0/ s •'It Qfocy?2 f^^^ >,\-A '^ i .^ LIBRARY ^^'^''' 9 OF THE ' Theological Seminary, PRINCETON, N. J. ■ Case, A Co^eLMit, Shelf, -D^ v/Ai'"^ Booh, ,, ^^ A DONATION k FROM _..._ sec Keceived \ ^Lo^ V Chap. III. From the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Laiv. '$> V others the Holy Ghoft, in the fhape and appearance of a man ; becaufe they cannot conceive how the quahties afcribed to this excellent perfonage can comport with any human creature. The phrafe, however, made ufe of in the text, agenealogetos, The a- without defcent, or without genealogy, 1 explains what the poftle's apoftle means by without father, and without mother, /. e. '^'i^';^*-^^** ' without any father or mother mentioned in the genealogies of plained. Mofes, where the parents of all pious worthies are generally . fet down with great exadlnefs. So that there being no ge- nealogy at all of Mekhizedeck recorded in fcripture, he is ^^y^^^TtV \i'[ troduced at once, even like a man dropped down from b^^">'''^ ven ; for fo the defcription goes on, having neither begi/niife of days, nor end of life, /. e. in the hiftory of Mofes, which" '"^P ) 1! (contrary to its common ufage, when it makes mention of men) takes no notice at all of the time either of his birtTrNtf '.7/1 ,";/..• cc death ; and herein he is made like unto the Son of God, /. r\*^ '••' - *'- by the hiftory of Mofes, which mentions him appearing and adling upon the ftage, without either entrance or exit, as if, like the Son of God, he had abode a prieft continually. This is the common and beft approved interpretation of the apoftle's word^s ; but then the queftion returns upon us, to whom does . the character even with this comment belong ? The Jews are generally of opinion (and herein are follow- Different cd by • fome chriftians) that Mekhizedeck was the fame with conjec- Shem, one of the fons of Noah, whom they fuppofe alive in cernLff*"* the days of Abraham ; the only perfon upon earth, fay they, him. who could with juftnefs be called his fuperior, and whom the defcription of the apoftle could any way befit ; as being a per- fon of many fmgularities, born before the deluge, having no anceftors then alive, and whofe life had been of an immenfe duration in comparifon of thofe that came after him. But not to difpute the fad whether Shem was at this time alive or no : « it feems very incongruous to think that Mofes, who all along mentions him in his proper name, ihould upon this occaflon dif- guife his fenfe with a fiftitious one ; and very incompatible it is with what we know of Shem, that he ftiould be faid to be without father, and without mother, when his family is fo plainly recorded in fcripture, and all his progenitors may in a moment be traced to their fountain-head in Adam. Befides had Mel- chizedeck and Shem been the fame perfon, the apoftle would hardly have made him " of a family different to Abraham, much lefo would he have fet him in fuch an eminence above the pa- triarch, or made this fuperlative exclamation concerning him. Vol. II. B * Confider pVideEplphan. Haeref. 55. q Scott's Chriftian Life, Part 11. c. 7. r The Syriac verfiou renders it thus direiftly, and in this fenfe are the words apa- iroos and ainctroo!, fometimes ufed in the heathen poets, s Vide Quscft Hebr. in Gen et Willet Hexapla iu Gen. t Bgchart's Phaleg. Lib. il. Ci i. u Heb. \ii. 6, ^O A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. * Confider how great this man was, unto whom even the pa- triarch Abraham gave the tenth of the fpoils ! These arguments feem to evince that Melchizedeck and Shem were different perfons ; and much more reafon have we to fuppofe that he and Ham, the other Ion of Noah, were fo ; for who, upon dehberate thoughts, can believe that this curfed perfon was the prieft of the moll high God, from whom Abra- ham fo joyfully received the facerdotal benediclion, that he re- turned it with the payment of his tithes ? And much lefs can we believe that one of his ill character was the type of the blelTed Jefus. Jefus indeed himfelf, if he be taken for Mel- chizedeck, appearing to Abraham in human Ihape (as he is often fuppofed to do in fcripture) will anfwer all the charafter which the apoftle gives of this extraordinary perfon : » but then the wonder is that the hiftorian Ihould never give us the lealV inti- mation of this ; that Abraham lliould exprefs no manner of furprife upon fuch an interview; and (what is more) how the type and the ante-type can polFibly be reprefented the fame, y For this is the cafe : here Melchizedeck was a reprefenrative of our Saviour, according to that of the apoftle, » Jefus was a prieft after the order of Melchizedeck ; which he explains in another place, » after the fimilitude of Melchizedeck there arifeth another priefl: ; as much as to fay, Melchizedeck and Chrift were like one another in feveral things, and thereupon one was dellgned to be a fit type of the other : but as it is un- reafonable and abfurd to fay that a perfon is like himfelf, fo we cannot rationally imagine that Chrift, who (as St Paitl fays) was after the fimilitude of Melchizedeck, w-as in reality the fame perfon with him. The true Thus v/e have looked into the feveral conjectures concern- ^count at jj^g ji^jg gj-e^f jfjg^ |.{^m- jeem to have any plaufibility in them ; and, after all, muft be forced to content ourfelves with what the fcripture nakedly reports of him, viz. that this Melchize- deck was really a king and a prieft (for thefe two offices were antiently united in one perfon) in >> the land of Canaan, de- fcended very probably from wicked and idolatrous parents, but himfelf a perfon of fmgular virtue and fandity ; the prieft of the moft high God, but perhaps the firft and the laft of his race that was fo ; which might give occafion to the apoftle to de- fcribe him under fuch ambiguous characters ; the whole of which (according to the judgment ■= of a learned author) may not improbably be reduced to this fingle propofition, that Mel- chizedeck was the moft illuftrious of his family, and had neither predeceffor nor fuccelTor in his employ. But •Heb. vji. 4. X Saurin's DifTertations. y Efjwards's Surrey, Vol. I. z Heb. vi. 20. a Ibid. vii. 1 5. b For.fo Jofephus fays, that he was ckane.fiaioon djfrifdf a potentate of the Canzanitej. c Outram, de Sacrificiis. / Chap. III. From the call ©/"Abraham to the glvvig of the Law. ll But to proceed with our patriarch Abraham : there is one Of the remarkable inlrance of his hfe which Ihewetl him to be a jireater ^V^'o G _ 21 TT &C« iiiaii than any triumph over an enemy, and that is, the victory Before gained over himfelf, in his ready compliance to facrifice his fon. Chrift The language of the fcripture calls it a temptation ; but we '^"'' ^5' muftbe careful to leave out of the exprefiion every thing odi- Abraham's ous in thefenfe of it, when we apply it to God. To tempt, facrifice. jn the common acceptation of the word, fignifies to lead into a crime ; in this fenfe, ^ God cannot be tempted with evi!, neither tempteth he any man : but to tempt fignifies likewife to try a man ; and in this "^ fenfe God tempts men fonietimes in his wrath, and fometimes in his love. When, by an effect of his juftice, he leaves men to themfelves ; when he fufFers them to fall into fuch fnares as are laid for them on every fide ; when, for the punilhinent of their negled: of good council and inftruftion, he gives them up to the deceitfulnefs of fin, and the deceptions of error, it is then that he tempts them in his wrath : but when he permits his children to fall into any danger that he may deliver them with honour ; when, in order to difplay, perfcft, and crown their virtues, he fufFers thofe virtues to be affaulted ; when he expofes them in fhort to conflicts, in order to gain the victo- ry; it is then that he tempts men in love. It was in this fenfe that he tempted Abraham, and to fhew the excellency of the patriarch's condu6l under fuch trial and conflid:, we mult obferve, 1. f The firmnefs and ftedfaftnefs of his faith, notwithftand- ing the objections againft it : And, 2. The conftancy of his refolution, notwithflanding the dif- ficulty of efFedting it. I. ' Take d Jam. i. 13. e Saurin's Differtatlons. I The learned author of the Divine Legation of Mofes (Vol. 11. Lib. vi.) from our Saviour's words, Abraham rejoiced to fee ray day, and he faw it, and was glad, John viii- 56. meaning by the word day the work of man's redemp- tion, has made God's ordering of Abrahajn to facrifice his fon, not fo much a command as a revelation of that great myflery, which, as Abraham molt ar- dently defiled to know, fo God was gracioully pleafcd to make manifeft to him, not by words, but by the fignificant adtion of his offering up his own fon, even £s God, in his good appointed time, had decreed to make his a facrifice for fin, and to deliver iiim up for us all. So that God's primary intent (according to him) was by this fign to convey to Abraham the knowledge of man's redemp- tion, his fecondary only, to make trial of the patriarch's faith and obedience. But to have a more perfeft knowledge of this author's fentiments and method «f arguing, the reader fhould confulthim with fome care and attention. Other writers affirm that, in cafe Abraham had really facrificed bis fon, there was no great matter in it, no great merit in his obedience, fince it was a cuftomary thing in thofe times for private perfons, kings and heads of nations, to offer fuch facrifices (Lord Shaftefbury'iCharaft. Vol. HI. Mifc. 2. Sir John Mar- ram's Can. Chron. p. 76. and Philo Judseus, Lib. de Abrahamo.) But after all their refearches, they have been able to produce but a fingle inftance, and that is of one Chronus king of PhcEuicia, who, as Philo Biblius from Sanconia- thon tells us, upon the raging of a.f^mine and peftilence, offered his only fonfor a burnt-ofFerinj; to bis fjtlier Ouranus- But, upon examination, it will appear that this fiory ij only an imitation of Abraham's intended facrifice of llaac, with fume few additions and miftakcs, fuch a» heathen writers frequently in- currc4> 12 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, The firm- !• ' Take now thy fon, thine only fon Ifaac, whom thou nefs of his loveft (what a dreadful gradation is this) and get thee into the faith. ]^,-jjj Qf jVIoriah, and offer him there for a burnt-ofFering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. The very manner wherein the command is delivered, is enough even at firfl: hearing to Ihock human nature. For as God has implanted in us no afFedion more natural and ftrong than what we bear to our children, fo no a£l feems fo horrid and barbarous as for a father to kill his own fon. And as the fad: was fhocking enough of itfelf, fo there were thefe two circumftances which mightily increiifed the horror of it, viz. that the fon was innocent, and that the father was to flay him with his own hand. Those that have felt the pangs and tender relentings of nature, muftconfefs that to give up a fon to death, even though he were never fo undutiful and difobedient, muft be a great grief to a parent's heart ; and the cafe of David, who wifhed hirnfelf to have died for his fon Abfalom, though he died in the aft of rebellion, though the prefervation of his life had been in- conliftent with the peace of his government, is the common cafe of moft good-natured parents, who fee, or (if abfent) who paint in their imaginations the dillrefs of their expiring children, and feel the ftrugglings of nature with them. How deep then mufl: it fink into the heart of any parent, not only to give up his in- nocent fon to death, but to ilay him with his own hand ; not only to be the fpedator, but the ador in- this bloody tragedy ? What father would not fhrink and ftart back at fuch a com- mand ? What good man (efpecially in fuch a cafe, and where nature was fo hard prefied) would not have been apt to have looked on fuch a revelation as this, rather as the fuggeftion and illufion of an evil fpirit, than any command of God ? efpe- cially when it feemed to clalh with former revelations, and to make void the promife which God had made to Abraham, e that in his feed all the nations of the earth fhould be bleffed ; which promife was exprefsly limited to Ifaac and his pofterity who had then no fon. How then can we fufficiently admire the ftedfaft faith of Abra- ham, who againft hope believed in hope, and with-held not his fon, the neareft and deareft pledge of his love and obedience that he had *^urrcd, and that Abraham and Chronus, in fliort; were one and the fame per- fon : for, I. Chronus was the fon of a father who had three children (Eufeb. Praep. Evang Lib. i. c. lo.) and fo was Abraham : 2. Chronus had one only fon by his wife, and fo had Abraham: 3. Chronus had another fon by another per- fon, and fi had Abraham : 4. Chronus circiimcifed hirafelf and family, and fo did Abraham: 5. Chronus facrificed his only fon, fo is Abraham by fome hea- then hiftorians reported to have done : 6. Chronus's fon was named Jehud, and {o is Ifaac called by Mofes; for God faid to Abraham, take now thy fon Jehud- J How ** can I perfiiade myfeif that his promiles are faithful, when I *' myfeif am ordered to cancel them? How can I believe that " my Ifaac will be the comfort of my grey hairs, when I am *' going to make him the fubjecl of my perpetual grief; or *^ that his feed will fpring up, and be as numerous as the ftars, '^ when I am commanded to ilifle that feed, and with him to fa- " crifice as it were on the fame altar all thofe nations that are " in his loins?" This might have been the reafoning of a carnal mind ; but the patriarch had other fentiments of the matter ; • he believed that God, who gave him Ifaac at firft in fo miracu- lous a manner, was able by another miracle to reftore him to life again after he was dead, and to make him the father of ma- ny nations. In Ihort, rather than difobey the command, or fuppofe the promife of God could be fruftrated, he would be- lieve any thing that was credible and polfible, how improbable foever it might feem ; and for this reafon the apoftle tells us H that our father Abraham was juftified by faith, and that it was counted unto him for righteoufnefs. a. But to raife the merit of Abraham's obedience, let us con- Thecoa- fider farther the conilancy of his refolution, notwithflanding ftsincy of the harlhnefs and difficulty of the thing. Had Abraham been ^^^^^^ ^ ^' firmly perfuaded that this command to kill his fon was really from God, yet it is no eafy matter for a man to bring himfelf to compliance in fo difficult a cafe, and out of mere reverence to the divine authority to diveft himfelf of his nature, and thwart the flrongeft propenlions of it. Let any man, who knows what it is to be a father, lay his hand upon his heart, and confider his own bowels, and he muft needs be aflonhhed at Abraham's obedience as well as faith. Had Abraham indeed upon his firft receiving the command taken his knife and flain his fon immediately, his compliance might h Saurin's DiiTertations. i TiUotfon's Scrjuoni, Vol. I, k Rom- iv. 3> The land ef Moriah \A Complete Body t>f "Divinity, Part III* might have been imputed to fome fudden tranfport of ze?l raor.e than any deliberate purpofe. But, that his obedience might be more glorious, and have all the circumftances of advantage at- tending it, God would have it done upon full confidcration, and therefore appointed him to go to a mountain (three-days journey from the place where he was) and there to offer up his Ion. It is in afts of virtue and obedience, as it is in afts of fin and vice : the more deliberate the fin is, and the more calm andfedafe temper the man is in when he commits it, the greater is his fault ; and fo it is in the ads of virtue and obedience (efpecially if they be attended with confiderable difficulty) the more deliberately they are done, the more virtuous they are, and the more praife they merit. 1 Moriah, to v.'hich Abraham was ordered to go, was not any particular mountain, but that traft of land whereon Jeru- falem was built in following ages, and the adjacent country where among many other hills was the Mount of Olives, and Mount Calvaiy on which our Saviour did afterwards offer him- felf to God for the redemption of mankind ; it feeming good to the divine wifdom to alhgn the fame place for the typical fa- crifice of Ifaac, where in the fulnefs of time the great ante-type was to be offered. ^ This country is not much above one-day's journey from Beer-flieba, the place where Abraham at this time dwelt ; but he and his company travelling on foot, and the afs being laden with wood, and not able to go far in a day, they made it three : fo that, » by putting thisfpace between the com- mand and the performance of it, God gave him time to cool up- on it, to weigh the injunftion, and to look on every fide of this difficult duty : he gave him fccpe, i fay, for his reafon to argue and debate the cafe, and an opportunity for natural af- fedion to play its part, and for flelh and blood to raife all its batteries againft: the refolution which he had taken up. And now we may eafily imagine \,hat confiicl this good man had within himfelf during thofe three days that he was travelling to the appointed place, and how his heart was ready to be rent in pieces, betwixt his duty to God, and his affection to his child ; fo that, in every ftep of thisunwelcomeandwearifome journey, he did as it were lay violent hands upon himfelf. The Jews have a tradition • that the devil followed Abraham, and ufed his utmofl endeavours to diffuade him from the pur- pofe of facrificing his fon : but if any thing could have induced the patriarch to break his refolution, it mult have been thofe in- nocent and endearing words that proceeded from Ifaac in his journey, r Jofephus upon this occafion has ufed all the foft- nefs of thought and delicacy of ftile that he was mailer of to reprefent this circumllance of diftrefs, and yet after all he is a bungler 1 Wells's Geography, m Patrick's Commentary, n Tillotfon's Sermon's, Vol. U. o Maimonides More Ncv. Part II. p Antiq. Lib. I. c. 14. Chap. III. From the call 0/ Abraham to the giving ofthetaxv^ tig bungler in cotnparifon of this great author of the book of Ge- xiefis. Abraham was jult going to facrifice his fon, the altar, the wood, the fire, tlie knife, and all were ready, when he finds himfelf called upon by him in fo tender a manner as was enough to pierce his heart, and to arreit his arm already lift up to wound the innocent vitlim ; Ifaac fpake unto Abraham his father, and faid, My father ; and he faid. Here am I, my fon. Nature which was confined and limited by the divine command here makes a bound, and paffes to the utmoft verge of what was al- lowed her, Ifaac fpake to Abraham, his father, and faid. My fa- ther; Abraham aafwered, Here am I, my fon : and what faid this innocent child to his melting father i Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt-otfering ? and Abra- ham faid, My fon, God will provide himfelf a lamb for a burnt- offering, "i Nothing but the heart can be a comment upon thefe words : a man muft be a father, he nmfl: be a tender father, he muft have an only fon, he mult fuppofe himfelf juft going to flay that fon, in order to be truly fenlible of the energy of this queflion, and of the elFeft which it had upon Abraham. If all this be not enough to fhew the ftedfailnefs of his refo- lution, there is one circumifancc more, which though but con- jeclural has no fmall probability of being true, and if fo, a great tendency to advance the patriarch's praife. The greateil part of "• the Jewiih doctors are of opinion that Ifaac at this time was arrived at man's eftate; and upon this fuppofition the words will fairly enough and without ftraining admit of this fenfe, that Abraham did not bind- his fon, but perfuaded him to lay himfelf upon the altar. Without all doubt, as the patriarch drew near to the mount (which ' was probably diftinguifhed by fome bright and glorious appearance) he began to prepare Ifaac to fubmit to be facrinced ; he difpofed him to obey the com- mandments of heaven ; he explained the commiifion he had re- ceived from thence ; he reprefented to him the fovei-eignty of God over his creatures ; he made him fenfible that nothing fhould fet bounds to our obedience, when God fignines his will; he convhiced hi;n that he who had wrouo-ht one miracle for his birth, might likewife redeem him from the jaws of death by a- nother ; he took a molt tender and affed:ionate leave of him, for the command he had received to facrifice him, did not for- bid him to vent his grief in lamentations for his lofs : and having q Saurin's Differtations. r Jofephus fays, he \ras but five and twenty years old; David Gantz,inh is Chronology, niakts him twenty-fix; and Eliezer thirty- J'even. s This conjecture is confirmed by R. Eliezer, who lays, that when God bad Abraham go the place he would tell him of, ver. 2. and there offer his fon, he aded how he ftiould know it? And the anfver was, wherefoever thou feeft «iy glory, there will I fl:ay and wait for thee, &:c. and accordingly, he beheld z pillar of fire, reaching from heaven to the earth, and thereby knew that Ihi? v.Ai tke place. Patrick's Commentary, 1 6 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, having thus fatisfied the laws of nature, * he fet himfelf now to execute the fatal order, and that very moment had done it, had not the Lord from on high (who faw to what length his obedience would go, and was fatisfied) flopped his hand juft as it was going to his ion's throat : Lay not thine Tiand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him ; for now I know that thou feareft God, feeing that thou haft not with-held thy fon, thine only fon from him. ^ferences Yo come to a conclufion with this great example of faith whole. ^"f^ obedience. This flory of Abraham (as ' a very judicious expounder of the laws tells us) eftablilhes twofundamental points, the one is to fhow us how far the love and fear of God flioulcl extend itfelf, and the other to convince us of the certainty of The extent ^jjyjj^g revelation. Here then we fee a command to do that, dience. whereunto the lofs of money, or tiie lofs of life itfelf, is not comparable ; nay that which nature abhorred, viz. that a man very rich, and in good authority, who earneftly defined an heir, who was born to him, when he had no hopes of one in his old age, fhould fo overcome his natural affedlion to him (which doubtlefs was very great) as to forego all the expedations he had from him, and, after a journey of three days, confent to (lay him with his own hands. How then ihould this example of the fatlier of the faithful encourage us all in a chearful fub- ^ million to the feverer duties of our holy profefTion ; to defpife the fhame, to endure the crofs, to face the fevereft puniJhraents, to relift the fofteft inclinations, to deny ourfelves, and to » mor- tify our members which are upon the earth, vvhich, how pain- ful foever they be in the operation, offer not half that vio- lence to nature as to kill an only fon ; befides the confideraticMi of • It may not, in this place, be amifs to obferve, that the heathen world was not altogether ignorant of this facrifice of .Abraham.. The ftory of Iphigenia ▼ery much refembles it; for there ail things were ready for her immolation, the prieft was come, and his arm lift up to give the fatal ftroke ; when on a fudden a ftrange and preternatural voice iiTues out from the woods, telling them that Diana, for whom Ihe was to bleed, did not approve of the facrifice ; and, while the people were deliberating how to find a more acceptable one, a very beautiful Fawn conies voluntarily up to the akar, and there was facrificed in the ftead of Agamemnon's daughter. Datis Cret. de Bell. Troj. Lib. I. There is another ftory much of the fame nature related by Plutarch (Tom. II. Parall.) when the plague reigned iu Laccdemonia, the oracle told them that it would not ceafe, until they confented annually to facrifice a virgin of noble hirtji. The lot fell upon Helena, who was led to the temple drefled for a facrifice, and juft going to be offered up ; when an eagle came fudtlienly down, and fuatching away the fword that was to pierce her breaft, carried it into the field where fome herds were feeding, and there dropped it upon an heifer. Thefe, and many more ftories of the like nature, are manifeilly founded on the facri- fice of Ifaac. Ifaac was certainly the firft intended facrifice of this kind; and though both facred and profane hiftory abound with examples of mens facri- ficing their children to idols, yet nothing of this nature could be a motive to Abraham, fiiice this cuftom was neither in Babylon, nor Mefopotamia, nor Chaldea, where he had lived a long time, no, nor in Beer-fheba, where he abode at that time; but he (as Philo tells us) was by God's order to be the beginner of a perfeftly new and unufual example^ Patrick's Coir.jusntary. t jyiaimo- sides More ^eyocb. Fart Ui. cap. 24. u Col. iii. i, Chap. III. From the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Laxu. ty of the extraordinary comfort and fiipport, and of a glorious reward promifed to our obedience in fuch particulars ; encou- ragement enough to make a very difficult duty eafy. The other thing we are taught by this hillory is, that the The ccr- prophets were fully alTured of the truth of thofe things which ^^^^^l\ °* God fpake to them, either in dreams, or vifions, or any othtr tions. -way. For if Abraham had in the leall doubted whether this facrifice of his fon were the will of God or no, he would ne- ver have To readily confentedto a thing which nature fo itrange- ly abhorred. Nothing indeed is more reafonable than to be- lieve that thofe perfons to whom God is pleafed to make imme- diate revelations of his will, are fome way or other alTured that they are divine ; otherwife they would be in vain, and to no. purpofe : but how men are alfured of this is not fo eafy to de- termine, becaufe the fcripture has no where informed us. This farther improvement, however, we may be allowed to Ifaaca^ make of the hillory that is now before us, viz. that, as Ifiiac /^jf^ri* is acknowledged to be a type of the Melhah, we ought in all juftice to fanrt ify the notions of the Jews, and to apply that to the fpiritual Ifaac which they affirm of the carnal. They tell us, '* that Ifaac was aperfe(5t facriHce ; that God took pleaiure ** in him ; that they were all offered up in his perfon ; that, *' whenever they are afflided, God remembers that Ifaac was " bound ; that, by this facrilice, his anger is appeafed, and " the works of Satan are defeated.'* Thefe are their own words ; and this is their prayer to the fame purpofe, O God, our Lord, let this be thy will, as often as the poHerity of Ifaac Ihall fin, as often as it fiiall rebel againft thee, remember the fa- crifice of Ifaac; for his fake be merciful to us; look upon this only fon, and vouchfafe to be favourable to us for his fake who was bound as a lamb. All this is literally applicable to Je- fus Chrift only. '* He was prefented as a perfecl facrifice ; in *' him we are all offered up ; in our affliciiions God remembers *' this oblation, and by this atonement is appeafed ; the merits *' of our Saviour procure us the mercy of God ; he looks upon *^ this only Son, and is favourable to us for the fake of him ** who was bound like a lamb." And we may fay to him, but in a fenfe different to thefe deluded people, O God, our Lord, let this be thy will, as oft as the poiterity of Kaac fhall fin againff thee, to remember Ifaac' s facrifice ; (hew mercy to us for his merits ; look upon thhie only Son, and vouchfafe thy favour to us for the falce of him who was bound like a lamb, " and gave himfelf for us, an offering and a facrifice to thee for a fweet- Imelling favour. Amen. Vol. II. C SEC T, 35. Ephefir.as v. 2. , ' i8 A Complete Body of' Divinity. Part in. Of the World, aioy, &c. Before Chrift 1897, &rc. How many cities ile- Where iituated. Well wa- tered. S E C T. I. Of the Deftruftion of SoDO]\r, nnd Mctamorphofis of Lota's Wife. DUR.ING the life of the partiarch Abraham, there happen- ed an iniiance of divine vciig<^ance upon a w icked people, the fevereit we read of fince the genejal deluge, in the I'uddea deUraction of fome cities in the plain of Jordan. Mofes indeed in tlie account he gives of it makes mention but of two, Sodom and Gomorrah : but in anotlier place he enumerates four, and gives this defcription of their dreadful punilhment ; y when the generations to come lliali fee the plagues of that land, and the f'cknelTes which the Lord hath laid upon it, and that the whole land thereof is brimftone, and fait, and burning (like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Adtnah and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath) even all the nations Jhall fay, Wherefore has the Lord done thus un- to this land? Nay, if we will believe ^ Strabo, a man of great reading and fagacity, and who perhaps might have an account of the thing from fome writer of the Phoenician hiflory, the number of the cities that were deftroyed at this time were thirteen ; and to this there is a paflage in the prophet that feems to give fome countenance, though not as to the precife number of them ; > As I live, faith the Lord God, to Jerufa- lem, Sodom thy fifter has not done, flie nor her daughters [i. e. the cities which were built round it, and were tributary to it) have not done as thou and thy daughters have done. But whatever the number of the cities might be, it will be proper for us, before we come to confider in what manner they were deftroyed, to give fome account of their fituation. ^ Thk plain of Jordan includes the greateft part of the flat country through which the river Jordan runs, from its coining out of the fea of Galilee, to its falling into the Afphaltitelake, or Salt-fea. But we are not to imagine that this plain was one continued level, without any rifmgs and defcents ; thegi-eateft part of it indeed was an open champain country (and for this rea- fon it was comlnonly called megapedion, or the great Field) but therein we read of the « valley of Jericho, and <• of the vale of Siddim, ^ in the latter of which were the cities of Sodoin and Gomorrah, &c. fituate, once a pleafant and moft fruitful coun- try, but now a noifome, poifonous, and dead-fea. The defcription which the holy fcripture gives us of thist country deferves our obfervation, the rather, becaufe it may be of ufe to teach us in what manner this lake or dead-fea came to y Deut. xxijt. 22, 8..'c. z Lib. XVI. a Ezek. xvi. 48. b Wells's Geogra- phy, c Deut. RjiKJr. 3. d Gen. xiv. 3. c Ibid. Chap. III. From the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Law. 19 to be formed : ' And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord deltroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comeft unto Zoar. The only difficulty in thefe words lies in the laftclaufe, as thou comefl unto Zoar, which fome commentators have referred to the words immediately preceding, like the land of Ep-ypt ; « whereas, if what is faid in comparifon of the plain of Jordan to the garden of die Lord (/'. e. the garden of Eden) and to the land of Egypt, be underflood by the way of parenthefis (as it feems moil natural and obvious fo to do) the difficulty will be removed, and the import of the lall claufe (leaving out the: parenthefis) will become plain and eafy, viz. that, before the Lord deftrqyed Sodom and Gomorrah, the plain of Jordan was well watered every where, as thou coinell unto Zoar, /. e, in the vale of Siddim, where Sodom and Gomorrah, and the other cities that were confumed with them, once flood. This, I think, is a very eafy and proper explanation of the lad claufe of the verfe, if we read it Zoar, as it is in the prefent Hebrew, and moft of the tranilations : but then, if inftead of Zoar, we read it Zoan (as we may eafily do, confulering that the varia- tion is but in one letter, and that the Syriac tranflation actually reads it fo) '■ nothing can agree better with what goes before^ in relation to Egypt ; for ZoanVas a famous, and (at this time, very probably) the capital city of Egypt, lying on the lower part of the Nile, not far from the fca-coaft, and where that river is divided into feveral branches : fo thnt the' fenfe of the pall'age, according to this reading, will be. That the plain of Jordan about Sodoinaad Gomorrah wasfo well watered every where, that it refembled the garden of Eden, or the land of Egypt, and par- ticularly, as thou corned unto Zoan, /. e. in the parts about Zoan where the Nile is divided into feveral branches, and where the country is more watered than in other parts. ' But it is wholly indifferent to our purpofe, whether Le= not only becaufe its waters are immoveable, aijd more like a fea of liquid pitch than of water, but becaufe no living creature can abide in it, nor any plant or tree grow near it, by reafon of thofe bituminous fleams which it fends lorth ; and from the abundance of which matter, it moft frequently oc- curs in heathen authors under the name of Lacus Afphaltites. This z Thus in the fecond book of Kings, the fire of God came down from hea- ven and devoured tlieni, Ch. i. 12. And Ifaiah ufcs t!ie fame exprcfiion, he ftall be punilhed with the fire of the Lord, Ch. Ixvi. 16. and fo the Latin poets fpeak, Illicet igne Jovis, lapfifque citatior aftris, Triftibiis exiluit Ripis. Stat. Tlicb. Lib. I. a LcClerc's DilTertations. b That of Samachon, and that of GeiuiefareUu c Ilevlin'i Cvfmographjr, 12 Its fitua- tion, qaalL ties, snd adja cent coun- tries. There- maim of their de- £h-udlion. A Complete Body of Divlmty, Part III, This lake, ^ according to the accounts we read of it, is in- ■ clofed on the eaft and weft with exceeding high mountains; on the north it is bounded with the plain of Jericho, on which fide it receives the waters of Jordan ; on the fouth it is open, and extends beyond the reach of the eye, being twenty -four leagues long, and fix or feven broad. Its water is extremely deep and heavy, of a naufeous tafte, and a very noifome fmell ; it is ne- ver agitated with the wind, nor does it harbour either fiih or fowl unaccuftomed to the water. It is full of bitumen, which at uncertain feafons boils up from the bottom in bubbles like hot water, at which time the fuperficies of the lake fwells, and refembles the rifingof an hill. Adjoining to the lake are fields which, they report, were extremely fruitful in former times, and inhabited by populous cities, but are now fo parched and burnt up that they have loft their fertility, infomuch that every thing, whether it grows fpontaneoufly, or is planted by man, whether it be herb, fruit, or flower, as foon as it is comprefled, « moulders away immediately into afties : and to this the author of the book of Wifdom certainly alludes, when he tells us that f of the wickednefs of thofe cities, the wafte land that fmoaketh to this day is a teftimony, and the plants bearing fruit that ne- ver come to ripenefs. c The cinders, brimftone, andfmoke, faysPhilo, and a certain obfcure flame, as it were of a fire burning, ftill appearing about Syria, are memorials of the perpetual evil which h.ippened to them } and, as Jofephus '> adds, the things that are laid of So- dom are confirmed by ocular infpedion, there being fome re- lifts of the fire which came down from heaven, and fome re- femblance of the five cities ftill to be feen. ■ And it is the du- ration of thefe monuments of divine wrath perhaps which gave occafion to St Jude to fay, that the wicked inhabitants of thefe cities k were fet forth for an example, fufFering the vengeance of eternal fire, /'. e. of a fire whofe marks were to be perpetuated unto the end of the world ; ' for it is no uncommon thing in fcrjpture d See Strabo, Lib. XVI. and Tacitus Lib. V. c. 6. e Whether there be any truth in this part of the account of Tacitus, it is hard to tell ; as for the apples of Sodom (to which he feems to allude) Mr jMaundrell tells us that he neither favF nor heard of any thereabouts; nor vas there any tree to be fL'en near the lake from which one might expetT: fuch kind of fruit: and therefore he fup- pofcs, the being as well as the beauty of that fruit is a n.ere fi»?lion, and only kept up becaufe it ferves for a good allufion, and helped poets to a pat fimili- tude. Journey from Aleppo to Jerufalem- f Wifd. x. 7. g De Vita Mofis, Lib. n. h De Bello Jud. Lib V. c. 27. i Saurin's Differtations. k Jude ver. 7. 1 Whitby Annot. in Jud. ver. 7. Thus God threatens to make the people of liczt\er:m!anaioon:o7i, a perpetual deiolation, Ejzek.y.Viy.\. f). fjt-r^ma niootiian a perpetual hilling, Jer. xviii. 16. and cyieiiijmon ateonion, an everlalHng re- proach, Jer. xKiii. 40. And this more efpecially is threatened, ■where the de- ftruftion of a nation is compared to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah; thus Babylon fiiall be, as v.-hen God overthrew Sodom and Ganiorrah, ou ka- tofkelhefttai cis t6;i atoona c'.ronon, it fliall never be inhabited, Ifa xiii. 19, 20. and, to name no more, fnrely Moab fliall be as Sodom, and the children of Amnicn as Comorrab, cphi.nif'nene eh ton uiootta, » perpetual defolation, Zeph. Chap. III. Frovt the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Law, 23 fcripture to reprei'ent a great ami irreparable vailation, whofc effecis and (igiis iliall be pennanent to tlie lateit ages, by the word aioonios, which we here render eternal. Thus, in ail probability-, were the cities in the plain of Jor- ^^«"^ f^r Uan oveitiirovvn : but if it iliould be deinanded, whether this ^ !!; was done by a miracle, or by the common metl'ods of nature, culous. our anfwer is, ■" that in a foil impregnated with bitumen, the cities wliich are built thereon may be Ihaken by an earthquake, and fwallowed by a fudden hiatus ; that thunder -bolts too may fall, and let the veins of fulphur and bitumen on fire, which afterwards breaking out and mingling \.'ith the water, may, in a low valley, eallly caule a lake full of afphaltus ; all this is no more than what might be expected, as not exceeding the ordi- nary power of nature. But if thefe things v^ere done before' the natural caufes were in a difpolition to produce them ; if they had not come to pafs that inftant, unlefs it had been for fome extraordinary interpolltion of God, or his blell'ed angels ; it ought to be reputed no lefs a miracle tlian if every particular in the trani'adlion plainly itirpaiTed the ufual operations of na- ture. And, that the judgment now before us happened in this manner, » the two angels difpatched by Almighty God upon this important occafion, " God's foretelling Abraham his defign, 1- the angels acquainting Lot with the errand upon which they came, and their urging and inftigating him to be gone, 1 to make hafVe and efcape to Zoar, becaufe they could do nothing until he was come thither, are arguments fufficiently convincing that the thunder and lightning, 1 fay, or (as «■ others will have it) the ihowcrs of liquid fire j • or rather llorms of nitre, fulphur or bitumen mingled v/ith fire, which fell upon thefe wicked places, were immediately fent down by the appointment of God, and by the miniih'y of his angels, who knowing all the meteors of the air, and their repugnant qualities can collect, commix, and employ them as they pleafe, in the execution of God's jult judgments upon a people devoted to deHruction. With what expedition and alacrity thefe miniAers of hea- The pcarfy ven do the will of God, in the pum'fhment of the wicked, as well obedience as the prefervation of the juft, is apparent from this inftance of "^^^^^ '^^' their forcing as it were Lot and his family, while they lingered, out of the houfe ; their laying hold upon his hand and hurrying him out of the town, and then giving him this hafty order ; ' efcape for thy life, look not behind thee, ftay not in all the plain, efcape to the mountain lell thou be confumed ; as if they had been impatient to have their charge fafcly difpofed on, that they might the fooner fet about the work which God had ap- pointed them to do. The tn Le Clerc's DiflVrtation». n Gen. xviii. 22. o Ibid. ver. 1 7. p IWd. xix. 13. q Ibid ver. 22 r Howsir* Hiilory of the Bible, 5 Patrick's Com* rnontary. t Gen. xix. 16^ 17. ■who of the 24 A Complete Body of Div'wity. Part Ilt^ The deftriiction of one's native place, and of all one's kin- dred and acquaintance together, is certainly a very affecting con- fideracion even to thofe that efcape the calamity themfelves : but our concern in fuch a cafe is to be proportioned, not accord- ing to the ties of affinity, but according to the quality of the people that undergo the punilhment ; and this was the thing which made the difobedience of Lot's wife fo great a provoca- Lot's wife, tion to God. She " in all likelihood was a native of Sodom ; and having heard what the angels were oixlered to do, and fee- ing the heavens grow angry, and all their bolts pointed towards it, Ihe turned about and flood ilill to fee the fate of her father's houfe, or to bewail the lofs of thofe Ihe had left behind : for which contempt of the divine command, in expreffing a concern for a people that defer ved no confideration at all, the facred hiftorian tells us that ^ Ihe became a pillar of fait ; but whether in a literal or figurative fenfe, is a matter of debate among learned commentators. Thediffe- !• ^HE word which we render pillar y does properly fignify rent fenfes two things ; I . An heap of any mighty bulic, raifed in memory of fome remarkable event, fuch ^ as Laban and Jacob erc^^led in remembrance of the covenant made between them on mount Gilead ; and from this fignitication of the word » fome have imagined that Lot's wife was turned into an heap of ftones : or, 2. it fignifies either a flatue or pillar, from which ambi- guity of the word, fome would have Lot's wife turned ^ into a pillar, without any refembjance of a feminine ihape ; while others underfland it to be <= the ftatue of a woman, wherein all the H- neaments of her fex are plainly to be feen. But, befides thefe proper fignifications, the word may in a metaphorical fenfe be applied to denote any thing that is immoveable and hard, like a pillar or ftone ; and, according to this acceptation, they fup- pofe that Mofes might intend no more than that Lot's wife was ilruck dead with fear, or furprife, or any other caufe, and fo remained motionlefs like a ftone. 2. The word which we render fait, befides its obvious figni- fication, fbmetitnes denotes ^ a dry and barren foil (fuch as is found about the Afphaltite lake) and in this fenfe the word applied to Lot's wife intimates that the place of her death was a barren country, or the land of fait. At other times it fignifies a long fpace and continuance of time ; hence we find an everlafting covenant called ^ a Covenant of Salt (fait being therefore an em- blem of eternity, becaufe the things that are feafoned there- with continue uncorrupt for many years) and in this fenfe Lot's wife may be faid to become an everlafting monument of the di- vine . \i So fays theTargum of Jerufalem. x Gen. xix. 26, &c. and fome have given her the name of Adith. Patrick's Cominentai y. y Le Clerc's Differta- tions. z Gen. xxxi. 46, &:c. a Inter alios, Sulpitius Sevems. b So the fe^ venty interpreters render it. c So St Jerome and Onkdos. dLc CIer« ibid. « Numb, xviii. 19. Chap. III. From the call of P>hT3[\zm to the giving of the Law. 25 vine difpleafure, without any confideration of the matter where- into Ihe was changed. These are the interpretations which arife from the various fignifications of the words ; and, in order to know which fenfe we are to embrace, our bufinefs mufl be to confider whofe ar- guments and teftimony, in this cafe, are of greateft weight. Those <■ that prefer the figurative fenfe of the words, do it, Arguments they fay, for this reafon, becaufe they are loath to multiply mi- ^°^ **^^. racles where they fee no occafion. " It was enough for the ** juftice of God, and all indeed that the angel feems to inti- " mate, that this indifcreet woman fhould fuffer death for her *' dilatorinefs ; but there needed no miracle to accompliih this. ** Inftead of being turned into a pillar of fait, fhe might as well ** have been ftupified with fear, or fulFocated by fome bitumi- ** nous and fulphureous vapour. When Ihe faw her native '* country deftroyed by fire from heaven, heard the clouds '^ roar, and felt the ground tremble under her feet ; and at the " fame time recollefted in her mind the fad deftiny that befel ** all her friends and relations, except her hulhand and two *' daughters ; what wonder is it if grief and fear fo poffefled *' her fpirits that Ihe immediately expired, or at leaft fainted '' away, and having none to aflilt: her in that deliquium, died ** upon the fpot. Or if we fuppofe that the woman did not only ** ftop and turn her eyes to her native country, but (as foon as '* the angels were gone) went back to behold the burning of it *' nearer, and fo was fuffocated by fome poifonous vapour (as ** Pliny the elder was when his curiofity led him too near the " mountain Vefuvius) this is a conjedure that the words of *' our bleffed Saviour feem not to difcountenance ; who, in the ** defcription of the fuddennefs of the deftruftion of Jerufalem, *' giving his difciples this advice, '> he that is in the field let *' him not return back, immediately fubjoins, by way of example, ** remember Lot's wife ; whereby he feems to intimate that ** ihe returned back, and approaching too near the defecrated ** place, periihed in the common conflagration. Thus, whether *' we fuppofe that the woman was ftupified by fear, or fuffo- " cated by vapours, her death feems more natural, and anfw ers *' the divine purpofe of punifiiing her as well as if we Ihould " devife the prqdigious event of her being turned into a pillar ** of fait, which hardly any reafon can be given for ; which we " cannot fay with certainty ever yet was feen; and which could ** not, without a miracle, have been preferved fo long." Those that adhere to the literal fenfe of the words argue in and for ths this manner : That the vale of Siddim, ' where Sodom and the j-g^r^^^ other cities flood, was originally a very fruitful foil (as moft Vol. II. D bituminous fVatablns, Bodinus, Le Clerc, and Richard Simon, under the name of Sain- jore, Bibl. Crit. Tom. IV. Let. 44. h Luke xyii. 3', 32. i Wells's Gco- graphj-. 26 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, bituminous countries are) which induced Lot to make choice of -^it for the pafturage of his cattle, but is ^ prefent the very reverfe, a poor barren land full of fulphur ^ and falt-pits ; and hence they infer that all the fulphureous and faline mat- ter, which is found in this trad of ground now, was the cfFedl of divine vengeance, and ihowereddovn upon it in that day when God deftroyed Sodom and the neighbouring cities. i hey fup- pofe therefore ' that this woman, (landing dill too long to be- hold the deftruclion of her country, •" fome of that dreadful fliower, in the manner of great fleaks of fnovv fell upon her, and clinging to her body, wrapped it all over as it were in a fheet of nitro-l'ulphureous matter, which congealed into a cruft as hard as a {tone, and made her appear like a llatue, or pillar of " me- tallic fait, having her body inclofed, and, as it were, candied all over with it. In this manner they fuppofe this miraculous event might have come to pafs ; and for the truth and reality of the thing they produce the teftimony of the author of the book of Wif- dom, who makes mention <> of a {landing pillar of fait as a mo- nument of an unbelieving foul, and the authority of the feventy interpreters who exprefsly render it fo. Among Jewiih au- thors they produce the words of r Jofephus, who tells us that Lot's wife in her flight, ca{ting her eyes perpetually back upon the city, and being too much concerned about it, though God had forbid her lb to do, was turned into a pillar of fait : 1 have- beheld it myfelf, and it continues to this day : and among Chrif- tians, thofe of Clemens, in his epiftle to the Corinthians, where he tells us that his wife went out along with him, but being of a diiferent opinion, and not perli{iing in concord with him, Ihe was therefore placed for a fign, and continues a ftatue of fait to this very day. The accounts which modern hi{lorians and travellers give us of this matter are fo very different and uncertain, that we can- not fo well tell where to fix our belief. Brocardus, in his de- fcription of the Holy Land, tells us, that he gave himfelf the ♦ fatigue of a very troublefome journey to behold this (latue, but was not fo happy as to fatisfy his curiofity ; for the inhabitants .alFured him that the place was inaccefTible, or could not be vi- fited without apparent danger of death, becaufe of the prodigi- ous k The whole land of Jewry is furniflied with fait from hence. Heylin's Cof- mography. 1 Patrick's Commentary, m Aben Ezra is of opinion that Lot's wife was burnt with fire, which had fome fait mixed with it; fo that the was, as it were, feafoned by that fait : for he endeavours to prove that fait fell tlown from heaven with the fire; which was likewife the fcntiment of H. Gro- tius, from Deut. xxix. 23 n Interpreters have obferved to ns, that we muft not take the lalt here mentioned for common fait, which water foon diflblves, and could not pofiibly continue fo long, being expofed to the wind and rain ; but for metallic fait, which was hewn out of the rock like marble, and made ufe of in building houfes, according to the teftimony of feveral authors. Watfii Mifcell. Tom. II, and HoweU's Hiftory of the Bible, o Wifd. x. 7. p Antio. Chap. III. From the c^Z/o/ Abraham to the giving of the Law. ij ous beafb and ferpents that abounded there ; but more efpeci- ally becaufe of the Biduihi who dwell near the place, and were a very favage and inhumane fort of people : and yet, if we will believe i other writers of this kind, they tell us exprefsly that there is ftill fome part of it extant and plain to be feen be- tween Mount Engaddi and the Dead-fea. We will fuppofe, Iiowever, for once (among ■■ many other fabulous things) that ^^^ reality the long duration of this monument is an impofition of the * ''^^ ' inhabitants upon the credulity of ftrangers, yet it will not there- fore follow that there was never any fuch thing in being, unlefs we can think it inconfiftent with the nature of God to work a miracle for the puniihment of that woman. Miracles indeed are not to be multiplied, unlefs there be occafion for it : b^at \yhere the plain fenfe of the words leads us to fuch a conftruc- tion, it is a nicenefs, I think, no way commendable to endea- vpur to find out another, merely for tlie fake of avoiding the miraculoufnels of the faft ; as if the fcripture were more valu- able for containing nothing but obvious things, or the Majefty of God any way magnified, by feeming to exert as little of its omnipotent power as poflible. The fhort of the matter is this, we have a clear account in a book, full of wonders, ' of a wo- man, confufedly guilty of difobedience and ingratitude, ftruck dead by the hand of God, and turned into a ftatue of fait for a monument of terror to future generations : and is there any thing in this fo repugnant to reafon, or incongruouo for God to q On the weft-fide of the fea is a fmall promontory, near which (as our guide told us) ftood the monument of Lot's metamorphofed wife; part of which (if they may be credited) is vifible at this day. Mr Maundrell's Journey from Aleppo to Jerufalem. r Whether it was Tertullian or St Cyprian that was the awthor of thefe verfes, but the poet has run together feveral potefitous things: In fragilem mutata falem ftetit ilia fepulchrum Ipfaque imago fui, formam fine corpore fervans. Durat adhuc eienina nuda ftatione fub /Eihrami Nee plnviis dilapfa fitu, nee diruta ventis. Quin etiam fiquis mutilaverit advena formam, I'rdtinus ex fefe fuggeftu vulnera complet. Dicitur & vivens alio fab corpore fexus Munificos folito difpungere fanguine raenfc*. Watfii Mifcell. Sacra Tom. II. I Watfius ibid. BifTelius in his Argonat. Americ. Lib. XIV. c. 2. has a very remarkable ftory to this purpofe; he tells us that Badicrus Almagrus, who was the firft man that ever marched an army over the mountains between Peru and Chili, by the extremity of the cold, and unwholefomenefs of the air, loft, in that expedition, a great many men: being obliged however, fome five months after, to return the fame way, what the hiftorian tells us upon this occafion is almoft incredible. Stabant adhuc Equites peditefque, qui quinto ante menfe obrigaerant; immoti, inconfumpti, fitu, forma, habitu, quo rcpentina peftis qucmque alligavcrat. Alius pronus, humi ftratns; alius rectus; non ncm© videbatur inferta manibus frena quaffare. Ad funimam, invenit eos tales, quaies reliquerat: odore nuUo tetro, colore non folito Funeribus; oc nifi quod anima dudum iatcrcidiflct, castera fpirantibus quam extindis firoiliores. Which is enough to convince us that there is nothing fo extraordinary in what the hiftory tells us of Lot's .vife, as to make us have lecourfe to a forced in- terpretation. 28 . A Complete Body of Divinity, to do, that we muft immediately flee to another interpretatioit, and to make the matter eafy, refolutely maintain that the whole purport of the thing is only this, that the poor woman either fuddenly died in a fright, or indifcreetly fell into the fire ? May not Gpd alter the courfe of nature, and work a miracle when he pleafes i May not he punilh thofe that have offended him in what manner he thinks fit ? Is there any more wonderfulnefs in nietamorphofmg of Lot's wife than there was in changing the rod of Mofes into a ferpent? The fame power might do both ; and fmce the fame hiltory has recorded both, there is the fame reafon for the credibility of both. Nay, of the two, the transformation of Lot's wife feems more familial to our conceptions, fince we want not inftances in hiflory of perfons flruck with lightning, or killed with cold vapours, that have immediately been hardened like a piece of marble. Inftead of difputing the fa£l therefore, our beft way will be to make a wife improvement of it, and fo to remember Lot's wife, as to M.'ithdraw ourfelves as fpeedily as we can from the danger and infertion of evil company ; and when we have made our efcape, never to return again, fo much as in our heart and aftedions^ left we be involved in the punifliment of their crimes. SECT. IL Of the "World 2192, &c. Before Chrift 1812, &:c. Jacob pur chafes the birthright of his bro- ther. Of Isaac and Jacob. FTER the death of Abraham, which happened in the 175th year of his age, Mofes proceeds to the hiftory of Ifaac : but of him the molt material thing that he has to fay, is, that he married a wife • out of his father's kindred and coun- try, by whom he had two fons that were twins; Efau, whofe pofterity called Edomites, dwelt in the fouth border of Canaan, viz. Idumea ; and Jacob, who though younger, was defigned by God to inherit the promife, and was therefore permitted to get the birth-right from his elder brother, and the blefiing from his father ; and the manner in which he accompliihed both, is thus related by the holy penman : " Efau and Jacob being now grown up to man's eftate, it happened one day that Efau having fatigued himfelf extremely in *the field, came faint- ing to Jacob, who, at that very time, had juft made fome pot- tage of lentils, * which happened to be of a reddifh colour, Efau feeing the pottage, and being very hungry, defired his brother t Gen. :^xiv. u Howell's Hiilory of the Bible, x The original feems to imply, that Efau afked greedily iot fome Red, fome Red, and for this reafon, as foitie im^-jine, he whs called Edom, which fignifies red. Whence ffie city v.'hich he built, and the whole country his pofterity inhabited, was called by f h6 fame name- Patrick's Commentary. St Auftin upon Pfalm l.s.x. lays that they wert F.'^yptian Lenti'.s, which were in great eftecm, and much commend- ed by (Ithenseas and A. Gellius; and which gave the pottage very probably a read tijitT:ure. Ibid. Chap. III. from the call 0/ Abraham /o the giving of the Law. 1^ brother to let him eat with him, and, in order to move his compaiBon, told him, he was ready to faint : but Jacob knew how to take advantage of his brother's necelTity ; and there- fore to inflame his defire, and make him more fond of the bar- gain by delays, he propofed to him to fell his birth-right. Efau, through eagernefs of appetite, not con^dering the advan- tage of the thing, but only confulting his prefent neceffity, carelefsly anfwered, > Behold, I am ready to die, and what pro- fit (hall this birth-right do me ? Whereupon Jacob finding him io difpofed was not content with his word, but, to make the bargain fure, would not part with his pottage till he had oblig- ed his brother to confirm it with an oath ; which Efau never fcrupled, and i'o parted with his birth-right, together with all the excellent privileges belonging to it, for a mefs of pottage ; for which he is accounted ^ by the apoftle a profane perfon ; as well he might, if the advantages he parted with were fuch as thefe, viz. that the firft-born of the family ^ was called to the priefthood, and confecrated to God ; during his parents life, ^ was next in honour and dignity to them ; and at their deceafe <= had a double proportion of the inheritance ; ^ fucceeded to the go- vernment of the family or kingdom ; and was « entitled to the promife of the Meffiah to be born of his race. If thefe were the rights of primogeniture, Efau was certain- Both cen^ ly culpable for parting with them upon any confideration what- f"''^'^ *°^ ever ; but then neither is Jacob to be excufed, who taking the advantage of his brother's hunger over-reached him in the bar- gain, and got that for a trifle which he knew to be of ineflima- ble value. There is fomething fo inhuman in denying an hun- gry perfon a little victuals ; fomething fo felfifli in expelling a price, and an exorbitant price too from one's own brother for a mefs of pottage, that (to give you the fenfe *^ of a great com- mentator upon the text) the one's covetous method of attaining, is not much better than the other's fupine negligence in relin- quifhinp" this benefit. The only thing that can be faid in favour of Jacob (though it be faid without any pofitive or direft proof) is, e that he afted by fpecial direclion from God, who as fole lord and proprietor of all things can transfer human rights as he pleafes ; and that Efau, who had no fuch direclion, afted in this particular without authority, and againlt the order of na- ture which had inverted him with the birth-right. The whole therefore is to be refolved into the fole will and appointment of God ; but neither could that be fo well pleaded, ^ but that we.Jiave reafon to fuppofe that Mofes, who is fo very concife in his account of things, has left out many circumfl:ances which miglw be of ufe to clear up the patriarch's conduct, and to give *^ us . y Gen. xxv. 32. z Heb. xii. 16. a Exod. xxii. 29, bGen. xlix. 3. c Deut. xxi. 17. d 2 Chron. xxi. 3. e Vide Jurieu, Hift. des Dogmcs, Part I. c, 9. f Le Clerc's Commentary, g Fiddcs's Body of I>iviiiity, Vol. II. h Sau- rin'& DiiTcrtatioiis. 30 Of the "World 2245, &c. Before Chrift 1759. &c Supplants him in his father's blefUng. A Complete Body of Diviniiy, Part in. us a different notion of this, as well as of another adlion of the like nature. His father Ifaac, ' being now grown old, and by the decay of nature deprived of his eye-fight, was defirous to beftow his paternal bleffing upon his family before he died ; and to this pur- pofe, k ordered his fon Efau to go out into the field and kill him fome venifon, and thereof to make him a favoury dilh, fuch as might raife his feeble fpirits, and enable him to deliver his laft and folemn benediftion with a fuitable pathos. The laft bene- dictions of thefe extraordinary men of old (befides ' being forms of conveying their eftates, and making thofe their heirs upon whom they beftowed fuch bleffings) were likevvife prophetical oracles, fuch as denoted infallible events, and extended to the moft remote periods of time : and therefore we need lefs won- der that we find Rebekah, who always loved Jacob beft, endea- vouring to divert this important boon to the profit and intereft of her favourite fon, though we cannot fo much admire the method ftie made ufe of to attain her end. The moft candid conilruftion is, '« that Ifaac had forgot, though Rebekah re- membered, the prophefies which were made concerning their two fons (that " the elder Ihould ferve the younger) even before they were born ; and therefore Ihe only endeavoured to bring her hufband to do that unwittingly which God had pre-ordained was to be done, but what ihe knew her hulband would not do knowingly without much uneafinefs : and to this purpofe fhe advifed Jacob by all means to get the ftart of his brother, and to prefent his father with fuch favoury meat as ftie could make out of the tendereft part of a kid, and prepare it in fuch a man- ner as would pafs upon the good old man for venifon. The only impediment to this her contrivance was, the different com- plexion of thefe two brothers, « the one being very hairy, the other a fmooth man ; and therefore, to obviate this inconveni- ence, ihe covered Jacob's hands with the fkins of kids (which V in eaftern countries have hair not unlike what grows on hu- man bodies) and fo fent him in to deceive his father, and inter- cept the blefling from his brother. The plot fucceeded ; but we muft own ingenuoufly that Re- bekah was guilty of a crime in fuggefting Tuch wicked advice to her fon ; and that Jacob committed another in permitting himfelf to be feduced by fo bad a monitor ; that both of them prefumed to limit the power of God, by thinking that a com- plication of frauds was neceffary for the fulfilling a divine pro- phecy ; and that though he was pleafed to ratify a blefiing, which, by being extorted after fuch a manner, made hirn who received it unworthy of it ; yet this he did for his own name's fake (as he fays upon fundry like occalions) and to confirm his purpofe i An hundred thirty and feven years old, as many have demonfirated. k Gen xvii. 1 Patrick's rommentary. m Saurin's Differtations and Howell's Hiftory of the Bible, n Gen. xxv. 23. 0 Ibid, xxvii. 1 1. ^ Patrick, ibid. Chap. III. Fram the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Law, 31 purpofe and decree, that in the line of Jacob all the families of the earth (hould be blelfed. In Jhort, "5 how excufeable fo- ever Jacob may be fuppofed upon the right of primogeniture, which was fairly transferred to him by bargain ; yet when he tells a pofitive lie in averring himfelf to be the man he really was not, there is no apology to be made for him ; and though he obtained the blelling by fuch ways and means, as, if they may be ejtcufed in him, or he in ufing them, on account that God had appointed the bleifing to him ; yet are they not to be imitated, or drawn into example by any other. vVhich tliey would do well to confider who propofe the whole fcripture, and every part thereof, without diftinclion, for a franding rule both of faith and manners to all believers in all ages. But to continue our iiory. Deceived by thefe ftratagems, Isaac's and perfuaded by the many falfe adurances that Jacob had given ■^^"'"Sto him, the patriarch proceeds to pronounce over his younger fon ' the bleiruig which he had referved for the elder. He wifnes, or rather prophetically promifes Jacob, i . Abundance of wealth ; ' God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatnefs of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine. 2. Dominion and em- pire; Let people ferve thee, and nations bow down before thee. 3. A fuperiority over the jell: of his family ; Let thy mother's fon bow down to thee. And 4. Profperity to his friends, and confufion to his foes ; Cui fed be every one that curfeth thee, and bleffed be every one that blelTeth thee. Scarce had the good patriarch made an end of his good wifhes, when Efau returning from hunting brought him fome venifon, and afl)s, Tom. II. k (jen. xxviii- 13. J Ibid. ver. 20, m Jbid, xxx. 43. 34 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. the methoil which prudence fuggefted ; firft to implore the di- vine afliftance, and then to endeavour to pacify his brother with a prefent. His prayer was offered up, his prefent was fent, wlicn " Jacob, being left alone (as Mofes has given us the Jacob's account) there wreftled a man with him till the breaking of the wrefthng. ^j^y . j^^. ^^j^^ j.|^j^ ^^^^^ ^,^^^ ^^, ^j^^^. ^.j^^ intent of this myfti- cal adion might be, has been a matter of fome perplexity to interpreters. Who it « Origen, I think, is a little fingular, and no way tobe juf- was with, tified in his conceit, when he tells us that the perfon, with whom Jacob wreftled, was an evil angel ; in allufion to which, he thinks that the apolHe grounds his exhortation ; r Finally, my brethren, be ftrong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, tor we wre(^ not againft flefti and blood, but againft principa- lities, againft powers, againft the rulers of darknefs in this world, and againft fpiritual wickednefs in high places. But that Jacob, 1 who at this time was under the more immediate protection of heaven, fliould be fubmitted to the aflaults of a wicked angel, much more, that fo good a man as Jacob lliould alk a bleliing of an evil fpirit ; fhould merit the name of Tfrael, /. e a con- queror of the Mighty God, for overcoming fuch an one, or call the place of combat, Peniel, /. e. the face of God, in commemo- ration of his confliifl with fuch an one, is a very abfurd, if not impious fuggeftion. It is the general opinion of the Jewifh do(ftors, that the per- fon with whom Jacob contended was a good angel ; and as tlieir fettled notion is, that thefe heavenly fpirits fmg every morning the praifes of God, at the approach of day ; f fo the requelt which this antagonift makes, ' let me go, for the day breaketh, denotes him to be one of the angelic hoft, who had flayed his prefixed time, and was now in hafle to be gone, in order to join the heavenly choir. The prophet ' Hofea, I think, has deter- mined the matter very plainly, when fpeaking of Jacob, he tells us that he took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his {frength he had power with God, yea he had power over the angel, and prevailed ; but then the queflion is, whether it was a created angel, as moft of the Jewifti doftors maintain, or «■ an uncreated angel, /. e. the Son of God in the appearance of an angel, as feveral both antient and modern divines have thought. It was the received opinion in the firfl ages of the church, that where-ever we find menticHi of God's appearing to the n Gen. xxxii. 24. o De PrincipHs, Lib. HI. p Eph. vi. lo, la. q Gen. xxxii. 28. r Jarchi in Gen. xxj;ii. s Gen. xxxii. 26. t Chap. xii. 3»"4. « The Son of God, fays Tertullian, is ftiled an angel or nicfieiiger, not as a name defigning his nature, but his office: and they are faperticially fkilled in Philo the Jew, who know not that he calls the Logos both God's image and Ms angel. Juftia Martyr alfo ihews to Trypho the Jew, that the God who ap- peared to Abraham was the niinillcr cf the tniverfal Creator; and he gives this as a reafcm why the Word is called an angel, viz. that he may be known »,o be tUeraiaifter aud fubftitottof thefathcrof alllhings. Tennifon of Idolatry. Chap. III. From the call 0/ Abraham fo the giving of the Law. 35 the patriarchs of old, the adion miift be afcribed to the Logos, or fecond perfon in the ever-blefled Trinity. ^ Thus, of the three which appeared in human fliapS to Abraham, the perfon to whom he perfonally addrefTes himi'elf, calling him his Lord, is rightly fuppofed to be the Son of God, attended then only with two angels ; and for the fame reafons that we produced in confutation of Origen's vain conceit, the man that here (trove with and blefled Jacob, was the fame Divine Perfon, but un- attended by any angel, and cloathed in an himian fhape, the better to convince the patriarch of the unreafonablenefs of his fear and diftruft. For, we muft remember, y that when God Why they made any promife to the antient believers, gave them any ^vreftled. command which they were to impart to others, or was minded to convince them of certain truths which they, were either ig- norant or diffident of before ; he generally made ufe of fome vifible fign or token (as the manner of the Oriental people was) to the end that their imagination being more ftrongly affected by fuch objefts, they might more firmly believe the truth, or more gladly receive the promife, or more emphatically deliver the command which God communicated to them. Now this was the prefent condition that Jacob was in : he had offended his brother Efau in fupplanting him, nor had tvv'enty years ab- fence affuaged his rage : his brother Efau, he underftood, was coming out againft him with four hundred armed men ; and what to do in fuch circumftances he knew not. Under this perplexity of mind a perfon comes to him, wreftles with him, and lets him obtain the victory ; and then tells him the mean- ing of this emblematical adtion, as the vulgar Latin (which is the cleareft tranflation) expreffes it, if thou haft been ftrong againft God, how much more fhalt thou prevail with men ? And accordingly Jofephus informs us =' that Jacob confidered the vidiory he now obtained as an omen of great happinefs, and as an affurance to his poftcrity, that no human force ihould over- come them. « There is one paffage more wherein this patriarch is con- 0/the cerned, and a very remarkable inftance it is of the divine love 22rc"&:c and efteem for him, and that is the revelation which God Before vouchfafed him of the particular time when the Saviour of thrift mankind, who was to fpring from his loins, was to make his [ y^^ j appearance in the world ; which Jacob, in the benediftion he Jacob's be'dows upon his fon Judah, is fuppofed to exprefs in thefe prophecy- words : » the fceptre fliall not depart from Judah, nor a law- of'^^ejcep* giver from between his feet until Shiloh come; and unto plained, him Ihall the gathering of the people be. But becaufe the prophecy is fuppofed to have its ditficulties, it will be proper to explain its terms, in order to difcover the true fenfe and mean- ing of it. The X Hilary, de Trinit. Lib. IV. y Sauriii's DiiTertations. z Jofcph. Antiq. Lib. 1. c 19. a Gen. xliji. 10. 3^ ^ Complete Body Dlvimty, Part III. The word (Schebet) which we render fceptre, has both a li- teral and figurative fignification. ^ In its literal, it denotes a rod, a wand, a fceptre, a ihepherd's crook, &c. and in its figu- rative, it either implies that correction and punilhment, where- of the rod, or that authority and kingly power, whereof the fceptre is the enfign. It cannot be doubted, I think, but that the words are to be taken in a figurative fenfe here ; and yet it cannot be fuppofed to fignify punifhment, <- becaufe the tribe of Judah was fo far from being in a ftate of affliction, that it al- ways flourifhed exceedingly, and was honoured with many high privileges above the reft of the tribes : it muft therefore, in this place, be put for regal power and dominion, whereof the fceptre, ^ in antient times, was thought a fitter reprefentation than either the crown or diadem. 2. The word (mechokek) which we render law.giver, is not fynonymous with the former, but has two diftinft fignifications. « It fometimes fignifies, not a perfon that has power to make laws himfelf, but only to teach and inftruft others in thofe that are already made ; and in this fenfe, it differs very little from the fcribes, and doctors, and teachers of the law, which we find fo much mention made of in our Saviour's time. At other times, it denotes a perfon invert- ed with power and authority even to make laws, f but then this authority of his is inferior to that of a king; fo that pro- perly he may be called an inferior magiftrate, or governor fet over a people by the licence of fome monarch, and by his commifllon appointed to rule. And in this fenfe the word fhould the rather be taken here, becaufe there were fuch go- vernors and deputies fet over the Jews, after their return from the Babylonian captivity, 3. The phrafe which we render from between the feet, £ according to the modefty of the fcrip- ture-expreffion, means nothing elfe but of his feed and pofteri- ty, and whatever the original of the word Shiloh may be (which fome tranllate ^ the fent, the fon, the feed ; others quiet, peaceable, prosperous ; and others again, the auguft, the re- nowned, and the like) from which radix foever, I fay, the word be derived, both Jews and Chriftians are agreed in this, that by the perfon to whom this title is applied, the patriarch intend- ed the great Saviour of the world, who is called the Meffias, or Chriil. 4. By > Judah, there is not that necefiity to under- ftand the people of that tribe only, but all thofe who were af- terwards called Jews, even though they belonged to Benjamin, or Levi ; becaufe, after the defection of the reft from the houfe of David, thefe two tribes, joining themfelves to the other tribe of Judah, were incorporated together, and ufually called the houfe or kingdom of Judah, in oppofition to that of Ifrael. 5. There b SaurJn's DifTertations. c Du Pin's Hiftory of the Old Teftament. d Sel- den's Titles ot" Honour, e Kidder's Denionftration of the Weflias. f Patrick's Conunertary. g Mede's DifcourftS' h Patrick's ComnientiTry. i lljd. Chap. in. From the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Law. 37 5. There is but one expreffion more, and unto him fhali the gathering of the people be ; and herein there is no great diffi- culty, fiuce all are agreed that it contains a prophecy of the converfion or obedience of the Gentiles to the kingdom of Chrift; '' only there is this to be obfervcd, that, as the word (ihall, or ihall be) is not in the Hebrew, it ought to be left out of the tranflation, and will make the fentence run thus : The fceptre ihall not depart from Judahj &c. until Shiloh come, and the gathering of the people be to him. So that thefe two events, the coming of Chrifl, and the converfion of the Gentiles, ac- cording to this part of the prophecy, were to precede the fub- verfion of the Jewilh government. If then, by Shiloh, we are to underftand the Melilah ; by Judah, the people of the Jews ; by the fceptre, the regal power; and by the law-giver, a fubordinate magKtrate or governor ; then may the full fenfe of Jacob's prophecy be rendered in this ihort paraphrafe : " The royal power and authority, which in The full ** time to come they Ihall enjoy, fliall not be taken from them ; ^^^^^ ^^' ^'■' ** or, at leaft, they fhall not be deftitute of rulers and governors *' (though of an inferior degree) even in their moll declining " condition, until the Meliiah and Saviour of mankind come *' into the world : but after he is come, then fliall the pofte- ** rity of Judah have neither king nor ruler of their own ; *' for their whole commonwealth Ihall be diflblved, and never *' recover itfelf again. The nations that were aliens under ** former difpenfations Ihall become obedient to the Mefliah,and ** be made members of his mylfical body, the church, whofe *' bofom ihall be open to receive all." > For the mountain of the houfe of the Lord (as it is explained in an after-prophecy) fhall be eftablilhed upon the top of the mountains, and it ihall be exalted above the hills, and the people ihall flow unto it. This leems to be a genuine fenfe of the words, and if we look into the flate of hiftory during that time, we ihall tiiid the ex- pofition verified by the event. From the time of David indeed, when the fceptre firfl came a"cl its ar- into the tribe of Judah, to the captivity of Babylon, which was '^"'"P''^^'- four hundred and feventy years, the fuccefhon of kings in that fliewn tribe was uninterrupted ; but after the feventy years of their tVom hir captivity were expired, though they lived by their own laws, ^°^'' and in their own country, "> yet t'ney had no abiblute and in- dependent authority of their own, but were, tirft under the- Pcrfian monarchs, afterwards, upon the conqueft made by Alexander, under the Greeks, and after that, under the kings of Afia and Egypt, until they were at lait brought under fub- jeclion to the Iloman yoke. It muft not be forgot, however, that all this while that they were under the dominion of others, they enjoyed rulers and governor > k Mede's Difcourfes. 1 Ifu. ii. 2. m Patrick's Conimcntary. J 38 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. governors of their own, who adminiftred their affairs by way of deputation from the feveral monarchs that held them in fub- jedion. The firft of thefe governors was Zerobabel, whom " the prophet ftiles a captain, or prince of Judah ; and though the facred hiftory gives us no account of his fucceilors, vet, according to the « Jewi!h tradition, there were two, viz. MefhuUam, the fon of Nehemiah, and Hananiah his grandfon. Nehemiah came afterwards and executed the fame office ; but, upon his deceafe, the government came into the hands of the high-priefts. The facerdotal government being always fubor- dinate to fome foreign power or other, p fublifted for above 400 ; and in Simon's time, who was called the prince and go- vernor of the Jews, was raifed to a very great fplendor, fo that his grandfon Ariftobulus took occaQon from thence to alTert the title of a king, though he had but a fhadow of that power. His fucceflbrs, however, continued the title, until Herod ob- taining the kingdom of Judea from the fenate of Rome, (tripped them of their power, and deftroyed their family. After the death of Herod ^ the kingdom was divided by Auguflus into tetrarchies, giving Judea to Archelaus, and dividing the reft of the country between Philip and Antipas. But Archelaus, niif- behaving himfelf, was deprived of his government ; whereupon Judea was reduced into the form of a province, was ruled by Roman prefecls, and never after that enjoyed the privilege of Iiaving either king or governor of its own. The Jews at laft were utterly deftroyed by Titus ; their city and temple were burned to the ground ; their form of government, both civil and ecclefiaftical, quite extinft ; and above feventeen hundred years are now paft and gone, fince all this happened to them, and yet there is not the leaft fign of their reftoration. The whole To determine then the particular period of time when this ub!"°^ predidion came to be fulfilled, we may fay, with great juftice, that though the fceptre or regal power never properly returned after the iirft captivity, yet the law-giver, or government by perfons of their ovi'n nation, did not depart from the Jews un- til their utter excifion by Titus. >■ The gathering of the Gen- tiles, as well as the coming of Shiloh, was to precede their de- privation ; but, at the time of their firft fubjediion to the Ro- man power by Pompey t!ie Great, Shiloh was not, come ; at the time of their being reduced to a province under Archelaus^ the nations wer^e not gathered unto him ; but at the final fub- verflon of their ifate by Titus, when both thefe things werd come to pafs (Chrift come, and the Gentiles converted) then did the law-giver (as the fceptre had done before) depart from Ju- dah, and never fince that time has there either been any form of n Hag. i. I. o In Seder Olam Zuta, f 21. p. i. p Lewis's Antiq. cf the Heb. Repub. q Patrick's CommeiUiry. r Mede's Difcourfcs- Chap. III. From the call e/ Abraham to the giving of the Law, 39 of government, or perfon inverted with regal authority amono- laem. May the fenfe of this their calamity and difperfion, be a means in God's hands to open their eyes, and turn theu' hearts ! S E G T. m. Of Jo s E p H and Job. OF all the children which Jacob had, ' Jofeph was the of the deareft to him, and that not only becaufe he was the World eklefl: fon of his beloved wife Rachel, but becauic he was a ^^''^'. ^''^^ youth of a fuperior fpirit and capacity. The love and partia- cldft Jity of the father, however, occafioned fuch envy and indigna- 1728, &rc. lion in the reft of the brethren, that they once agreed in a de- 0^"^r\j fign to have murdered him ; but, upon better confideration, hiftwy.^ thought it more advifeable ' to fell him for a flave to a compa- ny of Iflimaelites who were going with their merchandize down into Egypt. The prefervation and protection of Jofeph in Kgypt, in order to the fuccouring his father and brethren in a time of famine, is a rich dilplay of the goodnefs and providence of God. " That Jofeph fhould be hated and fold by his bre- thren to the merchants who were travelling into Fgypt ; that thefe merchants fliould difpofe of him, not to a private perfon, . but to a great ofFjcer of the king's court, which gave, occalion to his future promotion; that he Ihould be preferred and efteemed by his mafter, yet, after that, cafl into prifon, and fo (to all outward appearance) rendered incapable of making any farther figure in the world ; that during his confinement he ihould interpret his fellow-prifoners, the chief baker's and but- ler's dreams, juft as they came to pafs ; and, in fome confider- able time, be recommended to Pharaoh to interpret his dream likewife, and by him advanced and made ruler over ail the king- dom ; here is fuch a variety of fcenes of life, in the compafs of a few years, as manifeft the divine contrivance, and the fkill of his infpired penman, in painting fome of thefe fcenes and their incidents, is not unworthy of our obfervation. The lamentation "which Jacob makes upon the fuppofed Mofes's lofs of his fon Jofeph ; the refufal > Vv hich Jofeph gives to the eleganccin requert: and enticement of his enamoured miftrefs ; the feverity 5/^P"^''S ^ wherewith he feems to treat his timorous brethren, and the fear, forrow, and felf-condemnation » which all the while arifes and ftruggles in their breafts ; ^ Jacob's denial to let Benjamin go, = and the grief and relu I am Jofeph. Does my father' yet live >. Come near to me, I pray you, I am Jofeph, whom ye fold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourfelves that ye fold me hither ; for God did fend me before you to preferve life. What can exprefs more trium- phant joy than thofe words of Jacob, upon hearing the unex- pected news ? 5^ It is enough, Jofeph my fon is yet alive, I will go and fee him before I die ; or more fatisfaftion than thofe upon the interview ? i Now let me die, fmce I have feen thy face, becaufe thou art yet alive. Never did any author exceed Mofes in tlie eafy and lively way (as we call it) of painting and delineating nature. But our bufmefs is not to purfue the facred writer through all the pathetic palTages of this narration, nor can we confider Jofeph in all the various tranfadtions of his life : what this pa- triarch was more efpecially remarkable for was dreams, and the interpretation thereof; the one the occafion of his fufferings, and the other of his exaltation ; and therefore it may not be improper in the firft place to take fome notice of them. Dreams, " according to their common diftribution, are either natural, or fupernatural. Dreams that are natural arife from feveral caufes ; the temper and conffitution of our bodies, the crifis and dilpofjtion of our blood and fpirits, the nature of the meat we eat, and the drink we drink, " nay, the want ibme- times of meat to eat, and drink to drink, contribute feverally to produce them ; but, above all, the accidents and occurrences of the day, the palTions and affedions of the mind, and <• the bufinefs and employment of the man's life, are the things that occafion nodlurnal images and reprefentations. And as they proceed from fuch a variety of caufes, there can be no depen- dence on them, nor any foreknowledge of future occurrences to be acquired from them ; for which reafon the wife fon of SiracU gives us this admonition concerning them, p Dreams lift up fools, imaptreoufin, fays the Septuagiut, add wings to them (as fome* times f Gen. xliv. i6. g Ibid. ver. i8. ■ Philo, in the treatife which he calls Jo- feph, has put in the mouth of Judah a very long and elaborate fpeech upon this occafion; but though it is excellently well turned, it has not near the life of the original. h Gen- xliv. 33. i Jbid. xlv. 3, &c. k Ibid. ver. 28. I ]bid. xlvi. 30. m Vid. Watfii Mifcell. Sacra. Tom. 1. and Edwards's Body of D'l- vinity, Vol.1, p. 193. n Au hungry man dreameth, and behold he cateth, a thirfty man dreameth, and behold he drinketh, Ifa. xxix. 8. o In fomnis eadeni plerunque videmus obire Caufidici caufas agere et coniponere Leges. Enduperatores pugnare, et prselia obire.— —Lucret. Lib. IV. p Ecclus. x.xxiv. I, &rc, « Chap. lit. From the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Laxv. 41 times men dream they fly) and make them vainly exped great matters ; whol'o regardeth them is like him that catcheth at a Ihadow, and followeth after the wind ; and thereupon he adds, if they be not fent from the mofl High in thy vilitation, fet not thine heart upon them ; for dreams have deceived many, and have failed thofe who put their truft in them. Thk wife man, however, acknowledges that dreams are fome- Superna- limes fupernatural, and fent from the moft High ; and this in- tural. deed was fo common a means of revelation among the patriarchs of okl, and among the Jewifli people afterwards, that there is no gainfaying it. 1 God fpeaketh once, yea, twice, fays Elihu, in the book of Job, in a dream, in a vifion of the night, when deep deep falleth upon men, in (lumberings upon the bed ; for not only the peculiar people of God, ■■ but even Pagans, and fuch as were aliens to the covenant, have been I'ometimes vouchfafed divine admonitions in their dreams : to which pur- pofe Jofeph obferves to Pharaoh, that ' God, by his dreams, had fhewn him what he was about to do ; in like manner as Daniel does to Nebuchadnezzar, that « the great God had made known to the king what was to come to pafs hereafter. How dreams, which were fo common a method of God's Whyintei^ communicating himfelf to mankind, come now to be fnperfeded, ™"ed. can be no great difficulty to us, who have it recorded in the rule of faith, that " God, who at fundry times, and divers man- ners, fpake in times paft unto the fathers, hath in thefe lall days fpoken unto us by his Son. The full and complete ma- jiifeftation of his will, which he hath made to mankind under the gofpel, has taken away the neceilky of inferior means ; though it may not perhaps be amifs to fuppofe (as ^ a great di- vine of our church has done) that the increafe of wickednefs in tlie world, multiplicity of bufinefs, foUicitude of mind about worldly affairs, and men's too much depending upon politic devices to accomplifli their ends, are in a great meafure the caufes of the ceflation of divine admonitions by true dreams. It is not to be queftioned, however, but that, even in thefe days, and under this difpenfation, in great exigences, or very momentous occurrences, under fore grievances, or very dif- ficult undertakings, God may ftill comfort and encourage, di- rect and admonilh, either by words or vifible reprefentations, good men in their dreams. And as dreams very often proceed from God, and are fome- interpreta- times very myfterious and enigmatical ; fo the true fenfe and t'"" of interpretation of them can only be derived from the fame fpirit '^'■^^"'^• Vol. II. F that q Job xxxiii. 14, 15. r Empedocles, Pythagoras and Plato were of opinion that dreams were fornetime* fent by good d«m<>ns : they talk much oft.bchi t^ueiroi: they fancied there was fome one particular God, who was employed in fending them to men, whom they therefore call oneiro^on'pos \ though Homer afcribes them immediately to the fupreme Jupiter Kat gar tc onar ek D/os eft, Iliad I. s Gen. .%li> 25. t Dan. ii. 29. u Heb. i. :. x Jackfon «n the Creed, Lib. I, 4* A Complete Body of Divinity, Part III. that produced them. To which purpofe we may obferve, that Jofeph reminds Pharaoh of a maxim not unknown to the Egyp- tians before, viz. that the art of divination does not proceed from men, but from God ; or as Mofes makes him fpeak, r It is not for me, God lliall give Pharioh an anfvver of peace : and having thus made acknowledgement to heaven for the hght and underilanding which he received from thence, he gave the king the explanation of two of his dreams. He told him that both of them prognollicated the fame event, that the ^ feven fat k'ine, and the feven full ears of corn, implied feven years of plenty which would begin prefently ; and that the feven lean kine, and the feven withered ears, denoted feven years of famine which would immediately fucceed the former. The emblems, it is owned, were natural enough : the full ears did not improperly reprefent plenty, as the withered did famine : the cow or ox w as a common hieroglyphic which the Egyptians made ufe of tofignify food and agriculture ; and the Nile, upon the banks of u hich Pha- raoh imagined he faw thefe objects, was the general caufe either of their want or plenty. But how refemblant foever thefe images might be, yet it certainly had been above the power of any man's conjecture to have applied them to fo many years of plenty and famine, had not the Spirit of God fuggefted it to him. Daniel makes the fame acknowledgement of divine infpira- tion, when he comes to explain Nebuchadnezzar's dream ; => Art thou able, fays the king, to make known unto me the dream which I have feen, and the interpretation thereof? To which Daniel anfwers, The fecret, which the king hath demanded, cannot the wife men, the aftrologers, the magicians, the footh- fayers, fliew unto the king; but there is a God in heaven that revealeth fecrets : and if we are minded to know by what me- thod he obtained that revelation from heaven, the infpired hitfory has acquainted us farther, that it was by prayer and interceflion ; ^ Then Daniel went to his houfe, and made the thing known toHananiah, Mifliael, and Azariah, his companions : that they would defire mercies of the God of heaven concern- ing this 'fecret ; and the fecret was revealed unto him in a night-vifion, for which he bleiTed the God of heaven. From which paflage it feems reafonable to imagine, that the way of Hnding out the meaning and interpretation of a dream was not by devifing any rules of art, or confulting with evil fpirits (as it afterwards became a practice among the Pagan oneirocritics) but by immediately addrefling to God, who either for that time made to them (in their fleep) a frelh reprefentation of the thing wherein they were confulted, together with its explanation, as it was in the cafe of Daniel ; or gave them a permanent and inherent power and faculty of expounding dreams whenever they were propofed to them, as it feems to have been in the patriarch y Gen. xli. i6. z Ibid. ver. 26, &;c. a Dan. ii. 26, &:c. b Ibid. vcr. 17, ice. Chap. III. From the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Laxv. 45 patriarch Jofeph ; whofe renown for divination was fo great, even in the heathen world, that the abridger of Trogus Pom- peius has given him a charadiler (whei'ewith we conclude this pa- triarch's itory) very much refenibhng what we read of him in Icripture : "= Jofeph, the youngeft of his brethren, fays he, had a jofeph's fuperiority of genius which made them fear him, and fell him to charafter foreign merchants, who carried him into Egypt, where he ^°^ pra<^i-ifed the magic art with fuch fuccefs, as rendered him very dear to the king ; he had a great fagacity in the explanation of prodigies and dreams ; nor was there any thing fo abftrufe, cither in divine or human knowledge that he did not readily attain. He foretold a great dearth feveral years before it hap- pened, and prevented a famine's falling upon Egypt, by advif- ing the king to publilh a .decree, requiring the people to make provifion for divers years. His knowledge, in Ihort, was fo great that the Egyptians liftened to the prophefies coming from his mouth, as if they had proceeded not from man, but God himfelf. Not long after the days of Jofeph, when the children of Job's conn- IlVael fojourned in Egypt, there lived a perfon of great renown ^^y' ^^^ in the land of Uz (^ which fome place in Arabia Deferta, and ^-^^Jl ^ fome elfe where) whofe patience and conftancy under afflid:ioii is largely recorded in fcripture, and recommended as a pattern to all fucceeding generations. That Job lived in the days of the patriarchs, is very probable, from the long duration of his life, which " continuing an himdred and forty years after his I'e- floration, could hardly be lefs in all than two hundred. That he lived before the law, may be gathered from his burnt offer- ings in the land where he lived, both commanded and accepted by God, though fuch offerings were by the law forbidden in any other place, but that which the f Lord had chofe in fome one of the tribes of Ifrael : and that he lived after Jacob, may be inferred from the charafter given of him by God, s that there was none like him upon the earth for uprightncfs, and the fear of God ; which large commendation could not have been allowed to any while Jacob lived, who was God's favourite fervant, and defcended from the father. of the faithful in a di- rect line ; nor can it be fuppofed that it was proper to be given after Jacob to any while Jofeph lived, who in moral virtues, and other excellencies, made as bright a figure as any in his lime. •> After thefe conjectures, though the precife time of Job*s birth cannot with fufficient ground be afcertained ; yet there is a general concurrence in opinion, that he lived in the time of the children of Ifracl's bondage, fmce his birth is placed in the very fame year wherein Jacob went down into Egypt, and the beginning c Juftin, Lib. XXXVI, c. 2. d Wells's Geography, e Job. kUi. l6. f Deut. liii. 1 3j 14- g Job i- S. h Howell's Hiftory of tlic Bible. 4^ A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, beginning of his trial in the year when Jofeph died ; though it might probably be lefs liable to exception, if his birth were fet a little lower, much about the time of Jacob's death ; and then Jofeph, who furvived his father about four and fifty years, will be dead about fixteen years ; at which time Job might juftly deferve the great chara:danslesParaphrafesCaldaiques. Cadure,dans " fon Coramentaire fur Job, a aufli remarque plufieurs Chaldaifmes dans ce " Livre; & quelques perfonnes favantes fourtiennent, que les Arabifmes, " qu'on y croit avoir remarque. ne font que dcs Manieres de parler Chal- " deenncs. On y trouve des Imitations de divers endroits des Pft-aumes, &rc. " Ainfi lors qu'on dira que I'Auteur de ce Livre peut avoir vc^u an com- *' mencemcnt de la captivjte, on ne dira rien que ne foit afTez vraifemblable, ?' Srqui ne foit confnrmc au Stile de cet Ouvage." Vide Sentimens de quelque ^J"heologiens fur I'Hiftoipe Critique. Let. 9. : Ezek. xiy. 14. and James V. n. kjobii. 3. 1 Gea. xxy. 6. m Job i. 3. Chap. III. from the call of Ahv ahum to the giving of the Law. 45 fons and three daughters ; and the excellency of the " character which God has been pleafed to give him, is a fufficient demon- ftration : and yet we fee, that as foon as God was pleafed to fubmit him to the devil's alfaults, what a fad cataftrophe befel him. The Sabeans ran away with his afTes ; the Chaldeans plundered him of his camels ; a fire from heaven confumed his iheep and fervants ; a wind overwhelmed all his children ; and, while the fenfe of thefe lofTes lay heavy upon his fpirits, his body was fmitten with a fore difeafe ; infomuch that he, who but a few hours before was the greateft man in the country, in whofe prefence ° the young men were afraid to appear, and before whom the aged (tood up ; to whom princes paid the moft awful reverence, and whom nobles in humble filence admired ; divefl- ed of all honour, fits mourning on a bed of afhes, and, inliead of royal apparel, is overfpread with fores and ulcers. Nay, and to add, if polTible, to the weight of his calamity, the wife of his bofom, from whom, more than all the world, he might expeft fome comfortable alii fiance, inftead of pitying him in his deplorable condition, treats him with the utmoft fcorn, and re- proaches him with his virtue, J' doft thou ftill retain thine inte- grity, curfe God and die. The misfortunes and affliftions that befel Job were fo remark- His con. able, that they fpread about the neighbou^-ing countries, and ^"^^""^ from thence to more diilant regions, till at laft they reached iviends. the ears of his old friends, Eliphaz the "j Temanite, Bildad the "■ Shuhite, and Zophar the ' Naamathite, who no fooner heard of his fad condition, but they made an appointment to go toge- ther and pay him a vifit, and comfort him. The unaccount- able greatnefs of his calamities led them into a mifconcep- tion of him, and made them fuppofe that it muft be the vindic- tive hand of God, either for fome deep hypocfify, or fome fecret enormity that fell fo heavy upon him : and therefore Eliphaz n Job. i. 8. o Ibid. xxix. 8. p Job ii. 9. The ambiguity of the equivo- cal word in the Hebrew, which fignifies to blefs as well as curfe, has occaiioned great difagreenient among interpreters, who have thereupon given a quite different conftruftion to the words. They that make Job's wife bid him curfe God and die, fuppofe that Job lived after the la^^' was gi^'cn, which made it [Lev. xxiv. 15, 16.] death to curfe God; and that his wife (an Arabian and heathen) knowing the law, and the punifhment for blafpliemy, fpake thus t» him, not to reproach but in pity to him, that he might be delivered from his pains. But all this fuppofition is overthrown, if, according to the general con- fpnt, Job lived before the delivery of the law. Others therefore fuppofe, th it fince it was the devil's defign to make Job curfe God, he inftigated his wife to perfuade her hufband to it, not with refpeft to any penal law (for that is ridi- culous to imagine) but in expediation, that fo open and bold a blafphemy would provoke the ilivine juftice immediately tofliike him dead, and thereby deliver ■ him from his intolerable miferies. But however it was, it is certnin, by Job's anAver, that (he gave him no good advice, otherwife fo meek and good a man would not have given her fo fliarp a reproof. Howell's Hillory of the Eibie. q So called from Temun, grandfon to Efau by his fon Eliphaz, Gen. xxxvi. 