impreffions of the fpirit of God ; and even when Saui^ik being refolute in the affair, went himfelf, he aUo wcR^^ among the prophets. Again after this, how wonJcrfalh was David's life preferved at Gath among the Pliililliue-. when he went to Achilh, the king of Gath, and was

there

would come and take a lamb, a lion at one time, and a boar at another." [Gill in f Sam. xvii. 34,]

m

ziz HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

there in the hands of the Phlliftlnes, who one would have thought, would have difpatched him at once, he having fo much provoked them by his exploits againll: them. How wonderfully did God deliver them at Keilah, when he had entered into a fenced town, where Saul thought

he was fure of him I When he purfued and hunted

him in the mountains ; when the army encompafied him

in the wilderneis of Maon ! How was he delivered

in the cave of Engedi, when inftead of Saul's killing David, God delivered Saul into his hands in the cave, and cut off his fkirt, and might aseafily have cut off his head , and afterwards alfo in the wildcrnefs of Ziph ; and again ,a fccond time in the land of the Philiftines, though David had conquered them at Keilah, fuice he was laft among them ! which, one would think, would have been fuf-iicient warning to them not to truft him, or let him ef-cape a fecond time ; but yet now, God wonderfully turned their hearts to him to befriend and protedt, jnftead of de-flroyinghim.

Thus was the precious feed that virtually contained the Redeemer, and all the bleffings of his redemption, wonderfully preferved, when hell and earth were confpired againft it to deftroy it. How often does David himielf take notice of this, with praife and admiraiion, in the book of Pfalms r

3 About this time, the written word of God was enlarged by Samuel. I have before obfervcd that the canon of fcripture w'as begun, and the tirfl: written word of God was given to the church about Mofes's time: and many, and I know not but mod: divines, think it was added to by Jofliua, and that he wrote the laft cliapter Deuteronomy, and moll of the book oi Jolliua. (i)

Others

(i) J OSH V.\ ivrok' moj} of the booh of ]Qi>HV A."^ " This book bears the name of JoHuia, either bccaufe it is concerning hira, his aftions and exploits in the land of Canaan, or bccaufe it was written by him, or both ; though fome afcribe it to Ezra, and others to Ifaiah : but it mull: have been written before the times of Ahab, as appears from i Kings xvi. 34. and even before the times of David, as is clear from chap. xv. 69. compared with 2 Sam. v. 6.

for

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 213

Others think that Jofhua, Judges, Ruth, and part of the fir/1: book of Samuel, were written by Samuel. However that was, this we have good evidence of, that Samuel made an addition to the canon of fcripture ; for he is manifeftly mentioned in the New Teftament, as one of the prophets whofe writings we have in the fcriptures, [A6ts iii. 24.] ' Yea and all the prophets from Samuel, * and tliofe that follow after, as many as have fpoken, have ' likewife foretold of thefe days.' By that expreffion, ' as many as have fpoken,' cannot be meant, as many as have fpoken by word of mouth ; for every prophet did that: but the meaning muft be, as many as have fpoken by writing, fo that what they have fpoken has come down to us.

And the way that Samuel fpoke of thefe times of Chrift and the gofpel, was by giving the hiftcry of the things that typified and pointed to them, particularly thofe concerning David. The Spirit of God moved him to commit thofe things to writing, chiefly for that reafon, and, as was faid before, this was the main bufniefs of all that fucceflloi> of prophets, that began in Samuel.

That

for though mention is made in it of the mountains of Judah and of Ifrael, from whence fome have concluded, that the writer nuifl have lived after the times of Rehoboam, in whofc days the kingdom was divided ; yet we find the dHUnAion of Ifrael and Judah took place before, even in the times of David and Afaph, [Pfalm Ixxvi. i.j It is moll likely that this book was written by Jolhua himfelf, as the Jews in their Talmud afiert ; and, indeed, who more fit for it than himfelf? And if written or put together by another, it is moll probable that it was taken out of his "diary, annals, or memoirs : and though there are fome things recorded in -it which were done after his deatli, thefe might be inferted under a divine direftion and influence by Eleazar, or Phinehas, oir Samutl .... jull as JoOuia is fuppofed to add fome verfes concerning Moles at the end of the Pentateuch ; however, be it wrote by whom it may, there is no doubt to be made of the divine Infpi-ration and authenticity of it by us Cliriftians, fince fome hillories recorded in it are taken from it, or referred to in Hcb. xi. 30, 31. and the promifc made to Jofliua is quoted, and applied to every believer, chap. xiii. 5. and the apolile James refers to thecaufe of Rahah, her charafter and conduft in it." [Jam. ii. 25.]— [Gill's Comment.]

214 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

That Samuel added to the csnon of the fcriptures feems farther to appear from i Chron. xxix. 29. ' Now the afts ' of David the king, firft and lafl, behold, they are writ-' ten in the book of Samuel the feer.'

Whether the book of Jofhua was written by Samuel or not, yet it is the general opinion of divines, that the books of Judges, and Ruth, and part of the hrft book of Samuel, were penned by him. (k) The book of Ruth was penned for that reafon, becaufe though it feemed to

treat

(k) Samuel tvrote the bools of Jvtjges, Ruth, and part of I Samuel.] The book of Judges —" This book is called Judges, becaufe it treats principally of the great things done by thofe il-lultrious perfons Vi^ho were raifed up by God, upon fpecial occa-fions, after the death of Jofliua till the time of making a King, to judge, that is, to rule the people of Ifrael, and to deliver them from their oppreffions.

" It is but conjedlured who was the writer of It; fome think Ezra ; but it is more probable the prophet Samuel, who was the lail of the judges, and by the direction of God brought down their hiftory unto his own days ; when they defired a king to be fet over them. The Talmudifts (in Bava Bathra, cap. i.) are X>£ this opinion ; which Kimchi, Abarbinel, and other great authors follow. And indeed there is reafon to think, that he who wrote the concluiion of the book of Jofhua, waj the writer of this book alfo ; in the fecond chapter of which he inferts part of that which is written there. Certain it is, it was written before David's reign ; for the Jebufites were poffefled of Jerufalem, when this author lived, [ver. 21. of this firit chapter] who were driven out of it by David, [2 Sam. v. 6.] and therefore this book was written before." [Bp. Patrick's Comment.]

The book of Ruth —" This book is a kind of appendix to the book of Judges, and a manuduftion to the book of Samuel; and there fitly placed between them. It has its title from the perfon > whofe itory is here piincipaliy related, which indeed is wonderful.

" It is very probable, the, fame perfon who wrote the book of Judges, was the author of this alfo, viz. Samuel; who, by adding this to the end of that book, brought down the hillory unto his own times ; and gave us withal the genealogy of David from Pharcz, the Ion of Judah, that it might evidently appear, Chriil fprang out of that tribe, according to Jacob's prophecy, [Gen. xlix. 10.] but by a Gentile woman (tliat all nations might hope in his mercy) full of faith, and of earneit defire to enter into that family; which made her defpife the pride of her own nation, and chufe to live defpicabiv among the people of Gt'd." [Ibid.]

Tbc

FROM DAVID to THE CAPTIVITY. 215

treat of private affairs, yet the perfons chiefly fpokcn of In it were of the family whence Davitl and Chrift proceeded, and fo pointed to what the apoftle Peter obferved of Samftel and the other prophets, in the iiid chapter of A£ts. Thefe additions to the canon of fcripture, the great and main inftrument of the application of redemption, are to be confidered as a farther continuation of that work, and an addition made to that great building.

4. Another thing God did towards this work, at that time, was his infpiring David to fhovv fofth Chrifl: and his redemption, in divine fongs; which ihould be for the ufe of the church, in public worlhip, throughout all ages. David was himfelf endued with the fpirit of prophecy. [Acfls ii. 26, 30.] ' Let me freely fpeak to you of the patriarcli

* David, that he is both dead and buried, and his fepulchre

* is with us unto this day: therefore being 2.prophet, and

* knowing that God had fworn with an oath,' &c. So that herein he was a type of Chrift, that he was both a prophet and a king. The oil tliat was ufed in anointing David was a type of the Spirit of God; and the type and the antitype were given together; [i Sam. xvi. 13.] ' Then ' Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the ' midft of his brethren ; and the Spirit of the Lord came ' upon David from that day forward,'

One way that this Spirit influenced him was, by infpir-ihg him to fhow forth Chrift, and the glorious things ot his redemption in divine fongs, fweetly exprelFing the breathings of a piou? foul, full of admiration of the glorious things of the Redeemer, inflamed with divine love, and elevated with praife ; and therefore he is called the fvveet pfalmiji o{ Ifrael. [2 Sam. xxiii. i.] ' Now thefe

* be the laft words of David ; David the ion of JeiTe laid,

Ff ' and

The FiasT book of Samuel —" This book . . . has the name of Samuel, becaufe it contains the hiflory of his life and times; and therefore the Jews fay it was written by him ; and as it maj well enough be thought to be to the end of the xxivth chapter; and the rell might be written by Nathan and Gad, [i Chron. xxix. 29.] as alfo the following book that bears his name." [Gill'j Comment.]

2i6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

* and the man who was raifcd up on high, the anointed oi ' the God of Jacob, and the fweet pfalmift of Ifrael.' The main fubje6ls of thefe fweet fongs were the glorious things of the gofpel; as is evident by the interpretation given and the ufe made of them in the New Teftament: for there is no one book of the Old Teftament that is fo often quoted in the New, as the book of Pfalms. (l) Joyfully did this holy m.an fmg of thofc great things of Chrift's redemption, that had been the hope and expeftation of God's church and people from the beginning, and as joyfully did others follow him in it, viz. Afaph, Heman, Ethan, and others; for the book of Pfalms was not all penned by David, though the greater part of it was. Hereby the canon of fcripture was farther increafed, and an excellent portion of divine writ added to it

This was a great advancement that God made in this building ; and the light of the gofpel, which had been gradually brightening ever fmce the tall, was now exceedingly increafed by it; for whereas before there was but here and there a propliecy given of Chrift in feveral ages, now David, in a variety of fongs, fpeaks of his incarnation, life, death, relurre61ion, afcenfion into heaven, fatisfadlion, and intercefiion : his prophetical, kingly, and prieftly office ; his glorious benefits in this life and that which is to come ; his union with the church, and the bleffedncfs of the church in him ; the calling of the Gentiles, tlie future glory of the church near the end of the world, and Chrift coming to the final judgment. All thefe things, and many more, concerning Chrift and his redemption, are abundantly fpoken of in the book of Pfahns.

This was alfo a glorious advancement of the affair of redemption, as God hereby gave his church a book of divine fongs for their ufe in that part of their public wor-(hip, viz. llnging his praifes, throughout all ages to the

end

(l) The Psalms often quoted hi the New Tfjlament.'] About eighty times in the whole, and the greater part of thofe quotations is applied to Chrifl and the thinp-s of the gofpel. [J-N.]

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 217

end of the world. It is manifeft the book of Pfalms was given of God for this end. It was \ifed in the church. of Ifrael by God's appointment ; as appears by the title ol many of them, in which they are infcribed ' to the chief

* mufician,* i. e, to the man that was appointed to be the leader of divine fongs in the temple, in the public worfhip of Ifrael. So David is called the fvveet pfalmift of Ifrael, becaufe he penned pfalms for the ufe of the church of Ifrael; and accordingly we have an account that they were fung in the church for that end ages after David was dead; [2 Chron. xxix. 30.] ' Moreover Hezekiah the

* king, and the princes, commanded the Levites to fing

< praifes unto the Lord, with the words of David, and of

* Afaph the feer.' And v/e find that the fame were appointed in the New Teftament to be made ufe of in the Chriflian church, in their worHiip: [Ephef. v. 19.]

* Speaking to yourfelves in pfalms^ hymns, and fpiritual

* fongs.' [Col. iii. 16.] ' Admoniihing one another in

< pfalms^ hymns, and fpiritual fongs.' And lo they have been, and will, to the end of the world, be ufed in the churcli to celebrate the praifes of God. The people of God before this were wont to worfliip him by hnging fongs to his praife, as they did at the Red Sea ; and they had Mofes's fong [Deuteronomy xxxii.] committed to them for that end; and Deborah, and Barak, and Hannah fung praifes to God: but now firi't did God commit to his church a hook of divine fongs for their con-ftant ufe.

5. The next thing I would take notice of, is God's a6lually exalting David to the throne of Ifrael, notwith-Aanding all the oppofition made to it. God was determined to do it, and he made every thing give place that flood in the way of it. He removed Saul and his fons out of the way ; and firfl: fet David over the tribe of Judah; and then, having removed lihbodieth, fet him over all Ifrael. Thus did God fulfil his word to David. He took him from the Iheep-cote, and made him king over his people Ifrael. [Pfalm Ixxviii. 70, 71.] And now the throne of Ifrael was eflabliflrcd in that fa-F f 2 milv

2i8 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

jnily in which he was to continue for ever, even for ewer and ever.

6. Now God firft chofe a particular city of all the tribes of Ifrael to place his name in it.. There is feveral times mention made in the law of Mofes, of the children of Jfrael's bringing their oblations to the place which God ilionld chvfe; [as in Deut. xii. 5—7. and other places ;] but God had never proceeded to do it till now. The tabernacle and ark were never fixed, but removed fometimes to one place and fometimes to another. The city of Je-rufalem was never thoroughly conquered, or taken out of the hands of the Jebufites, till David's time. It is faid in Jofhua, [xv. 63.] ' As for the Jebufites, the inhabitants f of Jerufalem, the children of Judah could not drive f them out: but tlie Jebufites dwell with the children of ' Judah at Jerufalem unto this day.' But now David wholly fubdued it, [2 Sam. v.] and God chofe that city to place his name there, as appears by David's bringing up the ark thither foon after; and therefore this is mentioned afterwards, as the firft time God chofe a city to place his name therein. [2 Chron. vi, ^, 6. and chap. xii. 13.1 Afterwards God Hiowed David the verv place where he would have his temple built, viz. in the threfliing-flqor of Araunah the Jebufite.

The city of Jerufalem h therefore called tlie /loly city ; and it was the grenteft type of the^church of Chrift in all the Old Teftament. It was redeem.ed by David, the captain of the hofis oi' Ifiael, out of the hands of the Jebufites, to be God's city, the holy place of his reft for ever, where he would dwell; as Chrift, the captain of his people's falvation, redeems his church out of tlie hands of devils, to be his holy and beloved city. And therefore how often does the fcripture, when fpeaking of Chrift's redemption of his church, call it by the names of Zion and Jerufalem ? This was the city that God had appointed to be the place of the firft gathering of converts after Chrift's refurre6lion, of that- remarkable eiTiifion of the Spirit of God on the apoftles and primitive Chriftians, and the place whence the gofpel was to found forth into all the world; the place of the firft Chriftian church,

that

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 219

that was to be, as it were, the mother of all other churches through the world; agreeable to that prophecy, [If. ii. 3,4.] ' Out of Zion /liall go forth the law, and the word

* of the Lord from Jerufalem ; and he Ihall judge among ' the nations, and fliall rebuke many people,' &c.

Thus God chofe Mount Sion, whence the gofpel >vas to be publifhed, as the law had been from Mount Sinai.

y. The next thing to be obferved here, is God's folemnly renewing the covenant of grace with David, and proniif-ing that the Mcffialj fhould be of his feed. We have an account of it in the viith chapter of the fecond book of Samuel. It was on occafion of the thoughts David entertained of building God an houfe, that God fent Nathan the prophet to him, with the glorious promifes of the covenant of grace. It is efpecially contained in thefe words, [ver. 16.] ' And thy houfe and thy kingdom (liall be eftabliHied ' for ever before thee ; thy throne /hall be eflabliilied foi ' ever.' Which promife has refpeiSl to Chrifl^, the feed of David, and is fulfilled in him only ; for the kingdom of David has long fmce cenfed, any otherwife than as it is upheld in Chrift. The temporal kingdom of the houfe of David has now ccafed for a great many ages ; even more than ever it flood.

That this covenant that God now eflabliflied with David by Nathan the prophet, was the covenant of grace, is evident by the plain teftimony of fcripture, in Ifa. Iv. i—3. There we have Chrift inviting fmners to come to the waters, &c. And in tlie third verfe, he fays, ' Incline your

* ear, come unto me ; hear, and yonr fouls ihall live ; and

* I will make with you an everlafting covenant, even the

* fure mercies of David.' Here Chrift offers to convinced fmners, an interefl: in the fame everlafting covenant that he made with David, conveying to them the fame furc mercies. But what is that covenant that fmners obtain an intereft in, when they come to ChriH;, but the covenant of grace ?

This was the fifth folemn ratification of the covenant of grace with the church after the fall. The firll: was with Adam ; the fecond with Noah ; the third v/ith the patriarchs, Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob ; the fourth-was in

the

220 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

the wildernefs by Mofes, and now the fifth is this made to David.

This eftabliihment of the covenant of grace with David, he always efteemed the greateft favour of God to him, the greatefl: honour that God had conferred upon him ; he prized and rejoiced in it above all the other bleffings of his reign. You may fee how joyfully and thankfully he received it, when Nathan came to him with the glorious mefTage, in 2 Sam. vii. 18, &c. And fo David, in his laft words, declares this to be all his falva-tion, and all his defire; [2 Sam. xxiii. 5.] ' He hath

* made with me an everlafting covenant, ordered in all

* things and fure : for this is all my ialvation, and all my

* defirc.' (m)

8. It was by David that God firft gave his people Ifrael the poireflion of the whole promifed land. I have before fhown, how God's giving the poffeflion of the promifed land belonged to the covenant of grace. This was done in a great meafure by Jofliua, but not fully. Jofhua did not wholly fubdue that part of the promifed land that was ftri61:ly called the land of Canaan, and that was divided by lot to the leveral tribes ; but there were great numbers of the old inhabitants left unfubdued, as we read in the books of Jofliua and Judges ; and there were many left to prove Ilrael, and to be ' thorns in their' fides, and

* pricks in their eyes.' There were the Jebufites in Jeru-falem, and many of the Canaanites, and the whole nation

of

(m) Davidpn-zed the cavT.tixm.'] The leading trait in David's character feems to have been pietyy which we apprehend to be the exaft import of that exprciTion, [1 Sam. xiii. 14.] * A ' man after God's own heart,' /. e. a man eminently devoted to God, and full of zeal for his glory. And it is obfervable, that notwithftandinr his many and great fins (and far be it from us, to diflfemble that many and great thcv were) lie never appears to have countenanced idolatry, the befetting fin of Ifrael, The book of Pfalms, which were written at many different times, and in a great variety of circumftanccs, evinces a mind coliverfant with the divine attributes, and much engaged in contemplation on the blcflings of the covenant of redemption, and the glories of the MtHiah, of whom he was both a type and anceftor. [N. U.]

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 231

of the Philiftiues, who all dwelt In that part of the land that was divided hy lot, and chiefly in that which belonged to the tribes of Judah and Ephraim.

And thus thefe remains of the old inhabitants of Canaan continued till David's time ; but he wholly fubducd them. This is agreeable to what St. Stephen obferves, [Adls vii. 4^-] ' Which alfo our fathers brought in with Jefus (/. e. ' Jofliua) into the poffeflion of the Gentiles, whom God

* drove out before the face of our fathers, unto the days

* of David.' Tliey were till the days of David in driving them out; but David entirely brought them under. He fubdued the Jcbuiitcs, the whole nation of the Philiflines, and all the remains of the feven nations of Canaan ; [i Chron. xviii. i.] ' Now after this it came to pafs,

* that David fmote the Philiftincs, and fubdued them,

* and took Gath and her tov/ns out of the hands of the ' Philiftines.'

After this, ail the remains of the former inhabitants of Canaan were made bond-fervants to the Ifraelites. Before this the pofterity of the Gibeonites were hewers of vi'ood, and drawers of water, for the houfe of God. But Solomon, David's fon and fucceffor, put all the remains of the other feven nations of Canaan to bond-fervice, or at leaft made them pay a tribute of bond-fervice. [i Kings ix. 20—22.] And hence we read of the children cf Solomon's fervants, after the return from the Babylonifh captivity, [Ezra ii. 55. and Neh. xi. 3.] They were the children or porterity of the feven nations of Canaan, that Solomon had fubjeiSed to bond-fervice.

Thus David fubdued the whole land of Canaan, (Iridl-ly fo called. But then that was not one half, nor quarter, of what God had promifed to their fathers. The land promifed to their fathers included all the countries* from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates. Thefe were the bounds of the land promifed to Abraham, [Gen. XV. i8.] * In that fame day the Lord made a covenant

* with Abram, faying, Unto thy feed have I given this

* land, from the river of Egypt, unto the great river, the

* river Euphrates.' So again God promifed at Mount Si-

nai,

22i History of redemption.

nai, [Exod. xxiii. 31.] ' And I will fet thy bounds from

* the Red Sea even unto the fea of the Philiftines, and

* from the defert unto the river: for I will deliver the in-

* habitants of the land into your hand ; and thou fhalt

* drive them out before thee.' So again, [Deut. xi. 24.]

* Every place whereon the foles of your feet {hall tread,

* fhall be yours: from the wildernefs and Lebanon, from

* the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermoft ' fea, fhall your coaft be.' Again, the fame promife is made to Jofhua : [Jofh. i. 3,4-] ' Every place that the ' fole of your feet ihall tread upon, have I given unto

* vou, as I faid unto Mofes ; from the wildernefs and this

* Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphra-

* tes, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great fea, ' towards the going down of the fun, fliall be your coaft.' But what Jofhua gave the people the pofleflion of, was but a fmall part of this land. And the people never had had the poffeffion of it, till God gave it them by David.

This lar^c country not only included that Canaan which was divided by lot to thofe who came in with Jofhua, but the land of the Moabites and Ammonites, tlie land of the Amalekites, and the reft of the Edomites, and the country of Zobah. All thefe nations were fubdued and brought under the children of Ifrael by David. And he put gar-rifons into the feveral countries, and they became David's fervants, as we have a particular account in the viiith chapter of the fecond book of Samuel ; and David extended their border to the river Euphrates, as was promifed ; [fee the 3d verfe;] ' and David fmote alfo Hadadezer the fon

* of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his

* border at the river Euphrates.' And accordingly we read, that Solomon his fon [i Kings iv. 24.] * had domi-

* nion over all the region on this fide the river, from ' Tiphfah even unto Azzah, over all the kings on this ' fule the river.' This Artaxerxes, king of Perfia, takes notice of long after: [Ezra iv. 20'.] ' There have been ' mighty kings alfo over Jerufalem, which have niled over

* all

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 249

Jiiid. chap, of his prophecy, (u) There is icarce a chapter in the New Teftament itfelf more full of it. And how much, and in what a flrain, does the fame prophet fpeak

from

(u) IfdiahprediBed Chrl/Fs sufferings.] The glorious prophecy here referred to commences with the 13th verfe of chap. lii. and includes the whole of chap. liii. It is fo important and excellent a prophecy, that we are perfuaded our readers will admit the propriety of reviewing at leaft the principal verfes in it.

We begin, for brevity fake, with chap. liii. 4. ' Surely he hath ' borne our griefs, and carried our forrows,' not only by fympa-thy in, fupport under, and a miraculous deliverance from them; [Matt. viii. 16, 17.] but as Handing in our place, he bare our fins in his own body, [i Pet. ii. 24.] * Yet we efteemed him [judi-

* cially] flricken, fmitten of God and afflifted.' He was treated by his own people, the Jews, as an impoftor, a blafphemer, and accurfed of God.

Ver. V. * But he was wounded for our tranfgreflions ; he was

* bruifed for our iniquities: the chaftifement of our peace (by

* which our peace is effe6led) was laid upon him ; and with his

* ftripes (or by hisbruifes) are we healed.' Wonderful Redeemer! by what extraordinary methods of love and grace doll thou effeft the falvation of thy people !

Ver. 6. ' All we, like fheep have gone aftray ; we have turned

* every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid (hath made

* to light) upon him the iniquity of us all.' As the fins of Ifrael were laid on the fcape-goat, and fent into the land of oblivion ; fo were our fins, in all their aggravated and complicated heinoufnefs, made to meet by imputation upon him ; and he fuffered ' the juil

* for the unjuft,' to bring us unto God ! [i Peter iii. 18.]

Ver. 7. ' He was oppreffed, and he was afflifted'—Bp. Lotuth^s tranflation is more elegant and pointed ; ' It [/. e. the punlfhment of finj was exacted, and he was made anfwerable,' juft as a furety when a debtor becomes infolvent: but whether this verfioii be more exaft and dcfenfible, we mull not now ftop to inquire. —The prophet goes on, ' Yet he opened not his mouth; he is

* brought as a lamb to the flaughter, and as a fheep before her

* fhearers is dumb, fo he opened not his mouth.' How literally was this fulfilled in the behaviour of the lamb of God!

Ver. 8. ' He was taken from prifon and from judgment:' but the word [llfy] does not appear to fignify a prifon, nor was our Lord ever confined in one; we therefore here again prefer the rendering of Bp. Loivth, " By an opprefTive judgment was he taken off, and who fhail declare his generation ?" ;. e. as his Loidfhip has largely and fatisfa£lorily proved, ' Who would de-

* claie hjs manner of life ?' v.-:io fhall witnefs the purity uf iiis

K k conducl

iSO HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

from time to rime of the glorious benefits of Chrlft, the unfpeakable bleffings which fliall redound to his church through his redemption! Jcfus Chrift, the perfon that

this

conduft and chara'9:er ?— Peter, where art thou P —Alas! he has denied his Mailer, and the reft of his difciples have all forfaken him and fled. Nor would his enemies have admitted evidence, had it appeared, * For he was cut off from the land of the living ;

* for the tranfgrefTion of my people was he ftricken.'

Ver. 9. ' And he made his grave,'—or rather, ' His grave was

* appointed with the wicked, and with the rich,'—not ' in his

* death,' but ' with the rich man was his tomb;'—So Schindler, Drnfius, Drs. Hunt, Gr. Sharp, yuhh, Bp. Lotuth, &c. which exactly correfponds with the event recorded by the evangelift. [Matt, xxvii. 57—60.j—* Bccaufe (or although) he had done no

* violence, neither was guile found in his mouth ; [ver. 10.] yet

* it pleafed the Lord to bruife him, he hath put [him] to grief.' ' —' When thou fhalt make his foul an offering for fin,' i. e, as Bp. Loivih, ' a propitiatory facrifice,'—' He fliall fee (his) feed,

* he fliall prolong (his) days,'—or, ' which fliall prolong their

* days,—and the pleafure of the Lord fliall profper in his hand.' This and the following verfes plainly predicted not only the fuf-fcrings of Chriil, and the caufe and nature of them, as an atonement for our fins, but alfo the glory that was to follow, when he fliould fee of the travail of his foul and be fatisfied, which was accompliflied when Jcfus arofe from the dead, afcended up on high, and befliowcd that copious efFufion of the Spirit, by which thoufands were converted at a fermon.

But what fay the Jews to this prophecy ? Some refer it to Jeremiah, others to tlie people of Ifrael; it is hard to fay which of thefe is moll abfurd, but fome have honefl;ly confefled, " The Rabbins of blefled memory with one lip, according to received tradition, declare that thefe words arc fpoken of Melliah the King."—Arfd when the Spirit fliall be poured out again from on high, then fliall they l)ehold him whom they have pierced, and mourn, and believe in him.

We fliall only add, that by this remarkable prophecy the eunuch was converted to Chriftianity in the apoilolic age, [Adts viii. 27—40.] and near our own times, a noble, but profligate earl, [Lord Rochefter] owed his converfion to the fame means. His lordfliip confefled, that as he heard this chapter read, " He felt an inward force upon him, which did fi) enlighten his mind, and convince him, that he could refifl; it no longer; for the words had an authority, which did flioot like rays into his mind, .... which did fo cflTeftually confl:rain him, that he did ever after as firmly believe in liis Saviour, as if he had feen him in the clouds." [See Bp. Loiuth's, Ifaiah, and Dr. Gr. Sharps Arg. from the Prophecies, p. 222, iScc. from whom the fubftance of the above is chiefly taken.] [1. N.]

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 251

this prophet fpoke fo much of, once appeared to Ifaiah in the form of the human nature, the nature that he Ihould afterwards take upon him. [Ch.vi. i.] ' I faw alfo the Lord

* fitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled

* the temple,' &c. It was Chrifk that Ifaiah now faw, as we are cxprefsly told in the New Teftament. [John xii. 39—41.]

And if we confider the abundant prophecies of this and the other prophets, what a great increafe was there of the light of the gofpel ? How plentiful are the revelations and prophecies of Chrift now, to what they were in the firfl: period of the Old Tcftament, from Adam to Noah? or in the fecond, from Noah to Abraham ? or to what they were before Mofes, or in tiie time of Mofes, Jolhua and the Judges ? Great part of the Old Teftament was written now from the days of Uzziah to the captivity into Babylon. And how excellent are thofe portions of it! V/hat a precious treafure have thofe prophets committed to the church of God, tending greatly to confirm the gofpel of Chrift ! and which has been of great comfort and benefit to God's church in all ages fmce, and doubtlefs will be to the end of the world.

§ VI. From the Babylonish captivity to the coming of Christ.

I COME now to the laft period of the Old Teftament, viz. that which begins witJi the Babylonifli captivity, and extends to the coming of Chrifr, being the greateft part of fix hundred years, to Ihow how the work of redemption was carried on through this time.—But before I enter upon particulars, I would obferve three things wherein this is diftinguilhed from the preceding.

(i.) Though we have no account of a great part of this period in the fcripture hiftory, yet the events of it are more the fubjeft of fcripture prophecy, than any of the preceding. There are two ways wherein the fcripturcs give account of the events by which the work of redemp-

K k 2 tlon

252 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

tion is carried on, viz. hiftory, and prophecy: and in one or the other of thefe ways, we have, in the fcriptures, an account how the work of redemption is carried on from the beginning. Although they are not a proper hiftory of the whole, yet therein is contained the chain of all the great events bv which this affair hath been carried on from the fall to the end of the world, either in hiftory or prophecy. And it is to be obferved, that where the fcripture is wanting in one of thefe ways, it is made up in the other. Where fcripture hiflory fails, there prophecy takes place ; fo that the account is flill carried on, and the chain is not broken, till we come to the very lafl: link of it in the confummatiori of all things.

And accordingly it is obfervable of tlie period or fpace of time thatwc are upon, that though it is fo much lefs the fubjeft of fcripture hiftory, than moft of the preceding, fo that tliere is above four hundred years of which the fcripture gives us no hiftory, yet the events of this period are more the fubje6l of prophecy tlian all the preceding together. Moft of thofe remarkable prophecies of the book of Daniel; alfo moft of thofe in Ifaiali, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, againft Babylon, Tyrus, Egypt, and many other nations, were fuHilled jn this period.

Thus the reafon why the fcriptures give us no hiftory of fo great a part of this period, is not becaufe the events of this period were not fo important, or lefs worthy to be taken notice of, than the events of the foregoing; but there are feveral other reafons which may be given of it. One is, that it was the will of God that the fpirit of prophecy fhould ceafe in this period, (for reafons that may be given hereafter) ; fo that there were no prophets to write the hiftory of thefe times ; and therefore God de-figning this, took care that the great events of this period fhould not be without, mention in his word. It is obfervable, that that fet of writing prophets that God raifed lip in Ifrael, were raifed up at the latter end of the foregoing period, and at the beginning of this ; which it is iikcly was partly for that reafon, ^that the time was now approaching, of which, the fpirit of prophecy having

ceafed.

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 253

ceafed, there was to be no fcripture hiftory, and therefore no other fcripture account than what was given in prophecy.

Another reafon that may be given why there was fo great a part of this period left without an hiftorical account in fcripture, is, that God in his providence took care, that there Ihould be authentic and full accounts of the events of this period prefervcd in profane hiftory. It is remarkable, that with refpeil to the events of the five preceding periods, of which the fcriptures give the hiftory, profane hiftory gives us no account, or at leaft of but very few of them. There are many fabulous and uncertain accounts of things that happened before ; but the beginning of the times of authentic profane hiftory is judged to be but little more than an hundred years before Nebuchadnezzar's time. The learned men among the Greeks and Romans ufed to call the ages before that the fabulous age ; but the times after that they called the hijio-rlcal age. And from about that time to the coming of Chrift, we have undoubted accounts in profane hiftory of the principal events; accounts that wonderfully agree with the many prophecies that we have in fcripture of thofe times.

Thus did the great God, that difpofes all things, take care to give an hiftorical account of things from the beginning of the world, through all thofe former ages which profane hiftory docs not reach, and ceafed not till he came to tliofe later ages in which profane hiftory related things with fome certainty : and concerning thofe times, he gives us abundant account in prophecy, that by comparing profane hiftory with thofe prophecies, we might fee their agreement.

(2.) This being the laft period of the Old Teftament, and the next to the coming of Chrift, feems to have been remarkably diftinguiftied from all others in the great revolutions that were among the nations of the earth, to make way for his kingdom. The time now drawing nigh, wherein Chrift, the great King and Saviour of the world, was to come, great arid mighty were the changes that were

brought

254 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

brought to pafs in order to it. The way had been preparing for his coming, from the fall of man, through all the foregoing periods; but now the time drawing nigh, things began to ripen apace, and Divine Providence wrought wonderfully now. The greateft revolutions that any hif-tory whatfoever gives an account of, fell out in this period. Almoft all the then known world, i. e. all the nations tliat were round about the land of Canaan, far and near, that were within the reach of their knowledge, were overturned again and again. All lands were in their turns fubdued, captivated, and as it were, emptied, and turned upfide down, and tliat moft of them repeatedly, in this period; agreeable to that prophecy, [Ifa. xxiv. i.] ' Be-* hold, the Lord maketh the earth empty; he maketh it ' warte, and turneth it upfide down, and fcattcreth abroad '' the inhabitants thereof.'

This ernptying, and turning upfide down, began with God's vifible church, in their captivity by the king of Babylon. And tlien the cup from them went round to all other nations^ agreeable to what God revealed to the prophet Jeremiah, [xxv. i^—27.] Here fpecial refpe£l feems to be had to the great revolutions that there were on the face of the earth in the times of the Babylonilh empire. But, after that, there were three general over-turnings of the world before Chriil: came, in the fuccefllon of the three great monarchies of the world that arofe after the Babylonilh empire. The king of Babylon is repre-fented in fcripture as overturning the world ; but after that the Babylonilh empire was overthrown by Cyrus, who founded the Perfian empire in the room of it ; which was of much greater extent than the Babylonifh empire in its greateft glory. Thus the world was overturned the fccond time. And then, after that, the Perfian empire was overthrown by Alexander, and the Grecian fet up upon the ruins of it; which was ftill of much greater extent than the Perfian : and thus there was a general overturning of the world a third time. And then, after that, the Grecian empire was overthrown by the Romans, and the Roman on it eftablilhed ;'which vaftly exceeded

all

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 255

all the foregoing empires in power and extent of dominion. And fo the world was overturned the fourth time.

Thefe feveral monarchies, and the great revolutions of the world under them, are abundantly fpoken of in the proplrecies of Daniel. They are reprefentcd in Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold, filver, brafs, and iron, and Daniel's interpretation of it in the fecond chapter, and the vifion of the four beads, and the angel's interpretation of it in chap. vii. And the fucceffion of the Perfian and Grecian monarchies is more particularly reprefented in the viith chap, in the viiion of the ram and the he-goat, and again in chap. xi.

And befide thefe four general overturnings of the world, the world was kept in a conftant tumult between whiles ; and indeed was as it were in a continual convulfion through this whole period till Chrift came. But before this period, the face of the earth was comparatively in quietnefs: though there were many great wars, yet we read of no fuch mighty and univerfal convulfions as there were in this period. The nations of the world, mofl of them, had long remained on their lees, as it were, without being emptied from veflTel to vefTel, as is faid of Moab, [ Jer. xlviii. II.] Now thefe great overturnings were becaufc the time of the great Meffiah drew nigh. [Ezek. xxi. 27.] ' J will overturn, overturn, overturn it, audit fliall ' be no more, until he come whofe riglit it is, and I will * give it him.' The prophet, by repeating the word overturn three times, has refpe6l to three overturnings, as in the Revelation, [viii. 13.] The repetition of the word woe three times, fignifies three diftin6l woes; aS appears by what follows, [ix. 12.] ' One woe is pafl: ;' and again [xi. 14.] ' The fecond woe is pail:, and behold the third ' woe com.eth quickly.'

It muft be noted, that Ezekiel prophefied in the time of the Babylonifh captivity; and therefore there were three great and general overturnings of the world to come after this prophecy, before Chrift came ; the firft by the Perfians, the fecond by the Grecians, the third by the

Romans;

256 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

Romnns ; and then after that, Chrift, whofe right it was to take the diadem and reign, fhould come. Here thefe great revolutions are evidently ipoken of as preparatory to the coming and kingdom of Chrifi:. But to underftand the words right, we mull: note the particular expreffion, ' I * will overturn, overturn, overturn /'/,' /. e. the diadem and crown of lirael, or the fuprerae temporal dominion over God's vifible people. This God faid fhould be no more, i. c. the crown iliould be taken off, and the diadem removed, as it is faid in the foregoing verfe. The fupreme power over Ifrael fliould be no more in the royal line of David, to which it properly belonged, but fhould be removed away, and given to others, and overturned from one to another : firft the fupreme power over Ifrael iliould be in the hands of the Perlians; and then it fliould be overturned again, and come into the hands of the Grecians ; and then it ihould be overturned again, and come into the hands of the Romans, and fhould be no more in the line of David, till that very perfon Ihould come, that was the fon of David, whofe proper right it was, and to whom God would give it. (w)

That thofe great revolutions were all to prepare the way for Chrift's coming, and eredting his kingdom in the world, is farther manifeft by Haggai, [ii. 6, 7.] ' For '■ thus faid the Lord of hofts, Yet once it is a little while, ' and I will fhake the heavens, and the earth, arid the

' fea,

(\v) TTiif CROWN of If7-ael overturned.'] In a preceding Note, (g, p. 161.) we have fhewn, that the fceptre was not to depart until Shiloh came ; here we fee the crown was to be taken away, and not rejlored till the Meffiah's coming. Thefe aflertions may appear at firft fight inconfillent; but are to be reconciled by a very obvious dittinftion between the. fceptre of the tribe, and the diadem of the kingdom. It is certain, as our author has fiiewn, that long before Chrift's incarnation the Jews became fubjeft to the heathen empires, and yet were not wholly Ih-ipt of temporal power till afterward. They preferved a form of civil, as well as ecclefiaftical government of their own ; yet were in a ttate of vaf-falage and lubjeftion to other crowns. In a word, they had a

power, but not the fupreme power, among themfelves. This

makes the accomplilliment of thefe prophecies much more remarkable. [I- N.J

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 225

* all countries beyond the river ; and toll, tribute and cuf-

* torn was paid unto them.'

So that Jofliua, that type of Chrifl:, did but begin the work of giving Ifrael the poffeffion of the promifed land ; and left it'to be finlflied by that much greater type and an-ceftor of Chrift, even David, who fubdued far more of that land than ever Jofhua had done. And in this extent of his and Solomon's dominion was fome refem-blance of the great extent of Chrift's kingdom, and thcre-tfbre the extent of Chrift's kingdom is thus exprefied, [Pfal. Ixxii. 8.] ' He fhall have dominion alfo from fea

* to fea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.' [See alfo i Kings viii. 56.]

9. God by David perfefted the Jewirti worfliip, and added to it feveral new inftitutions. The law was given by Mofes, but yet all the inllitutions of the Jewifh worfliip were not; fome were afterwards added by divine di-retiion. So this great type of Chrift did not only per-fe6l Jodiua's work, in giving Tfrael the poffeffion of the promifed land, but he alfo finiihed Mofes's work, in per-fe«Sl:ing the inflituted worfhip of Ifrael. Thus there mufl; be a number of typical prophets, priefts, and princes, to complete one figure or fliadow of Chrift the antitype, he being the fubftance of all the types and fliadows. Of fo much more glory was Chrift accounted worthy, than Mofes, Jofliua, David, Solomon, and all the propliets, priefts, and princes, judges, and faviours of tlie Old Teftament.

The ordinances of David are mentioned as of equal validity with thofe of Mofes, [2 Chron. xxiii. 18.]

* Alfo Jehoiada appointed the offices of the houfe of the ' Lotd by the hand of the priefts the Levites, whom Da-

* vid had diftributed in the houfe of the Lord, to offer ' the burnt-offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the

* law of Mofes, with rejoicing and with ftnging, as it was ' ordained by David.' The worlhip of Ifrael was per-fe6ted by David, by the addition that he made to the ceremonial law, which we have an account of from the xxiiid to the xxvith chapters of the hrft book of Chronicles, confifting in the feveral orders and courfes into

G g which

226 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

which David divided the Levites, and the work and bufi-nefs to which he appointed them, different from what Mofes had done ; and alfo In the divUlons of the priefts the fons of Ap.ron into four and twenty courfes, affigning to every courfe their hufinefs in the houfe of the Lord, and their particular flated times of attendance there ; and appointing fome of the Levites to a new office, which was that of fingers; and particularly ordering and regulating them in that office, as you may fee in the xxvth chapter of the ift of Chronicles ; and appointing others of the Levites by law to the feveral fervices of porters, treafurers, officers, and judges: and thefe ordinances of David were kept up henceforth in the church of Ifrael, as long as it remained. Thus we find the feveral orders of priefts, and the Levites, the porters, and fingers, after the captivity. So we find the courfes of the priefts appointed by David ftill continuing in the Tew Tefiament; Zacharias the father of Joha the Baptift was a prieit of the courfe of Abia ; whicli is the fame with the courfe of Abijah appointed by David, [i Chron. xxiv. lo.]

Thus David as well as Mofes was like Chrifl in this refpeil, that by him God gave in fome degree a new ec-clefiaftical eilablifhment, and new inftitution of worfliip. Not only i'o, but by thofe additions David abolilhcd fome of the old inftitutions of Mofes that had been in force till that time ; particularly thofe laws that appointed the hufinefs of the Levites, which we have in the iiid and ivth chapters of Numbers, which very much confifted in their charges of the feveral parts and utenfils of the tabernacle there affigned to them, and in carrying thofe feveral parts of the tabernacle. But thofe laws were now aboliflied by David;' and they were no more to carry thofe things, as they had been ufed to do. But David appointed them to other work inftead of it; [i Chron. xxiii. 26.] ' And ' alfo unto the Levites, they Ihall no more carry the taber-' nacle, nor any vefTels of it for the fervice thereof:' a furc evidence that the ceremonial law given by Mofes is not perpetual, as the jews fuppofe ; but might be wholly abo-liihed by Chrift: for if David, a type of the Meffiah, might

abolifli

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 227

abolifh the law of Mofes in part, much more might the Mefliah himfelf aholifh the whole.

David, by God's appointment, abollfhed all ufe of the tabernacle tiiat was built by Mofes, and of which he had the pattern from God: for God now revealed it to David to be his will, that a temple fhould be built, that fliould be inftead of the tabernacle, A prefage of what Chrift, the fon of David, would do, when he fhould come, viz. abolifh the whole Jewifh eccle-ilaftical conftitution, which was but as a moveable tabernacle, to fet up the fpiritual gofpel-tcmple, which was to be far more glorious, and of greater extent, and was to laft for ever. David had the pattern of all things pertaining to the temple fliown him, even in like manner as Mofes had the pattern of the tabernacle: and Solomon built the temple according to that pattern which he had from his father David, which he received from God. [i Chron. xxviii. 11, 12, 19.] ' Then David gave to So-

* lomon his fon the pattern of the porch, and of the

* houfes thereof, and of the treafuries thereof, and of the

* upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours there-

* of, and of the place of the mercy-feat, and the pattern

* of all that he had by tlie Spirit, of the courts of all the

* houfe of the Lord, and of all the chambers round about,

* of the treafuries of the houfe of God, and of the trea-

* furies of the dedicated things All this,

* (faid David,) the Lord made me undcrfland in writing

* by his hand upon me, even all the works of this

* pattern.'

10. The canon' of fcripture fcems about the clofe of David's reign to have been farther enlarged by the prophets Nathan and Gad. It appears probable by the fcrip-tures, that they carried on the hillory of the two books of Samuel from the place where Samuel tirft left it, and finilhcd them. Thefe feem to be the book that in fciip-ture is called the book of Samuel the feer, and Nathan the prophet, and Gad the feer. [i Chron. xxix. 29.] ' Now

* the ads of David the king, hrfl and laft, behold they

G g 2 ' are

* are written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in *■ the book of Gad the fe^r.'*

11. The next thing I would take notice of, is God's wonderfully continuing the kingdom of his vifible people m the line of Chrift's legal anreftors, as long as they remained an independent kingdom. Thus it was without any interruption worth notice. Indeed, the kingdom of all the tribes was not kept in that line; but the dominion of that part of Ifrael in which the true worflvip of God was upheld, and which were God's vifible people, was always kept in the family of David, as long as there was any fuch thing as an independent king of Ifrael, according to his promife to David : and not only iji the family of David, but always in that part of David's pollerity that was the line whence Chrift legally defcended ; fo that the very perfon that was Chrift's legal anceftor, was always in the throne, excepting Jehoahaz, who reigned three months, and Zedekiah ; as you may fee in Matthew's genealogy of Chrift.

Chrift Was legally defcended from the kings of Judah, though not naturally. He was both legally and naturally defcended from David. He was naturally defcended from Nathan the fon of David ; for Mary his mother was one of the pofterity of David by Nathan, as you may fee in Luke's genealogy : (n) but Jofeph, the reputed and legaf father of Chrilt, was naturally defcended of Solomon ancf

his

* See Note (k) p. 215.

(n) Mary defcended from Nathan.'] *' I am av\^are that Mr. L.e Cleic, and many other learned men, have thought that Jofeph was begotten by Hell, and adopted by Jacob : but I much rathcF conclude, that he was adopted by Hell, or rather taken by hinl for his fon upon the marriage of his daughter, and that Heli wai the father of Mary; becaufe an ancient Jewifh rabbi exprefsly calls her * the daughter of Heli,' and chiefly becaufe elfe we have indeed no true genealogy of Chrift at all, but only two different views of the line of Jofeph, his reputed father, which would by no means prove that Chrift, who was only by adoption his fon, was of the feed of Abraham, and of the hou{~e of David. Yet the apoftle fpeaks of it as evident, that Chrift was defcended from Judah, ^Heb. vii. 14.J in which, if this gofpel were (as antiquity affures us) written by the direction of Paul, perhaps he may refer to this very table before us."— [Doddridge's Fam. Expof. § 9.]

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 229

his fuccefTois, as we have an account in Matthew's genealogy. Jefus Chrift, though he was not the natural fon of Jofeph, yet, by the law and conftitution of the Jews, he was Jofeph's heir, becaufe he was the lawful fon of Jo-feph's lawful wife, conceived while fhe was his legally efpoufed wife. The Holy Ghoft raifed up feed to him. A perfon, by the law of Mofes, might be the legal fon and heir of another, whofe natural fon he was not; as fome-times a man raifed up feed to his brother: a brother, in fonic cafes, was to build up a brother's houfe ; fo the Holy Ghoft built up Jofeph's houfe,

And Jofeph being in the dire(£l line of the kings of Judah, of the houfe of David, he was the legal heir of the crown of David; and Chrift being legally his iirft-born fon, he ■was his heir ; and fo Chrift, by the law, was the proper heir of the crown of David, and is therefore faid to fit upon the throne of his father David.

The crown of God's people was wonderfully kept in the line of Chrift's legal anceftors. When David was old, and not able any longer to manage the affairs of the kingdom, Adonijah, one of his fons, fct up to be king, and feemed to have obtained his purpcfe : but Adonijah was not that fon of David which was the anceftor of Jofeph, the legal father of Chrift ; and therefore how wonderfully did Providence work here ! what a ftrange and fudden revolution ! All Adonijah's kingdom and glory vanifticd away as foon as it was begun, and Solomon, the legal anceftor of Chrift, was eftabliftied in the throne.

And after Solomon's death, when Jeroboam had con-fpired againft the family, and Rehoboam carried himfelf fo that it was a wonder all Ifrael was not provoked to for-fake him, and ten tribes did ailuallv forfake him, and fet up Jeroboam iri oppofttion to him ; and though Rehoboam was a wicked man, and deferved to have been rejected ?ltoget]ier from being king, yet he being the legal anceftor of Chrift, God kept the kingdom of the two tribes, in which the true religion was upheld, in his pofleflion ; and notwithftanding liis fon Abijam was another wicked prince, yet they being Ic^ial anceftors of Chpft, God ftill continued

the

230 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

the crown in the family, and gave it to Abijam's fon Afa. And afterwards, though many of the kings of Judah were very wicked, and horridly provoked God, as particularly Jehoram, Ahaziah, Ahaz, Manaffeh, and Amon ; yet God did not take away the crown from their family, but gave it to their fons for the fame reafon. So fpeak-ing of Abijam, it is faid, [i Kings xv. 4.] ' Ne^erthe-

* lefs, for David's fake did the Lord his God give him

* a lamp in Jerufalem, to fet up his fon after him, and

* to eftablifh Jerufalem :' alfo, [2 Chron. xxi. 7.] fpeak-ing of Jehoram's great wickcdnefs, it is faid, ' Howbeit

* the Lord would not deftroy the houfe of David, becaufc

* of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he *■ had promifed to give a light unto him, and to his fons

* for ever.'

The crown of the ten tribes was changed from one family to another continually. Firft, Jeroboam took it; but the crown remained in his family only one generation after his deatli, it only defcended to his fon Nadab ; and then Baaflia, who was of another family, took it, and it remained in his pofleritv but one generation alfo after his death; and then Zimri, who was his fervant, took it; and then, without defcending at all to his pollerity, Omri took it, and the crown continued in his family for three fuccefTions ; next Jehu, that was of another family, took it, and the crown continued in his family for three or four fucccflions; and then Shallum, who was of another family, took it ; and the crown did not defcend at all to his pofterity, but Menahem took it, and it remained in his family but one generation after him ; and then Pekah, of another family, took it, and after him Hofhea, who was of flill another family ;—-ro great, a ditterence was there between the crown of Ifiael, and the crown of Judah; the one was continued evermore in the fame family, and with very little interruption, in one right line ; the other was continually tolled about from one family to another, as if it were the fport of fortune. The reafon was not, becaufe the kings of Judak, many of them, were better than the kings of Ifracl, but the one h;'d the bleffing

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 231

in tliem ; they were the anceftors of Chrift, whofe right it was to fit on the throne of Ifrael: hut with the kings oflfrael it was not fo ; and therefore Divine Providence cxercifed a continual care, through all the changes that happened in fo many generations, and fuch a long fpace of time, to keep the crown of Judah in one diredl line, in fulfilment of the everlafting covenant he had made with David, the mercies of which covenant were fure mercies : but in the other cafe, there was no fuch covenant, and fo no fuch care of Providence.

And here it muft not be omitted, that there was once a very ftrong confpiracy of the kings of Syria and Ifrael, in the time of that wicked king of Judah, Ahaz, to difpof-fefs him and his family of the throne of Judah, and to fct one of another family, even the fon of Tabeal on it , [Ifa. vii. 6.] ' Let us go up againfl: Judah, and vex it,

* and let us make a breach therein for us, and fet a king

* in the midft of it, even the fon of Tabeal.' And they feemed very likely to accomplifli their purpofe ; infomuch that it is faid, [ver. 2.] ' The heart of Ahaz and his

* people was moved as the trees of the wood are moved ' with the wind.' On this occafion God fent the prophet Ifaiah to encourage the people, and tell them that it fhould not come to pafs. And becaiife the cafe feemed fo def-pcrate that Ahaz and the people would very hardly believe, therefore God direils the prophet to give them this fign, viz. that Chrill: ihould be born of the legal feed of Ahaz; [as Ifa. vii. 14.] ' Therefore the Lord himfelif ' (hall give you a fign : Behold, a virgin fliall conceive, ' and bear a fon, and fliall call his name Immanuel.* (o)

This

(0) A VIRGIN ^rt// conceive, Iffc.'] That this text referred to Jefus Chrift might be fhown from a variety of arguments ; as, that this cliild was to be born of a virgin —that he was to be Imrna-nucl, Lord oi yudea, [Ifa. viii. 8.]—that this ciicumllance is introduced as a wonderful event, Bthold I —that it was confillent with previous intimations in earlier prophecies, [as Gen. iii. 15.J— that it was fo underftood by a cotemporary prophet, [Micah v. 3.] and is exprefsly applied to this event in the New Teilaraent, where the fad is afcertained. [Matt. i. 18—22.]

But

232 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

This was a good fign, and a great confirmation of the truth ■of what God promifed by Ifaiah, viz. that the kings of Syria and Ifrael fhould never accompliili their purpofe of difpofleffing the family of Ahaz of the crown of Judah, for Chrift the Immanuel was to be of them.

I have mentioned this difpenfation of Providence in this place, becaufe though it was continued for fo long a time, yet it began in Solomon's fucceffion to the throne of his father David.

12. The next thing I would take notice of is, the building of the temple : a great type of three things, viz. of the human nature of Chrill, of the church, and of heaven, (p) The tabernacle feemed rather to reprefenc the church in its moveable, changeable flate, here in this world. But that beautiful, glorious, coftly firudlure of the temple that fucceeded the tabernacle, and was im-moveably fixed, feems efpecially to reprefent the church in its glorified ftate in heaven. This temple was built according to the pattern fliewn by the Holy Ghcft to David, and by divine diredtion given to David, in the

place

But the confideration of thefe would lead us beyond the limits of a note, we fliall therefore only obferve that the principal ob-jeftion to this interpretation (which is formed from the context) might be obviated by a flight variation in rendering the following words, * Butter and honey will he eat that hnoiveth to refufe the * evil and to chufe the good ; but before this child'—not Imma-nuel, but Sheer-Jafhub, whom the prophet had in his hand, [ver. 3.] before this child—' fliall know,' &:c. This however we fubmit to the confideration of the learned.

Our author has very happily fliewn how the birth of the Mefliah was a fign of Ifrael's deliverance In Ahaz's time ; to confirm this and obviate any objeftlon drawn therefrom jt might be added, I. That this fign was not given to Ahaz pcrfonally, but to the houfe bf David, [ver. 13.] and, 2. That wc have feveral other Inftanccs in fcrlpture of diftant events being mentioned as the fign of prefent deliverance, one of whicli occurs In this very prophet. [Ch. xxxvil. 30.] And, 3. That it Is cuftomary for the prophets, and in particular Ifaiah, to conneft with the' predltllon of temporal deliverance the promlfes of the fplrltual iredcmption to be effefted by the Mefliah. [See Note G. p. 209.]

(p) The TEMPLE rt/j;^^ (t/" the human nature of Christ.] This our author has fliown. [See alfo John I. 14.—-Col. ii. 7.] But this

temple

place where was the thre(hing-floor of Oman the Jebufite, in Mount Moriah, [2 Chron. iii. i.] in the fame mountain, and tloubtlefs in the very fame place, whete Abraham offered up his fon Ifaac ; for that is faid to be a

moun-

temple, (as formerly the tabernacle) was divided into two parts, the Holy and Moft Holy place; the former pointing at what Chrift ivas and did in his ftate of incarnation below, the latter at what he is and does in his prefent ftate of exalted glory; as will appear by an induction of particulars:

(i.) The candleftick reprefents him as " the true light which", coming into the world, enlightencth every man;" [John i. 9.— See Doddridge] and the feven lamps of it reprefent " the feven fpirito, or the fulnefs of the fpirit with which he was endued." [Ifa. xi. 2, 3. Rev. i. 4.]

(2.) The fiiewbread alfo prefigured Chrift as 'the true bread * which came down from heaven,' [John vi. 5.] and its divifion might point out his having a fnfficiency of bleffing for all the tribes of Ifrael, to whom in a particular manner he was fent. [Matt. XV. 24.]

(3.) The vail itfelf was a type of his mortal flefli, [Heb. x. 20.] which was rent, to admit us to a ftate of communion with him in his ftate of exalted glory.

We now come to the fecond part of the tabernacle, prefiguring the human nature alfo, or at Icaft the complex perfon, of Chrift, in his prefent exalted ftate.

(I.) Herein was contained the golden cenler, which by an eafy figure may reprefent the incenfe therein offered; and that his powerful and acceptable interceffion at God's right hand,wherein he pleads the atonement once offered, the memorial of which is to God his Father as a fweet fmclling favour. [Eph, v. 2. Rev. viii. 3.]

(2.) The ark of the covenant, which has been confidered as a type of the Redeemer, from the incorruptibility of its materials, and the glory of its ornaments; thofe circumftanccs(to omit others) pointing to his prefent ftate of immortality and glory.

(3.) The cover of this ark was the mercy-feat or propitiatory, v/hich term is cxprefsly applied to Jefus Chrift, [Rom. iii. 2^. — I John ii. 2.] becaufe Jehovah beheld the blood hereon fprinkled with fatisfaition and favour to the Ifraelitcs. Thus the lamb, as if it had been flain, (in the language of St. John) with the bloody memorial of his facrifice, appears continually in the Divi;;e Pre-fence on our behalf. [Rev. v. 6.]

(4.) To omit Aaron's rod, the pot of manna, &c. as not the proper furniture of the ark, though therein depofited: the tables of the law being placed within the ark, has been confidered by divines 3s reprcfenting the moral law written in the heart of the Redeemer;

H h and

234 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

mountain in the land of Moriah, [Gen. xxii. 2.] which mountain was called the mountain of the Lord, as this mountain of the temple was, [Gen. xxii. 14.] ' And < Abraham called the name of that place jehovah-jireh ; ' as it is faid to tliis day, In the mount of the Lord it Ihall

* be feen.'

That the human nature of Chrift was the antitype of this temple, appears, becaufe ChriiT: being fliown the temple of Jerufalem, fays, ' Deftroy this temple, and in

* three days I will raife it up,' fpeaking of the temple of his body. [John ii. 19, 20.] This houfe, or an houfe built in this place, continued to be the houfe of God, where his church worlhipped till Chrift came. Here was the place that God chofe, where all their facrifices were offered up till the great facritice came, and all others ceafed. (q^) Into this temple, or rather the texaiple afterwards

built

and the mercy-feat upon them, as indicating that our tranfgreflions of that law are covered by the true propitiatory.

(5.) The cherubims, whether they reprefented the complacency and fatisfaftion with which the Deity beheld the blood of fprink-ling, or rather the pleafure and earneftnefs with which angels contemplate the work of redemption, as St. Peter feems to intimate, [i Pet. i. 12, gr.] were certainly a glorious part of the furniture of the mod holy place; but thefe inquiries would lead us too far: all, however, within the vail reprefented what pafled in heaven, when our great High Prieft entered there with his own mofl precious blood. [Heb. ix. 24.] [I. N.]

(q^) Sacrifices offered till the great sacrifice came.~\ We have already fhewn that the facrifices and other ceremonial inftltutions were typical, and mufl have been fo underltood by the Old Tefta-ment believers themfelves ; [p. 176, note n] but fome who have acknowledged this, have doubted whether they had any knowledge that the Meffiah was to offer himfelf a lacrifice for fin. That they hacl^ we infer from the following arguments :

1. That it appears to have been the current dodlrine of the Old Teftament, that without fiiedding of blood was no reraiffion of fin. The apoftle reprefents it as a very abfurd notion, that the blood of bulls and goats could take away fin; then what other facrlficc could avail but human? And what man but the Meffiah himfelf? j^SeeHeb.ix. throughout.]

2. The prophetic writings frequently introduce the Divine Being as cenfuring the legal facrifices, and thofc who offered them; — ml-, as fome have miltakeniy fuppofed, as not of his own appointment,

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 235

built in this place, the Lord came, ' even the meflenger of ' the covenant.' Here he often delivered his heavenly do6lrine, and wrought miracles; here his church was pa-rhered by the pouring out of the Spirit, after his afccnfion. [Luke xxiv. 53.] Speaking of the difciples, after Chrift's afcenfion, it is faid, ' And they were continually in the

* temple, praifuig and bleffing God.' And, [ A61s ii. 46.] fpeaking of the multitude that were converted by tliat great out-pouring of the Spirit that was on the day of Pentecoft, it is faid, ' And they continued daily with one accord in

* the temple.' Alfo, [Ads v. 42.] fpeaking of the apoftles, ' And daily in the temple, and in every houfe, they ceafed

* not to teach and preach Jefus ChrilL' And hence the found of the do(?lrine went forth, and the church fpread, into all the world.

13. It is here worthy to be obferved, that at this time, in Solomon's reign, after the temple was linifhed, the Jew-ifli church was raifed to its highefl: external glory. The Jewirii church (or the ordinances and conftitution of it) is compared to the moon, [Rev. xii. i.] ' And there ap-' peared a great wonder in heaven, a woman cloathed with

H h 2 ' the

pointment, but becaiife the carnal Jews relied and confided in them without looking forward to their great antitype.

It is particularly foretold, that in the days of the Mefliah fome more efficacious facrifice fliould be offered. [Pf. li. 19."! It is in other paffages cxprefsly declared that he fliould fuffer many things. [See Luke xxiv. 26,27,45,46.] Even in the firft promife this was hinted, the ferpent fliould bruife his heel. The 2 2d Pfahn is a clear and exprefs prophecy of thefe fufferings, which however is exceeded by the 53d of Ifaiah, and Daniel ix. 24—27. where it is exprefsly added, that under thefe circumftances he fliould bear the fin of many—our iniquities fliould meet on him (as on the fcape goat;) nay, that he fliould make his foul, (or himfelf) an offering for fin, [Ifa. liii. 10.] yet that after this he fliould fee his feed, prolong his days, and the pleafure of the Lord fliould prof-per in his hand.

3. So exprefs arc thefe paffages, that our Lord calls fome of his difciples ' fools, and flow of heart to believe' the law and the prophets, becaufe they did not underlland them; and many of the rnodern Jews can find no way to account for them, but by invention of/wo Mcffiahs; the fon of Jofepli to faffcr and die, and the foa of David to yeUrn, [G. E.]

236 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

' the fun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head ' a crown of twelve ftars/ As this church was like the moon in many other refpe6is, fo it was in this, that it wexed and wanned like it. From the firft foundation of it, in the covenant made w^ith Abraham, when this moon was now beginning to appear, it had to this time been gradually increafmg in its glory. This time, wherein the temple was finilhed and dedicated, was about the middle between the calling of Abraham and the coming of Chrift, and now it was full moon. After this the glory of the JewiOi church gradually decreafed, till Chrill came; as I ihail have occafion more particularly to obferve prefently.

Now the church of Ifrael was in its higheft external glory : Now Ifrael was multiplied exceedingly, fo that they feemed to have become like the fand on the fea fliore, [i Kings iv. 20.] Now tlie kingd )m of Ifrael was firmly eftabliihed in the family of which Chrift was to come: Now God had chofen the city where he would place his name : Now God had fully given his people the poflfef-lion of the promifed land, in quietnefs and peace, even from the river of Egypt, to the great river Euphrates; and all thofe nations that had formerly been their enemies, quietly fubmitted to them ; none pretended to rebel againft them:—-Now ^he Jewifh worfhip in all its ordinances ■was fully fettled:—Now, inftead of a moveable tent and tabernacle, they had a glorious temple; the moft magnificent, beautiful, and coftly ftruclure, that then was, ever had been, or has been fince.—-Now the people enjoyed peace and plenty, and fat every man under his vine and fig-tree, eating and drinking, and making merry, [i Kings iv. 20.]—Now they were in the higheft pitch of earthly profperity, filver being as plenty as ftones, and the land full of gold and precious ftones, and other precious foreign commodities, which were brought by Solomon's Ihips from Ophir, and which came from other parts of the world: Now they had a king reigning Over them who was the Vifeft of men, and probably the greatell earthly prince tliat ever was: —-Now

their

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 237

their fame went abroad into all the earth, fo that many-came from the utmoft parts of the earth to fee their glory and their happinefs.

Thus God was pleafed, in one of the anceftors of Chrift, remarkably to fliadow forth the kingdom of Chrift reigning in his glory. David, who was the man of war, a man who had flied much blood, and whofe life was full of troubles and confli6ls, was more of a rcpre-fcntation of Chrift in his ftate of humiliation, his militant ftate, wherein he was conflidling with his enemies. But Solomon, who was a man of peace, was a repre-fentation more efpecially of Chrift exalted, triumphing, and reigning in his kingdom of peace. And the happy glorious ftate of the Jewilh church at that time did remarkably reprefent two things; i. That glorious ftate of the church on earth, that fhall be in the latter ages of the world ; thofe days of peace, when nation fhall not lift fword againft nation, nor learn war any more. 2. The future glorified ftate of the church in heaven: the earthly Canaan was never fo lively a type of the heavenly Canaan as it was then, when the happy people of Ifrael did indeed enjoy it as a land flowing with milk and honey.

14. After this the glory of the Jewifti church gradually declined more and more till Chrift came ; yet not fo but that the work of redemption ftill went on. Wliatfoever failed or declined, God ftill carried on this work from age to age ; this building was ftill advancing higher and higher. It ftill went on during the decline of the Jewiili church, towards a further preparation for the coming of Chrift, as well as during its increafe ; for fo wonderfully were things ordered by the infinitely wife governor of the world, that whatever happened was ordered for good to this general defign, and made a means of promoting it. When the people of the Jews flourilhed, and were in prof-perity, he made that to contribute to the promoting this defign ; and when they were in adverfity, God made this alfo to contribute to the carrying on of the fame. While the Jewiili church was in its increaling ftate, the work

238 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

of redemption was carried on by their increafe ; and when they came to their declining ftate, {which they were in from Solomon's time till Chrift:,) God carried on the work of redemption by that. Which decline itfelf was one thing that God made ufe of as a farther preparation for Chrifl's coming.

As the moon, trom the time of its full, is approaching nearer and nearer to her conjunction with the fun ; fo her light is ftill more and more decreafing, till at length, when the conjunction comes, it is wholly fwallowed up in the light thereof. So it was with the Jewiih church from the time of its highefl glory in Solcmon's time. In the latter end of Solomon's reign, the ftate of things began to darken, by Solomon's corrupting himfelf with idolatry, which much obfcured the glory of this mighty and wife prince ; now it was, troubles began to arife in his kingdom ; and after his death it was divided, and the ten tribes withdrew from the true worlhip of God, and fet up the golden calves at Bethel and Dan. Prefently after this the number of the ten tribes was greatly dimi-niflied in the battle of Jeroboam with Abijah, wherein there fell down {lain of Ifrael fiye hundred thoufand cho-fen men ; which lofs the kingdom of Ifrael never entirely recovered.

Now alfo the kingdom of Judah was greatly, corrupted. In Ahab's time the kingdom of Ifrael did not only wor-fliip the calves of Bethel and Dan, but the worlhip of Baal was introduced. Before, they pretended to worihip the true God by thefe images, the calves of Jeroboam ; but now Ahab introduced grofs idolatry, and the diiect woriliip of falfe gcds in the room of the true God ; (r)

and

(r) Many learned men have conjcftured (as perhaps our author) that the goldeu calves originated from the cherubic figures, one animal in which was a calf or young bull ; fome liave even fuppofed, that this part of the Egyptian idolatry fprang from the fame fource ; and that at firft they were- only ufed as the medium of worfhip and emblems of the Deity : [Stackhoufe, Book vi. ch. I.] But as the nature of fin is progrellivc, fo one degree of idolatry leads to another; and when men once conceived the Deity tx) refemble calves, it was but one ftcp farther to worfhip thefc calves themfelvcs.

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 239

and foon after the worfliip of Baal was introduced into the kingdom of Judah, viz. in Jehoram's reign, by his marrying Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab. After this God began to cut Ifrael ihort, by finally deftroying and fending; into captivity that part of the people that dwelt beyond Jordan. [2 Kings x. 32, &c.] And then Tiglath-Pilezer fubdued and captivated all tliofe of the northern parts of the land; [2 Kings xv, 29.] at laft all the ten tribes were fubdued by Salmanefer, and finally carried captive out of their own land. After this alfo the kingdom of Judah was carried captive into Babylon, and a great part of the nation never returned. Thofe that returned were but a fmall nuunber, compared with what had been carried captive ; and for the mofi: part after this they were dependent on the power of other ftates, being fubje6l one while to the kings of Perfia, then to the monarchy of the Grecians, afterwards to the Romans. And before Chrift's tim.e, the church of the Jews was become exceeding corrupt, over-run with fuperftition and felf-righteoufnefs. How Imall a flock was the church of Chrill: in the days of his incarnation !

God, by his gradual decline of the Jewifn ftate and church from Solomon's time, prepared the way for the coming of Chrifl fevcral ways.

(i.) The decline of the glory of this legal difpenfa-tion made way for the introdudion of the more glorious difpenfation of the gofpel. The ancient difpenfarion, fuch as it was in Solomon's time, had no glorv, when compared with the fpiritual difpenfation introduced by Chrifl. The church, under the Old Teftament, was a child under tutors and governors, and God dealt with it as a child. Thofe pompous externals are called by the aportle, weak and beggarly elements. It was fit that thofe things fhould be diminiflied as Chrifl approached; as John the Baptid, his forerunner, fpeaking of him fays, ' He mufl: increafe, but I muft decreafe.' [John iii. 30.] It is fit that the twinkling fiars fliould gradually with-<lraw their glory, when the fun is approaching tov/ardj; hjs I'^fing.

{2.) This

240 HISTORY OF REDEMPTIOl^.

(2.) This gradual decline alfo tended to prepare for Chrift's coming, as it difplayed the glory of God's power, in the great effed:s of his redemption. God's people being fo diminifhed and weakened by one ftep after another, till Chrift came, was very much like the diminilhing Gideon's army. • God told Gideon, that the people that was with him, was too many for him to deliver the Midianites into their hands, left Ifrael Ihould vaunt themfelves againft him, faying, ' My own hand hath faved me.' And therefore all that were fearful were commanded to return ; and there returned twenty and two thoufand, and there remained ten thoufand. But ftill they were too many ; and then, by trying the people at the water, tliey were reduced to three hundred men. So the people in Solomon's time were too many, and mighty, and glorious for Chrift ; therefore he diminilhed them ; firft, by fending off the ten tribes, and then by the captivity into Babylon ; afterward they were farther diminifhed by the great and general corruption that there was when Chrift came; fo that Chrift found very few godly perfons among them : and with a fmall handful of difciples, he conquered the world. Thus high things were brought down, that Chrift might be exalted.

(3.) This prepared the way for Chrift's coming, as it made the falvation of thofe jews that were faved by him more confpicuous : though the greater part of the nation of the Jews was rejedied, and the Gentiles called in dicir room, yet there were a great many thoufands of the Jews that were faved by Chrift after his refurre6lion. [A6ts xxi. 20.] They being taken from fo low a ftate under temporal calamity in their bondage to the Romans, and from a ftate of great fuperfiition and wickednefs, it made their redemption the more viHbly glorious.

I have taken notice of this difpenfation of Providence in the gradual decline of the Jewifh church in this place, becaufe it beG:an in the reirn of Solomon.

15. I would here take notice of the additions that were made to the canon of Scripture in or foon after the reign of Solomon ; fome of them by Solomon himfelf, who

wrote

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY, 241

Wrote the books of Proverbs and Ecclefiaftes, probably near the clofe of his reign. But his writing the Song of Songs, as it is called, is what is efpccially here to be taken notice of, which is wholly on the fubje6l that we are upon, viz. Chrifl: and liis redemption, rcprefenting the high and glorious relation, union, and love, which is between Chrift and his redeemed church, (s) And the

hiftory

(s) TZi^ SONG o/'soNGS lurttten by Solomon.'] As many ferious minds have doubted the divine authority of this book, and fome critics and divines have too haftily given it up, we prefume it maybe an acceptable fervice to our readers, in as concife a manner a« poflible, to colleft the evidences In its favour :

1. That Solomon compofed many fongs or poems is certain, [i Kings iv. 32.] and fince the title of this book (which is con-feffedly very ancient) afcribes it to him, it feems very eafy to believe, that as the book of Proverbs was compiled from his wife faylngs, this book might be preferved as the raoft excellent of his fongs. To Solomon, therefore. It has conftantly been referred, and fo far have Its enemies generally been from denying it, that this circumflance has been made a principal argument againfl: Its authority. This opinion is very much ftrengthencd from feveral pafTages in the Song Itfelf; [Chap. HI. ii.] ' Go forth, and be-

* hold King Solomon ;'—[vHI. i2.~\ ' My vineyard is before thee,

* O Solomon !' Alfo feveral of the comparifons ufed, as th« tent curtains of Solomon, and Pharaoh's chariot horfcs, would hardlv have been ufed by a later author.

2. Should it be aflced, at what period of his life Solomon wrote it ? If we may form any judgment from tlie ftile and Images made ufe of, it was moft probably In the early part of It, before his heart was drawn afide from virtue and religion ; fo mod Chrllllan and many Jewlfh v/rlters ; for that it was not written during the time of his apoftafy, Is clear

From, 3. Its early admlfTion Into the Jewlfh canon, and the con-ftant veneration It has received in the Chrilllan church. Among the Hebrews it was ranked In the fame clafs with Daniel and Eze-kiel, and forbid to be read by their young men till they arrived at matuie age, on account of Its myllerlous contents. [Preface to Patricks Paraph.] 'Jofephus, though he does not diitinctlv name the facred books, enumerates them in fuch a manner as may be fairly fuppofed to Include this. And in the Chrlftlan church. Melito, Bp. of Sardis, exprcfsly mentions It as early as A. D. 160. [Bp. Cojms' Sclioolaftic Hlft. p. 15 and 32.]

4. Another argument In favour of this book may be derjvcu from comparing it with other paflages of fcripturc. pa'^ticularjy

242 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

hiftorv of rhe fcriptures feems, in Solomon's reign, and fome of the next fucceeding ones, to have been increafed

by

Pfalm slv. and Ifa. V. i, Sec. where many of the fame images are applied to divine objeifts ; and if David was the author of the former, as is extremely likely, it is not to be fuppofed that his fon would have taken the fame figures, and bmlefqued the piety of his father by applying them to the object of a carnal love.

5. It has indeed been alledged, that the name of God does not occur in this book—that the name of David is differently fpelt in the Hebrew from what it Is in other books written prior to the captivity—that it contains no precepts of pietv or religion —that its ilile is loofe and immodeft, and that it is neither quoted nor referred to by any other of the facred writers.—The two firft have been ftiewn to be founded on miftake. [Find/i:y's Vind. of the Sac. Books, p. 452, and the Hebrew of cap. viii. 6.] If the book be aJlegoncal, as we fhtdl endeavour to Ihew, it muft con-fequently be fidl of piety and religion. The ftile of the original has been proved to be perfeclly modeft and delicate, [Jirickaelis's Notes on Lowth's Proeledl. p. 160.] as well as elegant and beautiful, [fee New Tranflation, 8vo. 1764.] and if fo much cannot be faid for our verfion, fome apology mav at leaft be made for the time in which it was made.— As to the laft objeftion, our difficulty arifcs from the number of parallel phrafes ufed in both the Old and New Teftam.ent, which makes it not eafy to afcertain, whether the texts in queftion be or be not quotations of this book ;

. this very objection, however, forms a powerful argument in its favour.

6. A modem Jew, of confiderable learning and ingenuity, has given hib opinion of the book as follows : " This peem is an entire

allegory, as Aben Ezra obferves It commence's, according

to his opinion, at the time of Abraham, and extends to the times of the Mcffiah j and which defcribes (if I may be allowed the ex-

preffion) the conjugal union of God with the Jewi/h church

This is the folemn compact fo frequently celebrated by almoft all the Jewiih writers under the fame image." [Z^-i's Diet, in CDTw'.] The fenlim.ents of the other Jewifli Rabbins correfpondent herewith may be feen in the Preface to FatricPs Paraphiafe. {^Gill's Comment, and Poli Syn. Crit.]

It would be leading us too far to review the fentlments of Chrif-tian espoiltors—in the general they are agreed, that this Song expreflcs the fubllrr.e and fpiritual love, which fubfifts between the Redeemer and his church, and though we have not been thoroughly pleafed with any of the allegorical commentaries we have feen, it is hoped, the hints given by *Bp. Lo'wth, ProfcfTor Mi-chaelis, Mr. Harmer, and the author of the New Tranflation, on the one Land ; and Ep. Patrick, Dr. GiU^ and Mr. Henry, on the ether, may feme day produce this defideratum. [G. E.j

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 2x5

bv the propheti Nsdian, Ahijsh, Sbemaiah, and Iddo. Ic is probable rhat part of the hiftonr which wc have in the firil of Kings was wrirren br them, bj what is laid 2 Chron. ix. 29.—xii. 15.—xiii. 22.

16. God*s upholding his church and religion through this period was tmlv wonderfbl, confidering the pronenefe of that people to idolatry. When the ten tribes hid jeae-rally and finally forfaken the worlhip of God, he kept up the true religion in the kingdom of Jodah ; and when tkrt corrupted themfelves, as they very often did exceedinglv, and idolarrv was ready totally to extinguith ir^ yet God kept the lamp alirc, and was often pleafed when things feeoied to be come to an extremiry, and religion ar irs lall gafp, to grant bleSed revirals hs remarkable oat-pourings of his Spirit, particularly in Kezekiah and Joilah's timely. God kept the book of the la^ from being loft in times of ^neral and lon^ c^ncianednesiect cf, and en.— ::-againft it. The moit remarkable inflance of this kind ■• ;i: the preferration of the book of the law in die time ot the long apolrafv of ManaGah, and then afrerwards in me reign of Ames his {zx\.. Thus while the book of the larv was fb much neglected, and fuch a carelefs 2nd prc^aae mznagement' of the aSairs of the temple prevailed, that the cppv of the bw, which ufed to be laid up by the fide of the ark *in the Hoi v of Holies, was loft for a long time ; no bodv knew where it was. But vet God prelerved it from being finallv fo. In Jollah's time, when diey came to repair the temple, it was found buried in rubbidi, afeer ir had been loit fo long tiiar Joiiah himielf feems to have been much a ftran^er to it till now. \i Kings xxii. S,

&C.] (T) ■ ' ^ .

iS- Go£->

(t) Tci ioei cf tin ^-3 i:j^'j The cnesdes of rCTdatioa would be gUd to prove, and icwne of then hsxe attempted it, that the book - " ' -s^s die coly remaiaing copy of the law, and have evea 1 -. that this tnijht be in great zicifare

fabricated by the rrieis. But the ihcrec hlftonan gives no gnKmd for fuch fufpicic"" : " '. fippcaag that niaay ccpies might have

18. God's preferving the tribe of which Chrift was to proceed, from being ruined through the many and great dangers of this period. The vifible church of Chrift from Solomon's reign was chiefly in the ten tribes of Judah, The tribe of Benjamin, which was annexed to tliem, was but very fmall, and that of Judah exceeding large ; as Judah took Benjamin under his covert when be went into Egypt to bring corn, fo the tribe of Benjamin feemed to be under the covert of Judah ever after : and though, on occaficn of Jeroboam's fetting up the calves at Bethel and Dan, the Levites reforted to Judah out of all the tribes of Ifrael, [2 Chron. xi, 13.] ; yet they were alfo fmall, and not reckoned among the tribes ; and though many of the ten tribes did alfo on that occafion, for the fake of the worfhip of God in the temple, leave their inheritances in their feveral tribes, and removed and fettled in Judah, and fo were incorporated with them, as [2 Chron. xi. 16.] yet the tribe of Judah was fo much the prevailing part, that they were all called by one name, they were called Judah ; therefore God faid to Solomon, [ 1 Kings xi. 13.] ' I will not rend away all the kingdom ; * but will give one tribe to thy fon, for David my fer-' vant's fake and for Jerufalem's fake, which I have cho-' fen ;' [alfo ver. 32, 36.] So when the ten tribes were carried captive, it is faid, there was none left but the tribe of Judah only : [2 Kings xvii. 18.] Whence they were called Jev/s.

This was the tribe of whicli Chrill: was to come : and of this chiefly did God's vifible churcii confifl:, from Solomon's

been deftroyed or loft in the preceding apoftafy, yet the Lord always referved himfelf a people to whom his word was precious, and who would never part from it, but with their lives. The fail here feems to be, that the ftudy of the Bible had been miferably neglefted; and that the king who was commanded to write out a copy himfelf, [Deut. xvii. 18.] had been brought up in ignorance of it—that the copy now found was a very ancient and valuable manufcript—perhaps, (as the Hebrew phrafe Is, in or by the hand of Mo/ls) the very original iX.{tAi —the difcovery of which might well be fuppofed to occafion great jov among them. [2 Chron, xxxiv. 14.] [See G/7/'s Comment.] [U. S.J

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY, 24.5

lomon's time: this was the people over whom the Kings which were legal anceftors of Chrift, and of the houfe of David, reigned. The people were wonderfully prc-ferved from defl:ru6tion during this period, when they often feemed to be upon the brink of it, and jufl ready to be fwallowed up. So it was in Rehoboam's time, when Shilhak, king of Egypt, came againft Judah with fuch ^ vaft force; yet then God manifeftly preferved them from being deftroyed. [2 Chron. xii. 2, &c.] So again in Abijali's time, when Jeroboam fet the battle in array againft him with eight hundred thoufand chofen men ; a mighty army indeed I [2 Chron. xiii. 3.] Then God wrought deliverances to Judah, out of regard to the covenant of grace cflablilhed witli David, as is evident by ver. 4, 5 ; and the vi6tory they obtained was becaufe the Lord was on their fide, [ver. 12.] Again in Afa's time, when Zerah the Ethiopian came againft him with a yet larger army of a thoufand thoufand and three hundred cliariots. [2 Chron. xiv. 9.] On this occalion Afa cried to the Lord and trufted in him ; being fenfible that it was nothing with him to help thofe that had no povi'er: [ver. II.] ' And Afa cried unto the Lord his God, and ^ faid, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether ' witii many, or with thofe that have no power.' And accordingly God gave them a glorious vi6lory over this mighty hoft.

So again it was in Jehofhaphat's time, Avhen the chiL dren of Moab, of Ammon, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir, combined together againft Judah, with a mighty army, a force vaftly fuperior to any that Jehofliaphat could raife ; who, with his people, was greatly afraid; yet they fet themfelves to feek God on this occahon; trufted in him, and were told by one of his prophets, that they need not fear, nor Ihould they have any occafton to fight in this battle, but only to ftand ftill and fee the fal-vation of the Lord. Accordingly they only ftood ftill, and fang praifes to God, who made their enemies do the work themfelves, by killing one another; while the children of Judah had nothing to do, bat to gather the

246 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

fpoll, which was more than they could carry away. [2 Chron. XX.]

So it was in Ahaz's time, of which we have fpoken already. Again in Hezekiah's, when Sennacherib, king of Aflyria, the greateft monarchy that was then in the world, came up againfl: all the fenced cities of Judah, after he had conquered moft of the neighbouring countries, and fent Rabfhakeh, the captain of his hoft, againiT: Jerufa-lem, who in a very proud and fcornful manner infulted Hezekiah and his people, as being fure of vi6lory; and the people were trembling for fear, like lambs before a lion. Then God fent Ifaiah the prophet to comfort them, and affure them that they Ihould not prevail ; as a token of which he gave them this fign, viz. that the earth, for two years fucceffively, fhould bring forth food of itfelf, from the roots of the old ftalks, without their plowing or fowing ; and then the third year they fhould fow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them, and live on the fruits of their labours, as they were wont to do before. [See 2 Kings xix. 29.] This is mentioned as a type of what is promifed in verfes 30, 31. ' And the

* remnant that is elcaped of the houle of Judah, fliall ' yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

* For out of Jerufalem (hall go forth a remnant, and they ' that efcape out of Mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord

* of horts fliall do this.' The corn's fpringing again pfter it had been cut olf with the fickle, and bringing forth another crop from roots that feemed to be dead, reprefents the church's reviving again, as it were out of its own afhes, and flourifliing like a plant after it had been cut down feemingly paft recovery. When the enemies of the church have done their utmoft, and feemed to have gained ^ their point, and to have overthrown the church, fo that the being of it is fcarcely viiiblc, yet there is a fecret lite in it that will caufe it to flouriih again, and to take root downward, and bear fruit upward. . This was now fultil-led ; for the king of Aflyria had .already taken and carried captive the ten tribes; and Sennacherib had alfo ta-Icen all the fenced cities of Judah, and ranged the country

round

FROM DAVID TO THE CAPTIVITY. 247

round about; Jerufalem only remained, and Rabfliakeh had in his own imagination already fwallowed that up ; as he had alfo in the fearful apprehenfions of the Jews them-felves. But God wrought a wonderful deliverance. He fent an angel, that in one night fmote an hundred fourfcore and five thoufand in the enemy's camp,

19. In the reign of Uzziah, and the following reigns, God was pleafed to raife up a fet of eminent prophets, who fhould commit their prophecies to writing, and leave them for the ufe of his church in all ages. We before obferved, that God began a fucceffion of prophets in If-rael in Samuel's time ; but none of them are fuppofed to have written books of prophecies till now. Several of them indeed wrote hiftories of the wonderful difpenfa-tions of God towards his church, as we have oblerved already of Samuel, Nathan, and Gad, Ahijah, and Iddo. The hillory of Ifrael feems to have been farther carried on by Iddo and Shcmaiah : [2 Chronicles xii. 15.] ' Now the a6ts of Rehoboam, firft and laft, are they not ' written in the book of Sliemaiali the prophet, and Iddo ' the leer, concerning genealogies r' And after that [2 Chron. XX. 34.] ' Jehu the fon of Hanani, who is men-' tioned in the book of the kings of Ifrael.' [See i Kings xvi. 1—7.] And then it was continued by the prophet Ifaiah: [2 Chronicles xxvi. 22.] ' Now the refl of tlie ' a6ls of Uzziah, lirlt and laft, did Ifaiah the prophet, the ' ion of Amos, write.' He probably did it as well in the fecond book of Kings, as in the book of his prophecy. And the hiltory was carried on and finiihed by other prophets after him. But now did God tirft raife up a fet of great prophets, not only to write hillories, but prophecies. The tirfl: of thefe is thought to be Hofea the fon of Beeri, and therefore his prophecy, the word of the Lord by him, is called [Hofea i. 2.] * The beginning ' of the word of the Lord by H.fca ;' that is, the flrfl part of the written word of that kind. He prophefied in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezckiah, kings of Judah, and in tlie davs of Jeroboam, the fon of

Joaih,

248 HISTORY o:f redemption.

Joafh, king of Ifrael. There were many other wltnefTes^ for God raifed up about this time, to commit their prophecies to writing, viz. Ifaiah, Amos, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, and probably fome others; and fo from that time forward God continued a fucceffion of zvrhing prophets.

This was a great advance in the affair of redemption, as will appear, if we confider that the main bufmefs of the prophets was to point out Chrifl: and his redemption. The great end of the fpirit of prophecy being given them ■was, that they might give teftimony to Jefus Chrift, [Rev. xix. 10.] ' For the teftimony of Jefus is the Spirit * of prophecy.' And therefore we find, that the main thing that moft of the prophets in their writings infift upon, is, Chrift and his redemption, and the glorious times of the gofpel, which ihould be in the latter days; and though many other things were fpokcn of by them, yet they feem to be only introdu6lory to their prophecy of thefe things. Whatever they predidl, here their prophecies commonly terminate.

Thefe prophets wrote chiefly to prepare the way for the coming of Chrift, and the glory that fhould follow. And in what an exalted ftrain do they all fpeak of thofe things ! Other things they fpeak of as other men. But when they come upon this fubje6l, what a heavenly fub-limity is there in their language ! Some of them are very particular and full in their predidlions of thefe things, and above all, the prophet Ifniah, (who is therefore dc-fervediy called the evangelical prophet) feems to teach the glorious dotSlrine of the gofpel almoft as plainly as the apoftles, who preached after Chrift was adtually come. The apoftle Paul therefore takes notice, that the prophet Efaias is very bold, [Rom. x. 20.] i. e. as the word is ufed in the New Teftament, very plain, fo [2 Cor. iii. 12.] ' we ufe great plainnefs of fpeech,' l. e. ' boldnefs,' ns in the margin. How plainly and fully does the prophet Ifaiah defcribe the manner and circumftances, the natuie and end, of the fufFerings and faci'iiicc of Chrift, in the

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 257

•,fea, and the dry land ; and I will fhake all nations, and

* the defire of all nations ifhall come, and I will fill this

* houfe with glory, faith the Lord of hofts.' [See alfo ver. 21—23.] It is evident by this, that thefe commotions, whereby the thrones of kingdoms and armies were overthrown, and every one came down by the fword of his brother, were to prepare the way for the coming of him who is ' the defire of all nations.' (x)

The great changes and troubles that have fometimes been in the vifible church of Chrift, are [in Rev. xii. 2.] compared to the church's being in travail to bring forth Chrill: : fo thefe great troubles and mighty revolutions before Chrift: was born, were, as it were, the world's being in travail to brmg forth the Son of God. The

L I apoftle,

(x) 77'^ DESIRE of aUnaUons.~\ That this prophecy refpefled the Meffiah, we have the clearelt proof by comparing this text with Mai. iii. 1,2. where ' the deiire of all nations' is explained of ' the Lord whom ye (Jews) feek, even the meflenger (or an-

* gel) of the covenant.' And the houfe to be filled with glory is called the temple; nor can the Jews in their prefent ftate of apollafy any way account (as will be hereafter fhewn) for the glory of the latter temple being faid to exceed that of the former, namely, Solomon's. But why is Chrill called ' \\\t deftn of all ' nations :' Were tbey indeed fcnfible of their guilt and mifery^ and ready to embrace the Saviour? Alas! no. But they all groaned beneath the weight of temporal calamity—they were op-prefTed with tyranny and fupeiftition ; they had alfo ioxat gencrtt^ expe(Station of a great dehverer, which they had gathered from tradition, and fome partial knowledge of revelation.—Thus far they were prepared for his coming; and as Chrill came to deliver them eventually from thefe evils, as well as others of which they had little conception, he might well be called ' the defire of all ' nations.' Farther, he might well be fo called, as uniting in his perfon every attribute and excellence worthy the eilecm and veneration of mankind. Riches, honour, peace, and whatever we call good and great, if they have any lullre, derive it frum him ; and in him, as the grand focus of eveiy ray of blefiednefs which the Deity has emitted, they all unite and complete their glory : ' It pleafed the Father, that in him fliould all fuUnefs ' dwell.'

This prophecy has been ably defended againft the objections, and fupported by the conceffions of Jewifh writers, as well as other arguments, by the late Dr. Onvin on the Hebrews, vol. i. Exercit. 13. [N. U.]

258 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

apoflle, in the viiith. of Romans, reprefents the whole creation as groaning and travailing In pain together until now, to bring forth the liberty and manifeftation of the children of God. Thereto the world being fo long a time kept in a (late of war and bloodfhed, prepared the way for the coming of the Prince of peace, as it ihowed the great need the world flood in of fuch a prince.

It pleafed God to order it in his providence, that earthly power and dominion fliould be raifed to its great-ell: height, and appear in its utmofb glory, In thofe four great monarchies that fucceeded one another, and that every one fhould be greater and more glorious than the preceding, before he fet up the kingdom of his Son. By this it appeared how much his fpirltual kingdom exceeded the moft glorious temporal ones. The flrength and glory of Satan's kingdom in thefe four mighty monarchies, appeared in Its greateft height: for thofe were the monarchies of the heathen world, and fo the ftrength of them was the ftrength of Satan's kingdom. God fuf-fered the latter to rife to fo great a height of power and magnificence before his Son came to overthrow it, to prepare the way for his more glorious triumph. Goliath muft have on all his armour when the ftripling David comes agalnft him with a fling and a ftone, for the greater glory of David's viclorv. God fufFered one of thofe great monarchies to fubdue another, and ere6t itfelf on the other's ruins, appearing flill in greater ftrength, and the lalT: to be the ftrongeft and mightleft of all; that fo Chrlft, in overthrowing that, might, as it were, overthrow them all at once ; as the ftone cut out of the mountain without hands, is reprefented as deftroying the whole image, the gold, the lilver, the brafs, the iron, and the clay ; fo that all' became as the chaff of the fummer threfning-fioor.

Thefe mighty empires were fuffered tlius to convulfe the world, and deftroy one another: and though then-power was fo great, yet they could hot uphold themfelves, but fell one after another, and came* to nothing, even the laft of them, which was the ftrongeft, and had fwallowed

up

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 359

up the earth. It pleafed God thus to (how in them the inftability and .vanity of all earthly power and greatnefs ; which ferved as a foil to fet forth the glory of the kingdom of his Son, which never fhall be deftroyed, [Dan. ii. 44.] ' In the days of thefe kings fhall the God of

• heaven fet up a kingdom, which fhall never be de-

• ftroyed: and the kingdom fhall not be left to other

• people, but it fhall break in pieces, and confume all

• thefe kingdoms, and it fhall fland for ever.' So greatly does this differ from all thofe kingdoms: they vanifh away, and are left to other people ; but this fhall fland for ever. God fufFered the devil to do his utmoft, and to eflablifh his interefl, by fetting up the greateft, flrongeft, and moft Sjlorious kingdoms in the world, before the defpifed Jefus overthrew him in his empire. Chrift came into the world to bring down the high things of Satan's kingdom, that the hand of the Lord might be on every one that is proud and lofty, and every high tower, and every lofty mountain ; [Ifaiah ii. 12, &:c.] And therefore thefe things were fufFered to rife very high, that Chrilt might appear fo much the more glorious in being above them.--Thus ■wonderfully did the great and wife governor of the world prepare the way for the erection of the glorious kingdom of his beloved fon Jefus.

(3.) Another thing for which this lafl period or fpace of time before Chrift vi'as particularly remarkable, was the wonderful prefervation of the clmrch through all thofe overturnings. This was, on fome accounts, more remarkable through this period, than through any of the foregoing. It was very wonderful that the church, which now was fo weak, and in fo low a ftate, and moftly fubje6t to the dominion of heathen monarchies, fliould be preferved for five or fix hundred years together, while the world was fo often overturned, and the earth was rent in pieces, and made fo often empty and wafte, and the inhabitants of it came down fo often every one by the fword of his brother. I fay it was wonderful that the church in its weak and low f!:atc, being but a little handful of men, lliould be preferved in all thefe great

26o HISTORY OF REDEMPTIOK

convulfions; efpeclally confidering that the land of Judca, the chief place of the church's relidence, lay in the midfl of them, as it were in the middle between the contending parties, and was very much the feat of war amongft them, and was often over-run and fubdued, and fome-times in the hands of one people, and fometimes another, and very much the objeil of the envy and hatred of all heathen nations, and often almoft ruined by them, great multitudes of its inhabitants being flain, and the land in a great meafure depopulated ; and thofe who had them in their power, often intended the utter deftruflion of the whole nation. Yet they were upheld; they were preferved in their captivity in Babylon, and they were upheld again under all the dangers they paffed through, under the kings of Perfia, and the much greater dangers they were liable to under the empire of the Greeks, and afterwards when the world was trodden down by the Romans.

Their prefervation through this period was alfo peculiarly remarkable, in that we never read of the church's fufFering perfecution in any former period in any meafure to fuch a degree as they did in this, under Antiochus Epi-phanes, of which more afterwards. This wonderful prefervation of the church ihrougli all thefe overtuinings of the world, gives light and confirmation to what we read in the xlvith. Pfalm, ' God is our refuge and ftrength, a

* very prefent help in trouble. Therefore will not w'c ^ fear, though the earth be removed, and though the moun-' tains be carried into the midll of the lea ; though the

* waters thereof roar, and be troubled ; though tlie moun.-' tains fliake with the fwelling thereof.'

THUS I have taken notice of fome general things wherein this laft period of the Old Tei^ament times was diftinguilhed. I come now to confider how the work of redemption was carried on in particulars.—And,

I. The firft thing that here offers is the captivity of the Jews into Babylon. This wa's a great difpenfation pi providence, and fuch as never was before. The children

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 261

<lren of Ifrael in tlie time of the judges, had often been brought under their enemies; and many particular perfons were carried captive at other times. But never had there been any fuch thing as deftroying the whole land, the fanfluary, and the city of Jerufalem, and all the cities and villages of the land, and carrying the whole body of the people o\ir of their own land into a country many hundred miles diflant, and leaving the land of Canaan empty of God's vifible people. The ark had once forfaken the tabernacle of Shilo, and was carried captive into the land of the Philiftines: but never liad there been any luch thing as the burning the fan6luary, and utterly dellroying the ark, and carrying away all the facred veffels and utenfils, and breaking up all their ftated worfliip in the land, and the land's lying walle and empty for fo many years toge-tlier. How lively arc thofe things fct forth in the Lamentations of Jeremiah ! (y)— The work of redemption was promoted by this remarkable difpenfation in thefe following ways.

(i.) It finally cured that nation of their idolatry. The prophet Ifaiah, fpeaking of the fetting up of the kingdom of Chrift, [ii. 18.] fays, ' The idols he (hall utterly abo-' lidi.' When the time was drawing near, that God would aboliih heathen idolatry, through the greater part ot the known world, it pleafed him tirft to aboliiii hea-ihenifm among his own people, by their captivity in Babylon.

This

(y) The LAMnm at lotis of yarmitih.^ "There is nothing in all the tragedians, not in Euripedcs liimreif, (fo mafterly in his mourning llrokes) that is equally moving and tender with tlie Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah—' O that my head were f waters, and mine eyes fountains of tears!—O, all ye that pafs

* by, behold and fee if there be any forrow like unto my forrowl" .... It is a piece of fupcrlativc beauty, and .... comprifes all the eloquence of mourning. ' Did we "ever find (fays the eloquent ' Dr. South) forrow flowing in fuch a natural prevailing pathos?

* . . . . One would think that every letter was wrote with a tear:

* every word was the noifc of a breaking heart; that the author

* was a man compared of forrows, difciplined to grief from his

* infancy ; one who never breathed but in fighs, nor fpokc b:;t in

* a groan." [Bi-ackwall's ^ac. ClafRcs, vol. i,]

26z HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

This nation, which was addi6ted to idolatry for (o many ages, and not reformed by all the reproofs, warnings, corre(5lions, and judgments infli6led on them for it, were now finally cured ; fo that however fome might fall into this fin afterwards, as they did about the time of Antiochus's perfccutlon, yet the nation, as a nation, never (hewed any hankering after this fin any more. This was a remarkable and wonderful change in that people, and what dire6lly promoted the work of redemption, as it was a great advancement of the interell of religion.

(2.) It was one thing that prepared the way for Chrift's coming, and letting vip the glorious difpenfation of the gofpel, as it took away many of thofe things, wherein confined the glory of the Jewilh difpenfation. Firil;, it removed the temporal diadem of the houfe of David away from them, i. c. the fupreme and indeoendent government of themfelves. The time now approaching, when ChrilT:, the great and everlafting king of his church, was to reign, it was time for the typical kings to withdraw. The Jews henceforward were always dependent on other nations, until Chrift came, for near fix hundred years, except about ninety under the Maccabees and their pofterity, during which fpace they maintained a fort of independence by continuel wars.

Again, by the captivity, the glory and magnificence of the temple was taken away, and the temple that was built afterwards was nothing in comparifon with it. Thus it was meet, when the time drew nigh that the glorious antitype of the temple Ihould appear.

Another thing that they loft by the captivity, was the two tables of the teftimony delivered to Moles, on which God with his own finger wrote the ten commandments on Mount Sinai. Thefe fcem to liavc been preferved in the ark till the captivity, and were there when Solomon placed the ark in the temple, [i Kings viii. 9.] ' There was no-

* thing in the ark, fave the two • tables of ftone, which

* Mofes put there at Horeb.'

Another thing that the Jews now lofl, was the Urim and Thummim. [Ezra ii. 63.] ' And the Tirfliatha faid

* unto

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 263

' unto them, that they fhould not eat of the moft holy ' things, till there ihould ftand up a prieft with Urtm and ' Thummhn.'' And we have no account that this was ever reftored ; but the ancient writings of the Jews fay the contrary. What this Urim and Thummim was, I fliall not now inquire ; but only obferve, that it was foniething by which the higli prieft inqiiired of God, and received immediate anfvvers from him, or by which God gave fortii immediate oracles on particular occafions. This was now withdrawn, the time approaching when Chrift, the antitype of the Urim and Thummim, the great word and oracle of God, was to come, (z)

Another thing that the ancient Jews fay was wanting in the fecond temple, was the Shechinali, or cloud of glory over the mercy-feat. This was promifed to be in the tabernacle. [Levit. xvi. 2.] ' For I will appear in the

' cloud

(z) T/jic-Urim a«6^ Thummim.] To enumerate all the different opinions of the learned on this fubjeft would be tedious rather than edifying. The following are the moft generally received:

1. MoftChriftian writers take the Urim and Thummhn to mean the precious ftones in the brcaft-plate of the high prieft ; but the rabbins will have it that the ineffable name (Jehovah) was infcrted between the folds, not by the workmen, as the ftones were, but by Mofes himfelf under Divine direftion. [Exod. xxviii. xxix.]

2. The anfwer of this oracle muft either have been collecled by the peculiar radiancy of certain letters of the names of the tribes engraved on thefe ftones; or rather be delivered by a voice from the Shechinah, as at other times, Numb. vii. 8, 9. See i Sam. xxiii. II, 12.—xxx. 8.—2 Sam. ii. i.—Judges i. I, 2.—xx. 18. All are agreed that this method was only lawful for the mofl eminent perfons, and on the moft important occafions. The Jews aad, that it was never ufed after the building of Solomon's temple ; and give this reafon, that the tribes were foon after divided, and it could only be lawfully confulted in cafes in which they were all concerned.

If the anfwer was given by a voice from the moft holy, then the only ufe oi the brcaft-plate ieems to have been as a memorial of the twelve tribes before God, herein typifying him who bears all the names of his chofen people on his heart, and thus conftantly appears in the prefence of God for us.

[For farther fatisfaftion on this very difficult fubjcft, fee Pri-deaux\ Connexion, Part II. Book 3. Levi's Dictionary, and Parhhurjl'% Lexicon in "(IK.] " [G. E.J

264 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

* cloud upon the mercy-feat.' And we read of the cloud of glory defcending into the tabernacle; [Exod. xl. 35.] and fo likewife with refpedl to Solomon's temple. But we have no account that this cloud of glory was in the fecond temple ; and »^he ancient accounts of the Jews fny, that there was no fuch thing there. This, indeed, was needlefs in the fecond temple, confidering that God had promifed to fill it with glory another way, viz. by Chrift's coming into it; which was afterwards fuHilled, [Haggai ii. 7.] 'I will ihake all nations, and the defire of all nations ' fhall come, and I will till this houfe with glory, faith the ' Lord of hofts.'

Another thing that the Jews in their ancient writings mention as being now withdrawn, was the fire from heaven on the altar. When Mofes built the tabernacle and altar in the wildernefs, and the firfi: facrifices were offered on it, fire came down from heaven, and confumed the burnt-offering, [Leviticus ix. 24.] and again, when Solomon built the temple, and offered the firft facriHces, [2 Chronicles vii. i.] This fire was never to go out. but with the greatefi: care to be kept alive. [Leviticus vi. 13.] ' The fire fliall ever be burning upon the altar; it fiiall ' never go out.' And there is no reafon to fuppofe the fire in Solomon's time ever went out till the temple was de-ffroyed by the Babylonians; but then it was extinguiilied, and never reflored. And the Jews, after their return, were forced to make ufe of their common fire inftead of it, according to the ancient tradition of the Jews. Thus the lights of the Old Teftament go out on the approach of the glorious Sun of righteoufnefs.

(3.) Tl;e captivity in Babylon was the occafion of another thing, which afterwards promoted the fetting up of Chrift's kingdom in the world, viz. the difperfijn :;f the Jews through the greater part of the known world, for the wliole nation being carried away far out of their own land, and continuing in a flate ot captivity for fo long a time, they got them poffcffions, built houfes, arid fettled thcmfelvcs in the land of their captivity, agreeable

to

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 265

to the cIire6lion that Jeremiah gave in the letter he wrote to them. [Chap, xxix.] And therefoie, v/hen Cvrus gave them liberty to return to the land where they had formerly dwelt, many of them never returned; tliey were not willing to leave their feitlements and pofleflions tliere to go into a defolate country, many hundred miles diflant, which none but the old men among them had ever feen ; and therefore they were but few, but a fmall number that returned. Great numbers tarried behind, though they ftill retained the fame religion with thofe that returned, fo far as it could be pradlifed in a foreign land. Thofe meffen-gers [Zechariah vii.] that came to inquire of the priefts and propliets in Jerufalem, Sherezer and Regem-melech, are fuppofed to have been fent trom the Jews that remained ftill in Babylon.

Thofe Jews that remained ftill in that country were foon, by the great changes that happened in the world, difperfed thence into all the adjacent countries. And hence we find, that in Efther's time, which was after the return fromtlie captivity, the Jews were difperfed throughout all the vaft Perfian empire, which extended from India to Ethiopia. [Efther iii. 8.] ' And Haman faid ' unto King Ahafuerus, There is a certain people fcat-* tered abroad, and difperfed among the people in all ' the provinces of thy kingdom,' Sec. And fo they continued difperfed till Chrill came, and till the apoftles went forth to preach the gofpel. But yet thefe difperfed Jews retained their religion in this difperfion. Their captivity, as I faid before, thoroughly cured them of their idolatry, and it was their manner, for as many of them as could from time to time, to go up to the land of Judca to Jerufalem at their great feaft. Hence we read, [Adls ii.] that at the time of the great feaft of Pentecotl, there were Jews then at Jerufalem out of every nation under heaven. Thefe were come up from all countries whither they had been difperfed, to worlhip at that feaft. And hence we find, in the hiftory of the Acts, that wherever the apollies went preaching through the world, they found Jews.

* ^I ra Antiochus

266 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

Antiochus the Great, about two hundred years before Chrift, on a certain occafion, tranfplanted two thoufand families of Jews from the country about Babylon into Afia the Lefs: and fo they and their pofterity, many of them, fettled in Pontns, Galatia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, and in Ephefus ; and from thence fettled in Athens, and Corinth, and Rome, (a) Hence the fyuagogues in thofe places where the Apoftle Paul preached.—This difperfion of the Jews through the world before Chrift came, did many ways prepare the way for his coming, and fetting up his kingdom in the world.

One was, that this was a means of raifmg a general ex-peftation of the Meffiah through the world about the time that he adtually came. For the Jews, wherever they were difperfed, carried the holy fcriptures with them, and fo the prophecies of the Meiliah ; and being converfant with the nations among whom they lived, tliey, by that means, became acquainted with thefe prophecies, and with the expectations of the Jews, of their glorious MefTiah ; and by this means, the birth of fuch a glorious perfon in Judea about that time began to be the general expe6lation of the nations of the world, as appears by the writings of the learned men of the heathen that lived about that time, which are ftill extant; particularly Virgil, the famous poet that lived in Italy a little before Chrifl: was born, has a poem about the expectation of a great prince that was to be born, and the happy times of righteoufnefs and peace that he was to introduce ; fome of it very like the language of the prophet Ifaiah. (b)

Another

(a) Antiochus tranfplanted tnvo thoufand yenv'ijh famil'iesS^ "Antiochus had received fo many fervices from the Jews .... and depended lo much on their fidelity, that when a fedition broke out in Phrygia and Lydia, he fent two thoufand Jewifli families to quell it, and keep the country in peace, and was exceedingly liberal to them. It was from thefe Jews.. . . . that defcended many of thofe who were difperfed or fcattered abroad—whom we fhall afterwards find fo numerous. James i.'i.— i Peter i.i." [Rol-lin's Ancient Hiilory, Book xviii. Art. i. ij 2.]

(b) Virgil refembks Ifaiah.'] This alludes to PlrgiPs Pollio, written about forty years before the birth of Chrift. Mr. Pope's

cele-

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 267

Another way that this difperfed ftate of the Jews prepared the way for Chrift was, that it fhowed the neceflity of abolifhing the Jewifl\ difpenfation, and of introducing the new one of the covenant of grace. It fliowcd the neceflity of abolifliing the ceremonial law, and the old Jewilh worihip: for, by this means, the obfervance ot M m 2 that

celebrated Mefilah is written on the correfpondent paflages between the claflic and infpired poets; and their remarkable coincidence is pointed out in the notes; alfo the fuperior beauty of the latter.

The following is Mr. Dryden's tranflation of the moft celebrated lines in the paftoral of Virgil alluded to, except that the words in Italics are inferted to render it more literal.

*' The virgin noiu returns, Saturnian times

Roll round again

The bafe, degenerate iron offspring ends, A golden progeny from heaven defcends.

Thou ev'ry baniOi'd virtue (halt reftore.

And crimes fhall terrify the world no more.

The jarring nations he in peace fhall bind.

And with paternal virtues rule mankind.

Unbidden earth fliall wreathing ivy bring,

And fragrant herbs (the promifes of fpring)

As her firft off'rings to her infant king.

The goats with ftrutting dugs fliall homeward fpeed,

And lowing herds fecuve luith lions feed.

His cradle fhall with rifing flowers be crown'd ;

The ferpent's brood fliall die ; the facred ground

Shall weeds and pois'nous plants rcfufe to bear.

}

Unlabour'd harvefts fhall the fields adorn. And clufler'd grapes fhall blufh on ev'ry thorn ; The knotted oaks fhall fhow'rs of honey weep."

0, Son of mighty Jove ! from heaii'n appear ;

Come to thine honours — lo, the time draivs near !

The barren hills proclaim the Deity ;

A God! a God! the vocal rocks reply. Not only Virgil, but Tacitus and Suetonius both fay, an opinion univerfally prevailed all over the eafl, that about this time one out of Judea fhould obtain the empire of the world. This opinion is fuppofed to have originated from the Sybilline books; but whether it came from them, from Balaam's famous predictions, or from the facred prophets of the Jews, is of no immediate confequence, as the hdi itfelf is indifputable. [G. E.]

that ceremonial law became impracticable even by the Jews themfelves, for the ceremonial law was adapted to the ftate of a people dwelling together in the fame land, where was the city that God had chofen ; where was the temple, the only place where they might offer facrifices ; where it was lawful for their priefts and Levites to officiate ; where they were to bring their firfl: fruits, and "where their cities of refuge were, and the like. But the Jews, by this difperlion, lived, many of them, in other lands, more than a thoufand miles diftant, when Chrift came ; which made the obfervation of their laws of fa-crifices, and the like, impradlicable. And though their forefathers might be to blame in not going up to the land of Judea when they were permitted by Cyrus, yet the cafe was now, as to many of them at leaft, become im-pra£licable; which ifiowed the neceffity of introducing a new difpenfation, that fhould be fitted, not only to one particular land, but to the general circumflances and ufe of all nations.

Again, another way that this difperfion of the Jews prepared the way for the fetiing up of the kingdom of Chrift in the world, was, that it contributed to the making the fa£ts concerning Jefus Chrift- publicly known through the world. For, as I obferved before, the Jews that lived in other countries ufed frequently to go up to Jerufalem at their three great fealts, which were from year to year ; and fo, by this m.eans, they could not but become acquainted with the news of the wonderful things that Chrift did in that land. We find that they were prefent at, and took great notice of, that great miracle of raifing Lazarus, which excited the curiofity of thofe foreign Jews that came up to the feaft of the palTover to fee Jefus: [John xii. 20, 21.] Titefe Greeks were foreign Jews and prolelytes, as is evident by their coming to worihip at the feaft of the paflbver. The Jews that lived abroad among the Greeks, and fpoke their language, were called Greeks, or Heilenifts: fo.they are called Grecians. [Afts vi. I.] Thefe Grecians here Ipoken of

were

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 269

v\'crc not Gentile Chriftians ; for this was before the calling of the Genciles. (c)

By the faine means, the Jews that came up from other countries became acquainted with Chrift's crucifixion. Thus the difciples, going to Emmaus, fay to Chrift, when they did not know him, [Luke xxiv. 18.] ' Art thou only ' a fl-ranger in Jerufalcm, and haft not known the things ' which have come to pafs there in thefe davs V Plainly intimating, that the things concerning Jefus were fo publicly known to all men, that it was wonderful to find any man unacquainted with them. And fo afterwards they became acquainted with the news ot his refurre6^ion ; and when they went home again into their own countries, they carried the news with them, and fo made thefe fa£^s public through the world, as they had made the prophecies of ihem public before.

After this, thofe foreicrn Jews that came to Jerufalem, look great notice of the pouring cue of the Spirit of Pente-coft, and the wonderful effedls of it; and many of them were converted by it, viz. Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and the dwellers in Mefapctamia, and in Egypt, and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and the ftrangcrs of Rome, Jews and profelytes, Cretes and Arabians. And fo they did not only carry back the news of the fails of Chrif-rianity, but Chriftianity itlelf, into their own countries with them ; which contributed much to the fpreading of it Through the world.

Again, another way that the difperfion of the Jev/s contributed to the fetting up of the gofpel kingdom in the world was, that it opened a door for the introduction of the apoftles in all places where they came to preach the gofpel. For almoft in all places where they came to preach the goipel, they found fynagogues of the Jews, where the holy fcriptures were wont to be read, and the

true

(c) Grecians —foreign Jews.] " This, for reafons which may be feen at large in Dr. Benfonz Hiftory, appears to me far the moll probable opinion .... as well as that which is generally allowed by all the bell commentators." [Doddridge, Fam. Expof. in Ads vi. i.]

370 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

true God worfliipped ; which was a great advantage to the apoftles in fpreading the gofpel. For their wav was, into whatever city they came, firft to go into the fyna-gogue of the Jews, (they being people of the fame nation,) and there to preach the gofpel unto them. And hereby their coming, and their new do6lrine, was taken notice of by their Gentile neighbours, whofe curiofity excited them to hear what they had to fay ; which became a fair occafion to the apoflles to preach the gofpel to them. It appears that it was thus, by the account we have in the Ads of the Apoftles. And thefe Gentiles having been before, many of them, prepared in fome mea-fnre, by the knowledge they had of the Jews religion, and of their worfhip of one God, and of their prophecies, and expedlation of a MefTiah ; which knowledge they derived from the Jews, who had long been their neighbours ; tills opened the door for the gofpel to have accefs to them. And the work of the apoflles with them was doubtlefs much eafier than if they never had any expectation of fuch a perfon as the apoftles preached, or heard about the worfhip of one only true God. So many ways did the Babylonifh captivity greatly prepare the way for Chrifl's coming.

2. The next particular that I would take notice of is, the addition made to the canon of fcrlpture in the time of the captivity, in thofe two remarkable portions of fcrjp-ture, the prophecies of Ezekiei and Daniel. Chrill: appeared to each of theie prophets in the form of that nature which he was afterwards to take upon him. The prophet Ezekiei gives an account of his thus appearing to him repeatedly, [chap. i. 26] ' And above the firmament

* that was over their heads, was the llkencfs of a throne, ■■ ns the appearance of a fapphire flone, and upon the

* likcnefs of the throne was the likenefs as the appear-

* ance of a man above upon it;' [alfo chap. vill. i, 2.] So Chrifl; appeared to the prophet Daniel : [chap. viii. 15, 16.] ' There ftood before me as the appearance of a

* man. And I heard a man's voice* between the banks of

* ^Ulai, which called, and laid, Gabriel, make this man

' to

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 271

' to underftand the vifion.' There are feveral things that make it evident, that this was Chrift, which I cannot now mention particularly.* So Chrift appeared again as a man to this prophet, [chap. x. 5, 6.] ' Then I lift up ' mine eyes and looked, and behold a certain man clothed ' in linen, whole loins were girded with tine gold of ' Uphaz: his body alfo was like the beryl, and his face

* as the appearance ot lightning, and his eyes as lamps of

< fire ; and his arms and his feet like in colour to po-

< liflied brafs, and the voice of his words like the voice ' of a multitude.' Comparing this vifion with that of the apoftle John, [Rev, i. 13.] makes it manifeft that it was Chrifl. And the prophet Daniel, in the hiftorical part of his book, gives an account of a very remarkable appearance of Chrift in Nebuchadnezzar's furnace, with Sha-drach, Melhach, and Abednego, [chap. iii. 25.] ' Lo I

* fee four men loofe,—and the form of the fourth is like

* the Son of God.'

Chrift did not only here appear in the form of the human nature, but he appeared in a furnace, faving thofe perfons who believed on him from that furnace ; by which is re-prefented to us, how Chrift, by coming himlclf into the furnace of God's wrath, faves thofe that believe in him therefrom, and the wrath of God never reaches or touches them, fo mvich as to ftnge the hair of their head.

Thefe two prophets, in many refpedls, were more particular concerning the coming of Chrift, and his glorious gofpel kingdom, tlian any of the prophets had been before. They both of them mention thofe three great revolutions of the world that fhould be before he came. Ezekicl is particular in leveral places concerning the coming of Chrift. The prophet Daniel is more fo in foretelling the time of the coining of Chrift than any prophet had been before, in the ixth chapter of his prophecy ; who foretold, that it ftiould be feventy weeks, /. e\ feventy weeks of years, or feventy times feven, that is, four hundred and ninety years, from the decree to rebuild and

reftcre

* See Note (a) p. 199.

272 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

reftore the ftate of the Jews, till the MefTiah fhould be crucified ; which muft be reckoned from the commiffion given to Ezra by Artaxerxes, [Ezravii.] whereby the very - time of Chrifl's crucifixion was pointed out, which never had been before, (d)

The prophet Ezekiel is very particular in the myftical defcriprion of the gofpel church, in his account of his vi-fion of the temple and city, in the latter part of his prophecy. The prophet Daniel points out the order of particular events that ihould come to pafs relating to the Chriftian church after Chrifl was c :;me, as the rife of an-tichrift, and the continuance of his reign, and his fall,

and

(d) DaniePs seventy wz'EKS reel-otiedfrovi ihe commlffton given to Ezra by Artaxerxes.] So Dean Prideaux, Dr. J. Owen, and others, in this manner :

The decree given in the year 457 before the Chriftian sera, from thence to the year Anno Dom. 33, when Chrifl was crucified, was 490 years. Now the text fays, ' ftvcnty weeks (/'. e. of

* years) are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city,

* to finifh the tranfgrefiion, and to make an end, of fins, and to

* make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlafting

* righteoufncfs, and to feal up, (/. e. complete and confirm) the ' vifion and prophecy :'—all which were accompliflied in the death of Chrift—* and to anoint the moft holy.' We have ob-ferved in a preceding note, that the mojl Holy (Holy,of Holies in the Heb.) was typical of Chrift in his ftate of exaltation ; the term here ufed may perhaps be in allufion to this event, in connexion with his death ; by anointing the moft Holy, may be Intended his execution of his prieftly office, in offering himfelfupon the crofs, and afterwards entering into the immediate prefence of God, as the high prieft into the moft holy place on the great day of atonement.

* Know therefore and underftand, that from the going forth of ' the commandment to reftore and build JcrnfaL-m, unto Meffiah,

* the Prince, fhall be feven weeks and threefcore and two weeks,* i. e. fixty-nine weeks, or 483 years (for fo the words fhould be pointed and diftributed) and thefe bring us to the time of Jefus Chr'ft, and %-ery near his baptifm. ' And the ftreet

* fhall be br.ilt again, and the wall;' /. e. the Jewifh ftate, civil and ecckfiaftic, cftabliflied, as well^ as Jerufalem itfelf rebuilt, ' in troublefome timer..' This fills the firft week, or forty-nine years. ' And (then) after (/". e. in the week after) threefcore and two weeks,' from the firft feven, ' fhall Meffiah be cut

* off,' by death, * but not for himfelf. And the people of that

* prince

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 273

nnd the glory that ihould follow.---Thus does gofpel light rtill increafe, the nearer we come to the time of Chrift's birth.

3. The next particular I would mention is, the deftruc-tion of Babylon, and the overthrow of the Chaldean empire by Cyrus. The deftrudlion of Babylon was in that night in which Belihazzar the king, and the city in general, was drowned in a drunken feftival which they kept to their gods, when Daniel was called to read the hand writing on the wall, [Dan. v. 30.] and it was brought about in fuch a manner, as wonderfully to fhow the hand of God, and remarkably to fulfil his word by his prophets, which I cannot now ftand particularly to relate, (e) Now that great

city,

* prince {hall come,* namely, Titus, * and fliall deftroy the city and

* the fanftuary, and the end thereof fhall be with a flood ; and

* unto the end of the war, defolations are determined.' This refers to the deltruftion of Jerufalem, of which in its proper place.

* And he (Mefliah) fliall confirm the covenant with many for

* (or in) one week, and in the midft (or in the courfe) of the

* week,' namely, the feventicth and lail, ' he fhall caufe the fa-

* crifice to ceafe,' by the greater facrifice and richer oblation of himfelf. [See Prideaux's Conneft. Part I. Book 5. Dr. Oiven on the Hebrews, vol. i. Excr. 14, 15. and Mr. R. Wirtter's Sermons on Daniel'8 feventy weeks.]

(e) The deJlruBion of Babylon FORETOLD.] Mr. RoLLiN has collefled and arranged the feveral prophecies whicli referred to this period, and fiicwn how exaftly they were accompliflied. We fhall abridge his obfervatlons, and refer to the texts with which they are fupported.

1. God predicted the Jewifli captivity at Babylon, and the time of its continuance to be feventy years. Jer. xxv. 11.

2. The caufes of God's wrath againft Babylon were, her pride— cruelty to the Jews—and facrilegious impiety. Ifa. xlvii. 6—11.

3. The decree pronounced. The calamities that were to fail upon her, utter and irreparable deftruftion. Pf. cxxxvii. 8, 9. Ifa. xiii. xiv. Jer. li.

4. Cyrus called to deflroy Babylon, and to deliver the Jews. Ifa. xlv. I—4.

5. God gives fignal to the commanders and to the troops to march againlt Babylon. Ifa. xiii. 2—5. xxi. 2.

6. Particular circumftances relative to the fiege and taking of Babylon. The army to confift of Medes and Pei fians. Ifa. xxi. 2, Jer. li. II.—The city to be attacked fuddenly. Ifa. xlvii. 11. Jer. 1. 24.—Euphrates to be dried up. Jer. 1. 38, 39. li. 36.—

N n B'^bylun

274 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

city, which had long been an enemy to the city of God, viz. Jerufalem, was defkroyed, after it had ftood from the firft building of Babel, which was about feventeen hundred years. If the check that was put to the building this city at its beginning, whereby they were prevented from carrying it to that extent and magnificence that they intended ; I fay, if this promoted the work of redemption, as I have before /liown it did, much more did this deftruc-tion of it.

It was a remarkable inftance of God's vengeance on the enemies of his redeemed church ; for he brought this dc-flru6lion on Babylon for the injuries they did to his children, as is often fet forth in the prophets. It alfo promoted the work of redemption, as thereby God's people, that were held captive by them, were fet at liberty to return to their own land to rebuild Jerufalem ; and therefore Cyrus, who did it, is called God's fhepherd. [Ifa. xliv. latter end; and xlv. i.] And thefe are over and above thofe ways wherein the fetting up and overthrowing the four monarchies of the world did promote the work of redemption, which have been before obferved.

4. What next followed this was, the return of the Jews into their own land, and rebuilding Jerufalem and the temple. Cyrus, as foon as he had deftroyed the Babyloniih empire, and ere6led the Perfian on its ruins, made a decree in favour of the Jews, that they might return to their own land, and rebuild their city and

temple,

Babylon to be taken in the midft of rioting and debauchery. Jer. li. 39, 57.—The king feized with inllant terror. Ifa. xxi. 3, 4. Comp. Dan. v. 6.—That he fhould return to his debauchery. Ifa. xxi. 5. Comp. Dan, v. 10.—That the Babylonifh troops, which fhould be chiefly foreigners, fliould be fcattered and flee home, Ifa. xii. 4.—That the king (hould not be buried with his ancef-tors. Ifa. xiv. 19, 20.—Theflaughter of his children. Ifa. xiv. 21, 22.

Every one of thefe circumflances was literally and minutely fulfilled ; one of the moll remarkable of wRich was, that Cyrus contrived to render the Euphrates fordable, and introduced his troops by the channel of it, in a night of debauchery and riot, wlicn through the providence of God the guards had negleftcd to fhut tlie gates. [See Rollin's Ancient Hilt. Book iv. art. 2.]

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 275

temple. This return of the Jews out of the Babylon!Hi captivity is, next to the redemption out of Egypt, the mofl remarkable of all the Old Tcftament redemptions, and mod: infifted on in fcripture, as a type of the great redemption of Jefus Chrift. (f) It was under the hand of one of the legal anceftors of Chrift, viz. Zerubbabel, the fon of Shealticl, whofe Babylonifli name was Shefli-bazzar. He was the governor of the Jews, and their leader in their lirft return out of captivity; and, together with Jolhua the fon of Jofedek the high prieft, had the chief hand in rebuilding the temple. This redemption was brought about by the hand of Zerubbabel and Jofliua the prieft, as the redemption out of Egypt was brought about by the hand of Mofes and Aaron.

The return out of tlic captivity was a remarkable dif-penfation of Providence. It was remarkable, that the heart of an heathen prince, as Cyrus was, ftiould be fo inclined fo favour fuch a defign as he did, not only in giving the people liberty to return, and rebuild the city and temple, but in giving charge that they fhould be helped with filver and gold, and with goods, and with beafts. [Ezra i. 4.] And afterwards God wonderfully inclined the heart of Darius to further the building of the houfe of God with his own tribute-money, and by commanding their bitter enemies, the Samaritans, \vho had been llriving to hinder them, to furnilli them with all tliat they needed in order to it, and to fupply them day by day ; making a decree, that whofoever failed of it, timber ftiould be pulled down out of his houfe, and he hanged thereon, and his houfe made a. dunghill. [Ezra vith.] And after this God inclined the heart of ArCaxcrxes, another king of Perfia, to promote the work of preferving tlie ftatc of the Jews, by his ample commiffion to Ezra,

N n 2 [Ezra

(f) T/j£ r:turnfrom Babylon typical.] " The return of the Jews from their captivity in liabylon was only a Oiadow of that deliverance, which the Meffiah was to bring into the world : and the mighty afts which God wiouglit in the rirll period, were only faint images of what he would operate in the fecond," [Saurin's SerraonS; vol. i. fer. 4. Robinfon'sTranflat.]

276 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

[Ezra viitli.] helping them abundantly with filver and gold of his own bounty, and offering more, as (liould be needful, out of the King's treafure-houfe, and c ;m-manding his treafurers beyond the river Euphrates to give more, as fhould be needed, unto an hundred talents of filver, and an hundred meafures of wheat, and an hundred baths of wine, and an hundred baths of oil, and fait, without prefcribing how much ; and giving leave to ell:ablilh magiftrates in the land ; and freeing the priefls of toll, tribute, and cuftom, and other things, which rendered the decree and commiffjon by Artaxerxes the moft full and ample in the Jews favour of any that, at any time, had been given for the reftoring of Jerufalem : and therefore in Daniel's prophecy, this is called the decree for the re-floring and building Jerufalem ; and hence the feventy weeks are dated,

And after this, another favourable commifTion was granted by the king of Perfia to Nehemiah. [Nehem. ii.] It was remarkable, that the hearts of heathen princes fhould be fo inclined. It was the effe6l of his power, who hath the hearts of Kings in his hands, and turneth them whither-foever he will ; and it was a remarkable inftance of his favour to his people.

Another remarkable circumffance of this reftirution of the ilate of the Jews to their own land was, that it was accompliflied againfl fo much oppofition of their bitter indefatigable enemies the Samaritans, who, for a long time together, with all the malice and craft thev could e.ercife, oppofed the Jews in this affair, and fought their deftruc-tion ; one while by Bifhlam, Mithridath, Tabeel, Rahum, and Shimlkiai, [Ezra iv.] and then by Tatnai, Shethar-boznai, and their companions, [chap, v.] and afterwards by Sanballat and Tobiah, as wc read in the bock of Nehemiah.

We have fhewed before how the fettlement of tb.e people in the, land in Joihua's time promoted the work of redemption. On the fame account does their relii-tution belong to the fame work. The re-fettlcment of the Jews in the land of Canaan belongs to this work, as

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 277

it was a neceflary means of preferving the Jewifli church and difpenfation in being, till Chrift Ihould come. If it had not been for this reftoration of the Jewifli church, temple, ;ind worlliip, the people had remained without any temple, and land of their own, that fliculd be as it were their head-quarters, a place of worfliip, habitation, and refort; the whole conllitution, which God had done fo much to eftabliili, would have been in danger of utterly tailing, long before that fix hundred years had been out, which was from aboxit the time of the captivity till Chrift. And fo all that preparation which God had been making for the coming of Clirift, from the time of Abraham, would have been in vain. Now that very temple was built that God would fill with glory by Chrifl's coming into it, as the prophets Haggai and Zechariah told the Jews, to encourage them in building it.

5. The next particular I would obferve, is the addition made'/.o the canon ot the fcriptures foon after the captivity by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who were fent to encourage the people in their work, of rebuilding the city and temple ; and the main argument they make ufe of to that end, is the approach of the time of the coming of Chrifl. Haggai foretold, that Chrifl; Jhould be of Zerub-babel's legal pofterity, [chap. ii. 23.] This feems to be one of the lall: and moft particular revelations of the de-fcent of Chrift, till the angel Gabriel was fent to reveal it to his mother Mary, (g)

6. The next thing I would take notice of, was the pouring out of the Spirit of God that accompanied the ininiftry of Ezra the prieft after the captivity. Prefently after Ezra came up from Babylon, with the ample com-mifiion which Artaxerxes gave him, whence Daniel's fe-venty weeks began, he fet himfelf to reform the vices and corruptions he found among the Jews; and his grent

fuccefs

(g)_ Uaggm propkfied of Chryt] « Non dubium eft Chrif-tum hie deiignari, quia hoc nunquam impletum fuit in perfona Zorobabel." /, e. There is no doubt but Chrifl: is here intended, becaufe the promife never was fulHlIed in Zorobabel perfpnally, [C.iLviNus. Poli Syn. Crit. in loc]

£78 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

fuccefs in it we have an account of in the xth chapter of Ezra ; fo that there appeared a very general and great mourning of the congregation of Ifrael for their fins, which was accompanied with a folemn covenant thnt the people entered into with God, and followed with a great and general reformation. And the people about the fame time, with great z,eal, earneftnefs, and reverence, gathered themfelves together to hear the word of God read by-Ezra, and gave diligent attention, while Ezra and the other priefts preached to tliem, by reading and expounding the law, and wsre greatly alfedted in the Iv;aring of it. (h) 'I'hey wept when they heard the words of the

law,

(h) Ezra expounded the laiu.'] " We have a fhort, but beautiful defcription of the manner of Ezra's firft preaching. Upwards of fifty thoufand people afTembled in a llreet, or large fquare, near the Water-gate. It was early in the morning of a fabbath day. A pulpit of wood, in the faihion of a fmall tower, was placed there on purpofe for the preacher, and this turret was fupported by a fcaffold, or temporary gallery, where, in a wing on the right hand of the pulpit, lat fix of the principal preachers, and in another on the left feven. Thirteen other principal teachers, and many Levites were prefent alfo, on fcafiblds crefted for the purpofe, alternately to officiate. When Ezra afccnded the pulpit, he produced and opened the book of the law, and the vvliole congregation inllantly rofe up from their feats, and flood. Then he offered up prayer and pralfe to God, the people bowing their heads, and worfliipping the Lord with their faces to the ground ; and at the clofe of the prayer, with uplifted hands, they folemnly pronounced Amen, Amen. Then., all Handing, Ezra, aflifted at times by the Levites, read the law diftinttly, gave the fenfe, and caufed them to uaJerftand the reading. The fermons delivered lo affeiSed the hearers, that >.hey wept exceflively, and about noon the forrovv became fo exuberant and immealuiable, that it was thought neceffary by the governor, the preacher, and the Levites to rcftrain it. They, therefore, reminded the congregation—that a jufl; grief might run into excefs—that there was an incongruity between a fciUval and a lamentation—and that on this feilival, there were fingnlar caufes of extraordinary joy, they were delivered from captivity, the law was rellored, and they, the very pooreft of them, had been made by the preachers to underftand it. Go your way, faid they, eat the fat"—drink the fwect—fend portions unto them, for whom nothing is prepared. Be not dif-couraged—religi ..is joy is a people's ftrength. The wife and benevolent fentiments of thefe noble fouls were imbibed by the

whole

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 279

law, and fet themfelvcs to obferve the law, and kept the i'ead of tabernacles, as the fcripture obfervcs, after fuch a manner as it had not been kept fince the days of Jortiua the fon of Nun. [Nchcm. vili.] And after this, having leparated themielves from all ftrangers, they folemnly ob-ferved a fall, by hearing the word of God, confefTing their lins, and renewing their covenant with God ; and mani-fefted their fincerity in that tranfadion, by adually reforming many abufes in religion and morals. [See Nehem. ixth and following chapters.]

It is obfervable, that it has been God's manner, in every new eftabliihment of the ftate of his vifible church, to give a remarkable out-pouring of his Spirit. So it was on the firft efliablifhment of the church of the Jews at their coming into Canaan under Jofluia, as has been obferved ; and fo it was now in this fccond fettlement of the church in the fame land in the time of Ezra ; and fo it was on the lirfl: eftablifhment of the Chriilian church after Chrift's refurreaion ; God wifely and gra-cioufly laying the foundation of thofe cftabliihments in a work of his Holy Spirit, for the lafting beneHt of the flate of his church, thenceforward continued in thofe eftablifhments. And this pouring out of the Spirit of God was a final cure to that nation of that particular iin, which juft before they efpecially run into, viz. intermarrying with the Gentiles; for however inclined to it they were before, they ever after fliewed an averiion to it,

7. Ezra added to the canon of fcriptures. He wrote the book of Ezra ; and he is fuppofed to have written the two books of Chronicles, at leaft to have compiled

them,

whole congregation, and fifty thoufand troubled hearts were calmed in an inllant. Home they returned to eat, to drink, to fend portions, and to make mirth, becaule they had underftood the words that were declared unto them. Plato was alive at this time, teaching dull philofophy to cold academicks: but what was he, and what was Xenophon, or Demollhenes, or any of tlie pagan orators, in comparifon with thefe men?" [Robinson's Eflay^'on Preaching, prefixed to his tranflation of Claude's EiTay, vol. i page xxii—xxiv, j

28o HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

them, if he was not the author of the materials. That thefe books were written, or compiled or completed, after the captivity, the things therein contained manifeft ; for the genealogies are brought down below the captivity ; [i Chron. iii. 17, &c.] We have there an account of the pofterity of Jehoiachin for feveral fucccfiive generations. And there is mention in thefe books of this captivity into Babylon, as of a thing pafl:, and of things that were done on the return of the Jews after the captivity ; as you may fee in the ixth chapter. The chapter is moftly filled up with an account of things that came to pafs after the captivity into Babylon, as you may fee by comparing it with what is faid in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. And that Ezra was the perfon that compiled thefe books, is probable by this, bccaufe they conclude with words that we know are the words of Ezra's hiftory. The two laft verfes of 2 Chron. are tJic two tirll: verfes of the book of Ezra.

8. Ezra is fuppofed to have collefted all the books of which the holy fcriptures did then confift, and difpofed them in their proper order. Ezra is often fpoken of as a noted and eminent fcribe of the law of God, and the canon of fcripture in his time was manifeftly under his fpe-cial care; and the Jews, from the firft accounts we have from them, have always held, that the canon of fcripture, fo much of it as was then extant, was colle6led, and orderly difpofed and fettled by Ezra ;" and that from hira they have delivered it down in the order in which he difpofed it, till Ciirift's time; when the Chriflian church received it from them, and have delivered it down to our times. And the truth of this is allowed as undoubted by divines in general, (i)

9. The

(i) The CANON offcripturz compiledly E%ra.'\ ** It is generally received, that after the return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon, all the books of fcripture having been revifed by Ezra (then their prieft and leader) who digefted them .... were by him and the prophets of God that lived with him, configned and delivered over to all pofterity.'■" [Bp. Cosin's ScholalUc. Hift. of the Canon of Scripture,]

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 281

o. The work of redemption was carried on and promoted in this period, by greatly multiplying the copies of the law, and appointing the conftant public reading of them in all the cities of Ifracl in their fynagogues. It is evident, that before the captivity there were but few of them. There was, indeed, the original, laid up be-fide the ark ; and the kings were required to write out a copy of it for their own ufe, and it was commanded to be read to the whole congregation of Ifrael once every fevcnth year. And we have no account of any other flated public reading of the law before the captivity but this. It is manifeft, by feveral things that might be mentioned, that copies of the law were then exceedingly rare; but after the captivity, the conftant reading of it was fet up in every fynagogue throughout thel and. Firfi:, they begali \vith reading the law, and then they proceeded to eftabliflr the conftant reading of the other books of the Old Teftament. Leflbns were read out of the Old Teftament, both from the law and the other parts of the fcriptilre then extant, in all the fynagogues which were fet up in every city and place where the Jews in. any confiderable number dwelt. Thus wc find it was in Chrift and the apoftles' time. [A6fs xv. 21.] ' Mofes of

* old time hath in every city them that preach him, be-

* ing read in the fynagogues every fabbath day.' This cuftom is univerfally fuppofed, both by Jews and Chrif-tians, to be begun by Ezra. There were, doubtlefs, public aflcmblies before the captivity. They ufed to aflemble at the temple at their great feafts, and were dire6led, when they were at a lofs about any thing in the law, to go to the prieft of inftru6tion ; and they ufed alfo to refort to the prophets houfes ; and we read of fynagogues in the land before, [Pfalm Ixxiv. 8.] but it is not fuppofed that they then had copies of the law for conftant public reading and expounding through the land as afterwards. This was one great means of their being preferved from idolatry, (k)

10. The

(k) The or'ig'm 0/^ synagogues.] " We read of fynagogues, indeed, in the Pfalms; but Dean Prideaux was of opinion that

282 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

10. The next thing I would mention, is God's remarkably preferving the church and nation of the Jews, when they were in imminent danger of being univerfally dc-flroyed by Haman. We have the ftory in the book of Efther, with which you are acquainted. This ferics of providences was very wonderful in preventing this deftruc-tion. Efther was doubtlefs born for this end to be the inftrument of this remarkable prefervation. (l)

11. After this the canon of fcripture was farther enlarged in the books of Nehemiah and Efther ; the one by Nehemiah himfclf; and whether the other was written by Nehemiah, or Mordccai, or Malachi, is not of importance for us to know, fo long as it is one of thofe books that were always admitted and received as a part of their canon by the Jews, and was among thofe that the Jews called their fcriptures in Chrifl's time, and fuch as was approved by him. For Chrift does often, in his fpeeches to the Jews, manifeftly approve and confirm thofe books, which amongft them went by the name of the fcriptures^ as might eafily be lliown, if there were time for it. (m)

12. After

the word [nyiD] which fignifies any aflemblles, there intends rather theprofeucha, open courts where the people met to pray, each for himfelf, than proper fynagogues.

" The fervice of the fynagogues confifted of prayers, reading, and expoundirfg or preaching, and it is thought that their whole fervice was conduced in a manner fimilar to that of our parifh churches.—And this inftitution feems to be preferved among them, with little variation, to the prefcnt day." [See Prideaux's Connect, part i. book 6.]

(l) Tie 'Jenvs delivered from Haman'j cruelty.'] " There is hardly any hiftory of the Old Teftament, (except the life^of Jo-feph) that more difplays the myfteries of divine Providence, than the book of Efther; particularly, we may obferve the extremity to which God fuffered his people to be driven ; and the wonderful manner in which he delivered them by bringing all the cruelties of wicked Haman on his own head. The Jews efteemed this book in value next to the Pentateuch, and in memory of the fal-yatlon herein recorded, keep the feall of Purim to this day." [See Stackhoufe\}ri{\k. of the Bible, book vil. chap. 2.]

(m) Chkist cotifirmedthe Old Tejlament.'] * Search the fcrlp-' tares,'—/. e. of the Old Teftament, for no part of the New

was

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 283

12. After this the canon of the Old Teftament was compleated and fealcd by Mnlachi. The manner of concluding this prophecy feems to imply, that they were to expedl no more prophecies, nor any more written revelations from God, till Chrifl fliould come. For in the laft chapter he prophefies of Chrift's coming ; [ver. 2, 3.]

* But unto you that fear my name, fhall the Sun of

* righteoufnefs arife with healing in his wings; and ye

* fhall go forth and grow up as calves of the flail. And

< he fliall tread down the wicked ; for they fhall be as

< aflies under the foles of your feet, in the day that I

< {hall do this, faith the Lord of hofls.' Then we read in ver. 4. * Remember ye the law of Mofes my fervant

* which I commanded unto.him in Horeb for all Ifrael,

* with the ftatutes and judgments,' /. e. Remember and improve what ye have ; keep clofe to that written rule you have, as expecting no more additions to it, till the Old Teftament is over, and the Sun of righteoufnefs fliall at length arife.

13. Soon after this, the fpirit of prophecy ceafed among that people till the time of the New Teftament. Thus the Old Teftament lights, the ftars of the long night, began a pace to hide their heads, the time of the Sun of righteoufnefs now drawing nigh. We before obferved, how the Kings of the houfe of David ceafed before the true king and head of the church came ; and how the cloud of glory withdrew, before Chrift, the brightnefs of the Father's glory, appeared ; and fo as to fevcral other things. And now at laft the fpirit of prophecy ceafed. The time of the great Prophet of God was now fo nigh, it was time for their typical prophets to be filent.

WE have now gone through with the time that we have any hiftorical account of in the writings of the Old

O o 2 Tefta-

was written till fome time after our Lord's death,-^* for in them

* ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they that teltify of

• me.' [John v. 39. fee alfo ver. 46, and Luke xvi. 29. j

284 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

Teftament, and the laft thing that was mentioned, by which the work of redemption was promoted, was the ceafing of the fpirit of prophecy.

I now proceed to Hiow how the work of redemption was carried on through the remaining times that were before Chrift : in which we have not that thread of fcrip-ture hiftory to guide ns which we have had hitherto ; but we have thefe three things to dire£t us, viz. the prophecies of the Old Teftament, human hiftories of thofe times, and fome occafional mention made of things which then happened, in the books ot the New Teftament. Therefore,

14. The next particular that I fhall mention under this period, is the deftrudlion of the Perfian empire, and fetting up of the Grecian empire by Alexander. This came to pafs about fixty or feventy years after the times wherein the prophet Malachi is fuppofed to have prophefied, and about three hundred and thirty years before Chrifl:. This ■was the third overturning of the world that came to pafs in this period, and was greater and more remarkable than either of the foregoing. It was very remarkable on account of the fuddenneis of that conqueft of the world which Alexander made, and the greatnefs of the empire which he fet up, which much exceeded all the foregoing in its extent.

This event is much fpoken of in the propliecies of Daniel. This empire is reprefented by the third kingdom of brafs in Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, [Dan. ii.] and in Daniel's vifion of the four bcafts is intended by the third beaft that was like a leopard, tl\at had on his back four wings of a fowl, to reprefent the fwiftnefs of its conqueft, [chap, vii.] and is more particularly reprefented by the he-goat, [chap, viii.] ' that came from the weft on the face of the whole * earth, and touched not the grounc],' to reprefent ho\y fwiftly Alexander over-ran the world. The an<Tel himfelf docs exprefsly interpret this hc-goat to fignify the king of Grecia, [ver. 21.] ' The rough goat is the king of Grccia ;

* and the great horn that is between his eyes is the firft < king,' i.e. Alexander himfelf. (n)

After

(n) The v'lfwn of the Gokr and of the h'£.ov.\KU.~\ " K goat li very properly made the type of the Grecian or Macedonian empire, becaufe . . . Caranus, their firft king, going with a great multitude of Greeks to feek new habitations in Macedonia, was commanded by the oracle to take the goats for his guides to empire: and afterwards feeing a herd of goats flying from a violent ftorm, he followed them to EdefTa, and there fixed his feat of empire, made the goats his enfigns or ftandards, and called the city Egeas or the goat's town, and tlie people Egeadas or the goat's people. And to this may be added that the city Egeae or Egse was the ufual burylng-place of the Macedonian kings* It is alfo very remarkable, that Alexander's fon by Roxana was named Alexander jEgus, or the fon of the goat; and fome of Alexander's fucceffors are reprefented in their coins with goat's horns. This ' he-goat came from the weft ;* and who is ignorant that Europe lieth weftward of Afia? He came on the face of the whole earth, carrying every thing before him in all the three parts of the world then known; ' and he touched not

* the ground,' his marches were fo fwlft and his conquefts fo rapid, that he might be faid in a manner to fly over the ground without touching it. For the fame reafon the fame empire in the former vi-fion was likened to z leopard^ which is a fwift, nimble animal, and to denote the greater quickncfs and Impetuofity, to a leopard with four •wings. ' And the goat had a notable horn between his eyes:' this horn, faith the angel, is the firft king, or kingdom of the Greeks in Afia, which was erefted by Alexander the Great, and continued for fome years in his brother PhlHp Arldsus, and his two young fons.

** In the two next verfes (6, 7.) we have an account of the Grecians overthrowing the Pcrfian empire. * And he came to

* the ram that had two horns, which I had fecn ftanding before the

* river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.' One can hardly read thefe words without having fome image of Darius's army ftanding and guarding the river Granicus, and of Alexander on the other fide with his forces plunging in, fwlmming acrofs the ftream, and ruft\ing on the enemy with all the fire and fury that can be imagined. . . . ' And I faw him come clofe unto the ram:* he had feveral clofe engagements with the king of Perfia. * And

* he was moved with choler agalnft him,' for the cruelties which the Perfians had excrcifed towards the Grecians: and for Darius's attempting to corrupt fometimes his foldiers to betray him, and fometimes his friends to deftroy him ; fo that he would not liften to the raoft advantageous offers of peace. * And he fmote the

* ram, and brake his two horns:' he fubdued Perfia and Media, with the other provinces and kingdoms of the Perfian empire: . . . and in Media, Darius was feized and made a prifoner by fome of his

o\yn

286 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

After Alexander had conquered the world, he foon died, and his dominion did not defcend to his pofterity, but four of his principal captains divided his empire between them, as it there follows. Now that being broken, whereas four flood up for it, ' four kingdoms

* lliall ftand up out of the nation, but not in his power;' fo you may fee in the xith chapter of Daniel. The angel, after foretelling of the Perfian empire, then proceeds to foretell of Alexander, [ver. 3.] ' And a mighty

* king fliall ftand up, that fhall rule with great domi-

* nion, and do according to his will.' And then he foretells, [ver. 4th.] of the dividing of his kingdom, between his four captains; ' And when he fhall ftand

* up, his kingdom (hall be broken, and Ihall be divided

* toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his pof-

* terity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for

* his kingdom ftiall be plucked up, even for others befides

* thofe.' Two of thefe four captains, whofe kingdoms w^ere next to Judea, the one had Egypt and the neighbouring countries on the fouth of Judea, and the other had Syria and the neighbouring countries north of Judea ; and thefe two are thofe that are called the kings of the north and of the louth in the xith chapter of Daniel, (o)

Now,

own traitor fubjedls, who not long after bafely murdered him. * And

* there was no power in the ram to Hand before him, but he caft

* him down to the ground, and ftamped upon him;' he conquered wherever he came, routed all the forces, took all the cities and caf-tles, and entirely fubverted and ruined the Perfian empire. * And

* there was none that could dc4iverthe ram out of his hand;' not even his numerous armies conid defend the king of Perfia, though his forces in the battle of IlTus amounted to 600,000 men, and in that of Arbela to ten or eleven hundred thoufand, whereas the whole number of Alexander's was not more than 47,000 Jn either engagement. So true is the obfervation of the Pfalmift, (xxxiii. 16.) ' There is no king faved by tlie multitude of an hoft:' and efpecially when God hath decreed the fall of empires, then even the greatefl muft fall. The fortune of Alexander, of which fo much hath been faid, .... was nothing but the providence of God." [Bp. Newton on the prophecies, vol. ii. difTert 15.]

(o) Alexander''s empire divided.] *' The empire of the goat was in its full ftrength when Alexander died of a fever at Babylon.

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 287

Now, this fetting up of the Grecian empire did greatly prepare the way for Chrift's coming, and creeling his kingdom in the world. Bcfides thefe ways common to the other overturnings of the world in this period, that have been already mentioned, there is one peculiar to this revolution which I would take notice of, which did remarkably promote the work of redemption ; and thit was, that it made the Greek language common in the world. To have one common language underftood and ufed through the greater part of die world, was a thing that did greatly prepare the way for the fetting up of Ciirift's kingdom. This gave advantage for fpreading the gofpel from one nation to another, and fo through all nations, with vaftly greater eafe, than if every nation had a diflinft language, and did not underftand any other. For though fome of the hrll: preachers of the gofpel had the gift of languages, fo that they could preach in any language ; yet all had not this particular gift; and they that had, could not exercife it when they would, but only at

fpecial

He was fuccecded In the throne by his natural brother Philip Ari-daeus, and by his own two fons, Alexander iEgus and Hercules : but in the fpace of about fifteen years they were all murdered, and then the firll horn or kingdom was entirely broken.. The royal family being thus extinft, the governors of provinces, who had ufurped the power, aflumed the title of kings ; and by the defeat and death of Antigonus in the battle of Ipfus, they were reduced to four, CafTander, Lyfimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus, who parted Alexander's dominions between them, and divided and fettled them into four kingdoms. Thefe four kingdoms are xhefour notable horns which came up in the room of the firft great horn; and are the fame 2k^\.\\Q four heads of the leopard in the former vifion. * Four king-

* doms fhall ftand up out of the nation, but not in his power;' they were to be kingdoms of Greeks, not of Alexander's own family, but only of his nation; and neither were they to be equal to him in power and dominion, as an empire united is certainly more powerful than the fame empire divided, and the whole is greater than any of the parts. They were likewife to extend ' toward the

* four winds of heaven :' and in the partition of the empire, Caf-fandcr held Macedon, and Greece, and the weftern parts ; Lyfimachus had Thrace, Bithynia, and the northern regions; Ptolemy pofiefTed Egypt, and the fouthern countries; and Seleucus obtained Syria, and the eaftern provinces." [Kp- Ni-wton on the Prophecies, vol. ii. dlfTert. 15.J

288 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

fpecial feafons, \vhen the Spirit of God was pleated to in-fpire them in this way. And the church in different parts of the world, as the churches of Jerufalcm, An-tioch, Galatia, Corinth, and others, which were in countries diftant one from another, could not have had that communication one with another, which we have an account of in the book of A£ls, if they had had no common language. So it was before the Grecian empire was fet up. But after this, many in all thefe countries well tinderftood the fame language, viz. the Greek ; which wonderfully opened the door for mutual communication between thofe churches, fo far feparated one from another. And again, the making the Greek language common through fo great a part of the world, did wonderfully make way for the fctting up of the kingdom of Chrifl, becaufe it was the language in which the New Teftament was to be originally written. The apoftles propagated the gofpel through many fcores of nations; and if they could not have underftood the Bible any otherwife than as it was tranflated into fo many languages, it would have rendered the fpreading of the gofpel vaftly more difficult. But by the Greek language being made common to all, they all underftood the New Teftament of Jefus Chrift in the language in which the apoftles and evangelifts originally wrote it: fo that as foon as ever it was written by its original penmen, it immediately lay open to the world in a language that was commonly un-derftood.

15. The next thing I flnall take notice of, is the tranflation of the fcriptures of the Old Teftament into the Greek language, which is commonly called the Sep-tuagint, or the tranflation of the Seventy, This is fup-pofed to have been made about fifty or fixty years after Alexander's conquering the world. This is the firft tranflation that ever was made of the fcriptures that we have any credible account of. The canon of the Old Teflament had been completed by tlie prophet Malachi but about an hundred and twenty -years before in its original ; and hitherto the fcriptures had remained locked

up

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 289

up from all other nations but the Jews, in the Hebrew tongue, which was nnderftood by no other nation. But now it was tranflated into the Greek language, which, as we obferved before, was a language commonly underflood by the nations of the world.

This tranflation of the Old Teftament is ftill extant, and is commonly in the hands of learned men in thefe daysj and is made great ufe of by them. The Jews bave many fables about.the occafion and manner of this tranflation ; but the truth of the cafe is fuppofed to be this, that multitudes of the Jews living in other parts of the world befides Judea, and being born and bred among the Greeks, the Greek became their common language, and they did not unckrrtand the original Hebrew ; and therefore they procured the fcriptures to be tranflated for their ufe into the Greek language : and fo henceforward the Jews, in all countries, except Judea, were wont in their fyna-aogues to make ufe of this tranflation inftead of the Hebrew, (p)

This tranflation of the fcriptures into a language commonly underftiood through the world, prepared the way for Chrifli's coming, and fetting up his kingdom in the world, and afterwards did greatly promote it. For as the apoflles went preaching through the world, they made

P p great

(p) T/j^Septuagint /ra/2/7i7//o«.] It is " almoft unanimoufly admitted, that about 300 years before the advent of Jefus Chriit, a Greek tranflation of the Old TeRaincnt was made at Alcxan-dria, for the ufe of the . . . Jews . . . fettled there .... the far greater part of whoai had loft their native language—That at firft. the five books of Mofes only were tranflated, becaufe they were tlie only books which were then read in the fynagogues—That after tlie tyrannies of Antiocluis Epiphanes, the reading of the prophecies being then introduced, the prophecies were alio tranflated—That this verfion was fpread through all thofe parts of the world where the Greek language was ufed, or where Jews dwelt —And that the apolllcs, preaching the gofpelin the kaown parts of the world, m.adc ufe of [this] verfion—and that this verfion was one of the preparations which Providence had employed tor the call of the Gentiles." Saurin's Sermons, tranflated by Ro-blnfon, vol. iii. p. 147, 8. For a fuller account of this verfion fee Prukaiix'% Conncft. part 2. book i.]

igo HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

great ufe of the fcriptures of the Old Teftament, and efpe-» cially of the prophecies concerning Chrift contained in tliem. And by means of this tranflation, and by the Jews being fcattered every where, they had the fcriptures at hand in a language that was underflood by the Gentiles: and they principally made ufe of this tranflation in their preaching and writings wherever they Wefit; as is evident by this, that in all the quotations that are made out of the Old Teftament in their writings, they are almoft every where in the very words of the Septuagint ; they being both written in the fame language. This makes it evident, that the apoftles, in their preaching and writings, commonly made ufe of this tranflation. So this very tranflation was that which was principally ufed in Chriflian churches through moft nations of the world for feveral hundred years after Chrift.

i6i The next thing is the wonderful prcfervation of the church when it was imminently threatened and perfecuted under the Grecian empire.

The firfl: time they were threatened was by Alexander himfelf. When he was befieging the city of Tyre, fending to the Jew^s for aflifl:ance and fupplies for his army, and they refufing, out of a confcientious regard to their oath to the king of Perfia, he being a man of very furious fpirit, agreeable to the fcripture reprefentation of the rough he-goat, marched againfl: them, with a defign to cut them oil". But the priefts going out to meet him in prieftly garments, when he met them, God wonderfully turned his heart to fpare and favour them, much as he did the heart of Efau when he inet Jacob. ( q^)

After

(q^) Alexander /pared the Jeivs.'] " The high priefl in tliii imminent danger had recourfe to God by facrifices and fupplica-tions ; and as he was diredted in a vifion in the night, lie went forth the next day in his pontifical robes, with all the priefls in their habits, and tlie jx^ople in white apparel, to meet the conqueror, and to make their fubmlfllons to him. As foon as the king favv the high prieit coming to him in this folemn proceflion, he advanced eagerly to meet him, and bowing down himfelf he-lore him, received him with religious awe and veneration. All

prefent

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 291

After this, one of the kings of Egypt, a fucceflbr of one of Alexander's four captains, entertained a defign of de-ftrnying the nations of the Jews ; but was remarkably and xvonderfully prevented by a ftrong intcrpofitlon of Heaven for their prefervation.

But the moft wonderful prefervation of them all in this period, was under the cruel perfecution of Antio-chus Epiphanes, king of Syria, and fucceflbr of another of Alexander's four captains. The Jews were at that time fubje6l to the power of Antiochus; and he being enraged againfl: them, long ftrove to his utmoft utterly to deftroy them, and root them out ; at leaft all of them that would not forfake their religion, and worlhip his idols : and he did indeed in a great meafure wafte the country, and depopulate the city of Jerufalcm ; and profaned the temple, by fetting up his idols in fomc parts of it; and perfecuted the people with infatiable cruelty ; fo that wc have no account of any perfecution like this before. Many of the particular circumftances of this perfecution would be very affe6ting, if I had time to iniift on them. This cruel perfecution began about an hundred and ieventy years before Chrill. It is much fpoken of

P p 2 in

prefent were aftoniflied at this behaviour of the king, fo contrary to their expeftation ; and Parmenio in particular demanded the reafon of it, why he, whom all others adored, fliould pay fuch adoration to the Jewifh high prieft. Alexander replied, That he paid not this adoration to him, but to that God whofe prieft he was ; for while he was at Dio in Macedonia, and was meditating upon his expedition againfl: the king of Perfia, there appeared unto him in a dream this very man, and in this very habit, inviting him to come over into Alia, and promifing him fuccefs in the conqueft of it : and now he was affured that he had fet out upon this expedition under the conduft of God, to whom therefore he paid this adoration in the perfon of his high prieft. Hereupon he entered Jerufalem in peace, and went up and offered facrifices to God in the temple, where the high prieft produced and laid before him the prophecies of Daniel, wherein it was written, that a king of Grccia ftiould overthrow the Perfian empire, which he interpreted of himfelf. After this he granted peculiar privileges to the Jews, and proceeded in his expedition with full confideuce and afiurance of fuccefs. [Bp. Newton (from ^Jofcphus) onx\ic Prophecies, vol. ii. difc. 15.]

292 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

in the prophecy cf Daniel, [Dan. viii. 9—25 ; xl.31 — 38.] and referred to in the New Terca-ment, [Heb. xi. 36-38.] (R)

Antiochus intended not only to extirpate the Jewifli religion, but as far as in him lay, the very nation ; and particularly laboured to the utmoft to deilroy all copies of the law. And confjdering how weak they were, in comparifon with a king of fuch vafi: dominion, the providence of God appears very wonderful in defeating his de:^ign. Many times the Jews feemed to be on the very brink of ruin, and juft ready to be wholly fwallowed up : their enemies often thought themfelves fure of obtaining their purpofe. Thev once cam.e againft the people with a mighty army, and with a defign of killing all, except the women and children, and of felling thefe for flaves; and they were fo confident of obtaining their purpofe, and others of purchafing, that above a thoufand merchants came with the army, with money in their hands, to buy the flaves that fliould be fold. But God wonderfully flirred up an'd aflifted one Judas, and others his fuccefTors, that were called the Maccabees, who, with a fmall handful in comparifon, vanquifhed tlieir enemies time after time, and delivered their nation ; which was foretold by Daniel, [xi. 32.] Speaking of Anti-ochus's perfecxuion, he fays, ' And fuch as do wickedly

* againft the covenant, fliall he corrupt by flatteries : but ' the people that do know their God, Ihall be Ihong, and

* do exploits.' (s)

God

(r) Persecution under Antiochus.~\ The particulars of this perfecution are recited at length in the vth, vith, and viith chapters of the 2d book of Maccabees, and the nio(l material parts of it are confirmed by Polyhius and Jofepbus ; and copied into Rollings Ancient Hiftory, book xviii. art. 2. and the Utiiverfal Hijl. vol. X. book il. chap. 11.

(s) Bravery 0/" Judas Maccabeus,] " We have here a fen-fible image of the feeble oppofition which the human arm is able to make againll that of the Almiglity, 'on \vhom alone the fate of battle depends. It is evident that Judas himfelf was fully fenfible of his own wcaknefs: ' How can we,' fays he to the Almighty before tlie battle, ' Hand before them, unlcfs thou thyfelf alTift f us V And it is as evident, that he was no lefs fumlv perfuaded

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 293

God afterwards brought this Antiochus to a fearful, miferable end, by a loathfome difenfe, under dreadful tor-jnents of body, and horrors of mind; which was foretold [Dan xi. 45.] in thefe words; ' Yet he ftiall come to this

* end and none lliall help him.' (t) After his death, there were attempts Hill to deftroy the church of God; but God baffled them all.

17. The next thing to be taken notice of is the de-ftruftion of the Grecian empire, and fetting up of the Roman. This was the fourth overturning of the world in this period. And though it was brought to pals more gradually than the fetting up of the Grecian empire, yet it far exceeded that, and was much the greateft and largeft temporal monarchy that ever was in the world ; fo that tlie Roman empire was commonly called all the world ; [Luke ii. i.] ' And there went out a decree frooi ' before Caefar Auguflus, that all the world Ihould be ' taxed ;' /'. c. all the Roman empire. This empire is

fpoken

of the fiiccefs of his arms: ' The viftory (he had faid before)

* does not depend on the number of foldiers, but it is from heaven

* that all our Urength comes.' But although Judas had fo entire a confidence iu God, he employs all thofe expedients, which the mod experienced and bravell general could ufe, in order to obtain the vielory. How excellent a pattern have we here for generals! To pray with humility, becaufe all thirigs depend on God; and to aft with vigour, as if all things depended on niai)!" [See i Mace. lii. and Iv.] — [Rollin's Ancient Hiilory, book xviil. art. 2.]

(t) Antiochus DIED niiferably.'] " News was brought him of the defeat of Nicanor and Timotheus in Judea, .... frcfli exprefl'es came of Lyfias's defeat, a«d alfo that the Jews had retaken the temple, thrown down the altars and idols he had fet up, and re-i eftablifhcd their ancient worfliip; this news increafed his fury: Immediately he commanded his coachman to drive with the utmoil fpced, in order that he might have an opportunity fully to fatiatc his vengeance ; threatening to make Jerufalem the burying-plact, of the whole Jewifh nation, and not to leave one fingle inhabitant in it. He had fcarce utteied that blafphemous expreifion, but he was llruck by the hand of God. He was feized with incredible pains in his bowels, and the mofl exceffive pangs of the colic.

* Thus the murderer and blafphemer, (fays the author of the

* Maccabees, zd book, chap. ix. 12.) having fufPered mofl grle-

* voufly, as he treated other men, fo he died a miferable desth in a ? itrange country in the mountain." [Rollin's Ancient Hlftory, hook xviii. art, 2.]

294 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

fpokcn of as much the ftrongefl: and greateft of any of the four; [Dan. ii. 40.] * And the fourth kingdom fhall be

* ftrong as iron: forafmuch as iron breaketh in pieces, and

* fubdueth all things ; and as iron that breaketh all thefe,

* fhall it break in pieces, and bruife.' [So alfo Dan. vil. 7, 19, 23.] The time that the Romans firil: conquered and brought under the land of Judea, was between fixty and feventy years before Chrift was born : and foon after this, the Roman empire was eftablilhcd in its greateft extent ; and the world continued fubjeft to it till Chrift came, and many hundred years afterwards.

The nations being thus united under one monarchy when Chrift came, and when the apoftles went forth to preach the gofpel, did greatly prepare the way for the fpreading the gofpel, and the fctting up of Chrift's kingdom in the world: for the world being thus fubjeft to one government, it opened a communication from nation to nation, and fo opportunity was given for the more fvviftly propagating the gofpel through it. Thus we find it is in the Britidi nation, the communication from one part of its dominions to another, is much eafier and quicker than to foreign nations. There are innumerable difficulties in travelling through nations under different independent governments, which are not in travelling through different parts of the fame realm, or different dominions of the fame prince. So the world being under one government, that of the Romans, in Chrift's and the apoftles times, facilitated the apoftles travelling, and th§ gofpel's fpreading through tiie world.

18. About tlie fame time learning and philofophy were rifen to their greateft height in the heathen world. Almoft all the famous philofophers that we have an account of among the heathen, went after the captivity into Babylon. Almoft all the wife men of Greece and Rome flourifticd in this time. Many of them were, indeed, men of great temporal wifdom : and that which they in general chiefly profeffed to make their bufinefs, was to inquire wherein man's chief happinefs lay, and the way in which pien might obtain it. They feemed earneftly to bufy

them-

themfelves in this inquiry, and wrote multitudes of books about it, many of which are ftill extant. There have been reckoned up feveral hundreds of their different opinions concerning it. Thus they wearied themfelves in vain, wandering in the dark, not having the glorious gofpel to guide them. God was pleafed to fuffer men to do the utmoft tliey could with human wifdom, and to try the extent of their own \mderfl:andings to find out the way to happinefs, before the true light came to enlighten the world: before he fent the great Prophet to lead men in the right way to happinefs. God fulFercd thefe great philofophers to try what they could do for lix*hundred years together; and tlien it proved, by the events of fo long a time, that all they could do was in vain ; the world not becoming wiler, better, or happier under their inftruc-tions, but growing more and more fooliJh, wicked, and miferable. (u) He fuffered their wifdom and philofophy

to

(u) The Jlatc of Pagan Philosophy,] The corrupt ftate of the heathen morals, during the mofh flourifiiing times of their philofophy, is defcribed by a learned prelate of the prefent age in the following pointed language—" The fports of the gladiators, unnatural luft, the licentioufnefs of divorce, the expofing of infants and flaves, the procuring abortions, the public cllablini-ment of ftevvs ; all fuhfilled at Rome, and not one of them [was] condemned, or hinted at, in Tully's Offices.—The mofl indecent revelling, drunkennefs, and lewdnefs, [were] praflifed at the fcafls of Bacchus, Ceres, and Cybcle ; and their greatcft philofophers never remonftrated again (I it.

*• The heathen philofophers, though they have advanced fine fayings and fubllme precepts, in fome points of morality, have grofsly failed in others : fueh as the toleration or encouragement of revenge, flavery, unnatural luft, fornication, fulcide, &c. For example: Plato exprcfsly allowed of exceflive drinking at the fefti-vals ot Bacchus.— Muxhnus Tyr'ius forbad to pray.— Socrates directs his hearers to confider the Greeks as brethren ; but barbarians \t. e. all who weie of any other country] as natural enemies.— Arl/lotld maintained, that nature intended baibarians [/. c. all who were not Grecians] to be flaves.—The Stoics held, that all crimes were equal.— P'ato, Cicero, Epiclctiis, all allow and advlfe men to continue the idolatry of their ancellors.— Arijlotk, and Cicero, both fpeak of the forglvcncfs of injuries, as meannefs and pufdla-Dimltv.—Thefe wee trifles, to what follows.—

" Ariftotle

to come to the greatefl: height before Chrifl: came, that It might be feen how far reafon and philofophy could go in their higheft afcent, that the neccflity of a divine teacher might appear before Chrifl came. And God was pleafed to

make

" Ar'tjlotle and Plato both direct, that means fhould be ufed to prevent weak children being brought up.— Cato commends a young man for frequenting the ftews.— Cicero exprefsly fpeaks of fornication as a thing never found fault with.— Plato recommends a community of women ; and advifes, that foldiers fhould not be reftrained from fenfual indulgence, even the moll unnatural fpe-cies of it.— Xenophon relates, without any marks of reprobation, that unnatural lull was encouraged by the lavv's of feveral Grecian ftates.— Solon^ their great lawgiver, forbad it only to flaves.— Diogenes inculcated, and openly praftifed the mod brutal luft.— Zeno and Cato both killed themfelves." [Bp. of Carlisle's Relied, on the Life and Character of Chrift, Appendix.]

Another elegant writer of the prefent day thus paints the fitua-tion of the heathen world at Chrift's coming :

""They all worfliipped a multiplicity of gods and daemons, whofe favour they com ted by impious, obfcene, and ridiculous ceremonies ; and whofe anger they endeavoured to appeafe, by the mod abominable cruelties. In thepolitell ages of the politeft nations in the world, at a time when Greece and Rome had carried the arts of oratory, poetry, hlftory, architefture, and fculpture, to the higheft perfeftion, and made no inconfiderable advances in thofe of mathematics, natural, and even moral philofophy, in religious knowledge they had made none at all: a ftiong prefump-tion, that the noblcft efforts of the mind of man, unaiTiltcd by revelation, were unequal to the tafl<. Some few, indeed, of their philofopheis, were wife enough to rejeft thcfe general abfurdities, and dared to attempt a loftier flight. Plato introduced many fnb-lime ideas of nature, and its firll caufe, and of the immortality of the foul; which, being above his own and all human difcovery, he probably acquired from the books of Mofcs, or the converfa-tion of fome Jewifli rabbles, whom be might have met with In Egypt; where he refided, and ftudied, for feveral years. From him ylrijlotle, and from both Ciceroy and fome few others, drew moil amazing ftores of philofophical fcience ; and carried their re-fearches into divine trutlis, as far as human genius alone could penetrate. But thefe, with all this knowledge, were very deficient in true theology.

" At this time, ChiiRIauIty broke forth from the eaft, like a ri-fing fun, and difpclled this unlveifal darkncfs, which obfcured every part of the globe ; and which, even at this day, prevails in all thofe remoter regions, to which its falutary Influence has not as yet extended." [Soame Jenyns, Efq. Internal Evidence of the Chrilllan Religion.]

FROM THE CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST. 297

inake foolifli the wifdom of this world, to fhew men the folly of their beft wifdom, by the do^Vrincs of his glorious gofpel which were above the reach of all their philo-fophy. [Sec i Cor. i. 19—21.]

And after God had ihewn the vanity ot human learning, he was pleafed to make it fubfervient to the purpofes of Chrift's kingdom, as an handmaid to divine revelation: and fo the prevalence of learning in the world before Chriil: came, made way for his coming both thefe ways, viz. as thereby the vanity of human wifdom was fliown, and the necefTity of the gofpel appeared ; and alfo as hereby an handmaid was prepared to the gofpel: for fo it was made ufe of by the apoftle Paul, who was famed for his much learning, [A61:sxxvi. 24.] and was (killed not only in that of the Jews, but alfo of the philofophers; and improved it to the purpofes of tiie gofpel ; as you may fee he did in difputing with the philofophers at Athens. [A6ts xvii, 22, &c.] He by hrs learning knew well how to improve what he had read in their writings ; and even cites their own poets, (w) And now Dionyfius, who was a philofopher, was converted by him, and, as ccclefiaftical hiftory gives us an account, made a great inftrument of promoting the gofpel. (x) And there were many otl^ers in that and the following ages, who were eminently ufcful by their human learning in promoting the interefts of Chrifl's kingdom.

19. Juft

(w) Paul quotes the Greek poets.] *' Thofe words, ' For in * him we live,' &c. have been fuppofed by fome an alliilion to an old Greek poet; but be this as it may, the following words, ' For ' we are alfo his offspring ;' or as Doddridge more properly renders them, picferving their poetic air,

* For we his offspring are'— Thefe words are unqucftionably thofe of Aratus^ a poet of Cici-lia, Paul's own country, who wrote three hundred years before his time." So I Cor. xv. 33, is fuppofed to be a quotation from Mi-nandery another Greek Poet. [See Fam. E.xpof. in loc.J

(x) D; ON y SI us the Areopagite.'] " This Dionyfius was bred at Athens in all the learned arts, and was one of the fenators and judges of the great court of Areopagus; at twenty-tive years old he is faid to have travelled to Egypt, to perfetl himfelf in the ftudy of aftrology, for which that nation was famous: here be-

C^q holding

298 HISTORY OFREDEMPTION.

19. Juft before Clirift was born, the Roman empire was not only raifed to its greateft height, but alfo fettled in peace. About four and twenty years before this, Au-gullus Caefar, the firfl: Roman Emperor, afccnded the throne : till then the Roman empire had of a long time been a commonwealth under the government of the fe-nate ; but now it became an abfolute monarchy. This Auguftus Caefar, as he was the firfl, fo he was the greateft of all the Roman Emperors. Thus the power of the heathen world, which was Satan's vifible kingdom, was raifed to Its greateft height, after it had been rifmg gradually and ftrengthening itfelf more and more from the days of Solomon to this day, which was about a thoufand years. Now the heathen world was in its greateft glory for ftrength, wealth, and learning.

God did two things to prepare the way for Chrift's coming, wherein he took a contrary method from that which human wifdom would have taken. He brought his own vifible people very low, and made them weak ; but the heathen, who were his enemies, he exalted to the greateft height, for the more glorious triumph of the crofs of Chrift. With a fmall number in their greateft weak-nefs, he conquered his enemies in their greateft glory. Thus Chrift triumphed over principalities and powers in his crofs.

Auguftus Csefar had been for many years eftabliftiin'^-the ftatc of the Roman Empire, fubduing his enemies in one part and another, till the very year that Chrift was born; when all his enemies being fubdued, his dominion over the world feemed to be iettled in its greateft glory. All was eftablifhed in peace : in token whereof the Romans ftiut the temple of Janus, which was an eftabliflied iymbol among them of there being univerfal

peace

holding the miraculous eclipfe that was at the time of our Lord's crucifixion, he concluded that fome great affair was happening to the world. Returning to Athens, he became one of the judges of the Areopagus, difputed with St. Paul, and was by him converted from his errors and idolatry, and being thoroughly inftrucled, made the firft bifliop of Athens." [Dr. Cave.]

peace throughout the Roman empire, (y) And this uni-vcrfal peace, which was begun the year tliat Chrlft was born, lafted twelve years, till the year that Chrifl difputed with the do(5lors in the temple.

Thus the world, after it had been, as it were, in a continual convulfion for fo many hundred years together, like the four winds flriving together on the tumultuous raging ocean, whence arofe thofe four great monarchies; being now eftablilhed in the greateft height of the fourth

and laft monarchy, and fettled in quietnefs all things

are ready for the birth of Chrift. This remarkable uni-verfal peace, after fo many ages of tumult and war, was a fit prelude for the ufhering of the glorious Prince of Peace into the world.

Thus I have gone through our firfk grand period, that from the fall to the time of the incarnation of Chrifl:: and have fhown the truth of the fiill; propolition, viz. That ' from the fall of man to the incarnation of Chrifl:,' God was doing^ thofe things that were preparatory to Chrift's coming, o.nd for£run?iers ot it.

IMPROVEMENT of PERIOD.I.

BEFORE I proceed to the next propofition, I would make fome few remarks, by way of improvement, upon what has been fald under this.

I. Wc may ftrongly argue, that Jefus of Nazareth is indeed the Son of God, and tlie Saviour of the w orld; and that the Chriftian is the true religion, feeing Chrift is the very perfon fo evidently pointed at, in all the great dif-

Qjl 2 penfations

(y) 77;^" Temple o/" Janus.] Thi^ v/as a fquare building, (fome faj* of entire brafs) which contained a llatue of Janus five feet high ; with brazen gates ahvays kept open in time of war, but jhut in time of peace ; which however fcldbm happened. Hifto-rians mention eight times of its being (hut up, three of which were in the reign of Augullus, and one of them in the time of our Lord's birth. [See Kennet'% Antiq. part 2. book i.]

300 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

pcnfations of Divine Providence from the fall of man» and was fo undoubtedly in many inftances foretold frorr^ age to age, and fhadowed forth in a vaft variety of types and figures. If we ferioufly confider the courfe of things from the beginning, and obferve the motions of all the great wheels of Providence from one age to another, we fhall difcern that they all tend hither. They are all as fo many lines, whofe courfe, if accurately followed, will he found to centre here. This perfon came into the world with a commiffion and authority from God to do his work, and to declare his mind. It cannot be any vain imagination, but a plain and evident truth, that t/iat perfon who was born at Bethlehem, and dwelt at Nazareth and at Capernaum, and was crucified without the gates of Jerufalem, mufl; be the great Meffiah, or anointed of God. And blefied are all they that believe in and confefs him, and miferable are all that deny him. This Ihows the lUiireafonablencfs of the Deifts, who deny revealed religion ; and of the Jews, who deny that t/iis Jefus is the Mcfiiah foretold and promiled to their fathers.

Here fomc perfons may be ready to objedl, that it may be, fome fubtle, cunning men contrived to forge this hifiory, and thefe prophecies, fo that they fliould all point to Jefus Chrift on purpofe to prove him to be the Meffiah. To fuch it may be replied, how could their .craft and fubtilty help them to forefee and point at an event that was to come to pafs many ages afterwards ; for no faft can be more evident, than that the Jews had thofc writings long before Chritl was born; as they have them flill in great veneration, wherever they are throughout the world; and they would never have received fuch a .contrivance from Chrillians, to point to and confirm Jefus jto be the Meffiaii, vVho they always denied to be fo; and much lefs would Vhey have been made to believe that they always had thefe books in their hands, if they had been an impofition.

2. What has been faid, affords a frrong argument for the divine authority of the books of the* Old Teibment, from that admirable harmony there is in them, whereby they

aij

all point to the fame objedl. For we may fee from what has been faid, how all the parts of the Old Teftament* though written by fo many different penmen, and in ages diftant one from another, do all beautifully harmonize : all agree in one teftimony, and all center in the fame event; an event which it was impofllble any one of them fliould foreknow, but by a divine revelation, even the future coming of Chrift. This is evident from what lias been faid above.

Now, if tiie Old Teftamcnt was not infpired by God, what account can be given of fuch an agreement ? For if thefe books were only human writings, written without any divine dire6lion, then none of thcfe penmen knew that there would come fuch a perfon as Jefus Chrift into the world; his coming was only a mere figiTjent of their own brain : and if fo, how happened it, that this imagination of theirs, which thev foretold without any manner of ground for their predi6tion, was fo exactly fulhlled ? and efpecially how did they come all to agree in it, all pointing exadtly to the fame thing, though they lived fo many hundred years diftant one from another ? This admirable agreement in a future event, is therefore a clear and certain evidence of the divine authority of thofe writings.

c. Hence we mav learn what a weak and ignorant ob-jection it is wliich fome make againft fome paits of the Old Teftament, that they confifl; lb much of the hiftories of their kings and rulers, of their wars with the nelorh-bouring nations, and of the changes that happened from time to time in their ftnte and government. Other na-» tions fay they ufed to keep hiftories of their public affairs as well as the Jews, why then fliould we think that thefe hiftories are the word of God, more than thofe of other people ? But what has been faid, ihows the folly and vanity of fuch an obje6lion. For hereby it appears, that the cafe of thefe hiftories is very ditTerent from that of all others. This alone gives us an account of the original of all things; and deduces them down in a regular feries from that original, giving a view of the whole fcheme

of

302 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. '

of Divine Providence, from the beginning to the confum-mation of all things: with an account of the wife and holy defigns of the governor of the world in all.—By thefe hiftorics it appears how God has been carrying on the glorious work of redemption from age to ao;e. And though hijioricsy yet are they full of divine inftrudlion, and fhow forth Chrift, and his glorious gofpel, no lefs than other parts of the holy fcriptures which are not fo.

The obje£lion, that it is a common thing for nations and kingdoms to write hiftories and keep records of their wars, and the revolutions that come to pafs in their territories, is fo far from being a weighty obje6lion againfl: the hirtorical part of fcripture, as though it were not the word of God, that it is a ftrong argument in favour of it. For if reafon and the light of nature teaches all civilized nations to keep fuch records, and to publifh them for the information of others; how much more may we expe6l that God would give the vvorld a record of the difpenlations of his divine government, which doubtlels is infinitely more worthy of an hiftory for our information? If wife kings have taken care that there Ihould be good hillories written of the nations over which they have reigned, fliall we think it incredible that Jefus Chrift ihould take care that his church, which is his kingdom, his peculiar people, ihould have in their hands a hiftory of their nation, and of his government over them ?

If it had not been for the hiftorv of the Old Teftament, how ignorant ihould we have been of God's dealings towards mankind, and efpecially his church, from the beginning ? Wc ihould have been wholly In the dark about !^he creation of the world, the fall of man, the firft rife and continued progrefs of the difpenfation of grace towards fallen mankind ; how the light of the gofpel firtl began to dawn in the world; how it Increafed ; and how things were preparing for the coming of Oirill:.

If wr. arc Chrlfilans, we belong, to that-divine building of God that has been the fubjedl of our difcourfe . but if it had not been for the hiftbry of the Old Tefta-inent, we ihould never have knov/n what was the firfV

cccafiou

occafion of God's going about this building, and how the foundation of it was laid, or how it has gone on with from the beginning. The times of the hiftory of the Old Tef-tament are moftly fuch as no other hifbory reaches up to ; and therefore if God had not prefcrved an account of thefe things in his word, we fhould have been wholly without them.

Thofe that obje61: againft the authority of the Old Teftament hiftory of the nation of the Jews, may as well make it an objection againft Mofes's account of the creation that it is hiftorical ; for, in the former, we have an hiftory of a work no lefs important, viz. the work of redemption. Nay, this is a far greater and more glorious work, as we obfervcd before ; and if it were inquired which of the two works, the work of creation, or the work of providence, is greateft ? it muft be an-fwered, the work of providence ; but the work of rr-dempt'ion is the greateft of the works of providence. And let thofe who make this obje6lion confider what part of the Old Teftanient hiftory can be fpared, without making a great breach in that thread or ferics of events by which this glorious work has been carried on.—This leads me to obferve,

4, That from what has been faid we may fee much of the wifdom of God In the compofition of the fcrip-tures of the Old Teftament. Let us briefly take a view of the feveral parts of it, and of the need there was of them.

Firft it was neceffary that we iliould have fome account of the creation of the world, of our tirft parents and their primitive ftate ; of the fall, of the old world and the degeneracy of it, and of the univerfal deluge ; alio of the origin of nations after this deftrucflion of mankind.

It feems proper that there ftiould be fome account of the fucceffion of the church of God from the beginning ; and feeing God fuffered all the world to degenerate, and only took one nation to be his people, to prcferve the true woriliip and religion till the Saviour fhould come,

that

304 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

that in them the world might gradually be prepared for that great light, and thofe wonderful things that he was to be the author of; and that they might be a typical nation, in whom God might fhadow forth the future glorious things of the gofpel-—it was therefore ncceiTary that we fhould have feme account of this, how it was firft done by the calling of Abraham, by rheir being bond-llaves in Egypt, and by their beiug brought thence to Canaan. It was necelTary that we fliould have fome account of the revelation which God made of himfelf to that people, in giving their law, in the appointment of their typical worlhip, and of the formation of their civil and ecclefiaftical ftate.

It feems neceffary that we fhould have fome account of their being a6tually brought to Canaan, tlieir promifed land—That we fhonld have an hiflory of the fucceffions of the church of Ifrael, and of thofe providences of God towards them, which were moft confiderable and fulleft of gofpel myftcry ; that we Ihould have fome account of the higheft external glcry of that nation under David and Solomon, and more particularly of the former, whofc hiftory is fo full of the gofpel, and in whom began the race of their kings ; and that we fliould have fome account of the building of the temple, which was moreover fo full of myfterv.

It was alfo a matter of confequence, that we ihould have fome account of Ifrael's dividing from Judah, and of the ten tribes' captivity and utter rtje6lion ; of the fucceflion of the kings of Judah and of the church, till their captivity into Babylon ; of their return from their captivity, and re-fettlement in their own land ; and of the origin of the lad Hate that the church was in before Chrift came.

A little confideration will convince every one, that all thefe things were neceffary, and that none of them could well be fpared ; and in the-general, that it was neceffary that we fliould have an hiftory of God's church till fuch times as are witiiin the reach ot human hifto-ries ; and it was of importance tiiat we ftiould have an

infpired

IMPROVEMENT OF PERIOD 1. $0^

infpircci hlftory of thofe time$ of the Jewiili church, wherein there vvae kept up a more extraordinary inter-courfe between Gq^ and them, and syhile he ufed to dwell among them, as it were vilibly, revealing himfelf by the Shechinah, by Urim and Thummim, and by pro-phscYt a»<l fo "^o^^ immediately to order their affairs: that we /hould have fomc account of the great difpeiifa-tions of God in prophecy, which were to be after the fini/hing of infpired hiftory. So it was exceeding needfui that there fliould be a number of prophets raifcd, who Ihould foretell the coming of the Son of God, and the nature and glory of his kingdom, to be as fo many harbingers to make way for him, and that their prophecies fliould reiTiam In th^ church.

jjt was alfoi defirable that the church fliould have a hook of divine fongs given by infpiration from God, wherein there ihould be a lively repreientation of the trvie fpitit of devotion, of faith, hope, and divine love, joy, rehgnalion, humility, obedience, repentance, &c. Again, that wc fhould have fuch books of moral inftruc-tions as thofe of Proverbs and Ecclefiaftes, relating to the aifairs and ftate of mankind, and the concerns' of hnraaxi life, containing rules of true wifdom and prudence for our conduct in all circumftances: likewife that we ihould have fuch a reprefentaticn of the great love between Chrift and his fpoufe, the church, particularly adapted to the difpoixtion and holy afFeftions of a true believer, as wc have in Solomon's Song: alfo that we fljould have a book to teach us how to condu;^ ourlelves under afflidion, feeing the church of God is here in a militant Aate, and his people through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of heaven ; therefore God has given us a book moil: proper in thefe circumftances, even that of Job, written upon occallon of the afflidlions of a particular faint, and which was, probably, given to the church in Egypt under her afflidions there ; and is made ufe of by the apoftle to comfort Chriflians under perfe-cutions. [James v. 11.] * Ye have heard of the patience • of Job, and have fpeo the end of the Lord ; that the

R r ' Lord

3o6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

' Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.* God was alfo pleafed, in this book of Job, to give fome view of the ancient divinity before the giving of the law.

- Thus, from this brief review, 1 think it appears, that every part of the fcriptures of the Old Teftament is very nfeful and necefiary, and no part of it can be fpared_, without lofs to the church ; and therefore the wifdom of God is confpicuous in ordering that the fcriptures of the Old Teftament fhould confift of thofe very books of which they do confift.

Before I difmifs this particular, I would add, that it is very obfervable, that the hiftory of the Old Teftament IS large and particular where the great affair of redemption required it; as where there was moft done towards this work, and moft to typify Chrift, and to prepare the way for him. Thus it is very large and particular in the hiftory of Abraham and the other patriarchs ; but very ihort in the account of the time which the children of Ifrael fpent in Egypt. So it is large in the account of the redemption out of Egypt, and the firft fettling of the affairs of the Jewifti church and nation in Mofes and Jofliua's time ; but much fhorter in the account of the times of the judges. So again, it is large and particular in the account of David and Solomon's times, and very ftiort in the hiftory of the enfuing reigns. Thus the accounts are long or fhort, juft as there is more or lefs of the affair of redemption to be feen in them.

5. From what has been faid, we may fee that Chrift and his redemption are the great fubje6l of the whole Bible. Concerning the New Teftament the matter is plain; and by what has been faid on this fuhjeft hitherto, it appears to be fo alfo with refpe6l to the Old Teftament. Chrift and his redemption is the great fub-jeft of the prophecies, as well as the fongs of the Old Teftament ; and the moral rules and precepts are all given in fubordination to him ; and Chrift and his redemption are alfo the great fubjedl of the hiftory of the Old Teftament, from the beginning* all along ; and even the hiftory of the creation is brought in as an introduction

tion to the hiftory of redemption which immediately follows it. The whole book, both the Old Teftament and New, is filled with the gofpel; only with this difFerence, that the Old Teftament contains the gofpel under a vail, but the New contains it unvailed, fo that wc may fay the glory of the Lord with open face.

6. By what has been fafd, we may fee the ufefulnefs and excellency of the Old Teftament. Some are ready to look on it as being out of date,N and as if we, in thefe days of the gofpel, had but little to do with it; which is a very great miftake, arifing from want of obferving its nature and defign, which, if it were obfervcd, would appear full of the gofpel of Chrift, and would in an excellent manner illuftrate and confirm the glorious doctrines and promifes of the New Teftament, Thofe parts of the Old Teftament which are commonly looked upon as containing the leaft divine inftrudtion, arc, as it were, mines and trcafures of gofpel knowledge ; and the reafon why they are thought to contain fo little, is, becaufe perfons do but fuperficiaily read them. The treafurcs which are hidden underneath are not obferved. They only look on the top of the ground, and fo fuddenly pafs a judgment that there is nothing there; but they never dig into the mine ; if they did, they w^ould find it richly ftored with ftlver and gold, and would be abundantly requited for their pains.

jWhat has been faid, may fhow us what a precious tr'cafure God has committed into our hands, in that he has given us the Bible. How little do moft perfons con-fider how much they enjoy, in that they liave the pofTef-llon of that' holy book, and may converfe with it as they pleafe? What an excellent book is this, and how far exceeding all human writings, wherein God reveals to us, and gives us a view of the grand defign and glorious icheme of Providence from the beginning of the world, either in hiftory or prophecy ! that reveals the great. Redeemer and his glorious redemption, and the various fteps by which God accomplifhes it from the firil: foundation to the top ftone ! Shall we prize an hiftory which

R r 2 ?ives

sqS history of redemption,

givts us a clear account of fome greit earthly prince, of mighty warrior, 34 of Alexander the Great, ot Jvilius Caefftr, or the Duke of Marlborough ? and (hall we not prize the hifto]y that God gives us of the glorious kingdom of his Son Jefus Chrift, the Prince and Saviour • and of the war* and other great tranfaclions of that King of kings and Lord of armies, the Lord mighty in battle I the hiftory of the things which he has wrought for the redemption of his chofen people ? .

7. What has been faid, may make us fenfible how much ittoll: perfons are to blame for their inattenrtire way of reading the fcripture?. How much do the fcriptures contain, if it were but obferved ? The Bible is the moft Compre-henfive book in the world. But what will all this fignify to us, if we read it without obferving what is the drift of the Holy Ghoft in it ? The pfalmifl [Pfal. cxix. i8.] begs of God, ' That he would enlighten his eyes, that he might ' behold wondrous things our of his law.' The fcriptures are full of wondrous things. Thofe hiftories which are commonly read as if they were only hiflories of the private concerns of fuch and fuch particular perfons, fuch as the hiftories of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, and Jofeph ; alfo the hiftory of Ruth ; and the hiftorif-s of particular lawgivers and princes, as the hillory of Jolhua and the Judges, and David and the Ifraelitiili pTittces, are accounts of much greater things, things of far more importance and ejften-five concernment, than thofe that read them arc commonly aware of.

The hiftories of fcripture are commonly read as if thev xverc flories written only to entertain men's fancies and to amufe their leifurc hours, when the infinitely great things contained or pointed at in therh are pafled over, and never taken notice of. Whatever treafures the fcriptures contain, we fliali be never the better foT them, if we do not obferve them. He that has a Bible, and does not obferve what is containfd in. it, is like a man who has a box foil of filver and gold^ and does not know-it, docs not obferve fhat it is any thing more than a vef-

fd

fel filled with common ftones. As long as it Is thus with him, he will be never the better for his treafure ; for he that knows not that he has a treafure, will never nrtake ufe of what he has, and fo might as well be without it. He who has a plenty of the choiceft food ftored up in his houfe, and does not know It, will never tafte what he has, and will be as likely to ftarve as if his houfe wer^ empty.

8. What has been faid, may fhow us how great a per-fon Jefus Chrifl: Is, and how great an errand he came Into the world upon, feeing there was fo much done to prepare the way for his coming. God had been doing nothing elfe but preparing the way for his coming, through all ages, from the beginning. If we had notice of a certain ftranger's being about to come Into a country, and fliould obferve that a great preparation was made for his coming, that many months were taken up In it, and great things done ; and that many great alterations were made in the ftate of the whole country, and that many hands were employed, and perfons of great note were engaged In making preparation for the coming of this perfon, and the whole country was overturned, and all the affairs and concerns of the country were ordered fo as to be fubfervient to the defign of entertaining that perfon when he fhould come ; it would be natural for us to think with ourfelves, why, furcly, this Is fome extraordinary perfon Indeed, and it Is fome very great bufinefs that he is coming upon !