10,11. r Defcended from Shuah, the youngefV fon of Abraham l)y Kcturab, Gen. XXXV. 2. s His defcent is not eafily traced without ftrainiiig, thcugb fviue would derive it from Efau. Howell, ibid. 4^ A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. Eliphaz in three orations, Bildad in as many, and Zophar in two, argue from common topics that fuch affliftions as his could come from no hands but God's, and that it was inconfift- ent with the jutlice of God to affli6l without a caufe, or puniih without guilt ; and thereupon charging Job with being a grie- vous (Inner, and a great hypocrite, they endeavour by all means to extort a confeflion from him. But Job, immoveable in his lincerity to God, and innocence to man, confidently maintains his virtue, in refponfory fpeeches to every one of theirs ; re- futes their unkind fuggeftions, and reproves their injuftice and want of charity, but always obferves a fubmiffive ftile and re- verence when he comes to fpeak of God, of whofe fecret end, in permitting this trial to come upon him, being ignorant, he often importunately begs a releafe from life, lelt the continu- ance of his pains ihould drive him to impatience. During thefe arguments between Job and his friends, there was prefenta young man, named Elihu, ' who having heard the debates on both fides, anddifliking both their cenforioufnefs, and Job's jurtification of liimfelf, undertook to convince liim, by ar- guments drav/n from God's unlimited fovereignty, and unfearch- able wifdom, that it was not inconfiilent with his julHce to lay his affliding hand upon the beft and moft righteous of men ; and that therefore, when any fuch thing came upon them, it was the duty of all men to bear it v/ithout murmuring, and to acknowledge the divine goodnefs in every difpenfation. When God's juf. every one had fpoken what he thought proper, and there was tifying and now a general filence in the company, the Lord himfelf took litm*^ "* ^P ^^^ matter, " and out of the whirlwind direcl:ed his fpeech to Job ; wherein, with the higheft amplifications, defcribing his omnipotence in the formation and difpofjtion of the works of the creation, he fo efFedually convinced him of his inability to underftand the ways and defigns of God, that, with the pro- foundeft humility, he breaks out into this confefiion and acknow- ledgement, >' Behold I, am vile, whatfhall I anfwer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth : once have I fpoken, but I will not anfwer ; yea, twice, but I will proceed no farther ; which acknowledgement pleafed God fo very well, that he declared himfelf in favour of Job againft his injurious friends; and thereupon put an end to his fufferings, and rewarded his faith and piety with a larger portion of earthly felicity than he had before, and with the prolongation of his life, beyond the com- mon extent of thofe times. SECT. t Job xxxii. u Ibid xxxviii. x Ibid. xl. 4, S' Chap. III. Froin the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Lavj. 47 SEC T. IV. Of Moses, and his Miracles in Egypt. AFTER the death of Jofeph, the facred hiftory informs Of the us that y there arofe up a new king over Egypt, which '^^'""Id, knew not Jofeph, who was either unacquainted with the bene- Before^' fits the crown had received from his fervice, or willing, upon Chrift political Accounts to overlook them, and to treat his kindred '57 1, &c. with feverity. Who this king was, the filence of Mofes, and xh^^^inff the defect of prophane hiltory has made it almotl impollible for of Egypt lis to know ; unlefs the paflage which ^ Jofephus relates out of ^*'h«^ **P- Mancthon, the Egyptian hiltorian, may be fuppofed to give us ["^^J any intelligence. It tells us that undei the reign of Timaus, a great army, compofed of a people without any name, came from the Eaft, and made themfelves mailers of Egypt ; flew the princes, burnt the cities, deflroyed the temples, carried the women and children into captivity, and made a man of their own nation, named Salatis, king. If this piece of hiilory has any foundation of truth, then might the new king here mentioned polFibly be this Salatis ; and a fear, left the Ifra- elites might join with the natives of Egypt, to drive out thofe new conquerers, might perhaps have occafioned a great many cruelties both to them and Ifrael. c4, » A Learned hiftorian of our oun nation is of the opinion, The man- that the firft king of Egypt who opprefled the ifraelites was nerof their Buliris, both in the lime of his regency under Sefoflris the °PP*'*^^*'"- younger, and when he came into the poirellion of the throne himfelf. I'he vaft increafe of the people gave him an uneafy umbrage, left, as they had already grown too numerous for one province to contain, they might in procefs of time elbow him out of his kingdom ; and '' a report (which was current in thofe daysj that, in a lliOrt fpace, a child would be born among the Hebrews, vvhoie virtue would be admired by all the world; who would raife the honour of his own nation ; deprefs that of Egypt ; and make his name and renown immortal, might be another inducement to ufe them cruelly, and make their lives bitter with hard bondage. Making of morter and brick, and other rural labours, <= making dikes and banks to ftop the wa- ters of the Nile, digging of canals and aqueducts to water the land, d building of forts, and <= erefting of pyramids ; thefe, and many more principal talks were perpetually impofed upon them, y Exod. i. 8. z Contra Appian. Lib. I. c. 5. a Sir Walter Raleigh's Hiftory of the World, p. 204. b Jofeph. Antiq. Lib. II. c. 5. c Ibid- dExod. i. 11. e The pyramids are vaft piles of building, raifed by the king's of Egypt, in teftimony of their grandeur and magnificence, and to be the repofitories of their bodies when dead. There are three now ftanding, not far from the place where Memphis formerly was fituate, the largeft of which is defervedly reckojied 4? // Complete Body of Dtvlmiy. Part 111.- them, in order to impoverilh their fpirits, and infeeble their bodies. But when, through tlie blefling of God, the people rather grew than were diminilhed under thefe opprelhons, ef- feftual nieafures were taken at laft, to bring about their utter extirpation ; and in purfuance of thefe, an edi(Sl: was put forth, that f every fon that was born unto them ihould be caft into the Mofes at river. Under thefe unhappy circumftances Mofes was born; that time by the cruelty of his prince deftined to immediate death, butby *"^"" the decrees of God referved to be the glorious inftrument who was to execute his all-wife purpofes. All the care that could be taken by a tender mother of a loving child, was taken by the mother of Mofes for his prefervation ; e when fhe faw him that he was a goodly child, fhe hid him three months : but it feemsthe enemy was as vigilant for his ruin, as his parents could be for his fafety, and therefore the concealment of him was now no longer prafticable. To God's providence there- fore they commit him ; ^ and putting him into an ark, laid him in the flags by the river's brink. By an happy train of events, ' Pharaoh's daughter comes at that very time to that very place : Jhe fpies the ark ; fends one of her retinue to fetch it ; ^ opens it ; fees the child weeping ; has compailion on it ; difcovers it to be one of the Hebrew children ; fends for a nurfe of the Hebrew women to nurfe it, who happens to be it's own mo- ther, and to whom fhe delivers it, v/ith a charge to take care of it, and to bring it up at her expence. His child- The facred hiilory leaves a great gap in the life of Mofes ; hood. only it acquaints us that when i the child grew, his mother brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, who made him her own fon, and called his name Pvlofes ■» ; whereupon Jofephus tells - us reckoned one of the feven wonders of the world. It is an exaft fquare at the bottom; every fquare 704 feet in length; afcended by 210 (fome fay more) great {tone fteps, mod of them above three foot high, and of a breadth pro- portionable. Its height is 616 feet, by degrees growing narrower and nar- rower till you come to the top, where there is a fine platform (confifting of teu or twelve great ftones, each of lixteen or feventeen feet fquare) from whence you have a pleafant profpedt of old Cairo, and the adjacent country. This pyramid (as the inhabitants of the country fay) was built for the fepulchre of a king that was never buried in it, and the common opinion is, that the faid king was that Pharaoh, who, by the juft judgment of God, was drowned with all his army in the Red Sea. The curious that are defirous to know the infide ofthisvaft ftrufture, the chamber of the tombs, and the furprifing afcent to it, &rc. had bell confultTh.evenot's Voyage de Levant, or Le Bruyn, upon the fubjedl. I Ihall only add from Pliny, that this pyramid was twenty years a building, though 370,000 men were every day employed in the work, and i8oo talents expended upon them, merely in radilbes and onions. fExod.i. 22. glbid.ii. 2. h Ibid. ver. 3. i Jof«phus, and from him Philo, calls this royal princefs Thermutis; and adds, that Ihe was the king's only daughter and heir; and that having been fonie time married without any child, fhe pretended to be delivered of Mofes, and owned him for her fon, but it looks much more likely, that he came to be called her fon, by way of adoption, as we faid clfewhere. Vol. I. p. 39. k Exod. ii. 5, 6. 1 Ibid. ver. 10. m This name feems to be derived from the Hebrew word MaJIjal, which is pever ufed in the Bible but for drawing out of the water ; but fome will bave ic Chap, III. From the call q/' Abraham to the giving of the Imxv; ^d us this ftory, that when Mofes was three years old, Thernmtis bringing him to her father one day, who took him in his arms, and put his diadem upon his head, the child pulled it off, threw it on the ground, and trampled it under his feet : and it is not improbable that the apoftle might have fome regard to this very aclion, when he fays, that ■> Mofes, when he came to years (inti- mating that he did not only trample upon the diadem of Pharaoh when he was a child, but when he was come to years, and was capable of judging better of thofe things) refufed to be called the fon of Pharaoh's daughter, chufing rather to fuffer afflic- tion with the people of God^ than to enjoy the pleafure of fm for a feafon. There is no doubt to be made, but that in his minority, all the care was taken of his education ; but whether he made all the advancement in learning <> as is pretended ; whether he was that complete poet, and excellent orator, as fome would have him ; it is certain that he was an incomparable hiftorian, and not unlikely, that he was very well verfed in aftronomy, at that time one of the mod cultivated fciences in Egypt. His com- mand of Pharaoh's army in his more advanced years, his ex- ploits againft the Ethiopians, p retaking the cities which Egypt had loft, penetrating into the enemy's country, and even re- ducing their very capital; i together with his marriage to' Tharbis, the king of Ethiopia's daughter, favour a little of the romantic, though they give us fome reafon to infer ■■ that his name and feveral pafTages of his life (mixed as they are with fome fables) were not only known to other nations, but by them highly admired and magnified. Vol. II. G • When it compounded of Moo, which in the Egyptian tongue fignifies water, and hufes^ which fignifies faved, becaure they think it not fo very likely that this princefs fliould give her adopted fon a name that was derived from any other language but her own. The word MuJIial however (from whence the name moft na- turally flows, and to which flie herfelf faid Jhe had refpe<5lj might have the fame fignification in her language that it had in Hebrew ; there being a great affinity between the two tongues. Clem. Alexandrinus tells us, that the name lie had given him by his parents, at his circumcifion, was Joachim. Patrick's Commentary. « Heb. xi. 24, 25. o See the tellimonies of Eupolemus and others related by Clem. Alex. Stron. Lib. I. p Jofeph. Antiq. Lib. IL c. 5. and Philo, de Vita Mofis, Lib. L q This ftory is dreffed up in a very gallant manner: Tharbis, daughter of this Ethiopian king, fees from the %valls of the city, where flic was befieged, this brave warrior doing a<5tions more than human: flie finds herfelf wounded with a dart different from thofe which flew from his arm; and being unable any longer to conceal her paffion, (he declares it to him who vvas the author of it: he, like a generous lover, makes a fuitable return, and at laft marries this Ethiopian princefs j but becaufe (he oppofcd his return into Egypt, he who was well {killed in aftronomy, caufes two images to be engraven upon two pre- cious ftones.the one of which increafcd memory, and the other caufed forgetful- nefs. Thefe he fct in two rings, giving that of oblivion to his wife; which after ihe had wore for fome time, fhe began to negleft the love fhe had to her hufljand, and fo he without danger returned into Egypt. Jofephus and Eufcr* Vuis tell this ftory out of Artapanus. r Patrick's Commentary. ro A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, Mofes kills « When he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to t|ie Egyp- vifit his brethren the children bf Ifrael; and feeing one of them iuftified.^ fuller wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was opprefs- ed, and fmote the Egyptian. The Egyptian 'whom Moles flew was, we will fuppofe, one of thofe talk-mafters whom Pharaoh had fet over the children of lii-ael, and he falling upon the poor Hebrew in a moft violent manner, beat him till he had almoft killed him for not doing his work fo faft as he would have had him : nay, fuppofing it true that Mofes (according to the Jewilh tradition) did not kill him with a fword, or any other weapon, but merely by the word of his mouth, pronouncing him dead, in the name of God ; yet even thus he could not have juftified the fad:, had he not been moved and animated thereunto by a divine impulfe, or inverted before it happened (as " St Stephen's comment upon the place giyes us occafion to think he was fo invefled) with the title and office of Deliverer of the People of God. But the time for their deliverance was not yet come : and therefore Mofes having reafon'to apprehend that it would not be long before his killing the Egyptian would reach Pharaoh's ear, » thought it the fafeft way to withdraw into Arabia Pe- trasa, and there wait until he had a farther commiffion from His man- God. In this place he y providentially fell into the acquain- neroflife tance of Jethro, a prince or governor of a province in Midian, ui Midian. y^jjjj whom he contrafted an intimacy, married his daughter, and ferved him in the capacity of a fliepherd for forty years. It was here very probably ^ that in the leifure hours (whereof that kind of life afforded him plenty) he gave himfelf up to con- templation, and to perfeft that knowledge which he had laid the foundation of in his youth. It was here very probably a that he compofed fome of thofe admirable books which he ha? tranfmitted to the church, f the book of Genelis, and that of Job, s Aftsvii. 23, 34. t Philo de Vita Mofis, Lib. 1. Some of the Jewifli doc- tors tell us that this Egyptian, whom Mofes killed, had broken into the He- brew's houfe, bound him, and ravilhed bis wife, and was now going to murder him ; but this looks too like a tale : nor is there much more probability in his flaying him with a word of his mouth; for then there would have been no need for his cautious looking about him, before he gave him his death's blow, or hiding him in the fand, after he was dead. Whether the Egyptian had almoft killed the Jew, and that Mofes could no other way than by force keep him off: or whether he might not attack even Mofes himfelf, and force him to kill him in his own defence, are confiderations that make a mighty alteration in the cafe. Patrick's Commentary, and Howell's Hiftory of the Bible, u Ad:s vii. 25. X Notwithftandiiig the flight of Mofes is plainly affirmed, yet fo fond are the Jews of their own conceits, and fo bold in their inventions, that they Hiy he was not only condemned to have bis head cut off, but actually brought to fuffer; but that when the executioner came to do his office, Mofes's neck was, by a miracle, turned into a pilafter nf marble, fo that the fword would not enter, as the ftory is told by the author of Mofes's life. Patrick's Commen- tary. yExod. ii. z Saurin's Dilfertations. a Sir Walter Raleigh, p. 211 from Pererius. t Whether Mofes \Trote thefc books or no, it is certain that the matters treated Chap. III. From the call 0/ Abraham to the givhig of the Law. 51 Job, as fome imagine, that by the example of a patient man, he might ftrengthen the oppreflea Hebrews, and by the pro- miles of God to Abraham, Ifaac and Jacob, give them afTurance of their deUverance from Egyptian flavery ; and it was moft cer- tainly here *■ that God appeared to him in the burning bufh ; gave him full power and authority to go and releafe the chil- dren of Ifrael from their flavery in Egypt, joined his brother Aaron with him in the commiflion, and prefcribed them in- flrudlions how they were to proceed in that important affair. And with this epocha the theocracy of the Jews, <; or God's vifible government of that people, in like manner as other kings govern their fubjeds, and his appointment of Mofes to be his deputy and viceroy over them, moft properly did commence. God had hitherto fuffered his people to be opprcffed with The fuffer- hard labour and cruel bondage, J in order to keep up a dillinc- ingsofthe tion between them and the Egyptians, which a friendly ufage ^.^^y^^"' might have poffibly deflroyed ; to cure them of their pronenefs mitted. to idolatry, by making opprelhon an incitement to their hatred of the gods, as much as the tafk-mafters of the country ; and by the hardlliips they fuffered, to make them more willing to leave it whenever he Ihould fend them an order to depart. But now he thought it fie time to declare in favour of them, and accordingly fent his two ambaffadors, Mofes and Aaron, to de- mand of the king of Egypt the releafe of his people Ifrael, and, in cafe of his refufal, gave them power and authority to inflift upon the land many terrible plagues, until they com- pelled him to comply. ^ The ambaffadors at firfl: took all the Mofes and meafures that prudence fuggefted, not to provoke, but mollify ^^""on's the prince. They told him that the God of their fathers had Pharaoh. appeared unto them, and required them to hold a folemn faft, and perform a courfe of religious worihip in a certain place he had appointed them : they therefore alked leave for the Ifra- elites to go three days journey into the wildernefs, to offer un- to God fuch facrifices as would be an offence to the Egyptians, in cafe they were offered there ; and they pretended to fear, that if they ihould neglect giving God-this proof of their obe- dience, treated in both, were very proper to be laid before the Ifraelites at this junc- ture. For, in one of them, they might have a full and clear view of the hif- tory of the world, fo far as they were concerned in it ; of the creation of man- kind, of their own origin, and of the promifes which God made to their fathers; fo that it would give them the beft account of their condition and expeftations: and in the other they might fee avery inftrii(5tive pattern of patience and refig- nation to the will of God, in the life of a virtuous perfou, led, from a great Ihare of worldly profperity, into the nioft affiifting circumftances, and, after a due courfe of trial, brought back again to greater profperity than ever. A fubjert very proper to be fet before tiiem in this time of their dirtrefs, that thereby they might be initrudted to poffefs their fouls in patience, until God in his great wifdom, fhould tliink proper to put a period to their trouble^, Shuckford';. ConnetSlion, Vol. 11. Lib. IX. b Exod. iii. c Patrick's Commentary. d Sherlock of PrCvidcnce. fclxod V. S% Ji Complete Body of Dhtnlty, Part III, dience, he would chafldfe them with fuch plagues as might pof- fibly be fatal to Egypt itfeift*' With thefe, and fuch like argu- ments, they endeavoured to work upon Pharaoh ; but when nothing of this nature would avail, they betook themfelves to the other method that they were direfted to, in order to force 1 ues ^'^ confent. Ten judgments fucceflively they brought upon the enume- ^^^^^ • ^^^ ^^^ was a e change of the water into blood ; the fe- r^ted. cond, ^ a prodigious number of frogs ; the third, ^ of lice ; the fourth, k of flies ; the fifth, a miirrain, which defVroyed all the cattle ; the fixth, ulcers, both in men and beads ; the feventh, hail, which fpoiled the fruits of the ground ; the eighth, 1 locufts, which devoured what the hail had left ; the ninth, darknefs, which covered all the land ; and the tenth, the flaughter and general deftruftion of their firft-born. How Pharaoh's obftinacy and perverfenefs could be proof againft thefe fcurges (which alfeded the Egyptians only, but did the Ifraehtes no harm) we have the lefs reafon to admire, in that the holy fcripture has told us, that fome of thefe miracles his magicians imitated, and in others, God hardened him againft convicT;ion ; but how either of thefe could be done, with the prefervation of God's honour and goodnefs, is a matter of fome inquiry among divines. The Egyp- j ^ Who the magicians were that oppofed Mofes and Aaron cisns who. in "working their miracles, our facred hiftorian makes no men- tion ; g This plague was the more remarkable, becaufe, as Theodoret obferves upon it, as they had drowned the Hebrew children in the river, God now pu- nifhed them for it, by giving them bloody water to drink; according to the obfcrvation of the wife man, inftead of a fountain of running water, their ene- mies were troubled with corrupt blood, which was to rebuke the command- ment of killing the children, Wifd. xi. 6. h The river Nile naturally produces frogs, but fo great an abundance appearing on a fuddcn, filling the country, and leaving the rivers and fields, to go into the cities and houfes, made the thing miraculous, i Some would have the word [C/««iw] which we render Lice, to fignify gnats. The Septuagint calls it Knjpes, but what kind of crea- ture it was is not certainly known. It feems more probable that it was fome new fort of animal, called analogically by an old known name, and this might be fome reafon why the magicians could not counterfeit this miracle, becauff fuch creatures were not to be got; at leaft it is as good as the fancy of the Jews, that daemons have no power over creatures fo fmall as lice. Patrick's Commentary and Howell's Hiftory of the Bible, k The word \_Ar9b'] which we render/^ in general, is by the Septuagint called kuiiamuia, i. e. dog-fly, from its biting; for it fattens its teeth fo deep in the flelh, and flicks fo very clofe, that it oftentimes makes cattle run mad. Patrick's Commentary. 1 This is thp creature which we properly call a gralhopper: and wonderful is the account which authors have given us of the armies of thofe creatures, and the order and regularity of their march; viz. That in the year of our Lord 853, an infinite number of thefe creatures were feen to fly over twenty miles in Germany in one day, in manner of a formed army, divided into feveral fquadrons, and having their quarters apart when they reftcd ; that the captains marched a clay's journey from the reft, to chufe the mofl opportune places for their camp; that they never removed till fiin-rifing, at which time they went away in as much order as an army of men could do ; that, at laft, having done great mifchief wherefoever they paffed, (after prayers were made to God) they were driven by a violent wind into the Belgic-ccean, and there drowned; but being caft again by the fea upon the (bore, they covered 140 acres of land, at a time, ^nd qaufed a great peftilsnce in the country. HcmcU's Hillory of the Bil4e. Chap. III. From the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Law. 5- tion ; but feveral, both '" Jewidi and " heathen authors (from whom " St Paul, without doubt, borrowed their names) have informed us, that, among the Egyptians they were called Jan- nes and Jambres, which, to give them a Latin termination, would be Johannes and Ambrofius, of whom Numenius (as he is quoted v by Eufebius) has given us this remarkable account, viz. that they were the fcribes of religious matters among the Egyptians ; that they flourilhed in Egypt at the time when the Jews were driven from thence, and did not give place to any body in the fcience of magical fecrets. They were chofen unaniinoufly by all Egypt, to oppofe Mufeus, a leader of the Jews, and whofe prayers were very prevalent with his God. • Now, in order to form a right notion both of the profeflion Different and abilities of thefe men, we muft be careful to obferve that ^'^"'*?°f magic is properly of three kinds, natural, artificial, and diabo- lical. 1 The firll of thefe is no other than natural philofophy, but highly improved and advanced ; whereby the perfon that is well /killed in the power and operation of natural bodies, is able to pr.oduce many wonderful effedls, miftaken by the illite- rate for diabolical performances, but fuch as lie perfeftly Vv'ith- in the verge of nature. Artificial magic is what we call Leger- demain, or flight of hand, and whofe efFeds are far from being what they feem : they are deceptions and impoftures, the merry tricks of jugglers (as we corrupt the word joculatores) far from exceeding the power of art, and yet what many times pafs with the vulgar for diabolical too. Diabolical magic is that which is done by the help of the devil, who having great fkill in natural caufes, and a large command over the air and other elements, may afliil thofe that are in league and covenant with him (in fcripture called wizards, forcerers, diviners, enchanters, Chalde- ans, and fuch as had familiar fpirits) to do many ftrange and afl:onilhing things. To deny that there ever wei^e fuch men as thefe, is to flight the authority of all hiftory ; and to guefs at the ■ probable rife and original of them, we may fuppofe it to be this, — that God, being pleafed to admit the holy patriarchs The origi- into familiar conferences with him, the devil endeavoured to do "*' °^ the fame ; and, to retain men in their obedience to him, pre- *"*"^' tended to make difcoveries of fecret things, and that when God was pleafed to work miracles for the confirmation of the truth, he in like manner directed thofe that were familiar with him how to invoke his help, for the performance of fuch fl:range things as might confirm the world in their error. Under which of the denominations, natural, artificial, or dia- bolical, the magicians who let themfelves in oppofition to the lervauts of the mofl: high God are to be ranked, we have no in- flrudions m Vide Talmud Babil. Tit. IMenachos, c. 9. n Orig. contra Celf. Lib. IV. et Plin. Hift. Lib. XXX. c. 1. 02 Tim. iii. 8. p Prssp. Lib. IX. c. «. q Edwards's Body of Divinity, Vol. 1. 5 Patrick's Commentary. 54 *^ Complete Body of Dlvtmty. Part III. ftrui^ions from fcripture ; but it feems highly probable, that, neither would Pharaoh have called together thofe of the Icaft capacity and repute, neither would the devil (as far as his power extended) have been backward to aflift his votaries upon fuch The devil's a folenin and momentous an occafion as this. ' Now there are power. two ways wherein the devil (as is agreed on all hands) may be fuppofed aiTiftant to thofe that pretend to work miracles. The firll is, by raifmg falfe images and appearances of things, which he may do either by afFefting the brain, or confufing the optic nerves, or altering the medium which is between us and the objeft. " That he did fome fuch thing as this to our blefled Sa- viour, when from the top of an high mountain he pretended to lliew him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them in a moment of time, is very plain from the convexity of the earth which bounds the horizon, and admits of no fuch unlimited profpeft ; fo that all he could be prefumed capable of doing hi this cafe (and our Saviour was not infenfible what he did do) was to make ficlitious reprefentations of gay and magnificent things in the air. Secondly, the other way whejein the devil may be fuppofed to be affiftant to thefe forcerers, is ^ by making ufe of the laws of nature, in producing effedls that are not above the natural power of things, though they certainly exceed what man can do. Thus to tranfport a body with inconceivable rapidity from one place to another ; to bring together different produc- tions of nature which feparately have no vifible effect, but, when united, work wonders ; to make images move, walk, fpeak, and the like ; thefe may come within the compafs of the devil's power, becaufe not tranfcending the laws of nature, though we cannot difcern by what means they are effefted. How the Nay thirdly, if we go a ftep farther, and y with fome learned magicians j^gj^ fuppofe that under the Almighty's permiffion, wicked fpi- what they ^^^^ have power to work real miracles (and tor this we have did. fome intimations ^ in fcripture, and in the nature of things no reafon to the contrary) which of thefe fuppofitions foever we take, it will be no hard matter to account for the things which the magicians did, and, at the fame time, diftinguifh them from the miracles which Mofes wrought. For if we fuppofe a real power in the devil, the thing is done at once, without any Iham or impollure ; but if we deny him this power, our folution will then be this, — that a falfe medium might, through the whole fcene, impofe upon the fpedators ; the rods might be nimbly moved off, ferpents and frogs introduced in a trice, and by a fmall injection of fome other liquid, water converted into the colour and confiftence of blood. Innumerable evil fpirits might attend t Saiirin's DifTertations. u Edwards's Body of Divinity, Vol. I. x bauiin, ibid, y Stillingfleel's Orig. SacrK. p. 236. Le Clerc's Commentary on Exorf. vii. z Deut. xiii. i, &c. jMatth. xxiv. 24; 2 Thef. ii. 9. where Grotios ^ makes this remark, Nod funt niiracula falia, fed quK falfae dofuinse ferviunt- Le Clerc's Diff.Ttatious. Chap. III. Fro7n the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Law. 55 attend on this occafion, and every one have his appointed office ; efpecially if the wizards made ufe of the common rites and in- cantations, which might be of excellent fervice to give them an opportunity for trick and collufion. ^ A Learned author has given us another folution of this difficulty. — He lays it down as a poiltion, that though no know- ledge of the powers of nature, or ftudy of occult fciences, can enable a man to work fuch wonders as were performed before Pharaoh ; yet, from what appears in the facred hiftory, the mi- racles which the magicians did, in producing ferpents and frogs, and in turning water into blood, were as true and real perfor- mances as thole which Mofes did ; but then the queltion is, by what power or aflillance did they do them? Ihey them- felves could never think, that by all their arts and incantations, they fhould be able to perform fuch works as Mofes and Aaron had done ; but, as the king's command was urgent, they were obliged to make the experiment, and God was pleafed in fome inftances to give an unexpefted fuccefs to their endeavours, in order to ferve and carry on his own defigns : jufl: as he permit- ted the pythonefs of Endor, ^ contrary to her own intention to raife up the ghoit of Samuel, not by any power of her in- chantments, but by his own direffion and appointment, to up- braid and rebuke Saul. However this be, and whether a divine or diabolical power And why interpofed in this affair, the wifdom of God is not a htple mani- ^?^ P"^"* feit in permitting thefe forcerers to proceed fome time in their them.' confiid: with his fervants, which added difgrace to the one's defeat, as it did no fmali glory to the other's conquell. ' They turned their rods indeed into ferpents, but thefe ferpents wer6 devoured by that which Moles and Aaron produced : fome things they did, either in fa6l or appearance, fuch as Mofes and Aaron did, but then theie were things wherein art and fallacy might have fome fliare. The llorm and hail, thunder and light- ning, and thick darknefs, they never pretended to imitate ; nay, they themfelves were involved in the fame difeafes which Mofes and Aaron fent among the Egyptians : they were forced to ac- knowledge ' the linger of God, and do homage to that fuprerne power by which Mofes and Aaron afted ; and therefore the ob- fervation which the author of the book of Wifdom makes is both true, and fevere upon them at once ; « As for the illufions Qf art magic, they were put down, and their vaunting in wif- dom was reproved with difgrace ; for they that promifed to drive away terrors and troubles from a Tick foul, were fick them- felves of fear, worthy to be laughed at. 2. The other hindrance to Pharaoh's conviftion upon the How Pba- fight of thefe fuperior miracles of Mofes, we may prefume was ^aoh's '^ I hartinefs t"^ might be ' a Shuckford's Connexion of facred and profane hiftory, Vol. XL Lib. IX. occafioned. b I Sam. xxyiii. 12. c Sauriii'$ Diffcrtations. d Exod. viii. 19. c Wifd. xrii. 7, 8. $6 A Complete Body of Dhlnity. Part IIL the harclnefs of his heart ; but whether this hardnefs was of God's inflittion, or his own contracflion, is the queftion. And here, befides the ordinary folutions given in this cafe, viz. that v/hatever God does in regard to the obduration of a finner, he cannot but acl after fuch a manner as is always wife, always juft, always agreeable to the greatnefs of his perfections, and the, rules of that order which he never departs from ; that in the heart of man there are fprings of wickednefs enough to pro- duce fuch an obduration, without any need of fuppofing an im- mediate aftion from God ; and that perhaps the bare withdraw- ing the neceflary afliftances for the practice of virtue, may be enough to plunge any man into the greateft crimes : befides thefe folutions, I fay, we may obferve, <" that not only in the Hebrew, but in moft other languages, the occafion of an adion, and what in itfelf has no power to produce it, is very often piit for the efficient caufe thereof. Thus, in the cafe before us, God fends Mofes to Pharaoh, and Mofes in his prefence does fuch miraculous works as would have had an effeft upon any other: but, becaufc the Ifraelites were numerous, and fer- viceable (laves, and a terrible fhock and diminution of his wealth • and grandeur it would be to think of parting with them ; be- caufe fome of the miracles which Mofes did, he faw imitated by his own magicians ; and becaufe the plagues which God fent, came gradually upon him, and, by the intercelfion of Mofes, were conftantly removed ; he thence took occafion, inftead of being foftened by this alternative of mercy and judgment, to become more fullen and unrelenting. When Pharaoh (as the text tells us) fav/ that the rain, and the hail, and the thunder were ceafed, he finned yet more, and hardened his heart : the mercy of God, which fiiould have led him to repentance, had a contrary influ- ence upon him, and made him more obftinate; but all this while God had no farther hand in his obduration than as he was too kind and indulgent to him. God's clemency was, in fome meafure, the occafion of Pharaoh's hardnefs, but the true caufe of it was in himfelf, and proceeded from his abufe of that clemency. But, to go a ftep farther, I cannot fee why we may not ad- venture to affirm s that God might, confiftently with his facred attributes, fufFer this obduratenefs to come upon Pharaoh as a confequence, or even inflift it as a punifhment of the many crimes which he voluntarily incurred, and obflinately per- filted in before. To exemplify this by fome parallel inftances, in the xxii. chapter of the firll: Book of Kings, the prophet re- Ahab's lates a very ftrange vifion : ■> I faw the Lord fitting upon his throne, and all the hoft of heaven (landing by him, on his right hand, and on his left ; and the Lord faid, Who Hiall perfuade Ahab, f Lc Clerc's Commentary on.Exod. iv. g Saurin's Diflertations. h i King's, xxii. 19, &c. cifje. Chap. III. FrQm the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Lmv, 5/ Ahab, that he may go and fall at Ramoth-gilead ? And one faid on this manner, and another faid on that manner. And there came forth a fpirit, and flood before the Lord, and faid, I will perfuade him. And the Lord faid unto him. Where- with? And he faid, I will go forth, and be a lying fpirit in the mouth of his prophets : and he faid. Thou ihalt perfuade iiim, and prevail alfo ; go forth and do fo. This is fomewhat odd and lingular : from the throne of the Lord, founded upon truth and righteoufnefs, and from whence proceeded laws of juflice and equity, defigned to eftablilh good order in the world, come forth commands to lead a man into an error, that thereby he may fall into a fnare ; and from among the heavenly holl of cour- tiers belonging to the Lord of the univerfe, all of them ready to fly at his word, all of them burning with the love, all of them animated with a fpirit of imitating his perfections ; out of this heavenly hoft, I fay, comes forth a fpirit, who undertakes (if with reverence we may ufe the exprelTion) to infpire all the prophets of the king of Ifrael with a lie. But who was this Ahab, this king of Ifrael? Was he a man, who for the main of his life fet the fear of God before his eyes ; No, on the contrary, he was one of the mofl: wicked kings that ever pof- fefled the throne of Ifrael. A bafe and treacherous man, who abandoned himfelf to the councils and inftigations of a proud and barbarous woman ; an idolater, who was the firfl that in Samaria built altars unto Baal ; an hypocrite, who humbled himfelf before God, when he apprehended his approaching wrath, and infolently raifed his head, when the ftorm was over-paft ; an infatiable lover of blood, who had flain a great number of the Lord's prophets, and was then feeking after Elijah's life to deftroy it; and an infatiable lover of unjull wealth, who could not be eafy until he had added a poor man's vineyard to his im- mcnfe poffeilious, and, to compafs this end, flew the innocent owner of it by a falfe accufation. This was a man whom God ordered a fpirit to deceive : and if it be demanded who this fpirit was, the Jews have a notion very fingular upon this oc- caiion. They tell us that it was the foul of Naboth the Jef- reelite ; but we Ihould do them injury to take that in a literal I'enfe which is capable of a very good meaning. The foul of Naboth, the innocent blood which Ahab flied, the altais of Baal, the murder of the prophets, his real wickednefs, and counterfeit devotions, thefe were the fpirits fent from God to nfiflead him ; thefe were the fatal caufes of his blindnefs, and of that impenitent and hardened ftate into which God permitted him to fall. To apply this now to the cafe of Pharaoh. Whoever this Pharaoh's king of Egypt might be, it is certain that his intolerable tyranny fclfoniy over the poor Ih'aelites, and devoting himfelf to wicked and '^^^"^*'*"^** abominable arts^ were far from being indications of a good man. Vol. II. H Before 5^ A Complete Body of Dwlnity. Part HI. Before God ever is faid to harden his heart, five times did he infli twice it is f.iid exprefsly that he fent for Mofes and relented ; but diU, upon the removal of every plague, relapfed. His covetoufnefs, and great advantage he made of the Ifraelites flavery, v/ould not fuiFer him to think of releafing them in earneil. The magicians, perhaps, at firft, v/ere accefiary to his obftinacy : they might perfuade him that Mofes, for the prefent, had found out a fe- rret, yet it would come to their turn at lall to vie miracles, if not get the better of him ; or very likely himfelf might fondly ima- gine that God might in time grow weary, or his ftore-houfe of plagues become exhaufted. Whatever might contribute to his obduration, it is plain, that even when '' the magicians own- ed a divine power in what they faw done, and were quite con- founded ; when they perceived themfelvcs fmitten, and not able to ' (land before Mofes becaufe of the boils, and might thereupon very likely perfuade him to a furrender, he is fo far from relenting, that he does not fo much as a{l< a removal of the plague. And therefore it w^s intircly agreeable to the rules of divine juftice, when nothing would reclaim this wicked king, v.'hen even that which wrought upon the miniders of Satan made no impreilion upon him, to let his crime become his punifhment, and to leave him to eat the bitter fruit of his own ways, and to be filled with his own devices. Ofthe World, 2513, 8c-c. Before Chrift 1491, &:c, The paf- fover, what. S E C T. V. Of the Pa s s o V E R , and the- Ifraelites leaving Egypt. BEFORE God thought fit to give the great decifive blow to Egypt, which was to bring about the deliverance of his people, he eflabliihed a memorial thereof, which was to continue until the coming of the Meffiah fbould put an end to the old oeconomy, and call off mens attention to a greater and more remarkable deliverance. This memorial, from the He- brew word Pefach, is called the ^ Paflbver ; becaufe the angel, which flew the firft-born of the Egyptians, paffed over the houfes of the Ifraelites, when he faw the blood of the lamb which was that day (lain : and the manner of its inftitution was this. — On the tenth day of the month " Nifan (which anfwers our iExod. viii 8, and 25. klbid. ver. 19. lExod.ix 11. va.Tlx'vfovApaff'over wz% likewife applied to the Lamb, which was offered in remembrance of this deliver- ance; to the other facrifices which accompanied this Lamb, and were offered with it at the feaft of unleavened bread; as it was likewife made to fignify the whole term of that feaft, but more elpecially the fecond day thereof, which ^vas the fifteenth of the month. Lewis's Antiquities, and De ^eaufobre's In- ' troduftion. n The names of the Jewifh months are, i. Nafan or Abib, which in fome meafure anfwers our March; 2. Jyar, our April; 3 Sivan, ourlMay; 4- Samus, our June; 5. Ab, our July ; 6. Elul, our Auguft ; 7. Tifri, our; Sep- icmber; 8. Marchcfvan, our Oftober ; 9. Ciileu, our >ioveinber; 10. Tcbcth, our Chap. III. From the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Laxv. 50 our March) every family of Ifrael (or if the family was too httle, two neighbouring famihes joined together) was to take a male lamb, or kid (for the original words lignify either) under a year old, and without blemilh, and fliut it up till the fourteenth, ■when it was to be killed ° in the evening. They were then to take a bunch of hyfTop, and dipping it in the blood, were p to ilrike it upon the two fide-pofts, and the upper door-pofts of every houfe where they did eat it, and fo not flir out until next morning. This lamb was to be drefl'ed whole, not a bone of it was to be broken ; it was to be roafted with fire ; ate all at once with bread and bitter herbs ; and if any part of it was left, it was to be burnt v/ith fire : the habit, lalUy, and poflure in which it was to be ate, was with their loins girded, their ilioes on their feet, and their ftaves in their hands, in the manner of travellers. Some are of opinion that a good many of thefe particulars Its rite^ were inftituted purely in oppofition to thofe impious rites which "^^^j^" "^j* then prevailed, or in a Ihort time were to prevail among the iicathen Egyptians and other nations where the Ifraelites were to dwell, idolatry- Thus they tell us, • therefore let us keep the feaft, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickednefs j but with the unleavened bread of fmceriiy and truth. This was the palfover which the children of Ifrael celebrat- ed the night before they left Egypt ; and this was the intent both literal and typical of the rites and ceremonies which God then appointed to go along with it. But the Jews afterwards made conliderable alterations: they omitted fome things, and add- ed others, and carried the obfervation of it to fuch a degree of fuperftition, as was inconfiftent with its firft inftitution. >Two or thi-ee days before the feaft began, they cleaned all the velTels and other furniture of their houfes. Such as were too big to be dipped in water, they fprinkled and waflied all over ; and fuch as were able to bear the fire, they purified that way. " When the evening of the fourteenth day was come, they lighted wau-taperS; and, before they went to fearch whether there r Palrick's Commentary, s i Cor. v. 7, 8. tiPct. i. 19. ii Ibid. ver. 2. and Hcb. xii. 24. x Ej-'h. )• 7. y i Cor. v. 8. z Saurin's DilTcrtatlous, a l-fv.'is's ii:)tiqiut;es of the Jcwifh P.cpublx. Its modern way of ce* Jebration. Chap. III. From the call 0/ Abraham io the giving of the Law. 6t there was any leaven in the hovife, the mafter of the family made this ihort ejaculation ; BlelTed be thou, O Lord our God, the everlafting king, who has fandtified us by thy commands, and enjoined us to put away leaven from among us. All the domeftics, except the women, joined in the fearch : they ran- facked every hole and corner, not only in the dwelling- houfe, but even in the barns and ftables ; and after the fearch was end- ed, the mafter made this denunciation : All the leaven that is in mine houfe, what I have feen, and what I have not feen, be it null, and like the duft of the earth. Nay,fo very fcrupulous were they in this refpedl, that for the whole feven days that thefeaft lafted, ^ they would not fo much as name the word leaven, for fear of polluting their minds with the idea of bread. Before the paiTover was (lain, >= they firft agreed and con- cluded upon the company that was to eat it, which was fome- times more, and fometiines lefs, in proportion to their eating ; for at this time there was no diftinclion ; for men, women, and children, mafters and fervants (if circumcifed) were all entertained at the fame table. The manner of eating the Egyptian paflb- ver was in a travelling pofture, leaning on their ftaves, and ftanding all the while ; but, in procefs of time, this came to be altered into what we call dilcumbancy, when all the guefls lean on their left arms, upon beds round the table ; "^ a ht emblem (as tliey pretend) of that reft and freedom, which God had vouchlafed the children of Ifrael. When the guefts were thus placed round the table, the mafter of the family, or fome other perfon of note, took a cup of wine and water ; and, after he had given thanks, Blefled be thou, O Lord, who haft creat- ed the fruit of the vine, he drank it, and gave one round to the company, who were all obliged to drink of it. After this, they ate of the bitter herbs, and unleavened bread, which they dip- ped in ' a thick fauce, made of fweet and four things pounded and mingled together, in memory of the clay wherein their forefathers laboured in the land of Egypt. Hereupon the ma- fter of the family drank another cup, which was accompanied with feveral thankfgivings ; and then they began to eat of the flelh of the pafchal lamb, and drank a third cup, which was called the Cup of Bleihng, becaufe the blelling, or grace after meat, was faid over it ; and fo the whole ceremony concluded with the fourth cup, commonly called the Cup of Kallel, becaufc * fome feleft pfalms were fung over it ; and then the mafter of the family, or whoever rchearfed the office of the palTover, difmifled bLamy's Introcluffc-born of the captive that was in the dungeon ; and all the firft-born of cattle, fo that there was ^ a great cry in all Egypt ; for there was not a houfe where there was not one dead. Nothing furely can be more amazing to the imagination than fuch a dreadful fpeftacle as this ; and therefore we need not wonder that tlie Egyptians Ihould be fo importunate with the Ifraelites, even before the mox-ning-dawn appeared, to de- part out of their country. The fate of thofe that hadperilhed, made every one tremble for himfelf ; but why the Ifraelites Ihould take the advantage of their fears and confternation, to fpoil and plunder them, is a queftion that admits of fome di- Ai'hythe fpute. The word which our tranflators have rendered borrow, Ifraelites js Shaal, which does not (ignify to borrow, but to af]< one to EfiyptianJ g^^^> ^7 virtue of which interpretation, the Ifraelites are clear- ed from the cenfure of all injuftice and wrong, becaufe what was freely given them, they had doubtlefs a right to retain. And accordingly, we find ' Jofephus reprefenting this faft a- greeably to the true fenfe of the facred text, when he tells us, ** that the Egyptians made the Hebrews c'onfiderable prefcnts; ** fome to induce them to be gone the fooner, and others in " token of the acquaintance they had had with them." But, even if the word fignifies to borrow only, it is a truth allowed on all Jiands, that God, who is the fupreme Lord of all things, may, when he pleafes, and in what manner he pleafes, transfer the right of men from one to another. Confidering then, that God was now become the king of the Ifraelites in a proper and peculiar manner, and ^ confidering withal, what infufFerable wrongs the king and people of Egypt had done to this people of g Exod. xii. 29, 3^. h It is no improbable conjechire, that the folemn feaft amcuj the Egyptians, wherein they went about with candles in the night in fearch of Ofiris with tears and great lamentations, took its original from Pha- raoh's rifing up out of his bed at midnight, and all the Egyptians with him; who Ij-ihted candles, and finding their children dead, bevi'ailed them with loud cries; nor is it unreafonable to think that Pharaoh's eldell fon, who was now flain, had the name of Ofiris. whofe fudden death by this ftroke was, every year, in one night univerfaily lamented- Patrick's Commentary, i Antiq. Jud. Lib. II. Cap. XIV. k In the Gemara of the Sanhedrim, there is told a memorable ftory concerning this tranfa^ion. In the time of Alexander the Great, the Egyptians brought an a<5tion againft the Ifraelites, defiring they might have the land of Canaan, in fatisfaiilion for all they had borrowed of tbcm, when they went i»:it of Egypt. To which Gibeah Ben Kofam, who was advocate fc:r the Jews, replied that, before they made this demand, tht/ muft provs Chap. III. From the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Laii\ 63 of God, who were now become his peculiar fnbjefls, or pro- prietary leiges : 1 this faft of fpoiling the Egyptians, even in the harfheft fenl'e of the word, was accordincT to the laws of nations, more juftifiable than royal grants of letters of mart, or other fuch like remedies as kings are accuftomed to make ufe of againft other powers that have wronged their fubjecls, or fuffered them to be wronged by thofe nnder their command, without making a proper reftitution. In Ihort, whatever the Hebrews took from the Egyptians, they took and pofleffed it by the law of reprifals, i. e. by virtue of a fpecial warrant from the Lord bimfelf, who was now become not their God only, but their peculiar king. But, becaufe the exceptions to this action lie not againU the T!ie aftioa doing, but againft the fraudulent manner of doing it ; it may vindicated. therefore be obferved, "> that the providence of God defigned by this means to make the Ifraelites fomc reparation for the tyrannical ufage which they had received from the Egyptians, as is manifeft from his giving them favour with the Egyptians, who indeed, for their own ends, and to get rid of fuch trouble- fome gnefts, were difpofed to lend them any thing they had. Thus far all is right ; here is nothing but fair borrowing and lending ; and if the Ifraelites acquired a right to thefe things afterwards, there was then no obligation to reftitution. Now that they acquired fuch a right, is manifeft from the F".gyptians purfuing them in an hoftile manner, and with a purpofc to de- ftroy them, after they had given them free liberty to depart ; by which hoftility and perfidioufnefs, they plainly forfeited their right to what they had only lent before : for this hoftile attempt (which would have warranted the Ifraelites to have fallen upon the Egyptians, and fpoiled them of their goods) did certainly warrant them to keep them, when they had them ; fo that now they became the rightful pofFeffors of what they had only upon loan, and could not have detained, without fraud and oppreflion before. Thus prove what they allcdged, viz. that the Ifraelites borrowed any thing of their anceftors. To this tlie Egyptians thought it fuITicicnt to fay, that they found it recerded in their own books. Well then, faid the advocate, look into the fame books, and you will find the children of Ifraei lived four hundred and thirty years in Egypt (Exod. xii. 40.) Pf-y us then, faid he, for all tUe la- bour and toil of fo many tlioafand people, as you employed all that time, and we will reftore what we borrowed; to which they had not a word to anfwer. Patrick's Commentary. It muft be obferved, liowever, that Mofes does not affirm, that the Ifraelites ftayed 430 years in Egypt (for it is certain they were but half that time) but his meaning is, that in all they fojourned fo long; viz. that, from the time of Abraham's fetting out from Mefopotamia, to his pofterity's now leaving Egypt, included fueh a number of years- From Abraham's leav- ing Charran, to Jacob's going down into Egypt, was 215 ; and the time that he and his pofterity abode there, was the like number of years ; fo that it is plain that Mofes, in the place where he tells us that the fojciiniing of the children of Ifraei, who dwelt in Egypt (the Samaritan copy has it in the Land ofCanaau and £gypt) was four hundred and thirty years, had rcfpeft to all the pilgri- mages of Abraham and his pofterity. Patrick, ibid. 1 Jackfon upon the Creed, m Tillotfon's Sermons, Vol. I, tion a- gainft it, 64 A Complete Body of Divinity, Part Ilf,- The pillar Thus the Ifraelites having got their define of their enemies, ^[ ^^^ marched triumphantly out of the land of Egypt, fix hundred what.' thoufand men, belides women and children, and a mixed multi- tude, which are fuppofed to be profelytes to the Jewilh religion, conducted " by the Lord, as the text tells us, in a pillar of a cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night. This wonderful phacnomenon, all dark on one fide, and all Ihining on the other, in the Ihape of a pillar, is fuppofed by moft interpreters » to be the Shechinah, or Divine Majefty, exhibiting p its prefence by a train and retinue of angels : and therefore he, who in the 1 3th chapter of Exodus, is (liled 1 the Lord, in the very next chapter, is called ' the angel of God ; and they fuppofe farther, ' that as the majefiy of God appeared to Mofes in the bufh, when he gave him commifiTion to bring his people out of Egypt, and direfted him all along in his embalTy to Pharaoh ; fo it ap- .peared now in a glorious cloud, ' to conduct the Ifraelites, and afllire them of his fpecial providence and fuperintendency for their fafety and protecftion : but in oppofition to all this, we are An objec- told, *' That there was no manner of miracle in this whole af- ■ fair ; that, as in wafte and defolate countries, where there were ■ no remarkable places for armies to form their rout by, it was *' a cuftomary thincr to carry a blazhig fire, fixed upon a pole, *' before the firft line, thereby to give fignals to all the reft of *' the army ; fo this pillar of a cloud which attended the Ifrael- *' ites, w"as nothing elfe but one of thefe ambulatory beacons, *^ carried by men, appointed for that purpofe, when they were *' under march ; and when they v. ere to halt, fixed over the " general's tent ; and, that fuch a portable fire as this, whofe *' flame, but not its fmoke, is very far feen by night, as its *' fmoke, but not its flame, is perceived at a great dillance by *' day, all the ftrange things which are faid of the different phafes *' of this pretended miraculous pillar, may, with great facility, '^ be referred." Anfwered. That in the deferts of Arabia, and fuch extended plains, where there were no cities, rivers, or mountains for fignals and land«-marks, it was a general cuftom (before the invention of the conipafs) to carry fire before armies, in order to dired their march ; and that (notwithftanding the prefent ufe of the com. pafs) fuch guidance of fire is ftill praftifed among the Caravans of the Eaft ; and the great number of pilgrims, who go every year from Grand Cairo in Egypt to Mecca in Arabia, cannot, ' by any one that is acquainted either with antient or modern hiftory, be denied ; and had the fole intent of the cloudy pillar been n Patrick's Commentary, o Mede's works, p. 343- P Exod. xiv. 24. c] Ibid. ver. 19. r Patrick, ibid, s The Jews are of opinion that this condudor of the Hebrews was either the angel Michael or Gabriel ; but wliichfoever of them it was, he was the only commander of that hoft which went before the Ifraelite* Tliey call him by the proper name of Metraton, becaule he marked out their camp, where they were to ftay, and dircded their way in their journey to their fevtral ftatioas. ' Patrick, ibid, t Toland's Hodegus. Chap. ill. From the call 0/ Atjraham to the giving of the Law. 6^ been to guide and condud the Ifraelites in their journeys, there might have been more grounds for aflerting that it was a mere machine of human contrivance, and had nothing miraculous or fupernatural in it : but, when it Ihall appear, that this pillar of a cloud was of much greater ufe to the children of Ifrael, than barely to conduct them ; that in it refided a fuperior power up- on whom the name and attributes of God are conferred ; that from it proceeded oracles and diredlions every day what the people were to do, and plagues and punilhments when they had done amifs ; and that to it are afcribed fuch motions and aftions, as cannot, with any propriety of fpeech, be applied to any material fire ; it will from hence, I hope, be concluded, that this guid- ance of the cloud was a real miracle, its fubltance quite different from that of portable fires preceding armies, and its condudlor fomething more than a mortal man. The firft mention that is made of this phaetiomenon is in the 13th chapter of " Exodus, where Mofes, defcribing the rout which the Ifraelites purfued, firft to Ramefes, and thence to Succoth, tells us that they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped at Etham, at the edge of the wildernefs ; and the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire : and what we are to underftand by the Lord, that went before them, we are advertifed in another place ; ^ Behold I fend my 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 tranfgreflions, for my name is in him, /. e. my name Jrhovah, which is the proper and incommunicable title of God. The next place wherein we find this pillar of a cloud mentioned, is in the 14th chapter, ^ And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Ifrael, removed and went behind them ; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and flood behind them, and it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Ifrael, and it was a cloud and darknefs to them, but it gave light to thefe. There is in the fame book, another place where this pillar is taken notice of, and that is in the 33d chapter, where God, being highly offended at the people's impiety in making the golden calf, refufes to condud them any longer himfelf, and propofes to depute an angel to fupply his place. 7 Depart and go up hence, fixys he to Mofes, thou, and the people v.hich thou haft brought up out of the land of Egypt, and I will fend an angel before thee, for I myfelf will not go up in the midft of thee, for thou art a ftiff-necked people, left I confume thee in the way. When the people heard thefe evil tidings, they mourned, and no man did put on him his ornaments. And, Vol. II. I when M Exod. xiii. ao, 21. w Ibid. Rxiii. 20, 21. x Ibid. alv. 19, 20. y Ibid. s;xxui- 1, S:c. 66 A Complde Body of Divinity, Part III. when Mofes went into the tabernacle, they all rofe up an<] flood every man at his tent-door, and looked after Mofes, until he was gone into the tabernacle : and it came to pafs, as Moles entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar delcended, and tiood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Mofes ; all the people faw the cloudy pillar at the tabernacle- door, and they rofe up and vvorlhipped, every man at his tent- door. We have occafion to take notice but of one place more ; and that is in the i6th chapter of Numbers ; where the people murmured for the lofs of Corah and his company. « And it came to pafs, that when the congregation was gathered againfl: IVIofes and againff Aaron, that they looked toward the taberna- cle of the congregation, and behold the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared ; and Mofes and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation, and the Lord fpake .unto Mofes, faying, Get you up from among this congregation, that I may confume them, as in a moment ; and they fell upon their faces ; and Mofes faid unto Aaron, take a center, and put five therein, from off the altar, and put on incenfe, and go quick- ly unto the congregation, and make an atonemexit for them ; for there is wrath gaiie out from the Lord, the plague is begun. Now, from a bare recital of thefe palFages, we cannot but ob- ferve that the Ifraehtes pillar made quite another appearance than any cumbullible matter when fet on fire, and hoifled upon a pole, can be fuppofed to do ; that, in this pillar, refideci a perfon of divine charac1;er and perfediions, and thci-efore called the Lord, the Angel, the Angel of the Lord, and the Angel of his Prefence, &c. that this perfon was invefted with a power of demanding obfervance, of both punifliing and pardoning tranf- greffions, and to whom even Miofes and Aaron, as well as the refb of the congregation, might faJI down on their faces, and pay obeifance, without the imputation of idolatry. The whole teaor of the narration, in ihort, feems to denote, that every one in the congregation fliould look upon the pillar, as foraething awful and tremendous, and the perfon refiding therein, above the rank and dignity of any created elTence : and therefore the moft general opinion is, that he, to whom the divine appellations, divine powers, and divine honours are, in fo m any places afcrib- ed, was the eternal Son of God, with a troop of bleffed angels attending him, in bright and luminous forms, and who, either by the dilplay or contraction of their forms, could make the cloud they inhabited, either condenfe or expand itfelf, either put on a dark or radiant appearance, according as the great captain of •their hoft fignified his pleafure : for to fuppofe mere fire, with- out any fupernatural direction, appearing in different forms, darknefs 7. Numb. xvi. 42. Chap. III. From the call o/" Abraham to the giving of the Law. €7 darknefs to one fort of people, and light to another, at the fame time, is a thing incongruous to its nature. For how many purpofes this pillar of a cloud might ferve the Hebrews, it would be prefumption to determine : but this we may fafely fay, that, befides its guiding them in their jour- neys, " it was of ufe to defend them from their enemies, that they might not affault them ; of ufe to cover them from the heat of the fun in the wildernefs, where there were but few trees, and no houfes to fhelter them ; and of fmgular ufe to convey the divine will, and to be, as it were, a ftanding oracle whereunto they might refort upon all occafions. In this cloud, we are told exprefsly, ^ that the Lord appear- ed in the tabernacle ; from this cloud, ' that he called Aaron and Miriam to come before him ; and out of this cloud, again, that he fent forth the expreffes of his wrath, as well as tokens of his love, among the whole congregation : and therefore this cloud could be nothing elfe but the vehicle of God, or the place of majeftic appearance, at that time ; nor is that conjedure very improbable, that from this very inftance, the poets firft took the hint of making their gods defcend on a ^ cloud, and arrayed with a bright effulgence. KovrEVER this be, it is certain that the Jews were perfuadcd of the divinity of their guide, otherwife « they would not have exprerted fuch undiflTembled forrow and concern, upon hearing the news of his intention to relinquiih them ; nor would they ever have fubmitted to wander fo long in the wildernefs, ex- pofed to fo many dangers and hardihips, had it been a man on- ly, with fome fire elevated f upon a pole, that was then* con- ductor. From Horeb to Kadeih-barnea (which was upon the borders of the land of Canaan) the way was not far, much about eleven days journey, and in a manner a beaten road, and almoft impoifible for them to mifs ; and therefore we cannot but fup- pofe, that had they not been convinced of the miraculoufnefs of their direftion, even Mofes himfelf, with all his authority, would not have been able to perfuade them to take the compafs we find they did, through an enemy's countr)', where they were to fight their way, inflead of purfuing their dire£l road to the land of promife ; but therefore they wiUingly followed the cloud, becaufe they were fenfible a divinity redded in it ; and therefore that divinity led them in the wildernefs fo long, to inure them to hardfliips, and to prolong their (lay, until that generation was dead, § of whom he had fworn in his wrath, that they ihould not enter into his reft. SECT. a Patrick's Commentary, b Deut. xxxi. 15. c Numb. xii. 5. d Ad hoc •xempluin credf) poetas fancivifFe, nullum numen mortalibus apparere fme jiiiubo ; ert autem nimbus nubes divina, leu fluidura lumen, quod decorum capita cingit. Taubman upon Virgil, e Ii:iod. xxxiii. 4; 6. f Lewis's Anti- quities of tbc iiebiEW Jlc^Hiblic. £ Pfal. >;cv. 11. 6* A Complete Body of Dhinity, >, Part Illt. SECT- VI. Of the Israelites Paflage over the Red-fea . Why the X T 7HILE the Ifraelites continued their march, the imprefTion Egyptians V V which the late plagues had upon Pharaoh and his mini- the Jfrael- ^^^^ began to abate. They knew, from the accounts they re- itcs. ceived, that the people intended fomething more than the cele^ bration of a feaft, for the fpace of three days in the wildernefs ; they began to confider what Egypt was like to lofs by the re» volt offo many ufeful flaves, and perhaps they likewife flattered themfelves that the power of the God of Hi-ael, as great as it ap» peared to be, might neverthelefs have its bounds, as well as that of other gods : •> for the Pagan theology allotted certain diflrids and provinces to their deities, making one fupreme in the mountains, and another in the plains ; one prefide over the wa- ters, and another over the dry land ; and therefore, deluded with thefe notions, or rather judicially blinded by God, Pharaoh refolved to purfue the children of Ifrael ; and, having got toge- ther what forces he could, came up with them as they were encompafled by the fea. The die Never was poor people in a more difmal fituation, hemmed trefs the jj^ qj^ jj^g ^,g{^ gy ^ ridge of mountains, prefled from the fouth v.'efeii7. "'y Pharaoh's army, and on the eaft and north ihut up by the fea : the fea not to be pafTed without a good number of Ihips to contain fuch a multitude ; the mountains not to be attempted with fuch a train of women and children ; and the enemy not to be encountered for want of arms as well as courage. In thefe dillrefled circumftances what were they to do? * They had but one recourfe, and that was to lift up their eyes and hearts to that cloud where their great captain fat, and to call to their affiftance that arm, that invincible arm, which had al- ready wrought fuch wonderful things for them. But inftead of imploring the help of God, > they murmur againft his fer- vant Mofes, fo that Mofes pours out his complaint before the Lord, and the Lord, to deliver an undeferving people, at the iignal of his fervant's rod, ^ caufed the fea to go back by a ftrong eaft-wind all that night, and made the fea dry land, and the waters were divided, fo that the children of Ifrael went in- to the midft of the fea upon dry ground, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left : and, at another (ignal given, ' the fea returned to its ftrength, the roaring waves broke loofe from their invifible chain, and fwal- lowed up Pharaoh and all his hoft, fo that there remained not fo much as one of them. » Thus h Vide I Kings xx, 25. • Saurin's DilTertations. i Exod. xiv. ic k Ibid. it»v. 21, 21, I Ibid, ver- 27. Chap. III. From the call of Abraham to the giving of the Lain. 69 •" Thus the Lord faved Ifrael, fays the facred hiftorian, but An objec- other people will tell us that he did it quite another way ; tio" a- " That the » Red-fea, efpecially in the extreme part of jt 8^'"*^'^* , , Ti- 1- rr 1 1 M miracu- *' where the liraelites palled over, » was not above two miles loufneft *' broad, and very often quite dry by reafon of the great re- of their " flux of the tide : p that Moles, who perfedtly underftood the P^^^e^- ** country, and had obferved the ebbing and flowing of the *' fea, led down his men at the time of ebb, and, being fa- *' voured by a ftrong wind blowing from the Ihore, and re- *^ tarding the return of the tide, had the good luck to get fafe *' to the other fide ; while Pharaoh and his army, hoping to " do the fame, but miftaken in their computation, had the mif- *' fortune to be loft : but in all this event what is there more '^ 1 than in Alexander's paflmg the fea of Pamphilia ? To be *' fure, had thei-e been any appearance of miracle in the thing ; ** had the water divided itfelf in two parts, and reared up on *' each fide like walls for the reception of the Ifraelites, the *' Egyptians, mad as they were with rage, would never have '^ been fo defperate as topurfue them." Of what breadth the Red-fea may be at the place of paf- Anrwei-a.s. fage, is not fo eafy a matter to determine, ' becaule both geo- graphers and travellers mightily differ in their computation : but if (according to fome of the lowefl: accounts) we fuppofe it to be much about two leagues, moft: writers agree that the fea in this place is very boifterous and tempelluous, which is hard- ly conliilent with a Ihallownefs, much lefs a total defertion of water upon any hafty reflux. The wind, it mufl: be owned, if it blew from a right quarter, might both forward the ebb, and retard the flow ; but the wind which blew at this time, we are told, was an eaft-wind, whereas it mufl: have been a weft or north- in Exod. xiv. 30. n The Red-fea (called alfo by the antients Sinus Adrati- cus, and now Golfo di Mecca) is that part or branch of the foutbern ocean, which interpofes itfelf between Egypt on the -weft, Arabia Fselix and fome part of Petrasa on the eaft, the north bounds of it touching upon Iduniea, or the coaft of Edom. Edom, in the Hebrew tongue, fignifies red, and was the nick- name given Efau for felling his birth-right for a mefs of red pottage. The country which his pofterity poffefled was called after that name, srnd fo was the fea which adjoined to it; but the Greeks not underftanding the reafon of the appellation, tranflated it into their own tongue, and called it ertithra tha- lajfe, tlience the Latins Mare Rubrum, and we the Red fea. The Hebrews call it the Sea of Suph or Flags, there being fuch abundance of this kind of weed in that fea, that the inhabitants of the coaft pluck it up out of the water, and after they have dried it, make themfelves huts of it. Vide Heylin's Cof- mography, Wells's Geography, and Patrick's Commentary, o Le CJerc's Diflertations. p Vide Eufeb. Prsepar. Lib. IX. c. 27. q Jofeph. Antiq. Lib. II. c. 7. r One affirms that the fea is fix leagues wide in this place, anotlier makes it but fifteen ftadia or furlongs; one fays it is narrow and long like a river, and another allows it but the breadth of one league. Vide Died. Sicul. Lib. III. Strabo Lib. IL P. Belon's Obfcrvations, Lib. H. and Pietro della valle, Tom.]. Ep. 11. Thevenot makes it 8 or 9 miles in breadth, and tells us that the place where the Ifraelites came out of the fea is at prefent called Corondel. Voyage de Levant. But Andricomius will have it to be no more than 6. Theatrum Terrse Sacrx. 7© A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. north-weft wind to have driven the water away from the ex- treme parts into the main body of the fea ; as any one that looks into a map may perceive. The eaft-wind blew athwart the i lea, and cut it afunder, i'o that one part fell back towards the ' fouth and up the main channel, and the other part retired to- wards the north, where Sues is fituated, and where the fea terminates in a point : and this very likely is the meaning (if there be an hyperbole in the expreffion) of the waters being a wall to the Ifraehtes on their right hand and on their left ; be- caufe they fo defended them on both fides that the Egyptians could no way come at them, but by purfuing them in the fame ^ path which they took. It is not to be queftioned hut that Mofes was a perfon of an excellent judgment : * by his being fo long in the army he could not but know the proper advantages to be made in marches and retreats ; and yet he feems to give us no great fpecimen of his ikill by declining the mountains, which poUibly were inacceflible to the chariots and horfemen, and betaking himfelf to tiie ftrand, where Pharaoh's army might make after him (as we find they did) and fo trufting to the uncertain return of a tide, had not God both commanded him to take that way,; and foretold him the event. He might not perhaps be igno- rant of the courfe of the tide, and could eafily difcern the fa- vourable difpofition of the wind ; but was there never a man in all the great army which Pharaoh brought with him of equal obfervation and fkill ? It is a thing incongruous to rea- fon, ♦ that the Egyptians, who excelled at that time all other nations in their knowledge and obfervation of celeftial bodies, Ihould be ignorant of the fluxes and refluxes of the fea in their own country, in their own coaft, and in their own moil traded and frequented ports and havens. But if they were not igno- rant of the time of the reflux, it is hardly to be imagined that the eagernefs of purfuit would have made them venture into the bay, when they could not but be fenfible, that, in cafe they mifcomputed, the returning waves would devour and fwallow them up. Why they ventured to purfue the Ifraelites, the facred hidorian feems plainly to intimate, when he tells us » that the angel of the Lord, which went before the camp, removed and went behind them : it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Ifrael, and was a cloud and dark- nefs to the one, but gave light in the night to the other. So that the true reafon why the Egyptians went in after the If- raelites into the nidft of the fea, was, that they knew not where they were. They imagined perhaps that they were liill upon the land, or at leait upon the Jhore where the fea had retired : the darknefs of the night, and the preternatural darknefs of the cloud, not fuffering them to fee the mountains of waters on each * sir Walter Raleigh's Hiftory. t Ibid, u Exod. xiv. 19, 23. Chap. III. From the call 0/ Abraham to the giving of the Law. 7* each fide : but, « when the Lord looked unto the hoft of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire ; when he turned the bright tide of the cloud upon them to let them fee the danger they were in, and at the fame time (as Joiephus adds) poured out a (lorni upon them, with thunder and lightning, and hail- ftonesfrom the cloud, their common cry was then, y let us flee from the face of Ifrael, for the Lord fighteth for them againft the Egyptians. Th\t the Ifraelites went not quite crofs the Red-fea, but That tfiey only fetched a compafs, as they found the waters call up for ^/^L^" _ them, and fo came out upon tlie fame fhore fiom which they crofs. went in, there is not that reafon, I think, to infer either from the length of the palTage, or the place where they came out. For, taking the channel in its utmofl breadth, and allowing the Ifraelites the loweil computation of time, yet we have iiili this to fay, that, in a relation abounding with miracles, there can be no abfurdity to fuppofe one more. ^ Now, if God interpofed his power to difable the chariots of Pharaoh, left the return of the waters Ihould excite their fears, and their fears, by improv- ing their diligence, fave them from del ■ ruction ; why might not God interpofe the fame power (if there Was occafion) to quicken the Ifraelites, and enable them to perfoim their paffage in the time appointed? Nay, if we will allow his own words to be a good comment upon his aftions, we cannot but fuppofe that he did fo, when we find him, after all was over, recounting his kindnefs to them in this wife ; * l^e have feen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles wings (where the exprellion certainly denotes fome extraordinary alliftance given them in their paffage) and brought you unto myfelf. Though therefore fome ambiguity may arife as to the place where the Ifraelites came on Ihore (fince they were ^ at Etham but two days before, and now landed in a wildernefs of the fame name) yet « if we will but fuppofe that there were two Ethams, the one a town where they encamped ontbe Egyptian fide, and the other on the Arabian fide, a wildernel's ; or (if we will needs have the wildernefs of Etham denominated from the town) fup- pofing ^ the town was fituated near the upper part of the Red- fea, and gave denomination to a great defert which furrounded the head of the bay, and reached down a confiderable way on both fides, we may eafily perceive, that though the Uraelites marched from the wildernefs of Etham crofs the bay, they would only be in another part of the wildernefs of Etham ftill. e Now, if the Ifraelites crofled the fea in a direft line (upon the fuppofition that it was no more than an ordinary return of X Exod. xiv. 19. y Ibid. ver. 2 J. z Saurin's Diflertations. a Exod. xix. 4. h See Numbers xxxiii. compared with Exodus xiv. c Wells's Geography and Nicholls's Conference, Vol. I. d Le Clerc's Diflertations. e Sir Walter RakJsh's liiftory. 72 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part IIL of the tide, which overwhelmed the Egyptians before the/ could recover their own coatl) the Egyptians could not have been cafl: afhore (as the fcripture teftifies they were) on that coaft of Arabia, where Mofes landed ; but mull necelfarily be caiTied away with the flood which runneth up to Sues, and the utmoft point of the bay. These are fome arguments for the real paflage of the Red- fea, in the manner that Mofes has reprefented it : and though we have not time at prefent to examine f the feveral fads that are commonly alledged in contrapofition to this, and fhall there- fore, for brevity's fake, allow them all to be true ; ^ yet, if we refleft, as we ought, on the predidion of Mofes concerning the event, the virtue of his rod, the facility of the Ifraelites paflage, the rafiinefs of the enemies following, and their s univerfal over- throw and tragical end, we ihall find every thing concurring to render this an unparalleled inftance ; and that nothing but an immoderate defire of depreciating the miracles of the facred hiftory, can diminifh the wonder of this famous paflage into a comparifon with what other men have done. I call it a famous paflage, and that, not only becaufe ^ both facred and profane hiftory make mention of it ; not only becaufe ■ the name of the fea records, and ^ the inhabitants of the coaft tranfmit the re- membrance t Jofephus has compared this paflage of the Ifraelites over the Red-fea with what Alexander the Great did when he marched part of his army over the fea of Pamphilia ; but there is little or no refemblance between them. Alex- ander was to march from Phafelis a fea-port, to Perga, an inland city of Pamphilia. The country near Phafelis, upon the Ihore of the Pamphilian fea, was mountainous and rocky, fo that he could not find a paflage for his army without either taking a large compafs, or attempting to go over the ftrand between the rocks and the fea. Arrian hath obferved that when the ■wind blows north (efpecially to any great degree) the ftrand is dry and paff- able ; and therefore Alexander, taking the advantage of the wind thus blow- ing, fent fome of his army over the mountains, and went himfelf, with the reft of his forces along the ftiore. But in this we can find no miracle, unlels the wind's blowing opportunely for Alexander's purpofe may be reputed one. Shuckford's Connection, Vol. II. Lib. IX. f Saurin's Diflertations. g Apollonius, in the Lives of the Fathers, affirms, that thofe Egypiians who ftayed in the country, and did not follow Pharaoh in the purfuit of Ifrael, did ever after that honour thofe beafts, birds, plants and other creatures about which they were occupied at the lime of this general deftru(5tion. He, for inftance, that was working in the garden, made a god of that plant or root he was then bufied about, and fo of the reft. But how thofe multitudes of gods came to obtain among them, we ftiall have occafion to obferve elfewhere. h Vide Jofli. iv. 23. Pfal. Ixxviii. 13. Ibid. cxiv. 3. I Cor. X. I. Heb. xi. 29, &c. i The name which the Arabs give it is Buhr el Cilzftn, the fea of drowning or o'^erwhelming, in memory of that fignal judg- ment of God upon Pharaoh and his army. Wells's Geography k The ac- count of Orolus, who tells us that there ftill remain fome monuments of that event, and that the tra(ft of the chariots and wheels may be feen, not only on the (hore, but alfo at the bottom, as far as the fight can reach, is a little too fabulous. Orof Hift. Lib. I. c 10, But there is credibility enough in what Diodorus Siculus relates, viz. that the Ichthuopbagi, /. c. thofe that live upon fiih, the inhabitants of the weftern coaft of the Red-fea, have the following tradition, "That upon a great recefs of the fea, the bottom ofir was quite *' dry, and appeared green (from the weeds we may fuppofe that were in it) " that it was divided into two parts, but returning back with a mighty force, '< the waters re-utiited; and regained their former place." Lib. 111. Chap. IV. 0//^^ Jewish laivs, &c. 7"? membrance of tlie faft ; but becaufe we find two renowned men in fcriptiire, a mighty law-giver, and a mighty monarch, Mofes and David, both exercifmg their poetic genius, to cele- brate the miracle in fuch lofty ftrains as thefe, ' with the blaft of thynoftrils the \vaters were gathered together, the floods flood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the fea. The enemy faid, I will purfue, I will overtake, I will divide the fpoil, my lull Jhall be fatisfied, and my hand ihall deftroy them. Thou didfl: blow with thy wind, the fea covered them, they funk as lead in the mighty waters. ■" For the waters faw thee, O God, the waters faw thee, and were afraid, the depths alfo were troubled, the clouds poured out water, the air thundered, and thine arrows went abroad ; thy way is in the fea, and thy paths in great waters, and thy foot- fteps are not known. CHAP. IV. Of the Jewifli Laws, Moral, Ecclefiaftical, and Civil. AFTER the Lord had thus mightily delivered the children Of the of Ifrael, and every day given them frefh inftances of his World, miraculous care and providence ; at Marah, » fwcetened the ^^^^fore' water by the injection of a wood of a certain tree ; in the wil- chrift, dernefs of Sin, fent i- quails for their meat, and " manna for M9'» &c. their bread ; and at Rephidim, given them ^ water out of the rock, and a perfeft victory over their enemies ; he intended now to reduce them to a regular fociety, and to give them a Vol. II. K fyftem 1 Exod. XV. 8, &rc. rn Pfal. Ixxvii. i6, &.'c. a We are not told what tree this. was, whofewood, being thrown into the waters, toot off their brackiflincfs. But, to increafe the niirade, the Jews will have it, that the wood of this tree (which they call Ardophne) was itfelf of a hitter tafte, and would naturally have tnade the waters bitter, had they been fwect before. Patrick's Commentary, which feems to be quite contrary to the words of the wife man [Ecclus. xxxviii. 5] Was not the water made fwect with wood that the virtue thereof might be known ? b The Hebrew word [5. /.//<] which we, after the example of Jofephns, render quails, is by different interpreters thought to fignit^ thruflies, pheafants, fca-fowl; and by Job Ludolphus, in his learned Comnicntary upon his TEthiophic Hiftory, lo- cufts ; which he tells us were not only ufed for food, but in feveral countries were very delicious meat. See Patrick's Commentary on Numb. xi. who feems to be intirely of his opinion, c Le Clerc in his Commentary on Exod. xvi. tells us that the word >/;ij«, fignifies a gift, and that, when the Ifraelites faid /nan botif, it imported, is this the gift \ For he makes it a queftion of fcorn and contempt, as much as to fay, is this little grain which covers the dew the gift which God promifed us? And he intirely agrees with CI. Salma- fins, that it was the fame with common manna, though differing from it in fome properties, d Thevenot, in his Voyage de Levant, tells us that he was (hewn the rock (as they called it) out of which Mofes Iirought water ; but that itwa<; •-^nly a flone of a prodigious height and thicknefs rifmg out of the ground. He faw on each fide of it feveral holes, out of wliich, it was plain, the water had nfued by the marks and imprefllons that it had made ; but at prefer.*-, fay: \'X, :-.Q.\vater comes out of thein. Kj^y^ 74 A Complete Body of Dlvimty. Part III. fyftem of laws, both moral, civil, and ecclefiaftical, fuch as might diredl their conduft in all capacities ; and to this purpofe, in the fpace of feven and forty days after their departure out of the land of Egypt, he brought them into the wildernefs of Sinai, to the mount of God. The laws The people indeed hitherto were but poorly provided with had before '^^^ ' ^^^ ^^^Y ^^^ were traditional, and confided in fome par- thofegiven ticular precepts that were not at all times fo clearly conveyed ; at mouiit and therefore it was neceffary (now, that he had taken them un- inai, j^gj. j^jg immediate care) to appoint them a complete fyftem. *^ He gave fix commandments to Adam," fays « Maimonides (fo that, according to him, Noah was not the firft that received thefe famous precepts from God) '' of which, the five firft for- " bid idolatry, blafphemy, homicide, unlawful conjundlion, '' and theft ; the fixth commands the eftablifhment of magi- *' flrates ; and the feventh (which Noah received) inhibits the ** eating any animal until the blood be taken out of it. Thefe, *' in all, I fay, are feven, and were obferved by the whole " world. After this, God gave Abraham the commandment '^ of circumcifion, and it was by this patriarch that morning- *' prayer was ijiftituted. Ifaac eftabliihed afternoon-prayer, *' and tanght that the tenth of every thing mufl be fet a -part '' for an offering to God, Jacob forbade the eating the fmew *' which Ihrank, and compofed the evenings-prayer, and Am- *' ram added feveral other precep'-s to thefe ; till at length " came Mofes, and he gave the utmofl perfection to the law, *' by digefting the ccmmandiiients, ftatutes, and judgments, ^' whiph God delivered to him, into a code, and leaving it in ** the hands of the church for the inftrudtion of all fucceeding *' ages." But before we come to an immediate difcufhonof thefe laws, it will not be improper to fay foraething concerning the diffe- rence of laws in general, the better to perceive the particular nature of fuch as are to come prefently under our confideration. Of laws in Now all laws in their primary view are either divine or g nera . human, /. e. either from God or men. ^ Divine laws are either eternal, fuch as we fuppofe are in the nature of God, and the unvariable rule of his aftions; or natural, fuch as are inwardly implanted by God in men ; or revealed, fiich as he hasprefcrib- ed them in the declaration of his will. As for human laws, they are either fuch, as relate to mankind in general, and are agreed upon by people of all nations ; or fuch as concern the goverment of the church, being canons and conftitutions made at feveral times, either in general councils, or in national or provincial fynods ; or fuch as concern the government of civil communities, being the fecular and political conftitutions of par- ticular e In his Treatifc of a ProfeWte, c. 4- fEciwards's Bodv of Divinity, VqJ. J, Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Larsi)s, he. 75 ticular kingdoms and commonwealths, for the eftablifliment of peace, order, and religion. All people and nations claim the right and privilege of mak- The law of ing fuch laws for themfelves as they think Ht ; and for this nature. reafon, there mufl: be as great a variety of laws, as there are dif- ferent forms of government in the world, or indeed different humours in the regillators. s But now, amidft this diverfity of laws, depending either upon the conftitution of governments, or the arbitrary choice of thofe that govern, there is an univer- fal law which is the foundation of all others, and that from whence they derive their authority. This we call natural, be- caufe it flows immediately from nature, which, being in ail men the fame, univerfally prefcribes the fame rules. It is in- deed nothing elfe but reafon itfelf ; and reafon, though in fome countries more improved than in others, every wheie fpeaks the fame thing. She fpeaks diflinftly to fome people who ftu- dy and obferve her carefully ; to others Ihe but lifps (as we may call it) nor can they well underfland what Ihe fays, for want of being accuftomed to hear her ; but to others Ihe is quite ftruck dumb, as it were, nor can they hear her language at all^ by reafon of thofe obflrudlions which ftupidity and a proftitu- tion to the moft infamous vices has placed betwixt them and her gentle whifpers. But notwithftanding this, reafon has al- ways a right to rule, and is appointed and authorifed by God to give laws to all the nations in the world. God atfirft placed it in the foul of nian : for divers ages it fupplied the place of every other law ; and when he thought fit to add unto it the laws which he pronounced from his own mouth, and wrote with his own finger upon the tables in mount Sinai, it was on- ly to lay before the eyes of the Jews the fame law he had ori- ginally engraved in the heart of all men ; according to thefe Its univer= remarkable words to the Romans, that ^ the Gentiles, who had ^al j^'^^^"^ not the law (as the Jews had) written by God upon tables of gation. Itone, did by nature, or the fole impreffion of the law of nature, the things contained in the law, i. e. the very things command- ed by the written law ; becaufe, fays he, thefe having not the law, were a law to themfelves, and Ihewed by their fentiments, which their philofophers, their poets and orators, clearly ex- plained, and by the efteem they teftified for virtue, diat there was a law written in their hearts, from which they formed all their great notions and laudable maxims. Thus '< when the Ro- man orator comes to fpeak, in one of his moft beautiful philolb- phic works, of the wicked adion of the fon of Tarquin againft the , jj^L^ chaftity of Lucretia, he fays, " That indeed there was no written ^H|f *' law among the Romans againft fuch outrages, but that the '* adion of the young Tarquin was neverthelefs flagitious on his ** fcore, becaufe there was an eternal and immutable law againft " thefe g Martin, of natural religion. hRom.ii. 14. Sec, ij\x]\y 6e Legibus^ lib. II. Vid. Towerfgn's Explic. of the i)ecal. ^ 76 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. " thcfe enormities, and this eternal law, or law in force from " all times (fays he) is reafon itfelf which we have from na- *' tare ; a law which does not begin to have the force and " authority of a law, when it comes to be written, but has it *' originally." Whereupon he concludes, " That the true " law, which is our fovereign, and has a proper power of com- '< manding and forbidding, is right reafon, which is derived to *' us from the moft High God." It is to this original law, defcending from God, and naturally engraved in every man's breafl, that ail particular ]a:ws both of God and men (hould conform, and are to be referred. ^ God himfelf, fovereign as he is, without reftriftion, and without controLil, and having confequently an inconteftible right of com- manding or forbidding whatever he pleafes, never yet made any ordinances contrary to the law of nature, which would be aiding contrary to himfelf, fince himfelf is the great and imme- diate aiuhor of that law. Oppofiieindeed, we allow, they are to the corruption of human nature, becaufe they were defigned to reftify the diforder which fin had brought upon it ; but this we account a matter of their commendation, and a fure argu- ment, that whenever they come to be weighed in the balance of the fan(5tuary (as we are now going to examine into them) they will ever be found to be true and righteous altogether. The feve- The laws which God was pleafed to give the children of laws'"iven ^^''^^^ were, as we faid before, of three kinds, moral, civil, and to the Jews, ecclefiaftical. » By the moral law, weunderftand thofe precepts and commands whofe obfervance have a tendency to make men good and virtuous. The civil law contained the conftitutions and orders which refped: public juftice, and the adminiftration thereof; and the ecclefiaftical direded the Jews in their exter- nal behaviour in religious worlhip, and appointed what rites and ufages they were to obferve. The firft of thefe are fuch precepts and prohibitions as are good in themfelves ; the fecond are of a mixed nature, being partly in their own nature good, and partly indifferent ; and the third are in their own nature indifferent, but fo far good, as they are commanded by a pofitive law of God. Thenum- The whole number of thefe commands (according to the ber of computation of the Jews) amounts »* to fix hundred and thir- them. j.gpj^ ji^ ^jj . gj^^ thefe they divide into two clafTes, affirmatives, of which they reckon two hundred and forty-eight ; and nega- tives, whereof they make three hundred and lixty-five ; and ^^ containing the mofteiTei-^tial duties of morality, and were command- therefore not only pronounced by God himfelf, but by him ments. engraven likewife on two tables of ftone, in order to let before their eyes what fin had blotted out of their hearts. And of thefe we have fome obfervations to make in general, before we come to a particular explication of them. Mount^Si- Sinai i-, which is the fame with Horeb (only two different heads or rifings of one and the fame mountain) is the s Exod. xix. ir. t Pfal. xviii. 9, &:c. u Exod. xix. 18. w Gal. iii. 19. :'. /\(fts vii. 3b. J- lleb. ii. 2. z Exod. xx, 19. a L'cut. xxx'ii. 2. So A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, ^ the chariots of God are twenty thoufand, even thoulands of angels, and the Lord is among them, as in Sinai : and there- fore to make the whole fenfe confiftent, when St Paul oppofes the law and the gofpsl, upon account of their different manner of promulgation, what we render given by angels, muft be underftood, in the midll of angels ; and fo the meaning will be — That, when God gave the law, he was furrounded with a moft dreadful equipage ; proclaimed it in thunder and lightning, in flames of fire, and clouds of fmoke, raifed by the angelical hoft attending his throne : « but that, when he promulged the gofpel, all things were tranfafted in the moft eafy and familiar method, and with ail pofTible marks of kindnefs and condefcenfion ; he alfumed our nature, and adapted himfelf to our infirmities ; not difdaining the converfation of the vilell, provided they were vile in their own eyes, and applied to him for inftruftion and amendment. ^1°*^ Vr"^' Be it allov/ed then, that the commandments were given by tenjf ^ * ^°^ himfelf, attended with all thefe enfigns of terror ; yet it will not therefore follow, that they were ever defigned ^ for a perfeft compendium, much lels a complete fyftem of the whole moral law. They contain indeed fome of the mofl momentous pre- cepts, but (without taking a vaft fcope in our expofition) they omit many material duties, both towards God and man. I'hat we fliould not worfhip other gods, is an exprefs injunction, and an obvious inference it is, tliat we fhould worftiip that God who is the maker of us, and of all the world ; but then, in what manner we are to woi'fliip him, either as to the ritual fervice, or moral affedlion of the heart, is no where told us in the deca- logue. No mention is made of praife and thankfgiving, of confeffion and prayer, of faith and hope, of reliance and refig- nation, and other fpiritual graces, which alone can make our homage acceptable. Our duty to ourfelves is almofl totally omitted : fobriety, abftinence, and modefty, &c. are not once taken notice of, nor can they, without drawing the moft diflant confequences, be inferred : and though great care is taken of our neighbour's life and property, yet what benevolence and kindnefs, what forbearance and forgivenefs of injuries we are to Additional extend to him, we have no certain direction given us. To jnoral pre- fupply this defeft therefore^ there are other precepts included ccpts. jj^ |.}^g body of the law, which properly relate to the command- ments ; and are, as it were, the fequel and explanation of them. Of this kind with relation to the firft table, are the commands given to the Jews, ' not to offer facrifice to (trange gods ; *■ not to offer up their children in facrifice to the idol Moloch ; s to break down the ftatuf?s of falfe gods ; •> to deftroy diviners ; and ' not b Pfal. Ixviii. 17. c Staiihopc on the Epifl:]«s and GoTpels, Vol. T. d Le Clert's Commentary, eExod- xxii. 23. f Lev- xvjij. 21. g Esod. xxiii. 24. h L«v. xix. :^i. Ghap. IV. Of the ]^w \SK Laxvs, Sec, 8i ' not to fwear by ftrange gods. And in relation to the fecond table, they are fuch as follow : "^ all thofe which regulate the punilhments of murder and uncleannefs ; ' all thofe which re- late to the refpedl due to the fovereign, and the aged ; ■« that of not fuffering a daughter of IlVael to proftitute herfelf ; » that of not requiring ufury of their brethren ; that of relieving their neighbour ; » that of bringing back a wandering ox into the way ; i' that of helping up the afs that lies under his burden ; T that of not giving falfe witnefs with the wicked ; ■• that of not following a multitude to do evil ; ' that of not retaining the hire of a ftranger ; » that of leaving gleanings in their eflates and vineyards, when they gathered in the harveft and the vin- tage, for the widows, the orphans, and the ftrangers, &.€. Thefe and fuch like precepts, being of moral intendment, are a kind of appendix to the ten commandments, and a very good comment to explain and illuftrate them. There is a farther expedient for enlarging the fenfe of the The me- ten commandments, and that is, the method and rules which are Ija^lji" generally prefcribed us in the expofition of them, viz. " That them. where any duty is enjoined, there the contrary practice is forbid, and where any vice is forbid, there the contrary virtue is com- manded ; that where a virtue is required, there all the ways that lead to it, all the means, and helps, and inllruments, that maybe ferviceable to attain and advance it, are likewife com- manded ; and where a lin is forbidden, there all the caufes, and occalions, and invitations to it are, at the fame time, prohibited ; that whatever is implied in the commandment, or follows by natural confequence, is to be reckoned as a part of it, /. e. fome- thing enjoined or forbidden in it, though it be not exprefsly mentioned ; that, under one kind of duty or vice, all othei's of the like nature, yea, aU the fpecies and forts of it, are compre- hended : that where one relative duty is prefcribed, there the other is always to be underftood ; that whatever we are to do ourfelves, that we are to take care that others, under our charge, perform in their place and ftations ; and laftly, that the intent of thefe commandments is, not only to forbid the out* ward adl of vice, but the inward defire of it ; and, on the con- trary, not only require the external performance of religious duties, but that internal and vital principle likevv ife from whence they proceed, and are animated. Thefe are fome of the re- ceived rules for the expofition of the ten commandments, by virtue of which, they are made to comprehend, not only all the duties of moral rehgion, but fome of the great precepts of evan- gelical righteoufnefs ; as indeed our blefled Saviour, " in his excellent comment upon them, has fufficiently informed us, that Vol. II. L they i Exod. xxiii. 32. kLev. xx. 10, StC. 1 Ibid. xix. 32. m Exod. xix. 29. n Deut. xxiji. 19. o Exod. xxiii. 4. p Ibid. vcr. 5. q Ibid. ver. i. r Ibid, ver. 2. s Lev. xix. 13. t Ibid. ver. 9, la. n Towerfon on the Decalogue, aad EdwarOi's Body it' Divinity, Vol. U. 31 Matth. v. 82 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, they are larger and more extenfive in their fignification, than wliat they were fuppofed to be at their firfl: promulgation. Their y The decalogue (as thefe ten commandments are called) ^^ ^''' were, ^ by God himfelf, ^ divided into two tables ; the firft table contains four commandments, i. That of worlhipping one God only. 2. That of abftaining from idolatry. 3. That of not taking the name of God in vain. And, 4. That of hallow- ing the fabbath-day. But the fecond table has fix. i. 1 hat of honouring father and mother, a. 1 hat of not committing murder. 3. That of not committing adultery. 4. That of hot flealing. 5. That of not bearing falfe witnefs. And, 6. That of not coveting any thing that is our neighbour's : and it is worthy our obfervation, i' that as the commandments have their place according to the dignity of the duties commanded, /. e. thofe which have regard unto God, have the pre-eminence of thofe that relate to men ; fo are they ranked and difpofed according to the heinoufnefs of the fins that are forbidden. Thus the offences againft God, being more grievous than thofe againft men ; the neglect of divine worfhip, proftration to ima- ges, profanation of God's name, and violation of his fabbath are mentioned before the tranfgrelhons of the other table : and then as to the commandments which it contains, becaufe it is more heinous to offend our parents (whether natural or civil) than any other perfons, the prohibition of doing that, is there- fore put in the firfl: place, and the others follow according to their order. For fince there are three degrees of finning, in deeds, jn words, and in defires ; and thefe differ as to their guilt (it being more criminal to offend in aftions than in words, and in words than in bare defires) according to the gradual defile, ment of thefe fins, we are forbid, firfl, to hurt our neighbour by y Lamy's Introduftion. z Dent. v. 22. a Thedivifson of the ten command- ments, as it is with us, is what the moft learned of the Jews and Chriftians always received, and is certainly very right, not only from the different mat- ter of them, but becaufe our Saviour feems to confirm tliisdiflribution of them ^^'herlhe mentions the firft and the fecond commandments (Matth. xxii 38, 39.) by which he means the firft and the fecond table, and reduces the duties we owe to God to the one, and thofe that are due to man to the other. Some of the Rabbins indeed (to make the tables even) put five commandments in one, and five in the other; but we never heard that they were for expunging any. St Jerome (m his Comment upon Hofea x.) makes four commandments have refpccl unto God, and fix to our neighbours; but his divifion of the former is very ftrange; for the firft commandment, he fays, is, 1 am the Lord thy God; the fecond. Thou fhalt have no other gods but me ; the third, Thou (halt not make to thyfelf any graven image; and the fourth. Thou fhalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain : fo that he leaves out the precept of obferv- Jng the fabbath, and makes the firft commandment out of the preface to it. Hut in this he is lingular, and not a little culpable. The church of Rome has ftruck the fecond coninrandment quite out of the decalogue, and, to make up the number, iplit the tenth into two: but the reafon for their doing fo is plain- ly this, that they are willing to conceal a commandment which fo exprefsly , forbids the ufe of images in the worftiip of God. They mutt not let the pe«> pie fee, and take notice, that thefe are pofitively forbidden by a divine law. E'Jwards'5 Body of Divinity; Vol. II, b Edwards's, Ibid. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish La-ws, &c. 83 by any adl, whether it be killing, or adultery, or theft ; next by our words, in bearing falfe witnefs ; rnd then by our thoughts and defires in coveting any thing that is his. Nor is the fame order negleded as to the fins of the firft dafs ; for though deal- ing is a very great crime, yet adultery is more heinous than that, and killing more flagitious than this, and therefore, firft killing, then adultery, and after that flealing, are made men- tion of and forbidden. I Have but one obfervation more to make, and that is — That anduniver- " though thefe commandments were primarily intended for the ^^^'^^y- ufe of the Jews (for which caufe the deliverance commemorat- ed in the preface, the reafon alledged in the fourth, and the promife annexed to the fifth commandment, are apparently pe- culiar to that people) yet, confidering that the children of Ifrael were at this time the only church of God, and that, in fpeaking to them, God addrelTes himfelf to the houfehold of faith in all fucceeding generations, there is no one precept which may not in a larger and fpiritual fenfe (at leaft by good analogy and parity of reafon) concern us ; and though the motives of our obedience may vary from theirs, yet the matter of the injunction is to all of us the fame. *' I am the Lord, Jehovah, '' the only true God, eternal, Thepre- " independent, and unchangeable in eflence ; true and infallible deTahn-w^' *' in word ; conftant and immutable in purpofe ; and firm and ** faithful in the performance of whatever I promife or threat : " that fame God, who, under this appellation, difcovered my- " felf to thy fore-fathers, enabled a fpecial covenant with them, ** received their homage and engagements, and promifed efpe- *' cial favour and proteftion to them and their feed : for I am *' thy God, and, though the univerfal Lord and Father of the " world, yet to thee I bear a peculiar relation, as having chofen *' and avouched thee to be a fpecial people to myfelf, above all " the people that are upon the face of the earth ; promifed to " make thee high above all nations in praife, and in name, and " hi honour ; and, by manyfignal denionftrations of favour and *' mercy, confirmed to thee the performance of my covenant " and promife. For I brought thee out of the land of Egypt *' in a manner fo full of wonder in itfelf, fo full of grace to- " wards thee, delivering thee from the faddeft oppremon and *^ flavery in the houfe of bondage, and tranflating thee into *^ a defirable flate of prefent liberty, and of fure tendency to- ^' wards the enjoyment of reft, of plenty, and of all joy and " comfort in the promifed land. And therefore T, who am the " only true God, doing what I pleafe in heaven and earth, :" and thy God, by a particular engagement and endearment, *' do, « upon the fcore of former favours, and future expec- " fancies, c Le Clcrc's Cominentary, d Barro'.v'j Expofitjon of the Decalogue, e Le Ckic's, Ibid. 8*4 y9 Complete Body Divimfy. Part III. ^' tancies, the fenfe of my love, and the dread of my power, '' call upon, and require you to liften to my words, and let " thefe my commandments fmk down into your minds." Its relation Now what God, in a direct and literal fenfe thus fpeaks to to us. the Jewifli people, may, by parity of reafon (efpecially in a myftical and fpiritual fenfe) be applied to us ; f for to us he is the fame Jehovah, whofe nature is eternal, and power infinite, and to whom the higheft refpeft and obfervance is due, as being the eflential author. Lord, and governor of all things. He likewnfe, in a nearer relation, is our God, having chofen u?, and confecrated us to himfelf ; received us into a clofer alliance, a new and better covenant, eftablilhed upon better promifes, and obliged us, by the grant of nobler privileges, and the difpenfation of more excellent benefits. Nor muft it be forgot- ten, that he has brought us up out of a fpiritual Egypt, refcued us from the tyrannical dominion of Satan, freed us from ferving fin in our fouls and bodies, and is now conducting us in the way, and has conferred on us an afllired hope (if we be not wanting to ourfelves and our duty) of entering into the heaven- ly Canaan, a place of perfedl reft, and inconceivable blifs; for s he hath delivered us (as the apoftle expreffes it) from the power of darknefs, and tranflated us into the kingdom of his mod beloved Son ; and therefore, according to a fpiritual intent, he may well be fuppofed here to fpeak in an higher ftrain to us, and to exadl a more pundlual and accurate obfervance of his commandments. SECT. I. Table I. Firft Commandment. Thou /halt have no other gods but me. *^T^ H E S E words are delivered in the form of a prohibition JL (as moft of the other commandments are) * and yet in the natural defign and fenfe of them, they (as well as the reft) fuppofe and require " fomething pofitive^ and may therefore be refolved into thefe two propofitions. I. That we Ihould not vvorlhip any ' falfe or foreign gods. And, II. That we fliould worlhip the true God only. I. That f Barrow's Expofition of the Decalogue, g Col. i. 13. * Fiddes's Body of Divinity, Vol. II. h This was accounted To much the fenfe of the command, that we find Jofephvis maliing mention of no other didajkil ho prootui logos, hoti Thcos eftn eh, ki.i d<;i toutoti fc-b.-.Jlhai morion. The fitft commandment teaches us, that there is but one God, and him only we ought to worftiip. Ant. I. 2. c. 5. i It is obfervable, that the word achadhn, which we traniiate other, is fometimes by the Scptuagint rendered alloi, a/:/, and fometimes, cUoir>si, alien}, and fo in this latter acceptation, it denotes thofe ftrange gods fo often mentioned in fcripture, accounted and called gods by the heathen, but fuch as, in rsaility, were cot fo, Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laws, &c. 85 I. That there is a God, /. e. an eternal, infinite, and Al- The unity mighty Being, the creator and governor of the univerfe, all ^^^^^^ ' perfeft himfelf, and the author of all perfeftion in others, is from rea- Avhat we have fufficiently Ihewn already from reafon, from Icrip- fon and ture, and (what is the plaineft proof of all) " from the vifible Scripture, works of the creation : and that there is but one fuch Being, -|- the voice of reafon, as well as the teftimony of fcripture, the efiential perfedions of the divine nature, as well as the frequent declarations of God himfelf, > I am the Lord, and there is none elfe, there is no god befides me, I am the Lord, and there is none elfe, is an abundant conviftion. " The unity of the divine nature indeed is a notion, wherein the greateft and wifeft part of mankind did always agree, and is fo very congi*uous to the frame and government of the world, wherein we fee all things confpiring to one end, and continu- ing in one uniform order and courfe (which cannot reafonably be afcribed to any other but a conftant and uniform caufe) that it feems a principle, if not innate, yet arifmg from the contem- plation of the works of the creation, to believe that there is no other god but one ; * and had not perfons of vain and conceited imaginations, profeffing themfelves wife, become fools; had not men of corrupt manners, difliking to retain God in their know- ledge, and having their foolilh hearts darkened, filled the minds of the ignorant, and deluded the vulgar with a fuperflitious be- lief of many gods, having rule over particular places and coun- tries ; the true notion of God, fo agreeable to the plain and natural diftates of reafon, might have been preferved amongft all nations. For the plain connexion and dependence of one thing upon another through the whole material univerfe, through all parts of the earth and in the vifible heavens ; the difpolition of the air, and fea, and winds; the motion of the fun, and moon, and ftars, and the ufeful viciffitudesof feafons, for the regular production of the various fruits of the earth, have always been fufficient to make it evidently appear, even to mean capacities, that all things are under the direction of one power, under the dominion k See Vol. 1. Page 7, S;c. fThe mofl: obvious notion we have of God is, that he is a Being of all poffible perfetStions; now, vipon the fuppofition of two Gods, either they muft have feveral perfeftions, or the fame ; but to fuppofe two gods with feveral perfeftions, fome belonging to one, and fome to another, will plainly prove, that neither of them can be God, becaufe neither of them have all poffible perfeftions. To fuppofe tv, o Gods of the fame and equal pei- ft'dions, would likewife prove that neither of them can be God, /. e. not abfo- lutely perfet% becaufe it is not fo great a privilege to have the fame equal per- feftions with another, and in a kind of partncrlhip, as to be alone, and fuperior above all others; and yet to fuppofe one of Them inferior, in any refpedl, is to evince tliat he cannot be God, becaufe not fupreme. The truth is, God, in the conceptiun we have of liim, is an infinite Being: but now nothing is more evi- dent than that one infinite Being is fnfTicicnt to all purpofes whatever; and therefore to fuppofe more gods than arc necelTary, whether of the fame, or feparate perfe(^\ions, whether agreeing or dilbgreeing with each other, is the height of abfurdiry. Wilkins's Piiijciples of Natural religion. Lib. 1. 1 Ifai. ^.lv. >, 6, m Tillotfon's Sermons, Vol. I. * Clark's Sermons, Vol. I. 86 * A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, dominion of one God, as the wifeft and beft men in all heathen nations, upon mature deliberation, have always declared. :j: Orpheus indeed, was the firfl who attempted the genea- logy of the gods, and reduced their number to 360 : but he was afterwards lo fenfible of his impious folly, that in a par- ticular difcourfe to his fon Mufaeus, and his other friends, he retrarts thefe wild and abfurd fables, and having admonifhed them in the firft place, that there is but one God, by whom all other things were made, and on whom they depend, he then goes on to Tiiew that though this God is invifible, yet he fees and knows all thmgs, and that as he is merciful, fo is he likewife jufl, and the author of all thofe judgments which befal wicked men, &c. Homer, though he follows Orpheus too clofely in his fidions concerning a multitude of deities, yet, when he is moft ferious, he fuppofes but one, els Koirams efioo ; and there- fore we Hnd Pythagoras, and fevcral others after him, IHling God by the name of Monas or Unity : for *' though men differ *' much in their opinions about other matters (fays an antient '' author (j,) yet in this they all agree that .there is one God, *' the king and father of all, under whom there are fubordinate *' deities, his offspring, who are admitted to fome (hare of go- *' vernment with him. In this the Grecian confents with the *' Barbarian, the inhabitants of the continent with the iflanders, " the wife with the unwife." But though the belief of one fupreme God feems to be fixed upon the foundations of right reafon, and confirmed by names of great authority ; yet the grofs idolatry of the heathen world plainly Ihews, that, in procefs of time, it came to be greatly corrupted. The prima- The Chaldeans, from whom the Ifraelites originally defcend- of theTom^ ed, worfhipped " the fun, moon, flars, and all the hoft of hea- mand- ven : the Egyptians, from whom they were now departed, ment. made them gods, not of animals only, but of any inanimate crea- ture they either accounted hurtful or beneficial to them : the Canaanites, and other nations among whom they were now going, made their adorations to devils, and even fome times offered their very children in facrifice to them : nay, the Ifrael- ites themfelves were too prone to idolatry : foon after the de- livery of the law they gave a lamentable inftance of this in the matter of the golden calf, and in length of time became foinfeft- ed with the cufloms of the nations among whom they lived, that according to the number of their cities were their gods ( " as the prophet tells them) and according to the number of the (Ireets of Jerufalem, did they fet up altars to that Ihameful thh;g, even altars to burn incenfe unto Baal : fo that tiie chief and \ Wilkins's Principles of Natural Religiop, Lib. I. 1| Maximu's Tyiius, Dif- ievt, I. n Beveridge on tlie Church Catechifm. o Jcr. xi- iS- Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laws, Sec. Sj and primary intent of this law was to prohibit the Jews froni paying any religious worfhip i" to Afhtoreth the goddefs of the Zidonians, to Milconi the aboinniation of the children of Ammon, or to any of the gods of the nations among whom they either , had, or were to fojourn ; and it was highly agreeable to the wifdom of God, in order to retain the people in his fervice, that he (hould caution them againft this idolatrous worlhip which they were fo much addifted to' ; a crime ufually exprefled in fcripture by the metaphor of adultery, as denoting not only a defertion of the true God, but a defertion in direft breach of faith, and the folemn covenant wherein they were engaged with God. But, becaufe all people naturally conceive of God as a Being its fecnn- of fupreme excellency, juftice, goodnefs, and power over them ; tlarymein- and fo, whatever it is that they imagine to be God, that they ^"2" honour and fear, and love, and trufl on, as if it were really fo ; therefore the prohibition may be extended to fuch fenfe as this ; " * Thou flialt not think, believe, or own any thing to be God ** but Me : Thou Ihalt not afcribe fupreme authority, power *' or goodnefs, or any other divine perfe(^ion, to any but Me : *' Thou ihalt not regard them "j that have familiar (pints, nor ** feek after witches, nor wizards, nor ufe divinations or en- ^' chantments, or any fuch like abominations : Ihou flialt not *' put any truft or confidence in any creature that is in heaven " or earth : Thou (halt not love, nor refpedl, nor value, nor ** defire any thing in companion of Me : If thou doefl any *' of thefe things, thou hall: other gods before Me, or in my *' fight, who am the fearcher of all hearts, and to whom all thy *' fecret fins and imaginations lie open and detected." II. The pofitive propofition contained in the commandment The rea- ls, that we fhould worllup the true God only. It is a piece of f<»nable- juftice generally acknowledged, ' that all beings Ihould have a "^^^^^^''j" regard paid them in proportion to the dignity of their nature, ccnamaui the advantages we receive from them, and the jurifdiftion they have over us : neither ought we only to have a true apprehenfion of thefe diftindtions in our minds, but declare it vifibly in our adions, that others may perceive our notions are right, and our difpofitions virtuous : that we are willing to pay an efleem to abltrafted excellency, a fubmiflion to authority, and a recog- nition of the benefits v/e receive. Now the perfeftions of God are tranfcendent, and peculiar tohimfelf : the moi\ glorious crea- ture falls infinitely fhort of him ; he is the original caufe of all being and blelling, the creator and fupreme lord of heaven and earth. And fince the excellencies of God are of a pecidiar and fuper-eminent nature, our acknowledgements of them ought to be fo too. The defign of public worihip is to make a villble confefHon p 2 Kings xxiii. 1 3. * Beveridge on the Church Catechifra. q Lev. aix. 51 . and Deut. xviii. 10, u. r Jer, CoUi«:r'5 Sermons. 88 A Complete Body of Divinity, Part III* confeflion of our dependence upon God ; to own him as the maker of the world, and praife him for all the advantages we enjoy ; and to make oar acknowledgements of God rational, they ought to be proportioned to his nature, and fuch as we give to no other being. Since no perfon helped him to create the world, nor joins with him in theprefervation of it, but all things are made by him, and fupported by his fole power, we cannot be faid to worlhip him aright, unlefs there be fomething proper and dilVmguifhing in our adorations of him ; unlefs our fervice has fome circumftances of advantages, and extraordinary vene- ration which we never Ihew upon any other occafion. " If the vulgar fhould fee their prince no better attended and obferved than themfelves, they would be apt to overlook his quality, and fufped he never had any commiffion from hea- ven ; and therefore the fplendor of the court is defigned to keep up the reputation of the government, and to put fubjefts in mind of their inferiority. The greatell part of mankind muft have remote truths, efpecially thofe which relate to the perfec- tions of fpiritual beings, conveyed by ienfible objefts ; their organs muft be ftruck as well as their underftandings ; for if thefe invilible things are only reprefented in their naked eflences, the impreffion will not be diftincl and durable enough to affeift their minds, and govern their pradice. In what This is a good reafon for the inflitution of the public wor- manner it ^-,jp ^f QqJ . ^j^ J ^s it is a rule in princes courts, and that ra- fgj.^gj^^'^" tionally fettled, that fubjecls, though of the firft quality, ihould not be taken notice of in their prefence ; fo, if our worlhip be not appropriated to God Almighty ; if our religious folemnities (which are done in his prefence) are not intirely referved to his honotir ; if we communicate the adoration we offer him to any of his fervants ; this weakens the notion of a fupreme Being, confounds the difference between finite and infinite, and fets the creature and Creator almoft upon terms of equality. Upon this account, we find in the next commandment (whicli fome have thought only an appendix to this) God declaring himfelf to be a jealous God, and that will allow of no rivals in adoration, that expefts our affeftions fhould not be divided between him and his creatures, but that our religious fervices fhould be wholly devoted to him : and therefore, in refpecl to our inward ho- mage and adoration, our worfhip of God imports the higbeft efteem, honour, and awe of him ; an intire dependence on his wifdom, and fubmiflion to his will, whether in the adlive or pafTive inilances of obedience : it requires that we fliould confi- der him as the mofl excellent and perfed of beings in himfelf, the mod amiable and beneficial in relation to us, and that every thought of our minds, and every motion and affection of our hearts fhould be perfedly, and at all times_, conformable to thefe fentiments : s Coiner's Sermons. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laivs^ &c. 89 fentiments : and in refped: to our outward homage, our Worfliip of him is exprefled by acknowledging and invocating him ; by offering up our praifes, our prayers, and thankfgivings to him ; and by exprefling a due reverence to every kind of rhatter which bears any fpecial relation to him, whether things, or perfons, or places of worfliip ; in a word, by fhewing ourfelves ready on all occafions, both in the eafy and difficult inltances of our duty to obey him, and to do all thofe things without referve or reluc- tance which he has in general commanded us j fubmitting our- felves wholly to his will and pleafure, and ftudying to ferve him in true holinefs and righteoufnefs all the days of our life. This is the full extent of the command, both in its nega- The tranf- tive and pofitive fignification ; and from hence we may obferve, Jj^efTors of that " all thofe who deny the being of a God, whether in fpecu- ^and"™* lation or'pradlice, whether they really believe that there is no God, or live as if they did, without any regard to his honour or worlhip ; all thofe who believe and worihip a multiplicity of deities, " or afcribe the eflential properties of God to any creat- ed being, as the heathen world in many places do ; all thofe who, together with the worfliip of the true God, admit other beings into a partnerihip with him, paying religious adoration to faints and angels, as the church of Rome is known to do ; y all thofe who frame in their fancy an idea unworthy of that moft excellent Being, and, to fuch a phantom of their own creation yield their beft affedlions and highell efteejn ; and laftly, all thofe who fet their hearts upon any creature (whether themfelves or any other thing) trufting in it, and relying on it, making it the chief delight of their eyes, and concern of their life, are guilty of a violation of this command. In fliort, if we regard or efteem, if we feek and purfue, if we confide and de- light in wealth, or honour, or pleafure, wit, wifdom, flrength, or beauty, ourfelves, our relations, or any other creature, we have another god, which is againft the negative meaning ; and, if we do not with all our hearts reverence and love the moft wife and powerful, the moft juft and holy, the moft good and gracious God ; if we do not truft and hope in him as the foundation of f^ all good ; if we do not diligently worfliip and praife him ; if we do not humbly fubmit to his will and obey his laws, ,we have not him for our God, which is againft the pofitive intent of this moft holy law. Second Commandment. Thou fhult mi make io thyfelf any graven image, Sec. HIS commandment, which ftates the manner (as the for- mer did the objeft) of religious worihip, confifts of two parts, viz. a precept, and its fanclion. ^ i. The precept is ex- VoL. II. M preffed uWake's Cornraentary on theChurch Catechifm. xEdwards's Body, Vol. II . y flavrovr's Expolition of the Decalogue, z To werfon on the Commandments. T go ^ Complete Body of Diviniiy. Part IIL prefled in negativ!© terms, that we fliould not make or worfhip any carved image j' |)ut it includes in it likewife a pofiiive duty that we iliould wormip and ferve the Lord in a manner I'uitable to hi« divine excellencies, and according to what himfelf has ap- ', pointed. i. The fandtlon is of two forts ; i. By vyay of com- mination, denouncing a fevere punilhment againlt the tranfgref- fors of the command, vifiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third generation of them that hate me. And, 2. By way of encouragement, making a gracious promife to the careful and confcientious obfervers of it, fhewing mercy unto thoufands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Theprima- WHENCE the humour arofe, and afterwards prevailed in the inc 'of ^th'is ^^^^then world, of representing their deities in corporeal fhapes, command, and in yielding fuch expreffions of refpeft to their images, as they conceived were agreeable to the deities themfelves ; and how far the devil's malice, » and fome mens fraud confpiring with other mens ignorance, concured in the production of this kind of idolatry, we Ihall have occaiion to confider at large in a proper place : this only we need remark at prefent, that as the Egyptians, among whom the Ifraelites had lived- a long while, were notorioufly additted to all forts of idolatry, worfliip- ping the fun and moon, and ^ fever al kinds of birds which were in heaven above ; the images of men and of brute hearts which were in the earth beneath ; of filhes, and fnakes, and crocodiles which were in the waters under the earth ; fo the defign of this commandment was to reftrain the Ifraelites from fuch praftices as they had beheld among the Egyptians, but whether it was intended to inhibit them the ufe of all images in general, is not fo well agreed among the learned. « TerTullian was of opinion that this commandment forbade all images whatever, more particularly all protuberant ones ; and * Origen feems to denote the fame thing, when he tells ds that a painter or ftatuary was not permitted to live in the Jewiili republic, that no occafion might be given of drawing away mens minds from the worfliip of God. = From the time of the Mac- pV cabees to the deftruftion of Jerufalera, the Jews indeed thought themfelves a Omnis ilia idololatria orta eft ex fallace facerdotum gente, qu!E, ut angu- ftiora facra faceret, nihil aperte dicebat, fed fub fymbolis abfcondebat. Com autem fymbolica ilia fignificatio ex arbitrio, fingentium pendcret, paulatim fatlum, ut rationes Symbolorum Oblivioni inandareutur, plebifque animus in iis folis, quse fenfus, percellebant, afficeretur, ac tandem crederet fub iis Figuris, aut vivis, aut mortuis, habitare numeii. Sic cum Ofnin, Agricul- turae, deditum Regem, Symbolica Juvehci Imagine defignalTent, tandem eju* animum in bove Api efTe crediderant. Statuis etiam confecratis crediderunt adefle Numina. Summa itaque ratione vetuit Stii, aliorumque omnium fimu- lacra fieri. Deuj Opt. Max. ne iis cultusReligiofus haberetur; nee minus pru- denter fecerunt, qui, fuperftitione plebis Chriftianae animadverfa, Imagines in Religionem temere illatas elimiuandas cenfcrnnt, cum iifdem incommodis laborent Le Clerc's commentary. b Particularly the hawk ar^ the ibis. Tully, de Nat. Deor. Lib. I. c De Speftaculis, c. 23. d Contra Ce!f. Lib. IV. e Patrick's Commentary. Chap. IV. .Ofthe]EWi%n Laws, &c. ^ 91 themfelves forbidden by this law to make the iriiage or figure of any living creature^ efpecially of a man ; but that this was not its original intent, is manifeft from God's appointing the cherubinis over the mercy-feat, and the ferpent in the wildernefs to be made ; which queftionlefs he would not have done, could we fuppofe that this command previoufly prohibited the making of the likenefs of any fuch thing. It is allowed indeed that God might difpenfe with his own command ; but as we have no in- timation of any fuch difpenfation, and can hardly believe that he would have dil'penfed with it fo foon ; '^ fo it feems more reafonable to fuppofe that the cherubims, the brafen-ferpent, the bulls; and otJier images in Solomon's temple, were no breaches of the fecond commandment, but that himfelf waved the obfervation of his own precept in thefe particulars ; and confequently, that the fecond commandment was never intended to forbid the making of images in general, but only the making of fuch images as were defjgned to reprefent the Divine Ma- jefty ; for fo the reafon which Mofes gives for the obfervation of the precept feems to imply : c Take heed unto yourfelves ; for ye faw no manner of fimilitude in the day that the Lord fpake unto you in Horeb out of the midft of the fire ; left ye corrupt yourfelves, and make you a graven image, the fimili- tude of any figure, the likenefs of male or female ; which plain- ly Ihews that the defign of the command was to forbid fuch images as were made with a purpofe to reprefent God ; fmce the prohibition is founded upon their not feeing any fmiilitude, but only hearing a voice. The h prophet Ifaiah, having fet off the incomparable power Thefblly^ and majefty of God in great and lofty ftrains, as meafuringthe fi^'^ndftu- waters in the hollow of his hand, and meting out heaven with a jmage- fpan ; as comprehending the duft of the earth in a meafure, and making, weighing the mountains in fcales, and the hills in a balance ; before whom all nations are nothing, and are counted to him lefs than nothing and vanity : having, I fay, in this, and more fuch language as this, endeavoured to defcribe the might and majefty of God, he then aflcs the queftion. To whom will ye liken God ? or what likenefs will ye compare unto him ? And thereupon proceeding to difcourfe of the folly and mad pre- fumption of making images for religious ufes, he concludes at Lift, ' Have ye not known ? Have ye not heard ? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not underftood from the foundations of the earth ? It is he that fitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grafhoppers • that ftretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and fpreadeth them out as a teni to dwell in ; that bringeth the princes to nothing, and !)iaketh the judges of the earth as vanity ; to whom then will ye liken fThonidikc's Weights ar.d Meafurcs, c. 19. •fee. j ibid. 21, £) to Maimonides) that any of thefe men ^^nfemeB worfliipped an idol with this perfuafion, that there was no other ^ * ' God but it : there never was, nor ever will be, any fo fottifh, as to fancy that the figure which he knows he made of metals, or wood, or flone, either created the heaven and the earth, or at prefent governs them ; but they therefore worfliipped thefe images, becaufe tiiey looked upon them as things intermediate between God and them. In them they paid their adorations to God ; and the very formality of their idolatry confifled in having fuch devices to remind them of God, and in ufing fuch poftures and religious deportment before them, as he had made peculiar, and appropriated to his own worfliip. An idol, ' as the apoftle tells us, is nothing in the woi-ld ; of what materials foevcr it be compofed it availeth nothing : but when it comes to be made an inftrument of devotion, and employed in the fervice of God ; when before it men bow, or proftrate themfelves, or do any other acls of religious homage, it then becomes an abomination, or (according to the exprelfion that God is pleafed to ufe) the objeft of his jealoufy. And, ' as it would be no very grateful excufe to tell a jealous perfon, that the woman he is jealous of, did not go fo far as to commit adultery with her paramour, or, that if flie did, it was only becaufe flie fancied a fimilitude betM'een them ; fo all the apology that can be made for the worfhip of images, from their being good expedients to raife our imagina- tion, and by fenfible reprefentations to invigorate our devotion, will be but forry evafions when they come to be compared with the denunciations of him, who hath told us exprefsly, « that he will not give his glory to another, nor his praife to graven images, but will vilit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto p Ifa. xliv 14, &:c q More Nev. c. 36. r 1 Cor. viij. 4. s Towerfon or. the Cummandments. t Ifa. xlii. 8" 94 ^ Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. unto the third and fourth generation of them that in this man- ner hate him. The "^«3"- 2. But here it may be afked, *' How can God vifit the fins fanftioii ** of the fathers upon the children, when, " in fo many places, and its <* he afllires us that the foul which finneth it ftiall die ; that the equity. a ^^^ ^^\\ jjqj. j^g^^ j-j^g iniquity of the father, neither fhall the *' father bear the iniquity of the fon, but that each man fhall ** have the rew.ard of his righteoufnefs, or bear the punilhment: ** of his own iniquity : for this the very heathens could infer,; " ^ that to punilh one man for the fin of another, could not be ** confiftent with the juftice of God." Nov. in anfwer to this,; the common reply is, y that God may fo piiniih a man for his fins, that the temporal evil of it Ihall reach, not to himfelf alone, but to his poflerity alfo ; that, as in the cafe of high-treafon, the father by forfeiting his honour and eilate, and the prince by exafting the penalty of the law, bring the ill confequence of the crime upon the whole family (nor is this thought unjuft in thci courts of human judicature) fo in the cafe of idolatry (which is no lefs treafon againu the Divine Majefly) there is no reafon to complain, if the Judge of all the earth deals after the fame manner with the pofterity of wicked men, though they be not' guilty of their anceftors crimes. "^ In our Gothic conftitutions ** (fays z a learned author) the throne being the fountain of ** honour, and fource of property, lands, like titles, come from *' it, and are held as fiefs of it, /*. e. under perpetual condition *' of fervice : which condition being violated by high-treafon,: '* thofe privileges and poffeiHons, with perfeft equity, become *' forfeit, and revert to the crown, how much foever the for- ^' feiture may afFeft an innocent pofterity in thofe their fortunes,- , "■ whicli arofe not from any natural right, but from free grace, *' and arbitrary compact." Juft fo was the cafe with the Ifraelites. They lived under a theocracy ; and God, who was their king, by an extraordinary adminiftration of his providence fupported them, and gave them great temporal bleifings (to which tliey had no natural claim) upon condition of their obe- dience : and therefore their violating this condition, by falling into idolatry (which was declared rebellion, and high-treafon againft their king) under ihis CEConomy at leaft, is enough to juftify him, in withdrawing thofe extraordinary favours, and, by that means, in vifiting the fin of a wicked father upon his in- nocent children, in like manner as is done by modern ftates, in the taint of blood and confifcation. But there is a farther folu- tion H See Deut. xxiv. i6. Ezek- xviii. 17. to 20,-&c. x O miram cquitatem Dei! (lit habet Cotta apud Ciceroneni eontra Stoicos qui, cam vim efle Dei, af- firmarunt, ut etiam fiqitis morte, pocnas effugerit, expetantur ers poenae a liberis Nepotibus, a Pofteris) O miram cquitatem Dei ! ferretne ulla Civitas Latorem cjiif'nodi Legis, ut condemnaretur Filius, aut Nepos, fi Pater, aut Avus delin« quiilet? De Nat. Deor. Lib. III. y Wakes Explanation of the Cbttrch Cate- tiiifni. z Warburton's Divine Legation of Mofcs, Vol. II. Lib V. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laws, &c. 95 tion of this difficulty : for » others have imagined, that, as no man is abfolutely innocent, but has faults of his own, and tranf- greflions enough to anfwer for, if God will be extreme to mark what he has done amifs ; fo (to teftify his indignation againft idolatry) God takes occafion to exaft a punilhment on the chil- dren of idolaters, for their own perfonal offences, which other- wife perhaps he would have either overlooked, or not fo rigidly confidei-ed. In this feufe the children are fuppofed to bear the punifliinent, not of their parents fins, but of their own ; and the caufe of their fuffering is their perfonal guilt, though the occa- fion of their fuffering, at fuch a time, in fuch a manner, in fuch meafure, and with fuch circumllances, arifes from their fore- fathers impieties. It is, in this refpect (as ^ one happily com- pares it) as it is with a man, who, being full of malignant humours, happens to ride abroad in wet weather, and fo taking cold, falls firft into a Ihaking fit, and then into a dangerous fever : for, as in this cafe, the peccant humours which the per- fon had contrafted, were the true caufe and root of his diftein- per, and his taking cold the occafion only of its breaking out ; fo the perfonal fins of the fon are the caufe of his punifhment, the father the occafion only of the infliding of it ; « which is fo far from inferring God's punilhing one man for another's tranf- greifion, that it plainly denotes no more than that, by the occa- fion of the father's fin, the fon may fometimes be punilhed ac- cording to the demerit of his own ; which ■• fufficiently vindi- cates our church, in ufing the petition in her common liturgy, conformable to the doctrine of this commandment, Remember not, Lord, the offences of our fore-fathers : for, though thefe offences fhall never be charged upon us, yet they may move God to inquire into what we ourfelves have done amifs, and to punifli us for our own tranfgrefTions. This is the full fcope of the doctrine contained in this ne-Wh© tiie -gative precept, which includes (as we faid) a pofitive duty like- ''■^"^kr^i- wife : and, from a furvey of the whole, we may eafily perceive '*'^' who are the tranfgreffors, and confequently liable to the penalty, and who the obfervers, and thereby entitled to the promifes of this great command. <= Thofe who make or affifl in the making or maintaining of any idol, in building any temple or altar to it, in offering any facrifice or incenfe, any prayers or oblations of any kind, or in contributing any thing towards its having any figns of religious honour and worfhip performed to it, as the heathens did formerly, and in many places do flill : thofe who make ufe of any corporeal fimilitude of God, or the likenefs of any other creature, to repiefent him by in their religious offices ; that in public places of divine worfhip, fet up the images of faints and a Le Clerc's Commentary, and Towerfon on the Commandments. b San- tlerfon, ia Iiis third Sermorj on.Kings iii. 21, 22. c Towerfon, Ib^^. d Ibid, e Bevericlge's Explanation of the Church Catechifiui g6 A Complete Body of Divinity, Part III, and angels, and, with great femblance of devotion, ^ falute them, cafting themfelves before them, carrying them in proceflion, and making long pilgrimages to them, as « thofe of the Roman communion are known to do: or laltly, thofe who in their thoughts entertain any corporeal conceptions of God ; who think that he, like bodies, is confined to a certain place, and can know or aft nothing beyond his o\\'n heaven ; that his arm (like theirs) is Ihortened that it cannot fave, his ears (like theirs) can- not hear the fofteft whifpers, and his eyes (like theirs) are to be blinded by the darknefs of the night, or impdfed upon by any fpecious appearances, as too many inconfiderate people of all denominations feem to do : thofe, I fay, who are guilty of thefe notions or pradlices, live in the violation of this command : as, on the contrary, thofe that in the prefence and worfhip of and who God, ftudy to glorify him with their bodies, and with their fpi- the per- j-jts, which are his ; * that ufe fuch geftures and adorations Se- this com- ' ^o^^ \i\vciy as a due fenfe and holy fear of his Divine Majefty and mand. fupreme authority over them require ; that make the folemnity of their worlhip chiefly confift in the fincerity of their defires, the purity of their afFeftions, and conti-itenefs of their hearts ; that make it their endeavour to ferve him, and promote his glo- ry and honour in the world, by defending and enlarging his church, where only he is known and worlhipped upon earth ; by making all their prayers and folemn addrefles to him, as the giver of all good gifts ; by praifing and magnifying his name in the great congregation ; by building and adorning places where to do it ; by obferving the times which he hath fet apart for his worlhip and fervice ; by celebrating the facraments that he has ordained ; by keeping his laws themfelves, and perfuading others to do the like : thofe that do thefe things, I fay, perform the pofitive part of the commandment ; and, for fo doing, Ihall receive of God a recompence of fpiritual and temporal bleflings, both to themfelves and their pofterity, for a thoufand genera- tions ; fo infinitely does God's jufl:ice fall Ihort of his mercy to thofe that love him and keep his commandments .' Third Commandment. Thoujhalt not take the name of the Lord thy Cod in vain, Sec WE have here again, i . a negative precept (which in- eludes in it a pofitive duty) and, 2. a commination add- ed to enforce it. ■ The precept relates to the act of fwearing ; but becaufe fome have taken it in fo ftrift a fenfe as to exclude all kind of oaths whatever, it will be neceflary, before we pro- ceed f Barrow on the Decalogue, g Towerfon on tfie Commandments, h Beve- ridge's Explanation of the Church Catechifin. i By the name of the Lord, in fcripture, is meant the Lord himfelf ; and to take, or lift up his name, is to fwear by it, becaufe he A^ho did fo, was wont, while he did it, to lift up his hud to heaven. Patrick's Commentary. Chap. I\'. Of the Jewish Laws, &c. cfj ceed to the confideration of the fins forbidden in it, to premife fomething concerninir the lawfulnefsof oaths in general, and the conditions requifite to make them fo. ^ An oath is an appeal to God, either upon a teftimony that is The law- given, or a promife that is made, confirming the truth of the f"'"efs of one, and the fidelity of the other. It is an appeal to God who knows all things, and will judge all men ; and is confequently a religious aft, wherein we give praife and honour to his infinite knowledge and wifdom, by owning that he is privy to what we fay ; to his holinefs and veracity, that he loves truth and abhors falfehood ; and to his power and juftice, that he both can and will avenge the later. ■ Thus, if we confider the matter upon the principles of natural religion, fwearing is not only an aft of worlhip and homage done to God, but a powerful means like- wife for the prefervation of juftice ; and, upon this fcore, has polhbly been in ufe from the foundation of the world, as it cer- tainly was pracT:ifed in the days of the patriarchs, and long be- fore the dehvery of the law. At the delivery of the law, the Fromfcrip- commandment only prohibited falfe and profane fwearing, with- '^"'^^•. out determining any thing concerning the lawfulnefs of an oath ; but the very proliibition, in the natural reafon and propriety of it, did imply, that the taking of an oath in a due and folemn manner, was all along an allowed aftion, as we find afterwards, God exprefsly commanded it as a part of religious worfhip j ^ Thou Ihalt fear the Lord thy God, and ferve him, and fhalt fwear by his name ; and the form and import of this oath is more particularly defcribed in another place, " Thou ihalt fwear. The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and In righteoufnefs, and the nations ihall blefsthemfelves in him, and in him fhall they glory ; which laft words feem very ftrongly to imply, that this precept refers to the (tate of the gofpel ; " fo that an oath, religi- oudy taken, is reprefented as a part of that worfhip which all- nations were to oiFer up to God, under the new, as well as the old difpenfation. The gofpel indeed affords us no exprefs com- mand of this duty, v Our blefled Saviour did not fuppofe that any reafonable man would make a fcruple of taking an oath up- on lawful occafions : he therefore only fet himfelf to re- prove and rellrain that intolerable cuflom which the Jews were then addifted to, of fwearing by the name of God, and feveral other things in their ordinary converfation ; but the author to the Hebrews ihews us plainly the lawfulnefs of oaths, as well as their expediency, when he tells us ■) that an oath for confir- mation puts an end to all ftrife, which he is fo far from taxing, as a fault that he makes ufe of it to prove the immutability of God's council, and the Ibre dependence we have upon his pro- VoL. IL N mifes, k Burnet on the Articles, and EJwarcls's Body of Divinity, Vol. II. 1 Bur- net, Ibid, m Dent. vi. 13. n Jer. iv. 2. o Burnet, Ibid, p Ngurfe's Pra(fii- c»I Dilcoui-fc on the Church Jlomilie:;. qUeb. vi. 16, ion 98 /^ Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. mifes, fince he has condefcended to confirm them to ns by an oath, and ' becaufe he could fwear by no greater, he fvvore by himfelf. From ex- After the example of God himfelf, M'ere it not needlefs to P«S' produce arsy other, we find that oaths, upon fit and important occafions, were in frequent ufe among the beft of men ; ' that 'Abraham fwore to Abimelech, and required an oath of his fer- vant concerning the marriage of his fon Ifaac ; that ' a covenant of the Lord, which v/as nothing elfe but an oath, in confirma- tion of their mutual friendlhip, paffed between David and Jona- than ; that, in atteitation of his veracity, St Paul makes ufe of the common forms of fwearing, " I call God for a record upon my foul ; and again, » the God and Father of our Lord Jefus, which is bleflTcd for evermore, knoweth that I lie not ; that, in the vifion of St John, an angel is reprefented as >• lifting up bis hand, and fwearing by him that liveth for ever and ever ; and (what is a more home-example than any) that our blelTed Sa- viour, ^ when he was put upon his oath by the high-prieft, » and adjured to tell whether he was the MefTias or not, imme- diately fpake out, and owned himfelf to be what he truly was, though he had been all along filent, and made no reply to any thing before. From rea- These are fome of the precedents and precepts we have in fcripture ; but if even we were deftitute of thefe, yet confider- ing how inftrumental to the benefit of mankind oaths may be made ; >> how necefiary for the fupport of juftice, and the prefer- vation of peace and good order in focieties ; how neceflary for the decifion of controverfies, not only in oi'dinary judicatories, but even among dates and fovereign princes, for the confirma- tion of their treaties and alliances, as well as the centralis and covenants among private men ; how neeeflary for the defence of the fatherlefs and widows, in their ]xxi\ rights, againft thofe that would otherwife defraud and opprefs them j for the re- ftraint of violence, for the deteftion of villanies, and bringing thofe that are guil^ty of any flagitioufnefs to condign punifti- ments : confidering, I fay, the great ferviceablenefs of oaths to the ends of juftice and good order, we cannot but fuppofe (even though we had not all this evidence from fcripture) that their r Heb. vi. 13. s Geiy. xxiv. t i. Sam. xx. 8. u 2 Cor. i. 23. x Ibid. xi. 3t. y Rev. X. V. z Among the Jews, the form of giving an oath to witnefles, and others, was not by tendering a formal oath to them, as the cuftom is among us, but by adjuring them, /. e. requiring them to fwear upon oath ; as it is plain from Lev. V. i. If a man bear the voice of 'fwearing, and i's a witnefs, whether he hath feen or known of fuch a thing, if he do not utter it, then he fiiall bear his iniquity. If he has heard the voice of fwearing, /. e. If, being adjured, or demanded to anfwcr upon oath concerning what he hath it^n or heard, he do not utter the truth, he is perjured. Now to this adjuration of the high-prieft, our Saviour anfuered. Thou haft faid ; which %vords were not an evafion (as fome have thought) but a diredt anfwer, as if he had faid. It is as thou fayeft, it is even fo, I am the Son of God. TilJotfon's Sermons, Vol. l. a Matth. xsvi. 63, 64, b Nourfc's Pradical Piftcmrfes. Chap. IV. Of the ]zv/\%K Laws, &c. 99 their firft hiftitntion was from God ; nor can they fail of being Under ■""""" what CI ditions> acceptable to him when they are converfant about momentous '"'"'^^^ ^°^' affairs, about what is right and lawful, what is poflible and with in our power ; and if they be but taken with caution and delibe- ration, in fimplicity and fmcerity, in juftice and impartiality, and at the call and command of fuch as have authority ; for thefe are the fcripture-conditions, Thou ihalt fwear, the Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteoufnefs. ** But how fliall we reconcile all this with the words of our Ariobjec- '•' blefl'ed Saviour, « Swear not at all, neither by heaven, nor ''°"- ^* by the earth, nor by Jerufalem, nor by the head ; but *' let your communication be yea, yea, and nay,>nay ; for '^ whatfoever is more than thefe cometh of evil. If fwearing " were a thing allowable,^ why does the apoftle repeat the pro- *' hibition ? <* Bat above ail things, my brethren, fwear not, nei- " ther by the heaven, neither by the earth, neither 'by any *' other oath ; but let your yea, be yea, and your nay, nay^ '' left ye fall into condemnation: if it be allowable, I fay, why *' did the primitive chriftians, by the force of thefe prohibitions, '* and even fome honefl: heathens, by the mere diftates of the '' law of nature, fo totally abftain from it?" Now, in order Anfwercd. to difcern the fenfe of our Saviour's prohibition, we muft con- iider that it is no ufual thing in fcripture to expvefs that in ab- folute terms which is yet to be underftood in a limited fenfe. « Thus, when our Saviour tells us f that all who came before him were thieves and robbers, the general exprelTion muft be reftrained to thofe that gave out they were the Meffiah, other- wife St John Baptift, and all the prophets of old, muft be com- prehended under the notion of thieves and robbers : thus when St Paul fays, s All things are lawful unto me, it muft neceflarily be reftrained to things not forbidden, otherwife an inference might be drawn from the words, that St Paul thought lying, andftealing, and fornication, &c. was lawful to him : and, in like manner, the words of our bleffed Lord, Swear not at all, muft not be extended to the utmoft latitude they will bear, but re- ftrained to the fcope and defign of his difcourfe, and the fins he primarily intended to reprove. •> That therefore our Saviour in- The mean- tended to hmit this prohibition to our ordinary methods of com- ingpf" °^r merce and difcourfe, and not to extend it to judicial cafes, is ^^"^^^^ ^ plain both from the word communication, which, according to the ufual forms of fpeech, can hardly be applied to any depofi- tion in a court of judicature, and from the nature of the oaths thcmfelves, by heaven, by the earth, by Jerufalem, &c. which were frequent with the Jev s in their common difcourfe and ordinary negotiations, but never ufed upon fuch public occafions; for then their cuftoin was to fwc; r by the great Creator of hea- ven e Matth. v. 34. d James v. 12. e Horncck's Sermons, Vol II. f John x. 8, 5 I Cor. VI. 14. h FJddej's Pci'y of Divinity, Vol. II. 100 y^ Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, yen and earth, as the Lord liveth, and God do fo to me and more, &c. ' The truth is, the Jews had got a very wicked and pernicious cuftom of Iwearing by heaven, by the earth, and fe- veral other creatures, which, becaufe God's name was not ex- prefFed, they thought were harmlefs forms, and fuch as left no guilt, nor laid any obligation upon them : and therefore our Saviour, in thefe words, endeavours to convince them of their mifl:ake ; and to fhew them that their excufes and pretences of not taking the name of God in vain, when they made ufe of fuch evafive oaths, were impertinent and frivolous ; that, in fwearing by the creatures, they did in effeft fwear by the maker of them ; that in fwearing by heaven, they fwore by him whofe throne it is ; in fwearing by they earth, they fwore by him whofe footftool it is ; in fwearing by Jerufalem, they fwore by him who had taken that city into his peculiar care and protedion ; and in fwearing by their heads, they fwore by their Creator, whofe power and goodnefs appeared in everything about them. This is the matter v/hich Chrifl: declares to the fmners of this age ; and the ground of his aflertion is plainly this, — that, in an oath, not pretences and evafions, but the nature and import of the thing are confidered by Almighty God. Men always fwear by a greater, viz. a fupreme Being ; this is an eternal J ule, and whatever trivial things are made the expreffions of an oath, they do not alter the nature of it, which hasflill a relation to God who is the maker and preferver of all the lefTer things men fwear by, and is as much profaned and provoked by fuch difguifed oaths as if he were particularly named in them. Dftheapo- The apoftles words are much of the fame nature, and are *^'"" therefore to be taken in the fame fenfe : this however we cannot but infer from the repeated prohibition, ^ that though fwearing itfelf be not difallowed under the gofpel, yet the frequency of it certainly is ; and therefore every good chriftian fliould avoid it, if he can, altogether ; if not fo, as much as he is able. Can- dour and ingenuity, love of truth, and hatred of falfity, is the proper badge of chriftians ; and therefore, as we profefs to be luch, we fhould ufe no alfeverations, much lefs any oaths and imprecations in our difcourfe : our Yea Ihould be Yea, and our Nay Nay : fimple affirmations or negations fliould only pafs be- tween us ; for it becomes chriftians to be of fuch integrity and faithfulnefs that their bare word ihould be as valid as an oath. The primi- This is the whole fenfe of our Saviour and of his apoftles: and accordingly, if we look into the words * of thofe primitive writers i Horneck's Sermons, Vol. II. k Edwards's Body of Divinity, Vol. II. ♦ St Jerome [Comnieiit on Matth- v.] Chryfoftome [Honiil. 15, in Gen.] & Ba- fil [Homil in Pfal. xiv.] fcem to alTert that oaths are unlawful under the gof- pel. Gregory Nazianzen (as it is related in his life) asfoon as he was baptized, made a vow not to fwear as long as he lived, and kept it even to the lalt. Ac- coi ding to his own judgment and praciice he advifed others to refrain from pjths; as there are many paflagcs in Epiphanius, Thsodoret, Thcophylaft, Origcn^ tive fa- thers. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laxvs, kc. loi writers who are faid to deny the lawfulnefs of cajhs, and ob- ferve the particular fcope and intendment of their difcourfes, wefhall foon perceive that their defign is not to condemn all fwearing, but only the frequent ufe of it. They faw how oaths were abufed, either by mens raihly or falfely fwearing ; they exprefled their diflike and abhorrence of it ; and advifed their hearers to ihun all fwearing as much as they could, and ad- mit of no oaths but when there was an abfolute necelTity for them. This is all they meant; and this is that which every confcientious man ihould do at this day ; for it is indeed no moi'e than what fome of the wifeft heathens have prefcribed to their difciples, when they tell them f that the befl way to pre- ferve the reverence due to an oath was not to ufe it frequently, or upon trifling occafions to fill up the vacuities of our difcourfe, or procure credit to a tale ; but, as far as they might, to ufe it only in things neceflary, and when there was no other way to fecure themfelves but by the help of an oath. I. This being fufficient to prove the lawfulnefs of oaths, The prolu- we come now to confider what kinds are accounted unlawful : ^'f'°" ^^' and of this nature, what we conceive to be primarily intended tending to in the commandment, is the great lin of perjury. unlawful I. Perjurv is the folemn invocation of God to the attefla- oaths, as tion of what we aflert or promife of any kind, at the fame time '" P^'"-'"'^^' that we know what we aflert is a dired falfehood, and what we promife, we neither can nor intend to perform ' ; which is one of the higheft affronts we can offer to God, and an act of inofl injurious confequence to men. ^ He that calls God to The great witnefs to a lie, either imagines that the Divine Being knows impiety of • not the truth, and fo imputes ignorance to him, or that he is ^^' not difpleafed with falfehood, and fo denies his hohnefs, or that he is not able to avenge the indignity, and fo derogates from his power : » fo that the fin is not only an horrible abufe of the name of God, an open contempt of his judgment, and infolent defiance of his vengeance, but a very near approach to atheifm itfelf ; fince the difference is but little between believing there is no God, and believing there is one whofe omnifcience and purity, and whofe power and majeffy, deferve no regard at all. » In refpeft of other men, it is not only a wrong to this or that particular perfon who fuffers by it, but a kind of treafon againft human Ibciety, as it fubverts the foundations of public peace and juftice, and the private fecurity of every man's life and fortune ; for fo the wife king has exprelTed it ; p a falfe witnefs againft his neighbour is a maul, and a fword, and a iharp arrow; inti- mating, that, among all the inffruments of ruin and mifchief that have been devifed by mankind, none is of more pernicious con. fequence Origcn, Cyprian, and Athanafius, that feem intirely to condemn the ufe of then). Edwards, Ibid. t Hierocles in Pythag. Aur. Car. 1 Tillotfon's Sermons. Vol. I. m Ed^ 'vrrds's Body of Divinity, Vol. II. nTillotfon, ibid, o ibid, p Prov- xxv. \'S. 102 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. •2 . Profane fweaiing. The folly of it. 3. Other kinds of tinlawful jVearin";. feqvience to human fociety than perjury, or the breach of faith ^ and in refpec't of the perfon himfelf, befides the wafte that it makes in his confcience, 1 it brings difgrace and infamy upon him if he comes to be detected ; or, if he efcapes the cenfure of the world, entails a curfe upon him and his pofterity, which will not eafily be removed. For fo in the vifion of the flying roll, «■ I will bring the curfe forth, faith the Lord of hofts, and it Ihall enter into the houfe of the thief, and into the houfe of him that fweareth falfely by my name, and it Ihall remain ia the midft of his houfe, and it lliall confume it, with the timber thereof, and the flones thereof. 2. Wicked and profane fwearing in common difc our fe and converfation is another thing prohibited in this commandment. For ' oaths are folemn things and referved for great purpofes, to give confirmation to our words in fome weighty matters, and to put an end to controverfies which cannot otherwife be peremptorily decided, and are not to be ufed upon trifling oc. currences without expreffing great impiety and irreverence to- wards God. And yet ' whether it be that men think oaths fet off their palFion better, and make it more terrible and impreffive, or that they fancy their words and fentences have not their due accent and cadence without them, or that they believe their mirth and jollity is not modilh enough, except it be accompanied with them ; or whether it be merely cuftom and a vice that they play with purely for company's fake ; but fo it is that no fin is more frequently committed by men of all ranks and dif- tinftions, even though it has no profit nor pleafure attending it, and may really puzzle a wife man to give a/iy tolerabk reafon why it is ever committed at all ; « though it be a gre^ incivi- lity in converfation, as it offends and grates upon all fober and confiderate perfons, who cannot be prefumed (with any manner of eafe and patience) to hear God affronted, and his great and glorious name treated with fo much contempt and irreverence upon every flight occafion ; though it be fo far from being any commendation to him that ufes it, that it argues in him a per- petual diftruft of his own I'eputation, and is an acknowledg- ment that he thinks his bare word not worthy of credit ; and fo far from being an ornament to his difcourfe, that it makes it look fwollen and bloated, and more bold and bluflering than becomes a man of good breeding. But befides thefe grofler profanations of God's name, there are feveral other kinds of oaths, which, though they found not fo heinoufly, are not without their guilt and condemnation : * Such as, I . Swearing by any creature, by the heavens, by the light, by the light that Ihines, &c. which, accoj"ding to our Saviour's interpretation, is implicitly fwearing by God himfelf, llnce all thefe were created by him, depended intirely upon him, q Horneck's Sermons, Vol. II. r Zech. v. 4. sTillotfon, ibid, t Horpcck, ibid, u Tillotfos, ibid. * Jlorneck, ibid. Chap. IV. Of the J ew i s H la-ws, &c. 103 him, and are nothing at all without him. " 2. Swearing by any gifts or endowments of the body or mind, by the life or foul of ourfelves or others, by our faith, by our troth, &c. be- caufe our Saviour aflured us, that, if we fwear by any thing which belongs to God (as every gift and faculty we have Cometh from him) it is fwearing by God himfelf, though the name of God be not exprefsly mentioned, y 3. Ufmg fuch minced and difguifed expreiFions as the wit (fhall I fay, or rather folly) of mankind hath deviled to evade the fcandal of bare- faced profanenefs. For all thefe, however palliated, are ne- verthelefs oaths, and will accordingly be charged upon us at the great day of accounts, when inquiries Ihall be made what obfervance we have paid to that precept of the apoftle, above * all things, my brethren, fwear not, neither by the heaven, nei- ther by the earth, neither by any other oath. Besides thefe oaths, whether open or difguifed, there are feveral other ways of taking the Lord's name in vain, as ^ when men, 1 . in their prayers run on without ever attending to what they are about, pray for what they ought not, or ufe vain re- petitions of God's name without need, and againft reafon, 2. In their promifes undertake to do that which afterwards they negled to perform, not for want of power, but for want of will, and a due regard to their oath. 3. In their vows oblige themfelves to what they either are not able to fulfil, or may not lawfully fulfil, or might much better and more prudently have been let alone : and, 4. In their ordinary converfatiou « are frequently pronouncing the name of God, by way of ad- miration, exclamation or expletive, but without any due and foitable reverence. To thefe" inftances we may adjoin ^ all curling and imprecations, which have malice added to their profanenefs ; all lewd and atheiftical difcourfes ; all blafphemy and fpeaking reproachfully of God ; all murmuring and re- pining at his providence ; all ridiculing and profaning his holy word ; all defpifing and expofing his minilters on account of their fundlion ; all irreverence in his public fervice, in the ufe of his prayers and facraments ; and, in Ihort, all contemptuous treating of any thing wherein his name and honour are con- cerned. Such are the things which this commandment forbids ; and J^e^ duties the duties which it implies are the very reverfe to thefe ; hal- [^^^^0™-" lowing and fanftifying God's bleifed name ; never mentioning maudment. it in our common difcourfe without fome deference and note of difbndion ; never expreffing it in our prayers without the pro- foundeft humility and veneration ; never employing it on any judicial occafion but with the greatell ferioufnefs and folemnity ; and always remembering to fulfil the obligation punftually which X Edwards's Body of Divinity, Vol. II. y Gardener's Sermons, Vol.11. z Wake's E.xplanation of the Church Catechifm. a Gardener's Seriuon'i, Vol.11, b Wake, ibid, 104 ^ Complete Body of Divinity. Part Ilf. whicli we bring upon ourfelves by fo facred a tie, at all times, and in all places, fpeaking honourably of God's word, his facra- ments, his minifters, and whatever relates to him ; ' and uGng our utmoft endeavours that all minds may entertain good and worthy thoughts of him ; all tongues may blefs and praife him ; and all creatures yield adoration to his name, and obedience to his will. The com- . II. BuT to proceed now to the fant^ion of the command, tnination which is a commination added to enforce it; God will not hold the com- ^™ guiltlefs, /. e. he will look upon him as a very guilty per- mand iuit- fon, and accordingly purfue him with great feverity, both in able to the x\\\^ life and that which is to come. To exprefs the lawfulnefs all nations. °^ ^"^ oath, and the great guilt and penalty incui'red by the vio- lation of it, the wifdom of mofi: nations has appointed very lig- nificant ceremonies, which the juror is obliged to obferve when he comes to the reception of it. ^ The antient Phoenicians, in taking an oath, held a lamb in one hand, and a (tone in another, to intimate their wilhes that God might ftrike them dead, as they were ready to do the lamb, if they fwore not according to truth. The old Romans, upon the like occafion, took up a ftone and caft it from them, imprecating to themfelvxs that God might caft them away, as they did that ftone, if there was any falfity in what they fwore. The Jews in taking or adminiftring an oath « (lew a calf and cut it aiimder, and the perfon that was to fwear walked through the difTefted parts, to convince the fpec- tators that he wilhed God in like manner might cut him afunder in cafe he falfified his oath. Lifting up their hands to heaven in the aft of fvvearing (we ^ find it praftifed among the angels themfelves) was an antient cuftom among many nations, in or- der to fhew that they engaged all the powers of heaven againft them, if the things they confirmed were not true ; and the cuftom among us of fvvearing upon the holy gofpel, is no bad reprefentation of the tremendous nature of oaths. In that book are contained all the benefits and privileges of our re- demption, all that we can hope for from the merits and fufFer- ings of Jefus Chrift, the pardon of fin, the promifes of grace The great here and of falvation hereafter: fo that he who affirms in his guilt and Q^th what is not true, renounces all claim and title to the pro- pcHury" niifes, and publickly devotes himfelf to all the curfes and threats contained in that book : and what then can the forfworn wretch expeft but to fall under the fpeedy vengeance of God, if his de- clarations of this kind be not true ? e I will come near you to judgment, and will be a fwift witnefs againft the forcerei's, and againft the adulterers, and againft falfe fwearers. and pro- The like heavy fentence has the royal Pfalmift denounced a- jnc^ncT*^' g^^'^^ every vile wretch that indulges himfelf in profane talking, curfing. in c Barrow on the Lord's Prayer, d Horneck's Sermons, Vol. H. e Jer, xxxir. i8. f Dan. xii. 7. and key. x- j. g Mai, iij. 5. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laws, &c. 105 in curling and execrations. " He delighted in curfmg, fays he, and it Ihadl liappen unto him, it ftall come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones ; it ihall be unto him as the cloak that he has upon him, and as the girdle that he is always girded withal : and therefore, to conclude with thofe excellent fayings of the wife fon of Sirach, • Accudom not thy mouth to fwearing, neither ufe thyfelf to the naming of the Holy One ; lor he that ufeth much fwearing Ihall be filled with iniquity, and the plague fliall never depart from his houfe ; and if he fwear falfely, he ihall not be innocent, but his houfe Ihall be full of calamities : there is a word that is cloathed about with death ; God grant that it be not found in the heritage of Jacob ! Fourth Commandment. Rememher the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy, Sec. THIS commandment confifts, i. of a precept, and, 2. a reafon enforcing it ; and the molt material points in our treating of it will be to ihew, 1. how far it is of moral obliga- tion ; and, 2. in what manner it is to be obfervedand fandified. I. Of all the commandments in the decalogue, this is the The nature only one wherein we are bid to remember our duty : ^ the rea- °^^^ ^^^' fon is, becaufe all the other precepts were written at firfl: upon the table of our hearts, and engraven as it were in our very- nature ; fo that having a connatural fenfe of them upon our minds, we cannot fo properly be faid to remember as to feel them, being confcious to ourfelves of our duty and obligation to obferve them ; whereas this is a precept of a pofitive nature, not imprinted in man's heart, but given to him after he was made, and might therefore be forgotten without fuch a call and admonition as this to remind us of it. The diipute indeed a- mong divines has been very great concerning the nature of this commandment, fome affirming that it is intirely ceremonial, and peculiar to the ftate of the Jewilh church, while others have alferted the moral and perpetual obligation of it as equally in- cumbent upon every chriftian now. A middle opinion however has prevailed ; and it is now become the general and received " Seneca) did inftitute feftival days, that men might publickly be conftraincd to chearfulnefs ; and that the gods (ac- cording to " Plato) pitying mankind, born to painful labour, ap- pointed, for an eafe and cefTation from their toils, the returns of feftival feafons. The cere- Thus the worfliip and fervice of God, an intermiffion of la- rnonial. howv to attend it, and the appointment of proper times to per- form it in, are the moral parts of the Sabbath, which every one, both Jew and Gentile, is bound to obferve : the circum- ftantial determination of the meafure and manner of the per- formances ; that a feventh day precifely, rather than a fixth or an eighth, fhould be affigned, and a total ceflation from labour both for man and beafl; prefcribed ; this is a matter of pofitive jnftitution, whofe only foundation was in the will of God, and whofe obligation extended to the Jews only : for fo the account of it feems to imply, " The children of Ifraelihall keep the Sab- bath and obferve it throughout their generations for a perpe- tual covenant ; k is a fign between me and the children of Ifrael for m Legum conditores feftos inftituerunt dies, ut ad hilaritatem homines pub- lice cogerentur, tanquara necefTarium laboribus interponcntcs tcmperaraeii- tum. Sen. de Tranq. Ant. n De Leg. 2. o Exod. xxxi. i6, 17. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Lazi's, Sec. 107 for ever : v for as the covenant between God and the Ifraehtes inckided none but fuch as were of their nation and rehgion, fo the Sabbath, being a fign of that covenant, was to extend no farther (as to the ceremonial part of it at leaft) than the cove- nant did, and was therefore confined to tliemfelves only. « So httle did the apoftles and hrfl diiciples of Chrill think No obliga- themfelves obliged by the ceremonial part of this law, that, im- "^'o'j ^p mediately after his afcenfion, they forbore to keep the Sabbath ^s^olt"'' any longer upon the fame day with the Jews. They held it day. very realbnable indeed to follow the example of God himfelf in fetting apart one day in the week to reft from worldly labouis, the better to attend upon the duties of religion, as after (ix days he refted from the works of the creation ; they thought it a great difparagcment to the holinefs ami perfedion of their re- ligion, if they did not allot as much time for God's public wor- Ihip as the Jews did : and, though they did not fulfil the letter of the commandment, they accounted themfelves bound by the intent and equity of it ; and therefore they appointed one day in feven to be kept holy, to be employed in prayers and praifes, in hearing and meditating on God's word, in receiving the facraments, and exercifing all the pious ads of charity and devotion ; but they thought Ht to alter the day from the Jewifli Sabbath to the firft day of the week : and this they did upon very good grounds and authority. The Jewiih Sabbath was at firft inftituted in memory of God's The Jewift creation of the world, but afterwards we find this reafon omit- Sabbath. ted, and another made mention of: -^ Remember that thou ^y^*^*^^"^"^ waft a fervant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence, through a mighty hand, and a ftretched- out arm ; therefore the Lord thy God commands thee to keep the Sabbath-day : from whence it is evident ' that the Sabbath was to be kept for another reafon befides that of the creation, even in memory of God's delivering his people out of their bon- dage and flavery in Egypt : which deliverance, being a type of our redemption byChrifl, makes it no obfcure intimation that when our redemption ihould be accomplifhed by him, the Sab- bath fhould be kept in memory of that. ' To change an infti- tution, which, in a great meafure was but ceremonial, was cer- tainly as much in our Saviour's power (who for this reafon calls himfelf the Lord of the Sabbath) as it was in God's to ap- point it at firft : and if our Saviour had power to abrogate the old and inftitute a new day, we have prefumption enough to fupj)ofe that he did fo, not only " from his riflng from the dead, * from his appearing to his clifciples, and " fending down the Holy Ghoft, by which events he confecrated this new day ; but p Towerfon on the rnmmandments. q Nourfe's Practical Difcourfe of the Church Homilies r Oeut. v. 15. s Bevcridge on the Church Catechifni. T Taylor's Pi-a<5licf»l Catpfhifni, n Matlh. xxviii. i, Luke xxiv. i. * John XX. 26. X A3ow if (according to their manner of arguing) they were allowed to go from their tents to the tabernacle to worftiip upon the Sabbath-day, which was the <3i(lancc of two thoufand cubits, it could be no breach of the Sabbath to go fo far upon that day on any other occafion. Lewis's Antiquities of the Hebrew Re])ublic. lAftsi. 12- rw Di.i t,is anotftias, Lii ten fihrok.irJiMi. Dial, cum Tryp, n Le Clerc's Commentary, o Fiddes's Body of Divinity, Vol. II. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish LawSy Sec. in fcribed for the obfervation of it too fevcre : Hear this, faith the prophet >>, O ye that fwallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, faying, When will the new moon be jrone, that we may fell corn, and the Sabbath, that we may fet forth wheat, that we may buy the poor for filver, and the needy for a pair of ihoes? And from hence we may gather that the defign of God, in giving fo ftridl an injunction concerning the Sabbath, was to cure this worldly and avaritious fpirit in the Jews, or at leaft to prevent their cruel ufage of the poorer fort ; and by fuch intervals of eafe and relaxation, to enable them to live with fome fort of comfort in their mean condition. But the cefTation from labour was not all. i The Jews, and reli- though they had no exprefs order in this commandment con- £'""* "^^ cerning any natural or moral fervices they were to perform to ^^^' God, yet were themfelves fagacious enough to underftand fuch duties couched in the fandification of the day. Accordingly, in every place of their habitation they fettled iynagogues and ora- tories, whereunto they reforted at fuch times to offer up their devotions to God, to hear the Scribes * read and expound the law, and to join in the offices of prayer and thankfgiving ; and for their encouragement herein the prophet is direfted to ac- quaint them, ' If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleafure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable, and Ihalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleafure, nor fpeaking thine own words (which is the form prcfcribed for the obfervation of the Sabbath-day) then fhalt thou dehght thyfelf in the Lord, and I will caufe thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father ; for the mouth of the Lord hath fpoken it. We, indeed, who live under an eafier diipenfation, arc hap- The chrir- pily exempted from the rigid obfervation of the Sabbath ; » We tian'sobii- are not to be judged by any man, as the apollle tells us, for fbrerveUie nieat or drink, or in refpedt of an holy day, or of the new moon, Lord'sdaj. or of the fabbath-days, which are a Ihadow of the things to come ; " but ftill, as to all things relating to the honour of God, and the advancement of true piety and holinefs, we are under greater and Itricler obligations than the Jews themfelves were : fo that, though we clirilHans are not bound to keep the Sabbath upon the lame day with them, or in the fame manner that they did ; yet, fince we have one day in the week appoint- ed for a religious reft, we ought to anfwer the ends of it, and make it a day of reft from our ordinary labours, for our better attending upon the folemn worfliip of God, and employing our- felves in the exercife of all things which pertain to fpiritual life and godlinefs. y How p Amos viii- 4, Sec. q Barrow on the Decalognc. sAftsxv. 2i. t Ifaiah Iviii. 13, 14. u Col. ij. 16, 17. X Nourfe's Praftical Difcourfe on the Church Homilies • ing it. 112 A Complete Body Divinity, Part II L And man- y How zealous and punftual the primitive chriflians were to Imrit '^°' ^'^"'^ify this'' day with their pubHc devotions, we have the gene- ral luflVage of all ecclefiaftical hiftory. They did not think it enough to read, and pray, and praife God at home, but made confcience of appearing in the public affemblies, from which no- thing but ficknefs and anabfolute neceffity did ever detain them. Yea, and when perfecution at any time forced them to keep dofe, yet, if it wei-e polTible, they would affemble in the night, or early in the morning ; and no fooner was there the leaft mi- tigation, but they prefently returned to their open duty, and publicklymet altogether, fo that a Sabbath without public worihip i'eemed unfanftified. When therefore this day of the Lord ap- proaches (to conclude with a few diredlions concerning it) that we may thus keep it holy, and make it a religious reft (accord- ing to the prefent intendment of the law) it will become us = to rife as early to the fervice of God as we were wont on other days to our worldly employments ; to betake ourfelves in fecret to the fupplication of the divine aid and benediftion ; to raife our affections to a fuitable degree of love and reverence, by reading and meditation ; and to allow as little time as may be to other neceflary or convenient avocations from fuch exercifes, until we i-epair from our clofets to the church. When we are come to the houfe of the Lord (v/bich ihould always be at the beginning of fervice, and with our whole family attending us) prollrating ourfelves before the Divine Majefty, to implore his bleirmg up- on our endeavours, we muft join in the public worihip, in prayers and praifes with all fervour, in hearing the word read and preached with all diligence and attention ; and in receiving the holy facrament, if it be adininiftred, with all afFe£tionate thankful- nefs. When the public worJhip is done, and we are returned from thefolemnaffembly, we muft not think ourfelves difcharged from any other duty : our children and fervants require then our care, who, on this day efpecially, are to be inftrufted in the principles of religion, have their proficiency inquired into, and themfelves advifed and encouraged feverally, according to their needs and capacities, in their refpeftive duties. When this is done, we muft fpend the reft of the day in religious and chari- table offices ; in a loving and chriftian communion with one ano- ther; in a thankful enjoyment of the good creatpres of God ; and finally Ihut up the whole with prayer and thankfgiving ; with imploring forgivenefs for all the failings of the day, and begging that our imperfeft fervices may be accepted for the perfeft righteouihefs, and meritorious intercellion of Chrift Jefus. SEC T. y Cave's Primitive Chriftianity. z Ncwcomb's Catech. Sermons, Vol. I. and Towerlon on the Commandments. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish La-ws, kc, 113 S E C T. II. Table II. Fifth Commandment. Hanoitr thy father and thy mother, Sec. THIS is the firft commandment of the fecond table, and is very properly fet here in the front of all ; for as honouring of God was the firft commandment of the former table, fo is it tit that the honouring of our parents Ihould have the pre-eminence in the latter ; lince, next to God himfelf (according => to the fenfe of the vvifeft law-givers and inftrudlors) our parents are chiefly to be refpedied and obeyed. And therefore the fenfe and meaning of honouring our parents, together with the na- ture of the promife annexed to the duty, will be the two things to be confidered in the explanation of this precept. I. ^ Honour fignifies a great many things, and takes its fenfe Duties of efpecially from the perfon it relates to: to honour God is one ^iiildren to thing, to honour the king another, and to honour our equals or P"'^"*^^' inferiors is a different thing from all the reft : and therefore the word muft not be taken in the fame fenfe wherever we meet it, but the party to whom it is addreffed muft determine its mean- ing and extent. Since then the intent of the commandment is to fecure the duty of children to parents, all the feveral duties of love, of refpeft, of obedience, and of fupport, which children owe to their parents, are comprehended in the word honour. I. First then, we are commanded to love our parents. Love, and « But becaufe, properly fpeaking, it is not in our power (what- ''"^" ^° ^^ ever wc may think) to love or hate, to hope or fear, when, or ^^ what, or whom we will, but according as we apprehend the thing or perlon defirable and lovely ; by being commanded to love our parents, we are more efpecially to take fuch courfes and confiderations as may increafe our natural affection to them, and to avoid all fuch things as may any ways diminifh it. ^ How far the confideration of their being, under God, the authors and originals of our life and exiftence may contribute to the exciting of this affection, is not fo eafy to determine ; becaufe life, ac- cording as it is happy or miferable, is differently to be reprefent- ed ; but parental love which exerts itfelf in a conftant care and prefervation of us is a real good, which deferves to be repaid with all the love we can. It is this that fupplies all the \\ ants of helplefs infancy, fecures from all the hazards of heedlefs child- hood, and giddy and unthinking youth ; that fhapes the body, keeps the feveral limbs in order, and makes the perfon beautiful and comely. It is this that informs the mind and regulates the Vol. II. P manners, ^ Atha?:ataus tner: p/oetaTheous, &c. Pythag. Aur. Car. Proota Theoit tima t?ietiipcit,i de fao goiieas. Phocy!. b Edwards's Body of Diyinity, Vol. JL c Fleetwood's Relative Duties, d Ibid. 114 A Complete' Body of Divinity. Part III, Sefpeft, fiow to be procured. manners, that trains up the reafon, that exercifes the memory, that inflruds them to argue and underftand their little affairs, and takes care to educate and fit them for great matters. It i9 this that brings them fiifl to God in baptiim, and keeps them afterwards in the ways of goodnefs and religion, by inftilling into them wife and virtuous principles, by reminding them con- ftantly of their feveral duties, encouraging them in good by fa- vours and rewards, and reclaiming them from evil by reproofs and correftions. These and a thoufand more are the ways which parents take to make their children happy ; befides thofe endlefs and innume- rable labours, watchings, and follicitations, which confume their whole life to make an handfome provifion for them of the good things of this life. So that, whatever benefits can be the ground and foundation of love in children, the caie and love of parents abundantly afford them ; and therefore they are obliged to take the remembrance of thefe frequently into confideration, in order to excite and ftir them up to love their parents who have done fo great things for them ; who, next under God, were not only the authors of their being, but of their well-being like- wife, and prefent happinefs. 2. Another ,^uty which children owe to their parents is refpe<^, /. e. all external honovir and civility, whether in words or anions ; by virtue of which they are obliged to be fubmifTive in their behaviour, and mannerly anil dutiful in their fpeeches and anfwers to them ; to fay things honourable and commend- able of them, to pry as little into their failings and infirmities as they can themfelves, and to extenuate and conceal them as much from others. And for this there is fo much reaion and decency in nature, that it fhocks us unavoidably to hear one re- proach his parents with vices or infinnities, though what he fays be true, unlefs it be done with great concern and tendernefs, with grief and pity ; but when it is done with contempt and pleafure of telling, we cannot help abhorring fuch impiety : for the hearts of all men go along with Noah, in laying punifhment upon Cham for his unnatural and profane derifion, and love the memory of thofe fons that would not fee themfelves, nor fuf- fer others to be witnefles of the niifcarriages of, their father. That therefore children may difcharge this part of their cfa- ty better, and in every gefture, word, and acTtion, fhew all due honour and refpedl to their parents ; as it is partly in their pa- rents power, fo fhoufld it be their care and concern to promote it. And to this purpofe, they mufl: be careful how they live and behave in the fight of their children ; for if they make them- felves vile and cheap in their eyes by too much familiarity, by light and indifcreet carriage, they will in vain expect the reve- rence and refpeft that is due to their character. The founda- tion of refpedt is fome fuppofed excellence and worth, and, in confequenct Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Im-vos^ Lc. 115 confequence of this, fome kind of fuperiority ; but when parents either admit their children to an equality, or make them privy to their foUies and indifcretions, they do, in efFed:, invite con- tempt. And therefore all due care should be taken that the do- meftic differences, the idle and unfeemly quarrels and debates, the limple and unkind words and actions, which too commonly pafs between parents, ihould be concealed ajid hidden from chil- dren ; for they obferve and treafure up thefe follies, and fecrct- ly, at leaft, fide with the one, and learn to hate and defpife the other, or entertain, too foon, a mean opinion of both, which de- flroys all manner of efteem and dutiful obfervance. 3. Another duty which children owe their parents, and Obedience, without which, all their honour and refped: is mere ftjew and "'^5" 1° ^^ formality, is obedience to their lawful commands. I fay, lawful commands, « otherwife we have our Saviour's warrant not to obey them, f If any one love father and mother more than me, he is not worthy of me ; which, in another place, we find ex- prefled thus, k If any one hate not his father and mother, he cannot be my difciple : the meaning of which is, that God is to be loved and obeyed above all, and that we may very juftly withdraw our obedience from our parents, rather than abandon our duty to God. Thus, if parents ihould be fo wickedly in- clioed as to command their children to lie, to fteal, to do vio- lence and injuflice, &c. the children are not at liberty to obey, becaufe they have an antecedent obligation, and are tied by God to truth, and honefty, and juftice. »> Children obey your pa- rents in all things ; for this is well-pleafing unto the Lord, fays St Paul in one place ; but then he explains himfelf in another, ' Children obey your parents in the Lord ; for this is right, /". e. according to God's commandment and will ; for to obey them againll God, can neither be right nor pleafing, and fo we Ihould have underftood him, had he not given us this explication. And as we are not bound to obey our parents when they command us any thing contrary to the laws of God, fo nei- ther are we, when their injundlions are contrary to the laws of the land : the reafon is, becaufe the authority which enads thefe laws is fuperior to that of our parents ; nor may any one's pri- vate good be confidered in competition with the public. If a father therefore Ihould command his fon to betray his country, to fet the capital on fire, or be any way inftrumental to the overthrow of the conftitutions of the kingdom, he muft not fo far honour his father as to obey any fuch commands : but then, even when he difobeys, he muft do it with great modefty and tendernefs ; not with upbraidings and reproaches, not with high and fcornful refufals, but by declining and avoiding fuch com- mands with all the gentle arts and methods of fubmilTion pof- fible ; e Edwards's Body of Diviniry, Vol. II. fMatth. x. 37. g Luke xiv. 26, b Col, iii. 20. j Epli. vi- i. Il6 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. fible ; for even in a righteous caufe the language of children mud be humble to their parents. And as our obedience to parents is to ceafe where the autho- rity of God or the government has laid a prohibition, fo it is fuppofed not to be required, where the thing under command carries an invincible antipathy to our inclinations. The com- mon inftance of this kind is in the cafe of marriage, which being a ftate and condition upon which the happinefs or mifery of life depends, cannot be enterprized with any hopes of felicity, with- out a real affedion on the one fide, and a good afiurance of it on the other. But now when a parent, overlooking all this> win enjoin a child upon mere motives of advantage to marry, where there is no foundation of love, nor profpect of content, jt is hardly to be thought that fuch inftances are to be complied with. Parents, indeed, are fuppofed to have a great hand in this affair : ^ the examples in fcripture, as well as ' the laws of moft nations favour their direction in this cafe ; and therefore they are to take all due care to fee their children well difpofed of, according to their age, quality, and tempers, and not let the profpedl of fortune and ertate preponderate all other coniidera- tions of form and favour, birth and education, virtue and good qualities ; and when they have done this, the children are to obey as far as pofTibly they can, and give up the little objedliortsof fancy to the more mature deliberations of their parents : but when, on the contrary, parents offer to their children what they cannot pofTibly like, and what all wife and confiderate people cannot but difapprove, there is no doubt to be made, but that in fuch a cafe children mayrefufe, and, if their refufal be made with decency and humility, that it will not fall under the head of finful difobedience. With referve to thefe, and fuch like cafes then, our obedi- ence to parents is founded upon their greater knowledge and experience, the fenfe of their love and good intentions towards And howto us, and their earneft and daily follicitude for our welfare. And be promot- therefore, if children, when any fevere injunftion that thwarts their natural inclinations comes from their parents, would but reafon thus with themfelves; ■" ** Thefe are the counfels and ** commands k The examples of the patriarch Ifaac, Gen. xxiv. and Jacob, Gen. xxTJii. who were direfted by their parents in their marriage; and that text in Numb. XXX. 3, 4. If a maid vow a vow unto the Lord, and bind lierfelf by a bond, and her father fhall hold his peace at her, her von- ftiall ftand ; but if her fa- ther difallo.T her, in the dsy that he heareth her, not an/of her vows Iball flan (cems to intimate, that the parents cnnfent fliould be obtained in order to the marriage-vow, ^vhich is the moft folcmn of all. Edwards's Body of Divinity, vol. II. 1 The laws of tlie Greeks and Romans, two of the wifeft people in the world, and the canons and judgments of the beft writers, make the confent of parents requifitc : May, the canons of our own church fay exprcfs- ]y [Canon loi.] that it is not lawful for any children (unlcfj arrived at the pge of 21) to make a !Ha:riagc-coniract without the confent of their parents, nn:l, in cafe they srs dead, of their guardians and governors, m Flcctwo';d's Relative Puiics. Chap. IV. Of the ]TL\v\SYi Laws, &c. 117 " commands of people that have lived a great while longer in ** the world than I : I am but of yefterday, and know little ; *' but fure my parents have not lived fo long for nothing : their *' age has taught them experience, and the wifdom and know- *' ledge which commonly attends it has qualified them for '' counfellors : and as they are fit to advife me, fo I have all '' the fecurity imaginable of their afFcdion and good will, nor '^ can I fufped the leaft defign they can have upon me, unlefs *' it be to do me good, and to prevent my faUing into any *^ mifcarriage, which I find afFefts them rather more than it *' does myfelf. They have made me their pride and glory : '^ they have placed all their happinefs and content in my wel- ^' fare ; and therefore I cannot but believe that thefe counfels ^' and commands are the beft that (confidering all circumftances) '^ they can give, and the fafeft for me to follow :" if children, I fay, would but reafon thus with themfelves, and, at the fame rime, refled upon the tie's and obligations they have to be obe- dient to their parents, the reafonablenefs, the pleafure, and fe- curity of being fo, the approbation of all good people, and the blefling of God that goes along with it, they would foon bring themfelves to a ready difpofition of obedience, even though there were fome things not fo agreeable to their own defires in what their parents might enjoin. 4. There is one duty more included in the commandment, Support.^ and that is the fupport and fuflenance of our parents, or our adminiftring to them in their wants and weakneffes. « For con- fidering the care and pains which our father, and the fleeplefs nights and homely offices which our mother underwent for us ; how tender they both were of us in our infancy, when we were incapable of helping ourfelves, and how liberal of their fub- ftance, to give us an education, and fettle us in a ftation of life to the utmofl of their abilities ; we cannot but think it incumbent on us to requite their care, and <> make them a fuitable return (as the apoftle words it) when either poverty, which is an heavy load, and requires our fupport, or old age, which is a fecond childhood, and requires our attendance, comes upon them. Upon the whole, v parents, in refpecl of their children, do bear the fignal (lamp and image of God himfelf, not only as he is their maker, but as he is their preferver and benefaclor ; and therefore we may obferve % that as the duties to other men are termed kindnefs, or charity, or courtefy, or liberality, &c. thofe towards our parents in every language (I fuppole) are ftiled piety, which implies fomething divine in the objecT: ot them, and denotes that the offences of children, in this refpeft, are grievoufly enhanced ; that to flight our parents is more than iinkindnefs ; to refufe them fuccour is more than uncharitablc- nefs ; n Towerfon on the Comniaiulments. o 1 Tim. v. 4. anroilxts npaJidohn.. pEJ.vards's Body Botly of Divinity, Vol. II. tj Barrow on the Decaloi^ue. ll8 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, nefs ; to be unmannerly to them is more than difcourtefy ; and in their neceffity to be illiberal is more than fordid avarice ; it is an high impiety and flagitioufnefs againft heaven ; ' For he that forfaketh his father is a blafphemer ; and he that angreth' his mother is curfedof God ; but he that hononreth his father Ihall have long life. Which brinas us Theencou- jj^ Xo the nature of that encouragement which God has an- to^this^du- "^xcd to the performance of this commandment, that thy days ty. may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Now that this promife was peculiar to the children of Ifrael is evident from its being limited to the land of Canaan, where they only were to inhabit ; and therefore from hence it cannot in the leaft be concluded, either that obedient children Ihall al- ways inherit long life, or that they who arrive at old age, have therefore been obedient children, fmce every day's experience ihews the contrary : but the encouragement which children have from hence is this, — That if long life be moft convenient for them (all circumftances confidered) they may expedl it ; but if it will not prove a blefling (as of itfelf it feldom does) then is not God unfaithful to his promife, if the bed and moft obedi- ent children are tranflated betimes into that better and heavenly country, whereof the land of promife was confeffedly but a poor type and ihadow : and therefore we find the fon of Sirach exhort- ing, children to honour and obferve their parents from motives of an higher confideration than what are promifed the Jews : ' My fon, help thy father in his age, and grieve him not as long as he liveth ; and if his underftanding fail, have patience, and defpife him not when thou art in thy full ftrength ; for the re- lieving of thy father will not be forgotten ; in the day of thy afflidlion it fhall be remembered, and make thy fins melt away as the ice in the fair warm weather. By parity of reafon, we might reduce to this commandment our obligation to honour all thofe who perform fuch beneficial offices to us, as we receive from our natural parents ; thofe who afford us maintenance or education ; thofe who inftru6l and advife us ; fuch as our gover- nors and magiftrates, whether civil or ecclefiaftical, our patrons jind benefaftors, our tutors and fchoolmafters, but efpecially our faithful friends: but as we fliall have a proper opportunity to treat of thefe relative duties feparately, we fhall only obferve, at this time, what this commandment is more immediately fup- pofed to imply, viz. the reciprocal duties of parents towards their children. Duties of I. Now one great duty incumbent upon parents, after the parents to tender and car eful nurfing of their children (which is properly jjjen. the mother's bufinefs, and mufl not, without ficknefs or inability, be neglected) is to teach and inftrurt them in the laws of God, Itiftruc- 2nd in the ways of religion. ^ This duty God has particular! v ^'""" charged rEcclus.ilj. i6. slbiJ. vcr. 12, Sec. t Ti)lo:fon's Sermons, Vcl. 1. ■Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laws, &c. 119 charged upon his own people, fpeaking of the laws which he had given them ; " Thou (halt teach them dihgently unto thy children, and thou fliak talk of them when thou fitted in thine houfe, and when thou walkeil by the way, when thou lieft down, and when thou rifeft up : and that this work ought to be begun very early, even upon the firrt budding and appearance of rea- fon and underftandmg in them, the prophet hath informed us, * Whom Ihall he teach knowledge ? Whom Ihall he make to underftand doftrine ? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the bread ; for precept muft be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a httle. Nor is the gofpel in this particular lefs prelling than the law : " Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath ; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, /. e. in a literal fenfe, bring them up in the chriftian re- ligion : y Teach them their duty, what they are to believe, and what to praftife : inftrudl them in the knowledge of God, and of Jefus Chrift : Ihew them in v/hat condition they are by na- ture, and to what they are advanced by grace : let them know, that without believing in Chrift they can reap no benefit from his meritorious undertakings ; that without holinefs there can be no happinefs ; and that therefore they muft be careful to keep a good confcience towards God and man, and by a blame- lefs converfatioa to adorn the doctrine of the gofpel. ^ Above all, inform and endeavour to convince them that there is a life after death, wherein men Ihall receive from God a mighty and eternal reward, or a terrible and endlefs punifliment, according as tiiey have done, or negledled their duty in this life ; and ' therefore urge it upon them as an undeniable truth, that if they live unholy lives, they flrall die miferably; and that, though their lives be never fo long and profperous, yet, if they die in their fins, it would be better, far better for them they had never been born. And as it is the bufinefs of parents to inftil into their chil- drens minds the principles of religion ; fo (hould it be their care to frame their lives according to the rules and precepts of it : ^ to train them up in the exercife of obedience and modefty, of diligence and fincerity, of tendernefs and humanity, as the gene- ral difpofitions to religion ; to accuftom them to the govern- ment of their paffions and tongues as the foundation of it ; and to inure them to the praftice of piety and devotion towards God, of fobriety and chaftity with regard tothemfelves, and of juftice and charity towards all men, as the principal parts of it. 1. Another duty incumbent upon parents is to reprove Reproof and corred their children when they do amifs : for fo the wife ^g^j^p^ king viDeut. vi. 7. * Ifa. xxvili. 