How great a perfon then mufl: he be, for whofe coming into the world the great God of heaven and earth, and governor of all things, fpent four thoufand years in preparing the way,—bringing mighty events to pafs, accom-plifhing wonders without number, often overturning the world In order to it, and caufmg all the revolutions and changes In the habitable world from generation to generation to be fubfervient to this great defign ? Surely this mufl be fome very great and extraordinary perfon, and 3 great work indeed It mull needs be that he is coming about!

We

3io HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

, We read, [Matth. xxi. 8—lO-] that when Chrift was coming into Jerufalem, and the multitudes ran hefore him, and cut down branches of palm-trees, and ftrevved them in the way, and others fpread their garments in the way, and cried, ' Hofanna to the fon of David,' that the whole city was moved, faying. Who is this ? They wondered who that extraordinary perfon ihould be, that there fhould be fuch an ado made on occafion of his coming into the city, and to prepare the way before him. But if we confider what has been fiid on this lubjeft, what great things were done in all ages to prepare the way for Chrifl's advent, and how the world was often overturned to make way for it, much more may we cry out, Who is this? What great perfon is this? And fay, [as in Pfahn xxiv. 8—10.] ' Who is the King of glory,' that God Jhould fliow fuch refpe6l, and put fuch vaft honour upon him ? Surely this perfon is honourable indeed in God's eyes, and greatly beloved of him ; and furely it is a great errand upon which he is fent into the world !

PERIOD

PERI O D 11. FROM Christ's incarnation to his resup.rection.

H

AVING fliown how the work of redemption was carried on through the firft period, from tlie fall of man to the incarnation of Chriit, I come now to the fecond, viz. the time of Chrift's humiliation, or the fpace fiom his incarnation to his refurreclion. And this is the moft remarkable period that ever was or ever will be. Though it was but between thirty and forty years, yet rnore was done in it than had been from the beginning of the world to that time. We have oblerved, that all events from the fall to the incarnation were only preparatory for what was now done. And it may alfo be obferved, that what was done before the commencement of time, in the eternal counfels of God, and bqtween the perfons of the Trinity, chiefly refpccled this period. We therefore now proceed to confider the fecond propofition, viz.

That the time from Christ's incarnation to his resurrection vvas employed in procuring and purchasing redemption.

Though there were many tilings done preparatory to our redemption from the fall of man to this time, and millions of facrifices had been offered up ; yet none of them could purchafe our redemption. But as focn as Chrift was incarnate, the purchafe immediately began; and the whole time of Chrift's humiliation, from his bi^-coming incarnate, fill the morning that he arofe from the dead, was taken up in this purchafe, and then it was completely tiniihed. As nothing was done before Chrill's incarnation, fo nothing was done after his refurre6lion, to purchafe redemption for men. Nor will there ever be

anv

312 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

any thing more done to all eternity : but that very moment that the human nature of Chrift ceafed to remain under the power of death, the utmoft farthing of the price of the falvation was paid for every one of the cleft.

But for the more orderly and regular confideration of the great things done by our Redeemer to purchafe redemption for us,

I. I would fpeak of Chrift becoming incarnate to capacitate himfelf for his purchafe ;—and, ^,2. Of the purchafe itfelf.

§ I. Of Christ's Incaujjatiok.

FIRST, I would confider Chrift's taking upon him our nature to put himfelf in a capacity to purchafe redemption for us.—This was abfolutely ncceflary, for though Chrift, as God, was infinitely fufficient for the work, yet to his being in an immediate capacity for it, it was needful that he ihould not only be God but man. If Chrift had remained only in the divine nature, he could not have purchafed our falvation ; not from any imperfection of the divine nature, but fey reafon of its abfolute and infinite perfeftion : for Chrift, merely as God, was not capable either of obedience or fufFcring. And it was neceflary not only that Chrift should take upon him a created-nature, but that he fhould take upon him our nature. It would not have fuffited for him to have become an angel, and to have obeyed and luiFered in the angelic nature. JBut it was neceflary that he ihould become a man., and that upon three accounts.

(j.) It was needful to anfwer the law, that that nature fhould obey, to which the law was given. Man's law could not be anfwered, but by being obeyed by man-God's juftice inlifted upon it, that, the law which he had given to man fliould be honoured^ and fubmitted to, and fulfilled by the human nature, otherwife the law could not be anlwered for men. The words, T\v;>\x Jhalt, or

Thou

Thou llialt not do thus or thus, were fpoken to mankind, and therefore tlie human nature mufl: fulfil them.

(2.) It was needful to anfwer the law that the nature that finned fliouid die. Thefe words, * Thou (lialt furely * die,' rcfpedl the human nature : the fame nature to which the command was given, was the nature to which the threatening was dire6ted.

(3.) God faw meet, that the fame world which was the ftage of man's fall and ruin, fhould alfo be the ftage of his redemption. We read often of his coming into the world to fave finners, and of God's fending him into the world for this purpofe. It was needful that he fhould come into this fmful, miferable world to relliore and fave it, and that he fhould tabernacle with us: [John i. 14.] ' The Word was made flelh, and dwelt among us.'

Concerning the Incarnation of Chrift, I would obferve the following things:

The Incarnation itfelf; in which efpecially two things are tobe confidered, viz.

(i.) His conception, which was in the womb of Mary, whereby he became truly the fon of man, as he was often called. He was one of the pofterity of Adam, a child of Abraham, and a Ion of David according to God's promife. But his conception was not in the way of ordinary generation, but by the power of the Holy Ghofl. Chrif!: was formed in the womb of the Virgin, of the fubftance of her body, by the power of the Spirit of God. So that he was the immediate fon of the woman, but not the immediate fon of any male whatfoever ; and fo was the feed ot the woman, and the fon of a virgin, (z)

S s (2.) His

(2) Chrift horn of a virgin.] Some learned men have cited a tradition from the Talmudy that feems very remarkably to allude to this, viz, ' That vi'hen MefTiah fhould come, no man ' fhould know whence he was, and that his birth fliculd be like

* the dew of the Lord, as drops upon the grafs, expecting not ' the labour of man.^ [Stackhouse's Hift. of the Bible, book viii. chap. i. and compare John vii. 27. • When Chriilcometh no

* manknoweth whence he is;' alfo Note o, page 231, above.]

(2.) His birth.—Though the conception of Chilft wars fupernatural, yet after he was conceived, his human nature was gradually perfedted in the womb as others are, and his iairth was in the natural way of nature. But his conception being fupernatural, by the power of the Holy Ghoft, he was both conceived and born without fm.

2. The fecond thing I would obferve concerning the incarnation of Chrift, is the fulnefs of the time in which it was accomplifhed. It was after things had been preparing for it from the fall, and when all things v/erc ready. it came to pafs at a time, which in infinite wifdom was the moft fit and proper: [Gal. iv. 4.] ' When the fulnefs ' of time was come, God fent forth his Son, made of a

* woman, made under the law.'

It was now the moft proper time on every account. Any time before the flood would not have been fo fit a time. For then the mifchief and ruin that the fall brought on mankind, was not fo fully feen. The curfe did not fo fully come on the earth before the flood, as it did afterwards : for though the ground was curfed in a great meafure before, yet it pleafed God that the curfe fhould once, before the reft:oration of Chrill, be executed in an univerfal deflrudlion, as it were, of the very form of the earth ; that the dire effects of the fall might otice in fuch a way be feen before the recovery by Chrift. Though mankind were mortal before the flood, yet their lives were continued the greater part of a thoufand years ; a kind of immortality in comparifon with what the life of man is now. It pleafed God, that the curfe, ' Dufl: thou art and

* to duft thou fhalt return,' fhould have its full accomplifli-ment, before the Redeemer came to purchafe a never-ending life for man.

It would not have been fo fit a time for Chrift to come, after the flood,'before Mofes's time ; for till then mankind were not fo univerfally apofliatized from the true God; they were not fallen univerfally into heatheniila darknefs; and fo the need of Chrifl:, the light of the world was not fo evident: and the woful confequence of the fall with refpe6l to man's mortality, was not fo

fuilv

fully manifeft till then ; for man's life was not fo fhorten-ed as to be reduced to the prefcnt ihndard till about Mo-. fes's time.

It was moft fit that the time of the Meffiah's coming iliould not be till many ages after Mofes's time ; till all nations but the children of Ifrael, had lain long in heathenifli darknefs ; that the remedilefTnefs of their difeafe might by long experience be feen, and fo the abfolute neceffity of the heavenly Phyfician, before he came.

Another reafon why Chrifl: did not come foon after the flood probably was, that the earth might be full of people, that Chrifl might have the more extenfive kingdom, and -that the eflcds of his light, and power, and grace, might be glorified, and that liis viaory over Satan might be attended with the greater multitude of con-quefts. It was alfo needful that the coming of Chrifl: fhould be many ages after Mofes, that the church might be prepared, by the MefTiah's being many ways prefigured and foretold, and by his being long expeded. It was not proper that Chrifl fliould come before the Babylonifh captivity, becaufe Satan's kingdom was not then come to the height. The heathen world before that confifled of lelTer kingdoms. But God faw meet that the McfTiah fhould come in the time of one of the four great monarchies of the world. Nor was it proper that he fhould come in the time of the Babylonifli monarchy; for it was God's will, that feveral general monarchies fhould follow one another, and that the coming of the Mef-fiali fhould be in the time of the lall, which appeared above them all. The Perfian monarchy, by overcoming the Babylonian, appeared above it ; and fo the Grecian, by overcoming the Perfian, appeared above that; and for the fame reafon, the Roman above the Grecian Now It was the will of God, that his Son fliould make his appearance in the world in the time of this greateft and flrongefl monarchy, which was Satan's vifible kingdom m the world ; that by overcoming this, he might vifibly overcome Satan's kingdom in its greatefl flrength

^ s ? and

3i6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

and glory, and fo obtain the more complete triumph ovet Satan himfelf.

It was not proper that Chrift fliould come before the Babylonifh captivity. For, betWe that, we have no hif-tories of the ftate of the heathen world, to give us fo full proof of the need of a Saviour. And befides, before that learning did not much flourifh, and fo there had not been opportunity to fhow the infufficiency of human learning and wifdom to reform and f^ve mankind. Again, before that, the Jews were not difperfed over the world, as they were afterwards ; and fo things were not prepared in this refpe6l for the coming of ChrilL The neceflity of abolifhing the Jewiflr dilpenfaticn, was not then fo apparent as it was afterwards made, by the difperfion of the Jews; neither was the way prepared for the propagation of the gofpel, as it was afterwards, by the fame difperfion. Many other things might be mentioned, by which it would appear, that no other time before that very time in which Chrift did come, would have been proper lor his appearing in the world to purchafe the redemption of men. (a)

3. The next thing that I would obferve, is the great-nefs of this event. Chrift's incarnation was more wonderful than any thing that had ever come to pafs ; and there has been but one greater event that has ever come to pafs iince, and that was his death. The creation of the v/orld was a very great thing, but not fo great as the incarnation of Chrift. It was a great thing for God to make the creature, but not fo much as for the Creator himfelf to become one. We have fpoken of many great things that were accompliil'ied from one age to another,

in

(a) Other reafons for Chrijl^s appearance at this ■xi->\t.'\ One of thefe v.'e (hall add from a late ingenious author—" Had Chrift appeared while the Jews were a free, independent nation, with the power of life and death inverted in them, they would, doubt^ lefs, have taken him off at the firll difeovery of his public cha-ratler, and by that means have prevented the propagation of his dodrine, without fome miraculous interpoiltion." [Dr. Ward's Differtations, No. XV.]

in the ages between the fall of man and the incarnation of Chrift : but this was a much greater event than any of them. Then was the greatefl: perfon born that ever was or ever will be.

4. Next obferve the remarkable circumflances of it; fuch as his being born of a virgin, pious and holy indeed, but poor, as appeared by her offering at her purification: [Luke ii. 24.] ' And to offer a facrifice according to that ' which is faid in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtle ' doves, or two young pigeons.' Which refers to Lev. y. 7. ' And if flie be not able to bring a lamb, then flie ' fliall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons.' And this poor virgin was efpoufed to an hulband who was a poor man. Though they were both of the royal family of David, the moll: honourable family, and Jofeph was the rightful heir to the crown ; yet the family was reduced to a very low flate ; which is rcprefeuted by the tabernacle of David being fallen or broken down. [Amos ix. 11.]

* In that day will I raife up the tabernacle of David that ' is fallen, and clofe up the breaches thereof, and I will

* raife up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of ' old.'

He was born in the town of Bethlehem as was foretold ; (b) and there was a very remarkable providence of

God

(b) Chrjjl to he bom in Bethlehem.] This was predifted by the Prophet Micah, [chap. v. 2.] and his words are quoted with feme variation by the Evangelill Matthew, [chap. ii. 3—6.] " In St. Matthew it is faid, ' Thou, Bethlehem in the land of Judah,

* art not the leaft :' whereas in the Hebrew Jt is, ' though thou

* art the leaft :' the fenfe in both is clear and confiftent, for this city, though far from being the moft confiderable in extent of all thofc belonging to the princes of Judah, is neverthelefs, on account of the governor or ruler that was to come out of it, not the leaft among the thoufands of Judah. The learned Pococke on this paflage has fhewn, that the original word may fignify either great QY Utile. If it is read as in the tranllation from the Syriac, in the Englifh Polyglot, with an interrogation, it will have the force of a negative, and then may well be rendered, as in the Arabic and Perfic veriions, and in the gofpel by St. Matthew; but if without any intcirogation, it will be as it is in the other yerfions,

« Wh«

God to bring about the fulfilment of this prophecy, the tdKing of all the world by Auguftus Caefar, [Luke ii. i.] He was born in a very low condition, even in a ftahle, and laid in a manger, (c)

5. I would obferve the concomitants of this great event,—And,

(i.) Firft the return of the Spirit; which indeed began a little before the incarnation of Chrill:; but yet

was

** Who this ruler, or prince, or king is, that fliould come from Bethlehem, is determined by the defcription that immediately follows, ' whofe goings forth have been from of old, from evcr-* Ming.'

" It is he who fo often went forth in the name of the Lord, who converfed with Abraham and Mofes, who was before the foundation of the earth was laid, and who at lad was made mani-feit in the flefh, and came forth from Bethlehem, the King of the Jews." [Dr. Sharp's Argument from the Prophecies in Defence of Chriilianity, p. 153—155.]

(c) This Prophecy wotiDEKTULLY fu//i//eel.2 " The Emperor of Rome iffues a royal edift, that all his large dominion (haU be taxed. He meant to fill his coffers with money ; but a greater Sovereign than he intended the fulfilling of his promifes. While every man repairs to his city to be taxed, in obedience to the imperial mandate, Jofeph his father, as was fuppofed, repairs among the rell to Bethlehem, the city of his family, being of the houfe and lineage of David. And now he is arrived with Mary, his efpoufed wife ; who being near the time of her delivery, had been directed by Providence, or fpecial inftinft, to accompany her huf-band on this occafion. No coftly palace receives our weary travellers. A common inn is the place of his nativity : perhaps a filent intimation, that he himfelf fliouId be a common faviour. Nor even in the inn could a commodious apartment be fpared to the Lord of heaven and earth. Ye men of Bethlehem, what a gueft did ye exclude ! The coarfe accommodation of a manger was all his mother could obtain for her tender infant. Lo ! there he lies wrapt in fwaddling cloaths, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain . . . for this is he —believe it, ye children cf men— r whofe name is Immanuel, which by intcrpretati ;ii is, God with us ! This is he-, who from all evei hilling was ;he brightnefs of the Father's glory, the exprefs image of f * ' "ifon, who rejoiced always before him, and was daily his ' .ariiL .. .... O ye beautiful

fcenes of the creation, tiio-;. ;donou3 Tun, thou filver moon, and all ye glittering liars, in you the invifible things of God are clearly feeu ; but now you are eclipfed by the more excellent glory, God manifefted in the flefli!" [M'Ewen's Eflays, vol. ii. page 7—10.;]

was given on occafion of tliat, as it was to reveal either his birth, or that of his forerunner John the Baptift. I have before obfcrved how the fpirit of prophecy ceafed not long after the book of Malachi was written. From about the fame time vifions and immediate revelations ceafed alfo : But now, on this occahon, they are granted anew, and the Spirit in thefe operations returns again. The firfl inflance of its refloration that we have an account of is in the vihon of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptift. [Luke i.] The next is in the vifion which the virgin Mary had. The third in the vifion of Jofeph. [Matt, i.] In the next place, the Spirit was given to Elizabeth. [Luke i. 41.] Next, to Mary, as appears by her fong. [Luke i. 46, &c.] Then to Zacharias again, [ver. 64.] alfo to Simeon, [Luke ii. 25.] to Anna, [ver. 36.] Afterwards to the wife men in the eaft. Then to Jofeph again, direfling him to flee into Egypt, and after that directing his return.

(2.) I would next obferve the great notice that was taken of the incarnation both in heaven, and on earth. How it was noticed by the glorious inhabitants of the heavenly world, appears by their joyful fongs on this occafion, heard by the fliepherds in the night. This was tlie greateft event of Providence that ever the angels had beheld. We read of their hnging praifes when they faw the formation of the lower world: [Job xxxviii. 7.I * When the morning-ilars fang togetlier, and all the fons ' of God ihouted for joy.' So now they fang praifes on this much greater occafion of the birth of the Son of God, who is the creator of the world.

The glorious angels had all along expe6led this event: they had taken great notice of the prophecies and promi-fes of thefe things all along : for we are told, that the angels dehre to look into the affairs of redemption. [ r Pet. i. 12.] They had all along been the minifters of Chrift in this affair of redemption, in all the feveial fteps of it down from the very fall of man. So we read, that they were employed in God's dealings with his ancient people from time to time. And doubtlefs tjiey had long

joyfully

320 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

joyfully expefted the coming of Chrift ; but now they fee it accompiiihed, and therefore greatly rejoice on this occafion.

Notice was taken of it by fome among the Jews: as particularly by Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary before the birth of Chrift ; not to fay by John the Baptift before he was born, when he leaped in his mother's womb as it -were for joy, at the voice of the falutation of Mary. But Elizabeth and Mary do mod joyfully praife God together, when they meet, with Chrift and his forerunner in their wombs, and the Holy Spirit in their fouls. And afterwards what joyful notice is taken of this event by the fhepherds and by thofe holy perfons Zacharias, Simeon, and Anna ! How do they praife God on this occafion !—Thus the church in heaven, and on earth, unite in their joy and praife.

Great part of the univerfe takes joyful notice of the incarnation of Chrift : heaven takes notice of it, and the inhabitants fmg for joy. This lower world, the world of mankind, does always take notice of it, even Gentiles as well as Jews; for it pleafed God to put honour on his Son, by wonderfully ftirring up fome of the wifeft of the Gentiles to come a long journey to fee and worfhip the Son of God at his birth, being led by a miraculous ftar, fignifying the birth of that glorious perfon, who is the bright and morning ftar, going before, and leading them to the very place where the young child was. Some think they were inftrudled by the prophecy ot Balaam, who dwelt in the eaftern parts, and foretold Chrift's coming as a ftar that ftiould rife out of Jacob: or they might be excited by that general expe6lation there was of the Mef-fiah's coming about that time, before fpoken of, from the notice they had of it by the prophecies the Jews had with them in their difperfions in all parts of the world.*

(3.) The next concomitant of the birth of Chrift was his circumcifion.—But this mav more properly be fpoken of under another head.

(4.) Ano-

* See Note b, page 266.

I

(4.) Another concomitant clrcumftance was his coming into the fecond temple, being fir ft brought thither when an infant, on occafion of the purification of the blefled Virgin. We read, [Hagg. ii. 7.] ' The defire of all nations

* fhall come, and I will fill this houfe (or temple) with

* glory.' And in [Mai. iii. i.] 'The Lord, whom ye

* leek, fhall fuddenly come to his temple, even the mefTen-' ger of the covenant.' And now was the firft inftance of the fulfilment of thefe prophecies.,

(5.) The laft thing I fhall here mention is the fceptre's departing from Judah, in the death of Herod the Great. The fceptre had never totally departed from Judah till now. Judah's fceptre was greatly diminifhed in the revolt of the ten tribes in Jeroboam's time ; and the fceptre departed from Ifrael or Ephraim, at the time of the captivity of the ten tribes by Shalmanefer. But yet the fceptre remained in the tribe of Judah, under the kings of the houfe of David. And when the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar, the fceptre of Judah ceafed for a little while, till the return from the captivity under Cyrus, and then, though they were not an independent government, as they had been before, but owed fealty to the kings of Perfia; yet their governor was of themfelves, who had the power of lite and death, and they v/ere governed by their own laws ; and lo Judah had ' a lawgiver from between his feet' during the Perfian and Grecian monarchies. Towards the latter parts of the Grecian monarchy, the people were governed by kings of their own, of the race of the Maccabees, for the greater part of an hundred years. After that they were fubdued by the Romans. But the Romans fuffered them to be governed by their own laws, and to have a king of their own, Herod the Great, who reigned about forty years, and governed with kingly authority, only paying homage to the Romans. But pre-fcntly after Chrift was born he died, [as we have an account. Matt. ii. 19.] and Archelaus fucceeded him ; but was foon put down by the Roman empire ; and then the fceptre fully departed from Judah. There were no more T t tcm-

322 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

temporal kings of Judah after that, neither had that people their governors henceforth from among themfelves but were ruled by a Roman governor fent among them ; and they ceafed to have any more the power of life and death. Hence the Jews fay to Pilate, ' It is not lawful < for us to put any man to death.' [John xviii. 31.] Thus the fceptre departed from Judah when Shiloh came.*

§ II. The PURCHASE of REDEMPTION.

HAVING thus confidcred Chrift's coming into the world, and his taking on him our nature, to put himfelf in a capacity for the purchafe of redemption, I come now to fpeak of the purchafe itfelf.—And in fpeaking of this, I would, I. Show what is intended by the purchafe of redemption.—2. Make fome general obfervations concerning thofe things by which this purchafe was made.— 3. Confider what Chrift did; and, 4. What he fuffered, to make that purchafe.

I. Chrift purchafed our redemption both by \\\% Jat'isfaction, and his merit. The price that Chrift lays down, pays our debt, and fo it fatisfies : by its intrinfic value, and by the agreement between the Father and the Son,' it procures our title for happinefs, and fo it merits. The fatisfa^'ion of Chrift is to free us from mifery, and the merit of Chrift is to purchafe happinefs for us. (d)

The word purchafe, as it is ufed with refpc61: to the purchafe of Chrift, is taken either ftri6lly, or more largely. It is ufed ftri6tly, to fignify only the merit of Chrift ; and more largely, to include both his fatisfadlion and merit.

Indeed

* See Note G, p. 161. (d) Chrijl^s fatlsfaSion and merit to be dijlingiiijloedr^ In like manner fome divines diflinguifh between Chrift's aftive and paf-five obedience, referring our pardon ta the latter, and to the former our title to glory. The fubjeft is ably and at large dlfcuffed by Mr. Hervey, Theron and Afpafio, vol. i. Dial. 2. and vol. ii. Dial. 10. ; alfo Afpafio vind. Let. i.

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 323

Indeed many of the words ufed in this affair have various acceptations. Thus divines fometimes ufe the term merit for the whole price that Chrift offered. So the v/ordfatif-fad'ion is alfo fometimes wfed, to include not only propitiation, but alfo for his meritorious obedience. For, in fome fcnfe, not only fuffering the penalty, but obedience, is needful to fatisfy the law The reafon of the various ufe of thefe terms feems to be, that they do not differ fo much really as relatively. They both confift in paying a price of infinite value ; but that price, as it refpe6Vs a debt to be paid, is z-3\\td fat'nfadion ; and as it refpedls a benefit to be obtained, is called merit, (e) He who lays down a price to pay a debt, does in fome fenfe make a purchafe ; he pur-chafes liberty from the obligation. And he who lays down a price to purchafe a good, does as it were imke fatisfa^ion : he fatisfies the conditional demands of him to whom he pays it. This may fuffice concerning what is meant by the purchafe of Chrifl.

2. I proceed to fome general obfervations concerning thofe things by which this purchafe was made—And,

(i.) I obferve, that whatever in Chrift's work had the nature of fathfan'ion, was by virtue of his fuffering or humiliation. But whatever had the nature of ma-'it,

T t 2 it

(e) The PRICE of our redemption.'] " Now, what is a price ? A price is a valuable compenfation of one thing for another. A flave is redeemed from captivity, a debtor from prifon, when fome gracious redeemer procures their liberty, by giving fome equivalent to the perfon by whom they are detained. We are debtors ; we cannot pay unto God what we are owing. We are captives, and we cannot haften to be loofed. Jefus Chrift is the merciful Redeemer, who pays the fum we were owing, and fays to the prifoncr, ' Go forth.' Will we not believe an apoftle, when he tells us, * Ye are not your own ; ye are bought with a

* price ;' [l Cor. vi. 20.] Would you know what this price Is ? Another apollle will tell, 'Ye are not redeemed with corruptible

* things, as filver and gold, but with the precious blood of •Chrift. [i Pet. i. 18.] [M<Ewen's Effays, vol. i. p. 35.]

♦' The ranfom was paid down. The fund of heav'n

pour'd forth the price.

All price beyond. Though curious to compute, Archangels fail'd to caft the mighty fum."

3H HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

it was by virtue of the excellency of his obedience.—-The fatisfa^'ion of Chrifl: confifts in his anfwering the de-jnands of the law on man, which were confequent on the breach of it. Thefe were anfwered by fufFering its penalty. The merit of Chrift: confifts in what he did to fulfil what the law demanded before man finned, which was obedience.

The fatisfa6lion or propitiation of Chrift confifts either in his fufFering pain, or being fubjedl to abfement. For he not only made fatisfa£tion by proper fuffering, but by whatever had the nature of humili tion and abafement; as his continuance under the power of death, while he lay in the grave, though neither his body nor his foul flridtly endured fufFering after he was dead. So all the obedience of Chrift in his ftate of humiliation, in one refpedl or another, had the nature of merit in it, and was part of the price with which he purchafed happinefs for the eledl.

(2.) Both Chrift's fatisfa6i:ion for fin, and alfo his meriting happinefs by his righteoufnefs, were carried on through the whole time of his humiliation. Chrift's fatif-fadlion for fin was not only by his laft fufFerings, though it was principally by them ; but all his fufterings, and all the humiliation that he was fubje6l to from the firft moment of his incarnation to his refurredtion, were propitiatory or fa-tisfa^tory.—So alfo the purchafe of happinefs by his righteoufnefs was alfo carried on through the whole time of his humiliation ; not only in the courfe of his life, but in laying down his life at the end.

(3.) It was by the fame things that Chrift both 'fatif-fied God's juftice, and alfo purchafed eternal happinefs. He did not make fatisfadlion by fome things that he did, and then work out a righteoufnefs by others, but in the fame a6ls by which he wrought out righteoufnefs, he alfo made fatisfadlion, only taken in a different relation. Thofe fame a6ls of obedience wherein the righteoufnefs of Chrift confil^ed, and which purchafed heaven for us, confidercd with refpe6l to the felf-denial, pain, and humiliation which was in them, had the nature of laiisfac-

tjon,

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 325

tion and procured our pardon. Thus his going about doing good, preaching the gofpel, and teaching his difci-ples, was a part of his righteoufnefs, as it was done in obedience to the Father : and a part of his fatisfa6lion, as he did it with great labour, trouble, and wearinefs, and under great tennptations, expofing himfelf hereby to reproach and contempt. So his laying down his life had the nature of fathfa^ion, confidered as his bearing our punifhment in our ftead; but conlidered as an adl of obedience to God, who had given him this command, that he fliould lay down his life for finners, it was a part of h\s righteoufnefs, (f) as truly as of his fatisfadlion.—Thefe things may fuffice to be obferved in general concerning the purchafe of redemption.

3. I now proceed to fpeak more particularly of thofe things which Chrill: did, and was the fubje6t of, during

his humiliation, whereby this purchafe was made.

And the nature of the purchafe of Chrift, as it has been explained, leads us to confider thefe things under a twofold view, viz, (i.) With refpedl to his righteoufnefs, which appeared in them ;—and, (2.) With refpe6l to the fufferlngs and humUlatipn, which -he was fubjedl to in our flead.

(i.) I will confider the things that pafTed during the time of Chrift's humiliation, with refpedt to the obedience tliat he exercifed in them. And this is fubjedl to a direefokl diftribution. With refpe6t to the laws which he obeyed.—With refpe6l to the various _/?^^« of life \n

which

(f) Chrifl's DEATH a?i a3 of obedience.'] " This part of our Lord's meritorious humiliation [viz. his death] is [fometimcs] by a very ufual figure, put for the whole. The death of Chrill includes not only his fufFerings, but his obedience. The fhedding of his precious blood was at once the grand inftance of his fuffering, and the finifhing aft of his obedience. In this view it is confidered, and thus it is interpreted by his own ambafiador; who, fpeaking of his divine Mafter, fays, ' He was obedient unto death, ' even the death of the crofs,' [Phil. ii. 8.] In like manner, when the fcr.ipture afcribcs our jultification to the death of Chriil, we are not to think that it would fet afide, but imply his ob\.'di-fnce. [Hep.vey, Theron and Afp. voL ii. Dial. lo.J

326 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

which he performed it,—and with refpe6l to the feveral virtues he exercifed.

The tirft diftribution of the a£ts of Chrift's righteouf-nefs is with refped: to the laws which he obeyed. But all the precepts which Chrift obeyed may be reduced to one law which the apoftle calls ' the law of works.' [Rom. iii. 27.] And this indeed includes all the laws which God ever gave to mankind; for it is a general rule of the law of works, and indeed of the law of nature, that God is to be obeyed, and that he muft be fubmitted to in whatever pofitive precept he is pleafed to give. But, more particularly, the commands which Chrift obeyed, were of three kinds; they were either fuch as he was fubjevSl to merely as man, as a Jew, or purely as Mediator. As man he obeyed the moral law, which was the fame with that which was given at Mount Sinai, which is obligatory on all mankind in all ages of the world.—As a Jew, he was fubjcvSl to the ceremonial law, and was conformed to it in being circumcifed the eighth day; and he ftriftly obeyed it in going up to Jerufalem to the temple three times a year; at leaft after he was come to the age of twelve years, which feems to have been the age when the males began to go up to the temple : Chrift alfo conftantly attended the fervice of the temple, and of the fynagogues. To this head may be reduced, his fubmiflion to John's baptifm; for it was a fpecial command to the Jews, to go forth to John the Bap-tift, and be baptized of him, and therefore when Chrift came to be baptized of John, and John objeifled, that he had more need to be baptized of him, he gives this rea-fon in reply, that it was needful that he fhould do it, that he might ♦ fulfil all righteoufnefs.' [Matt iii. 13—15-] —Again, Chrift was fubjedt to the mediatorial law, which contained thofe commands of God to which he was fub-je6l, not merely as man, nor yet as a Jew, but which related purely to his mediatorial office. Such were the commands which the Father gave him, to teach fuch dodlrines, to preach the gofpel, to work fuc"h miracles, to call fuch difciples, to appoint fuch ordinances, and finally to lay down his life: for he did all thefe things in obedience to

com-

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 327

commands he had received of the Father, as he often tells us. [John X. 18.—xiv. 31.]

And It is to be obferved, that Chrift's righteoufnefs, by which he merited heaven for himfelf, and all who believe in him, confifts principally in his obedience to this mediatorial law ; for in fullilling this law confifted his chief work and bufmefs in the world. What Chrift had to do in the world as Mediator, was infinitely more difficult than what he had to do merely as a man, or as a Jew. To his obedience to this mediatorial law belongs his going through his laft fufferings, beginning with his agony in the garden, and ending with his refurreilion. As the obedience of the firft Adam, wherein his righteoufnefs would have confifted, if he had ftood, would have principally confifted, not in his obedience to the moral law, to which he was fubjedl merely as man, but in his obedience to that fpecial law that he was fubje6l to as moral head and furety of mankind, even the command of ab-ftaining from the tree of knowledge of good and evil; fo the obedience of the fecond Adam, wherein his righteoufnefs confifts, lies principally, not in his obedience to the law that he was fubje6l to merely as man, but that fpecial law to which he was fubjedt in his office as Mediator and furety for man.

Before I proceed to the next diftribution of Chrift's righteoufnefs, I would obferve three things concerning his obedience to thefe laws.

[i.] He performed that obedience to them, whicli was in every refpe6l perfeil ; it was univerfal as to the laves that he was fubjedl to, and every individual precept contained in them. It was perfedl with refpedl to the principle from which he obeyed: this was wholly right: there was no corruption in his heart. It was perfedl with refpedl to the ends he a<£led for; for he never had any by-ends, but aimed perfedly at fuch as the law of God required. And it was perfeil with refpctSl to the conftan-cy of his obedience: he held out to the end, through all tlie changes he pafled through, and all the trials that he underwent.—The meritorioufnefs of Chrift's obedience

depends

328 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

depends on the perfe6tion of it. If it had failed in any inftance, it could not have been meritorious: for that is not accepted as an obedience to a law, that does not fully anfwer it.

[2.] The next thing I would obferve of Chrift's obedience is, that it was performed through the greateft trials and temptations that ever any obedience was: which was another thing that rendered it more meritorious and thank-worthy. To obey another when his commands are eafy, is not fo worthy, as it is to obey when it cannot be done without great difficulty.

[3.] He performed this odedience with infinite refpe£l to God, and the honour of his law. The obedience he performed was with infinitely greater love to God, and regard to his authority, than the angels poflefs. The angels perform their obedience with that love which is perfeft, with finlefs perfedtion: but Chrift performed his obedience with much greater love than the angels do ytheirs, even infijiite love; for though the human nature of Chrift was not capable of love abfolutely infinite, yet Chrift's obedience, which was performed* in that human nature, is not to be looked upon as merely the obedience of the human nature, but the obedience of his perfon, as God-man ; and there was infinite love of the perfon of Chrift manifeft in that obedience. And this, together with the infinite dignity of the perfon that obeyed, rendered his obedience infinitely meritorious.

The fecond diftribution of the a6ls of Chrift's obedience, is with refpeft to the different parts of his life, wherein they were performed. And in this refpedt they may be divided into thofc which were performed in private life, and thofe which were performed in his public miniftry.

Thofe a6ts he performed during his private life: he was perfeftly obedient in his childhood, (g) He infinitely

difi'ered

(g) The CHILDHOOD of jfefus.'] " Wc cannot rcafonably doubt, but the young Redeemer gave early proofs of his divine

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 329

differed from other children, who, as loon as they begin to a6l, begin to fin and rebel. He was fuhjcft to his earthly parents, though he was Lord of ali. [Luke ii. 51.] He was found about his Father's bufinefs at twelve years of age in the temple. [Luke ii. 42.] He tlien began that work that he had to do in fulfilment of the mediatorial law, which the Father had given him. He continued his private life for about thirty years, dwelling at Nazareth in the houfe of his reputed father Jofeph, where he ferved God in a private capacity, and in following a mechanical trade, the bufmefs of a carpenter.

Thofe a6^s which he performed during his public mhujiry■> which began when he was about thirty years of age, and continued for the three laft years and an half of his life. Mod of the hiftory of the evangelifts is taken up in giving an account of what paffed during thefe three years-a-Rd an half. Chrift's firft appearing in his public miniftry, is what is often called his coming in fcripture. Tiius John fpeaks of Chrifl's coming as what is yet to be, though he had been born long before.—Concerning the public mini-dry of Chrift, obferve the following things.

[i.] The forerunner of Chrift's coming in his public minillry was John the Baptift : he came preaching repentance for the remilTion of fins, to make way for Chrift's coming, agreeable to the piophecies of him. [If. xl. 3—5. and Matt. iv. 5, 6.] It is fuppofed that John the Baptift began his miniftry about three years and an half before Chrift ; fo that John's miniftry and Chrift's put together, made feven years, which was the laft of Daniel's weeks ; [Dan ix. 27.] 'He will contirm the cc-

U u ' venrmt

original. It was, no doubt, a very pleafing employment to the highly-favoured parents, to rear up this tender plant by a thou-fand endearing offices ; to mark the firH: buddings of his genius more than mortal; and to oblerve the bloffoms of every heavenly-grace that adorned his holy foul. But as it hath feemed good to the wifdom of the Holy Ghoft, to be very fparing in the hillory of his private life, after he called his Son out of Egypt, we muft, he contented to remain in ignorance of what is not revealed."

[M'Ewen's EfTays, vol. ii. p. 13, 14.]

330 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

* venant with many for one week.' Chrift came in the midft of the week, viz. in the beginning of the laft hah" of it, or the laft three years and an half, as Daniel foretold, as in the verfe juft now quoted : ' And in the midtl ' of the week he fliall caufe the facrihce and the oblation ' to ceafe.'*

John Baptift's miniftry confided principally in preaching the law, to awaken men and convince them of fm ; to prepare men for the coming of Chrift, to comfort them ; as the law is to prepare the heart for the entertainment of the gofpel.—A very remarkable out-pouring of the Spirit of God attended John's miniftry ; and the efFeft of it was, that Jerufalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, were awakened, convinced, and fubmitted to his baptifm, confeffing their fms. John is fpoken of as the greateft of all the prophets v/no came before Chrift : [Matt. xi. II.] ' Among thofe that are born of women,

* there hath not rifcn a greater than John the Baptift ;' i. e. he had the moft honourable office, (h) He was as the morning ftar, which is the harbinger of the approaching day, and forerunner of the rifing fun. The other prophets were ftars that were to give light in the night ; but wc have heard how thofe ftars went out on the approach of the gofpel day. But now the coming of Chrift being very nigh, the morning ftar comes before him, the brighteft of all the ftars, as John the Baptift was the greateft of all the prophets.

And when Chrift came in his public miniftry, the liglit of the morning ftar decreafed too ; as ye fee, when the fun

rifes, * Compare Note d, p. 272.

(h) John's office honourable. J " It was great preferment to John above all the prophets, that he was Chrift's harbinger. .... His bufinefs was to prepare Chriil's way, to difpofe people to receive the Saviour, by difcovenng to them their fm and mi-

fery, and their need of a Saviour Note, Much of the

beauty of God's difpenfations lies in their mutual connexion and coherence, and the reference tlicy Ixave one to another. That which advanced John above the Old Teilament prophets was, that he went immediately before Chrift. Note, The nearer any are to Chrift, the more truly honourable they are." [Henry in loc]

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 331

rifes, itdlminiflies the light of the morning flar. So John the Baptift fays of himfelf, [John iii. 30.] ' He muft in-

* creafe, but I muft decreafe.' And foon after Chrift began his public miniftry, John the Baptift was put to death ; as the morning ftar is vifible a little while after the fun is rifen, yet foon goes out.

[2.] The next thing to be taken notice of is Chrift's entrance on his public miniftry, which was by baptifm, followed with the temptation in the wilderncfs. His baptifm was, as it were, his folemn inauguration, by which he entered on his miniftry, and was attended with his being anointed with the Holy Ghoft, in a folemn and vifible manner, the Holy Ghoft defcending upon him in a vifible Ihape like a dove, attended with a voice from heaven, faying, * This is my beloved Son in whom I am well

* pleafed.' [Matt. iii. 16, 17.]

After this he was led by the devil into the wildernefs. Satan made a violent onfet upon him at his firft entrance on his work ; and now he had a remarkable trial of his obedience ; but he got the vidlory. He who had fuch fuc-cefs with the firft Adam, had none with the fecond.

[3.] The work in which Chrift was employed during his miniftry. And here are three things chiefly to be taken notice of, viz.. his preaching, his working of miracles, and his calling and appointing difciples and minifters of his kingdom.

His preaching the gofpel. Great part of the work of his public miniftry confifted in this ; and much of that obedience by which he purchafed falvation for us, was in his fpeaking thofe things which the Father commanded him. He more clearly and abundantly revealed the mind and v/ill of God, than ever it had been before. He came from the bofom of the Father, and perfectly knew his mind, and was in the beft capacity to reveal it. As the fun, as foon as it is rifen, begins to fliine ; fo Chrift, as foon as he came into his public miniftry, began to enlighten the world with his dodrinc. As the law was given at Mount Sinai, fo Chrift delivered his evangelical dodrine, full of blefliiigs, and not curfes, to a multitude

332 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

on a mountain. [Matt. v. vi. and vii.] When he preached he did not teach as the fcribes, but he taught as one having authority ; fo that his hearers were aftonifhed at his do6trine. (i) He did not reveal the mind and will of God in the ftyle of the prophets, ' Thus faith the Lord ;'

but,

(i) Chrijl taught not as the scribes.] " Our Lord Jefus Chriit had been long expefted to appear in the Jewi(h church, as

a prophet like unto Mofe: The people therefore formed the

higheft expeftations of his ceconomy, and he framed it fo as to exceed all dcfcription. He taught , . . not as the fcribes.

" Inltead of deriving his doftrine from popular notions, human paffions, the interefts of princes, or the traditions of priefts, he took it immediately from the holy fcriptures, to which he con-llantly appealed. The truths of natural religion he explained and ellabliflied; the doctrines of revelation he expounded, elucidated, and enforced, and thus brought life and immortality to light by the gofpel.—The motives which he employed to give his doftrine energy, were not taken from fmful fecular things ; but it was urged home in its truth and importance. The faCt Is true, and THEREFORE you ought to believe it, whether the world admit it or not. That duty is important, . . . and therefore you ought to perform it, whether the world perform it or not.—The tempers in which he executed his mlniftry were the nobleft that can be conceived. He v/as humble, compafiionate, firm, dlfuitereft-ed, and generous.—Add to thefe the fimpllcity and majeily of his ityle, the beauty of his images, the alternate foftnefs and fe-vcrity of his addrefs, the choice of his fubjefts, the gracefulnefs of his deport'iient, the indefatigablenefs of his zeal, . . . where lliall I put the period ? His perfections are inexhauftible, and our admiration is everlafting. The charafter of Chrift is the beft book a preacher can ftudy.

" The fuccefs that accompanied the miniftry of our Emanuel, was truly allonifning. My foul overflows with joy, my eyes with tears of pleafure, while I tranfcribe it. When this Sun of righ-teoufnels arofe with healing under his wings, the difmterefted populace, who lay all neglefted and forlorn, benighted with ignorance, and benumbed with vice, faw the light, and hailed the brightnels of its rifing. Up they fprang, and after him in multitudes, men, women, and children went. Was he to pafs a road, they climbed the trees to fee him, yea the blind fat by the way fide to hear him go by. Was he in" a houfe, they unroofed the building to come at him. As Ifthey.could never get near enough CO hear the foft accents of his voice, they preffed, they crowded, they trod upon one another to furround him. When he retired into tlie wildernefo, they thought him another Moles, and would ,have made him a king. It was the fineft thing they could think

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 333

but, ' Verily, verily, I fav unto you.' He delivered his do6trines, not only as the do£lrines of the Father, but as his own. He gave forth his commands, not as the prophets were wont to do, merely as God's commands, but as his own, ' This is my commandment,'—' Ye are my friends if ye do whatfoever I command you.' [John xv. 12, 14.]

Another thing that Chrift was employed in during the courfe of his miniftry, was working nr.racles. Concerning which we may obferve feveral things.

Their multitude. Behdes particular inftances, we often have an account of multitudes coming at once with difeafes, and his healing them.—They were works of mercy. He went about doing good, healing the fick, re-rtoring fight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and the proper ufe of their limbs to the lame and halt ; feeding the hungry, cleanfing the leprous, and railing the dead. —They were almoft all of them fuch as had been fpokeii of as the peculiar works of God, in the Old Teftament. Such were ftilling the waves of the fea. [Pfal. cvii. 29.] Walking on the fea in a ftorm : [Job ix. 8.] Cafting out devils: [Pfal. Ixxiv. 14.] Feeding a multitude in a wildernefs: [Deut. viii. 16.] Difcerning men's thoughts: [Amos iv. 13.] Raifmg the dead: [Pfal. Ixviii. 20.] Opening the eyes of the blind : [Pfal. cxlvi. 8.] Healing the fick :. [Pfal. ciii. 3.] And lifting up thofe who are bowed together : [Pfal. cxlvi. 8.]—They were in general fuch works as were images of the great work which he came to work on men's hearts ; reprefenting that inward, fpiritual cleaniing, healing, renovation, and refur-jection, which all his redeemed arc the fubjc6ts of.— He wrought them in fuch a manner to Ihow that he did

them

of. He, greater than the grcateft monarch, defpifcd worldly grandeur ; but to fiilfil prophecy, ikting upon a borrowed als's colt, rode into Jerufalcm the Son of the High^fJ, and allowed the tranf-ported multitude to llrew ttie way with garments and branches, ;'ind to aroulc the infenfible metropolis with acclamations, the very children ihouting, ' Hofannah! Hofannah in the Highcil;! Hofan-* nah to the fon of David ! Bleffed be he that conieth in the name ' of tjie Lord !" [Robjnson's Diff. prefixed to Claude, p. xxvii.]

334 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

them by his own power, and not by the power of another, as the other prophets did. They were w^ont to work all their miracles in the name of the Lord ; but Chrifl wrought in his own name. Mofes was forbidden to enter into Canaan, becaufe he feemed by his fpeech to aflbme the honour of working only one miracle to himfclf. [See Numbers xx. 8—-13.] Nor did Chrift work miracles as the apoftles did, who wrought them all in the name of Chrifl: ; but he wrought them in his own name, and by his own authority and will: Thus, faith he, ' I will, be ' thou clean.' [Matt. viii. 3.] And in the fame fl;rain he put the queftion, ' Believe ye that I am able to do this?' [Matt. ix. 28.] '

Another thing that Chrifl: did in the courfe of his mi-niflry, was to call his difciples. He called many difciples, whom he employed as miniflers ; he fent feventy at one time into his work : but there were twelve that he fet apart as apoflles, who were the grand miniflers of his kingdom, and, as it were, the twelve foundations of his church. [See Rev. xxi. 14.] Thefe were the main in-fi:ruments of fctting up his kingdom in the world, and therefore fliall fit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Ifrael. [Matt. xix. 28.]

[4.] I would obfcrve how he finiflied his miijiftry. And this was-—In giving his dying counfcl to his difciples, which we have recorded in the xivth, xvth, and xvith chapters of John's gofpel.—bi inftituting a folemn memorial of his death, namely, tlic facranient of the Lord's fupper, wherein we have a reprefentation of his body broken, and oi' his blood flied. (k)— In oitcring up himfelf, without

blemifh,

(k) How Clr/ijl finlp,oecl hU mWiJhy.-^ " T!ic feaft of the paflbvcr drew nigh, at which he knew that lie was to fuffer. The night was arrived, wherein he was to be delivered into the hands of his enemies. He had fpcnt the evening in conference with his , difciples ; like a dying father in the midll of his family, mingling coi.folations with his lall inilruftions. ' When he had ended his difcourfe to them, he * lifted up his eyes to heaven,' and • • • • began that folemn prayer of interceffion for the church, which clofcd his minillry. Immediately after he went forth with his

disciples

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 335

blemifli, a facrifice to God, which he did in his laft fuf-fcrings, as God's anointed prieft : and it was the greateft a6l of his public miniftiy, and indeed of his obedience. The priefts of old ufed to do many otiier things as God's minifters: but were then in the higheft execution of their office, when they were offering facrifices on the altar. So the greateft thing that Chrill: did in the execution of his prieftly office, and indeed the greateft thing that ever was done, was the offering up hinifelf a facrifice to God. Herein he was the antitype of all that had been done by all the priefts, in all their facrifices and offerings, from the beginning of the world.

(3,) The third diflribution of the afts by which Chrlft purchafed redemption, regards the virtues that he exer-cifed and manifefted in them, which were every poffible virtue and grace. Indeed there are fome particular virtues that fmful man may have, that were not in Chrift ; not from any want or defe6l of virtue, but becaufe his virtue was perfe6i: and without defect. Such are repentance, brokennefs of heart for fm, and mortification of lull:. Thofe virtues were not in Chrift, becaufe he had no fin of his own to repent of, nor any luft to deny. But all virtues which do not pre-fuppofe ftn, were in him, ..nd that in a higher degree than ever they were

in

difciples into the garden of Getlifemane, and furrendered himfelf to thofe who came to apprehend him.

" Such was the fituation of our Lord He faw his mlf-

fion on the point of being accompliflied. He had the profpedl full before him of all that he was about to fuiFer. ' Father ! the * hour is come.' What hour ? An hour the mofl critical, the moil pregnant with great events, fince hours had begun to be numbered, fince time had begun to run. It was the hour in which the Son of God was to terminate the labours of his important life, by a death ftill more important and illulbious; the hour of atoning, by his fufFerlngs, for the guilt of mankind ; the hour of accomplifliing prophecies, types, and fymbo's, whicli had been carried on through a feries of ages; the hour of concluding the old, and of introducing to tlic world the new dif-penfation of religion ; the hour of his triumphing over the world, and death, and hell; the hour of his erefting that fpiritual kingdom which is to Jail for ever. Such is the hour, fuch are the events, which you are to commemorate in the facrament of oui-Lord's fupper." [Dr. Blair's Sermons, vol, i. Ser. 5.]

in any other man, or any mere creature ; every virtue in him was perfeiS^, virtue itfelf was greater in him than in any other ; and it was under greater advantages to fhine in him than in any other. Stridl virtue (liines moft when moll tried ; but never any virtue had fuch trials as ChriiVs had.—The virtues that Chrifl exerciled may be divided into three forts, thofe which more immediately relpevft God, himfclf, and other men.

Thofe virtues which more immediately refpedl God, appeared in the work which Chrifl: did for our redemption. There appeared in him an holy fear and reverence towards God the Father. Chrift had a greater trial of his virtue in this refpecSl than any other had, from the ho-nourablenefs of his perfon. This was the temptation oi the angels that fell, to cafl: off their worlhip of God, and reverence of his majefty, that they were beings of fuch exalted dignity and worthinefs themfelves. [See i Tim. iii. 6.] But Chrifl; was inhnitely more worthy and honourable than they ; for he was the eternal Son of God, and his perfon was equal to the perfon of God the Father : and yet, as he had taken on him the office of mediator, and the nature of man, he was full of reverence towards God. He adored him in the mofl reverential manner time after time. So he manifefted a wonderful love towards God. The angels give great teftimony of their love towards God, in their conftancy and agility in doing the will of God ; and many faints have given great tefliimo-nies of their love to God, by having endured great labour? and fufFerings: but none ever gave fuch teflimonies of love to God as Chrift has ; none ever performed fuch a labour of love as he did, or fufFered fo much from love to God. So alfo he manifefted the moft wonderful fubmif-lion to the will of God. Never was any one's fubmiffion fo tried as he was.

In this work he moft wonderfully manifefted thofe virtues which more immediately refpedled himfclf; as particularly humility, patience, contempt of the world. Chrift, though he was the moft excellent and honourable of all men, yet was the moft humble ; yea, he was the

moft

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 337

moft humble of all creatures. No angel or man ever equalled him in humility, though he was the higheft of all creatures in dignity and honour. Chriit would have been under the greateft temptation to pride, if it had been pofTible for any thing to have tempted him. The temptation of the angels that fell was the dignity of their nature, and the honourablenefs of their circum-flances; but Chrifl was infinitely more honourable than they. The human nature of Chrift was fo honoured as to be in the fame perfon with the eternal Son of God, who was equal with God ; and yet that human nature was not at all lifted up with pride. Nor was the man Chrift Jefus at all lifted' up with pride, with all thofe wonderful works which he wrought, of healing the fick, curing the blind, lame, and maimed, and railmg the dead. And though he knew that God had appointed him to be the king over heaven and earth, angels and men, as he fays, [Matt. ix. 27.] ' All things are deliver-

* ed unto me of my Father;' though he knew he was fuch an infinitely honourable perfon, and ' thought it not

* robbery to be equal with God ;' and though he knew lie was the heir of God the Father's kingdom ; yet fuch was his humility that he did not difdain to be abafed and deprcffed down into lower and viler circumftances and fufferings than ever any other cledl creature was; fo thai he became leaft and lowell: of all. The proper trial and evidence of humility is ftooping or complying with thofe adVs or circumftances, when called to it, which are very low, and contain great abafement. But none ever ftoop-ed fo low as Chrift, if we confider either the infinite height that he ftooped from, or great depth to which he ftooped. Such was his humility, that though he knew himfelf to be infinitely worthy of being honoured ten thoufand times more than the higheft prince on earth, or angel in heaven ; yet he did not think it too much when called to it, to be bound as a curfed malefadiior, to become the laughing-ftock of the vileft of men, to be crowned with thorns, to have a mock robe put on him, aj\d to be crucified like a flave or malcfadtor, as one of the meanell

X X .md

538 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION,

and worfl: of vagabonds and mifcreants, and an accurfed enemy of God and men, who was not fit to live on the eartli; and this not for himfelf, but for fome of the mcaneft and vileft of creatures, fome of thofe accurfed wretches that crucified him. Was not this a wonderful nianifeftation of humility, when he cheerfully and moft treely fubmitted to this abafement ?—And how did his patience {liine forth under all the terrible fufferings which he endured, when he was dumb, and opened not his mouth, but went as a lamb to the flaughter, and was patient under all the fufferings he endured from firfl: to laft.—And what contempt of the glory of the world was there, when he rather chofe this meann^, and fuf-fcring, than to wear a temporal crown, and be invefted with the external glories of an earthly prince, as the multitude often foliciicd him ? Chrift, in the work which he wrought out, in a wonderful manner exercifed thofe virtues which more immediately refpedl other men. And tiiefe may be fumnvoned up under two heads, viz.meeknefs, and love. Chrift's mecknefs was his humble calmnefs of fpirit under the provocations he met with. None ever met with fo great provocations as he did. The greatncfs of provocation lies in two things, the degree of oppofition by which the provocation is given; and, in the degree of the w«-reafonablenefs of that oppofition, or in its being not only without reafon, againft the greateft degree of obligation to the contrary. Now, if we confider both thefe things, no man ever met with a thoufandth part of the provocation that Chrift met with from men; and yet how meek was he under all! how compofed and quiet his fpirit! how far from being in a rufRe and tumult! When he was reviled, he reviled not again; and ^ as a Iheep before * her fliearers is dumb, fo he opened not his mouth.* No appearance was there of a revengeful fpirit: on the contrary, what a fpirit of forgivenefs did he exhibit! fo that he fervently and effe6tually prayed for the forgivenefs of his enemies when they were in the highefl act of provocation that ever they perpetrated, viz. nailing him to the crofs: [Luke xxiii. 34.] ' Father, forgive them, for they know

' not

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMFflON. 339

* not what they do.'—And never did there appear fiich an inftance of love to men, as he iliowed when on earth, cfpecially in going through his laft fuffcrings, and offering up his life and foul for them. There had been very remarkable manifeftations of love in fome of the faints, as in the Apoftles Paul, John, and others; but the love that Chrift fhowed them on earth, as much exceeded the 1 jve of all other men, as the ocean exceeds a imall ftream-

(L)

And

(l) The excellency of Chri/l's character.] " He fets an example of the moft pcrfeft piety to God, and of the moft ex-tenfive benevolence and tlie moil tender compaffion to men. He does not merely exhibit a life of ftrift jullice, but of overflowing benignity. His temperance has not the dark fliadesof aiifterity; his meeknefs does not degenerate into apathy. His humilitv is fignal, amidft a fplendour of qualities more than human. His fortitude is eminent and exemplary, in enduring the moft formidable external evils and the fharpeft aftual fufferings: his patience is invincible ; his refignation entire and abfolute. Truth and fmcerity fhine throughout his whole conduft. Though of heavenly decent, he (hews obedience and affedtlon to his eartlily parents. He approves, loves, and attaches himfelf to amiable qualities in the human race. He refpefts authority, religious and civil; and h« evidences regard for his country by promoting its moft eflential good in a painful miniftry dedicated to its fervlce, by deploring its calamities, and by laying down his life for its benefit. Every one of his eminent virtues is regulated by confum-mate prudence; and he both wins the love of his friends, and extorts the approbation and wonder of his enemies.

" Never was a chara6ler at the fame time fo commanding and natural, fo refplendent and pleafing, fo amiable and venerable. There is a peculiar contraft in it between an awful greatnefs, dignity and majefty, and the moft conciliating lovelinefs, tender-nefs, and foftnefs. He nov/ converfes with prophets, lawgivers, and angels; and the next inftant he meekly endures the dulnefa of his difciples and the blafphemies and rage of the multitude. He now calls himfelf greater than Solomon, one who can command legions of angels, the giver of life to whomfoever he pleaf-eth, the Son of God, who fhall i'lt on his glorious throne to judge the world. At other times we find him em.bracing young children, not lifting up his voice in the ftreets, not breaking the bruifed reed, nor quenching the fmoaking flax; calling his difciples, not Icrvants, but friends and brethren, and comforting them with an exulrerant and parental affeftlon. Let us paufe an hiftant, and fill our minds with the idea of one who knew all

X X 2 things

340 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

And it is to be obferved, that all the virtues which appeared in Chrift fhone brighteft in the clofe of his life, under the trials he then met with. Eminent virtue al-^yays fho-.vs brighteft in the fire. Pure gold fhows its purity chiefly in the furnace. It was chiefly under thofe trials which Chrift underwent in the clofe of his life, that his love to God, and his regard to the honour of his law; his fpirit of obedience, humility, and contempt of the world; his patience, meeknefs, forgivenefs towards men, appeared. Indeed every thing that Chrift did to work Qut redemption for us appears chiefly in the clofe of his life. Here chiefly appears the merit of his fatisfadlion, and the brightnefs of his example.

Thus we have taken a brief view of the things v>'here-by the purchafe of redemption was made with refpeft to his r'lghteoufnefs that appeared in them.—I proceed now,

4. To take a view of them with refpe6l to \h.Q fatisfac-t'lon that he thereby made for fin, or the fuffaings and humiliation that he was the fubjedl of in them, on our account. And here,

(i.) He was fubjedl to uncommot] humiliation and fuffering in his infancy. He was born to that end that he might die ; and therefore he did, as it were, begin to die as foon as he was born. His mother fufi^ered in an uncommon manner in bearing him. When her travail came upon her, it is faid, ' there was no room in the inn.' [Luke ii. 7.] She was forced to betake herfelf to a ftable;

and

things heavenly and earthly, fearched and laid open the inmoft recelfes of the heart, redlified every prejudice, and removed every miftake of a moral and religious kind ; by a \yord cxercifed a fove-reignty over all nature, penetrated the hidden events of futurity, gave promifes of admiflion into a happy immortahty, had the keys of life and death, claimed an union with the Father; and yet was pious, mild, gentle, humble, affable, focial, benevolent, friendly, affeftionate. Such a character is fairer than the morning ftar. Each feparate virtue is made ftronger by oppofition and contrail; and the union of fo many .virtues forms a brightnefs, v/hich fitly reprefents the glory of that God, ' who inhabiteth * light inacceflible." [Bp. Newcome's Obfcrvat. on our Lord's Conduft, Sic]

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 341

and therefore Chrift was born in the place of the bringing forth of beads. Thus he fuffered in his birth, as though he had been meaner and viler than a man, and notpofTeffed of the dignity of the human nature, but had been of the rank of the biute creatures. And we may conclude, that his mother's circumftances in other refpecSls were propor-tJonably ftrait and difficult, and that (he was deftitute of the conveniences neceflary for fo young an infant which others were wont to have; for want of which the new-born babe without doubt fuffered much.—

And befides, he was pcrfecuted in his infancy: they began to feek his life as foon as he was born. Herod was fo defirous to kill him, that in order to it, he killed all the children in Betlileiiem, and in all the coafls thereof, from two years old and under. [Matt. ii. 16.] And Chrift fuffered baniihment in his infancy, was driven out ot his native country into Egypt, and without doubt fuffered much by being carried fo long a journey, when he was fo young, into a ftrange country.

(2.) Chrift was fubjecl to great humiliation in his private life at Nazareth : he there led a fervile obfcure life, in a mean laborious occupation; for he is called not only the carpenter's y^//, but the carpenter: [Mark vi. 3.] ' Is ' not this the carpenter, the brother of James and Jofes, ' and Juda, and Simeon?' (m) He, by hard labour, earned his bread before he ate it, and fo fuffered that curfe which God pronounced on Adam, [Gen. iii. 13.] ' In the ' fvveat of thy face flialt thou cat bread.' Let us confi-der how great a degree of humiliation the glorious Son of

God

(m) " It is no uncommon thing, in the difpenfations of the only wife God, to keep thofe perfons long hidden under the vail of obfcurity, whom he intends fhall make the moft illuftrious appearances on earth ; and that thofe whom infinite Wifdom hath appointed for the emancipation or redemption of others, as preparatory to that, (liall themfelves experience the hardfhips of bondage, toil, and labour; fo that, like the rifing fun, they may more vifibly ihed their light upon, and fcnfibly communicate their ufefulnefs to, a benighted world. Thus Mofes, Jofeph, Gideon, and ... he who was laughed to fcorn, and contemptu-pufiy ftiled, * The carpenter, the fon of Mary."

342 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

God, the creator of heaven and earth, was fubje6l to in this, that for about thirty years he Should live a private obfcure life, and ail this while be overlooked, and not more regarded than other labouring men. Chrift's humiliation in this refpeil was greater in his private life, than in the time of his public miniftry. There were many manifeflations of his glory in the word he preached, and the great miracles he wrought: but the firft thirty years of his life he fpent among mean, ordinary men, as it were in filence, without thofe manifeftations of his glory, or any thing to diflinguilh him except the fpotlefs purity and eminent holinefs of his life ; and that was in a great nieafure hid in obfcurity; fo that he was little takea notice of till after his baptifm.

(3.) Chrift was the fubje6l ot great humiliation and fuf-fering during his public life, from hisbaptifm till the night wherein he was betrayed, (n) As particularly.

He fuffered great poverty, fo that he had not ' where to ' lay his head,' [Matt. viii. 20.] and commonly ufed to lodge abroad in the open air, for want of a flicker to betake himielf to ; [compare the following places together, Matt. viii. 20.: John xviii. i, 2-; Luke xxi. 37.—xxii. 39.] So that what was fpoken of Chrift in Canticles, [v. 2.] ' My head is filled with dew, and my locks with the * drops of the night,' was literally fulfilled. And through this poverty he was doubtlefs often pinched with hunger, and third, and cold. [Sec Matt. iv. 2.—xxi. 18.] His jTiother and natural relations were poor, and not able to

help

(n) Jesus suffered.] " The Gentiles acknowledged it, the Jews triumphed at it. ... If hunger and thirft, if revihngs and contempt, if forrows and agonic, if ftripcs and buffettings, if condemnation and crucifixion, be fuffering, Jefus fuffercd. If the jnlirmities of our nature, if the weight of our fins, if the malice of man, if the machinations of Satan, if the hand of God, could make him fuffer, our Saviour fujfered. If the annals of times, if the writings of his apollles, if the death of his martyrs, if the confcilion of Gentiles, if the feoffs of the Jews be tellinio-uies, ]c[\\s fiijfered. Nor was there ever'any which thought he did not really and trv.lyfii^l:', but fuch as withal irrationally pretend-t:d that he was not really and truly man." [Bp. Pearson, on the Creed, Art. 4.3

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 343

help him ; and he was maintained by the charity of fome of his difciples while he lived. So we read [Luke viii. 2, 3.] of ' certain women that followed him, and minif-

* tered to him of their fubftance.' He was fo poor, that he was not able to pay the tribute that was demanded of him, without miracle. [Matt. xvii. 27.] And when he ate his iaft palTover, it was not at his own charge, but at the charge of another. [Luke xxii. 7, &c.] Alfo from his poverty he had no grave of his own to be buried in. It was the manner of the Jews, unlefs they were very poor, to prepare themfelves a fepulchre while they lived ; but Chrift had no land of his own, though he was pof-feflbr of heaven and earth ; and therefore was buried by Jofeph of Arimathea's charity, and in his tomb, which he had prepared for himfelf.

He fufFered great hatred and reproach. ' He was def-

* pifed and reje6led of men.' He was by moft ellecmed a poor infignihcant perfon ; one of little account, flighted for his low parentage, and his mean city, Nazareth. He was reproached as a glutton and drunkard, a friend of publicans and fmners ; was called a deceiver of the people ; fometimes a madman, a Samaritan, and one poflefTed with a devil. [John vii. 20.—viii. 48.—x. 20.] He was called a blafphemer, and accounted by many a wizzard, cr one that wrought miracles by the black art, and by communication with Beelzebub. They excommunicated him, and agreed to excommunicate any man that fliould own him. [John ix. 22.] They wifhed him dead, and were continually feeking to murder him; fometimes by force, and fometimes by crafc. They often took up ftones to ftone him, and once led him to the brow of a hill, intending to throw him down the precipice, to dafli him to pieces againft the rocks. [Luke iv. 29.]—He was thus hated and reproached by his own vifible people : [John i. i i.J ' He

* came to his own, and his own received him not.' And he was principally defpifed and hated by thofe who were in chief repute, and were the greateft men. But into whatever part of the land he went, he^ met with hatred and contempt. He met with thefc in Capernaum, and

when

344 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

when he went to Jericho: at Jerufaleni, which was thC holy city, when he went to the temple to worfliip ; alfo in Nazareth, his own city, and among his own relations-, and neighbours.

He fufFered the biiffetings of Satan in an uncommon manner. We read [Matt, iv. i —ii.] of one time in particular, when he had a long confii6l with the devil, wlien he was in the wildernefs forty days, with nothing but wild beafts and devils ; and was fo expofed to the devil's power, that he was bodily carried about by him from place to place, while he was otherwife in a very fuf-fering ftate. (o)

(4.) I come now to the evening of the night wherein he was betrayed. And from this time was his greateft humiliation and fufFering, by which principally lie made fatisfac-tion to the juftice of God for the hns of men. Firft, his life v/as fold by one of his own difciples for thirty pieces ot fiiver, which was the price of the life of a fervant. [Excd. xxii. 32.] Then he was in luch a dreadful agony in the

garden,

(o) Chr't/l TEMPTED of the Devil.'] This extraordinary event has been much the fubjeft of infidel ridicule ; and fome ingenious writers, to avoid the difficulties of a literal interpretation, have reduced the whole to vifion and allegory ; and thus involved It, as we apprehend, in far more and greater. We humbly conceive, that the bed way to avoid difficulties on this, and many other parts of facred writ, is to adhere as clofe as poffible to the language of infpiraticn, fince the additions of puzzled comm.en-tators often add abfurdity to remove doubts. That when our Lord retired to the interior part of the wildernefs, the enemy of mankind fliould affume a difguife, (whether human or angehc, is not important) and prefent the moll plaufible temptation to our Redeemer under thefe trying circumllances, is perfectly confiilent with the malevolence of his charafter; but how far he was permitted to exert his power in forming them, is not neceffary to be inquired. The grand objeftion is, why was Satan fufFered thus to infuk the Son of God ? Wherefore did the Redeemer fuffer his ftate of retirement to be thus dillurbed, with the malicious fug-geftjons of the fiend ? The great apoflle furniflies an anfwer, equally pertinent and confolatory—' He was tempted m ^7//points * like as we are—that he might be touched with the feeling of our ' infirmities—and himfelf having fuftered being tempted, he is able ' to fixcour them that are tempted.' [See Heb. ii. 18—iv. i 5.]

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 345

garden, that there came fuch a horror upon his foul, that he began to be forrowful and very heavy, and faid, [Mark xiv. 33, 34.] his ' foul was exceeding forrowful, ' even unto death, and was fore amazed.' (p) So violent was the agony of his foul, as to force the blood through the pores of his fl<Lin ; fo that he was overwhelmed with amazing forrow, his body was covered with blood. The difciples, who ufed to be his friends and family, now appear cold, and unconcerned for him at the time his Father's face is hid from him. Judas, whom he had treated as one of his family, or familiar friends, comes and betrays him in the moft deceitful, treacherous manner. The officers and foldiers apprehend and bind him. His difciples forfake him and flee, inflead of comforting him in his dill:refs. He is led as a malefa6lor before the priefls and fcribes, his mortal enemies, that they might fet as his judges ; and they fet up all night, to enjoy the plea-fure of infulting hjjn, now they had g'ot him into their hands. But becaufe they aimed at nothing fliort of his life, they fet themfelvcs to find fome colour to put him to death, and feek for witnefTes againft him. (q^) When none

Y y appeared,

(p) Chr'ijl EXCEEDING forroivful.'] ** To heighten our idea of this diftrefs, the evangeliils make ufe of the moft forcible words,

* He was fe'i%ed with the moft alarming ajion'ijhment. He was

* overivhelmed with infupportablc dejedion. He was bejteged on all

* fides, as it were with an army of invadingyibrrowj. He ivnjiledy

* amldft ftrong cries and tears, not only with the malice of men

* and rage of devils, but with the infinitely more dreadful indig-

* nation of God : He wreftled even unto an agony of fpirit.' All thefc circumftances of horror and angui(h conftitute what a celebrated poet veryjuftly ftiles,

♦ A weight of woe, more than ten worlds can bear."

[Hervey, Theron and Afp. vol. i. Dial. 4.]

(q^) The yews fought a pretence ybr tlie death of Chrijl.~\ It is laid in the M'ljhna.) that before any one was punifhed for a capital crime, proclamation was made by the public crier, " That if any perfon could teftify the innocence of the prifoner, they might come forward and declare it." On which the Gemara of Babylon adds, that " at the death of Jcfus this proclamation was made for 40 days, but no defence could be found." But we know this latter affertion to be falfe, and perhaps the injuftice of

this

34<^ HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

appeared, they employed fome to bear falfe witnefs ; and when their witnefs did not agree together, then they examined him, to catch fomething out of his own mouth. They hoped he would fay, that he was the Son of God, and then they thought they fliould have enough. And when he was fdent thev adjured him in the name of God, to fay whether he was or not. When he confeffed thi«, they fuppofed they had enough; then it was a time of rejoicing with theni^ which they ihow, by infulting him, fpitting in his face, blindfolding and buffetting him, and then bidding him prophefy who it was that ftruck him ; thus ridiculing him for pretending to be a prophet. And the very fervants have a hand in the cruel fport: [Mark xiv. 65.] ' And the fervants did ftrike him with the palms of their hands.'

During the fufFerings of that night, Peter, one of the chief of his own difciples, appears aftiamed to own him, and denies and renounces him with oaths and curfes. And after the chief priefts and elders had finifhed the night in fo fhamcfully abufmg him, when the morning was come, which was the morning of the moft wonderful day that ever was, they led him away to Pilate, to be condemned to death by him, becaufe they had not the power of life and death in their own hands. He is brought before Pilate's judgment feat, and there the priefts and elders accufe him as a traitor. And when Pilate, upon examining into the matter, declared he found no fault in him, the Jews were but the more fierce and violent to have him condemned. Upon which Pilate, after clearing him, very unjui^ly brings him to a fecond trial; and then not finding any thing againft him, acqaits him again. Pilate treats him as a poor worthlefs fellow ; but is afliamed on fo little pretence to condemn him as a traitor.

And

this ufual privilege being denied hlra,' is alluded to by our Lord himfelf. [John xviii. 20. 21.] * I fpake openly to the world ....

* Why aflcefl thou me ? aflc them which heard me, what I faid

* unto them; behold, they know what I faid.'] Lowth's Ifaiah, p. 241. Compare Note u, p. 249.]

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 34.7

And then he was fent to Herod to be tried by him, and was brought before his judgment feat; his enemies following, and virulently accufmg him as a traitor, or one that would fet up for a king; but he confiders him as Pilate did, as a poor creature, not worthy to be taken notice of, and does but make a mere jcft of the Jews, accufmg him as a dangerous perfon to Casfar, as one that was in danger of fetting up to be a king agalnft him ; and therefore, in derifion, drelTes him in a mock robe, makes fport of him, and fends him back through the ftreets of Jeru-falem, to Pilate, with it on.

Then the Jews prefer Barabbas before him, and are in-flant and violent with loud voices to Pilate, to crucify him. So Pilate after he had cleared him twice, and Herod once, very vinrighteoufly brings him on trial the third time. Chrifl: was ftripped and fcourged : thus he gave his ' back * to the fmiters.' [Ifa. 1. 6.] After that, though Pilate flill declared that he found no fault in him ; yet fo tinjuft was he, that for fear of the Jews he delivered him to be crucitied. But before they execute the fentence, his fpite-ful and cruel enemies again infult and torture him. They ftripped him, and put on him a fcarlet robe, place a reed in his hand, and a crown of thorns on his head. Both Jews and Roman foldiers were united in the tranfacStion ; they bow their knees before him, and in derifion cry, ' Hail ' King of the Jews.' They fpit upon him alfo, and took the reed out of his hand, and fmote him on the head. After this they led him away to crucify him, and made him carry his own crofs, till he funk under it, his flrength being fpent; and then they laid it on one Simon a Cyrc-nian. [Mat. xxvii. 32.]

At length, being come to Mount Calvary, they execute the fentence which Pilate had fo unrighteoufly pronounced. They nailed him to the crofs by his hands and feet, then raife it ere61-, and fix one end in the ground, he being flill fufpended on it by the nails which pierced his hands and feet. And now Chrift's fufFerings are come to the extremity ; now the cup which he fo earneftly Y y 2 prayed,

348 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

prayed that it might pafs from him, (r) is come, and he muft, he does drink it. [Ifa. xxvi. 39.] In thofe days crucifixion was the moft tormenting death by which any were executed. There was no death wherein the perfon expired fo much of mere torment: and hence the Roman word,* which fignifies torment, is taken from this kind of death.-—And befidcs what our Lord endured in this excruciating death in his body, he endured vafllv m.ore in his foul. Now was that travail of his foul, of which we read in the prophet; now it pleafed God to bruife him, and to put him to grief ; now < he poured out his foul unto * death.' [Ifa. liii. iq.] And if the m.ere forethought of this cup made him fweat blood, how much more dreadful and excruciating muft the drinking of it have been ! Many martyrs have endured much in their bodies, while their fouls have been joyful, and have fung for joy, whereby they have been fupported under the fufFerings of their outward man, and have triumphed over them. But this was not the cafe with Chrift ; he had no fuch fupport: but his fufFerings were chiefly thofe of the mind, though the others were extremely great.

Now under all thelc fufFerings tlie Jews ftill mock him; and wagging their heads fay, [Matt, xxvii. 40.] ' Thou ' that deftroyeft the temple and buildeft it in three days, '■ fave thyfelf: if thou be the Son of God, come down ' from the crofs.' Even the chief priefts, fcribes, and elders, joined in the cry, faying, ' He faved others, him-

« felf

(r) Let this cup pafs from me.'\ " This was the voice not only of refignation, but of acquiefcence and cotyplacency. Such a deprecatory requeft, put up with fo much earneftnefs, yet with fo much fubmilTion, betrayed not any wcaknefs of mind ; it only Ibcwed the reality of our Lord's manhood; that his fcnfations were exadlly like ours ; that he afFefted no floical apathy, but willingly endured, not proudly difpifed, tribulation and anguifli. It demonftrated likewife, beyond the power of defcriptlon, the extreme feverity and almoft infupportabJe weight of our Redeemer's affiiftions." [Hervey, Theron and Afpaiio, vol. i. Dial. 4.;)

* Cruciotus.

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION, 349

* felfhe cannot fave.' (s) And probably the devil at the fame time tormented him to the utmoll of his power ; and hence it is faid, [Luke xxii. 33.] ' This is your hour, and ' the power of darknefs.'

Under thefe fuftcrings, Chrift having cried out once and again with a loud voice, at lafl he faid, ' It is linirticd, ' [John xix. 20.] and bowed the head, and gave up the ' ghofr.' (t) And tlius was finifhed the greatcll work

that

(s) tljMS^LF I'je cannoifave.l SoCelsus, that bitter enemy of Chriftianity, tauntingly cries, ** Why, in the name of wonder, does he not on this occafion, at lead, aft the God ? Why does he not deliver himfelf from this fhocking ignominy, or execute fome fignal vengeance on the author of fuch impious and abu-five infults, both of himfelf and his Father ?"—Why, Ce/fus ? Becaufe on his death depends the falvation of mankind, and thereby is purchafed that pardon which the gofpel proclaims to finncrs, fuch as Celfus.

*' There hangs all human hope, that nail fupports The falling univerfe" Young.

" You indeed, (continues the heathen) take upon you to deride the images of our deities ; but if Bacchus himfelf, or Hsr-fules had been prcfent, you would not have dared to offer fuch an affront; or, if you had been fo prefumptuoiis, would have feverely fmarted for your infolence." Yes, Ce/fus ; fuch is the revengeful fpirit of your gods; but ^cfus exhibits an inftance of patience, meeknefs, and compaOion equally oppofite to your temper and that of your fanguinary idols. [Vide Orig. contra. Celf. 81.404.] _ _ [P.]

(t) He gave up the ghoJl.~\ The late ingenious Mr. Ferguson has fhown, from accurate aftronomical obfervations, that the day on which our Lord was crucified, was " the 14th of the month N'tfan, anfwering (in that year) to the 3d of April, .... in the 33d year of his age," fince that was the only year in which the paffoverfell on a Friday, " between the 20th and 40th year of the vulgar aera of Chrift's birth."

The fame philofophcr has obferved, that the darknefs which covered the land at this time, could not be a natural one, becaufe the fun can never be eclipfed in a natural way but at the time of nevy- moon, and our Saviour was crucified at the time of the paff-ovcr, when the moon wasy«//; we have another proof of this from the continuance of that darknefs for three hours ; for the lun can never be eclipfed totally in a natural way for more than five minutes of time to any one place of the eaith.—How dread-Ailly folemn was this fcene!

" The fim belield it—No, the fhock-ng fcenc-

Drove

350 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

that ever was done ; now the angels beheld the moft wonderful fight that ever was feen : now was accompliflied the main thing that had been pointed at by the various infti-tutions of the ceremonial law, and by all the typical dif-penfarions and by all the facrifices from the beginning of die world, (u)

Chrift being thus brought under the power of death, continued under it till the morning of the next day but one : (w) and then was finiflied that great work, the pur-chafe

Drove back hie chariot; midnight veil'd his face :

.... Not fuch as nature makes ;

A midnight, nature lliudder'd to behold ;

A midnight new, a dread eclipfe (without

Oppofmg fpheres) from her Creator's frown !

Sun, didll thou fly thy Maker's pain ? or dart

Al. that enormous load of human guilt,

Which bovv'd his blefTed head ; o'erwhelm'd his crofs;

Made groan the creature ; burft earth's marble womb

With pangs, ftrange pangs ! deliver'd of her dead ?

Hell howl'd ; and heav'n that hour let fall a tear ;

Heav'n wept that man might fmile ! heav'n bled that man

Might never die i"——

[Young's Night Thoughts, IV.] (u) The TYPES no-w all accompTiJhed.~\ " In this hour, the long feries of prophecies, vifions, types, and figures was accom-plifhed ; this v.^as the center in which they all met; .this the point towards which they had tended and verged throughout the courfe of fo many generations. You behold the law and the propiiets Aanding, if we may fpeak fo, at the foot of the crofs, and doing homage. You behold Mofes and Aaron bearing the ark of the covenant ; David and Elijah prefenting the oracle of teltimony. You behold all the priefts and facrifices, all the rites and ordinances, all the types and fymbols, afl'embled together to receive their confummation. Without the death of Chrift, the worfhip and ceremonies of the law would have remained a pompous, but unmeaning inftitution. In the hour when he was crucified, ' the * book with the feven feals' was opened. Every rite affunied its fignificancy, every prediction met its event, every fymbbl difplay-ed its correfpondence." [Blair's Sermons, vol. i. Ser. 5.3

(w) Chrijl cO'AiiriVf.'O unckr thepo'-Mcr of ikaihr^ During this period, fome have fuppofed our Lord defcended below the grave, and ' preached to \k\ti fp'irits,^ —either m llnihus patrum, purgatory, or even hell itfelf. The two former of thefe opinions have been maintained by Popifn writers, and fulHciently anfwered by Pro-teflants : but the latter notion fuppofes that Chrift: after his death

wcut.

THE PURCHASE OF REDEMPTION. 351

chafe of our iedemi>tion ; for which fuch great preparation had been made from the beginning of the world. Then

waj

went down among the damned, preached falvation there, and actually converted and delivered many of the unhappy fpirits therein confined. The text here alluded to [i Pet. iii. 19, 20.] has been already cited, with Dr. Doddridge's ingenious paraphiale, Note n, page 106, where we promifed to confider this extraordinary opinion, againft which the following objedtions appear to U3 important and decifive.

1. The fpirk ' by which he went and preached,' was not Chrift's human foul, but a divine nature, or rather the Holy Spirit, * by which' he was quickened, and raifcd from the dead.

2. Chrift when on the crofs promifed the penitent thief his pre-fence that day in Paradife, and accordingly when he died committed his foul into his heavenly Father's hand ; in heaven, therefore, and not in hell, we are to feck the feparate fpirit of cur Redeemer in this period. [Lukexxiii. 43, 46.]

3. Had our Lord defcended to preach falvation to the damned, there is no fuppofeable reafon why the unbelievers in Noah's time only fhould be mentioned, rather than thofe of Sodom, and the unhappy multitude who died in fin.

4. Granting the faft, that our Saviour defcended into hell, (of which in a fubfequent note) we have no intimation of his preaching being attended with any more fucccfs than that of his fervant Noah. Some, indeed, were raifed from the dead at this time, and no doubt thefe would have been taken for fome of the unhappy fpirits releafcd, and permitted to return to earth, had net the fcripture exprefsly told us that they were the bodies oi faints. [Matt, xxvii. 52.]

5. So far from any intimation of fuch deliverance, St. Jude, fuhfequent to this, mentions the finners of Sodom fullering the vengeance of eternal fire : and both the apoftles Jude and Peter mention the Sodomites, the Ifraelites that periOied for their rebellion in the wildernefs, the fallen angels, and impenitent finners in general, as involved in one common ruin, and referved to the * day

* of judgment to be fun'ifiid-^ and the latter includes the inhabitants of the old world among the reft. [See Jude 5—8. 2 Pet. ii. 4—9.]

6. Oar Lord is exprefs, that, * he that believeth fhall mver

* come into condemnation—fliall never pcrifh ;' and ' he that be-

* lieveth not, fi-.all not fee life.'—not come '■jjherc h.e is. [John iii. 36.—v. 24.—viii. 21.] This wc fliall have occafion to notice farther near the clofe of this work.

Is it faid that the propofcd fentiment exceedingly glorifies tlie Redeemer, and greatly adds to the triumph of his vcfurreition ? Far be it from us to Icffen the Redeemer's honour : but let us not drcfs up the oageanls of our imagination to grcice his v;(ftory.

The

was finidied all that was required in order to fulfill the threatenings of the law, and all that was neceffary in order to fatisfy divine juftice ; then the utmoft that vindidlive juflice demanded, even the whole debt, was paid. Then was finiflied the whole of the purchafe of eternal life.

IMx^ROVEMENT of PERIOD II.

IN furveying the hiftory of redemption, we have now fhown how this work was carried on through the two firfl periods into which we divided it, from the fall to the incarnation of Chrift, and from thence to the end of the time of Chrift's humiliation ; and have particularly explained how in the firft of thefe periods God prepared the way for Chrift's appearing and purchafmg redemption ; and how, in the fecond period, that purchafe was made and finiJJied. I would now add fome improvement of what has been faid on both thefe fubjedls in conjunflion.

I. I begin with an uie of reproof; a reproof of three things; of unbelief, felf-righteoufnefs, and a carelefs ne-gledl of the falvation of Chrift.

(i.) If the things above particularly recited be true, iiow greatly do they reprove thofe who do not believe in, and heartily receive the Lord Jefus Chrift ! Perfons may. receive him in profeffion, and may wifli that they had fome of thofe benefits that Chrift has purchafcd, and yet their hearts not receive him ; they may be lincere in nothing that they do towards him \ they may have no high efteem of him, nor any. real refpedl to him. Though their hearts have been opened wide to others, yet Chrift has alwavs been fhutout, and they have been deaf to all his imitations. They never found an inclination of heart to receive him, nor v/ould they ever truft in him.

Let

Tlie apoltle defcribing the magnificence of this event, fays, [Col. ii. 15.J that * he fpoiied principalities and powers—made a ihew ' of them openly:' but adds nothing of the fouls delivered from liell, though he would hardly have omitted fuch afaft. [G. E.]

IMPROVEMENT OF PERIOD II. 353

Let me now call upon you, to confider how great your fin, in thus rejecting Jelus Chrift, appears to be from thofe things that have been faid. You flight the glorious perlbn, for whofe coming God made fuch great preparations in fuch a ferics of wonderful providences from the beginning of the world, and who, after all things were made ready, God fent into the world, bringing to pafs a thing before unknown, viz. the union of the divine nature with the human in one perfon. You have been guilty of flighting that great Saviour, who, after fuch preparation, adVually accompliihed the purchafe of redemption ; and who, after he had fpent three or four and thirty years in poverty, labour, and contempt, in purchafing redemption, at laft hniflied the purchafe by clofjng his life under fuch extreme fufFerings as you have lieard ; (y) and fo by his death, and continuing for a time under the power of death, completed the whole. This is the Saviour you reject and defpife. You make light of all the glory of his perfon, and all the love of a Father, in fending him into the world, and the Son's com-paffion in the whole of this affair. That precious ftone that God hath laid in Zion for a foundation in fuch a manner, and by fuch wonderful works as you have heard, is a ftonc fet at nought by you.

Sinners fometimes are ready to wonder why unbelief fliould be looked upon as fuch a great fm : but if you confider what you have heard, how can you wonder ? If it be fo, that this is fo great a Saviour, and his work (o

Z z gieat,

(y) Cbrijl DIED vn(/er extremefiifenngs.~\ Some have ventured to compare the death of Socrates with that of Jesus : but " What an infinite difproportion is there between them ! The death of Socrates, peaceably philofophiiing with his friends, appears the mod agreeable that could be wiflied for; that of Jesus, infulted and accufed by a whole nation, is the moil horrible that could be feared. Socrates, in receiving the cup of poifon, bleffcd, Indeed, the weeping executioner that admlnlliered It; but Jesus, In the mldft of excruciating tortures, prayed for his mercllefs tormentors.—Yes, if the life and death of Socrates vicxt thofe of ^fage, the life and death of Jesus were thofe of a God. [Rosseau's Letter to iheAbp. of Paris.]

great, and that fuch great things have been done in order to it, truly there is no caufe of wonder that the reje6lioii of this Chrift is fpoken of in fcripture as a fin, fo provoking to God, and attended with greater aggravations than the worft fins of the heathen, who never heard of thofe things,, nor have had this Saviour offered to them.

(2.) What has been faid, affords matter of reproof to thofe who, inflead of believing in Chrift, truft in them-felves for falvation. It is a common thing with men to truft in their prayers, their good converiations, the pains they take in religion, the reformations of their lives, and in their felf-denial, to make fome atonement for their fins, and to recommend themfelvcs to Go<l.

Confider three things:

[i.] How great a thing tliat is whicli you take upon you: though you are poor, worthlefs, polluted worms of the duft; yet fo arrogant are you, that you take upon, you that work which the only begotten Son of God became man to capacitate himfelf for; and in order to which God made fo great preparation. Confider how vain is the thought which you entertain of ycurfelf; how muft fuch arrogance appear in the fight of Chrift, whom it coft fo much to make a purchafe of falvation, when it vv^as not to be obtained even by him, fo great and glorious a perfon, at a cheaper rate than his wading through a fea of blood, and pafflng through the midft of the furnace of God's wrath.

[2.1 If there be ground for you to truft, as you do, in your own righteoufnefs, then all that Chrift did to purchafe falvation when on earth, and all that God did from the fall of man to that time to prepare the way for it, is in vain. Your feif-righteoufnefs charges God with the greateft folly, in that he has done all this to bring about an accompliflrment of what you alone, a little worm, with your poor polluted fervices, are fufficient to accom-plilh. For if you. can appeafe God's anger, and. can commend yourfelf to him by thef6- means, then you have no need of Chrift ; but he is dead in vain : [Gal. ii. 21.] ' If righteoufnefs come by the law, then Chrift is dead in

' vain.'

IMPROVEMENT OF PERIOD II. 355-

* vain.'—Alas! how blind are natural men ! How vain are the thoughts they have of themfelvcs! How ignorant of their own littlenefs and pollution ! How do they exalt rhcmfelves up to heaven ! What great things do they alTuine to themfelves !

£3.] You that truft to your own righteoufnefs, arrogate to yourfelves the honour of the greateft thing that ever God hinifelf did; not only as if you were fufficient to perform divine works, and to accompli{li forae of the great works of God ; but fuch is your pride and vanity, that you are not content without taking upon you to do the grcatcj] work tWat ever God himfelf wrought, even the work of redemption. To work out redemption is a greater thing than to create a world. Confider what a figure you would make, if you fhould attempt to deck yourfelf with majefty, pretend to fpeak the word of power, and call an univerfe out of nothing; yet in pretending- to work out redemption, you attempt a greater thing.—You take upon you to do the moft difficult part of this work, viz. to purchafe redemption. Chriil; could accomplilh other parts of this work without cofl:, or difficulty: but this part cofl him his life, as well as innumerable pains and labours, very great ignominy and contempt. If all the angels in heaven had been iufficient for this work, would God have fent his own Son, the Creator of angels,

into the world, to have done and fulfered fuch things ?

What felf-righteous perfons take to themfelves, is the fame work that Chiift was engaged in when he was in his agony and bloody fweat, and when he died on the crofs. Their felf-righteoufnefs does, in efFea, charge ChrilPs offering up himfelf in thefe fufferings, as the greateft in-ftance of foljy that ever men or angels faw, inftead of bemg the molt glorious difplay of the divine wi/iom and grace. Yea, felf-righteoufnefs makes all that Chiift did and fuftercd through the whole courfe of his life, with all that God did in the difpcnfations of his providence irom the beginning, nothing, but a fcene of the moft wild, extreme, and tranfcendent folly.—Is it any wonder, ^hen, thr.t a felf-righteous fpivit is fo reprefcntcd in fcrip-

35(5 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

ture, and fpoken of, as that which is moft fatal to the fouls of men ? Or that Chrifl: was fo provoked with the Pharifees and others, who trufted in themfelves that they were righteous, and were proud of their goodnefs, and thought that their own performances v/ere a valuable price of God's favour and love ?

Let perfons hence be warned againft a felf-righteous fpirit. You that are feeking falvation, and taking pains in religion, take heed that you do not truft in what yon do ; that you do not harbour any thoughts, that God ought to accept of what you do, fo as to be inclined by it in fome meafure to forgive you, and have mercy on you ; or that he does not a£l juftly, if he refufe to regard your prayers and pains.' Such complaining of God, and quarrelling with him, for hot taking rnore notice of your righteoufnefs, plainly fliows that you are guilty of all that arrogance that has been fpoken of, thinking yourfelf fufficient to offer the price of your ov/n falvation.

(3.) What has been faid on this fubje6l affords matter of reproof to thofe who carelefsly negledl the falvation of Chrift: fuch as live a fenfual life, neglecting the buhnefs, of religion, and the falvation of their own fouls, having their minds taken up about the gains, the vanities, and plea-fures of the world. Let me here apply myfelf to you in fome expoftulatory interrogations.

[1.] Shall fo many prophets, kings, and righteous men, have their minds taken up with the profpe6t, that the purchafe of Salvation was to be wrought out in ages long after their death ; and will you neglect it when actually accomplilhed ? You have heard what great account the church in all ages made of the future redemption of Chrift ; howjoyfully they expe6led and fpoke of it. How mucli did Ifaiah, Daniel, and other prophets, fpeak concerning this redemption ! How did David employ his voice and harp in celebrating it, and the glorious difplay of divine grace therein exhibited ! How did Abraham and the other patriarchs rejoice in the profpe6l of ChriiVs day, and the redemption which' he was to purchafe ! And even the faints before the flood were elated in the

expcc-

cxpedlation of this glorious event, though it was then fo long future, fo faintly and obfcurely revealed to them. Now thefe things are declared to you as actually fulfilled. The church has feen accoinplidied all thofe great things which they fo joyfully prophelied of. And yet, when thefe things are fet before you as already acconiplilhed, how light do you make of them ! How unconcerned are you about them, following other things, not fo much as feeling any int^reft in them ! Indeed your fm is extremely aggravated in the fight of God. God has put you under a more glorious difpenfation ; has given you a more clear revelation of Chrift and his falvation ; and yet you negledl all thefe advantages, and go on in a carelefs courfe of life, as though nothing had been done, no fuch difco-vcry had been made you.

[2.] Have the angels been fo engaged about this falvation ever fince the fall of man, though they are not immediately concerned in it, and will you who need it, and have it ottered to you, be fo carelefs about it ? You liave heard how the angels at firlt were fubjecSled to Chrill as mediator, and how they have all along been miniftering fpirits to him in this affair. And when Chrift came, how engaged were their minds! They came to Zacharias, to inform him of the coming of Chrift's forerunner ; to the Virgin Mary, to inform her of the approaching birth of Chrift; to Jofeph, to warn him of the danger which threa:encd the new-born Saviour, and to point out the means of fafety : and at the birth of Chrift, tlie whole multitude of the heavenly hofts fang praifes upon the oc-cafjon, faying, ' Glory to God in the higheil, and on ' earth, peace and good will towards men.' Afterwards, horn time to time, they miniftered to Chrift when on earth ; they did fo at the time of his temptation, at the time of his agony in the garden, at his refurre6lion, and at his afcenfion. All thefe things fhow, that they were greatly engaged in this affair ; and the fcripture in^'orms us, that they pry into thefe things: [i Pet. i. 12.] ' Which * things the angels deftre to look into.' And how are they jcprefcnted in the Revelation, ns being employed in hea-

358 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

vcn in finging praifes to him that fitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb!—-Now, fhall thefe take fo much notice of his redemption, and of the purchafer, who need ft not for themfelves, and have no immediate intereft in it; and will you, who are in fuch extreme necefiity, negledl and take no notice of it ?

[3.] Did Chrifl labour fo hard and fuffer fo much, to procure this falvation, and is it not worth the while for you to be at fome labour in fceking it ? Did our falvation lie with fuch weight on the mind of Chrift, as to induce him to become man, and to fufFer even death itfelf, in order to procure it for us, and is it not worth the while for you, who need this falvation, and muft perifli eternally without it, to take earneft pains to obtain an intereft in it after it is procured, and all things are ready ?

[4.] Shall the great God be fo concerned about this falvation, as fo often to overturn the world to make way for it: and Vv'hen all was done, is it not worth your feek-ing after ? What greatj what wonderful things has the Lord of heaven and earth done from one age to another, caft-ing down and fetting up kings, raiiing up a great number of prophets, fepciating a diftincl nation from the reft of the world, overturning one kingdom and another, and often the ftate of the world ; and fo has continued bringing about one change and revolution after another, for forty centuries in fuccefTion, to make way for the procuring of this falvation ! And when he has done all, is it not worthy of your being concerned about it, but that ft {liould be thrown by, and made nothing of, in comparl-Ibn of worldly gain, youthful diverfions, and other fuch trifling things?—O ! that you who live negligent of this falvation, would confider what you do ! ' What you have heard from this fubje6^, may fhow you what reafon there is in that exclamation of the Apoftle, [Heb. ii. 3.] ' How -< fli'^1 we efcape if we negle6l fo great falvation ?' and in (that, [A6ls xiii. 41.] 'Behold, ye defpifers, and wonder * and perifti: for I work a work-in your days, a work ' which you fiiall in no wife believe, though a man de-'' clare it unto you/ God looks on fuch as you as great

enemies

enemies of the crofs of Chrift, and adverfaries and def-pifers of all the glory of this great work. And if God has made fuch account of the glory of falvation as to de-ftroy many nations, and fo often overturn all nations, ro prepare the way for the glory of his Son in this affair ; how little account will he make of the lives ami fouls of ten thoufand fuch oppofers and defpifers as you that continue impenitent, in competition with his glory! Why furely you (hall be dafhed in pieces as a potter's veffel, and trodden down as the mire of the ftreets. God may, through wonderful patience, bear with heardened carelefs finners for a while ; but he will not always bear with fuch-defpifers of his dear Son, and his great falvaric^fl, the gJory of which he has had fo much at heart, but will utterly con-fume them without remedy or mercy.