9, 10. x Eph. vi. 4. y Fleetwood on the Relative Duties. z Tillotfon's Sermons, Vol. I. a Edwards's Body of Pivi- nity, Vol. II. b Tillotfon, ibid, ^ 120 Errors in too much lenity. Too much feverity. A Complete Body of Divinity, Part III. king has determined the matter; « The r.od and reproof give wifdom ; but a child left to himfelf bringeth his mother to fliame : where he nientions the mother emphatically, becaufe ihe many times is mod faulty on the fide of fond indulgence. The apoftle indeed enjoins parents ^ not to provoke their chil- dren to wrath ; but where there is manifeft hazard of their fall- ing into wicked courfes, there they are not to ftand confidering, whether what is proper to reclaim them, and prevent their ruin, ought to be applied. ' Such a reftraint, reproof, admonition, or corredlion, as is in reafon, and all probability likely to procure the amendment of children, though it will certainly provoke them to all the anger and impatience pofTible, is not here advifed to be forborn ; but only fuch a conftant, rigorous, and auftere treat- ment as makes children look upon their parents as their tyrants, and accordingly refent their ufage of them. It is faid indeed of Adonijah, the fon of David, ^ that his father had not difpleaf- ed him at any time, in faying. Why haft thou done fo ? But, as David himfelf had fufficient reafon to repent of fuch indul- gence, his example can be but a bad precedent to other parents, unlefs their children behave fo as not to need any check or re- proof. His fon Solomon was a great deal wifer than his father ; and he advifes parents never to regard the cries, the pain, and gnef of their children under their punilliments, when there was juit occafion, and when they were in danger of mifcarriage ; s for he that fpareth the rod, faith he, hateth his fon ; but he that loveth him, chafteneth him betimes ; he chaftcneth him while there is hope, and lets not his foul fpare for his crying. There is a lenity then to our children that is culpable ; and in cafe of a wilful and heinous fin, efpecially if it be exemplary and of public influence, we muft not ufe mildnefs. '^ To re- buke gently, upon fuch an occafion, is rather to countenance the fault : it feems to argue, that we are not fenfible enough of its enormity, and have not a due diflike and deteftation of it ; it looks hke old Eli's reproofs to his fons, even when they were become fcandalous to every body elfe; 'Why do you fuch things, for I hear of your evil-dealing by all the people ? Nay, my fons, for it is no good report that I hear, you make the Lord's people to tranfgrefs : and, as this was a rebuke of no proportion to their crimes, God accordingly refents it in the revelation he made to Samuel ; "^ I will judge his houfe for ever, for the iniquity whicJi he knoweth, becaufe his fons made them- felves vile, and he reftrained them not ; nor Ihall the iniquity of Eli's houfe be purged with facrifice or offering for ever. There is an error, on the other hand, which parents often incur in the education and government of their children, and that c Prov. xxix. I J. d Eph. vi. 4. e Fleetwood on the Relative Duties. f I Kings i. 6. g Prov. xiii. 24 xix. 18, h Tillotfon's SermorS; Vol. I. i 1 Sani> ii. 23, 24. kibid. iii. 13, 14, Chap. IV- Of the jRWiSH LaivSf kc, 12i that is, too much rigour and fe verity. In the matter of reproof and correftion, parents are allowed indeed to do that with their children which they may not do to other people ; but it is al- ways upon this prefumption, that what they do will tend to their benefit. For this reafon the laws of God and man have left children to their parents difcretion, and will not punilli them for doing that to them which would be puniflied if done to (Grangers ; but neither do the laws of God and man allow pa- rents to do any thing truly injurious to their children, nor does nature indulge them in fuch power. ' She only gives them power to do them all the good they can, and allows them the liberty of hurting and afflidling them only for a time, in order to their amendment : and therefore, where a parent's conl'cience tells him that the afflidion he is laying upon his child is neither defigned, nor likely to do him any good, it tells him, at the fame time, he has no authority to do it; it tells him he is unnatural in doing it ; and though no human laws take cognizance of fuch feverity (unlefs the commonwealth be found to fufFer by it) yet the man cannot chufe but know that he is cruelly injurious all the while, and ufurps a power which does not naturally be- long to him. A parent therefore muft be very careful that he milfake not the filence of God's word, nor the permifiion of human laws, nor the dictates of his own fevere and rugged tem- per for the power and authority which nature gives him ; for he may be unnatural to his children, though God's word pre- fcribes him no rule how far he may go ; though human laws will allow of what he does, and his own temper prompts him to it. Above all, he muft have a ftricl guard upon himfelf, that, when the nature of any crime calls for chailifement, he do not correft his child in a pafhon ; for this will look more like re- venge than good-will, and exafperate the offender, rather than reform him. ™ The firft experiment proper to be made upon children fhould be to allure them to their duty, and, by reafon- able inducements, to gain them to the love of goodnefsby praife and reward, and fometimes by ihame and difgrace ; and where this will do, there will be no occafion to proceed to feverity, elpecially to great feverities which are very unfuitable to human nature. A mixture of prudent and fcafonable reproof and correction (vv'hen there is occafion for it) may do well ; but whips are not the cords of a man : human nature may be driven by them, but it muft be led by fv/eeter and more gentle methods. 3. Another duty of parents to their children is to make support pvovifion for their mainteniince and fupport ; but in what mea- and main- fure and proportion they are to do this, it is not fo eafy to de- ^'^"""^■'=* tcrmJuc. The benefit of a moderate fortune feems to be recom- inendftd in that requeft of Agur's ; " Give me neither poverty Vol. II. , ^ "°'* 1 Fleetwovd on the Ktlatiyc Duties, m Tillotfon's Sermons, Vol. I. n Prov. 1512 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. nor riches ; feed me with food convenient for me : left I be full, and deny thee, and fay, Who is the Lord ? Or left I be poor, and fteal, and take the name of my God in vain. By the food that is convenient for us, he means all the neceflaries and accom-, xnodations of life ; but thefe (as to their quantity at leaft) muft be fuppofed to ditfer according to the ftate the children are in, and the condition they are born to. ° If children are in a ftate of infancy, wherein they can provide nothing for them- felves, there is no doubt but that the provifion of parents ought to be as large as the neceflities of their children, i' If children have fome natural defeft, either in their bodily or rational facul- ties, though they are arrived even to maturity of age, yet are they as much children as thofe of younger years, and have con- fequently an equal intereft in their parents care and provifion : if children have arrived to years of ability and difcretion, fo as to be able to provide for themfelves, there is no doubt to be made but that their father may oblige them to it, and fubtraft fo much of his maintenance from them, as they for themfelves are in a condition to acquire. ^ The pooreft parents in the world are obliged to provide for their children according to their beft abilities ; but then, as they can provide for them no other- wife than by inurino- them to labour and induftry, they muft be careful to accuftom them to it from their youth up, that they may be enabled to undergo fatigue, and to gain an honeft live- lihood by the fweat of their brow. The richer and better fort of people are to make provifion for their children according to the rank and condition whereunto they are born ; and per- fons of high extradion are to confider, not only v^hat is necef- fary for a fon, but what is requifite for the fon of fuch a father, and one defcended from fuch a family. ■• Nor fliould the parent's care only provide for his children during his own life, but, as much as in him lies, afterwards ; efpecially when the necelFities of his children (which is the ground of providing for them) are, after his deceafe, like to be greater than they were before. And therefore every parent ihould, before he dies, either train up his children in fome ufe- ful calling and employment, whereby they may be able to pro- vide for themfelves (which indeed is an excellent portion) or, if that will not fuffice, or be not fo fuitable to their rank and con- dition, provide for them fuch competent eflates as may fupport the dignity of theii- family when they die, and confift with the rules of juftice and charity to acquire while they live. A good ex- 4. One duty more which parents owe their children is to fet ample. them a good example. * Example is the moft lively way oi teaching , and, becaufe children are much given to imitation,, it is likewife a very delightful way, and beft adapted to their c opacity y o Fleetwood on the Relative Duties. p Tower fon on the ComroandjiienlS. q Fleetwood, ibid, r Towerfon, ibid. sTUlctfon's Sermons, \q\, I, Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laivx, kc. 123 capacity, as being fooneft underftood, and fitteO: to make a laft- ing iinpredion upon them ; and therefore ' above all things, as the antient morahft exprefl'es it, Parents ought to behave blainelef&ly, and fliew themfelves an evident example to their children ; that they, looking upon their lives, as in a glafs, may be drawn off from all bale aftions and words, and know how to drefs and compofe their own lives by that mirror. These are fome of the chief duties which parents owe to Aii.fxhor- their children, a fufficient maintenance and provifjon, feafonable thefc"du- reproof and correction, a religious inliitution, candid ufage, and ties. a good example : and to engage the performance of thefe, let parents confider that fuch a form of education will not only be a great bleiling to their children, and the very befl inheritance they can leave them ; but a {landing comfort and confolation to themfelves, both in this life, and in that which is to come. A wife fon, fays Solomon, maketh a glad father. Nothing, cer- tainly, can yield a greater fatisfa^lion to a man than to fee one that is fo near and dear unto him take good courfes ; and, un- der God, to be able to impute the virtue of his conduft, and the goodnels of his reputation, to the care he took of him, and the inflruftions he gave him when he was young. This cer- tainly muft fill the father's heart with joy and comfortable le- fled:ions every time he looks upon his fon, or hears him mentioned with praife ; and when, at any time, he himfelf comes to want his affiftance, in the time of ficknefs, or decline of life, furely there is no greater external comfort in the world than a good and dutiful child. " Ke then will be the light of his eyes, and the cordial of his fainting fpirits ; and, as he is decaying and withering away, in him he fliall fiourilh again, and have the pleafure to fee his youth, as it were, renewed : for fo the fon of Sirach has expreflcd the comfort which a good father has of a well-educated fon ; * though he die, yet he is as if he were not dead; for he hath left one behind him that is like him- felf; while he lived, he faw and rejoiced in him, and when he died, he was not forrowful; and the reafon is, becaufe he was confcious that good children, who by their parents inflitution became fuch, were not only a prefent fatisfaclion, but would be an unfpeakable matter of joy to their parents in the life which is to come. When we come to appear before God at the day of judg- ment to be able to fay to him, Lo ! here am I, and the chil- dren which thou haft given me ; how will this comfort our hearts, and make us lift up our heads with joy ! On the contra- ry, "when God fiiall arife terribly to judgment, and fliall fay unto us, Behold the children which I gave you; they were ig- norant, t Pro far.toon del tcus patcras enargcs her.iitous pjradci^^ina to:s tckaor: pTcchei?:, Zee. \^\nt. Peri p.iidiigoges. u Tillolfon's Sermons, Vol. I. * Ec- c!us. XXX. 4; S' xTillotllui, ibiJ. 1^54 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. Exempted cafes. Killing ill execution of juftice. norant, and you inftrudled them not ; they made themfelves vile, and you reftrained them not ; nay, inftead of being teachers and examples of holinefs, you were their chief encouragers and patterns of vice. Unnatural wretches ! that have thus deftroy- ed thofe whofe happinefs by fo many bonds of duty and afFedlion you were obhged to procure. Behold the books are open, and there is not one prayer upon record that ever you put up for your children ; not an hour ferioufly fpent in acquainting them with the knowledge of their duty ; but, on the contrary, it ap- pears that you have many ways contrived their mifery, and helped forward their damnation : when God, 1 fay, fliall bring this heavy accufation againft us, and our confcience, at the fame time bear teftimony to the truth of it, in what a lam'^ntable con- dition muft we be ! That therefore neither our children may be made miferable by our fault, nor we, by the negleft of fo natural and neceflary a duty ; let us all confider ourfelves as refpondble to God for their education, and, in the fenfe of that terrible day of accounts, make it the matter of our care and alfiduiiy to train them up in their tender years in the way which they Ihould go, that, when they are old, they may not depart from it. Sixth Commandment, Thou /halt not kill. TO kill, in the fenfe of this commandment, is to take away another man's life : and, becaufe there are fome cafes wherein another man's life may be taken away without the violation of this precept, it may not be improper to fay fome- thing concerning thefe, before we come to examine into the nature, the extent, and fundry aggravations of the crime that here is forbidden. It has been the opinion of fome, in all ages of chriftianity, that there is a certain cruelty in all capital punifhments which is inconfiftent with the fpirit of the gofpel ; and that God has fo abfolutely referved to.himfelf the difpofal of man's life, that the civil magiftrate, without an exprefs commilTion from him, is not to interfere in it. » But when we confider that God, in that very law which himfelf delivered to the Jews by the hand of Mofes, did appoint fo many capital punilhments, even for offences againft pofitive precepts, we cannot think that thefe are contrary to juftice or true goodnefs, fince they were dictated by God himfelf, who is eternally the fame, and unalterable in his perfecT:ions. The precedent which God fet in the Mofaic law, feems to be a full juftification of the like punifliments under the gofpel ; for the charity which the gofpel fo ftrongly recommends does not take away the rules of juftice and equity, by which we are allowed to maijuairi a Bnrnet on tlie Articles. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish La-ws, kc. 125 maintain our juft pofleffions, or recover them out of the hands of violent aggreflbrs ; only it obliges us to make ufe of them in a foft and gentle manner, without rigour, and without refent- ment. V/e owe to human fociety, and to the fafety and order of the world, our endeavours to put a flop to the vice and wick- ednefs of mankind: and this a good man may do with great in- ward tendernefs to the fouls of thofe whom he profecutes. And as it is probable (confidering the degeneracy of human na- ture) that nothing befides fuch a method could ftop the progrefs of injuftice and wickednefs ; fo nothing can be fo likely a means to bring the criminal to repent of his fins, and fit him to die a chriftian, as to condemn him to die for his crimes ; infomuch that it may be affirmed, with fome certainty, that a man who can harden himfelf againft the terrors of death, when they come upon him fo folemnly, fo flowly, and fo certainly, would fcarce be brought to any manner of reformation by a longer continu- ance of life. fc If then government be the inftitution of God, and if the ends of government cannot be attained without a power in the magiftrate to inflid: capital punifliments, which many times are real bleflings to thofe on whom they fall, then is there a clear and juft foundation for the claim and exercife o^ fuch a power, in the cafe of all fuch crimes which the fafety, and other ends of government, require fliould be punifhed with death. For this reafon the magillrate under the gofpel, as well as under the law, is the minider of God, and an avenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil : <: and therefore, when he condemneth a man according to the directions of the law, he does it only as God's minifter, and they who put the fentence in execution, do it only in obedience to the authority that is fet over them ; nor is either of them guilty of breaking this command, which looks, upon killing as an exempted cafe, where the authority is compe- tent, the manner legal, and the perfon that is killed deferves to die. 1. Another exempted cafe is the killing an enemy in a juft An enemy war. ^ That God has not forbidden fovereigns (in cafes of ne- '" ''"^^ °^ cellity, and where amicable means will not prevail) to maintain the fafety and welfare of the focieties intrufted to their care, even by armed violence againft fuch as wrongfully invade them ; = nay, that he has allowed fovereigns to aihlt fuch other princes as are imjuftly invaded, and may be devoured by ambitious and encroaching neighbours, is plain from the laws of humanity and felf-prefervation, as well as his permifTion and encouragement given to wars in the Jewifh polity, which he himfelf inftituted. And that in fuch cafes a foldier's employment is no illegal pro- feilion, is manifeft from the anfwer which John Baptilt gives them, bFiddes's Borly of Divinity, Vol. 11. c Beveridge's EKplanation of th« Church Catechifm. d Barrow on the Decaloguff. e Bwniet on the Articles. In one's neceflary defence. 1 26 A Complete Body of Divinity. them, wherein he does not require them to relinquiih their courfe of life (which he certainly would have done, liad it been unavoidably fmful) but only to do violence to no man, to accufe no man falfely, and to be content with their wages. ^ There are feme wars indeed fo apparently unjuft that no fubjcft can abet them with a good confcience ; but for the generality it is not neceflary for the foldier to be convinced of the juflnefs of the war wherein he is engaged : it is enough for him to know that it is not abfolutely unjull, and that he is commanded by his prince to affile him in it ; and though, by this means, he may fome- times be engaged in an unjuli quarrel, yet the blame thereof will not fall upon him, who is neither concerned nor quahfied to judge of it, but upon the prince by whofe authority the war is levied : only he is to take care that, as his prince's commif- fion is his only warrant to concern himfelf with war, fo his pri- vate revenge ihould not pulli him on to do more mifchief than his prince intended he Ihould do : and if he behaves in this man- ner, his killing and flaying, upon a jull: provocation and accord- ing to the eftablilhed laws of arms, will not fall under the delign and meaning of this prohibition. 3. Another exempted cafe is, when we are confirained to kill another in the neceffary defence of our own lives : c for felf- prefervation (as we fuggefted before) is an inviolable principle of nature ; and this dictates that we may repel an invader, an afTailant, an aflaffin, any man that intends to bereave us of our life ; and if, in repelling and refifting him, it happens that we kill him, the thing is done in profecution of that natural prin- ciple of felf-prefervation, which makes it not an unlawful acl to take away that man's life, who would otherwife certainly take away ours by violence. And as we are permitted to do it in the neceiTary defence of our own, fo may we lawfully do it in de- fence of an innocent neighbour's life, againft any unjufl: invader. We may kill the aggreflbr, if we know he comes with an inten- tion of murder ; and for this ^ we have the warrant of the law of God, as well as a licence from the law of reafon and nature to fecure us ; and that partly becaufe, in the cafe of a fudden onfet, either upon ourfelves or others, we can have no recourfe to the ordinary means of defence, I mean the patronage of the magillrate ; and partly becaufe thofe whom God has intrufied with the power of vengeance give private perfons, on fuch oc- cafions, a licence to flay the invader, and deliver the fword of juftice into their hands. Chance. 4. There IS one exempted cafe more, which we call chance- medley, medley, when a man kills another without having any enmity againfl him, or defign to do him any harm; upon which occn- fjon God appointed ■ cities of refuge for the njan-flayer to flee J unto, f Towerfon on the Commandments, g Edwards's Body of Divit.ify, Vol. IL h Exod. xxii. 2, 3. i Ibid. xx.i. 12, 13. Numb- xx.kv. 6, 5;c. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laivs, kc. 127 unto, but flill with this reftridion, that he was to abide there in nature of a prifoner, and not liave his perfed: liberty •< till the death of the high prieft, to put him in mind that though he was not properly guilty of murder, yet, by being accefiary to another man's death (though it was only for want of due care and conikleration in him) he had contrafted fo much guilt that he could not be fully pardoned but by the death of Jefus Chrill, the true high-prieft. So that from the whole we may infer, that, he who kills another by chance or mifadventiu-e, meaning no harm ; he who kills another in a way not irregular, as a mi- nifter of juftice ; he who kills another in a lawful war, as a fol- dier authoriied by a fovereign power ; or, lalHy, he who kills another in his own juil and necefl'ary defence, does not lie under the cenfure of this law, fmce what he does, he only does as the inftrument of God, who is inconteflibly the Lord of life and death. It is not fimply killing then, but killing in a private capacity, "^hat it and without any legal conimiilion, that is the fubjeft-matter of ^'^^^^'^ ^ "* this prohibition ; in what manner foever it be done, whether • precipitately, or after deliberation ; " upon what motive foever it be done, whether hatred, envy or revenge, our prefumed fafety, or pretended reparation of honour ; and by what means foever it be done, whether by direft violence or fraudulent con- trivance; in an open or clandefline manner, immediately by ourfelves, or by means of others ; by advifing, encouraging, or any wife becoming inflrumental or accefTary thereunto. This is properly the fin which is forbidden ; and though it may admit of aggravations according to the circumftances of the dig- nity, relation or office that the fufterer enjoyed while he lived (as to kill a father, mother, or children, is a more horrid and unnatu- ral, to kill a magiflrate, judge or public minifter, but efpecially a king or piince, is a more flagitious tranfgrelTion of this command than to flay a private perfon who flood in no fuch eminence or relation :) though it admits of aggravations, I fay, from thefe and feveral other circumftances ; yet in itfelf, and abflradly con- fidered, it is certainly great and grievous enough. It is an heinous offence againll God, as being not only a vio- The hei- lation of his command, but a wrong done to his property, " by noufwcfs o{ robbing him of a child, a fervant, a fubjecl ; one whofe life was k Numb XXXV. 28. 1 Our law diftinguiflies between man-flaughter or fimple homicide (which is killing another in heat of blood, or out of a fudden anger) and that which in a more reftrained fenfe is called murder, which (according to our lawyers) is killing a man with malice prepenfed or forethought : but in divinity both thefe methods of killing are murder, and properly fo called. For tliough it be true that this latter way is more heinous of the two, becaufe deliberation adds to the guilt; yet the former is an unlawful killing, and no lefs than murder, hecaufe it is a voluntary taking away a man's life without juft caufe and reafon, without any neceffity compelling him to it, and without any licence from public authority. Thefe things make it an unlawful and finful iheddiug of blood, though it be not accompanied with deliberation and premeditated malice. Edwards, ibid, m Barrow on the Pecalogue, a Ibid. jiS A Complete Body of D'lvhuty. Part III. was precious to him, and to whom he had a tender regard, as liaving created him after his own image : and therefore excel- lent are thofe words of Phiio, in the beginning of his difcourfe upon this commandment • Murder has indeed the name of man-flaughter, fays he, becaufe man is the perfon flain, but it is in reahty facrilege, and one of the greated facrileges, becaufe there is not any thing more facred than man, or what is a more exprefs image of the divine reafon and perfeftion. It is a fin againft nature v which has eftablilhed a common relation between us ; defigned us for fociety, and in order thereunto made it one of its fundamental laws, that we fhould love, and protect, and do good to one another, which murder totally deftroys ; a fin againft: the civil fociety, by depriving it of one of its members, and by its evil example encouraging others to do the like ; a fin againft the magiftrate, by invading his right and prerogative, who alone, under God, has the power of life and death ; a fignal of- fence againft the relations of him who is cut off, who perhaps in him lofc all their fi.ipport and comfort of life ; and an irre- parable injury to the perfon himfelf, who by this ftroke lofes not only the advantages of this world, but (if furprifed in his fins) a poflibility of repentance, and confequently all happinefs in another. And 4 furely no one, that has the bowels of a man can think on this without hon*or, viz. that by this means, and perhaps without any provocation, men are deprived not only of the prefent life without remedy, but condemned to end- lefs torflient and perdition, God's ab- It is part of the catholic law which God gave the patriarch horrence Noah, ' Surely your blood of your lives will I require ; at the hand of every beaft will I require it, and at the hand of man, and at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. ' Beafts indeed are not capable of fin, becaufe what- ever they do, they do it by the force of that natural inftinft which direfts them in all their adions ; and yet fo facred a thing is the life of a man in the eyes of God, and fo fevere his refent- ment againft every thing that invades it, that ' if an ox (or, by parity of reafon, any other creature) gored a man that he died, the ox itfelf (according to the law of his own inftitution) was to be fiain, and the fleih thereof caft away as an abomination ; and that even " his altar, which in other cafes and crimes was a. fanftuary to fly unto, yielded no fhelter and protedion to the wilful murderer. His fin was purfued by the avenging hand of God, which in all ages more vifibly and apparently concern- ed itfelf in making * wonderful difcoveries of it, and in bringing the o Onoma fnen ar.dro^hon'ta kata tou kteinantas anthropon ep'tphemizzetai to de uleihes ergon tftin hierofuHa, &:c. De Spec. Legibus. p Wake on the Church Catechifni. q Towerfon on the Conimananients. r Gen. ix. 5. sTowerfon, ibid, t Exod. xxi. 28. u Ibid. ver. 14. * We have a very odd difcovcry of this nature in our chronicles, which tell us, that in the fccond year of king Jaracs the Firft^s reign, when a woman had killed a perfon, and buried chap. IV. Of the Jewish tonus, Sec, 129 the adors therein to condign punilhment. For this of all other fins is the n^oft clamorous, and calleth loudeft to heaven. ^ The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground, fays God to Cain, y as if heaven itlelf had been filled with the outcries of the mUrder, to Iblicit and importune the divine ju- ftice to avenge it. What is it then that the man of blood promifes himfelf by And unea- committing a crime of fuch a complicated guilt? The gratifica- ^'"5= Other fms may in fome meafure be palliated, and the guilt of them alleviated by excufes ; but no man can flatter or excufe himfelf fo as to quiet his mind after the commiflion of murder. The burden of this confounds and breaks the mind and confcience to pieces, and fills it fa full of horror and diftur- bance, by frightful remembrances and continual reprefentations of the murdered perfon's ghoft, and cries of his blood for ven- geance againft him, that it has fometiraes extorted a confeflion, even when there has been no other evidence of the fad: ; and many times forced the guilty to put an end to the terror's he Was not able to endure, by becoming his own executioner. So uneafy is the ftate of the murderer, that, rather than bear the laihes of his own mind, he ventures upon the pains of hell ! How the opinion has prevailed, whether from falfe notions Sclf-mnr- of courage and liberty, or * from the examples of fome great ''^'^* men of antiquity, who have unhappily thought themfelves mafters of their own lives ; but fo it is that fome have been averfe to believe tliat the fin of felf-murder is included in this commandment, and that the rather, becaufe they find no parti- cular prohibition againft it in the word of God. Now the true why poj. reafon, in the firft place, why felf-murder is not exprefsly for- expicfbiy bidden in fcripture is this — ^ That whatever fins and offences f""^'^''^den. God as a law-giver prohibits, he prohibits with a penalty ; he affixes fuch a puniihment to fuch a crime, and he who commits the crime is to undergo the puniihment in this world, whether it be reftitution, lofs of limb, or lofs of life itfelf. Now this can never happen in the cafe of felf-murder, becaufe it prevents all punifliment (the man is dead before you can take cognizance Vol. II. ' R of buried him under a dunghill, one of the town dreamed that this man, his neigh- bour, was ftrangled, and buried under fuch a dunghill ; whereupon the dead body was foamd, the woman apprehended, and at her execution confefl'ed the fa in the image of God made he man : for if I muft not fhed the blood of another man, be- caufe he is made in the image of God, I muft not fhed the blood of my ownfelf, becaufe I alfo am a man, and made in the image of God, as well as he. Nay, the more unnatural the fin is, or the greater obligations we have to preferve the life of the per- fon whom we kill, the greater is the breach of this commandment. « To murder a kind friend or a bounteous bencfadtor, is a greater evil OTin to murder one who is a ftranger to us ; to murder a parent or a child, a wife or an hufband, is ftill a greater evil, becaufe they are fo much nearer ourfelves ; and if the neamefs of the relation increafes the fin, nobody is fo near to us as our- felves, and therefore there is no fuch unnatural murder as this. Itsheiaouf- Bksides all the guilt then which attends fimple murder, as "* *' being a breach of God's command, a deftrudion of his image, an offence againft the community, and an injury to the kindred and dependents of the fufferer ; there is fomething in this fin not only abhorent to the principle of felf-love, and felf-preferva- tion, but monftroufly cruel and deftruftive : fince by making re- pentance impoffible (unlefs men can be fuppofed to repent of a fin before they have committed it) it takes an effeftual courfe to ruin and undo both foul and body together. What allowances God may make for fome mens opinions of the lawfulnefs of this deed, and for the diftradion of other mens thoughts and paf- fions, through a fettled melancholy, or fome violent and over- bearing temptation, we cannot tell ; our bufinefs is not to limit the fovereign prerogative and grace of God, but to declare the nature of the thing, according to the terms of the gofpel, which certainly denote that to murder ourfelves is the moft unnatural murder, a damning fin, and fuch as no man can repent of in this life ; f and therefore unlefs God forgive it without repentance (and this the gofpel of Chrift gives us no authority for) it can never be forgiven. The gofpel-grace, which only forgives pe- nitents, c Fleetwood againft Self-murder, and Kidder's Demonftration, page 137. d Gen. ix. 6. e Sherlock on Death, f Ibid. Chap. IV. 0///;f Jewish Laws, &c. 131 nitents, cannot fave fuch men ; and therefore that man is very bold, and prefumes very far upon unpromifed and uncovenanted mercy, who will venture to commit a fm which the grace of the gofpel cannot pardon. If, however, we will determine the queftion more percmpto- The final rily, the different fate of fuch as deftroy chemfelves, feems in ftate of a great meafure to depend upon the difference of the caufe ^^""^^ ^••?' from whence the fadl arifes; « infomuch that thofe who out '^°'"""*^'' of pride and haughtinefs, fear of miferies to come, or impatience under prefent fufferings, diftruft of God's providence, or defpair of his mercy, lay violent hands upon themfelves, give us not the leafl hope of their falvation, becaufe their aft was both volun- tary and vicious, and not to be amended by repentance ; whereas we are to conceive much better of fuch as owe that violence to a diflempered body and a difordered mind. For, confidering the mercy and infinite goodnefs of God, it is moft congruous to think that no man (hall anfwer for any mifcarriage that is wholly caufed by the power of a difeafe, or the diflraftion of the brain ; the reafon is, becaufe whatever fault is committed in fuch a cafe, is not a man's free and voluntary aft, and confequently not to be charged upon him. ' Whether it be our climate, our diet, our complexion, or manner of life that produces more matter for melancholy to feed upon j but fo it is, that this nation of ours furniflies, almofl every day, more examples of violent and unnatural deaths, than any other of its extent, perhaps under the face of heaven. And therefore I cannot with decency part with this fubj^ft without fuggefting fome farther confiderations againfl it : that how Farther well foever we may think of thofe antient Greeks and Romans, confidera- who either fell by their own hands, or in their writings defend- ''"•" a% cd the praftice ; yet, if we examine their charafter, we fhall find that they either were atheifts, or men that believed in fo many gods, as almoft came to the fame thing, and that confe- quently their example is n'o precedent to us, who believe in the one true God, the fole author and giver of our lives, and upon that account cannot fuppofe ourfelves at liberty to throw them away at pleafure, and without his direftion : that whatever pretence k their withdrawing from life (as they ufed to call it) might make to magnanimity and courage, it was in reality no more than an effeft of fear and cowardice, and ' a mark of a poor im- patient g Edwards's Body of Divinity, Vol. II. i Fleetwood againfl: S-lfnurder. k Eulegoos te phafin exaxein heauton tou biou ton fophon. Laert. i 2en. and to the fame purpofe Seneca : Exerce te ut mortem excipias. et fi ita res fuadc bit, accerfas. Intereft nihil, an ilia ad nos veniat, an ad illam nos. Epift. 70. 1 Si rationem reftius confulas, nee ipfa quidem animi magnitudo refte nomi- natur, ubi quifque, non valendo tolerare vel quaeque afpera, vel aliena peccata, feipfum interemerit : magis enim mens infirnia deprehenditur, quae ferre non poteft vel duram fui corporis fervituteni, vel ftultam vulgi opinionem; ma- jorque animus merito dicendus, qui vitam zrumuofam magis poteft ferre, that a chriftian who believes a God, the immortality of the foul, and the life of the world to come ; that the divine wrath is revealed againft all unrighteoufnefs; that without repentance there is no pardon, and that after death there can be none : that fuch a man as this, profeffing the faith of Chriil crucified, and covenanting with God inbaptifm to take up the crofsand bear it, if need be, even unto death, fhould, in the impatience of his foul, and preffed by fome calamity a little more than ordinary, deliberately chufe to throw this burden off, by committing what he knows to be a fin, of which he knows he can never repent, and venture the mod dreadful confequences of that to everlafling ages, is what nobody would ever reafon themfelves into a belief of, did not the frequent practice of fome unhappy people convince us that it might be done by letting us fee it was. p Did but men ferioufly confider this however, it is impoflible that the greateft fhame, infamy, want, or fufFering, or whatever it is, that makes men weary of life, fhould be thought fo intolerable as to make them force their paflage into the other world to efcape it, when fuch a violent and unnatural efcape will coll them their fouls, and confign them to the wrath of God, and miferies inconceivable as long as God endures. Duelling. ANOTHER practice which falls under this prohibition of mur- der, and yet has run away with the vogue of fomething gallant and honourable, is duelling : for when men have fuch a refent- ment of injuries and aifronts as to revenge themfelves with their fwords, and to venture killing or being killed in the decifion of their quarrel, they certainly have the hearts of murderers ; they would kill if they could, at kaft would venture killing their brother, to appeafe their refentment : and therefore, if fuch men fall in the quarrel (as too frequently they do) with- out time to afk God's pardon with their lalt breath, they die under m I Cor. X. 13. n Vetat Pythagoras injuffu impcratoris, /. e. Dei, de prae- fidio &r ftafinne vitse difccdcre, Cjc. de ScjjclT:. 0 Fleetwood, ubi Ippra. p Sherlock on JDeatU. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laws, kc, 133 under the guilt of murder unrepented of. Though they do not kill, but are killed, they die with a mortal hatred and re- venge, and 1 he that hatcth his brother, fays St John, is a mur- derer ; and as we know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him, we cannot but conclude, that whatever fine names or plaufible defcriptions the laws of honour may have made of fuch adions, he that kills another in a duel, though he gets a pardon of his prince, will be arraigned at the laft day a- mong the murderers, who Ihall have their portion in the lake which burneth with fire and brimftone. I KNOW very well what is ufually pleaded in defence of this Excufes." pra(5lice ; " That it is impoffible to live in the world without *' injuries, but bafe and inglorious not to refent them ; that to " decline a challenge favours of cowardice, and to put up af- " fronts is unbecoming a man of honour: it is a fign of a low '^ and abject fpirit, and no man that has any generous blood in '' his veins (unlefs he would have him trampled upon) would " ever advife his friend to do it." ' Thus a falfe notion of^nrwercd. honour and bravery deludes the duellifts ' into a dreadful adion, which by long impunity is become reputable, and the refufal to engage in it ignominious ; as if every affront unrevenged drev/ vipon a man that wears a fword the imputation of cowardice ; ' or, as if that could be an honourable atchievement, which the civil magiflrate punifhes as a capital crime, and Almighty God threatens with damnation. But whatever high pretences of honour the practice of duel- ling may make, it is much to be feared that drinking, gaming, and whores are thofe rotten bones (as * an ingenious author expreiTes it) which for the moft part lie hid under this painted fepulchre and title of honour : or, if this be not the cafe, it may not be improper to confider that this cuftom of fighting is of heathenifh extract, and " derived from thofe barbarous nations, who in any dubious and controverted matter, were appointed by their governors to decide it by fingle combat ; but that, as chriftianity prevailed, thecuftom was laid allde as favage and in- human, and fuch as died in the enterprife were denied chriflian burial ; that according to the fentiments and decifion of the beft To refift a judges of honour and generofity, f there is no difgrace in re- ^'^^'^^^'^,'* fufing nourable. q I John iii. i j. r Edwards's Body of Divinity, Vol- II. s Speftator, No. 85. and 98. where the fin and maduefs of this pra<5tice is handfomely e>:pofcd. t Dr Waugh's Affize-fcrmon at Kingfton, 1717. * Hale's Sermon of Duels, p. 95- of his Remains, u The northern inhabitants uled to try their rights to their eftates and goods by fmgle combat; the Germans, about the tenth cen- tury purged their innocence and ended their quarrels this way ; for he that was worfted was always held the guilty perfon ; and upon the conqueft here, the Normans renewed this way of trial, but it was foon difufed and deemed unchriftian. f To this purpofe we read that the Fr<:nch king Frances I. gave the emperor Charles V. the lie, and challenged him to fight; but the emperor (and we know what a warrior and man ofarms and honour he was) refufed it : nor do we want a later inftance in the marflial Turenne, who, though a pro- fefled foldier and man of honour, refufed the challtngeto a fingle ccmbat,givcB fciiii by the prince Palatine of the Rlunc* »34 A Complete Body of Divinity* Part III. Caufelefs anger and reproach- ful lan- guage. fufing a challenge, or turning it off with a juft contempt ; that when Auguftus was challenged by Mark Antony, he returned him in anfwer, that if Antony svas weary of life, and had a mind to die, there were ways enough to death without duelling ; and that, in Ihort, inftead of being a difparagement to a perfon of honour to pardon injuries and affronts, it is an argument of a great and generous mind, and a true proof of chriftian gallantry fo to do. The fentiment of the « heathen moralift is very juft upon this occafion, '* We ought to defpife calumnies and inju- ** ries, fays he, whether they be oiFered to us defervedly or *' not : if defervedly, they are no dilhonour and reproach ; if ** undefervedly, then are they a Ihame and reproach to him '* that offered them, not to him that bears them." But chri- ftian morality carries the point much higher : y Be angry and fm not, let not the fun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil : be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good ; for this is the will of God concerning us, * that be- ing reviled, we fhould blefs ; being perfecuted, we fhould fufFer, being defamed, we fhould intreat, and not let go our patience and meeknefs of temper, though fome reproachful and abufive tongues may endeavour to make us the filth of the world, and ofF-ficouring of all things. Our bleffed Mailer, in the explication he gives us of this prohibition, has extended the fenfe of it ftill farther ; » Ye have heard that it hath been faid by them of old time, thou fhalt not kill, and whofoever fhall kill, fhall be in danger of the judgment; but I fay unto you, that whofoever is angry with his brother without a caufe, fhall be in danger of the judgment, and who- foever fhall fay to his brother >> Raca^ fhall be in danger of the council, but whofoever fhall fay, thou Fool, fhall be in danger « of hell-fire; whereby he gives us to underftand that all un- reafonable and exceflive pafnon, all abufive and cenforious lan- guage, X Seneca, y Eph. iv. 26. z i Cor.iv. 12, 13. a Matth. v. 21, 22. b The Word Raca is ufed to fignify a filiy, vain, contemptible fellow, and denote fome imperfedlion in miud or body; and the word Fool, in fcripture-language, does \ifually reprefent to us a very wicked and abandoned finner; which term of reproach is more heinous than the other, as it is a worfe evil to be wicked than unfortunate, and to lead a bad life than to have a v/eak underftanding. Gar- dener's Sermons, c Among the Jews there were three degrees of public in- famy, according to the nature of the punifliments inflifted on men for their crimes. If an offender was brought before the court of three and twenty, (which in the text is called being in danger of the judgment) and there con- demned, he was accounted infamous, but his difgrace was in a lower degree: if he were brought before the Sanhedrim, or great fenate of the nation, confift- ing of LXX elders (which is being in danger of the council) and by them ad- judged to death, his difgrace was greater: but if, laftly, he was condemned to be burnt in the Valley of Hinmon, or Tophet, where was a perpetual fire to confume all the filth, and whatever was oifenfive and naufeous iu Jerufalcm, and which the Jews themfelves looked upon as an emblem of hell, the infamy wasgreateft of all. In allufion therefore to thefe three degrees of infamy among the Jews, our Savionr (hews that there will be different kinds of puniJh- meflt for the feveral degrees of anger and virulence in the world to come. Horneck's Sermons, and "Whitby's Annotations. Chap. IV. Of the ]t.w\sh Laivs, Sec. 135 guage, all looks and geftures of fcorn and ridicule, and whatever elfe it is, whereby we mean to expofe and vilify our neighbour, falls under the fixth commandment, Thou fhalt not kill. <» The foundation of niifchief and the feeds of violence are laid in the firit emotions of the foul ; nor is there much ground to believe that they who indulge the beginnings of paifion, will be difpofed, out of any true principle, to prevent the fatal confe- quences of it. But admitting they were fo difpofed, yet, when the fire is kindled, every thing helps to blow it up, and it may not after- wards be in their power to get it under, would they never fo fain. « The beginning of ftrife (as Solomon wifely obferves) is, as when one letteth out water : as long as the dams and banks are well fenced, it runs in the proper channel ; but when once thefe give way, a ftream, otherwife fmall, bears down all before it, and makes a vaft inundation. Thus one refentment opens the paflage to a greater, and one word draws on another, till at laft all end in revenge and blood. They, therefore, that attend to the conflitution of mankind, and how the fenfual part and paf- fions of the foul pufli us upon all manner of extravagance, can- not but fee the neceflity of keeping a flrait rein, and that the only way to govern thefe is to prevent their flying out at firft. And they who refleft upon anger in particular ; how this above all other paflions blinds the reafon, and carries the man out of himfelf ; what furies and devils it makes where it hath got pof- felfion ; what heart-burnings and contentions, what tumult and confulion it creates ; muft needs allow, that the peace and fafe- ty of the world could never be fecured, but by cruihing this venomous cockatrice in the egg. Religion therefore had not anfwered its end, nor been a competent guard to human fociety, without leaving men anfwerable for the very tendencies and occaQons, and for wilfully taking the firft fteps towards fuch pernicious wickednefs. For the hands of men could not be tied up from cruelty, without tying up their tongues from exa- fperation and bitternefs ; nor could their tongues again be with- held from evil-fpeaking, without a rellraint from evil-thinking, laid upon that part, ^ out of whofe it is that the mouth fpeaketh. It is to be obferved however, e that as anger is one of the Angfr, paflions implanted in us by nature, whofe firft motions feem to when law- ie mechanical, and to depend upon the temper of the body, and complexion of the animal fpirits, it cannot be altogether fin- ful ; nay, that there are fome cafes wherein the honour of God and the love of virtue are concerned, in which to be angry is not only an innocent, but a commendable accomplifhraent. The example of Mofes, that man of meeknefs, •« whofe anger waxed hot at the molten calf which the Ifraelites had made to diftio- nour God and themfelves in the wildernefs : the example of our d Stanhope on the Epiftles and Gofpels, Vol. Ill, « Prov. xvii. 14. f Stan- hope, ibid, glbid. h£>xod, x:!idi. i9< 136 A Complete Body of DivinUy. Part IIL our blefTed Saviour, the exacl model of all perfeftion, who was not only grieved, but looked upon the Pharifees with anger, becaufe of the hardnefs of their hearts, juftify fome refentments of this kind, where the glory of God, and the good of others is the occalion ; and that precept of St Paul's, be angry and fin not, feems to imply that they may be warrantable, even with regard to private injuries and affronts, provided always, that due care be taken to reftrain their excefles, and to conquer and fubdue them by times. Upon fome occafions, and in fome degrees then, our anger may be lawful ; and therefore it is not an anger of this kind that our Saviour brands with the imputation of murder, but it is an When not anger that is without caufe, and » fuch as men fly out into upon f-J' little or no provocation ; when for mere trifles, for any thing, for nothing ; for groundlefs fufpicions, and jealous whimfies of their own, they work themfelves up to all the extravagancies of rage and palfion ; when they fwell and grow choleric, ^ becaufe their honour and reputation is touched, or other fecular inter- efl: not promoted as they expefted ; when they diforder them- felves, becaufe their vain defires are not cockered, or fomething that gratifies their lulls is with-held from them ; when they fret and become uneafy that fuch a perfon has not given them the title and refped: they looked for ; when they are ruffled with the reproofs of a teacher, or the admonitions of a friend, and grow hot and outrageous, becaufe every one in company cannot give into their fentiments, or conform to their humour, when, in thefe or fuch like cafes, a man feels himfelf to be provoked above meafure, and fufFers his refentment to refl: upon his mind, and fettle into fecret grudges, he then is guilty of the murder of the heart, and li%'es in danger of the judgment. Reproach- It is to be obferved again, with relation to our Saviour's ful words, words, that terms of difparagement and reproach are not uni- w^en aw- ygj-f^jjy^ ^^^ upon all occafions, unlawful. From the mouth of a fuperior they are often of ufe, fometimes of necefTity, to awaken ftupid men, and to make them at once, both fenfible and afhamed of their folly ; to expofe the abfurdity of pernicious opinions, and the flagrant enormity of wicked practices. Thus the very term of fool is applied by David and Solomon to the obllinate finner, times without number ; as that of Raca is, by St James, ' to fuch as relied upon faith without works : ^ A child of the devil, is the appellation which St Paul gives Ely- mas the forcerer ; " a generation of vipers, is the Baptift's chara6ler of the Scribes and Pharifees ; and a gceater than all thefe, even the pattern and perfedion of all meeknefs is not, upon fome occafions, alhamed to call them » fools, and blind, hy- pocrites, and children of hell. Thefe inftances make it plain that iHorneck's Sermons. k Stanhope on the Epiftles and Golpels, Vol, HI, 1 James ii. 20. m Acts kiii, 10, n Matth. iii. ?■ 0 Ibid, xsiii. J5; ic. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laws, Sec. 137 that words of reproach are, in foine cafes, allowable where charity is at the bottom, and an high authority in the reprover gives fuch language countenance. But fuch examples are *not Wlicn not to be drawn into precedents without great caution, and alnmll ^°* abfolute neceifity : otherwife, when we intend not the party's or the publick's good by thus roufmg and expofing him, but do it purely to vent a rage which boils over, and to do all the mifchief that ill words can do ; when, upon every flight pro- vocation, or prefumed affront, we run into fuch contumelious and reproachful language, as is contrived only tofpit the venom of a furious undifciplined mind out of a filthy and licentious tongue, (hooting out our arrows, even bitter words (with- out any regard to truth) to gaul our enemy, and wound his re- putation ; we then become guilty of the murxler of the tongue, and live in danger of the council, and hell-tire. I MENTION but one fin more, which feems to come within The mur-' the compafs of this prohibition, and that is, the murder of our ^^"^ ^^^^^^ neighbour's foul, p For though the foul be naturally immortal, and lb incapable of ceafing to be ; yet, lince it may be robbed of its comforts, and made more miferable than if it were not at all; fince, by the intoxicating pleafures of fin, it may lofe all its feel- ing, and be deprived of its fpiritual life ; it may at leaft, in a metaphorical fenfe, be faid to be murdered ; and God, who in his commandment has taken fuch care for the fecurity of the body, cannot be fuppofed to have excluded or omitted the fafe- ty of the foul, which is by much the better and more valuable part, as well as liable to greater and more imminent dangers. For there are many ways whereby the fouls of men may be undone, 9 by poifoning them with wicked principles ; by fugged- ing evil counfels ; by tempting them to wickednefs ; by letting them bad examples ; by with-holding fuch good advice as is ne- ceffary for their prefervation ; by ufing, in ihort, any means to induce them to fin, and by not ufing all of thofe means which are in our power to reclaim them from it. It is the admonition of St Paul ; Take heed, left by any means this liberty of yours (viz. in things of an indifferent nature) become a ftumbling- hjock to them that are weak. For if any man fee thee, which haft knowledge, fit at meat in the idol's temple, ihall not the confcience of him that is weak be emboldened to eat thofe things which are offered to idols? And through thy knowledge Ihall the weak brother periih, for whom Chrift died ? But, when ye fin fo againft the brethren, and wound their weak confciences, ye fin againft Chrift. " Nor if thofe who do things in themfelves innocent, are faid to lay a ftumbling-block in the way of fuch, as through weaknefs, may take occafion from thence to do things forbidden ; if they are accufed of finning againft Chrift, of fin- ning againft their brethren, of wounding their confciences, and Vol. II. S of p Towerfon on the Cojnmaodments. q Sraallridge's Sermons, r Ibid. IJ^ A Complete Body of Divinity . Part III. of deltroying their brethren, for whom Chrift died : how much more deservedly may this accufation be brought againft fuch as lay flumbling-blocks in the ways of others, by doing adlions, and propagating notions notorioufly and confefledly finful ; and how juftly may they be charged with being coadjutors to Satan, who was a murderer from the beginning, in compafling the de- ftruftion of the fouls, as well as copartners with him, in thofe things which other men commit through their inftigation. Pofitive Thj^se are fome of the fms, together with the fprings and ciuded!"" pafiions that engage us in them (fuch as pride and covetoufnefs, luft and jealoufy, malice and revenge) forbid in this command- ment ; and the pofitive duties which it requires of us ' are, to do all we can for the fafety and prefervation of our own and our neighbour's life ; if they are fick, to advife and afTift them with our money and our fervice ; if they are well, to prevent their quarrels, and make up their differences ; if they are needy, to feed and clothe them ; if we have injured them, to make them all reafonable fatisfadtion ; if they have injured us, freely to forgive therti ; if they are good men, to encourage them in the ways of virtue ; if they are bad, to eixleavour to reclaim them ; * putting on bowels of mercies (as the apoftle's exhortation is) kindnefs, humblenefs of mind, meeknefs, long-fufFering, for- bearing and forgiving, and " reftoring one another in the fpirit of meeknefs, confidering ourfelves, left we alfo be tempted. T Seventh Commandment. Thou Jhalt not commit adultery. HE word adultery, in this commandment, muftbeunder- ftood * in its moil extenfive fignification, as including all ads of uncleannefs under this grofieft and moft pernicious in- ftance of it : and therefore, after we have confidered the nature and flagitioufnefs of this in particular, we fliall take a curfory view of the reft, and fo proceed to treat of them all together. Adultery, Adultery is properly a violation of the marriage-bed, when what. either one or both of the married parties commit folly in Ifrael, either with a perfon married to another, or with one that is not married. Cuftom indeed, which gives a currency to words, has in a manner appropriated the title of adultery to the falfe- nefs of the wife, and the wickednefs of him who deludes hefr to it ; but, ': fmce the terms of the matrimonial covenant are equally obligatory, and the wife, according to the divine char- ter, has no; lefs power over her hufband's body, than her huf- band s Wake on the Church Catechifm. tCol. iii. 12, &c. uGal. vi. i. •The original word, which our tranflators reftrain to committing adultery, comprifes all kinds of lewdnefs; and even tMokbeueh:, m the Grzck, imports not only adultery, in the ftrideft fenfe, but fornication likewife. Edwards's Body of Divinity, Vol. If. and Horneck's Sermons, Vol. II. xTowerfon on the commandments. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Jmws, &c. 239 band has over her's; the hufband's offence muft be equally chargeable with the violation of the contraft, which was mu- tual ; and confequently, with the fin of adultery ; though it cannot be denied, but that the confequences of the wife's perfidi- oufnefs are much more fatal. It can hardly be thought, but that the folemnity of the rite of marriage which was inltituted by God in the (late of man's innocence Ihould make every infraction of it detellable, did not the fliaiTielefs iniquity of the age feem to make nothing of it, un- lefs it be now and then to furnifli out a fubject for banter and ridicule. But (to confider the thing, with relation to the mar- ried parties) y is it nothing, nay rather, is it not a crime of a Ths hci- very flagitious nature to defpife the inftitution of Almighty God, noufiiefs and to make a feparation there, where he intended the itrifteft ° ^ " unity > Is it nothing to violate that faith, without which the peace of families, and in them the peace of human focieties, cannot fubfift ? Is it nothing to rob one another of that comfort and communion which they have fo mutually, and fo infepa- rably made over, that there is no transferring it elfewhere ? Is it nothing to give the greatell occafion to grief and unealinefs, the greateft temptation to malice and revenge, where love and tendernefs only Ihould interfere ; and where the greateft ho- nour fliould be fhewn, there to expofe each other to reproach and infamy, to their rival's fcorn, as well as the drunkard's jeft? And, laftly, is it nothing on the man's part to divert his fubftance from its proper channel to the maintenance of a ftrange woman, and the product of her luii: ; and, on the woman's, to make a baftard-brood inherit the eftate of the legitimate, and, by her loofe condudt, to bring thofe that are legitimate under the general fufpicion and negled: of their father ; to fay nothing of the profanation of the greateft myftery of our holy religion, even the union of Chrift and his church, which is reprefented by marriage ? Men may extenuate this fin as they pleafe, fcorn the ihame, and ftupify the fenfe of it, as Solomon brings in the adulterous woman, * wiping her mouth, and faying, What evil have I done ? But he that confiders things without prejudice, muft needs conclude, that the crime muft be very black, and the falfehood very foul, which is the unhappy parent of fo much in- juftice, fraud, and cruelty, breach of oath, and breach of mo- defty, and what brings ruin and deftrudlion upon fo many wor- thy families. Nor is the fin lefs, if we confider it, with relation to fuch as tempt others to violate their conjugal faith. For, befides that, they give occafion to all the evils which are the confequents of the married perfon's fali'ehood ; they not only injure the wo- man, ^ by engaging her in a courfe of injuftice and perjury, wherein y Towerfon on the Commantlajents. *" Trov. xxx. 23. z Edwards's Body ©i" Divinity, Vol. Ji. 140 A Complete Body of Divinity, Part III, The dan- ger of it. Other kinds of . unclean- liiefs. wherein flie may continue to the end of her days perhaps, and then certainly to the ruin of her immortal foul ; » but do the greatefl: wrong to the man, by depriving him of that love and affeftioii to which both divine and human laws have given him an unalienable right, and wherein perhaps he places the chief of his contentment and felicity. The misfortune is, that though this be one of the greateft and moft irreparable wrongs that can be done to any man, yet fuch is the humour of this wicked ge- neration, that it is leaft of all commiferated. The adulterer applauds himfelf, and makes it a matter of his triumph and hap- py acquifition ; and the world is generally malicious enough to impute it to fome hidden default, and throw the blemiih upon the fufFerer's reputation ; and therefore well it were, if (where all fenfe of injury fails) the fear of punilhment, which by the Jewifli law was t- capital, with us is penal, ' in the primitive limes was hardly pardonable, and, * even among heathen na- tions, has been attended with circumftances more terrible than death itfelf ; nay, well it were, if the terrors of the Lord, who has threatened to maintain the honour of his own inftitution, and all bold contemners of it « to exclude from the kingdom of heaven ; would rellrain men from a fm which involves them in endlefs fnares and troubles, the fufFerance of affronts, agonies of fear, and amazements of difcovery ; which waftes thefubfiance, blafts the reputation, very often fears the confcience under a Ihte of final impenitence here, and (without great regret, and a very fevere repentance) ^ leads down to the chambers of death and hell hereafter : fo true is that of the wife man, s whofo com- mitteth adultery lacketh underftanding : he that doeth it, de- fh'oyeth his own foul : a wound and diflionour fliall he get, and his reproach Ihall not be wiped away. It will not, I hope, be expe£i:ed that we fliould defcend to a minute examination of the fin of polygamy, fornication, con- cubinage, rape, inceft, felf -pollution, fuch exceffive and preterr- natural luft, as either is tranfafted between any perfon and a beaft, or between two perfons of the fame fex ; for which the names of Sodom and Gomorrah are only remembered, as juftly deftroyed by the divine vengeance for their horrid obfcenity. What can hardly be mentioned without a bluih, cannot well be explained with decency : and therefore (to comprife them all under the general head of uncleannefs, and treat of them ha fcripture-language, which is fingularly chafte and modeft) ^ let fornication and ail uncleannefs not once be named among you,, as becometh faints ; neither filthinefs, nor foolilh talking, nor jefting, which are not convenient. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean perfon, hath any inheritance in ^ the a Fiddes's Body of Divinity, Vol. 11. b Lev. xx. lO. c Cave's Primitive CljrUliaiiiry. d Towerfon on the Commandments. e i Cor. vi. 9, Sjc. and Gal, V. 19, 21. Ileb. xiii. 4- f Prov- v. 5. g Ibid, vi- 32, 33. h Eph. v. 3, &c. jChap. IV. Of the Jewish Laws, &c. I41 the kingdom of Chrift and God, : let no man deceive you with fair words (let wits fay what they will in defence or mitigation of this crime) ye know, that becaufe of thefe things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of difobedience. For did not xhe iudg- he, before the law, deilroy the cities of the plain, and ' fet them ments of forth for an example, making them, in fome fenfe, a figure and ^"'^ "P°° reprefentation of hell, even becaufe they gave themfelves up to fornication, and going after flrange fieHi ? Did not he, under the law, command the rulers and princes of Ifrael to be ^ hung up againft the fun, becaafe they themfelves committed whore- dom with the daughters of Moab, or connived at thofe that did fo ? And does not he, under the gofpel, declare («harghig us at the fame time not to be deceived) that ' neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abufers of themfelves with mankind, (hall inherit the kingdom of God ? . •" The Jews indeed, with their falfe glofies and interpreta- The5r re- tions, adulterated this very command, and gave a great latitude pugiancy to luft and lacivioufnefs; among the Gentiles, not only their ^"jjl^j"^' poets reprefented their gods in a lewd and wanton drefs, but even " fome of the greateft and graved of their philolophers favoured incontinence both in men and women ; and it is too well known that- the Mahometan religion is the great millrefs and patronefs of uncleannefs, infomuch that the chief part of its heaven and paradife is placed in carnal embraces : but the reh- gion we profefs is of a quite different complexion ; it allows of none of thefe things, but enjoins the moft fpotlefs purity both of body and foul. We are not called to uncleannefs, but unto holinefs, and are therefore required, not only ° to abllain from flelhly lufls, v/hich war againft the foul ; but to p mortify our members which are upon earth, fornication, uncleannefs, inor- dinate alfedion, and evil concupifcence ; not only "J to Hee forni- cation, and to have no familiarity with any immodell perfon, but even to carry our nicenefs fo far as not to touch a garment pol- luted with the fieih ; to keep our body in fubjedlion to the fpi- rit, and carefully to avoid all temptations and incentives that may have a contrary tendency ; and for this reafon the catholic exhortation is, "^ let us walk honeftly, as in the day, not in riot- ing and drunkennefs, not in chambering and wantonnefs ; but put ye on the Lord Jefus Chrill, and make no provifion for the fleih, to fulfil the lufts thereof. That luft and intemperance • emafculate mens minds, enfeeble Some par- their bodies, propagate ficknefs and infirmities to their pofterity, ticular ar- andS^7"'*- i Jnd. ver. 7. k Numb. xxv. i, &c. 1 i Cor. vi. 9. m Edwards's Bod) ot them. Divinity: Vol. W. n Thus Tully dctends meretricious amours, in his Oration P. M. Coelio. Plutarch has liis f/uo//it«.r, or Love-difcourff, not befitting fo grave an author; and Plato's Eros p.wdikos, or, Love for Boys, though it be r^rel^ed up fometimes in a kind of chafte and Socratic way ; yet, at others, it appears open and barefaced, and is, indeed, unfufferaiile. Edwards, ibid. oiPet. ii. II. pCol.iii. 5. q i Cor. vi. 18. r Rom. xiii. 13, I4« s Wake's S^jpofuion of the Church Catecjiifmf 142 A Complete Body Divinity. Part III. and are enemies, in Ihort, to all ferious counfeJs and generous aclions, are arguments which heathen moralifts have fometimes made ufe of againft fuch enormities : but the apoflle has advanced confiderations that are intirely new, and fuch as the world knew nothing of before the coming of Chrill. ' Every fm, fays he, that a man doeth, is without the body, /. e. all other fms (fuch as theft, murder, &c.) are aded outwardly, have fomething without for their objefts, and the body only for their inflrument ; but he that committeth fornication, or any other aft of carnali- ty, finneth againft his own body, " or (as it is better rendered) linneth in his own body. /'. e. the body itfelf is the individual part which is injured and abufed ; whereupon he argues, * Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Chritt ? (by that myftical union which is between him and his church) Shall I then take the members of Chrift, and make them the members of an harlot ? God forbid : know ye not that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghoft I And Ihall we take the temples of the Holy Ghoft, and. make them dens of impure lufts ? God forbid. Other people, that are not acquainted with the nature of the chriftian covenant, may think it left to their liberty to dilpofe of themlelves and their bodies as they pleafe ; but ye are not your own, but bought with a price, therefci e glorify God in your body, and in your fpirit, which are God's. Inwardlufl: OuR bleffed Saviour has carried the fenfe and import of this forbid. commandment, even to the hidden defires and purjjofes of the heart, when he tells us, " ye have heard what has been faid by them of old time, i. e. the Scribes and Pharifees, who, by their traditions and narrow explications, contracted the feventh com- mandment, vainly fuppofmg that where there was no outward aft of lewdnefs, there could be no adultery ; but I fay unto you, that whofoever looketh on a woman to luft after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart, /'. e. y ** Who- *^ foever allows his eyes the liberty of gazing upon a woman, *' with an intention of kindling in himfelf,or her, lafcivious and *^ unchafte defires ; or whatfoever woman adorns herfelf out *' of a dcfign of railing an unlawful paflion in the breaft of a *' beholder ; he or Ihe, though they only indulge themfelves ** in luftful w'ifhes and imaginations, without proceeding to any '' unlawful aft, are adulterers in the efteem of God, and will *' accordingly be punillied." It muft be obferved, however, with relation to thefe words and their explication, that as bare looks cannot well be avoided, and the paflTions which God hath implanted in us are not origi- nally finful, no nor the firft rifmg of an impure thought, fup- pofmg it to be inftantly fupprelted ; fo what our Saviour here fpeaks of is not any natural defire, or unavoidable infirmity, but a luftful t I Cor. y\- i8. u For c'ls is here oppofed to ektos, without. * I Cor. vi- ij, 8;c. xMatth. V. 27, ^S. y Gardener's Sermons. Chap. IV. Of the Jewi sh La-ws, &c. 143 luftful inclination, blown up into a flame by our own encou- i-agement and fond indulgence. ^ When a man, for inftance, purpofes to folicit a woman to that which God accounts an abomination, or wiflies to enjoy the dangerous love of a perfon to whom he has no matrimonial relation ; when his defires lan- guiOi, becaufe he cannot gratify the bale luft which the naughti- nefs of his heart, and the temptations of the wicked one fuggeft-; when he feeds himfelf with impure imaginations, with obfcene pictures and images of the perl'on upon whom his heart is fet ; he then becomes a fecret adulterer or fornicator, and muft expect the fame condemnation with thole that are outwardly fo. It is the adl of the will which makes any thing ilnful ; and therefore, when a loofe heart fends out the eye to pimp for its debauched defires (as * one exprefTes it) and a roving imagination pleafes and entertains itfelf with the fpeculation of a vice which itwiihes for an opportunity of pradlifing ; in this cafe, fornication and adultery are really committed in the heart : fo far as the finner dares to go, he goes ; he has the enjoyment of a corrupt fancy, and the defilement flicks upon his confcience : his fpirit, the heft part of him, is debauched ; and no thanks to any vircue in him, if his body is not fo tocf. If therefore we would preferve ourfelves from the violation Preferva- of this command, we muft, in the firft place, follow the wife „^i^^ i^] man's advice, ^ keep your hearts with all diligence, becaufe out of them are the iffues of life ; then, fortify our minds with pro- per confiderations, how great, how dreadful, how heinous, how dangerous, adultery, fornication, lafcivioufnefs, and all manner of uncleannefs is ; and fo keep a ftricl: guard upon our eyes, and, according to holy Job's expre/Tion, <= make a covenant with them, left at any time they draw us into thefe commifTions : avoid, with abhorrence, all unclean thoughts, all obfcene books, or pid:ures, or whatever elfe may raife unchafte ideas in the mind : d let no corrupt communication proceed out of our mouths : flop our ears to all lewd talk, amourous fongs, or indecent jefls, and Ihun the company of fuch as are addicted to them ; avoid- ing, at all times, eafe and idlenefs, luxury and drunken'nefs, and whatever tends to nourifli and inflame the paflions ; and betak- ing ourfelves conftantly to prayer, to working, and fafting, and whatever other feverities are of ufe « to crucify the flelh, with its affections and lufts, ^ to keep under the body, and bring it into fubjedion, left by any means we fhould become caft-aways. Eight z Horneck's Sermons, Vol. 11. a Gardener's Sermons. b Prov. iv. 23. c Job xxxi. I. il Eph. iv. 29, c Gal. v. 24- f i Cor. ix. 27, 144 A Complete Body of Dlvimty, Part in. The foun- dation of property. I Eighth Commandment. Thou /halt not Jleal. N this commandment our civil rights and properties are guarded againft all open or fecret invafions, as in the two foregoing ones, our perfons, and the perfons of fuch as are re- lated to us are fecured againft violence and luft. But becaufe fome have made it a queltion whether there is any fuch thing as right and property in the world, it may not be amifs to pre- mile ; that s whereas Almighty God, by the word of his power, at firft created, and ftill preferveth all things ; all things that are, muft needs be his, and fubniitted to his difpofal : and there- fore whatever any man has, whether houfes, or lands, or cattle, or money, the goods and riches (as men call them) of this life ; or howfoever he came by them, whether by inheritance, gift, or purchafe, by his wit or valour, by any office or calling, by his care or induftry, or any other lawful way, they muft be fuppofed to come originally from God : and though God re- ferves to himfelf his own propriety in them, fo that he may take them away again when he pleafes ; yet, whenever he gives any man the polTeirion of them, he thereby gives him fuch a right and title to them as makes them his own, in refpeft of all other men ; infomuch that no man has any thing to do with them but only he ; and he alone is to give an account of the ufe of them to God, from whom he received them, and under whom he holds them. The diflfe- As therefore God is the great proprietor of the world, and rent kinds quj- polfefrions are the fruit of his donation ; fo, to fecure and ® ^ ^ ■ confirm to every one the civil right and ufe of what he has put in his hand, he has been pleafed to make and publifh this law, to be obferved by all mankind, Thou /halt not Jleal : that is to fay, h thou (halt not take from another man any thing that is his, or what God has, given him : thou (halt not take it by force or by fraud, openly or clandeftinely ; for we muft not underftand the prohibition to relate only to what we commonly call theft or robbery, but to every unlawful and indirect way, whereby we intrench upon our neighbour's right ; whether it be by for- gery, perjury, or the fubornation of witnefles in the courts of judicature ; by lying, diifembling, or concealing the truth ; by defrauding, cheating, or over-reaching in any contract or bar- gain ; ' by borrowing or otherwife contracting debts we never intend to pay ; by engaging for others above what v/e are able or is fitting for us to anlwer ; by opprelfing the needy, and ex- torting from fuch as we know we have power to over-bear ; by vvith-holding the wages of the hireling, and any ways wear- ing g Beveridge on the Church Catechifm. h Ibid, i "Wake's Expofition of the Church Catechifm, aud Towerfou on the Cummandments. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish LanuSj kz* 145 ingthofeout by delays that have ajaft claim upon us. To this \ve may add the whole myftcry of ruining eftates and families, by the exorbitant rates of procuring, continuing, and advancing of money and intereft ; the trade of pawns, as it is commonly ma- naged, and the exoftions depending thereupon ; and, laftly, all fuch trades as live upon the vices and extravagancies of men, together with all other wicked and injurious ways of gain. Thefe, and whatever*"other practices are iubfervient or acceflary to the foregoing methods of injuliice and wrong, are violations of this command, and fall under the denomination of ftealing. ^ Let no man go beyond, or defraud his brother in any mat- The folly ter, is the exhortation of the apoftle, and the reafon he affigns g^ncT^'*' is this, becaufe the Lord is a revenger of all fuch. And well thereof, may he be a revenger of a crime, which is not only a violation of his authority, and a contradiiHiion to the eflential properties of his nature, but a bold ufurpation of his prerogative, and inva- fion of his province of beftowing his own where he pleafes. The difturbance and overthrow of human order and happinefs, the ruin and deflrud:ion of mutual truft and confidence (whereof juftice is the main pillar and fupport) are refledions that per- liaps feldom enter into the thoughts of fuch as make hafte to be rich ; but well it were if they would confider their own intereft in the purfuit, and the wife man's aflertion concerning the event of it ; • He that hafteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and confidereth not that poverty fliall come upon him . To better their condition and improve their fortune, to build their nefts on high, and raife themfelves above the contingency of want, is perhaps the chief defign of fuch as purfue any unjuffifiable me- thods of gain ; and yet, whether it is that God, in his righteous judgment, permits them to fall into the hands of cheats and op- prellors, and as they >" have fpoiled many people, themfelves to be defrauded and circumvented by others ; or that there is a fecret curfe attending all unjuft gains, which (as the prophet exprelTes it) « enters into the houfe of the thjef, remains there, and confumes the very timber and ftones thereof; but lb it is that the holy fcriptures have affured us that ° he who opprefleth the poor to increafe his riches, Ihall furely come to want ; and that, p as the partridge fitteth on eggs, and hatchcth them not ; fo he that getteth riches, and not by right, Ihall leave them in the inidit of his days, and at the end ihall be a fool : a fool, when ainidft his ill-gotten polfeflions, he Ihall find his confcience ex- pofed to perpetual trouble and difquiet, while eveiy thing he fees about him throws guilt in his face, and awakens fome dire reflection in his breaft : a fool, when upon his bed of ficknefs, his laft will and teflament fliall prefent him with a catalogue of uncancelled crimes, and almoft every penny he bequeaths put Vol. IL T him k 1 Tlief. jv. 6. 1 Prov. xxvjii. 22. jn Hab. ji. 8, &c. n Zech. v. 3, 4' o Proy. xxii. i6. p Jer. xTii. Jll. 14^ A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. him in mind of his approaching doom : and, laftly, a fool, when on the great day of accounts his fly tricks and ftratagems of in- julhce Ihall be expofed, and himfelf forced to acknowledge the hard bargain of allunjuO: acquifitions in this life, fure to incur, ! the penalty of damnation in the other : for fuch is the will and decree of God, that i neither thieves, nor covetous, nor opprefiTors, nor extortioners, ihall inherit the kingdom of heaven ; where- upon the polition of the wife man mult needs be a true inference and conclufion, that '^ better is a little with righteoufnefs than great revenues without right. The con- ^5 therefore we would not provoke God, injure our neigh- t\ll! "" hour, or undo ourfelves, it concerns us nearly to be true and juft in all our dealings, not willing to wrong or be acceifary to the wronging of any ; ' to render unto all their due; tribute to whom tribute is due, cufconi to whom cuftom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour ; to be careful to provide a com- petent fubfiftence for our families, and, in order thereunto, to be diligent in the purfuit offome honefl: and ufeful calling; to be frugal and faving of what God has given us, moderate and prudent in our expences, punftual in the payment of our debts, and charitable in our relief of the poor ; in all our intercourfes, in ihort, with other men to adhere to that ftandardofrighteouf- nefs which our great mafter has given us, * of doing to others as we would they fiiould do unto us ; or if in any other inftance we have tranfgrefled againfl it, to have recourfe to that other rule which his apoftle has fet us, ' let him that dole fteal no more, but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Ninth Commandment. Thoujloalt not bear falfe ivitnefs again Jl thy neighbour. The fenfe '' | ^HE word ivitncfs, in its primary fenfe, « is a judicial term, "^ [^'^ X injporting the teftimony which is given in courts of judi- cature for the decilion of controverfies in matters of capital or higfi concernment : and to bear faife wirnefs againfl our neigh- bour is to depofe any thing upon oath, or ^ by way of folemn affirmation in legal proceedings to the prejudice of his life or fortune, when we know very well that fuch our depofition is contrary to the real fentiments of our minds, and given with a purpofe to impofe on thofe whom it may concern. But fmce there is a farther meaning of the words, wherein they are often ufed to fignify all extrajudicial teftimonies (in matters of lefs moment and common converfe) in fome degree afFeding the in- tereil q I Cor. vi. 10. r Prov. xvi. 8. sRom. xiii. 7, 8. * Matth. vii. 12. t Eph. iv. 28. u Nevvcombe's Catechetical Sermons, Vol. II. x An indulgence %vhich the la'v allows the people called Quakers. words. Chap. IV. C/ /^(? Jewi SH Laivs, &c. 147 tereft and reputation of our neighbour ; after we have confi- dered what is the principal intendment of the precept, viz. the forbidding faUe evidences in judiciary proceedings, we fliall exa- mine into fome farther instances wherein it is equally violated. y I. The ufe, or rather the necelFity of witnefles it) cafes of The fin of judicial inquiry, is abundantly nianifeft from a natural unwilling- ^^^f5 "''.'' nefs in mo(t men to confefs what oftentimes they have not the jmiiciai grace to abftain from committing ; and an inability in the wifeft cafes, judges to make a right determination, without a full knowledge of the flate of the controverfy, which can only be attained by the information of indifferent perfons : and therefore for a man (when ^ convened before a competent authority to declare what he knows) either to atteft a thing that is falfe, or conceal any thing that is true, when it tends to clear up and determine the matter in queftion, is a crime attended with the aggravations of being done in the moft folemn manner ; in contenjpt of the lavvs and of the reafons upon which perfons are empowered to take cognizance in fuch cafes ; in prejudice to the common good and happinefs of fociety, which can never be preferved without a due and confcientious regard to truth ; and in violation of the higheft and moft authentic fanclion that can be given to any tellimony, the laft ^ confirmation for an end of Icrife : befides the ruin •= that it many times brings upon the perfon againlt whom it is levelled ; the affiftance it lends his adverfary to ac- compliih his wicked defigns upon him ; and the obllruftion it gives the magiftrate (upon whofe lips mens lives and fortunes very often depend) in the jufl and impartial adminiftralion of juftice. P'or this reafon the tongue that bears falfe witnefs is commonly^called by the Rabbins the triple tongue ; for, accord- ing to them, it kills three ; him that fpeaks, him that hears, and him that is fpokenof: and for this reafon their law gives them thefe injunctions ; " be not witnefs againft thy neighbour without a caufe ; ^ put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witnefs ; and, upon the difcovery of any fuch injuflice, allows of the penalty of retaliation : = if a falfe witnefis rife up againft any man, and teffify agaiuft him that which is wrong, the judges fliall make diligent inquifition : and behold, if the witnefs be a falfe witnefs, and hath teftified falfely againft his brother, then fhall ye do unto him, as he thought to have done unto his brother. The truth is, there is fuch a complication of injuftice and vil- A falfe lany, of boldnefs and impiety ; fuch a bafe proftitution of con- p^h"fc evil, fcience, and deftruftion of the very ufe and ends of judicatures in this practice, ^ that every falfe and fuborned witnefs ought to be looked upon and detcfted as a public enemy, and common difturber y Towcrfon on tlic Coniinandments. z FitUies's Body of Divinity, Vol. IF. allcb. vi. 16. b Tnwei (on, ibid. Edwards's Body of Divinity, Vol. II. c Prov. XAW. 28. d K.xo> Some have made the ef- fence of a lie to confift in our thinking one thing and fpeaking another : but fince there lies no obligation on any one to tell always what he thinks ; fince thus to difcover all our thoughts is in many cafes highly imprudent, and in fome circumftances uncharitable and unjuft; a man may certainly, without lying, without fin, without offending God or wounding his own con- fcience, think of thofe things that he does not fpeak df; pro- vided he be careful to fpeak nothing but what he really thinks. Others therefore, by a lie, underftand a voluntary declaration of what is falfe ; but it is a miftake to think that the falfehood of what is fpoken is elTential to a lie, fince though a man ihould fpeak that which is really true, yet if, when he fpeaks it he thinks it to be falfe, he is without doubt guilty of the fin of lying J gTowerfon on the Coiiiraan;]ments, and Edwards's Body of Divinity, VoJ. II. h ilof. X. 4. Different Chap. IV. Of the Jew I m Larjs, Szc. 149 lying ; as, on the contrary, he that fpeaks what eventually proves falfe, if, when he fpeaks it, he thinks it to be true, is cer- tainly not chargeable with this crime : and therefore others with more juftnefs have concluded that the nature of lying con- fiils ' in the intention of the fpeaker to deceive by his fpeech ; Wherein and that whether what is faid be in itfelf true or falfe ; whether "^ ny^1[Js. it agrees with the thoughts of him who fpeaks it or not ; yet, if it plainly tends to deceive the hearer ; if he who fpeaks it perceives the tendency and ufes it to this end ; however difguifed it is, or under whatfoever forms it be exprelfed, it is to all in- tents and purpofes a lie, involving the fpeaker in the guilt of lying, and expofmg him to the punilhment threatened againlt liars. ^ No benefit would accrue to fociety by fpeech, unlefs men by an exprefs or tacit covenant had agreed, or unlefs by fome fuperior and antecedent law they were obliged, whenever they profefs to open their minds one to another, to do it with fince- rity. They may conceal their fentiments indeed when no one has a right to know them by filence ; but whenever they make ufe of words, they pretend thereby to difcover their thoughts, and are therefore falfe to their brethren if they do not really perform what they pretend. ' Every man has a natural right to truth ; and to communicate in our real fentiments, if fo be we think it fit to reveal our fentiments at all: and therefore ItsheJaouP when in our declarations, promifes, or profeflions, there is a "^^^* repugnancy between what we fay and what we think; ■" when by our fpeech we intend to impofe upon the credulity of others ; when we abufe the trufl; and confidence that they have in us, fo far as to deceive them at the very mon)ent we pretend to inform them aright ; when we willingly, knowingly and deli- berately, under a pretence of dilcloling oiu* thoughts unto them, ftudy to miflead and mifguide them ; fuch a foul prevarication as this is inconfjilent with the laws of God, and with the rulci of common honefty ; it is an aft of great bafenefs and difinge- nuity with regard to ourfelves ; of great injuftice and unchari- tablenefs to our neighbour ; and of great boldnefsandprefump- tion againfl: the omnifcient God, who fearches our reins and hearts : and therefore the fcripture afiures us that " as a lie is a foul blot to him that ufes it, fo it is " an abomination to the Lord, and p a matter of deteftation to the righteous : that, con- fequently, 1 it excludes from happinefs and conligns ^ to the lake which burneth with fire and brimftone ; for ' a falfe wit- nefs ihall not be unpunished, and he that fpeaketh lies ihall not efcape. " But i South's Sermons, Vol. I. and Smallridge's Sermons, k Sniallridge, ibid. ITlic Whole Duty of Man. m Sniallridge, ibid, n Ecclus. xx. 24. o Prov. xii. 22. p Ibid. xiii. 5. t] Fev. xx. 15. r Ibid. xxi. 8. s Prov. xix. 5. 150 A Complete Body of Divinity. -Part III. Anoffici- '' But may not he efcape * who, to do a kind office rather ous he. u j.f^2n an injury ; to appeafe (for infl-ance) thofe that are angry ; *' to comfort thofe that are dejedled ; to difluade wicked men " from evil purpofes ; or to excite good men to commendable " adlions ; to fave the life of a dear friend, or preferve an ex- *' cellent perfon from perifiiing ; may. not he, I fay, now and *' then deviate from truth, and fpeak otherwife than he thinks, " in order to attain thefe good and commendable ends?" A very learned and judicious " divine of our church gives us a full Not allow- and peremptory anfwer to this queftion. We know not a not^fo fm- g'"^^"^^^ good> fays he, (for there is not a greater good) than the ful. g^ory of God ; we fcarce know a leffer fjn (if any fin can be ac- counted little) than an harmlefs officious lie : yet may not this be done even for the fake of that. Wilt thou fpeak wickedly for God, and talk deceitfully for him ? fays Zophar to Job ; (where the queftion certainly implies the full force of a prohi- bition) and if we may not fpeak deceitfully for the glory of God, then certainly not for any other inferior end : not for the faving of a life ; * not for the converfion of a foul ; not for the peace of a church ; and (if even it were poffible) not for the redemp- tion of the world : for no intention of an end can warrant the choice of finful means to compafs it. * Officious lies are, without all doubt, much lefs flagitious, much more excufeable than mifchievous ones ; but they may ftill be fins, though not fo heinous : they are certainly faults if they want to be excufed. And therefore, though we are difpofed eafily to forgive thofe who never allow themfelves to fpeak what is falfe, but when they may do their neighbour a good turn by it ; yet we cannot but efteem and commend, and reverence thofe perfons, and pay a more intire deference to their word, who think it not allow- able to fpeak that which is falfe in any cafe, or for any end whatever. Evil-fpeak- 2. ANOTHER inftance of bearing falfe witnefs is fuch evil feverd fpcaking in general, as tends to leuen the reputation and in- kiniisof it. create the reproach and difparagement of our neighbour : And this, y whether the things related be true or falfe ; fpoken to the face or behind the back ; in exprefs terms, or by way of in- finuation ; in a ferious or in a jocular manner. If the thing be falfe and we know it, it is downright calunmy ; if we know it not, but only take it upon the report of others, it is neverthe- lefs flander. If the thing be true and we know it, it is defama- tion, as prejudicing our neighbour's good name ; if fpoken to his face (which feems to be more generoiw) it is reviling; if be- hind t The Papifts are of opinion that officious lies are venial fins; the Socinians that they are allowable, bccaufe they hurt nobody, and many times do a great deal of good ; and fome of our own divines, that in fome cafes, and for fume ends they are juflifiabie ; but all this feems to be a grofs niftakc. Edwards's Body of Divinity, Vol. II. u Sanderfon ad Clerum, Ser. II. ''Ad Sempiter- rani falutem millus ducendus eft, opitulantc mendacio. Aug. dc Mend. C. 10. and Rem- iii. 3. x Sni2l!r;dsc's Sermons, y Tillotfon's Sciiacns, Vol. I. Chap. IV. C/ //; fmce all men (efpecially men of honour and honefty) do, from a necellary initinft of nature, efteem a good name beyond all temporal enjoyments, and hold it more dear and precious than their very lives ; the man that either openly or clandcftine- ly deprives them of it, does them as much wrong as if he had robbed them of their fubflance or malicioufly taken away their lives. Since ^ all men (efpecially men of merit and abihties) Both to the defire to be ufeful and condderable in the fociety wherein they faifeiing live, and can hardly attain to that end without prefervhig a fair P^'^^"» reputation in the world, the man who fullies or defaces that, puts fo many bands and yokes upon them ; he lays an embargo upon their promotion, and cramps the linews of their endea- , vours to rife. For it is impofiible that the greateil merit Ihould ihine forth with a due lulhe when calumny and reproach have effect ually obfcu red it. Bk the report never fo unjuft, all men have not time, and few will give themfelves trouble to inquire into the grounds of ft : many Will be pleafed with the mifreprefentation from fome agreeable humour or turn of wit in it; and fome from a na- tural inclination to depreciate fuperior merit, fometimes from a niotive of envy or revenge, and on certain occafions of intereft and competition, will not dillike it. 1 hus the llory will have a free paiTage given it ; ' and, as a poifonous vapour fometimes in- fers a whole city or country, fo a calumny, once let. forward and meeting with fo general an encouragement, will be apt not only to fpread itfelf wide, but the wider it fpreads the more to increafe its malignity. Little therefore does the firft author of ^"^ '".* it know to how vafl: an account the injury he has done may ^*^ ^"^^' fwell ; and lefs is he able to make a valuable fatisfaftion to the fufferer for an indignity, that not only lies heavy upon the per- fon himfelf while he lives, but ^ defcends to his children and pollerity : becaufe the good or ill name of the father is derived down z Ecclus. xxviii. i8, &c. a Barrow's Works, Vol. L bFiddes's Body of Divinity, Vol. II, c f icides'* Sermons, d TUlotfon's Scrinops, Vol. Ii ftances of it. 152 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part llf* down to them, and many times the beft thing he has to leave them is the reputation of an unblemiihed virtue and worth, which the mouth of the flanderer labours to deftroy. The mad- The wife king of Ifrael, therefore, confidering the lafling aefsofit. -j^^j irreparable injury and injuftice which flander and defama- tion bring upon any perfon, compares men, whofe pleafure lies that way, to thofe that are really diftrafted ; = as a madman, lays he, who cafteth out fire-brands, arrows and death : fo is he that f defameth his neighbour, and faith, Am I not in fport? It is wild mirth, however, which is the mother of grief to thofe whom we fhould tenderly love ; and a cruel and unnatural fport it is to play with a man's good name, and expofe his charader to be baited as it were for the laughter and entertainment of the company. The reputation is too noble a facrifice to be offered to raillery ; e and a good too dear and precious, and withal too tender and brittle to be handled with levity, or proftituted to any one's diverfion. Other in- 3. There are fome other inftances of bearing falfe witnefs againft their neighbour reducible to this commandment ; fuch as, I . detradlion, ^ which confifts in reprefenting his perfon and adlions in the moft difadvantageous view ; impairing his good quahties, improving his defeds, and interpofing exceptions to all his commendations. 2. Flattery, the oppodte extreme, which hides and palliates his vices, and raifes and enhances his virtues, in order to footh his vanity, and increafe his felf-conceit. And, 3. All falfificatioa of our words, either in contradis or promifes, which cannot but have a^manifeft tendency to his pre- judice and difappointment. and the po- These are fome of the principal tranfgreffions againft this ties arif nff P^'^^^pt » ^^^ ^^^ pofitive duties that feem to be included in it frvra it. are ; » to be religioufly ftridl, both in civil and judicial matters ; to fpeak nothing but the truth ; and be very exadt in our de- livering and delcanting upon it, that we give no occafion to miftakes ; to allow every one their due ; to report nothing that may tend to their difgrace, nor detradl any thing from their juft efteem ; to vindicate their reputation, as far as we fairly can, and to hold our tongues, at leaft not to aggravate their . faults, where we cannot ; to be fincere in our promifes and con- trails, in our praifes and commendations, as well as our admoni- tions and reproofs ; bearing always in mind that folemn, that awful declaration of our Lord and Mafter, ^ Every idle word (and much more every flanderous and detracting, every hurt- ful and pernicious word) that men Ihall fpeak, they Ihall give an account thereof at the day of judgment ; for by thy words thou fhak be juftified, and by thy words thou fhalt be condemned. Tenth e Prov. xxvi. 18. f So the LXX render it. g Barrow's Works, Vol- 1, b Ibid, i Wake oa the Church Catechifm. k Mattfa. iii. 56, 37. chap. IV. C/M^ Jewish taivs, ^c* 153 Tenth Commandment. Thou /halt not covet thy neighbour's houfcy &c* THIS commandment is the laft of the fecond table ; and Why this as the other (which, in fome refpedt, are reducible to it) command- do, in their hteral fenfe, relate only to our external aftions : in "^^"tlaft. this we are directed how to regulate what is the internal fpring and movement of all we do, our defires and inclinations : and the wifdom of God thought proper to place it here, not ' only to be a fupplement and recapitulation, but a fecurity and guard, as it were, to the red ; being well aware, that, as no man cau keep the other except he keep this ; fo a due fenfe and obfer- vation of this, would make the performance of all the other eafy. There feems however to be a miflake in thofe who imagine in that this precept is chiefly intended to reftrain the firft motions and ftirrings of lin (called by the divines concupifcence) which arifes in the fenfual appetite, previoufly to any deliberate zd: of ,>^ the intelleft, or content of the will. Whether the firfl motions of concupifcence which arife in our minds fuddenly, and with- out any previous or fubfequent confent, are, in a proper fenfe, criminal, is not fo well agreed : but admitting they be finful, and that, by an eafy way of arguing, they may be reduced to this commandment ; yet, fmce the other commandments which forbid all fenfual afts do equally forbid the principle from whence they arife : the thing which feems here chiefly and properly to be prohibited is an unlawful and inordinate defire of that which by right and property belongs to another : and in contrapoli- tion to this, the thing that feems chiefly to be recommended is to be content, and fully fatisfied with that portion of outward things which the good providence of God has been pleafed to beflow on us, without envying, or greedily defiring the poITef- fions that are our neighbours. So that the commandment, both as to its negative and affirmative fenfe, refolves itfelf very properly into this double exhortation of the apoftle ; " Let your converfation be without covetoufnefs, and be content with fuch things as ye have. CovETousNESS indeed is an odious name, which moft: ftien All covet- are afhamed to own ; but all covetoufnefs is not criminal, nei- i''gnotfiw' thcr is the defire of what is another's, fo long as it keeps within due bounds, unallowable. "It is a natural, it is a necelTary paffion in us ; and we may as well expert light not to fhine, or tire not to burn, as that the reprefentation of a good which we want, and may have from another, Ihould not affedt us, and Vol. II. U make 1 Barrow on the Decalogue. m Sanderfon ad Aulani, Ser. S. n Helfc xiji. 5. 0 Newcome's Catecb. SermoA's, Vol. II. 154 ■^ Complete Body of Div'tnity. Part III, make ua wifli and defire to obtain it. The profit of commerce, the income of induftry, the reward of arts and fciences^ are the common fpur and incentive to mens endeavours : thefe things they prefent to their thoughts, and fet before their expectations ; and yet thefe things, for the mod part, are the property of another. ' When, and j-p jg ^^^ therefore the defire, but the inordinacy of the defire, cafrit is. ^^^^ ^^^ under the prohibition in this precept, p When men give up their minds and affedt^ions to fuch things, as, by the laws of God and man, the proprietor cannot ahenate ; to fuch things as are fo necelfary and beneficial to him, that without manifeft 'detriment, he cannot part with ; to fuch things as are the pe- culiar objects of his efteem and afFedion, and without great grief and trouble of heart, he cannot forego ; or, when they fuffer their ill-grounded defires to proceed fo far as to difcom- pofe their minds, and devour their eafe and felf-enjoyment ; to raife turbulent thoughts, and anxious refentments in their breaft : In fhort, when thej' have fo far fet their hearts upon what is another's, as to be reftlefs till they have it, and difcon- tented if they have it not, they then incur the fin of covetouf- nefs, properly fo called, even though they meditate (as yet) no Ahab's unlawful methods to obtain it. For this feems to be Ahab's ^^ ^' fin, in coveting Naboth's vineyard, that he could not reft him- felf fatisfied with all his own abundance, but fet his mind upon his neighbour's plot ; -'■ which, lying fo comraodioufly for him, irritated his defires to fuch a degree that, unlefs he might have it, he could no longer enjoy his own. ^ He had not as yet (as far as it appears from the hiftoi^y) any fettled purpofe or defign to wreft it from him by force, or to weary him out of it b)- un- juft vexations : he offered fair terms, either by purchafe or ex- change, to obtain it of him : here was neither fraud, nor vio- lence, nor yireatenings ufed : the whole outward carriage was civil, and the propofals reafonable : all the fault was v^'ithin, ■ and that fault confifted in his inordinate defire of what was not his own ; which inordinacy difcovered itfelf afterwards in the figns and effeds of a difcontented mind : ' he came into his houfe, heavy and difpleafed, laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. Ttie mif- This farther lefTon we may learn from Ahab's fubfeqiient confe- behaviour, that when once the fpirit of covetoufnefs has taken quences of pofTeflion of a man, it will not be long before it ftupifies his covetouf- confcience, and goads him on to the perpetration of any wicked- nefs, in order to accomplilh his defires. " If Naboth will part *' with his vineyard, he fhall have his price ; but, if he will *' not, another expedient muft be found out : letters muft be *' written, p Towerfon on the Commandments. ^ q — Ofi angulus ille Proximus accedat; qui nunc denormat agelluml-^HoR^ Sat. Lib* II> r 3anderfon ad Aulam» Ser. i- si Kings xxi. 4. mefs 'Chap. IV. .Cf the Jewijh Taws, &c. l^^ *' written, witnefles fuborned, jiiftice perverted, and an inno- " cent perfon (had not the fituation of l»is vineyard made him *<■ guilty) under a mock form of trial and much bafe hypocrify, *' accufed, condemned, and executed." To fuch lengths of mif- chief and flagitioufnefs will the indulgence of a vicious inordinate delire lead us, when the objeft we covet blinds our eyes, and the inftigations of Satan prompt us on ! Good reafon, therefore, had our blefled Saviour to give us fo ftrid a caution againft this fin above all other ; take heed, and beware of covetoufnefs j for look upon all the frauds that are pradifed every where among the fons of men ; take a fur- vey of all oppreiTions, the greater and the lefs opprelhons that are done under the fun, and you will find that moft of them owe both their firft birth and after-growth to this curfed root of covetoufnefs. ^ Extortion, bribery, flattery, calumny, per- jury, fmiony, facrilege, unjiift wars and fuits, falfe weights and meafures in n)arkets, falfe lights and wares in fhops, falfe pleas and oaths in courts, the coldnefs of charity, and perfidioufnefs of friends, the want of bowels, and bloodinefs of mind, do they not all come from hence ? And does not the frequency of thefe in the world unanfwerably convince the men of this generation of much injuftice and uncharitablenefs, in coveting other mens goods, and not being content with their own ? Contentment ° is fuch an acquiefcence of the mind in that Content- portion of outward things which we pofTefs, upon a pcrfuafion '"'^"^' of its being fufficient for us, * as makes us well pleafed with the condition we are in, and fufFers not the defire of any change, or of any particular thing we have not, to trouble our-fpirits, ' or difcompofe our duty. And to bring ourfelves to this frame of mind, it may not be improper to confider, — ^ That, as God Confidera- is the creator and preferver, and confequent'y the lord and..go- *n^"to it! vernor of all things, his right and prerogative it is to aflign i. From every man his ftation, and allot every man his portion, as he~God. judges moft convenient : that, as he is infinite in wifdom, and boundlels in goodnefs, y he both knows better than we do our- felves what condition is fitteft for us, and will be fure to appoint 'US what he efteems to be fo : »= that we ourfelves, as God's crea- 2. From tures, have no juft claim to any thing (all we have, or can have, """"felves. coming from the bounty of heaven) and therefore, how little foever is allowed us, have no wrong done us, nor any right to * complain ; that, as. we are his fervants, our work, our garb, our diet, how we are to be employed, and how accommodated, is t Sanderfon ad Aulam, Ser. 5. u Towerftin on the Commandments. * Pa- trick on Contentment, x Barrow's Works, Vol. ]II. Sermon 6. y Permittes ipfis expendere numinibus, quid Conveniat nobis, rebufque fit Utile noftris : Nam pro jucundis aptifliraa quseqne dabunt Dii. Charior elt illis iiom^, quam fibi.