2. I conclude, fecondly, with a ufe of encouragement to burdened fouls, to put their truft in Chrift for falvation. To all fuch as are not carelefs and negligent, but fenfible in fome meafure of their neceffity of an intereft iiv Chrift, and afraid of the wrath to come ; to fuch, what has been faid on this fubjed holds forth great matter of encouragement, to venture their fouls on the Lord Jefus Chrift*; and as motives proper to excite youfo to do, let me lead yo\t to confider two things in particular.

(i.) The completenefs of the purchafe which has been made; as you have heard, this work of purchafing falvation was wholly finilhed during the time of Chrift's humiliation. When Chrift rofe from the dead, and was exalted from that abafement to which he fubmitted for our falvation, the purchafe of eternal life was completely made, fo that there was no need of any thing more to be done in order to it. But now the fervants were fent forth with this meflage, [Matt. xxii. iv.] ' Behold I have

* prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fattlings are kil-

* led, and all things are ready, come unto the marriage.' Therefore all things being ready, are your fms many and great? Here is enough done by Chrift to procure their pardon ; there is no need of any righteoufnefs of yours to obtain your juftification : no, you may come freely,

without

S6o HISTORY *0F REDEMPTION,

without money and without price: fince therefore ther^ is fuch a free and gracious invitation given you, come ; come naked as you are ; come as a poor condemned criminal ; come and cafl: yourfelf down at Chrift's feet, as one juftly condemned, and utterly helplefs in yourfelf. Here is a complete falvation wrought out by Chrift, and through him otFered to you ; come, therefore, accept of it, and be faved.

(2.) For Ch'rift to reje£l one that thus com.es to him, would be to fruftrate all thofe great things which you have heard that God brought to pafs from the fall of man to the incarnation of Chrift. It would alfo fruftrate all that Chrift did and fufFered while on earth; yea, it would fruftrate the incarnation of Chrift itfelf, for all thefe things were for that end, that thofe might be faved who Ihould come to Chrift. Therefore you may be fure Chrift will not be backward in faving thofe who come to him, and truft in him; for he has no defire to fruftrate himfelf in his own work ; neither will God the Father refufe you; for he has no defire to fruftrate himfelf in all that he did for fo many hundred years, to prepare the way for the falvation of fmners by Chrift. Come, therefore, hearken to the fweet and earneft call of Chrift. [Matt. xi. 28—30.] ' Come unto me, all ye that labour, ' and are heavy laden, and I will give you reft; take my

* yoke upon you, and learn of me; and ye fhall find ' reft unto your fouls: for my yoke is eafy, and my bur-

* den is light.'

PERIOD.

PERIOD III.

I

N difcourfing on this fubjecl:, we have alreatly fliovvn how the work of redemption was carried on through the two firfl of the three periods into which we divided the whole fpace of time from the fall to the end of the world ; and we are now come to the third and lafl: period, beginning with Chrift's refurreition, and reaching to the end of the world ; and are now to fhow how this work was alfo carried on through this period, from the following propolition—-

That the space of time from the resurrection OF Christ to the end of the world is all

ENGAGED IN BRINGING ABOUT THE GREAT EFFECT, OR SUCCESS, OF ChRIST's PURCHASE.

Not but that there were great efFe<51s and glorious fuccefs of Chrifl: s purchafe of redemption before, even from the beginning. But all that fuccefs was only preparatory, and by way of anticipation ; as fome few fruits arc gathered before the harvcft. There was no more fuccefs before Chrifl: came than God faw needful to prepare the way for his coming. The proper time of the fuccefs or effe6l of Chrift's purchafe of redemption is after the purchafe has been made ; as the proper time for the world to enjoy the light of the fun is the day time, after the fun is rifcn, though we may have fome fmall matter of it refleiled from the moon and planets before. And even the fuccefs of Chrift's redemption, while he himfelf was on earth, was very fmall, in comparifon of what it was after the con-clufion of his humiliation.

But Chrift having tiniftied that greateft and moft difficult of all works, tlie work of the purchafe of redemption, now is the time for him to obtain the joy that was fet before him. Having made his foul an oftering for fin, now is the time for him to fee his feed, and to have ' a portion

q A ' divided

-^Gi HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

* divided to him with the great, and to divide the fpoil

* with the ftrong.' [Ifa. liii.]

One defign of Chrift's humiliation was, to lay a foundation for the overthrow of Satan's kingdom ; and now is come the time to effe6l it; as Chrift a little hefore his crucifixion faid, [John xii. 31.] ' Now is the judgment of

* this world ; now fhall the prince of this world be caft

* out.' Another defign was, to gather together in one all things in Chrifl. [John xii. 32.] 'And I, if I be lifted

* up, will draw all men unto me ;' which is agreeable to Jacob's prophecy of Chrift, that ' when Sh'tloh fhould ' come, to him Ihould the gathering of the people be.' [Gen.xlix. 10.]—A third defign is the falvation of the eledt. Now when his fuiFerings are finiflied, and his humiliation is perfedled, the time is come for that alfo. [Heb, V. 8, 9.] ' Though he were a Son, yet learned he obe-' dience by the things which he fufFered ; and being made

* perfe(9:, he became the author of eternal falvation unto ' all them that obey him.'-—Another defign was, to ac-complifh by thefe things great glory to the perfons of the Trinity. Now alfo is come the time for that ; [John xvii. I.] ' Father, the hour is come ; glorify thy Son, that ' thy Son alfo may glorify thee.'—Laftly, another defign w^as the glory of the faints. [John xvii. 2 ] 'As thou ' haft given him power over all flefli, that he fhould give

* eternal life to as many as thou haft given him.'— And all the difpenfations of God's providence henceforward, even to the final confummation of all things, are to give Chrift his reward, and to fulfil the joy that was fee before him.

INTRODUCTION.

BEFORE I enter on the confideration of the particular things accompliftied in this period, I would briefly obferve, how the times of this period are reprefented in fcripture,

1. The times of this period, for the moft part, are thofe which in the Old Teftamenc are called the latter days. We often, in the prophets of the Old Teftament, read of luch and fuch things that fhould come to pafs in the latter days, and fometimes in the laji days. Now thcfe expreflions of the prophets arc moft commonly to be uudcrftood of the times of this period. They are called the latter days, and the laJl days ; becaufe this is the laft period of the feries of God's providences on earth, the laft period of that great work of Providence, the work of redemption, which is, as it were, the fum of God's works of providence, the time wherein the church is under tlic laft difpenfation that ever will be given on earth, (a)

2. The whole time of this period is fometimes in fcrip-ture called ' the f«^ of the world.' [i Cor. x. 11.] ' Now ' all thefe things happened unto them for enfamples; and ' they are written for our admonition, upon whom tlie ' ends of the world are come.' And the apoftle, [Heb, ix. 26.] in this expreflion of the end of the world, means the whole of the gofpel day, from the birth of Chrift 10 tlie Hniftiing of the day of judgment: ' But now once *' in the end of the world hath he appeared, to put away ' fm by the facritice of himfelf.' This fpace of time may well be called ' the end of the world ;' for this whole time is taken up in bringing things to that great ifluc that God had been preparing the way for, in all the great difpenfations of providence, from the firft fall of man to this time. Before, things were in a kind of preparatory ftate, but now they arc in a hnifhing ftate : it is the winding up of things which is all this while accompliftiing. Heaven and earth began to Jhake in order

3 A 2 ' t(j

(a) The- LATTER DAYS.] Rabbi Z). /wW/j/[ill Ifa. 31.] y^if^M

Ezra [in Hofca iii.] and ManaJJc, [lib. iii. Dc Refur.] all under-ftand by this phrafc, ' the days of the Mefliah ;' and Dr. Owen fuppoics them fo called, not fo much in reference to the gofpel, as the lall difpenfation, or the end of the world, as fome have fuppofcd, but " the lall days of the Judaical church and llatc."

[Owen in Heb. i. 2,]

564 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

to a dlfTolution, according to the propliecy of Haggai, before Chrifl: came, that fo only ' thofe things that cannot

* be ihaken may remain ;' [Heb. xii. 2.] /. e. that thofe things that are to come to an end, may come to an end, and that only thofe tilings may remain, which are to remain eternally.

So, in the firfl:,„piace, the carnal ordinances of the Jewifli worfliip came to an end, to make way for the ertablifh-ment of that fpiritual worfliip, the wordiip of the heart, which is to endure to eternity. [John iv. 21, 23.] ' Jefus

* faith unto the woman. Believe me, the hour cometh, ' when ye fhall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Je-' rufalera, worfliip the Father.—But the hour cometli,

* and now is, when the true w^orfliippers fhall worlhip the

* Father in fpirit and truth ; for the Father feeketh fuch ' to worlhip him.' This is one inftance of the temporary world's coming to an end, and the eternal world's beginning. Another inftance that the outward temple, and the city of Jerufalem, came to an end, to give place to the fetting up of the fpiritual temple and the city, which arc to endure for ever, which is ^Ifo another inftance of removing thofe things which are ready to vanifli away, that thofe things which cannot be Ihaken may remain. Againj, the old heathen empire comes to an end, to make way for the e'verlariing empire of Chriil. Upon the fall of anti-chrift, an end will be put to Satan's vifible kingdom on earth, to eftabliih Chrift's eternal kingdom ; [Dan. vii. 27.] ' And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatnefs

* of the kingdom under the whole heaven, fliall be given

* to the faints of the Moll Higli, whofe kingdom is an

* everlafting kingdom, and all dominions fhall ferve and

* obey him :' which is another inftance of the ending ot the temporary world, and tlic beginning of the eternal one. And then, laflly, the very frame of this corruptible world fhall come to an end, to make way for the church to dwell in another dwelling place, which-fhall laft to eternity; which is the concluding inftance.

Becaufe the world is thus coming to an end by various fleps and degrees, the apolile perhaps ufes this expreffion,

that

INTRODUCTION TO PERIOD III. 365

that not the end, but the ends of the world are come on us; as though the world has feveral endings one after another. —The gofpel difpenfation is the laft flate of things in the world ; and this ftate is a tiniihing ftate : it is all fpetit in finifliing things^ff" which before had been preparing, or abolifliing ~tTiings which before had flood. It is all fpent as it were in fumming things up, and bringing them to their ilTues, and their proper fulfilment. Now all the old rypes are fulfilled, and the predictions of all the prophets from the beginning of the world Ihall be accom-plithed in this period.

3. That flate of things which is attained in the events of this period Is called ' a rievj heaven and a neu) earth ;' [Ifa. Ixv. 17, 18.] ' For behold, I create a new heaven and ' a 7ieio earth : and the former fliall not be remembered,

♦ nor come into mind. But be you glad and rejoice for

* ever In that which I create ; for behold, I create Jerufa-

♦ 1cm a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And [ch. Ixvi. j>2.] ' For as the new heavens and new earth which I ^ make, fhall remain before me ; fo Ihall your feed and

* your nam.e remain.' [See alfo ch. li. 16.] As the former ftate of things, or the old world, by one ftep after another, is through this period coming to an end ; fo the pew ftate of things, or the new world, which is a fplri-tual world7 is beginning and fetting up. In conlec^uencc of each of thefe finifhings of the old ftate of things, there is the beginning of a ijew and eternal one. So that which accompanied the deftru6lIon of the literal Jeru-falem, was an eftablHhing of the fphitual. So with re-fpe<fl to the deftru6tion of the old heathen empire, and all the other endings of the old ftate of things, till at length the very outward frame of the old world itfclf ftiall come to an end \ and the church ftiall dwell in a world new to it, or to a great part of it, even heaven, which will be a new habitation : and then ftiall the utmoft be accompliftied that is meant of the new heavens and new earth. [See Rev. xxi. i.]

The end of God's creating the world was to prepare a k:ngdo;"a for his Son, (for he is appointed heir of the

world)

366 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

world,) and that he might have the poffeflion of it, and a kingdom in it, which fhould remain to all eternity. So far as the kingdom of Chrift is fet up in the world, fo far is the world hrought to _its_end, and the eternal ftate of things fet up. So far are all the great changes and revolutions of the world brought to their ultimate iffue. So far are the waters of the long channel of divine Providence, which has fo many branches, and fo many windings and turnings, emptied out into their proper ocean, wliich they have been feeking from the beginning and head of their courfe, and fo are come to their reft. So far as Chrift's kingdom is eftablifhed in the woild, fo far are things wound up and fettled in their everlafting ftate, and a period put to the courfe of things in this changeable world ; fo far arc the fix ft heavens and the firft earth come to an end, and the new lieavens and the new earth eftablilhed in their room. Ihis leads me to oblcrve,

4. That the ftate of things which is attained by the events of this period, is what is fo often called the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom oi God. We very often read in the New Tcftp.ment oF the kingdom of heaven, John the Baptift preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, and fo did Chrift, and his difciples after him ; referring to fomething that the Jews in thofc days expecSted, by that name. They feem to have taken their expectation and the name chiefly from that prophecy of Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. [Dan. ii. 44.] ' And in the days of « thefe kings fhall the God of heaven fet up a kingdom.' [See alfo chap. vii. 13, 14.] Now this kingdom of licavai is that evangelical ftate of things in his church, and in'the world, wherein confifts the fuccefs of Chrift's redemption in this period. There had been often great kingdoms fet up before.—But Chrift came to fet up the laft kingdom, which is not an earthly kingdom, but an heavenly, and fo is properly called the kingdom of heaven, [John xviii. 36.] ' My kingdom is not of the world.' [Luke xxii. 20.] " My Father hath appointed mc a kingdom.'—Under this head I would obferve fevcral things particularly, for the

clearer

INTRODUCTION TO PERIOD III. 367

clearer underftanding of what the fcriptures fay concerning this period.

(i.) The fetting up of the kingdom of Chrift is chiefly accoinplilhed by four fucceffivc great events, each of which is in fcripture"called Chrifl's coming in his kingdom. The tirll: is Chrift's appearing in thofe wonderful difpen-fations of providence in "the apoflles days, in ere6ling his kingdom, and deftroying his enemies, which ended in the deftruiSlion of Jerufaleni. This is called Chrift's coming in his kingdom. [Matt. xvi. 28.] ' Verily I fay unto you,

* there be fome flanding here, which Ihall not tafle of

* deatli till they fee the Sori of man coming in his king-

* dom.' The Jecond^ was accomplilhed in Conftantinc's time, in the deftru6lion of the heathen Roman empire. This alfo is reprefented as Chrift's coming, and is compared to the laft judgment. [Rev. vi. 13—17.] The third is to be accompliflied at the deftrudlion of antichrift: which is reprefented as Chrift's coming in his kingdom in the prophecy of Daniel, and in other places, as I mav poffibly fliow hereafter. The fourth and laft is his coming to judgment in the end of time, which is the event principally fignitied in fcripture by Chrift's coming in his kingdom.

(2.) I would obfcrve, that each of the three former of thefe is a lively image of the laft, viz. Chrift's coming to the final judgment ; as the principal difprnfations of providence before Chrift's firft coming were types of that event.—As Chrift's laft coming to judgment is accompanied with a rcfurre6Vion of the dead, fo is each of the three foregoing with a fpiritual refarre(£lion. The coming of Chrift to the deftrudtioa of Jerufalem was preceded by a glorious fpiritual refurredlion of fouls in the calling ot the Gentiles, and bringing multitudes to hin\ by the preaching of the gofpel. Chrift's coming in Con-ftantinc's time was accompanied with a fpiritual refurrec-tion of the greater part of the known world, in a refto-ration of it to a vifible church ftatc, from a ftate of hea-thenifm. So Chrift's coming at the deftru<5lion of antichrift will be attended with a fpiritual refurrectlon of the

church

368 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

ch\ircli after it had been long as it were dead, in the times of antichrift. This is called the firft refurredlion in the Revelation, [chap. xx. 5.]

Again, as Chrift in the laft judgment will manifeft him-felf in the glory of his Father, fo in each of the three foregoing events Chrift glorioufly manifcfts himfelf in judgments upon his enemies, and in grace and favour to his church. As the laft coming of Chrift will be attended with a literal gathering together of the eleiSl from the four winds of heaven, fo were each of the preceding attended with a fpiritual in-gathering. As this gathering together of the ele6l will be eft'evSted by the angels with a great found of a trumpet, [Matt. xxiv. 31.] fo are each of the preceding by the trumpet of the gofpel, founded by the minifters of Chrift : as there ftiall precede the laft appearance of Chrift, a time of great degeneracy and wickednefs, fo this has been, or will be, the cafe with each of the other appearances. Before each of them is a time of great oppofition to the church : before the firft, by the Jews ; before the fecond, by the heathen ; before the third, by antichrift ; and before the laft, by Gog and Magog, as defcribed in the Revelation.

By each of thefe comings of Chrift, God works a glorious deliverance for his church ; each of them is accompanied with, a glorious advancement of the ftate of it.—The firft, which ended in the deftru6fion of Jeru-falem, was attended with bringing the church into the glorious ftatc of the gofpel ; the fecond, in Conftantine's time, with an advancement of the church into a ftate of liberty from perfecution, and the countenance of civil authority, and triumph over their heathen perfecutors. The third, which ftiall be at the downfall of antichrift, will be accompanied with an advancement of the church into that ftate of the glorious prevalence of truth, liberty, peace, and joy, that we fo oiten read ot in the prophetical parts of fcripture ; tlie laft will be attended with the advancement of the church to confummate glory in heaven.—Each of thefe is accompanied with a teniblc de-ftrudtion of the wicked, and the enemies of the church •

the

INTRODUCTION TO PERIOD III. 369

the firft, with die terrible deftrudlion of the perfecuting Jews; the fccond, with dreadful judgments on the heathen; the third, with the awful dcftrudlion of antichrilt, the moft cruel and bitter enemy that ever the church had ; the fourth, with divine wrath and vengeance on all the ungodly.—Fartlier, there is in each of thefe appearances of Chrift an ending of the old heavens and the old earth, and a beginning of new heavens and a new earth; or an end of a temporal flate of things, and a beginning of an eternal one.

(3.) I would obferve, that each of thofe four great difpenfations which are reprefented as Chrift's coming in his kingdom, are but fo many fteps and degrees of the accomplilhment of one event. They are not the fetting up of fo many diftin(5l kingdoms of Chrift; they are all of them only feveral degrees of the accomplifhment of one event. [Dan. vii, 13, 14.] ' And I faw in the night

* vifions, and behold, one like the Son of man, came

* with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of ' days, and they brought him near before him. And

* there was given him dominion, and glory, and a king-

* dom, that all people, nations, and languages, Ihould

* ferve him: his dominion is an everlafting dominion,

* and his kingdom that which fhall not be deftroyed.' This is what the Jews expe6ted, and called * the coming

* of the kingdom of heaven ;' and what John the Bap-tift and Chrift had refpedl to, when they faid, ' The king-' dom of lieaven is at hand.'

(4.) I would obferve, that as there are feveral fteps ol the accomplilhment of the kingdom of Chrift, fo in each one of them the event is accompliihed in a farther degree than in the foregoing. That in the time of Con-ftantine was a greater and farther acoompli/hment of the kingdom of Chrift, than that which ended in the deftruc-tion of Jerufalem ; that which ftiall be at the fall of an-tichrift, will be a ftill farther accomplifliment of the fame thing, and fo on with regard to each ; fo that the kingdom of Chrift is gradually prevailing and growing by q B thefe

370 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

thefe feveral great fteps of its fulfilment, from the time of Chrift's refurre61:ion to the end of the world.

And becaufe thefe four great events are but images one of another, and the three former but types of the laft, and fince they are all only feveral fteps of the accomplilh-ment of the fame thing ; hence we find them all from time to time prophefied of under one, as they are in the prophecies of Daniel, and likewife in the xxivth. chapter of Matthew, where fome things feem more applicable to one of them, and others to another.

(5.) And laftly. It m.ay be obferved, that the providences of God between thefe four great events are to make way for the kingdom and glory of Chrift in the great event following. Thofe difpenfations of providence which were towards the church of God and the world, before the del"i:ru6lion of the heathen empire in the time of Conftantine, feem all to have been to make way for the glory of Chrift, and the happinefs of the church in that event. And fo the gracious providences of God fmce that, till the deftruclion of antichrift, and the beginning of the gloriovis times of the church which follow, feem all to be to prepare the way for the greater glory of Chrift and his church in that event ; and the providences of God which fhall be after that to the end of the world, feem to be for the greater rhanifeftation of Chrift's glory at the end of the world, and in the con-iummation of all things.

I thought it needful to obferve thofe things in general concerning this laft period of the feries of God's providence, before I take notice of the particular providences by which the work of redemption is carried on through this period ; and before I proceed, I will alio briefly anfwer to an inquiry, viz. Why the fetting up of I Chrift's kingdom after his humiliation ihould be fo gra-I dual, by fo many fteps, and fo long in accomplilhing, \ fmce God could eafily have hniflted it at once ? Though ' it would be prelumption in us tq pretend to declare all the ends of God in this, yet doubtlefs much of the wif-

doin

INTRODUCTION TO PERIOD III. 371

dom of God may be feen in it by us; and particularly in thcfc two things:

[i.] In this refpecl God's wifdom is more villble: if it had been done at once, or in a very ihort time, there would not have been fuch oppo rtunit ies to perceive and obferve it, as when the work is gradually accomplilhed, and one effe6l of his wifdom is held forth to obfervation after another. It is wifely determined of God, to accompli fh this great defign by a wonderful and long feries of events, that the glory of his wifdom may be difplayed in the whole feries; and that the glory of his perfe6lions may be feen, appearing, as it were, by parts, and in particular fucceffive manifeftations ; for if all that glory which appears in all thefe events had been manifefled at once, it would have been too much for us, and more than we at once could take notice of; it would have dazzled our eyes and overpowered our fight.

[2.] Satan is more glorioufly triumphed over. God could eafily, by an a£t of almighty power, at once have cruflied Satan. But by giving him time to ufe his ut-moft fublilty to hinder the fuccefs of what Chrift had done and fullered, he is not defeated merely by furprife, but has large opportunity to ufe his utnioft power and fubtilty again and again, to ftrengthen his own interefl: all that he can by the work of many ages. Thus God de-llroys and confounds him, and fets up Chrift's kingdom time after time, in fpite of all his fubtle machinations and great works, and by every flap advances it ftill higher and higher, till at length it is fully fet up, and Satan per-fe(*Hy and eternally vanquished.

I now proceed to take notice of the particular events, whereby, from the end of Chrifl's humiliation to the end of the world, the fuccefs of Chrift's purchafe has been or ihall be accompliflied.

372 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

'■{ a § I. Those things whereby Christ was capacitated FOR THIS WORK.

I WOULD take notice, firft, of thofe things by which Chrift was put into a capacity for accomplifhing the end of his purchafe. And they are two things, viz. his refurreftion and his ajcenjion. As we obferved before, the incarnation of Chrift was neceffary in order to Chrift's being in a capacity for the purchafe of redemption, fo the refurredtion and afcenfion of Chrift were requifite in order to his accompli(hing the fuccefs of his purchafe.

I. His refurre^ion. It was neceflary in order to Chrift's obtaining the end and efFe6l of his purchafe of redemption, that he lliould rife from the dead. For God the Father had committed the whole affair of redemption, not only the purchafmg of it, but the beftowment of the blef-fings purchafed, to his Son, that he Ihould not only purchafe it as pricft, but a6lually accomplifti it as king of Zion; and in his complex perfon as God-man. For the Father would have nothing to do with fallen man in a way of mercy but by a mediator. But in order that Chrift might carry on the work of redemption, and accomplilh thus the fuccefs of his own purchafe, it was necef-fary that he fhould be alive, and fo that he {liould rife from the dead. Therefore Chrift, after he had finiihed this purchafe by death, (b) and by continuing for a time

under

(b) Chrifl Jin'i/hed his purchafe by his death.~\ Our author properly omits the defcent of Chrift to hell, and his fappofed work there. But it maybe faid, Do not both the Old and New Tefta-ment, [Pfalm xvi. lo.—Afts ii. 31.J (as well as the apoftle's creed) intimate that Chrift defcended into hell, in thofe well-known v/ords, * Thou wilt not leave my foul in hell?'—We an-fwer, that this is explained (as is the manner of the Hcb. poetr}') in the following words, ' Neither wilt thou fuff"er thine Holy one ' to fee corruption ;' fo the fame words are ufed, [Pfalm Ixxxix. 48.] * What man is he that liveth, and (hall not fee death ? Shall ' he deliver his foul from, the hand of the grave?'—In the Heb. [^INty] the word commonly rendered Hell, but which, indeed, properly fignifies * the invifible Hate,* (as our word ^f//originally

did)

under the power of death, rifcs from the dead, to fulfill the end of his purchafc, and himfelf to bring about that for which he died: for this matter God the Father had committed unto him, that he might, as Lord of all, manage all to his own purpofes: [Rom. xiv. 9.] * For to

• this end Chrift both died, and role, and revived, that he ' might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.*

Lidced, both Chrift's refurreftion and his afcenfion, were part of the fuccefs of what he did and fuffered in his Immiliation. For though Chrift did not properly pur-chafe redemption for himfclf, yet he purchafed eternal life and glory for himfelf, (as man and Mediator) and ihefe were given him as a reward of what he did and fuffered. [Phil. ii. 8, 9.] ' He humbled himfelf, and be--' came obedient unto death, even the death of the crofs: ' wherefore hath God highly exalted him.' And it may be looked upon as part of the fuccefs of Chrift's purchafe, if it be confidered, that he did not rife as a private perfon, but as the head of his eledl church ; fo that they did, as it were, all rife with him. Chrift was juftified in his refurr redlion, i. e. God acquitted and difcharged him hereby, as having done and fuffered enough for the fnis of all the eleft. [Rom. iv. 2c.] ' Who was delivered for our offences, and railed again for our juftification.' And God put him in poffeffiori of eternal life, as the head of the chuich, as a fure earnefi that they Ihould follow. Fcr when Chrift rofe from the dead, it was the beginning of eternal life in him. His life before his death was a mortal life, a temporal life ; but his life after his refurreftion was an eternal life. [Rom. vi. 9.] ' Knowing that Chrift ' being raifed from the dead, dietii no more ; death hatri ' no more dominion over him.' [Rev. i. 18.] ' I am he that

* liveth and was dead ; and behold I am alive for ever-

more,

did) and the other word [il'Dj] fignifies not always the immortal foul, but the animal frame in general, either living or dead. As to the creed, Bp. Pearfon has (hewn, that this article was lirft in-fertcd to cxprefs the burial of Chrift, although afterwards, when that claufe was added, this was explained of his foul. [See Bp. Pearfon on the Creed, and Faiilke on ihc Rhemifli Teftament, chap, vii.] [G. E.J

374 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION. "

* more, Amen.'—But he was put in poffeffion of this eternal life, as the head of the body ; and took pofleflion of it, not only to enjoy it himfelf, but beftow the fame on nil who believe in him ; fo that the whole church, as it were, rifcs in him.

The refurredion of Chrift is the moft joyful event that ever came to pafs; becaufe hereby Chrift refted from the great and difficult work of purchafmg redemption, and received God's tcftimony, that it was finiflied. (c) The death of Chrift was full of pain and forrow; by liis refurreilion that forrow is turned into joy. The head of the church, in that great event, enters on the poffeffion of eternal life ; and the whole church is, as it were,

* begotten again to a lively hope.' [i Pet. i. 3.] Weeping had continued for a night, but now joy cometh in the morning, the moft joyful morning that ever was. This is the day of the reigning of the head of the church, and all the church reigns with him. This is fpoken of as a day which was wortliy to be commemorated with the greateft joy of all days. [Pfal. cxviii. 24.] ' This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will re-

' joicc

(c) Chrtjl^s Refurredlon joyful.] " Was ever joy more rational? Was ever triumph more glorious? The triumphant en-tries of conquerors, tiie fongs that rend the air in praife of their vlftories, the pyramids on which their exploits are tranfmitted to pollerity, when they have fubdued an enemy, routed an army, humbled the pride, and reprefled the rage of a foe ; ought not all thefe to yield to the joys that are occalioned by the event which we cclebiate to-day? Ought not all thefe to yield to the viftoi-Ies of our incomparable Lord, and to his people's exprefTion of praife ? One part of the gratitude which is due to beneficial events, is to know their value, and to be affefted with the benefits they procure. Let us celebrate the praife of the author of our redemption, my brethren ; let us call heaven and earth to witnefs our gratitude. Let an increafe of zeal accompany this part of our engagements. Let a double portion of fire from heaven kindle our facrifices, and, with a heart penetrated with the liveliell gratitude and with the moft ardent love, let each Chriftian exclaim, * Blefled be the God and Father of my Lord

* Jefus Chrift, wlio, according to his abundant mercy, hath be-

* gotten* me again to a lively hope by the reftirreBlon of Jefus

* Chrift from the dead." [Saurin's Sermons, vol. ii. Ser. 8.j

CHRIST CAPACITATED FOR HIS WORK. 37^

' joice and be glad in it.' And, therefore, this is appointed for the day of the church's fpiritual rejoicing to the end of the world, to be weekly fan6tiiied, as their day of holy reft and joy, that the church therein may reft and rejoice with her head. And as the iiid. chap, of Genefis is the moft forrowful chapter in the Bible, fo thofe chapters in the evangelifts that give an account of the refurre6lion of Chrift, may be looked upon as the moft joyful ; for they give an account of the tinifhing of the purchafe of redemption, and the beginning of the glory of the head of the church, as a feal and earneft of the eternal glory of all the members.

It is farther to be obferved, that the day of the gofpel jnoft properly begins with the refurrecSlion of Chrift.— Till Chrift arofe from the dead, the Old Teftament difpen-fation remained: but now it ceafes, all being fulfilled that was fhadowed forth in the typical ordinances of that dif-penfation: fo that here moft properly is the end of the Old Teftament night, and Chrift riling from the grave with joy and glory, as the joyful bridegroom of the church, as a glorious conqueror to fubduc their enemies under their feet, was like the fun rifing as it were from under the earth, after a long night of darknefs, and cominp- forth as a bridegroom, prepared as a ftrong man to run his race, appearing in joyful light to enlighten the world. [Pfal. xix.] Now that glorious difpenfation begins, which the prophets fo long foretold, now the gofpel fun is rifen in glory, ' and with healing in his wings, that thofe who fear ' God's name may go forth, and grow up as calves of ' the ftalL' [Mai. iv. 2.]

2. Chrift's afccnjion into heaven. In tliis I would include his fitting at the right hand of God. For Chrift's afccnlion, and fitting at the right hand of God, can fcarce-ly be looked upon as two diftin6l things: for his afcenfiou was nothing clfe but afcending to God's right hand ; it was his coming to fit down at his Father's right hand in glory. This was another thing whereby Chrift was put into a capacity for ilic accompliihing the efted of his purchafe ; ■ as ^ne 'that comes to, deliver a people as their king,

in order to it, and that he might be under the beft capacity for it, is tirft enthroned. We are told, that Chrift was exalted for this end, that he might accomplifh the fuccefs of his redemption. [Acls v. 31,] ' Him hath God ' exalted with his right hand, for to give repentance unto * Ifrael, and the remifTion of fins.*

Chrifl's afcenfion into heaven was, as it were, his folemn coronation, whereby the Father did fet him upon die throne, and inveft him with the glory of his kingdom which he had purchafed for himfelf, that he might thereby obtain the fuccefs of his redemption in conquering all his enemies: [Pfal. ex. i.] 'Sit thou at my right hand, ' until I make thine enemies thy footftooL' Chrift entered into heaven, in order to obtain the fuccefs of his pur-chafe, as the high prieft of old, after he had offered facri-fice, entered into the holy of holies with the blood of the facrifice, in order to obtain the fuccefs of the facrifice which he had offered, [See Heb. ix 12.] He entered into heaven, there to make interceffion for his people, to plead the facrifice which he had made in order to the fuccefs of it. [Heb. vii. ■25.]—And as he afcended into heaven, God the Father did in a vifible manner fet him on the throne as king of the univerfe. He then put the angels all under him, and fubjedled heaven and earth under him, that he might govern them for the good of the people for whom he had died. [Eph i. 20—22.]—And as Chrift: rofe from the dead, fo he afcended into heaven as the head oi^ the body and forerunner of all the church ; and fo they, as It were, afcend with him, as well as rife with him; fo that we are both raifed up together, and made to fit together in heavenly places in Chrift. [Eph. ii. 6 ]

The day of Chrift's afcenfion into heaven was doubtlcfs a joytul glorious day in heaven ; and as heaven received Chrift, God-man, as its king, fo doubtlefs it received a great acceftlon of glory and happinefs, far beyond what it had before: fo that the times in both parts of the church, both that part wliich is in heaven, and alfo that which is on earth, are become more glorious fince Chrift's humiliation

liation than before.—So much for thofe things whereby Chrift was put into the beft capacity for obtaining the fuc-cefs of redemption.

§ II. Dispensations of Providence by which

THIS SUCCESS WAS ESTABLISHED.

:I WOULD confider thofe difpenfations of Providence, by which the means of this fuccefs were eftabliflied after Chrifl's refurreclion. And thefe were,

^^h. The abolifhing of the Jewifli difpenfation. This indeed was gradually done, but it began from the time of Chrift's refurrecVion, in which the abolition of it is founded. This was the tirft thing done towards bringing the former ftate of the world to an end. This is to be looked upon as the great means of the fuccefs of Chrift's redemp--tion. For the Jew'ijli difpenfation was not fitted for more than that one nation ; nor would it have been in any wife pradticable by them in all parts of the world to go to je-rufalem three times a year, as was prefcribed in that con-ftitution. When therefore God had a defign of enlareinc his church, as he did after Chrift's refurredlion, it was neceflary that this difpenfation ihould be aboliftied. If it had been continued, it would have been a great hindrance to the enlargement of the church. And beftdes, their ceremonial law, by reafon of its burdenfomenefs, and the great peculiarity of fome of its rites, was as it were a wall of partition, and was the ground of enmity between the Jews and Gentiles, and would have kept the Gentiles from complying with the true religion. This wall therefore was broken down to make way for the more extenfive fuccefs of the gofpel. [Eph. ii. 14, 15.]

'2. The next thing in order of time feems to be the appointment of the Chriftian fabbath. For though this was gradually eftabliihed in the Chriftian church, yet thofe things by which the revelation of God's mind and will was made, began on the day of Chrift's refurredlion, by his appearing then to his difciplcs, [John xx. 19.] and was iitterwards confirmed by his appearing from time to time

3 C on

378 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

on that day rather than any other, [John xx. 26.] and by his fending down the Holy Spirit fo remarkably on that day, [A6^s ii. i.] and afterwards in directing that public afiemblies and the public worlhip of Chriflians fliould be on that day, which may be concluded from A6ts xx. 7. I Cor. xvi. 1,2. and Rev. i. 10. And fo the day of the week on which Chrift rofe from the dead, that joyful day, is appointed to be the day of the church's holy rejoicing to the end of the world, and the day of their fbatcd public worfliip. (d) And this is a very great and principal means of the faccefs which the gofpel has had in the world.

3. The next tiling was Chrift's appointment of the gofpel miniflry, and commiffioning and fending forth his apoftles to teach and baptize all nations, [Matt, xxviii. 19, 20.] ' Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptiz-' ing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and ' of the Floly Ghoft ; teaching them to obferve all things * whatfoever I have commanded you : and lo, I am with ' you alway, even unto the end of the world.'—There were three things done by this one inftruclion and com-miffion of Chrift to his apcfiles, viz.

(i.) The appointment of the ofhce of the gofpel mi-niftry. For this commiffion which Chrift gives to his apoftles, in the moft effential parts of it, belongs to all minifters; and the apoftles, by virtue of it, were minif-ters or elders of the univerfal church.

(2.) Here is fomething peculiar in this commiffion of the apoftles, viz. to go torth from one nation to another,

preaching

(d) Chri/l chafiged the sa'BB at H.I " If the day on vi^hich he rofe from the dead, be the day which is called the Lord's ; if on the fird day of the week the primitive Chrillians, even in the apoftolic times, did afiemble for religious purpofes; did hear the word; did celebiatc the fupper; did lay by them in ftore, a.^ God had profpered them ; fhall we not conclude, that it is the will of God that nov,- the feventh day -{hall give place unto the firft ? Hcieby is intimated to you, Chrilijaiis, that ye are not firft to work, and then to rell, as under the ancient covenant of works, but that, in the order of the new covenant, your privilege precedes your duty, and your labour follows after your reft." [M'Ev/en's Eflays, vol. i. p. 295.]

preaching the gofpel in all the world. The apoftles had fomething above what belonged to their ordinary chara6lcr as miniftcrs ; they had an extraordinary power in teaching and ruling, which extended to all the churches in the end of the world. And (o the apoftles were, in fubordination to Chrift, made foundations of the Chriftian church. [Sec l^ph. ii. 20. and Rev. xxi. 14.]

(3.) Here is an appointment of Chriftian baptifm. Tiiis ordinance indeed had a beginning before : John the BaptiO: and Chrift both baptized. But now efpecially by this in-flitution it is eftabliilicd as an ordinance to be upheld in the Chriftian church to the end of the world.—The ordinance of the Lord's fupper was eftabliflied juft before Chrift's A:rucifixion.

4. The next thing to be obferved, is the enduing tlie apoftles, and others, with the extraordinary and miiacu lous gifts of the Holy Ghoft ; fuch as the gift of tongues, the gift of healing, of prophecy, &:c. The Spirit of God was poured out in great abundance in this refpedl : fo that not only minifters, but a great number of Chriftians through the world, were endued with them, both old and young ; not only officers, and more honourable perfons, but the meaner fort of people, fervants and handmaids, agreeable to, Joel's prophecy, [ch. ii. 28, 29.] of which the apoftle Peter takes notice, that it is accompliflicd in this difpen-fation. [A6ts ii. 11.] ^

How wonderful a difpenfation was this ! Under the Old Teftament, but lew had fuch honours put upon them by God. Mofes wiihed that all the Lord's people were pro-})hets, [Numb. xi. 27—29.] whereas Joftiua thought ii much that Eldad and Medad prophefied: but now we find the wiih of Mofcs fulfilled. And this continued in a very confiderable degree to the end of the apoftolic age, or the firft hundred years after the birth of Chrift, which is therefore called the age of miracles.

This was a great means of the fuccefs of the gofpel in that age, and of eftabliftiing the Chriftian cliurch in all parts of the world ; and not only in that age, but in all

3 C 2 age:

3«o HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

ages to the end of the world: (e) for Chrlflianity being by this means eflablUhed through fo great a part of the known world by miracles, it was after that more eafily continued by tradition ; and then, by means of thefe extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghoft, the apoftles, and others, were enabled to write the New Teftament, to be an in- -fallible rule of faith and manners to the church to the end of the world. Furthermore, thefe miracles ftand recorded in thofe writings as a {landing proof and evidence of the truth of the Chriftian religion to all ages.

c. The next thing T would obferve is the revealing thofe crlorious do^lrines of the gofpel more fully and plainly, which had under the Old Teflament been obfcurely revealed. The do6lrine of Chrift's fatisfaftion and righte-oufnefs, his afcenfion and glory, and the way of falvation, under the Old Teftanient, were in a great meafure hid under the vail of types and ihadows, and more obfcure revelations, as Mofes put a vail on his face to hide the Ihining of it: but now the vail of the temple is rent from llie top to the bottom ; and Chrift, the antitype of Mofes, ihines ; the fliining of his face is without a v?.il ; [2 Cor. iii. 12, 13, and 18.] Now thefe glorious myfteries are plainly revealed, which were in a great meafure kept fecret

from

(e) Chr'ijl'innity eJIaUiJIoedhy MIRACLES.] " Imagine thefe venerable men addrcfiing their adverfaries on the day of the Chriftian pentccoft in this langnage, ' Ye refufe to believe us on ovn- depo-

* litions ; five hundred of us ye think are enthufialls ; . . . . orper-' haps ye think us impoftors, or take us for madmen But

* bring out your fick ; prefent your demoniacs ; fetch hither your

* dead Let all nations fend us fome of their inhabitants ;

* we v,ill reftore hearing to the deaf, and fight to the blind ; we „

* will make the lame walk ; we will caft out devils, and raife the J ' dead. We, we publicans, we illiterate men, we tent-makers.

* we fifhermen, we vrill difcourfe with all the people of the world

* in their own languages. We will explain prophecies,

* develop the mod fublime myfteries, teach you notions of God, ' precepts for the conduft of life, plans ^of morality and religion,

* more cxtenfive, more fublime, and more advantageous, than

* thofe of your prlefts and philofophers, yea, than thofe of Mofes

* himftlf. We will do more ftill; we will communicate thofe gifts

* to you." [Saurin's Sermons, vol. ii. Sei. S.]

from the foundation of the world. [Eph. iii. 3—5. Rom. xvi.25.] ' According to the revelations of the myftery

* which was kept fecrct fmce the world began, but is now ' made manifell:.' [Col. i. 26.] ' Even the myftery which ' hath been hid from ages, and generations, but now is ' made manifefl: to his faints.'

Thus the Sun of righteoufnefs, after it is rifcn from under the earth, begins to fhine forth clearly, and not only by a dim reflc6lion as it did before. Chrill: before his death revealed many things more clearly than ever they had been difcovered in the Old Teftament; but the great myfteries of Chrift's redemption, reconciliation by his death, and juftitication by his righteoufnefs, were not fo plainly revealed before Chrifl's refurre6lion. Chrift gave this reafon for it, that he would not put new wine into old bottles : and it was gradually done after his rc-furre6tion. In all likelihood, Chrift much more clearly inftrudVed them jierfonally after his refurre6lion, and before his afcenfion; as we read that he continued with them forty days, fpeaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom, [A(Sls i. 3.] and that ' he opened their undcrftand-' ing, that they might underftand the fcripturcs.' [Luke xxiv. 45.] But the clear revelation of thefe things was principally after the pouring out of the Spirit on the day of Pentecoft, agreeable to Chrift's promife. [John xvi. 12, 13.] ' I have yet many things to lay unto you, but ye

* cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when the Spirit of

* truth is come, he fhall guide you into all truth.' This clear revelation of the myfteries of the gofpcl, as they are delivered, we have chiefly through the hands of the apof-tle Paul, by whofe writings a child may come to know more of the do6lrines of the gofpel, in many refpe6ls, than the grcateft prophets knew under the darknefs of the Old Teftament.—Thus you fee how the ligiu of the gofpel, which began to dawn immediately after the fall, and gradually grew and increafed through all the ages of the Old Teftament, is now come to the light of perfe6l day, and the hrightncfs of the fun Ihining forth in his unvailed glory.

6. The

382 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

6. The next thing that I would obferve, is the appointment of the office of deacons in the Chrifdan church, which we have an account of in the vith chap, of the A6ls, to take care for the outward fupply of the members of Chrill's church ; and the exercife of that great chriftian virtue, charity, (f)

7. The calling, qualifying, and fending the apoflle Taul. This was begun in his converfion as he was going to Da-mafcus, and was one of the greatelT: means of the fuccefs of Chrift's redemption that followed ; for this fuccefs was more by the labours, preaching, and writings of this apof-tle, than all the others put together. For, as he fays, [ i Cor. XV. 10.] he ' laboured more abundantly than they * all;' fo alfo his fuccefs was more abundant. As he was the apoftle of the Gentiles, fo it was principally by his miniftry that the Gentiles were called, and the gofpel fpread throughout the world ; and the nations of Europe have the gofpel among them chiefly through his means ; and he was more employed by the Holy Ghoft in revealing

its

(f) Deacons appointed.'] " It is generally allowed by inquirers into thefe fubjedts, that in the primitive church there were deaconejfes, i. e. pious women, whofe particular bufinefs it uas to aflill in the entertainment and care of the itinerant preachers ; vifit the fick and imprifoned, inilruft female catechumens, and affill at their baptifm ; then more particularly neceflary from the peculiar cuftoms of thofe countries, the perfecuted Itate of the church, and the fpcedier fpreading of the gofpel.—Such a one it is reafonable to think Phehe was, [mentioned Rom. xvi. i.] who is exprefsly called a deaconefs, or ftated fervant, as Dr. Doddridge renders it.—They were ufually 'w'ldoivs, and to prevent fcandal, generally in years, [i Tim. v. 9. See alfo Span-hem. Hift. Chrift Secul. i. p. 554.] The apoftolic conftitutions (as they are called) mention the ordination of a deaconefs, and the form of prayer ufed on that occafion ; [lib. viii. ch. 19, 20. J Pliny alfo, in his celebrated epiflle [xcvii.] to Trajan, is thought to refer to them, when fpcaking of two female Chrillians, wlioni he put to the torture, he fays, qua m'in\jJra dlcehnntur, i. e. who were called deaconefTes.—But as the primitive Clirilh'ans feem to be led to this practice from the pecuharity of their circumttanccs, and the fcripture is entirely fdent as to any appointment to this fuppofed office, or any rules about it, it is, I think, very jnftly laid afide, at Icall as an office." [D. Turner's Social Religion, p. 8>-, 86.]

Its glorious dodlrines in liis writings, for the ufe of the church in all ages, than all the other apoftlcs.

8. The next thing I would obferve, is the inftltution of ecclcfiaftical councils, for deciding controvcrfies, and ordcr-incr the affairs of the church of Chrift, of which we have an account in the xvth chap, of the A61:s. (g)

9. The laft thing I fliall mention under this head, is the committing the New Tellament to writing. This was all written after the refurre6lion of Chrift ; and all written, either by the apoftles, or by the evangelifts Maik and Luke, who were companions of the apoftles. The gofpel of Mark is fuppofed to be written by that Mark whofe mother was Mary, in whofe houfe they were praying for Peter, when he, (brought out of prifon by the angel,) came and knocked at the door; [A61:s xii, 12.} * And when he had confidercd the thing, he came to the

' houfe

(g) The origin of COUNCILS.] Wlio can help admiring the primitive inftitution of councils, and at the fame time deploring the abufc of them in after ages ? While they were affemblies of excellent and apoftolical men, who met to confult and advife with one another on the common interells of Chriftianity, we venerate and efteem them ; but when they degenerated to be tools of ftatc, and were compofed of men heated by a fpirit of party, and v.-arped by fecular interefts, who fliowed their piety only in afpiring to feats of temporal power, and their zeal in excommunicating and perfccuting each other;— then they became objects only of pity and contempt. Yet (fuch is the courfe of human affairs) as they funk in value, they rofc in authority, and when they grew carnal and vicious, were judged infallible and divine ! It would be tedious to enumerate the multitude of councils which affembled as fuoH as the hand of perfecution permitted ; and to point out their contradiiSlions and abfurdities would feem a fatire on the Chriftian faith. " But the four firll general councils are received by all^ Proteftants, &c. Received, how ? Not by any in their wits, as the rule of faith, or part of it. They have in them fomc things true, fome things probable only, and no quellion, fome things falfe ; and whether they be true or fairc,(in points of faith, I mean) fciipture mull determine. Well, this Is the Chriftian'?, the Pro-tellant's rule of faith ! . . . . It was departing from this rule, and fetting up an exorbitant power in the church, and the pallors of it, .... that led on the great apoitafy, and helped up antlchrift: to his throne." [Bennet's Mem. of the Reform, p. 8.]

S84 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

* houfe of the mother of John, whofe firname was Mark,

* where many were gathered together praying.' He was the companion of tlie apoftles Barnabas and Saul. [A6ls XV. 3'7.] ' And Barnabas determined to take with them ' John, wliofe firname was Mark.'' He was Barnabas's fifter's fon, and feems fometime to have been a companion cf the apoflle Paul. [Col. iv. lo.] ' Ariftarchus, ' my fellow prifoner, faluteth you, and Alnrcus, fifter's fon

* to Barnabas ; touching whom ye received commandment:

* if he come unto you leceive him.' The apoftles feem to have "made great account of him, as appears by thofc places, and alfo by A6ls xii. 25. ' And Barnabas and Saul ' returned from Jerufalem, and took with them John, ' whofe firname was Mark;'' and [A6ls xii. 5.] ' When ' they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in

* the fynagogues of the Jews ; and they had alfo John to

* their minifter;' again [Tim. iv. 11.] ' Only Luke is

* with me : i^k& Mark and bring him with thee; for he is < profitable to me for the miniftry.

Luke, who wrote the gofpel of Luke and the book of A£ts, was a companion of the apoftle Paul. He is fpo-ken of as being with him in the laft-mentioned place, and fpeaks of himfclf as accompanying him in his travels in the hiftory of the Acls \ and therefore he fpeaks in the firft perfcn plural, PFe went to fuch and fuch a place. He was greatly beloved by the apoftle Paul: he is that beloved phyfician fpoken of. Col. iv. 14. The apoftle ranks Mark and Luke among his fellow labourers. [Philemon, 24.] ' Marcus, Ariftarchus, Demas, Lucas, my' fellow ' labourers.'

The reft of the books were all written by the apoftles thcmfelves. The books of the New Teftament are either hiftorical, do6Vrinal, or prophetical. The h'ljior'ical books are the writings of the four evangelifts, giving us the hiftory of Chrift, and his purchafe of redemption, with his refurrcfVion and afccnfion : and the Ads of the Apoftles, giving an account of the great things by which the Chrif-tian church was ftrft eftabliflicd and propagated. The dotlnnal books are the epiftles. Thefe, moft of them,

we

IN THE APOSTOLIC AGE. " 385

we have from the great apoftle Paul. And we have one prophetical book, which takes place after the end of the hiftory of the whole Bible, and gives an account of the great events by which the work of redemption was to be carried on to the end of the world

All thefe books are fuppofed to have been written before the deftrudlion of Jerufalem, excepting thofe of John, who lived the longeft of all the apoftles, and wrote, as is fuppofed after the deftru6tion of Jerufalem. And to this beloved difciple it was that Chrift revealed thofe wonderful things which were to come to pafs in his church to the end of time ; and he put the tinirtiing hand to the canon of the fcriptures, and fealed the whole of it. So that now that great and (landing written rule, which was begun about Mofes's time, was completed and fettled, and a curfe denounced againft him that adds any tiling to it, or diminiflies any thing from it. All the flated means of grace were hniflied in the apoftolical age, and are to remain unaltered to the day of judgment, (h) —Thus far we have confidered , thofe things by which the means of grace were given and eflabliflied in the Chriftian church.

§ III. The

(h) The New Testament wnV/t^^.] It may not be unacceptable to our readers toprefent them with the following fcheme, from the bcil authorities, of the order in which the New Telta-ment was written, with the authors and dates of each book. The Gospels —according to Dr. Owen. St. Matthew's, — at Jerufalem, about A. D. 38.

St. Luke's, — at Corinth, 53.

St. Mark's, — at Rome, 67^.

St. John's, — at Ephefus, 69.

The Acts.

By St. Luke, — at Rome or Alexandria, 6^.

St. Paul's Epistles —according to Dr. Lardner.

I. Theflalonians, at Corinth, 52.

II. Theflalonians, Ditto, 52.

Galatians, — at Corinth, 52.

I. Corinthians, — at Ephefus, ^6.

I. Timothy, — at Macedonia, c6.

Titus, — Ditto, ^6.

II. Corinthians, — Ditto, 57.

Romans, — at Corinth, ^2.

5^6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

§ III. The success of Christ's redemption during THE SUFFERING STATE OF THE CHURCH.

W E now come to confider the fuccefs of ChriiVs redemption during the church's fuffering perfecuted ftate, from the refurreftion of Chrift to the fall of antichrift. This fpace of time, for the moft part, is a ftate of the church's fufferings, and is fo reprefented in fcripture. Indeed God is pleafed, out of love and pity to his elecl, to grant many intermiffions during this time, whereby the days of tribulation are as it were fhortened. But from Chrift's refurre6tion till the fall of antichrift, is the appointed day of Zion's troubles. For the lirft three hun-tlred years after Chrift, the church was for the moft part in a ftate of great affliflion, the obje6l of reproach and perfecution ; firft by the Jews, and then by the heathen. After this, from the beginning of Conftantine's time, the church had reft and profpcrity for a little while ; which is feprefented [Rev. vii. I.] by the angel's holding the four winds for a little while. But prefently after, the church again fufFered perfecution from the Arians; then antichrift rofc, and the church was driven away into the wilderncfs, and was kept down in obfcuriiy, and contempt, and fuffering, for a long time, before the reformation by Luther

and

Ephefians, — at Rome, about A. D. 6i.

IL Timothy, — Ditto, 6i.

Philippians, — Ditto, 62.

Coloffians, — Ditto, 62.

Philemon, — Ditto, 62.

Hebrews, — at Rome or in Italy, 63.

General Epistles —according to, Lardner. St. James, — at Judea, 61 or 62.

I. Peter, — at Rome, 64.

II. Peter, — Ditto, 64.

Jude, — Unknown, 64 or 65.

I. II. and III. John, at Ephefus, between 80 8c 90,

Revelation. By St. John, — at Patmos or'Ephefus, 95 or 96.

[See Dr. Otvenh Obferv. on the Gofpel'sj and Lardner^s Credibility, vol. i. & fup.J

and others. And fince the reformation, the church's per-fccutions have been, in fome refpe6ls, beyond all that ever were before. And though fome parts of God's church have had rell:, yet to this day, for the n^ofl: part, the true church is very much kept under by its enemies, and fo \vc may expe6l it will continue till the fall of antichrift; and then will come the appointed day of the church's profpe-rity on earth, the fet time in which God will favour Zion, the time when the faints lliall not be kept under by wicked men, as hitherto ; but wherein they {hall be uppermoft, and fliall reign on earth, as it is faid, [Dan. vii. 27.] ' And ' the kingdom fhall be given to the people of the faints of

* the mod High.'

This fuffering ftate is in fcripture [Rev. xii. i, 2.] rcprefented as a time of the church's travail, to bring forth that glory and profperity of the church which fliall be after the fall of antichrift. This is a long time though it be fpoken of as being but for a little feafon, in com-parifon of the eternal profperity of the church. Hence the church, under the long continuance of this affli6lion, cries out, [Rev. vi. 10.] ' How long, O Lord, holy and ' true, dofi: thou not judge and avenge our blood on them ' that dwell on the eartii ?' And we are told, that ' white < robes were given unto every one of them ; and it was ' faid unto them, that they ihould reft yet for a little fea-

* fon, until their fellow fervants alfo, and their brethren,

* that fhould be killed as they were, fliould be fulfilled.' So, Daniel [xii. 6.] ' How long fhall it be to the end of

* thefe. wonders ?'

It is to be obferved, that during tliis time the main In-ftrument of the church's fufFerings has been the Roman government: Rome is therefore, in the New Teftament, [Rev. xvii. 5.] called Babylon ; bccaufc, as of old the troubles of Jerufalem were chiefly from that adverfe city ; fo the troubles of the Chriftian church, the fpiritual Jeru-falem, are principally from Rome. Before the time of Conftantine, the troubles of the Chriftian church were from, heathen Rome ; fince that time, from antichriftian Kome. And as of old, the captivity of the Jews ceafed

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388 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

on the deftrudion of Babylon, fo the time of the trouble of the Chriftian church will ceafe with the deftrudion of the church of Rome, that fpiritual Babylon.

In confidering the fuccefs of Chrift's redemption during this time of the church's tribulation, I would Ihow, I. How it was carried on till the defl:ru6lion of Jerufa-lem,—2. From thence to the deftrudion of the heathen empire in the time of Conftantine,—and, 3. From that time to the deftrudtion of antichrift, with which the days of the church's tribulation and travail end.

I. I would fliow how the fuccefs of Chrift's redemption was carried on from his refurrcction to the deftrudtion of Jerufalem. In fpeaking of this, I fhall, (i.) take notice of the fuccefs itfelf; (2.) the oppofition made againft its enemies; and, (3.) the terrible judgments of God on thofc enemies.

(i.) I would obferve the fuccefs itfelf. Soon after Chrift had hnilhed the purchafe of redemption, and had entered into the holy of holies above with liis own blood, there began a glorious fuccefs of what he had done and fuftered. Having undermined the foundation of Satan's kingdom, it began to fall apace. Swiftly did it haften to ruin ; and Satan might now well be faid to fall,like lightning from heaven. Satan before had exalted his throne very high, even to the ftars of heaven, reigning with great glory in his lieathen Roman empire : but never before had he fuch a downfal as he had foon after Chrift's afceniion. We may fuppofe him to have been very lately triumpb.ing in having brought about the death of Chrift, as the greateft vidory that ever lie had; and poffibly imagined he had gained God's dcfign by him. But he was quickly made fenuble, that he had only been ruining his own kingdom, when he faw it falling fo faft foon after. For Chrift, having afcended, and received the Holy Spirit, poured it forth abundantly for the converfion of tlioufands ?nd millions of fouls.

Never had Chrift's kingdom been fo advanced in the world. There probably were more fouls converted in

the

the a^e of the apoftles than had been before from the be-trinning of the world. Thus God fo foon began glorioufly to accomplilh his promife to his Son, viz. that he fliould

* fee his feed, and that the pleafure of the Lord fliould

* profper in his hand, if he would make his foul an offer-

* ing for fin.' [Ifa. liii. 10.] And,

[i.] Here is to be obferved the fuccefs which the gofpel had among the Jeivs ; for God lirft began with them. He being about to rejeft the main body of that people, firfl: calls in his ele6l from among them. It was fo in former great and dreadful judgments of God on that nation ; the bulk of them were deftroyed, and only a remnant faved, or reformed. In the rejedlion of the ten tribes, the bulk of them were caft off, when they left the true worfhip of God in Jeroboam's time, and afterwards more fully in Ahab's ; but yet God had referred a remnant. Many left their poffeffions in thefe tribes, and went and fettled in thofe of Judah and Benjamin. And afterwards there were feven thoufand in Ahab's time, who had not bowed the knee to Baal. In the captivity into Babylon, only a remnant of them ever returned to their own land. So now far the greater part of the people were rejcdlcd entirely, but fome few were faved. And therefore the Holy Ghoft compares this refervation of a number that were converted by the preaching of the apoftles, to thofe former remnants : [Rom. xi. 27.] ' Efaias

* alfo crieth concerning Ifrael, though the number of the

* children be as the fand of the fea, a remnant fliall be

* faved.' [See Ifa x, 22.]

The glorious fuccefs of the gofpel among the Jews after Chrift's afccnfion, began by the pouring out of the Spirit on the day of Pcntecoft. So wonderful was this pouring out of the Spirit, and fo remarkable and fwift the effe6l of it, that we read of three thoufand who were converted to the Chriftian faith in one day, [A6ts ii. 41.] and probably the greater part of them were favingly converted. We read [ver. 47.] of God's adding to the church daily fuch as Ihould be faved. And foon after, we are told, that the number of them was about five

thoufand.

390 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

thoufand. Not only was there a multitude converted, but the church was then eminent in piety, as appears by A6ls ii. 46, 47. -, iv. 32.

Thus the Chriftian church was firft formed of the nation of Ifrael, and therefore, when the Gentiles were called, they were but, as it were, added to Ifrael, to the feed of Abraham. They were added to the Chriftian church of Ifrael, as the profelytes of old were to the Mo-faic church ; and fo were grafted on the ftock of Abraham, and not a diftindl tree ; for they are all ftill the feed of Abraham and Ifrael; as Ruth the Moabitefs, and Uiiah the Hittite, and other profelytes of old, were the iamc people, and ranked as the feed of Ifrael.

The Chriftian church at firft begun at Jerufalem, and from thence was propagated to all nations ; fo that this church of Jerufalem was as it were the mother of all other churches in the world; agreeable to the prophecy, [Ifa. ii. 3, 4.] ' Out of Zion Ihall go forth the law,

* and the word of the Lord from Jerufalem : and he ' fhalj judge among the nations, and rebuke many people.' So that the whole church is ftill fpiritually God's Jerufalem.

After this, we read of many thoufand of Jews that believed in Jerufalem, [A6ls xxi. 20.] in other cities of Judea, and different parts of the world. For wherever the apoftles went, if they found any Jews, their manner was, firft to go into the fynagogues and preach the gofpel to them, and many in one place and another believed ; as in Damafcus, Antioch, tec.

In this out-pouring of the Spirit begun the firft great difpenfation which is called Chrift's coming in his kingdom. Chrift's coming thus in a fpiritual manner for the glorious ereftion of his kingdom in the world, is repre-fented ns his coming down from heaven, whithei^ he K'dd afcendcd. [John xiv. 18.] 'I will not leave yo" corii-fortlefs; I will come unto you,' fpeaking of his coming by the Comforter, the Spirit of truth. And, [ver. 28.]'

* Ye have heard how I fay unto you, I go away, and

* come again unto you.' And thus the apoftles began to / fee

TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 395

fee the kingdom of heaven come with power, as he had piomifed. [Mark ix. i.]

[2.] After the fuccefs of the gofpel had been fo glo-rioufly begun among the Jews, the fpirit of God was next wonderfully poured out on the Samaritans, who were not Jews by nation, but the pofterity of thofe whom the king of Affyria removed from different parts of his dominions, and fettled in the land that was inhabited by the ten tribes, whom he carried captive. But yet they had received the live books of Mofes and pradlifed moft of the rites of the law, and lo were a iort of mongrel Jews. We do not find them reckoned as Gentiles in the New Tefbament: for the calling of the Gentiles is fpoken of as a new thing after this, beginning with the converfion of Cornelius. But yet it was an intiance of making that a people which were no people : for they had corrupted the religion which Mofes commanded, and did not go up to Jerufalem to worlhip, but had another temple of their own in Mount Gerizzim ; which is the mountain of whicl> the woman of Samaria fpeaks, when ihe fays, [John iv. 20.] ' Our fathers worfhipped in this mountain.' Chrilt there does not approve of their feparation from the Jews, but tells the woman of Samaria, that they worlhipped they knew not what, and that falvation is of the Jews. But now falvation is brought from the Jews to them by the ^preaching of Philip, (excepting that before Chrift had fome fuccefs among them), with whofe preaching there was a glorious efTuiion of the Spirit of God in tlie city of Samaria ; where, we are told, that ' the people believed ' Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of ' Chriil, and were baptized, both men and women ; and ' that there was great joy in that city.' [Adsviii. 8—12.].

Thus Chrift had a glorious harveft in Samaria ; which is what he feems to have rcfped to, in what he faid to his difciples at Jacob's well three or four years before, on occalion of the people of Samaria's appearing at a diftance in the iieldij coming to the place where he was, at the inftigation of the woman of Samaria. On that occafioa he bids his difciples lift up their eyes to the fields, for tlm

thev

392 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

they were white to the harveft. [John iv. 35, 36.] The difpofition which the people of Samaria fhowed towards Chrift and his gofpel, evidenced that they were ripe for the harveft. And now harveft is come by Philip's preaching. There ufed to be a moft bitter enmity between the Jews and Samaritans; but now, by their convcrfion, the Chriftian Jews and Samaritans are all happily united ; for in Chrift Jefus is neither Jew nor Samaritan, but Chrift is all in all. This was a glorious inftance of the wolf's dwelling with the lamb, and the leopard's lying down with the kid. [Ifa, xi. 6.]

[3.] The next thing to be obferved, is the calling of the Gentiles. This was a great and glorious difpenfation much fpoken of in the Old Tcftament, and by the apoftles time after time, as a moft glorious event of Chrift's redemption. This was begun in the converfion of Cornelius and his family, greatly to the admiration of Peter, and of thofe who were with him or were informed of it; [A6ls X. &xi.] And the next inftance of it that we have any account of, was in the converfion of great numbers af Gentiles in Cyprus, and Syrene, and Antioch, by the dif-ciples that were fcattered abroad through the perfccution which arofe about Stephen. [A£ts xi. i^—21.] And pre-fently upon this the difciples began to be called Chriftians firft at Antioch. [ver. 26.]

After this, vaft multitudes of Gentiles were converted in many different parts of the world, chiefly by the mi-niftry of the apoftle Paul, the Spirit wonderfully accompanying his preaching in one place and another. Multitudes flocked into the church of Chrift in a great num-der of cities where the apoftle came. So the number of the members of the Chriftian churclj that were Gentiles, foon far exceeded the number of its Jewifti members ; infomuch that in lefs than ten years time after Paul was fent forth from Antioch to preach to the Gentiles, it was faid of him and his companions, that they had turned the world upfide down. [A6ts xvii. 16.] * Thefe that have * turned the world upfide down .are come hither alfo.' But the moft remarkable oul-pouring of the Spirit in a

particular

TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 393

particular city that we have an account of in the New T€ftamcnt, feems to be that in the great city of Ephefus. [Ads xix.] There was alfo a very extraordinary ingathering of fouls at Corinth, one of the greateft cities of Greece. And after this many were converted in Rome, then the chief city of the known world ; and the gof-pel v/as propagated into all parts of the Roman empire. Thus the golpel fun, which had lately rifen on the Jews, now rofe upon, and began to enlighten, the heathen world after they had continued in grofs darknefs for fo many ages.

This was a great thing, and fuch as never had been before. All nations but the Jews, and a few who had at one time and another joined with them, had been rejected from about Mofes's time. The Gentile world had been covered over with the thick darknefs of idolatry ; but now, at the joyful found of the gofpel, they began in all parts to forfake their old idols, to abhor and caft them to the moles and to the bats, and to learn to worflrip the true God, and truft in his Son Jefus Chrift : and God owned them for his people ; thofe who had fo long been afar off, were made nigh by the blood of Chrill. Men were changed from being heathenifh and brutifli, to be the children of God ; were called out of Satan's kingdom of darknefs, and brought into God's marvellous light; and in almofl all countries throughout the known world were aflemblies of the people of God ; joyful praifes were lung to the true God, and Jefus Chrift the Redeemer. Now that great building which God began foon after the fall of man, rifes glorioufly, not as it had done in former ages, but in quite a new manner; now Daniel's prophecies concerning the laft kingdom, which fhould iucceed the four heathenilh monarchies, begin to be fulfilled; now the ftone cut out of the mountains without hands, began to Imite the image on its feet, to break it in pieces, to grow great, and to make great advances towards filling the earth ; and now God gathers together the ele6l from rhe four winds of heaven, by the preaching of the apollles and other miniilers, the angels of the Chriftian church

q E fent

594 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

fent forth with the great found of the gofpel trumpet, before the deftru6tioii of Jerufalem, agreeable to what Chrill: had foretold. [Matt. xxiv. 31.]—This was the fuccefs of Chrift's purchafe during the lirfi: period of die Chriftian church, which terminated in the deftruiStion of Jerufalem.

(2.) I would proceed now to take notice of the oppo-fition which was made to tliis fuccefs by the enemies of it. Satan, who lately was fo ready to triumph and exult, as though he had gained the vi6i:ory in putting Chrift to death, now finding himfelf falling into the pit which he had digged, and feeing Chrift's kingdom make fuch amazing progrefs, as never had been before, wc may conclude he was filled with the greateft confulion and aftonifhment, and hell feemed to be efFedlually alarmed by it to make the moft violent oppofition. And, firft, the devil ftirred up the Jews, who had before crucified Chrift, to perfecute the church : for it is obferveable, that the perfecution which the church fufFered during this period, was moftly from the Jews. Thus we read in the Adls, when, at Jerufalem, the Holy Ghoft was poured out at Pentecoft, how the Jews mocked, and faid, ' Thet'e men are full of new ' wine ;' and the Scribes and Pharifces, w^th the captain of the temple, were alarmed, and beftirred themfelves to oppofe and perfecute the apoftles; they firft apprehended and threatened them, and afterwards imprifoned and beat them ; breathing out threatenings and llaughter againft the difciples of the Lord, they ftoned Stephen in a tumultuous rage ; and were not content to perfecute thofe that they could find in Judea, but fent abroad to Damafcus and other places, to perfecute all that they could find every where. Herod, who was chief among'them, ftretched forth his hand to vex the church, killed James with the fword, and proceeded to take Peter alfo, and caft him into prifon. [Adsxii. 1—3.]

So in other countries, alm.oft wherever the apoftles came, the Jews oppofed the gofpe^ in a moft malignant manner, contradicting and blafpheming. How many things did the blefled apoftle Paul fuftisr at their hands

TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 395

in one place or another ! How violent and blood-thirrcy did they fliew themfeives towards him, when he came to bring mercy to his nation ! In this perlccution and cruelty was fultilled that of Chrift, [Matt, xxiii. 34.] ' Behold, ' I fend you prophets, and wife men, and fcribes ; and ' Ibme of them ye Ihall kill and crucify, and fome of them

* fhali ye fcourge in your fynagogues, and perfecute them

* from city to city.'

(3.) I proceed to take notice of the judgments wiiich were executed on thofc enemies of Chrift, the perfecuting Jews.

[i.] The bulk of the people were given up to judicial blindnefs of mind and hardnefs of heart. Chrilt denounced fuch a woe upon tiiem in the days of his fiefli ; [Matt. xiii. 14, 15.] and the apoftle Paul repeated it, [A6Vs xxviii. 25—27.] and under this curfe, this judicial blindnefs and hardnefs, tliey remain to this very day, having been fubjc6l to it for about 1700 years, being the moft awful inftance of fuch a judgment, and monuments of God's terrible vengeance, of any people that ever were. That they Ihould continue from generation to generation fo obftinately to rejedl Chrift, fo that it is a very rare thing that any one of them is converted to the Chriftian faith, though their own fcriptures of the Old Teftament, which they acknowledge, are fo full of plain tcftimonies againft them, is a remarkable evidence of their beini^ dreadfully left of God.

[2.] They were rcje6led and caft off" from being any longer God's vifiblc people. They were broken off from th« ftock of Abraham, and fmce that have no "more been reputed his feed, tlian t!ie Ilhmaelites or Edomites, who are as much his natural feed as they are. The greater pait of the two tribes were now caft otf, as the ten tribes had been before, and another people were taken in their room, agreeable to the predictions of their own prophets: as of Alojes, [Deut. xxxii. 21.] ' They have moved me to jea-' loufy with that which is not God ; they have provoked

* me to anger with their vanities ; and I will move them

* tojealoufy with thofe which are not a people, I will

* provoke them to anger with a foolifli nation;' and of Ifa'iah, [Ixv. i.] ' I am fought of them that afked not

* for me ; I am found of them that fought me not.'— They were vifibly rejedled and caft off, by God's direfting his apoftles to turn away from them, and let them alone ; [A6l's xiii. 46, 47.] ' Then Paul and Barnabas waxed

* bold, and faid, It was neceffary that the word of God

* fliould firil: have been fpoken to you : but feeing ye put ^ it from you, and judge yourfelves unworthy of everlaft-

* ing life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles; for fo hath the

* Lord commanded us.' [See alfo A6ls xviii. 6. and xxviii. 28.]

Thus far we have had the fcripture hiflory to guide us; henceforward we fhall have the guidance only of two things, fcripture prophecy, and human hiilory.

(3.) The third and lafl judgment of God on thofe enemies of the fuccefs of the gofpel which I fhall mention is the terrible deftruftion of their city and country by the Romans. They had great warning, and many means were ufed with them before this defl:ru6lion. Firft, John the Baptift warned them, and told them, that the axe was laid at the root of the tree ; and that every tree which iliould not bring forth good fruit, fhould be hewn down and caft into the fire. [Matt. iii. 10.] Then Chrifl warned them very particularly, and told them of their approaching deflrudlion, and at the thoughts of it wept over them. After Chrifl's afcenfion the apoftles abundantly warned them. But they obftinately went on in their oppofition to Chrift and his church, and in their bitter perfecuting practices. Their malignant perfecution of the apoftle Paul, of which we have an account towards the end of the A6ts of the apoflle's, is fuppofed to have been not more than feven or eight years before their deflrudlion.

After this God was pleafed to give them another remarkable warning by the apoftle Paul, in his epiftle to the Hebrews, which was written,, as is fuppofed, about four years before their deftru6tion : wherein the plaineft and cleareft arguments are fet before them from their own

law.

TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 397

law, and from their prophets, for whom they profefled fiich a regard, to prove that Chrift Jefus mull: be the Son of God, and that all their law pointed to him and typified him, and that their Jewilh difpenfation muft needs have now ccafed. For though the epiftlc was more immediately diredted to the Chriflian Hebrews, yet the matter of the epiftle plainly fliows that the apoftle intended it for the ufe and convi6tion of the unbelieving Jews. And in this epiftle he mentions particularly the approaching dcftruc-tion and fiery indignation which fhould devour the adver-faries. [Chap. x. 25—27.]

But the generality of them refufing to receive convidtion, God foon deftroyed them with fuch terrible circumftanccs, as the dcftrudlion of no country or city fince the foundation of the world can parallel ; agreeable to what Chrift foretold. [Matt. xxiv. 21.] ' For then fhall be tribulation, * fuch as was not from the beginning of the world to this ' time, no, nor ever fliall be,' The deftru6lion of Jerufa-lem by the Babylonians was very terrible, as it is in a moft affecting manner dcfcribed by the prophet Jeremiah, in his Lamentations ; but this was notliing to the dreadful mifery and wrath which they fufFered in this deftru6lion : God, according as Chrift foretold, bringing on them all the righteous blood that had been Ihed from the foundation ofthcwoild. Thus the enemies of Chrift are made his footftool after his afcenfion, agreeable to God's promife, [Pfal. ex. I.] and Chrift rules them with a rod of iron. They had been kicking againft Chrift, but they did but kick againft tlie pricks. The briars and thorns fet them-felves againft him in battle ; but he went through them ; he burnt them up together. [Tfa. xxvii. 4.]

The deftru6lion of Jerufalem was in all rcfpetSVs agreeable to what Chrift had foretold, [Alatt. xxiv.] by the account which Jofephus gives of it, who was then prefent, and was one of the Jews who had a fhare in the calamity, and wrote the hiftory of their deftrudlion. (i) Many circumftanccs

(^) jferufalem dejlroyedy as Chrift had foretold.] A compa-ilfon of our Lord's predictions, with the narrative of the Jewifh hilloriau, jfofephusy forms the moft ftrlking correfpondence of

prophecy

398 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

cuniftances of this deftru£Hon refembled the deftrudtion of the wicked at the day of judgment, by his account, being accompanied with many fearful fights in the heavens,

and

prophecy and hiftory that was perhaps ever exhibited, as is fhewn at large by Bp. Ne^ivton [on the Prophecies, vol. it. dif. i8.] from whom we fhall feleft the few following circumftances :

1. Many falfe Chrifls were to precede this event.—Such were Simon Magus, [Ads viii. 9, 10.] Theudas, Judas of Gahlec. [A£ls V. 36, 37.] The Egyptian impollor. [Afts xxi. 38.] And many others mentioned by Jofephus.

2. Wars, famines, peftilence, and earthquakes !—Jofephus, [dc Bello Jud. lib. ii.] is full of the nvars and rumours of wafs in the reigns of Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, during which numbers were deflroyed. Fam'incs, particularly one in the days of Claudius, mentioned by St. Luke, [Aftsxi. 28.] Jofephus, and Suetonius. ' Earthquakes in divers places,' as in Crete, Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, Samos, Laodicea, Hierapolis, Colofle, Campania, and Rome, mentioned by Philollratus, Tacitus, Suetonius, and Jofephus.

3. * Fearfulfights and great figns,'—Jofephus mentions a liar in fhape like a fword, hanging over Jerufalem for a long time together—armies fighting in the clouds, a miraculous light in the night for half an hour ; a cow which brought forth a lamb ; the maffy brazen gate of the temple opening of itfelf; a voice in the temple, * Arife, let us go hence ;' and what he reckons worfe than all, the extraordinary conduft of one Jcfus, (an apparent lunatic) who for more than feven years went about the city proclaiming

* woe to Jerufalem—woe to the city, and to the people, and to

* the temple,' and could by no means be reftrained.

4. * When ye fee the abomination of defolation,' (i. e. Jehifa-

* lem compaffed with armies, Luke xxi. 20.)—flee into the moun-

* tains.' So when Ceftius Gallus came with his army, after his retreat, and efpecially when Vefpafian brought his forces againft Jerufalem,—numbers of Jews fled into the mountainous country, and the Chriftians in particular to Pella, on the other fide Jordan ; fo that it does not appear that one Chriftian pcriflicd in the dellruc-tion of Jerufalem.

5. * Not one ttone to be left upon another.'—This was fulfilled by the foldiers of Titus burning the temple, and tlien digging, and atterwards Terentius Kuhis p/oughing up its foundation.

6. Then fliall be great tribulation, fuch as had not been * from

* the beginning of the world ; they fliall be flain, and led captive ' into ail nations.'—So Jofephus, " If the misfortunes of all from the beginning of the woild were compared v^-ith thofe of the Jev^s, they v;ould appear much inferior upon the comparifon." [Proem. ^ 4.] To evince the truth of this remark, we fhall fubjoin a lift

OF THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 399

and with a feparation of the righteous from the wicked. Their city and temple were burnt, and rafed to the ground, and the ground on which the city flood, was ploughed ; and fo one ftone was not left upon another. [Matt. xxiv. 2.]

The people had ceafed for the moft part to be an independent government after the Babylonifh captivity : but tlie fceptre entirely departed from Judea, on the deatli of Archelaus ; and then Judca was made a Roman province :

after

of the unhappy Jews that pcrifhed in this dcllrudion, and the neighbouring countries, as collefted by L'l^ius an from various parts of Jofephus's hiftory.

At Jerufalem, by Florus's orders,

By the inhabitants of Csfarea,

At Scythopolis in Syria,

At Afcalon,

At Ptolemais,

At Alexandria,

At Damafcus,

At the taking of Joppa by Ceftius Gallus,

In the mountain of Afamon,

In a fight at Afcalon,

In an ambufh, ■

At Japha,

Upon mount Gerizzim,

At Joppa, when taken by Vefpafian,

Slain at Tarichae,

Slain, or killed themfelves, at Gamala, Killed in their flight from Gifchala, At the fiege of Jotapa,

Of the Gadarenes (befides numbers drowned)

In the villages of Idumea,

At Gerafa, ,

At Machcerus,

Slew themfelves at Mafada,

In the defert of Jardes,

In Cyrene, by the Governor Catulus,

At Jerufalem, during the fiege, i

in Judea d others,

3,600

20,000

13,000

2,500

2,000

50,000

10,000

8,400

2,000

10,000

8,000

15,000

11,600

4,200

7»7oo

9,000

6,000

40,000

15,000

10,000

1,000

1,700

960

3,000

3,000

,100,000

Total, 1,357,660

Add tothefe 97,000 prifoners doomed to flavery, befides i i,coo ftarved to death through negleft or otherwife, and an innumerable multitude which perifhed in woods, caves, deferts, &c. of whom no computation could be made. [G. E.J

after this they were rejeded from being the people of God; but now their very city and land are utterly deftroyed, and themfelves carried away ; and fo have continued in their difperfions through the world for now 1700 years.

Thus there was a final end to the Old Teftament world : all was finiihed with a kind of day of judgment, in which the people of God were faved, and his enemies terribly deftroyed.—Thus does he who was fo lately mocked, def-pifed, and fpit upon by thefe Jews, and whofe followers they fo malignantly perfecuted, appear glorioufly exalted over his enemies.

HAVING thus fliown how the fucccfs of Chrift's pur-chafe was carried on till the deftrud^ion of Jerufalem, I come now,

2. To lliow how it was carried on from that time till the deftru6lion of the heathen empire in the time of Con-ftantine the Great, which is the fecond great event compared to Chrift's coming to judgment.

Jerufalem was deftroyed about the year of our Lord 68, (k) and fo before that generation paffed away which was contemporary with Chrift ; and it was about thirty-five years after Chrift's death. The deftrudi-ion of the heathen empire under Conftantine, was about 260 years after this. In Ihowing how the fuccefs of the gofpel was carried on through this time, I would, (i.) Take notice of the op-pofition made againft it by the Roman empire. (2.) How the work of the gofpel went on notwithftanding that op-pofition. (3.) The peculiar circumftances of tribulation and diftrefs the church was in juft before their deliverance by Conftantine. The great revolution of Conftantine's time.

(I.) I

(k) Jervfahm chjlroyed k'&ow A. D. 68.] We would take this opportunity to obferve, that, probably, our author's dates, were often taken from memory, with an intent to revife them before publication, had his life been fpared. They differ, however, but very little from the belt authorities, and this difference wc fliall carefully obferve. The detlruction of Jerufalem is commonly placed in A, D. 70. [G. E.J

TO THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE. 40:

(i.) I would briefly fliovv what oppofition was made againft the gofpel, and the kingdom of Cliiift, by the Roman empire. The oppofition that was made to the gofpel by the heathen Roman empire, was chiefly after the de-fl:ru6lion of Jerufalem though the oppofition began before; but the oppofition that was before the deftrudion of Jerufalem, was principally by the Jews. But when Jerufalem was deftroyed, the Jews were put out of a capacity of troubling the church. Now therefore the devil turns his head elfewhere, andufes other inftruments. The oppofition which was made in the Roman empire againfl the kingdom of Ghrift, was of two kinds.

[i.] They employed all their learning, philofophy, and wit, in oppofing it. Ghrirt, as we have obferved, came into the world when learning and philofophy were at their height. This Was employed to the utmofl: againft the kingdom of Chrift. The gofpel, which held forth a cruci-tied Saviour, was not at all agreeable to the notions of the philofophcrs. The Chriftian fcheme of trufting in fuch a cruciticd Redeemer appeared foolifh and ridiculous to them* Greece was a country the moft famous for learning of any in the Roman empire : but the apoftle obferves, tliat the do(5lrine of Chrift crucified appeared fooliihncls to the Greeks, [i Gor. i. 23.] and therefore the wife men and philofophers oppofed the gofpel with all their wit: We have a fpecimen of their oppofition in their treatment of the apoftle Paul at Athens, which had been for many ages the chief feat of philofophy. We read, [A<fts xvii. 18.] that the philofophers of the Epicureans and Stoicks encountered him, faying, ' What will this babbler fay ? ' He feemcih to be a fetter forth of ft range gods.' So they were wont to deride and ridicule Ghriftianity. And after the deftrndlion of Jerufalem, feveral philofophers publilhed books againft it; the chief of whom were Celjus and Porphyry, (l) who wrote againft the Ghriftian religion

(l) Celsus and Porphyry.] Celfus, not the phyfician, bat the Epicurean philofophcr, flouriflied about A. D. 150; and

4oi HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

ligion with a great deal of virulence and contempt, mucli after the manner of the Deifls of the prefent age. Some of their writings yet remain. As great enemies and def-pifers as they were of the Chriftian religion, yet they never denied the facls recorded of Chrift and his apoftles in the New Teftament, particularly the miracles which they wrought, but allowed them. They lived too near the times wherein thefe miiacles were wrought to deny them ; for they ivere fo publicly done, and fo lately, that neither Jews nor heathens in thofe days could deny them; but they afcribed them to the power of magic.

[2.] The Roman emperors employed all their ftrength and policy, time after time, to perfecute, and if poiTible to root out Chriftianity. This they did in ten general fucceffive pedecutions. We have before obferved, that Chrift came into the world when the heathen dominion and authority was at its greateft height, during the Roman empire, the moft powerful human monarchy that ever was on earth. All the ftrength of this monarchy was employed for a long time to oppofe and perfecute the Chriftian church, and if poffible to deftroy it, in ten fucceffive attempts, which are called the ten heathen per-fecutlons, which are before Conftantine.

The firft of thefe, which was the pcrfecution under Nero, was a little before the deftru6tion of Jerufalem, in which the apoftle Peter was crucified, and the apoftlc Paul beheaded, foon after he wrote the Second Epiftle to Timothy. When he wrote that epiftle he was a prifoner at Rome under Nero, and expe6led foon to die, [2 Tim. iv. 6. 7. J 'I aa:i now ready to be offered, and the time * or my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight,

' I have

Porphyry, a Platonic philofopher, in the third Century. They were both violent oppofers of Chriilianity; but their works are periihed, except the fragments of them prclcrvcd in the Chriitian Fathers. The latter was one of the mod rcfpedlable adverfaries Chriilianity ever had; and, from his intimate acquaintance with the fcriptures, fome have fuppofed he was once a Chriilian.

[G.E.]

TO THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE. 403

* I have finiflied my courfe, I have kept the faith.'

And there were many thoufands of other Chriftians flain in that perfecution. (m) The other nine perfecu-tions were all after the dellrudlion of Jcrufalem. Some of thefe were very terrible indeed, and far exceeded the firfl: perfecution under Nero. One emperor after another fet himfelf with the utmoft rage to root out the Chiiftian church from the earth, that there fhould not be fo much as the name of Chriftian left in the world. And thoufands and millions were put to cruel deaths in thefc pcrfc-cutions: for they fpared neither fex nor age, but killed them as faft as they could.

Under the fecond general perfecution, that which was next after the deftrudllon of Jerufalem. the apollle John was banillaed to the iflc of Patmos, where he had thofc vifions of which he has given an account in the Revelation. Under that perfecution it has been fuppofcd that above 40,000 fuffered martyrdom; which yet was nothing to what were put to death under fome fuccceding perfecu-

3 F 2 tions

(m) The FIRST perfecution under Nero.] Of this Tacitus, an heathen hiflorlan, and therefore the more unexceptionable authority, gives the following account: " Nero, to fupprefs the prevailing rumour, that he was tlie author of the ccnllagration [of Rome] transferred the guilt upon fuppofcd criminals, fub-

jecling to moft exquifite tortures thofe people known to

the vulgar by the name of Chriftians Flrft, therefore,

were apprehended thofe who openly owned themielves to be of that fetfl, then by them was difcovered an immenfe multitude, and all were conviflcd. Their death and torture were aggravated with cruel derifion and fport; for they were either covered with the f]<ins of wild beafts, and torn in pieces by devouring dogs, or fadened to crofl'cs, or wrapped up in combuftible garments, that when the day-light failed, they might, like torches, ferve to difpel the darknefs of the night. For this tragical fpedacle Neio lent his own gardens, and exhibited at the fame time the public dlver-fions of the circus, fometimes driving a chariot in perfon, ar)d

fomctimes ftanding as a fpeCtator Hence, towards the fuf-

fercrs, however guilty and deferving the moll exemplary piini'li-ment, [fo fpeaks the heathen] compafllon arofc, feeing they were

doomed to pcrifh to gratify the cruelty of one man."

[Ann. lib. xv. cap. 44.]

404 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

tions. (n) Many thoufands fufFered cruel deaths in the third perfecution under the Emperor Adrian, (o) The fourth perfecution began about the year of Chrift, 162,

as

(n) The SECOND ^fKjT^/PERSECUTION.] Tlu's was ralfed by Domit'ian, and though fliort (not lading above a year) was fe-vere for the time, the tyrant not fparing his own relations, fome of whom he flew, and banifhed others. This wretch was as blafphemous as he was cruel; and when he had transformed him-felf completely into the image of the devil, alTumed the honours of Deity, and would be called nothing lefs than Lord and God. Mod hillorians, ancient and modern, agree with our author as to St. John's banifhment to Patmos in this reign ; but the ftory of his being put into boiling oil is juftly rejefled. [See Eufeb. Hift. Ecclef lib. iii. cap. 18.]

(o) The THIRD perfecution.'] Before the reign of Trajan, though he is not commonly reckoned among the perfecutors, as making no new edifts againft the Chriftians, yet was highly prejudiced againll them, and even himfelf condemned fome ; a remarkable inftance of which occurs in the martyrdom of Ignatius, (luppofed to have been a difciple of St. John) of which wc have the following interefting account, prefei-ved in the eplftle faid to have been written by eyc-witneffes, and publifhed by Abp. UJIjer, Dr. Grabe, and other learned men.

The holy man being brought before the emperor was interrogated in the following manner :

Trajan. What a wicked wretch art thou, thus to tranfgrefs our commands, and to teach others to do the fame, to their deftruftion ?

Ignat. No one ought thus to call Theophorus, [i. e. the hearer of God, for fo Ignatius was called] forafmuch as all wicked fpi-rits are far from the fervants of God. But if, becaufe I am a trouble to thofe evil fpirits, you call me wicked, with reference to them I confefsthe charge; for polfefTing Chrifl, the heavenly King, I diflblve all the fnares of the devil.

Trajan. And who is Theophorus?

Ignat. He who has Chrill in his bofom.

Trajan. And do mc not then appear to have the gods within lis, who fight for us againft our enemies ?

Ignat. You err, in that you call the evil fpirits of the heathen, gods; for there is but one God, who made heaven and earth, and the fea, and all that are in them, and one Jefus Chrift, his ouly-bcgottcn Son, whofe kingdom may I enjoy!

Tra]nn. His kingdom, you mean, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate.

Ignat. His, who crucified my fin, . , . . and has p\it all the deceit and malice of the devil under their feet, who carry him in their heart.

Trajan, Doft tliou carrv him tlint was crucified within thee ?

hnat.

TO THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE. 405

as fome reckon, and was felt even in England, the land of our forefathers, where Chriftianity had been planted very early, and, as Is fuppofed, in the days of the apof-tles. (p) And in the later perfections, the Roman emperors being vexed at the fruftration of their predecef-fors, who were not able to extirpate Chriftianity, or hinder its progrefs, were enraged to be the more violent in their attempts.

Thus a great part of the firft 300 years after Chrift was fpcnt in violent and cruel perfecutions of the church by the Roman powers. Satan was very unwilling to quit

his

Ignat. I do ; for it is written, * I will dwell in them, and walk in them.'

Then Trajan pronounced this fentence—Forafmuch as Ignatius hath confefTed that he carries about within himfelf Him that vas crucified, we command, that he be carried bound to the great Ro7ne by foldiers, there to be thrown to the beafts for the diverfion of the people.—This fentence was foon after executed ; and we may judge of the temper in which he fuffered, from the following paffage in one of his epillles written on his journey: " Now I begin to be a difciple ; nor (hall any thing move me, whether vifible or invifible, that I may attain to Chrift Jefus. Let fire and the crofs—let the rage of wild beafts—let breaking of bones and tearing of members—let the ftiattering in pieces of the whole body—yea, all the wicked torment.^ of the devil come upon me—only may I enjoy JtTus Chrift!" [Epift. ad Rom. § 5.]

(p) The FOURTH perfi'ctiiion.'] Under this perfecution or a little before, as fome think, fuffered another difciple of St. John, Pulycarp, who was called dodor of Afia and father of the Chrif-tians. When urged by the proconful to reproach and deny Chrift to procure his liberty, he only replied, " Eighty and fix years have I novif ferved Chrift, and he has never done me the leaft wrong; how then can I blafphcme my King and Saviour?" When the proconful continued, " I have wild beafts ready, to thofe I will give thee;"—" Call for them," replied Polycarp, " for we Chriftisns are fixed in our minds, not to change from good to evil." The magiftrate added, " If thou defpifeft the beafts, thou ftialt be devoured by fire." The martyr rejoined, " Thuu threatencft me with fire which burns but for a time, and is extinguilhed; but knoweft not the fire of the future judgement, th-it eternal puniflimcnt which is refcrved for the ungodly. —Eut v/hy tarrieft thou ? bring forth what thou wilt."

Accordingly this venerable man being, as is fuppofed, above an hundred years old, was burnt at a ftake^ praifing and blelling Gcd tor thf honour of martyrdom. [Martyrdom of Polycarpy publifhed by Ufher, Cottelcrus, and others.]

4o6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

his hold of fo great a part of the world, as the Roman empire was, of which he had had the quiet pofleffion for fo many ages: and tlierefore when he faw it going fo faft out of his hands, he beftirred himfelf to his utmoft: all hell was, as it were, raifed to oppofe it with its utmoft power.

Satan thus exerting himfelf by the power of the heathen Roman empire, is called the great red dragon in fcripture, having feven heads and ten horns, fighting againft the woman cloathed with the fun. [Rev. xii. 3.] And the terrible conflidl there was between the church of Chiiil:, and the powers of the heathen empire before Conftantine's time, is there reprefented [ver. 7.] by the war between Michael and his angels, and the dragon and liis angels: ' And ' there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought,

* and the dragon fought and his angels.

(2) I would take notice what fuccefs the gofpel had in the world before the time of Conftantine, notwith-flanding all this oppofition.—Though the learning and power of the Roman empire were fo great, and both were employed to the utmofl: againft Chriftianity to root it out, for fo long a time, and in fo many repeated attempts ; yet all was in vain : ftill, in fpite ot all they could do, the kingdom of Chrift wonderfully prevailed, and Satan's kingdom mouldered and confumed away before it, agreeable to the words of our tekt: ' The

* moth flaall eat them up like a garment, and the w;orm

* fliall eat them like wool.' And it was very obfervable, that for the moft part, the more they perfecuted the church, the more it encreafcd : infomuch that it became a common faying, ' The blood of the martyrs is the feed of the

* church.' Herein the church of Chrift proved to belike a palm tree; of which it is remarked, • that the greater weight is laid uj)on it, or hung to its branches, the more it grows and fiourifhes: on which account probably the church is compared to a palm tree. [Cant. vii. 7.] ' This ' thy ftature is like to a palm tree.' J^'fi^^ Afartyr, an eminent father in tiie Chriftian church, who lived in the age next after the apoftles, in fome writings of his, which

TO THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE. 407

are yet extant, fays, that in his days there was no part of mankind, whether Greeks or barbarians, or by what name foever they were called, even the mofl rude and unpolifh-ed nations, where prayers and thankfgivings were not made to the great Creator of the world, through the name of the crucified Jefus.* "TertuUian, another eminent father in the Chriftian church, who lived in the beginning of the following age, in fome of his writings which arc yet extant,t fets forth, that in his day the Chriftian religion had extended itfelf to the utmofl: bounds of the then known world, in which he reckons Britain, the country of our forefathers; and thence demonftrates, that the kingdom of Chrill: was then more extenfive than any of the four great monarchies; and moreover fays, that though the Chriflians were as ftrangers of no long {landing, yet they had filled all places of the Roman dominions, their cities, iflands, caftles, corporations, councils, armies, tribes, the palace, fenate, and courts of judicature ; only they had left to the heathen their temples; and that if they fliould all agree to retire out of the Roman empire, the world would be amazed at the folitude and defolation that would cnfue upon it, there would be fo few left; and that the Chriftians were enough to be able eafily to defend themfelves, if they were difpofed to rife up in arms againft: the heathen magifirates. Alfo Pliny,% a heathen who lived in thofe days, fays, multitudes of each fex, every age and quality, were become Chriftians. This fu-perftition, fays he, having infe6led and over run not the city only, but towns and countries, the temples and fa-crifices are generally defolate and forfaken. ( q^)

And

* Dial, cum Tyrph.

f Adverfus Judseos, cap. 7.

:j: Lib. X. Ep. 97.

(q^) The JLXTZjiT of t.be go/pel.] Even "before the deitruc-tion of Jerufalem, the gofpel was not only preached in the Leffer Afia, and Greece and Italy, the great theatres of adlion then in the world ; but was likewife propagated as far northward as Scy-thia, as far fouthward as Ethiopia, as far eallward as Parthia and India, as far wellward as Spain and Britain. Our anceftors of this ifland feem to have lain as remote from the fgene of our Sa-

4o8 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

And it was remarked by both heathen and Chriftiart' writers in thofe days, that the famous heathen oracles in their temples, where princes and others for many paft ages had been wont to inquire and receive anfwers with an audible voice from their gods, which were indeed anfwers from the devil; I fay, thofe oracles were now filenced and (truck dumb, and gave no more anfwers: and particularly the oracle at Delphos, which was the moil famous heathen oracle in the whole world, which both Greeks and Romans ufed to confult, began to ceafe to give any anfwers, even from the birth of Chrift: and the falfe deity. who was worfhipped, and uled to give anfwers from his oracle in that temple, being once inquired of, why he did not now give anfwers as he was wont to do? made this reply, as feveral heathen hiftorians who lived about thofe times relate, " There is an Hebrew boy, who is king of the gods, who has commanded me to leave this houfe, and be gone to hell, and therefore you are to ex-pe£l no more anfwers." And many of tlie heathen writers who lived about that time, fpake much of the oracles being filenced, as a thing at which they wondered, not knowing what the caufe Ihould be. (r) Plutarch, a

heathen

viour's aftions as almoll any nation, and were a rou'gh, inhofpl-table people, as unlikely to receive fo civilized an inftitution as any people whatever. But yet there is fome probability, that the gofpel was preached here by St. Simon the apoftle ; there is much greater probability that it was preached here by St. Paul; and there is abfolute certainty that Chriftlanity was planted in this country in the days of the apoftles, before the deftrudtion of Je-rufalem i" [Bp. Newton on the Prophecies, vol. ii. p. 237.!