— Jt. y. Sat. x. 2 Barro\y, ubi fupra. 156 3. From the world. 4- From different conditions in life. 5 From fcrjj^ture promifes. 6. From examples of others. A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. is intirely at our mafter's difcretion ; and, as we are finners, any allowance is good enough, and better than we deferve : that this world, at bell, is but » a Ihort fcene, where every one is to aft fuch a part as the great mafler of the drama thinks fit to give him ; and that it matters not much, whether it falls to our fhare to aft the prince or the peafant, fo long as we per- form but handfomely what we are to do : that >> this world is but an inn, and ourfelves but palFengers, and therefore it need not much difturb us if our accommodations happen to be mean, fince it is but for a very fhort flay we have to make, and hea' ven, our native home, will make us a full amends when we come to our journey's end. What fl^ould we think on more ? Even what every day's experience teaches us, that "■ our life confifteth not in the abundance of the things that we poifefs : that contentment is rarely, more rarely to be found in afplendid, than in a moderate fortune : ^ that the things we naturally en- joy are greater in value, as well as more in number, than thofe we fancy we are in need of, to our happinels : that the gaieties we fo much admire, and without which we can hardly be eafy, are attended with a proportionable number of inconveniencies ; and that more cares, and fears, and dangers wait upon the fceptre than upon the fpade. Whatfliall we think on more? Even the fure promifes of God recorded in the fcriptures, that he will fupport us under our humble fortunes, or elfe make them ad- vantageous to us : that ' his eyes are upon them that fear him, to deliver their fouls from death, and to feed them in the time of dearth ; that ^ though the lions do lack and fuller hunger, yet they who feek the Lord Ihall want no manner of thing that is good ; and in fine, £ that all things fhall work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpofe. What fhall we think on more? Even the great examples that have gone before, to teach us the lefTon of contentment : that fome of the >> heathen moralifls, by the bare contemplation of the nature of God, and the ftate of their own dependence, have wrought themfelves up into a fpirit of refig- nation and refolved acquiefcence deferving our chriflian emula- tion ; a yicmnefo hoti hypokrrtes ei dratnatos hos an f<:lc ho dhLiJkahs, &c. Epic. Enchir. p. 23. b Sherlock on death, c Luke xii. 1 5. d Patrick on Content- ment, e Pf:il. xxxiii. 18, 19, f Ibid, xxxiv. 10. g Rom. viii. 28. h There is a yery remarkable palTase to this purpofe in Epic^efus. '* This is my bufi- *' nel's, iays the philofopher, to be found always void of paflion.— ^That I may " have it to fay to God ; Have I tranfgrefled at any time thy commandments? *' Have I abufed the faculties thou haft given me to other purposes ? Did I *' ever accufe thee J Did I find fault, on any occafion, with thy adminiftratio» " and government; 1 wasfick, becabfe it pleafed thee to have it: others v^ere •' fick too; but I willingly. I was poor, becaufe thou wouldeft have it fo: other« " were poor too, but T joyfully. 1 was not advanced to be a ruler, becaufe ♦ ' thou wouldelt not hiive me; but didi ever defire empire? Diiift thpu erer " fte rac the fjdder for wart of ir? Did I ever approach thee with a Icfs •' chcarfnl rri.uitt-oance? — ^I give thee all thanks that thou counteft me worthy ^' of the honour to fee thy works, and to uxid?rftand thy adminil^ratjcns»" Af-» tm, Lib, jii. c. 3. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laws, &c. 157 tion : that the gr6at apoftle of the Gentiles, ' in whatever ftate he was, had learned to be contented ; every where, and in all things, being inftruaed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and fufFer need ; and that our blefTed Saviour, the great Lord of the univerfe, when found in the falhion of a man, ■was never known to difcover the leaft uneaiinefs, ^ though foxes had holes, and the birds of the air had nefb, while himfelf had not where to lay his head. The proper refult of all thefe con- fiderations is, that ' we be careful for nothing, but in every thing, by prayer and fupplication, with thankfgiving, let our re- queltsbe made known unto God. These are the commandments of the fecond table ; and to a general enforce their obfervance, as well as enable us to difcharge them ruicforthe with more cafe and readinefs, I know no rule fo proper to be "*'^'" "^'r, Icrvjinccot recommended as that which our blefled Saviour has given us ; thcfe c«ia- " all things whatfoever ye would that men Ihould do unto you, mand- do ye even fo unto them ; for this is the law and the prophets. '"*"'*• To reftrain our minds from all covetous defires, fo as to fettle our contentment in what is our own ; to keep our tongues from all evil-fpeaking, fo as not to offend againfl truth and charity ; to keep our hands from all violence and wrong, fo as not to of- fend againil mercy and juflice ; to keep our bodies from riot and uncleannefs, fo as not to offend againft modefty and temperance ; * to regulate our conduft with relation to our neighbour, either in traffic, or any other intercourfe ; either as to his bed, his life, or any other part of his property ; to regulate our conduft ■with relation to our parents, our governors, our fuperiors, our equals, our inferiors ; and, in fliort, to go through the whole compafs of what we owe towards one another, what expedient can be devifed more proper than to bear always in mind this ftiort epitome of our duty, doing to other men as we would be done by ? * Let but a child, for inflance, a fubjeft, or a fervant, TTie excel- afk himfelf without partiality, what honour, what fubmiflion, ^"'^y '^ what obedience he would think was due to him, were he him- felf a father, a magiftrate, or a maflcr ; and bis anfwcr to this will be a rule for his own behaviour towards thofe that are lo related to him. This would reitrain us from an infolcnt or fur- ly carriage towards any one, from deipifing and ridiculing, from upbraiding and provoking our neighbour, if we do but leriouHy confider how ill we ourlelves would bear this from another. It would teach us to forbear and forgive, becaufe we defire, in our turns, to be forborn and forgiven ; and it would make us candid and good-natured, in putting the beft interpretation upon the words and anions of others, if we refleft but how reafon- able we think it that another Ihould deal fo candidly with us. In iPhil. iv. II, 12. k Matth. viii. 20. 1 Phil. iv. 6. m Matth. vii. u. * Gardener's Sermons, , 158 A Complete Body of Divinity, Part III. In a word, this is a. rule particularly fitted for praftice, as it involves in the very notion of it a motive ftirring us up to do •what it enjoins; and as it offers itfelf to our thoughts, and is ready for prefent ufe upon all exigencies and occafions ; info- much that no necelTity of adling can be fo immediate but that there may be time for a fliprt recourfe to it ; room for a fud- den glance as it were upon it in our minds, where (as « one elegantly expreffes it) it refbs and fparkles always, like the Urim and Thummim on Aaron's breaft. . » Human laws are often fo numerous as to efcape our me- mories; fo darkly fometimes, and inconfiilently worded as to puzzle our underftandings ; and their original obfcurity is many times improved by the nice diftindions and fubtle reafonings of thofe who profefs to clear them ; but this is a law attended with none of thefe inconveniencies. The groffeft minds can fcarce mifapprehend it ; the weakefl memories ai"e capable of re- taining it ; no perplexing comment can eafily cloud it : the autho- rity of no man's glofs upon earth can (if we are butlincere) fway us to make a wrong conftru6lion of it : y It is, in Ihort, an high- way (according to the prophet's expreflion) and the way-faring man, though a fool, fiiall not err in it. And as it is adapted to all capacities, fo it extends to all ranks and conditions of men, to the prince as well as the peafant ; and to ail kinds of acts and intercourfe between them, to matters of charity, generofity, and civility, as' well as juftice ; to negative no lefs than pofitive duties ; and in this refpeft our bleffed Saviour pronounces it to be the law and the prophets ; for fuch is its compafs and ex- tent, that whatever rules of the fecond table are delivered in the law of Mofes, or in the larger comments and explanation of that law, made by the other writers of the Old Teftament, they are all virtually contained in this precept, wherein every line of our duty relating to our neighbour centers ; and under which, as under one common head and principle, they may be all reduced and ranged. If therefore we are defirous to fulfil all the duties of righte- oufnefs, our furefl and moll compendious way will be to have this one precept engraven upon the tables of our hearts (as the wife heathen emperor had it on the walls of his palace) that from thence upon ewtry occafion we may tranfcribe it into our practice : for the praftice of this will anfwer all ; fince, ^ If there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this faying, namely. Thou fhalt love thy neighbour as thyfelf, and f!eal with him as thou woiildeft have thyfelf dealt with ; for love is the fulfilling of the law. SECT. u Attcrbury's Sermons, Vol. I. x Ibid, y Ifa. xxsv. 8. z Rom. xiii. % to. Chap. IV. Of i/^e J z-W I %H laws, 8cc. 159 SECT. m. Of the C I V I L L A w s . THE next fort of laws which God gave the Jews are com- monly called civil or judicial laws, and wei-e appointed for the rule of political government, the prefervation of peace, and the adminirtration of jnftice in that nation. But before we come to fpeak of thefe, it will be proper to premife foniething concerning the feveral forms of government which at different times obtained among the Jews, in order to perceive both how agreeable to fuch conftitutions their political laws were, and how far they mly be fuppofcd to affeft chrillian nations ever firice. Whether we fuppofe civil government to be a pofitive in- Th^pa^fj- ftitution of God, or only founded in the natural order and rea- ^gjum/^^ fon of things, it cannot otherwife be but that the firft form of it was paternal, and that Adam, while he lived, was, both in right, and, fo far as appears to us, in fa£l univerfal monarch, » Upon his death the fovereign power devolved to the next in blood, and fo fucceflively followed the right of primogeniture. After the Hood, and upon the difperfion of the fons of Noah, the patriarchal authority was ftill aflerted and prcferved, and feveral parts of the habitable world were at that time divided ^ to every one after his own tongue, after their families, in their nations. Upon the ufurpation of Nimrod, and much more after the confufion of languages, though there were frequent infraftions made upon this order of fuccedion, yet the patriarchal right was ftill recognized till the time of Abraham, who by God's appointment removed into the land of Canaan, and there governed his family and dependents with a full authority ; as indeed the patriarchal power was all along of as wide a fcope as any regal or fovereign power needed to claim ; for it con- ^f wh.n lifted in the right = of bleffing, <* of cui-fing, = of carting out of e^W"^- doors, f of excluding from the common right of inheritance, and in cafe of heinous offences of infliding capital puniihments ; as appears in the fentence of Judah againft Thamar, upon an accufation of her having committed adultery ; « bring her forth, and let her be burnt. During the time that the Jews fo- journed in Egypt, there were fome jemains of this patriarchal authority in the heads of the tribes, and therefore they are called >> the elders of the children of Ifrael, whom Mofes was commanded to gather together ; but when Ifrael came out of ^'hea ex- Egypt, and the houfe of Jacob from among flrange children, P^''* " God himfelf vouchfafed then to be their immediate head and king, and appointed Mofes to be his deputy ; fo that from this time a Fiddci's Body of Divinity, Vol. 11. b Gen. x. 5- « It»d- »*• *6- d Tbid. ver. 25. e Ibid. xxi. 10. f Ibid. »Iix. 27. g Ibid xsxviii. 24. b Exod. iii. 16. i6o Theocra- cy. A Complete Body of Dhintty. Part in. Ariftocra- cy. Judicial. time forward the patriarchal power was happily loft in the theocracy. That God was related to the Jews in a peculiar manner, and not as he ifi the univerfal ruler of the world, is manifeft ' from the diftinguiihing marks and glory of a fovereign which he was then pleafed to alfume. 1'he tabernacle which was placed in the middle of their camp in the wildernefs had there- by as much the appearance of a general's tent as of a temple ; that pillar which was fometimesdark and fometimes luminous was as it were the fignal which he gave them ; for ^ they marched at the commandment of the Lord, and at his commandment they pitched and kept guard about him. When the temple was built the Jews gave it the name of Hekal, which fignifies a pa- lace : the ark that was in it was the throne whe^eon he fat ; and the manner wherein he caufed himfelf to be ferved gave him ftill a greater appearance of fovereignty. As a king he had his captains, his foldiers, his guards ; he eftabliihed officers of all kinds ; referved to himfelf the tenths and firft-fruits of all things ; impofed a tribute upon every head ; made laws for no other end but his own worlhip : appointed priefts and Levites almoft innumerable to attend his fervice ; and required that all the firft-bo^n ihould be devoted to him : in fiiort, the moft pow- erful monarch upon earth cannot be attended with more order and magnificence than God was ferved with in the temple. 1 But though this republic had at this time no other fovereign but God, yet the Ifraelites who could not bear the glory of his prefence, and were terrified at the noife and thunder in the midrt of which he ihevved himfelf to them on mount Sinai, prayed him that he would not fpeak to them himfelf, but make ufe of the miniftry of Mofes, that he might be the interpreter of his will. Mofes accordingly (as the author to the Hebrews "» tells us) difcharged this important office with faithfulnefs ; but, to eafe the burden of the adminiftration, God commanded him to chufe out feventy aged and experienced perfons, who were afterwards called The Great Sanhedrim, to whofe autho- rity the tribes, the prophets and high-priefts were fubjeit, and whofe bufmefs it was not only to determine the weightieft civil caufes, but to arbitrate likewife in what related to religion ; fo that by this diftribution of the authority, the government put on the face of ariftocracy. After the Jews were in quiet pofleffion of the land of Ca- naan, they were governed by judges, » the tenor of whofe com- miffion was different in this refpeft, that, as they were called ta the adminiftration uponfome extraordinary exigence ; fo when the end for which they were called was effected, their power expired ; like that of the Roman dictators, who, when the par- ticular i Lamy's Tntroduftion. kNumb. ix. 18, — 23. Vulgat, 1 Lainy, ibid. m Chap. iii. 2. a f iddes's Body cf Pivinity, Vol. il. chap. IV. Of the Jewish Imws, Sec. i6i ticular occafion upon which they were created was over, returned again to then- former, and very often to a private manner of life. During their regency they were abfolute and independent, inverted with an authority equal to kings, but without the royal ftate and equipage. Their power, • in fhort, was like that of a general of an army, rather than the governor of a nation ; and for this reafon their office was not hereditary but conferred upon the perfon who was beft accompliflied and niofi: likely to anfwer the exigencies of Ibte. p This high and didatorial power being but temporary, and having fo frequent interruptions in it, gave the ordinary and inferior judges an op- portunity of growing remifs in the difcharge of their duty, not to fay corrupt, i Samuel indeed (who judged Ifrael all the R^ga? days of his life) was a good and vigilant magistrate ; but, in the decline of his age, being lefs capable of the adminiflration, he made his fons judges, who committed great diforders, and gave fuch offence to the elders of Ifrael that they afiembled toge- ther, and came to Samuel, at once remonftrating againft the male-adminiftration of his fons, and addrelling him to make them a king who might judge them in the manner they faw other nations governed. Samuel, with fome reluclance, and God with fome refentment, complied with the people's humour ; and fo a monarchy was introduced, but exceedingly mild and tempe- rate in its kind, if fo be the prince ruled according to the efta- blilhed laws. This form of government however expired, ■when the king and kingdom were fubdued, and the inhabitants carried to Babylon, after it had fublilted about five hundred years. Upon the return of the Jews from the Babylonifli captivity, and facer- ' the government was no longer regal, but rather facerdotal, ''"^^l go- for the high-prieft had the chief authority, though the lanhe- ^■^^"">^"^' drim, or great council of the nation, retained a great fhare of the power. This form continued, without any noted intermif- fion, about the fpace of four hundred and twenty years, and then the regal government was again introduced by Ariftobulus, one of the fucceflbrs of the Maccabees, but continued free and independent not above forty-fix years, when Pompey the Great, then general of the Roman army, coming down like a torrent upon the Eaft, fubdued the country, and made Palcftine a pro- vince of the Roman empire. From this Ihort review of the different forms of government The wif- which obtained in the Jewilh ftate, we may better perceive the 'lom of the great wifdom of thofe laws which were enadled for the fafety j^^^s-'" i"e- and prefervation of it. " With regard to the fovereign, as he the kin" is the head of the ftate, upon whcfe conducl the fafety of the fubjedl depends, Mofes took all the precaution imaginable to Vol. II. X prevent o Lewis's Antiquity of the Hebrew Republic, p Fiddcs's Body of Divinity, Vol. Ji;. q i Sata,. vii. 15. r Lewis, ibid, s Lamy,i Introduiflion. 1 62 A Complete. Body of Divinity. Piirt III,. prevent any or.e's being admitted to that dignity who was not a lover of virtue, and a ftranger to all vice. " It is fufficient '' for you, fays he to the people, Mn the words of Jofephus, '* that God be your fovereign ; but, if you fliould ever defire " to have a king, take care to chufe one of your own nation, *■* and one whom you fee inclined to juilice, and all other vir- ** tues. Whoever he be, let him have a greater regard to God '' and his laws than to his own underflanding : let him do no- " thing in oppofition to the high-priell and the fenate : let him " avoid having a great number of wives, great ftate and equi- *' p^ges, and heaping up immenfe riches; " left his heart be *' lifted up above his brethren ; and let him, in fhort, not '■'■ turn afide from the commandment, to the right-hand, or to *' the left." to the ad- ^g jo the adminiftratioH of juftice, the rules which Mofes tion of*' gave were excellent in their kind ; that * judges fliould not fuf- jufticc, fer themfelves to be corrupted with prefents ; » fhould not receive a falfe report ; > nor refpedt perfons in judgment, not * counte- nance a poor man in his caufe ; as to witneffes, ^ that one was not fufficient, but that three, at leaft two, were required in any point of important controverfy, and ihefe not women, becaufe of their natural levity ; nor flaves, becaufe of the balenefs of their minds ; but perfons of integrity, and whofe good condudl of life might give a proper fandlion to their teftimony : and, in cafe of any one's being deprehended a falfe evidence, the law of retaliation took place ; for they were ordered ^ to do to him, as he thought to have done to his brother, that thofe which re- mained might hear, and fear, and thenceforth commit no more fuch evil among them, ihe nation- As to the general intereftof the nation, God commanded the ^"^^ ' Jews to look upon themfelves as brethren, and members of the fame family. Upon this account the land of Canaan was equal- ly divided among them, and, left avarice ftould dtftroy that equality, « the law of jubilee reftored every man to what he had at firft. The prohibitions <= againft ufury, and ^ againft re- moving land-marks, the laws c for fecuring things entrufted with others, •> and for regulating the juftice of weights and meafures, as well as the ftrift provifion made againft theft (for it was ' lawful to kill a thief who was taken in the acl of fteal- ing, or breaking through a v/all) were a good fence to the pro- perties ; and then ^ the law of retaliation, and ' the punishments annexed to murder, were a great fecurity to the lives of the people. For the prevention of accidental deaths, the law re- quired " that all wells fliould be clofed in, and the roofs of all houfes t Jofeph. Antlq. Lib. IV. c. i8. u Deut. xvii. 20. • Exod. xxiii. 8. x lbi4. vcr. 1. y Deut. i. 17. z Exod. xxiii. 3. a Deut. xix. 15. b Ibid. ver. 19, 20. d Deut. XXV. e Exoil. xxii. 25. fDeut. xxvii. 17. g Exod. xxii. 7. h Deut. x!cv. J 3, &:c. i Exod. xxii. 2, 3, &c. k Ibid- ver. 24. 1 Lev. xxiv. 17. m Deuc. xxii. 8. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Lav:s, Sec. i6-> houfes have battlements ; and, in cafe one man had flain ano- ther unawares, " it appointed places of refuge to fcreen him from the revenge of the decealed's relations. In point of prudence, nothing efcaped Mofcs. As children aiui com- are the fupport, and what we may call the nurfery of the (late, '^°'' J^*""" « he profcribed eunuchs who defraud the public of thofe pledges; he commanded, v that whoever debauched a woman lliould marry her ; and that i the woman who pretended to be a virgin, and upon her marriage was found otherwife, Ihould be Itoned. Adultery, the great reproach of the marriage-ftate, was tried by a miracle ; f the woman accufed of it was obliged to drink fome waters in the temple, in fcripture called the Waters of Jealoufy, which, if (he was guilty, killed her, but in cafelhe was innocent, did her no harm. Polygamy, as well as divorces, was permitted the Jews, for the hardnefs of their hearts, ■ as our Saviour tells them, /. e. to prevent poifonings and murders ; the defire of having children, which nature inipires, was cncourao-ed ' by the reproaches which the law throws upon the barrcnnefs of women ; and, in order to preferve both the names and eftates of families among them, if a woman had no children by her hulband, (he, after his death, was to n^arry his brother, •> and the chikiren of the fecond marriage were efteemed the defcend- ants of the firft. These are fome of the civil and judiciary lav/s which God How far appointed the antient Hebrews, and which were of excellent they oblige ufe and contrivance to that people ; but whether, or liow far "j*^^" '^°* they ought to oblige other political focieties, has been a queftion controverted among divines. The refolutlon however, fcems to lie * in didinguilhing between fuch laws as iiave refpeft to the particular condition and circumftances of the Jews and their polity, and fuch as are not peculiar to them, but, with parity of reafon, may be equally applied to other nations. " The Jews, who at their firft inftitution were a fociety feparate from the reft of the world, were, by the fpecial command of Goil, order- ed to drive out and deftroy a wicked race of people, and after their deflruclion, to make an equal divifion of the land among them, which divifion was to be a perpetuity to each family as long as their Itate endured, y For this reafon the law of jubi- lee, and the prohibition of ufury was enacted, as a means to preferve that equality, to keep fome from being excellively rich, and others from being miferably poor : but this by no means is to be applied to other conditutions, where men are left to their induftry, and neither have their inheritance by a grant from heaven, nor by any fpecial appointment of God, arc put all up- on a level. What was peculiar to the (late of the Jews there- fore n Mumb. xxxv. 1 1. o Dent, xxiii. i. p Ibiil. xsii- 28. q Ibid. ver. 21. r Numb. V. s Matth. xix. 8. t Exod. xxiii. 26. Deut. vii. 14. u Dcut. y.xv. 5, 6. •Edwards's Survey, Vol. 1. x Fidde*.'; Bady of Divinity, \'o]. JJ, : Rui-nci'j Expo.'jriop rr" the >::s.!^!X Aiticle-s. 164 ^ Complete Body of Div'tntiy, Part III, fore is not of any obligation to other nations : but this regard we conceive is clue to thofe politics which were the invention and appointment of heaven, that, where they are of common ufe and equity, and founded upon fome general reafon, there other nations ought to conform, as much as they can, to the model propofed to them ; ^ particularly as to judicial proceed- ings, in awarding puniihments, and efpecially capital punilh- ments ; for the power of inflidling them being derived from God, the mcafures and regulation of them (wherein fome diffi- culty often occurs) cannot be better determined than by thofe precedents which God left us concerning them when he conde- fcended to be a civil lesiflator himfelf. Thenature What fandtions God gave to thefe laws, and whether the ?^ ^5''" promifes and threats, whereby he was pleafed to enforce the ob- fervance of them, were only temporal, or of a larger extent and continuance, is another point not fo well agreed on among di- vines. The truth is, » if we take the words of the covenant which Mofes made between God and the people of Ifrael ftridt- ly, and as they ftand, they import only temporal bleffings and puniihments ; '> for the law of Mofes, being a political law, was not intended for the government of all mankind, but of one parr ticular nation only ; and therefore was eftabliflied (as political laws are) upon temporal promifes and threatenings : but, that under thefe temporal promifes and threats, rewards and puniih- ments of an higher nature were intended, the tenor of the pro- mifes made to their forefathers, as well as the general principles of natural religion, not yet quite extinguilhed among them, were a fufficient indication. That Abraham, and the patriarchs before him, had a true and full notion of a life after this, * look- ing for a city which hath foundations, whofe builder and maker is God ; confelhng that they were ftrangers and pilgrims upon earth, and embracing the promifes which they faw at a diftance, and were perfuaded of, we are certain from the teftimony of the author to the Hebrews ; and that the Jews were all along inftru(lted herein by their forefather Abraham, we have an equal, if not a greater certainty from the charader which God gives that patriarch, ^ I know him, that he will command his children and his houfehold after him, and they Ihall keep the w.iy of the Lord. <= The bufmefs of the law, therefore, was not to eftablilh an eternal ftate of happinefs,f wherein the Jews v.'ei*e fuiFicient- ly zFiddes's Bon of (he Jewilli law, fo there were no other: that aj .'.iofes purpofi'ly DHiitted the dodliine ot a ftat? of future rewards and punirjirii<;i ts, in neither liad the anticnt Jews any kiiowltjge of it, which he endeavours t»> demonftrate from paiTages taken from (he hooks both of the Old and Ne\» Tef- tament, and by anfwering the objetliuns ths^t are generally produced from thcRgc, Vol.. II. t.ib. y. and Vi, Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Jjms^ &c. 165 Jy inftrudled already ; but, as the people of all nations are en- couraged in their obedience and fubjeftion to governors, from the benefit of fafety and proteftion under them ; fo the Ifraelites were to be fettled into a regular method of life, both religious and civil, and temporal rewards and puniihments were appoint- ed by Mofes to encourage their obedience, and deter them from the contrary ; f though men of more difcerning thoughts under- floodthem, no doubt, as pledges and types to reprcfent and pre- figure the rewards and puniihments of a future ftate. For the end of the law, g fays a great Jewilh expounder of it, is not to make the earth fruftify to give men their lives ; but that by all thefe things they may be encouraged to perfed their obedience, thereby become worthy of the life of the world to come. SECT. IV. Of the Ecclefiaftical Laws. WE come to the ceremonial or ecclefiaftical law, which con- tains thofe precepts that God gave the Jews, concerning fuch external rites as belong to religion, and relate either to the time, or place, or offices, or officers of religious worfhip. I. h The folemn times of worfliip, appointed to the Jews in Times ol" the Mofaic law, were by a general name called feafts, though ^<"^^"P' (to fpeak properly) fonie of them were falls : but becaufe the ■word feaji is frequently taken by the Jews for any folemn time of religious worlhip, whether it be accompanied with rejoicing or mourning, that term is applied to them all : and, according to this latitude, i feftivals are folemn days fet apart for the ho- nour and fervice of God, either in commemoration of fome fpe- cial mercies received from his bountiful hand, or in memory of fome puniihments which he, in former times, had infli(fled on them, or in hopes of averting futh as at the time of their infli- tution hung over their heads. Thofe of the firflkind (which atprefentwe are to fpeak of) were attended with rejoicings, feaftings, hymns, concerts of mufic, euchariftical facrifices, and a total exemption from labour ; upon which account they were termed Sabbaths, ^ and are properly of three forts ; i. Such as were common, and returned oft in the fame year : 2. Such as were extraordinary, and returned but once in a certain number of years. And, 3. Such as were annual, or returned once every year. 1. Of thofe that were common, and returned oft in the fame riicfeaftof year, the Sabbath was the chief, a feftival inflituted by God, the Sab- not only in commemoration of the creation of the world, and with a purpofe to prevent idolatry, or the worflupping of crea- tures, f Jenkins's Rcafonablenefs, Vol. II. g Maimonidcs in liis Prcfate to Pcrck. Cheleck. h Edwards's Survey; Vol. I. i Beaufobrc': Introdu'flicn. k La- mp's lntrodu<^ioH. i66 A Complete Body of Divinity, Part III. tures, by fetting it apai't for the fervice of the great Creator of all things ; but, in a peculiar manner, to give both man and beafl: one day of reft and relaxation every week : and accord- ingly we may obferve, that though religious exercifes, fuch as reading the law, praying, and blelfing, &c. were reckoned ne- ceflary on the Sabbath-day, yet were they not prefcribed by the law. Reft was the only injunction, and it was required with fo much ftri^nefs, that ' even the moft neceflary works were for- bidden upon pain of death ; fuch "■ as gathering manna, or wood, baking bread, or lighting a fire, &c. Not only fowing 3\\d reaping were then reckoned unlawful, but ° even plucking any ears of corn, " carrying any thing from one place to ano- ther, or p going above two thoufand paces or cubits, which in fcripture is called '5 a Sabbath day's journey. Nay, to fuch a degree did the Jews carry their fcriiples as to this particular, that they imagined they were not fo much as allowed to fight in defence of their lives on the Sabbath-day ; ' for which they paid dearly, during the perfecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, but came to be convinced of their error in the time of Matta- thias. Of the Every new moon, or the firft day of every month, was ano- newmoon. (|^gj. feftival among the Jews ; not that it was diredly of divine inftitution, but, becaufe God having commanded them ' to offer up a burnt-facrifice to him at the beginning of every month, they therefore thought themfelves concerned to ceafe from the works of their ordinary employments on that day, and to be very exact in their obfervations and difcovery of the new moon. » The antient Jews, who were not much acquainted with aftro- nomical calculations, began their month, not from the firft con- jundlion of the fun and moon (which could only be known that way) but from the firft phafis, or appearance of the moon, which required no learning to difcover. To this purpofe they appointed men of ftrici probity to go to the top of the neigh- bouring mountains in the time of the conjunftion, and, as foon as ever they perceived the new moon appear, to come with all fpeed (even though it were the Sabbath-day) and acquaint the fanhedrim with it, who, upon examination into the matter, pronounced thefe words ; The feaft of the new moon, The feaft of the new moon, whereupon the trumpet founded, and ac- quainted 1 Numb. XV. 32, &c. Exod. xxxi. 14. m Exoil. xxxv. 3. Ch. xvi. 23,, n Matth. xii. i, 2. o John v. 10. p Ads i. 12. q A Sabbath-day's journey v/as much about one of our miles, and the leafon of their thinking themfelves allowed to go fo far on this day of piofound reft was founded on this ; that, in Their marches after they came out of Egypt, the ark was carried always at this diftance from the tents of the Ifraelitcs, Jofti. iii. 4- And therefore, being permitted to go, even on the Sabbath-day, to the tabernacle to pray, from Thence they inferred, that the taking of the fame journey, though on anotlier account, could not be a breach of the Sabbath-day. Lamy's Introducflioii. ) Jofeph. Antiq Lib. XII. s Numb, xxviii. 2. t Lamy and Btaufobre's lutro- ciu'fti'jn. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laws, ice. 167 quainted all the people with it ; and unto this ceremony David no doubt alludes, when he fays, " Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our Iblemn feaft-day. 2. Among extraordinary fertivals, which happened but once TheSabba- in fome confiderable lime, was the Sabbatical year, which re- ^<="' )^-''- turned every feventh year, and was indeed one conthiued feaft. X The. ground remained untilled, and whatever it produced of itfelf was left to the poor : fervants were fet at liberty, unlefs they defired to continue with their mafters ; and y all debts that were contradled during the fix preceding years were remitted ; * but it may be queflioned, whether the creditor was not allow- ed to demand his debt at the end of the Sabbatical year ? The Talmudifts are not agreed about it, but thus much is certain, that this year was at leall a time of acquittance for creditors. The jubilee, which was celebrated every fiftieth year, had The jubi- ihe fame privileges with* the Sabbatical year, that the land ^^e \tar. was untilled, and flaves fet at liberty ; but over and above this, » that all debts were cancelled, all captives rcleafed, all prifoners fet free, all controverfies and law-fuits ended, and (what •> was an excellent law to preferve the antient divilion of the tribes, to fupprefs the greedinefs of heaping up wealth, and prevent the poor from finking into mifery) all mortgaged and alienated eftates v.ere returned to their antient owners. This however was not done until the tenth day of the month Tifri : during the nine preceding days, the Jews dedced themlelves in flowers and garlands, and thought indeed on nothing but mirth anddiveriions; but on the tenth (which wasthefealt of the expi- ation) the fanhedrim blew their trumpets, and then immediate- ly were the prifon-doors fet open, flaves releafed, and each man reflored to the quiet poffefiion of his eftate. Among annual feftivals, or fuch as were celebrated once every The pifTo- year, the mofl folemn and renowned was thepaffover, which the ^^^' Jews were to keep in remembrance of their great and happy deliverance from Egyptian bondage, when the dellroying angel p." Jed over their doors which were fprinkled with the blood uf the lamb, appointed to be flain that evening, and killed the firll- born of Egypt. But of this we have faid enough in another place. FiFTV days after the paflbver, fell the feaft of pentecoft, The feaft <= inftituted in memory of the delivery of the law on mount l^^^'^''^' Sinai. It was likewife called the feaft of harveft, becaufe on it were the firft-fruits of the harveft offered up to God, which oblation was accompanied with feveral facrifices and libation<;, and the whole feaft celebrated with abundance of mirth and .rejoicing. Thk u Pfal. Ixxxi. 3. X Exod. xxiii. it. y DcMt. xv. 2. z Beaufobre's Intro- duftiou. a Edwards's Survey, Vol. I. b Lauiy'slntroduclion. c Lamy, ibid. i68 Of taber- nacles* /I Complete Body T)lvtntty. Part l\h Of trum- pets . Other feafts of human in- ftitution. The great day of ex- piation. The feaft of tabernacles was inftituted by God, in remem- brance of the Ifraelites having dwelt fo long in tents and taber- nacles while they Ibjourned in the wildernefs : befides, that it was farther defigned for a time of returning thanks to God for the fruits of the vine, as well as other trees that were gathered about this time, and of begging his blefling upon thofe of the year enfuing. No feaft: was ever attended with more rejoicing than this. ^ During the whole folemnity (which lafled eight days) the Jews dwelt under tents made of branches of trees ; they offered every day abundance of facrifices, bcfides the ufual ones ; carried always in their hands branches, or pofies of palm- trees, olives, citrons, myrtles, &:c. and exprefled their joy in feafting, dancing, mufic, and illuminations ; all which was ow- ing, foine fay, to the expedation they then had « of the Mef^ (iah's coming, and for which, on that feft:ival, they prayed with the utmoft earneftnefs and importunity. Another annual feaft: of God's appointing, was the feaft: of trumpets ; not but that other feftivals were ulhered in by the found of that inftrument, but becaufe this was introduced with a greater folemnity of this kind than ufual. ^ It was inftituted, as ibme think, in memory of the loud founding of the angelic trumpets on mount Sinai, before God's declaration of the law ; and, as it was the firft day of the year (according to the aera that they computed their civil year by) it was commanded to be folemnized by a celTation from all work, c and by a particular burnt-offering appointed for that day. Besides thefe feftivals, commanded in theMofaic law, there were others of human inftitution ; fuch as ^ the feaft of lots, in remembrance of the fignal deliverance of the Jews, which Efther obtained of Ahafuerus, when they were juft going to fall a vi /. e- {according to foine) u devil, becaufe if was Pent away with the fins of the people, i he I.XX . have rendered it i)y a word which fignifies to reniove, or turn away evil. Buc it maylikewifefightfyan e'.nifiary.or fcape-goat, iVom the word \_a:'] which fi*- iiifies a goat, and [jz.?/] to I'eparate. Prideaux's Connexion, Fart 11. m It was a Common opinion among the antient Hebrews,that deferts and uninli.ihited places were the haunt and habitation of devils. See Matth- xii. 43 and Rev. -•iviii. a. n Larnx, ibid. o Zech. viii. 19. p Jer. Hi- 6, 7. q Zcch. vii. 3. r 2 Kings xx.v. 2^. s Jcr.' lii. 4. t Bcaufobre's IntroduCtjoii, 170 A Complete Body of Divinity » Part III. people (who on this occafion were obliged to appear in fack- cloth) might gather themfelves together, and then was the ark, wherein was the law, brought forth covered with aflies, in token of forrow and afflidion, and one of the prefidents of the fyua- gogue made a fpeech fuitable to the day and occafion, which was accompanied with feveral ejaculations and prayers. Places of II' The next thing which the ceremonial laws took notice of worlhip. was the place of divine worfhip, and the veffels and utenfils thereunto belonging. The tabernacle was a kind of portable temple, that might be pulled down or fet up upon occafion, and The taber- was therefore very eafily removed from place to place. » It fiTibed.^" ^'^^ '" length thirty cubits, /. e. fifteen yards (for the cubit by which this fabric and the temple are meafured, is but half a yard) and in breadth ten cubits. Whenever the Ifraehtes changed their camp, the tabernacle was taken down, and " the Levites (as it was their office) carried fome one part of it, and fome another ; and, when they came to a rtation, y it was always placed in the midft of the camp, with the tents at a proper diflance from it ; which made it a faying among the Hebrews, that the tabernacle was, at the fame time, both the temple of their God, where he was to be worfhipped, and the palace of their king, where he fat to rule and govern his people. » Be- fore the tabernacle there was an open area of an hundred cubits long, and fifty broad, inclofed with pillars fixed at equal diftances, and curtains to fill up the fpaces. ,,This area was divided into two courts, the exterior was for the people to meet at divine fervice ; hither they brought all their offerings, and here they prayed, and heard the word, and flood all the while that the priefts facrificed. The interior court, or that which was next the body of the tabernacle, was the place where the facrifices were offered. Here (tood the great brafen-altar, which was exadlly four-fquare, five cubits long, and five broad, but only three cubits high, having four horns, at every corner one, whereunto the facrifices were tied, and whereupon fuch perfons as fled for re- fuge were wont to lay hold :, and not far from hence was the bralen-laver, wherein the priefts walhed their hands aiid feet before they offered facrifice, or went into the holy place (for fo they called the nave, or body of tjie tabernacle) or undertook any other holy work. In the body of the tabernacle, clofe by the entrance into the holy of holies, flood the golden-altar, called the Altar of Incenfe, one cubit fquare, and two cubits high, \vhereon was burnt frankincenfe, and other rich perfumes- (highly neceffary to take away the ill fmell, occafioned by the perpetual burning of flefh on the great altar) every morning and evening ; and to it belonged a golden-cenfer, or perfuming- pan, to tranfmit and fcatter all around the fcent of the fweet incenfe u Lewis's Antiquities, Vol. I. x Numb. iv. y Ibid. i. 50, 53. z Vid. {.ewis's Antiquities. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish LaviSj he. lyz iiicenfe and other perfumes. On the north-fide of this altar ilood the table of fhew-bread s, whereon were fix loaves piled upon one another in one difli, and fix in another, which loaves were every Sabbath-day taken away, and new ones put in their place ; and on the fouth-fide was placed the golden-candleftick with feven branches, which were fo many lamps of oil burning all night, and in the morning extinguilhed. In the holy of holies, which feenis to anfwer the chancels of Of the li«- our churches, and had a veil between it, and the nave of the ly of holies, tabernacle was the ark, wherein were laid up the pot of man- na, Aaron's rod, and the two tables of ftone, wherein were the ten commandments written by God himfelf. It was in length two cubits and an half, in breadth one cubit and an half, and one cubit and an half in height. Its covering (which was of gold) was called the Mercy-feat, or Pi'opitiatory, and from this propitiatory, efpecially from the uppermoft part, and where the wings of the cherubims hovered over it, God was wont to give the oracle, or anfwer to what the high-prieft came to inquire of him. '■ What thefe cherubims were, the diverfity of opi- nions has made it not fo eafy to determine ; only as the holy of holies was an emblem of heaven, and the m.ercy-feat denoted the throne of God, they are not improperly fuppofed to be images and reprefentations of the angelic hofi;, thole fervants and at- tendants of the heavenly king ; as the cloud which ' at firft filled the whole tabernacle, but afterwards refided mod conftant- iy on this ark of the teftimony, %vith a great lulire finning from between the cherubims (which the apoitle therefore calls ' the clierubims of gloiy) were a manifeft indication of his raajeftic prefence. These were the feveral things belonging to the tabernacle The man- of Mofes, and in what manner they were made, as well as what "cr in xnyftical meaning they had, the author to the Hebrews has fuf- things were ficiently inftru6led us. They were made exadVly " according to made, the pattern which God Ihewed Mofes in the mount ; but whe- ther this pattern was a lively defcription and enumeration of every particular, or rather a real plan and model of, the whole reprefented to his fight, is not fo material to inquire ; fince what ever it was, God mufl be fuppofed to have aded upon his imagination in a fupernatural manner, otherwife he would not have q It is in Hebrew, the bread of faces, becaufe being placed before the ark, where God was prefent, it was, as it were, fct before God's face, looking frem the mercy-feat. Edwards's Survey, Vol. I. r .Some have thought that they were images in the fhape of boys; others in the likenefs of oxen or calves; be- caufe cherubim in Chaldee and Syriac, is £oi, and fo is taken in Ezck. X. 14. compared with Ezek. i. 10. Others again tliiiik that they had not one Ihape, but many, viz. the upper parts of a man, the wings of eagles, the bacl« of lions, and the thighs iind legs cf oxen ; while others, laltly, were of opinion that they were winged creatures of fuch a Diape as never was known. Jofeph. Ar.tiq. s Exod. :-:). t Hcb. i^.. 5. Sec Lcvit. xvi. 2. and ! bam. iv. 22. u ileb- viii- 5. l7^ A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. have been capable of retaining the exaft figure and dimenfions of every thing he was to relate to the feveral workmen, and their Th AT all this rich furniture of the tabernacle was * but a Ihadovv myftical Qf heavenly things, and had great and worthy inyfteries couched "^' under it, the fame facred author teftifies ; and as he particula- rizes fome of them, we may, without forcing the illufion, fuppofe that the altar of burnt-offering "^ fignified the great expiatory facrifice of Chrifl upon the crofs; the altar of incenfe, and the golden-cenfer, his powerful interceffion at the right hand of God ; the laver, and table of Ihew-bread, the two chriftian fa^ craments of Baptifm and the Lord's Supper ; and the candle- ftick, and lamps, > the gifts and graces of the Holy Gholl, with that abundant light which is the peculiar bleiHng of the gofpel. More efpecially the inmofl part of the tabernacle, wherein- to the high -pried: only entered, was a more lively reprefentation of the great inyfteries of the gofpel ; ^ the holy of holies was a type of the celeftial nianfions above ; the veil, was the fielh of Chrifl:, which, when rent, fignified his death which opened us a way into them ; the ark reprefented the Divine Prefence, re- fiding in human nature ; the oracle was the Word incarnate, re- vealing the will of God ; the mercy-feat, the merits of Chrift, fhielding us from the condemnation of the lav/, and confequent- ]y, from the divine difpleafure ; and the cherubims hovering over the ark, and looking down with their heads towards the mercy-feat, God's protection of his church, by the miniftry of his blefTed angels, " who are defirous to pry into the myfleries of the gofpel. In a word, the prefence of God with his people, the glorious undertakings of his Son, the gracious influence of his blelTed Spirit, and the ftate of the chriftian church both here, and hereafter, are fet forth in the feveral things contained in the diiferent partitions of the Mofaic tabernacle ; ^ and though other fpiritual meanings may pollibly be affixed to them, yet that the explication which we have offered is not precarious and fanciful, we have the Epiftle to the Hebrews to produce, where we find moft of thefe facred myfteries thus unfolded and explained. 1. The tabernacle wandered with the children of Ifraelin the wildernefs until they arrived at the land of promife, and, for almoftfour hundred years, was th'e only place of divine wcrfliip that the Jews had to refort to ; but, in procefs of time, king Solo- mon, by God's appointment, began to build a temple <' on mount Sion (a principal part of Jerufalem) which, in the fpace of feven years, he finifhed, with vaft expehce and magnificence. We ihould, however, miftake the matter much, if we think that the temple * Heb. viii. 5. x Heb. xiii. 10. y Rev. i. 4- ajid iv. 5. z Heb. ix. 24. a I Pet. i. 12. b Edwards's Survey, Vol. I. c Mount Sion and mount Moriah ;aie tlie fame, as Jaftplms teftifies. Autiq. Lib I. c 14. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish La'.vs, Sec. ij^ temple of Jerufalem was made like one of our churches; J It did not A defcrip- confift ofone fmgle edifice, but of feveral courts and buildings, f'"" °*" '^e ■which took up a great deal of ground, and was large enough •^l^^'^j-^y p. to contain the miniitcrs, and all the people, /. e. more than two nl couits. or three thoufand men. The outward inclofure, which went by the name of the Mount of the Temple, was a fquare of five hun- dred cubits every way, which contained feveral buildings for diffe- rent ufes, and was furrounded with cloillers, fupported witli marble pillars. Next to this fpace was the court of the Gentiles, ranged all round with cloifters, and feparated from the other courts with flonebaluflres three cubits high, with pillars at certain diftances, upon which were engraven in Hebrew and Greek, exhortations to purity and holinefs, « and a prohibition to all the Gentiles, and fuch as are unclean, to advance beyond them : in this place Hood the Ihops, and tables of money-changers. The court of the women was the next, and was fo calleil, not becaufe women only were fufFered to go into it, but be- caufe they were allowed to go no farther ; it was one hundred and thirty-five cubits fquare, with a balcony round it, from whence the women might fee what was doing in the great court. In this place flood the treafury, wherein was repolited the mo- ney which the people gave towards repairing the temple, reliev- ing the poor, and providing the facrifices. From the court of the women there was an »'cent of fifteen (leps into the great court, which was divided into two parts, the Ifraelites court, and the court of the priells. The court of the Ifraelites had feven gates, one to the eaft, which was called the Beautiful, as like- wife the Corinthian, becaufe it was covered withCorinthian brafs ; three to the fouth, and three to the north, and a great number of apartments, into which feveral pious people letired ; and, having conveniencies of lodging, are faid to continue in the tem- ple day and night. The prieits court was next the body of the temple, and in it was the braien-altar of burnt-offerings, a great deal larger than that of the tabernacle ; two brafs pillars called Jachim and Boaz, which were not in the tabernacle ; ten brafen-lavers, whereas the tabernacle had but one ; and a fea of brafs, which was fupported by twelve oxen ; all thefe courts were uncovered, and lay open to the Iky. From the prieds court there was an afcent of twelve Heps to what we may flridly call the temple which confined of three parts, the porch, Thetfmple the fandiiary, and the holy of holies. The porch was about fif- ■•'^'^'^• teen or twenty cubits long, and as many broad, with a large portal, which inilead of folding-doors, had only a ricli veil. Here hung up feveral valuable ornaments, f the prefents from kings and princes, and what were carried away by Antiochus Epipha- nes. The fanduary, or nave of the.tcmple, was twenty cubirs broad, d Lamy's and Beaufobre's Introdutflion. c Tl.c prohibiticn -.vas to let no alien er.ttr into the holy place, f 2 Mac. iii. 2. 174 -^ Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. broad, and forty in length and height, ha^'ing in it the altar of incenfe, and the table of Ihew-bread ; but becaufe the temple was larger, and wanted more light than the tabernacle, inftead of one, it had ten golden-candlelticks. The holy of holies was twenty cubits long, wherein was the ark of the covenant, con- taining the two tables of flone, but inftead of two cherubims, (as were in the tabernacle) in the temple there were four. Its glory. s But the glory of Solomon's temple was not in the temple itfelf much lels in the bignefs of it (for that alone was but a fmali J ile of building, as containing no more than an hundred and fitty feet in length, and an hundred and five in breadth, taking the whole of it together, from out to out, which is ex- ceeded by many of our pariOi-churches) but the main grandeur and excellency of it confuled in its out-buildings and ornaments, its workmanihip being every where exceedingly curious, and overlaying vaft and prodigious ; for the overlayings of the holy of holies only (which was a room but thirty foot fquare, and twenty foot high) amounted to fix hundred talents of gold, v^^hich comes to four millions, three hundred and twenty thoufand pounds of our fterhng money. Thefecond '' It is a point of hiftory fufficiently known, what was the temple. end of this noble building, and how God was pleafed to permit it to be deftroyed and laid wafte, becaufe it had been polluted and profaned. Zerobabel, however^ obtained leave of Cyrus, at the people's return from captivity, tore-build it ; but though he built it upon the fame place, yet it fell far Ihort of the mag- nificence of the former. It cannot be denied indeed, but that Herod the Great very much improved and embelliihed it, and yet it ftill wanted thofe extraordinary marks of the divine favour, wherewith the other was honoured, i. The ark of the cove- nant and mercy.feat. i. The Shechinah, or Divine Pre- I'ence. 3. The LJrim and Thummim. 4. The fpirit of prophe- cy. And, 5. The fire from heaven which often came down and confumed their burnt-offerings. In this, however, the pro- . phet is fent to aflure them that the latter temple Ihould have a pre-eminence ; that, during its ftanding, the Meffiah fhould be born and abundantly over-balance thefe defedls by his gracious and divine prefence ; ' I will fhake all nations, and the defire of all nations fliall come, and I will fill this houfe with glory. The glory of this latter houfe fhall be greater than of the former, and in this place will I give peace, faith the Lord of Hofts. Oratoi-ies. 3. ANOTHER place of divine worfliip, very antient among the Jews, though not inftituted by the law of Mofes, was their profeuchae, or praying-places, v/hich were a kind of courts, en- compalTed only with a wail, or fome other inclofure, and left open g PrJdeauy.'s Connexion, Part I. b Beaufobre's Intrcduftion. i Haggai ii. 7, Sc'G. Chap. IV. Of the Jewish taros^ Sec. 175 open above-head. ^The chief place where the IfraeHtes met together for the worlhip of God was the temple at Jerufalem, and before that was built, the tabernacle; and the open court before the altar was, in both of them, that part where the peo- pie aflembled to offer their prayers unto Cod : but thofe who lived at a diltance from the tabernacle, while it was in being, and afterwards from the temple, when that was built, not being able at all times to refort thither, built courts, like thofe in which they prayed at the tabernacle, and at the temple, therein to of- fer their prayers to God. Of what form and ufe thefe pro- Their form feuchac were, we have a notable pafTage in ' Epiphanius, who himfelf was a Jew, and born in Palelline, that acquaints us : for, after he had faid that the Maffalians built themfelves certain broad places, in the manner of forums, which they called Profeuchae, he goes on thus ; and that the Jews of old (as alfo the Samaritans) had certain places, without the cities for pray- er, which they called Profeuchae, is apparent from ™ the Acts of the apoflles, where Lydia, a feller of purple, is faid to have met with the apoftle St Paul, and to have heard him preach in a place, whereof the fcripture fays, edokei topos profeuches eiftat, it feemed to be a place of prayer, or (as our tranflation has it) where prayer was wont to be made. There is likewife, at Si- chem. which is now called Neapolis, fays he, above a mile with- out the city, a profeuchss, or place of prayer, like a theatre, which was built in the open air, and without a roof, by the Sa- maritans, who in all things affected to imitate the Jews. " SicHEM indeed was the place where God appeared to Abra- ^"l' *f-ti' ham after he had left Haran, promiling to give the land of Ca- 1""^" naan to his poiterity, and where Abraham, in memory of that vouchfafement, built an altar unto the Lord who appeared un- to him. This gave a kind of fanftity to the place : and there, fore, we need lefs wonder that we find one of thefe profeuclije (called ° by the name of the Sanctuary of the Lord, where Jo- Ihua, not long before his death, affembled all the tribes of Ifrael, and made a folemn covenant between them and the Lord) erect- ed in this place, v and furrounded with a grove of oaks, even during the time of the tabernacle. There is great reafon to be- lieve indeed that thefe profeuchae were the very fame with thofe in the Old Teilament that are called high places; for though thefe high places were often employed in idolatrous wor- Ihip, or in a fchifmatical way, by fetting up altars in them, hi oppofition to that at Jerufalem, and are therefore frequently condemned ; yet we meet with feveral inftances in fcripture, 9 wherein prophets and good men are fliid to make ufe of them ; and it may not be an improbable conjecture, ' that our bleffed Saviour k Prideaux's Conneftian, Parti. Lib. VI. 1 In Traft. de MafTalianis Hserc- ticis. mChap. xvi. 13. n Gen. xii. 6, 7. o Jofli. xxiv. 2&, p Sec i^iedc's Difcourfe 18, q i Saiiv ix. 9.— i;. 5, Jkci r Wcdc, ibjd. 176 y^ Complete Body of Divinify. Part II T^ Saviour liimfelf did the fame, when it is faid that he went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night, en te pro- feucbe tou Theou, i. e. in the oratory, or praying-houfe of God; for why ihould it not be as likely that our Saviour might pray in the Jewilh oratories, as teach in their fynagogues ? Syna- Thkse oratories however, being, as we faid before, open to £og«es. ^.|^g ^^y.^ were not fo commodious in the winter and ftormy fea- fons of the year ; and therefore, to remedy this inconvenience, in procefs of time, but, not till after the Babylonilh captivity (as ' moft learned men agree) they erefted houfes and taber- nacles, wherein to meet for the purpofes of God's woriliip; and this was the original of their fynagogues. In every town ^ where there were ten men of fome leaniing, falhion and qua- lity, that had time, and were pioufly difpofed to attend upon divine fervice (for lefs than ten fuch did not make a congrega- tion, and without fuch a congregation prefent, no part of the fynagogue-fervice could be performed) they were allowed ta build a fynagogue, but not otherwife. And though at firf!:, the number of them was but fmall ; yet, in a (liort time, they multi- plied in the manner as our pariih-churches have done, to fuch a degree, that in our Saviour's time, there was no town of any note in Judea, but what had one or more of them. Their " These places of worJhip were fo framed and contrived, as to form. bear a refemblance of the temple at Jerufalem, towards which they always pointed. They confided of two parts, which may be called the Chancel, and the Church : the chancel they call- ed the Temple, and it flood \vefl-v\'ard, as did the fanclutn fanclorum in the tabernacle and temple ; and in this they fet an ark or chefl, made after the model of the ark of the covenant, with a veil before it, reprefenting the veil which feparated the holy place from the holy oi holies, in which was laid up the book of the law, z. e. the Pentateuch, or five books of Mofes. In the body of the church the congregation met, and this was the manner of their fitting. The elders, i. e. perfons of more gravity, prudence and authority than others, f fat in a fenii- circle near the chancel with their faces dow^n the church, and the people fat, one form behind another, with their faces up the church towards the chancel and the elders. Between the peo- ple and the elders, thus facing one another, there was a fpace left where the pulpit and defk ftood, in which the perfon, who either read or expounded the law, ftood raifed above the reft. The women wxre not admitted into the congregation with the men, but placed in a feparate balcony or gallery, where they could s Spencer de Leg. Heb. Lib. I. c. 4. Vitringa de Synagoga veteri, Lib. I. Part H. c. 9. Relandus in Aritiq Sacr. Part I. c. 10. Prideaux's Connexion, PartL Lib. VL t Prideaux, ibid. u Lewis's Antiquities of tbeHebre>v Re- public, f llie feats of the elders were the prootokathedriai tconfynagf)got)n, aflFe<5led by the Pharifees, for which our Saviour coadejnns them; Matth sxUi. 6. Lani> de Taber. Lib. lY. c 8. Chap. iV. Of the ]zw\%ii Laws, &c. 1 77 could fee into the body of the church, and hear divine f^rvicc : and (to particularize no farther) over the gate of the fyna- gogue was generally written this infcription, ■■^ This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous Jhall enter into it ; and upon the walls, thefe, and the like fentences, Remember thy Creator. Enter the houfe of the Lord thy God with humility. Prayer, without attention, is like a body without a foul. Silence is commendable in the time of prayer. y What the fervice, both ilated and occafional, performed in thefe fynagogues was, we Ihall have occalion to take notice elfewhere, and at prefent, (hall only remark that they differed from the above-mentioned proreuchae in thefe three particulars, 1. The fynagogues were covered houfes, but the profeuchic were courts, built in the manner of forums, which were open inclofures, W'ere antiently at Rome, and in other deniocratical cities, the people affembled for the tranfaftion of public aiiairs. 2. Synagogues were built within the cities whereunto they be- longed, but the profeuchae without, and conm)only on high places, with groves either within or without them. 3. In the fynagogues the prayers were offered up in public forms in com- mon for the whole congregation, but in the proieuchre they prayed (as in the temple) every one apart for himfelf. But to return. in. Another part of the ceremonial law related Id the Sacrifices manner and offices of worHiipping God in oblations and facri- ^^j!^^ fices, joined with prayers, for favour and pardon ; and praifcs, in acknowledgment of the divine goodnefs. ^ Sacrifices, pro- perly fo called, were animals killed, and then burnt, lie who prefented the facrifice, led up the animal before the altar, lay- ing his hand upon its head, and leaning upon it with all his weight, to denote that he loaded the creature with his iniquities, and deierved the death which it was going to.fuffer. The ani- mals which were thus offered were of five forts ; crxen, fhecp, goats, turtle-doves, and pigeons ; and the facrifice of thefe was either dated or occafional. Stated facrifices were fonie of them stated, anniverfary, fuch as thofe which were offered on the great day of expiation, at the yearly commemoration of the paifover, and on other folemn feafl-days; fome monthly, viz. the facrifices offered conlbntly at the ncv.' n)Oons ; fome weekly, viz. fuch as were the oblations made on every Sabbath-day ; and fome that were offered everyday, as a lamb every morning ' at the tbiid Vol. II. Z hour^ M Pfal. cxviii. 20. y The reader that is impatient to know what tlie T'lia- £ogiie-rervice confifted in, mayfindit largely explained inLewis'sAntiquitiesof the Hebrew Republic, Lib. IH. c. 22. or Prideau.-i's Connection, Pare 1. Lib. Vl. 7. £;!\vards's i^urvey, Vol. I. a The Jews and Romans divided (he day, /. c. The fpace between the rifing and fetting of the fun, into four parts, conlifting each of three hours; but thefe hours were different from ours in this, that ours are always equal, being the four and twentieth part of the day, \» 1 ereas ■.\h\\ them the hour was a twelfth part of the time which the fun continued above l/S A Complete Body of Divimty. Part IIT. hour, i. e. at nine o'clock, and another at the ninth hour, /. e. at three o'clock in the afternoon. Thefe daily facrifices, which were always attended with a meat-ofFering of flour and oil mingled, and were never without a drink-offering of wine, were called b Holocaufts, or burnt-offerings, becaufe they were whol- ly confumed by fire ; whereas, in other offerings, a part only was burnt, and the reft was divided between the priefts and the am} occa- pcrfons that brought them. Orcafional facrifices, which had iioiial. j^y determinate time of being offered, were either after the com- miifion of fome fins, or the receipt, or expectance of fome par- ticular mercies. Thofe that were offered upon the commiihon of offences, were either = called [Chattah} fin-offei'ings, becaufe they were appointed for the expiation of the fins of ignorance, infirmity, and inadvertency ; or [Afham] trefpafs-offerings, be- caufe they were commanded to be offered for the expiation of more enormous tranfgreffions, of voluntary and deliberate fins, and therefore required a more coflly facrifice than the other. Thofe that were offered upon the receipt or expeftance of fome particular mercies were called [Shelamim] peace-offerings, and were either euchariftical, i. e. defigned to be a teftimony of their thankfulnefs to God for the benefits they had already re- ceived ; or eudlical, i. e, fuch ac were attended with wiihes and fupplications to God for the bleffings which they flood in need of. Both thefe were called Free-will-offerings : and we have only to obferve farther of them, that, whereas the holocaufk was all of it confumed in the fire, and nothing left, and whereas part of the fin-offering was burnt, and the other part given to the prieft, here it was othervvife difpofed of; for thefe lacrifices were diftributed into three parts, one of which was burnt to God upon the altar for a fvveet favour, another was given to the prieft, and the third wasreferved for the perfon who brought the offering, and fuch as he pleafed to invite to partake with him : fo that alvt'ays after a peace-offering there followed a feaft, made of the remainder of the facrifice ; and to this the apofile feems to allude, when he tells us ^ that Chrift our paffo- ver, and peace-offering with God, is facrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feaft. But, above the Horizon: and as this time is longer in fiimmer thaa in wihter, their lumnierhours muft therefore be longerthan their winter-ones. The firft hour began -at fun-rifing; noon was the fixth, and the twelfth ended at fun-fet; fo that the third hour divided the fpace between fun-riftng and noon, as the ninti^ divided that which was between noon and fuu-fet. Lamy's Introdudlicn, Lib, I. p. 5. b Numb. XV. 3, &c. c Maimonides was of a quite contrary opinion, viz. that Chattah was a facrifice offered for the expiation of faults of au high nature, and Afham, for thofe of an inferior kind. More Nev. Part 111. c. 46. Our learned JVlede is of opinion, trefpafs-offerings were for fins againrt the firft table, and fin-offering for thofe againft the fecond ; and that, as our internal fins, or fins of infirmity, are peccata jugia, continual and daily fins; fo the Imlocauft, or burnt-offering was continual, and daily offered ; whereas the fin* offering ^ad trefpafs offering were not fo. Mede's DLf. 5'- ti 1 Cor. v. 7- Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laws, Sec. 179 But, befiJes thefe facrifices of animals, there were hkewife, Oblationi as was faid, fo:ne oblations among the Jews which were made of bread, wine, oil, incenfe, or any of the fruits of the earth ; and thefe were of three kinds, viz. fuch as were common, fuch T^*^"" ''•'^' as were voluntary, and fuch as were prefer ibcd. The common j^J^jj. and ordinary oblations were either of a certain perfume (called Thumiama) burnt every day upon the altar of incenfe ; or of the fliew-bread, which was offered new every Sabbath-day, and the old taken away and eaten by the priefls. Free and vo- luntary oblations arofe from the vows and promifes (which the Jews were apt to make either in their profperity or diftrefs) of devoting fomething to God, which neither was to be of a mean value, nor of a polluted nature ; for fo the injundion is, « thou (halt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog into the houfe of the Lord thy God for any vow. The prefcribed oblations were either the firft fruits, or the tenths. The firll fruits of animals, if males, were offered to God ; if men, cr un- clean creatures, were redeemed with money, to be expended in charity, or the reparation of the temple. Ihe firft fruits of the field were required in token of their thankful acknowledgment of God's inexhauftible goodnefs, and, according to the difference of gefture ufed in prefenting them, were either called heave or wave offerings. Laftly, the tenths which the Jews were obliged to pay f were of four kinds ; fuch as were paid to the Lrevites by the people ; fuch as were paid by the Levites to the priefts ; fuch as were referved for the banquets w hich were rr.ade within the verge of the temple ; and fuch as were paid every three years to the poor. These were fome of the facrifices and oblations which God "^^y"'! appointed to the Jews : and, confidering the great number and JJi,utJin'"o expenfivenefs of them, it may well be inquired, for w hat ends typify they were inftituted, and of what efficacy they were towards ^*"''jj'^ the atonement of fin. e The moft probable account of the ori- ginal of facrifices is, that they were at firft of divine inllitution, and appointed foon after the fall of man as types of the lacrifice of the death of Chrift, who was promifed to be fent into the world, in order to die for the expiation of fin. For though there be a natural reafon why we ihoukl '■ not offer unto the Lord our God of that which doth coft us nothing, but iliould i honour the Lord with our fubftance, and prefent fome part of the beft we have in devotion and gratitude to him, from whom we have received the whole : yet no fufficient reafon can be given, why beafts Ihould be ftain in lacrifice before they were ufed in food ; why God fiiould accept of the blood of any crca- ture, of- be pleaied with taking away the life which he had given it ; or why a peculiar eflicacy towards the expiation ol fin e Dcut. y.xii'i. i S. f Jerome's Comment upon F.r.ck. I'lv- g Jci kins's Fc:i ll:a.i " c'.ii'ior., Vol. 11. I 2 : :-:r.. ::xi . • :4' i ^'"V- "' '}■ l8o // Complete Body of Divinity, Part III, fin fliould be fuppofed to refide in the blood, more than any- other part, iinlefs it had been upon the account of the blood of Chrift, which was t3-pically prefigured by the blood of beafts : unlefs, I fay, we are prepoflefled of this truth, that the facri- fices of the antient law were prefigurative of the facrifice of Jefus Chrift, ^ we can look upon the tabernacle and temple of Jerufalem no better than fo many flaughter-houfes, and the blood and fat, and continual burning of flefli will be a means to incite our difgull:, rather than religion. 1 Xo what purpofe is the multitude of your facrifices unto me ? I am full of the burnt- offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beafts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, and of rams, and of he-goats : thefe are the words of God, commanding the peopje to bring no more vain oblations to hitn. But how came God to reject the facrifices. which he himfelf had inftituted ? Did that which pleafcd him at one time, difpleafe him at another? We cannot charge God with fuch inconftaiicy ; but we fee by thefe exprobrations, that, when he commanded the facrifices of the antient law, he did it not out of any defire >" to drink the blood of goats, or to cat the flefh of bulls (as David fpeaks) but only to typify thereby the great and precious facrifice which his Son ftiould orte day offer up ; and that as foon as thefe fa- crifices ceafed to be animated by this fpirit (as thofe did which the carnal Jews offered up) they became infupportable to him. To be of TfiERp Were other ends of a fecondary nature which God nioral in- might have in appointing thefe ordinances to the Tews. Obla- ' tions of all kinds were federal rites, and defigned to figpify the covenant and agreement between God and them. The con- tinual morning and evening facrifices were fymbolical of his di- vine prefence refidipg among them ; the blood of the fubftituted victim was declarative of the heinous nature of fin ; the fruits of the earth which they brought were acknowledgments of God's bounty and liberality to them ; and every pigeon or turtle-dove which they prefented, reminded them of the ac- ceptable facrifice of a broken and contrite heart ; and v/hifpered the words of the wife fon of Sirach in their ears, " he that keepeth the law, bringeth offerings enough ; he that taketh heed to the commandment, Oifercth a peace offering ; he that requiteth a good turn, offereth fine flour; and he that giveth alms, facrificeth praife ; to depart from wickednefs is a thing pleafing to the Lord ; and to fori'ake unrightepufnefs is a prof pitiatlon. tone^for' TiiERE is One end more which God might defign in the in- fins, ftitution of thefe facrifices, and that was the remiihon of fin. ° Some indeed are of opinion that the Jewilh religion allowed pf no expiation, but for legal impurities, and involuntary tranf- grefijons, k Laniy's Inrroouo'tic^n. 1 Ifa. i. 1 1. m Pfal- 1. i 3- n Ecclus. xx.xv. i, &:c. - ' 0 Volkelhis, de Nat. Relig. Lib. II. c. 12. "TJllotfujiS Sermon ou 2 Pe^ i- A; 'icon's Chi i«!an Life. P. II. Vol. II. c, 7. Ch^p. IV. 0/f/^^ Jewish Lmus, kc. 18; greflions, fuch as proceeded from ignorance and inadvertency, but not for fins of prefumption, and fuch ss were committed with an high hand. *'Ifmen finned wilfully, there was no " facrifice appointed by the law for fuch offences ; and this they " feem to prove from the very authority of the law itfelf, *' viz. !• that the prieft fhall make atonement for the foul that ** finneth ignorantly, but the foul that docs ought prefun)ptu- " oufly fliali be cut off from among the people.'' Now 'i it is generally confeifed that God appointed facrifices and propitia- tions for the worft: of mental fins, fuch as unbelief, blafphe- mous thoughts, uncleannefs of the heart, &c. becaufe it is hardly fuppofeable, but that the beft men were not altogether free from thefe ; and though the Mofaic law feems to have made no pro- vifion for vifible and outward grofs enormities, fuch as idolatry, murder, blafphemy, &c. becaufe the officers were prelcntly punilhed with death ; yet it does not follow from thence that there was no expiation for thefe enormous crimes. Upon fin- cere repentance they n^ght be expiated, though the perfons that committed them underwent the penalty of the law, it be- ing neceflary to animadvert feverely upon them, left impunity ihould give encouragement to vice, and thereby endanger the commonwealth. It cannot but be granted (becaufe it is manifeft from feveral inftances) that the crimes of perfons have been forgiven and pardoned, though they themfelves were not excnipted from punilhment. Mofcs's death was the recompence of his unbe- lief, though there is no doubt to be made of his dying in the divine favour ; and Jofiah was juftly fnatched away in battle, becaufe he engaged in it againft the divine will and command ; but yet he died in peace and reconciliation with God, and was tranlmitted to the place of everlalling blifs : and from hence wc may gather, that though death was, by Mofes's law, made the penal confequence of adultery, difobedience to parents, viola- tion of the Sabbath, &c. yet whoever, among fuch criminals as thefe, turned unto God by an unfeigned dcteftation of the fins they committed, had without doubt, the benefit of legal facri- • fices, which expiated the offences of all true penitents, tliongh they were never fo great and grievous, The reafon is, <■ be- caufe this inllitution and ordinance offacrificing Vv'astlie ftanding means of falvation in the Jewiih difpenfation ; and therefore i: was requifite that the influence of it fiiould extend to all finners that were heartily forry for their ofFe'.ues, abhorring their paft crimes, and themfelves for committing them. But ifill it muft be owned that tliefc oblations and facrifices di= is not intirely determined by the learned : but the mofl prevailing opinion is, that the high-priefl was not allowed to addrefs it for any private perfon, but only for the king, the prefident of the fanhedrim, the general of the army, or fome other great prince, or public governor in Ifrael ; and that, not upon any private affairs, but fuch only as related to the public intcreft of the nation, either in church or ftate. When therefore any fuch matter happened, wherein it was neceffiry to confult God, the cuftom was for the high-prieft to put on his robes, and over them his brealt-plate, in which the Urim and Thummim were, and fo to prefent himfelf before God. The Vol. II. A a place r De Vaticinio. s Diffej t- de Urim & Thummim. t Edwards's Survey, Vol. I. Pocock in Ivis Comment on Hofea iii. 4. u Hence it poflibly is that the LXX tranflate Urim and Thummim by the words, Dilooftn Lii akthchin Manifeftation and Truth, becaufe all thefe oracular anfwers, given by Urim and Thummim, were always ck«r and manifeft, and tlieir truth ever certaiu and inFallible. Prideaux's Connect. P. I. lib. 3. x iVlr Mede and Dr Edwards feem to be of opinion, that it ir.ight be confulted in matters of a private nature. J 86 A Complete Body of Divinity . Part III, place where he prefented himfelf was before the ark of the co- venant, not within the veil of the holy of holies (for thither he never entered but once a-year, on the great day of expiation) but without the veil, in the holy place : and there Handing with his robes and breaft-plate on, and his face turned direftiy to- wards the ark and mercy-feat, whereon the divine prefence refted, he propounded the matter, and at fome diftance behind ( him (but without the holy place) flood the perfon on whofe behalf the counfel was alked, in devout expedation of the an- fwer ; which (as y it feems moft congruous to the thing) was given him by an audible voice from the mercy-feat, which was within, behind the veil. Here it was that Mofes went to aflc counfel of God in all cafes ; and from hence he was anfvvered by an audible voice : and, in like manner, whenever the high- prieft prefented himfelf before God, according to the prefcrip- tion of the divine law, it is reafonable to believe that God gave him an anfwer in the fame way as he did Mofes, /. e. by an audible voice from the mercy-feat ; and for this reafon it is that fuch addrefs for counfel is called * Inquiring at the mouth of God ; and the holy of holies (the place where the ark and mer- cy-feat flood, and from which the anfwer was given) is fo often, in fcripture, » ftiied the Oracle, becaufe from thence the oracles of God were uttered and delivered to thofe that alked counfel of him. The cere- Thkse, and fuch like, were the rites and ordinances of the law, why ceremonial and ecclefiaflical law which God gave the Jews, inftituted And, before we difmifs this argument, there are but two in- quiries more we think ourfelves concerned to make; i. For what reafon God inftituted it at firfl. And, 2. Of what con- tinuance he intended it to be. •> That all the legal rites and ceremonial worlTiip of the Jews were but fljadows, and types, and figures of Chrift, and of that redemption, righteoufnefs, and fandlification, which was to be wrought by him ; that their incenfe and oblations, their legal uncleannefs and purifications, their diftindion of meats, their faftings and feflivals, and other ordinances enjoined them by the law of Mofes, were not re- quired for their own fakes, or any virtue or efficacy fuppofed to be in the things themfelves to recommend men to God's favour, but were inftituted to fignify the inward purity and integrity of the heart, and by outward obfervances, and fenfible things,' to lead a carnal and fenfual people to the knowledge and prac- tice of things fpiritual, we have, in fome meafure, proved before ; and the author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews has Ihewn enough to fuperfede any farther inquiry. <= That they were ordained iikewife for the prevention of idolatry, and to keep the people from atiirft. y Prideaux's Conneci. P. I. lib 3. z Jo(h. \%. 14. vi. 5, &c. 2 Chron. iii. 16. Chap, iv. 30, &;c.- Vgl. II, c Collier's ItKcodut^lvn. a Pfal. xxviii 2. I Kings b Jenkia's ReafonableQefS} Chap. IV. Of the Jewish Laws, &c. ' j^^ from hankering after the ways and cuftoms of the religious wor- Hiip performed to idols and falfe gods, eitiier by the Egyptians, from whom they came, or the inhabitants of Canaan, whither they were going, or any of the idolatrous nations about them, is what * the learned among the Jews, and ' the antient fathers of the chriftian church have not been wanting toobferve. Mai- nionides was the hrffc who oppofed and confuted that received opinion of fome Jewilh doftors, that there was no reafon to b2 given for the ritual law, which was wholly to be afcribed to the fovereign will and pleafure of God. He, by his acquaintance with the rites and ceremonies of the Zabii, an antient fort of idolaters in the Eaft, came to perceive that moft of the Jcwilh rites were inftituted in direct oppofition to the fuperftition of that people. The Jewilh prohibition f of cutting or mangling their flelh, of (having the corners of their heads, « of wearing a garment of linen and woollen, »> of fowing the ground w ith different feeds, > of feething a kid in his mother's milk: ^^ of a woman's wearing the armour of a man, and a man's wearing the garments of a woman : thefe, and feveral other precepts of the law of Mofes, are reduced by that learned Rabbin, from ido- latrous cuftoms, as the occafion of them ; and his conjectures feem to have more weight, becaufe God, in general, did fo ftridlly forbid the Jews to imitate the practices of other nations ; 1 after the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, ye fhall not do ; and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whi- ther I bring you, ye Ihall not do ; I am the Lord your God, ye Ihall therefore keep my ftatutes, and my judgments : which words feem to imply, not only that the idolatrous rites of the Gentiles were forbidden, but that thofe of God's appointment were made in diredl oppofition to them : and, accordingly, we find the Roman hiftorian reprefenting the Jews »' as a people, whofe religious rites were contrary to all the world beiides ; that what to others was moft facred, they accounted profane ; -and allowed as lawful, what other nations were wont to abo- minate. If then the Mofaic laws and ceremonies were given the Dr Spcn- Jews as barriers againft idolatry, and formally repugnant to the ^er's opini- praftice of the Gentiles ; it would found but very oddly, one ^^ ^enfui- would think, " to be told, " That moft of them were of hea- *' then original ; and that to cure his people of idolatry, God *' had borrowed the inftitution of new moons and Sabbaths, '' of d Maimon. More Nev. P. III. c. 29. e Prima legis noftrse intentio idola- triam tollere, & quae illi adhserent, &: occafionem pr«beiit. Ircnaeus Lib. IV. c. 28. Facilem ad idola rcverti populum erudiebat per multas avocutiones, &c. Tertnll. ontra Marc. Lib. II. c 18. f Lev. xix 28,29. g Ibid. xix. 19. h Deut. x.sii. 9. i Kxod. xxiii. 19. k Deut. xxii. 5. 1 Lev. xviii. 3, 4. m Profana illis omnia, quse apud nos facra, rurfum concefTa apud illot, qua? nobis incefta. Tacitus Hift- Lib. V. c. 4- The like reprefentation is made ot" them by Dion CafiiuS; Lib- XIvXVJI. n Spencer dc Ltrj;ibus Ikbr. L- III. l88 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, " of tithes and firft-fruits, of oblations and facrifices, of Urim " and Thummim, of the ark and cherubim s, and aim oft of all '' the other ordinances of the tabernacle and temple-worihip " from idolatrous nations." But » here we may appeal to any fober and confiderate man, whether it be confiftent with good fenfe, or congruous to truth and reafon, that God Ihould make laws exactly contrary to the Chaldeans and Egyptians, and other Fsgan nations, fhewing thereby, that he hated the very fem- blance of their rites ; and yet, at the fame time, take the rife of its inftitutions frofn the cuftoms and praftices of thefe Gentiles : nay, whether it gives us not fuch an idea of God (as reverence to his tremendous Majefty will not fuffer us to name) to repre- fent him raking up all the vain, ludicrous, fuperftitious, ^mpious, i^ipure, idolatrous, magical, and diabolical cuttoms, which had been firft invented, and afterwards practifed, by the moft bar- barous nations ; aad, out of all thefe, patching up a great part When to of the religion which he appointed his own people. But I for- ceafe. jjggj. exaggerations ; and ihall only obferve, that, as many pre- cepts of the ceremonial law were not fo much founded on any unalterable reafon, as inftituted in bar and oppofition to the idolatrous cuftoms of the nations among whom the Jews then dwelt, and to diftinguifti them from the reft of mankind ; fo do they feem, in their primary intendment, not to have been de- Iigned for any longer continuance than the reafon which at firft occafioned them, fhould remain in force. And therefore, when the prophecies Ihould be fulfilled, and p the defire of all nations was come ; i when the mountains of the Lord's houfe ihould be exalted; and all nations flow into it; fo that, f from the rifing of the fun, unto the going down thereof, God's name Jliould be exalted among the Gentiles, and, in every place, in- cenfe ihould be made unto him, and a pure-offering ; then fliould the ceremonies, which made a feparation between God's people and other nations, and ' the facrifice and oblation, which were of peculiar ufe and inftitution, and not adapted to an uni- verfal difpenfation, be caufed to ceafe. C HAP. V. The moft memorable Tranfaftions from the giving of the Law to the building of the Temple. Eefore \T7HILE Mofes was on the mount, receiving thefe laws Chrift, V V from the mouth of God, the people below foon forgot » the V/v-v^j Promifes of obedience they had made, and fell into a fad apofta- of the cy. Mofes, at his going up into the mount, appointed ^ Aaron \vor)i!, and &c. o Edwards's Survey, Vol. I. p Hag. ii, 7. q Ifa. ii. 2. r Mai. i. 1 1. s Dan, ix. 27. aExod. xxiv. 3- b Ver. 14. Chap. V. From the giving the Law to the building the Temple. 1 89 and Hur to be the rulers of the people, during his abfence ; but his abfence being longer tiian was expected, the children of Ifrael began to be uneafy. They faw the glory of the Lord, which was like devouring fire, on the top of the mount, and tliereupon they concluded, that Mofes, who tarried lb long. The golden was certainly deftioyed in the flames : they faw too, that the calf why pillar of the cloud, which ufed to relt upon the tabernacle, and ™^'*** conducl them in their marches, was gone, and in no likelihood of returning again ; and hereupon, having lolt their leader, as they thought, and the vifible token of God's prefence among them, they come unto Aaron, and in a tumultuous manner, de- mand of him to make them another reprei'entation of the divine prefence, in the room of what was departed from them. ' Up, fay they, and make us gods (or as the Hebrew text will bear it) make us a god which lliall go before us : for as for this Mofes, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him : ^ not that they were fo (hipid as to imagine, that the true God could be made by any man, or that any image could be a means of conducting them ; but what they wanted was, fome outward objed, to fupply the want of the cloud, by being a type and fynibol of the Deity, and where they might depofite the homage which they intended to pay to the fupreme God ; for fo <■ fome of the Jewilh doftors have ex- pounded the text of Mofes, they deiired a fenfible objed: of divine worlliip to be fet before them ; not with an intention to deny God, who brought them out of Egypt, but that fomething in the place of God, might ftand before them, when they de- clared his wonderful works. The commandment againft making images had fo lately, in Wliy Aa- fo terrible a manner, been enjoined by God himfelf, that though ^°^ ti'J it- fome reafon may be given, why the children of Ifrael \\'ere fo forward to make the demand, yet none can be imagined, why Aaron lliould comply with it, without remonflrance; and yet we meet with no refufal recorded by Mofes ; all that we have, in extenuation of Aaron's fault, is from the fuggeflions of the Rabbins, ^ who pretend, that Aaron's compliance proceeded from his fear ; that the people had murdered Hur, the other deputy, for oppofmg their defire ; that s to difcourage them from purfuing it, Aaron demanded all their golden ear-rings, n hopes that they would not nfift upon having an idol, which would coft them fo dear ; but that, when nothing would avail, he took their gold, and call it into the fire, and contraiy to his in- tention, >•■ by fome magical and diabolical art, there immediately came c Exod. xxxii. I. d Saurin's DifTertation, and Patrick's Commentary, e R.Jehudah, in Lib. Cczri, P. I. SeCT:. 97. f Vid. Shtmoth Rabba, Sci'L 4f-^ Fol. 136. g Vid. Augud. Tom. 4. Qiiaft. 41. in Exod. h The ambi;;uity of the words wherein .laron excufes hmilelf, I caft it, /. c tlie golil which they g^ve me, into the fire, and there came out this tnlf, E.^,od. xxxii. 24. Rave uccaiiou ipo A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. came forth a calf, which much increafed the people's fuperfti- tion. But this, and ■ abundance more of the hke nature feems to be conceits, invented for the excuie of Aaron, who is plainly- enough faid to have ^ made this molten calf, which he could not have done without defigning it, and running the gold into a mould of that figure. Why acalf BuT here a famous queftion does arife. ^' For what pofiible embfem^of '' reafon Aaron fhould make choice of the image of a calf to the Deity. *' be an expreflive emblem of the Deity ? " What we here Different render calfy is, > in other places of fcripture, called an ox, and opinions, gg 21^ Qj^»g head was, in fome countries, "> an emblem of ftrength, and the horns, a common fign of kingly power ; " a learned prelate, out of a defire to apologize for Aaron, tells us, that his intention in making an ox the fymbol of the divine prefence, was, to remind the Ifraelites of the power of God, and to ex- prefs the great tokens they had feen of it in their wonderful deliverance from the land of Egypt, ° But how ingenious fo- ever this opinion may be, yet it wants this foundation for its fupport, that this hieroglyphic was in ufe, in the time of Mofes, which will hardly be proved ; nor can we well imagine, why Aaron fhould forget to plead this in excufe for himfelf, when he is called to an account by Mofes, or why God fhould have been fo highly incenfed againft him, had his defign been only to exhibit a fymbol of the divine power and authority to a people of too grofs fentiments, without fuch a vifible reprefentation, ever to comprehend it. p Another learned prelate of our own nation, equally in- clined to excufe this adion of Aaron's, fuppofes, that he took his pattern from part of what he faw on the holy mount, i when the Shechinah of God came down upon it, attended with angels, fomeof which were cherubims, or angels appearing in the form of occafion to this conceit; whereas his intent only is, to plead, in mitigatiomof his fault, that he was not actually the maker of the image ; and therefore he reprefents, that they required him to make them a God; that thereupon he afked them for materials ; that they brought him their gold; Then, fays he, 1 caft it into the fire, I delivered it out of my hands to the ufe it was defigned for, into the furnace in which itwas to be melted, and there came out this Calf, i. e. " I was no further cpncerned in what was done; the next thing I faw was " acalf: what was done farther was done by others, not by me ; the work- " men made the calf, and brought it to me." Exod. xxxii. 24. And there- fore, to make this his excufe confiftent with what went before, thewords in the fourth verfe of this chapter, he received them at their hands, and he fafliioned it, &c. by a fmall emendation in the text, may be rendered, not in the Angu- lar, but in the plural number thus. — .\nd he received it [i. e. the gold] at their hands; and they formed it into a mould, and they made a molten calf, and they faid. This is thy God, O Ifrael. Vid. Shuckford's Conneft. Vol. 111. Lib. II. i Nay, fome of th« Jews go a great deal farther, and fay, that the devil entered into this calf, and mide it roar like a bull, to ftrike the greater awe into the people^ as R. Judah faith in Pirke Eliefer, C. 45- and in Tanchu- ma, they fay, it not only roared, but danced alfo. Patrick's Commentary, k Exod. xxxii. 4. 1 Pfal. cvi. 20. m So it was among the PhtEnicians, the Egyptians, and the Romans, as Patrick ftiews in his Commentary, n J'atrick, ibid, o Sauriu's Diflert. p Tcnnifon, of Idolatry, c. 6. cj Exod. xxiv. 10. Chap. V. From the giving the Laiv to the bulldhg the Temple. 191 of oxen: but this opinion is inconfifient with the great care that was taken on Sinai, not to furniili any pretext for idolatry, and the caution that Mofes gives the people to that purpofe, Take ye therefore good heed unto yourfelves (for ye fa\v no manner of fimihtude, on the day that the Lord I'pake unto you in Horeb, out of the midit of the fire) left ye corrupt yourfelves, and make you a graven image ; the iimilitude of any figure, the likenefs of any male or female, the likenefs of any bealt that is on the earth, the likenefs of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, the likenefs of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likenefs of any filh, &c. Where the holy Spirit enumerates animals of all kinds, and pofitively afTures us, that none of their forms or figures appeared upon the mount. The generality of interpreters who are not fo inclined to ex- cufe Aaron's fault, have run into this opinion, that he made choice of the figure of an ox or a calf, in compliance to the prejudice of the people, and becaufe that creature was wor- shipped in Egypt. That the Ifraelites were forely infe^ed with the idolatry of the Eg^'ptians, we have many plain proofs >■ from fcripture to convince us ; that all forts of animals were worfhipped by the Egyptians, and among the terreftrial, more efpecially the ox, ' is what the feveral authors who have treated of the affairs of Egypt do abundantly teftify ; and that the idolatry of animals, and more efpecially of the ox, was eftablilhed in Egypt during the fojourning of the Ifraelites in that land, is more than probable from thofe words of Mofes to Pharaoh, * if we facritice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, /". e. " if we facrifice to our God oxen, (heep and goats, which the Egyptians worfliip and adore, and confequently make an abomination to the Lord, will they not ftone us? So that it feems moft rational to i'uppofe, that this image was made in com- pliance to the giddy humour of the people, and in imitation of the Egyptians, who worlliipped their idol Apis, or Serapis, not only in a living ox, but in an image made after the fimihtude of an ox, with a bufliel on his head, in memory (as fome fay) of Pharaoh's dreams, and Jofeph's provifion againft the dearth that enfued them ; if it were apparent that the worlhip of the Eg>'ptian Apis was prior to the formation of this golden calf, which happens to be a point wherein w the learned are not fo well agreed. HowF.VF.R. this be, it is a great inftance of the clemency of God, as well as » the prevalency of a great man's prayers, that Aaron, r Vid. Jofh. xxi v. 1 4. Ezek. xx. 7, SChap. xx. 2. s Vid. Strab. Lib. 1 7. de Egy p- tiacisTemplis. Herod. L. 2.Diodor. L 1. &: Plutar. Mor. Lib. delfide&Ofiride. t Exod viij. 26 u TheChaldee iiiterprcfers, the Syriac, and others take the paflnge in this fenfc, which feems indeed to be the moft obvious, w Vid. Jer- Voir de Idolat. C 6. Bochart. Hieroz. P. I. L. 2. 2. and Tennifon of Idolatry. X ]ii the prayer which Mofes makes for the forgivenefs of this offence, there is thisexprefTion of a particular vehemence: But yet if thou wilt forgivetheir fins, aud Ipa A Cotnpleie Body of Divinity . Part III. Aaron, who upon all accounts cannot but be thought guilty of a gi-eat offence, upon the interceffion of his brother Mofes, was not only pardoned, when y others were devoted to deftrudion, but both he and his fons not long after admitted to the honour of the priefthood, and to have that honour fettled upon his fa- Of the inily in an hereditary fuccelfion. Two of his fons, however, World, Nadab and Abihu, were fcarce inverted in their office before "Before'^ they violated the obligations of it, and incurred a fevere pe- Chrift nalty for fo doing : ^ they took their cenfers (as Mofes has re- 1493, 8:c. lated the faft) and put fire therein, and put incenfe thereon, ^-'^^"'"^^ and offered flrange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not ; and there went out fire from the Lord and devoured Ah^h^^' ^"^ them. Now, in order to know what this offence of offering crime. ftrange fire before the Lord was, we mud obferve, that after the confecration of Aaron and his fons to the prieflly office^ » a, miraculous fire from the Lord, /. e. a fire which either came down immediately from heaven, or out of the cloud which co- vered the tabernacle, confumed the firft viftims which Aaron ofTered for a burnt-offering : that God had exprefsly command- ed i" fthat the fire which was upon the altar fhonld not be fuffered to go out, which (according to the confent of moft interpreters) llgnines that the faid miraculous fire, which had confirmed the inftallation of Aaron and his fons, after fo furprifing a manner fhould be kept alive, and burning with the utmolt care ; and that, as it was required ' by another law, that at this very fire Aaron was to kindle the incenfe he offered to God in the moft holy place, on the great day of expiation ; fo we may take it for granted that the like law was impofed on the inferior priefls, ,with relation to the incenfe which they were to offer every day before God in the holy place. We have indeed no mention made of fuch a law, but the hiflory we are commenting upon gives us ftrong prefnmption that the ufc of this fire only was prefcribed ; and therefore the words, which he commanded them not, are thought to imply an exprefs prohibition of any other. Different The crime then of Nadab and Abihu confifted in their kind- opinions ling with fire (different from that which was continually on the concerning ajt-g,. Qf burnt-offerings, and confequently different from that which God had appointed them to ufe) the incenfe which their office of priefts obliged them to offer up to God, every morning and and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of the book which thou haft -written. Exod. xxxii. 32. Whereby Mofes does not (as fome imagine) wifh damnation to himfelf, but only to be excufed from living any longer, if God fiiall refufe to grant him his requeft: for tlie expreflion has a manifeft reference to the numbering the people of Ifrael, whofe names were thereupon written in a regifter, and as they died blotted cut every year: and therefore we find him, upon the like occaflou, praying in the famefenfe; if thou deal thus with me, kin me, I pray thee, out of hand. Numb. xi. 15. y Exod. xxxii. 