(r) The heathen oracles.] Learned men are much divided as to the fource of thefe oracles. The famous Van Dale wrote a treatife to prove that they were only the invention of pricfts, but our Abp. Potter, [Greek Antiq. vol. i. book ii. ch. 7.] and many others, conceive that there was a diabolical agency employed in the bufinefs. There arc indeed feveral circumftances leading to the former hypothefis; fuch as the gloomy folemnity with which many of them were delivered, in caves and fubterraneous caverns; the numerous and difagreeable ceremonies enjoined, as fometimes fleeping in the flcins of bealls, bathing, and expenfivc facrifices; the ambiguous and unfatisfactory anfwers frequently

returned;

heathen writer of thofe times, wrote a particular trcatife about it, which is ft ill extant.* And Porphyry, one of the heathen writers before mentioned, has thefe words : " It is no wonder if the city for thefe fo many years has been over ran with ficknefs; Efculapius, and the reft of the gods, having withdrawn their converfe with men : for fince Jefus began to be worftiipped, no man hath received any public help or benefit by the gods."

Thus did the kingdom of Chrift prevail againft the kingdom of Satan.

(3.) I now proceed to take notice of the peculiar cir-cumftances of tribulation and diftrcfs juft before Con-ftantine the Great came to the throne. This diftrefs they fufFered under the tenth perfecufion, which as it was the laft, fo it was by far the heavieft and moft fcvere. The church before this, after the ceafing of the nintii perfecu-tion, had enjoyed a time of quietnefs for about forty years together; but, abufing their liberty, began to grow cold and lifelefs in religion, and contentions prevailed among them J by which they offended God to fufFcr this dreadful trial to come upon them. And Satan having loll: ground fo much, notwithftanding all his attempts, now feemcd to beftir himfclf with more than ordinary rage. Thofe who were then in authority let themfelvcs with the utmoft violence to root out Chriftianity, by burning all Bibles, and deftroying all Chrillians ; and there-tore they did not ftand to try or convi<5l them in a formal procefs, but fell upon them wherever they could;

2 G fometimes

returned : thefe look very much like the contrivances of artful pricfts to difguife their villany ; the medium of priefts, fpeaking images, vocal groves, &c. fccm much to confirm it. On the other hand, if we may credit the relation of ancient writers, either among the heathens or Chriftians, this hypothefis will hardly ac--count for many of the inifanccs they mention. And fince it cannot be proved either impoiTible or unfcriptural, is it not probable that God miglit fometimes permit an intercourfe with infernal fpirits, with a defign in the end to turn this and every other cir-cumllance to his own glory, as our author has above obfer\'ed ? We are however fatistied, from the reafons above hinted, that the whole was often but a gainful cheat. [G. E.]

* Pint, de defed. Orac.

410 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

fometimes fetting lire to lioufes where multitudes of them were affembled, and burning them therein, and at other times flaughtering multitudes together: fo that fometimes their perfecutors were quite fpent with the labour of killing and tormenting them ; and in fome populous places fo many wore flain together, that the blood ran like torrents. It is related, that feventeen thoufand martyrs were flain in one month's time ; and that during the continuance of thi? perfecution, in the province of Egypt alone, no lefs than 144,000 Chriftians died by the violence of their perfecutors, befides, 700,000 that died through the fatigues of banilhment, or the public works to which they were condemned.*

This perfecution lafted for ten years together ; and as it exceeded all foregoing perfecutions in the number of mar-tvrs, fo it exceeded them in the variety and multitude of inventions of torture and cruelty. Some authors who lived at that time, fay, they were innumerable, and exceeded all account and expreflion.f

This perfecution in particular was very fevere in England ; (s) and this is that perfecution which was foretold [Rev. vi. 9, 10.] ' And when he had opened the fifth feal, ' 1 faw under the altar the fouls of them that were flain ' for the word of God, and for the teftimony which they ' held. And they cried with a loud voice, faying. How

* long,

* Bujfieres in flofculis Hiflor.

f Vid. Eiifeh. Eccl. Hifl. lib. viil. cum fupp. & Laftant. dc Mort. Perf.

(s) The TENTH perfecution fevere in England.] " In the perfecution under Dioclefian, the Br'itj/h Chriftians fuffered fo much, that the very name of Chriftianity was loll in this ifland,

except among the Cornifli and Welfh Our proto-martyr

St. Allan, Amphibolus, Julian, and Aaron were martyred at St. Alban\, then called F'erulam, The priefts who wrote of St. Al-ban's martyrdom, could not be content with the courage, patience and piety of the martyr, but have corrupted his hiftory with lies : even venerable Bedc cannot help telling us, that he dried up a river as he went to the place of execution, .... that his head fpoke after it was cut off, &c." [Critical Hiftory of England, Tol. i, p. 64.3

TO THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE. 411

* long, O Lord, holy and true, doft thou not judge and < avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ?'*

At the end of the ten years during which this perfecu-tion continued, the heathen perfecutors thought they had finilhed their work, and boafted that they had utterly de-ftroyed the name and fuperftition of the Chriftians, and propagated the worfhip of the gods, (t)

Thus it was the darkeft time with the Chriftian church jufl: before the break of day. They were brought to the greatell: extremity juft before God appeared for their glorious deliverance ; as the bondage of the Ifraelites in Egypt was the mofl: fevere and cruel juft before their deliverance by the hand of Mofcs. Their enemies thought they had fwallowed them up juft before their dcftrucTtion, as it was with Pharaoh and his holt when they had hemmed in the children of Ifrael at the Red Sea.

(4.) I come now, in the fourth place, to the great revolution which was in the world in the days of Con-ftantine, which was in many refpedVs like Chrift's appearing in the clouds of heaven to fave his people, and judge the world. The people of Rome being weary ot the government of thofe tyrants to whom they had lately been fubjed:, fent to Conftantine, who was then in the city of York in England, to come and take the throne. And he being encouraged, as is faid, by a vilion of a pillar of light in the heavens, in the form of a crofs, in the iight of his whole army, with this infcription, By this conquer \ and the night following, by Chrift's appearino-to liim in a dream with the fame crofs in his hand, who direded him to make a crofs like that to be his royal ftandard, thac liis army might fight under that banner, 3 G 2 and

* See Bp. Neivion on the Prophecies, vol. iii. p. 6^.

(t) The heathens boajled having destroyed Chrf/Iianiiy.'] A column is faid to be ftill remaining at C/uny in Spain with this infcription— '^To Dioehfuin, Jovius, and Afaximinus, Cjefars, for having enlarged the bounds of the empire, and for having exterminated the name of Christians, thofc dillurbers of the public repofe.'" [Griiteri corpus Infcript. torn. i. p. 280.I—And yet, (infolent blafphemers !) the name of Clirijl is ilill adored by mil-lions ; but for Jupiter, Mars, Apollo, &c. where are they ?

412 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

and affured hi:n that he fliould ovevcome. (u) Accordingly he did, and overcame his enemies, took poffeffion of the imperial throne, embraced the Chriftian religion, and was the firft Chriftian emperor that ever reigned : he came to the throne about 320 years after Chrift. There are feveral things which I would take notice of which attended or immediately followed Conftantine's coming to the throne.

[i.] The Chriftian church was thereby wholly delivered from perlecution. Now the day of her deliverance came after fuch a dark night of affliilion ; weeping had continued for a night, but now deliverance and joy came in the morning. Now God appeared to judge his people and repented himfelf for his fervants, when he faw their power was gone, and that there was none ftmt up or left. Chriftians had no pcrfecutions now to fear. Their pev-r fecurors now were all put down, and their rulers were fome of them Chriftians like themfelves.

[2.] God now appeared to execute terrible judgments on their enemies. Remarkable are the accounts which hiftory gives us of the fearful ends to which the heathen emperors, princes, generals, captains, and other great men came, v/ho had exerted themfelves in perfecuting the Chriftians ; dying miferably, one after another, under exquifite torments of the body, and horrors of confcience ; with a moft vifible hand of God upon them.* So that what now came to pafs might very fitly be compared to their hiding themfelves in the dens and rocks of the mountains. [Rev. vi. 15, 17.]

[3.] Heathenifm now was in a great meafure aboliftied throughout the Roman empire. Images were now de-ftroyed, and heatlien temples pulled down. Images of gold and filver were melted down, and coined into money.

Some

(u) Corjlaniinr^s vision.] Whatever fabulous eircumflances may have been added to this ftory, or abfurd inferences drawn from it, it (hould feem there was fome ♦truth in it, fince Euftbm [de Vita Conltant. lib. i. cap. 27—31.] affures us, that he had it from the emperor's own mouth. [See Univerfal Hijlory, vol. xv.

P- ^^^'-^ > r , TVT n r

* Latta.'.i. de Mort. Perf

TO THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE. 413

Some of the chief of their idols, which were curioufly wrought, were brought toConflantinoplc, and there drawn with ropes up and down the ftreets for the people to behold and laugh at. The heathen priefts were difpcrfed and baniihed.

[4.] The Chriflian church was brought into a ftate of great peace and profperity. Now all heathen magirtratcs were put down, and only Chriflians were advanced to places of authority all over the empire. They had now Chriftian prefidents, Chriftian governors, Chriftian judges and officers, inftcad of their old heathenifh ones. Con-rtantine fet himfelf to honour the Chriftian bifhops or aii-nifters, and to build and adorn churches ; and now large and beautiful Chriftian churches were eredted in all parts of the world, inftead of the old heathen temples.

This was the greateft revolution in the face of things that ever came to pafs fince the flood. Satan, the prince of darknefs, that king and god of the heathen world, was caft out. The roaring lion was conquered by the lamb of God, in the ftrongeft dominion that ever he had, even the Roman empire. This was a remarkable accompliflimeni of that prophecy, [Jcr. x. 11.] * The gods that have nol

* made the heavens and the earth, even they fhall perilh ' from the earth, and from under thefe heavens.' The chief part of the world was now brought utterly to caft off their old gods and their old religion, to which they had been accuftomed much longer than any of their hif-torics gives an account of; fo long that they could not trace the beginning ot it. It was formerly fpoken of as a thing xmknown for a nation to change their gods, [ Jer. ii. 10, II.] but now the greater parts of the nations of the known world were brought to caft off all their former gods. Thoufands of them were caft away for the wor-fhip of the true God, and Chrift the only Saviour: and chere was a moft remarkable fulhlment of that promife, [Ifa. ii. 17, 18.] ' And the loftincfs of man fhall be bowed

• down, and the haughtinefs of men ftiail be made low : ' and the Lord alone ftiall be exalted in that day. And ' the idols he ihall utterly abolilh.' And fmcc that, it

ha<j

414- HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

has Gome to pafs, that thofe gods that were once fo famous in the world, as Jupiter, and Saturn, and Minerva, and Juno, &:c. are only heard of as things which were of old : they have no temples, no altars, no worlhippers, and have not had for many hundred years.

Now is come the end of the old heathen world in the principal part of it, the Roman empire. And this great revolution and change of the ftate of the world, with that terrible deftruction of the great men who had been perfecutors, is compared, [Rev. vi.] to the end of the world, and Chrift coming to judgment; and is what is moft immediately fignified under the fixth feal, which followed upon the fouls under the altar crying, ' How ' long, O Lord, holy and true, dofi: thou not avenge our

* blood on them that dwell on the earth ?' This vifion of the fixth feal, by the general confent of divines and expo-fitors, has refpeft to this downfal of the heathen Roman empire ; though it may have a more remote refpe6l to the day of judgment, but that cannot be what is immediately intended ; becaufe we have an account of many events which were to come to pafs afterwards, yet before the end of the world.

This revolution is alfo reprcfented by the devil's being cad out of heaven to the earth. In his great flrength and glory, in that mighty Roman empire, he had as it were exalted his throne up to heaven. But now he fell like lightning from heaven, and was confined to the earth. His kingdom was confined to the meaner and more bar.^ barous nations, or to the lower parrs of the world of mankind. [Rev. xii. 9, ^cc] ' And the great dragon ' was caft out, that old ferpent, called the devil and Satan, ' which deceiveth the whole world: he was caft out into ' the earth, and his angels were caft out with him,' &c. Satan tempted Chrift, and promifed to give him the glory of the kingdoms of the world ; but now he is obliged to give it to him even againft his wilL This was a glorious fulfilment of that prornife which Qod made to his Son. [Ifa. liii. 12.] * Tiierefore will I divide him a portion

* with the great, and he fhail divide the fpoil with the

' ftrong ;

TO THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE. 415

' flrong ; becaufe he hath poured out his foul unto death ; < and he was numbered with the tranfgreffois, and he

* bare the fin of many, and made interceflion for the

* tranfgrefibrs.' This was a great fulfihrient of the prophecies of the Old Teftament concerning the glorious time of the gofpel, and particularly of the prophecies of Daniel. Now the kingdom of heaven is come in a glorious degree. It pleafed the Lord God of heaven to fet up a kingdom on the ruins of that of Satan. And fuch fuccefs is there of the purchafc of Chrift's redemption, and fuch honour does the Father put upon Chrift for the difgrace he fuffered when on earth. And now fee to what a height that glorious building is raifed, which had been ere6liug ever fince the fall.

INFERENCE.

From what has been faid of the fuccefs of the gofpel from Chrift's afcenfion to the time of Conftantine, we may deduce a ftrong argument of the truth of the Chrif-tian religion, and that the gofpel of Jefus Chrift is really from God. This wonderful fuccefs which has been fpo-ken of, and the circurnftances of it which have been mentioned, are a ftrong argument of it feveral ways.

(i.) We may obferve that it is the gofpel, and that only, which has actually been the means of bringing the world to the knowledge of the true God. That thofe are no gods whom the heathen worftiipped, and that there is but one only God, is what, now fmce the gofpel has fo taught us, we can fee »o be truth by our own reafon. it is plainly agreeable to the light of nature ; it can be eaftly ftiown by reafon to be denionftrably true. The very Deifts themfelves acknowledge that it can be demon-ftrated, that there is one God, and but one, who has made and governs the world. But now it is evident that it is the golpel, and that only, which has a6lually been the means of bringing men to the knowledge of this truth;

4i6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

it was not the inftru£trons of philofophers. They tried irt vain: ' The world by wifdom knew not God.' [i Cor; i. 21.] Till the gofpel and the holy fcriptures came abroad in the world, all the world lay in ignorance of the true God, and in the greateft darknefs with refpeft to the things of religion, embracing the abfurdeft opinions and pradtices, by all civilized nations now acknowledged to be childifh fooleries. And fo they lay one age after another, and nothing proved etfeclual to enlighten them. The light of nature, and their own reafon, and all the wifdom of learned men, availed nothing; but the fcriptures brought the world to an acknowledgement of the one only true God, and to worihip and ferve him.

And hence it was, that all who now own the one true God, Chriflians, Jews, Mahometans, and even De-ifts, originally came by the knowledge of liim. It is owing to this that they are not in general at this day left in heathenifli darknefs. They have it either immediately from the fcriptures, or by tradition from their fathers, who had it at firfl therefrom. Doubtlefs thofe who now defpife the fcriptures, and boaft of the ftrength of their own reafon, as being fufficient to lead them to the know-iedo-e of the one true God, if the gofpel had never come abroad in the world to enlighten their forefathers, would have been as brutifli idolaters as the world in general was before the gofpel came abroad. The Mahometans, who own but one true God, at firfl; borrowed the notion froni the Bible ; for the firfl: Mahometans had been educated in the Chriftian religion, and apoftatized from it. ---And this fhevvs, that the fcriptures were defigned of God to be the means to bring the world to the know-Irdo-e of himfelf, rather than human reafon, or any thing elfc. For it is tmrcafonable to fuppofe, that the gofpel, and that only, which God never defigned to this end, fhould a6:ually efFed it, and that after human reafon, which he defigned as the proper mean, had been tried for a great many ages in vain'.—If the fcriptures be not the word of God, then they are the greatefl delufion fhat <°vcr was. Now, is it reafonable to fuppofe, that

God

TO THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE. 417

God in his providence would make ufe of falfehood and delufion, and thit only, to bring the world to the knowledge of hiinfelf ?

(2.) The fuccefs of the gofpel againft fuch powerful oppofition plainly fliowsthe hand of God. The Roman government, which fo violently fet itfelf to hinder the fuccefs of the gofpel, and to fubdue the church of Chrift, was the molt powerful human government that evei- exited ; and they feemed to have the church in their hands. The Chriflians were moftly their fubjeds, and never took up arms to ftand in their own defence; they armed them--felves with nothing but patience, and fuch like fpiritual weapons: and yet this mighty power could not conquer them ; but on the contrary, Chriftianity conquered that. 1 he Romans had fubdued many mighty and potent kino-. doms; they fubdued the Grecian monarchy, when th^y were not their fubjeds, and made the utmoft refiftance'; and yet they could not conquer the church which was in their hands; but on the contrary, were hnaily triumphed over by it.

(3O No other fufficient caufe can pofflbly be affigneJ of this propagation of the gofpel, but God's own power Here was a great and wonderful efFed, the moft remarkable change that ever was in the face of the world of man-kmd hnce the flood ; and this eiiea was not without lome caufe. Now, what other caufe can be devifed but only the divine power r It was not the outward flrength of the inftruments which were employed in it. At hrft the gofpel was preached only by a few fiHicrmen, who were without power and worldly intereft to fupport them. It was not their craft and policV that produced this wonderful effect: for they were but poor illiterate men. It was not the agreeablenefs of tlie ftoi y they had to tell to the notions and principles of mankind. This was no pleafant table : A crucified God and Saviour was to the Jews a Humbling block, and to the Greeks foolilhnefs. It was not the agreeablenefs of their dodrines to men's difpofitions; for nothing is more contrary to the corruptions of men than the pure dodrines of the gofpel. This

4i8 HIS.TORY OF REDEMPTION.

effecSi: therefore can have proceeded from no other caufe than the power and agency of God: and if the power of God was what was exerciled to caufe the G^ofpel to prevail, then the gofpel is his word: for furely God does not ufc liis ahnighty power to promote animpoflure and delufion.

(4.) This fuccefs is agreeable to what Chrift and his apoftles foretold.—-[Matt. xvi. 18 ] ' Upon this rock ' will I build ray church; and the gates of hell fliall not

* prevail againll it.' [John xii. 24.] ' Verily, verily I ' fay unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ' ground, and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bring-

* eth forth much fruit.' [ver. 31, 32.] ' Now^ is thejudg-' ment of this world: now fhall the prince of this world ' be caft out. And T, if I be lifted up from the earth,

* will draw all men unto me.' [John xvi. 8.] ' When ' he (the comforter) is come, he will reprove the world

* of fm, of righteoufnefs, and of judgment,—becaufe the ' prince of this world is judged.'

So the apoftle Paul [i Cor. i. 21—28.] declares, that after the world by wifdom knew not God, ' It pleafed ' God by the fo:lifhnefs of preaching, to fave them that

* believe ;' and that God chofe the foolifli things of the world to confound the wife ; and weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty ; and bafe things, yea and things that are not, to bring to nought things that are.— If any man foretells a thing, very likely in itfelf to come to pafs, from caufes which can be forefeen, it is no argument of a revelation from God: but when a thing is foretold which is very unlikely ever to come to pafs, which is entirely contrary to the common courfe of things, yet it comes to pafs juft as foretold, this is a ftrong argument that the predi6lion was from God.

Thus the confideration of the manner of the propagation and fuccefs of the gofpel during the time which has been Ipokcn of, affords great evidence that the fcriptures are the word of God.

3. 1 am now to iliow how the fuccefs of Chrift's redemption is carried on from the time of the overthrow of

the

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 419

ihc Ixeathen Roman empire by Conflantine the Greaf, tiU the /all of antichrift, and the deftru'flion of Satan's vili-. ble kingdom on earth, which is the third great difpenfa-tion that is in fcripture compared to Chrilt's coming to judgment. This is a period wherein is contained many wonderful providences towards the Chriftian church. The greater part of the book of the Revelation is taken up in predicting the events of this period.

The fuccefs of Chrift's purchafe of redemption in this period appears chiefly at the clofe of it, when Antichrift comes to fall, when there will be a far more glorious fuccefs of the gofpel than ever yet has been: and the feries of events preceding, feems to be only to prepare the wav for it. And in order to a more clear view of this period. I fliall fubdivide it into thefc four parts: from the de-ftrudtion of the heathen empire to the rife of antichrift ; from the rife of antichrift to the reformation in Luther's time; from thence to the prefent time ; from the prefent time, till the fall of antichrift. But under this head T ihall confiuer only the former, reaching from the deftruc-tion of the heathen empire to the rife of antichrift. And here, (i.) T would take notice of the oppofition Satan made in this fpace of time to tlie church : and, (2.) The fuccefs that the gofpel had in it.

(i.) The oppojitton. Satan being caft out of his old heathen empire, the great red dragon after fo fore a cou-fli6l with Michael and his angels for the greater part of three hundred years, being at laft entirely routed and vanquiflied, fo that no place was found any more in heaven for him, but he was caft down, as it were, from heaven to earth ; yet does not give over his oppofition to the woman, the church of Chrift, concerning which all this conflift had been. But he is ftill in a great rage, renews his attempts, and has recourfe to frelh devices againft the church. The ferpent, after he is caft out of heaven to the earth, cafts out of his mouth water as a flood, to caufe the woman to be carried away of the flood. [Rev. xii. 15.] The oppofition that he made to the church of Chrift before the rife of antichrift, was prin-

420 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

clpally of two forts. It was either by corrupting the church of Chrift with herefies, or by new endeavours to reftorePaganifm.oi^} odi :;

[i.] I would obferve, that after the deftrudtion of the heathen Roman-empire, Satan infefted the church with herefies: Though there had been fo glorious a work of God in delivering the church from her heathen perfe-cutors, and overthrowing the heathen empire ; yet the days of the church's travail were not ended ; and tlie fet time of her profperity which the church enjoyed in Con-llantine's time, was but very fliort: it was a refpite, which gave the church a time of peace and filence, as it were, for half an hour, wherein the four angels held the foui-winds from blowing, till the fervants of God (liould be lealcd in their foreheads. [Rev. viii. r.] Butthe church loon began to be greatly infe(led with herefies; the two principal, and thofe that did moft infcfi: the church, were the Arian and Pelagian herefies. : .-^rmj

The Ariaiis began foon after Conftantine came to the' throne. They denied the doctrine of the Trinity, and the divinity of Chrift and the Ho^y Ghort, and maintained, that tliey were but mere creatures, (x) This herefy increafed more and more in the church, and prevailed like a flood, which threatened to overthrow all, and entirely to carry away the church, infomucb tliat before

that

(x) T/je Arian s.] Thefe were fo called from Jlrlns, a pried of the church of Alexandria, and a native of Lybia: afterwards they were fplit into a great number of fefts, partly from the degree of refinement in which the notions of Arlus were received ; fome approaching very near the language of the orthodox, as they were called, and others degrading the Son of God far more than Arius had done: and partly from other ftrange and erroneous opinions added to his; commonly however, they bore the name of fome favourite leader, as the Photiniaus, Ntjlorlansy Eutychians, T'lmotheanSf Sec. The grand champion of the orthodox was yithannfius, who would have better defended their caufe, had he adhered to the fimplicity of fcrlpture and not fi'ttercd Chriflianity with his own additions and refinements.' To him we are indebted for the Alhanafion Creed, though few liberal minds think highly of the obligation, and fewer can endure the curfes he has introduced into the religious worfliip of the greater part of Chriftendom.

[G. E.]

ro THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 421

thnt age Was out, (hat is, before the end of the fourth ccnturv, the greater part of the Chriftian church were become Arians. There were fo!iie emperors, the fuc-ceflbrs of Conftantine, who were Arians ;* fo that the Arians being the prevailing party, and having the civil authority on their fide, raifed a great perfecution againfl: the true church of Chrifl:; fo that this herefy might well be compared to a flood out of the mouth of the fcrpent, which threatened to carry away the woman.

The Pelagirai herefy arofe in the beginning of the next century. It began by one Pelagius, who was born in Britain : his Bririlll name was Morgan. He denied original lln, and the influence of tiie Spirit of God in con-verfion, and held the power of free will, and many other things of like tendency: and this herefy for a while greatly infefled the church. Pelagius's principal antagonift, who wrote in defence of tlic orthodox faich, was St. Au-guftin. (v)

[2.] The other kind of oppofuion which Satan made againfl: the church, was in his endeavours to refl:orc Pa-ganifm. And; his firft attempt to refl:orc it in the Roman empire, was by Julian the apofl:ate. Julian was nephew to Conftantinc the Great. When Conftantine died he loft his empire to his three ions : and when thev were dead, Julian reigned in their flead. He had been a pro feflTed Chriflian;. but he fell from ChriAianity, and turned Pagan ; and therefore is called the apoAate. When he came to the throne, he ufed his utrnofl endeavours to

over-

* Conflantius Valeus, &c. See Dupin's Ecclef. Hift. Cent. iv.

(y) Pelagianism.] Pdagius was very raucli aflifted by Cekf-tins, a much more fiibtil and ingeniiis man. In Britain this fyi-tcm was fupported not by the authors of it, but by y^pricola, a dil-ciple of Pelagius; this produced, as ufual, an excommunication; for the ccclefiailical furgeons of thofe days feem to have under-itood no part of their bufinefs fo well as amputation. Our author has obferved, that the principal antagoniil of" Pelagius was St. jiugiiftin. This eminent father was brought up a Manichean, but converted by the preaching of St. ylmbrofe, and the reading of St. Paul's EpilUes. His works which are in Latin, make ten folio volumes, the lad of which contains his numerous writing's againlb the Pelagians. "[G. E.]

43a HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

overthrow the Chriftian church, and fet up Paganifm again in the empire. He put down the Chriftian Magif-tratcs, and placed heathens in their room; he rebuilt the heathen temples, and became a moft notorious perfecutor of the Chriftians, and, as is thought, againft his own light: he ufed to call Chrifl, by way of reproach, the Galilean. He was killed with a lance in his wars with the Perfians. When he faw that he was mortally wounded, he took a handful of his blood, and threw it up towards heaven, crying out, " O Galilean, thou haft con-<j[uered." (z) And he is commonly thought by divines to have committed the unpardonable fin. (a)

Another way that Satan attempted to reflrore Paganifm in the Roman empire, was by the invafions and conqueft of heathen nations. For in this period the Goths and Vandals, and other heathen barbarous nations that dwelt in the north of the Roman empire, invaded it, and obtained great conquefts, and even over-ran the empire ; in the fifth century they took the city of Rome, and finally fubdued and took poflellion of the M^eftern empire, as it was called, and divided it into ten kingdoms, which were the ten horns of the beaft ; for we are told, that the ten horns are ten kings, who fhould rife in the latter part of

the

(z) '^VL\kVi the ^pojlnie.'] Among the inftances ©f Julian's op-pofition to Chriftianity, hiftorians mention his attempt to rebuild Jcrufalem and reftore Judaifm, which was miraculoufly defeated, fubterraneous fire repeatedly confuming both the work and workmen. This is acknowledged by his biographer ylnnnianus Mar-ceUlnns, [Lib. xxiii. cap. 4.] who however fays nothing, though prefent at the time, of his blafphemous exclamation when mortally wounded, as above related; but greatly applauds the compofure, fortitude, and refignation with which he died. This therefore refts on Chriftian authority ; as that of TheoJoret, [Lib. iii. cap. 20.] and Sotomen, [Lib. vi. cap. 2. J whether therefore it was dcfignedly omitted by the heathen, or invented by Chriftian hiftorians, has been doubted. [See Univ. Hift. vol. xvi. p. 267.] [G. E.]

( A) The UNPARDONABLE Sin.'] That is, the^/7 againft the Holy Ghojl; [Matt. xii. 21, 22.] This is fuppofed to be a compli(?atIon of knowledge and inveterate malice ; h^d Peter denied his mafter with the malicious heart of Saul the perfecutor—or Saul perfecut-ed Jefus with the light that Peter poffelfed—either would have committed this fin. [N. U.]

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 423

the Roman empire: (b) thefe are alfp reprefcnted by the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's image. The inva-fion and conqueft of the heathen nations are fuppofcd to be foretold in the viiith chapter of Revelation, in what came to pafs under the founding of the four firft trumpets. (c) Now thefe nations were chiefly heathens; and by their means heathenifm was again for a while in part re-ftored after it had been overthrown.

(2.) I proceed to fhow what fuccefs there was of the gofpel in this fpace, notwithflanding thisoppofition.

[i.] I obferve, that the oppofition of Satan was baffled. Though the dragon caft out of his mouth fuch a ftood after the woman to carry her away, yet he could not obtain his defign; but the earth helped the woman, and opened her mouth and fwallowed up tlic flood which

the

(b) Ten hems of the heaji.^ Sir If. Newton reckons them thus : I. The Vandals and Alans in Spain and Africa ; 2. The Suevians in Spain ; 3. The Vifigoths ; 4. The Allans in Gallia ; 5. The Bur-gundians; 6. The Franks; 7. The Britons; 8. The Hunns; 9. The Lombards; 10. The kindom of Ravenna. Mr. Mede and other writers differ a little in the names of thefe kingdoms, according to the date at which they reckon them; but all, even Machlavel, [See Bp. C/'fl«^/rr's Vindication, book i. ch, ii. § 3.] who little thought of fulfiling prophecy, adheres to the fame number ; " for though they might be afterwards fometimes more and at others fewer, yet (fays Sir If. Ncivton) they are Hill called the ten kings." [Obferv. on Dan. ch. vi. p. 47, 73.] [G. E.]

(c) The FOUR jfry? TRUMPETS.^ Thc^r^trumpet produces a ftorm of fire, of hail mingled with fire, and very fitly reprefents the Goths under Jlhiric, who arc compared to a ftorm of hail by Clau-dian. And Philofiorgius reprefents this period as remarkable for Hghtning and hail.—At the fecond trumpet a burning mountain is caft into the fca, which was ^tti/a and his Hunns, a few years after the former. He called himfelf the * fcourge of God and the terror of men.'—At the founding of the third trumpet the ftar ivormzuood talis from heaven, fuppofed to predial Genfer'ic, a per-fecuting Arian, king of the Vandals.—By the/c:^r?A trumpet, the political luminaries of the empire were terribly eclipfed, which was effected by Gdoacer king of the Heruli, who put an end to the very name of the weftern errvp-ire, and was proclaimed king of Ita-ly ; but was foon removed bv Thcodoric king of the Oftrogoths, who refumed his place. The bloodfhed and other calamities, which attended thefe revolutions, are beyond conception. [See Bp. JVeii'ton on the Prophecies, vol. iii. djf. 24.] [G. E.j

the dragon caft out of his iviouth. [Rev. xii. 16.] Thefe Jurefics which fo much prevailed, yet after a while dwindle away and truth was again reflored. (d) As foi 'Julian i attempt, it was difappointed by his death,

[2.] The

(d) H^Kisi^spnvaUcd.'] "We cannot difmifs the fubjeft of the ancient herefies without two or three remarks, which naturally arife from the perufal of their hiftory.

1. We obferve, that every nev/ opinion that was ftarted, which could not be found in the eftablif[;ed creeds, was deemed a he-refy, though fometlmes perfeAly harmlcTs, and even true. Such were the opinions that unbaptifed children might be favcd-^that the Virgin Marj'- had children after our Lord—and the doftrine of the Millenium. This method foon increafed the number of herefies almoil beyond belief. -

2. That moil of the herefies of thofe days which dcfervcd that opprobriou;^ name, arofe from mixing the principles of the philo-fophers with the pure truths of revelation. This idea would fill a volume; we ihall therefore only illuftrate it by two or three inftances.

The Gnojlics^ or knotuing ones, as the term implies,, whether they fprang from Simon Magus or not, formed their fyitem of a mixture of Chridianity and the oriental philofophy, pLrfonifying I know not what attributes, and forming a gcneiation of JEonsy

one of whom they fuppofed to he Jefus and another Gbrift.

Valentinus, a great admirer of the Platonic philofophy, is faid to have much refined this fyftem, and founded the Valentinians. Origen, and many of the orthodox, in feveral particulars alfo Platonized ; and herein was laid the foundation of fcho'laftic theology, fo much cultivated in the fiiccecding ages.— Manes was a Perfian, and upon the fame principle endeavoured to unite the Magian fyftem (which he had formerly profefied) with that of Chriftianity, and in this fcheme allotted to Jefus Chrift the place of Mithras, the Perfian Deity. Somewhat like that Roman emperor, who propofed to place Jefus Chrift among the heathen idols in the pantheon. Manes adopted the PerfiaU' notion of two firft principles, and founded the feihl of Manicheans, who, among other impieties, took the God of the Jews for the evil principle, the devil.—But the plan of ylmmonius Saccas is faid to have been more liberal and extenfive, he propofed to harmonize ail the dif-cordant fyftcms cf religion and philofophy in the world, which he attempted by allegorizing the Pagan fyftem, and refined upon others, thus malting them down, as it we're, into one mafs of heterogeneous abfurdity.^—It fhould be added, that others, who jukI been oiiginally jfe-Tvs, were no lefs zealous i« uniting the laws of Mofes with the dottrines of Chrift, of v.-hich wc have inftances even in the Nev.- Teftameut.

^ vre

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 425

[2.] The gofpel, durlngthis fpace of time, was farther propagated amongfl: many barbarous heathen nations In the confines of the heathen Roman empire. In tlie time of Conftantine there was a confiderable propagation of the gofpel in the Eaft Indies, chiefly by the miniftry of one Frumentius, Great numbers of the Iberians, an heathen people, were converted to Chriftianity by a Chrif-tian woman of eminent piety, whom they had taken captive. And among feveral other barbarous nations who were not within the Roman empire, great numbers were brought to receive the gofpel by the teaching and example of captives whom they had taken in war. After this, about the year of Chrift 372, the gofpel was propagated in Arabia ; as it was alfo among Ibmc of the northern nations ; particularly a prince of the country of the Goths about this time became Chriflian, and a great number of his people with him. Towards the latter end of this century, the gofpel was preached among the Perfians; alfo among the Scythians, a barbarous people, whom the apof-tle mentions [Col. iii. 11.] 'Barbarian, Scvthian, bond * or free.' About the year 430, there was a remarkable converfion of the Burgundians to the Chriftian faith. In this age Ireland, which till now had been heathen, received Chriftianity. About the fame time it was farther propagated in Scotland and other places. In the next century, one Zathus, king of the Colchians, renounced 3 I heathenifm,

3. We may obfervc, that whatever party prevailed conftantly fuppofed themfelves to poflefs a right of vilifying and perfecuting all others. Calumny, excommunication, imprifonment, and ba-nifhmcQt, were the potent arguments with which they attacked their adverfaries. And when fome coclefiaftical revolution turned the fcales and raifed the fufFcrers to power, they were fure to retaliate upon their oppreffors. It is faid the great Conftantine faw and bewailed this antichriftlan fpirit, conjuring the oppofite parties to peace and unity, but all in vain. Thefe domeftic perfe-cutions very much increafed the number of herefies and fcliifm ; for oppofition is the parent of divifion, and the more men are fettered in matters of rehgious opinion, the more pcrverfe and ob-llinate will they be. It has been well obferved, that the groat iecret of fubduing fectaries is to tolerate them ; a fecvct which unhappily was not difcovcred in thofe times. \J.. N.J

426 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

h^thenjTiTi, and embraced the Chriflinn religion, as did feX'eral other barbarous nations which I cannot parcicu-jarize. (e)

Thus T have briefly confidered the principal events of Providence which concerns the fuccefs of the gofpel from ConRaritine to the rife of antichrift.

4- I

(e) The gofpel fctrther propagated.^ On this narrative we obierve, that the principal faftg are unqueftionable, being related by Sozomerif Socrates, and other hiftorians of that period, and in-I'erted into moft later ecclefiailical hiftories ; it is not neceffary, therefore, to cite diftinft authorities for each, we fhall only remark,

1. The rfiearis hy Avhich the gofpel was thus propagated, which were various; (r.) Preach'mg. Frvwentiiis, a native of Egypt, mentioned above, preached the gofpel alfo in Abyflinia, and having converted fome of the princes, and many of the iiihabitants, was made bifliop of Axuma by Athanafius.—Origen, at the invitation of an Arabian prince, is faid to have converted a numerous tribe of Arabs.—Patrick, a Scotfman, whofe original name is thought to have been Succbth, is faid to have converted the Irifh ; and though Anatoliis and Palladius preached there before him, yet is he honoured as their tutelar faint, as having had moft fuccefs. fi?rt^/«'s Hill, of England, vol. i. book 2.] (2.) Several nations were converted by means of Chriftian capjives. Thus many of the Goths firfl: liitened to Chriftianity in the third century by means of EutycheS, and were excited to fend for Cliriftian preachers, thougli fome give a later date and the following means. (3.) The jJ/'o^m/y of the Chriltian empire, and the manner in which Providence appeared for Conftantlne, induced others to embrace Chrillianity ; this is related particularly of the Burgun-dians and fome of the Goths, as juft obferved. And others changed their religion to flatter the Roman efnpcror, as one Phri-tergenes, a king of the Goths, to pleafe Valens. [Univer. Hift. vol. xvi.131. ; xviii. 325. ;xix. 279,434—^- y^^- ^°'^> 390> &e.l

2. This however does not appear to be the JirJI converfion of many of them. Mod of the then known world received the gofpel In the days of the apoftles. [See above. Note q^, page 407.] And when Paiitienas preached among the Indians, he found a copy of St. Matthew's gofpel, which, they faid, had been left among them by one of the apoftks. Some alfo dcferted the truth foon after they had received it : the Burgundians, for inftancc, vvho within fifty years turned pevfecuting Arians.

3. As to the gofpel thus preached, it is to be feared it wa?. feldom veiy pure. Phritergones and iiis people received their Chriftianity by means of Arian preachers. And the orthodox, as tiiey called themfelves, were, by the third and fourth renturies,

c(jn-

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRLST. 427

4. I come now to the fecond part of the time from Couftantine to the dellrutSiion of ajitichriix, viz- that which reaches from the rife of aijtichrift to the reformation by Luther and others. And this is the darkcft and mod dif-mal day that ever the Chriilian church faw, and probably the darkcft that ever it will fee. The time of the church's afflidtion, as was obferved befoie, is from Chrift's refur-re»5tion till the deftruclion of antichrift, excepting what the day is, as it were, fliortencd by fome inteimiflions and times of refpite, which God gives for the elc6l's fake. [See Matt. xxiv. 22.] But during this time, from the rife of antichrift till the reformation, was a fpace wherein the Chriftian church was in its dcpreflion, and dar^nefs. The church in this fpace was for many hundred years in a ftatc of great obfcuritv, like the woman in the wildernefs ; [Rev. xii. 6.] indeed Ihc was almoft hid from light and obfervation.—In fpcaking of the events of this fpare of time, I would, (i.) Take notice of tlie machinations of the devil againft the kingdom of Chrift in this time; (2.) How the church of Chrift was upheld during it.

(i.) 1 would take notice of the machinations of the devil againft the kingdom of Chrift during this time. Satan

had

coufiderably corrupted both in do£lrine and manners. Many alfo received the gofpel but in part, mixing fome particulars of it with their native fuperftitions, whence fprang thofe numerous fefts of Semi-Chviftians, as we may call them, ilill found in many parts of the eall.

4. We may add, that early in the following century (the fifth) France became nominally Chriftian, on the following occallon : Colvis L a pagan prince, f*;!! in love with Clotilda, a Chriftian princefs, and in order to obtain her, promifed to receive her religion ; tliis, however, he had like to have forgotten, had he not a few years after been in danger of lofing an important battle ; then he renewed his vow of turning Chriftian, if he might gain the vidlory, which accordingly liappening, he was baptized, with his fifter, and 3000 of his fubjefts. {Robinfan's Mem. of Refonn. in France, prefixed to Saurin's Sermons, vol. i.] A few yeais after Pope Gregory, in wonderful charity, fent Aullin, and a tribe of other monks, to convert our Saxon anceftois, (tlie na-J^ives havirg fled to Wales) and had fuch fuccefs a; to fonUid the

428 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

had done great things againft the Chriftian church before, but had been bafBed again and again. Michael and his angels had obtained a glorious viftory. How terrible was his oppofition during the continuance of the heathen empire ; and how glorious was Chrifl's victory and triumph over him in the time of Conftantine ! It pleafed God now to prepare the way for a yet greater vi6^ory over him, to fufFcr him to renew his ftrength, and to do the utmoft that his power and fubtilty could do; and therefore he fufFers him to have a long time to form his fchemes, and to eftablifh his interelT: ; and permits him to carry his defigns a great length, almoft to the fwallowing up of his church ; and to exercife a proud, and almoft uncontrouled dominion, a long time before Chrift finally conquers, and utterly ruins his vifible kingdom on earth, as he will do in the time of the deftruilion of antichrift ; and fhovv' himfelf fuperior to all his power and fubtilty. The two grand works of the devil which he wrought in this fpace againft the kingdom of Chrift, are his Anti-chriftian and Mahometan kingdoms, which have been, and ftill are, of great extent and ftrength, both together fwallowing up the ancient Roman empire; tljat of Antichrift the Weftern, and Mahomet's the Eaftcrn empire. It is in the deftru6tion of thefe that the vi6lory of Chrift, at the introdu6lion of the glorious times of the church, will chiefly confift. And here let us briefly obferve how Satan has eredled and maintains thefe two great kingdoms in oppofition to that of Chrift.

[i.] With refpe(Sl to the kingdom of antich)[ft. This fecms to be the mafter piece of all the devil's contrivances, and therefore antichrift is called emphatically the or that * man of fin,' [2 ThefT. ii. 3.] as though he were fo

eminently.

fee of Canterbury, of which he was the firft archblHiop. But it is to be feared, that the grand aim of the Roman pontiff was to enlarge his power, and the zeal of Auftjn and his fellow labourers to propagate the trumpery of popery, rather than the doftrines of the gofpel. \Rapin, vol. i. book 3. J There is no doubt but Providence over-ruled all thefe events for good, and among the fiiperftition of the times, there were always fome who would not bow the knee to Baal. [G. E.]

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 429

eminently. He is alfo called antlchrijl, which fignifies the adverfary of Chrift. Not that he is the only opponent of Chrift ; for the apofllc John obferves, that in his days there were many antichiills. [i John ii. 18, 22.] But yet this is called the antichrift, as though there were none other, becaufe he was fo eminently, and above all others. So this contrivance of the devil is called the myftery of iniquity. [2 TheiT. ii. -7.] And we tind no enemy of Chrifl; half fo much fpoken of in the prophecies of Revelation as this; or his deflruflion fpoken of as fo happy for the church, (f)

This is a contrivance of the devil to turn tlie miniftry of the Chriftian church into his fervice, and change thefe angels of the churches into fallen angels. And in the tyranny, fupcrftition, idolatry, and perfecution, which he fets up, he contrives to make an image of ancient pagan-ifm, and more than to reftore what was loft in the empire by the overthrow of heathenifm in the time of Con-flantine : fo that by thefe means the head of the beaft, which was wounded unto death in Conftantine, has his deadly wound healed in antichrift ; [Rev. xiii. 3.] and the dragon, that formerly reigned in the heathen Roman empire, being caft out thence, after the beaft with levcn heads and ten horns rifcs up out of the fea, gives him his power, and feat, and great authority : and all the world wonders after tlie beaft. (c)

I. am

(f) Antichrist.] Thatantichrift intends the Pape or rather the papalpoiuer^ is now generally agreed by protettant writers, and is largely (hewn by Bp. Nenvlon from the text above referred to and fome others [as Dan. vii. 20, 21.—i Tim. iv. i. &c.—i John iv. 3.—2 John vii. 8.] His Lordfhip has likewife effectually demoliflied every other hypothefis on this fubjeft. [On the Proph. vol. ii. Dif. 22.]

(g) 77ii' Image of the Beast.]

The Pagan- Dragon. | His Popish Image.

Its Head.

The Roman Emperor, called alfo Pontifcx max'tmus, (or high ptieft) attended with his princes in loyal purple.

The Pope, alfo Pontifcx max'tmus, with his college of cardinals cloathedin purple.

430 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

I am far from pretending to determine the time %vJien the reign of antichrill: began, which is a point that has been fo m\ich controverted among divines and expohtors-It is certain that the 1260 days, or years, which is fo often in fcripture mentioned as the time of the continuance of antichrifl's reign, did not commence before the year of Chriil 4^79 ; becaufe if tliey did, they would have ended,

and Its Members.

The Roman provinces. j The catholic^a/^j.

Its Gods.

Befide the blefTed Tritiify,

Befides yupiter the fupreme, DivaVefta, (Juno or Luna) and a .Tnuhitude of deities of different ranks, mediators and inter-cefTors ; prefiding over difierent countries, profefTions, difeafcs, days, &.C.

San6ta Maria, (the Virgin Mary) mother of God and queen of heaven, with innumerable faints worfhipped as mediators and interceiTors ; prefiding over various countries, profeflions, difeafes, days, 6cc.

Places of Worfiilp.

Tenr.ples built cad and well dedicated to their feveral gods ; ?.nd one in particular to them all, and therefore called the Paii-theon.

The fame temples, confecra-tcd anew, with others built upon the fame plan, and dedicated to their different faints ; and the fame Pantheon dedicated to all faints.

Manner of Worflxip.

Through the medium of rich images, with great fplendour and innumerable ceremonies, magnificent garments, many mufical jnftruments, torches at noon day, &c.

By the fame, or fimllar images with equal fplendour, many of the fame ceremonies, the like garments, many mufical inflru-ments, torches at noon day, &c.

See De La-Line's plea [book 3.] where the parallel is purfued through feveral other heads and properly lUuftiatLd with particular inilances: alfo the late Dr. Aliddletonh Letter from Heme, who has carried the fubjeft fllll farther, and obferves, when we fee " the prefcnt people of Rome worfhipping at this day in the fame temples —at \.\ig futiie altars —fometimes the fame images —and 'alwavs with the fah:e cerer/ionies, as the'old Romans; tliey muil have more charity as well as ikUl in diftinguifliing, than I pretend to, who can abfolve them from the fame crime of fuperftition and idolatry witl; their pagan anceftors." [U. S.]

TO THE FALL Or ANTICHRIST. 431 and antichrift would have fallen before now. (h) But the rife of antichrift was gradual. The Chriflian church corrupted itfelf in many things prcfcntly after Conftan-tine's time, growing more and more lupcrftitious m its worlhip, by degrees bringing in many ceremonies mto the worQup of God, till at length they brought m the worfhip of faints, and fet up images in their churches and the clergy in general, and efpecially the biH^op of Rome, affumed more and more authority to himfelf. (i) In the' primitive times he was only a miniilcr of a congregation ; then a ftanding moderator of a preil^ytery-—a ° diocelan

(h) r/.. beginning ofthere'tsn of Antichrift.-} The beft Interpreters (as Mr. Fleming, Sir I. Newton, Mr. Lowman, Dr. Dod-dridee, Bp. Newton, and Mr. Reader) are pretty wefl agreed that this reign IS to be dated from about A. D. 756, when the Pope be£ran to be a temporal power, (that is, in prophetic language, a W) by affuming temporal dominion ; 1260 years from this period will bring us to about A. D. 2000, and about the 6000th year of the world, which agrees with a tradition at leall as ancient as the epittle afcrlbed to the apoftle Barnabas [$ 15.] which favG, that "In fix thoufand years fliall all things be accomplif.ied. [See Dodclr. inloc. and Bp. Newton on the Prop. vol. 1. Diff. 14.] (0 Popift^ fuperfitlon GKA-DVM^i^^ introducecL'] The foilo\ving chronological lift of Poplfh peculiarities is taken from the late Mr. Toplaily.

C^ t? T^ T TJ R Y •

II. Marriage and eating flefh forbid ; Lent enjoined ; the keeping of Eaftcr, and excommunication began to be abuled.

III. Keeping of Chridmas and Whitfunday enjoined ; commemoration of'martyrs ; facred veftments ; oblations for the dead; facraments corrupted ; new orders of clergymen inflituted ; and a monalllc life applauded. ■, , tt -j a

IV. Relics venerated ; pilgrimages recommended ; r nday maae a fail day ; and the clergy forbad to marry.

V. Piaure«, Images, and altars erefted in churches; tapers burnt at noon day ; penances and prayers for the dead pradifed ; monafterles erefted for nuns. , • -i

VI. Sacrifice of the mafs ; the clergy exempted from the civil jurifdiaion ; indulgencies eltabliflsed ; herefy made death.

VII. Pope made unlvcrfal bifhop ; pantheon dedicated to aU the faints ; payers to faints, and the Latin language enjoined.

VIII. Pope made a temporal prince, and began to depofe kings;

image worfhip enjoined.

** L\. Saints

432 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

diocefan bifliop—a metropolitan, which is equivalent to au archbirtiop-—a p;itriarch ; then he claimed the power of univerfal bifliop over the whole Chriftian church, wherein he was oppofed for a while, but contirmed in it by the civil power of the emperor in the year 606. After that he claimed the power of a temporal prince ; and fo was wont to carry two fvvords, to fjgnify both his temporal and fpiritual power, and affumed more and more authority, till at length he, as Chrift's vicegerant on earth, claimed the very fame power that Ciirift would have, if he was prefent on earth, and reigned on his throne, or the fame power that belongs to God ; he even ufed to be called God on earth, and fubmitted to by all the princes of Chriften-dom. (k) He claimed power to crown princes, and to degrade them at his pleafurc ; and brought kings and emperors to kifs his feet. Emperors were wont to receive their crowns at his hands, and princes dreaded the difpleafurc of the Pope, as they would have done a thunderbolt from heaven ; for if the Pope was pleafed to excommunicate a prince, all his fubjc61:s were at once freed from their allegiance, yea, and obliged to renounce it on pain of excommunication ; and not only fo, but any man might kill him wherever he found him. Further, the Pope was believed to have power to damn men at plcafure ; for who-foever died under his excomm-unication, was looked upon as certainly loft. Several emperors were a£l:uallv depoled, and died miferably by his means ; and if the people of any

ftate

IX. Saints canonized ; and tranfubftantiation maintained ; college of cardinals inftituted.

X. Agnus Dci's invented and bells baptized.

XI. Purgatory and beads invented.

XII. The fcholaftic writers arofe.

XIII. Cup refufed to the laity ; auricular confcfllon enjoined ; jubilee appointed ; friars inftituted.

XIV. IndulgencesybZr/.

XV. Seven facraments eftabliflicd.

[Gof. Mag. Dec. 1775, and Sup.] (k) The Pop! a GOD.] So he was ftiled, " Our Lord God the Pope—a God on earth—the power of the.Pope (fay they) exceed.^ all created power, and extends to things celeitlal, tcrreftial and infernal." [Newton on the Proph. vol. ii. p. 36^.]

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 433 ftate or kingdom did not pleafe him, he could lay that ft.re or kincrdom under an interdidl, whcrchy all Incved adminiftratio'ns among them could have no validity. There could be no valid facraments, prayers, preaching, or pardons, till that interdia was taken oft; fo that people remained, in their apprehenhon, m a damnable ftate, and therefore dreaded it as they would a llorm ol tire and brimftone from heaven. And in order to execute his wrath on a prince or people with whom the Pope was difpleafed, other princes muft alfo be put to a -reat deal of trouble and expence. (i.)

As the Pope with his clergy robbed the people of their ecclefiaftical and civil liberties and privileges, fo he alio robbed them of their eftates, and drained all Chnftendoin of their money, ingroffing their riches into his own coffers, by revenues of the clergy, pardons, indulgencies, bap-tifms and extreme unaions, deliverance out ot purgatory, and an hundred other things, (m)— See how well this

agrees

(l) Princes deposed or deprived hy Popes.]

1. Pope Zachary I. depofod Childerick, King of Fiance.

2. Gregory VII. Henry IV. Emperor.

Urban II. P'ndip» ^'"g ^^ France.

3. uroan 11. • i wini^, ^—"t, — -- —

i Adrian IV. William, King of Sicdy.

5. Innocent III. Philip* Emperor.

Gregory, Frederick II.

Innocent IV. John, King of England.

Ui-ban IV. Mamphred, King of Sicily.

Nicholas III. Charles, King of Sicily.

Martin IV. Peter, King of Arragon.

Boniface VIII. deprived Philip the Fair.

Clement V. depofed Henry V. Emperor.

6.

9-10. 11. 12.

I / John XXII. deprived Lodovick, Emperor.

14. Gregory IX. depofed Wenceflaus, Emperor.

,t Paul in. deprived Henry VIII. King of England.

^* [Bennet's Memorial, p. 30.]

For the fentiments of the poplfh decrees and dodors on this fub-jea, fee ' Spirit of Popery,' ch. vlii. and Sir R. Steele, Rom. Lcclel. Hilt. No. III. and IV. where may be feen a famous oration ot Fo,.e Sixtus V. 1589, applauding the murder of Henry III. of France, by a Tacoblne friar, as both admirable and meritorious.

(m) rbeVo?LryKM^^XiChri/iendom:] This he did by the iol-lowing ingenious methods:

43+ HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

agrees with the prophecies above referred to, viz. [Thef. ii. 3, 4. Dan. vii. 20, 21. Rev. xiii. 6, 7. and xvii. 3, 4.]

During

-Some Account of the Fees of the Pope's Chancery for jibfolutionst Licences, InJu/gencies, isfc.

Absolutions. GrofTos.f

For lying with a woman in the chilrch - 6

For wilful perjury - - 6

A pried for fimony . . j

A layman for murdering a layman - 5

For killing father, mother, wife, fifter, or other relative - 7 For a prieil that keeps a concubine - 7

For defiling a virgin --6

For lying with mother, or fifter, &c. - ■ 5

For robbery, or bursing a neighbour's houfe - - 8

For forging letters apoftolical - - i7oriS

For a king going to the holy fepulchre without licence 100

Licences. To change a vow of going to Rome -12

That a king, on Chriftmas-day morning, may have a naked

fword borne before him, as the Pope has - 150

To have a portable altar 10

To eat flefli in Lent, &c. 12 or 16

That one who preaches before a king, may give indulgence

to all his hearers -12

For a town that hath ufed green wax in its feal, to ufe red 50 Fora layman to chufe his confeffor . 10

Indulgencies. For an hofpital or chapel for feven years - , 50

That a layman may remove the relics of faints to his own

chapel --. . . . 16

For a remilfion of the third part of one's fins - 100

■\- A GrofTo is fomewhat more than our groat.

The above account is correftly taken from Taxa S. Cancellaria ApoJlolu\-c ed'ul. L. Blanch. Fran. 1651. where p. 79, (fpeaking of matrimonial difpenfations) are thtfe remarkable words—

" N. B. Thefe benefits cannot be given to the poor; becaufe they have not, therefore they cannot be comforted.

Of this famous book there were no lefs than fifteen editions at diifcrent places abroad between A. D. 1514 and 1700.

*^* Indulgencies were often granted to whole fraternities, and fomctimes for a 1000 years or more.

" 'Tis almoft incredible what fums of mftney are drawn into the Pope's coffer, by thcfe and other little devices that depend upon thera; as maffes, requiems, trentals, obits; as alfo by Peter-pence,

tenths.

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 455

D\Jring this time aifo fuperftition and ignorance more and more prevailed. The holy fcriptures by degrees were taken out of the hands of the laity, the better to promote the r.nfcriptural and wicke d dcfigns of the Pope and his

3 K 2 clergy ;

tenths, firft fruits, appeals, inveftitures; by the fale of Agnus Dei's, confecrated beads, and fuch like ware fent from Rome every year; by difpenfations, mortuaries, pilgrimages to the spoftolic fee, efpecially at the jubilee. Some have computed that the tenths and fird fruits in this nation amounted to above £. 20,000 per annum, which was no fmall fum in thofe times, nay, one archbifhop's pall (Walter Grey's of York) coft £. 10,000 fterHng, fays Matthew Paris. In our Henry the Third's time it was reckoned that the Pope's revenue out of this nation exceeded the king's; and fome that have endeavoured to make the eflimate tell us, that there went 60,000 marks yearly out of this land to Rome; in collecfling which fums, the frauds and cruelties of their agents were fuch, that a great bigot of the Pope's, and a hot llickler in Bccket's caufe, Johan. Sanjh. aflTures us, " That the legates of the apoftollcal feat did tyrannize over the provinces, as if the devil was gone out from the prefcnce of the Lord to fcourge the church."

" Nor had our neighbours much better treatment ; the fame trade was carried on in other countries, witnefs the complaint of the Germans in their hundred grievances ; and that of the council of Spain, mentioned by Sandys In his Europas Speculum, viz. that Pope Pius V. had got 14 millions out of that kingdom in a fliort fpace. And Ciracella affirms, that Pope Sixtus V. in five years time collecfted five millions of crowns ; four millions of which Gregory XIV. his fucceffor, wafted in pomp and riot In lefs than ten months.

" Nov,' need we wonder at this, confidering how many hands wore employed ? The grand fiHierman at Rome had a multitude in every country to angle partly for him, and partly for them-Iclves. Alltcad reckons above a hundred years ago, that there were then at Icaft 225,044 monafterles In ChrHlendom; and if you allow forty perfons to ?. houfe, the number will be more than nine million. Now all thefe, and the reft of the ecclefiaftics, which, like locufts had overfpread the face of the earth, lived upon the plunder of the people ; and bcfides, they had a thoufand little tricks and dcvlfes in getting money ; they could fell a dead man's bones at a vaft fum ; Auftin's particularly (that were tranflated from Hippo to Sardina) were purchafed at an hundred talents of filvcr, and a talent of gold : and having almoft an Infinite variety of ware, which they put off at no fmall rate, taking advantage of the fuperftition and credulity of their filly chapmen." [Bennet's Mem. of the Reform, p. 27—39. See alfo /V/:t's Church Hift. book V.J

436 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

clergy; and inftead of promoting knowledge among tlie people, they induftiioufly promoted ignorance, (n) It was a received maxim among them, that ignorance is the mother of devotion : and fo great was the darknefs of thofe times, that learning was almoft extin6l in the world. Mod of the prieils thcmlelvcs were barbaroufly ignorant as to any ether knovv^ledge than their infernal craft in oppreffing and tyrannizing over the fouls of the people. The fuper-flition and wickednefs of the church of Rome kept growing worfe and worfe till the very time of the Reformation ; and the whole Chriftian world were led away into this grand defedlion; except the Greek church and fome others which were funk into equal darknefs and fuper-flition; with a few that were the people of God, who are reprefented by the woman in the wildernefs, and God's two witnefles, of which more hereafter.

This-is the chief of thofe two great kingdoms wliicli the devil in this period eredled in oppofition to the kingdom of Chriit. I come now,

[2.] To fpeak of the other, which is in many rcfpeils like unto it, viz. his Mahometan kingdom, which is alfo of mighty power and vail extant, fet up by Satan againfl: the kingdom of Chrifl: this was fet up in the eaflern empire, as that of antichrift in the weftern.

Alahomet was born in tlie year of Chrifl 571', in Arabia. When he was about forty years of age, he began to give out tliat he was the great prophet of God, and to teach

his

(n) Papists inimical to scripture.] The proofs of this are endlefs ; we can only refer to a tra£l called " Popery an Enemy to fcripture," by theRev.y. Serces, (1736)'who has ihevvn that papilts prohibit the laity to read the fcriptures—that the principles of popery annul its authority—that their divines fptak of them witli great contempt—that theymadedecrccs inoppolition tothcm—that they falfify them in their tranflations.—Memorable is the llory of Fulgeniitts, the friend of Father Paul, who preaching on Pilate's queilion, ' What is truth ?' told the audience, that after many re-fearches he had found it out, and holding out a New Teflament laid, it was there in his hand, but added, putting it again into his pocket—" The book is prohibited." [Letter toBp. of Cavlifle— quoted Mon. Rev. Jan. 1778.]

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 437

his new religion, of which he was to be confidercd as the head next under God. He publifhed his Koran, which he pretended to have received Irom the.angel Gabriel ; (o) and being a crafty man, pofleffed of confiderable wealth, and living among a people who were very ignorant,* and greatly divided in their opinions of religions matters,.

by

(o) 77j<? Koran.] This celebrated book (called in Arabic, A1-koran) is the bible of the Turks, and very different charafters arc given of it by Mahometans and Chriflians : the following hints are clefigned to give an impartial, though concife, view of it, and balance the oppofite accounts.

1. It muil: be confefl'cd to contain many fuWime ideas ; and for the elegance and correftncfs of its itylc, is confidered as the ftandard of the Arabian language. It alfo contains a number of fine moral obfervations and excellent precepts, particularly on the articles of julUce and alms-deeds.

2. On the other hand It Is equally true, the Koran contains a great number of abfurdltles and falfehoods ; tales too abfurd for fuperannuatlon to relate, or Infancy to believe : nay, a variety of injunctions the mod tyrannical and fangulnary that ever were delivered; witnefs his laws concerning women, Infidels, revenge. Sec.

3. In reply to our firll remark, Chrllllan writers have obfervcd that the fubllmcil of his Ideas and the beft of his precepts were probably borrowed from his converfatlon with Jews and Clirlfllans; not to mention the current ftory of his being afiilted by a Jew aod a Monk, v.hlch Mr. Gibbon will not admit.

4. In anfwer to our fecond obfervatlon, many of the Mahometan doftors pretend that the reveries v/e defplfe are mere allegories, and capable of a myllical explication, neither carnal nor ridiculous. The precepts which we condemn, they alfo juilify as perfeftly confiftent with the ideas of eaflern nations, though they appear llrange and arbitrary to the wellern world.

5. Praftlfing the grand ChrilHan precept of doing as we would be done by, and making all reafonable allowances; ftlU nothing can reafon away the Impoilurc of feigned revelations ; nothing juf-tlfics the tyranny of many of his laws; nothing palliate the cruelty and bloodftied that frequently marked his conquefts.

6. Laftiy, In one view, hov/ever, we may contemplate Mahome-tanlfm with plcafure and Inftruftlon, as It affords a jjowerful argument In defence of Chrlftlanlty, and contains, even in the Koran, its own refutation, Mahomet allows the miffion both of Mofes and of Chrlfc, and thus confirms both the Old Teftamcnt and the New ; and yet (wonderful Inconfillency!) with neither of thefe can his doftrincs In any manner be reconciled. He admits that both the Jewifli leglllator and the Mcfiiah of the gofpels were commiffioned from above, and yet If either be admitted, Maliomct muli certainly be rcjefted as an cnthufiaft; or an impofior. [G. E,]

438 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

by fubtilty, and fair promifes of a fenfual paradife, he gained a number to be his followers, fet up for their prince, propagated his religion by the fword, and made it meritorious of paradife to fight for him. By which means his party grew, and went on fighting till they conquered and brought over the neighbouring countries: and io his party gradually increafed till they over-ran a great part of the world, (p) Firft, the Saracens, who were

fome

(p) The Character of Mahomet.] Many will, we hope, be gratified by the following extraft from Mahomei'i, charaAer, drawn by the mafterly hand of Mr. Gibbon ; in which, however, it is but judice to hint to the juvenile part of our readers, that this elegant hiilorian appears too much inclined to admire any fyftem inimical to Chriltianity.

" According to the tradition of his companions, Mahomet was

dillinguifhed by the beauty of his perfon They applauded

his commianding prefence, his majeflic afpecl, his piercing eye, his gracious fmiie, his flowing beard, his countenance that painted every fenfation of the foul, and his geilures that enforced each cxpreiTion of the tongue. In the familiar offices of life he fcru-puloufly adhered to the grave and ceremonious politenefs of his country; his refpedlful attention to the rich and powerful was dignified by his condcfcenfion and affability to the pooreft citizens of Mecca ; the franknefs of his manner concealed the artifice of his views ; and the habits of courtefy were imputed to perfonal friendfhip or univerfal benevolence. His memory was capacious and retentive, his wit eafy and fecial, his imagination fublime, his judgment clear, rapid, and decifive. He poffeffed the courage both of thought and aftion ; and, although his defigns might gradually expand with his fuccefs, the firft idea which he entertained ot his divine miffion bears the ftamp of an original and fuperior genius. The fon of Abdallah was educated in the bofom of the nobleft race, in the ufe of the purell dialeft of Arabia; and the fluency of his fpeech was correfted and enhanced by the practice of difcreet and feafonable filence. With thafe powers of elocjuence,Mahomet was an illitciate barbarian : his youth had never been in-ftrufted in the arts of reading and writing ; the common ignorance exempted him from fhame and reproach; but he was reduced to a narrow circle of cxillence, and deprived of thofe faith-iul mirrors, which rofleft to our mind, the minds of fages and heroes. Yet the book of nature and of man was open to his view. .... From liis carlieih youth, Mahomet w^s addicled to religioua contemplation : each year, during the month of Ramadan, he withdrew from the world, and from the arms of Cadijah ; in the cave of Hera, three miles from Mecca, he confulted the fpirit of

fraud

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 439

fome of his followers, and were a people of the country of Arabia, where Mahomet lived, about the year 700, began dreadfully to wafte the Roman empire. They conquered a great many countries belonging to the empire, and continued their vi6\ories for a long time. Thefe are fuppofed to be meant by the locufts that we read of in the ixth chap, of Revelation. ( q^) After

fraud or entluifiafm, whofe abode is not In the heavens, but in the mind of the prophet. The faith which, under the name of JJIam, he preached to his family and nation, Is compounded of an eternal truth and a necefTary fiction, That there is only one God, and that Mahomet is the apojlle of God.

Charity may believe that the original motives of Mahomet were thofe of pure and genuine benevolence; but a human mUTionary Is Incapable of cherlfliing the oblllnate unbelievers who rejeft his claims, defpife his arguments, and perfecute his life ; he might forgive his perfonal advcrfarles, he may lawfully hate the enemies of God; the ftern paffions of pride and revenge were kindled In the bofom of Mahomet, and he fighed, like the prophet of Nineveh, for the deftruftion of the rebels whom he had condemned. The Injuftlce of Mecca and the choice of Medina tranf-formed the citizen Into a prince ; the humble preacher Into the leader of armies ; but his fword was confecrated by the example of the faints; and the fame God who affllfts a finful world with peftilence and earthquakes, might infpire, for their converfion or chaftlfemcnt, the valour of his fervants. In the exerclfe of political government, he was compelled to abate the flern rigour of fanatlcifm, to comply in fome meafure with the prejudices and paffions of his followers, and to employ even the vices of mankind as the Inftruments of their falvation. The ufe of fraud and perfidy, of cruelty and Injuftlce, were often fubfervient to the propagation of the faith ; and Mahomet commanded or approved the afiafiination of the Jews and Idolaters who had efcaped from the field of battle. By the repetition of fuch afts, the cha-rafter of Mahomet mud have been gradually ftained ; and the Influence of fuch pernicious habits would be poorly compenfatcd by the praftlce of the perfonal and focial virtues which are necef-fary to maintain the reputation of a prophet among his feftaries and friends. Of his laft years, ambition was the ruling paffion ; and a politician will fufpecl, that he fecrctly fmilcd (the victorious Impoftor !) at the enthufiafm of his youth and the credulity of his profelytes." [Gibbon's Decline of the Roman Emp. vol. v. ch. 50. N. B. Compare Prideaux's Life of Mahomet, ch. I. with Sale's preliminary Difcourfe, or Mo/heim'$ Eccl. Hill. vol. I, p.

( f»_) Saracens compared to locxjsts.I This they may be, I. From their fvvarms, as the Saracens were almoft innumerable;

2. Arabia.

440 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

After tlris the Turks, who were originally another people, different from the Saracens, but were followers of Mahomet, conquered all the eaftern empire. Their empire commenced about the year of Chrift 1296, and about 1300 they began to invade Europe, took Conftan-tinople, and fo became mafter of all the eaftern empire in the year 1453, "^^^i^h is near three hundred v^^-rsago. And tlius all thofe cities, where the famous churches of Jerufa-lem, Antioch, Ephcfus, Corinth, &c. were, now became fubject to the Turks. And they took pcffeiTion of Con-ftantinople, which was named after Conftantine the Great, and made by him the city of the Roman empire. Thefe Turks are fuppoled to be prophefied of by the horfemcn in the ixth chap, of Revelation, [ver. 15, &c.] (r) And the remains of the Chriftians in thofe parts of the world, who are mofHy of the Greek church, are in miferable flavery under thefe Turks, and treated with a great deal of barbarity and cruelty, and are become generally very ignorant and fuperftitious.

Thus I liave Ihown what great works of Satan were wrought during this ipace of time in oppofition to the kingdom of Chrift.

(2.) I come now to ihow how the church of Chrift was upheld through this dark time.—And here,

[i.] It is to be obferved, that towards the former part of this fpace, fome of the nations of Chriftendom held out a long time beiore they complied with the corruptions and ufurpations of the church of Rome. Though

all

2. Arabia, their country, frequently abounds with lociifts ; 3. Loculls are bred in pits, they in the infernal one ; 4. In the year A. D. 620, when Mahomet was training his dii'clples, an Arabian hiilorian mentions half the fun being eclipfed from Oftober to June ; 5. They fpared the trees, corn fields, and cattle ; 6. They hurt only thofe Chriftians v/hich were coirupted by idolatry and fuperftition. [See Bp. Newton on the Prophecies, who has adduced fcveral other ftriking particulars, and fhown Mahomet to be the Itar, ver. i.—vol. iii. Dili. 24 ] ■

(r) Turks defcr'thed as horjemcu.'^ For this they were remarkable—confilttd of four fultanies or kingdoms—their ftan-dards red, yellow, and blue, and about this time invented great guns and gunpowder, {JSlcnvton on the Proph. vol. iii. Difl". 24.]

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 441

all the world wondered after the beaft, yet all nations did not fall in at once. Many of the principal corruptions of the church of Rome were brought in with a great deal of ftruggle and oppofition ; and particularly, when the Pope gave out, that he was univerfal bifliop, many churches greatly oppofed him in it; and it was a long time before they would yield to his exorbitant claims.*- And fo, when the worfhip of images was firft brought into the churches, there were many who greatly oppofed it.f And the fame •with refpeft to other corruptions of the church of Rome. Thofe people that dwelt near to the city of Rome complied fooner, but fome that were more remote, were a long time before they could be induced to put their necks under the yoke : and particularly ecclefiaftical hiftory gives an account, that it w^as fo with great part of the churches in England, and Scotland, and France, who retained the ancient purity of dovSlrine and worfliip much longer than many others, who were nearer the chief feat of anti-chrift.t

[2.] In every age of this dark time, there appeared particular perfons in ail parts of Chriftendom, who bore a teftimony againil the corruptions and tyranny of the church of Rome. There is no one age of antichrift, even in the darkeft; times, but ecclefiaftical hiftorians mention many who manifefted an abhorrence of the Pope, and his idolatrous worlhip, and pleaded for the ancient purity of do6lrine and worfhip. God was pleafcd to maintain an uninterrupted fucceflion of witnefles, through the whole time, in Germany, France, Britain, and other countries. Many of them were private perfons, many minifters, and fome magiftrates, and perfons of dift:in6lion. (s) And

there

* Binghani'!, Antiq. book ix. chap. l. § 11. and Barrotu on the Supremacy.

f Dupins Eccl. Hift. Cent. viii. chap. i.

X See the following Note.

(s) God bad witnesses w every age.'] This is largely proved by a learned prelate, to whom thcfe notes have often been indebted, the late Bp. oi Brljlol [on the Prophecies, Dif. xxiv. Part i.] and the late ingenious Mr. Toplady, [Hiftoric Proof of tl.e Calv. of

there were numbers in every age who were perfecuted and put to death for this teftimony.

[3.] Befides particular perfons difperfed here and there, there was a certain people, called the Waldenfes, who

lived

the Ch. of Eng. vol. i. p. 149—212.] from whom the following iiamcB are fekfted under the different centuries :

Cent. VII. In this age the doftrine of the Roman church began to be effentially and generally corrupt; yet, however, the Pope had not commenced a temporal prince, and the illuftrious names that hiftory preferves, are too many to be particularized.

Cent. VIII. Several councils in this century were held in op-pofition to the growing errors of popery, particularly tranfubftan-tiaticn, and the worfliip of faints and images. The beginning of this century the famous ^/cuin, an Englifliman, wrote in the name of the Britifh bifliops, and others, to Charles the Great, protefting againll thefe errors. At this time alfo flourifhed the venerable Berle, who with his dying breath finiflied his Tranflation of St. John's Gofpel.

Cent. IX. Not to mention the exertions of feveral princes, both in the eaft and weR, againft the increafing tyranny of the Popes, and the vices and herelies of his clergy : among the divines who boldly oppofed popery, were jlgobard, Abp. of Lyons, who wrote againit pidlures and images, and maintained the doctrine of one mediator. Maurus, Abp. of Mentz, and the celebrated Bertram^ (or Ratramnus, as feme call him) and even Scutus, wrote againft. tranfubftantiation. Angilbertm, Ah^^. of Milan, refiftedthe Pope's fupremacy ; Claude, bifhop of Turin, afferted the principal articles of the proteftant faith ; and Gottefchalus, a pious monk, not only preached, but fuffered in their defence.

Cent. X. Which even Baron'ivs calls an Won and even a leaden age, produced fome councils and writers in oppofitlon to various branches of popery ; among the latter, Alfric, Abp. of Canterbury, was one of the moft eminent; and Gerbert, Abp. of Rheims, went fo far as to call the Vo-^t antichrifl, although afterwards (fo frail is human nature !) himfclfafcended the papal chair.

Cent. XI. Some pretended heretics at Orleans in France denied many of the popifli errors; and, asDupin fays, found fault with moft of the ceremonies of the church. Bcrengar'ius wrote profeffedly againft tranfubftantiation and the church of Rome.

Cent. XII. Many now began to efteem the Pope, antichrlft. Pdter and Hairy de Bruis, and Arnold, of Brefcia, fuffered martyrdom for the like opinions. The Waldenfes now arofe to general notice, and from thence may be dated the dawn of the reformation.

Cent. XIIL To leave the Waldenfes for a following note, and ihofc leffcr ftar? which now began to be pretty numerous in moft

..j^arts

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 443

lived feparate from all the reft of the world, who kept themfelves pure, and conftantly bore a teftimony againft the church of Rome through all this dark time. The place where they dwelt was the Vaudois, or the five valleys of Piedmont, a very mountainous country, between Italy and France. The place where they lived was com-pafTcd about with thofe exceeding high mountains called the Alps, which were almoft impaffable. The paflasje over thefe mountainous defert countries was fo difficult, that the valleys where this people dwelt were almoft inac-ceflible. There this people lived for many ages, as it were, alone, in a ftate of feparation from all the world, having very little to do with any other people ; and there they ferved God in the ancient purity of his worfliip, and never fubmitted to the church of Rome. This place, in this defert mountainous country, probably was the place efpe-cially alluded to in tlie xiith chapter of Revelation, [verfe 6.] as the place prepared of God for the woman, that they ihould feed her there during the reign of antichrift.

' Some of the popifli writers themfelves own, that this people never fubmitted to the church of Rome. One of the popilh writers, fpcaking of the Waldenfes, fays, The herefy of the Waldenfes is the oldeft herefy in the world.* It is fuppofed that this people firft betook themfelves to this dciertlccret place among the mountains, to hide themfelves from the fcverity of the heathen pcrfecutions which were before Conftantine the Great: and thus the woman fled into the wildcrnefs from the face of the ferpcnt. [Rev. xii. 6.] And fo, [verfe 14.] ' And to the woman were ' given two wings of a great eagle, tliat Ihe might fly into ' the wildernefs, into her place ; where flic is nouriflied

3 L 2 . ' for

parts of Europe, our own country in this age produced two very illuftrious charafters, Grojlhcad, bifhop of Lincoln, and Bradwar-dine, Abp. of Canterbury.

Cent. XIV. Produced Tl^icllif and the Lollards ; and from that time God has raifcd up a numerous and illuftrious company of wltnefTes in every fucceeding age, which, though they have been perfecuted and opprelTed in every poffible {hape, have never been Jilenced or fubducd. [L N.J

* Rclturlus cont. Haeret. cap. 4.

444 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

* for a time, and timec, and half a time, from the face of ' the ferpent.' And the people being there fettled, their poftcrity continued there from age to age afterwards : and being, as it were, by natural walls, as well as by God's grace, feparated from the reft of the world, never partook of the overflowing corruption.

Thefe, efpecially, v/ere thofe virgins wlio were not defiled with women ; nor when other women proflituted themfelves and were defiled ; but they kept themfelves pure for Chrift alone ; tl^ey followed the Lamb, their fpiritual hufband, whetherfoever he went ; they followed him into this hideous v/ildernefs. [Rev, xiv. 4, 5.] Their do6lrine and their worfhip, by the accounts which remain of them, appear to be the fame with the proteftant dodlrine and worfliip ; and by the confeffion of popiHi writers, they were a people remarkable for the ftriclnefs of their lives, for charity, and other chriftian virtues, (t) They lived in external poverty in this hideous country ; but they chofe this rather than to comply with the great corruptions of tlie reft of the world.

They living in fo fecret a place, it was a long time be-fove they feem to have been much taken notice of by the Romanifts ; but at laft falling under obfervation, they went

out

(t) The DOCTRINE of ibe Ancient Waldenses.] "According to PiUchdorJJliis the IVaUeufa themfelves carried up the date of their commencement, as a body, to about the year 637. For my own part, (fays Mr. Top lady) I agree with fomc of our oldeft and bed proteftant divines .... that the uninterrupted fucceffion of the apoftolic doftrine continued with them from the primitive times, quite down to the reformation ; foon after which period, they feem to have been melted down in the common mafs of pro-teftants." [Hiftoric Proof, vol. i. p. 149, &c.J

From an ancient confeffion of their faith, and other authentic teRimonieSi it appears that they acknowledged the apoflles creed, believed the doftrincs of the trinity, original fin, falvation by Chrill alone, the fufnciency of the fcriptures, of which they received the fame books that we do; and that they rejedted the Pope's fupremacy, purgatory, five faj:raments, prayers for the dead, malFcs, vows of celibacy, monkery, pilgrimages, the wor-jhipping of faints, and other popifli tenets.

[Sec liift. Ecclef. Magdeburg, vol. iii. Cent. XII. cap. 8. and Perrin's Hiilory, vol. i. cap. 8.j

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 445

e-ut in mighty annics againfl: them, and fell upon them with infatiable cruelty, barbaroufly maffacring and putting to death, men, women, and children, with all imaginable tortures ; and lo continued perfecuting them with but little intermiflion for feveral hundred years ; by which means many of them weie driven out of their old habitations in the vallies of Piedmont, and fled into all parts of Europe, carrying with them their doftrinc, to which many were converted, (u) But their perfccutors could not by all their cruelties extirpate the church of God ; fo fulfilling his word, ' that the gates of hell fhovild not prevail againft it.'

[4.] Towards the latter part of this dark time, feveral eminent divines openly appeared to defend the truth, and bear teftimony againft the corruptions of the church of Rome, and had many followers. The firft and principal of thefe was a certain Englilh divine, whofe name was 'John IVickllff', who appeared about 140 years before the Reformation, and ftrenuoully oppofing the popiih religion, taught the fame do6trine that the Reformers afterwards did, and had many followers in England. He was hotly pcrfecuted in his lifetime, yet died in peace;

and

(u) IVaUenfesgreatly persecuted.] " Againft the Waldenjesy (faith a candid popifh hiftorian) when exquifite punlfliments availed little, and the evil was exafperated by the remedy which had been unfcafonably applied, and their number increafed daily, at length complete armies were raifed, and a war of no Icfs weight than what our people had before waged againft the Saracens, was decreed ngainft them : the event of which was, that they were rather flain, put to flight, fpolled every where of their goods and dignities, than that convinced of their error they repented. So that .... they fled into Provence and the neighbouring Alps of the French territory ..... Part withdrew into Calabria, and continued there a long while .... part pafied into Germany, and fixed their abode among the Bohemians, and in Poland and Livonia ; others turning to the weft, obtained refuge in Britain."

[Thuan'us in Prvrf. ad Hen. IV.]

It is related, that in tliefc wars wiicn the paplfts took the city of Beziers, they put to the Avord above 6o,coo perfons, among whom were many of their own profefTion ; the Pope's legate crying, ♦' Kill them all, for the Lord knowcth rhem that arc his."

{Pet. HIP;. Alb. c. 1 :•, l8,'& feq.]

446 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

and after he was buried, his bones were dug up by his per-fecutors and burnt. His followers remained in confider-able numbers in England till the Reformation, and were cruelly perfecuted, and multitudes put to death for their religion.

WickUff had many difciples and followers, not only in England, but in other parts of Europe, whither his books were carried ; and particularly in Bohemia, among whom were two eminent divines, John Hufs, and yerom a divine of Prague, the chief city of Bohemia. Thefe ftrenuoufly oppofed the church of Rome, and had many who adhered to them. They were both burnt by the papifts, for their do6trine ; (w) and their followers in Bohemia were cruelly perfecuted, but never extirpated till the Reformation, —Thus having gone through this dark time of the church, which is the fccond part of the fpacc from Conftantine the Great to the dcfl:ru£lion of antichrift, I come now,

5. To the third part, viz. that which begins with the Reformation, and reaches to the prefent time. And here I would, (i.) Speak of the Reformation itfelf; (2.) The oppoiition that the devil has made to the Reformed church ; (3') What fuccefs the gofpel has lately had in one place and anotlier; (4) The prefent flate of things in the church ofChrift.

(i.) Here the firft thing to be taken notice of is the Reformation. This was begun about 220 years ago : firlt in Saxony in Germany, by the preaching oi Afart'in Luther, who, being ftirred in his fpirit to fee the horrid pra6lices

of

(w) Yiv5% burned.'] A very remarkable exprelTion is attributed to this martyr in the article of death. Addreffing himfelf to the popirti clergy then prefent, he faid, Ye fliall anfwer for this an hundred years hence both to God and me. And fome tell us that he added, " You roaft the Goofe now, but a Sivan fliall arife whom you fliall not be able to burn as you do the poor weak Goofe." Now Hufs in the Boliemia language fjgnifies a Goofe, as Luther does a Sii'an ; and jufl an hundred ye^vs after Luther rifes up, and gives them a deeper wound than ever they had yet received, as it were, requiring the bhjod of Hufs and Jerom of them ; and we know that the Swan could never be taken, but dies in her iieil."

[Bennet's Mem. p. 38.]

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 447

of the popifh clergy, and having fet himfelf diligently to inquire after truth, by the ftudy of the holy fcriptures, and the writings of the ancient fathers of the church, openly and boldly decried the corruptions and ufurpations of the Romilh church in his preaching and writings, and had foon a great number that fell in with his do£lrines ; among whom was the EleiSlor of Saxony, his fovereign prince. This greatly alarmed the church of Rome ; which did as it were rally all its forces to oppofe him and his doctrine, and fierce wars and perfecutions were raifed againfl: it : but yet it went on by the labours of Luther, and Melan6thoa in Germany, Zuinglius in Switzerland, and other eminent divines, who were contemporary with Luther, and fell in with him; and partic\alarly Calvin, who appeared fome-what after the beginning of the Reformation, but was one of the moft eminent Reformers.

Many of the princes of Germany foon fell in with the reformed religion, as did feveral other flates and kingdoms in Europe, as England, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, great part of France, Poland, Lithuania, Switzerland, and the Low Countries. So that it is thought, that heretofore about half Chriftendom were of the ProteOant religion ; though, fmce that time the Papifls perhaps have gained ground ; fo that the Proteftants now have not fo great a proportion.

Thus God began glorioufly to revive his church and advance the kingdom of his Son, after fuch a difmal night as had been from the rife of anticlirift to that time. There had been many endeavours ufed before by the witneflcs of the truth for a reformation before. But now, when God's appointed time was come, his work was begun, and went on with a fvvift and wonderful progrefs; and antichrift, who had been rifing higher and higher from Jiis very firfl; beginning till that time, was fwiftly and fuddenly brought down, and fell half way towards utter ruin, and never has been able to rile again to his former height. A late expofitor, IVIr. Loivman (who explains the five firfl; vials in the xvith chapter of the Revelation, with greater probability perhaps tlian any wlio went before

him.1

448 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

him,) underftands die fifth vial, which was poured out or; the feat of the beafi:, of what came to pafs in the reformation ; as he had done the four preceding vials of certain great judgments God brought on the popifh dominions before the reformation. It is faid, [ver. lo.] tliat ' the ' fifth angel poured out his vial on the feat of the bead ;' in the original, it is the throne of tlie beaft ;* ' and his ' kingdom was full of darknefs, and they gnawed their ' tongues for pain, and blafphemed the God of heaven * becaufe of their pains and their fores, and repented not ' of their deeds.' He poured out liis vial upon the throne of the beaft, i. c. on the authority and dominion of the Pope : thus the word throne is often ufed in fcripture ; fo (i Kings, i. 37.) 'As the Lord hath been with my lord ' the king, even fo be he with Solomon, and make his ' throne greater than the throne of my Lord King David :' i. c. make his dominion and authority greater, and his kingdom more glorious.

But now, in the reformation, the vials of God's wrath were poured out on the throne of the beaft. His throne was terribly fliaken and diminiflied. The Pope's authority and dominion were greatly diminiflied, both as to the extent and degree. He loft, as was faid before, about half his dominions. And ftnce the Reformation, tlie Pope has loft great part of that authority, even in the popifti dominions, which he had before. He' is not regarded, and his power is dreaded in no meafure as it was wont to be. The powers of Europe have learned not to put their necks under the Pope's feet, as formerly they were wont to do. So that he is as a lion that has loft his teeth, in comparifon of what he was once. And when the Pope and his clergy, enraged to fee their authority fo diminiflied at the Reformation,' laid their heads together, and joined tlieir forces to deftroy the Reformation ; tlicir policy, whicli was wont to ferve them fo well, failed, and they found their kingdom full of darknefs, io that they could do nothing, any more than the Egyptians,

who

* E?rt roil S^oK>> Sijftii.

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 449

who rofe not from their feats for three days. The Reformed church was defended as Lot and the angels were in vSodom, by fmiting their enemies with blindnefs, that they could not find the door. God then fulfilled that word [Job. V. II, &c.] * To fct up on high thofe that be low ;

* that thofe which mourn may be exalted to fafety. He

* difappointeth the devices of the crafty, fo that their ' hands cannot perform their enterprife. He taketh the ' wife in their own craftincfs : and the council of the fro-' ward is carried headlong. They meet with darknefs in

* the day time, and grope in the noon day as in the night. ' But he faveth the poor from the fword, from their mouth, ' and from the hand of the mighty.'—Thefe proud enemies of God's people being fo difappointed, and finding themfelves fo unable to uphold their own dominion and authority, this made them as it were to gnaw their tongues for pain and rage.

(2.) I proceed, therefore, to fhow what oppojitlon has been made to the fuccefs of Chrift's purchafe in the Reformation by Satan and his adherents ; obferving, as we go along, how far they have been baffled, and how far they have been fuccefsful.

[i.] The firft oppofition that I rtiall take notice of, is that which was made by the clergy of the church of Rome uniting together in a general council. This was the famous council of Trent, which the Pope called alittle while after the Reformation. In that council, there met together fix cardinals, thirty-two archbifliops, two hundred and twenty-eight bifhops, befides innumerable others of the Romifii clergy. This council, in all their fittings, including the times of intcrmiiTion between, was held for eighteen years together. Their main bufinefs all this while was to concert meafures for cftablifhing the church of Rome againft the Reformers, and for deftroying the Reformation.* But it proved that they were not able to perform their enterprife. The Reformed church, notwith-ftanding that council, ftill remains. So that the council

3 M of

* See Father Paul's Hlft. of this Council,

4^0 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

of the frovvard is carried headlong, their kingdom is full of darknefs, and they weary themfelves ia vain.

Thus the church of Rome, inftead of repenting of their deeds when fuch clear light was held forth to them by Luther and other Reformers, does, by general agreement in council, perlift in their vile corruptions and wickednefs, and obftinate oppotition to the kingdom of Chrift. The doctrines and pra6tices of the church of Rome, which were chiefly condemned by the Reformed, were confirmed by the decrees of this council: and the corruptions, in many refpedts, were carried higher than ever before; and they uttered blafphemous reproaches and curfes again ft the reformed religion, and all the Reformed church was excommunicated and anathematized by them ; and fo according to the prophecy, ' they blaf-' phemed God.' Thus God heardened their hearts, intending todeflroy them.

[2.] The Papifts have often endeavoured to overthrow the Reformation by kcret. plots and confplracies. So there were many plots againfl: the life of Luther. The Papifts were engaged in contriving to difpatch him, and to put him out of the way; and he, as he was a very bold man, often very much expofed himfelf in the caufc of Chrift ; but yet they were wonderfully prevented from hurting him, and he at laft died in his bed in peace. And fo there have been from time to time innumerable fchemes fecretly laid for the overthrow of the Protcftant religion ; among which, that which feems to be moft con-fiderable, and which feemed to be the moft likely to have taken effedt, was that in the time of King James IL ot England, which is within the memory of many of us. There was at that time a ftrong confpiracy between the King of England and Louis XIV. of France, who were both Papifts, to extirpate the Northern herefy, as they called the Proteftant religion, not only out of England, but out of all Europe ; and had laid their fchemes fo, that they feemed to be almoft fure of their purpofe.* They

looked

* See Rapin's Hift^of Eng. v. xv, p. 162, &c.

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 451

looked upon it, that if the Reformed religion were fup-preffed in the Britilh reahns, and in the Netherlands, which were the arongefl part, and the chief defence of the Proteftant intereft, they fliould have eafy work with the reft. And juft as their matters feemed to be come to a head, and their enterprife ripe for execution, God, in hii providence, fuddenly dailied all thefe fchenies in pieces by the Revolution, at the coming in of King William and Queen Mary : by which all thefe defigns were at an end ; and the Proteftant intereft was more ftrongly eftablifhed, by the crown of England's being eftablillied in the Proteftant Houfe of Hanover, and a Papift, by the conftitution of the nation, for ever rendered incapable of wearing the crown of England. Thus they groped in darknefs at noon day as in the night, and their hands could not perform their enterprife; their kingdom was full of darknefs, and they gnawed their tongues for pain.

After this, there was a deep defignlaid to bring the fame thing to pafs in the latter end of Queen Anne's reign, by the bringing in of the PopiOi pretender ; which was no lefs fuddenly and totally baffled by divine Providence ; as the plots againft the Reformation, by bringing in the pretender, have been from time to time.*

[3.] The Reformation has often been oppofed by open wars and invafions. So in the beginning of the Refor-rnation, the emperor of Germany, to fupprefs tiie Reformation declared war with tlie duke of Saxony, and the principal men who favt)ured and received Luther's doafine. But they could not obtain their end; they could not fupprefs the Reformation. For the fame end, the King of Spain maintained a long war with Holland and" the Low Countries in the century before laft. But thofc cruel wars iffued greatly to the difadvantage of the RomiOi church, as they occafioned the fetting up of one cf the moft powerful Proteftant ftates in Europe, which, next to Great Britain, are the chief barrier of the Proteftant religion.t And the defign of the SpaniUi in-

3 M 2 vafion

* Bennet's Memorial 370, &c. f Viz. Holland.

452 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

vafion of England In Queen Elizabeth's time, was to fup-prefs and root out the Reformed relif^ion: and therefore they brought in their fleet all manner of inftruments of cruelty wherewith to torture the Proteftants who would not renounce their religion. But their defign was totally baffled, and their mighty fleet in a great meafure ruined, (x)

[4.] Satan has oppofed the Reformation with cruel perfecution. The perfecutions with which the Proteftants in one kingdom and another have been tormented by the church of Rome, have been in many refpecls beyond anv that were before. So that antichrift: has proved the greateft and moft cruel enemy the church of Chrifl: ever had, agreeable to the defcription given of the church of Rome, [Rev. xvii. 6.] ' And I faw the woman drunken with the ' blood of the faints, and with the blood of the martyrs ' of Jefus.' And [chap, xviii. 24.] ' And in her was ' found the blood of prophets, and of faints, and of all them ' that were flain upon the earth.'

The

(x) The Spani/Jj Armada.] *' There was fo much of Providence (our enemies themfelves being judges) in it [the defeat of this fleet] that the Spaniih admiral, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, blafphemoufly fwore that he feared Jefus Chrift was turned Lutheran ; nay, the king of Spain himfelf hearing of this ftrange defeat of his fleet, faw fo evidently the finger of God'in this difap-pointment, that he is reported to have faid. He did not fend his fleet to fi<jht againft God, butagainfl men." [Bennei's Mem. 122.]

Don Pedro, one of the Spaniih captains taken by Sir F. Drake, being examined before the Lords of the privy council what was their defign of invading us, replied, " To fubdue the nation and root it out." And what meant you, faid the Lords, to do with the Catholics ? " To fend them, good men, faid he, direflly to heaven, as all you heretics to hell." For what end. were your whips of cord and wire ? ^' To whip you heretics to death." What would you have done with the young children ? " They above feven years old fhould have gone the way their fathers went; the reft fliould have lived in perpetual bondage, branded in the forehead with the letter L for Lutherans." [Account of the Span. Inva-fion, piiWifhed 1739.]

N. B. The inftruments of torture above alluded to, as thumb-fcrews, whips, &c. are ftill fliewn among other curiofities in the Tower of London.

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 453

The heathen perfecutions had been very dreadful; but now perfecuti.^n by the cliurch of Rome was improved, and ftudied, and cultivared as an art or fcience. Such methods of tormenting were found out that were beyond the invention of former ages. And, that perfecution might be managed more efFc6tually, there were certain focieties eflablifhcd in various parts of the Popifli dominions, whofe bufinefs if Ihouhl be to fludy, improve, and pradlife perfecution in its higheft perfe6fion, (y) which

are

(y) Courts of IsQtTisiTiON.] Thefe infernal tribunals were firft erefted in the twelfth century by the infamous Father Dominic, under the patronage of Pope Innocent HI. in order more completely to extirpate the Waldenfes, and other pretended heretics. It is difficult to conceive, that if God had delivered the world entirely into the devil's hands (as Satan once pretended) that his ingenuity and malice could have invented any thing more deteftable and fliocking. In fa6t, theie is fcarcely a method that could delay or pervert juftice, but they have adopted it in their forms; nor does there feem a poffible method of torture but they have invented and repeatedly exercifed. The reader whofe nerves can bear fuch reiterated fcenes of cruelty, may read Bal'er^s Hift. of the Inqulfition—the Hiftory of the Inquif. at Goa, written by a Papifl;—and fimilar works : but to fhew how far it is poffible for human nature to go, let him read the following extraft from a fermon preached at Evora, on occafion of one of the moft horrid fcenes the fun ever beheld, an aufo de fe, when they burn or rather roaft heretics (as they call them) alive, from a principle of religion. " Beloved Portuguefe," faid the inhuman wretch, " let us return thanks to heaven, for his great goodnefs in giving us this holy tribunal, [the Inquifition.] Had it not been for this tribunal, our kingdom would have become a tree without flowers or fruits, fit only to be committed to the flames. What progrefs has herefy made for want of an inquifition In England, France, Germany, and the Netherlands! It Is evident, had It not been for/o great a blcffing our country would have been like to thofe above mentioned." [Sermans de Padro Frcy, yliitonio Conthiho, impreffo em Lefhoa, anno 1638.] If It be poffible to add any thing more fhocking to this impious haran<:fue, It Is, that one of our own judges. Sir J. HovcJ, recorder of London, v.Ifhed for the like In-ftltutlon here in England: " Till now," faid he, on the trial of Pcnn and Mead, two Quakers, " I never underflood the prudence and policy of the Spaniards In fufPeringthe inquifition among them. And certainly It will never be well with us til! fometliing like the SpnniJ}] inquifition be in Er^land.^' [^Gen. DiH. vol. viil. Art. Pcnn, W.]