27, Sec z Lev. X. I. a Ibid. ix. 24. b Ibid. vi. ic c Ibid. xvi. 12. Chap. V. From the giving the Imw to the buUdhig the Temple. 193 and evening, in the holy place. * Other offences indeed have been laid to their charge; "i feme pretending that they endea- voured to intrude into the moft holy place (which was not per- mitted them to enter) becaufe immediately after the recital of their death, in another place^ Mofes relates how God command- ed him to fpeak unto Aaron, <= that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy-feat, that he die not : and f others inlmuating that they were guilty of in- temperance at the entertainment made at their inllallation ; becaufe after the relation of their fatal end, Mofes by God's order gives this injunftion to Aaron and the remainder of his fons ; s do not drink wine nor ftrcft)g drink, thou, nor thy Tons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, left ye die : it Ihall be a rtatute for ever through your genera- tions, that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, be- tween unclean and clean : but thefe are no more than bare furmifes that have no proper foundation in the foregoing texts ; nor is there any occadon to hunt out for pafl'agcs to augment thefe offenders crime. Nadab and Abihu had not only been admitted, in common Tliehei- with the I'eft of their brethren, to the honour of the priedhood, jio«fneis o!: which among the Jews was a dignity of no fniall efteem, >> but had particular motives, vvhicl) the others had not, to the ob- fervance of all God's precepts ; ■ as having had the privilege of feeing the fymbols of the divine prefcnce on that formidable mount, from whence his laws were promulgated, without being confumed. The higher therefore their ftation was, and the more didin'Tuilhino- the favours they had received, the more provoking was their affront in attemptmg to adulterate an or- dinance of God's inltitution. Common fire they thought might ferve the purpofeof burning incenfe, as well as that which was held more facred ; at leaft in the gaiety, or rather naughtinefs of their hearts, they were minded to try the experiment, even m oppofition to the divine command ; and therefore it was juft and requifite in God (efpecially "^ in the beginning of the prieft- hood, and when one alteration in a divine precept might, in jjrocefs of time, be productive of many more) to inflid an ex- emplary punilhment upon them, that others mrght hear, and fear, and not commit the like abominations. It may be imagined perhaps that the injundion was a little Aaron's be* too fevere, ' which upon pain of death forbade Aaron to Ihew •'^viour tT TT ^ ^ T. I upon It. Vol. II, B b any * Le Clerc, in his Commentary upon Lev. xi.s. 23, is of opinion, that when Aaron came down from the altar, after he had offered the appointed facrifices, and went with Mofes into the tabernacle of the congregation, it was to hare Mofes fhev/ him how he was to burn the incenfe according to the command- ment of God, Exod.xxx- 7, 8. And that Aaron, when he was inftruded by Mofes, ordered bis fons Kadab and Abihu to do the fame, which they badly obeyed. d Lc Clerc on Levit. x. e Lev. xvi. i, 2. f Patrick on Lev. x. g Lev. X. 9, lo. h Saiirin's Diflept. JExod. xxiv. k Le Clerc's Coinmeiitury. I Ley. X 3, 6. J 94 A Complete Body of Divinity, Part III. any tokens of forrow for fo great a lofs. *' What, fliould not *' a father, in fuch circumftances, be permitted lo devote fome *' time to grief, which the fatal end of two of his children did ** fo juftly call for ? Should religion reftrain our tears, when *' we fee thofe whom nature has fo clofely united to us die im- *' penitent? Can ^ny confolation be a balance to this reflec- " tion, or any grief excelhve, which is caufed by the lofs of a " foul?" % Now, though we are not allowed to judge, or determine any thing concerning the eternal fate of mens fouls ; and our religion, which requires us to tremble for our own fal- vation, requires us to hope always for that of others ; yet in cafe we were affured even by a divine revelation, that thofe to v.'hom we were united by the nioft tender bands of nature, were for ever fentenced to the divine wrath ; even then it would become us to refign them to the will of God. Aaron, however, had no fuch revelation : he might prefume that the juftice of God, being fatisfied with the temporal punilhment of iiis fons, might be appeafed with relation to their eternal flate, and that f the flefii being deftroyed, their fpirits might be faved in the day of the Lord. He knew too, how much him.felf had lately offended in the matter of the golden calf, and might juftly think that God had called his fin to remembrance in the deftruc- tion of his fons : he acknowledged therefore the righteoufnefs of God, in all that he had brought upon him : he wifely adored the divine hand, which, though armed with thunder, was not lefs worthy of homage ; "> he was dumb (as the fcripture ex- prefl'es it) and opened not his mouth, becaufe it was the Lord's doing. Whilst the children of Ilrael lay before the holy mount, of en- but were now upon their removal from thence, their encamp- camping, ments and marches, by the fpecial order of God, were difpofed in this manner. " In their encampment they were formed into four battalions, each under one general ftandard ; and thefe were fo placed that they inclofed the tabernacle. <> The ftan- dard of the camp of Judah was firft, which confifted of the tribes of Judah, Iffachar, and Zabulun, the fons of Leah ; and was pitched over-againftthe tabernacle, on the eaft-fide of it, or towards the rifino; of the fun. On the fouth-fide was the ftandard of the camp of Reuben; under which were the tribes of Reuben and Simeon, the fons of Leah likewife, and of Gad the fon of Zilpah her maid. On the M'eft-fide was the ftandard of the camp of Ephraim ; imder which were the tribes of Ephraim, Manaffeh and Benjamin : and on the north-fide was the \ Sanrin's DifTert. f i Cor. v. 5- ni Pfal. xxxix. 9. n Howell's Hiftory of the Bible, o Each ftandarJ had the fign of fome creature engraven on it : that of Judah had the image of a lion ; Reuben, a man ; Ephraim, an ox; and Dan, an eagle. For what reafon thefe hieroglyphics were appointed, it is not fo eafy to difcern, though fome have imagined that the man denotes wifdom, the lion, power; the ox, afliduity; and the eagle, expedition in the executioHof Cod's coimnandj. Howell; ibid. The Ifrael ites man rer Chap. V. From the giving the Law to the luUdlng the Temple. 195 the ftandard of the camp of Dan ; under which were the tribes of Dan and Naphtah, the fons of Bilhah, Rachel's maid, and of Adier the fon of Zilpah. !• Between the four great camps and the tabernacle were pitched four lefs camps, confifling of the priefts and Levites, near to the tabernacle where their fervice lay. On the eaft-fide encamped Mofes and Aaron, with Aaron's fons, who had the charge of the fancluary. On the fouth-(ide were the Kohathites, a part of the Levites defcended from Ko- hath, the fecond fon of Levi. On the weft-fide, behind the tabernacle, ftood the Gerflionites, another part of the Levites, defcended from Gerflion, Levi's eldeff fon ; and on the north- fide were placed the Merarites, the remaining part of the Le- vites, who were fprung from Merari, Levi's youngeft fon. This was the order of their encamping ; and the manner of and march- their diQodging and inarching was thus. 1 When they were »ng- to remove (which was when the cloud was taken off the ta- bernacle) the trumpet was founded, and upon the firft alarm, the ftandard of Judah being raifcd, the three tribes which be- longed to it fet forward. Then the tabernacle being taken down, the Gerflionites and Merarites attended the waggons with the boards and ftaves of it. When thefe were on their march, a fecond alarm was founded ; upon which the ftandard of Reuben's camp advanced, with the three tribes under it. After them followed the Kohathites bearing the fanduary ; which being more holy and lefs cumberfome than the heavy boards and pillars of the tabernacle, vas not put into a waggon, but carried on their Ihoulders. Next followed the ftandard of Ephraim's camp, with the three tribes belonging to it ; and laft of all the other three tribes, under the ftandard of Dan, brought up the rear. It will not be expeded that we fliould follow thefe people in all their marches and encampments, and take notice of every accident that befel them in the wildernefs, before they arrived at the land of promife : let it fuffjce, that in this and other parts of their hiftory, we animadvert only upon fuch occurrences as are moft remarkable, and have been the fubjecl of fome theo- logical difquifition. ^ The long ftay which the Ifraelitcs had made in the wil- ^^^^''^^j dernefs of Sinai, had fo accuftomed them to eafe and indolence, ^^at. ° ' that a march of three days (and that not without fome reft and relaxation to be fure, otherwife they could not have gathered the manna, which fell every night about their tents, and ' would keep no longer than one day) made them murmur and com- plain. God had heretofore pardoned their offences of this kind, and even indulged them in every thing they murmured for ; but ftncc p Between each tribe, in every ore of thefe quarters, as Jofcphus tells us [in Aniiq. 1. p;. c. 1 1.] there were diflant fpaces like {Ircets. where there was buy- ing and felling, ns in a mnrket, and traileirncn in their fliops, in the iiiaiiucr cf a city, <] Howell, ibid, r iumin's Diffcrtatiiuis. 5 Exod. xvi. ip6 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, fmce the promulgation of the law, he began to treat them with more feverity, and to punilh their refradorinefs in proportion to the knowledge that he had given them : and therefore a fire, which the fcripture calls the fire of the Lord, as either coming immediately from heaven, • like lightning, or from the pillar of the cloud, and fire over the tabernacle, burnt among them, and confumed « fome in every part of the camp ; or, if the words (as they are in our trandation) be rendered in the utmoft parts of the camp, then may the fuppofition * of a learn- ed commentator feem not improbable, viz. that which is here called fire was an hot burning wind, in thefe defert places not unufual, and many times very peflilential, but on this occafion preternaturally raifed in the rear of the army, to punifh the itragglers, and fuch as out of pretence of wearinefs lagged behind. This difafler, inftead of terrifying them into their duty, did but increafe their murmuring. They began now to impute their debility and wearinefs in marching to the poverty of their diet ; to upbraid Mofes with the plenty of iirong food they had in Egypt ; and with vehemence and importunity enough to Mofes's clamour for fleih. Here it was that Mofes's faith failed him : Diffidence, for God having promifedto give the people fleih in abundance, even for the fpace of a whole month, the holy man, as in a fud- den lapfe of mind, fecms to forget the miracles which God had formerly wrought : >•■ the people, fays he, among whom 1 am, are fix hundred thoufand footmen ; and thou haft faid, I will give them fleih, that they may eat a whole month ; Jhall the flocks and the herds be flain for them, to fuffice them ? Or ihall all the fiih of the fea be gathered together for them, to fuffice them ? Thefe are fuppofed to be fome of the words which Mofes > fpake unadvifedly with his lips, and for which God gave him this gentle rebuke, ^ Is the Lord's hand waxen ihort? Thou fhalt fee whether my word fnall come topafs unto thee or not. Accordingly there arofe a mighty wind, which brought vaft numbers of ^^ quails from the fea-coafl: within a mile of the camp; t 2 Kings 1. 12. u So Bochart has demonftrated that the word which we tranflate the utmoft parts, fignifies in all, or throughout. Hieroz. P. H. L. I. C. 34- * Le Clcrc's Commentary on Numb. xi. x Numb. xi. 21, 22. y Pfal. cvi. 33. 7. Numb. xi. 23. a Thefe quails muft be fuppofed to come from the Arabian or Red Sea; and, as Paran and Kibroth Hattaavah were north or north-eaft of the Red-fea, it muft be a foutherly wind that brought them thither. Whether they were quails or locufts, is a matter of great difpute among the learned. The great Bochart in his Hicrozoicon [P. II. L. i.e. 15] has pro- duced many weighty arguments and anthorities to prove they were the for- mer; but the learned Ludolphus (whom we mentioiied before on this fubjeft) in his Commentary upon his Ethiopic Hiftory [L. i. e. 4] is fuppofed by feme £0 plead, with more juftncfs and truth of reafon, for the iatter ; however that i>e, they both agree that quails and locufts were bred in great plenty about the banks of the Red-fea ; Bocbart proves from Jofephus [Antiq. L. iii. c. 1.] an,d Pliny [L. x- c. 23 ] as to quails; and Ludolphus from Sti-abo [L. xvi.] and Diodorus Siciilus [L. iii ] as to Locuftb; fo that, which foever they were, it is very prefumab^e that they came from the Ised-feac Chap. V. From the giving the Law to the hulldvig the Temple. ic)y camp ; which the people, ftill diffident of God's providence, fell greedily to gathering, as if they were never to have any more. However, while they were regaling themfelves with thefe dainties, the fcripture tells us that God fent ^ a great plague among them : but of what particular kind that plague was, it is not fo well agreed among commentators. «= Some, from the words of the Pfalmift, = Take the rod, fays he, and gather the alTem- bly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and fpeak ye unta the rock before their eyes, and it ihall give forth his water, and thou Ihalt bring forth to them water out of the rock ; fo that thou Ihalt give the congregation, and their hearts, drink. This was the order God gave Mofes, and this the promife of the miracle he intended to work. How it was, commentators are at variance to determine ; but certain it is, that there was fome great default, both in Mofes and Aaron, either in not giv- ing fufficient credit to the miracle, or not executing the order, as God appointed ; becaufe we find him decreeing, that they fhould not live <> to bring the congregation into the land that he had given them ; becaufe they believed not, to fanclify him in the eyes of the children of Ifrael ; which accordingly hap- pened, for Aaron " was gathered to his people, the very next ftation they came to, and Mofes not very long after. The Talmudifts have a very odd conceit, that the great fin, for which Mofes and Aaron were hindered from going into the land of Canaan was, becaufe they called God's people f Rebels ; and from hence they have formed a maxim, that he, who treats the church, which ought to be honoured, with contempt, is, as if he blafpheraed the name of God. But in oppofition to this, it Ihould be confidered, g that Mofes, on this occafion, ufes the very fame language that God himfelf does, when he bids a Patrick's Commentary on Numb. xx. b Numb, xxxiii. 36. c Ibid. xx. 8. d Ibid. ver. t2. e Ibjd. ver. 24. f Ibid, veri ic S Patrick's Commentary. Mofes's offence hereupon, what. Several opiaions concerning k. Chap. V. Fro7n the giving the Imu to the building the Temple. 201 bids him lay up the rod of Aaron, " as a token agaiiifl the re- bels; and that, if this was the thing wherein he offended Cod, he, not long after, committed the fame in an higher degree again (which nobody can think lie would have'done, had it al- ready coll: him fo dear) when he told the people plainly, '<■ Ye have been rebellious againft the Lord, ever fince I knew you/ Several chriltian, as well as Jewifh expoiitors, think, that the tranfgrefhon of Mofes lay in fmiting the rock, whtn he was only ordered to fpeak to it : and, for the fupport of this, they al- ledge k that God is an abfolute Ibvereign, expecting an abfolute obedience, and exacting puniihment, even of his greateit fa- vourites, when they pretend to vary from his commands, or to mix their own conceptions with his directions. But though there feems fomething in this, yet it is not eafy to conceive for what purpofe God appointed him to take the rod, if he was not to fmite the rock with it, as he had done before. It is certain fhemoft that ' the divine writers, who have touched upon this hilfory, probable. have made mention of two defaults in Mofes, his impatience, and his infidelity ; and therefore we may fuppofe, that, the wa- ter now ceafing >" at the time when his fiiler Miriam died, he was exceedingly troubled on both thefe accounts ; that, unex- pededly affaulted by the people, who ought to have paid him more reverence, efpecially in a time of mourning, he fell into a greater commotion of anger and indignation than was ufually in him ; and that this anger gave fuch a difturbance to his mind, and fo difordered his thoughts, that, when God bade him take his rod, and go, and fpeak to the rock, he fell into fome doubt, whether the divine goodnefs would grant the people the fame favour he had done before ; that therefore he ilruck the rock with diffidence, believing it improbable that fuch worthlefs and rebellious wretches (hould delerve a miracle ; and that the wa- ter, not iifning at the firft Iboke, his diffidence increafed into unbelief, and a fettled perfualion, that they fhouldhave none at all. Another conjecture " of a very learned man (which I men- tion, that the reader may judge which has the belt appearance) is, — that Mofes and Aaron began to diftruff God's promife of entering into the land of Canaan, at the end of forty years, and to imagine, that, if they brought water ag.iin out of the rock, it muit follow them as long as the other had done, and engage them again in the like wanderings : and therefore the comment he makes upon their words is this: What, ye rebels, mule wc brino- water out of a rock, as we did at Iloreb? Are all our hopes and expectations of getting out of the wildernefs come to this ? We never fetched you water out of the rock but once, and that was, becaufe we were to (tay a long time in the wil- VoL. II. C c dernefs, h Numb. xvii. lo. i Deut. ix. 24. k Howell's Hiftory of the Bible. 1 Pfal. 'vi. 32, 33. and Numb. xx. 10. inNumb. xx. 1. n Lighttbot's Clironica Temp, ill Numb, xx. 102 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, dernefs, and muil^ve begin our abode here again, when we thought we had attained to the end of our travels ? O ye rebels, have ye brought it to this pals by your murmurings? Where- upon he prefently fmote the rock in a paiTion twice, whereas God commanded him only to fpeak to it. But which foever of thefe conje^lures we are inclined to think moft plaufible, there are few writers, but who are difpofed to extenuate the fault of Mofes and Aaron, ° as not deferving fo fevere a puniOiment, had not God, in pafling their fentence, confidered the excellency and dignity of their perfons, in whom a fault of this nature was far more grievous, and inexcufeable, than in ordinary men. S E C T. I. Of the fiery Serpents, Balak, and Balaam, Sec. Of the 'T'^HE wildernefs, wherein the Ifraelites travelled, was full ^^,°'^'^,' •!■ of all kinds of ferpents ; and Mofes reprefents it as one Before of the greateft mercies and miracles, vouchfafed that people, Chrift, that God V led them through it, all along proteding them from X^y^^'^] ^^^^^ venomous creatures, until they began to complain -i of the The fiery tedioufncfs of their journeys, and their want of provifions, even ferpents. when they were fupplied by a miraculous providence every day; and then he withdrew that proteftion, and fent ferpents among them, >■ whofe biting raifed fuch inflammations in their bodies, as occafioned the death of fome of the moft; guilty, and Thehrafen violent pains in all of them. I|[pon their repentance, however, ferpent, gj^j |.jjp intercellion of hisfervaut Mofes, he appointed a remedy choice of. °^ ^ particular nature, ' the figure of one of thefe ferpents, made of polilhed brafs, and fixed upon a pole, to cure all that were bitten, as oft as they looked up to it. Whether the fight of brafs (as fome naturalius fay) be hurtful or no, in fuch cafes, ^ this is certainly a prefcription of phyficians, that fuch people as are bitten with any venomous beaft, ihould be kept from the fight of the very image of the beafl: from which they received fuch hurt ; and therefore God might take occafion, from the contrariety of means, to make ufe of this kind of re- medy, that the Ifraelites might know and be perfuaded, that both their difeafe, and their medicine came from him. " A talifman, o Patrick's Commentary, p Deut. viii. 15. q Numb. xxi. 4, j. r Gerard Voflius is of opinion, that the fiery ferpents, of which Mofes fpeaks, were of the fame kind with thofe which the Greeks call Prelhrei' and Ka^fuones, and Pliny reckons among the Sceleratiflimi Serpentes. the moft pernicious ferpents, . Lib. XXIV. c. 13. But the famous Bocharr, has, by many arguments, proved, that they were a fort of ferpents, called Hydri.becaufe, in winter, they lived m fsns and marlhes; but thefe fens and watry places being dried up in the funimer, they then living in dry places, were thereupon called Cherfydri, and, in the hot feafons of the year, had a moft fiifirji and ftinging poifon, Boch. Hicroz. Part II. Lib. III. c. 13. Now, it beiug the latter end of Augutl when they infefted the Ifraelites, they could not but be very venomous, Patrick's Coir.raeutary. i Xumb. XX!. 8. t Patrick, ibid. Chap. V. From the giving the Law to the building the Temple. 20 -> » A talifman, which (according to the common account) is a Its virti:^ certain piece of metal, made under the infhience of liich and ^^'^^""• fuch planets or conflellations, having wonderful qualities, to be- get love, and overcome enenjies, to drive away noxious animals, and cure fome kinds of difeafes, is a chimerical notion ; and thofe who pretend to refemble the figure which God appointed Mo- fes to fet up, to any of thefe vain devices, deferve our fcorn, more than our confutation. The author of the book of Wif- dom, addrefling himfelf to God, and fpeaking of the Ifraelites, has impured the virtue of this ferpent to its true caufe, * he, that turned himfelf toward it, was not healed by the thing which he faw, but by Thee, who art the Saviour of all ; and there- • fore he calls ir, iij the foregoing verfe, a Sign, or Symbol of Sal- vation, to put them in remembrance of the commandment of the law. The only conGdcrable difficulty in the v/hole tranfac^ion is, why God, who had forbidden all manner of images, fhould, on this occafion, command one to be made. This the Jewilh doctors (as Juftin Martyr ^ obferves in his days) could give no account of; but had they known Jefus Chrift, and him crucifi- A type ot" ed, they might have foon perceived r that God intended it for thrift, a type of the death of Chrift, and the mannei- in which he was to die ; and that the effcfts of the brafen ferpent, upon them who looked on it, did reprefent the virtue receivecl by true be- lievers from the death of their Redeemer : for fo we find Chrift himfelf explaining the myfterious meaning of it ; ^ as Mofes lifted up the ferpent in the wildernefs, even fo muft the Son of Man be lifted up, that whofo believeth in him, Ihould not perilh, but have everlafting life. The hirtory of the brafen ferpent carries our thoughts, na- turally enough, to that of the ferpent of iEfculapius. It is pretty remarkable, that the fame creature, whofe afpecl ferved to cure the Ifraelites, fhould be made the fymbol of the god of phyflc among the heathens ; but, » whether that, which we find recorded hy Mofes concerning the brafen ferpent, be the origin of what the heathens tell us of .^^fculapius, is a qucf- tion yet undecided, and may pofiibly deferve the elucidation of the learned. What we have further to obferve of tlif Mofaic ferpent is, that it remained among the Jews above feven hun- dred years, even to the time of Hezekiah, king of Jndah ; but, when it came to be made an objedl of idolatry, and the people for fome time had paid their incenfe and adorations to it, *• that pious u Saur'm's DifTertations. * Wifdom xvi. 7. x Contra Trypli. p. 322, 323. For there inliftinij upon it, as a type of drift, and appealing to the company, \'.hat rcafoii (excluding that) could be given of tliis matter ; one of the Jews coiifelled thai he was in the right, and that he himfelf had inf^uircd for a rcafon •^:uopg the Jewifh maflcrs, and could meet with none- Kidder's Dcmonftra- tion, p. 73. y Ibid. z John iii. 14, 15 a The reader that dcfircs to know what fevcral authors have faid upon this fuV)ict'"(:, will find them collc(5\ed by -3j;-ii), in his 63d Differtation. b 2 lungs xsjij. 4. 204 ^ Cojnplete Body of Divinity. Part III. pious king caufed it to be broken to pieces, and, by way of contempt, called it Nehufhtan, i, e. a lump of brafs only. Long had the Ifraelites travelled in the wildernefs ; but ap^ proaching now to the promifed land, and having defeated, and utterly deftroyed the Aniorites, and their king, who obftrufted their paffage thither ; by the rumour of their arms, and rapidi- ty of their conquefts, they put Balak, king of Moab likewife, and his people, '^ into a terrible confternation. Balak, knowing himfelf too weak to engage the mighty force of Ifrael, advifed with the chiefs of IVlidian, his neighbours and confederates, to whom he propofed the common danger of thefe invaders ; and the refult of the confultation was, that he fhould fend f meffen- gers to Balaam, the fon of Beor, who lived at Pethor, a city of Mefopotamia, by prefents and promifes to invite him to come and curfc the ll'raelites : for fo great an opinion had they of this man's {kill and power in divination, ^ that by his bene- diftions or imprecations, they thought he could turn the fate of war, which way he pleafed. Bnlakfends SoME Jews are of opinion that this Balaam was a fort of to Balaam, aftrologer, who obferving when men were under a bad afpec^ of the liars, pronounced a curfe upon them, which fometimes coming to pal's, in the neighbouring nations gained him a great reputation. c If the Moabites had known the proteftion they were under, they needed not to have been afraid: for, had they been quiet, they were particularly ex- empted from the f«ord of Ifrael, as bein<: defcended from Lot by his eldeft {laughter- Deut. ii. 9. f Here in the Old Teftament, Balaam is called the fon of Beor, but St Peter in the New (2 Pet. ii. i 5-) ftiles him the fon of Bofor ; Beor and Bofor however, are both the fame name in the original, only diffe- rently pronounced. But then it looks a little ftrange, that the Midianites and Moabites fliould truft fo little to their own gods at home, as to fend, as far as Mefopotamia, for a prophet to aflift them. But perhaps they imagined, that the gods of their own country were not able to defend them againft the God of Ifrael, having fo lately feen what the Ifraelites had done to the Amorites, their neighbours : or they might fancy, that Balaam had an intereft with all kinds of gods, and might engage them all to come in to tlieir afliftance, or rather, they might know, that he was a prophet of the fame God whom the Ifraelites wor- fliipped; and that therefore, by his means, they hoped to draw off the God of Ifrael from affifting them, and to incline him to favour their caufe. Water- land's Sermons, Vol. II. d It was a received opinion among the GcHtiles, that ibme peop't had power, efpecially prophets and diviners, by the help of their gods, to blaft, not only private perfons, but even whole armies, fo that they ihould not be able to effect their defign. Aiacrobius has preferved us a very remarkable form of fuch imprecations, and brings in the prieft, that officiates, l]5eaking thus : Dis pater, five Jovis mavis, five quo alio nomine fas fit nomi- nare, ut omnem illam urbem, cxercitumque, quern ego me fentio dicere, fuga, formidine, terrore, compleatis ; quique adverfus legiones, exercitum- que nollrum, arma telaqne ferent, uti vos, eos exercitus, eos hoftes, eofquo homines , urbes, agrofque eoruin, &: qui, in illis locis regionibufque, agris ur- bibufque habitant, lumine fupremp privetis, &c. uti vos urbes agrofque eorum, quos ego me fentio dicere, capita, setatefque eorum devotas confecratafque ha- bcafis — Uti me, meamque fidem, iiiiperiuraque, legiones, exercitumque no- frrum, qui in his rebus geieodis funt, bsne fah os finatis effe. Si bsec ita faxi- tis ut ego fciaan, fentiam, intelligamque; tum quifque votum hoc faxit, rcifVe faftum erto, ovibus atris tribus, tellus mater, teque Jupiter, obteftor. Mac- rob- Saturn. L'.b. 111. c 9. ex SamuiDuico Sereuo: and Patrick's Commentary jLui Numb- xxii. Cliap. V. From the giving the Law to the build'wg the Temple. aoc reputation. Several of the antient fathers fuppofe him no more than a common foothfayer (for fohc is ^ fomewhere called) who i)retended to foretel future events and difcovcr fecrets &c. but by no good and jultifiable arts. Origan will needs have it that he was no prophet, but only one of the devil's forcerers and that of him he went to inquire, but God was pleafed to prevent him, and to ^ put what anfwcr he thought Ht into his mouth. It cannot be denied however, but that c the fcripture exprefsly calls him a prophet ; and therefore '■ fome later writers have imagined that he had been ' once a good man and a true prophet, till loving the wages of iniquity, and proftitut- ing the honour of his office to his covetoulnefs, he apoftatifed from God, and, betaking himfelf to idolatrous pradices, fell un- der the delufion of the devil, of whom he learnt all his magical inchantments ; though at this jundure, when the prefervation of his people was concerned, it might confift with God's wifdom to appear to him, and vouchfafe him revelations. k Balaam indeed was a man of no great probity, and might "^''^^ ^^' by profelhon be a diviner ; but by the free accefs he had to God, a^p^phct. it feems to be apparent that he was no common forcerer, or prophet of the devil. ' For did ever any foixerer addrefs his prayers to and receive anfweis from the fupreme God ? Did ever any forcerer prefcribe a law to himfelf, to fay nothing lefs or more than what the Spirit of God Ihould dictate? The Spirit of God, when did it ever "' come upon an enchanter? Or was it ever known that an oracle upon a remote event, and what God alone was capable of rfevealing, fhould be declared by a mere magician? Bad therefore though he was, a flave to his paffions, and an enemy to the people of God, yet it mufl: be ac- knowledged that this Balaam was a prophet. ** But if he was *' a prophet and fervant of the true God, why did he * fcek '* for inchantments? Or what fervice could he think to receive *' from them?" Now in anfwer to this, it may be confidered ■\ that the arts of magicians, and their inchantments to procure prodigies and oracles, though the vulgar people did not under- ftand the foundation they were built on, were to the wife men and philofophers that produce of learning and natural fciciice, falfely indeed fo called, but really efteemed by them to be true : and therefore as Saul, though he had before || put away thofe who had familiar fpirits and the wizards out of the land, was induced, % when the Lord anfwered him neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets, to go to a woman that had a fiuniliar fpirit, and to inquire of her ; fo Balaam, finding notliing but a full e Jofh. xiii. 22. f This Balaam himfelf plaiiilv difccrned, and therefore calls hiiiifL'lf, he who heard the words of God, "Numb. xxiv. 4. g 2 I'ct- ii. 16. h Vide Patrick's Comment;iry on Numb. xxii. i For this rcafon funic liave fiippofed that he was the fame pcrfon wh > i.i the bviok »rf Job is ea'lcd Elihn. Patrick's Commentary, k Vide %Vitfii '^■.ifccl. ficra, Lib. I c 16. lSauiin'3 Differtations. m Numb. xxiv. 2. • Ibid. ver. 1. f Sliuckforil's Conneftioj:, Vol. iJL Lib. Xll. 11 I Sam- xxviii- 3- \ Ibid. vcr. 6, 7. 2o6 A Complete Body of Divlmty. Part III. full difappointment of all his views in the feveral revelations which God was pleafed to make to him : and being warmly in- clined to purchale (if he might with any colour be able to do it) the advancement which Balak had offered him, was tempted to try what might be the event, if he ufed fome of the arts which the moft learned nations held in the higheft repute, and efteemed to be of the greatert efficacy. To thefe he was no ftranger, and therefore he attempted to try them, but found to his forrow that § there was no inchantment againft Jacob, nor was there any divination againfl Ifrael. To iJlLiflrate this part of the hiftory which Mofes hath given us of him, it may not be improper to lay down the following obfervations : Some ob- J. That before the giving of the law and the conquefl: of iei vations jj^g promifed land, " there were other true worfhippers of God ^°' " befides the defcendants of Abraham dilperfed over the face of the earth. 2. That this worlhip of God » was frequently mixed with fuperftition and idolatry even among them, who profefled to adore the one God of heaven and earth. 3. That this odious mixture did not hinder God v from revealing him- felf to thofe who praflifed fuch a monf.rous and motley religion. 4. That fupernatural gifts in general, and thofe f of prophecy m particular, though they enlightened the minds of the pro- phets, 1 yet many times did not fa^iclify their hearts and aifec- tions. And, 5. That the greatefl: weaknefs or wickednefs of prophets never went fo far as to make them pronounce oracles contrary § Nurab. xxiil. 23. n Thus Job and his friends dwelt in Arabia, Jethro and his pafterity in the country ot'Midian ; and Abraham's abode iu Mefopotami* might leave behind him fome profelytes to the true religion. The ivloabites and Ammonites, it is certain, were the defcendants of righteous Lot, 'vho was of the fame religion with Abraham: the Midianites too (of whom moft pro- bably Balaam was) were the pullerity of Abraham by Keturah, and therefore, for fome time at leaft, could not bnt retain the knowledge of the true God; Mhich makes it not improbable that God might plant fome prophets among them in thole early days, in order to preferve the trtie religion and worfiiip which they had received from their progenitors. Waterland's Sermons, Vol. JI. o The Teraphims of Laban prove this, p Abiraelech and Nebuchadnezzar are inftances of this. Gen. xxvi- and Dan. ii. i. f Balaam had certainly the gift of prophecy, even while be was doing amifs and tempting Almighty God, for the Spirit of God came upon him (N'umb. xxiv. 2.) and made life of his organs in delivering feveral remarkable |)rophecies, fulfilled in their feafon : fuch as tiie riling ftrcngth and growing greatnefs of ihe Ifraclites: the deftruftion of Amalek whicii came to pafs in king Saul's lime: the fall of Moab and of Edom, which was effected by king David: the ovcrthrovT of the Kenites, which was done by the AiTyrians; and what is more than all, the conqueft of the Affyrians themfelves by the power of Chittim, i. e. cf the Macedonians, which was executed under the cundudl of Alexander the , Great. I'hefe were great and valu;ible prophecies: and from thefe we may learn that the Spirit of God may fometimes vouchfafe to come u^ioii a very wicked man (fo far as concerns the extraordinary gifts) without reforming or influencing him, as to his life and morals in the way of ordinary operation. Waterland's Sermons, Vol. JI. q For fo we read, The heads of God's people judge for reward, and the priefts thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money. Kicak iii. 1 :. - ■ Chap. V. From the giving the Law to the huiUUng the Temple. 2C7 contrary to what was diftated by the holy Spirit ; ■■ if Balak would give me his houle full of filver and gold, I cannot go be- yond the word of the Lord to do either good or bad of my own mind, but what the Lord faith, that mult I fpeak. ' The fpeaking of Balaam's afs is a known pafTage in his Bal.iam's Iiiftory ; but the Tews have not been able to perfuade them- ?** ''^'"'^' lelves that an event lo extraordinary really came to pafs. credible. Phiio in his life of Mofes paffes it over in fUence, and ' Maimo- nides pretends that it only happened to Balaam in a prophetical vifion : but leall of all lliould thefe men, who are fo apt to fancy marvellous events without the lead neceility, and to give myfti- cal interpretations to the moft obvious occurrences, deny their alFent to this miracle. The fevereft philofophy cannot deny but that God is as able to make creatures deftitute of underftanding, pronounce articulate and rational words, '- as it is for a muficiau, by the different touches he gives any inftrument, to make it ex- prefs a variety of notes ; nor can the heathens reproach us with any abfurdity in this ftory, * fmce they themfelves relate fo many of the like nature, but not near fo well fupported. It ^'^y ^^• may feem a little flrange indeed that Balaam Ihould Ihew no ^^^/fu]!!.^* kind of furprife vyhen he heard his afs fpcak like an human priicd at s:. creature : but to this ^^ fome reply that Balaam had probably imbibed the doilrine of tranlmigration of fouls (which they prove to be very common in the eait) and from thence might be lefs aftonKhed to hear any brute fpeak : whereas y others fuppofe that he was in fuch a rage and fury at the fuppofed crolTnefs of the bealt, crulhing his foot and falling down under him, that for the prefent he could think of nothing elfe ; though the concifenefs of Mofes's narration, that ^ muft be pre- fumed to have omitted many circumltances, which if rightly- known, would difpel this and many more difficulties, does cer- tainly, in my opinion, fnrnilh us with a better and more iatif- facl:ory anfwer. Amono r Numb. xxiv. 13. There is a remarkable pafTage in Jofcphus to this piir- pofe, where he brings in Balaam fpeaking to Balak in the tullowing manner . " Can you then imagine, tliat in the luilinefs of prophefying it depentis on in " to fay or not fay what we think fit? It is God who makes us fpeak as he; " pleafes, without any voluntary concurrence of our own. I have not forgot " the reqiieft which the Midianites made me: I came >vith a defign to l'ati-.Jy " them; and thought of nothing lefs than of proclaiming the praifcsofthe •' Hebrews, or relating thofe favours which God has determined to heap upon " them : but he has been more powerful than 1, wiio intended to have plcafcd " men, even agyinft his will. When he enters into our hearts he makes him- " fclf abfolute mailer of them; '<.nd bccaufe he has decreed to make this pccplc " happy, and to crown them with immortal glory, he has therefore put into " my mouth the words which I have now pronounced. Antiq. Lib- IV. c. 4- s Numb. xxii. 28. t More Nevoch. P. II. c. 42. u Lc Clerc's Commentary on Numb. .xxii. * Witnefs what they fay of the afs upon which Bacchus rode, of the rain of Phryxus, the bull of fcuropa, the horfes of Achilles and Adraltus, the elephant of Porus in India, and the lamb in Egypt, when Bocchoris reigned there. Patricks Commentary, x Le Clerc, ibid, y Patrick, ibid, z :iau' ria's Difrtrtati.)ns. 20 8 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III* Balaam's Among the many prophecies which God put into the mouth ''fCh^ft^ of Balaam, there is one of a more eminent and pecuHar nature ; » I fliall fee him, but not now, I ihall behold him, but not nigh. There fhall come a liar out of Jacob, and a fceptre fhall arife out of Ifrael, and Ihall fmite the corners of Moab, and deftroy all the children of Seth. All opinions agree in this, that Ba- laam here fpeaks of a king and conqueror ; and perhaps in call- ing him a ftar he accommodates himfelf to the long eftabHlhed notion, that the appearance of comets denoted either the exal- tation or deflruftion of kingdoms; but the great queftion is, of what king or conqueror it is he fpeaks ? ^ Some have applied it intirely to David, the mod illuftrious of the Jewilh monarchs, who extended his conquefts, and might very juftly be faid to verify that part of the prediction, he fhall fmite the corners (or c as fome render it) the princes of Moab. ^ Others have re- ferred it as intirely to the MelTiah, fuppofing that the meta- phor of a ftar comports better with him and his celeftial origin than with David, and the main ftrokes of the prophecy refemble an heavenly more than an earthly conqueror. The matter however may be compromized, if we will but allow of « a learned man's obfervation, viz. that the mod remarkable prophecies ia the Old Teftament bear ufually a two-fold fenfe, one relating to the times before the Meffiah, and the other either fulfilled in the perfon of the Meffiah, or in the members of his body, the church : and of this kind we may juftly efteem the preceding prophecy. For though its primary afpedt may be towards Da- vid, yet whoever confiders it attentively will perceive that its ideas are too full to extend no farther ; and mull therefore, in a fecondary and more exalted fenfe refer us to Chrift, whofe kingdom ruleth over all, and to whom all things are put in fub- jeftion under his feet. In this fenfe the generality of Jews as well as chriftians underftood it : and it is no improbable con- jedture (whatever f fome may think of it) that by the ftrength of this prophecy, kept upon record among the oriental archives, the magi of that country were directed to Jerufalem at our Sa- viour's nativity, inquiring e where is the king of the Jews, for we have feen his Itar in the eaft. Balaam's The prophetic benediftions which Balaam, though fore a^ gainft his will, poured out upon the children of Ifrael, fo pro- voked Balak, that, being no longer able to reftrain his rage, he bade him haft and begone; '• I thought to promote thee to great honour, but lo! the Lord hath kept thee back from honour. Whereupon, vexed at his difappointment, and refolving to re- venge himfelf on God's people as the occafion of it, the pro- phet a Numb. xxiv. 17. b Le Clerc's Commentary, c So the LXX. tous arche- gous Maah, which alters not the fenfe. d Vide Patrick's Commentary oa Numb. xxiv. e H. Grotius ad Matth. i. 22. f Witfius, in his Mifcell. Sacra. Lib. I. c. 16. feems to explode this conjefture of Origen's, but not vipon fufii« cient grounds, g Matth. ii. 2, h Numb. sxiv. 1 1» uicked ad vice Cliap. V. From the g'lvhig the Law to the hulldmg the Temple, 209 phet i inflrucls their enemies in a wicked artifice, which was to lend their daughters into the camp of Ifrael, in order to draw them into fornication, and thence into idolatry, as a Cure method to deprive them of the favour of tliat God whofe afliftance had made them fo formidable. The artifice fucceeded ; for the next thing we hear is ^ that Ilrael joined himfelf to Baal-peor. But what this Baal-peor was, is a queftion as yet undecided. The antient Jews generally fuppofe that lie was no other Baal-peor, than a Priapus, and that his svorlhip confined in fuch obfcene ^^'^'*' pradlices, or poftures at leait, as are not fit to be named. But others have thought that as Baal is a general term which lig- nifies Lord, Peor might pofiibly be the name of fome great prince tranllated into the number of the gods; (as ' it was a known cuftom among the heathens to deify the fouls of men, and canonize them after death) and to this the Pfalmiit may be fuppofed to allude, where he tells us that when the Ifraclites worlhipped Baal-peor, "> they ate the offerings of the ^ti(\. ° Others have imagined that as Peor is the name of a mountain in the country of iVloab, where the temple of Baal (by whom • they underflood the fun) v/as fituated, from hence he might be called Baal-peor, even as Jupiter was called Olympius, be- caufe he was vvorlliipped in a famous temple built upon the mountain Olympus. Either of thefe conjectures feem more probable than the other, becaufe ■<• the antienter the books are which treat of thefe matters, the lefs mention they make of any impurities in the worfhip of Baal, But whatever this Baal-peor v/as, it is certain that the crime '^hinebas's of worihipping him was very enormous, (ince it drew upon the a'^^o^^esJ. Ifraelites fo fevere a punilhment. A thoufand 1 principal men Vol. II. D d than i This indeed is not mentioned in Numb. xxiv. where the interview between Balaam and Balak ends, but Mofts (Ch. xxxi. 16.) plainly refers to the counfel ot" Balaam, and lays tlie whole blame on him. St John likewile in his revelation (Ch. ii. 14) fpeaking to the church of Pergamos in the name of Chrilt, takes notice of this wicked advice. I have fome few tilings aj^ainft tliee, hecaufi thou haft thofe that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who tauj^ht Balak to calt a ftiirablin.ij-block bef-re the children of Ifrael, to eat things facrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication: where the perfons jiointed to were a wretched feft of falle teachers, which ftarted up in the very infancy of the chriftiau church. Tjiey held it lawful to follow carnal lulls, to commit fornication, adultery, inceft and other impuri- ties. This palatable doc^lne fuited the tade of the voluptuous, and brought the teachers in much applaufe, and many a fr.ir prefent from their carnal hearers: and therefore, becaufe their doctrine was very like Balaam's, and the principal motive to it was avarice, and a defign of flattering and plcaliiig otiiers in their hifls, as thefe teachers were compared to Balaam, and their doctrine to iiis, fo they obtained the Hebrew name of Balaamites, as their Greek name was "Micolaitans, both of the fame fignitication, /. i. lords and leadersof the people. Waterland's Sermons, Vol. H. k Numb. xxv. 3. 1 Mede's Difcourfes, Lib. IIL c. 4- m Pfal. cvi. 28. n Sclden, de Diis Syris, Synt. I. c 5. and Patrick's and Le Clerc's Commentaries, o \ i.lc renuifon of Idolatry, c. 4. p Patrick's Commentary. q 1 hus the LXK. tiie v ulgar, and feveral other interpreters underftand it. And there is reafon for this accep- tatioPj 210 J Compute Body of Divinity. Part II L that had been guilty of this foul idolatiy, were, by Cod's ap- pointment, publickly executed, and three and twenty thouiand deftroyed by a peftilential difeafe, which was going to fpread itfelf farther, ' had not Phinehas, the fon of Eleazar, and grand- Ibn of Aaron (by the command of Mofes, fays Philo, but ii ould rather have faid by a divine impulfe and initigation^ :.x. one bold flroke, killing both Zimri and his Midianitilh pr.ramour, put a flop to its progrefs. tion°'^ * *' But was not Zimri f a prince of a chief houfe among ^' the Simeonites, an head of a powerful family at leaft, and *' confequently not accountable to Phinehas for his behaviour ? " How then could he have a right to execute this vengeance " upon him ? Or what could be the fafety of even the highefl: " rqagiftrates in thisoeconomy, if private men put on an officious " zeal, and affaHinate at pleafure thofe whofe adionswere un- Anhvered. << juftifiable and deferved punilhment ?" Zimri indeed was a great man ; the prince of a tribe (as || Jofephus makes him) ?.nd one of the fupreme judges, whofe right it was to be airelfors with Mofes and Aaron in the government of the people, and confequently could not be regularly brought under the judg- ment of any inferior authority. Mofes had ordered juft before, that all the people who had joined themfelves to Baal-peor Ihould be proceeded againft according to law, and punilhed by their proper officers ; but fo far was Zimri from paying any regard to this, that we find him ading in open defiance to it ; and, inftead of appointing the judges of his tribe to punifli thofe who were under their jurifdiftion, openly, and in the face of the con- gregation, abetting, by his own praftice, what he ought to have ufed his authority to correct and fupprefs %. He brought unto his brethren a Midianitiih woman in the fight of Moles, and in the fight of all the congregation of the children of Ifrael, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle : fo that fome- thing extraordinary was here necefTary to be done, in order to punifh a crime which appeared too daring to be correfted, in the pradlice of a perfon who feemed too great to be called to an account for it. God indeed is the fountain of all power, and whoever has a right to command or punilh another, niuft derive it either by way of delegation from thofe whom he has appointed to prefide, or by an immediate revelation and commilhon from heaven : and therefore, to jufiify Phinehas in this warm expref- lion of his zeal, we may obferve, that God had not only com- manded that the perfons who had committed thefe abomina- tions fhould be pnnifhed with death, but had enjoined Phinehas, in particular, even before he attacked Zimri, to cut off that bold offender ; tation, if what the Samaritan chronicle tells us be true, viz. that the daughters of the chief men of Moab were fent, finely dreffed, to allure the Ifraelites, and one of the king's daughters among the reft. Patrick, ibid, r Numb. xxv. 8. * Shuckford's Counedtion, Vol. III. Lib. I2. f Mumb. xxv. 14. || /^ntiq. Lib. IV. c. 10. J Numb. XXV. 6. Chap. V. From the giving the Law to the building the Temple. 21 offender ; for fo the divine declaration feems to import, |j Phi- nehas, the fon of Eleazar, the Ion of Aaron the prieft, hath not only turned away my wrath, but becanfe he was zealous for his God, has made an atonement for the children of Ifrael. But what merit could there be in the death of Zimri ? How could that expiate the fins of the congregation ? Or what had Phinehas to do to pretend to make atonement, unlcfs God had appointed him, fince X% no '"^'.^ taketh this honour to himfelf, nor can perform this office to any effed, but he who is called of God, as was Aaron? All this is refolved by what God orders Mofes to declare to the people ; wherefore lay unto them, Behold it was I (for fo the Hebrew fliould be rendered) who gave to him my cov^enantof peace : intimating that Phinehas had not done a railj action, moved to it by an impetuous fpirit, but that God* him- felf had diredled him to what he had performed ; made him an exprefs covenant upon his performing it; allured liim that the doing it Ihould obtain pardon for the people, and that upon the death of the two mifcreants, flain by his hand, the wickednefs that had been committed in the camp, Ihould be forgiven. In this view of the fad: all things are clear ; J\nd the behaviour oi Phinehas in it appears to be nothing more than a zealous and in- trepid performance of what God by an exprefs revelation had required him to do. It muft not be diffembled however, that upon this fad the No prf re- Jews found what they call the judgment of zeal, which autho- '''^,"'^3"^ rifed fuch as were full of this holy fervour, to punilh any vio- lent offenders, thofe that blafphemed God or profaned the temple, &c. in the prefence of ten men of Il'rael, without any formal procefs. But the example of Phinehas countenances no fuch practice ; nor can this adion, done upon an extraordinary occafion by a perfon in a public authority, moved thereunto by a ftrong divine impulfe, if not exprefs revelation, (and what is a circumltance that fome ' people add) in a commonwealth not perfedly fettled, be made a precedent for private men, under a different fituation, to invade the office of the magillrate without manifed: danger of enthufiaftic violence and outrage, even againft thofe that are moft innocent ; as we plainly find it happened a- mong the Jews, when, in the latter times of their government, they put this precedent in execution ; ' of which St Stephen, whom they inhumanly floned, and St Paul, whom^ they vowed ro affaflinate without any form of juftice, are notorious inftances. " Whether this Phinehas was lent to command the troops, in-acl's pe- which were inftantly appointed by God, to take vengeance of neraj, and the Midianites, for having feduced his people into whoredom ','J-^"'",{',g and idolatry ; or whether he went along with the army, only Midianites. to perform fuch facred offices as fliould be required by the ge- ncral, ||Nnmb. xxv. n. jf Hcb. v. 4. s Lc Clerc's Comment, on Dent. xxv. t A^is vij 58. ajjd rSv^.- n. u Saurin's DiflertnUons. 212 ^ Complete Body of Divinity. Part IIL ner.il, *wbo, with more probability perhaps, is thought to be joi]iu3, are queftions ariling from the filence of fcripture, con- cerning the chief commander. At this time indeed, it was not ufual to fet priefts at the head of armies, but, in the time of the Maccabees (who were of the facerdotal line) the troops of Ifrael were commanded by them : and ^ therefore fome have fuppofed that Phinehas being an extraordinary perfon, of great courage, and fignalized by his late magnanimous aftion, n]ight poflibly recommend himfelf (even contrary to the common cultom) to the chief command, in order to complete the revenge he had begun. But whoever it was that headed the fmall army of Ifraelites, it is certain, they obtained an abfolute and complete vitlory over their enemies, and (v/hat made it more wonderful) 5 \\ithout the lofs of one man on IfraePs fide, as appears from the report of the officers, made upon a mufler. j-.lojcs'slafl: 'Phis is the laft memorable adion which the Ifraelites did ndcnori- under the adminiftration of Mofes ; for their forty years travels '"""y^^^*^^ were juft now expiring, and confequently, the time of his dilfo- '' * lution drawing near. Being fenlible of this therefore, and will- ing to take his lafl: leave of them, in a manner fuitable to the care and affeftion he had all along exprelTed for them ; he called them together, in the plain of Moab, by Jordan, and there » briefly reminded them of all that had befallen them, and their fathers, fmce they left Egypt ; how gracioufly God had all along dealt with them ; and how manifold their rebellions and provo- ^ cations had been. * He repeated the chief injundlions of the law ; exhorted them to a flrict obfervation of it ; promifed they fliould foon enter into the land of Canaan, and commanded them to deflroy the idols, and extirpate the inhabitants thereof. ^ He encouraged them to be faithful to God, upon alfurance, that, if they kept his commandments, blelllngs would be Ihower- ed down upon them ; but, if they negleded them, curfes and calamities. He renewed the covenant with them in the name of God ; ordered the divifion of the land, whereinto they were paffing, among their feveral tribes ; and, after he had recorded all thefe things in a book, which he committed to the care and cuftody of the Levites, and, by the divine direction, compofed an hymn for the people to learn, in commemoration of God's favours, and their ingratitude ; he appointed Jolhua, a man every way qualified for fo high a truft, to fucceed him in the government. Of the Having thus difcharged the office of a faithftil ruler, and \Voi-!.i. left them the beft legacy that he could, laws for the direction of Before*^ their lives, and a man of worth and ability to be their leader ; Chrilt, «• he T451. J-C. \„^y~\J • Patrick's Commentary, x Patrick, ibid, y Vid. Nnmb. xxxi. 49. z His fpeeclics, upon this occafion, are the matter and fubitance of tliat book uhid) is called Deuterouoniy, /. e. a lecond law, or repetition of the lavs'. VicI, ii'jwell and Putin's Hiftoriss of the Bible. aVid. Deutcrcn. paffim. b Deut- Hi. KyY^j Chap. V. Trom the giving the Laiv to the lullding the Temple. 213 « he took a folemn farewel of them, in a prophetical blefs- ing, which he pronounced upon each tribe, as Jacob had done before his death ; and fo went up to the top of ^ Pifgah, from whence he might « take a full view of the countries round about. Here he feafts his eyes with the prolpet^ of that good land. His laft which he is not permitted to enter ; views the delightful town farewcl, and plains of Jericho; fees Lebanon's fair cliffs and lofty cedars ; j,y^|Jj' ^"^ and then ^ religns his foul into the hands of angels, waiting, fome of them, to convey it to an happier Canaan than what he had jufl before furveyed, and others, b to inter his body in the valley of Beth-peor, in the land of Moab ; but (to '■ prevent all fuperflitious adoration of him) of the place of his fepulchre knoweth no man, even unto this day. SECT. n. Of the pafTage of Jordan, and taking Jericho. UPON the death of Mofes, JoHiua, by the command of «r tiie God, fucceeded to the government. He had been prime "'^i;' niinifter to Mofes for the greateft part of thofe forty years that Beiore the Ifraelites wandered in the wildernefs; had feen the wonder- Chrift, fill works which God wrought by his hand ; underftood well J'^^'' *"^' the nature and difpolkion of the people ; was one of thofe twelve fpies which were fent to fearch the promifed land ; and one of the two that gave a juft report of it : and for thefe, and fome other qualifications, he was inftalled into his office with great folemnity. After this ceremony was over, the great expedition the people were to go upon, was, to take pofleHion of the land, of Canaan : but becaufe it was bounded by the river Jordan, they were firfl to pafs that, in order to invefl: its chief frontier-town, which was Jericho. Jordan, c Deut. xxxiii. d Pifgah was the very top of mount Ncbo, as Ncbo was the hiijheft part of the mouniain Abarim, which is a long ridge of hills between the river Arnon and Jordan, fituate in the plains of Moab. Wells's Geonr. e The Jews have a notion, that God ft^t before Mofes a complete map of Ca- naan, wherein, every part of it was exaftly defcribed; but as this might havo been done on the plain of Moab, without ever going up into the mountains, it feems morereafcnable, that he ftrengthened his eyes with a gre.Ker vigour than ufual, to enable him to take a larger profpeft of the country, than otherwife he ^ould have done. Patrick's Commentary, f The Jews have a laying of Mofej, that his foul departed with a kifs> becaufe be is faid to die Alpi, at the moutli (as it is literally in the Hebrew) /. c. according to the word of God. But. if there be any fenfe in the exprelfion, it muft be, that he parted with his foul with great chearfulnefs and fereiiity (if mind. Witfms Mifcel. Sacra, C 17. g Since the circumftances of Mofes's chath arc fo fully recorded, it fcems to be a frivolous notion of the Jews, though fupported by Jofephus [Anliq. L. IV. c. 8.] and followed by fome chrilViaii fatliers, that he did net die, but was tranf- lated into heaven, where he ftands, and mimfters before Ciod. Patrick and Witfius, ibid. h This very reafon wc have in R Levi. Ben. Gerfom: Fortolle fi innotuifTet locus, errando erravifTcnt gencrationcs fcciuentes, &: fcciirent c; CO Deum, per clariludinem miraculorum, quibus excclluit. Nome vidcs qiW'd in ferpente .^iiico, quern fecerat Mofes, erravtriiit quidaiu IhacKtarum' ^Vu- fius; ibid. 214 ^ Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. Thepafiing JoRDAN, according to the account of ' Jofephus, was the of Jordan, laj-geft and moll celebrated river in the Holy Land. Its head was antiently thought to be Pariion, but in truth it paffes thi- ther under ground ; for the firft fource of it is Phiala, an hun- dred and twenty furlongs frori Cxfarea Philippi, a little on the right-hand, and not much out of the way to Trachonis. From the cave of Panion, it crofles the bogs and fenns of the lake Semechonitis, and, after a courfe of an hundred and twenty furlongs farther. palTes under the city of Julias (or Bethfaida) then over the lake of Gennezareth, and fo running a long way through a wildernefs, or defert, it empties itfelf at lad into the ]ake Afphaltites, or the Dead-fea. In the whole, it is about an hundred miles long ; but, at prefent, not above * twen- ty yards broad ; though certainly it was much larger at the time when the children of Ifrael pafied over it. It was then '' the time of barley-harveft, or (as ' it is exprefTed in another place) in the firft month, /. e. the month of March, when the fnow upon mount Lebanon ufed to diffolve, and fwell the adjacent rivers to a conliderable degree. But how large foever it then was, as foon as the priefts, who carried the ark, and went firft in the proceffion, approached the river, its waters were parted ; ^ and whilft the waters above forgot to flow, and ftood ftill, as if they had been congealed, thofe below ran down the channel to- wards the Dead-fea, as ufual, and fo left the ground dry for the people to pafs over. The Jewifh dodors have a tradition, that the vaft heaps of waters, piled one upon another, while the Ifraelites pafTed over the river, being feen to the people of Je- richo, and other adjacent places, occafioned a general confterna- tiou. Jericho, " according to Jofephus, is diftant from Jordan about feven miles and an half, and the intermediate country was a plain ; but whether this circumftance be true or no, we ihall not contend; all that we ihall fay upon the whole is this — » That they who look upon this part of the divine hiftory as improbable, if not incredible, Ihould do well to confider what ihame it is to have lefs faith than the heathens ; who, left their gods ihould be thought lels powerful than the God of Ifrael, forged " thofe ftories which the Perfians tell us of, Zoroafter's paifing over rivers, and the Greeks, of Neptune's drying up ]nachus, i De Bell. Jud. L. 3. * This is Maundrell's account of the river; [Journ«y from Aleppo, p. 83.] but it is very certain, that, as the courfes of rivers are liable to great alterations, Jordan was a much larger ftream, when the Ifrael- ites c^me into Canaan, than it is now. In Pliny's time, it filled a larger chan- i)el, and therefore he ftiles it Amiiis anibitiofus [Nat. Hift. Lib. V. c. 19.] when Strabo wrote, vefTels ot" burden were navigated in it;[Geogr. Lib. XVI.] Slid therefore the fame ingenious traveller obferves, that antiently it had cover- ed a large ftrand, and wadied up an outer bank, abouc a furlong from tiio common channel. Maundrell, ubi fupra. k Joih. iii. 15. 1 i Chron. xii. 1 5. m This agrees very well with Mr Maundrell's account, who tells us that he ar- rived at the river Jordan, from Jericho, in two hours, n Patrick's Commen- tary. 0 Thefe are coUcited by Huetius, in his Quaeftionps Ahietansc, L- II. c. J?, Chap. V. From the giving the Law to the hutlding the Temple. 2 15 Inachus, kc. why then Ihould they call in queftion the power of the true God ; fince it cannot be contefted, but that, either by himielf, or by his angels, he could eafily Itop the courfe of a river, make its waters rile up in an heap, as high as he pleaf- ed, and fo Hand reared in fiimnefs and folidity, as if they were congealed ? This wonderful paflage of the river Jordan fo alarmed the Tbeperfon neighbouring people, that they flocked in great multitudes to Je- pe'^red''to richo, as the llrongeft and mofl; tenable place in the country, joiLua. there to wait for Jofliua's approach, and to put a llop to his in- tended conqued. It was not long before Jolhua came up with his army ; and, while he was confidering with himlelf in what manner he was to attack Jericho, there appeared to him, in a martial habit, a very extraordinary perfon, who r gave him in- ftruftions what to do : but who this perfon was, it is not fo well agreed among the learned. 1 Several, both Jewilh and chriftian authoj's, are of opinion, that the perfon who lliles himfelf here the ^ Captain of the Hofl: of the Lord was an an- gel, and particularly, the angel Michael, who in the prophet Daniel, is fliled one of the chief princes of the people of God, and fuppofed to have had the prefidence over them, after that God (incenfed againft them for making the golden calf) with- drew his immediate prefence from them. It is evident how- ever, that Jofliua conceived an higher opinion of him, becaufe he fell on his face and worlhipped him, which he would not have done, had he fuppofed him to be an angel only ; nor can we imagine, how the other could have accepted his worihip, much lefs why he ihould command him to put off his Ihoes (which ' was thehigheft acknowledgment of a divine prelence, that was ufed among the eaftern nations) had he not been a divine perfon : and therefore, the more probable opinion is, *< that this captain, or guardian of the Lord's holt, who fuffered " himfelf to be worHiipped, and by whofe prefence the place ** where he appeared was fandlified, was no other than the *' Son of God, whom all the angels in heaven are commanded ** to worfliip and adore." According to the inftrudlions of this divine perfon, Jofluia The taking caufed all his forces to march round the place fix days fuccef- "* J*'-^'"'- fively, and, on the feventh day, when (after feven times fur- rounding the city) the priefls blew with the trumpets, and the people ihouted with aloud voice, the wall thereof fell down flat, fo that the army marched direftly up to it, and took it, and put all to the fword (Rahab and her family only excepted) both man and beaft. It would be madnefs to repeat what ■ fome authors (in order to depreciate this miracle) have told us of a certain p Tolh. vi. 2. q Saurin's Diflert. Vol. II. r Jod.. v. i ;. s Vid. Dr Alix'i Book on this argument, p. 234. t P. Mcrfenne, in his Comment on Ocnffis, and D.Oeo.Moi-hvf. de Scypho vitreo, per certum liumanK vocis lonuni, traCto- 2j6 A Complete Body of Divinliy, Part III. certain fitnefs there is in founds, to break and demollfli folid bo- dies ; and how, from the violent effeds of fubterraneous erup- tions, or the blowing up of fome magazines of powder, they have fuppofed that the fall of the walls of Jericho might be im- puted to a natural caufe. The number of the trumpets we find was but feven, and thefe made of rams horns, which could not be of the flirilleft found ; and though the noife of fo great a number of people might be very loud, yet itill it would require a miracle in Jofhua to know, what the juft proportion was be- tween their noife, and the ftrength of the walls of Jericho. This is however but mere trifling with matters of faft. The facred hiflory has reprefented the whole event, as an extraordi- nary acT: of the divine power, exerted for the encouragement of the Ifraelites, and the confufion of their adverfaries : and accordingly, if we pernfe the account of the conqueft of the land of Canaan, we Ihallfind, that this was not the only inftance of the divine interpofal. Of the ftiower of Hail-flones, and the Sun's ftanding ftill . OT long after the taking of Jericho, all the people of that country (except the Gibeonites, who, pretending to come from afar, drew Jofhua and the heads of the tribes unwarily into a league) confederated together, in order to defend them- felves againft the Ifraelites : but Joihua, coming upon them fuddenly, put them to flight, and, to complete the victory, God did two great miracles for Ifrael that day ; he i . caft down great ftones from heaven upon their enemies, as they were run- ning away : and, 2. flopped the courfe of the fun in the finna- ment, that his people might have the longer fpace to deftroy them as they fled. The {how- I. The learned Calmet, in a Differtation before his Com- er of hail- mentary upon Jofhua, has taken great pains to fhew, that the flones. ftones, which the Lord is faid to caft down upon the Amorites, were not common hail-ftones, but real folid ftones ; which he fuppofes may be ingendered in the air, by a whirlwind's carry- ing up fand or gravel into a cloud, and there mixing it with fome fuch oily or nitrous matter, as may confolidate it ; that fo, when comes to be fired, it may burft through the cloud, and, fcattering itfelf upon the explofion, defcend in the nature of a perfeft fhower of ftones. "But befides the difficulty of conceiv- ing, how fuch a quantity of ftones. as this paffage in fcripture feems to intimate, could, for any time, be fuftained in a cloud ; there feems to be no necefTity for having recourfe to fuch an uncommon folution, when the thing is fo notorious, that hail- ftones have frequently fallen, large enough to deftroy ever fo great a number of men, when naked and defencelefs againft their blows. A fhower of hail indeed, may be fuppofed to proceed from u Saurin's DifiertatJons, Vol. II. Chap. V. F)-ci-tn the giving the Law to the huildtng the Temple. Iij from a more natural caufe ; but when the event happened at the very inflant, wherein God promifed to afllft his people againft their enemies ; when, though it might have annoyed either army, it fell only on that which God had before determined to ruin, and fell fo very heavily upon it, as to deftroy more than the fword of the conquerors had done ; fuch an event as this, I fay, cannot but be looked upon as a miraculous interpofition of providence, how fortuitous foever the concourfe of fecond caufes may feem to be. And much more then may we fay fo, The fun's 1. Of God's flopping the courfe of the fun at Jofhua's re- ftanding quefl. J^ Sun, ftand thou ftill upon Gibeon, /". e. y ftand hn- ^^'j^^'^JV^^j.^ moveable in that part of the heavens where I now fee thee to be un- Ihining upon Gibeon ; and thou moon, in the valley of Ajalon, clcrftood. /. e. of Ajalon '■ in the tribe of Dan, which was fartheit re- ' mote from Gibeon : for we mufl: fuppofe that thefe two places were at fome confiderable diftance, otherwife Jolhua could not fee the fun and the moon both appear at the fame time, as it is probable they were both now in his eye, when he fpake thefe words. It is to be obferved, however, that (even upon the hypothefis of the motion of the fun) the Jewilh general cannot be fuppofed to fpeak in a proper and philofophic fenfe ; for Hnce the fun is almolt a million of times bigger than the earth, and fome millions of miles dillant from it, to juftify the itrid fenfe of the words, a line, drawn from the centre of the fun to that of the earth, muft exactly pafs by Gibeon, which we know it cannot do, becaufc no part of the Holy Land lies between the tropics : and therefore we may, with lefs fcruple, be bold to conclude that the words of Jolhua (even with relation to the motion of the fun) are to be taken in a fenfe accommodated to the notions of the aftronomy that then prevailed, rather than according to the reality of the thing. The moft fuperficial reader cannot but obferve, that in fcripture nothing^ is n'ore common than to exprefs things, not according to the ftricl rules of philofophy, but according to their appearance, and the vul- gar apprehendons concerning them. 1 he fun and moon, for inflance, are called » two great lights; but, however that title may agree with the fun, it is plain that the moon is but a fmall body, the leafl that has yet been difcovered in the plmetary fyftem, and that it has no light at ail, but what it borrows and reflects from the rays of the fun ; and yet, becaufe it is placed near us, it appears to ns larger than other heavenly luminaries, and, from that appearance the holy fcripture gives it fuch an ap- pellation. And, in like manner, becaufe the fun feems to us to move, and the earth to be at rell ; the fcriptures fpcak a great deal of the pillars, and bafis, and foundations of the earth, of the fun's *> rejoicing like a giant to run his race, and of ' his Vol. II. E e arifing, xJo(h. X. 12. y Patrick's Commentary, in loCBm. z Jo(h. xi>. 4^- JmJc- ;. 35. a Gt'i. i. 16, b Pfal, xix. S. C Scckf. i. 5. QiS A Complete Body of Divinity. Part in. Of the World 259 D, &c. Before Chrift. 141 4, &c, Jolhua's final ex- liortatioii, and death- arifing, and going down, and haftening to the place where he arofe, &c. whereas it is certain, ^ that if the fun were made to revolve about the earth, the univerfal law of nature would thereby be violated ; the harmony and proportion of the hea- venly motions deftroyed ; and no fmall confufion and diforder brought into the frame of the univerfe. But, on the contrary, if the earth, turning upon its own axis every day, be made to go round the fun in the fpace of a year, it will then perform its circulation according to the fame law which the other pla- nets obferve, and, without the leafl exception, there will be a mod beautiful order and harmony of motions every where pre- served through the whole frame of nature. As therefore the fcriptures were defigned to teach us the art of holy living, and not to inftru6l us in the rudiments of natural knowledge ; it can be deemed no diminution, either to their perfeftion, or divine authority, that they generally fpeak = according to the common appearance of things, and the vulgar notions and opinions which the world have of them, not according to their reality, or phi- lofophical verity. Under this miraculous afliftance of divine providence, it was not long before Joihua conquered moft of the land of Canaan; and, having divided it among the people, reaped, for fome years, the fruits of his viftories in a quiet enjoyment of peace ; till, at length, finding himfelf grow old, and his death approaching, he affembled all Ifrael together, and, having fet before them the many great blelTings which God had vouchfafed them and their anceftors, he thereupon exhorts them to have no communica- tion with the Canaanites ; to have their idolatrous praftices in deteftation ; to f ferve the Lord in fmcerity, and in truth ; and to be g couragious to keep all that was written in the book of the law of IVIofes. Upon this condition, he promifes them an intire conqueft over all their enemies ; that, by God's help and afilftance, "^ one of them lliould chafe a thoufand, and no man d Keill's Aftronomical Leftures. Befides this general argument of Mr Kcills's, Mr Whifton has one, which he accounts no lefs than a demonftration. *' If the earth, fays he, have an annual revolution about the fun, it muft z&Ct <' the aparent motions of all the other planets and comets, and, notwithftand- " ing the regularity of their feveral motions in their own orbits, muft render <« the regular motions, as to us living upon the moving earth, fometimes di- « red, and that fwiftly or flow] y ; fometimes ftationary, and fometimes re- " tiograde, and that fwiftly or flowly alfo; and all this, at fuch certain pe- ■" riods, in fuch certain places, for fuch certain durations, and according to •< fuch certain circumftances, as geometry and arithmetic will certainly de- •' termine, ,and not otherwife. Now that this is the real cafe in fact and that '' every one of thefe particulars are true in the aftronomical world, all, that " are fl'alful in that fcience, do freely confefs, even thofe, who do not think " fit to declare openly for this annual revolution of the earth, which yet is '< the natural and certain confetjuence of that conceffion." Whifton's Aftro- nomical Principles of Religion. The reader that is defirous to know more Dpon this fubjecl, mayconfult Mr Derham's Preliminary Difcourfe to his Aftro- Theology. e Derham's Aftro-Theology. f Jolb. xxiv. i4' g Ibid, xxiji. 6. h Ibid. ver. 9, 10. Chap. V. From the giving the Law to the building the Temple. man fiionld be able to ftand before them ; and, in the concUi- fion, renews the covenant between God and them : and fo hav- ing done all that could be required of a wife governor, towards the welfare of a people committed to his charge, he took his final leave of them, and after he had ruled them ' feventceii years (as the bed interpreters account) in the hundred and tenth year of his age, died, and was buried in ^ Timnath-ferah, which is in mount Ephraim, the city which (upon the divifion of the land among the tribes) the children of Urael g.ive to him, in token of gratitude for the many fervices and benefits whidi they had received by his adminiftration. 2I(> SECT IIL The Government of the Judges. AFTER, the death of Joihua, we read of none that was appointed to fucceed him, and therefore the general opi- nion is, that every tribe was governed by their refpeclive heads, or ' elders ; but how long this form of government fubfiiled, has not lb well been determined by chronologers, though (ac- cording to the befi computation) it feems to have been no lefs than thirty years ; for fo the word generation, in the facred hiftoiy, is thought by fome to fignify : and, accordingly we read, that " Ifrael ferved the Lord all the days of Joihua, and all the days of the elders which out-lived Joihua ; " but, when all that generation were gathered to their fathers, there arofe another generation after them which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Ifrael. However this be, it is hardly to be imagined, but that, in fuch a loofe kind of govern- ment, fcveral corruptions fliould fpring up ; and, accordingly, the hiflory takes notice, that, in this period of time, the people did not deflroy the inhabitants of the land, as they were com- manded, but, contenting themfelves with making them tribu- tary, fullered them to live promifcuoully among them ; that they not only fhewed them this indulgence, but entered into clofe alliances, and made intermarriages with them, which thing God had exprefsly forbidden ; and, in confequencc of this fami- liarity, fell gradually into the fame crimes, and the fame kind of idolatry with them : for lb we find it related, that " the chil- dren of Ifrael dwelt among the Canaanites, kc that they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their fons, and that they forgot the Lord their God, and ferved Baalim and the groves. Incenfed at thefe provocations, God left i Patrick's Commer.tary, Vol. II. k Tliis is alio called {]\l^^7.^ »• 9 ) T>ii>- n;ith-lieres, btcauCe ol Uie image of the fun which is cni;ravfn on Jofhua's fepul- chre, ill memory of that faiiioiis day wlien the fun ilood ftill till lie luid tnni- pleaied his vidtory. 1 Painck, ibid- m J<'lh. xxiv. 31. n Judj; ii. lO. j Ihi !• iii- 5, Sec. Of the World, 2592. &:c, Before Chrift, 1 41 2, fcc. Judges iii- flituted. 220 A Complete Body Divinity. Part III. left them to themfclves, who, without his care and proteftion, made but a poor defence againft their enemies ; for, upon the king of Mefopotamia's invading them, they were forely defeat- ed, and enflaved for eight years ; and it was on this unhappy conjunfture that the office of judges was firft inftituted. "n>enature Xp,E judges were a kind of magiftrates, not much unlike the cffice. Archontes among the Athenians, and the Dilators among the Romans. Grotius compares them to thofe rulers that were in Gaul, in Germany, and Britain, before the Romans introduced another form of government. Their honour lafted for life, but their fuccellion was not always continued ; for there were frequent interruptions in it, and the people lived often under the dominion of ftrangers, without any government of their own. According to the common cuftom, they were generally appointed by God ; but, in cafes of extreme exigence, the people made fometimes choice of fuch as they thought bed qualified to refcue them out of their opprefnon, without waiting for any di- vine defignation. Their authority was not inferior to that qf kings ; they arbitrated in all affairs of war and peace ; had an abfolute power to determine all caufes, but none at all to make any new laws, or to lay any new taxes upon the people. They were, in Ihort, the proteftors of the laws, the defenders of re^ ligion, and the avengers of crimes, efpecially of that of idolatry : but then, even during this their power, they lived without any pomp or fplendour ; had no guards, no attendance, no equipage, no certain revenue, nor any other emolument, wherewith to fupport their dignity, but what arofe from the voluntary con- tributions of the people. This form of government (if we reckon from the death of Jolhua to the beginning of Saul's reign) was about three hun- dred and thirty-nine years. The firft of this order was Othniel. He defeated the king of Mefopotaraia, and reftored peace to Ifrael for the fpace of forty years : but after him, we fhall think ourfelves concerned to take notice of fuch only as are the moft remarkable in facred hiftory : and therefore, to fay nothing of !> Ehud, who affairmated Eglon king of the Moabites, an adion no ways to be juftified, but upon the fuppofition that he did it by God's exprcfs order ; nothing of •^ Shamgar, who flew fix hundred Philiftines with an ox-goad, that no weapon might be thought infufficient in the hand of one excited by the mighty power of God ; nothing of ■' Deborah, who, together with Barak, vanquifhed the mightj army of Jabin king of Canaan, and all his nine hundred chariots of iron ; nothing of ' Jael, the wife of Heber, who, in murdering Sifera, captain of Jabin's ar- my, then in amity with her houfe, did an ac^ which cannot be warranted * upon any other fuppofition, but her being moved thereunto p Judg. iii. 21. q Ihid. ver. ^c. r Ibid- iv. 14, S.-C. s Ibid. ver. i3. tYide Patrick, in Locum J but Mr Saqrjn, in liis DilTcrtalion xipoii the de- feat Chap. V. From the giving the Lav) to the building the Temple. 221 thereunto by an immediate impulfe from God : to fay nothinff of thefe, and feveral other judges of IcfTer note, the characters and exploits that feem to deferve our more particular attention, during this period of time, are thofeof Gideon, Jephthah, Sani- fon, and Samuel ; which we Ihall now conlider in their order. Gideon's Exploits. I. A FTER the death of Deborah and Barak, the people fell <^ft'>e JlV again into their old apoltacy ; and by their cr>ing fin of ^^ '"'^; idolatry provoked God to deliver them into the hand of their ijefore"^ enemies. The Midianites were a people fituate beyond the Ch-ift. river Jordan, whom the children of Ifrael in their pafTage to the '^^^' ^'^' land of Canaan " had dellroyed ; ^ but it is not improbable that Gi.icim's fome of that nation, faving themfelves by flight into other coun- iicfignation tries, and, after the Ifraelites were fettled in Canaan, returning ^°^cj"''3c- again, might in the fpace of two hundred years re-people the land where they dwelt before, and ftill retain the name of Mi- dianites. Thefe people, together with their neighbours the Amalekites, for I'even years kept the Ifraelites in fuch fubjec- tion, that they were forced to betake themfelves to dens in the mountains, and caves in the earth, and to their fortitied places, from whence, as the fpring came on, they llole out to Tow and cultivate their land ; but always towards the time of harvell thefe enemies made inroads into their country, and tarrying there till they had devoured all the pro^'i^lon and forage they could find, they then returned home, and left the poor Ifraelites nothing to fupport life. Under this fore calamity, the people be- gan to be fenfible of their wickednefs, and to humble themfelves under the affliding hand of God ; who upon their humiliation provided them an inftrument for their deliverance in the per- fon of Gideon, the fon of Joafli, and, to encourage the under- taking; feat of Jabin and Sifera, has another way of juftifying this a(fVion, whicli fecins pot fo very confonant either to the laws of God or nations. For liaving prc- pofed fome fuppnfitior.s mentioned by Puffcndorf and other civilians, which he rejcfts, bis next words are thefe- " 11 me femble, qu'on prout trouver dans Ir " Charae^ere meme de Jabin, &: de fes Miniftres, I'apologie de Jalicl. jabiii " etoit un Tyran; Sizera etoit le principal Fautcur de fcs Tyrannies. Lrs " hommes.lespluj fourbes, fclcs plus criiels, ont bcfoin (jue lenrs Alliez foient " droits &: bienfaifans. Mais devonsnous avoir de la bonne foi L' de I'humanitc " pour ces perfonnes execrables, qui n'exigent ces vcrtus de no\is, they no, longer prelt rved their regular motion, but rau about at a wild r.itC; toffms their heads and fcattcring the fire whcie-cvcr 224 ^ Complete Body of Dhtnity. iPart tif. iliouts and horrors of the night, put the enemy, juft awakened out of fleep, and fancying an infinite number breaking in upon them, into fuch a fright and confternation, that, miftaking their own party, they fell on each other's fwords : fo that Gideon and his army obtained an eafy vidory, and after the Midianites had quitted their camp, had nothing to do, but to call in their friends, to purfue and flay them. This viftory raifed Gideon's name to fuch an height that the people came voluntarily, and offered to fettle the government upon him and his family ; which he modeftly and generoufly rejefting, and defiring only as an acknowledgment of his fer- vice, to have the ear-rings taken in the plunder of the Midianites given him ; the people readily confented, and over and above the ear-rings, threw in the rich ornaments and robes of the kings, together with the chains of gold which were upon their camels necks, and with thefe it is faid that he made an ephod ; but what that ephod was, and for what purpofe it was made^ has been a matter of much perplexity to commentators. The ephod An ephod we know was a common veftment belonging to niade^^^ priefts in general, but that of the high-priefl (which we had what.' " occafion to defcribe elfewhere) was of very great value. This veftment however was not fo peculiar to the priefts, but that fometimes we find the laity (as in the cafe of David <» bring- ing home the ark of God) allowed to wear it ; and therefore fome have imagined that the ephod which Gideon made was only a rich and coftly robe of ftate, which, on certain occafions, he might wear, to denote the flation he held in the Jewifh re- public. But, if his only intent was to diftinguifh himfelf from others by fuch a particular veftment, how could this give occa- lion to the people's falling into idolatry, or any way become a inare to Gideon and his houfe, we cannot perceive. Others therefore fuppofe that the word ephod, is a ihort expreffion, to denote the high-prieft's breaft-plate, together with the Urini and Thummim ; and hence by an eafy figure they are led to think, that to make an ephod, is to eftablilh a priefthood, and hereupon conclude i that Gideon's crime in making this ephod was, not to give divine honour to any but God, but to inftitute another kind of priefthood befides that which God had appointed in Aaron and his pofterity. And to this purpofe they fuppofe that he erefted likewife a private tabernacle with cherubims ; that, being now made the fupreme gove-'nor, he might confult God at his own houfe in fuch difficult points as might occur in his adininiftration. But, befides that it is not eafy to imagine that where-eyer they went. Alarmed at this fpeiftacle, the Romans, who guarded the pafles, and were at fonie diftauce from the main body, thinking that the enemy VTas coming upon them to I'urround them, quitted their polls, and with great precipitancy, fled to the army. This gave Hannibal an opportunity to liicure the pafles, by that means to gain the advance-ground, and fo extricate himfelf from the prefent difllculty. c Vide page 183. d 2 Sam. yi. 14. q Vide Spencer de Leg. & ?/u. Hebr. 8c M. Lc Clerc in Judg. viii. 7. Chap. V. From the giving the Law to the buildhig the Temple. 225 that a man familiar with God, and chofenby him (as Gideon was) Ihould, after fofignal a vicT:ory, as he had obtained, immediately a- poftatize, as he mult have done, had he fet up an oracle in his own houfe ; there feems to have been no manner of neceflity for it, becaufe Shiloh, where the tabernacle Itood, was in the tribe of Ephraim, which adjoined to that of ManafTeh, where- unto Gideon belonged. ' And therefore the nioft probable opinion is, that this ephod was defigned for nothing more than to be a fimple monument of his vicT:ory, in the manner that other conquerors had done before him ; only that as the com- mon cuftom was to ereft a pillar, or hang up trophies upon the hke occafion, he chofe rather to make an ephod, or prielPs ha- bit, as a token that he afcribed his victory only to God, and triumphed in nothing fo much as in the reftoration of the true religion by his means. This was an acfUon of no bad intent in Gideon ; though in after times, when the people began to re- turn to idolatry, and had this fancy among others, that God would anfwer them at Ophrah, where this ephod was, as well as at his tabernacle in Shiloh where he dwelt, it proved a fnare (as the fcripture exprelTes it) both to his family, and the whole houfe of Ifrael. * Jephthah's rafli Vow. II. 'T'^ H E children of Ifrael had not long been delivered ^f ^^^ jL from the opreffions and depredations of the Midianites, 2834*^ &r'c- before they fell into the fame apoftacy again ; whereupon God Before let Ibofe the Ammonites upon them, until, by their repentance Chrift, and renunciation of idolatry, they pacified his difplcafure ; and '.'^ then he raifed up Jephthah, the Gileadite, a man of great cou- jepiuliah's rage and conduft, to be their chieftain and deliverer. Jephthah, comiition, as ■ the text tells us, was the fon of an harlot: but « feveral aod vow. interpreters are of opinion, that his mother was only a wo- man of another tribe, or of another nation at the moft ; and therefore they obferve, that " he refents the injury which his brethren, by another wife, had done, in expelling him his fa- ther's houfe. Being however thus expelled, he retired into the land of Tob (very likely the fame country where his mother was born) wliich was not far from Gilead, upon the borders of the Ammonites, in the entrance of Arabia Deferta ; and here, getting together a band of young fellows like himfelf, he lived by the plunder he got in making incurfions upon the public ene- my. Renowned for his Valour, and perhaps refpefted for the fervice, which, by this means, he did his country, he was at length invited to take upon him the command of the army, • which was intended to be raifed againft the Ammonites, and. Vol. II. F f upon r Patrick's Commentary on Judg. viji. s Judg. xi. i. t Jofephus himfelf ieems to think fo; fcr he calls him, Xeno; ^eri ten mttcra, a ftranger, as to hiS mother's lide. u Judg. xi. 7. t 226 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. upon the condition of his being made governor, in cafe he fnc- teeded in the war, he accepted it. He is reprer(pnted in fcrip- ture as a man of fome fire and palFion, and fuch 'was his zeal to avenge his country's wrongs at this time, that, when he went out to war, * he vowed a vow unto the Lord, and faid, If thou ihalt, without fail, deliver the children of Ammon into mine liands, then it Ihall be, that whatfoever cometh forth of the doors of my houfe, to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, ihali furely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt-otfering. He went ; he fought ; he conquer- ed the children of Ammon : but, when he returned to his houfe, behold his daughter came out to meet him, with timbrels and w ith dances, and (he was his only child ; befide her he had neither fon nor daughter. And it came to pafs, when he faw her, that he rent his cloaths, and faid, alas, my daughter, thou haft brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trou- ble me ; for I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I can- not go back. And flie faid unto him, my father, if thou haft opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth, forafmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon ; only let me alone two months, that I may fo up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, and my fellows. And he faid, go : and he fent her away for two months, and ihe went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. And it came to pafs, at the end of two months, that flie returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow, which he had vowed, and Ihe knew no man. And it was a cuftom in Ifrael, that the daugh- ters of Ifrael went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah, the Gileadite, four days in the year. I HAVE fet the whole paifage before the reader, that he may the better judge of the depending controverfy ; for a great con- troverfy there is among commentator^ whether this daughter of Jephthah was really facrificed, or no. ^ The plain narration, as it ftands in our verfion, without confulting any comment up- on it, would really induce one to think that this virgin was cer- tainly facrificed, and the concurrent teftimony of / Jews, as well as antient fathers of the chriftian church, do contribute not a The argu- little to the confirmation of this opinion. But then, on the other jnents of hand, ^ to find a man, and that not a wild barbarian, but an luaintain* Israelite, offering for a burnt-facrifice a young, innocent, and, thenega- no doubt, beautiful and virtuous maid: to find an indulgent nveofit. fond father burning the fruit of his own body, his own child, nay, and his dutiful and obedient child too, the objeft of his hopes, and prefent comforts : to find him, whom the apoftle lifts * Judg. xi. 30, &rc. X Smalridge's Sermons. y Jofephus and Philo are both of this opinion, z Hov/cll's Hiftorv of the Bible. Chap. V. From the giving the Law to the building the Temple. 227 Jifts in the catalogue of the moft pious and faithful worthies of the Old Teftament, vowing to offer an human facrifice to God, at the very time, in which the fcripture fays, ^ the Spirit of the Lord was upon him ; and putting his vow afterwards in execu- tion, though human facrifices were hateful to the Loid, provok- ed him utterly to deftroy the Canaauites, and kindled his indig- nation againll Ifrael, when they brought the king of Moab to the fad necelfity ^ of offering up his eldefl: fon for a burnt-offer- ing upon the wall of his city : I fay, to find all this is very- puzzling and unaccountable ; and therefore, the interpreters that take the negative fide of the queftion, have devifed a more harmlefs and lefs offenfive way of expounding the words. They tell us, I. That the word which we render door [ Judg. xi. 31.] fignifies likewife a gate ; and that the houfe is not to be ftricT:ly taken, but in a fsnfe that comprizes the precincls, and places adjoining, even as the temple, and the courts belonging to it, are frequently included in the denomination of the houfe of God. So that, by whatever cometh forth out of the doors of my houfe, to meet me, we are to underftand, whatfoever, com- ing out of Jephthah's gate, or any place adjoining to his houfe, fhould happen to meet him in his return, that he would facrifice ; but then it was upon the fuppofition that the bead (if it hap- pened to be one) was a clean one, becaufe an unclean beafl he was not permitted to ofier. 2. They obferve, that the word {yah'\ in the fame verfe, which our tranflation makes and, in a great many places of fcripture fignifies or ; and that it ihbuld rather be taken in this fenfe here they imagine, becaufe the preceding words, it fhall be the Lord's, /. e. dedicated, and fet apart for God's fpecial fervice, or I will offer it up for a burnt- offering; and in this they are the rather confirmed, becaufe, where Jephthah is faid to have <= done with her according to his vow, it is immediately fubjoined, that fhe knew no man, which v/ould have been fuperfluous, had not celibacy been the thing to which fhe was devoted. 3. They obferve, that the word which we render lament [ver. 40.] fignifies every whit as properly (and as the marginal note indeed has it) to talk or converfe with. ^ In fome places it imports to /peak or rehearfe; and from hence an ' interpreter of no mean note makes it in this place fignify, to praife or celebrate ; and thereupon it is infer- red, that this daughter of Jephthah's was not flain, but only de- voted to a ftate of perpetual virginity, in fome folitary and re- tired place ; whither the daughters of li'rael went up four days in the year, /. e, one day every quai-ter, either to converfe with her, and comfort her, or to celebrate her fame, with verfes compoled in her praife. According to thcfe explanations, the full purport of Jephthah's vov/ will be this, — " 1 hat if God ** would a Juilg. xi. 29. b 2 Kings jii. 27. c Jiulg. xi. "O. A Efpeciallv in Jiulg. I :. e Lud de Dic-a. 42S" A Complete Body of Dtvtmty. Part III, *' would blefs him with the viftory over his enemies, the Am, *' monites, the firft thing that fliould meet him upon his return *' home, if it belonged to him, and was fit to be facrificed " (were it never fo precious) he would offer it to the Lord '* immediately ; but that, if it happened to be fuch, as was not ^* proper to be facrificed, he would neverthelefs devote it to " his fervice for ever, in commemoration of his great mercy " towards him." So that, according to this fenfe of the words, there was no neceffity for him to facrifice his daughter, when refigning her up, as a perpetual virgin, to the fervice of God, anfwered the whole purpofe and obligation of his vow. An objec- << f BuT, if confecrating his daughter to a ftate of perpetual *' virginity was all that Jephthah intended by making fo folemn *' a vow, what caufe was there for his renting his cloaths, and *' bemoaning himfelf, as we find he does ? Is the being fhut up *' as a reclufe, and entered into the lift of perpetual virgins, a *' matter of fuch bitter complaint and lamentation? Was this *' fo fore an evil, an affliftion fo extraordinary, that, not only " before flie underwent it, Ihe and her companions fliould for ^' two months together be allowed to bewail it, but that (after '' Ihe had undergone it) the daughters of Ifrael ihould be re- '' quired to lament it four times a year? If Ihe was acT:ual]y *' put to death, in execution of her father's vow, it is eafy *' then to underftand, why the particular circumftance of her " dying without iflue, when fne was the only daughter of her '' father, and he had no other profpeft of pofterity to keep up ^' his family, ftiould be reprefented, as a fore aggravation of ^' her violent and untimely death ; but it feems very difficult " to account for that bitter lamentation made by her father, by *' herfelf, by her companions, and by all the daughters of If- *' rael, in fucceeding times, if fhe fuffered no other, no feverer '' punilhment, than that of being devoted to a fingle life f ." This f Smalridge's Sermons, f A very learned prelate of our own, who has ex- amined this vow of Jephthah to the full, and feems plainly to be of the affir- mative fide, fums np his arguments againft the contrary opinion in thefe words: " Since therefore this explication is novel, and therefore, not to be " over haftily embraced by thofe, who have a reverence for antiquity; fmce " it is chiefly advanced by popifli writers, in fayour of the doftrine of perpe- " tual celibacy, and for that reafon juftly to be fufpefted by us proteftants ; •' fince moreover it renders the relation of this matter confufed, unintelli- -" gible, and unaccountable, and for that caufe deferves to be rejedled by all " who profefs an efteem and veneration for holy writ; I think we have fuffi- " cient grounds to conclude, that when it is faid in the text, that Jephthah did " with his daughter according to the vow, which he had vowed, we can under- " ftand no lefs, than that he did adually put her to death." This is the una- jiimoiis opinion of the antients, and with thefe agree the compilers of the homi« lies of our church, as to the fubftance of the fjdt, where we read, that Jeph- thah, when God had given him viftory over the children of Ammon, promifed, of a fool i (It devotion unto God, to offer for a facrifice unto him that perfon, M'hich of his own houfe flinuld firft meet him after his return home; by force oC which fond and luiadvifed oati), he did flay his own and only daughter, which came out of his houfe, with mirth and joy, to welcome hiin ho:ne, Smal'rjdge's 22d'Seraicn. Chap. V. From the giving the Law to the building the Temple. 229 ^ This is the great argument againfl: fuch as fuppofe that this Anfwcrcd. virgin was really facrificed : but to this it is replied, e that, from feyeral places of the Old Teftanient, it appears, that, the being without children, and confequcntly, in perpetual virginity, was looked upon as a curfe and reproach ; fo that it is no way ftrange to find Jephthah troubled, and renting his cloaths, when his only child was to live and die under this reproach ; when he faw his family extindt (for in her celibacy he had the fame profpeft as in her death) and himfelf excluded from all hopes of pofterity, and particularly from the hopes of having the Melhah to come of his feed, which was the general hope and defire of all the Ifraelitilh women. It may be alledged, perhaps, that Jephthah had no right to oblige his daughter to perpetual virginity ; but then it will follow, that, if the want of right to do a thing be an argument that the thing is not done, the more degrees of injuftice and unlawfulnefs there is in any thing, the more boldly we may conclude, that it has not been done. If therefore it follows, that Jephthah did not oblige his daughter to perpetual virginity, becaufe he had no right to do fo, then much more will it be evident, that he did not facrifice Jiis daughter, becaufe fuch an action was impious, and barbarous, contrary to the laws of God, of nature, and humanity. Her embracing perpetual virginity however was an aCt of her free choice, not inflifted on her againft her will, but done with her confent, and at her own entreaty : in which (fays '■ the anno- tator above-cited) ihe deferved greater commendation than her father. For he, as foon as he faw her come to meet him, re- pented of the vow, he had ralhly made, and tore his cloaths, lamenting the miferable condition into which he had brought himfelf, and her : but Ihe moft couragioufly comforted her fa- ther, and, congratulating his viftory, defired him not to be troubled about her ; for ihe was ready to fubmit to what he had vov/ed. But whether it was death, or perpetual virginity, to which Jephthah had devoted his daughter, fince it is agreed on all fides, that his vow in itfelf was unlawful ; that his child was intirely innocent, and had done nothing deferving inch hard treatment ; that her running out to meet him, with joy and congratulation, was an aft of piety, that properly entitled her to his love ; and that his giving her up cither to the altar, or a cloifter, either to be facrificed, or abdicated from his prcfencc and fociety for ever, was cruel ufage to a loving child, and a thing abhorrent to the natural affections of a tender parent. The leflbn we are to learn from the great imprudence of his example is this, — that, though * when we vow a vow unto God, we fliould not defer to pay it, yet, in caies of this nature, w c g Howell's Hiftory of the Bible, h Lud ilc Dicu. " Ecdcf. v. A, - 230 -^ Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. we fhould not be rafli with our mouths, nor let our hearts be hafty to utter any thing before God. Samson's Exploits. Of the III. \ T /H ETHER Samfon was i-eally the judge and fupreme 86°*^^^-' magiilrate of Ifrael, or only a man of great might, born Before °^ ^" eminent family in the tribe of Dan, as the Jewilh writers Chrift, > tell us, and raifed up by God, when Eli the high-prieft had 1140, &c. fi^g (-ivji adminiftration, to be a fcourge to the Philillines, who at ^^^^^ that time fadly opprcfled his countrymen, is a matter wherein commentators are not fo well agi-eed. It is certain, that he was a very extraordinaiy perfon ; for ^ his birth, we find, was predicted by j^n angel, and himfelf ordained from the womb to be a Nazarite unto God. HisNaza- 1 A Nazarite was One, who, under the Levitical law, ^^'h^t'k' d ^^^h^'' ^° attain the favour, or avert the judgments, or acknow- * ledge the mercies of Almighty God, vowed avow of particular purity, and feparated himfelf (for fo the word fignifics) in an extraordinary manner to the fervice of God. The time of this vow lafled ufually for eight days ; fometimcs for a month ; and, in forae cafes, for the perfon's whole life. During this time, the perfons (for women, as well as men, might enter into this engagement) bound themfelves to abflain from wine, and all ftrong liquors ; not to cut the hair of their heads ; not to come near a dead corpfe, nor affifl: at any funeral ; nay, the matter was carried fo high, that if any happened to die fuddenly in their prefence, the whole ceremony of this their feparation was to begin a-new. After the time of their feparation was expir- ed, they were to offer fuch Sacrifices as the law appointed, and then, being abfolved from their v^ow by the prieft, they might drink wine, and ufe the fame freedom that other people did. Samson's Nazaritifm was to laft the whole term of his life : « but his frequent intercourfe with the Philiftines, and the great havock and flaughter that he fo often made among them, may induce us to think that he had a particular difpenfation, exempting him from a rigorous obfervation of the law : in this one circumftance however he was very punAnal, that till he was infatuated by Delilah, " he fuffered not a razor to come upon his head. What the adventures and exploits of his life were : how, when he grew up, he killed a lion ; flew thirty Philiflines at one time ; at another, no lefs than a thoufand with the jaw-bone of an afs ; burned their Handing corn with fo^es and fire-brands ; carried away the gates of Gaza ; and did many lirange and prodigious things, till, at length, difcovering to De- lilah j Jofephus and Philo. k Vid. Judg- xiii. 1 Vid. Numb. vi. and Calmet's Diftionary. m Saurin's Differtatioiis, Vol. II. n Numb. vi. 5. and Judg. j.iii. 5. Chap. V. From the giving the Laiv to the building the Temple. 231 lilah where his great ftrength lay, by her he was betrayed, and dehvered into the hands of his enemies ; who, putting out his eyes, loadetUliim with irons, and Ihut him up in prifon, till, in time (hisjjjhjgth returning with his hair) he was fufhciently avenged jW^ulling the houfeof their god Dagon upon them, though he himfelf perilhed in the ruins : tliele things are To fully recorded in the book of Judges ", that there is no occafion to relate them here : only we may take notice, that (what has been fo common a fubjecl of ridicule) the thi'ee hundred foxes His foxes, which Samfon is faid to have caught, is not fo incredible a thing as fome may imagine. For we are to confider (as the learned Bochart p evinces) that the whole country, efpecially that part of it, which belonged to the tribe of Dan, abounded fo with foxes, "5 that from them feveral. places took their names : that, under the name of foxes, may not improperly be comprehended a creature, very much like them, called Thoes, which go in fuch herds, that!»two hundred of them have been feen together at once ; that the manner of catching them, was not (as we imagine) by hunting only, butbyfnares and nets, as our author plainly demonftrates ; and that Samfon did not this alone by himfelf in a day and a night's time ; but that, being allifted by his fervants and neighbours (as he was a man of confiderable eminence in his country) he might polTibly be fome weeks in accomplilliing a defign, whereby he both injured his enemy, and benefited his own country, by freeing it of fo many noxious animals ; for that poifibly might be a fecondary reafon for his getting together fuch a multitude of foxes. *' How impious ** then, as well as incongruous is it, fays our author, for men, " who profefs to believe the divine authority of the fcriptures, " to make a j eft of this tranfiiftion ; when, at the fame time, '* they both believe and read with admiration, what Pliny tells ^' us of Lucius Sylla, that when he was praetor, he ordered to *' be fhewn on the amphitheatre a thoufand lions at once ; and " Julius Caefar, when he was dictator, four times as many ; '< when they believe what Vopifcus teilifies, that the emperor " Probus exhibited, at one fpeftacle, a thoufand Itags, three *' hundred bears, an hundred Libyan, an hundred Syrian Ico- ** pards, and an infinite number of other ftrange creatures, *' and yet are ftaggered at the account of Samfon's taking three *' hundred foxes ?'' The like is to be faid of his killing a thoufand men with the \c^\\\ag fa jaw-bone of an afs, that whatever the inftrument be in the many with man's hand, when God infpires him with courage againlt thofe ['^',^j^P',, whom he intimidates, it is the fame thing : but in this cafe it is 3^,, jH-efumeable enough ' that the Philillines, feeing Samfon firlt ' break the cords wherewith he was bound fo ealily and luddcnly, and o From Chap. xiii. to Chap. xvji. p Hieroz. lib. iii. c 13. q Judg. i. 35. and Jofii. xix, 42. r Patiick'sCoinmentaryou Judg.sy. sYid. Juilg.xv. i4,i:c. ^ 232 A Complete Body of D'tvimty. Part nr. And his ftrength in his hajp ac- counted for. S.in^fon and Her- cules com- pared. and then coming upon them with fo much fury, might be put into no fmall confulion, and, ftraggling about in their flight, give him the advantage of flaying them one by one as he came up to them, till they amounted to the number of, (a thoufand. This indeed is the higheft inftance of perfonal proweis that we read of, and yet profane hifliorians inform us of other men, who by their mere natural courage, unaflifled by any divine power (as the fcripture informs us Samfon was) have made great havock among their enemies. For ' the above-cited au- thor reports, that in the Sarmatic war, Aurelian flew forty- eight men in one day, and in feveral days " nine hundred and fifty ; which diminiihes the wonder not a little, that a man af- fifted by God, who could raife his powers to what degi-ee he pleafed, and equally enfeeble the fpirits of thofe that were his adverfaries, Ihould be able to deftroy fo many. * Whether Samfon's hair was the phyficai or only the moral caufe of his flrength, needs not, I think, be made any queflion. For, though plenty of hair may be a natural indica- tion of bodily ftrength ; yet fince he that is naturally flrong be- comes not lefs fo by having his hair cut off (though this was certainly the cafe of Samfon) it mufl follow that his hair was no natural caufe of his ftrength, which was a fupernatural and miraculous gift, ^ not perhaps always inherent in him, but only difpenfed at certain times, when the Spirit of God came upon him. y It depended indeed on the covenant made between God and him, the fign of which covenant was his hair ; and there- fore when, in compliance to his harlot, he fuffei-ed his hair to be cut off, he broke the covenant with God, and forfeiting the fpirit of flrength and courage, was left to his own natural weak- nefs, and fo became an eafy prey to his enemies. What refemblance foever there may be imagined betv/een the perfidy of Delilah, and that ^ which is fabled of the daugh- ter of Nifus king of Megara, tbe fate of whofe empire depend- ed upon one particular hair of his head, which flie, enamoured with his enemy Minos, then befieging him in 'his capital, im- pioufly cut off, and fent for a prefent to engage his affediions to her: whatever there is in this, I fay, there is certainly fo near a fimilitude between the heathen Hercules and the Jewifli Sam- fon, that in all probability they were one and the fame perfon. And to this purpofe fome critics have obferved, that not only » their names, ^ their epithets, and the time of their appearance in t V^opifcus. u Upon this occafion the boys made a fong (not much unlike •what Samfon made of himfelf, Judg. xv. i6.) vvhich, after a military manner, they (houted iu their dances, mille, mille, mille, mille, mille, n)ille decollavi- mus unus homo; mille, mille, mille, mille decoUavimus. Mille, mille, mille, vivat, qui mille, mille occidit. Tantum vini habet nemo, quantum elfudit . fanguinis. * Calmet's Didt. x Vide Patrick's Commentary. y Collier's In- trodudtion. z Vide Ovid's Metam. Lib. VHI. a The w/ord Samfon mean > the fun, and Hercules is derived from the two words Our and CoU, which lignify all light, b The Perfians call Hercules, Sandes, which fignifies terrible, uhlch exaftly agrees with Samfon. Sauria's Djflertauons, Vcl. 11. Chap. V. From the grving the Lcrw to the building the Temple. 23^ in the world were much the fame, but that Samfon's killing a Hon, flaying the Philillines, carrying away the gates of Gaza, &c. were exemplified in other inftances by Hercules ; and, above all, that the predominant paflion of their complexions, an immoderate love for women, was in both the lame, attended with tiie fame effefts, and the fame fad catalfrophe in both; that which tur- nilhed the glory of both their great exploits, and brought them both at lalt to an untimely end. And therefore, to conclude thefe refleftionsiin the words of the wife man, <^ Hearken unto me, fays he, O ye children, and attend unto the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart lead thee to the ways of a flrange woman, even of a Granger who flattereth with her mouth, which forfaketh the guide of her youth, and forgctteth the co- venant of her God; for her houfe inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. With fair words flie will caufe thee to yield ; with the flattery of her lips ihe will force thee ; thou ihalt go after her ftraightway, as an ox goeth to the flaughter, and as a fool to the correction of the flocks ; but none that g(% unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life ; for Ihc hath caft down many wounded, and many flrong men have been flain by her. Of Samuel and the Prophets. DURING the adminiftration of Eli, the affairs of Ifrael ran of tlie into great diforders. His two fons, Hophni and PJiinehas, "v^'orl**, led very loofe and irregular lives : himfelf, by reafon of his age, ^^')' *"'^* had loft all power and authority over them ; the Philiflines had chrift, vanquiflied their armies in the field, and, when the ark of the nco, &c. covenant was brought into the camp, in hopes '' that it Ihould fave them from the hand of their enemies, their enemies ftill prevailed againft: them ; flew thirty thoufand of them in a pitched battle,, and took the ark of the covenant at the fame time. How the ark of the covenant v.as removed from Eben- ezer to Aflidod, from Afhdod to Gath, from Gath to Ekron, and all along carried heavy judgments and deflrudion to the places where it came, till at length the Philiflines were glad to get rid of it, and fcnt it back honourably to the children of Ifrael; all thefe particulars are fo fully recorded in « the firft book of Samuel, that it were in vain to pretend to enlarge upon them : only we may obferve, ^ that it was a cuftom among the s antient heathens to confecrate unto their gods fuch monu- ments of their deliverances as reprefented the evils from which Vol. II. G g they c Prov. ii. 16. and vii. 21. Zzc. d i Sam. iv. 3. e Ch. vi. and vii. f Patrick's Commentary on iSam. vi. 4. g That this is ftill a pradicc among the modem Indians, we may obferve from what Tavernier relates in his Travels to their country, viz. That, when any pilgrim goes to a Pagod for the cure of any difeafe, h*' brings the figure of the member afieftcd, made either of gold, fil- vcr, or copper, according to his qnalitv ; wliiili he offers to liis god/ and ihcB falls a fmging, as tl-.c cuIl'Jiii i.i. \yr^ 234 ^ Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. they were freed : fo the Philiftines, hoping fliortly to be de. livered from the emrods and mice, wherewith they were forely afflicted during the ftay of the ark among them, fent the images of thefe things to the God of Ifrael. '' If peradventure (as their priefls advifed them) he will lighten his hand from off you, and from ofFyour gods, and from off your lands. Thefchools After the death of Eli, the government came into the hands of the pro- Qf gj^^yg]^ who judged the people for twenty years: but, as ftituted by' he was a prophet as well as a governor, it is in this light that Samuel, at prefent we confider him ; and Jhall hence take occafion to add fomething to what we have faid ' in the beginning of this work concerning thofe fchools or colleges of the prophets, which in Till probability were of his inftitution. ^ Some of the modern Jews indeed carry the account of thefe fchools much higher than they have any authority for, pretending to trace them to Abraham, to Noah, to Seth, nay even to Adam himfelf : but though it be granted that the fpirit of prophecy did more or Icfs refide among the patriarchs and others from the earlieft ages ; yet we meet with no inflance in fcripture of any fociety formed, or method of education inflituted, in order to attain it, but what was of much later date. The firft mention indeed that we have of this is, when Saul is faid to meet and join him- felf to ' a company of prophets at the hill of God, as they came down from the high-place with mufic before them. >" What the text exprefles by a company of prophets, moft commenta- tors, both Jewilh and chriftian, agree to interpret of a fociety of ftudents devoting themfelves to the attainment of prophecy. Where and what the Hill of God was is difputed by interpre- ters ; but the moft probable conjefture is, that it was in Gibeah of Benjamin, the place where Saul's father dwelt, and that it was called the Hill of God, both becaufe it was an high place whereon the people were ufed to offer facrifice, as alfo becaufe here dwelt a company of prophets who had addided themfelves to the fervice of God. After this we read of a like ■> company of prophets at Naioth in Ramah, prophefying with Samuel, who flood as appointed over them ; of the Ions of the prophets who were ° at Bethel ; of others p at Jericho • of others i at v Gilgal ; and of others ' at Jerufalem : fo that it feems as if they were difperfed about all the cities of the Ifraelites, that they might be every where at hand to inftruft and admoni(h them. Nay, fo very nunierous were they in the days of Ahab, that • one good man (Obediah by name) is faid to have hid an hun- dred of them by fifty in a cave, to preferve them from JezebePs perfecution, even after fhe had taken off their main body. In h 1 Sam. vi. 5. i Vicje p. 48.V0I.I. kVidfe Jacob. Alting. de Republica Hebrse- fcruni, and Abenda, of the Ecclefiafacal and Civil Polity of tiie Jews. 1 i Sam. X. 5. 10. m Wheatley on the Schools of the Prophets. n i Sam. xix. 20. p2Kingsii. 3. p Ibid ii. 5. o^ Ibid, i v. 38. r Ibid, xxii 14- 5 i Kipg5 Chap. V. From the givitig the Law to the building the Temple. 235 In thefe feveral places the prophets had convenient colleges "Hieir man- built for their abode ; and, living in communities, had Tome one anj^dlj^^ of diftinguifhed note, very probably by divine eledlion, fet ovei/tion. them to be their head and prefidcnt. Here it was that they ftudied the law, and learned to expound the feveral precepts of it : here it was that by previous exercife they qualified them- felves for the reception of the fpirit of prophecy, whenever it ftiould pleafe God to fend it upon them : but (what is the moft remarkable part of their employment) here it svas that they were inftrufted' in the facred art of pfahnody, or (js the fcripture calls it) in ' prophefying with harps, with pfalteries, and cym- bals; and the end of their uflng fo much mufic was to keep themfelves continually in fuch a due temper of mind, as might the better difpofe them for the divine breathings of the pro- phetic fpirit, which being of a mild, and free, and gentle nature, would not confort with fadnefs or melancholy, or turbulent paffions, but always chofe an evify, calm, and chearful difpofition. From tliefe fchools of the prophets, when any blellings were to be promifed, any judgments to be denounced, or fonie extraordinary event to be predicled, the meilengers were gene- rally chofen, as being by their preparatory exercife and difci- pline more fufceptible of the divine impulfe : and though Amos declares of himfelf, that he " was neither a prophet, nor a pro- phet's fon, but an herdman and gatherer of fycomore fruit, when the Lord appointed him to that office ; yet this feems to be a particular cafe, becaufe, generally fpeaking, the pro- phets of whom we have any remains in facred record, have dif- covered themfelves to be men of a good education. 1 he ele- gance of Ifaiah, the rhetoric of Jeremiah, and the Ikill of Ezc- kiel in architefture and geography are very remarkable; nor is there any ground to imagine that thefe endowments were in- fpired, or that they received them together with the extraordi- nary influence or operations of the fpirit, Unce * it appears by the praclice of Daniel in particular, tliat even thofe who were aftually endued with the Holy Ghoft, ffiU ufed the fame diligence, or rather more than before, to gain what knowledge and afliltauce they could by the ufe and help of ordinary means : and this feems to point out the reafon why St Paul advifes Timothy, a man extraordinarily endowed with the gift of the fpirit, and marked out by prophecy as one that would prove eminent in the work of the minifhy, " to give attendance to i-eaduig, to cxhor- ration and to dodlrine ; and why St Paul himfelf, whocouUlboaft of vifions and revelations, and of fpiritual gifts, beyond all the a- poftles, writes to Timothy to bring him his > book-cafe (for ^ fo the word t I Chron. xxv. i, 7. u Amos vii. 14. * Vide Dan. ix. 21, 22, 23 and chap. X. iJ, 21. xiTim.iv. 13. y2Tim. iv-13. z I am very leufible that in our Engliflj tranflatlon it is called a Cloak; but it may as well be in- tenreted a biich-cafe or fcriptore. Phavorinus is of opinion that itfi^nhes * folded 23^ A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, word phailones fliould be rendered) his books and his parch- ments, or common-place-lx)ok ; becaule he wanted to make ufe of them, as never thinking that his abundance of fpiritual gifts iuperfeded all neceffity to Itudy. SECT. IV. Saul and his Actions. Of the 'T^HE mifcondutfl of Samuel's fons, whom he had appointed World, X to be judges of Ifrael, gave the people a fair pretence to 2944. &c. demand a king to be let over them, as other neighbouring na- Chrift tions had ; and God fo far complied with their requell (though 1060, &c. * with fome fignification of his difpleafure) as to order Samuel ^^yy^ to anoint Saul the fon of Kifh, * a man of a tall and majeftic fta- ture and appearance, but not fo well qualified in his mind to fuflain that important office. For, though in the beginning of his reign, in two or three actions, he behaved himfelf very well ; yet he foon forgot his duty to the God who had raifed hira to that high honour, and in the matter of his fparing Agag and the beft of the fpoil, contrary to his exprefs command, provoked him to that degree that his prophet is commifTioned to tell him, that becaufe he had rejedled the word of the Lord, the Lord had rejeded him from being king over Ifrael; and had given his kingdom to a neighbour of his, that was better than he. This ill news made fucli an impreflion upon Saul, that it was not long before he fell into a deep melancholy. The fcrip- ture exprefles it by an evil fpirit's being fent by the Lord to trouble him ; but this fpirit (according to Jofephus and others) was no more than a mind fadly diftrafted with the feveral paf- fions of jealoufy, envy, grief, delpair, anger, and other anxieties, which, <" in the opinion of many learned writers upon the fub- jea, folded vellum or parchment ; and therefore Dr Hammond thinks it all »ns with the fnembrandi mentioned afterwards, becaufe the mctljjia de, but more efpecially, feems to denote fomething mentioned before. Hammond, in locum, a 1 Sam. viii. 7. b This was reckoned fo neceffary a qualification in a king, that the Laccdjemonians (as Plutarch tells us in the beginning of his book Peri Paidoon agooga) fet a fine upon their king Archidamus for marrying a wife of a low ftature, who was likely to bring them ou baftkas alia baftlijkous, not kings, but kinglings to reign over them. And therefore remarkable are the words in Pliny's panegyric to Trojan, "that the ftrengtb and tallnefs of his *• body, the noblenefs of his afpeft, the dignity of his countenance, the grace- " fulnefs of his fpeech, &:c- longc lateque, principem oftentant, do every where proclaim a prince." c All authors are full of the praife of the power of mu- fic, both to ftir up paflions and to allay them, according to the feveral kinds of it. Athenaeus [Lib. XIV.] praifes it for the virtue that is in it, to regulate mens manners, and to calm and foften the furious, and thofe that are difturb- ed in mind. Gerh. Voffius [in his book de Artibus Popularibus, c. 3.] (hews l»o\v difeafes of the body have been cured by mufic, as well as thofe of the mind. Bochart reckons up many famous artifts among the antients, befides Orpheus and Amphion, that are celebrated not only by poets, but by very good hiftorians, for their wonderful fkill in moving mens paffions by muiic: and (to name no more} the great Erafm.us hath obferved the force of mufic in curing difeafes. Chap. V. From the giving the law to the building the Temple. 237 jeft, are often known to be diffipated and appeafcd by mufic ; and accordingly, the text tells us, that when the evil fpirit from the Lord was upon Saul, David, who was an excellent mufician, took an harp and played with his hand ; and Saul was refreflied and was wtll. , How ungratefully Saul requited David for all his good offices, efpecially for his defending, in feveral engagements, his throne with the nianifeft hazard of his life, is fo particularly re- lated in '■ the firil book of Samuel, that thither we may refer our reader, who, as he cannot butfuppofe that fuch wicked proceed- ings could never be attended with the blelfing of God ; fo will he foon find this malicious and bloody-minded king, reduced to the laft extremity, forfaken by God, and betaking himfclf to the powers of darknefs for counfel and relief. For this is what the text informs us, that « when Saul inquired of the Lord, and the Lord anfwered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets, then faid he unto his fervants, Seek me out a woman that hath a familiar fpirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. Kis fervants accordingly inform him where there was one ; and he, putting on a proper difguife, went to her, and requefted of her to bring up Samuel, who had been dead for fome time : but whether it was really Samuel, or only a cheat and deception of the woman ; or, if it was Samuel, whether he was made to appear by her incantations and the power of the devil, or by the interpofition of divine providence only, are queftions that have long exercifed the pens of the learned. Saul and the Witch of E n D o R . THOSE who imagine that the whole was a cheat and a of the juggle of the woman, take notice f that the facred ftory "^'o'-'J. ^ never once makes mention of Saul's feeing Samuel with his own ^l^^,^^^' eyes. It tells us indeed that he knew him by the defcription Chrift, which the woman gave, and that he held fome confiderable 1051. Sec difcourfe with him ; but, lince it is no where faid that he ^--^^^^''^^ really faw him, ** Why might not the woman counterfeit a " voice, and pretend it was Samuel's? When he told her he ** would have Samuel brought up to him, llie might withdraw *' from his prefence into her clofet or cell, and there haying ** her familiar, /. e. fome crafty confederate knave, to aflift her " in making proper refponfes, might eaiUy impofe upon one *' who wal dilhaded with uneafy thoughts, and had al- *' ready Ihewn fufficient credulity, in thinking there was any *' efficacy in magical operations to evocate the dead." But difeares, and quite altering the paffions of men J minds, in his preface to Arno- bius upon the Pfalms. Patrick's Commentary on i Sam. xri. 23. <1 I rom *A\. xviii. to civ. xxvii. e i Sam. xHviii. 6, 7. f Scot and Webftcr upon viiclicraft. 238 ^ Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, « That Sa- BuT, e befides that we find no mention of a clofet, or any muei's ap- other place, whereinto the forcerei's might retire, in -order pcarance ^^ jinpofe upon Saul, it is very plain, from the whole narration, that he aftually did fee Samuel ; not fo foon as the woman did, we own, becaufe probably the woman's body, or fome other object might interpofe between him and the firfl: appearance ; but that he did fee him is manifefl:, becaufe, when he, perceiv- ing (which word in the original fignifies feeing fo, as to be allured of our objeft) that it was Samuel himfelf, he {looped with his face to the ground, and bowed himfelf, which a man is not apt to do to bare ideas, or imaginations, and much lefs a ^ perfon of SauPs undaunted courage, to a creature of a filly wo- man's contrivance. For whatever uneafy thoughts the king might be under, as to the event of the enfuing battle, it is plain, that, upon this occafion, he had not loft his prefence of mind. Flis words to the Pythoncfs, Bring up Samuel to me, manifeftly Ihew, that he had no apprehenfion of fear from the thought of feeing him ; and, when the woman was frightened, and flirieked at the fight of the apparition, it is evident, that Saul was not ; for he bids her not be afraid, and defires to know what it was that occafioned her confternation. The whole te- nor of his difcourfe with Samuel indeed, is a fufficient indica- tion, that he was under no deliquium, or difturbance of mind at this interview ; but that the woman fhould be furprifed, and cry out, with a loud voice, when flie faw Samuel appear, or that the fight of him fliould convince her that the perfon, who was come to confult her, v/as the king, is no wonder at all. For though, at firft, ihe might not fufpect it, from his requir- ing her to raife up Samuel ; yet when, without the aid of in- cantations Samuel appeared, fhe might well be amazed and afFrightened. '^ She faw an apparition fhe did not expedl ; fhe knew the prophet ; ihe knew the veneration Saul had for him ; fhe knew that prophets were only fent to kings ; Ihe knew, the poor deluded mortals fhe had to do with, had no notion of having any commerce with perfons of facred character ; and flie knew her art (whatever that was) had never exhibited a per- fon of that figure to her ; fo that, as foon as flie faw him, the importance of his appearance, and the relation he had to Saul, brought the king prefently to her mind, and with him, her fears ; and, that this was the true caufe of her crying out, is plainly intimated by what flie fays. Why haft thou deceived me ? Thou art Saul. 1'here was undoubtedly then, fomething more in this tranf- aftion, than a bare contrivance of the woman to impofe upon Saul ; ' fmce, be the apparition what it will, it certainly fore- told him more than any human penetration could find out. k Becaufe g Glanvil's Sadduclfinus '.Triumphatus. h Hiftorical Account of the Life oC K ;. David, Vol. I. i Saurin's Diflertations, Vol. II. Chap. V. From the giving the Law to the building the Temple. 239 k Becaufe thou obeyefl: not the voice of the Lord, nor executcft his fierce wrath upon Amalek ; therefore the Lord will deliver Ifrael, and thee, into the hand of the Philidines, and to-morrow flialt thou, and thy fons be with me. The Lord aUb Ihall deli- ver the holt of Ifrael into the hand of the PhiliUines : in which words, there are three feveral predictions; the firlt, concerning the victory of the Philiftines over the Ifraelites : the Lord fhall deliver Ifrael and thee into the hand of the Phililtines ; the fecond, concerning the death of Saul and his two fons ; to-mor- row thou and thy fons iliall be with me ; and the third, concern- ing the plunder, and advantage, which the enemy (l.oukl make of their victory ; the Lord fliall deliver the holt of Ifrael into the hand of the Philillines : and, accordingly, if we attend to the Ibquel of the hiitory, we fliall find, that exactly thus it came to pafs. For ' when the Philiftines fought againll Ifrael, fay^ the text, the men of Ifrael fled before them ; this is the accomplifh- inent of the firft prediction : ■" the Philiflines follow ed hard up- on Saul, and upon his fons, and they flew Jonathan, and Ami- nadab, and Malchifliua, his fons, whilfl himfelf fell upon his own fword ; this is the accomplifhment of the fecond : " and when the men of Ifrael that were on the other fide of the val- ley, and they that were on the other fide Jordan faw, that the men of Ifrael fled, and that Saul and his fons were dead, they forfook the cities, and fled, and the Philillines came and dwelt in them ; this is the accomplifhment of the third : nor w ere ever prediftions more clearly exprefTed, or more exaiftly fulfilled ; which is enough to convince us that there was fomething more than human forellght concerned in them both ways. 1 he truth is, had there been only the witch and her accomplice concern- ed in this affair, it is certain, that they, knowing nothing of fu- turity, can only be fuppofed to have ventured at a bold con- jedture ; and, if they ventured to guefs only, it feems more confiftent to reafon, that they fhould have prophefied grateful and pleafant things to the aftlifted king. " The woman, by her courteous entertainment of the king, and according to the character which Jofephus gives of her, feems to be a pcrfbn of no bad nature ; and therefore it is injprobable, that either fhe, or her confederate fhould agree to lay an additional load of trouble and defperation upon him, when he was in fuch diflrefs before. It is improbable, * that a little contemptible juj?;glcr, or a poor daltardly woman, fliould ever dare to treat the king of Ifrael with that air of fuperiority and contumely, wherewith Samuel treats Saul upon this occafion. It is improbable, that any fuch impoftor fliould be fo zealous (as we find Samuel here was) for a llrict obfervance of the commands of Cod, and fo ni rid k I Sam. xxviii. i8, 19. 1 Ibid. xxxi. i. m Ibid- vcr. 2. n Ibid. ver. 7- o Glanvil's Sadducifmus Triun It was indeed fent imme- diately from God : and for this reafon perhaps, we find the woman flruck with horror and amazement (as we faid before) becaufe the prophet might appear contrary to her expedlation, and be- fore Ihe had performed her fpells. Had the prophet appeared to give Saul comfort and confo- lation in his afflidion, this might have been" thought a favourable vouchfafement of God ; but, when he appeared to the very contrary purpofe, it feems to be rather an inftance of his conti- nued difpleafure, and a judgment perhaps, to which his juftice was farther provoked by this his frefh fin, in deahng with a forcerefs. Since the wifdom of God however thought proper to difpatch a meflenger to him upon this occafion, there is fome reafon to be given, why the foul of Samuel fliould be thought uioft proper, and (upon the fuppofiiion it were left to his op- tion) fhould rather be defirous to be fent upon that errand. Samuel, in his life-time, had denounced God's judgments againft Saul for his difobedience to the divine command, in the cafe of ^ Amalek ; and, when he did fo, v/e are informed, that he was * clad in a mantle ; and therefoi'e it carmot but be thought ex- pedient, 2 I Sam. xxviii. 6, a This onr learned Dr Cudworth, and Dr More have largely fhewn to be confonant to the dodtrine of the greateft philofophers, and moft antient and learned fathers, as well as agreeable both to the fcriptures ind reafon. Glanvil's Sadducilmus Triurophatus, bjbid. * i Sam. xv. ??. Chap. V. From the givwg the Lav) to the luUdhrg the Temple. 24-^ pedient, that he, more efpecially, ihouki now be fent to repeat and ratify the fentence then denounced, and, to Itrike him with fuller conviftion (as fome f pbferve) iliould appear in the fame drefs, the fame mantle, in which he had denounced that fen- tence before. However this be, it is certain, that whatever may be faid in diminution of Saul's religious characler, it is certain, that he was a brave pri:^ '• and commander ; and lived in a Itrift inti- macy with Samuel, profefled a great efleem for him in all things, and was by Samuel ' not a httTe lamented, when he had fallen from his obedience to God. Upon thcfe confiderations we may imagine, that the foul of Samuel might have fuch a kindnefs for him, as to be ready to appear to him in the depth of his dhh-efs, in order to fettle his mind, by telling him plainly the uplliot of the whole matter, viz. that he Ihould lofe the battle, and he and his fons be flain, that fo he might give a fpecimen (as the Jews love to fpeak) of the braveft valour that ever was atchieved by any commander, in that he would not fuffer his country to beover-rnaby the enemy, while he was alive, with- out refiltance ; but, though he knew certainly he Ihould fail of fuccefs, and he and his fojis die in the fight, yet, in fo juft and honourable a caufe, as the defence of his crown and country, would give the enemy battle in the field, and facrifice his own life for the fafety of the people : which gave occafion to David, in the lamentation which he makes over him, and over Jona- than his fon, to exprefs himfelf in thefe terms ; ^ the beauty of Ifrael is flain upon the high places ; how are the mighty fallen ! From the blood of the (lain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the fword of Saul turneil not empty ; how are the mighty fallen in the midltof the battle ! Of the AcStions of David and S o l o ]\i o n. DAVID was much about fifteen years old when Samuel privately anointed him king of Ifrael, after God had re- jecfled the houfe of Saul, and intended to make him his fuccef- for. There is one remarkable action however, among many His flaying more, preceding his reign, but after his anointment, which huifl: Goliah. not be pafTed by without fome obfervation, and that is « his kill- ing Goliah in fo wonderful a manner. For, while the Ifraelites and Philiftines were encamped near each other, there came every day out of the camp of the Philiftines a champion of a prodigious fize, to challenge any in the camp of Ifrael that durll engage him in fmgle combat. Offended at this infolent chal- Icnger, and feeing his men all fearful and difmaycd, the king made public proclan;ation, that whoever ihould encounter and flay him lliould be amply rewarded; f fliould have the king's daughter t Hiftorical Account of the Life of King DavUl, Vol. I. c I Sam. -wi. 1. « ..' cam. i. 19. e 1 Sam. :s.v;i. f ]t>JJ. v«r. i-b- 244 -^ Complete Body of Div'imty, Part III. daughter In marriage, and for ever be exempted from paying any taxes or tribute, jufl: as David was coming to the camp to bring liis bietliren fome provifion ; e for in thofe days the cuftom was for men to go to war at their own expence. Da- vid feeing the champion, and hearing the conditions of the victory, was moved by a divine impulfe to accept of the chal- lenge : but with what ftrange difparity did the two combatants meet ! The Philiftine, a man of gigantic ftature, inured to war from his youth, and with arms and armour proportionable ; the Ifraelite, a young tripling, accuftomed to a Ihepherd's life, and without any \\ eapon but a fling and a itone ; and yet fuch was. the direction of divine providence, that the ftone when Hung, " fmote the Philiftine on his forehead, and funk into it : fo that David prevailed over him with a fling and a flone. It would be injurious to the power and glory of God to exclude him from an aftion of this importance, or otherwife we n)ight fay that, upon a probable fuppofition or two, all the flupendi- oufnefs of it would vanifli, and nothing remain in it exceeding human ftrength. It is but fuppofing that this arrogant cham- pion, in difdain of his inferior combatant, might «ome negligently toward him, ' with his helmet turijlid back, and his forehead bare : or, if this will not do, it is but fuppofing that David might level his fjone fo right as to hit the place which was left open for his adverfary's eyes, or throw it with fuch force as to penetrate both helmet and head together. And to convince us of the probability of thefe fuppofitions, we need only remember (what we read in facred hiftory) of nolefsthan ^ feven hundred men in one place, who were fo expert with their left-hands that every one could fling fl:ones at an hair's breadth and not mifs ; or (what we read in ' profane hiftory) of fome flingers who threw ftones with fuch a violence that nothing could re- fift their impreflion ; and that, when they made ufe of lead in- ftead of ftone, the very lead would melt in the air as it flew, by reafon of the rapidity of the motion which they gave it. And the This then is eafily accounted for : but then there is another reafons of difficulty relating to this action, which fome cavillers eagerly his emg j^ hoXA on. For, ** whereas it is faid, that before this com- not known ^ • i /-. i- i tx • i r. i to Saul af- ** bat with Gouah, David was well acquainted at Saul's court, ferwards. <^ as being not only his mufician in his melancholy fits, but, in *' reward for that fervice, promoted likewife to be •" his armour- '' bearer ; how comes it to pafs, fay they, that, now he is go- ** ing out againft the Philiftine, Saul fliould know fo little of ** him as " to alk Abner the captain of his holt, whofe fon is '' this youth? and Abner ihould anfwer, as thy foul liveth, O '! king, g Vide Patrick's Commentary, in locum, h i Sam- xvii. 49, 50. i Kinichi has a fancy that wlien Goliah faid to David, Come and 1 will give thy fielh to fhe fo\\is of the air, he locked up to heaven, and his helmet then fell oiF his head. Patrick's Commentary, in locum- k Judg. xx. 16. 1 Died. Sicu}. Lib. V. m 1 Sam. xYi- -I. u ibid, iivii. 55. . Chap. V. Fmn the giv'wg the Law to the building the Temple. 245 <' king, I cannot tell. That Abncr, a military man from his " youth, who had all along lived in cainpb, iijoiild not have " leen David when he was at court, is no v> onder at all; but " that Saul, who had received fuch fjgnal benefit from the *' chai-ms of his mufic, fiiould fo foon forget hiui is a thing in- *' credible." It is to be obferved however, <> that the qncltion which Saul puts is not who David himfelf was, but w ho his fa- ther was; for it is not incongruous to fuppofe that the king, though he remembered his perfon, might have forpot his pa- rentage, which now he was dcfirous to be better iuformed in, when he faw him adventuring upon an action, wherehi if he fucceeded, he was by agreement to be his fon-in-law. I.'&w- ever this be, he certainly muft be a ftranger to courts, to the hurry of bufinefs, and the variety of new faces that aie every day feen there, who thinks it any wonder at all that Saul fliould have loft the remembrance of David, after he had hecn fome time abfent, and was now drefi'ed in his rough flicpherd's coat and habit. The place of armour-bearer, which he held, mipht be honorary only, and require no attendance, or pej'iaps be officiated by feveSBl. I^jji^ertain from David's abfeiice that it required lio conftant renadflfe at court ; and therefore fujipofe him gone but for the fpace of fix months, yet this is enough to account for the forgetfulnefs of a king, who not long before "was under a melancholy diforder, and even then, beiides the diftraftions infeparable from his high ftation, had the concern and fatigue of a very troublefome and dangerous war lying heavy upon his fpirits. Aftkr the death of Saul David was only anointed king of Of the Judah, till r upon the murder of llh-^bolheth, Saul's fon, who ^"'^l,''^,', reigned over tlie other tribes, all Ifrael fell under his govern- Before ment ; and, when the whole force of the kingdom was thus Ciuift, happily united, it was not long before he did many great ex- '/'■'■'• ^^' ploits. He tojk the * fortrefs of Zion, which was the citadel His vido- of Jerufalem, where the Jebufites had fortified themfelves ; he ries when r routed the Philillines in the vale of Aileroth, and obtained fe- '''"£■ veral other victories over them ; he fubdued the Moabitcs ; gave battle to Hadadezer ; and the Syrians who came to his alhllance he quite vanquillied and made tributary. All Edom he brought under his fubjeftiou, and the king of the Ammonites, ' who had pTofsly affronted his ambaffadors, he bcGcged in his royal city ; took him, and flew him, and deflroyed all his people. * Thus, as the text tells us, the Lord prefervcd David whither foever he went, and he reigned over all Ifrael, and executed judgment and jultice unto all the people ; and his felicity doubt- lefs would have been complete, had he not lullied his reputa- tion with an aftiou unbecoming a jufl prince.. What we mean is o Saurin's Differtatious, Vol. TT. p 2 Sam. iv. q IbiJ. chap. v. r Ibi J. chap. viii. s Ibid. chap. x. t Ibid. viii. I4, 'i- 246 A Compute Body of Divinity. Part III, is that, wherein the unhappy Uriah was fo highly injured, whole wife Bath-lheba he firft drew into his unlawful embraces, and then, to conceal their mutual Ihame, perfidicufly deftroyed her huiband. His fin and This niournful ftory is fo fully related » in the fecond book the aggra- q|- Sa^iueL that there needs no enlarwinp; upon it: only we ihall vations Or . o o »■ -^ jj. take notice of what moralifts have made the aggravations of the crime, as well as for what reafons the Spirit of God hath re- corded it. And to this purpofe fome have obferved, i. that, as * David tarried at Jerufalem, at the time when kings went forth to battle, he there indulged himfelf in eafe and luxury, which is the bane and ruft of the mind ;; and fo infenfibly fell into thofe loofe defires, which drew him into fuch vile perpe- trations : fo that idlenefs was the firft caufe of his fin. 2. They obferve it as an aggravation of his fin, "^ that he certainly knew fhe was another man's wife, and yet deliberately and advifedly committed the fm ; nay, that ihe was the wife of one who was a profelyte to the JewiOi religion, and therefore added fcandal to his wickednefs ; or, ^ the text expreffes it, y gave great occafion to the enemies of tlie Lond* from his defign upon Uriah's life, when he could not otherwife conceal his lewdneis, how naturally one fin paves the way to another, and hov/, in a finall procefs of time, the fafcination of fenfual appetites is enough to change the very nature of mankind ; fince even he who formerly fpared Saul unjuftly feeking his life, when he could have deUroyed him without any one's privity, is now put upon contriving the death of a very faithful fervant, in a very bafe and unworthy manner. 6. They obferve ir as a farther aggravation of his crime of murder, that he not only expofed an innocent and faithful fer- vant to be killed, but that together with him ' feveral more brave men, fet in the front of the battle, where the fervice was liotteft, muft neceffarily have fallen in the attack. 7. They obferve, from his anfwer to the meffenger fent by Joab to ac- quaint u 2 Sam. xi, &c. * Ver. i. -A Ver. 3. y 2 Sam. xii. 1 4. z Ibi.l. xi- 6, S<:c. albid. xi. 11. b Ver. 15. c Ver. 1 7, Chap. V. Fi'om the giving the Law to the huild'tng the Temple. ^^y quaint him with Uriah's death, ^ the fwoid devoureth one as well as another; the vile hypocrify and obdiiratenefs of his heart, in imputing that to the chance of war, or rather to the direftion of divine providence, which his confcience could not but tell him was of his own contrivance. 8. And, laflly, they obferve ' from his marriage with Bath-iheba, even before her hulband was cold in his grave, how the eagernefs of his indulged appetite had now extinguilhed (what in fome finners is laft of all parted with, and for which he himfelf had fo lately embrued his hands in blood) all fenfe of Ihame, and regard to reputation or decency. These are fome of the aggravations obfervable in David's why re- crime ; which, befides its lulfc and cruelty, is loaded with too corde^J "» juft an imputation f of perfidy, of ingratitude, of hypocrify, of ^^"P'"'*" deliberation, of obflinacy and of fliamelefliiefs in fm : and for thefe purpofes were they recorded in fcripture, that they might caution us againft lloth and idlenefs, being always employed, and not giving ourfelves liberty to gaze upon any objecls that may endanger our innocence; and .that they might remind the very beft of men how much they ftand in need continually of the divine afhftance ; and therefore how much they are con. cerned to pray, with all prayer and fupplication, and to watch as well as pray, that they fall not into temptation. How long it was that David continued in thislinful lethargy, God'j rp- the fcripture has no where informed us ; God however, thought P^oof, and it expedient at lail to fend his prophet f Nathan to awake him nientsTeUt out of his deep, and to give him fome fenfe of his fms ; which upon him was done « in fo appofite a parable, that many have veryjuftly foi'it. obferved A 2 Sam. xii- 25. e Ver. 27. f It has been a matter of lurprife to fome, wb}' David, who was guilty of fins of fuch an heinous nature, fliould be ftilcil in fcripture, as we find he is [i Sam. xiii. 14. and xv. 28 ] the man after Ciod's own heart : but if we confult the occadon of that expreffuai, we faall find thai it ought to be taken in a comparative fenfe only, and in derogation indeed to Saul, whofe tranfgrefllou in invading the pricftly ofUce, and in fpaiing Amalek, the prophet Samuel vvas then reproving. It is only in thefe two refpetfts thru that the prophet may be fuppofed to call him a man after God's heart, or one that would execute his decrees, in abllaining from the prieltly office, and in deftroying the idolatrous nations round about him ; which David effectually did, though Saul was found culpable in botli refpects. Buc this I advance only as ;i probable conjedure, and not in oppofiti'in to the received folutioii, that the fe- verity of his repentance cleared him in the light of God, and made an amends for the gritvoufnefs of his tranfgrelFion. t Who this Nathan was, we learn little more from the facred writings than that he was David's prophet, intimate counfcllor, and hiftoriographer. Jofe- phus fays of him, that he was a polite and prurient man, who knew how to tem- per the feverity of wifdom, with the fucctnefs of good manners, and Grntius compares him to Manius Lepidus, who had a talent of turning aw ay the em- peror Tiberius's mind from fuch cruel purpofes as the vile flattery of others was apt to incline him to; but it muft be owned that Nathan knew how to do more than this: he knew how to reprove princes with authority. ;ct with- out offence, without being impaired In any degree, either of favour . r affet^ion with his king: fo far from this that lie increafcd in bf»th; iufur, itii that (as tradition teiii us) David named one fon after him, and commi'-'d another, even his favourite and fuccefior, to his tuition and inftruAion liiilvrical ac- count of tUe Jjfg of I^ng I^ayid, Vol. JUt £ Yiil« 2 Sam. ^ii. 7. 248 ^ Complete Body of Divinity . Part III, obferved from hence, that there is never more need for wifdorrt and difcretion than in the contrivance of repreheniion, efpecialiy when it is intended for princes and great perfons. It is not neceffary to apply every word of the parable to David's cafe, bnt (to give the reader the common explication of it) "The " rich man plainly fignifies David ; his flocks and herds are his *' wives and concubines ; the poor man reprefents Uriah ; his " ewe-lamb is his wife Bath-lheba ; the traveller denotes Da- " vid's inordinate alFeftion, which he fuffered to wander from " his own home ; and the rich man's taking the poor man's " lamb, is his taking Bath-lheba and lying with her." Thus far the parable goes, and it would have made the refemblance more complete, if the prophet had added that the rich man kill- ed the poor man from whom lie took the lamb ; but it is there- fore omitted in the parable, that David might not fo readily apprehend Nathan's meaning, and fo might be induced una- wares to pronounce a fentence of condemnation upon himfelf. For hereupon the prophet had a fit opportunity to Ihew him, that if the rich man, who took away the poor man's lamb, de- ferved death according to his own judgment ; how much more did he deferve it, v/ho had not only taken another man's wife, but alfo cauied her hufband to be flain by the enemies of Ifrael? And accordingly we may obferve, that when the prophet begins to make his application, he deals very roundly with the king, and is '> not afraid to declare any of thofe fore judgments wherewith God had ordered him to threaten David and his houfe for his crying fin. And as he threatened, fo the event was : for, if we look into the fequel of the hidpry, '>■ the death of the child begotten in adultery ; ^ the rape of Amnon upon his filter Tamar ; > the murder of Amnon by his brother Ab- falom ; i" the rebellion of Abfalom againft his own father ; " Shimei's curfes ; » Abfalom's death ; and v Sheba's infurreftion, are all the declared punifliments of David's adultery and m.ur- der. Nay, it is not unlikely that i the dreadful peftilence, wherein God fmote the children of Ifrael not long after (if not wholly derived from the fame fountain) ^ yet had fome fpice and tincture of it, which might add to the fin of nun)bering the people, and improve its heinoufnefs to deferve fo fertere a pu- nilhment. David's David beingr now waxen old, and willins: to prevent all death. confufion in the fucceffion, appointed Solomon, whom he had by h 2 Sam. xii. 7. i Ver. 18. k Chap. xiii. 1 Ibid, m Chap. xv. n Chap, xvi. o Chap, xviii. p Chap. xx. q Chap. xxiv. r For this conje<5lnre there is the more reafon, coniidering that except the pride and oftentationot'the thing, no oueinterprecerhasgivenus one probable realbn, wi-.yGod ihould be Ibhij^hly exafperated at David for numbering the people : for David's forgetting the half fhekel that was due to the fervice of God upon fuch cccafions, Exod. XXX. 13- ^^s numbering thofe who were under twenty years old, contrary to the order of the law, Exod. xxx. 14. his covetous defign herein to lay a capi- tation-tax upon the people, together svith feveral other things of the like ca- ture, are all crude and groundlefs conjeurcs. Chap. V. From the giving the Law to the building the Temple. a/jo by Bath-lheba, to be anointed king in his life-time : and not long after, finding his end approaching, he called the young king to him, and, having given him his indruction concerning the government of the date, he recommended him to God • in a prayer which is indeed a kind of prophetic declaration of the greatnefs and profperity of his enfuing reign ; and fo dying in the feventy-firft year of his age, and the forty-firft year of his reign, he was ' buried in that part of the city he had formerly taken from the Jebufites, which from him was called the City of David. Solomon had no fooner ^aken pofleflion of his father's king- Of the dom, than he eftablifhed himfelf in his throne, by cutting oft* all ^^"f^'^' his enemies. " Adonijah, his brother, he put to death for pre- ^utWe tending to marry Abilhag, his father's concubinary wife ; Abia- 'rift, thar, the high-prieft, he depofed and banilhed, for adhering to '^''- ^■*^' Adonijah's party : Joab, the old bloody general, who had fled soufnW^ to the foot of the altar, he commanded there to be flain ; and aftions. Shimei, who had curfed his fathe-, and upon pain of death, was confined to Jerufalem, he ordered to be killed for tranlgrelllng that injundlion. Having thus taken off the heads of the fac- tion which was againft him, he thought it advifeable to enter into alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, by efpoufing his daughter. And it is upon the celebration of thefe nuptials (as His fong. fome in)agine) that * the fong which goes under his name, as ■well as the forty-fifth pfalm, which feems to have an afpeft that way, were certainly compofed. But how well pleafed foever Solomon might be with this new alliance, it proved of fatal confequence to him, as well as the whole nation. « The holy fcripture ranks the daughter of Pharaoh among the number of thofe flrange wives which perverted him from the woriliip of Vol. II. I i the s The prayer makes up the whole fcYenty-fccond Pfalm. t Jofephus [Antiq. Lib. Vn. c. ult] tells us that Solomon laid up a vaft treafure in his father's tomb, which Hircanus the high-prieft, three hundred years afterwards, when he found himfelf befieged in Jerufalem by Antiochus, and knew not what to do for money, that he might bribe him to raife the fiege, made bold to open, and took thence three thoufand talents, a good part of which he gave to Antiochus. The fame author adds, that fevcral years afterwards Herod the Great broke open the faid tomb, and took away a large quantity of wealth ; but what au- thority he has for all this, unlefs he met with fome in the records of his own country, we cannot tell- Calmet's Dictionary. We read indeed in the 'rabick niemoirs, publilhedin M. le Jay's Polyglotts, that, when Hircanus was belicftcd by Antiochuj Sidetes, he opened a treafure which belonged to one of ihe dc- fcendants of David, and after he had taken a good deal of money thence, .*nd left fome behind, he clofed it up again. But this is nothing to Jofephus's Uory, which the reader will find abundantly confuted in Dr Pridcaux's Connexion, Part II. Lib. V. u i Kings ii. • The fong indeed is in the form of an epitha- lamium. It is diftinguiflied into feven days or nights, according to the time appointed for the celebration of nuptials, and recounts the feveral adventures of each; but then it is written in a lofty and poetic llilc, and to enter into the myftical fenfe of it, we muft carry our conceptions above flcili and blood, and therein contemplate the marriage of Jefus Chrift with hun\an nature, with his church, and with every pious and faithful foul. Calmet's Di^onary. x i Kiogs xi. I, lie. 250 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part HI. the true God ; which feems to intimate, that though flie might feem a convert at firft, Ihe returned \i\ time to the old idolatry, and by her allurements engaged her hufband in the fame abomi- nable prad:ice. His great Never prince certainly came to a crown with a better dif- wifdom pofition, both to wifdom and religion, than did Solomon, y The and know- judgment he gave between the two lewd women is a memor- able inftance of his wifdom in the adminiftration of jullice : the great care he took of building the temple, and of eftabliihing in it the true worfliip of God, is a fufficient argument of his fenfe of religion : and what vaft proficiency he had made in all na- tural, moral and polite knowledge, the fcripture gives us this lionourable teftimony, when it tells us that ^ he fpake three thoufand proverbs, fo that he was an excellent moral philofo- pher ; that he wrote a thoufand and five fongs, fo that he was a very confiderable poet ; that he fpake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, even to the hyffop that fpringeth out C7f the wall, fo that he underftood the nature of all plants ; and that he fpake alfo of beads, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fifhes, fo that he underftood the nature of all animals : and therefore no wonder if perfons from all nations, among whom we read of one whom the fcripture ftiles the Queen cf Sheba, came to hear the wifdom of Solomon ; but who this queen of Sheba was, interpreters are not fo well agreed. The queen " JosEPHUs (and with him many more) is of opinion, that ptj^sheba, Sheba was the antient name of Meroe, an ifland, or rather pe- ninfula in Egypt, before Cambyfes in complement to his filter gave it her name. The natives of the country have a tradition that this queen's name was Marqueda (Jofephus calls her Ni- caula) that Ihe had a fon by Solomon, whofe pofterity reigned there many years, and to this very day have preferved a con- tinual lift: of their names and fucceflions ; nor can it be denied but that it was ufual in thefe parts for women to have the fu- preme command : and yet I cannot but think that thofe who fuppofe that this princefs came from fome place in Arabia Felix, have a fairer probability on their fide, not only becaufe it is generally allowed that the Sabaeans and Ethiopians lived in Arabia, and that '' women were allowed to reign there ; not only becaufe our Saviour calls her <= the queen of the fouth, as Arabia certainly lies fouth of Judea, and fays that flie came from the uttermoft parts of the earth, as Arabia towards the fouth is bounded by the ocean, ^ which the antients knew no land be- yond; but more efpecially, becaufe the prefents which fhe made Solomon, y I Kings iii. z Ibid. iv. 32, &c. a Vide Calmet's Dictionary, on the word Saba, viz. la Reine, and Patrick's Commentary on 1 Kings x. b Medis levibufque Sabaeis Imperat hie fexus ; reginarumque fub armis Barbarias pars magna jacet. Claud, in Jlutrop. c Matth. xii. 42. d Terra, fi:icfque, qua ad orientcm vcrgunt, Arabia ter* jiiinautur. Tacit. Lib. V. U'ho. Chap. V. From the giving the Laiu to the building the Temple. 25 1 Solomon, « fuch as fpices, and gold, and precious ftones, were certainly the product of Arabia Felix, though rarely to be found in the place which Jofephus afligns. Nor was it only to hear the wifdoni of Solomon that tliis Iii5 vaft princefs took fo long a journey, but to fee likewife the fplendour litlics. and magnificence wherein he was reported to live ; for, after lie had finiihed the houfe of the Lord; ' he built ftately palaces, re- built feveral cities, and fortified others. And well might he be fufficient to do all this, fince his own annual revenue, without reckoning the tribute of other nations, or the fubfidies of his own fubjefts, v/as ;: fix hundred threefcore and fix talents of, gold. The bounds of his kingdom he extended from the river Euphrates to the country of the Philiftines, and to the borders of Egypt. All neighbouring princes paid him tribute. He h;id a numerous court, a fplendid equipage and a fumpruous table. » The throne whereon he fat was overlaid with gold ; ■ the guard that attended his perfon had their lliields and targets made of gold ; every difli and plate that was ferved up to him was of folid gold ; nor was there ^ any velfel in all the houfe in the forefl of Lebanon but what was of pure gold ; none were of filver ; it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. And if we lliould inquire what might be the polhble occafion of all this redundancy of wealth, weTliall find that it chiefly arofe from the importation which Solomon's navy fo frequently made from the gold mines in Ophir ; but in what part of the world this Ophir lay, the conjedures of the learned have been in a manner infinite. ' Most people agree that the trade to Ophir and Tarfliifh The gold was the fame that is now in the hands of our Eaft-India mer- of Opiir, chants, and hereupon fome will have it to be the fame with ^^"''"^^* the illand Zocatora, which lies in the eaftern coafts of Africa, a little without the freights of Babel-mandel ; whilft others rather think it to be the ifland antiently called Tapo- brana, now Ceylon. The rule which =" Groiius lays down upon this occafion, I think is not amifs : he tells us that there is no better way to guefs where this place was than by con- fidering what commodities were brought from thence, and in- quiring of merchants (who have been in the remote parts of the world) where not only gold and precious ftones, but ivory likewife, and almug-trees, and v/hatever elfe was brought from Ophir is now to be found. " Now it is to be obferved, that though from Eloh in the land of Edom (where the king's fleet fet out) to Tarlhilh was •> a voyage of three years going and coming, yet it is no where faid in what compafs the voyage to Ophir e I Kings x. 2. f i Kings vii. g lliiil. •x. 14. This amounts to four mil lions, feven luintlred ninety five Uioufaml, two Imiidied pounds of our ftcrling iiioney. h i Kings s- i3. i ibid. ver. 16. k Ibid, vtr- 21. 1 See Pridcaujt's Couneftion, Part I. Lib. if. m Vide Kpift. 4S3 fccwndum Patrici<. n I'lj- deaux, ibid. 0 i Kings -<. -'-• 25a ^ Complete Body 'Divinity. Part III, Ophir was compleated ; and therefore Tarfhifli might be fome- where in the Eail-Indies, though Ophir might be any where nearer home within the reach of thofe feas : fo that any place in the fouthern or great Indian fea that can befl furnifh mer- chants with gold, precious ftones, ivory, and almug-trees, and with gold in fuch plenty as Solomon brought home in one voyage, may well be luppofed to be the Ophir which the holy fcriptures make mention of. p Only thus much J cannot forbear faying, that if the fouthern part of Arabia did in thofe times furnilh the world with the beft gold, and in the greateft quantity (as good authors feem to fay) they th::t would have the Ophir of the holy fcriptures to be there fituated, feem of all others to have the beft foundation for their conjefture. Coloraon's Thus great and glorious was Solomon in all his adlions for a s.haraaer. confiderable time of his reign s How wife waft thou in thy youth (as the fon of Sirach handfomely epitomizes Solomon's perfections) and as a flood filled with underftanding ! Thy foul covered the whole earth, and thou filledft it with dark parables. Thy name went far into the iflands, and for thy peace thou waft beloved. The countries marvelled at thee, for thy fongs, and proverbs, and parables, and interpretations. By the name of the Lord God, which is called the Lord God of Ifrael, thou didft gather gold as tin, and didft multiply filver as lead. This was his charafter at firft : but the latter fcenes of his life fpoiled and disfigured all. For he not only gave himfelf up to the wanton embraces of manj^women, but of many »• ftrange women, inch as were not Ifraelites by nature or prpfeflion, but of idolatrous nations, with whom the Lord had exprefsly ' prohi- bited Tfrael in general, but more efpecially their king, to con- traft marriage ; and by their allurements he was feduced to worfijip filthy and abominable idols, fuch as * Aftaroth, the god- defs of th'fe Sidonians ; " Moloch, the god of the Ammonites ; and "^ Chamos, the god of the Moabites. And, iri thefe im- pieties p Prideaux'sConnedtion, Part I. Lib. IL q Ecclus. xlvii. 14, &c. r i Kings xi. I. s Deut. vii 3. t Aftaroth, in the Syrian tongue, fignifies Jheef, parti- cularly eives, when their dugs are turgid, and they give milk ; and from the fecundity of thefe creatures, which in Syria breed a long time, the Tyrians and Sidonians framed the notion of a deity, which they called Aftarte, and muft, without difpute, be the Venus of the Syrians; for fo Cicero, in his book de Natura Deorum, tells us, that the fourth goddefs is Venus, who was con- ceived at Tyre, and is called Aftarte. u Moloch, both in the Hebrew and Ethi- opic, fignifies a king, denoting the fun, which the heathens called the King of Heaven See Calmet's Diflertations before Leviticus. It is reprefented by a large ftatue made hollow, into which, fome fay, they put their children, and burnt them; others, that they put the children into the arms of the ftatue, and then let fire to the combuftible matter within it. But, be the manner of facri- ficing children to this idol h'lw it will, it is certain that they off"ered them to him by fire. See 2 Kings xxiii. 10. Jer. xxxij. 35. x Chamos, in Arabic, fignifies to make hafte ; and ficra hence fome have imagined, that he is the j'ap'c vvjtb tliL" fun, whofe motion is fuppofed to he io rapid. From the near relemblanct between the Hebrew word, Chamos, .i!id the Greek, Conios, others have thought him the fame with Bacchus, the god of drwnkenpefs ; but Calmet, Ch. VI. Frorn the Kingdom^ sDhi/ion to the End of the Captivity. pieties he continued lb long, that it is now become a famous queftion, whether he be in a flate of falvation or no ; though confidering r the promife God makes to hik father concerning him, I think it more rational, as well as more charitable to con- clude, that God's mercy did not finally depart from him ; but that, in his old age, he was brought to a fenfe of his tranfgref- fions, and humbling himfelf before God, wrote his book called Ecclefialles, or the Preacher, as an acknowledgment of his own apoftacy, and a warning and admonition to all others ; that, however they might think of doing (as he had done) » what- ever their eyes delired, to keep nothing from them, and not to with-hold their heart from any joy ; yet in the event, they would find, what his experience had taught him fo late, that all was vanity and vexation of fpirit ; and that there was no profit in any kind of wickednefs under the fun. 25: CHAP. VI. The moft memorable Tranfaddons from the Divifion of the Kingdora to the End of the Captivity. HOWEVER God might be pleafed, upon Solomon's re- pentance, to forgive the eternal puniihmertt due to his tranfgrefllons ; yet the temporal punilhment which he threaten- ed to inflict in his fon's days, » by rending the kingdom from his poderity, and giving it to his fervant, he thought fit no longer to defer. For, immediately upon his death, when Re- hoboam his fon refufed to hear the petitions of his fubjecls, and wasrefolved to impofe more burdenlome taxes upon them than his father had done ; all the triles, except thofe of Jiufah and Benjamin, unanimoufly revolted, and chofe Jeroboam his •> fa- ther's fervant to reign over them. No fooner was Jeroboam promoted to this honour, but, fearing left his fubjeCts, if permit- ted to go up to Jerufalem to offer facrifice, might, in time, return to their former allegiance, he erefted two golden calves, in the two extreme parts of his kingdom, one at Bethel, and the other at Dan, with two altars belonging to them, fuch as he had feen confecrated to the god Apis ■■ in Egypt ; and then publifhed a proclamation, forbidding all his fubjeds to repair any more to Jerulalem, and enjoining them to pay their adorations, at the places which he had appointed : and, to give the better fanrtion to this new inflitution, he ordained a folemn feftival, and himfelf went ill his Djflertation before Numbers, has fufficienlly evinced, that lie is no other than Adonis, y 2 Sam- vii. 14, 15. z Ecclef. ii. lo, 1 1. a i iun^s xi. 11. bHe was a bold anJ daring man, and thereloi-e Solomon made him ihe collec- tor of the tribute, which tiie hov'"-; of Jofeph, /. e. the two tribes of Kplnaim and Manaffch, were to pay. Caintet's Diftioiiary. c For thither he had fied, being in rebellion againft £(jloiuon, before his death, l Ki^ii'; xi. 4^« Of the World, 3029, &c. Before Chrift, 975. &c. The divi- fion of the kingdom. 254 ^ Complete Body of Divhuty. Part III. went up to Bethel to attend the ceremony, and countenance the impiety by his own example. But while he was (landing at the altar to otFer incenCe, ^ a prophet that came from Judah, « foretold him, that tlie altar Ihould one day be deftroyed by a child of the houfe of David, Jofiah by name, and, as a proof of the truth of his prediftion, he added, that it Ihould inftantly be fplit. Provoked at this freedom of fpeech againft his new religion and altar, Jeroboam ftretched out his hand, and called to fome of his people to feize the prophet : but, to his great furprife, he found his hand withered, i. e. the mufcles and finews thereof fo ihrunk, that he perfedtly loft the ufe of it, and, at the fame time, fav/ the altar fplit afunder. Upon the prophet's prayer however the king's hand was reftored ; and, when the king hereupon invited him to dine with him, and to accept of a -re- ward, he abfolutely refufed both ; urging the command of the Lord to the contrary. But though he declined Jeroboam's in« vitation, yet his eafy credulity betrayed him to his ruin : for an old prophet, who lived at Bethel, hearing which way he took, went after him, and, with falfe alFurances, prevailed with him to go back and refreih hirafelf. But for this compliance he paid very dear, having not been far gone, before a lion, out of the wood near Bethel, fell upon him, and flew him. The death That the death of the prophet was not a matter of chance, °hef 1:har ^^^ occafioned by the interpofition of divine providence, is appa- came to '"^nt from the circumftances of the ftory. For, that a lion. Bethel ac contrary to his nature, f IhSuld not eat his dead body, nor kill counted ^jjg ^^5 whereon he rode, nor meddle with the travellers that paifed by, nor moleft the old prophet when he came to take the carcafe away ; but, on the contrary, fhould ftand quietly by it, until this ftrange news was carried into the city, as if he was fet to guard it againft the violence of any other creature ; this plainly Ihews the hand of God in the whole tranfadion, by whofe appointment the lion was fent to execute what he had threatened, but could not move one ftep beyond his commillion. And, that it may not feem too great a fevcrity in this difpenfa- tion, that one prophet, e deluded by another, equally pretend- ing to a divine revelation, and a revelation feeming to fuperfede the injunction he lay under, ihould come to fo untimely an end, merely for refrefhing himfelf a little at a brother's houfe ; it may not d Jofephus, St Jerom, and others would fain have this prophet to be Iddo, who wrote the afts of Solomon, 2 Chron. ix. 29. but this is very unlikely: for, l)c!ides the variation of the name, which they mangle very much to make it like Iddo, there is fhis circumftance, which plainly fhews it could not be Iddo ; becaufe this prophet died too fnon, to have time to write the acts of Solomon, tieing inflantly killed by a lion; whereas the Iddo, who wrote Solomon's aits, lived at lead feventeen years after Solomon, becaufe [in 2 Chron. xiii. 22. j he is faid to have wrote the atls of Abijah king of Judah. Howell's Hiftory of the Bible, e Tliis was propliefied three hundred and fifty years before it came to pafs.; and the predidlion is more wonderful, becaufe it exprefily names both the family, and perfon. Howell, ibid, and Patrick, i.T Iccuni. f ! iliiiss xiii. 2 4; Sec. -ibid. ver. j8, &.-C. Ch. VI. From the Kingdom^ s Divifion to the End vf the Captivity. 7^^ not be improper to confider, ^ that whenever God, in an extra- ordinary manner, difcov^ers his will to a prophet, he always makes luch a lenfible imprelfion upon his mind, that he cannot but perceive himfelf aftuated by a divine fpirit, and confequently, cannot but be afTured of the evidence of his own revelation. This evidence, the prophet that was fent to Bethel had ; for as he was able, by the power that was given him, to work mi- racles, he could not but be fenfible of his divine miflion, and that the particular injunction of his not eating nor drinking in the town of Bethel, was as much the will of God, as any other part of his commiifion. Now the defign of God in this prohibition was, to exprefs his abhorrence of that idolatrous place ; and therefore, the other pretended revelation of the old prophet, who lived there- in, was julHy to be fufpedled, not only becaufe it was repugnant to God's main defign, but becaufe it came from a perion who had given no great teilimony of his fmcerity, in chufmg to live in a place, notorioully infefted with idolatry, and yet making no public remonftrances againft it. The confideration of this one circumftance, ihould have made the young prophet diffident of what the other told him, at leaft, till he had ihewn himfome divine teftimony to convince him ; for it argued a great deal of levity, if not infidelity of his own revelation, to liften to that of another man, in contradicT:ion to what he had abundant rea- fon to believe was true : and the leflon we are to learn from God's feverity in this ihftance is, — not to fufFer our faith to be perverted by any fuggeltions that are made againft a revelation, that is of uncontefted divine authority ; but * if an angel from heaven (as the apoftle words it) Ihould preach any other gof- pel than what we have received, to deteft, and denounce him accurfed. SECT. I. E L I J A h's Alliens. %i AFTER five reigns from Jeroboam (wherein no great matter ^f the of theological inquiry occurs) Ahab fucceedcd to the ^J^?| '■^•^ crown of Ifrael, a prince thai lurpalfed all his predcceflbrs in "Before wickednefs : for he not only walked in the fins of Jeroboam, ci.riii, but (to complete his crimes) married Jezebel, the daughter of ^^^^ Eth-baal, king of the Zidonians, whereby he introduced all manner of idolatry among the Ifraelites. Provoked at thefe abominations, the Lord lent ^ Elijah the Tilhbite, whom, next to h Stillingfleet's Origines Sacrs. i Gal. i. 8, 9. k The name Elijah, which in Hebrew is Elijahu, carries fomething divine in it: for it is ciimpounded (as jflEgid. Camartvis imagines) of three of the names of God, viz. P.li, Juh, and v Hu. He was indeed an eminent melTenge'- fent from God. but thofe Jews car- ry the matter too far, who fay that he was no mortal niau; butanan^el, lent 2^6 A Complete Body of Divinity » Part III. to Mofes, the Jews flile the prince of the prophets, to remon- ftrate his iniquity to him, and to denonnce this judgment againft the land, that, for fome years, ' there Ihould be neither dew nor rain, but according to his word; and having deUvered his- meffage, he withdrew, and, as he was ordered by God, went and Uved by the brook Cherith, where the ravens "> brought him food twice every day. Elijah's be- Ravf.ns, as naturaUfts relate, are creatures fodiftitute of any jiig fed by concern for their young, that they forfake them before they are fledged, and therefore providence has taken care to feed them with worms, which are produced by their dung, and out of the carcafTes that have been brought into their nefts, until they are able to fly, and to provide for themfelves ; and to this the Pfalmift is fuppofed to allude, when he tells us, " that the Lord giveth to the bead his food, and to the young ravens which cry. The greater therefore was the interpofition of providence, in over- ruling thefe creatures to fuch a degree, as to make them more fubfervient to his prophet than they are to their own young : but » thofe Jews feem to carry the miracle needlefsly too high, who pretend that the provifion, which thefe ravens brought, came either from Ahab's houfe, or from Jehofhaphat's, as if the prophet was fed with nothing but royal dainties. It is fuificient for us to fay, in the words of the Pfalmifl:, i' that the whole world is the Lord's, and all that is therein ; that he knows the fowls of the mountains, and the wild hearts of the field are in his fight ; and therefore, if any man be hungry, and he is jninded to provide for him, he need not tell any one thereof; for he can either fend us fuflienance by unknown and une::peded hands, or enlarge the >5 handful of meal in our barrel, and the little oil in our crufe (as in the cafe of the Sareptan widow) to a long fubfiftance. His contcft The drought, which occafioned the famine, continued as Eli- with the jah had foretold; but, >• in the third year, God, being willing Baal. to to reduce them to the true religion, becaufe his original is unknown; there be- ing no mention made of his father or mother in holy writ. Patrick's Commen- tary on I Kings xvii. 1 i Kings xvii. i. mThis feems fo very ftrange, that fome will have the word Orebim, not to fignify Ravens, but merchants, as others will have it to be Arabians. But, befides that the word (as Bochart obferves) never fignifies Merchants, and the thing is notorious, that there were no Arabians inhabiting in the country, where Elijah now was, there is this one argument, fufficient againft all fuggeftions of this nature, viz. that Elijah's retreat would have foon been difcovcred to Ahab, if merchants, or any other people, that travelled that way, had been acquainted with it. Thofe therefore, who make fuch loud outcries upon hearing this miracle, fhoukl dt» well to remember what the heathen ftories tell us, of Jupiter's being fed in the cradle by bees, ^Efculapius nourifhed by a goat, Janus, the fon of Apollo and Evadne, by dragons, that brought him honey, and the like; and then they will lefs wonder at the miraculous care which God took of his faithful fervant, in a time of general famine. Vid. Bochart, Hieroz. Part II. Lib. II. c 13 Hn- etii Quseft. Alnet. Lib. It: c. I2. and Patrick's Commentary on 1 Kings xvii. n Pfal. cxlvii. 9. and Job xxxviii. 41. o In Gemara Sanhedrim, c. 1 1, p Pfal- 1. II, &c. q I Kinss xvii. i2. rlbid. xviii. i. It is very certain, that both Ch. VI. From the Kingdom'' s Dhijion to the End of the Captivity. 257 to withdraw this heavy judgment, fent his prophet to Ahab with fome intimations of relief, upon condition that he would order his fubjeds, and efpecially the prophets of Baal, and of ' the grov^es, to meet him at mount Cannel. When all the people were come together, Elijah propofed to the idolatrous prielts, that, fince there was a manifeft difference between them, in point of religion, and the people now afTembled might poffibly defire to know who was in the right ; though he was but one, and they many, he would put the whole ftrefs of the caufe upon this one iffue — That two bullocks fliould be brought, and flain, one of which they Ihould lay upon wood, without putting any fire under it, and that he would do the like by his ; that they fhould then call upon their gods, and he would call upon the name of the Lord ; and that the Deity which fhould make it appear he heard their prayers by confuming the facrifice with fire the fame iliould be owned as God. This propolitioa was generally Hked : whereupon the prieflsof Baal fall to work, make ready their altar, kill their bullock, lay it upon their altar, and then begin to invoke their gods. But all in vain : their gods are deaf, and cannot hear. Whereupon they dance and caper round the altar, flalh themfelves with knives, and by their many wild and extravagant freaks give the prophet an hand- fome opportunity of banter; 'Cry aloud; for he is a god : either he is talking, or he is purfuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he fleepeth. Elijah having allowed them fuflicient time to try all their inventions to no purpofe, invited the people at laft to draw near to him ; and taking twelve flones, according to the number of the twelve tribes, he built an altar, made a trench round it, laid the bullock on the wood, and poured water on the facrifice, the wood, and the altar three times, until the trench was quite full ; and then drawing near to the altar, he implored of God, by fome vifihle inftance, to demonltrate to the people that he Vol. II. K k was our blefled Saviour [Luke iv. 25.] and his apoftle St James [Chap. v. i 7.] do afl'iire us, that this drought continued three years and fix mouths; and yet tbis does not tliftirree with the Lord's I'ending his prophet to Ahab in the third year. At the beginning of this drought, very probably Ahab might impute the wanC of rain to natural caufes, and thereupon not leek to flay Elijah : but, atter fix. months, neither the lormer nor the latter rain falling in their fcafuns, he be- gan to be enraged at him, as the caufe of the drought, which forced Elijah, at God's command, to fave himfelf by flight; and, from that time, the three years, liere mentioned, are to be computed. One year he was at the broofe C-herith, and two years he lived with the widow of Sarcpta ; at the end of which, God took pity upon the land, and fent his prophet to Ahab. Patrick's Commentary on i Kings xviii. s By the prophets of the groves (as we tranf- late it) Mr Selden underftands the prophets of Aftarte, the great goddcfs of the Zidonians, which he proves by comparing many places of fcripturc toge- ther. De Diis Syris, Syntag. 2. c. 3. But Maimonides has a peculiar notion, that the prophets of Baal and of the groves were fuch.'as had i'libihed the opi- nions of the antientZabii, who made intages to receive the influences of the rtars, golden ones for the fun, filver ones for the moon. &:c. whereby they at- tained tlie gift of prophecy . More J^evecli. fart 111. c. 2^. t i I^ngs .-tyiii. 27 • l^S A Complete Body of Divinity. Part lit. was the only true God, and himfelf no more than his minifter, afting by his authority, and according to his injuntSlions. W here- upon immediately fire fell from heaven, and confumed, not only the burnt-offering, but the wood and ftones, nay, the very duft and water that was in the trench about the altar. This flruck the people with fuch admiration, that, falling on their faces, they devoutly acknowledged the God of Elijah to be the only true God : whereof the prophet taking the advantage, ordered them to feize the idolatrous priefts, and put them all to death ; and then, going up to the top of the mountain, he prayed to God with great earneftnefs, that he would be pleafed to fend rain upon the land, and he did fo. It may well exercife our wonder, why God fliould fo far liften to the prayei's of a man, as to fuffer him to lock and un- lock (as it were) the rtore-houfes of heaven, at his pleafure ; but that wonder will begin to abate, when we come to confider, that he was in fo great efteem with God, as to be vouchfafed " the fight of his glorious and majeftic prefence ; as to have *■ angels fent to comfort and refrefh him, when he was weary ; as to have '= fire fent down from heaven to avenge him of his enemies, when they came to apprehend him ; and, at laft, by the miniftry of angels, in the form of a bright chariot and horfes, y to have his body tranflated into heaven, without undergoing the common fate of mortals : whereupon the fon of Sirach has given us this epitome of his aclions, in commemoration of God's vouchfafements to him : ^ Elias, fays he, Hood up as fire, and his word burned like a lamp. He brought a fore famine upon the people, and by his zeal he diminilhed their number ; by the word of the Lord he fhut up the heavens, and alfo three times brought down fire. O Elias ! How waft thou honoured in thy wondrous deeds ! and who may glory like unto thee ! who didft raife up a dead man from death, and his foul from the place of the dead, by the word of the Moft High : [this he fpeaks of the widow of Sarephtha's fon] who broughteft kings to de- Ih'uftion, and honourable men from their bed to the grave ; [this he means of Ahab, Ahaziah, and Jezebel] who anointedft kings to take vengeance, [viz. Jehu and Hazael] and prophets, [viz. Elifha and his brethren] to fucceed after thee : who waft taken up in a whirlwind of fire, and a chariot of fiery horfes. Blelfed are they that faw thee, and flept in love j for we Ihall furely live. E LI s H a's Aftions. Of the 4 F T E R the affumption of Elijah into heaven, Elilha fuc- ^los'^&r'c. -^-^ ceeded him both in the gift of prophecy, and in that of "Before working miracles. He divided the waters of Jordan, ' by ftrik- Chrift, ing 896, &rc. u , Kings xix. • Ibid. ver. 5> x 2 Kings i. ID, &C. y Ibid. ii. II. z Ec- \yy^\J clus. xlviii, I, &c, a 2 Kingui. 14. Ch. VI. From the KingdonCs Divijion to the End of the Captivity. 259 ing them with the mantle which Ehjah had left him ; he i> cured Elilha's the unwholefome waters of Jericho, and the harennefs of the foil, miracles, with nothing elfe but a little fait ; and, as he went up to Bethel, « he curfed the children that infulted and reviled him, and im- mediately two ihe-bears came out of the Mood, and revenged his quarrel. He J multiplied the oil for one of the minor pro- phets widows to fuch a quantity, as abundantly enabled her to pay lier debts ; and' for the Shunamite-woman, that entertained him hofpitably, he firft procured a fon, and, upon his death, reilored him to life again. At Gilgal, ^ he fweetened the bitter herbs that had been drefled for the funs of the prophets ; and, in the time of great fcarcenefs, e fed a great number of pcrfons with a fmall quantity of bread. In Sanuria, '■ he cured Naaman's leprofy, by ordering him to walh feven times in the river Jor- dan, and i infiic^led it upon his own fervant, for his fraud and co- vetoufnefs, forever. In Jordan, ^ he made iron fwim ; and, when the king of Syria fent to apprehend him, ' he Aruck all the forces which came on that errand with blindnefs, and de- livered them up into the hand of the Ifraelites, their enemies. "' The generofity of the Ifraelites however, in letting the andpredic Syrians go, was not long remembered by Benhadad their king. *'°"^' For he not long after, railing a great army, laid clofe fiege to Samaria, and " reduced the city to fuch diih-efs by famine that an afs's head was fold for fourfcore ° pieces of filver, three quarters of a pint v of pulfe for five ; and thofe that were not able to procure fuch provifions, were driven to the laft extre- mity, and forced to eat their own children. In which difconfo- late circumrtances the prophet foretels that in one night's time there Ihould be fuch a plenty of all things, that a meafure of fine flour Ihould be fold for a fliekel, and two meafures of barley for the fame price, which accordingly came to pafs : for God had fo ordered the matter in the night, that, by the minirtry of angels, he made fuch a rattling like that of chariots and prancing of horfes, that the Syrians imagined a great army was not only marching b 2 Kings ii. 19. c Ibid. ver. 23, &c. d Ibid. iv. 3. e Ibid. ver. 16. 36. f Ibid. ver. 38. g Ibid. ver. 42. h Ibid. v. i . i Ibid. ver. 27. k ibid. vi. 6. J Ibid. ver. "18. m Ibid ver. 22. n ibid. ver. 25. o Reckoning thefe pieces of ill ver or iliekels at fifteen pence apiece, they come to five pounds fterling. Howell's Hiftory. p What we in this place call pulfe, our trandation has ren- dered doves dung: but interpreters have been at a great lofs to let us know upon what account the inhabitants of Samaria fliould be obliged to buy fo imall a quantity of it at fo great a price. For fait, for food, for firing, for dunging their gardens within the walls, feveral interpreters have feverally applied it : but upon a fmall examination it will appear that none of thcfe ufcs could fmt with the circuniftanccs of a city fo ftraitly beficged; and therefore the learned Bochart has obfcrved that the Arabians give the name of dove's dung, or fpar- rows duu"- to two feveral things, viz. to a kind of mofs wliich grows on trees andftonyVound, andtoalortofpeafcor pnlfe which was very common in Tudea, as may be feen in 2 Sam- xvii. 28. and therefore he fuppolcs that the >v„rd chirfojtitH may very well ii-nify fitches or pulfe. which, though very or- .'liuary food, were fold at fo high a rate. Mde llicro^, !'• U- I- I- c 7- and iiovvell's Hiftory of £)ie Bible. 26o A Complete Body of Divinity, Part III, marching towards them, but ready to fall upon them ; which put them into fuch a confternation, that it immediately fpread through the whole army, and leaving their camp ftanding, every man fhifted for himfelf, and made the beft of his way home. Whereupon the Ifraelites had nothing to do but to go out and plunder the tents of the Syrians ; in which they found fuch ftore of provifion as made the fudden alteration in the price of corn wlijch the prophet had foretold. Not long after this defeat, Benhadad king of Syria fell fo ill that 1 Hazael, one of his prime minifters, was fent with a coflly prefent to confult Elifha whether his mafter would recover of his ficknefs. His ficknefs, as Jofephus tells us, was no more than a deep melancholy, occafioned by the fhameful flight of his army from before Samaria ; and therefore the prophet told him, that though his diftemper was not incurable, yet he fore- faw he was not to live, becaufe Hazael himfelf would fpeedily murder him, ufurp his throne, and commit great outrages a- gainft the people of Ifrael ; ' which accordingly came to pafs. Thefe and feveral others were the predictions and miracles which Elifna performed in his' life-time ; and even after his deceafe a divine power did not depart from him : for, when the Ifraelites going to bury a certain perfon in the country, faw a band of Moabites, who at that time invaded the land, coming upon them, they rolled away the ftone from Eliiha's fepulchre, and laid the dead corpfe by his, which no fooner touched the prophet's bones, but immediately the perfon revived, and was reftored to his perfedl health : whereupon the fon of Sirach has this ihort defcant in commendation of the prophet : Elilha was filled with God's fpirit ; while he lived, he was not moved with the prefence of any prince ; and after his death his body pro- phefied ; i. e. by reviving the man, gave teftimony of a future refurreflion. He did wonders in his life, and at his death his works were marvellous. SECT. II. The State of the Kingdoms of J u d a h and Israel. Of the T^LISHA before his death knowing that the time was now sTS't'c. ■t--' <^°™^ ^°^' Ahab's family to be extirpated, and Jezebel Before ^' puniflied for her wickednefs, ordered one of the fons of the pro- Chrifl, phets to go and gnoint Jehu, the fon of Jeholhaphat, the fon y^ti^ of Nimlhi, king ; and to give him at the fame time full inliruc- The revo- tions what he was to do upon his advancement. How ready lutions in and punftual Jehu was to execute God's judgments upon the donfs of "^"^^olt houfe of Ahab ; how he flew Jehoram king of Ifrael, Ifradand and Ahaziah king of Judah ; ordered Jezebel to be thrown jHdali. ' dQWU q 3 Kings vijj. 7, 5ic, r Vide 2 Kings xiii. 2^. Ch. VI. From the Kingdom's Divifon to the End of the Captivity. 261 down from a window, and all the princes of the blood to be beheaded : how in his way to Jerufalem he flew the brothers and kindred of Ahaziah ; and, when he came thither, cut off all that remained of Ahab, without fparing one ; how he delhoyed the prieds of Baal, pulled down and burnt his images, and de- molilhing his temple, made it no better than a common draught- houfe : and while thefe things were tranfading in Ifrael, how Athalia, the queen-dowager of Judah, and mother to the late king Ahaziah, hearing that her Ton was flain, ufurped the go- vernment of Judah; and, in revenge of the death of her father Ahab's family, murdered all the blood- royal, in order to ex- tinguifh the race of the good Jehoihaphat, and fecure to her- felf and her other children the fucceliion of the kingdom ; but how God difappointed her, and brought her to puniiliment, by the wonderful prefervation of young Joalh, to fucceed in the throne of his anceftors ; and how, in the beginning of his reign, this Joafh behaved like a jull: and religious prince, reflored the worship of the true God, and greatly reformed the ecclefiaflical flate; but, when his good friend and counfellor Jehoiada the high-prielt was dead, the princes of Judah foon drew him over to the worfliip of idols, infomuch that when Zachariah the fon of his friend Jehoiada went about to reprove him, at his command he was floned to death in the porch of the temple, for which heinous aft, neither he nor his people went unpuniih- ed-: thefe things, I fay, are fo fully recorded ' in the fecond book of Kings, that it would be tedious to the reader to detain him, either with a repetition, or any jejune refledions upon them. The ftate of the kingdoms both of Judah and Ifrael was for fome time after this fo torn with convulfions, the mur- ders of their princes were fo many, their fuccefTions fo quick, and fo frequently interrupted, while all manner of violence, and efpecially luperftition and idblatry, like a common deluge, overflowed the land ; that we have little or nothing but ac- counts of this kind (which furnidi no matter for theological in- quiry) until we come to the reign of good Hezekiah king of Judah. About the beginning of the reign of Hezekiah, ' Sabacon Of the the Ethiopian having invaded Egypt, and taken Boccharis king !l^,?g'''^.^.^ of that country prifoner, caufed him with great cruelty to be ""'Before'^* burnt alive, and then feizing his kingdom, reigned there in his Chriii. ftead. He is the fame who in " fcripture is called So : and, r^::,^^^ having thus fettled himfelf in Egypt, he foon grew fo powerful y,,^ j,,.^^,. that Holhea king of Samaria entered into confederacy with him, ites made honing by his affiiiance to fliake off the yoke of the Affyrians ; "[;;';^".l^y and in confidence of this withdrew his fubjeftion from bhahna- ^^^. nezer, and refufed to pay him any more tribute. But Shalmanczcr Ibon s From 2 Kirg". ix. to xiii. t Piideaux's Connexion, T. I. L. I. u 2 Kin^s HVJJ. 4. zCi A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. foon marched againft him with a powerful army, and, having labdued all the country round about, pent him up in Samaria, and after a fiege of three years continuance took the city, and putting Hofliea in chains, ihut him up in prifon all his days, and carried the people into captivity. The book In this captivity Tobit was taken out of his city of Tefbe, ofTobit. in the tribe of Nephthali; and with Anna his wife and Tobias his fon carried into Aflyria, where his piety was confpicuous to all, and fo won upon the conqueror Shalmanezer that he made him his purveyor, with liberty to go whither he pleafed, which gave him an happy occafion to vifit and relieve his diftrefled countrymen : but of this we may read at large in the book which goes under his name. The book indeed, in its original draught, feems to have been the memoirs of his family, firft begun by Tobit, then continued by Tobias, then finiihed by fome other of the family ; and at laft digefted by fome Babylo- nian Jew in the form wherein we have it. It is generally looked on, both by Jews and chriftians, as a genuine and true hiftory, though there feems to be good reafon for * our not placing it among the canonical books of fcripture, ^ becaufe there are fome matters in it (fuch as that of the angel's accom- panying Tobias in a long journey under the ihape of Azarias ; the ftory of Raguel's daughter ; the frighting away the devil by the fmoke of the heart and liver of a fifn, and curing of To- bit's blindnefs by the gall of the fame) which are not fo recon- cileable to a rational credibility. They look indeed more like the fidlions of Homer than the writings of a facred hiftorian, and give fuch an objedion againft this book as does not lie a- gainlt any other ; though it is certainly of great ufe to repre- fent to us the duties of charity and patience, in the example of Tobit's ready helping his brethren in diftrefs to the uttermoft of his power ; and his bearing with a pious fubmiiTion the ca- lamities of his captivity, poverty and blindnefs, as long'as they were inflifted on him. Shalmanezer, having thus carried away the Ifraelites into Aflyria, drew out feveral colonies of his own people from Ba- The Sama- bylon and other provinces, and fent them into Canaan, where wheT-'c they took pofleirion of the cities and dwelt therein : but as they polluted the, holy land with their idolatries, y the Lord fent his lions among»them, which deftroyed them. The people im- puting this affliction to their not adoring the god of the country in fuch a manner as he might defire, fent into Aflyria for one of the priefts of the Ifraijlites, who coming and dwelling at Bethel, taught * The church of Rome has received this book into their canon, but without a fufficient warrant : for eV.qjjluppofing the hiftorical ground plot of the book to bs true, (which is th:vji. 25. Ch. VI. From the Kingdom's Divifion to the End of the Captivity. 263 taught them how to worfliip the God of Ifrael. * But then they only took him into the number of their former deities, and v/orfliipped him jointly with the gods of the nations from whence they (^xne ; fo that what with worfliipping their own idols and the true God at the fame time, they fell into a ftrange and un- accountable mixture of religion, which was the firft beginning of that mungrel fet of people which were afterwards called Sa- maritans. The kingdom of Judah was of a longer duration, and at that Hezekiah's time was governed by Hezekiah, a truly religious prince, who pi^^y- allowed of no other worJhip through all his dominions but that of the Lord only, and as it was appointed in the law of Mofes. To this purpofe ^ he caufed the gates of the temple, which his father Ahaz had fliut up, to be opened, and its fabric to be re- paired ; ordered the priefts and Levites to cleanfe it ; and, when it was fandified, renewed the ufual facrifices, celebrated the paflbver, and, in fhort, reftored the antient worfliip in all its former folemnity. Nay, not only fo, but he deftroyed the al- tars of the falfe gods; removed the high places, cut down the groves where the people went to worfliip, and ^ brake in pieces the brafen ferpent which Mofes had fet up in the wildernefs, becaufe until that time the children of Iffael had burnt incenfe unto it. This piety his God rewarded with a profperous reign, Scnnache- and a very fignal deliverance from the violent attempts of Sen- ""ib's ann-f nacherib king of Aflyria. For, while he was on his full march ^^d hovv^' towards Jerufalem, the very night (as fome think) that his army came before it, with a thorough purpofe to deftroy the place, and all that was therein, <^ an angel of the Lord went forth, and in one night fmote in the camp of the AfTyriansan hundred four- fcore z 2 Kings xvi'i. 33. a 2 Cbron. xxix. 3. h Notwjthflanding this pofitive declaration of the holy fcripture, thai the brafen ferpent was in this manner deftroyed by Hezekiah; in the church of St Ambrofe in Milan, the Romanifti at this day fhew a brafen ferpent, which they pretend is the very fame that Mofes fet up in the wildernefs ; and upon this belief the ignorant pay an ido- latrous devotion to it; though it muft not be diiTembled that among their learned men tliere are fome that acknowledge the cheat, and difclaim it.^ Prideaux's Conne(ilion. c 2 Kings xix.. 25. Herodotus, from the relation ut the Egyptian priefts, gives us [Lib. II.] a kind of difguifed account of this de- liverance from the Ailyrians, in a fabulous application of it to the city I'clu- fium, inftead of Jernfalem, and to Sethon the Egyptian king, inftead of Heze- kiah; by whofe piety he faith it was obtained, that while the king of AfTyiid laid fiegc to Pelufium, a great number of rats were miraculoufly fcnt into his army, which in one night did eat all their fliield ftraps, quivers and bow-ftrmgs; fo that on their rifmg the next morning, finding themlclvcs without arms to carry on the war, they were forced to raife the fiege and be gone. Now it is very remarkable that Herodotus calls the king of Aflyria, to wlioni this hap- pened, by the name of Sennacherib as the fcripturesdo; which plainly enough ihews that this is the fame fa'.