454 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

ar^ called the courts of inquijition. A perufal of the hif-tories of the Pvomilh perfecution, and their courts of in-quifition, will give that idea which a few words cannot exprefs.

When the Reformation began, the bead with fevcn heads and ten horns began to rage in a dreadful manner. After the Reformation, the church of Rome renewed its perfecution of the poor Waldenles, and great multitudes of them were cruelly tortured and put to death. Soon after the Reformation, there were nifo terrible perfecu-tions in various parts of Germany: and efpecially in Bohemia, which laded for thirty years together; in which fo much blood was fhed for the fake of religion, that a certain writer compares it to the plenty of waters of the great rivers of Germany. The countries of Poland, Lithuania, and Hungary, were in like manner deluged with Proteftant blood, (z)

By means of thefe and other cruel perfecutions, the Proteftant religion was in a great meafure fupprefled in Bohemia, and the Palatinate and Hungary, which before were Proteftant countries. Thus was fulfilled what was foretold of the little horn, [Dan. vii. 20, 21.] ' —and of .' the ten horns that vi'ere in his head, and of the other ' which came up, and before whom three fell, even of ' that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that fpake very

* great things, whofe look was more ftout than his fellows,

* I beheld, and the fame horn made war with the faints,

* and prevailed againft them.' And what was foretold of the beaft having feven heads and ten horns, [Rev. xiii. 7.] ' And it was given unto him to make war with the iaints,

' and

(2) Popery more cruel than Paganlfm.'] ** 1£'R.omtpagan hath (lain her thoufands of innocent Chriftians, Rome Chi-yUan hath flain her ten thoufands. For, not to mention other outrageous (laughters and barbarities, the croifades againft the Wal-denfes and Albigenfcs, the murders committed by the Duke of Alva in the Netherlands, the mafTacies in France and Ireland, will probably amount to above ten times the number of all the Chriftians flain in all the ten perfecutions of *the Roman emperors put ^.ogether." [Bp. Newton on the Proph, vol. iii. p. 282.]

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 455

* and to overcome them: and power was given him over

* all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.'

Alfo Holland and the other Low Countries were for many years a fcene of nothing but the moft afFe6ling and amazing cruelties, being deluged with the blood of Pro-teftants, under the mercilefs hands of the Spaniards, to whom they were then in fubje6tion. But in this pcrfe-cution, the devil in a great meafure failed of his purpofe ; as it iffued in a great part of the Netherlands carting off the Spanifli yoke, and fettini, up a wealthy and powerful Proteftant ftate, to the great defence of the Proteftant caufe ever fmce.

France alfo is another country, which, fince the Reformation, in fome refpedls, perhaps more than any other, has been a fcene of dreadful cruelties fuffered by the Pro-teftants there. After many cruelties had been exercifed towards the Proteflants in that kingdom, there was begun a perfecuiion of them in the year 1571, in the reign of Charles IX. king of France. It began with a cruel maf-facre, wherein 70.000 Proteftants vvere flain in a few days time, as the king boafted : and in all this perfecution, he flew, as is fuppofed, 300,000 martyrs. And it is reckoned, that about this time, within thirty years there were martyred in this kingdom for the Proteftant religion, 39 princes, 148 counts, 234 barons, 147,518 gentlemen, and 760,000 of the common people, (a)

But all thefe perfecutions were, for exquifite cruelty, far exceeded by thofe which followed in the reign of Louis XIV. which indeed arc fuppofed to exceed all

others

(a) The Parisian majfacre."] This maflacrc was aggravated with feveral circumftances of wantonnefs and treachery ; but w? hope that the above numbers are exaggerated. Thuanus, their own hiltorian, reckons 30,000 lives deltroyed in this flaughter; but proteftant authors feem to have reafon for fuppofing them not lefs than 100,000 in the whole. But the moft horrid circum-ftance in the hiftory is, that when the news of this event reached Rome, Pope Gregory XIII. inftituted the moft folemn rejoicings, giving thanks to almighty God for this glorious vi<^ory !!! An inftance that has no parallel, even in hell. [!• N.]

456 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

others that ever have been ; and being long continued, by reafon of the long reign of that king, almoft wholly extirpated the Protellant religion out of that kingdom, where had been before a multitude of famous Proteftant churches all over the country, (b) Thus it was given to the beaft to make war with the faints, and to overcome them.

There

(b) The Persecution under Louis X/F.] This followed the revocation of the edidl of Nantes, A, D, 1685. The following cxtraft is taken from a French work of reputarion :

" The toopers, foldiers, and dragoons went into the Proteftants houfes, where they marred and df faced their lioufliold-ftiifF, broke their looking-glaffes, and other utenfds and ornaments; let their wine run about their cellars, and threw about their corn, and fpoiled it. And as to thofe things which they could not deftroy in this manner, fuch as furniture of beds, linen, wearing-apparel, plate, &c. they carried them to the market-place, and fold them to the Jefuits, and other Roman catholics. By thefe means the Proteftants in Montaubon alone were, in four or five days, ttn'pped of above a million of money. But this was not the worft.

" They turned the dining-rooms of gentlemen into ftables for their horfes. And treated the owners of the houfes where they quartered with the higheft indignity and cruelty, laffiing them about from one to another, day and night, without intermiflion, not fuffering them to eat or drink ; and when they began to fmk under the fatigue and pains they had undergone, they laid them on a bed, and when they thought them fornewhat recovered, made them rife, and repeated the fame tortures. When they faw the blood and fvveat run down their faces and other parts of their bodies, they fluiccd them with water, and putting over their heads kettle-drums, turned upfide down, they made a continual din upon them till thefe unhappy creatures loft their fenfes. When one party of thefe tormenters were weary, they were relieved by another, who praftifed the fame cruelties with freih vigodr.

" At Negreplifle, a town near Montaubon, they hung up Ifaae Favin, a Protcftant citizen of that place, by his arm-pits, and tormented him a whole night b}^ pinching and tearing off his flefti with pincers. They made a great lire round a boy of about twelve years old, who, with hands and eyes lifted up to heaven, cried out, ** My God, help me !" And when they found the youth refolved to die rather than to renounce his religion, they fnatched him from the firejuft as he was on the point ut being burnt.

" In feveral places the foldiers ap*plied red hot irons to the hands and feet of men, and the brcafts of women. At Nantes they hung up feveral women and maids by their feet, and others by their arm-pits, and thus expofedthem to public view ftark naked.

They

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 457

There was alfo a terrible perlccution in EugUnd, \\\ Queen Mary's time, wherein great numbers in all parts of the kingdom were burnt alive* And after this, though the Proteftant religion has been for the moft part eftab-lidied by law in England, yet there have been very fevere perlecutions by the high-churchmen, who fymbolize in many things with the papifls. Such a perfecution was that which occafioned our forefathers to flee from their native country, and to come and fettle in this land, which

3 N was

They bound mothers that gave fuck to pofts, and let their fucking infants lie languifhing in their fight for fevcral days and nights, crying, mourning, and gafping for life. Some they bound before a great fire, and being half roaftcd, let them go ; a punifliment worfe than death. Amidlt a thoufand hideous cries, and a thou-fand blafphemies, they hung up men and women by the hair ; and fome by their feet, on hooks in chimnics, and fmoaked them with whifpsof wet hay till they were fuffocated. They tied fome under the arms with ropes and plunged them again and again into wells; they bound others like criminals, put them to the torture, and with a funnel filled them with wine, till the fumes of it took away their reafon, when they made them fay they confented to be catholics. They ftripped them naked, and after a thoufand indignities, ftuck them witii pins and needles from head to foot. They cut and flalhcd them with knives ; and fometimcs with led hot pincers took hold of them by the nofe, and other parts of the body, and dragged them about the rooms till they made them promilc to be catholics, or till the cries of thefe miferable wretches, calling upon God for help, forced them to let them go. They beat them with ftaves, and thus bruifcd, and with broken bones, dragged them to church, where their forced prefcnce was taken for an abjuration. In fome places they tied fathers and hufbands to their bed-pofts, and before their eyes raviflied their wives and daughters with impunity. They blew up men and women with bellows till they burll them. If any to efcape thefe barbarities endeavoured to fave themfclves by flight, they purfued them into the fields and woods, where they fliot at them like wild bealts, and prohibited them from departing the kingdom (a cruelty never pracflifed by Nero or Dioclcfian) upon pain of confifcation of ef-fcdls, the gitllies, the laflv, and perpetual imprifonment; infomuch that the prifons of the fea-port towns were crammed with men, women, and children, who endeavoured to fave themfclves by flight from this dreadful perfecution. With thefe fcenes of defo-lation and horror, the popifli clergy feafted their eyes, and made only a matter of laughter and fport of thcra. [Seckenb Hill. Luth. II. p. 116.]

* See Fvx% Martyrs, vol. iii.

458 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

was then an hideous howling wildernefs. And thefe per-fetutions were continued with little iutermiffion till King William came to the throne, (c)

Scotland

(c) Perfecut'iom of the high-churchmen.] Luther ufed a vulgar faying, ' that every man is born with a Pope in his belly ;* meaning that a fpirit of tyranny is natural to the prefent depraved ftate of man. Nor v/ill the mere profefTion of any religion, however excellent and benign, remedy this propenfitv, unlefs men enter into the fpirit of it. We need not wonder therefore at ani-mofities and even perfecutions among nominal profeiTors, who often affumc Chriftianity only as a cloak for their vicious tempers and condudl:. The perfecutions and oppreffions in the times of the Stuarts feem to have arlfen folely from a lull of power and impatience of contradiftion. Even that miitaken zeal for God and reh'gion which fometimes kindled the flames of perfecution, feems to have had but little fhare in caufing thefe, fince the bit-tereft enemies of the Puritans did not charge them with effential errors of either faith or manners. Abfolute monarchy and arbitrary power were the grand objefts of Laud and his furious affo-ciatcs. And it is to be feared, that they would not have thought the deftruftion of half their mailer's fubjefts too dear a purchafe for the power of completely tyrannizing over the reft. It would be foreign to the defign of thefe notes to enter into the particulars ef thefe enormities ; thofe who can bear fuch relations, may find abundance of them in Baxter''?, Hiftory of his Life and Times ; NeaPs Hiftoi7 of the Puritans, and Pahnerh edition of the Non-conformifts Memorial, or Memoirs of the Nonconformift Minif-ters; 2000 of whom were expelled, on the fame fatal day (St. Bartholomew's) on which the Parifian maffacre began. But, unhappily, perfecution has not been confined to fuch men : every fed, and fome of the beft men in each have engaged in the diabolical bufinefs. We have already obferved inftances of this in the primitive churgh, [page 424, Ncte d] and the fame may be obferved early in the reformation ; with what bitternefs did the Lutherans, Zuinglians, and Calvinifts, and other parties of the reformers, abufe, imprifon, and banifli each other, is too well atteftcd by ecclefiaftical hiilorians of the i6th century. Not to mention the blood of fcflaries unjuilly fhed both at home and abroad. Not only did the epifcopalians in England perfecute the difTenters; but in Scotland, and during the commonwealth in England, thefe perfecutcd the epifcopalians. And what is perhaps more extraordinary, even in New England, where.the firft colonifts fled from the iron hand of opprelTion at 'home, they perfecuted the quakcrs and others who diiTented from their eftablifliment. How then fhall wc account for thefe encrmltles, but upon the principle we firft m.enticned, that it proceeds from the g-cneral depravity of

human

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 459

Scotland has alfo been the fcene, for many years together, of cruelties and blood by the hand of high-churchmen, fuch as came very little fhort of the popifh perfecution in Queen Mary's days, and in many things much exceeded it, which continued till they were delivered by King William.

Ireland alfo has been as it were overwhelmed with proteftant blood. In the days of King Charles I. of England, above 100,000 Proteftants were cruelly murdered in that kingdom in a few days; the papifts, by a fecret agreement, rifing all over the kingdom at an appointed time, intending to kill every Proteftant in the kingdom at once, (d)

Befides thefc, there have been very cruel perfecutions in Italy, and Spain, and other places, which I ihall not (land to relate, (e)

Thus

human nature, which, though in a degree reftlficd and fubdued in good men, is not eradicated, but often difcovers itfclf in the tempers and aftions of the bell. [G. E.]

(d) The ATq/pjcre in Irelakd.'] It appears that the Irifh pro-teftants had been marked out for deitruftion in Qjaeen Mary's reign, but Providence delivered them in the following i-emarkabls manner : Dr. Cole being fcnt with a commiffion for that purpofe, boafted of it by the way, and a Proteftant at Chefter, where he ftopt, found means to fteal it. When the Doftor came to Ireland, and was about to produce his commiffion to the proper perfons, on opening the box which had contained it, to his great mortification he only found a pack of cards, with the knave of clubs uppermoft ! He returned to obtain a new commifiion, but the queen died before it could be procured. [N. U.]

(e) Other cniekles.j Befide the proteftant blood (bed in thefc perfecutions, popery has to anfwer for the lives of millions of Jews, Mahometans, and Barbarians. When the Moors conquered Spain in the eighth century, they allowed the Chriftians the free exerclfe of their religion. But in the 15th century, when the tables were turned, and Ferdinand fubdued the Morifcoes (the dcfcendants of the above Moors) many hundred thoufands of them were forced to be baptized, or burnt, maiTacred, or banifhed, and their children fold for flaves ; befides an innumerable multitude of Jews who fhared the fame cruelties; chiefly by means of the infernal inquifition. [G^^y^/cj-'s Mifc. Tracts, vol. i. p. r, and fequel.] A worfe flaughter, if pofTible, was made among the natives of Spanifh America, where 15 millions are faid to have been facrificed to the genius of popery in the courfe of about 40 years.

46o HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

Thus did the devil, and his great minifter antichrift, rage with violence and cruelty againfl the church of Chrifl:! And thus did the whore of Babylon make herfelf drunk with the blood of the faints and martyrs of Jefus ! and thus, by thefe perfccutions, the Protcftant church has been much diminiihed ! Yet with all have they not been able to prevail ; but ftill the church is upheld, and Chrift fulfills his promife that ' the gates of hell fhall not prevail ' again ft it.'

[^.] The lafl: kind of oppofition that Satan has made to the Reformation is by corrupt opinions. Satan has oppofed the light of the gofpel which ihone forth in the Reformation with many corrupt opinions, which he has propagated in the world.

And here, in the firfl: place, the firft oppofition of this kind was by the fe6l of the Anabaptifts, which began about four or five years after the Reformation itfelf began. This fe6t, as it firfl appeared in Germany, were vaflly more extravagant than the prefent anabaptifis are in England, (f) They held a great many corrupt opinions: one was, that there ought to be no civil authority, and fo that it was lawful to rebel againll: civil authority. And on this principle, they refufed to fubmit to magiflrates, or any human laws; and gathered together in vaft armies to defend them-felves, and having put ail Germany into an uproar, fo kept it for fome time.

The next oppofition of tliis kind to the Reformation was that which was made by enthujiajis. (g) Thofe are rightly

called

\_Bar. de las Cafas\ Narrative.] Well therefore might the infplred apoftle fay, that at Myftic Babylon's deftrudlion, ' In her was

* found the blood of prophets and of faints, and of all that were

* flain upon the earth.' [Rev. xvili. 24.] [I. N.]

(f j The Anabaptists in England."] It is but juftice to obfervc that the prefent anabaptifts, anti-pasdobaptifts or baptilts (as they are now called) differ in nothing from other diffenters, but in the article of baptifm, which they admini.fl;er by immerfion and to adults only. But the anabaptifts of the fixteenth century were what our author reprefents them. ' [U. S.]

(g) 'E.^r hvs\ AST s oppofed the Reformation.'] Of thefe fome re-jefted all outward religion, and acknowledged none but internal ;

2. fom«

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 461

called enthufiafts who falfely pretend to be infpired by the Holy Ghoft as the prophets were. Thcfe appeared in Germany about ten years after Luther began the Reformation ; and many of them were exceeding wild and extravagant. The followers of thefc are the Quakers in England, and other parts of the Britilh dominions.

The next were the Socinians, who had their beginning chiefly in Poland, by the teaching of Lslius and Fauftus Socinus. They held, that Chrifi: was a mere man, and denied his fatlsfa6lion, and many of the fundamental doctrines of the Chriftian religion. Their herefy has hnce been greatly propagated among Proteftants in Poland, Germany, Holland, England, and other places.

After thefe arofe the Arminians. They firft appeared in Holland about 130 years ago. They are fo called from a Dutchman, whofe name was Jacob Van Hafmin, in Latin, Jacobus Arminius. This Arminius was firft a mi-nifter at Amfterdam, and then a profeiTor of divinity in the unlverfity of Leyden. He had many followers in Holland. There was upon this a fynod of all the Reformed churches called together, who met at Dort in Holland. The fynod of Dort condemned them ; but yet they fprcad and prevailed, (h) They began to prevail

in

2. fome pretended to extraordinary vifions and revelations ; and,

3. others expected the corporeal prefence of Chiifl to fubdue all other governments. The fefts were too numerous to be too particularized ; and too contemptible to deferve it: but mofl of them have dwindled into oblivion. [G. E.]

(h) The Synod of Dort.] This famous aflembly met 1618. Befides a number of Dutch divines, and feveral from other pro-tcftant countries, England fent 4, viz. Bps. Carlton, Hall, and Davenant, and Dr. Ward; and Scotland i. Dr. Balconquel. And for the Arminians, the three principal were Epifcopius, Coi vinus, and Dwinglon. After much altercation, (as is general the cafe) without any approach to agreement, the afTembly confirmed the famous 5 points, viz. Eleftion, limited Redemption, Original Sin, invincibility of Grace, and final Perfeverance. And the Arrninian rcmonftrants being the weaker party were dcpofed from their minillry.

We take tlie liberty of adding, that our author's excellent trea-tifes on Free-will, Original Sin, &c. have perhaps done more than twenty Synods could have done to refute thefe errors. [G. E.]

462 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

in England in the reign of Charles I. efpecially in the church of England. The church of England divines bs^re that time were almoft univcrfally Calvinills ; but fince then Arminianifm has gradually more and more prevailed, both in the eftablifliment and among the Dif-fenters, and has fprcad greatly in New England, as well as Old.

Since this, Ariamfm has been revived. I have already obferved Arianiim, a little after Conftantine's time almoft fwallowed up the Chriftian world, like a flood out of the moutli of the dragon, which threatened to fwallow up the woman. And of late years, this herefy alfo has been revived in England, and greatly prevails there, both in the church and among DifTenters.

Another thing which has of late exceedingly prevailed among Proteftants, and efpecially in England, is De'ifm. The Deifls wholly cail; off the Chriftian religion, and are profefled infidels. They are not like the heretics, Arians, Socinians, and others, who own the fcriptures to be the word of God, and the Chriftian religion to be true, but only deny certain do6lrincs of it, for they deny the whole Chriftian religion. Indeed they own the being of God ; but deny that Chrift was the Son of God ; and fay he was an irapoftor, as they do of all the prophets and apoftles. They deny the Bible, all revealed religion, -and believe that God has given mankind no ether light to walk by but their own reaion.—Thus much concerning the oppoMtion that Satan has made againft the Reformation.

(3.) I proceed now to fliow what fuccefs the gofpel has had in thefe later times of the Reformed church. This fuccefs may be reduced to three heads ; [i.] Reformation in do6l:rine and wcrfhip in countries .called Chriftian ; [2.] Propagation of the gofpel among the heathens ; [3.] Revival of religion in the power and pradllce of it.

[i.] As to the ftrft, viz. Reformation in doftrine, the moft confidcrable fuccefs of the gofpel of this kind lately, has been In the empire of Alufcoi'y, vvhlch is a country of vaft extent. The Mufcovitcs,* as many of them as cail themfelves Chriftians, profefled to be of the Greek

church ;

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 463

church; but were barbaroufly ignorant, and very Tuper-iHtious, till of late years. Their late Emperor Peter the Great, who reigned till within thefe twenty years, let hiinfelf to reform the people of his dominions, and took great pains to bring them out of their darknefs, and to have them inftru6led in religion. To that end, he fet up fchools of learning, ordered the Bible to be printed in their own language, and made a law that every family fliould keep the holy fcriptures in their houfes, and that no perfon fliould be allowed to marry till they were able to read them. He alfo reformed his churches of many of their fuperftitions, whereby the religion profefled and pra6lifcd in Mufcovy became much nearer to that of the Proteftants than formerly it ufed to be. This emperor gave great encouragement to the exercife of the Proteflant religion in his dominions. And fmce that Mufcovy is become a land of light, in comparifon of what it was before (i).

[2.] As to the fecond kind of fuccefs which the gofpel has lately had, viz. its propagation among the heatheriy I would take notice of three inftances.

The propagation of the gofpel among tlie heathen herd in America. This continent on which we live, which is a very great part of the world, and together with its neighbouring fcas adjoining, takes up one fide of the globe, was wholly unknown to all Chriflian nations till thefe latter times, though it was very full of people , and therefore here the devil had the inhabitants, as it were, fe-cure to himfelf, out of the reach of the light of the gofpel, and fo out of the v.ay of moleftation in his dominion over them. And heie the many nations of Indians wor-

fhipped

(I) Protestants in Russia.] We are forry to be informed by a gentleman who very lately vifited Rufiia, that the Proteftant interell there is exceedingly low. Even at Peterfburgh, the capital of the empire, the congregation of Britifh Proteftants is very fmall and poor, the merchants, to their fhame be it fpoken, thinking it beneath them to profefs religion ; the communicants at this place, (ftrangeto tell!) were only three befide the minifter.—The Greeks are, alfo very fuperftitious, though perhaps lefs fo than formeily. [N. U.]

464 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

{hipped him as God from age to age, while the gofpcl was confined to the oppofite fide of the globe. It is a fuppofition which, if I remember right, I have fome where met with, that the occafion of the firfl: peopling of America was this, that the devil being alarmed and fur-prifcd by the wonderful fuccefs of the gofpel during the firft three hundred years after Chrift, and by the downfall of the heathen empire in the time of Conftantine ; and fearing that his kingdom would be utterly overthrown through the world, led away a people from the other continent into America, that they might be quite out of the reach of the gofpel, that here he might quietly poffefs them, and reign over them as their god. And it is faid, that fome of the Indians, when the Europeans firft came into America, had a tradition among them, that their god firft led them into this continent, and went before them in an ark. (k)

Whether this was fo or not, it is certain that the devil did quietly enjoy his dominion over the poor Indians for many ages. But in later times God has fent the gofpel into thefe parts of the world, and now the Chriftian church is fct up among us in New England, and in other parts of America, where before had been nothing but the

groffeft

(k) TTiff peopling o/" America.] The above notion, to which our author fecms pretty much inclined, we cannot perfuade our-felves to admit for the following reafons:

1. Bccaufe it appears to us extremely probable, from a fimila-rity of manners and even language, not to mention other circum-ftances, that a part of America was peopled long before this by fome Phenicians ; and not totally unknown to the ancient Greeks. [See Univ. Hift. vol. xx. p. 158, 159.] This v/Ill agree perfedly with the tradition mentioned by our author, fince it appears that other nations had an imitation of the facred aik of the Hebrews. [Tacitus De Mor. Germ. cap. 40.] And fuch have been aiftually difcovercd in South America and fome of the South Sea iflands. Picari's rehgious Ceremonies, Sec. vol. iii. p. 146. and Haivktf-ivorth's Voy. vol. ii. p. 252, 257.]

2. We think it more confident and to the divine glory to refer this event to the providence of God than to the agency of the de-viL It was unqueftionably the work or heaven to fcatter the inhabitants of the earth after the confufion of Babel, in order to the

peopling

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 465

grofled heathenilh darknefs. Great part of America is now full of Bibles, and has at leafl: the form of the vvor-fhip of the true God and Jefus Chrifl, where the name of Chrift: before had not been heard of for many ages, if at all. And though there has been but a fmnll propagation of the gofpel among the heathen here, in comparifon of what is to be wifhed for ; yet there has been fomething worthy to be taken notice of. There was fomething remarkable in the tirfl times of New England ; and even of late in this and feveral other parts of America, many Indians have Ihown an inclination to be inflrudted in the Chriftian religion, (l)

And

peopling of our hcmifpherc, and it is inconceivable why the peopling of the other fliould be referred to fo oppofite a caufe. It is granted however that America might owe a great part of its inhabitants to thefe countries of Afia, as Tartary, Siberia, and Kam-fchatka, which approach it neareft, and as fome fuppofe, may pof-fibly have once joined the oppofite continent. And perhaps fome might emigrate from China, and even Wales. [Sec Univ. Hi(h vol. XX. p. 163, 174, 190.] Whether, however, the firil inhabitants of America fled thither from the hand of tyranny—emigrated from a principle of commerce—or were driven there by unruly elements, there feems no reafon for afcribing an event of fuch importance to diabolical agency or contrivance. [G. E.]

(l) Gofpd propagated among the IsDiAss in America.^ One of the mort eminent and fuccefsful miflionaries among thefe was Mr. David Brarnerd, whofe life Pref. Edivards published. In reading the account of Mr. B. and other miffionaries, two ideas ftrike us with peculiar force.

1. The difficulty of their work : the variety of the Indian languages, and the length of time it takes to acquire a tolerable acquaintance with any of them, is very difcouraging. It is alfo frequently difficult to procure an audience, and then every thing in ChrHlianity appears fo perfectly ftrange to them, and the evidences of it lay fo much out of their way, that few give any credit to it. Their grand quellion, what has become of their forefathers ? is not cafily anfwered to their fatisfaftion. ' They were good men, fay ' they, and we will follow them; we doubt not but they were happy * without tliis new religion, why then fhould we embrace it V But their moil important objection is drawn from the vicious lives of nominal Chriftians. ** Chrillian religion! Devil religion! (fay they) Chriftian much drunk; Chriftian much do wrong, much beat, much abufe others."—" Truly it is a fad fight, fays one, to behuld a

466 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

And however fmall tlic propagation of the gofpel a-mong the heathen in America has hitherto been, yet I think we may well lock: upon the difcovery of fo great a part of the world, and bringing the gofpel into it, as

one

drunken Chriflian, and a fober Indian—an Indian jull in his dealings, and a Chriftian not fo ; a luborious Indian, and an idle Chrif-tian, Sec. O what a fad thing it is for Chriftians to come (hort of heathens even in moralities !" [Voyage to Eaft India, added to the Travels of Pietro della Valle, printed in Eng. 1665.]

2. We are led to admire the beauty and fimpliclty with which thefe barbarians when converted exprefs themfelves, and to adore the power of divine grace in their converfion.

*' After public worfhip was done, numbers came to my houfe, fays Mr. Brainerd, and while we were fniging, the woman mentioned Feb. 9. I may venture to fay, if I may be allowed to fay fo of any peifon I ever faw, was filled with joy unfpeakable and full of glory, and could not but burft forth in prayer and praife to God, crying, fometimes in Englifh and fometimes in Indian—

* O bleffed Lord! do come, do come! O do take me away! do

* let me die and go to Jefus Chrift. O dear Jefus do come ! I

* can't (lay, I can't ftay! O how can I live in this world! do take

* my foul away from this finful place !' with much more to the fame purpofe. In this ecdacy fhe continued fometime, and when fhe had a little recovered herfclf, I aflced her, if Chrift was not now fweet to her foul ? Whereupon, turning to me with tears in her eyes, and with all the tokens of deep humility, fhe faid, ' I have ' many times heard you fpeak of the goodnefs and fwcetnefs of

* Chrift, but I knew nothing what you meant; I never believed

* vou ; but now I know he is better than all the world.' I aflied, and do you fee enough in Chrift for the greateft of finners? . She replied, ' O enough, enough for all the finners in the world if

* they would but come.' And turning, at my defire, to fomepoor Chriftlefs fouls who ftood by much affefted, ftie faid, ' O there's ' enough in Chrift for you all, if you would but come. O ftrive,

* ftrive to give up your hearts to him.' Then hearing fomewhat of the glory of heaven mentioned, ftie again fell into an ecftacy of joy, and cried out as before, ' O dear Lord,' do let n-.e go ! O

* what Hiall I do ? I want to go to Chrift,' &c. In this fweet frame flie continued more than two liours.

" When I have fometimes alked her why.lhe appeared fo forrow-ful ? Was file afraid of hell ? She would anfvvcr, * No, I ben't fo

* much diftreffed about that, but my heart is fo wicked I can't love

* Chrift,' and thereupon burft out into tears. She feemed to view divine truths as living realities, and could fay, * I know thefe things

* are fo ; I feel them to be true.' Now her foul was rcfigned to the divine will. Being aflced, what If God ftiould take your huf-

band

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 467

one thing by which divine Providence is preparing the way for the future glorious times of the church ; when Satan's kingdom fhall be overthrown, not only throughout the Roman empire, but throughout the whole habitable globe, on every fide, and on all its continents. WHien thofe times come, then doubtlefs the gofpel, which is already brought over into America, fliall have glorious ■ fuccefs, and all the inhabitants of this new difcovered world flrall become fubjedls of the kingdom of Chrift, as well as the

3 O 2 other

band from you (who was then very fick) how could you bear that ? She replied, ' He belongs to God, and not me, he may do with him jull what he pleafes.' Now (he could freely trud her all with God for time and eternity. Being a{l<ed, how flie could be willing to die, and leave her little infant, what did (he think would become of it ? She anfwered, ' God will take care of it; it belongs to him ; he will take care of it.'

[5rrt///^/Y/'s Journal, Mar. 1746.] Mr. Brainerd's labours in America were crowned with much fuccefs, and to (how that God ftill carries on his work, and at the fame time give a fpecimen of the beautiful fimplicity of the Indian rtile, we fubjoin the following letter from certain Indians to the Rev. Mr. J. Caldwell, fecrctary to the board of commiflioners at New-Jerfcy.

Oneiduy Dec. 10, 1770. Father, We have not much to fay, but are very thankful that our belt has arrived after fo long a time, and its language founds agreeably in our ears, which at the fame time reaches the heart with peculiar joy as wc are poor. We return thanks to our fathers beyond the Great Waters, for the confideration they made us of ^. 10 fterling. We thank them from our very hearts, and alfo blefs God who put it into their hearts to fhew us this kindnefs. The holy word of Jefus has got place among us, and advances ; many have lately forfaken their former fins to appealance, and turned to God; there are fome among us who are very llubborn and ftrong ; but Jefus is Almighty, and his word is very ftrong too; therefore we hope he will conquer and fucceed more and more.

We fay no more, only aflc our fathers to pray for us. Although they are at a great diftance, perhaps by and by, through the ftrength and mercy of Jefus, we {hall meet in his kingdom above. Farewell.

Tageivareu, chief of the bear tribe.

Suchnageat, weft tribe.

Ojfcketa, turkle tribe.

[G. E.]

468 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

other parts of the earth : and in all probability Providenco has fo ordered it, that the mariner's compafs, which is an invention of latter times,* (whereby men are enabled to fail over the wideft ocean, when before they durft not venture far from land) flionld prove a preparation for what God intends to bring to pafs in the glorious times of tlie church, viz. the fending forth the gofpel wherever any of the children of men dwell, how far off foever, and however feparated by wide oceans from tltofe parts of the world which are already Chriftianized.

There has of late years been alfo a very confiderable propagation of the gofpel in the dominions of Mufcovy. I have already obferved the reformation which there has lately been among thofe who are called Chriftians there; but I now fpeak of the heathen. Great part of the vaft dominions of the Emperor of Mufcovy are grofsly heathen. The greater part of Great Tartary, a heathen country, has in later times been brought into the Mufcovitc government ; and of late great nvimbers of thofe heathen have embraced the Chriftian religion.

There has lately been llkewife a very confiderable propagation of the ChrilHan religion among the heathen in the Eaft Indies, particularly at Malabar, many have been brought over to the Chriftian and Proteftant religion; chiefly by the labours of miffionaries fent thither by the king of Denmark ; who have fet up fchools among them, and a printing prefs to print Bibles and other books for their inllrudlion, in their own language, with great fuc-cefs. (m)

[3.] The

* About A. D. 1302. Gen. Did. (m) Succefs of the gofpel In the lE.A%r Indies.] The principal inftruments in this work appear to have been MefTrs. Z'legenbalgh and Phitfcho, both German proteflants and Danifh miiTionaries, to whom others were afterwards added. The fuccefs of their mi-niftry appears to be not merely civilization, nor a profcfiion of the external ceremonies of religion, as is to be feared is generally the cafe with the boafted converfions of the Jefuits and other Popifh miffionaries; but many poor Indians*were favinjiy brought to Jefus Chrift, in fpite of difficulties which an European can hardly conceive.

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 469

[3.] The laft kind of fuccefs which there has lately-been of the gofpel, which I fliall take notice of, is the revivals of the power and pra6lice of religion which have lately been. And here I Ihall take notice of but two in-ftances.

Firfl, there has been not long fince a remarkable revival of the power and pradiice of religion in Saxony in German, through the endeavouis of Auguftus Hermannus Frank, profeffbr of divinity at Hall in Saxony, who being a perfon of eminent charity, the great work that God wrought by him, began by his fetting on foot a charitable delign. It began only with his placing an alms box at his ftudy door, into whicli fome poor mites were thrown, whereby books were bought for the inflru6lion of the poor. And God was pleafed fo wonderfully to fmile on his defign, and fo to pour out a fpirit of charity on people there on that ocqafion, that with their charity he was enabled in a little time to ereft public fchools for the inft:ru6lion of poor children, and an orphan houfe for the fupply and inflruction of the poor ; fo tliat at lafl: near live hundred children were maintained and infi:ru6tcd in learning and piety by the charitv of others; and the number increafed more and more for many years, and till the laft account I have feen. This was accompanied with a wonderful reformation and revival of religion, and a fpirit of piety in the city and univerfity of Hall; and thus it

continued.

One of the miffionaries letters, dated December 11, 1713, mentions, that they had then baptifcd and joined in Chriftian communion 246 perfons (of both fexcs). And another letter mentions the whole number of children in their charity fchool to be 78, of which 56 were lodged in the houfe.—In tranflating the firft principles of Chriftianity into the language of the natives, the Malabrian fchool-mafter who aflifted was particularly ftartled at the boldnefs of an expreffion, intimating our becoming the children and friends of God, and propofcd faying indead of it, that God might allow lis to li'tfs his feet.

[See Propagation of the Gofpcl in the Eall by the Danifli Miffionaries, &c. printed at London 1718.]

continued. Which alfo had great influence in many other places in Germany, (n)

Another thing which it would be ungrateful in us not to take notice of, is that remarkable out-pouring of the Spirit of God which has been of late in this part of New England, of which we, in this town, have had fuch a fliare. But it is needlefs for me particularly to defcribe what you have fo lately been eye witnefTes to, and I hope multitudes

(n) Orphan Houfe, iifc. at Glauca.~\ In the year 1706, the Hate of this wonderful undertaking was as follows :

1. An hofpital (the building of which coft 20,000 rix dollars) for the maintenance of poor orphans of both fexes; with an apothecary's fhop, printing office, bookfeller's fliop, and other offices, with proper perfons to fuperlntend them.

2. Ten fchools for boys and girls in different claffes.

3. A provifion for widows, poor ftudents, ftrangers, and other neceffitous perfons.

4. A college of divinity.

5. A collegiate fchool for the education of young gentlemen at the expence of their parents.

This work was begun and carried on by a fucceflion of providences, the moft fingular that modern times have feen ; all the fup-plies for a long time being communicated in a manner little fhort of miraculous. One may give an idea of the reft:

" Another time, fays Profefibr Frank, I ftood in need of a great fum of money, infomuch that an hundred crowns would not have ferved my turn, and yet I faw not the leall appearance how I might be fupplied with an hundred groats. The fteward came and fet forth the want we were in. I bid him to come again after dinner, and I refolved to put up my prayers to the Lord for his afliftance. When he came again after dinner, I was ttill in the fame want, and fo appointed him again to come in the evening. In the mean time a friend of mine came to iee me, and with him I joined in prayers, and found myfelf much moved to praife and magnify the Lord for all his admirable dealings towards mankind, even from the beginning of the world, and the moft remarkable inftances came readily to my remembiancc whiHl I was praying. I was fo elevated in praifing and magnifying God, that I infifted only on that exercife of my prefent devotion, and found no inclination to put up many anxious petitions to be delivered out of the prefent necefllty. At length my friend taking his leave, I accompanied him to the door, where I found the fteward waiting on ope fide for the money he wanted, and on the other a perfon who brought an hundred and fifty crowns for the fupport of the hofpital." [Pietas HallenfiSf or an Abftraft of Divine Prov. 8cc. p. 15 — 17.J

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 471

tltudes of you fenfiblc of the benefit of. (o)—Thus I have mentioned the more remarkable inftanccs of the fucccfs which the gofpel has lately had in the world.

(4-) I

(o) Remarkable conversions in New England.] We have already mentioned in the liil of our author's works, Cp. 33.) a narrative of this extraordinary event, from which we fliall give a fhort extratl, for the gratification of fuch of our readers as have never feen that traft.

" In the latter end of the year 1733, the young people of Northampton in New England fhewed a peculiar readinefs of receiving inftruftion ; foon after this, a number of perfons appeared to be converted at a fmall village about three miles from the town : in the following year fome remarkable deaths awakened the attention of many to religious concerns. About the clofe of this year feveral perfons were fuddenly, and it appears, truly converted, particularly a young woman who had been remarkably gay; the news of which flew like lightning, and produced a general and almoft in-ftantaneous alarm. There was fcarcely, fays Mr. Edwards, a fingle perfon in the town, either old or young, that was left unconcerned about the great things of the eternal world From

day to day, for many months together, might be feen evident in-ftances of finners brought out of darknefs into marvellous light. This foon made a glorious alteration in the town ; fo that in the fpring and fummer following, 1735, '^^ town feemed to be full ot the prefence of God. It was a time of joy in families on account of falvation's being brought unto them ; parents rejoicing over their children as new-born, and hufbands over their wives, and wives over their hufbands. The goings of God were then feen m his fanfluary, God's day was a delight, and his tabernacles were amiable. Our public aflemblies were then beautiful; the congregation was alive in God's fervice, every one earneftly intent on the public worfliip, every hearer eager to drink in the words of the miniiler as they came from his mouth ; the affembly in general were, from time to time, in tears while the word was preached ; fome weeping with forrow and dillrefs, others with joy and love, others with pity and concern for the fouls of their neighbours. In all companies, on whatever occafion perfons met together, Chrill was to be heard of, and feen in the midll of them ; even at weddings, which formerly were merely occafions of mirth and jollity, there was now no difcourfe of any thing but the things of religion, and no appearance of any, but fpiritual mirth.

"Thofe amongll us that had been formerly converted, were greatly enlivened and renewed with fredi and extraordinarv incomco of the Spirit of God .... Many that before had laboured under difficulties about their own ftate, had now their doubts removed by more fatisfying experience, and more clear difcoveries of God's love. And there were many inilances of perfons that caiiiefrom

abroad.

472 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

(4.) I proceed now to the laft thing piopofed relating to the fuccefs of Chrift's redemption during this fpace, viz. what the ftate of things is now in the world with regard

abroad, on vifits, or on bufniefs, that had not been long here before, to all appearance they were favingly wrought upon, and partook of that fhower of divine bleffing that God rained down here, and went home rejoicing ; till at length the fame work began evidently to appear and prevail iu feveial other towns In the county."

Mr. Edwards particularly inftanccs South Hadley, Sufiield, Deerfield, flatfield. Weft Springfield, Long Meadow, Enfield, Weftfield, Hadley Old Town, North field, Windfor, Coventry, Lebanon, Durham, Stratford, Ripton, Guildford, Mansfield, Hebron, Bolton, Prefton, and even in fome parts of the Jerfeys: fome of the minlfters who were peculiarly blefied in the above places were, befides our author, Meffrs. Bull, Marfli, Meachum, Wheelock, Chancey, Gould, Noyes, Williams, Lord, Owen, W. and G. Tennant, Crofs, Freelinghaufa, &c.

" I am far from pretending (continues our author) to be able to determine how many have lately been the fubjefts of fuch mercy ; but if I may be allowed to declare any thing that appears to me probable in a thing of this nature, I hope that more than 300 fouls were favingly brought home to Chrift in this town, in the fpace of half a year, {how many more I don't guefs) and about the fame number of males as females .... And I hope that by far the greater part of perfons in this town, above 16 years of age, are fuch as have the faving knowledge of Jcfus Chrill ; and fo by what I have heard, I fuppofe it is in fome other places, particularly at Sunderland and South Hadley. ... I fuppofe there were upwards of fifty perfons in this town above 40 years of age ; and more than twenty of them above 50, and about 10 of them above 60, and two of them above 70 years of age. ... I fuppofe, near thirty were to appearance fo wrought upon between 10 and 14 years of age, and two between 9 and i o, and one of about 4 years of age.

" The work of God's fpirit fcemed to be at its grcateft height in this town, in the former part of thefpring; at which time God's work in the converfion of fouls was carried on amongft us in fo wonderful a manner, that fo far as I, by looking back, can judge from the particular acquaintance I have had with fouls in this work, it appears to me probable, to have been at the rate, at leafl, of four perfons in a day, or near thirty in- a week, take one with another, for five or fix weeks together : when God in fo remarkable a manner took the work into his own hands, there was as much done in a day or two, as at ordinary times, with all endeavoms that men can ufe, and with fach a bleffing as we commonly have, is done in a year. [Narrative, p. 14—29.]

V/hile

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 47.}

garcl to the church of Chrilt, and the fuccefs of Chrift's purchafe. And this I would do, by fhowing how things now are, ccmpared with the firfl: times of the Reformation. And, I. Wlierein the ftatc of things is changed for the worfe ; and, 2. How it is altered for the better.

[i.] I would Ihow wherein the ftate of things is altered from what it was in the beginning of the Reformation, for the worfe, and it is fo efpecially in thefe three rcfpecfts.

Firft, The Reformed church is much diminifhed. The Reformation formerly, as was obferved before, was fup-pofed to take place through one half of Chriftendom, excepting the Greek church ; but now the Proteftant church is much diminiHied. Heretofore there have been many fai-nous Proteftant churches in different parts of France who ufed to meet together in fynods, and maintain a regular difcipline ; and great part of that kingdom were Pro-teflants ; the Proteftant ciiurch of France was a great part of the glory of the Reformation. But now it is far other-wife : this church is all broken to pieces and fcattcred. The ProteRant Religion is almoft wholly rooted out of that kingdom by the cruel perfecutions which have been there, and there are now but very few Proteflant affem-blies in all that kingdom.-—The Proteflant interefr is aifo greatly diminiflied in Germany. There were fevcral love-

3 1* reign

While we are confiderlng the wonderful works of God in America, we cannot perfuade ourfelves to omit the remarkable fuccefs which attended the miniftry of the excellent Mr. Whitefield in different parts of America, in the years 1738, 1740, and 177c, where incredible numbers attended his miniftry, and much good was done ; it may be needlefs to mention, that in Georgia he founded an orphan hoiife on a plan fimilar to that of FrotefTor Franck, above mentioned.

Prolix as this note may appear, we cannot deny ourfelves the pleafure of adding, that in the year i 764, the gofpel wa3 remarkably fuccecded in Long Illand. At Eail Hampton only, where a Mr. Bull was niinifter, nearly 200 appeared to be truly converted, with circumflances neaily fimilar to the great work mentioned by Mr. Edwards. At Huntingdon, Smith Town, Bridge Hampton, and Sonthold alfo, the like work was carried on, to the glory ot divine grace, and falvalion of multitudes. i_^I. N.J

474 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

reign princes formerly who were Proteftants, whofe fuc-ceflbrs are now Papiils; as, particularly the Ele6lor Palatine, and the Elector of Saxony. The kingdom of Bohemia was formerly a Proteftant kingdom, but is now in the hands of the Papifls: Hungary was alfo formerly a Proteftant country ; but the Proteftants there have been greatly reduced, in a great meafure fubdued, by the perfe-cuticns there. And the Proteftant intereft has no way remarkably gained ground of late of the church of Rome.

Another thing wherein the ftate of things is altered for the worfe from what was in the former times of the Reformation, is the prevailing of I'lcentioiifnefs in principles and opinions. There is not now that fpirit of orthodoxy which there was then : there is very little appearance of zeal for the myftcrious and fpiritual doftrines of Chril-tianity ; and they never were fo ridiculed, and had in contempt, as tliey are in the prefent age ; and efpecially in England, the principal kingdom of tlie Reformation. In this kingdom, thofe principles, on which the power of godlinefs depends, are in a great meaiure exploded, and Arianifm, Socinianifm, Arminianifm and Deifm, prevail, and carry almoft all before them, (p) And particularly hiftory gives no account of any age wherein there was fo

great

(p) "Diisu prevails.~\ This note will prefent the reader with the dying words of two of the mod celebrated Infidels the age has produced. Rotijfeati, in the article of death, faid to his wife, ' Ah ! my dear, how happy a thing is it to die, when one has no realon for remorfe or felf-reproach.—Eternal Being ! the foul that I am now going to give thee back, is as pure, at this moment, as it was when it proceeded from thee :—render it partaker of thy felicity !' After a few more fentences he dropt gently on the floor, fighed and expired.

[See PdUifofs Eulogium. Mon. Rev. Feb. 1779.]

The other inftance is the celebrated Voltaire, who when he drew near his end, in order to die in piece, and have Chrillian burial, pretended to turn catholic ; the curate of St. Sulpice having, with fomc difllculty, gained admittance to his chamber, afl<s him in a Hammering voice,—' Sir, do you acknowledge the divinity of JefusChri ft i"—Voltaire exclainTed, extending his arms— ' In the name of God, Sir, do not mention that man's name to me V —Thefe were his laft words.

[See Voltaire'^ Life, Men. Rev. Feb. 1788.]

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 475

great an apoftafy of thofe who had been brought up under the h"ght of the gofpel, to infidelity ; never was there fucli a reje6tion of all revealed religion : never was any age wherein was fo much fcoffing at and ridiculing the gofpel of Chrift, by thofe who have been brought up under gofpel light, as at this day.

Another thing wherein things are altered for the worfe, is, that there is much lefs of the prevalency of the power of godlinefs, than there was at the beginning of the Reformation. A glorious out-pouring of the Spirit of God accompanied the firfi: reformation, not only to convert multitudes in fo fhort a time from popery to the true religion, but to turn many to God and true godlinefs. Religion glorioufly flouriflied in one country and another, as moft remarkably appeared in thofe times of terrible per-fecution, which have already been fpoken of. But now there is an exceeding great decay of vital piety ; yea, it feems to be defpifed, called enthufiafm, whimfy, and fan-aticifm. Thofe who are truly religious, are commonly looked upon to be crack-brained, and befide their right mind ; and vice and profanenefs dreadfully prevail, like a flood which threatens to bear down all before it.

But I proceed to (how, [2.] in what refpe6t things are altered for the better ; tirft, the power and influence of the Pope is much diminiflied. Although, fmce the former times of the Reformation, he has gained ground in extent of dominion ; yet he has loll; in degree of influence. The vial which in the beginning of the Reformation was poured out on the throne of the beaft, to the great diminifhing cf his power and authority in the world has continued running ever fince. The Pope, foon after the Reformation, became lefs regarded by the princes of Europe than he had been before. Many of the popifh princes themfclves feem to regard him very little more than they think will ferve their own defigns ; of which there have been feveral remarkable proofs and inftances of late. ( Q^) There

( Q^) The VKES2NTj?a/e ofpoptry.'\ On this fubjeft we take tlie liberty to add—i. That the temponji power of the Pope feems

476 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

There is far lefs perfecuhon now than there was in the firfl times of the Reformation. You have heard aheady how dreadfully perfecution raged in the former times of the Reformation ; and there is fomething of it flill. Some parts of the proteftant church are at this day under i)er-

fecution,

nearly atari end : the Emperor of Germany, King of France, and other catholic piinces, while ihey pay a ceremonial refpeft to the perfon of his Holinefs, take every opportunity to weaken his authority. " The infallibility of the Pope, fays Voltaire, is a chimera not believed even at Rome, and yet maintained; and the Pope a facred perfon whofe feet are to be kiffed, and his hands bound."

2. Yet the y^'V/VW authority of the Pope is ftill regarded, at lead by the vulj^ar. A popifli tract, publifhed within thefe few years, ftates the principles of popery thus, " All and every catholic, throughout tlie Avhole world, does believe as the council of Trent has decreed, whether they know the words of the decree or not; becaufe all catholics have an implicit faith in the church, that is, they all believe as the church believes, whether they examine into the matter itfelfor not, and that purely on her imerring authority ; an explicit faith being not required ; for if an explicit faith was required, there is few would be catholics, becaufe there is not perhaps one priell in twenty that can give a plain and pofi-tive account of all the articles of faith which the church has ordained." [Old Fafhicned Farmer's Reafons for turning Catholic. S:c.]

In France indeed, and feme other countries, the principles of popery are fomewhat relined; many of its fuperftitions dropped, and monafteries grow into general difrepute : hut in Portugal the fame religious farces are afted in Pallion Week as formerly, and the blood of St. Januarius Is ftill pretended to be liquified annually with the fame ridiculous circumftances as aforetime.

3. We fhall conclude this note with the character of the prefent Pope, from a celebrated Modern Traveller—" Pius VI. (formerly Cardinal Bcofchi) performs all the religious functions of his office in the moft folemn manner.—I lately happened to be at St. Peter's church when there was fcarccly any body there; . . . the Pope en-

, tered with a very few attendants; when he came to the ftatue of St. Peter .... he bowed, he kneeled, he kiffed the foot, and then rubbed his brow and his whole head with every mark of humility, fervour, and adoration, upon the facred ftump. ... It Is no more, one half of the foot having been long fince worn by the lips of the

pious This uncommon appearance of zeal In the Pope, is not

imputed to hypocrify, or to policy ; but is fuppofed to proceed entirely from a conviction of the efficacy of thefe holy fritllons ; an opinion which has given people a much higher Idea of the ftrength of his faith than his underftandlng."

[Dr. Moore's Viewof Soc. and Mann, in Italy. Let. 64.]

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 477

fecution, and fome probably will be fo until the church's iuffering and travail is at an end, which will not be till the fall of antichrifl:. But it is now in no meafure as it was heretofore. Theie does not feem to be the fame fpirit of perfecution prevailing ; it is become more out of falhion even among the popilh princes. The wickednefs of the enemies of Chrifl:, and the oppofition againft his caufe, feem to run in another channel. The humour now is, to defpife and laugh at all religion ; and there feems to be a fpirit of indifferency about it. However, fo far the ftatc of things is better than it has been, that there is fo much lefs of perfecution.

There is a great increafe of learning : in the dark times of popery before the Reformation, learning was fo far decayed, that the world feem to be over-run with barbarous ignorance. Their very priefls were many of them grofsly isrnoranl. Learnins bejjan to revive with the Reforma-tion, which was owing very much to the art of printing, which was invented a little before the Reformation ; and fince that, learning has increafed more and more, and at this day is undoubtedly raifed to a greater height than ever it was before : and thouHi little srood ufe is made of it by the greater part of learned men, yet the increafe of learning in itfelf is a thing to be rejoiced in, becaufe it is, if duly ufed, an excellent handmaid to divinity, and is a talent which, if God gives men an heart, affords them an opporcunity to do great things for the advancement of the kingdom of Chrill, and the good of fouls. That learning and knowledge lliould greatly increafe before the glorious times, feems to be foretold. [Dan. xii. 4.] ' But ' thou, O Daniel, (hut up the words, and feal the book, ' even to the time of the end : many ihall run to and fro, ' and knowledge fhall be increafed.' And however little now learning is applied to the advancement of religion ; yet we may hope that the days are approaching wliereiii God will make great ufe of it for the advancement of the kingdom of Chrill:.

God in his providence now feems to be a5\ing over again the fame part which he did a litib before Chrifl

tame.

478 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

came. In the age wherein Chrift came into the world, learning greatly prevailed and was at a greater height than ever it had been before ; and yet wickedncfs never prevailed more than then. God was pleafed to fufFer human learning to come to fuch a height before he fent the gof-pel into the world, that they might fee the infufficiency of their own wifdom for obtaining the knowledge of God : when the golpel had prevailed tirft without the help of man's wifdom, then God was pleafed to make ufe of learning as an handmaid. So now learning is at a height beyond what it was in the age when Chrift appeared ; and yet men trufting to their learning, they grope in the day time as in the night. Learned men are exceedingly divided in their opinions concerning matters of religion, and run into all manner of pernicious errors. They fcorn to fubmit their reafon to divine revelation, to believe any thing that is above their comprehenfion ; and fo being wife in their own eyes, they become fools, and even vain in their imaginations, and turn the truth of God into a lie, and rheir foolifh hearts are darkened. [Sec Rom. i. 21, &c.]

But yet, when God has fufficiently fliown men the infufficiency of human wifdom and learning for the purpofes of religion, and when the appointed time comes for that glorious out-pouring of the Spirit of God, when he will himfelf by his own inmiediate influence enlighten mens' minds ; then may we hope that God will make ufe of the great increafe of learning, as a means of a glorious advancement of the kingdom of his Son. Then fliall human learning be fubfervient to the underftanding of the fcriptures, and to a clear explanation and a gloiious defence of the do6lrines of Chriftianity. And there is no doubt to be made of it, that God in his providence has of late given the world the art of printing, and fuch a great increafe of learning, to prepare for what he defigns to accomplilh for his church in the approaching days of its profperity.

Having

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 479

Having now fhown how the work of redemption has been carried on from the fall of man to the prefent time, before I proceed any further, I would make fome Application.

From what has been faid, we may fee great evidence of the truth of the Chriftian religion, and that the fcriptures are the word of God. There are three arguments of this, which I {hall take notice of, which may be drawn from what has been faid.

(i.) It may be argued from that violent and inveterate oppofition there has always appeared of the wickednefs of the world again ft this religion. The religion that tlie church of God has profefled from the hrft, has always been the fame as to its eflentials. The church of God from the beginning, one fociety. The Chriftian church which has been fince Chrift's afcenfion, is manifeftly the fame fociety with the church before Chrift came : they are built on the fame foundation. The revelation on which both have depended, is effcntially the fame ; only the fub-je6ls of it are now more clearly revealed in the New Tef-tament than they were in the Old. The church before the flood was built on the foundation of thofc revelations of Chrift which were given to Adam, Abel, and Enoch, and others of that period. The church after the flood was built on the revelations made to Noah, Abraham, Melchi-fedek, Ifaac, Jacob, Jofeph, Job, and other holy men. After this the church depended on the fcriptures them-felvcs as they gradually increafed ; fo that the church of God has always been built on the foundation of divine le-velations which were cfTentially the fame, and are fum-marily comprehended in the holy fcriptures.

So that the oppofition which has been made to the church of God in all ages, has aKvays been againft the fame religion, and the fame revelation. Now therefore the violent and perpetual oppofition that has ever been made by the corruption and v^^ickednefs of mankind againft the church, is a ftrong argument of the truth of this religion, and the revelation upon which the church has always

been

48o HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

been built. Contraries are well argued one from anothei". We may well and fafely argue, that a thing is good, according to the degree in which evil oppoles it. Now it is evident, that the wicked world has had a perpetual hatred to the church and her religion, and has made nioft violent oppoiition againfl: it.

That the church of God has always met with great oppofition in the world, none can deny. This is plain by profane hiftory fo high as that reaches ; and before that, divine hiftory gives us the fame account. The church of God, and its religion and worfhip, began to be oppofed in Cain's and Abel's time, and was fo when the earth was filled with violence in Noah's days. And after this the church was oppofed in Egypt; and Ifrael always hated by the nations round about, agreeable to that text [Jer. xii. 9.] ' Mine heritage is unto me a fpeck-' led bird, the birds round about are againfl her.' After the Babylonilh captivity, the church was perfecuted by Antiochus Epiphanes, and others. And how was Chrifl perfecuted when on earth ! and the apoftles and other Chriftians by the Jews, before the deflruftlon of Jerufa-lem ! and dreadful v^^as the oppofition of the heathen world againfl the Chriflian church before Conflantine ! And lince that, yet more violent, and fpitetul, and cruel has been the oppofition of antichrill:.—There is no fuch in-flance of^oppofition to any other religion. Other profef-hons have enjoyed their religions in peace and quietnefs, however they have differed from their neighbours. One nation has worfhipped one let of gods, and others another, without molefting or dillurbing one another about it. All the fpite and oppofition has been again ft tlie religion of the church of Chrifl as though they could never fatisfy their cruelty, (r) They put their inventions upon the

rack

(R ) No religion pcrfecuied like the Christian.] Should this faft be controverted, we beg leave to obferve,

I. That though the profefTors of otber religions have pleaded the fuffering of perfccution ; yet it has feldom been vi^ith the fame truth. The jefuits were fome years fince expelled Japan and called

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 481>

rack to find out torments that fliould be cruel enough ; and yet their thirfl; has never been fatisfied with blood.

So that it is out of doubt, that this religion, and the fcriptures, have always been malignantly oppolcd in the world. The only queftion is, whether it be the wicked-nefs and corruption of the world, or not, that has done this ? But of this there can be no more doubt than of the other, if we confidcr how caufelefs this cruelty has always been, who were the oppofers, and the manner in which they a6led. The oppofition has chiefly been from hea-thenifm and popery ; which are both of them very evil, and the fruits of the blindnefs, corruption, and wickednefs of men, as the very Deifls tliemfelves confefs. The light of nature iliows, that the religion of Heathens, con-fifting in the worlhip of idols, and facrificing their children to them, and in obfcene and abominable rites and ceremonies, is wickednefs. And the fuperftitious idolatries and ufurpations, of the church of Rome, are now lefs contrary to the light of reafon. By which it appears, that the oppofition againft the church of God has been made by wikced men. And with regard to the oppofition of the Jews in Chrift's and the apoftles times, it was when the people were generally become exceedingly wicked, as Jofcphus and other Jewifii writers who lived about that time acknowledge. And that it has been mere wickednefs thai has made this oppofition is manifeft: from the

2 Q^ manner

led it perfeciition for the gofpel; but it is well known that, not their religion, but their treafonable praftices, procured their ruin.

2. That though the papifts have gone fo much beyond their pagan predeceflbrs as to perfecute all religions but their own. Pagan, Jewlfh and Mahometan, as well as Proteftant; yet thefe have never yet been fo general, nor fo long continued. Hiftory, as our author rightly obferves, can produce no other inftance of perfecu-tion being continued with fo little intermiflion for fo many centuries.

3. That though religion has in moft cafes been the pretence for popifli feverities, it has often not been the true caufe. The Morifcoes and Jews were expelled Spain, and diabolical cruelties exercifcd in South America, rather that their perfecutors might have a pretence for fcizing their poffeflions, than from any zeal for religion. [G. E.]

|^.^2 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

maimer of the oppofition, the extreme violence, injuftlce, and cruelty, with which the church of God has been treated. It feems to ihow tlie hand of malignant infernal fpirits in it.

Now what reafon can be affigned, why the corruption and wickednefs of the world Ihould fo implacably fet it-felf againft the religion of Jefus Chrift, and againil: the fcriptures, but only that they are contrary to wickednefs. and conlequently good and holy ? Why iTiould the enemies of Chrift, for fo many thoufand years together, manifeft fuch a mortal hatred of this religion, but only that it is the caufe of God ? If the fcriptures be not the word of God, and the religion of tlie church of Chrift be not the true religion, then it muft follow, that it is nothing but a pack of lies and delufions, invented by tlie enemies of God themfelves. And if this were fo, it is not likclv that the enemies of God, and the wickednefs of tlie world, would have maintained fuch a perpetual and implacable enmity againft it.

(2.) It is a great argument that the Chrlftlan church and its religion is from God; that it has been upheld hitherto through all the oppol'ition and dangers it has met with. That the church of God and the true religion, which has been fo continually and violently oppoied, with fo many endeavours to overthrow it, and which has fo often been brought to the brink of ruin, and almoft fwal-lowed up, through the greateft part of fix thoufand years, has yet been upheld, does moft remarkably fhow the hand of God In favour of it. This, If properly confidered, will appear one of the greateft wonders and miracles that ever came to pafs. There is nothing like it upon the face of the earth. As to the old world, which was before the flood, that was overthrown by a deluge of waters; but yet the church of God was preferved. Satan's vifible kingdom on earth was tlien entirely overthrown ; but the vliible kingdom of Chrift never has been. All the ancient monarchies of -which we read in former ages, they are long fince come to an end ; they have all grown old, and have vanifticd away; ' The liiodi has eaten them

' up

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 483

' up like a garment, and the worm has eaten them like ' wool;' but yet God's church remains.

Never were there fuch potent endeavours to deftroy any thing elfe, as there has been to deftroy the church. Other kingdoms and focieties of men, which have appeared to be ten ti,r,es as ftrong as the church of God, have been deftroyed with an hundredth part of the oppofi-tion which the church of God has met with ; which {hows, that it is God who has been the proteitor of the church. For it is moft plain, that it has not upheld it-felf by its own ftrength ; for the moil: part, it has been .1 very weak fociety. The children of Hiacl were but a finall handful of people in comparifon of thofe who often fought their overthrow. And in Chrift's time, and in the beginning of the Chriftian church after his refurrec-tion, they were but a remnant; whereas the whole multitude of the Jewifh nation were againft them. And fo in the beginning of the Gentile church : they were but a fmall number in comparifon with their heathen perfecu-tors. Alfo in the dark time of antichrift, before the reformation, thev were but a handful ; and yet their enemies could not overthrow them. And it has commonly happened that the enemies of the church have not only had the greateft number, but alfo the civil authority on their iide. So in Egypt, Ifrael were only flaves to the Egyptians, and yet they could not deftroy them. Like-wile in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, under the heathen Roman government, and for the moft part fince the rife of antichrift, the civil power was all on the fide of the perfecutors, and the church feemed to be in their hands. And not only has the ftrength of the enemies of the church been greateft, but ordinarily the church has not ufed what ftrength they have had in their own defence, but have committed themfelves wholly to God. So it was in the Jewifti perfecutions before the deftru6lion of Jerufalem by the Romans; and in the heathen perfecutions before Conftantine, the Chriftians did not attempt to make any forcible refiftance to their heathen perfecutors. So it Jias for the moft part been under the Popiih

484 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

perfecutors. So it has for the mofl part been under the Popifh perfecutions; and yet they have never been able to overthrow^ the church of God: but it ftands to this very day.

This is ftill the more wonderful, if we confider how often the church has been brought to the brink of ruin, and the cafe feemed to be defperate. In the time of the old world, wickednefs fo prevailed, that but one religious family was left. At the Red Sea, when Pharaoh and his hoft thought they were quite fure of their prey; and from time to time in the church of Ifrael, God delivered them, as has been fliovvn. Thus under the tenth and lafl: heathen pcrfecution, their perfecutors boafted that they had deftroyed the Chriftians, and overthrown the church ; yet in the midft of their triumph, the Chriflian church rifes out of the duft and prevails, and the heathen empire totally falls before it. So when the Chriftian church feemed ready to be fwallowed up by Arianilm,— when antichrift rofe and prevailed, and all the world wondered after the beaft, and the church for many hundred years was reduced to a very fmall number, and the power of the world was engaged to deftroy them ; yet they could never fully accomplifli their defign, and at laft God wonderfully revived his church in the time of the Reformation, and made it to ftand as it were on its feet in the fight of its enemies, and raifed it out of their reach. And fo fince, when the Popifh powers have plotted the overthrow of the Reformed church, and have feemed juft about to bring their matters to a conclufion, and to finiflx their defign, then God has wonderfully appeared for the deliverance of his church, as it was in the revolution by King William. And fo it has been from time to time: prefently after the darkeit times, God has made his church mofl glorioufly to fiouriHi.

If the prefervation of the church of God, from the beginning of the world hitherto, attended with fuch cir-cumflances, is not fufficient to fliow a divine hand in favour of it, what can be devifed that would be fo ? But if this be from the divine hand, then God owns the church

and

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 485

and her religion, and thofe fcriptures on which (he is built: and fo it will follow, that this is the true religion, and that the fcriptures are God's word.

Ij-) ^^ "^''y ^^'^"w a further argument for the divine authority of the fcriptures from the fulfilment of thofe things which are foretold in the fcriptures.—T have already obferved, as I went along, how the prophecies in fcripture were fulfilled : I (liall now therefore fingle out but two in-ftances of the fulfilment of fcripture prophecy.

[i.] One is in preferving his church from being ruined. I have jufl: now fliown Vv'hat an evidence this is of the divine authority of the fcriptures, in itfelf confidered ; I now fpeak of it as a fulfilment of fcripture prophecy. This is abundantly foretold and promifed in the fcriptures, as particularly in the text: there it is foretold, that other things fhall fail, other kingdoms and monarchies, which fet themfelves in oppofition, fliould come to nothing :

* The moth fliall eat them up like a garment, and the ' worm fliall eat them like wool :' and fo it has in fa6l come to pafs. But it is alfo foretold, that God's covenant mercy to his church fliall continue for ever: and fo it has hitlierto proved, though now ii be fo many ages fmce, and though the church has pafTed through fo many dangers. The fame is promifed in Ifaiah, [liv. 17.] * No ' weapon that is formed againft thee fhall profper ; and ' every tongue that fhall rife againft thee in judgment

* thou ihalt condemn.' And again, [chap. xlix. 14— 16.] ' But Sion faid, the Lord hath forfaken me, and my ' Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her

* fucking child, that fhe fhould not have compafTion on the

* fon of her womb ? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not ' forget thee. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms ' of my hands, thy walls are continually before me.' [See alfo chap. lix. 21. and xllii. i, 2. and Zech. xli. 2, 3.] So Chrift proniifes the fame, [Matt. xvi. 18.] ' On this ' rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell

* fhall not prevail againft it.' Now if the fcriptures (be not the word of God, and the churcli built on them lie pot of God, how could the perfons who foretold this,

know

486 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

know it ? For If the church were not of God, it was a very ttnlikely thing ever to come to pafs. For they foretold that other kingdoms fliould come to nothing ; alfo the great oppofition the churcli fhould meet with, and the many dangers with which flie fhould be almoft fwallowed up, (as it were eafy to iliow,) and yet foretold that the church fhould remain. Now how could they forefee fo unlikely a thing but by divine infpiration ?

[2.] The other remarkable inftance which I Ihall mention of the fulfilment of fcripture prophecy, is in what is foretold concerning antichr'iji, a certain great oppofer of Chrift and his kingdom.—And (i.) It is foretold that this antichrifi: fliould arife not among the heathen ; but that he fliould arife by the apoftafy and falling away of the Chriflian church. [2 Thef. ii. 3.] ' For that day ' fliall not come, except there come a falling away firft, ' and that man of fin be revealed, the fon of perdition.'— (2.) That he fhould fet himfelf up in the temple or vifible church of God, pretending to be vefted with the power ot God himfelf, as head of the church, [ver. 4.] (3.) It is intimated, that the rife of antichrift fhould be gradual, [ver 7.] ' For the myflery of iniquity doth already work : ' only he who now letteth, will let, until he be taken out ' of the way,— (4.) It is prophefied that he fhould be a great prince or monarch of the Roman empire: fo he is reprefented as an horn of the fourth beaft in Daniel, or fourth kingdom or monarchy upon earth, as the angel himfelf explains it, of the little horn. [Daniel vii. 24.]— (5.) It was prcdi6led that his feat fliouid be in the city of Rome itfelf; fo it is faid exprefsly, that the fpiritual whore, or falfe church, fliould have her feat on fcven mountains or hills: [Rev. xvii..6.] ' The feven heads are fevcn ' mountains on which the woman fitteth:' and [ver. 18.] ' The woman which thou faweil, is that great city • which reigneth over the kings of the earth ;' which it is certain was at that time the city of Rome.—(6.) It was prophefied, that this antichrilt fhould reign over peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, [Rev. xvii. 15.] and that all the world fhonkl wonder after the

beaft.

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 487

beaft. [Rev. xiii. 3.]-—(?•) That he fliould be remarkable for his pride, pretending to great things, and affuming very-much to himfelf; [2 Thef. ii. 4.] ' 'J'hat he iliould ' exalt himfelf above all that is called God, or that is wor-' ihipped.' [Rev. xiii. 5.] ' And there was given unto ' him a mouth Ipeaking great things, and blafphemies.' [Dan vii. 20.] The little horn is faid to have a moutli fpeaking very great things, and his look to be more ftout than his fellows.—(8.) That he fliould be a cruel perfe-cutor, [Dan. vii. 21.] The fame horn made war with the faints, and prevailed againft them: [Rev. xiii. 7.] ' And it was given to him to make war with the faints, ' and to overcome them.' [Rev. xvii. 6.] ' And I faw

* the woman drunken with the blood of the faints, and

* with the blood of the martyrs of Jefus.'~-(9.) That he fhould excel in craft and policy, [Dan. vii. 8.] 'In

* this horn were eyes like the eyes of a mart.' [ver. 20.]

* Even of that horn that had eyes.' This alfo came to pafs in the church of Rome.—(10.) It was foretold, that the kings of Chriftcndom Hiould be fubje£l to anti-chrift: [Rev. xvii. 12, 13.] ' And the ten horns which

* thou faweft, are ten kings, which have received no king-' dom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with ' the beafl:. Thefe have one mind, and Ihall give their ' power and flrength unto the beaft.'—(n.) That he fhould perform pretended miracles and lying wonders: [2 Thef. ii. 9.] ' Whofc coming is after the working of ' Satan, with all power, and figns, and lying wonders.' [Rev. xiii. 13, 14.] ' And he doth great wonders, fo

* that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the

' earth, in tlie fight of men, and deceiveth them that

' dwell on the earth, by the means of thofe miracles which

' he had power to do in the fight of the beaft.' (s) Fire's

comino-o

(s) Popi/Jj MIRACLES.] Thcfc may be divided into two clafTes, neither of which defcrve the name of miracles^ the foimei being mere fiftions, and the latter, tricks of priefts.

I. Of the former little need be faid, as to mention is to expofc and refute thera. That St. Dcnys, or St. Juftinian, walked with

their

488 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

coining down from heaven feems to have reference to the popiih excommunications, which were dreaded like fire from heaven.—(12.) It was foretold, that he Ihould forbid

their heads under their arms—that the Virgin Mary held Bec-ket's fhirt while he mended it—or that a band of angels moved her cottage from Judea to Loretto by night—Thefe may provoke our rifibility, but will hardly now command belief even from Papifts.

But, z. We admit many of the fafts they pretend, though we deny there was any miracle in them, except indeed the credulity of the multitude. To pafs by the trick of fpeaking and moving images, which are now no fccret ; we fliall prefent our readers with tv/o inftances of the miraculous powers of the Roman church, one for its ingenuity, the other for its recentnefs.

" St. Anthony is commonly thought to have a great command over fire, and a power of deftroying by flafhes of that element thofe who incur his difpleafure. .... A certain monk of St. Anthony . . . one day affembled his congregation under a tree where a magpie had built her ncft, into which he had found means to convey a fmall box filled with gunpowder, and out of the box hung a long thin match that was to burn llovvly, and was hidden among the leaves of the trees. As foon as the monk or his aflif-tant had touched the match with a lighted coal, he began his fer-mon. In the mean while the magpie returned to her nefl; and finding in it a flrange body which fhe could not remove, fhe fell into a pafTion, and began to fcratch with her feet, and chatter mofl unmercifully. The friar affected to hear her without emotion, and continued his fermon with great compofure ; only he would now and then lift up his eyes towards the top of the tree, as if he wanted to fee what was the matter. At laft, when he judged the match was near reaching the gunpowder, he pretended to be quite out of patience; he curfed the magpie, and wiflied St. Anthony's 'lixt might confume her, and went on again with his fermon ; but he had fcarcely pronounced two or three periods, when the match on a fudden produced its efte6t, and blew up the magpie with its neft ; which miracle wonderfully raifed the cha-rafter of the friar, and proved afterwards, very beneficial to him and to his convent."

[De Lome's Hiil. of the Flagellants.]

Query, Was not this fulfilling the prophecy of making fire come down from heaven in the figiit ot men !

The following miracle, viz. the liquefatlion of the blood of St. Januarius, is annually wrought, and is related by a refpeftable eye-witnefs. " The grand procelfion on this occafion was com-pcfed of a numerous body of clergy and an immenfe number of people of ail ranks, hradcd by the Archbilhop of Naples himfclf,

who

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 489

bid to marry and to abftain from meats; [i Tim. iv. 2-] * Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abflain

3 R ' from

who carried the phial containing the blood of the faint. A magnificent robe of velvet richly embroidered was thrown over the (boulders of the buft ; a mitre refulgent with jewels was placed on its head. The archbifhop with a folemn pace and a look full of awe and veneration, approached, holding forth the facred phial which contained the precious lump of blood; he addreffed the faint in the humbled manner, fervently praying that he would gracioufly condefcend to manifeft his regard to his faithful votaries, the people of Naples, by the ufual token of ordering that lump of his facred blood to affume its natural and original furni ; in thefe prayers he was joined by the multitude around, particularly by the women. My curiofity prompted me to mingle with the multitude; I got by degrees very near the buft. Twenty minutes had already elapfed, fmce the archbifhop had been praying with all pollible earneftnefs, and turning the phial around and around without any effeft. An old monk ftood near the archbifhop, and was at the utmoft pains to inftruft him how to handle, chafe, and rub the phial; he frequently took it into his own hands, but his manoeuvres were as ineffedlual as thofe of the archbifhop. By this time the people had become exceeding noify ; the women were quite hoarfe with praying ; the monk continued his operations with increafed zeal, and the archbifhop was all over in

a profufe fwcat with vexation An acquaintance whifpered

it might be prudent to retire I direftly took his hint, and

joined the company I had left. An univerfal gloom overfpread all

their countenances One very beautiful young lady cried and

fobbed as if her heart had been ready to break. The paflions of fome of the rabble without doors took a different turn ; inltcad of forrow they were filled with rage and indignation at the faint's obduracy, .... and fome went fo far as to call him an o!J, ungrateful, yelloiv-faced rajcal. .... It was now almoft dark, .... and when leaft expefted, the fignal was giv<^'i, that the miracle

was performed The populace filled the air with repeated

fhouts of joy; a band of mufic began to play ; Te Deum was fung; couriers were difpatched to the royal family, then at Por-tici, with the glad tidings ; the young lady dried up her tears ; the countenances of our company brightened in an inftant, and they fat down to cards without farther dread of eruptions, earthquakes, or peftilence." [Dr. Moore's View of Society and Manners in Italy, Lett. 64.]

Thefe miracles need no comment; but fome Proteftants add a third clafs of popifh miracles, wrought, as they fuppole, by the agency of the devil; but thefe we oniit, knowing of none for which the cunning of the priefts was not quite fulficicnt.

[N. U.]

490 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

' from meats, which God hath created to be received with ' thankfgiving.'—(i2.) That he fliould be very rich, and arrive at a great degree of earthly fplendour and glory : [Rev. xvii. 4.] ' And the woman was arrayed in purple, * and fcarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious ' ftones, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand.' [See alfo chap, xviii. 7, 12, 13, 16.] (t) It was foretold,

(t) Riches rt«c^SpLENDOUR of the churc/j of Kome.^ Thefe are principally obvious in their veilments, images, and magnificent ceremonies. We Hiall give a fliort fpecimen of each.

(i.) For veftments, we fhall mention only thofe of Pope Paul II. who " in his pontifical -veftments outwent all his predeceffors, efpecially in his regno, or mitre, upon which he had laid out a great deal of money in purchafing at vaft rates, diamonds, fapphires, emeralds, chryfollths, jafpers, unions, and all manner of precious ftones, wherewith, adorned like another Aaron, he would appear abroad fomewhat more auguft than a man He made a decree that »one but cardinals ftiould wear red caps; to whom he had in the firft year of his popedom given cloth of that colour to make horfe cloths or mule cloths of, when they rode." \_Plat'md's Lives of the Popes, tranfiated by Rycant, p. 414.]

N. B. Th.^ fcarlet coloured beaft !

(2.) For images, and other ornaments, the popifti treafure is immenfe. In the catalogue of the treafury of St. Denis, the tutelar faint of France, are the following, among innumerable other articles :

" A great, very beautiful, and precious crofs of mafty gold, all covered before with rubies, fapphires, emeraldsj and oriental peail. There Is ftiown, under the rich little crofs which is in the midft of it, the length of a foot and a half of the wood of the true crofs.—A little crucifix enchafed in gold, very delicately made of the wood of the true crofs by Pope Clement the Third's own hands.—There is fliown under the cryftal a httle phial, in which there is of the blood and water which ran from the fide of our Saviour, when it'was pierced with a lance ; there is moreover fome of the milk, and of the gown of our Lady; a finger of the apoftle St. Thomas, another finger of St. Medard, and the myrrh which the kings offered to our Saviour ; and twenty-eight other different forts ofreliques.—One of the nails wherewith our Saviour was faftened to the crofs ; it is enchafed in a great filver tabernacle gilt and garniftied with precious ftones, made by the monks.—An image of tlie holy Virgin" of filver gilt, which holds with one hand a Httle reliquary, in which is feen a piece of the fwaddling cloaths wherewith flie wrapt our Saviour in the manger of Bethlehem.—»A great image of our Lady, of filver gilt, holding

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 491

told, that he fliould forbid any to buy or fell, but thofe that had his mark. [Rev. xiii. 17.] ' And that no man

' might

in the right hand a fleiir de lis of gold, in which there are of her hairs and cloaths.—Another great image of St. John the Evangc-lift, of fdver gilt, holding with one hand a cryllal tube fet in gold, in which is feen a tooth of the faid apoIUe.—A great crofs, all of gold and precious ftoncs, called the crofs of St. Lauience, becaufe in it there is a bar of the iron grate on which this holy martyr was roafted.—A great image of St. Nicolas, of filvcr gilt, whofe mitre is enriched with precious ftones, and at the foot of it there are reliques of the faint.—A golden head of the great St. Denis the Areopagite, apoftle of France, and patron of the place, whofe mitre, alfo of gold, is all covered with precious ftones and oriental pearls; the whole borne up by two great angels of filver gilt.—The chalice and the little veffels for holding wine and water, which the fame St. Denis made ufe of at the facrifice of the mafs about 1550 years fince ; the whole of rock cryftal enchafed in fdver, and the chalice enriched with precious ftones.—A great crofs of maffy gold, made by St. Effay ; it is enriched with a number of oriental pearls, and other very precious ftones, and among others with a very great and very fine oriental amethlft.—A beautiful, great, very ancient, and curious veffel of rich cryftal, which was ufed in the temple of Solomon.—A great cup of gold and precious ftones, which belonged to the fame Solomon.—A little idol of Apollo, engraved on an amethlft, fet in gold, enriched with precious ftones.—With innumerable other precious images, curiofities and reliques. Add to thefe the riches of the miraculous houfe of Loretto, where Mr. Addison, who faw them, afliires us, " Silver can fcarce find a place, and gold itfelf looks but poorly amongft fuch a number of precious ftones." [^Addifon^s Travels, p. 93.]

For the pomp of the RomlOi fervices, take the following account from the late celebrated Mr. Whitefi eld, of what he calls " the crucifixion^ reprefented partly by dumb ftiow and partly by living perions," in the church belonging to the convent of St. De Beato : " We had not,'"' fays Mr. W. " waited long before the curtain was drawn up; immediately, upon a high fcaffold hung in the front with black bays, and behind with filk purple damafli laced with gold, was exhibited to our view an image of the Lord Jefus at full length, crowned with thorns and nailed on a crofs, between two figures of like dlmenfions, reprefenting the two thieves. At a httle diftance, on the right hand, was placed an Image of the Virgin Mary in plain long ruffles, and a kind of widow weeds. Her veil was purple filk, and flic had a wire gloiy round her head. At the foot of the crofs lay, in a moiuMiful penfive pofture, a living man, drefled in woman's cloaths, who perfonated Mary Magdalen ; and not far off" ftood a young man, in imitation of the beloved difciple. He was drefled in a loofe green filk vefture and bob-wig. His eyes 3 R 2 were

492 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

* might buy or fell, fave he that had the mark, or the

* name

■were fixed on the crofs, and his two hands a little extended. On each fide, near the front of the ftage,fi;ood two ccntinels in buff, with formidable caps, and long beards; and direftly in the front flood another yet more formidable, with a large target in his hand. We mayfuppofe him to be the Roman centurion. To complete the fcene, from behind the purple hangings came out about twenty little purple-vefted winged boys, two by two, each bearing a lighted ■wax taper in his hand, and a crimfon and gold cap on his head.

At their entrance upon the ilage they gently bowed their

heads to the fpeftators, then kneeled and made obeifance, firft to the image on the crofs, and then to that of the Virgin Mary, When rifen, they bowed to each other, and then took their refpec-tlve places over againft one another, on fteps afligned for them on the front of the ftage. Oppofite to this, at a few yards diftance, flood a black friar, in a pulpit hung in mourning. For a while he paufed, and then, breaking filence, gradually lifted up his voice till it was extended to a pretty high pitch, though I think fcarce high enough for fo large an auditory. ' After he had proceeded in his difcourfe about a quarter of an hour, a confufed noife was heard near the front great door ; and upon turning my head, I faw four long bearded men ; two of which carried a ladder on their fhoul-ders, and after them followed two more with large gilt diflies in their hands, full of linen, fpices, &c. Thefe, as I imagined, were the reprefentatives of Nicodemus and Jofeph of Arimathea. On 3 fignal given from the pulpit, they advanced towards the fteps of the fcaflfold. But upon their firft attempting to mount it, at the watchful centurion's nod, the obfervant foldicrs made a pafs at them, and prefented the points of tb.eir javelins directly to their breads. They are repulfed. Upon this a letter from Pilate is produced ; the centurion reads it, fiiakes his head, and, with looks that befpoke a forced compliance, beckons to the centinels to withdraw their arms. Leave being thus obtained, they afcend ; and having paid their homage, by kneeling firft to the image on the crofs, and then to the Virgin Mary, they retire to the back of the ftage. Still the preacher continued declaiming, or rather, aswasfaid, explaining the mournful fcene. . Magdalen perfifts in wringing her hands and varioufiy exprelfing her pcrfonnted for-row; whilft John (feemingly regardlefs of all befides) ftood gazing on the crucified figure. By this time it was near three o'clock, and therefore proper for the fcene to begin to clofe. The ladders are afcended, the fuperfcription and crown of thorns taken off, long white rollers p-^t round the arms of the image, and then the nails knocked out which faftened-the hands and feet. Kere Mary Magdalen looks moft languifning, and John, if poflible, ftands more thnnderftruck than before. The orator lifts up his voice, and alraoft all the hearers expreffcd concern by weeping,

beating

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 493

' name of the beaft, or the number of his name, (u) — (13.) That he fnouid fell the fouls of men, [Rev. xviil. 13.] in enumeratino the articles of his merchandile, the fouls of men are mentioned as one.—-(14.) It was foretold,

beating their breafts, and fmiting their cheeks. At length the body is gently let down ; Magdalen eyes it, and gradually riling receives the feet into her wide-fpread handkerchief; whilll John, (who hitherto ftood motionlefs like a ftatiie) as the body came nearer the ground, with an eagernefs that befpoke the intenfe af-feftion of a fympathizing friend, runs towards the crofs, feizcs the upper part of it into his clafping arms, and with his difguifed fellow mourner helps to bear it away. Great preparations were made for its interment. It was wrapped in linen and fpices, &c. and being laid upon a bier richly hung, was afterwards carried round the church yard in grand proceffion. The image of the Virgin Mary was chief mourner, and John and Magdalen, with a whole troop of friars with wax tapers in their hands, followed after. Determined to fee the whole, I waited its return, and in about a quarter of an hour the corpfc was brought in, and depo-fited in an open fepulchre prepared for the purpofe ; but not before a prieft, accompanied by feveral of the fame order in fplended veftments, had perfumed it with incenfe, fung to, and kneeled before it. John and Magdalen attended the obfequies ; but the image of the Virgin Mary was carried away, and placed upon the front of the ftage in order to be kiffed, adored, and W'Orfhipped by the people. This I faw them do with the utmofl: eagernefs and reverence. And thus ended this Good Friday's tragi-comical, fuperllitious, idolatrous droll. Surely, thought I, whilfl attending on fuch a fcene of mock devotion, if ever, now is the Lord Jefus crucified afrcrti ; and I could then, and even now, think of no other plea for the poor beguiled devotees, than that which fuffering Innocence put up himfelf for his enemies, when actually hanging upon the crofs, viz. " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." [Account of fome Lent Proccfs. &c. at Lifbon, p. 31—37.]

(u) The MARK of the heajl. Sec] By the mark of the beafl is meant a profeflion of the popifli religion, commonly fignificd by the fign of the crofs in the forehead. Without this none might buy ox fell. So the council of Lateran and fynod of Tours, under Pope Alexander III. and the bull of Pope Martin V. forbid any traffic to be carried on with heretics, as the pcrfecuting Roman emperors had done before. The number of his name is to be found in the Greek word Lateixos, Th: Latin; the letters of which as numerals make jufl 666, (as do tliofc of the Hebrew RoMiiTH, the Roman bcail) and about that date the Latin fervicc was enjoined in all the Roman or I^atin churches. [Bp. Neiuion on the Proph. vol. viii. Dif. 1^. and Reader on the Rev. inloc]

494 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

told, that antichrift would not fufFer the bodies of God's people to be put into the graves. [Rev. xi. 8, 9.] ' And

* their dead bodies (hall lie in the flreet of the great city,—

* and they—fhall not fufter their dead bodies to be put in ' graves.' All thefc particulars have literally come to pafs with refpeft to the church of Rome, and I might mention many others.

(4.) From what has been faid, we may learn that the fpirit of true Chriftians is Txfphit oi fuffcring. Seeing God has fo ordered it, that his church fhould for fo long a time be in a fufFering flate, we may conclude, that the fpirit of the true ciiurch is a fufFering fpirit, for doubtlefs God accommodates the flate and circumftances of the church to the fpirit that he has given them. We have feen how many and great fufferings the Chriftian church for the moft part has been under for thefe 1700 years ; no wonder therefore that Chrift fo much inculcated upon his hearers, that it was necelTary, if any would be his difciples, ' they ' muft deny themfelves, and take up their crofs and follow « him.' [Matt. xvi. 24.]

And we may prove that the fpirit of the true church of Chrill: is a fufFering one, by the fpirit the church has fhown and exercifed under her fufferings. She has a6lually, under thofe terrible perfecutions through which {h& has pafTed, rather chofen to fufFer the moft dreadful torments, to fell all for the pearl of great price, and to endure all that her bitterefl enemies could inflift, than to renounce Chrift and his religion. Hiftory furnifties us with a great number of remarkable inftances ; fets in view a great cloud of wit-nefFes. This abundantly confirms the neceftity of being willing to part with all for Chrift, to renounce our own cafe, our worldly profit, and honour, and all, for him, and for the gofpel.

Let us now inquire, whether we are of fuch a fpirit. How does it prove upon trial ? does it prove in fact that we are willing to deny ourfelves, and renounce our worldly intereft, and to pafs through the trials to which we are called in providence ? how fmajl are our trials, compared with thofe of many of our fellow Chriftians in former

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 495

mcr ages! And I would on this occafion apply that paflage [Jer. xii. 5.] 'If thou haft run with the footmen, and ' they have wearied thee, then how canft thou contend

* with horfes r' If you have not heen able to endure the light trials to which you have been called in this age, and in this land, how would you be able to endure the far greater trials to which the church has been called in former ages ? Every true Chriftian has the fpirit of a martyr, and would fufFer as a martyr if he were called to it in providence.

(5.) Hence we learn what great reafon we have, af-furedly to expe6l the fulfilment of thofe fcriptures which yet remain to be fulfilled. The fcriptures have foretold many great things yet to be fulfilled before the end of the world. But there feems to be great difficulties in the way. We feem at prefent to be very far from fuch a ftate as is foretold ; but we have abimdant reafon to expedl that thefe things, however feemingly difficult, will yet be accomplifhed in their fe^tfon. We fee the faithfulnefs of God to his promifes hitherto. How true has God been to his church, and remembered his mercy from generation to generation: we may fay concerning what God has done hitherto for his church, as Jofliua faid to the children of Ifrael. [Jofh. xxiii. 14.] ' That

* not one thing hath failed of all that the Lord our God

* hath fpoken concerning his church ;' but all things are hitherto come to pafs agreeable to the divine predidion. This fhould flrengthen our faith in thofe promifes, and encourage us to earneft prayer to God for the accomplilh-ment of the great and glorious things which yet remain to be fulfilled.

It has already been fhown how the fuccefs of Chrift's redemption was carried on through various periods down to the prefent time.

4. I come now to (how how the fuccefs of Chrift's redemption will be carried on from the prefent time, till antichrift is fallen, and Satan's vifible kingdom on earth deftroyed.-—And with refpect to this fpacc of time, we

have

496 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

have nothing to guide us but the prophecies of fcripturc. Hitherto we have had fcripture hiftory or prophecy, together with human hiftory. But henceforward we have only prophecy to dire6l us. And here I would pafs by thofe things that are merely conjedlural, or are only fur-mifed by fome from thofe prophecies which are doubtful in their interpretation ; and fliall infill: only on thofe things which are more clear and evident.

We know not what particular events are to come to pafs before that glorious work of God's Spirit begins, by which Satan's kingdom is to be overthrown. By the cimfent of moft divines, there are but few things, if any at all, that are foretold to be accomplilhcd before the beginning of that glorious work of God. Some think the flaying of the witncfles, [Rev. xi. 7.8.] is not yet ac-complillied.* So divines differ with refpedl to the pouring out of the feven phials, [Rev. xvi.] how many are already poured out, or how many remain ; though a late expofitor,t whom I have before mentioned to you, feems to make it very plain and evident, that all are already poured out but two, viz. the fixth on the river Euphrates, and the feventh into the air. But 1 will not now ftand to inquire what is intended by the poul"ing out of the lixth phial on the river Euphrates, that the way of the kings of the eaft may be prepared ; but only would fay, that it feems to be fomething immediately preparing the way for the deftruction of the Spiritual Babylon, as the drying up of the river Euphrates, which ran through the midft of old Babylon, was what prepared the way for the kings of the Medes and Perfians, the kings of the eaft, to come in under the walls, and deftroy that city.—But whatever this be, it does not appear that it is any thing which (hall be accomplifhed before the work of God's Spirit is begun, by which, as it goes on, Satan's vihble kingdom on earth fhall be utterly overthrown. And therefore I would proceed directly to confidcr what the fcripture reveals concerning

this work of God.

And

* Neivton, Lowman, Glllj Doddridge^ Reader., i!fc, f Mr. Lowman.

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 497

And I v/ould promifc two things in general concerning it.

I. We have all reafon to conclude from the fcriptures, that juft before this work of God begins, it will be a very dark time with refpcd^ to the interefts of religion in the world. It has been fo before thofe glorious revivals of teligion that have been hitherto. It was fo when Chrift came in the flelh, and alfo before the Reformation from Popery. And it feems to be foretold in fcripture, that it ihall be a time of but little religion, when Chrift Ihall come to fet up his kingdom in the world. Thus when Chrift fpake of his coming, to encourage his eled:, who cry to him day and night, [Luke xviii. 8.] he adds this,

* Ncverthelefs, when the Son of man cometh, fhall he

* find faith on the earth ?' Which.feems to denote a great prcvalency of infidelity juft before Chrift's coming to avenge his fufFering church. Though Chrift's coming at the laft judgment is not here to be excluded, yet there feems to be a fpecial refpecl to his coming to deliver his church from their long continued fuffering, perfecuted ftate, which is accompliftied only at his coming at the deftruction of antlchrift. That time when the ele6l cry to God, [Rev. vi. 10.] ' How long, O Lord, holy and ' true, doft thou not judge and avenge our blood on

* them that dwell on the earth r' and the time fpoken of in Revelation, [chap, xvili. 20.] ' Rejoice over her, thou

* heaven, and ye holy apoftles, and prophets, for God ' hath avenged you on her,' will then be accomplifhed. It is now a dark time with refpedl to the interefts of religion, and there is a remarkable fulfilment of that prediction j [2 Pet. iii. 3.] ' Knowing this, that there ftiall ' come in the laft days fcoffers, walking after their own

* lufts.' And fo Jude, [17, 18.] ' But beloved, remcm-' ber ye the words v,-hich were fpoken before of the apof-

* ties of our Lord Jefus Chrift; how that there Ihould

* be mockers in the laft time, who ftiould walk after their

* own ungodly lufts.' Whether the times ihall be any darker ftill, or how much fo before the beginning of this glorious work of God, we cannot tell.

2. There is no reafon to think but that this great work of God will be wrought, though very fwiftly, yet gradually. As the children of Ifrael were gradually brought out of the Eabylonifh captivity, firfl one company and then another, and gradually rebuilt their city and temple ; and as the heathen Roman empire was deftroyed by a gradual, though a very fwifc prevalency of the gof-pel; fo, though there are many things which feem as though the work of God would be exceeding fvvift, and many wonderful events fuddenly be brought to pafs, and fome great parts of Satan's vifible kingdom have a very fuddcn fall, yet all will not be accomplilhed at once, as by fome great miracle, (as the refurreclion of the dead at the end of the world will be all at once;) but this is a. work which will be accomplilhed by means, by the preaching of the gofpel, and the ufe of the ordinary means of grace, and fo will be gradual. Some ihall be converted, and be the means of converting others. God's Spirit fhall be poured out firft to raife up inftruments, and thofe inftruments ihall be ufcd and fucceed. And doubt-lefs one nation lliall be enlightened and converted after another ; one falfe religion exploded after another. By the rcprefentation in Daniel [chap. ii. 3, 4.] the ftone cut out of the mountain without hands gradually grows. So Chrift teaches us, that the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of muftard feed, [Matt. xiii. 31, 32.] and like leaven hid in three meafures of meal, [ver. 33.] The fame rcprefentation we have in the vifion of the waters pf the fantStuary. [Ezek. xlviii.]— The fcriptures mention feve-ral fuccelTive events by which this glorious work Ihould be accomplilhed. The angel fpeaking to the prophet Daniel of thofe times, mentions two periods, at the end of which glorious things Ihould be accompliihed ; [Dan. xii. II.] ' And from the time that the daily facrificc Ihall

* be taken away, and the abomination that maketh defo-' late fet up, there fliall be a thoufand two hundred and ' ninety days.' But then he adds [ver. 12.] ' BlefTed is ' he that waiteth, and cometh to die thoufand three hun-

* dred and five and thirty days;' intimating that fome-

thmg;

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 499

thing very glorious fliould be accompliflied at the end of the former period, but fomething much more glorious at the end of the latter.-—But I now proceed to fliow,

(3.) That this great work fliall be accompliflied, not by the authority of princes, nor by the wifdom of learned men, but by the Holy Spirit ; [Zech. iv. 6, 7.] ' Not by ' mif^ht, nor by power, but by my fpirit, faith the Lord

< of hofts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before

< Zerubbabel thou (halt become a plain, and he (hall bring ' forth the head flonc thereof with fliouting, crying, Grace, ' grace unto it.' So the prophet Ezekiel, fpeaking of this great work of God, fays, [chap, xxxix. 29.] 'Neither * will I hide my face any more from them ; for I have

< poured out my fpirit on the houfe of Ifrael, faith the ' Lord God.' We know not where this pouring out of the Spirit fliall begin, or whether in many places at once, or whether what has already been, be not fome forerunner and beginning of it. (w)

This

(w) Whether the LATE conversions be the beguimng of this glorious event ?] We have already been pretty large in our account of feveral remarkable out-pourings of God's Spirit in the conver-fion of finners in the prefent century; [See above, note l, p. 465 —M, 468—N, 470—and o, 471.] To which might be added a work of the like nature in Scotland, about the year i 740, when great multitudes were awakened in a hidden and fingulai manner ; but we fhall only fubjoin on authentic account of fome very recent inftances of the power of divine grace in propagating the gofpel among the Indians in America ; where Dr. IVhec'och, in the year 1754, eftabliflied a fchool at Lebanon, in Connedicut, (fince removed to Hanover, in New Hampfliire, where it is (lill continued by his fon) for the education of Indian and EngliOi youths, as mifiionaries, interpreters, and fchool-mafters to the different Indian tribes. The utility of thisinflitution may in fome meafure be ef-timated from the following extraft from a letter of the Rev. Mr. Kirkland, an eminent miflionary therein educated, dated Boflon, March 10, 17^4.

" The Oneidas expeft in tlie courfe of two years to have more than a thoufand Indians in their vicinity, who will be difpofed to attend to the word of God, and among thofe, fvine hearty lovers of the religion of Jcfus, as thcmfelves exprefs it. About eighty of the Delaware tribe .... have lately petitioned the Oneidas for a fettlement in tlieir neighbourhood, where they might have the privilege of religious inflruftion. Their rcqucft was immediately 3 S 2 granted."

500 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

This pouring out of the fpirit of God, when it is begun, fhali foon bring great multitudes to forfakc that vice and vvickednefs which now fo genera]!}"" prevails, and

Ihall

granted." In their addrefs to Mr. K. on this fubje(?l, t^ieyhave the following wordo : " We intreat our father to make one trial more for chriftianizing Indians, at lead for one, if not for two years, and if there be no encouragement after this, that we Ihall be built up as a people, and embrace the religion of Jefus; he may leave us, and we ihall expeft nothing but ruin." In a letter to the Scots commiffioners at Bofton for propagating the Chrifiian faith, the December preceding, Is the following paffage, referring to the unhappy American v/ar : " Fathers, .... v/e haveb een dif-treffed by the black cloud that fo long overfpread our country: the cloud is now blown over; let us thank the Great Spirit and praife Jefus. By means of the fcrvants of Jefus, the good news of God's word hath been publifned to us. We have received it. Some of us love it, and Jefus hath preferved us through the late llorrn. Fathers, our fire begins to burn again ; our hearts rejoice to fee it: we hope it will burn brighter than ever, and that it will enlighten the nations around. Our brothers of the Stockbridgc and Mohegan tribes, and many others from the eaftward, have already agreed to come and fit with us around it, who all hope to fee alfo the light of God's holy word." [ Abftract of the Proceedings of the Scots Society for propagating Chriilian Knowledge.]

" vSince the above, Mr. Kirkland was fent to the Society in Scotland for propagating Chriilian Knowledge, a copy of his journal from May 1786, to May 1787. A concern about religion began among the Oneida Indians, Augufl and September 1786, and in November greatly increafed, and continued to do fo through the Vv'inter and fpring. About fevcnteen, in three villages of that tribe, appen?- favingly converted. In one of thefe villages, the convictions have been remarkably rational and pungent; and a fenfe of the cvd of fin has exceeded tl'.e fear of punifliment. In another, i'.'.d views of their ftate have been more mixed with enthufiafm. Outward reformation is fuch, that in one village there hath not been an inltance of an Indian drunk thefe fix months. On Lord's days, Mr. Kirkland is often employed, without anv confidcrablc intermifiion, from morning to evtning, and can hardly command leifure for necelFary refreOiment; and often, on other days, fpendj ten hours In preaching, catechizing, and private religious conver-fation with the many who come to him, to unfold the dillreiTes of their fouls, and to aflc inftrudtion in Chrillianity. Their hunger for the bread of life permits not his /ending them empty av/ay. Frequently they have enjoyed much of God's prefence in public worfnip. It was remarkably fo, January i, 1787, when tht-y were diflurbcd with pagan Indians nifcovering their joy for the new year, by firing of guns, and inviting the Clirlflians to an idola-

trou;

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 501

/liall caufe that vital religion, which is now fo dcfpifed and laughed at in the world, to revive. The work of converfion {hall break forth, and go on in fuch a manner as never has been liitlierto ; agreeable to that promile. [Tfa. xliv. 3—5-] * I v.'ill pour water upon him that is ' thirfty ... my fpirit upon thy feed .... one ihall fay, ' I am tlie Loi=d,' &c. God, by pouring out his holy Spirit, will furniih inftruments for carrying on this work ;

will

trons dance, for which there was not a fufficlent number, through their rcfufal. Irritated at Mr. Kirkland, to whom they afcribed the difappointment, four Indian youths confpired to murder him that night, which was happily difcovcred, and by the care of lome of his converts difappointcd. Even the heathen Sachems difap-proved this, and at an Indian council that week, three of the youths expreffed their penitence, and the fourth fent his apology. Thcfc appearances have ftruck fome of the Tufcararo and Onon-dago tribes. Mr. Kirkland writes, that his work, though fo un-.commonly laborious, was neTcr fo delightful. Indeed, fmce tlie days of Mr. David Brainerd, there has been nothing fo promifing among the Indians. Mr. Kirkland is tranflating the gofpel of Mark, and fome felcft Pfalms, into the Oneida language, which he hopes to get printed. His labours arc much helped by good Peter the catechift, one of the moft eloquent men among the fix nations, and by the fchoolmader, whofe name I do not recollcA." [Sermop by the Rev. Mr. Oacrum, Indian Miffionary on the death of another Indian, juft pubhlhed by the Rev. Mr. Rippon.]

To the above-mentioned inftances may be applied a remark of fome eminent divines on the work of God in New England, not impertinent to the occafion of introducing this note :

" We arc tauglit alfo by this happy event how eafy it will be for our bleffed Lord .... to fpread his dominion, from fea to fea, ihrough all the nations of the earth. We fee how eafy it is for him with one turn of his hand, with one word of his mouth, to awaken whole countries of ftupid and fleeping finners, and kindle divine life in their fouls. . . . The name of Chrlll fhall diffufe itfelf like a rich and vital perfume to multitudes that were ready to fink, and to periih under the painful fenfe of their own guilt and danger. Salvation fliall fpread through all the tribes and ranks of mankind, as the lightning from heaven in a few moments would communicate a living flame through 10,000 lamps or torches placed in a proper fituation and neighbourhood. Thus a nation fhall be born in a day when our Redeemer pleafes, and his faithful and obedient fubjefts fnall become as numerous as the fpires ot grafs in a meadow newly mown and refre'hcd with the flowers of heaven." [Dr. Watts and Dr. CuiJ'c'^ Preface to tir.Ed'-Mitrd'i Nar. p. vii.l

502 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

will fill them with knowledge and wifdom, and fervent zeal for promoting the kingdom of Chiift, and the falva-tion of fouls, and propagating the gofpel in the world. So that the gofpel fliall begin to be preached with abundantly greater clearnefs and power than it has hitherto been : for this great work of God ihall be brought to pafs by the preaching ot the gofpel, as is reprefcnted [Rev. xiv. 6—8.] that before Babylbn falls, the gofpel iliall be powerfully preached and propagated in the world.

This was typified of old by the founding of the filver trumpets in Ifrael in the beginning of their jubilee: [Lev. XXV. 9.] ' Then fhalt thou caufe the trumpet of ' the jubilee to found on the tenth day of the feventh ' month ; on the day of atonement fliall ye make the ' trumpet found throughout all your land.' The glorious times which are approaching, are, as it were, the church's jubilee, which Cljall be introduced by the founding of the filver trumpet of the gofpel, as is foretold [Ifa. xxvii. 13.] ' And it fhall come to pafs in that day, that ,the great ' trumpet fliall be blown, and they ihall come which were ' ready to perifli in the land of Aflyria, and the outcafts * of the land of Egypt, and iball worlhip the Lord in the holy mount at Jerufalem.' And there fliall be a glorious cfFufion of the Spirit with this clear and powerful preaching of the gofpel, to make it fuccefsful for reviving tliofe holy dodlrines of religion which are now chiefly ridiculed in the world, and turning many from herefy, and from popery, and from other falfe religions ; and alfo for turning many from their vice and profanenefs, and for bringing vaft multitudes favingly to Chrill:.

That work of converfion fliall go on in a wonderful manner, and fpread more and more. Many fliall flow together to the goodnefs of the Lord, and fliall come, as it were, in flocks, one flock and multitude after another. [Ifa. Ix. 4, 5.] ' Lift up thine eyes round about, and ' fee; all they gather themfelves together, they come to ' thee ; thy fons fliall come from far, and thy daughters ' fliall be nurfcd at thy fide. Then thou flialt fee and

' flow

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 503

flow together.' [ver. 8.] ' Who are thefe that fly as a ' cloud, and as the doves to their windows ?' And it being reprefented in the forementioned place in the Revelation, [chap. xiv. 6—-8.] that the gofpel fhall be preached to every tongue, and kindred, and nation, and people, before the fall of antichrilt ; fo we mry fuppofe, that it will foon be glorioufly fuccefsful to bring in multitudes from every nation ; and it fliall fpread with wonderful fwiftnefs, and vafl: numbers fliall fuddenly be brought in at once, and as it is faid, ' a nation Ihall be born in a day.' [Ifa. Ixvi. 7—9-]

(4.) This pouring out of the Spirit of God will not afi^ecl the overthrow of Satan's vifible kingdom, till there has firfl: been a violent and mighty oppojition made. In this the fcripture is plain, that when Chrift is thus glorioufly coming forth, and the deftrudlion of antichrift is ready at hand, and Satan's kingdom begins to totter, the powers of the kingdom of darknefs will rife up, and mightily exert themfelves to prevent their kingdom beini; overthrown. Thus after the pouring out the fixth phial, which was to dry up the river Euphrates, to prepare the way for the defl:ru6tion of fpiritual Babylon, it is reprefented [Rev. xvi.] as though the powers of hell will be mightily alarmed, and fhould flir up themfelves to oppofe the kingdom of Chrift, before the feventh and laft phial fliall be poured out, which fliall give them a, final and complete overthrow. After an account of the pouring out of the fixth phial, [ver. 12.] the beloved difciple informs us in the following verfes, that ' three unclean fpirits,

* like frogs, fhall go forth unto the kings of the earth, to

* gather them together to the battle of the great day of God

* Almighty.' This feems to be the laft and greateft effbit of Satan to fave his kingdom from being overthrown ; though perhaps he may make as great an efl^brt towards the end of the world to regain it.

When the Spirit begins to be glorioufly poured fortli, and the devil fees fuch multitudes flocking to Chrift in one nation and another, and the foundations of his kingdom daily undermining, its pillars breaking, and t]\e

whole

504 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

whole ready to fall, it will greatly alarm him. Satan ha? ever had a dread of his kingdom being overthrown, and he has long been endeavouring to fortify his kingdom, and to prevent its ruin. To this end he fet up the two mighty kingdoms of Antichrift and ?.lahomet, and has nurfed all the herefies and fuperftitions in the world: but when he fees all begin to fail, it will roufe him exceedingly. If Satan dreaded being caft out of the Roman empire, how much more does he dread being caft out of the whole world.

It feems as though in this laft great oppofition which fhall be made againft the church to defend the kingdom of Satan, that all the forces of antichrilt, mahometanifm and heathenifm, will be united ; all the power of Satan's vifible kingdom through the whole world: and therefore it is faid [Rev. xvi. 14.] that ' fpirits of devils fhall go

* forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole

* world, to gather them together to the battle of the great

* day of God Almighty.' And thefe fpirits are faid to come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beaft, and out of the mouth of the falfc prophet: z. e. there lliall be the fpirit of popery, and the fpirit of mahometanifm, and the fpirit of heathenifm, all united. By the beaft is meant antichrift ; by the dragon, in this book, is commonly meant the devil, as he reigns over his heathen kingdom; by the falie prophet, in this book, is fometimes meant the pope and his clergy : but here an eye feems to be had to Mahomet, whom his followers call the great prophet of God. This will be, as it were, the dying ftruggle of the old ferpent; a battle wherein he will fight as one that is defperate.

We know not particularly in what manner this oppofition will be made. It is reprefentcd. as a battle ; it is called ' the bartle of the great day of God Almighty.' There will be fome way or other a mighty ftruggle between Satan's kingdom and the church, and probably in all manner of ways ; and doubtlefs great oppofition will be made by external force; wherein the princes of the world who are on the devil's fide ftiall'join hand in hand; for

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 505

k is faid, ' The kings of the earth are gathered together

* to battle.' [Rev. xix. 19.] And probably alfo there will be great oppofition of fubtle difputers and carnal reafoning ; great perfecution in many places, and virulent reproaches. The devil now doubtlefs will ply his fkill, as well as Ilrength, to the utmofl:. The allies and fubje6ls who belong to his kingdom, will every where be ftirred up, and engaged to make an united and violent oppofition againfl this holy religion, which they fee prevailing lb mightily in the world.—But,

(5.) Chrift and his church fliall in this battle obtain a complete vl£lory over their enemies. They fliall be totally routed and overthrown in this their laft effort.—-When the powers of hell and earth arc thus gathered together againft Chrift, and his armies fhall come forih againft them by his word and fpirit to fight with them, in how auguft and glorious a manner is this defcribed. [Rev. xix. II —16.] ' And I faw heaven opened, and

* behold a white horfe, and he that fat upon him is called

* faithful and true,' &c. And to reprefent to us how great the vidlory fhould be which they fhould obtain, and how mighty the overthrow of their enemies, it is faid, [ver. 17, 18.] that ' all the fowls of heaven are called together, to

* eat the great lupper given them, of the flefh of kings, ' and captains, and mighty men.' &c. and in the following verfes we have an account of the vi6lory and overthrow.

In this vi6lory, the feventh phial fhall be poured out. It is faid, [Rev. xvi. 16.] of tlie great army that fhould be gathered together againll: Chrill:: ' And he gathered ' them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, ' Armageddon \ and then it is faid, ' And the feventh an-' g^^ poured out his phial into the air ; and there came a

* great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the ' throne, faying, It is done.'' Now the bufmefs is done for Satan and his adherents. When this viiflory is obtained, all is in efFecl done. Satan's laft and greatefl: oppofition is conquered ; all his meafures are defeated ; the pillars of his kingdom broken, and will fall of courfe.

-i T The

5o6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

The devil is utterly baffled and confounded, and knows not what elfc to do. He now fees his antichriftian, Mahometan, and henthenifh kingdoms through the world, all tumbling about his cars. He and his moft powerful inftru-ments are taken captive. Now that is in etFe6l done which the church of God had been fo long waiting and hoping for, and fo earneftly crying to God for, faying, ' How

• long, O Lord, holy and true ?' Now the time is come.

The angel that fet his right foot on the fea, and his left foot on the earth, [Rev. x. 5—-7.] lift up his hand to heaven, and fvvare by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and all things that tlierern are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the fea, and the things which are therein, that when the feventh angel fliould come to found, the time fhould be no longer. And now the time is come; now the feventh trumpet ^founds, and the feventh phial is poured out, both together; intimating, that now all is finiihed as to the overthrow of Satan's vifible kingdom on earth. This victory fhall be by far the greateft that ever was obtained over Satan and his adherents. By this blow, with which the ftone cut out of the mountain without hands fliall flrike the image of gold, and filver, and brafs, and iron, and clay, it fhall all be broken to pieces. This will be a finilhing blow to the image, fo that it fhall become as the chaftof the fummer threlhing floor. [See Dan. ii. 35.]

In this victory will be a mofl glorious difplay of divine power. Chrift fhall therein appear in the charafter of King ofkingSy and Lord of lords, [Rev. xix. 16.] and fliall dafli his enemies, even the ftrongeft and proudeft of them, in pieces; as a potter's velTel fhall they be broken to flii-vers. Then fliall ftrength be fliown out of weakncfs, and Chrilt (hall caufe his church as it were to threfh the mountains. [Ifa. xli. 15.] ' Behold, I will make thee a new ' fliarp threfliing inftrument having teeth ; thou fhalt threih

* the mountains, and beat them fmall, and Ihalt make the ' hills as chafF.' [See alfo Ifa. xliii.13 —^5*]

(6.) Confcquent on this vidory, Satan's vifible kingdom on earth fliall be deftroyed. When Satan is conquered in

this

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 507

this laft battle, the church of Chrift will have eafy work of it; as when Jolhua and the children of Ifrael had obtained,that great vi6lory over the five kings ot the Amo-rites, [Jofh. x. 5—14-] ^'^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^'^ flood flill, and God fent great hailftones upon their enemies, they after that went from one city to another, and burnt them with fire : they had eafy work of fubduing the cities and country to which they belonged. So it was alfa after that other great batde that Jofliua had with that great multitude at the waters of Merom. [Jolh. xi. 5—-9-] So after this glorious vi6lory of Chrift and his church over their enemies, the chief powers of Satan's kingdom, they fhall deftroy that kingdom in all thofe cities and countries to which they belong. Then the word of God ihall have a fvvift progrefs through the earth; as is faid, that on the pouring out of the feventh phial, ' the cities of the nations fell, and every ' ifland fled away, and the mountains were not found.' [Rev. xvi. 19, 20-] When once the ftone cut out of the mountain without hands had broken the image in pieces, it was eafy to abolifh all remains of it. The very wind will carry it av^'ay as the chaff of the fummer threfhing-floor. Becaufe Satan's vifible kingdom on earth fhall now be deilroyed, therefore it is faid, that the feventh phial, by which this fhall be done, ihall be poured out into the air; which is reprefented in fcripture as the fpccial feat of his kingdom ; for he is called ' the prince of the power of the ' air,' [Eph. ii. 2.] Now is come the time for punifhing Leviathan, that piercing ferpent, of which we read, [Ifa. xxvii. I.] 'In that day the Lord with his fore and great * and ftrong fword, iliall punilh Leviathan the piercing ' ferpent, even Leviathan, that crooked ferpent, and he ' ihall flay the dragon that is in the fea.'

Concerning this overthrow of Satan's vihble kingdom on earth, I would, [i.] Show wherein this overthrow of Satan's vihble kingdom will chiefly confift ; [2.] The extent and univerfality of this overthrow.

[i.] I would ihow wherein this overthrow of Satan's kingdom will chiefly confift. I ihall mention the principal things in which it will confift, witliout pretending to 3 T 2 deter-

5o8 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

determine in what order they fhall come to pafs, or which fhali be accomplifhed firft, or whether they fhall be ac-conipli/hed together.

Hcrejies, infidelity^ ^lxv^ fuperjiition, among thofe who have been brought tip under the light of the gofpel, will then be aboliflied. Then there will be an end to Socinianifm, Arianifm, Quakerifm, and Arminianifm ; and Deifm, which is now fo bold and confident in infidelity, fhall then be crufhed to nothing ; and all fhall agree in the fame great and important dodlrlnes of the gofpel; agreeable to that promife, [Zech. xiv. 9.] ' And the Lord fliall be king over all the earth : in that day Ihall there

* be one Lord, and his name one.' Then Ihall all fu-perflition be abolilhed, and all fliall agree in worfliipping God in his own ways. [Jer. xxxii. 39.] ' And I will

* give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear

* me for ever, for the good of them, and of their chil-

* dren after them.'

The kingdom of antichrlfi fhall be utterly overthrown. His kingdom and dominion has been much brought down already by the phial poured out on his throne in tlie Reformation ; but then it fhall be utterly deftroyed. Then jliall be proclaimed, ' Babylon is fallen, is fallen.' When the feventh angel founds, ' the time, times and half, fhall < be out, and the time fliall be no longer.' .Then fliall be accompliihed concerning antichrifl: the things which are written, [Rev. xviii.] concerning the fpiritual Babylon, that has for fo many ages been the great enemy of the Chriflian church, firft under heathenifm, then under popery : that proud city which lifted herfelf up to heaven, and above God himfelf in her pride and haughtinefs ; that cruel, bloody city, ihall come down to the ground. Then fhall that be fulfilled, [Tfa. xxvi. 5.] < For he ' bringcth down them that dwell on high, the lofty city

* he layeth it low, he layeth it low, even to the ground,

* he bringeth it even to the duft,' She fliall be thrown

* down with violence, like a great millftone caft into the

* fea, and fliall be found no more a-t all, and fliall become ' an {labitation of devils, and the hold of every foul fpirit,

' and

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 509

' and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.' Now rtiall flie be dripped of all her glory, and riches, and ornaments, and iliall be cafl: out as an abominable branch, and fhall be trodden down as the mire of the ftreets. All her policy and craft, in which fhe fo abounded, fhall not fave her. And God fliall make his people, who have been • fo perfecuted by her, to come and put their foot on the neck of antichiiR:, and he fliall be their footflool. All the ftrength and wifdom of this great harlot (hall fail her, and there fhall be none to help her. The kings of the earth, who before gave their power and flrength to the beaft, fliall now hate her, and Ihall make her defolatc and naked, and Ihall eat her fielh, and burn her with fire. [Rev. xviii 16.]

The Afahomctan kingdom fliall be utterly overthrown : the locufls and horfemen [Rev. ix. 10.] have their appointed and limited time let them, and the falfe prophet fhall be taken and deflroyed. And then, though Maho-metanifm has been fo vaftly propagated in the world, and is upheld by fuch a great empire, this fmoke, which has afcended out of the bottomlefs pit, fhall be utterly fcat-tered before the light of that glorious day, and the Mahometan empire fliall fall at the found of the great trumpet which fhall then be blown.

yewlJJi infideUty fhall then be overthrown. However obftinatc they have been now for above lyoo years in rc-je6ling Chrifl, and though inftances of their converfion have been fo rare everfince the defVru6tion of Jerufalem. and they have, againffc the plain words of their own prophets, continued to approve of the cruelty of their forefathers in crucifying Chrifl: ; yet when this day comes, the thick vail that blinds their eyes fhall be removed, [2 Cor. iii. 16.] divine grace fhall melt and renew their hard hearts, ' and they fhall look on him whom they have ' pierced, and they fliall mourn for him, as one mourncth ' for his only fon, and fhall be in bitternefs as one that is * in bitternefs for his firfl-born.' [Zech. xii. 10, ^c] And then fliall the houfe of Ifrael be faved : the Jews in i\\ their difperfions fhall cafl away their old infidelity ;

fliall

510 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

lliali have their hearts wonderfully changed, and abhor themfelves for their paft unbelief and obftinacy; and fhall flow together to the bleffed Jefus, penitently, humbly, and joyfully owing him as their glorious King and only Saviour, and fhall, with one heart and voice, declare his praifes unto other nations.

Nothing is more certainly foretold, than this national converfion of the Jews is in the xith chapter of Romans. And there are alfo many paffages of the Old Teftament ■which cannot well be interpreted in any other fenfe, which I fhall not now particularly mention. Befides the prophecies of the calling of the Jews, we have a remarkable feal of the fulfilment of this great event in providence, by their being preferved a diflin^l nation in fuch a difperfed condition for above 1600 years, which is a kind of continual miracle, (x) When they fliall be called, then fliall

that

(x) Preservation of the Jews.] " I have often amufed my-felf (fays Mr. Addison) with fpeculations on the race of people called Jews, many of whom I have met with in moil of the confi-derable towns which I have paffed through in the courfe of my travels. They are, indeed, fo difTemiiiated through all the trading parts of the world, that they are become the inftruments by which the mofl diftant nations converfc with one another, and by which mankind are knit together in a general correfpondence : they are like the pegs and nails in a great building, .which though they are but little valued in themfelve?, are abfolutely neceflary to keep the whole frame together.

" The Jews are looked upon by many to be as numerous at prcfent, as they were formerly in the land of Canaan. This is wonderful, confidering the dreadful daughter made of them under fomc of the Roman emperors, which hiftorians defcribe by the death of many hundred thoufands in a war; and the innumerable maflacrcs and perfecutions they have undergone in Turkey, as Tvell as in all Chriftian nations of the world. The Rabbins, to ex-prefs the great havock which has been fometimcs made of them, tell us, after their ufual manner of hyperbole, that there were fuch torrents of holy blood filed as carried rocks of an hundred yards in circumference above three miles into the fea.

" Their difperiion is the fecond remarkable particular in this people. They fwarm over all the Eafl; and are fettled in the re-moteil parts of China: they are fpread through mofi of the nations of Europe and Africa, and many families of them are eflab-Jiflied in the Weft-Indiesj net to mention whole nations bordering

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 511

that ancient people, that were alone God's people for fo long a time, be received again, never to be rejected more : they fhall then be gathered into one fold together with the

Gentiles ;

on Prefter-John's country, and fome difcovered in the inner parts of America, if we may give any credit to their own writers.

*' Their firm adherence to their religion is no lefs remarkable than their numbers and difperfion, efpecially confidering it as p..M--fecuted or contemned over the face of the whole earth. This is Hkewife the more remarkable, if we confider the frequent apoftafies of this people, when they lived under their kings in the Land of Promife, and within fight of their temple.

" If in the next place we examine, what may be the natural reafons for thefe three particulars which we find in the Jews, and which arc not to be found in any other religion or people, I can, in the firfl: place, attribute their numbers to nothing but their con-ftant employment, their abftinence, their exemption from wars, and, above all, their frequent marriages, for they look on celibacy as an accurfed ftate, and generally are married before twenty, as hoping the Meffiah may defcend from them.

" The difperfion of the Jews into all the nations of the earth is the fecond remarkable paiticular of that people, though not fo hard to be accounted for. They were always in rebellions and tumults while they had the temple and holy city in view, for which reafon they have been often driven out of their old habitations in the Land of Promife. They have as often been banifhed out of moft other places where they have fettled, which muft very much difperfe and fcatter a people, and oblige tshem to feek a livelihood where they can find it. Befides, the whole people is now a race of fuch merchants as are wanderers by profcflion, and at the fame time are in moft, if not aU, places incapable of either lands or offices, that might engage them to make any part of the world their home.

" This difperfion would probably have loft their religion, had it not been fccured by the ftrength of its conftitution ; for they are to live all in a body, and generally within the fame cnclofurc ; to marry among themfelves, and to cat no meats that are not killed or prepared their own way. This fiiuts them out from all tablr convcrfation, and the moft agreeable intercourfes of life ; and, by confequence, excludes them from the moft probable means of con-verfion.

" If, in the laft place, we confider what providential reafon may be afiigned for thefe three particulars, we ftiall find that their numbers, difperfion, and adherence to their religion, have fur-niftied every age, and every nation of the world, with the ftrongeft arguments for the Chriftian faith ; not only as thefe very particulars are foretold of them, but as they themfelves are the depofi-taries of thefe and all the other prophecies, which tend to their

512" HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

Gentiles ; and (o alfo fliall the remains of the ten tribes, wherever they be, and though they have been reje6led much longer than the Jews, be brought in with their brethren. The prophecies of Hofea efpecially feem to hold this forth, that in the future glorious times of the church, both Judah and Ephraim, or Judali and the ten tribes, fhall be brought in together, and {hall be united as one people, as they formerly were under David and Solomon ; ' Then fhall the children of Judah and the chil-

* dren of Ifrael be gathered together, and appoint theni-' felves one head,' [Hofea i. ii,] and fo in the lafl chapter, and other parts of his prophecy. Though we do not know the time in which this converfion of the nation of Ifrael will come to pafs ; yet thus much we may determine by fcripturc, that it will be before the glory of the Gentile part of the church Ihall be fully accomplifhed ; becaufe it is faid, that their coming in fliall ' be life from the dead to

* the Gentiles.' [Rom. xi. 12-—15-]— (y)

Then

own confiifion. Thelrnumber furnifhes us with a fufficient cloud of witnefTes that attell the truth of the Old Bible. Their difper-Con fpreads thefe witnefTes through all parts of the world. The adherence to their religion makes their teftimony unqueftionable."

[Spectator, No. 495.]

To ftrengthen thefe remarks, wc fiiall add the following anecdote :—A perfon, the former part of whofe life was fpent in vice, when he became thoughtful of death and eternity, was fhaken in mind from day to day with many doubts about the truth of the Chriftian faith ; and being upon the point of a refohition to renounce it, as he was paffing through a ftreet in the city, he call his eyes upon a J^ew ; prefcntly his doubts vanilhed, and by the bleffing of God attending that providential occurrence he became a confirmed believer.

[Winter's Sermons on Dan. p. 153.]

(y) !r/:>f restoration of t/^e Jews. "} Mr. Locke [in Ioc.J gives us the fubflance of the xith chapter of the Romans above referred to in a few words : " St. Paul in this chapter goes on to fliew the future ftate of the Jews and Gentiles, as to Chrlillanity, viz. that though the Jews were for their unbelief rcjefted, and the Gentiles taken in their room to be tlje people of God ; yet there was a few of the Jews that believed In Chrlli, and fo a fmall remnant of them continued to be God's people, being incorporated with the converted Gciitllcs into the Chriliiaa church. But when

tlie

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 513

Then fliall alio Satan's heathemjli kingdom be overthrown. Grofs heathenifm now polTefles a great part of the earth, and there arc fuppofed to be more heathens now in the world, than of all other profelllons taken together, Jews, Mahometans, and Chriftians. But then the heathen nations ihall be enlightened with the glorious gof-pel. There will be a wonderful fpirit of pity towards them, and zeal for their inftrud^ion and converdon put into multitudes, and many ihall go forth and carry the gofpel unto them; and then Ihall the joyful found be heard among them, and the Sun of righteoufncfs fliall arife with his glorious light Ihining on thofe many vaH: regions of the earth that have been covered with heathen-ifli darknefs for feme thoufand years, many of them doubclefs ever fmce the time of Mofes and Abrahain, and have lain thus long in a milerable condiiion, under the cruel tyranny of the devil, who has all this while blinded

3 U and

the fulnefs of the Gentiles is come in, [fee ver. i^, 26.] the whole nation of them (hall be converted to the gofpel, and again be re-ftored to be the people of God."

Dr. W. Harris juflly obferves, that " as this epiflle was written .... long after the moft remarkable converfion of the Jews, by the firft preaching of the gofpel, and after Paul had been about thirty years engaged in the work, it appears that the Prophecies relating to the caUing of the Jews were not accomplilhcd then, and confequcntly are not yet accomphfhed." [Dlf. on the Mefiiah, p. 91.]

Dr. Whitby, [in loc.] very juftly obferves, that " there is a double harvell of the Gentiles fpoken of in this chapter ; the full called their riches, [ver. 12. J as confiding in preaching the gofpel to all nations, whereby indeed they were happily enriched with divine knowledge and grace ; the fecond, the bringing in xhc'w fuHnrfj, which expreffcs a more glorious converfion of many to the true faith of Chriftlans in the latter age of the world, which is to be .occafioned by the converfion of the Jews."

It is indeed now pretty generally agreed among the learned, that we are warranted by the fcriptures to expect a national converfion of the Jews, and their return to their own land ; and th;; chief thing which has prejudiced fo many perfons againil this hy-pothefis is, that fome (Hvincs have carried it too far, almoll to the relUtution of Judaifm itfelf, and added a number of pattici:-lars from their own conjefture, which are by no means plainly revealed. [G. Z^

5H HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

and made a prey of them from generation to generation. Now the glad tidings of the gofpel rtiall found tliere, and they flrali be brought out of darknefs into marvellous light, (z)

It is promifed in many places that heathenifm (hall thus be deflroyed: thus it is faid, that ' the gods which have

* not made thefe heavens and this earth, ihall perifli from

* the earth, and fro.n under thefe heavens, [ Jer. x. ii.] ' and that he will utterly abolifh idols.' [Ifa. ii. i8.] Then

fliall

(z) State of the heathen world.] Divines have much difpu-ted about the falvation of the heathen; fome have precipitately given them up entirely to the devil, and configned them over to everlaillug darknefs and defpair; while others, fhudderlng at fo horrid an idea, have ran into the oppofite extreme, and fuppofe, that they might be faved merely by the light of nature.

" lam perfuaded, (fays the amiable Dr. Watts) that God never did, nor will forgive the lin of any man, .... but upon the account of what Jefus has done and fuffered, . . . fo that if heathens are faved, I think it is owing to the merit of Chrift and his death. ' There is falvation In no other, nor is there any other

* name whereby men may be faved.' [A£ls iv. 12.] .... But, thouo-h I fuppofe no man ihall be faved but by virtue of the mediation and death of Chrift, .... yet there is good reafon to believe, that there have been many finners actually faved, who never believed In Jefus Chrift,. . . nor ever heard of his name." [Strength and Weakncfs of human Reafon, p. 106.]

To confirm the latter obfervatlon our Chriftian Phllofopher, among other inftances, mentions Cornelius^ who * feared God, and

* was accepted of him,' previous to his having any knowledge of Jefus Chrift and the gofpel. [Aftsx. 31, 33.]

Pcrfeftly confiftent with the above are the fentlments of the elcgunt Monf Saurin ; " We will not fay with fome divines, that the heatliens were faved by an implicit faith, .... we will not affirm with Clement of Alexandria, that phllofophy was to the Greeks, what the law was to the Jews ; • . . . nor with St. Chry-foftom, that they who, defpifing Idolatry, adored the Creator . . . were faved without faith ; . . . . [nor] like one of our reformers, (Zuingllus) place Thefus, Hercules, Numa, Sic. with the patriarchs. . . and apoftles; .... lefs ftill do we fay with St. Au-

guftin that the Eiytjirean Sybil is in heaven But after all,

who dare Imit the Holy One of ffrael? Who dare afiirm that God could not reveal himfelf to ct heathen on his death bed? Who will venture to fay he hath never done fo ? [Sermons, vol. li.p. 314.]

TO THE PALL OF ANTICHRIST. 515

/hall the nations of Africa, the negroes, (a) and other heathens who chiefly fill that quarter of the world, wlio now feem to be in a rtate but little above the beafts, and in fome refpedts below them, be enlightened with glorious light, and delivered from all their darknefs, and (liall become a civilized, intelligent, and holy people. Then fliall the vaft continent ot America, fo great a part of which is covered with barbarous ignorance and cruelty, be every where covered with glorious gofpel light and Chrifiian love ; and inftead of worlliipping the devil, as now they do, tliey Hiall ferve God, and praifes fliall be fung every where to the Lord Jefus Chrifl:» the Saviour of the world. So may we expc6l it will be in that great and populous part of the world, the Eall Indies, which are now moRly inhabited by the worfliippers of the devil , and fo throughout that vail country Great Tartary : (b) then the kingdom of Chrilt will be eflabliihed in thofe continents which have been more lately difcovered towards the north and fouth poles, where now men differ very little from the wild beafts, excepting that they vvorlhip

3 U 2 the

(a) TheJlate of the negroes.] May we not hope from the prefent appearance of things, that it is rcfcrved for our age and nation to liberate, at leaft in a happy degree, thefc miferable out-calls of mankind, and thus prepare the way for the introduftion of the gofpel among them ? which in their prefent ftate feems next to impoffible. [U. S.]

(b) The IDOLATRY of the Tartars.] " The Dela'i Lama is the grand objcCl of adoration for the various tribes of heathen Tartars, who roam that vaft traft of continent which ftrctches from the banks of the Volga to Correa on the fca of Japan ; the moft extenfive religious dominion, perhaps, on the face of the globe. He is not only the fovereign pontiff, the vicegerent of the Deity upon earth ; but. . . the more remote Tartars abfo-lutely regard him as the Deity hlmfelf. They believe him immortal, and endowed with all knowledge and virtue. Every year they come up from different parts to worfliip and make rich offerings at his (lirine. . . . The orthodox opinion is, that when tlic Grand Lama feems to die, .... his foul .... only quits a . . . . crazy habitation to look for another, .... and is difcovered again in the body of fome child, by certain tokens known only to the lamas^ or priefts." [5'/,?7wr/'s Account of Thibet, Philof. Tranf. ▼ol. Ixvii.]

5i6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

the devil, and beafls do not. Tiie fame will be the cafe with thofe countries which have never yet been difcovered. Thus will be glorioufly fulfilled that promife, [Ifa. xxxv. I.] ' The wildernefs and the folitary place fliall be glad

* for them : and the dcfert fhali rejoice and bloiTom as the

* rofe.' [See alfo ver. 6, 7.]

[2.] Having thus fliown wherein this overthrow of Satan's kingdom will confift, I come now to obferve its tmivcrfal extent. The vifible kingdom of Satan lliall be overthrown, and the kingdom of Chrift fet tip on the ruins of it, every where throughout the habitable globe. ISIow fliall the promife made to Abraham be fulfilled, that

* in him and in his feed all the families of the earth be

* blelTed ;' and Chrift now fliall become the defire of all nations. [Haggai ii. 7.] Now the kingdom of Chrift (hall, in the moft ftri6t and literal fenfe, be extended to all nations, and the whole earth. There are many paflages of fcripture that can be underftood in no other fenfe. What can be more univerfal than this, [Ifa. xi. 9. ] ' For ' the earch fliall h^ full of the knowledge of the Lord, as

* the waters cover the fea.' As tliere is no channel or cavity of the fea any where, but what is covered with water ; fo there lliall be no part of the habitable world, but what fliall be covered with the knowledge of God. So it is foretold [Ifa. xlv. 22.] that all the ends of the earth fliall look to Chrift and be faved. And to fhow that the words are to be underftood in the moft nniverfal fenfe, it is faid in t'lie next verfe, ' I have fworn by myfelf, the word is

* gone out of my mouth in righteoufnefs, and fliall not

* return, that unto me every knee ftiall bow, every tongue

* fliall fwear.' So the prophet Daniel, [chap. vii. 27-]

* And the kingdom and dominion, and tliQ greatnefs of the ' kingdom under the whole heaven fhall be given to the

* people of the faints of the moft High God.' When the devil was caft out of the Roman empire, that being the principal part of the world, and the other nations being mean in coinparifon of thofe of that empire, it was reprefented as Satan's being caft out of heaven to the earth, [Rev. xii. 9] but it is reprefented that he fiiall

be

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 517

be caft out of the earth too. and fhut up in hell. [Rev. xx. I—3.]—This is the greateft revolution by far that ever came to pafs: therefore it is faid, [Rev. xvi. ly, 18.] that On pouring out the feventh phial there was a great earthquake, fuchas was not fince men were upon earth, fo mighty an earthquake and fo great.

(y.) And this is the third great difpenfation of Providence, which is in Icripture compared to Chrift's coming to judgment. So it is faid, after the fixth phial, and after the devil's armies were gathered together to their •Treat battle, and jufi: before Chrifl's glorious victory over them, [Rev. xvi. 15.] < Behold, I come quickly ; bleffed ' is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments.' So [2 Thcf. ii. 8.] fpeaking of antichriil:, it is faid, ' And

* then fliall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord (hall ' confume with the fpirit of his mouth, and fhall deftroy

* witii the brightncfs of his coming.' So Chrift's coming to fet up his kingdom on earth, and to deftroy antichriil:, \s cciWed coming zvit/i clouds of/leave?!. [Dan. vii. 13, 14.] And this is more like Chrifl's laft coming to judgment, than any of the preceding difpenfations which are fo called, on thefe accounts :

[i.] That the difpenfation is greater and more uni-verfal, and fo more like the day of judgment, wiiich re-fpe61:s the whole world.

[2.] On account of the fpiritual refurre6lion which will accompany it, refembling the general rcfurrc6lion at the end of the world. [Rev. xx. 4.]

[3.] Becaufe of the terrible judgments and fearful de-flrucftion which iliall now be executed on God's enemies. There will doubtlefs be at the introduction of this difpenfation a vifible and awful hand of God againft blafphe-mers, and obftinate enemies of Chrift ; and efpccially antichrift himfelf, which is compared to the cafting of antichrift into the burning flame, [Dan. vii. 11.] and to cafling jiim alive into the lake that burns with fire and brimflone. [Rev. xix. 20.]—Then fliall the cruel church of Rome fufFer thofe judgments from God, which fliall be far more dreadful than her crueleft perfccutions of. the

faints.

5i8 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

faints. [Rev. xviii. 6, 7.]—The judgments which God fnall execute on the enemies of the church, are fo great, that they are compared to God's fending great hailftones from heaven upon them. [Pvcv. xvi. 21.] ' And there fell

* upon men a great hail out of heaven, every ftone about

* the weight of a talent: and men blafphemed God, be-' caufe of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof ' was exceeding great.' And now ihall be the treading of the Vv'ine-prefs of the wrath of God. [Rev. xiv. 19, 20.]

[4.] This fhall put an end to the church's fufFering flate, and fliall be attended with their glorious and joyful praifes. Indeed, after this, near the end of the world, the church (liall be greatly threatened ; but it is faid, it iliall be for a little feafon, [Rev. xx. 3.] for as the times of the church's reft are but fliort, before the long day of her afRidions are at an end, fo whatever afilidtion llie may fuffer after this, it will be very fliort : but otherwilc the day of the church's affli6lion and perfecution fliall now come to a final end. The fcriptures, in many places, fpeak of this time as the end of the fuffering ftate of the church. [Ifa. li. 22.] God fays to his church, with refpe6l to this time, ' Behold, I have taken out of thine ' hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of ' my fury ; thou flialt no more drink it again.' [Ch. xl. 1,2.] ' Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, faith your

* God. Speak ye comfortably unto Jerufalem, and cry

* unto her that her warfare is accompliihed, that her ini-

* quity is pardoned ; for fhe hath received of the Lord's

* hand double for all her fins.' [Ch. xl. 20.] ' The ' Lord fliall be thine everlafting light, and the days of ' thy mourning fliall be ended.' [Zeph. iii. 15.] ' The ' Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath caft out

* thine enemy : the King of Ifrael, even the Lord is in

* the niidft of thee: thou flialt not fee evil anymore.' [See alfo Ifa. liv. 8, 9.]

The time which hath been before this, hath been the church's fowing time, wherein flie fowed in tears and in blood: but now is her harveft,'wherein flie will come again rejoicing, bi'inging her flieaves witii her. Now the

time

TO THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST. 519

time of the travail of the woman cloathed with the fun is at an end: now ilie hath brought forth her fon ; for this glorious fetting up of the kingdom of Chrill through the world, is what the church had been in travail for, with fuch terrible pangs, for fo many ages; [Ifa. xxvi. ly.]

* Like as a woman with child that draweth near the time

* of her delivery is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs ;

* fo have we been in thy fight, O Lord.' [Seech. Ix. 20. and Ixi. 10, ii.] And now the church ihall forget her forrow, fince a man-child is born into the world: now fucceed her joyful praife and triumph. Her praifes fliall then go up to God from all parts of the earth ; [Ifa. xlii. 10—12.] And praife Ihall not only fill the earth, but alfo heaven. The church on earth, and the church in heaven, fhall both glorioufly rejoice and praife God, as with one heart, on that occafion. Without doubt it will be a time of very diftinguiflied joy and praife among the holy prophets and apoftles, and other faints in heaven: [Rev. xxiii. 20.] ' Rejoice over her thou heaven, and ye holv

* apoflles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on ' her.' [Ifa. xliv. 23.] ' Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord

* hath done it; fnout, ye lower parts of the earth: break

* forth into finging, ye mountains, O forell:, and every

* tree therein : for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glo-

* rified himfelf in Ifrael.' See what joyful praifes are lung to God on this occafion by the univerfal church in heaven and earth. [Rev. xix. 1—7.] ' Allelujah, falvation and ' honor and power unto the Lord our God,' &c.

[5.] This difpenfation is above all preceding ones, like Chrift's coming to judgment, in that it puts an end to the former ftate of the world, and introduces his cverlafting; kingdom. Now Satan's vifihle kingdoni Ihall be overthrown, after it has flood ever fince the building of Babel; and the old heavens and the old earth fhall pafs away, and the new heavens and new earth be fct up in a far more glorious manner than ever before.

Thus I have fhown how the fuccefs of Chrift's pur-chafe has been carried on through the times of the afflidcd ftate of the Chriftian church, from Chrift's refurredion,

until

520 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

until antichrift is fallen, and Satan's vifible kingdom on earth is overthrown.

§ IV. The success of Christ's Redemption carried ON IN A PROSPEROUS STATE.

I COME now to /how how the fuccefs of redemption will be carried on through that fpace wherein the Chrif-tian church ihall for the moft part be in a ftatc of peace and profperity. And in order to this, I would, i. Speak of the profperous ftate of the church through the greater part of this period. 2. Of the great apoflafy there iliall be towards the clofe of it.

I. I would fpeak of the profperous ftate of the church through the greater part of this period. And here obferve,

(l.) That this is moft properly the time of the kingdom of heaven upon earth. Though the kingdom of heaven was in a degree fet up foon after Chrift's rcfurre^lion, and in a farther degree in the time of Conftantine ; and though the Chriftian church in all ages of it is called the kingdom of heaven ; yet this is moft eminently the kingdom of heaven upon earth, the time principally intended by the prophecies of Daniel, which fpeak of the kingdom of heaven, whence the Jews took the expreffion. [See Dan. ii. 44.]

(2.) That this is the grand period for the fulfilment of all the prophecies of the Old Teftament which fpeak of the glorious times of the gofpel in the latter days. Though there has been a bleflcd fulfilment of thofe prophecies already, in the times of the apoftles, and of Conftantine ; yet the expreffions are too high to fuit any other time entirely, but that which is to fucceed the fall of antichrift. This is moft properly the glorious day of the golpel. Other times are only forerunners and preparatories to this ; other times were the feed-time, but this is the harveft.— But more particularly,

[i.] It will be a time of great light and knowledge. The prefent days are days of darknefs, in comparifon of

thofe

thofe days. The light of that glorious time fliall be lb great, that it is repre(ented as tliough there lliould then be uo night, but only day; no evening nor darkncfs. [Zcch. xiv. 6, 7-] ' And it (hall come 10 pafs in that

* day, that the light fliali not be clear, nor dark. But it

< fhall be one day, which ihall be known to the Lord,

* not day, nor night : but it iliall come to pafs, that at ' evening-time it fhall be light.' It is further reprefented, as though God would then give fuch light to his church, that it lliould fo much exceed the glory of the light of the fun and moon, that they fliould be alhamed: [Ifa. xxiv. 23.] ' Then the moon fliall be confounded, and the fun

* afliamed, when the Lord of hofls Ihall rei^n in Mount

* Zion, and in Jerufalem, and before his ancients glo-

* rioufly.' There is a kind' of veil now call over the greater part of the world, which keeps them in darkncfs; but then this veil Ihall be deflroyed : [Ifa. xxv. y.] ' And

* he will deilroy in this mountain the face of the covering

* caft over all people, and the veil that is fpread over all ' nations.' And then all countries and nations, even thofe which are now moft ignorant, fliall be full of light and knowledge; and not only divines, but ordinary Chrif-tians fliall then be very Intelligent In religion ;—-[Ifa. xxxii. 3, 4-] ' The eyes of them that fee, fliall not be

< dim; and the ears of them that hear, fliall hearkeii. ' The heart alfo of the rafli Ihall underlland knowledge.' [Jer. xxxi. 34.] ' And they fliall teach no more every

* man his neighbour, and every man his brother, faying, « Know the Lord; for they ihall all know me, from the ' leafl: of them unto the greatefl: of them.' There fliali then be a wonderful unravelling of the difficulties in the dodlrlnes of religion, and a clearing up of icemiug incon-fiftencies: [Ifa. xl. 4, 5.] ' Crooked things , ihall be

* made ftraight, and rough jjlaces plain, and darkncfs

* lliall become light before God's people.' Difficulties in fcripture iliall then be cleared up, and myfl:eries difcovered in the word of God, which were never revealed before. This feems to be compared to removing the veil, and dif-Govering the ark t.f the teflimony to the peojjlc, which

3 X befoic

before ufed to be kept in the fecret part of the temple, and was never feen by them. Thus, at the founding of the feventh angel, when it is proclaimed, [Rev. xi. 15.] ' That the kingdoms of this world are become the king-' doms of our Lord and of Chrift;' it is added, [ver. IQ.] that * the temple of God was opened in heaven, and ' there was feen in his temple the ark of his teftament.' So great fhall be the increafe of knowledge in this time, that heaven fhall be as it were opened to the church of God on earth.

[2.] It fliall be a time of great holinefs. Now vital religion fliall every where prevail and reign. Religion fliall not be an empty profeflion, as it now moftly is, but holinefs of heart and life fliall abundantly prevail. Thofe times fliall be an exception from what Chrift fays of the ordinary ftate of the church, viz. that there fliall be but fewfaved; for now holinefs fliall become general : [Ifa. Ix. 21.] ' Thy people alfo fliall be all righteous.' Not that there will be none remaining in a Chriftlefs condition ; but that vifible wickednefs Ihall be fupprefled every where, and true holinefs fliall become general, though not univerfal. And it fliall be a wonderful time, not only for the multitude of godly men, but for eminency of grace: [Ifa. Ixv. 20.] ' There fliall be no more thence ' an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled ' his days : for the child fliall die an hundred years old,

* but the fmner being an hundred years old, fliall be ac-

* curfed.' [Zech. xii. 8.] ' He that is feeble among them ' at that day fliall be as David; and the houfe of David ' Ihall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.' And holinefs fliall then be as it were infcribed on every thing, on all men's common b\ifmcfs and employments, and the common utenfils of life : all fliall be as it were dedicated to God, and applied to holy purpofes: every thing Ihall then be done to the glory of God; [Ifa. xxiii. 18.] ' And her nierchandife and her hire fliall be holi-

* nefs to the Lord.' [Zcch. xiv. 20, 21.]—And as God's people then fliall be eminent in holinefs of heart, fo they fliall be alfo in holinefs of life andpra6lice.

[3-] T^

[3,] It fhall be a time \yherein religion fliall in every refpeft be uppermofl: in the world. It fliall be had in great eftcem and honour. The faints have hitherto for the moft part been kept under, and wicked men have governed; but now they will be uppermoft. The kingdom fhall be given into ' the hands of the faints of the ' Moft high God, [Dan. vii. 27.] ' And they fliall reign

* on earth.' [Rev. v. 10.] ' They ihall live and reign with

* Chrift a thoufand years.' [Rev. xx. 4.] In that day, fuch perfons as are eminent for true piety and religion, ihall be chiefly promoted to places of truft and authority. Vital religion fhall then take poflefiion of palaces and thrones; and thofe who are in the higheft advancement Ihall be holy men; [Ifa. xlix. 23.] ' And kings fliall ' be thy nurfing fathers, and queens thy nurfing mothers.* Kings fliall employ all their power, and glory, and riches, for the advancement of the honour and glory of Chrift and the good of his church; [Ifa. Ix. 16.] ' Thou flialt

* alfo fuck the milk of the Gentiles, and fhalt fuck the

* breaft of kings.' And the great men of the world, and the rich mcrcliants, and others who have wealth and influence, fhall devote all to Chrift and his church; [Pfal, xlv. 12.3 ' The daughter of Tyre fliall be there with a

* gift, even the rich among the people fhall intreat thy

* favour.'

[4.] Thofe will be times of great peace and love. There fliall then be univerfal peace and a good underftand-ing among the nations of the world, inftead of fuch con-fufion, wars, and bloodihed, as has hitherto been from one age to another: [Ifa. ii. 4.] ' And he ftiall judge

* among the nations, and fiiall rebuke many people : and

* they fhall beat their fvvords into plow fhares, and their

* fpears into pruning hooks : nation fhall not lift fword

* againft nation, neither fhall they learn war any more.' So it is reprcfented as if all inftruments of war iliould be deftroyed, as being become ufelefs; [Pfal. xlvi. 9.] « He

* makcth wars to ceafe unto the end of the earth; he ' breakcth the bow, and cutteth the fpcar in funder; he

* burnetii the chariot in the fire.' [See alfoZech. ix. 10 j

3X2 Then

524 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

Then fliall all nations dwell quietly and fafely, without fear of any enemy: [Ifa. xxxii. i8.] ' And my people

* fhall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in fure dwel-< lings, and in quiet refting places.' [Alfo Zech. viii. lo, II.]

Then fliall malice, envy, and wrath, and revenge, be fuppreffed every where, and peace and love prevail between man and man; [which is moft elegantly fet forth in Ifa. xi. 6—10.] Then fhall there be peace and love between rulers and ruled. Rulers fhall love their people, and with all their might feek their beft good; and the people fhall love their rulers, and fliall joyfully fubmit to them, and give them that honour which is their due. And fo fliall there be an happy love between minlfters and their people : [Mai. iv. 6.] ' And he fhall turn the

* heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the

* children to their fathers.' Then fliall flourifh in an eminent manner thofe Chriitian virtues of meeknefs, for-givenefs, long fuffering, gentlenefs, goodnefs, brotherly kindnefs, thofe excellent fruits of the Spirit. Men in their temper and difpofition fhall be like the Lamb of God, the lovely Jefus. The members fhall be conformed to the head.

Then fhall all the world be united in one amiable fo-ciety. All nations, on every fide of the globe, fhall then be knit together in fweet harmony. All parts of God's church fliall afhft and promote the fpiritual good of one another. A commimication fhall then be upheld between all parts of the world to that end; and the art of navigation, which is now applied fo much to favour men's co-vetoufnefs and pride, and is ufed fo much by wicked debauched men, fliall then be confecrated to God, and rendered fubfervient to the intereft of religion. [Ifa. Ix. r—9.] And men fliall then exprefs their love one to another, not only in words, but in deeds of charity, as wc learn, [Ifa. xxxii. 5.] ' The vile perfon fliall be no more

* called liberal, nor the churl faid to be bountiful;' [ver. 8.] ' But the liberal devifeth liberal things, and by libera!

* things fliall he ftand.'

[5-] If

[5 ] It will be a time of excellent order in the church of Chrift. Tlie true government and difcipline ot the church will then be fettled and pra6tifed. All the world iliall then be as one churcli, one orderly, regular, beautiful fociety. And as the body fliall be one, fo the members fliall be in beautiful proportion to each other. Then fliall that faying be verified, [Pfal. cxxii. 3.] ' Jerufalcm ' is builded as a city tliat is compa6l together.'

[6] The church of God fhall then be beautiful and glorious on thefc accounts; yea it will appear in perfedlion of beauty: [Ifa. Ix. i.] ' Arife, fliine, for thy light is ' come, and the glory of the Lord is rifen upon thee.' [Ifa. Ixi. 10.] ' He hath covered me with the robe of ' righteoufncfs, as a bridegroom decketh himfelf with or-' naments, and as a bride adorneth herfelf with her jewels.' On thefe accounts, the church will then be the grcateft image of heaven itfelf.

[7.] That will be a time of the greateft temporal prof-perity. Such a fpiritual Itate as we have juft defcribed, has a natural tendency to temporal profperity : it has a tendency to health and long life; and that this will actually be the cafe is evident. [Zech. viii. 4.] ' Thus

* faith the Lord of hofts, There ihall yet old men and ' old women dwell in the ftreets of Jerufalem, and every

* man with a ftafFin his hand for very age.' It has alfo a natural tendency to procure eafe, quietnefs, pleafant-nefs, and checrfulnefs of mind, and alfo wealth, and great increafe of children; as is alfo intimated, [Zech. viii. 5.] ' And the ftreets of the city fhall be full of boys and

* girls playing in the ftreets thereof.'—But further, the temporal profperity of the people of God will alfo be promoted by a remarkable bleihng from heaven: [Ifa. Ixv. 21.] 'They fliall build houfes, and inhabit them; ' and they fhall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.' And [Micah iv. 4.] ' They fliall fit every man under < his vine, and under his fig-tree, and none fhall make ' them afraid.' [Zech. viii. 12.] ' For the feed fhall be ' profpcrous, the vine fhall give her fruit, and the ground ' fhall give her increafe, and the heavens fhall give their

dew,

526 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

* dew, and I will caufe the remnant of this people to

* poflefs all thefe things.' [See alfo Jer. xxxi. 12, 13. and Amos ix. 13.] ' Yea, then they fliall receive all ' manner of tokens of God's prefence, and acceptance

* and favom-.' [Jer. xxxiii. 9.] ' And it fliall be to me

* a name of joy, a praife and an honour before all the

* nations of the earth, which fhall hear all the good that

* I do unto thsm; and they fhall fear and tremble for ' all the goodnefs and for all the profperity that I procure ' unto it.' Even the days of Solomon were but an image of thofe days, as to the temporal profperity which fliall obtain in them.

[8.] It will alfo be a time of great rejoicing. [Ifa. xxxv. 10.] * And the ranfomed of the Lord fhall return and

* come to Zion with fongs, and everlafling joy upon their ' heads : they fhall obtain joy and gladncfs, and forrow ' and fighing fliall flee away.' [Chap. Iv. 12.] ' For ye ' fhall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace : the

* mountains and the hills fliall break forth before you.' [Chap. Ixvi. II.] ' That ye may fuck, and be fatistied ' with the breafts of her confolations; that ye may milk ' out and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.' [Chap. xii. 3.] ' With joy fhall ye draw water out of the

* wells of falvation.'—Then will be a time of feafting. That will be the church's glcrious wedding-day, fo far as her wedding with Chrift fhall ever be upon earth : [Rev. xix. y.] ' Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to ' him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his ' wife hath made herfelf ready.' [Ver. 9.] ' BlefTed are ' they which are called to the marriage-fuppcr of the ' Lamb.'—But I come now,

(3.) To fay fomething of the duration of this ftate of the church's profperity. On this I fhall be very brief. The fcriptures every where reprefent it to be of long continuance. The former intervals of refl and profperity, as we before obferved, arc rcprefented to be but fhort; but the reprcfcntations of this ftate nr.e quite different: [Rev. XX. 4.] ' And I faw the fouls of ^hem that were beheaded ^ for the witnefs of Jcfus, and thcv lived and reigned with

Chrift

' Chv'iii a t/ion/and years.' (c) ' Whereas thou hafl been ' forfaken and hated, lo that no man went through thee, < I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many ' generations.' [Ifa. Ix. 15.]

This

(c) T/:>e MiLLEMU M.] * The fouls of them that were beheaded for the wjtncfs of Jefus,' may be confidered as meant, not of the individual perfons that fuffered martyrdom for his fake, but of their fucceffors in the fame fpirit, who being of the fame temper for faith, patience, zeal, and fortitude, and profefling the fame doctrines with the martyrs, were one body with them, and fo, in the llile of prophecy, might be fpoken of, as though they were the fame perfons, in like manner as John the Baptifl is called Elias, becaufe he came in the fpirit and power of Elias, [Matt. xi. 14, and xvii. 12. compared with Luke i. 17.] and as Rome-antichrif-tian is in feveral places of this prophecy called Sodom, Egypt, and Babylon, on account of its being like them in idolatry, pride, luxury, and cruelty; and the two witnefTes that were to prophefy in fackcloth one thoufand two hundred and fixty days of years, [Rev. xi. 3.] could not mean the fame individual perfons, but a fucccffion of them that perfifted in the fame faith and profeffion. When therefore it is faid, * The fouls of them that v/ere beheaded

* for the witnefs of Jefus, lived and reigned v/itli Chrift a thoufand ' years;' this may be taken, according to prophetic ftile, in a metaphorical fenfe, and may fignify a fuccelTion of fuch; in like manner as the two witnefTes being killed, and their ' dead bodies rifing ' and Handing on their feet,' is to be underftood, [Rev. xi. 7. 1 i.J and as the reiteration of Ifrael from their captivity is called their ' living and Handing on their feet, and God's opening their graves,

* and caufing them to come out of their graves,' [Ezek. xxxvii. 9, 10, 12.] and as the converfion of the Jews, in the laft days, is fpoken of, as * life from the dead. [Rom. xi. 15.] Accordingly the faints ' living and reigning with Chrift,' may relate to their abundance of fpirituality, purity and glory, light, love, and joy, tranquillity and fafety ; and to the power of the civil maglftracy, as being in their hands, and exercifed with great authority and fuccefs, for fupprcfling all iniquity and prophanenefs, and promoting true religion and holincfs in thofe happy days.— I am not in-fcnfible, that many learned and pious men have put a literal con-ftruftion on this prophecy, to denote a proper refuireftion of the dead bodies of former martyrs, and (asfome of them think) of all other departed faints; and they accordingly fuppofe, that their dead bodies fliall be raifed to life, and reign, in a glorious manner, with Chrilt, as perfonally and vifibly fitting on his throne, for a thoufand years, upon earth. But as I can fcarce think that tiie corporal prefcnce of Chrift will be removed, for a thoufand years, from heaven to earth, fo a literal refurrettion of all the bodies of the

faints

528 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

This may fuffice as to the profperous llate of the church through the greater part of the period, from the deflruftion of Satan's vifible kingdom in the world, to Chrift's appearing in the clouds of heaven to judgment.

I now come to fpeak of the great apoftafy there rtiould be towards the clofe of this period, and how eminently the church ilrould be for a fliort time threatened by her enemies. And this I fnall do under three particulars :

(i.) A little before the end of the world there fliall be ■i very great apofcafy, wherein great part of the world fliall fall away from Chrifl: and his church. It is faid, [Rev. XX. 3.] that Satan lliouid be cafl into the bottomlefs pit.

and

faints is fpoken of, as, ' in a moment. In the twinkling of an eye * at the laft trump,' in order to their meeting the Lord in the air, and being with him, not on earth, but for ever in heaven, [i Cor. XV. 52. and i Theffl iv. 16, 17.] And after the expiration of this thoufand years, and after Satan fliall be loofed again for a little while at the end of them, we have an account of the general refurreftlon of all perfons, without any exception, or the leaft hint that the martyrs, or any other faints, had rofe fo long a time before. [Rev. xl. 12, 13.] And as a proper refurreftlon Is never exprefled, in fcrlpture, by the reviving or living again of the foul, but only of the body; fo It feems extremely forced to underlland the ' living again of the Immortal fyuls' of them that were beheaded, as defcriptlve of a literal refurrecSIon, and,a refurreftlon of the bodies of glorified faints, to live on earth for a thoufand years, feems Inconfiftent with the fubllmer felicity and honour of their fouls wei-e poffefled of before In heaven, and with their being liable to be deceived, in cafe Satan had not been reflralned, as alfo with the trouble that mull neceffarlly arlfe to them from the vigorous oppofitlon which he and his army would make againft them at the expiration of the thoufand years In which he was bound. It muft llkewlfe be an exceeding dcbafcment of their refined dignity and delight In the immediate prcfence of Chrlft on his heavenly throne, to exchange them for any pleafures or honours upon the earth, efpecially If (as fomc Millenaries imagine) they arc to be entertained with any fenfitive enjoyments. 1 therefore rather Incline to think, that, according to the fllle of prophecy, and particularly in this book, which Is figurative, all this relates not literally to the refurreftlon of the martyrs or other faints, and the perlbnal reign of Chrlft for a thoufand years on earth; but figuratively, and in a fpiritual fenfe, for glorious days of long continuance to the church on earth; whether for the precife number of a thoi'jandy&dixs, or more. [Dr. Guise's Paraph, in loc]

and fliut up, and have a feal fet upon him, that he fliould deceive the nations no more till the thoufand years ihall be fulfilled; and that, after that, he muft be loofed out of his prifon for a little feafon. And accordingly we are told [vcr. 7 and 8.] that when the thoufand years are expired, Satan fliall be loofed out of his prifon, and fhall go forth to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog. Which feems as though the apoftafy would be very general. The nations of the four quarters of the earth fliall be deceived; and the number of thofe who fliall now turn enemies to Chrlft fliall be vaflly great, as the army of Gog and Magog is reprefented in Ezekiel, and as it is faid [Rev. xx. 8.] that the number of them is as the fand of the fea, and that they went upon the breadth of the earth, as though they were an army big enough to reach from one fide of the earth to the other.

Thus after fuch an happy and glorious feafon, fuch a long day of light and hollnefs, of love, and peace, and joy, now it fliall begin again to be a dark time. Satan fliall begin to fct up his dominion again in the world. This world fliall again become a fcene of darknefs and wickednefs. The bottomlefs pit fliall be opened, devils fliall come up again out of it, and a dreadful fmoke fliall afcend to darken the world. And the church of Chrifl:, inftead of extending to the utmofl: bounds of the world, as it did before, fliall be reduced to narrow limits again. Mankind being continued fo long in a flate of fuch great profpeiity, will now begin to abufe their prof-perity, to ferve their lufi: and corruptions. [Luke xvii. 26, &c.]

(2.) Thofe apoftates fliall make great oppofition to the church of God. The church fliall feem to be eminently threatened with a fudden and entire overthrow by them. It is faid [Rev. XX. 8, 9.] Satan fliall gather them together to battle, as the fand on the fea fliore ; ' and they went up

* on the breadth of the earth, and compafled the camp of

* the faints about, and the beloved city.' So that this beloved city fliall feem juft ready to be fwallowed up by

3 Y' theni':

530 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

them ; for her enemies lliall not only threaten her, but iliall a6lually have gathered together againft her ; and not only lo, but fliall have befieged her, and (liali have com-pafTed her about on every fide.

There is nothing in the prophecy which feems to intimate the church's actually falling into their hands, as it has fallen into the hands of antichrift, to whom it was given to make war with the faints and to overcome them. [Rev. xiii. 7.] God will never fuffer this to be again after the fall of antichrift ; for then the day of her mourning (hall be ended. But the church fhall feem moft eminently threat-e:icd v\'ith utter and fudden deftru6lion.

(3.) Now the ftate of things will fcem moft remarkably to call for Chrift's iOTOTf<:/i«?^ appearance to judgment. For then the world ihall be filled with the moft aggravated wickednefs, much the greater part of the world fliall become open enemies to Chrift, and their wickednefs will be dreadfully aggravated by their npoftafy. Before the fall of antichrift, moft parts of the world are full of wicked men. But the greater part of thefe arc poor heathens, who never enjoyed the light of the gofpel; and others that have been bred up in the Mahometan or Popilli darknefs. But thefe are apoftates from the Chriilian church, and the vifible kingdom of Chrift, in which they enjoyed the great light and privileges of the glorious times of the church, which lliali be incomparably greater than the light and privileges which the church of God enjoys now^. This apoftafy will be more like that of the fallen angels than any that ever has been ; for they apoftatiied, and turned enemies to Chrift, though tliey enjoyed the light of heaven ; and thefe will apoftatife, and turn enemies to him, though they have enjoyed the light and privileges of the glorious times of the church. And that fuch fhould turn open and avowed enemies to Chrift, and fhould fcek the ruin of his church, will cry aloud for immediate vengeance.

The wickednefs of the world will remarkably call for Chrift's immediate appearance in flaming fire to take vengeance on ihem, becaufe of the ivay in which they fhall

manifeft

manlfon; their wickednefs, which will be by fcoffiug ;uk1 blafphcming Chrift and his holy religion: and paiticu-larlv, thcv will feoff at the notion of Chrift's coming; to judgment, of which the church fnall be in expcclaticn, and of which they will warn thern. For now doubtlefs will be another, and the principal fulfilment of that text. [2 Pet. iii. 3, 4.] ' Knowing this firft, that there Ihall ' come in the lafl: days fcoffers, walking after their own ' lufts, and faying, Where is the promife of his comin"- ? ' For fince the fathers fell afleep, all things continue as ' they were from tlie beginning of the creation.' They rtiall be in no expe<5lation of the coming of Chrift to judgment, but ihali give up themfelves to their lufls, to eat and drink, and wallow in fenfual delights, as though they were to be forever. They fliall defpiie the warnings the church lliall give them of the coming of Chrift to judgment, as the people of the old world defpifed what Noali told them of the approaching flood, and as the people of Sodom did when Lot faid to them, [Gen. xix. 14.] ' The Lord will deftroy this city.' The wickednefs will alfo cry aloud to heaven for Chrift's appearing to take vengeance of his enemies ; for their attempts ao-ainft the holy city of God.

And the number of the wicked is another thing which fiiall efpccially call for Chrift's coming : for the world will doubtlefs then be exceeding full of people, having continued fo long in fo great a ftate of profperity, without fuch defolating calamities, as wars, peftilences, and the like, to dimini!h them, and the moil of this populous world will be fuch wicked contemptuous apoftate< from God. And if the wickednefs of the old world, when men began to multiply on the earth, called for the deftrudion of the world by a deluge of waters, this wickednefs will as much call for its deftrudlion by a deluge of fire.

Again, the clrcumfiances of the church at that day will alfo eminently call for the immediate appearance of Chrift, as they will be compafied about by their blafphe-flious enemies and juft readv to he fwallowed up bv them.

c;'Y2 ' It

532 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

It will be a moft diftrefling time with the church, excepting tlic comfort they will have in the hope of deliverance from God : for all other help will feem to fail. The cafe will be come to the lafi: extremity, and there will be an immediate neceffity for Chrift's coming to their deliverance. But though the church fhall be fo eminently threatened, yet lliall it be preferved till Chrlfl fliall appear in the glory of his Father with all his holy angels. And then ihall all the eledt be gathered in, whofe names were written in the book of life before the foundation of the world, fliall be brought in : not one foul fhall be loft. And the myftical body of Chrilt will be complete as to its number of parts, having every one of its members. In this refpeft, the work of redemption will now be finilhed. And the end for which the means of grace have been inftitutcd fhall be obtained. All that effe6l which was intended to be accomplifhed by them fhall now be ac-complilhed.

§ V. Completion of the work of redemption in A FUTURE State.

THUS I have fhown how the fuccefs of Chrift's redemption has been accomplifhed during the -continuance of the Chrlftian church under the means of grace. We have feen what great revolutions there have been, and are to be during this fpace of time ; how the wheels of Providence have gone round for the accomplifliment of the fuccefs of ChrilFs purchafe, in the beftowment of grace on the ele6l: and we are now come to the time, when the courfe of things in this ftate of it is finiflied, and all things are ripe for Chrift's coming to judgment.

You may remember, that we are dlfcourfing on this propofition, viz. That from the refurrcdtlon of Chrlft to the end of the world, the whole time is taken up in procuring the fuccefs of Chrift's purchafe of redemption, and 1 obferve that the fuccefs of Chrift's purchafe is of two kinds, conftfting either in grace or glory ; and that the

f\iccef5

COMPLETED IN A FUTURE STATE. 533

fuccefs confifting in the former of thcfe, is to be feen in thofc works of God which are wrought during thofe ages that the church is continued under the means of grace ; and that the fuccefs, confirting in the latter, will chiefly beac-compliibed at the day of judgment.

Having already fliown how the former kind of fuccefs has been accomplillied, I come now to that kind of fuccefs wiiich is accompliihed in the beftowmcnt of glory on the church, which fhall chiefly be at the day of judgment.—And here I would mention two or three things in general concerning this kind of fuccefs of Chrift's pur-chafe.

(i.) How great this is, chiefly appears in that the fuccefs of Chrifli's purchafe does fummarily confift in thefahation of the ele£t. But this beftowment of glory is eminently called iht'n falvatioti: [Heb. ix. 28.] ' To them tliat look ' for him, ihall he appear the fecond time, without fin ' unto falvation.'—So it is called redemption. [Eph.iv.30.] ' Sealed unto the day of redemption;' [Eph. i. 14.] ' Redemption of the purchafed poffeflion.'

(2.) All thofe glorious things which were brought to pafs for the church while under the means of grace, are but preparatory to, and images and fliadows of this. The-means of grace and grace itfelf are to fit for glory and all the glorious things which were accompliflied for the church in the days of Conftantine, and which arc to fucceed the fall of antichrift, are but a Ihadow of what will be beftowed at the day of judgment; and therefore, are fpoken of in fcripture as images of Chrift's lall; coming to judgment. —-But I haftcn more particularly to fhow how this kind of fuccefs of Chrift's purchafe is accomplifhed.

I. Chr'iji will appear in the glory of his Father, with all his holy angels coming in the clouds of heaven. When the world is revelling in their wickcdnefs, and compaflTing the holy city about, juft ready to deftroy it, then fhall tlie glorious Redeemer appear in the fight of the world; the light of his glory Ihall break forth; the whole world ihall immediately have notice of it, and they fhall lift up their eyes and behold this wonderful fight. It is faid [Rev. i. 7.]

' Everv

534 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

* Every eye Ihall fee him.'---Chnfl: ihall appear in his human nature, in that fame body which was brought forth in a ftable, laid in a manger, and which afterwards was fo cruelly ufed, and nailed to the crofs.

Men fliall now lift up their eyes and behold him coming in fuch majefly and glory as is to us utterly inconceivable. The glory of the fun in a clear firmament will be but darknefs in comparifon of it; and all the glorious angels f[iair attend on him, a thoufand thoufand miniflering to him, and ten thoufand times ten thoufand round about him. How different a perfon W'ill he then appear from what he did at his iirll: coming, when he was as a root out of dry ground, a poor, dcfpifed, affli6ted man! How different now is his appearance, in the midft of thofe glorious angels, principalities, and powers, from what it was when in tlie midfl: of a ring of foldiers, with his mock robe and his crown of thorns, to be buffetted and fpit upon, or hanging on the crofs between two thieves, with a multitude of his enemies round about triumphing over him ! (d)

This

(d) Chrljl APPEARING in the Clouds.']

" Thence iffuing I behold (but mortal fight Suftains not fuch a rufliing fea of light) I fee on an empyreal flying throne, Awfully rais'd, heav'n's everlafting Son ; Crown'd with that majefty which form'd the world, And the grand rebel flaming downward hurl'd. Virtue, dominion, praife, omnipotence. Support the train of their triumphant prince. A zone, beyond the thought of angels bright, Around him, like the zodiac, winds its light. Night fliades the folemn arches of his brows, And in his cheek the purple morning glows. Where'er ferene he turns propitious eyes, Or we expeft, or find a paiadife ; But if refentment reddens their mild beams, The Eden kindles, and the world's in flames, On one hand knowledge fliincs in .pureft light, ' On one the fword of juftice fiercely bright. Now bend the knee in fport, prefeat the reed, Now tell the fcourg'd impoftor he fnall bleed i"

»? •

" Triumphant

COMPLETED IN A FUTURE STATE. ss> This will be a moft unexpe^led fight to the wicked world: it will come as a cry at midnight: they fhall be taken in the midfl: of their wickednefs, and it will give them a dreadful alarm. It will at once break up their revels and caroufing. It will put an end to the defign of the great army, that will then be compafTmg the camp of the laints: it will make them let drop their weapons out of their hands. The world, which will then be very full of people, molt of whom will be wicked men, will then be filled with dolorous flirieking and crying; for all the kindreds of the earth fiiall wail becaufe of him. [Rev. i. 7.] And where fliallthey hide themfelves? How will the fight of that awful majefiy terrify them ? Then they fhall fee whom they have mocked and fcofFed at, and whole church they have been endeavouring to overthrow.

This

" Triumphant King of glory ! foul of blifs! What a ftupendous turn of fate is this! O ! whither art thou rais'd above the fcorn And indigence of him in Bethlem born, A needy, helplefs, unaccounted gueft. And but a fecond to the fodder'd beall! How chang'd from him, who meekly proftratc laid, VouchfaPd to wafh the feet himfelf had made ! From him who was betray'd, forfook, deny'd, Wept, languifli'd, pray'd, bled, thiriled, groan'd and dy'd; Hung pierc'd and bare, infulted by the foe, All heav'n in tears above, earth unconcera'd below !

" Now the dcfcending triumph flops its flight, From earth full twice a planetary heio-ht. There all the clouds, condcns'd, two columns raifc Diftindl with orient veins and golden blaze. Onefix'don earth, and one on fea, and round Its ample foot the fwellliig billows found. Thefe an Immeafurable arch fupport. The grand tribunal of this awful court. Sheets of bright azure, from the pured flcy. Stream from the chryllal arch, and round the columns fly. Death wrapt In chains low at the bafislles, And on the point of his own arrow dies.

" Here high cnthron'd th' eternal judge Is plac'd, With all the grandeur of his Godhead grac'd; Stars on his robes in beauteous order meet. And the fun burns beneath his dreadful feet."

[Young's Laft Day, book ii.]

S$6 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

This fight will change the voice of their laughter and fmrr-ing into dreadful wailing. Their countenance fliall her changed from a Hiow of carnal mirth, pride and contempt, to ghaftly teiro]-, trembling, and amazement.

But with refpe^l to the faints, the church of Chrift, it fliall be a joyful and moft glorious fight to them ; for it will at once deliver them from all fear of their enemies, who were before compalTing them about, jufl: ready to fwallow them up. Then ihall they lift up their heads, and their redemption Ihall be drawing nigh. [Luke xxi. 28.]—And thus Chrift will appear with infinite majefty, and at the fame time with infinite love in his countenance. Their countenances alfo fliall be changed, not as the countenances of the wicked, but from forrow to exceeding joy and triumph. And now the work of redemption will be finiflied in another fenfe, viz. that the whole church Ihall be completely and eternally freed from all perfecution and moleftation from wicked men and devils.

2. The Iq/i trumpet fliall fmnd and the dead fliall be raifed, and the living changed. God fent forth his angels with a great found of a trumpet, to gather together his ele6l from the four corners of the earth in a myftical fenfc, before the deftru6lion of Jerufalem ; i. e. he fent forth the apoftles, and others, to preach the gofpel all over the world. And fo, in a myftical fenfe, the great trumpet was blown at the beginning of the glorious times of the church. But now the great trumpet is blown in a more literal fenfe, with a mighty found, which fliakes the earth. There will be a great fignal given by a mighty found made, which is called t/ie voice of the archangel^ [i Thef iv. 16.] ^ For the Lord himfclf fliall dcfcend ' from heaven with a fliout, with the voice of the arch-' angel, and with the trump of God.' On the found of this trumpet, the dead fliall be raifed every where. Now the number of the dead is very great. How many has death cut down fince the world lias flood. But then the number will be much greater after the world fliall have flood fo much longer, and through moft of the remaining

time

COMPLETED IN A FUTURE STATE. 537

time will doubtlefs be much fuller of inhabitants than ever it has been. All thefe iliall now rife from the dead. The graves lliall be opened in all parts of the world, and the fea fhall give up the innumerable dead that arc in it. [Rev. XX. 13.] (E)

And now all the inhabitants that ever fliail have been upon the face of the earth, from the beginning of the

3 Z world

(e) The TKVfAfZTJJjallfound!'\ " How alarming, how ftupen-dous the fummons ! Nothing equal to it, nothing like it, was ever heard through all the regions of the univerfe, or all the revolutions of time. When confli6ting armies have difcharged the bellowing artillery of war, or when viftorious armies have fhouted for joy of the conqueft, the feas and fhorcs have rung, the mountains and plains have echoed. Bat the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, will refound from pole to pole. It will fhake the pillars of earth, and ftartle the dungeon of hell.—Stronger, ftron-ger ftill ! it will penetrate even the deepelt recefies of the tomb. It will pour its amazing thunder into all thofe abodes of filence. The dead, the very dead fiiall hear.

*' When the trumpet has founded, *the dead fliall arife.'—In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the graves open; the monumental piles are cleft afunder; the families, the nations under ground, ftart into day. What an immenfe harveft of men and women, fpringing up from the caverns of the earth, and the depths of the fea ! Stand awhile, my foul, and contemplate the wonderful fpeclacle.—Adam formed in Paradife, and the babe born but yef-terday, the carliell ages, and lateft generations, meet upon the fame level.—Jews and Gentiles, Greeks and Barbarians, people of all climes and languages, unite in the promifcuous throng. Here, thofe vaft armies, which, like fwarms of locufts, covered countries; which, with an irrefiltible fweep, over-run empires ; here they all appear, and here they all are loft. Loft, like tlie fmall drop of a bucket, when plunged amidft the unfathomable and boundlefs ocean.—O ! the imultitudes ! the multitudes ! which thefe eyes fliall furvey, when God ' calleth the heavens frora above, ' and the earth that he may judge his people.' What ftiame muft flufti the guilty cheek ! W^hat anguiOi wound the polluted breaft ; to have all their filthy prattlces, and infamous tempers, expofed before this innumerable croud of witneffes !— '. — Flv, my foul; iaftantly let us fly, earneftly let us flvj to the purifying blood of Jefus. That all our fins may be blotted out; that we may be found unblameable and unreproveablc, in the prcfence of the aflembled world; and, what is infinitely more to be itvered, in the fight of the omnipotent God. [Hervey, Ther. and Afp. Tol. ii. Let. 5.]

538 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

world to the end fhall aj3pear upon the earth at once. The church of God in all ages, Adam and Eve the firft parents of mankind, and Abel, Seth, Methufelah, and all the faints who were their contemporaries; Noah, and Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, the prophets, and all the Old Teftament faints, the holy apoftlcs of Jefus Chrift, and all the faints of their times; the martyrs under the ten heathen perfecutions; all who belonged to the church during the dark days of antichrifl, all the holy martyrs who have fufFered under the cruelty of the Popifli perfecutions; all the faints of the prefent time; and all that fhall be from

hence to the end of the world. Now alfo the enemies

of the church in all ages of the world Ihall appear upon the face of the earth again; the wicked drowned by the flood, and the multitudes of impenitent finners that died all over the world among God's profefling people, or others before Chrift, and all wicked Heathens, Jews, Mahometans, and Papifts, that have died fince; all fliall come together. Sinners of all forts; demure hypocrites; thofe who have tlie faireft and befl outfide, and open profane drunkards, whoremongers, profane Deifts, cruel perfecu-tors, and all that have died, or fliall die, iii fni, to the end of the world.

And at the fan:ie time that the dead are raifed, the living ihall be changed. The bodies of the wicked who fliall then be living, fliall be fo changed as to fit them for eternal exiftencc without corruption; and the bodies of all the living faints fliall be changed to be like Chrift's glorious body; [i Cor. XV. 51, 52, 53.] fo changed as to render them for ever incapable of pain, afflitlion, or uneafinefs; and all that duUnefsj heavinefs, and deformity, which their bodies had before, fliall be put off; and tliey fliall put on Arength, and beauty, and aclivity, and incorruptible unfading glory. And now the work of redemption fliall be finifhed in this refpeft, viz. that all the elett fliall be actually redeemed in both foul and body. Before this, the work of redemption, as to its a6lual fuccefs, was but incomplete ; for only the fouls of the redeemed were a6lualiy faved and glorified, excepting in a very few inftances: but

now

COMPLETED IN A FUTURE STATE. 539

now all the bodies of the faints rtiall be faved and glorified together, both in foul and body, (f)

3. Now fhall faints be caught up in tlic clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and all wicked men and devils fliall be arraigned before the judgment-feat. When the dead faints are raifed, tlien the whole church, confifting of all

the

(f) The general Resurrection.] The xvth chap, of St. Paul's firft cpiftle to the Corinthians is a kind of treatife on this fubjcft, which ought in the firfl: place to be confulted, as being the language of divine infpiration. Next to the fcriptures is commonly ranked an excellent epilllc to the fame Corinthian church by St. Clement of Rome [mentioned as is fuppofed Phil. iv. 3.] written is feems before the dcllruAion of Jerufalem. [Seech, xli.] In that epiftle is the following paflage, remarkably coincident with the language of St. Paul, on this jubjeft :

" Let that be far from us which is written, ' Miferable are the

* double-minded, and thofe who are doubtful in tlieir hearts. Who

* fay, thefe things have we heard, and our fathers have told us

* thefe things. But behold we are grown old, and none of them

* has happened unto us.' O ye fools! Confider the trees; take the vine for an example: firft it flieds its leaves; then it buds; after that it fpreads its leaves; then it flowers; then come the four grapes; and after them follows the ripe fruit. You fee how in a little time the fruit of the trees come to maturity. Of a truth, yet a little while, and his will fiiall fudJenly be accompliflied. The holy fcripture itfelf bearing witnefs, ' that he (liall quickly

* come and not tarry, and that the Lord fhall fuddenly come to

* his temple, even the holy one whom ye look for.' Let us confider, beloved, how the Lord does continually (hew us, that there fhall be a future refurreftion ; of which he has made our Lord Jefus Chrifl the firft-fruits, raifing him from the dead. Let us contemplate, beloved, the refurredion that is continually before our eyes.. Day and night manifeft a refurrei^lion to us. The night lies down, and the day arifes : again the day departs and the night comes on. Let us behold the fruits of the earth. Every one fees how the feed is fown. The fower goes forth, and cafts it upon the earth; and the feed which when it was fown fell upon the earth dry and uakcd, in time diffolvcs : and from the diffolu-tion, the great power of the providence of the Lord raifes it again; and of one feed many arife, and bring forth fruit." \_Clemcnt's ifl «pift. Abp. Wake's Tranf feft. 23, 24.]

From this paffage, but efpecially St. Paul's epiftle, in the chapter above referred to, we may venture to determine that controverted point, how far the bodies of the faints will be xXxcfav-.e when raifed from the dead, namely, juft as the com which fprings up in 3 Z 2 the

540 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

the elect through all ages, fliall appear together on the face of the earth, (excepting thofe few whofe bodies were glorified before;) and fhall afcend to meet Chrift, who fhall fix his tlironc in the air, whence he may be feen by all that vafl multitude that fhall be gathered before him. The church of faints therefore fhall be taken up from the earth to afcend to their Saviour. Thus the apoftle tells us, that when the dead ' in Chrifl: are raifed, and the living chang-

* ed, then thofe who are alive and remain, fhall be caught

* up together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and fo

* lliall we be ever with the Lord.' [i Thef. iv, i6, 17.] Then fhall the work of redemption be finifhed in another Tefpe6l: then fhall the whole church be perfectly and for ever delivered from this evil world : they fliall take their everlafting leave of this earth, where they have been llran-gers, and which has been to them a fcene of trouble and forrow ; where the devil for the moll part has reigned a§ god, and has greatly molefted them; where Chrift their Lord has been crucified; and where they haye been fo hated, reproached, and perfecuted, from age to age. And there ihallbe an everlafting feparation made between them and wicked men. Before they were mixed together, and it was impoflible in many inftances to determine which were which ; but now both faints and finners fliall appear in their true chara6lers.

What an immenfe cloud of them will there be when all the church fliall be gathered together from the eaft and weft, north and fouth, to the right hand of Chrift.

---Then

the harvcft, is the fame which the hufbandman previoufly fovvs; not indeed the bare grain which was call into the ground, but wonderfully increafed and improved. [See i Cor. xv.] So doubt-lefii the bodies raifed v/ill be ejfenlially (not to quibble on the word individually) the fame as die ; but no lefs wonderfully improves than the blade and ear of corn from a fingle grain. The manner of this we may not be able to comprehend at prefent; but we may furcly believe the faft on the credit of immutable omnipotence.— From an expreflion of St. Paul, [i Thef. iv. 16.] that ' the dead

* in Chriit ihall rifejifr/?,' fome divines have inferred a twofold re-funedtion, firil of the righteous and afterwards of the wicked, but this text only alferts, that the dead fhall be raifed before the living are changed, as appears from the following verfe. [G. E.]

COMPLETED IN A FUTURE STATE. 541

---Then the work of redemption will be finiihed in this refpe6t alfo. Tliey all belonged to one fociety before, but yet were widely fepar:Ued from each other; fome being in heaven, and fome on earth; and thofe on earth were fepa-rated one from another, many of them by wide oceans and vaft continents. But now they fliall all be gathered together, never to be feparated any more. And not only gathered together, but gatliered unto their Head, into his immediate glorious prefence, never to be feparated from him any more.

At the fame time, all wicked -men and devils Ihall be brought before the judgment-fent of Chrifl. Thefe fliall be gathered to his left hand, and, as it feems, will flill remain upon the earth, and not be caught up into the air, as the faints fliall. Satan, that old ferpent, who firft procured the fall and mifcry of mankind, and has all along iliown himfclf fucli an inveterate enemy to the Redeemer, fhall never more have any thing to do with the church of God, or be fuffered in the leaft to afFii6l any member of it any more for ever; but Ihall now be judged, and receive the due reward of his deeds. Now is come the time which he long has dreaded, and trembled at the thought of; the time wherein he mud be judged, and receive his full pu-niflimcnt. He who by his temptation malicioufly procured Chrift's crucifixion, and triumphed upon it, as though he had obtained the victory, even he fhall fee tlie confequences of the death of Chrift which he procured : for Chrifl's coming to judge him in his human nature is the confequence of it; becaufe he obtained and purcliafed this glory to himfelf by that deatli. Now he mull: fiand before that fame Jefus whofe death he procured, to be judged, condemned, and eternally deflroved by him. If Satan, the prince of hc!l, trembles at the thought of it tiioufands of years beforehand, how much more v/ill he tremble, as proud and as flubborn as he is, when he comes to Hand at Chrifl's bar! Then fliall he alfo ftand at ilie bar of the faints, whom he lias fo hated, afflidled, and mo-lefted : for the faints fliall judge him together with Chrill: [i Cor. vi, 3.] ' Know ve not that we fliall judge angels!'

Now

542 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

Now fliall he be as it were fubdued under the chuich's feet. [Rom. xvi. 20.] Satan, when he tempted our firft parents to fall, deceitfully and falfely told them, that they fliould be as gods : but little did he think that the confe-quence fhould be, that they fhould indeed be fo much like gods, as to be afleffors with God to judge him. (g) Much lefs did he think, that in confequence of this one of the pofterity of thofe perfons whom he tempted, fhould actually be united to God, fliould judge the world, and that he himfelf muft ftand trembling and aftonifhed before his judgment-feat. And all the infernal fpirits -who have fo oppofed Chrift: and his kingdom, fliall now at laft {land in the utmoft amazement and horror before Chrift and his church, who fhall appear to condemn them.

Now alfo fliall Chrift's other enemies be brought to appear before him. Now fhall the proud fcribes and Pha-rifees, who had fuch a malignant hatred againft him while in his ftate of humiliation, and who perfecuted Chrift to death; thofe before whofe judgment-feat Chrift was once called, and ftood as a malefactor at their bar, and thofe who mocked him, and buftetted him, and fpit in his face ; now fhall they fee Chrift in his glory, as he forewarned them, [Matt. xxvi. 64, 65.] when he was before their judgment-feat; but now they fhall ftand before his judgment-feat with inconceivable horror and amazement.

Now alfo all the cruel enemies and perfccutors of the church that have been in all ages, fliall come in fight together, Pharaoh and the Egyptians, Antiochus Epi-phanes, the perfecuting fcribes and Pharifees, the per-

fecuting

(g) The faintsJhall judge the fallen y^/Tf.-'/f.] "There feems a peculiar dignity and propriety in this determination of the great God, that when the Devils who are exprefsly faid to be ' referved ' in chains of darknefs to the judgment of the great day,' [Jude 6.] fliall be condemned, \\\t faints being raifed to the feats of glory which thefe wicked fpirits have forfeited and lofl, fliould aftill in that fentence which fnall difplay the vijTtory of Chrift over them in his fervants, once their captives, and will no doubt render the fentence itfelfyet more intolerable to creatures of fuch malignity and pride." [Doddridge, on i Cor. vi. 3.]

COMPLETED IN A FUTURE STATE. 543

feCuting heathen emperors, Juh'an the apoitate, the cruel perfecuting Popes and Papifts, Gog and Magog, fliall all appear at once before the judgment-feat of Chrift. They and the faints who have in every age been perfccuted by them, muft confront one another before the great Judge. And now fl^all the faints on their glorious thrones be made the judges of thofe unjuft kings and rulers, who have before judged and condemned them to deatli. Now lliall thofe perfecutors behold the glory to which they are arrived, whom they before fo defpifed and cruelly treated, and Chrift will make thofe holy martyrs as it were to come and fet their feet on the necks of their perfecutors; they lliall be made their footftool, [See Jolh. x. 24.] Thus wonderfully will the face of things be altered from what it ufed to be in the former times of the world; now will all thino;s be coming to rights.

4. The rlghteoufnefs of the church fliall be manifefted, and all the wickedncfs of their enemies fliall be brought to liglit. Thofe faints who had been the objeils of hatred, reproach and contempt in the world, and were reviled and condemned by their perfecutors without a caufe, lliall now be fully vindicated. They fliall now appear cloathed with the glorious robe of Chrift's righteoufnefs. And their inherent holinefs fhall alfo be made manifeft, and all their good works brought to light. The good things which they did in fecret ihall now be manifefted openly. Thofe holy ones of God, who had been treated as though they were the tilth and ofFscouring of the earth, as though thev were not fit to live upon earth, fliall now appear to have been the excellent of the earth. Now God will bring forth their righteoufnefs as the light, and their judgment as the noon-day. And now fliall it be feen who were thofe that were not fit to live, when all the wickednefs of the enemies of Chrift and his church, their pride, their malice, their cruelty, their hatred of true religion, fhall be fet forth in its true light. And now all the wickednefs of the whole world ftiall be fully difcovered, their very hearts opened to view; and things that have been fpoken in the ear, in the clofet, and done in the dark, fliall be manifefted

544 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

in the light, and proclaimed before angels and men. [Luke xii. 3.]

5. Sentence lliall be pronounced both on the righteous and the wicked. C^irift, the judge, fhall pafs that fen-tence on the church at his right hand, ' Come, ye blefled

* of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you

* from tlie foundation of the world.' [Matt. xxv. 34.] This lliall be pronounced with infinite love, and the voice will make every heart to overflow with joy. Thus Chrill; fliall pronounce a fentence of juftification on thou-fands and millions, who have before had a fentence of condemnation pafTed upon them by their perfecutors. He will thus put honour upon thofc who have been before defpifcd : he will own them for his, and will as it were put a crown of glory upon their heads before the world; and then fhall they Ihine forth as the fun with Jefus Chrifl: in glory and joy, in the fight of all their enemies, (h)

And then Ihall the fentence of condemnation be pafied on the wicked, ' Depart, ye curfed, into everlafting fire, ' prepared for the devil and his angels.' [Matt.] Thus ihall the church's enemies be condemned ; in which fentence of condemnation, the holy martyrs, who have fuf-fered from them, ihall concur, (i) When the words of

this

(h) Chr'i/l ^jj'iU put HONOUR upon Ins faints.'} How beautiful and pointed is that pafiage in the apoeryphal book of Wifdom, which reprefents the wicked at the laft day, thus bewailing their folly and contempt of the faints: ' Then fliallthc righteous man

* ftand in great boldnefs before the face of fuch as have afflidted

* him, and made no account of his labours. When they fee it,

* they fliall be troubled with terrible fear, and fhall be amazed at

* the ftrangenefs of his falvation, fo far beyond all that they looked ' for. And they, repenting and groaning for anguilli of fpirit,

* fhall fay within themfelvcs/ " This was he whom we had fome-" times in derifion, and a proverb of reproach. We fools ac-" counted his life madnefs, and his end to be without honour.— " How is he numbered among the children of God, and his lot is « among the faints!" [Wild. v. i—5.]

(i) Depart, je airfecl.~\ " Oh ! let me never hear thy voice pronounce thofe dreadful words. With what terrors would that fentence pierce my heart, while ir thunders in my ears ! To be

feparatcd

COMPLETED IN A FUTURE STATE. 545

this fentence are pronounced, every fyllable of it will be hiore terrible than a ftream of lightniing through their hearts. We can conceive but very little of the horror which it fliall produce.

6. Upon this Chrift and all his faints, and tlie holy ano-els miniftering unto them, fliall leave this lower world, and afcend up to the highcft heavens. Chrill: fliall afccnd in as "-leat glory as he defcended, and in feme refpefts greater ; for now he Ihall afcend with his eledV church with him, glorified in both body and foul. Chrifl's firll: afcen-fion to heaven foon after his own refurre6lion was verv glorious ; but this fecond afcenfion, the afcenfion of his niylli-cal body, his whole church, fliall be far more fo. The redeemed church fliall all afcend with him in a mofc joyful and triumphant manner; and all their enemies and perfe-cutors, who fliall be left behind on this accurfed ground, ihallfee their glory and hear their fongs.

7. When Chrifl: and his church have afcended to heaven, this world fliall be fet on fire, and turned into a great furnace, wherein all the enemies of Chrifl: and his church fliall be tormented for ever and ever. [2 Pet. iii. 7.]

* But the heavens and the earth which arc now, by the

* fame word are kept in fl:ore, referved unto fire againft:

4 A ' the

fcparated from thee, and curft with immortality,—who can fuftain the intolerable doom ?

O dreadful ftate of black defpaifj

To fee my God remove, And fix my doleful ftatlon where I muft not tafte his love, nor view the light of thy countenance for ever. Unutterable woe ! there is no hell beyond it. Separation from God is the depth of mifery. Blacknefs of darknefs, and eternal night muit necefTarily involve a foul excluded from thy prefcnce,

*' Depart from thee! Oh ! whither fhaU I go from thee ? Into Htter darknefs? After that fearful doom, I fliould without con-llraint feek out fhades as dark as hell, and in the horrors of eternal pight bewail the infinite lofs.

*' The remembrance of that loft happinefs would render celeftial day infuffcrable. The hght of paradife could not cheer me without thy favour: the fongs of angels would but heighten my an-guifli and torment me with a fcene of blifs which I muft never tafte." [Mrs. Rowe's Meditations, p. 67.]

546 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

' the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men.' Ah ! how will it ftrike the wicked with horror, when the world Ihall be fet on fire, either by lightning from heaven, or fire ifTuing out of the bowels of the earth : efpecially when the fire begins to lay hold upon them, and they find no way to cfcape it. [2 Pet. iii. 10. 12.] ' The heavens

* fhall pafs away with a great noife, and the elements ' fliall melt with fervent heat, the earth alfo, and the ' works that are therein fliall be burnt up ; and that the

* heavens being on fire fliall be difTolved, and the elements ' fliall melt with fervent heat.' And fo fierce fliall be its heat, that it iliall burn the earth into its very centre. [Deut. xxxii. 22.] ' For a fire is kindled in my anger, and

* fliall burn unto the loweft hell, and fhall confume the ' earth with increafe, and fet on fire the foundations of

* the mountains.'

And here fhall all the perfecutors of the church of God burn in everlafling fire, who have before burnt the faints at the flake, and fhall fufFer torments beyond all that their utnioft wit and malice could inflidt on them. Here their bodies fliall be tormented eternally, and never be confunied: while the wrath of God fliall be poured out upon their fouls. Though the fouls of the wicked in hell do now fufFer punifliment, yet that will be fo increafed at the day of judgment, that what they fufFered before, is in comparifon of it, as an imprifonment to the execution which follows, (k) And now the devil,

that

(k) The ETERNITY of hell torments.'\ This is a fubjeft fo awful and alarming, that a benevolent mind would never wi(h to con-templ'de, much kfs to difcourfe of it, but a faithful minifter mull not always confult his feelings, but be content fometimes to offer violence to himfelf for the good of others. " Where is the minifter of the gofpel (fays Mr. Sauiin) who has notathouland and a thoufand times difplayed the charms of religion, and difplayed them in vaini"' Some fouls muft be terrified; fome finners muff be faved with fear and pulled out of the fire. [Jude 23.] Some hearts are fenfible only to one objeA, that is hell; and if there be any one way of preventing their being really precipitated into that frightful abyfs hereafter, it is by precipitating them there in imagination

COMPLETED IN A FUTURE STATE. 547

that old ferpcnt, fliall receive his full punlfhment ; and that which he long trembled for fear of, fliall now fully

come

gination now ! ' Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we per-fuadc men.' [2 Cor. v. 11.] [Sermons, v. vol. i. Ser. 7.]

Such preachers have been called minifters of damnation, with as much propriety as a man who alarmed a family in danger of fur-rounding flames, fliould be called a meflenger of deftruction.

Monf. Claude points out a very judicious method of treating the fubjeft—By fliewing that man is a creature fubjecl to a law—a law fuppofes a judge-=—and a judge punifliment upon tranfgrefibrs. This is fo evident to the common fcnfe of mankind, that all nations have admitted the doftrine of future punifliment into their religions. But the evidences of this mufl: net reit here ; fcrlp-ture mufl: be applied to as the ultimate authority ; and from this mull be fliewn, not only that God will punifli finncrs, but particularly, that he will punKh them in a.ftiture ft:ate—that this punifliment win invole both foul and body, as both have been

connefted in fin that it mufl; be a real punifliment, including

real, permanent, and everlafling fenfatlon of pain—and that its degree will be proportional to the greatnefs of the Judge, the ftriftnefs of the tribunal, and the power of the Almighty hand that executes It. [See Claude's Eflay, tranfl. by Robinfon, vol. i. 402—408.] But we fliall rather abft.raft the fubftance of a feinion of our author (Pref. Edwards) who has treated the fubjeft with much argument and good fenfe, Inteifperfing (between crotchets) fomeobfervations from other authors.

After fome preliminary remarks our author eflabllflies this DOCTRINE, viz. That the m'ljery of the iv'ichcd tn hell tviU he abfo-lulely ETERNAL. Li dlfcoivding on this doftrlne he advances four propofitlons:

L That it is not contrary to the divine perfections to Inflidl on wicked men a punifliment that is eternal. (i.) That It is not Incon-

fiftent with divine jufliice appears from the infinite evil of fin.

[Confider that among men all ofl^ences increafe their malignity In proportion to the dignity of the perfon offended. The murder of a flave is highly criminal, but that of a mafter, a father, a prince, proportionally more fo. God is a being of Infinite Majefty, and his authority over all the creatures abfolute and unlimited :] God is alfo Infinitely worthy of love, honour, and obedience ; our'ob-llgations to honour and obey him are therefore Infinite, and confe-quently fin, which violates all thofe obligations, [infults that Majefty, and renounces his authority] muft be in its objeH, at leatt, infinite, and therefore deferves infinite, or which Is the fame thing, f/frWpunlftiment.—(2.) Neither is the dotlrlne Inconfiftent with the divine mercy. It Is an unieafonable and an unfcriptural notion of God's mercy, to fuppofc that his nature is fo liable to be moved and overcome, by feeing a creature in mifery, that he cannot bear

4 A 2 tH

54? HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

come upon him. This worhl, which formerly ufed to be

the

to fee impartial juftice executed. The fcriptures reprefent the mercy of God as free and fovereign, and not of fuch a nature that God cannot help but deliver finners from mifery. This is a mean and mod unworty idea of the divine mercy ; it is alfo contrary to plain fa£l. For if there be any meaning in the objeclion, it fu-pofes that all the mifery of a creature, whether jull or unjuft, is in itfelf contrary to the nature of God. For if a very great degree of mifery, though juft, is contrary to his nature, then it is only, in our conceptions, to add to the mercy, and then a lefs degree of mifery will be fo. And fo, the mercy of God being infinite, all mifery mujl be contrary to his nature ; which is manifellly contrary to fadl. For wc fee that God, in his providence, inllifts very great calamities on mankind, even in this life. However itrong fuch kind of objeftions may feem, they arife from want of a fenfe of the inlinite evil and provocation that there are in fin.— If fin appeared as hateful to us, as eternal mifery appears dreadful; if it ilirred up our indignation and deteflation, as eternal mifery does our terror, all objeftions againft this doctrine would vanifli at once. [So obferves the inimitable Saurin.] " Allow the obligations under which the incarnation lays mankind, and everlafting punifnment feems to me to have nothing contrary to divine juftice. —No, the burning lake with its fmoke, eternity with its abyiTes, devils with their rage, all hell with all its horrors, feem to me not too rigorous for the punifhment of men, who have * trodden un-

* der foot the Son of God, counted the blood of the Covenant an

* unholy thing, crucified the Son of God afrefh, and done defplte ' unto the Spirit of Grace." [Heb. vi. 6. x. 26.'] [Saurin, vol. iii. Sen 13.]

But eternal mifery is not only confiftent with the divine perfections, but they appear evidently to require it. They require that God riiould infinitely hate fin—that he ihould exprefs tliat hatred ; (for no poiTible reafon can be given why it is not fuitable for God to aS, as it is fuitable for him to be;) and the proper cxprefTion of an infinite hatred to fin, in the inflicaon of eternal punifliment on incorrigible finners.

\1. That eternal death or puniihment, which God threatens to the wicked, is not anv.'ih'ilai'ion, but an i}o'i6\n^ fetifclepun'i/hmiiit, or miferv. (i.) The fcripture reprefents it as implying extreme pains and fuffcrings—' The fmoke of t\\Q\r tornwrit. [Rev, :;iv. 11. See alfo Matt. xxvi. 24.] (2.) It defcribes them a&fenjlklr of their punifliment—' I am tormented.' [Luke xvi. 24.] (3.) It mentions different degrees of punifhment—' Few ftripes and many.' [Luke xii. 47. See alfo Matt. v. 22.] (4.) The wicked are called * Spirits in prifon.' [i Pet. iii. 19.]

III. The punifliment of the wicked fliall be abfohitely 'without aid. Of thofe who have held that the torments of Iiell are not

abfo-

i

COMPLETED IN A FUTURE STATE. 549

the place of liis kingdom, where he fet himfelf up as God,

fluU

abfolutely eternal, i. Some fuppofe, that in the threatenings of everlafting punifhment, the terms ufed do not neceflarily import a proper eternity, but only a very long duration. 2. Others fuppofe, that if they do import a proper eternity, yet we cannot neceffarlly conclude thence, that God will fulfil his threatenings. But (I.) that thefe terms imply a proper eternity, obferve that although the words for-evcr, &c. are fometlmes ufed in a limited fig-nification, as referring to a long time, on this fubjeft they cannot well be fo taken as relating to a period which commences not until time is no more—th.at they arc doubled ' for ever and ever,' [Rev. xiv. 11.]—the fame expreffions defcribe the happlnefs of the blef-fed, [Matt. XXV. 46.] and even the divine exillcnce, [Rev. iv. 9.] where there is no doubt of tlieir importing an endlcfs period.— Our Lord fays that finners fliall not be delivered till they have paid the utmoft farthing, [Matt. v. 26.] that 'their worm dicthnof, and their fire is 7/0^quenched.' [Markix, 44.] [See Note d, p. 46.] (2.) There are others who allow, that thefe threatenings denote a proper eternity; yet fuppofe that pofTibly God may not fulfil tlicm ; there not being the fame reafon to oblige God to fulfil his threatenings as his promlfes.

But, though this Is granted as to conditional threatenings, it muil not be admitted of thofe v.hich are pofitive and peremptory, as are thofe of eternal punifliment; many of which are cxpreffed in the form of predidlon;;.—Such perfons alfo fuppofe, that God was obliged to make ufe of ^fal'cicy to govern the world by ; and a fallacy fo weak that they have been able to detect it.

[" But if it were allowed, that God had no other defign in denouncing eternal punilhnients than that of alarming finners, would it become us to oppofe his wife purpofe, and with our unhallowed hands throw down the barrier which he had erefted againft fin ? . . Let us preach the gofpel as God hath revealed it. God did not think the doclrine of everlafting punifhment injurious to the holi-nefs of his attributes. Let not us pretend to think it will injure them." Saurin, Ser. 3. vol. ill.]

IV. Several good and Important ends will be obtained by this eternal punifliment of the wicked. As the vindication of God's injured majefty—the honour of divine juftice—and even indired-ly, the glory of divine mercy—and the greater happlnefs of the faints. [Not that they can tnke any pleafure in the fight of mi-fery, but] it will make them more fcnfible of their own happlnefs, and more to prize difcrimlnating grace. [Vrz{. Edwards' Serm. Etern.ofHelh]

Thus far our author; prolix as this note may be, it is hoped the importance of the fubjeft (efpcclally at this time) will apologize for briefly confidering an objedion or two not mentioned above, but which to fome have appeared of great force.

550 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

fhall be the place of his full and everlafting punifhment. (l.) And in this another defign of the work of redemption, viz. putting Chrift's enemies under his feet, fliall be per-fe6tly accomplilhed. His enemies fhall now be made his footftool, in the fulleft degree. Now Ihall be the complete

1. It has been often urged, that the whole period in which men fin being but a few years, bears no proportion to an eternity of fuf- . fering. But (as Mr. Saurin hath well obferved) " it is not the length of time employed in committing a crime that determines the degree and the duration of its punifhment, it is the turpitude and atrocioufnefs of it." A man fliall rob us in the flreet, another fhall receive the article ftolen, our law fhalL tranfport the former for 7 and the latter for 14 years, though both were inftantaneous adls. But a third fliall by a long continued feries of cruelty ftarvc a domeftic to death, and yet he fliall receive an inftantaneous pu-nifliment, he fliall die.

2. It is poffitively faid God will not keep his anger for ever, will not be always wrath, [Pf. ciii. 9. Ifa. Ivii. 16.] and yet it is alfo as pofitivcly faid that he will have no mercy on the creatures of his own hand, but punifli them with everlafting dettruclion, [Ifa. xxvii. 2. 2 Thef. i. 9.] how then fliall we reconcile thefe af-iertions ? By fixing a different fenfe on the fame words to favour a flattering hypothefis ? No, but by diftinguifliing the perfons to whom the promifes and thrcatenings are addrefled, the former to Ifrael, to the contrite and humble penitent; the latter to obitinate and impenitent fuiners, as may be feen in the context.

After all we do not deny, but that fome perfons by treating this doftrine injudicioufly have given too much handle to objeftors— we do not pretend that it has no difficulties ; but we think moft of them maybe refolved (Saurin fays «// of them) by confidering that though all the wicked will be involved in punifliment of the fame duration, yet God can apportion the degree of punifliment, to the degree of the finners turpitude. And that this punifliment will not be merely an arbitrary infliftion of Deity, but the natural confequcnce of fin. Sin eftranges the foul from God—baniflies it from his prefence—torments the confcience—hardens the heart, and, without almighty grace, a finner left to himfelf will for ever fin, and confequcntly forever fuffer. [T- N.]

(l) T/ms W0R1.VJha/l/'e hell.] So conjeftured our author; on the contrary Dr. Bunieit and many others have imagined that the earth would be purified and become the heaven of the faints, perhaps both were wrong. At leafl neither of thefe pofitions feem to be plainly revealed; and our notions of fpiritual bodies are fo uncertain and imperfcft that we can hardly reafon on the fubjeft. Doubtlefs the Divine Majefty will not want means of punifiiing ob-ftinatt^ rebels againil his government, and wherever may be the

fcene

COMPLETED IN A FUTURE STATE. 551

plcte fulfilment of that tliieatening, [Gen. iii. 15.] * It fliall ' bruife thy head.'

8. At the fame time, all the cliurch fliall enter with Chrid:, their head, into the highefl heavens, and fhall there enter on the Hate of their higheft and eternal bleffed-nefs and glory. While the lower world, which they have left under their feet, is fcized with the fire of God's vengeance, the whole church lliall enter, with their glorious head, and all the holy angels attending, in a joyful manner, into the eternal paradife of God, the palace of the great Jehovah, their heavenly Father. The gates fhall open wide for them to enter, and there ChrifV will bring them into his chambers in the highcil fenfe. He will bring them into his Father's houfe, into a world not like that which they have left. Here Chrift will bring them, and prefent them in glory to his Father, faying, ' Here am I and the children which thou haft given

* me;' [Heb. ii. 15.] as much as to fay, ' Here am I,

* with every one of thofe whom thou gavefi; me from etcr-' nity to take the care of, that they might be redeemed and ' glorified, and to redeem whom I have done and fufFered ' fo much, and to make way for the redemption of whom

* I have for fo many ages been accomplilhing fuch great re-' volutions. Here they are now perfeilly redeemed in body

* and foul; I have pcrfedlly delivered them from all the

' ill

fcene of his juftice, it muft exceed the power of our prefent conceptions. Milton has perhaps in the following pafTage given the fineft fpeclmen of the terrific fublime, which ever came from an uninfpired pen.

" A dungeon horrible on all fides round

As one great furnace flam'd, yet from thofe flames

No light, but rather darknefs vlfible

Serv'd only to difcover fights of woe,

Regions of forrow, doleful fhades, where peace

And reft can never dwell, hope never comes

That comes to all; but torture without end

Still urges, and a fiery deluge fed

With ever burning fulphur unconfum'd :

Such place eternal juftice has prepared

For thofe rebellious."

[Par. Loft. b. i. j •

552 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

' ill efFedls of the fall, and freed them from all their cne-* mies; I have brought them all together into one glorious ' fociety, and united them all in myfelf: I have openly ' juftified them all before angels and men, and I have ' brought them hither from that accuifed world where ' they have fufFered fo much, and prefented them Ipotlefs ' before thy throne : I have done all that for them which ' thou haft appointed me: I have perfe6lly cleanfed ' them from ail lilthinefs in my blood, and here they ' are refplendent with thy perfe6l image.' And then the Father will accept and own them for his children, and will welcome them to the eternal and perfedt inheritance and glory of his houfe, giving them more glorious mani-feftations of his love than ever, and admitting them to a more full and perfe6l enjoyment of himfelf.

And now Ihall be the marriage of the Lamb in the moft perfect fenfe. The commencement of the glorious times of the church on earth, after the fall of antichrift, is reprefcnted as the marriage of the Lamb : but after this we read of another marriage of the Lamb, at the clofe of the day of judgment. After the beloved difciplc had given an account of the day of judgment, in the clofc of the xxth chapter of Revelation, then he proceeds to give an account of what follows in the xxifl: and xxiid chapters; and particularly he gives an account, that he faw the holy city, the new Jerufalem, (m) preijared as a bride adorned for her hulband. And when Chrift fhall bring his church into his Father's houfe in heaven, after the judgment, he (hall bring her thither as his bride, having there prefented her, whom he loved, and gave himfelf for, to himfelf without fpot or wrinkle, or any fuch thin'^-. [Eph. V. 27.] The bridegroom and the bride fhall then enter into heaven, both having on their wedding

robes.

(m) The Nfav Jerusalem.] Among other circumftanccs (which are undoubtedly allegorical) in the magnificent defcription of this city, it isfaid [Rev. xxi. 21.'] * The ilreetof the city was « pure gold as it were tranfparent glafs.'—From this pafTage an ingenious

COMPLETED IN A FUTURU STATE. ^^^

robes, attended with all the glorious angels, and commencing an eternal feaft: of bleflednefs This fnall

be the day of the gladnefs of Chrifl's heart, wherein he win greatly rejoice, and all the faints with him. Chrlil: ihall rejoice over his bride, and the bride fhall rejoice in her hufband, in this ftatc of her confummate and evcrlaft-ing bleflednefs.

And now the whole work of redemption is iinlflicd' We have fccn how It has been carrying on from the fall of man to this time. But now it is complete, the top ftoneofthe building is laid. In the progrefs of the dif-courfe on this fubje6l, we have followed the church of God in all the florms and tcmpePiS through which Ihe has pafled, till at length we have feen her enter the harbour, and land in the higheft heavens, in complete and eternal glory. We have gone through time, and the feveral ages of it, as the providence of God, and the word of God have led us; and now wc have iflucd in eternity when time fliall be no more. We have feen all the church's enemies fixed in endlefs mifery, and the church prefented before the Father in heaven, there to enjoy the moft un-4 B fpeal'iablo

genious writer (Mr. Ketvion,) has fuggefted the follov/ing beautiful ideas:...." If our reading is right, we muil underftand it either of gold, pure, bright, and perfpicuous as the fineft tranf-parent glafs, or elfe, as two diflin6l comparifons; fplendid and durable as the pureft gold, clear and tranfparent as the fineft glafs.—Our glafs is clear but brittle, our gold is fliinlng and folid, but it is opaque and difcovers only a fiirface ; and thus it is with our minds. The powers of imagination are lively and extenfive, but tranfient and uncertain. The powers of the underftanding are more folid and regular ; but at the fame time more flow and limited, and confined to the outfide properties of the few objeds around us. But when we arrive within the vail, the perfections of the glafs and gold will be combined, and the imperfeftions of each entirely ceafe. Then we fnall know more than we can now imagine ; the glafs Jlmll he all gold. And then we fliall apprehend truth in all its relations and confequences .... by a Angle glance of thought, as the fight pierces in an inftant through the largeft

tranfparent body : the gold tvUl he all glafs (I do not oifer

this as the fenfe of the palfagc.") [Cardiphonia, vol, i. p.

fpeakable and inconceivable glory and blefTcdnefs throughout the never ending ages of eternity, (n)

Now all Chrift's enemies will be perfe6tly put under his feet, and he fhall have his moft perfect triumph over fin and Satan, and all his inftruments, and death and hell. Now fhall all the promifcs made to Chrift by the Father before the foundation of the world, the promifes of the covenant of redemption, be fully accompliflied. Chrift fl^iall now perfe6lly have obtained the joy that was fet before him, for which he undertook thofe fufFerings which he underwent in the ftate of humiliation. Now fhall all the hopes and expedtations of the faints be fulfilled. The ftatc of things that the church was in before was a pro-greflive and preparatory ftate; but now flie is arrived to her moft perfect ftate of glory. All the glory of the beft times of the church on earth is but a faint ftiadow of this her confummate felicity in heaven.

And now Chrift the great Redeemer ftiall be moft perfectly glorifted, and God the Father Ihall be glorified in him, and the Holy Ghofl: fliall be moft fully glorified in the perfe6lion of his work on the hearts of all the church. —And now fliall that new heaven and new earth, or that renewed iiate of tilings, which had been building up ever fince Chrift's refurre£lion, be completely finiflied, after the very material frame of the old heavens and old earth are deftroyed : [Rev. xxi. i.] * And I faw a new heaven

' and

. (n) Eternity.]

" Eternity, the various fentence paft, AfTignsthe fcvcr'd throng diitinft abodes, Sulphureous or ambrolial: what enfues ? The deed predominant! the deed of deeds ! Which makes a hell of hell, a heaii'n of heav'n. The goddefs, with dctcrmin'd afpe<3;, turns Pier adamantine kevs, enormous fize, Thro' dtfliny's inextricable v.-ards. Deep driviuL^ every bolt, on both their fates. Then from the ehrydal battlements of heav'n, Down, down, Hie hurls it thro' the dark profound, Ten thoufand, thoufand fathoms, there to ruft, And ne'er unlock her rcfolution more."

[Young's Night Thoughts, N. 9.]

COMPLETED IN A FUTURE STATE. 555

* and a new earth : for the firfl: heaven and the tirlT: eartii

* were pafTcd away.'—And who can conceive of the tii-umph of thofe praifes which fliall be fung in heaven on this great occafion. The beloved difciple John feems to want expreflion to defcribe the joy on the fall of antichrift, and fays, ' It was as the voice of many waters, and as the ' voice of mighty thunderings, faying Alleluia : for the

* Lord God omnipotent reigneth.' But much more inex-preffible will thofe praifes be which will be fung in heaven after the final confummation of all things: they will be mighty thunderings indeed !

And now how are all the former things pafTed away, and •what a glorious ftate arc things fixed in to remain to all eternity ! and as Chrift, when he firfl: entered upon the work of redemption after the fall of man, had the kingdom committed to him of the Father, and took on him-felf the adminiftration of tlie affairs of the univerfe, to manage all fo as to fubferve the purpofes of this affair ; lb now, the work being iinilhed, he will deliver up the kingdom to God, even tlie Father, [i Cor. xv. 24.] ' Tlien ' Cometh the end, when he iliall have delivered up the ' kingdom to God, even the Father; when he fliall have ' put down all rule, and all authority and power.' Not that Chrift fhould ceafe to reign or have a kingdom after this; for it is faid, [Luke i. 33.] ' He fliall reign over ' the houfe of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there ' fliall be no end.' [Dan. vii. 14.] ' His dominion is an ' everlafting dominion, which fhall not pafs away, and ' his kingdom that which fliall not be deftroyed.' But the meaning is, that Chrift fliall deliver up that kingdom or dominion which he has over the world, as the Father's delegate or vicegerent, to be managed in fubierviency to this great defign of redemption. The end of this commif-fion, or delegation, which he had from the Father, feems to be to fubferve this particular defign of redemption ; and theretore, when that defign is fully accompliflied, tlie coni-miflion will ceafe, and Chrift will deliver it up to the Father, from v.hom he received it.

jlB z GF.NE-

556 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT.

I PROCEED now to enter upon feme iinprovemcnc of the whole that has been faid from this dodlrine.

I. Hence we may learn how great a work this of redemption is. We have now, in an imperfe£l manner con-fidered its whole progrefs from its foundation at the fall through a long fucceffion of wonderful works, advancing higher and higher from one age to another, till the top-flone is laid at the end of the world. And now let us consider how great this work is. Do men, when they behold the palaces of princes admire their magnificence, and grandeur? How then (hould we admire this building of God, which he has been erecting for himfelf through a long fucceffion of ages. There are three things which have been mentioned, that efpecially fhow the greatncfs of this work of redemption.

(i.) The nature of thofe particular events and difpenfa-tions of Providence, by wliich it is accomplilLed. What great things were done in the world to prepare the way for Chrift's coming, and fubfeciuent purchafe of redemption! How wonderful was the incarnation of ChriH:, that God liiould become man, Ihould refide upon earth for four and thirty years in a mean, defpifed condition ; that he fhould Ipcnd his life in fucli labours and fuiferings, and at laft die "upon the crofs ! And what great things have been done to accomplilh the fuccefs of Chrift's redemption ! For this purpofe he arofe from the dead, and afcendcd up into heaven, and all things were made fubjedl: to him. How many miracles have been wrought, what mighty revolutions have been brought to pafs in the world already, and how much greater do \vc yet cxpe6l!

(2.) The number of thofe great events by which God carries on this work, fhows the greatnefs of the work.— Thofe mighty revolutions fill up many ages. The work oi creation was completed in fix days; but the great dif-pcnlaticns by which the woik of redemption is carried on, are fo many, that they fill up fix or {e\'en thoufand

years.

years. The flood, the building of Babel, the difperfion of the nations, the (hortcning of the days of man's life, the calling of Abraham, the dcilruftion of Sodom and Gomorrah s a long ferics of wonderful providences relating to Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, andjofeph; the wonders in Egypt, in the Red Sea, in the wildernefs; and a long fuc-ceffion of wonderful providences from age to age towards the nation of the Jews, all contributed in fome view to this great end. What great things were done alfo in Chrift's time, and fmce then, in overturning Satan's kingdom in the heathen empire, in preferving his church in the dark times of popery, and in bringing about the Reformation ! How many great and wonderful tilings mull be effe(5led in accompliilaing the glorious times of* the church; and at Chrift's laft coming on the day of judgment, in the de-llru<5lion ot the world, and in carrying the whole church into heaven !

(3.) The glorious iiTuc of this whole a (Fair, in thejufl and eternal deflrudtion of the wicked, and in the confuni-mate glory of the righteous. And now let us once more take a view of this building, now it is finiilied and the top-ftone laid. It appeared in a glorious height in the apollle's time; higher in the time of Confl:antine, and will appear much more glorious flill after the fall of antichrill; but at the confummation of all things, it appears in its grcatell magniticence, as a complete lofty ftru£lure, whofe top reaches to the heaven of heavens; a building worthy of the great God, the King of kings.

From what has been faid, we may infer, that the work of redemption is the grcateft of all God's works of which we have any knowledge. This work is the principal of all God's works of providence, and to this they are all reducible. All the revolutions in the world arc to fubferve this grand defign. The work of redemption is alfo greater than that ot creation, as the ufe of an houfe is the end of building it. The work of the new creation is more excellent than the old ! So it ever is, that when one thing is removed by God to make way for another, the new one excels the old. Thus the temple excelled the

tabernacle

55B HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

tabernacle; the new covenant, the old ; the new difpenfa-tion of the gofpel, the difpenfation of Mofes; the throne of David, tlie throne of Saul ; the prieflhood of Chrifl, the priefthood of Aaron; the new Jerufalem, the old; and fo the new creation far excels the old. This work of redemption is fo much the greatefl of God's works, that all the other arc to be looked upon either as parts or appendages of it, or as fome way reducible to it; and fo all the decrees of God do fome way or other belong to that eternal covenant of redemption which was between the Father and the Son before the foundation of the world.— Every decree of God is fome way or other reducible to that covenant. And feeing this is fo great a work, we need not wonder that the angels defire to look into it: that it is fo much infifted on in the Bible ; being the great fubjeft of its do6lrines, promifes, types, fongs, hiftories, and prophecies.

2. Hence we may learn that God is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of all things. Such are the charafters and titles we find often afcribed to God in thofe places where the fcripture fpeaks of the courfe of providential events; [Ifa. xli. 4.] ' Who hath wrought ' and done it, calling the generations from the beginning ?

* I, the Lord, the firll and the laft, I am he.' [See alfo Ifa. xlv. 6, 7. and xlviii. 9, 12.] And therefore, when Chrift reveals the future events of Providence relating to his church and people, and this affair of redemption, to the end of the world, to his difciple John, he often reveals himfelf under this chara6ler ; [Rev. i. 8.] 'I am Alpha ' and Omega, the beginning and the ending, faith the ' Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, ' the Almighty.' [ver. 10, 11.] 'I heard behind me a great ' voice as of a trumpet, faying, I am Alpha and Omega,

* the firft and the lafr.' Alpha and Omega are the names of the firft and lafl letters of the Greek alphabet, as ^and Z are of ours; and therefore it fignifies the fame as his being the firft and the la!l, and the beginning and the ending, ^rhus God is called in the beginning of this book, before the courfe oi the prophecy begins: and fo again at

the

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. 559

the end of it, after the final iffue of events. [Rev. xxi. 6.] ' And he faid unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Ome-

* ga, the beginning and the end.' [Chap. xxii. 12, 13.] ' And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with ' me, to give every man according as his work fliall be, ' I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the

* firft and the laft.'

We have now feen how all things were froyn God in the beginning; on what defign God began the courfe of his providence, and how it has been carried on agreeable to his defign, without ever failing : and that at laft the conclufion and final iffue of things are to God; we may therefore exclaim with the apoftle, [Rom. xi. 33, 36.] ' O the depth of the riches both of the wifdom and know-

* ledge of God ! how unfearchable are his judgments, < and his ways paft finding out ! . . . . For of him, and

* through him, and to him, are all things: to whom ' be glory for ever. Amen.' We have feen other ftates and empires, one after another, fall and come to nothing, even the greateft and ftrongeft of them ; how the world has been often overturned, and will be more remarkably fo yet than ever it has been : we have feen how the world was firft deftroyed by water, and that at laft it ftiall be utterly confumed by fire; but yet God remains the fame through all ages. He was before the beginning of this courfe of things, and he will be after the end of them. [Pfal. cii. 25, 26.] We have feen all other gods perilh; the ancient gods of the heathen in the nations about Canaan, and throughout the Roman empire, are all deftroyed, and their worihip long fince overthrown; we have feen Antichrift, who has called himfelf a god on earth, and Mahomet, who claims religious honours, and all the gods of the Gentiles, perifti: and even Satan, the great dragon, that old ferpent, who has fet up himfelf as god of this world, will he caft into the lake of fire, there to fuffer his complete punifliment: but Jehovah remains, and his kingdom is an everlafting kingdom, and of his dominion there is no end. Wc have feen mighty and

numberlefs

56o HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

numberlefs changes in the world; but God is unchangeable, * the fame yefterday, to-day, and for ever. [Hcb. Jciii. 8.]

We began at the head of the ftrcam of divine providence, and have traced it through its various windings and turnings, till we are come to the end of it, and we fee where it iffues. As it began in God, fo it ends in God.

God is the infinite ocean into which it empties itfelt

Providence is like a mighty wheel, whofe circumferance is fo high that it is dreadful; with the glory of the God of Ifracl above upon it, as it is reprefented in Ezekiel's vifion. [Ezek. i. 15. &c.] We have feen the revolution of this wheel, and how, as it was from God, fo its return has been to God again. All tiie events of divine providence are like the Jinks of a chain ; tlie iirft link is from God, and the laft is to him.

3. We may fee by wliat has been faid, how Chrifl: in all things has the pre-eminence. For this great work of redemption is all his work; and therefore being, as it were, the fum of God's works of providence, this fhows the glory of our Lord Jefus Chrifc, as being above all, and through all, and in all. That God intended tlic world for his Son's ufe in the affair of redemption, is one reafon given why he created it by him, as feems to be intimated bv the apoflle in Eph. iii. 9—12. What has been faid fliows how all the purpofes of God are in Chrift; that he is before all, and above all, and that all things confift and are governed by him, and for him. [Colof. i. t5—18.] That God has made him his firft-born, higher than the kings of the earth, and fet his throne above tlieir thrones; and upheld his kingdom, when theirs have all come to an end. We fee, that whatever changes there are, and however Chrift's enemies may exalt thcmfelves, that vet finally all his enemies fhall become his footflool, .and that he fhall reign in uncontrouled power and immenfe glory; alfo that in the end his people fliall be all perfeflly favcd and made eternally happy. Thus God gives the world to his Son for his inheritance.

(4.) Hence

(4.) Hence we may fee the confiftency, order, and beauty, of God's works of providence. If we behold thefe events in any other view than that in which they have been fet before us, they will all look like confufion, like a number of jumbled events coming to pafs without any order or method ; like the tofling of the waves of the fea; things will look as though one confufed revolution came to pafs after another, merely by blind chance, without any regular or certain end.

But if we confider the events of Providence in the light in which the fcriptures fet them before us, they appear an orderly feries of events, all wifely directed in excellent harmony and confluence, tending all to one end. The wheels of Providence are not turned round by blind chance, but they are full of eyes round about, as Ezekiel reprefents, and they are guided by the fplrit of God, [ch. i. 18—20.] where the fpirit goes, they go : and all God's works of providence, tlirough all ages, meet in one at laft, as fo many lines in one centre, (o)

It

(o) The myjler'ies of Providence.'] It is a remark of fome of the Puritan divines, that he that duly obferves the divine providences, will never want providences to obferve. And this hath always been the pradice of believers. " If thou be a Chriftian indeed, (fays pious Mr. Bait eh.) I know thou haft, if not in thy book, yet certainly in thy heart, a great many precious favours of Providence upon record." [Sants'Reft ,p. 168.] And not only on earth, but particularly in heaven, the contemplation of divine Providence will be a fource of inconceivable delight to the believer. " When the records of eternity (fays Mr. Howe) fhall be expofcd to view, all the counfels and refults of that profound wifdom looked into, how will it tranfport! when it fhall be difcerned, lo ! thus were xhc defigns laid; here were the apt junctures and dependencies of thingSj which when afted upon the ftage of time, feemed fo perplexed and intricate!" rBlcftednefs of the Righteous, p. 76.]— The fubjecl is exhauftlefs; we ftiall only add a ftiort paffage from another admirable writer of the laft centui7. '

" O how ravlftilng a fight is that! to behold at one view the whole defign of Providence, and the proper place and ufe of every finglc act, which we could not underftand in this world ; for what Chrift faid to Peter, [John xlii. 7.] is as applicable to fome provi-dences in which we are now concerned, as it was to that particular action ; * What I do thou knoweft not now, but hereafter thou

4 C ' fhalt

S6± HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

It is witli God's works of providence, as it is with his work of creation; it is but one work. The events of Providence ate not fo many diftin6l, independent works, but they are rather fo many different parts of one work, one regular fcheme. The works of Piovidence are not dif-united and jumbled without conne6lion or dependence, but are all united, juft: as the feveral parts of one building. There are many ftones, many pieces of timber, but all are fo joined, and fitly framed together, that they make but one building: they have all but one foundation, and are united at laft in one top-ftone.

God's providence may not unfitly be compared to i large and long river, having innumerable branches, beginning in different regions, and at a great difiance one from another, and all confpiring to one common iffue.— After their very diverfe and contrary courfes which they held for a while, yet they all gather more and more together,

• fhalt know it.' All the dark, Intricate, puzzling providences at which we were fometimes fo Humbled, and fometimes amazed, which we could, neither reconcile with the promife, nor with each other; nay, which we fo unjuftly ccnfared and bitterly bewailed, as if they had fallen out quite crofs to their happinefs ; we Ihall then fee to be unto us, as the difficult palfage through the wllder-nefs was unto Ifrael, ' the right way to a city of habitation.' [Pfal. Gvii. 7.]

" And yet, though our prefent views and reflexions upon Providence be fo fhort and imperfect in comparifon of that in heaven, yet fuch as it is, under all its prefent difadvantages, it hath fo much excellency and fweetnefs in it, that I may call it a little heaven, or as Jacob called his Bethel, the Gate of Heaven. It is certainly an highway of walking with God in this world, and as fweet communion may a foul enjoy with him in his providence, as in any of his ordinances. How often have the hearts of its obfer-vers been melted into tears of joy, at the beholding of its wife and unexpedled produtlions! how often hath it convinced them, upon a fober recolleftion of the events of their lives, that if the Lord had left them to their own counfels, they had as often been their own tormentors, if not executioners! Into what, and how many fatal mif-chiefs had they precipitated themfelves, if Providence had been as fhort-fighted as they ! they have given it their hearty thanks, for confidering their intereft more than their importunity, and not fuf-fering them to perifli by their own d^fires." [Flavel on Providence, page 11, 12.3

gether, the nearer they come to their common end, and all at length difcharge thenifclves at one mouth into the fame ocean. The different ftreams of this river are apt to appear confufed to us, becaufe of the limited nature of our fight, whereby we cannot fee the whole at once, nor dif-cover how they unite in one. Their courfe feems very crooked, and diiFerent ftreams feem to run for a while different and contrary ways: and if we view things at a dif-tance, there feem to be innumerable obflacles and impediments in the way cf their ever uniting, and coming to the ocean, as rocks, mountains, and the like ; but yet if we trace them, they all unite at laft, difgorging themfelves in one into the fame great ocean.

5. From what has been faid, we infer, that the fcrip-tures are the word of God, becaufe they alone inform us what is Gcd's defign in all thcfe works. It is mofl reafon-able to fuppofe, that theie is fome certain fcheme to which Providence fubordinates all the great fucceffive changes in the affairs of mankind ; that all revolutions, from the beginning of the world to the end of it, are confpiring to bring to pafs that great event which the great Creator and Governor of the world has ultimately in view ; and that the plan will not be finiilied, nor the ultimate event fully accoraplillied, till the end of the world.

Now there is nothing eife that informs us what this fcheme and defign of God in his works is, but only the holy fcripture. Nothing elfe pretends to fet in view the whole Icries of God's works of providence from beginning to end, and to inform us how all things were from God at firfl, and to what end they fhall be brought at laft,— Nothing but the fcripture fets forth how God governed the world from the beginning, in an orderly hiftory ; or how he will govern it to the end, by an orderly prophecy of future events: agreeable to the challenge which the •God of Ifrael makes to the gods, and prophets, and teachers of the heathen. [Ifa. xli. 22, 23] ' Let them, bring ' them forth, and fliew us what Ihall happen : let them ' iliew the former things what they be, that we may con-' lldcr theni, and know the latter end of them: or declare

4 C 2 * us

564 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

* us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come

* hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods.'

It feems very fit and requifite, that the rational part of the creation fhould know fomething of God's fcheme and defign in his works: for they doubtlefs are the beings principally concerned in them ; efpecially feeing God has given them reafon, and a capacity of feeing him in his works : for this end, that they may give him the glory of them. But how can they glorify God in his works, if they know nothins of his defifins ? And this feems farther rea-fonable, becaufe they are made capable of a6lively falling in with and pronouncing that defign, ailing herein as his friends and fubje6ls ; it is therefore reafonable to fuppofe, that God has given mankind fonie revelation to inform them of this: but there is nothing elfe that does it, but the Bible. In that we may learn the firft original of things, and an orderly account of the fcheme of God's works from the beginning, through ages beyond the reach of all other hiftories. Here we are told what is the grand end that God purpofes, and the great things he defires to exhibit. Here we have an account of thefe worthy of God, and the glory of his perfevStions.

Here we learn the conne6lions of the various parts of the work of Providence, in a regular, "beautiful, and glorious frame, and have an account of the whole fcheme of Providence, from the beginning of the world to the end of it, either in hiftory or prophecy, and how they iflue in the fubduing of God's enemies, and in the falvation and glory of his church, and erecting the everlafting kingdom of his Son.

How rational, ufeful, and excellent a book is the Bible, and what charadters it bears of being a divine revelation ! a book, without which, we fhould be left in miferable dafknefs and confufjon.

6. From what has been faid, we may fee the glorious majefty and power of God in this affair of redemption.—-His power appears in upholding his church for fo long a time, and carrying on this work ; preferving it oftentimes when it was but as a little fpark of fire, or as fmoaking

fkx,

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. 565

flax, in which the fire was ahnoft: extindl. Yet God has never fufFercd it to be quenched, but will bring forth judgment unto vidlorv. God glorifies his ftrength in his cliurcli's weaknefs ; in caufjng his people, who are but like little infants, finally to triumph over all earth and hell; fb that they fhall tread on the lion and adder ; the young lion and dragon fhall they trample under foot. [Pf. xci. 13.] The power of God appears alio in conquering his many and mighty enemies by that Jefus who was once an infant in a manger, and afterwards a poor, weak, defpifed man; yet he conquered, and triumphed over them in their own weapon, the crofs.

God's power glorioufly appears in conquering Satan when exalted in his flrongefl: and moll: potent heathen kingdom, the Roman empire. Chrift, our Michael, has overcome him, and the devil was call out, and there was found no more place for him in heaven ; but he was caft out unto the earth, and his angels with him. Again, his power glorioufly appears in conquering him in his proud, fubtle, and above all cruel, antichriftian kingdom; particularly in Satan's moft violent exertions juft before its final fall.

The mighty kingdoms of Antichrift and Mahomet, which have made fuch a figure tor many ages together, and have trampled the world under foot, when Chrift appears, will vanilh away like a lliadow, or as the darknefs in a room does, when the light is brought in. What arc God's enemies in his hands? How is their greatefl ftrength weaknefs when he raifes up ! and how weak will they all appear together at the day of judgment ! Thus we may apply thofe words in the long of Mofes. [Exod. XV. 6.] ' Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in ' power : thy right hand, O Lord, hath dallied in pieces the * enemy.' And how great doth the majerty of God appear in overturning the world from time to time, to ac-complifh his defigns, and at laft in caufing the earth and heavens to fiee away, for the advancement of vhc glory of

his kingdom !

7. From

566 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

"J. From what has been faid, we may fee the glorious wifdom of God. This wifdom appears in creating the world for fo great and important ends; in bringing fo great good out of fuch evil, in making the fall and ruin of mankind, which in itfelf is fo lamentable, an occafion of efPedting fuch a glorious work as this of redemption, and of bringing his elecl to a ftate of fuch unfpeakable happinefs. How doth the wifdom of God appear alfo in the long fe-ries of revolutions which take place in the world, in bringing fuch order of confufion, in fo fruftrating the devil, and turning all his fubtle machinations to God's glory, and the honour of his Son Jefus Chriil: ; and in cauiing the greateft works of Satan to be wholly turned into occa-fions of glorious triumph of the great Redeemer ! How wonderful is the wifdom of God, in bringing all things to fuch a glorious period at laft, and in fo dire6ling all the wheels of providence by his fkilful hand, ihat every one of them confpires as the manifold wheels of a moft curious machine, at laft to flrike out fuch an excellent if-fue, fuch a manifeftacion of the divine glory, fuch happinefs to his people, and fuch a glorious and everlafting kingdom to his Son!

8. From what has been faid, we may fee the liability of God's mercy and faithfulnefs to his people; that he never forfakes his inheritance, and remembers his covenant to them through all generations. Now we may fee the truth of our text, ' The moth Hiall eat them up like a

* garment, and the worm ftiall cat them like wool; but

* my righteoufnefs fliall endure for ever and ever, and my

* falvation from generation to generation.' And now we may difcover the propriety of that name by which God reveals himfelf unto Mofes. [Exod. iii. 14.] ' And God

* faid unto Mofes, / am that I am:'' i. e. I am the fame that I was when I entered into covenant with Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, and ever rtiall be the fame ; I keep covenant for ever; I am felf-fufficient, all-fufficient, and immutable.

And now we may fee the truth of that word, [Pfa. xxxvi. 5, 6.] * Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens;

* and

« and thy faithfulnefs reaclicth unto the clouds.—Thy « ri^iteoufnefs is like the great mountahis; thy judgments « arc a -reat deep.' And if we conhder what has been faid, welieed not wonder that the Pfalmift, in the cxxxvith Pfalm, fo often repeats this, For his mercy endureth for ever- as if he were in an ecftacy at the confideration of the perpetuity of God's mercy to his church, and delighted to repeat it. Let us with like pleafure and joy celebrate the everlafting duration of God's mercy and faithfulneis^to his church and people, and let us be comforted by it unuer the prefent dark circumftances of the church of God, and all the uproar and confufions that are m the world. And let us take encouragement earneftly to pray for thofe glorious things which God has promifed to accompli^ tor his church.

9. Hence we may learn how happy a fociety the church of Chrift is. For all this great work was for their lakes both undertaken and carried on ; even becaufe he has loved them with an everlafting love. For their fakes he overturns ftates and kingdoms. For their fakes he fliakes heaven and earth. He gives men for them, and people for their life. [See lia. xliii. 4-1 Since they have been precious in God's fight, they have been honourable ; and therefore he firft gives the blood of his own Son to them, and then, for their fakes, gives the blood of all their enemies. For their fakes he made the world, and for their fakes he will deftroy it: (p) for their fakes he built heaven,

and

(p) The DESTRUCTION of the World.-] " If one fhould now go about to reprefei.t the world on fire, with all the confufions that ncceffarily muft be in nature and in mankind upon that occafion, it would feem to moft men a romantic fcene ; yet we are fure there muft be fuch a fcene : the heavens will pafs away with a noile, and the elements will melt with fervent heat, and all the works ot the earth will be burnt up. We think it a great matter to fee a fino-le perfon burnt alive ; here are millions Hirieking in the hames at once. It is frightful to us to look upon a great city in flames, and to fee the diftraaions and mlfery of the people ; here is an uni-verfal fire through all the cities of the earth, and an univerial mal-facre of their inhabitants. Whatfoever the prophets foretold ot the

delolations

568 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

and for their fakes he makes his angels miniftering fpirits, Therefore the apoftle fays, [i Cor. iii. 21, &c.] ' Ail

* things are yours: whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas,

* or the world, or life, or death, or things prefent or ' things to come; all are yours.' How blefled is this people who are redeemed from among men, and are the tirfi; fruits unto God, and to the Lamb ; who have God in all ages for their proteiflion and help ! [Deut. xxxiii. 29.] ' Happy art thou, O Ifrael: who is like unto thee, O

* people faved by the Lord, the fhield of thy help, and ' who is the fvvord, thy excellency ! and thine enemies

* fliall be found liars unto thee, and thou flialt tread upon

* their high places.'

Let

defolations of Judea, Jerufalem, or Babylon, [Ifa. xxiv. Jer. li.' Lament.] in the liigheft ftrains, is more than literally accomplifiied in this laft and general calamity ; and thofe only that are fpec-tators of it, can make its hillory. But it is not poffible from any ttation, to have a full profpeft of this laft fcene of the earth ; for it is a mixture of fire and darknefs. This new temple is filled w ith fmoke, while it is confecrating, and none can enter into it. But I am apt to think, if we could look down upon this burning world from above the clouds, and have a full view of it, in all its parts, we fiiould think it a lively reprefentation of Hell itfelf. For fire and darknefs are the two chief things by which that ftate, or that place, ufcs to be defcribed; and they are both here mingled together, with all other ingredients that make that Tophet that is prepared of old. [Ifa. xxx.] Here are lakes of fire and brimftone ; rivers of melted glowing matter; ten thoufand volcano's vomiting flames all at once ; thick darknefs, and pillars of fmoke twift-cd about with wreaths of flame, like fiery fnakes; mountains, of earth thrown up into the air, and the heavens dropping down ia lumps of fire. Thefe things will be all literally true, concerning that day, and that ftate of the earth. And if wc fuppofe Beelzebub, and his apoftcite crew, in the midft of this fiery furnace (and I know not where they can be elfe ;) it will be hard to find any part of the univerfe, or any ftate of things, that cinfwers to fo many of the properties and charafters of Helh as this which is now before us. But if we fuppofe the ftorm over, and that the fire hath got an entire viftory over all other bodies, and fubdued every thing to itfelf; the conflagration will end in a deluge of fire, or in a fea of fiie, covering the whole globe of the earth. But let us only, to take leave of this fubjeft, refledl upon this occafion, on the vanity and tranfient glory of all this habitable world ; how, by the force of one clement breaking loofe iij5on the reft, all the varieties

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. 569

Let the enemies of the church exalt themfelves as much as they will, thefe are the people that fhall finally prevail. The laft kingdom fhall be theirs; and Ihall not be left to other people. [See Dan. ii. 44.] We have feen what a bleflbd ifTue things fhall finally be brought to as to tlicm, and what glory they fliall arrive at, and remain in pofTef-fion of, for ever and ever, after all the kingdoms of the world are come to an end, and the earth is removed, and 4 D mountain^

rieties of nature, all the wonders of art, all the labours of men are reduced to nothing ; all that we admired and adored before, as great and magnificent, is obliterated, or vaniiTied ; and another form and face of things, plain, fimple, and every where the fame, ovcrfpreads the whole earth. Where are now the great empires of the world, and their great imperial cities ? their pillars, trophies, and monuments of glory ? Shew me where they flood, read the infcription, tell me the victor's name. What remains, what impreffions, what difference or diflinftion do you fee in this mafs of fire ? Rome itfelf, eternal Rome, the great city, the emprefs of the world, whofe domination and fuperftition, ancient and modern, make a great part of the hiftory of this earth ; what is become of her now ? She laid her foundations deep, and her palaces were ftrong and fumptuous : She glorified hcrfelf, and lived dcli-cioully, and faid in her heart, I fit a queen, and fnall fee no for-row. But her hour is come, fhe is wiped away from the face of the earth, and buried in perpetual oblivion. But it is not cities only, and works of men's hands, but the everlafting hills, the mountains and rocks of the earth, are melted as wax before the fun ; and their place is no where found.

[*' The cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces,

The folcmn temples, the great globe itfelf,

Yea all which it inherits fhall diffolve.

And like the bafelefs fabric of a vifion

Leave not a wreck behind."

Shakespeare.] " Here flood the Alps, a prodigious range of ftone, the load of the earth, that covered many countries, and reached their arms from the ocean to the Black Sea ; this huge mafs of ftcnc is fof-tened and difFolved, as a tender cloud, into rain. Kere flood the African mountains, and Atlas with his top above the clouds. There was frozen Cancafus, and Taurus, and Imaus, and the mountains of Afia. And yonder towards the north, flood the Ripha;an hills, cloathcd in ice and fnow. All thefe are vanifhed, dropped away as the fnow upon their heads, and fwallowed up in a red fea of fire. [Rev. xv. 3.] Great and marvellous are thy works. Lord God Almighty ; jiill and true are thy ways, thou King- of Saints. Hallelujah."

570 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

mountains are carried into the depth of the fea, or where the fea was, and this lower eartli iliall all be diffolved. O Jiappy people, nnd blefled fociety ! Well may they fpend an eternity in praifes and hallelujahs to him who hath loved them from eternity, and will love them to eternity. ((>^)

lO. And, laflly, hence all wicked men, all that are in Chriftlcfs condition, may fee their exceeding mifery.— You that are fuch, have no part or lot in this matter : you are never the better for any of thole things of which you have heard ; but your guilt is fo much the greater, and the mifery you are expofed to the more dreadful. You are fome of thofe againft whom God, in the progrefs of the work, exercifes fo much manifeft wrath; fome of thofe enemies who are liable to be made Chrifl's footftool, to be ruled vvith a rod of iron, and to be dalhed in pieces. You are fome of the feed of the ferpent, to bruife the head of which is one great defign of all this work. Whatever glorious things God accomplilhes for his church, if you continue in the ftate you are now in, they will not be glorious to you. The mod glorious times of the church are always the mofc difmal times to the wicked and impenitent. And v.'herever glorious things are foretold concerning the church, there terrible things are predidled of the wicked. Its enemies. [See Ifa. Ixvi. 14.] And fo it ever has been In facl; in all remarkable deliverances wrou^^ht for the church, there has been as reiViarkablc an

execution

( Q^) The felicity o/Keaven.] One of the moft beautiful ideas that the fcripture gives us of the glory of heaven is, that it fhall confill in the fig-ht and enjoyment of the deity in the perfon of Jefus Chrift. " Grand idea of heavenly felicity, my brethren! Glorified believers fhall fee with their eyes the glorious body of Jefus ChrilU What joy to contemplate this objeft! What delight, if I may fpeak fo, when the rays of the deity, always too bright and confounding for mortal eyes to behold, fiiall be foftcned to our fight in the perfon of Jefus Chrift! What tranfporting joy to fee the grcateft miracle that was ever included in the plans of the wifdom of Godf What felicity to behold in the body of Jefus Chrift a right of approaching with confidence to a familiarity with God! ' Wc know that, when he fliall appear, we Ihall be like him, for we Jhall fee him as he is." i John iii. 2. [Saurin's Scr. XII. vol. iii.]

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. 571

execution of wrath on its enemies. Thus, when God delivered the children of Ifracl out of Egypt, he poured out his wrath on Pharaoh and the Egyptians. So when he brought them into Canaan by Jofhua, and gave them that good land, he remarkably executed wrath upon the Canaanites. When they were delivered out of their Baby-lonifli captivity, fignal vengeance was infiifted on the Babylonians. So when the Gentiles were called, and the ele6t of God were faved by the preaching of the apoftles, Jerufalem and the perfecuting Jews were deftroyed in a mofl: awful manner. I might obferve the fame concerning the glory accomplillied to the church in the days of Con-flantine, at the overthrow of Satan's viiible kingdom in the downfall of antichriA:, and at the day of judgment. In all thefe inftances, and efpecially in the lail, there have been, or will be, exhibited moft awful tokens of the divine wrath againfc the wicked.

You are indeed fomc of thofe that God will make ufe of in tliis affair; but it will be for the glory of his juftice (r) and not of his mercy. The enemies of God

iliall

(r) God imU make life of fome Jintiers to dfplay his Justice.] This alludes to the dotlrine of reprobation, which is neither more nor lefs than the neceffary confequence of eleftion ; for if, out of a world of finners God clefts a part to everlafting life, the remainder mr.ft be left to the confequences of their own fin. Tlifs note is not intended to difcufs the truth of that doftrine, but only to offer a few hints with a view of obviating, in fome meafure the force of a popular o'ojeflion.

It is commonly faid that this fuppofition involves the damnation of a great inajoriiy of the human fpccics; but this we apprehend a vulgar miftake. In the fird place we admit the falvation of all infants, dying before tliey attain the proper exercife of their rea-fon, vidiich are of tliemfclves fuppofed the greater half of mankind; to which we add ideots, who are as to their mental powers exadlly in the fame fituation. We hope, moreover, that God has in all ages and nations been pleafed to form to himfelf a people (though known only to himfelf) who are enabled to ' ftar God and work * rightcoufncfs ;' for we think that the heathens who never liad the advantage of a written revelation, claim our charity far beyond the Chriftian world (fo called) who neglod or defpifc it. [Sec note z, p. 514.] We believe that in the woriHlate ol" religion among its profeflbrs, God rcicrved to himfelf thoufands offincere worfhippers,

-)- D 3 [See

572 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.

fhall be referved for the triumph of Chrift's glorious power in overcoming and puniihing them, and fliall be confumed with this accurfed world after the day of judgment, when Ctirift arid his church ihall triumphantly and glorioufly afcend to heaven. Therefore let all that are in a Chriftlefs condition a;r!ongfl: us feriouily confider thefe things, and not be like the foolifli people of the old world, who would not take warning, when Noah told them that the Lord was about to bring a flood of waters upon the earth; or like the people of Sodom, who would not flee from the wrath to coime, and fo were confumed in that terrible de-ftruciion. (s)

And

[See note l, p. 62.] Add thefe to the millions of faithful martyrs, and the more innumerable multitudes that have, or will form the church of God in all ages; and the objection in great meafure, at lead, vanifhes. But if we extend our thoughts to higher worlds ; if we include the thoufands of thoufands of angelic fpirits that wait on God's immediate prefence, or execute the orders of his throne; if we allow ourfelves to venture fo far into the modern philofophy, as to fuppofe that other planets may be inhabited as well as ours—and that the fixed ftars may be funs to other fyftems of habitable globes—who can tell but there may be as many worlds, m^y Jv/Iems of worlds, of innocent and happy intelligent creatures, as mifcrable and guilty individuals? [G. E.]

(s) JLeiJinners take v/arning.] We Hiallconclude thefe notes With the following animated paffage, from a fermon preached on cccafion of the earthquakes in London, 1749. " So impreft do I find my mind with the weight and moment of eternal things, that I could, methinks, wifli I had a voice that would reach as far as

this noife and convulfion did : and if I had, I would repre-

fent, that if the convulfion of an earthquake is fo dreadful, how dreadful that fcene mud be, when all things fhall be diffolved; the heavens pafs away with a great noife, and the elements melt with fervent heat, the earth and the things that are thereon, not only fiiaken, but burnt up.—I would reprefent the horror and af-frightment which will feize the fouls of fmners, when the archangel with the trump of God fliall (hake the whole creation; when they fhall call for the rocks and mountains to fall upon them, and the earth opening and fwallowing them up would be a blefTing, if it would hide them from the wrath of God, and the Lamb.—1 would difplay the vanity of building on any thing in this uncertain convulfivc world, and the wretchednefs of the men who have cho-fen their portion in this life.—And, finally, I would hail every faint and child of God (every one who b^' faith in Chrifl, ferious

religion,

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. 573

And now I would conclude my difcourfe in thefe words from the laft of the Revelation: " Thefe fayings are faithful and true, and blcfTcd is he that keepeth thefe fayings. Behold, Chrlil: cometh quickly, and his reward is with him, to render to every man according as his work fhall be. And he that is unjuft, (hall be unjuft Aill ; and he that is filthy, Ihall be filthy ftill ; and he that is holy, fhall be holy ftill, Bleffed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city : for without are dogs, and forcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whofoever loveth and ma-keth a lie. He that teftifieth thefe things, faith, Surely 1 come quickly. Amen ; even fo come Lord Jefus." [Rev. xxii. 6, &c.]

religion, and a good confcience towards God, can lay his humble claim to the promifes and hopes of the gofpel) as the happiefl among men. Such convulfions as thefe we have now felt, make on his mind reverential impreffions of the power and majefly of God ; but cannot hurt, nor need they give him any ilavifh terror. His God is his refuge and llrength, a very prefent help in trouble ; therefore he need not fear, though the earth be removed, and the mountains be carried into the midft of the fea :" [Pfa. xlvi.J Nay more,

*' Should the whole frame of nature break.

In ruin and confufion hurl'd ; He unconcern'd might hear the mighty crack, And Hand fecure amidft a falling world."

[Dr. Allen's Ser. on defpifing reproofs.]

FINIS.

•■^t* The Articles referring to the Text only, are diJlinguiJJied hy the Page; thfe to the Notes only, by a Letter prefixed to the page; [as s 79. i. e. Note s page 79,] thoje that refer to both Text and Note have the Letter added after the Page: \_as 88 and x, Page 88 and Note x.]

Page.

.BEL's facrifice, s 79

■— his chara6ler, — ib.

— his death, — 88 &: x Abraham, Jewifti tradition of

him. T 126

— his calling, — 126, &c.

— his divine vidon, 140 & z

— pleads for Sodom, c 155 Achan's fin andpunifliment,

191 & w

Adam and Eve, their nakednefs,

p 69

— their eyes opened, p 70

— their aprons, what, f /1

— their penitence andfalvation,

84& u Age^ how that term is ufed, d 46

See Cctitury. Agony, Chrilt's, 344, 34c, & p & 0^ Ahaz, the fign given hiiii, 231 & o

— his danger and deliverance246 Alaric and his Goths c 423 Alban, St. martyred, s 410 Alcuin oppofed Pcjiery, s 442 Alexander's conqutlis, 285 &, n

— he f})ares tlie Jeu's, 290 & q^ America, peopling of, 464 & k

ti'nht _ B 44

Anabaptift^, German, 460

— Modern Englifn, 460 & f Angel,Chi-ift lb called, a 199&C.

See Ap/earances. Angels, Chrift their head, 59

— miniftring fpiritsio Chrift 66

— Redemption made known to

them, 66 & o &c.

— condii6led Abel's foul to glory 83 & Y

Angels, how employed about

Redemption, • 357

Antediluvian hiflory concife I o r

& K

Anthony St. his power over fire,

s 488

Antichrifi:, who, f 429

— his kingdom, 428, 429

— its commencement, 430, 43 r

& H

— its rife gradual, 431 & i

— its h\\, 508

— propliecies concerning, 486

to 494 Antiochus Epiphanes perfe-cutes the Jews, 291, 292 & r

— his death, — 293 & t

AvTTi-J vy^a., —' R 76

Apoftai'y, the lafi: grand,528, 529 Apoftles, their commillion, 278

— preached in Britain, 0^407

Appearances of Chrift before the Incarnation 66 &c n —p 71 — 198, 199 & A •

— to Adam, 66 & n —• to Abraham, 140, c 154

— to Jacob, 11; 7 & E

— to Moles, 167 & I, 198

— to the feventy elders, ib.

— to Jcfluia, ib.

— to Daniel, 271

Arabians, coiiverted by Origen,

425, E 426 Arius and Arianifm, 420 & x Arianifm, its revival, 462

Armada, the Spanifh, 452 & x Arminius and Arminianifm, 461 Afcenfion, Chrift's, 375

Afs, Balaam's, fpake, s 184 Athanafius, St. and his creed, X 420 Attila

Attila and his Huns, c 423

Aiigultin, St. his converfionand

writings, 421 & y

Auftin converts ti:e Britons, e

. 427

B

Babel, its building and deftruc-tion, 112 to 118 & CL

Babylon's deftruclion, 273 & e

foretold by the Prophets,

ib. Babvlon, whv Rome was fo called, ' 387

grand enemy of the

church, 3S7

BabylonifU captivity, 260

cured the Jews of idolatry,

261

prepared the way for

Chrift, 262

Balaam's prophecy, 184 & s

his afs fpake, s 184

Baptifm, Chrift's, 331

Chriftian, inftituted, 379

Baptift, John, Chrift's forerunner, 329 His office very honourable, 330 &H

Baptifts. See Anahaptifls.

Barbarians, gofpel preached to

them, 425, 426, &E

Beail, myftical, his mark,u 493

his image, f 429

Beauty of the church in the

Milennium, 525

Biography, its utility, 3

Birth of Chrift, _ 314

in the fulnefs of time,

314, A 316

at Bethlehem, 317 & e

Bleffing, Noah's, on Shem,

p 115 Brainerd, Mr. J. his million

among the Indians, l 465 Brethren, who fo called by the

Hebrews, p 113

Britain, gofpel preached here b\ the apoftles, Q^407

Popery brought in by

Auftin, F 427

Bull, Rev. Mr. of New England, o 473

Burgundians, how converted, 425 E 426

Bufli, burning,

167

Cain, his facrificeand charafter, s 80

Murders Abel, 88 ^ x

mark fet on him, o 99

Calling on the name of the Lord, 89 & z

Calling of Abraham, 126, &c. Calves, golden, 238

Canaan, his crime, phi

Canaanites deftroyed, p 11 3 Candleftick, golden, typical, p 233 Canon compiled by Ezra,

280 & I

— completed by Rlalachi, 285 Canticles, book of, its excellency, 17

— its divine authority, s 241 Captivity, Eabylonifli, 260 Captives, feveral nations converted by means of,42 5, e 426

Celfus, enemy of Chriftianity, s 349, L 401

Century, witnefTes of the trutii in every century, s 442

Century,' the tenth, its character, Jb.

Children, feveral converted very young, o 47^

Chrift, his fulnefs and glory,

28

— the head of all things, 59 & i

— begins to execute his media-torial office, 64, &c.

— the defire of all nations, x 257

— generally expefted, 266 & b

— the grand fubjeft of the Bible, 50^

Chrift

Chrift appeared in the fecond temple, 321

Chrift, his death an aft of obedience, 325 & F

— obeyed and honoured the law, 326, 328

— his fecond coming to judgment, 530, 533, 534 &D

— takes his church with him from this world, ' 545

— afcends with her to the higheft heavens, 55^5 55-

— refigns his mediatorial kingdom, _ 555

— has in all things the preeminence, 560 See Appearances and Jefus.

Chriftianity perfecuted more

than other religions, 480 & r

Church of Chrift, its happinefs,

44

wonderfully preferved, 97,

482, 484

her fufferings ended, p8

Church, Jewifli, its glory in Solomon's time, 235

declined foon after 237

this made way for Chrift"s

coming, 239, 240

preferved when the ftate

declined, 243

Church's profperity inConftan-tine's time, 412, 413

Cneph, an idol, 0^7 3

Colchians converted to Chriftianity, 423 Cole, Dr. anecdote of, p 459 College of prophets, 204 & c Comfort, fpiritual fource of, 26,27 Communion, ftrange terms of, 6 Compafs, invention of, 468 Conception of Chrifr, 313 Conflagration of the world, 544 p 567 Confufion oftongues, qj20,&;c. Conftantine's vifionand viftory, 411, 412, & u Contemplation on God's glory,

17

Contemplation on the works of

Nature, i S

Converfions, remarks in New

England, ^ Al^

See Go/pel.

Conviftion of fin, 28, 29

Covenant, rites of, among the

Hebrews, z 140

among the Greeks, z 141

-—— am.ongthe Romans, z 142

of redemption, 50, 5i,&e

of grace,

renewed with Noah, 109

& o

with Abraham, 134

with Jacob, 156

with David, 219

Councils, eccleftaftical, inftitu-

tion of, 383 &■ G

Crown of Judah preferved in

David's family, 228

, that of Ifrael often

changed, 230

Crucifixion of Ciirift,347 to 350

afted at Lifbon, t 491

Cruelty of popery, 454 & z

See Perfecution. Curfe, Canaan's, p 111

Cyrus permits the Jews to return and re-build the temple, 274

D

Daniel's prophecies, 255, 285 & N

feventy weeks, 272 & d

vifion of goat and leopard,

285 & N

Danifh miiiionaries in the Eaft Indies, 468 & m Darknefs, miraculous at the crucifixion, t 349 David anointed, 207 & e , his life wonderfully preferved, 210 &: H

, Ills Pfalms, 215

made king, 2 17

, Goil's covenant renewed.

with, 219

David

David conquered the whole land of Canaan, 2ig, 220

, his character, m 220

improved the Jewifli fer-

vice, 225

a type of Chrifl, 226

anc'eftor of Chrift,228 & n

Domitian, a cruel perfecutor,

o 404

Dort, fynod of, 461 & n

Dragooning of the Proteftants, B 456

Drunk, Noah, p 110

Death and dying words of Pref.

Edwards, 12, 13

ofChrifl:, 347 to 350

of Chrift and Socrates

compared, y 353

of Julian the apoftate, 422

& z of Rofleau and Voltaire,

P 474

Deacons firfl appointed, 382

Deaconnefles in the primitive

church, F 382

Deifm, its fpread in England,

462, 474 & p

Delaware Indians defire the gof-

pel, _ _ w 499

Delight in religion, 19

Denis, St. his treafury, t 490

Defcent, Chrifl's into hell,

w 350, B 372

Defign, God's in redemption,

60 & K

— of Chrifl's Inimillation, 362 Deftruftion of the church's enemies, 104 & M

of Sodom, ^'c. 15210154

&c

Diar\', extract from Mr. Edwards's, 24

Dilficulties of an Indian miffio-nary,' l 465

Dionyfius, the Areopagite, 297

& X

Difpenfations of Providence

dark before Chrift came, 63,

82

Difperfion of the nations, 122

Divinity of Chrift, a 199

Do6trines of the gofpel fully

revealed in the New Tefta-

ment, 380, 381

—— of the Waldenfes, t 444

4E

Eaftern idolatry, u 131 Edwards, Pref. his birth, 4 education, ib.

- entrance on the miniftry, ib.

appointed tutor of Yale

college, ib.

fixed at Northampton, 5

difference with his church,

ib. his difmiftion from them,

.. 7, S attempts a reconciliation,

8, 9

appointed mifuonary at

Stockbridge, 12

appointed prefident of Jer-

fey College, ib.

his death, ib.

his dying words to his

daughter, 13

experience, 14 to 30

remarks on, 30, 31

— his delight in meditation, 17

thirft for holinefs, 20, 25

delight in the fcripture, 23

ficknefs, 24

fenfe of union to Chrift,

20 to 26

conviftion of fin, 28, 29

writes the hiftory of Redemption, 31

his ftudy and excrcife, 32

his charafter, 8, 9, 32, 33

his works, 33\34

his account of the revival

of rehgion in New England,

470, 471 &o

Egyptian idolatry, u 130

Empire, Perfian, deftroyed, 284

Empire

Empire, Grecian, erected, 284, 285 & N

divided, 286 & o

deftroyed, 293, 294

Roman, erefted, ib.

at its height, 298

Encouragement for finners, 359,

360

End of the world, meaning of

that phrafe, 363, 364

Enemies, the church's fliall pe-

rifli, 43, 44, 56, 57, 104 & M

England, perfecution here,

410 & s, 457 See Britain. Enoch's charaifler, 92 & a

■ prophecy, 93 & b

tranilation, 95 & c

Enoch, pretended book of, b 94 H 100 Enthnfiafts hurt rehgion,

460 & G Eternity, contemplation of,

N 554

of hell torments, 546 & k

Events, typical, of Chrift's 2d

ccrming, 367, 369

Eve's hope of Cain, vv 86

See Adam. Eunuch, his converfion, u 250 Eyes opened, what, p 70

Ezra's commiffion from Babylon, 277 — expounds the law, 278 & h

book of, 279

Expence of popery, m 434, 435 Ezekiel's prophecy, 270

Faith, modern popifli, 0^476 Fall of Man, 64 ruins of, God's defign to

reftore, 57, 58 & h

Fall of Antichrifi: gradual, 498

the work of God, 499

Falfe Chrifts before Jerufalem's

deftruftion, i 398

Favin, Is. martyr, b 456

Fees of the Pope's chancery,

M 434

Flood, Noah's, 102 to 104 A: m Forbearance, God's, 65 & m For-tver^ its import, 46 & d Folly of inattentive reading the

fcriptures, 308 France, converfion of, F 427 Frank, ProfefTor, 469, 470 &n Frogs, unclean fpirits, 503 Fi-umentius preaches in India, 425, F 426 Fulfilment of prophecies, 485, &c. as to the prefervation of

the church, 485 as to Antichrift, 486 to

494

Fulgentius, his timidity, n 436

Future ftate revealed under the

Old Teftament, 96

fuccefs of the gofpel how

it may probably be accom-pliflied, 500, 501 & \T

Gemara and Mifhna, quoted, r

348 Genealogy, the Virgin Mary's 228 & N Genferic and the Vandalls, c 423 Georgia, orphan houfe at, o 473 Giants, what, h 100

Glauca hall, 469, 470 & n

Glory, Redemption completed

in,' 532

See Heaven. Gnoftics, their herefy, d 424 God the A and n in Redemption

558, 559

Gog and Magog, army of, 529

Gofpel revealed to the angels,

o 67 to 70

to Adam, 69 to 75 & p

its fuccefs in the apoftolic times, — 388, &c.

among the Jews, 389, 390

arnong the Samaritans,391

among the Gentiles, 392,

394

means of falvation, 413

Gofpel,

Gofpel, its fiiccefs, owing to a divine power, — 417

foretold, 418

among the Barbarians, 425,

426 & E

means of, e 426

in the Indies, 425

in Ireland, 426

in Britain, Qs.407

in Scotland, w 499

among the American In-

dians, 463, 464, L 466, w 497, &c.

oppofitlon to it, proves its

divinity, 479, &:c.

fuccefs of, fince the Reformation, 462, &:c.

in Miifcovy, - ib.

in America, 0471,473

Goths converted to Chriltianity, 425, E 426

Grace triumphant over guilt, 57 2c G

Grant of the earth to Noah, 108

Grecians, foreign Jews, 269,&c.

Greek language general, 287

prepared the way for propagating the gofpel, 288

^tranllation of Old Tefta-

ment, 288, 289, & p

Gregory XIII. his impiety a 455

H

Haggai's prophecy, 277 &: g Hall, Rev. Mr. letter to, 10

Haman, Jews delivered from, 282, & L Ham's crime and curfe, p 110

— pofterity, PI14

Hannibal's exclamation, P113 Haran's pretended death, p 12 7 Head of all things, Chriit:,!;9&L Heart, man's, evil, loi & i

Heaven created for the eleft, 52 & F

hofi: of, worfliipped, u 130

journey to, v 131

and earth, new, 58,365,

554

Heaven, happinefs of, 570 & q^ Heavenly believer's journey

hither, v 131

Heathen, falvation of, l62,i7i,

z 514

oracles, 408 & r

Heathens boaft, having dcftroy-

ed Chriftianity, 411

Heathenifni deftroyed, 41210

414

Hebrew idiom, r 78

Hell, this world whether, 546 to

550 & L

— its torments eternal, 546 & k

— Milton's defcriptionof, l 551 Herefies, rife of, 420, d 424

their final end, 508

Heretics not allowed to trade,

u 493

Hermes, 0^73

Herod, King in Judea, g 163 High Church perfecutors, 458, & c Hogs, maflacre of, Q^ 7 3

Holinefs, its nature, 21

Holv of Holies, tvpical of what, 253 &p Honour of the Saints at the laft

day, — . 544

Horeb and Sinai, how diftin-

guiflied, I 167

Horns, ten,beafls with, 422,4123,

& B

Hofea, the firft who wrote his

prophecies, 247

Humility, its excellence, 22

its time nature, 29

Hufs, John, martyred, 446 &c w Hyperbolies in religion, 29

Hypocrites admitted to the

Lord's Supper, 6

Januarius, St. his blood, s 488

Janus, the temple of, 299 & v

Japhet's territory, i' 116

4 E s Jacob'6

Jacob's ladder, typical, 156 & d

wicftling, 15 7 Sc E

■ prophecy, 161 & g

death, — G 161

Iberians converted to Chriilia-

nity, 425

Jefuits expelled Japan, r 4S0 Idolatry, origin of, 128 &u

Chaldean, ib.

kinds of, v 128

Egyptian, u 129, 130

• Eailern, u 131

of the Tartars, 515 Sz b

Jehovah Jireh, b 148

Jeriifalem, God's chofen citv,

2^8

■ its defrruftion, 397 & i,

400 & K

foretold by Chrift, 397

& I

New, 552 & M

Jefus Clii-ift, his incarnation, 312, &c.

his conception, 313

his birth of a virgin,B 267,

,3135 3H

in the fulnefs of time, 314,

316 & A proclaimed from heaven,

319, 320

his fatisfaftion, 323,324

his righteoufnefs and obedience, 321;, kc.

■ his childhood, 328 & o

trials, 328

private life, 328, 329

public miniftry, 329, &c.

forerunner, 329

• baptifm, 331

temptation, ib. 344 & o

preaching, 332 & i

miracles, 333

clofe of his miniftrv, 334

& K

character, 335, 339 & l

his fuiferings and infancy,

340

in his private life, 341

was a carpenter, 341 & m

• truly fuffered, 342 & >j

Jefus fuffered povetry, 34^ hatred and reproach,

343

tried as a malefaftor, 345,

346

denied, ib.

■ crucified, 347 to 350

mocked, 348

Jews fought a pretence for

his death, r 348

death, — 349

exaft time of, t 349

preached to fpirits in pri-

fon, w 350

See Appearances and Chrift.

Jews difperfed to all parts of the world, 265, X 510

return by permiffion of

Cyrus, 247

typical, 275

— wonderfully preferved,

291, 510 & X

— given up to judicial blind-nefs, 395

— rejefted of God, ib.

deftroyed by the Romans,

396, 397 & I

warned of this, 396

perfecuted by the papifts,

E_459

converfionandreftoration,

509, 510&X, 5i2&y Je>viili difpenfation abolifhed,

Ignatius martyred. Incarnation,

its neceffity.

377 o 404

3I2,&C.

313

Indians at Stockbridge,Pref.Ed.

miffionary there, 12

Indian fimplicity, l 466, 467

letters, l 467, w 500

fchools, M 469

academy for miffionaries,

&c. — w 499

Indulgencies, prices of, m 434 Inquifition, 453 & y

praife of, y 453

Infpiration of theO.Teftament, 300, 301

confirmed bvChrift,2S2&M

Job

Job, book of, 178 & o, 305

John the Evangelift baniflied to

Patmos, 433, N 404

the Baptift, his office, 329,

330 & H

Jofeph's hiftory, 157 & f

temptation and vii5lory,

F 157

a type of Chrift, 15 8

Jofliua, book of, 212 & i

Ireland converted, 426

malFacre there, 459 & d

providential deliverance of

D 459 Ifaac, a pledge of the covenant,

143

his life fpared, 143 & a

type of Chrift riling from

the dead, — b 148

Ifaiah, prophefied of Chrift,

249 & u

Ifrael preferved in Egypt, 164

redeemed from Egypt, 166

that event tvpical, 166,

&c. led through thewildernefs,

180

that alfo typical, ib.

wonderfully preferved,

183 & K

refcued by the judges, 196

poflefs all the land of Canaan, 192, 220 Jubilee, of what typical, 502 Judah, tribe of, preferved, 244 Judas Maccabeus, his bravery, 292 & s judgments dreadful, caufed by fin, — 104 Judgment laft and general, 541 Judges, book of, k 214 Julian the apoftate, 421, 422

his death, 422 & z

attempted to rebuild Je-

rufalem, z 422

K

Kirkland, Rev. Mr. letter from, w 499

Knowledge of good and evil,

p 70

Koran, account of, 437 & o

Kingdom of God and Heaven,

366, &c.

See Chrift and Evipire.

Laban an idolator, s 125

Ladder, Jacob's, 156 &d

Lamai, Delai, living idol, b 515

Lamentations, book of, 261 &y

Languages, origin and confu-

fion of, CL.120, &c.

See Tongues.

Lateinos, — ^493

Latter days, what, 363 & a

Laud, Abp. his temper, c 458

Law, given from Sinai, 173,

174 & L

not a covenant of works,

171; & M

typical, 175, 176 & N

book of, wonderfully preferved, 243 & T

ceremonial abblifhed, 267

Learning, human, its vanity, 297

its proper ufe, 478

Letter to Mr. Hall, 10

See Indian. Lewis XIV. his cruelty, 456 & b Libertine, convei-fion of, p 180 Licentioufnefs, its prevalence,

474

Light of the Old Teftament,

63,82

Living at the laft day fliall be

changed, 538

his wife's death, c 154

Longevity of the patriarchs,

178 &p

Long Ifland, revival of religion

there, — o 473

Lorretto, houfe of, moved by

miracle, s 488

its riches, t 491

Lot preferved in Sodom, 152 to

154 & c

Luke

Luke, the companion of St. Paul, 384

M

BlahomcL's rife and charafter,

436 to 438 2c p

Majefty and power of God fcen

in Redemption, 564, 565

Maimonides on idolatry, u 128

Makkaph, point, g 165

Malachi, prophecy of, 283

Manes and the Manichees, d

424

Mark of the beaft, u 493

MafTacre of the Jews, i 399

■ Irifli, 459 Sc D

Parifian, 455 & a

Mediatorial office, Chrift, commenced at the fall, 64, &c. Mediators, heathens, origin of, u 129 Melchifedec blefTeth Abraham, 138

■ who.'' Y 13 8

IMercy, divine, its true nature,

i^ 547 Mercy feat typical, 233 ik p Merit of Chrift's obedience,322 jMeiilah expelled as a facrifice, 0^234 JMillennium, ftate of, (;20, Sec.

the time for fulfilling the

remiining prophecies, ib.

a time of great knowledge,

ib.

of great holincfs, 522

of vital religion, 523

• peace and love, 524

order in the churches,

5.25 the church's glory,ib.

temporal profperitv,

ib.

great joy, 526

• its duration, ib.

doctrine of explained, c

527

Minirtry of Chrift, how fininied,

334 &K

Miniftry, gofpel, inftituted,378

Miracles in the wildernefs, 183

& R

miracles of Chrift, 333

of the apoftles, &c. 380 & e

popifh, 487 & s

Mifery of the wicked, 570

See Hell. Miflma quoted, e 348

Monaftries, expence of, m 434 IMorals of the heathen philofo-

phers, how corrupted, u 295

Mofes prophefied of Chrift, 184,

187 & T

call of the Gentiles, 187

wrote the Pentateuch, Qj 80

Moth worm defcribed, a 45, 44 Mufcovy, fuccefs of the gofpel

there, — 462, 463

My fteries of Providence, 561 &o

N

Nakednefs, our firft parents,? 69 Nathan and Gad, book of, 227 Neceffitv of aboliftiing the ceremonial lavv', 267 Negleft of Chrift, danger of, 356, &c. Negroes, prcfent ftate of, 515

& A

Nehcmiah's commiffion, 276

book, 280

Nero's perfecuticn, 403 & m

New Teftament, when, and by

whom written, 385 & h

Ktw. See Heaven.

Noah faved in the ark 106, 107

typical, 10& & N

his prophecy, p 110 to 117

poetic. Pill

his intoxication, p no

his family preferved the

true religion, 124

Nod, land of, 9 7 &: e

Number of the beaft, u 493

Obfcenc

I N D E X.

O

Obfcene publications, theevilof,

5 Odoacer, king of the Henili, c 423 Old. See Teftament. Oneida Indians, w 497

Oracle, heathen, 408 Sc r

Sybilline, n 267

Origen platonized, p 424

Origin of langiiage, 0^122

of preaching, k 278

of fynagogiies, 281 &k

Orphan hoiife at Glauca, 470

& N

at Georgia, o 473

Oiiris and Ifis, u 129

Patriarchs, the Old Teftament,

wonderfully prefei-ved, 149,

&c.

Patrick, St. preaches in Ireland,

426

Paul, St. his converfion and

million, 382

quotes the heathen poets,

297 & w

Paul n. Pope, his veftments, t

490

Pelagius and Pelagianifm, 421

& Y

Pentecoft, day of, 379,380, &

E

Pentateuch, written by Mofes,

Q^ 180

Perfecution of the Jews by An-

tiochus, 291, 292 & R of Chriftianity, by the

Jews, ' 394

the firft general, 403 & m

• the 2d, — N 404

the third, — ib.

Perfecution the 4thj p 40;

the loth, ^09, 410 Sc s

of the Orthodo.x, by the

Arians, 421

chargeable on all parties,

D425

Icfs than formerly, 476

Perfecutions, Popifli, 452, 8cc.

m Gerniany, France, 455 & a,

England, Scotland, Irelan'j, Spain.

— ib.

454 456

& B

457

459

S: D

— _ E459

Spanilli America, ib,

Perfons of the Trinity, e 50 Perfonal Types, 2197 Peter the Great, — 463 Philofophers, the heathen, 295 8c u oppofed the gofpel, 401

& L

Chriitian, depraved it,

D 424

Phials, (in the Revelation) the

firft five explained, 447, 448

the 6'ch and 7th, 503,

Piety of the Ifraelites, who entered Canaan, 190 Pius VI. prefent Pope, his character, 0^476

Pilgrims, believers fo called, v 131 Pillar of a clo\id and fire, k 169 Plots, popifh, dtfeated; 450,452 PlutfchOjMr. Danifti miilionary M 468 Points, Hebrew, g 165

Polycarp, martyred, p 405

Pope's power decreafed, 475,

Popes idolized, 432 & k depofcd princes, 433,

& L

robbed the people, ib. m

antichrift, 429 & ¥

early oppofed, 441 & s

Popery

Popery, its rife, gradual, p 431

See AnticJiriJi. Population, ftate of, at the flood,

98 — at the end of the world.

Porphyry wrote againfl: Chrifti-

anity, l 402

Poverty of Chrift, 342

Preaching, origin of, h 278

of Ezra, — ib

of Chrift, 332 & I

to fpirits in prifon, w

350 Predeftination, a comfortable doftrine, — 16 Prefence of the Lord, r> 97 Price of Redemption, 323 & e Promife, the very firft compre-henfive, 0^75 Promifes, abftrafts of God's decrees, Y 194 Prophecies fcarce in the time of the judges, b 204 abundant after the captivity, ■ 251

of Ezekiel and Daniel,

270

when ceafed, 283

fulfilment of, proves the

truth of revelation, 485

as to the prefervation of

the church, 48 f; concerning antichrift, 486

to 494 future reafon to credit,

495 grand period of fulfilling,

520

Prophets, order of, inftituted,

200, &c.

fchool of, ib.

college of, 204, &c.

conneft temporal events

with fpiritual, g 209, o 232

• feveral eminent, 247

Prolperity of the Church in the

time of Conilantine, 412,

413

Proteftantiim, prefent ftatc of in Ruflia, 463 & I

Providence, divine, 189, 560, 561 & o Providences extraordinary, 470 & N Providential deliverance for Ireland, D 459

feveral in England,

450, &c.

Pfalms, Book of, 215, 216 & l

Purchafe of Redemption, 322,

&c.

R

Redemption what, 49, 50

covenant of, 50 e 51

how carried on, 53, &c.

defign of, 56, &c.

completed in glory, 532

Reformation, 446, &c.

Reformed church, decreaie of,

473

Relics, popifh, t 490

Reprobation, an objection to it

obviated, R 57^

Refurreftion of Chrift, 372,374

fpiritual, 367, c 527

general, 536, 537 & e,

539 & F

58 512 & Y

Reftitution, univerfal, Reftoration of the Jews,

Revolutions, remarkable in

Providence, 253

Righteoufnefs of God, 45

of Chrift, 325, &c.

of the Saints, 543

Rochefter Ld. his converfion, u 250 Romiith, 495

Rome, why called Babylon, 387 Rome, church of, its riches and fplendour, 490 & r

Rolfeau's dying words, p 474 Ruth,- book of, K 214

S. Sab-

Sabbath, Chriftian, 377, 378 & D Saccas, Amm. his notions, d 424 Sacred fire loft, 264

Sacrifices, origin of, 76 & r

^3

of Cain and Abel, s 79

types, 234 & Q^, N 176

Saints, fliull judge devils, 542 Samaritans oj)pofethe Jews, 276

converfion of, 391

Samuel, the prophet, his writings, 212, 214 & K Saracens compared to locufts,

439 ^^'Q^

Satan, his kingdom on earth de-

ftroyed, 506, &c.

his final judgment, 541

Satisfaction, Chrifl's, 322, &c. Saved, few, before Chrift's coming, — 62 & L

• number of, l 62

Scotland, revival of religion

there, w 499

Scripture hiftory, when filent,

2:1

Signs before Jenifalem's de-ftruftion, i 398

Sin, the unpardonable, a 422 Skins, coats of, typical, 81 & t Smith, Mr. and ^Irs. our author's friends, 22 Sodom and Gomorrah, their fin and deftrudlion, p 112 Solomon, a tyi)e of Chrift, 237

his writings, 241 & s

Sons of God, who, 100 & h Sovereignty of God, 15, 16,25,

Spirit, Holy, his glory, 28

effufion of in the wilder-

nefs, 190 return at Chrift's coming,

in the latter days.

499 494

Spirit of Chriftianity, Star, an emblem of Deity, s 1S5 Stone of Ifrael, x 192 Sufferings of Chrift, 340, Sec. Sun and moon ll:and ftill, y 194 worfhip of, u 130

ufe of, 301, 302

its infpiration proved, 563

hated by the papifts, 436

8c N Scriptures, wifdom of God in,

303 Seed of the woman, 0^74

of the ferpent, 0^73

Self righteoufnefs reproved,354,

n . 355

Septuagmt tranflation, 288, 289

& p

Serpent, the old, his curfe,

Q.72, 73

worfliipped, ib.

his head bruifed, 0^74

Shechinah, p 71, k 169

See Appearances. Sheth,the name of a place, s 185 Shewbread, typical, 233 & p .S'///M, prophecy of, g 164, &c.

4F

Tabernacle, Jewifli,ere<9:ed, 19-

a type. See Temple.

Talmud quoted, 313

Temple, Solomon's, a type of

Chrift, 232 &c p

Temptation, ChrilVs, 331, 344

& o Terah, an idol maker, t 127 Teftament, Old, its inlpiration,

300

its utility, 307

confirmed by Chrift,

282 &: M Tongues, confufion of, 0^120,

&c.

gift of, 379, 380 & K

Tradition often injurious to truth, c 9^

early, hovv* conveyed,

178 & p

Tree of the knowledge of good

and evil, p 70

Trent, council of, 449, 450

Trinity, perfons of, e 50

Tninipets (in the Revelation)

four firll explained, 423 & c

Turkifh conquefts, 440

Types, Old Teftament, b 148,

149, 175, 176 & N, 208

& F, 234 &Q^, U350

U

Vail of the temple, 233 & p Valentinus and his followers,

D 424 Veftments, popifli, t 490

Vials. See Phials. Virgin, prophecy of, 0231 Voltaire's faying of the Pope,

0^476

dying words, p 474

Unbelief reproved, 353

Urr of Chaldea, t 127

Urim and Thummim, 263 & z

W

Walking with God, a 92

Waldenfes, 442, &c.

Waldenfes, their do6trine,T 444

perfecuted by the Papifls,

445 & u Wars, popifh, 451, 452

Whitefield, his labours in America, o 473 WicklifFe and his followers,445, 446 Wifdom of God in Redemption, 566

in the fcriptures, 303

Witnefles for the truth in every

age, 441 & s

World burnt, 545

Young people in our author's congregation, their improper behaviour, 5

Young generation in the wil-dernefs, their piety, igo

See Children.

Zechariah, the prophet, 277

Ziengenbalgh, Danifh milTion-

ary, m 468

More or lefs explained In tlils Work. /

8:|p The Articles referring to the Text only, are SJlinguiJIied by the Page; thofe to the Notes only, by a Letter prefixed to the page; [as s 79. i. e. liote s page 79,] thofe that refer to both Text and Note have the Letter added after the Page; [as 88 and x Page 88 and JVo/e x.]

TAB-^E OF TEXTS.

TABLE

T E X T S.

15-

Amos vii. 14, ix. II. Haggaiii. 6, 7.

23. Micah V. 2. . Zechar. iv. 6, 7. viii. 4, 5, 12 xii. 10, &:c. xiv. 6, 7.

20, 2 1.

Mai. iii. i, 2. iv. 2—4. 6. Matt. ii. 3—6

111.

317

256,321

277

317

499

509 521

522

A 201, 257,32'l

283

524

B 317

73

396

326

331 344 and o

342

A 42 B 85

10.

13—15. 16, 17.

iv. I — II.

viii. 20.

xii. 21, 22.

xvi. 28.

xxiv.throughoiit,397to4oo and K 22.

xxvi. 39, ^

xxvii. 40,

xxviii. 19, 20 Mark vi. 3.

xiy. 33, 34. Luke 11. I.

/• 24. xviii. 8. xxii. 53. xxiv. 18 John i. II. 14. iii. 8. 30. iv. 20.

23. 36.

V.

22, 35>

37-

. 39-vii. 27.

viii. 56.

xii. 20, 21

xiii. 7.

xm.

ohy-

427

0.345 349 and s

378, 379 341 and M 345 and p 293, 318 & c 340 317 497

349 269

343 117

31 239, 331

391

364

392

A 200

282 and M

Z313

249

268

o 561

60

Rom.

John XV. 12, 14. xvi. 12, 13. xvii. I. xviii. 20, 21.

3'-xix. 20, &c. Afts ii. 26—30.

iii. 24. V. 31. vi. I,

3, &c. vii. 45.

^'- 31) 33-

43-

X"; 1—3-xiii. 46, 47. XV. 6, &c. xvii. 16. 18. . 22, &c. 26, 27. 21. iv. II. X. 19, 20. Xi. 12—15. 27.

30—32. xiv. 9. xvi. I. L Cor. i. 21. iii. 22. vi. 3. 20.

X. I I.

XV. 10.

25.

33-

TT ^ .51—53-n. Cor. i. 4.

iii. 10.

iv. 15. . ■

Gal. i:i. 24.

Eph. i. 10.

20—22.

Phil. ii. 8, 9.

Colof. i. 15.

26.

ii. 10.

333

. 381

K 334

R348

322

349 and p 215

• 372 203, 213

376 268, & c 269 282 221 514

D 206

394 396 383 & G 392 401 297

125 & R

478

137

187, 248

513 &Y

389 171

373

F 28a 173

Y 193

54i» 542

E323

181,363

382

57 297

• 538

8 . 163

Y 193 • 153

59

376

• 373

66

381

•] 59 I.lThei;

TABLE OF TEXTS.

AMERICAN PREACHER.

THE Fourth Volume of the American Preacher, lately publiflied at New-Haven, may be had at the Book-ftore of Thomas and Andrews, at Bofton—of John Sterry, at Norwich— of Abel Morfe, at New-Haven—of Samuel Loudon and Robert Magill, at New-York—of William Young, at Philadelphia, and of W. P. Young, of Charlefton, South-Carolina, and probably of other Bookfellers in the United States.

This Volume is fupported by Rev. Dr. Smith, of Pequea, Pennfylvania—by Rev. Theodore Hinfdale, Windfor, Connecticut—by Samuel Langdon, D. D.* Hampton Falls, Ncw-Hamp-Ihire—by Rev. Charles Baccus, Lomers; by Jonathan Edwards, D. D. New-Haven; by Rev. Achilles Mansfield, Killingworth, Connecticut—by Rev. Samuel Spring, Newbury-port, Maflachu-fetts—by Mofes Mather, D. D. Stanford; by Rev. Nathan Perkins, Hartford, Connefticut—and by Rev. Nathan Ker, Gollien, New-York.

The growing reputation of this work induces the Editors to announce a fifth Volume. Contributions of Mamifcripts for this Volume, are ftill received and gratefully acknowledged.

Shortlyimll be fublijiied. No. I. of a JVorh^ entitled^

The millennium,

Or the Thoufnnd Years of Profperity promifed to the Church of God, in the Old Teftament and in the New; fliortly to commence, and to be carried on to perfeftion, under the aufpices of him who, in the vilion, was prefented to St. Jghn. '■'■ And Ifaiv. andbJiold a luhite horfe; and he that fat on him had a boio^ and a croivn ivas given unto him^ and he "xent forth conquering and to conquer.^''

The defign of this work is to prefent to the Chrifdan world, an-tient and modern interpretations of the figures, numbers, dates, and hieroglyphicks, which the infpiration of Hea-cen hath thought proper to ufe, in order to maintain a prophetic chronology during the progrefs of the Ark of God, on the Ocean of Time;—or, in other words, to point out, by a judicious obfervation, the latitude in which the Ark now fails; with an ultimate reference to an accurate calculation as to her probable fafety, in pafling thofe dreary regions into which flie may be about to enter, and of tlie prof[)erity that fliall enfue.

* Author of the lati celebrated Trcatife en the Rtvciation.

( ^ )

As the objeft is of general ufe, and may be entitled to general fupport, the Editor will gratefully acknowledge any judicious contributions of dilcourfes, or diflertations on the prophecies, efpe-cially fuch as relate to the events of the latter day ; and the Aut!iors may expeft to fee them inferted in the courfe of this work. This firfi number will be an oftavo of 400 pages, printed on an elegant paper and type, to contain Doftor Bellamy's Difcourfe on R.EV. XX. I, 2, 3.

" And If aw an angel come dozvnfrom Hsaven having the key of the hottomlefs pit, and a great chain in his hand. Add he laid hold on the dragon, that oldferpent ivhich is the Devil and Satan, ajid bound him a Thousand Years. And cap. him into the botioinlefs pit, andfiut him up, and fct afeal upon him, that heJJteuld deceive the nations ?io more, till the thoufandyearsJliould be fulfilled.'"

Next to this difcourfe, may be expefted a part, or the whole of Prefident Edwards's " Humble Attempts to promote explicit agreement and vifible Union of God's people in extraordinary prayer for the revival of Religion, and the advancemefit oi Christ's Kingdom on Earth, purfuant to fcripture-promifes and prophecies concerning the last time," —founded on Zechariah viii. 20, 21, 22.

" Thus faith the Lord of Hafts, it Jliall yet come to pafs, that there fiall come people, and the i?Jiabitants of matiy cities ; and the inhabitants of one city Jliall go unto another,faying. Let us go fpeedily to pray before the Lord, j-zW/oyi?*?/^//^e Lord of Hosts. Iivillgo alfo. Yea,-many people and frong nations Jliall come to feek the Lord of Hosts in Je-rufalem, and to pray before the Lord."

After this, if there be place in the Volume, and no better materials offer, a Difcourfe preached by the Editor, at New-York, on the evening of the Lord's Day, April 7, 1793, maybe added, entitled, " The Downfal of iVfy/'/tv?/Babylon ; or, A Key to the political Operations of 1793,"—founded on Rev. xviii. 20.

" Rejoice over her, thou heaven, andye holy apojiles and prophets ; for God hath avenged you on her.^'