^, though it be difguifed in the relation. And that it Ihould be thus difguifed we need not wonder, when we confider that »c comes to us through the hands of fuch as had the greateft averfion both to the nation and religion of the Jews; and therefore would relate nothing in fuch a manner as would give a reputation to cither. I'lideaux's Conne<^ion, Part 1. Lib. i. 264 ^ Complete Body of Divinity. Part IIL fcore and five thoufand men ; fo that, when he arofe, he found almoft all his army dead corpfes. This was fo terrible a judg- ment upon him, that he fled out of Judea in the utmoft con- fufion, and made all the hafte he could back again to Nineveh, where, by the tyranny and cruelty of his government, Hfe be- came at lafl: fo intolerable to his own family, that even ^ two of his fons confpired againft him and flew him. Some of the Jewilh doftors are of opinion that this deftruftion upon Sen- nacherib's army was occafioned by lightning ; but it feems moft likely that it was effedled by bringing on them an hot peftilen- tial wind, which « is frequent in thofe parts ; and often, when it lights among a multitude, deftroys great^mlmbers of them in a moment; as it frequently happens in^ thofe vaft caravans of the Mahometans, who go their annurf pilgrimages to Mecca. The fun's BuT by what means foever this deliverance was efFeded, it "^^ Ah "^' ^^^ certainly done by the interpofition of providence, as was dial. likewife his recovery from a dangerous difeafe, whereof he had afTurance by the recefs of the fun, as it appeared, upon the dial of Ahaz : but of what nature this recefs was, there is fome un- certainty among commentators. Moft of the moderns are of opinion, that, whereas in the twentieth Chapter of the fecond book of Kings (wherein this event is particularly related) no mention is made of the fun's going back, but only of the fhadow upon the dial, which is repeated three feveral times ; and where- as the degrees, or lines in the dial, may denote either hours, or half hours, or (<" as fome think) minutes ; they from thence conclude, that the miracle was wTought upon the dial only, and not upon the body of the fun, or that God, upon this occa- fion, made no alteration in the motion of the heavens, but on- ly, 2 by the means of fome extraordinary meteors or refractions, fo difpofed the rays of the fun, and diredled its light, that na fliadow ihould be projected, but where the prophet foretold. The prophet however, where himfelf gives the account of the miracle, tells us exprefsly, that " the fun returned ten degrees j and from hence the opinion of the antients, both Jews and chriflnans, has been, that the miracle was not wrought upon the fliadow, but upon the body of the fun ; or, that the fun (as i our excellent Bilhop Ulher, in his Annals, exprelfes it) and all the heavenly bodies went back, and as much was detraded from the next night, as was added to this day. ^ The retrograda- tion however was not of fo long a continuance, as to make any confiderable d Some commentators will have it that he had vowed to facrifice his two fons Adrammelecb and Sharezer, in order to appeafe his gods, and make thera the more favourable to him in the reftoration of his affairs; and that to pre- vent this they made bold and facrificed him firft : but for this there is no foun- dation, except that no other thing can be thought on to excufe fo wicked and deteftable a parricide. Prideaux'sConneftion. e Vide Thevenot's Travels, Part II. Lib. I. c. 20. f Vid. Veff. de Orig. & Progreff. Idol. Lib. II. c 9. g Derham's Aftro-Theology. h Ifaiah XKXviii- 8. i A. H< 4C0I. k Patrick's Commentary on 2 I^ngs xx. 1 1. Ch. Vii From the Kingdom^ s DivIJlon to the End of the Captivity. 265 confiderable alteration in the heavenly bodies. As foon as the miracle was exhibited, we may iuppofe, that they all returned to their proper ftations, though, for the prefent, the change was remarkable enough to rail'e the wonder of the neighbouring countries, efpecially fuch as had any Ikill in aftro- nomy ; for which reafons we read, that Berodach Baladjn, king of Babylon, fent ambafladors untoHezekiah, not only to congra- tulate him upon his recovery, but ' to inquire likewife of the wonder that was done in the land. Thus favoured and beloved of God, Hezekiah reigned in peace, and at his death was highly honoured by all Judah and Jerufalem : for they buried him with great folemnity in the chiefefl and highefl: place of ^ the fepulchres of the fons of Da- vid, expreffing thereby their opinion of him, that he was the worthieft and bed of all that had reigned over them, of that fa- mily, fmce him that was the founder of it. It was the misfortune of king Hezekiah to be fucceeded by a of the fon, who was the wickedeft, and worft of all his race : for after v^rid, him reigned " Manaffeh, who being a minor of twelve years jief.'re*^ old only when he came to the crown, had the misfortune to Chrift, fall into the hands of fuch of the nobility, for his guardians and 6c8 &:c. chief ministers, as being ill-affected to his father's reformation, ^^•^''^^''"^^ took effedlual care to breed him up in the greateft averlion to it, and to corrupt his youth with the worft of principles, both as to religion and government ; infomuch, that when he grew Manafleh's up, he proved the moft impious towards God, and the molt ty- wickednefs rannical and wicked towards his fubjedts of any that ever reign- "" ' ed either in Jerufalem, or Samaria. For he not only reltored all kinds of idolatry, but converted the houfe of God into an idol-temple, fet up an image in the fanduary, eredted altais to Baalim, and all the hoft of heaven, in both the courts ; made his children pafs through the fire to Moloch ; and, in Ihort, brought in all manner of idolatrous profanations, whereby the Vol. II. LI true 1 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. m This burial-place, which is called the fepulchres of Ihe kings of the hoiife of David, is a very funiptuous and (lately work. It lies now without the walls of Jerufalem, but (as it is fuppofed) was formerly •within them, before the city was deftroyed by the Romans. It conlifts of a large court, of about one hundred and twenty foot fquare , with a gallery or cloifter on the left-hand, which court and gallery, with the pillars that fupport it, were cut out of the folid marble rock. At the end of the gallery, there is a narrow paflage or hole, through which there is an entrance into a large room or hall, of about twenty-four foot fquare, within which, are feveral Iclfer looms, one within another, with ftont-doors, opening into them; all which rooms, with the great iiall, weve likewife cut out of the fofxl marble rock. In the fides of thefe lefler rooms are feveral niches, in which the corple of the deceafed kings are depofitcd in ttone-coftins ; and in the innermoft, and chicf- eft of thefe, was the body of good Hezekiah laid, in a nich cut out on purpofe, in the upper part of the room, to do him the great< r honour. The whole feems to have been the workof king Solomon: for it could not have been made without vaft expence. It is ftill, intire to this day; and is the onl) true re- mainder of old Jerufalem now to be feen in that place. Piidcaux's Connct- lion, Part I. LJl> I. P 2 Kings xx. 21, and refor- mation. 2^6 . A Complete Body of Divinity. Part Ilf. true reliaion might be moft corrupted, and all manner of impie- ty the moll promoted in the kingdom. And, to this purpofe, he not only pra overlooking the whole city ; from whence, very probably, the place was called Bethul, i. e. the houfe of God. Travellers indeed tell us of another place, called Bethulia, fituate in the tribe of Zebulon, to the north of Scythopolis: but that is of too modern a date, to be the place here intended, lince neither Joftina, nor Jofcphus, nor Eufebius, nor St Jerome, make any mention of it. q What hath led tliefe men to ac- count the whole an allegory is its utter inconfiftency (if taken in a true and literal fenfe) with all the times, where it has been placed, either before or af- ter the captivity of the Jews : but the objedions, brought to this purpofe, are all taken off, by our placing it in the latter part uf ManalTeL's reign. Pii- deaux's Conneftion, P. I. L. I. Ch. VI. From the Kingdom's Divijion to the End of the Captivity. l6/ tory, defigned for the comfort and inftruaionof the Jews under a figure or allegory, but not to be a narrative of any thing really done. ' Grotius, in particular, is very pofitive that this book was written in the time of Antiochus f_^piphanes, when he came into Judaea to raife a perfecution againli the Jewifli church ; and that the defign of it was to confirm the Jews, under that perfecution, in their hopes that God would fend them a deli- verance. He tells us, << that therein by Judith, is reprefented '* Judsea; by Bethulia, the temple or houfe of God; and by " the fword, which went out froni thence, the prayers of the *' faints ; that Nebuchodonofor doth there denote the devil ; " and the kingdom of AfTyria, the devil's kingdom, pride ; that '' by Holofernes is meant the inftrument of the devil in that " perfecution, Antiochus Epiphanes, who made himfclf malfer *' of Judct-a, that fair widow, fo called, becaufe dcftitute of re- " lief; and that Eliakim fignifies God, v/ho would arifis in her *' defence, and at length cut off that inftrument of the devil, ^' who would have corrupted her." All this explication is very ingenious ; but then it muft be owned, that, as there is not much of the air of a fiftion or parable in the book, fo both the Jews and antientchriftians always looked upon it as a true hifto- ry, and have accordingly quoted it, though the former never admitted it into the number of their canonical and infpired writ- ings. After Manafleh, reigned ' Amon his fon, who imitating the Jofiah's firfl: part of his father's reign, rather than the latter, gave him- sr^^*- felf up to all manner of wickednefs and impiety ; whereupon P'^'^* the fervants of his houfe confpired againrt him, and Hew him, fo that after two years reign, he was fucceeded ' by his fon Jofiah, who was then but eight years old : but having the happinefs to fall under the conduft of better guardians in his minority, than did ManafTeh his grandfather, he proved, when grown up, a prince of very extraordinary worth, and not only equalled, but even excelled, in all kinds of piety and goodnefs, the very bell of his predeceffors. For immediately, upo.-. his ac- celTion to the throne, he not only deftroyed the idols, and altars of Baal, but that of Bethel likewife ; and thofe that were in the hijrh-places, together with all other thino;s that tended to idolatry. Nay, himfelf vifited Bethel in perfon, cauied the bones of the idolatrous priefts to be dug up, and burnt upon one of the altars according to the prediclions that had been made of him fome hundred years before : and, in this manner, carried on a general reformation through all the cities of Sa- maria that were fubjett to his dominion. In the mean time, A copy of he ordered the temple at Jerufalem to be repaired and beauti- |.|]J]|^^*^ fied, which while the high-prieft was narrowly furveying, in the temple. order r In PrKfatione aJ Annotationes in Libium. s 2 Kings xxi. 19. t Ibid. Clian xxji. 268 A Complete Body of Divinity, Part III. order to fee what was proper to be done, he found the authen^ tic copy of the law of Mofes, which ought indeed to have been laid up on the fide of the ark of the covenant, in the moft holy place, but was taken out from thence, and hid elfewhere in the reign of Manalfeh (as is conjectured) for fear it might be de- ftroyed by him in the time of his impiety. « By the behavi- our of the high-priefl, as well as the king, at the finding of the book of the law, it plainly appears, that neither of them had feen any copy of it before ; which fhews into how corrupt a ftate the church of the Jews was then funk, until this good king re- formed it. For, though Hezekiah * kept fcribes on purpofe to colled: together, and write out copies of the holy fcriptures ; yet, through the iniquity of the times that afterwards followed, in the reigns of ManalTeh and Amon, they had either been fo deftroyed, or elfe fo negledled and loft, that there were none of them left in the land, unlefs in fome few private hands, where they were kept and concealed, til! this copy was found in the temple : and therefore, after this time (by the care, we may be aflured, of this religious prince) were tranfcribed thofe copies of the law, and other holy fcriptures then in being, out of which Ezra, after the captivity, made his edition of canonical books, as we fliall take notice of hereafter, ot' the It was in the twenty-ninth year of the reign of Jofiah, that ■^^f't^r Nabopollafer, king of Babylon, having made an affinity with ^Before Aftyages, the eldeft fon of Cyaxares, by the marriage of Nebu- Chrift, chadnezzar, his fon, with Amyitis, daughter to Aftyages, entered 612, &:c. into a confederacy with him againft the AfTyrians : whereupon, ^^^^^^ joining their forces together, they befieged Nineveh, took it, and flew the king thereof ; and then, to gratify the Medes, ut- The de- terly deftroyed that great and antient city. For, ^ though there ftrudtion of ^gg another eredled out of the ruins of it, which, for a long time, bore the fame name ; yet it never attained to the grandeur and glory of the mother city. It is, at this time, called Moful, and is fituated on the weft-fide of the river Tigris ; whereas the anti-nt Nineveh ftood on the eaft-fide of it, where are to be feen fome of its I'uins, of great extent, even to this day. And indeed the extent of it could not but be very large, when, according to the account of y an author of good authority, the circuit of it was four hundred and eighty furlongs, which, in our computation, make fixty miles ; and when, even in Jonah's time, the number of thofe who ^ could not difcern between their right hand and their left, /. e. of infants, that had not yet at- tained to the ufe of reafon, being more than fixfcore thoufand perfons, could not fail ^ of making the whole amount to above fix hundred thoufand fouls. The t! 2 Kings xxii. 8, lie. * Prov. xxv. i. x Thevenot's Travels, P. IJ. L. I. c> II. y Diodorcs Siculus, L. II. z Jonah iv. xi. a Calniet's Dictionary o}i the word Nineveh. Ch. VI. From the Kingdom'' s Divijioji to the End of the Captivity. 269 The Babylonians and Medes having thus deftroyed Nineveh, The death became fo very formidable, that they railed the jealoufy of all ^^ Jol>ah, their neighbours ; and therefore, to put a llop to their growing greatnefs, Necho, king of Egypt, marched with a great army towards Euphrates, with a defignto make war upon them : but, taking his Way through Judaea, and defiring of Jofiah a free pafTage, which Jodah refufmg, and porting his army at proper places, in order to obftruct his march ; they foon came to an engagement, wherein the king of Judah received a wound, of which he fliortly died. The death of fo excellent a prince was defervedly lamented by all his i>eople ; and by none more than by Jeremiah the prophet, who, having a thorough fenfe of the greatnefs of the lofs, as well as a full forefight of the fore cala- mities which were afterwards to follow upon the whole people of the Jews, while his heart was full with the view of both thefe, he compofed the greateft part of that mournful fong, which is called the Lamentations of Jeremy. It is the notion of many, that Jofiah engaged ralhly and un- Sidvifedly in this war, upon an over-confidence in the merit of his undertakings. But this would be aprefumption very unbe- coming fo religious a perfon, and what there is no occafion for I'uppoiing, fo long as there is a much better reafon to be given for what he did. ^ From the time of Manafleh's reftoration, an^l why the kings of Judah were homagers to the kings of Babylon, and bound by oath to adhere to them againd all their enemies, and efpecially to defend that border of the empire againlt the Egyptians : for which purpofe they feem to have had a con- celfion of the other parts of the land of Canaan, which were inhabited by the children of Ifrael, before their captivity ; as it is certain that Jofiah exercifed a jurifdidion over them. And therefore had Jofiah, under fuch an obligation, permitted an enemy of the king of Babylon to pafs through his country to make war upon him, without any oppofition, it would have a- mounted to the breach of his oath, and a violation of that fide- lity, which he had, in the name of his God, fworn unto him ; and this, fo good and jull a man as Jofiah was, could not but ablo- lutely detefl. It was not from any prefumption of his owti merit therefore, but from a real fenfe of his duty, that he en- gaged in this war, wherein he unhappily fell, and with him fell all the glory, honour, and profperity of the Jewilh nation. For. after this time, nothing elfe enfucd but a difmal fcene of God's judgments upon the land, till, at length, all Judah and Jerula- lem were fwallowedup by a woeful deftrucTiion. For (not to mention the intermediate reigns, which were The mpii- remarkable for nothing lb much as for their wickednefs) foon J!^',f "*„J"' after Jehoiakim came to the throne, <^ Nebuchadnezzar, king of ,)j.ft'rurtioii Babylon, invaded Judaea, befieged Jerulalem, and took it, and of Jcruf^- carricd '^'"• b Prideaux's Conneftion, P. I. L. IV. c 2 Kings xxiv. 10. 2yo A Complete Body af Dhinity. Part III. carried away the king, and part of the veiTels of the temple, in- to Babylon ; but afterwards, upon condition that Jehoiakini fnould become tributary to him, he releafed hkn, and reftored liim to his dominions. It was not long however before Jehoia- kim revoked his fubjeclion ; whereupon Judaea was again in- vaded, Jerufalem again befieged, and Jehoiakim in a fally taken and flain ; and when Jehoichin his fon furrendered the town, he obtained no other favour, than barely to fave his life : for he was immediately put in chains, and carried to Babylon, and with him a vaft number of captives, his mother and wives, his officers and princes, the mighty men of valour to recruit the king's army, and artificers of all kinds to carry on his building at Babylon, together with all the treafures of the houfe of the Lord, and all the riches that were found in the king's houfe. He left, in ihort, none behind, but the very refufe of the people ; yet over thefe he made Mattaniah (giving him the name of <* Zedekiah, and requiring an oath of fubjeftion of him) king. ,But, after fome time, Zedekiah, having entered into a league with Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, and thereupon broken his oath to the king of Babylon, the king of Babylon drew to- gether a great army ; and, in a ihort time, coming before Jeru- falem, he fo clofely begirt it, that the people wei-e reduced to the laft extremity, and forced to feed upon one another for want. In this fad condition the city was taken by ftorm, and when the king, with fome of his beft forces, had broken through the ene- my's camp, and endeavoured to efcape over Jordan, he was foon overtaken in the plains of Jericho, where the few that were with him, were difperfed, and himfelf being made prifoner, was carried to Nebuchadnezzar, then refiding at Riblah in Sy- ria, who (to augment his grief) having caufed his fons, and all the princes that diffuaded the furrender of the town, to be put to death before his face, commanded his eyes to be put out, and, binding him in fetters of brafs, carried him in triumph to Babylon, where he died in prifon. Soon after this, Nebuzara- dan, captain of his guards, having plundered the houfe of the Lord, and every houfe in Jerufalem, of all the wealth that he could any where find, fet the temple and the city on fire, over- threw the walls, fortrefles, and towers belonging to them ; and utterly razed every building therein, until he had brought it to a perfect defolation. And in this condition it remained for fifty-two years after, when, by the favour of Cyrus, the Jews wei'e releafed from their captivity, and, returning to their own land again, repaired thefe ruins, and rebuilt their holy city. SECT. d Zedekiah, in the Chaldee tongue, fignifieth the juflice of the Lord, and Xebuchadnezzar, in giving Mattaniah that name, intended to remind him con- V tinually of the vengeance which he was to expedt from the juftice of the Lord his God, in cafe he violated that fidelity which he had in f ' foltiiin a nianner iworn unto him. Pridcaux's Connedion, P. i. L. If Ch. VI. From the Kingdom'' s Dlvifion to the End of the Capth ity. iji SECT. nr. OccuiTences during the Captivity. NEBUCHADNEZZAR returning to Babylon after the ofthe end of the Jewiih war, and the full fettlement of liis ^'*^r\ii. aiFairs in Syria and Paleftine, out of the fpoils which he had ^'l\^■^'^'^' taken in that expedition, made a golden image to the honour Chrirt, of " Bel his God, whofe ^ height was threefcore cubits, and the 5^:, It. breadth thereof fix cubits, which he fet up in the plains of Dura, ^^>^VXJ with a pofitive injuncT:ion for every one of his fubjecls to wor- fliip it. The whole ftory is at large related in the third chap, '^hy Da- ter of Daniel ; but how Daniel efcaped the fiery furnace, to "'^' '^'''' which his three friends upon this occafion were condemned, is into ti'ie" made a matter of inquiry by fome. That he did not fall down and fiery tur- M'orfhip the idol is moft certain, becaufe fuch an impious act "?"~'^ ^*"'^ could no where comport with the character of fo religious a friends, man : and therefore we muft fay that either he was abfent, or elfe, being prefent, was not accufed. Nebuchadnezzar, we read, had fummoned all his princes, counfellors, governors, captains, and other officers and minifters to come to the dedica- tion of this image : and therefore it is hardly fuppofeable that Daniel, who was become one of the chief of them, Ihould be abfent. That he was prefent therefore feems moft probable ; but his enemies thought it not advifeable to begin with him, be- caufe of the fingular efteern which the king had for him, for having fo lately interpreted his dream of the image made up of different metals, which all the magicians, and aftrologers, and forcerers, and Chaldeans that were in his kingdom could noc do. They thought it more proper therefore to fall firft on his three friends, and by that means to pave their way to the other's de- ftrudion afterwards. But the miraculous interpofition of pro- vidence e Bel, or Baal, is the fame with Belus, who, being the firft king of Babylon, had after his death divine honours paid him, and a noble temple built in that city, and confecrated to him; which Itood until Xerxes in his return from hit Grecian expedition, demolillied and laid it in rubbilh, after he had plundered it of its imnienfe riches Vide Calmet's Diftinnary on the word Bel, and Pri- deaux's ConnetTion, Part I. Lib 1. fWhenthis image is faid to be fixty cubits, r". e. ninety foot high, it muft be underftood ofthe image and pedeftal all toge* ther: for fince it is but fix cubits broad or tliitk, its height (if fixty cubits) muft have been ten times its breadth or tliicknefs, which exceeds all the propor- tions of a man; becaufe no man's height is above fix times his thicknefs, meafaring the flendereft man living at the waift. It is very likely therefore that this image was the very fame with that which, as Diodorus i>iciilus tells us, was fet up in the temple of Belus, and was no more than forty foot high or thereabouts; for this makes the proportion between its height and breadtli veryjnft: befidcs that the fame Diodorus tells us that this of fjity foot high containerl a thoufand Babylonifli talents of gold, which amount-i to three mil- Jions and an half of our money, and therefore to advance tl;^ height of the ftatue CO nii:tty foot, without the pcdcftal, will iucreafc the value toafum utterly incredible. Piideaux, ibid. 272 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part 111,. vidence in behalf of his friends quafhed all farther accufations about this matter, and fo Daniel's name was not once called in queftion. Daniel, v/ho was defcended from the royal race of David, was one of thofe noble youths, e who, at the firft captivity of Judah, Vv'as made choice of for his wit and beauty and carried away to Babylon with his three companions, to be inftrucled in the language and learning of the country, in order to qualify them to ftand before the king and ferve him. He had made great proficiency in all the arts and fciences of the Chaldeans ; but Nebuchadnezzar, perceiving that there was a power fu- perior to all fciences communicated to him, advanced him to be h chief of the governors of the wife men, and ruler over all the province of Babylon. With him he lived in great credit and efteemr- and, when he had interpreted his dream concerning the great and fpacious tree that was hewn down, fo as to import his own approaching calamit)^, he had neverthelefs that authority with him as to interpofe this wholefome counfel : ■ Wherefore, O king, break off thy fins with righteoufnefs, and thine iniquities by fliewing mercy to the poor, if peradventure there may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. Nebuchad- NEBUCHADNEZZAR, who had feen the verifying of Daniel's iiezzar s prophecies, and likewife been eye-witnefs of God's great power* ed into a ^^^ providence, might have been deprefled in mind, one would beaft, and think, upon the apprehenfions of fuch an impending judgment : the occa- ^^ jnftead of humbling himfelf and deprecating it by repen- tance, as he was walking, not long after, in his palace at Baby- lon, moft likely in his hanging gardens, and in the uppermoft terrafs of them, from whence he might have a full profpeft of that vaft and overgrown city, he oftentatioufly faid, ^ Is not this great Babylon which I have built for the houfe of the king- dom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majefty ? But while the words were yet in his mouth, there came a voice to him from heaven to rebuke his pride, which told him that his kingdom was departed from him, and that he ihould be driven from the iociety of men, and thenceforth for feven years have his dwelling with the wild beafts of the field, thei'e to Uve like them in a brutal manner. Immediately here- upon he fell into a dirtemper, which made fuch a change in his imagination, that he thought himfelf transformed into an ox ; and accordingly aflumed the fame inclinations and manner of life, eating grafs as oxen do, and taking his lodging on the ground in the open air, ' until his hair (as the text exprefTes it) was grown like eagles feathers, and his nails like birds claws. Several interpreters indeed impute his abfenting himfelf from all human fociety, and retreating into the fields in this manner, not to any dilfemper of his own, but to a compulfion put g Dan. i. 3, 4' h Ibid, ii. 48, i Ibid, iv- T-l- k Ibid, ver- 30. \ Ibid. yer. ly- Ch. VI. From the Kingdom's Dtvifm to the End of the Captivity, iy ^ put upon him by his fubjefts rebellion ; who, weary of his ty- ranny, confpired againft him and forced him to fly, placing in the mean time his fon Evil-Merodach upon the throne. But though it feems not unlikely that, during his diftraclion, his fon might be admitted to the adminiltration of the government ; yet at the end of the feven years, when his underflanding re' turned to him again, his fubjefts we find were fo far from being offended at any mifconduci: of his, that they fent a deputation of his lords and counfellors to recal him, and re-eftablifli him in his kingdom with more glory and majefty than ever ; where- upon he extolled and honoured the king of heaven, "< whofe dominion is an everlafting dominion, whofe works are truth and his ways judgment, and to whom all the inhabitants of tl)e earth are reputed as nothing ; and by a public decree mode ac- knowledgment hereof through all the Baljyloniih empire, praif- ing the Almighty Power, and magnifying the Divine Niercy and Goodnefs in his late reftoration : and in this good difpofi- tion it is prefumeable he died ; becaufe one of the lali ads of his life n is faid to have been his foreteUing his fubjeds of the coming of the Perfians to deftroy the Babyloniih empire ; " wherein he teftified the faith and confidence he had in what the God of heaven had declared unto him by the mouth of his prophet Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar was fucceeded by his fon Evil-Merodach, who took compaihon on Jehoiachin the captive king of Judah, and releafing him from his imprifonment, in the feven and thir- tieth year of his captivity, treated him with great refped, and allowed him an honourable maintenance, with the right of pre- cedence before all other princes in Babylon. He reigned but two years, and was fucceeded by his fon Bellhazzar, a profane and luxurious prince, who, in the midft of his rioting anddrunk- ennefs, fell a facrifice to the Medes and Periians, when they took his royal city by a ftratagem (which we /hall Ihortly have occafion to mention) and at the fame time deftroyed the Baby, lonilh empire, after it had continued from the beginning of the reign of NabonalTar (who firft founded it) two liundred and nine years. After Relihazzar, Cyaxares, whom the fcripture Daniel de- calls Darius the Mede, afllimed the throne, and beftowing great '."■^'''^'J marks of his favoiu" on Daniel, intended to have made him his \\on%, prime minifter, as he had been in fome preceding reigns ; but tiie thoughts of this ftirred up fo great envy againil him among the other courtiers, that they laid y fuch a fnare for him as calt liim into the lions den. But the providence of God appeared fo vifibly in his prefervation from all harm, that this malicious contrivance ended in the deltruftion of its authors, the niani- VoL. II. M m feHation m Dan. iv. 34, &c. n Abydeniis aputl Eufeb. Pracp. Evan. Lib. IX. o Pri- deaux's Connection, Part I- Lib. i. p Dan. vi. 274 -^^ Complete Body of Diviniiy. Part III. feilation of God's glory, and the ellabliihment of Daniel in the prince's favour. Hisprayers The time which the prophet Jeremiah had prefixed for the to God, continuance of Judah's captivity being now drav/ing towards a conclufion, Daniel thought it his duty to humble himfelf before God, and to make his ardent fupplications to him i that he would remember his people, and grant a refloration to Jerufa- lem, and make his face ihine again upon his holy city, and upon his fanduary which was defoiate. Whereupon he had in a vifion aifurance given him by the angel Gabriel, not only of the deliverance of Judah from their temporal captivity under the Babylonians ; but alfo of a much greater redemption which God would give his church in his delivering them from their fpi- ritual captivity under fin and Satan, to be accomplilhed at the end of feventy weeks, from the going forth of the command- ment to rebuild Jerufalem. The words of the prophecy are and famous thefe : ' Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and llated^and "P°" ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^' ''^ ^"''^^ ^^^^ tranfgreilion, and to make an explained. <^nd of fms, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlafting righteoufnefs, and to feal up the vifion and prophecy, and to anoint the moft holy. Know therefore and ' underfland, that, from the going forth of the commandment to refbore and build Jerufalem, unto the Mefliah the prince, Ihall be feven weeks and threefcore and two weeks : the ftreet fhall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threelcore and two weeks fhall Melliah be cut off, but not for himfelf: and the people of the prince that fiiall come fhall de- ftroy the city, and the fandluary ; and the end thereof ihall be with a flood, and to the end of the war defolations are deter- mined ; and he Ihall confirm the covenant with many for one week : and in the midft of the week he Ihall caufe the facrifice and the oblation to ceafe, and for the overfpreading of abomi- nations he Ihall make it defoiate ; even until the confummation, and that determined, ihall be poured out upon the defoiate. Now to l^t thefe words in a right light, we mufl: confider, I. That the main purport and intendment of them is to foretel the coming of the Meihah, his aboliihing the Jewiih, and fet- ting up a new and more perfect religion ; which is fo manifefl to every common reader, that the Jews (to avoid the force of this one prophecy) have adventured to exclude the whole book of Daniel from the number of ini'pired writings. 2. It is agreed by moft interpreters ' that the feventy weeks here i'poken of (according to the prophetic ftile) are to be taken for weeks of years, every one of which contains feven years, and fo the fe- venty weeks will amount to four hundred and ninety years : at the expiration of which term the matters contained in this pro- phecy were to have their accompliihment. But then the quef- tion q Dan. i."^. r Ibid. ver. 24, Sec, s Prideaux's Connet^ion, Part I. Lib. V. Ch. VI. From the Kingdom^ s Divijion to the Etid of the Captivity. 27 - tion is, at what point of time thefe feventy weeks, or what is all one, thefe four hundred and ninety years, either began or expired ; for if we can happily find out one of the periods there will be lefs difficulty in ftating the other. Now, t.. \t feen)s pretty plain that the feveral events fpccificd in the be- ginning of the prophecy, viz. j. to finiih or reftrain tranfgref- fions ; 2. to make an end of fins; 3. to make expiation or re- conciliation for iniquity ; 4. to bring in evcrlafling riahteonf- nefs ; 5, to leal up or complete, and fulfil the vilion and pio- phecy ; and, 6. to anoint the mofl holy, were all accoinplilhcii in that great work of our falvation, by the death and pallion, and by the doclrine and refurredion of our Saviour Chrift. For, being born without original, arnl having lived without aftual fin, he truly was the molt holy of all that ever bore our nature; and, being thereby fully qualified for this great work, he was anointed with the Holy Ghoff, and with power to hv. our prieff, our prophet, and our king. As our priell he offered hirafelf a facriiice upon the crofs, and thereby made atonement for our fins, which is making an end of them, by taking away their guilt ; and in fo doing working reconciliation for us with God. As our prophet he gave us the gofpel, a law of ever- lafting righteoufnels, and the only revelation we are to expect ; and as our king he fent his holy Spirit into our hearts, to guide and influence us according to this law ; whereby he has taken an effectual method t^|Mlrain and extinguilh in us all manner of tranfgreifions ; ano^i doing all this he hath fealed up, /. e. fulfilled and thoroughly finifhed all that by vilions and prophe- cies had been before revealed concerning him. Since therefore all thefe events were brought to pais and accomplilhed at the time of Chrift's death, this mult determine us where to fix the end of the weeks wherein the events were to be accomplifhed : and if the end of thefe weeks is to be fixed at the death of Chriff ; then, 4thly, This will determine us where to place the begin- ning of them, viz. four hundred and ninety years before ; which is ' the very ytar and month wherein Ezra had his commiflion from Artaxerxes Longimanus king of Pcrfia, for his returning to Jerufalem, there to reflore the church and Hate of the Jews. The only objection againfl this computation is, *' That the An objec- *' words of the prophecy feem to denote a real building of the *''.'" ^1^=""^ '' city, fmce it makes mention of its flreets and walls ; whereas nation an- " that work was executed upon the decree granted by Cyrus, fwercd. '* feveral years before Ezra was in commiflion." But this ob- jection will appear of little force if once it be confidered that figurative t.Moft learned men agree that the death of Chrifl happened in the year of the Julian period 4746, and in the Jewilli month Nif:m ; and therefore, if we reckon 490 years backward, this will lead lu up to tlie month N'ifan in the year of the Julian period 4256, which, according lo Ptoloniy's canon, was the l"e- venth year of Artaxcrxes's reign, in whi'^h the fuipture tells us 'F.zra vii- ' ] that his commilaoii was granted. 276 A Complete Body of Divinity, Part III. figurative expreflions are in a manner neceffary in prophecies, and that nothing is more common in fcripture than, by Jerufa lem in particular, to mean the whole political and eccleliaftical flate of that people. The commiffion itfelf however determines the controverfy. For if we look into it we fliall find tnat the king gave Ezra full power and authority to reltore the law of Mofes, and fully re-eftablilh it both in church and ftate ; to ap- point magiftrates and judges ; to govern the people according to it ; and to punifli all fuch as Ihould be refractory and difobe- ^ dient, either by death, banilhment, imprifonment, or conlifcation of goods, according to the nature of their crimes ; which is re- ftoring and building Jerufalem in a figurative fenfe. There is another difficulty obfervable in this prophecy v/hich deferves our attention, and that is the divifion of the feventy weeks into three diftindl periods, /. e. into feven weeks, fixty- two weeks, and one week ; to each of which a different event js affigned. In the feven weeks, or forty-nine years, from the going forth of the commandment, the ftreets and walls of Jeru- falem, /. e. the reftoration and eftabliihment of the church and flate of the Jews is to be accorapliflied. In the fixty-two weeks, or four hundred and thirty-four years more, the Melfiah is to come and make his appearance in the world ; and in one week, or feven years after this, he is to confirm a covenant with many, and caufe the facrifice and oblation ttxeafe : all which was li- terally fulfilled. For in the fpace oflMBty-nine years, which anfwers to feven weeks, the reform^^m and eftabliihment of the Jewilh church and ftate was carried on and compleated ; lirft by Ezra, in virtue of a decree granted him in the ftventh year of Artaxerxes, and afterwards by Nehemiah, in- virtue of another granted him by the fame prince in the twenti^^,*year of his reign. From that time, in the fpace of four hmdred and thirty-four years, which anfwers to fixty-two' weeks, our blefled Saviour appeared in the world as the Meffiah, and for feven yeai's after that, firft by his forerunner John the Baptift, for the fpace of three years and an half; and then by himfelf in perfon for three years and an half more, (which being put to- gether make up the laft: week in the prophecy) he confirmed the covenant of the gofpel with as many of the Jews as were converted, and embraced thofe laws of everlafting righteoufnefs which he publifhed : and, at length, by the facrifice of hismofl precious blood, made all other viftims and oblations, which were but types and emblems of his, for ever ceafe and be aboliihed. As to the other part of the prophecy, it relates fo evidently to the deftruclion of Jerufalem that it needs no explanation. Whoever has read Jofepbus cannot but obferve, that by the deftrudhon of tlie city and fanduary by the people of the prince that was to come, who with their armies and defolating abomi- nations^ Hiould invade Judea as \viih. ^ flood, and by a terrible and Ch. VI. From the Kingdom^ s Divijion to the End of the Captivity. 277 and confuming war bring utter ruin and defolation upon it, and upon all the people of the Jews that Ihould dwell therein, can be meant nothing but Htus at the head of a Roman army, executing the wrath of God for the murder of his Son our Sa- viour upon that devoted city and people, in futh a terrible and tragical manner as their hiftorian has related it. But to return. After the death of Darius the Mede, Cyrus, who by the ^f •*'° death of his father Cambyfes was already become king of Per- :^46"'^&:c. fia, returned to Babylon, and taking upon him the government Before of the " whole, was the firft founder of what was called the thrift, Perfian empire. He was indeed a very extraordinary perfon in \^j-^^' the age wherein he lived, for wifdom, virtue and valour. His Cvrus's affifting his uncle Cyaxares, and vanquiHiing his enemies, when ^'^"""s and the king of Babylon and other confederate powers had confpired thercftora- his ruin ; his fubduing Croefus king of Lydia, and afterward tionofthe receiving him into his moft intimate counfels ; and his taking J^wi. the great city of Babylon by draining the Euphrates in a man- ner almoft incredible : thefe and many more of his martial ex- ploits are recorded by the * authors that have inquired into his life : but what makes him fo famous in holy writ is his being appointed by name to be the reftorer of the Itate of Ifrael above an hundred and fifty years before he was born. "■ The pro- phecies relating to this matter, Jofephus tells us he had read, as indeed we find them r^it^d y in the decree for rebuilding the temple. So good a maj^jjfeDaniel, who had the relloration of his brethren fo much a^^^rt, and, in the ftation he filled, fo eai'y an accefs to this prince, can hardly be fuppofed to be back- wai-d in employing the credit and intcreft he had with him to perfuade him to a thing fo good in itfelf, and fo highly condu- cive to.^a immortal honour. But whatever fecond caufes might contribme hereunto, it was God's over-ruling power which turne'th the hearts of princes which way he pleafes, that in the "■ firll u /. e. Of all Media, Perfia and Aflyria. * The two chief are Herodotus and Xenophon, whofe relations are very different. Herodotus's account of him contains narratives that are much more ftrange and furprifing, and confequently more diverting and acceptable to the reader; and for this reafon more have chofen to follow him than Xenophon. But though Xenophon (as being a great comn\ander as well as a great politi- cian) has certainly grafted many maxims of war and policy into Ins hiftor> ; yet where nothing of this appears, 1 take him to be an hlftoriaii of much bettr- credit, in matters of fac^, than Herodotus. Herodotus having travelled thro' Egypt, .Syria, and feveral other countries in order to the writing of his hiftory, did, as travellers ufe to di-, put down all matters upon trufl, andinnnny niulouht was impofed on. But Xenophon was a man of another charaftcr: he wrote all things with great judgment and due confideration; and having lived in tlic court of Cyrus the younger, a defcendant of the Cyrus whom we now fpeak ol, had opportunities of being better informed of what he wrote of this great prince, than Herodotus was; and confining hinifclf to his argument only, no doubt he examined all matters relating to it more thoroughly, and gave a more accurate and exaft account of them than could be c:-;pcctcd from the other, who wiote of all things, at large, as they came in his way. Pridcaux's Ccn^ ne(5lion, part I h\b. 11. X Ifa. .'-liv. 28, and .%W, i. y Ezra i. 2, 278 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. firfl: year of his monarchy over the eaft put it in his royal breafl: to ifTue out a decree for the rebuilding of the temple at Jerufa- lem, and the return of the Jews to their own country. Where- upon he reftored to them all the facred vefiels and utenfils which had been brought to Babylon in the reign of Nebuchad- nezzar, and gave them all the farther encouragement that their rulers could requeft. SECT. n. OccmTences after the Retiu-n of the Jews. ^^ ^^ \7f7HEN the Jews were returned from their captivity, ''468'^&c. under the conduft of their chief leaders Zerubbabel, Before and Jolhua, they immediately fet about the building of the Chnft, temple ; ^ but the Samaritans coming, and offering their aflift- ^^J^^ ance, as well as to join with them in the fame religious commu- nion (which the Jews, for good reafons, thought fit to re- jeft) they became their utter enemies : and though they could not procure a revocation of the decree which Cyrus had grant- ed, 3^et, by bribes and iinderhand dealings with his minilters, they put fuch obftruftions to the execution of it, that, for feve- ral years, the building went on but very (lowly. Nay, the Jews themfelves, confidering what a poor figure the temple, they were ereding was like to malcg, in comparifon of that fplendid one which Solomon had built, began to be dejedted and Haggai's defpond ; whereupon the prophet f Haggai was fent with this prophecy jnefTage of encourag-ement : Thu« faith the Lord of Hofts, I ed. will fhake all nations, i. e. I will ftir up in all nations, by figns, by prophecies, and by mighty wonders, a general expectation of the MefTiah, and, in the fulnefs of time, will fend rroi who can anfwer all their wants and wiihes ; who will be a prophet to inftrud them, a prieft to make atonement, and an advocate to make intercefllon for them ; and may therefore defervedly be ftiled the defire of all nations : and I will fill this houfe with glory ; for, though the former temple was very famous for'ma- ny extraordinary things, for the ark of the covenant, the Urim and Thummim, a vaft profulion of filver and gold, and above all, for the angelical appearance on the mercy -feat ; yet, all thefe fhall be nothing, in comparifon of that glory which fliall redound upon this prefent temple when this divine perfon /hall vouchfafe to grace it with his prefence, as he certainly Ihall do, during its ftanding. In other ornaments, faith the Lord, I could make the fplendor of this temple, as well as Solomon's, con- fid; for gold is mine, and filver is mine ; but in this particular I will have it diftinguilhed, that in this place I will give peace, that, during its ftanding, the defire of all nations Ihall come, z Ezra iv. f Chap. ii. ver. (>, See. ^ Ch, VI. From the Kingdom* s Divifion to the End of the Captivity. 279 upon whofe account, the glory of the latter houfe ihall be greater than of the former : wherefore be ftrong, O Zerubbabel, faith tlie Lord, ami be flrong, O Joihua, fon of Jofedech the high- prieft, and be ftrong all the people of the land, faith the Lord, and work ; for 1 am with you. This was a very gracious exhortation from God, but at this Daniel's time perhaps the more neceffary, becaufe it is very probable, ^^^^^' ^ha- that, much about this time, Daniel died, who, during his life, "rfttn-T*^ was in great favour with the feveral princes he had the honour to ferve, and a powerful advocate for his countrymen the Jews. » He was (as we hinted before) a very extraordinary perfon both in wifdom »nd piety, and, for this rc-afon, was both favour- ed by God, and honoured by men, beyond any that lived in his time. His prophecies, concerning the coming of the Mefllah, and other great events, are fo very clear and full, that ^ Por- phyry, in his objedions againftthem, will have them to be w ritten after the fadls were done ; for to him they feemed to be rather a narration of matters already tranfaifled, than a prediction of things to come. The Jews indeed think fit to place them only among their hagiographa, becaufe, fay they, he lived not in the prophetic manner of life, but was converfant in courts, and a prime minifter to the kings of Babylon : and though he might be vouchfafed fome divine difcoveries, yet they were but by dreams and vifions of the night, which they account the molt imperfed, and below the prophetic manner of revelation. It is to be obferved however, that "^ Jofephus, who was one of the antienteft writers of that nation, reckons him among the greatell of the propliets ; telling us, that he had familiar converfe with God, and not only foretold future events, as other prophets did, but determined the very time when they were to come to pafs. Our Saviour, we all know, gives him the title of J a prophet, though all things that go under his name muft not be account- ed canonical wi-itings. The book, wherein his predictions are contained, is originally written in the Chaldee language, /'. e. from the fourth verfe of the fecond chapter, to the end of the feventh (for there he treats of Babylonilh affairs) but all the reft is Hebrew. The Song of the three Children, and the Hiltory of Sufannah, and of Bell and the Dragon (though al- lowed by the church of Rome to have the fame authority with the reft of his writings) are neither extant in the Hebrew, nor Chaldee language ; were never received into the canon of holy writ by the Jewilh church ; and are too manifeftly the work of fome Helleniftical Jew ; becaufe, in the Hiftory of Sufannah, Daniel, in his replies to the elders, <= alludes to the Greek names of a PrideauK's Connexion, Part I. Lib. iii. b Hieronymus, in Prooemio ad comment, in Danicleiii. c Antiq Lib. X. c. i2. d Malth. xxiv. i 5. e Thus, "n the examination of the elders, when one of them faid that he faw the adul- y committed h^po fchinoii, i. e. under a maftich tree. Daniel anfwcrs in al- lufion 28(5 A Complete Body of Divimty. Part III. of the trees, under which they faid the adultery wherewith they charged her was committed, which allufions cannot hold good in any other language. The death NoT long after the death of Daniel, the Jews had another and'man- Z^^^^ ^°^^ ^'^ ^^^ death of Cyrus, their great benefadlor, after ner of it. he had reigned, from his firft taking on him the command of the Perfian and Median armies, thirty years ; from his taking of Babylon, nine years ; and from his being fole monarch of the Eaft, feven years : but, as to the manner of his death, there are different accounts among hiftorians. Some tell us that he loft his life in a fea-fight with the people of Samos ; others will have it that in a war with the Scythians he was taken prifoner, and had his head cut off by their queen Thomyris : but the moft probable opinion is, ^ that he died peaceably in his bed amidft his friends, and in his own country. For, befides, that it is by no means likely that fo wife a man as Cyrus was, and in fo advanced years as he then muft be, (hould engage in any hazardous undertaking ; we can hardly conceive how his fon Cambyfes could have fettled himfelf fo eafily in this new-ered:ed empire, holden it in fuch quiet at home, and enlarged it with fuch conquefts abroad, had not his father left it to him in the utmoft tranquillity. Thetemple Cambyses's reign however was not 2 long : and when af- finilhed. j-gj. ^ jhort •' ufurpation, Darius Hyftafpes came to be chofen king, ludon to fehhion, the angels of God have received fentence of God fchifai fe mefon, i. e. to cut thee in two; and, when the other elder faid that it was kjpa frinofi, i. e- under an holm-tree, Daniel anAvers, in allufion to tlie word pri- non, The angel of the Lord waiteth with the fword prlj'ni fe mefon, i. e. to cut thee in two. Prideaux, ibid, f Xcnophon's Cyropaed. Lib. VIII. Befides, all authors agree, that Cyrus was buried at Pafargada in Perfia, where Xenophon faith he died, and where his monumens was ftanding in the time of Alexan- der: but, had he been flain in Scythia, and his body there mangled, by way of indignity, in fuch a manner as Herodotus and Juftin relate, how can we fiip- pofe it could ever have been brought thence out of the hands of thofe enraged barbarians to be buried at Pafargada? Prideaux's Connexion, Part I. Lib. iii. g He reigned but feven years and five months. h The manner of which ufurpation is thus related by moft hiftorians. Cam- byfes had an only brother, whom Herodotus calls Smerdis, and Juftin Mergis, whom he, conceiving fomejealoufy of, caufed to be murdered privately. He had, when he went upon the Egyptian expedition, left the fupreme govern- ment of his affairs in the hands of Patizithes, one of the chief magians, who likewife had a brother very much refembling Smerdis the fon of Cyrus, and, for that reafon perhaps, called by the fame name. Patizithes, hearing of the young prince's death, and fuppofing that the extravagancies of Cambyfes had made him detefted by his fubjecls, placed this brother of his on the throne, pre- tending that he was the true Smerdis, the fon of Cyrus, and fo fent heralds through the empire to proclaim him king- It was the cuftom of the Eaftei'ii kings, in thofe times, to live retired in their palaces, and there tranfadt all their affairs by the intcrcourfe of their eunuchs, without admitting any elfe, ' unlefs thofe of the higheft confidence, to have accefs to them. This conduct the pretended Smerdis exaftly obeyed: but Otanes, a noble Perfian, having a daughter, who had been one of Cambyfes's wives, and was now kept by Smer- dis in the fame quality, and being defirous to know whether he was the real fon of Cyrus or no, fent her iaftru(5tions, that, the firft night fbe lay witli him, flt|fcj fliould feel whether he had any ears (becaufe Cambyfes, for fome crime opP othsj>fl Cli. VI. From the Kingdom'' s Dlvljion to the End of the Captivity. 28 r king, and the Jews, who had been obflrucled before, began now to renew the building of their temple, the Samaritans be- took themfelves again to their old malicious praftices ; and ap- plying to Tatnai, whom Darius had made pratfecl, or chief governor of Syria and PalelVme, they infiiiuated, that the Jews proceeded herein without any authority from the king. Cf this Tatnai fent information to Darius, who, examining the imperial records, and finding that, in the firlt year of Cyrus, a decree had been granted to the Jews to return, and rebuild their temple (as he had lately married two of the daughters of Cyrus, the better to fortify his title to the crown) thought it concerned him to do everything that might tend to lupport the honour and ve- neration due to the memory of fuch a prince ; and, accordingly, revoked the decree which Smerdis the Magian (by Ezra called Artaxerxes) had made againfl building the temple, and con- firmed that which Cyrus had granted lome eighteen years be- fore : whereupon the building went on with fuccefs, and in leis than four years more was completed. The reft of the ads of Darius, his war againfl: the Scythians, The ach of •wherein he had not fo very good fuccefs ; his invalion and con- l^a^iis. quefl: of Judea, from whence he received a tribute of ' three hundred and fixty talents of gold every year ; his long engage- ment in war with the Grecians, which on both fides was attend- ed with various fuccefs ; and, a little before his death, his ap- pointing his fon >- Xerxes to be his fuccelTor ; thefe, and many more incidents of his life, are fo largely recorded by Herodotus, that to him we refer our reader, and Ihall only take notice of one remarkable perfon that, during his reign, appeared in Per- fia, viz. the famous prophet of the Magians, whom the Perllans call Zerdulht, or Zaratulh, and the Greeks Zoroartres. And, to this purpofe, we muft obferve, that all the idolatry of the woi-ld was, at this time, divided into two fefts ; that of the Sa- bians, who firfl worshipped the planets, and then images ; and that of the Magians, who worshipped fire only. The Magians Theprlncj. began firft in Perfia, and made thefe the chief articles of their jJl^^j'^^j*'"' faith ; — '* That there were two principles or gods, the one Vol. II. N ). " the other, had cut off this ma^ian's ears) and flie acquainting her father that he had none, iinincdiately he took iix others of the Perlian nobility with him, and, entering the palace, flew both the ufurper and his brother. Prideaux's Conneaion, P. I. L. III. i Which, according to the number of the days in the then Perfian year, was 3 talent every day, and .iccording to tiieftandard of the fi^uboic talent, amount- ed in whole to one miliion and ninety-five thoufund pounds of our money. Pri' lieaux, ibid, k Darius had three fons by his firft wife, the daughter of Go- brJas, all born before his advancement to the throne ; and four others by Atoffa, the daughter of Cyrus, who, having an abfolute power over her huf- band's inclinations, prevailed with him to fettle the fucciflion upon her fon. This however bred no ill blood between the two brothers; for Artabafancs (fo was the elder named) chearfu'.'y Ivibniittcd to his brother's government, and at laft died in his fervice, as he was fighting for him in the Grecian war ; an example very rarely to be met >vith, where fo great a prize as a crcwn is ac Hake.- Pride^ux; ibid. 282 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, " the caufe of all good, and the other the caufe of all evil ; *' that between thei'e two there is a continual oppofition, and *' fo will be until the end of the world ; but that then, the '* good god having overcome the evil, they fliould each of them *' have his world to himfelf, the good ruling over all the good, " and the evil over all the wicked. They imagined that '* darknefs was the trueft fymbol of the evil, as light was of *' the good god, and therefore they always worlliipped him ** before fire, as being the caufe of light ; and efpecially before " the fun, as being, in their opinion, the perfedleft fire, and ** caufmg the perfe^left light. But they always hated dark- *' nefs, becaufe they thought it a reprefentation of the evil god, *' whom they ever had in the utmoft deteftation." This fedi was once in good reputation ; but, after the ufurpation of Smerdis, they fell into great contempt, and muft have utterly- been extinguifhed, had not Zoroaftres revived their credit again, i^account jjg ^^^^ fprung but from a very mean parentage ; by birth and j^pj " education was very probably a Jew ; and, as fome fuppoiie, the fervant of the prophet Daniel, becaufe he was certainly a man of great learning, and thoroughly acquainted with the books of Mofes. As foon as he took upon him the prophetic office, he retired into a cave, and there lived a long time, as a reclufe, pretending to be abftrafted from all worldly conliderations, and to be given wholly to prayer, and divine meditations. In this retirement he compofed ' the book wherein all his pretended re- velations are contained. " The firft part of it eonfifts of a liturgy, which the Magians, in all their oratories and fire- temples, make ufe of to this day. The reft is an hiftorical ac- count of the life, actions, and prophecies of its author, the feveral branches and articles of his fuperftition, together with rules and exhortations to morality, wherein he is very prefiing and exaft, except his allowing of inceft : and the whole, being in- terfperfed with feveral things taken out of the Old Teftament, abundantly Ihews that his original was from the Jews. Upon leaving his retirement, he went into India among the Brach- mans, where having learned all their knowledge in mathematics, aftronomy, and natural philofophy, he came back, and taught his difciples thefe fciences, which gained them fo great a repu- tation that, for many years after, a learned man and a Magian became equivalent terms. Nay, he pretended, that, once upon a time, he was taken up into heaven to be inftrufted in thofe dodrines which he was to deliver imto men ; that there he heard God fpeak out of the midft of a great and bright flame of fire ; 1 This book is called Zendavefta, and by contraftion Zend, which fignifies a fire-kindUr, fuch as a tinder-box is with us; and this fantaftical name the im- poftor gave it, becaufe, as he pretended, all that would read this book, and meditate thereon, might from thence kindle in their hearts tht fire of all true love for God and his holy religion. Prideaux's Connection, P. I. L. III. 3a Ibid. L. IV, CIi. VI. From the Kingdom! s D'lvifion to the End of the Captivity. 283 fire ; and, for this reafon, he taught his followers that fire was the trueft reprefentation of the divine prefence, and the fun (as the moft perfect fire) the molt immediate throne of hi: glo- ry ; that, of the fire, from whence God fpake, he, upon his re- turn, brought fome with him, and placed it on the altar of the firfl fire-temple that he eredled ; from whence, as they fay, it was propagated to all the reft: and this is the reafon they give for keeping it fo carefully, and treating it with fo much fuperftition. Having thus qualified himfelf to be a prophet, he made his and his tc- firfl; appearance in Media, in the city of Ziz, fay fome, or in Ec- nets, batana, now Tauris, according to others ; where the principal doiftrines that he profefTed (as a refinement upon what the old Magians maintained) were thefe — " That there was one fu- ** preme Being, independent, and felf-exifting from all eternity ; *' that under him there were two angels, one the angel of " light, who is the author and director of all good, and the *' other the angel of darknefs, who is the author and diredor " of all evil, and that thefe two, out of the mixture of light *' and darkjiefs, made all things ; that they are in perpetual " ftruggle with each other, and that, where the angel of light *' prevails, there the moft is good, where the angel of darknefs, " there the moft is evil ; that this ftruggle Ihall continue unto *' the end of the world, when there Ihall be a general refur- *' redion, a day of judgment, and a retribution to every one ** according to his works ; after which, the angel of darknefs *' and his difciples fliall go into a world of their own, where " they fhall fuffer, m everlafting darknefs, the puniihments of *' their evil deeds ; and the angel of light and his difciples fhall *' goalfo into a world of their own, where they fhall receive, *' in everlafting light, the reward due unto their good deeds ; " whereupon they fhall remain feparated for ever, and light *' and darknefs be no more mixed together to all eternity :'* and all this the remainder of that fedt, which is now in Pcrfia and India, do, after fo many ages, ftill hold, without any varia- tion, even to this day. After Zoroaftres had acled the part of a prophet in Media, Hisaaioni, and there fettled all things according to his intentions, he re- J"^j][,"'''"'^ moved from thence into Baftria, the moft eaftern province of Perfia, and there fettling in the city of Balch, which lies on the river Oxus in the confines of Perfia, under the protedlion of Hyftafpes, the father of Darius, he ibon fpread his inipofturc through all that province with great fuccefs. From Badria he "went next to the royal court at Sufa, where he managed his pretenfions with fo much addrefs and infinuation that he made Darius likewife a profelyte ; and, from his example, drew over the courtiers, nobility, and great men of that city into the fame profelfion. But when, upon his return into Balch, he at- tempted 284 Of the "World, 3522, &c Before Chrift, 482, &c. D arras's chara(Ser. Xerxes's A Complete Body Divinity. Part III, tempted the like upon Argafp, king of the Oriental Scythians (who was a zealous Sabian) and pretended an authority from Darius to that purpofe, the Scythian prince refented it with fuch indig- nation that he invaded Baftria with an army, and, having there defeated the forces that oppofed him, flew Zoroaftres with ail the priefts of his patriarchal church, which amounted to the number of eighty perfons, and demolilhed all the fire-temples in the province ; but it was not long before Darius fell upon him, and revenged the injury. Darius was a prince of great wifdom, clemency and juftice, and hath the honour to have « his name recorded in holy writ for a favourer of God's people, a reftorer of the temple at Je- rufalem, and a promoter of his worfnip therein, for all which God was pleafed to make him his inftrument ; and therefore I make no doubt but that upon this account he blelTed him with a numerous iiRie, a long reign, and great profperity. He was fucceeded by his ion Xerxes, of whom the prophet Daniel gives this account : <> There ihall ftand up three kings in Perfia (viz. Cyrus, Cambyfes and Darius Hyftafpes) and the fourth fliajl be far richer than they; and by his ilrength, through his riches, he fliall flir up all againft the realm of Grecia. His prodigious expedition into Greece, and almoft innumerable number of forces ; his paffage of the Hellefpont over a bridge made of boats, and for fome time carrying all before him like a torrent ; the reliftance that his army met with at Thermopylae from an handful of men commanded by the gallant Leonidas; the de- feat of his fleet at the flreights of Salamis, and the overthrow of his confederates at the ifle of Sicily ; his lofs of the great battle at Plataea, and, v on the fame day, his lofs of another at Mycale, fo that his vafl; army, which but a year before marched fo proudly over the Hellefpont, was now in a manner totally deftroyed ; after thefe defeats, his precipitate flight into his own country ; his plundering the temples of Greece and Babylon, to repair the lofles of this expenfive war ; his inceftuous atr tempt upon his brother's wife, and at length mofl: inhuman mur- der of him and all his family ; his giving himfclf up to eafe and pleafures, n Ezra v. and in tlie prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah. o Dan. xi 2, 3. pThe battle of Plataea was fought in the morning, and that of Mycale in the afternoon of the fame day ; yet it is commonly faid by the Greek writers that they had an account of the viiflory of Plataa at Mycale before they began the battle there, though the whole ^Egean fea (which was feveral days failing) lay between. But Diodorus Siculus (Lib. XI.) clears this matter : for he tells us that Leotycides, finding the forces that followed him in great pain for the Greeks at Piatsea, left they fliould be overpowered and vanquiflied by the numerous army of Mardonius; the better to encourage and tnhearten his men for the battle, juft before he made the firft onfet, he caufed it to be given out through all the array that the Perfians were defeated, though he knew no- thing of the matter. But what he then feigned happened to be true, and done likc'.vife on the fame day ; this gave occafion for what is faid of that quick in- lelligence, which was utterly impoflible to have come in fo (hort a time from f ) diftant a place by any Iiunian means; and to fuppofe a n^racle in this cafe ih?r? is c* reafoiii Pridtaux's Cyjuieclion^ P. I. L. ly. Gh. VII. From the End of the Captivity to the coming of ChriJ}. 285 pleafures, luft and luxury, whereby he became contemptible to his fubjecls, and fell at laft a facrifice by the hand of the captain of his guards : thefe and many more pafTages of the like nature are fo fully related by Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus and Plu- tarch, in the lives of thofe Grecians that were employed againft him, that to them I mufl: refer my reader ; and fhall only ob- ferve that upon the death of this prince Artaxerxes Longima- of the nus (who in the book of Efther is called Ahafuerus) having cut '^^'or)d, off his father's murderers, and vanquifhed his brother Hylblpes, 3?-^'. &c. and fettled himfelf in the quiet poU'efTion of the \\ hole Perfian chr'ift empire, 1 appointed a folemn rejoicing on that account to be 473. continued for an hundred and fourfcore days ; at the end ofp^^-O"^*^ which he made a great feaft for all his princes and people that commiflioa were at Sufa for feven days. On the feventh day (his heart tVcm Aha- being merry with wine) he fent for his queen, that he might ^^^ruj. fhew to the princes and people her beauty ; but, upon her rc- fufing to come, he for ever repudiated her j and in a fhort time made choice of f Efther the niece of Mordecai the jew, to be his queen. And it is to her follicitation we muft impute it, that his favour and kindnefs to the Jews was fo extraordinary as to grant appointments out of his treafures for the fervice of the temple, and to fend Ezra,' a very learned and religious man, with fo full and ample a commilhon to Jerulalem in order to reftore the ftate, and reform the church of the Jews ; to cor- rect all abufes in both, and regulate and govern them according to their laws. CHAP. VII. The moft memorable Tranfaftions from the End of the Captivity to the coming of C 11 r 1 s t . AFTER the return of the Jews from the BabyloniHi capii- cfthe vity, there was one great abufe crept in among them, Vorl.i, which Ezra at firfl:, and after him Nehemiah, endeavoured to ^^^J' ^'*^' reform. ^ Their law flric^ly forbade them to make intermar- chrift. riages with any foreign nations, either by giving their daugh- :???, &;c. ters to them for wives, or by taking their daughters to them- ^ J;-0^^ ri , r 1 • 1 r n 1- • 11 -.The temple lelves: but fince their return, people of all conditions had paid oi.^amaria, fo little regard to this command, that even the pontifical houie, anHManaf- which of all others ought to have fet a better exnmple, was be- |^^J'.'^ come polluted with fuch impure mixtuies. •> Joiada was then high-prieft, and one of his fons (whom Jofephus calls ManalTeh) having q Efther i. 5, &.'c. r This is her Perfian nar-e, the fenfc of which is not known: her Jewilh name was Haclafl'ah Prulc:.iix's Conneaion, P- 1 L 1\'. a Prideaux's Connea'on, P. I. I.. VI. b Some authors will have it that he \va» the brother of JadUus the hi^jh-pritft, and coHcajjue with Liiu in that t'liite. 2S6 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. having married Nicafo the daughter of Sanballat, afid by the elders of Jerufalem being ordered either to difmifs his wife or depart the country, fled to Samaria with m'any others that were in the Hke circurnftances, and there fettled under the protec- tion of his father-in-law, who was governor of the place. Upon this occafion Sanballat applied to « Darius, who had all thofe parts then under his dominion, and fo far inllnuated himfelf into his favour as to obtain a grant for building a temple on Mount Gerizim near Samaria, and for making ManafTeh his fon-in-law high-priell of it. The Samaritans originally were the Cutheans, and fuch other of the eaftern nations as Eferhaddud, upon the deportation of the Ifraelites, planted there ; but after this temple was built, and Samaria became a common refuge and al'ylum to all refraftory Jews, this mixture of inhabitants in a lliort time produced a change in religion : for whereas thefe Samaritans had hitherto worlhipped tlie God of Ifrkel in con- junftion with the gods of the eaft, from whence they came, when once the Jewilh worfhip came to be fettled, and the book of the law of Mofes to be read publickly, they conformed them- felves wholly to the worlhip of the true God, and, in tl\eir per- formance of it, were as exadl as the Jews themfelves. The Jews howev^ looking on themes apoftates, hated them to fuch a degree as to avoid all manner of converfe and communi- The hatred cation with them, d Their hatred firft began from the oppofi- between (jq^ the Samaritans made againft them, at their retu|n from and s^ama- ^^ captivity, both in their rebuilding of the temple, and their ritans. reparation of the walls of Jerufalem, It was afterwards much increafed by this apoflacy of ManafTeh, and thofe that joined with him in it, and by their eredling an altar and temple in oppofition to that at Jerufalem ; and it was all along kept up « on account of their dilfering in fome points of religion, with the utraoft rancour and malice, even to the time of our Saviour's coming ; for this is the ground of the Samaritan woman's alking our Saviour, ^ How is it that thou, being a Jew, afkeft drink of me c Not to Alexander, as foine hiftorians will have it, for this tranfaftion was prior to Alexander's coming into thefe parts. Prideaux's Connedion, Part I. L. VI. d Prideaux, ibid. e The particulars wherein the Samaritans differ from the Jews are chiefly thefe, i. That the Samaritans receive no other fcrip- tures than the five books of Mofes, rejedling all the other books that are in the Jewifli canon. 2 That they difallow of all traditions, and adhere only to the written word. 3- That they affert and maintain that mount Gerizim, where- on their temple was built, was the only proper place for the worfliip of God, becaufe there Abraham (Gen. xii. 6, 7.J and there Jacob (Gen. xxxiii. 20.) built altars unto God; and by offering up facrifices on them, confecrated that place in a peculiar manner: and to this the woman of Samaria, in her difcourfe with ourSaviour alludes: Our fathers worfhipped in this mountain, but ye (meaning the Jews) fay, that in Jerufalem is tlie place where men ought to worftiip, John iv. 20. The temple of Gerizim is faid to have ftood about two hundred year.^, and though it was then deftroyed by Hircanus, one of the Mac- cabees, yet the Samaritans ftill continued their worfliip and facrifices on the mountain where their temple had been, f John iv. 9* Ch. VII/ From the Ehd of the Captivity to the coming of Chrlfi. 287,, me who ani a woman jpf Samaria? For the Jews (as the facred hiftorian has obferved) have no dealings with the Samaritans. The Je\ys for fcJrhe^time after their return from the capti- Of the vity were governed by their own laws, and praftifed their own ^^."'^ rehgion, under the adminiftration of the high-prieO, aUiited by BaWe ^ the Sanhedrim ; but remained (till fubjed to the dominion of Chrift, the Perfians as long as that empire laited. When Alexander ^^"' ^^' the Great had given Darius a defeat, and was now f«t down Alexander before Tyre, he fent out his commiflaries requiring the inhabi- the Great's tants of Judea to fub'mit to him, and to furnilh him with all ne- ^«'n>'';2 f" ceflaries for the fupport of his army. 1 he iCws pleaded for " themfelves their oath, to Darius, whereby they thought them- felves obliged to own no new mafler ; and therefore, as long as he lived, they could not obey his commands. But Alexander, flulhed with his late fuccefs, could bear no fuch contradiction : and therefore, as foon as he had done with Tyre, he refolved to march immediately againft Jerufalem, and to puniih the Jews as feverely as he had done the 1 yrians, for not obeying his in- jundtions. While he was on his way breathing out revenge a- gainft the people of God, Jaddua the high-prieft, and all Jerufa- lem with him, were in great perplexity ; but having nothing to truft to but God's proteftion, they made their addrefles to him with facrifices, oblations and prayers ; whereupon, being moved with compafTion towards them, he direded Jaddua, in a vifion of the ryght, to go out and meet the conqueror in his pontifical robes, with the priells in their proper habits attending him, and all the inhabitants of the city in white garments. Jaddua next day, with the priefts and people habited as the viiion di- rected, went out of the city to a certain eminence called Sapha, Vt'hich commanded the profped of all the country round, and there waited the coming of Alexander. As foon as the high- prieft faw him coming, he moved forward in this folemn pomp ; which ftruck the king with fuch an awe, that, as he drew near, treats ri.e he bowed down to him, and fakited him with a religious ve- hi;',i! j>iivfl neration, to the rrreat furprife of all that attended him. While ^""^ re"pJc every one itood amazed at this behaviour, rarmenio took tne j^, freedom to afk him, how it came to pafs that he whom all man- kind adored, paid fuch adoration to the Jewifh high-prieft? To which his anfwer was, *' That he did not pay luch adoration " to him, but to the God whofe pricft he was ; that, wliile he *' was at Dio in Macedonia, and deliberating with himfelf how *' to carry on the war againft Perfia, this very perfon, and in *' this very habit, appeared to him in a dream, encouraging him *^ to pafs boldly over into Afia, and not to doubt of fuccefs, *' for that God would be his guide in the expedition, and give " him the empire of the Perfians ; and that therefore from " hence he was aflured he made the prefent \\ar under the *' condudl of that God, to whom, in t!ie perfon of the prieft, *' he 288 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part Ilf. *' he paid his adoration." And hereupon turning to Jaddua again, he kindly embraced him, and fo going into Jerufalem with him, offered facrifices to God in the temple ; where the high-prieft ihewed him « the prophecies of Daniel, predicting the overthrow of the Perfian empire by a Grecian king. This pleafed Alexander much, fo that he returned highly fatisfied, and full of afliirance of fuccefs ; leaving behind him great im- munities to the people, the freedom of their country, laws and religion, and an exemption every feventh year from paying any tribute, becaufe in that year, according to their law, they are not permitted to till the ground, ofthe h Upon the death of Alexander, the vaft empire which he 568'i &c ^^^ acquired was divided among his four generals ; whereof Before Syria, Phoenicia and Judea fell to Laomedon's fhare. But Chriil, Ptolemy, fon of Lagus firnamed Soter, having got Egypt, and r'^^t^j (for the fecurity and defence thereof ) coveting to make himfelf mafter of Laomedon's countries, offered him at firft vaft fums of money for them ; but not prevailing that way, he fent Nicanor, one of his captains, with an army into Syria, while himfelf with a fleet invaded Phoenicia ; and fo having vanquilhed Laomedon. and taken him prifoner, he made himfelf mafter of thefe pro- Jerufalem vinces. The Jews however for Toroe time flood out againfl: "^xf ! ^"'^" him, and upon account of the oath they had taken to the former Egypt. governor, refufed to fubmit. V/hereupon he marched into Judea, and, having got pofFellion of moft of the country, laid fiege to Jerufalem . The place was flrong enough both by nature and art to have made a confiderable defence againfl him ; but that the Jews had then fuch a fuperftitious notion for the keep- ing of their Sabbath, that they thought it a breach of their law even to defend themfelves on it ; which when Ptolemy under- fl;ood, he made choice of that day to florm the place, and in the alTault took it, becaufe there were none that would defend the walls againfl him. At firft he dealt very hardly with the inha- bitants, and carried above an hundred thoufand of them cap- tives into Egypt ; but afterwards, confidering how faithful they had been to their former governors, he employed many of theni in his army and garrifons, and granted them all large immuni- ties g viz. What is written of the ram and he-goat (Dan. viii.) where the he- goat is interpreted to be the king of Grecia, who Ihould conquer the Medes and Perfians (ver. 2i.) and alfo what is written by the fame prophet of the faid Grecian king; [Ch. xi. 3.] for both thefe prophecies foretold the deflruftion of the Perfian empire by a Grecian king. Prideaux's Conne«ftion. h Some au- thors are of opinion that he died of poifon, but the true account ofthe matter is this That having fetout one long drinking-bout, he was immediately in- vited to another; at which, there being twenty in company, he drank to every one of them in their order, and pledged each of them again; and then calling for the Herculean cup (which held fix quarts of our meafure) he drank it full to Proteas a Macedonian, and not long after pledged him again in the fame : whereupon he dropped down upon the placc, and thf u fell iuto the Ywletlt fever of which he died. Pddeawx, ibid. Ch. VII. From the End of the Captivity to the coming of Chrij}, 289 ties and privileges : and thus the whole nation of the Jews was made fubjedl to the power and dominion of the kings of Egypt. Ptolemvt Philadelphus, fon and fuccefTor to Ptolemy Soter, Of the being very intent on making a great library at Alexandria, and ^^"'^'^' defirous of getting all manner of books into it, committed the Before^* care of that matter to Demetrius Phalereus, a noble Athenian, Cluift, then living at his court. > Purfuant to the king's orders, De- '■'^ ^'^' metrius made fearch every where ; and being informed, that. The ver- among the Jews, there was a book of great note, called The fi^n of the Law of Moles, he acquainted the king with it ; who, (ignifying ^^Pti^agint' liis pleafure to have it fent for from Jerufalem, and interpreters from the fame place to render it into Greek, was put in mind, that it would be in vain to expeft from the Jews either a true copy of their law, or a faithful tranflation of it, fo long as he kept fo many of their countrymen in flavery ; and therefore it was propofed to him, firft to releafe all the Jews, who, at dif- ferent invafions, had been brought away by his father, and then to fciid to Jerufalem about this matter. 1 he king approved of the propofal ; and accordingly publilhed a decree for the releafe of all the Jewifli captives in Egypt, and ordered a vail: fum of money to be ilTued out of the treafury, for the payment of thofe that had them in fervitude, as the price of their redemption. When this was done, a letter was written in the king's name, toEleazar the high-prieft, requefting him to fend the book, and with it fix elders out of every tribe (Inch as he fliould judge moft competent for the work) to tranflate it into Greek, '^i he meflengers, that were fent upon this errand, carried with them many rich prefents for the temple ; and, coming to Jerufalem, were, with great honour and refpedl, received both by the high-prieft, and all the people ; and, having received a copy of the Law of Moles, all written in golden letters, and fix elders out of every tribe (/'. e, feventy-two in all) to make a verfion of it into the Greek language, they returned with them to Alexandria. Upon- their arrival, the king, calling thefe elders Vol. II. O o to i This is the account of the afFair, as we have it in a book ftill extant under the name of Arifteasj but the learned author [Dr Frideaux] from whom we have extradled it, for very good reafons that he gives (page ii. lib. i.) fcenis to diftruft the geiiuinenefs of that book. He allows however, that there was a tranflation of the Hebrew Pentateuch into Greek, made in the time, very probably, of Ptolemy Philadelphus, but fcems to alTert that the true caufe of that tranflation was for the ufe of the Jews then inhabiting Alexandria, who. by mixing with othtr irations, had forgot their own language, and underftood Greek only ; that, at firft, the law was only tranllated, but afterwards, vvheii the prophets came to be read in the fynagogues of Judea, in the time of Anti- ochus Epiphanes, the Jews of Alexandria, following their example, were in duced to do the fame ; which occafioned the tranflation of the prophets like- vife: that Ptolemy Philadelphus, as foon as the Greek verfinn was made at Alexandria, bad, no doubt, a copy of it put up into his library, which copy continued there, but without any great notice tukcii of it, until that n )ble re- pofitory of learning, containing four hundred thoufand volumes, was acciden- tally burnt by Julius Csefar, in his wars againft the Alexandrians, forty feveu years before Chrift. 290 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part IlL to his court, propofed to each of them a queftion ; and finding, by their anl'wers, their learning and abiUties, he fent them into Pharns (an ifland joining to Alexandria) to an houfe appointed for the purpole, where they immediately betook themi'elves to the bufmefs of tranflation. As they agreed in the verfion of each period, Demetrius wrote it down : fo that, in the fpace of feventy-two days, the whole work was compleated, and after- wards repofited in the king's library ; who, for the reward of their labour, gave each interpreter three rich garments, two talents in gold, a cup of gold of a talent weight, and fo fent them home to their own country. ot the After the Jews had been about an hundred years fubjeft 0328 g;c. to Egypt, there happened a war between Ptolemy Epiphanes, Before king of Egypt, and Antiochus the Great, king of Syria ; where- Chnrt, in the Jews, whofe country lay between the two kingdoms, ^^J_^ like a fhip tofled hi a fiorm, which is battered and dalhed between Judea be- twabiU&ws, fuffered very much ; till at length, Antiochus getting comes fub- tj-,e better, the Jews fubmitted to him ; and, receiving him with his ria. ^ ^ army into their city, affifled him in the recovery of the citadel, which was then held by a garrifon of Ptolemy's army. Seleu- cus Philopater, who fucceeded his father Antiochus in the king- dom of Syria, at firft favoured the Jews, and fupphed them with all things for the fervice of the temple at his own expence. ^ But being, fome time after, informed by one Simon a Benja- mite that there were great riches in the temple, he fent his Hehodorus treafurer ' Heliodorus to make feizure of them, and bring them byatiappa- ^° Antioch : but Heliodorus, going into the temple for that rition from purpofe, and entering into the facred treafury, was flopped in plundering \^\^ attempt, by an apparition of angels, armed, as it were, to e.empe. ^jg^r^j^j j-jjg place againft his facrilegious hands. For thefe are the words wherein the hiflory of the Mateabees relates the matter : "" There appeared unto him an horfe, with a terrible rider upon him, and adorned with a very fair covering, and he ran fiercely, and fmote at him with his fore-feet, and he that «• fat upon the horfe, feemed to have complete harnefs of gold. Moreover, two other men appeared before him, notable in ftrength, excellent in beauty, and comely in apparel, who flood by him on either fide, fcowging him continually, and giving him many fore ftripes, infomuch that he fell to the ground; but being taken up by thofe that attended him, and carried off in a litter, he continued fpeechlefs, and without all hope of life for fomc time, till, at the interceffion of his friends, the high-pricft Ep[phan« V^^y^<^ fO' God for him, and fo he recovered, perfecutes NoT long after this, Heliodorus, afpiring at the crown, the Jews, murdered his mafter Seleucus, in hopes of fucceeding him ; but Eumenes and Attalus, kings of Pergarnus, obftructed his dcfign, and k 2 Maccab. iv. ) He who gave inforiTiation to Seleucus is by Jofephus caHed ApoUonius ; but this is .1 miOake; for Apollonius wa*: the governor oF Cuclo Svria and Palcfline- Prideaux's Conned, jn 2 Matcab. iiJ. 25, tzz. Ch. VII. From the End of the Captivity to the coming of Chrijl. 2oi and placed Antiochus Epiphanes, fon to Antiochus the Great, upon the Syrian throne, who pi-oved a terrible enemy and per- letutor of the Jews. For when, upon a falfe rumour of hi;i death, the people of Jerufaleni (as he was informed) had n)ade great rejoicings, he was fo provoked nt it, that immediately marching into Judea, and taking Jerufalem by force, he Hew of the inhabitants, in three days time, forty thoufand pcrfons, and taking as many captives, fold them for flaves to the neighbour- ing nations. Nor did .this fatisfy his rage, for he afterwards forced himfelf both into the holy place, and alfo into the holy of hoHes ; facrificed a great fow upon tiie altar of burnt-offer- ings ; caufed the broth, which was made of fome part of th« iielh, to be fprinkled all over the temple, to polkite it as much as poflible ; and having done this, he took away the altar of in- cenfe, the were fcorched to death, were llain with the fword. They wandered about in fheep-fkins, and goat-fkins, being deftitute, afflided, tormented. They wan- dered in deferts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. Some prin- In this terrible perfecution, fome of thofe wretched people cipal mar- yielded to violence, but many chofe rather to die than forfake ^"* the law of their God. Among the latter fort, thofe of the mofl: memorable note were Eleazar, a prime doctor of the law, and that heroine Solomona and her feven fons. Eleazar was a very aged man ; yet, when his perfecntors would have compell- ed him to eat fwine's flefii (which they forced into his mouth) lie fpit it out ; and even when fome, in pity to his age, would have given him leave to illude the fentence, by taking a piece of any other flefh, and eating it as fwine's flefh, he fcorned to purchafe his life at fo fordid a rate, defiring them to difpatch him rather than let him be guilty of dilhrnulation, and flain the hpnour of his grey hairs with fo mean an act. Nor were the feven brothers, and their mother, inferior to him in a religious courage and magnanimity : for, being put to the moft exquifite tortures to oblige them to renounce their religion, they, with a wonderful conftancy, endured all that the rage of their per- fecntors could invent, and through a fea of blood and torments (as p one exprefles it) waded to the happy port of eternal reft. SECT. n Heb. xi. 35. o The word, in our common copies, is epeirafthefan they were tempted ; but that this is not the right reading is eafy to be gathered froni this one confiderRtion, that, after two fiich great punifhments, as ftoning, and being fawn afunder, it is very proper to introduce their being tempted, which fignitics no certain punilhment at all, and is included in the other punifliments {lere mentioned. Some therefore read epjraflhefaii, fome epyoothcfan, and fome eprefrhcfan, all fignifying, they were burnt, which agrees very \ve.\\ with the (lory of the Maccabees (Ch. vi. to Ch. xii.) where they bring Eleazar and the young men epi to py k.ttnph/ego/ites aittous to the fire, and burnt them. \V>3itby's Annotations, p Howell's Hiftory of the Bible. Ch. VII. From the End of the Captivity to the coming of ChrlJI. 293 SECT. I. The Jewish State under the M a c c a bees. IN this calamity and diilrefs, God raifed up Mattathias, * a Mattathia^ priefl: of the courfe of Jehoiarib, and the liead of the family ^^"^^ ^^^ of the Afmonaeans, to alTilt and protcft his brethren the Jews, taufe. Fired with a religious zeal, like that of Phinehas, he bravely killed an apoftate Jew that was going to offer facrifice upon an heathen altar erected for that purpole : he fell likewife on the king's commifTioner that came to compel men to futh idolatry, and, by the affiltance of his fons and others that joined him, flew , him and all his retinue. After this, getting together his own fami- ly, and inviting all that were zealous for the law to follow him, he retired into the mountains, in order to make the beit defence he could : but the Jews had one principle, which, at the begin- ning of their refiiiance, had like to have deftroyed them quite ; and that was their fcrupulous obfervation of the Sabbath, even to fuch a degree, as not to elfeem it lawful to defend thcinfelvcs on that day ; whereof their enemies taking the advantage, ile- ftroyed great numbers of them, without making the leait oppo. fition : but, finding the frailty of their miflake in this particular, Mattathias and his followers made a decree (which was confirmed by the unanimous confent of all the priefts and elders among them) that whenever they were affaultcd on the Sabbath-day, it was lawful for them to fight for their lives, and to defend themfelves in the beft manner they could, which afterwards became a gene- ral rule in their wars. Mattathias, having adled the part of a brave and prudent of tiie general, was forced at lail to fubmit to the weight of an hun- '^'orld, dred and forty-fix years ; when, taking leave of his friends and ^^^f,',^^ countrymen, he exhorted them to defend their nation and re- ciuift, ligion, and declared his fon f Judas Maccabxus his fucccfTor in i^>6, &:c. the command of the forces. Tudas had no I'ooner taken the ,'^-00^ field, than having defeated the Syrians in feveral engagements, ceeds liim. and quite driven them out of Judea, he went about all the ci- ties, pulling down the altars and delhoying every where all the iitenfils and inftruments of idolatry, and then came up to Jeru- falem to recover the fanftuary out of the hands of the heathen, and to cleanfe and dedicate it anew for the fervice of Cod. s The * The courfe of Jehoiarilj was tlie firft of the twenty four couifes ol" the priefts that ferved in the temple, i Chron. xxiv. 7. t The motto which Judas had npon his ilaiidtud was the Hebrew fentcnce in Exod. XV. 11. Mi Ca.moka Baj.lim JlhovaK, /• c. Who is like uutu thee among the gods, O Jehovah? V/hich, tailing the iniiiailettcrs only (as on tlie Koman Enfign, S. P. C^. R. flood for Scnatus Populufque Rumaniis) made the artificial word Maccabi; and from hence all that fought undcrth.it flatidaid were called .vlacc.iUees, or Maccabsiins, and he, in an efpccial manner, had that name ab.>ve the relt, by way oi" eminence, as being tlicir cajnaiu. I'ri- deauji's Connection. 294 ^ Complete Body of Divinity, Part III. 1 The folemnity of this dedication was continued for eight days together : Tt was celebrated by the Jews with great joy and thankfgiving for the deliverance that God had given them ; and for the more folemn acknowledgment thereof, a decree was made, that the like fefcival (under the name of ' the Feaft; of Dedication, or (becaufe their houfes were at that time illuminated) called by fonie the Feaft of Lights, fhould ever after be annually kept in commemoration of it. God'sjudg- ii^ ti^e mean time Antiochus, hearing that the Jews had de- Antiochus" ^'^ated his forces, recovered the temple of Jerufalem, pulled down the images which he had ereded there, and reftored the place to its former worJhip, was fo enraged thereat, that he commanded his charioteer to double his fpeed, threatening as he went that he would make Jerufalem a fepukhre for the whole Jewiih nation. But, while he was uttering thefe proud words, the judgment of God overtook him ; for a great pain (which no remedy could abate) immediately feized his bowels, and not long after falling from his chariot, his body was fo bruifed, and his limbs fo mafhed, that he could proceed no farther ; but put- ting in at a town called Tabae in the confines of Perfia and Ba- "bylonia, he there betook himfelf to his bed ; and, ' having languiflied out a while under horrid torments both of body and mind, ftung with remorfes for his wicked deeds, and almoft con- fumed with rottennefs and ulcers, he concluded a life remark- able for its cruelty and God's vengeance upon tyrants. The afts After the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus Eupa- of the reft tor continued the war, and ^ by the advice of Lyfias, who had c-b^e ^^^^'^' ^^^^ ^^^ diredion of affairs, gave all the moleftation he could to the valiant Judas. But the rell of the afls of that Jewifh general, and how he warred with the Syrians, and the neighbouring na- tions that afTifted them ; how he made the firft alliance with the Romans, and through a fcene of different fuc<:efres, came at laft to fall gallantly in the defence of the religion and liberties of his country : " the fucceilion of Jonathan the brother of Judas to the command of the army, and the gallant afts he did againll Bacchides, who had flain his brother, and againft Apollonius, governor of Ccelo-Syria ; * how he deftroyed the temple of the god Dagon ; repaired the walls of Jerufalem, built caftles and fortreffes in Judea ; renewed the league with the Romans and Lacedaemonians; and at laft with two of his fons was perfidi- oufly q I Maccab. iv. 59. Jofeph. Antiq. Lib- XII- c. il. r This feftival our Sa- \\o\ir honoured with his prefence at Jerufalem, which (hewed his approbation otil. s A filthy \ilcer broke out at his fecret parts, wherein were bred an in- numer:!b!e quantity of vermin, and fuch a ftench proceeded from thence as neither thofe who attendwl him nor he himfelf could well bear; and in thi-s condition he lay languifhing and rotting till he died. Pridcaux's Connedioj). t I Maccab. v. u Ibid. ix. * Ibid. \, &:c. Ch. VII. From the End of the Captivity to the coming of ChriJ}. 295 oufly put to death == by a villainous traitor : y the fuccefTion of Simon to his brother Jonathan, and all the remarkable occur- rences of his ihort reign : ^ how he enlarged the bounds of his nation, and recovered all the ftrong holds in the country ; how he defeated the Syrian armies, and delivered his countrymen from the yoke of all the Gentiles round about them ; how by a general decree he was made prince as well as high-prieft to the Jews ; had that double honour entailed upon his potlerity ; but, not long after, with two of his fons was barbaroufly murdered by a treacherous kinfman ; » though his kingdom and priefUiood defcended to his remaining fon John, who had likewile the name of Hircanus, a bold and daring prince that enlarged his dominions, and intirely threw oft' the yoke of the Syrians : thefe, and many more worthy deeds of the Afmonsan race, are fully recorded in the ^ two books of the Maccabees, to which we remit our reader without troubling him Vv'ith vain repeti- tions. What is more fuitable to our prefent purpofe is to make fome few obfervations upon the feveral fefts of religion, that in this period of time began to make their appearance, and not long after made a confiderable figure in the Jev.ifli church. SECT. II. The Original and Tenets of the Jewish Se^s. N thofe happy times, faysCunseiis, wherein the prophets lived. When fects who, by their converfe with God, learned his will imme- ^i"^ ^«g^'=- diately from himfelf, there could no difputes arife about reli- gion ; for their authority was fo well eltabliihed that it would prei'ently have decided all diffici;lt queftions, and put an end to every controverfy. But when thefe prophets disappeared, and that fovereign authority ceafed, then every one gave himfelf the liberty of reafoning, inquiring and difputing, and by this means they wandered in the ways of vain curiofity, and fell in- to X This man was at firft called Diorlotus, bet afterwards Tryphon ; who having a delign to make away with Antiochus, and feize the crown of Syria, and forefeeing that Jonatlian would never be brought to I'utfer fo great a villany; under a pretence of putting Ptolemais into his hands, he decoyed him into the city, where he made him prifoner ; and then, uudcr a farther pre- tence of having two of his fons as hoftigea for their father's fidelity, as foon as he had got them into his pofltflion, he murdered them altogether. Prideaux's Conneaion. y i Maccab. xiii z Ibid. xiv. 6. a Ibid. xvi. b The former of thefe books is an accurate and excellent account of tilings, coming nea ft to the ftile and manner of the facrcd hiftorical writin;:s of any book extant, and is fuppofed to be compnfed by this John Hircanus, the fon of Simon, feeing he was prince and hifthprieft of the jews near thirty years, and Ixrgan bis go- vernment at the veiv time when this hiftory ends. The other, for the mo'l part (except t>iO cpiitles in the beginning of \r) is an abridgment ot the hiftory of Jafon, an Hellenill Jew of Cyrene, who wrote in Greek the hiii iry of Judas M:ccabjeu'; and liis brethren, together with their wars a^a' , a Antiochus lipi- phanes aAidfcupatorhis fyji, in five books. >^ndcaux's Conncaiop, Part li. Lib. iii. 2g6 J Complete Body of Divinity. Part III.- to darknefs. Soon after the return of the Jews from Babylon, and the full fettlement of their church again, there arofe two parties of men among them ; the one, who adhered to the written word only, were of opinion that in the obfervance of that, they fulfilled all righteoufnefs, and were entitled to the nanie of Zadikim, /. e. the righteous : the other, over and above the v/ritten law, fuperadded the traditional conftitutionsof the elders and other religious obfervances, to which, by v/ay of fuperero- gation, they devoted themfelves, and from hence, being efteem- ed more holy than others, had the name of Chafidim, i. e. the pious. So that from the former of thefe the Sadducees, and from the latter the Phai'ifees and Efl'enes feem to have pro- ceeded. Sadducees, ^^ The moft antient fed: among the Jews was that of the their origi- Sadducees, which took its name from Sadock the founder of it. This Sadock, as the Talmudick ftory is, was the difciple of An- tigonus Socho, who lived, according to the Jewilh calculation, about three hundred years before Chrifl, and ufed often to in- ■ culcate into his difciples that they ought to ferve God difm- tereltedly, and without any view of compenfation, not like flaves who only ferve their mafter for the fake of a reward : and from hence his difciples Sadock and Baithus made this wrong infe- rence, that there was no reward to be expected in another world, and confequently that the foul dies, and the body, will not rife again. Whether this miftake of the doftrine of Anti- gonus, or (as others fuppofe) the dilfolutenefs of manners, which at that time might prevail, gave occafion to the opinions of the Sadducees, but fo it was, that in procefs of time they grew tO' be very impious and deteftable. Their opi- They denied the refurreftion of the dead, the being of an- gels, and the exillence of the fpirits or fouls of men departed. Their notion was that there was no fpiritual being but God on- ly ; that as to man this world was his all ; that at his death his foul and body died together, never to live any more ; and that therefore there is nofuture reward or punifhment. They acknow- ledged indeed that God made this world by his power, and go- verns it by his providence, and for the carrying on of this go- vernment hath ordained rev/ards and punilhments ; but then they fuppofe that thefe rewards and punilhments are in this world only, and for this reafon alone it was that they worlhip- ped him, and paid obedience to his laws. All unwritten tradi- tions, as well as all written books, except the five books of Mofes, they abfolutely rejeded ; and the probable reafon why they did fo is, that they could not fo well maintain thefe opi- nions which are not fo flatly contradicted in the Pentateuch as in other facred books, if once they admitted thefe books to be canonical. All fupernatural helps to their duty they utterly denied ; c Vide Prideaux's Cojineftion. tamy and Beaufobre's Introductions. Bions. ■ Ch. VII. From the End of the Captivity to the coming of ChriJI. igy denied ; for their dodtrine was, that God had made man per- fed: mafter of all his aftions, with a full freedom to do either good or evil, as he thinks tit, without any alliilance to iiim for the one, or reftraint upon him as to the other ; and for this reafon, becaufe they looked upon all men to have an inherent power to make their condition better or worfe, according as they took right or wrong meafures, whenever they fat in judg- ment upon criminals, they were remarkable for palling the fe- vered fentences ; as indeed their general character w as, that they were a very ill-natured fort of men, churlili: and niorofe in their behaviour even to each other, but cruel and favage to every one befides. Their number was the fcweft of all the fefts of the Jews, but they were men of the bert quality and greateft eftates; and, as all thofe who were of the. oreatefl power and riches were cut off in the deftru<^tion of ]ernfalem by the Romans, it is generally fuppofed that this whole fecT. then periOied with them. Thk Pharifees were fo called from the Hebrew word Pharas, The Phari- Vv'hich fignities to feparate ; becaufe the prevailing, paflion, or ^^^s*" rather ambition of this feci was, to diilinguiHi and feparate iifelf from the rell of the people, by a greater degree of holinefs and piety, but accompanied with very much alFeftation, and abun- dance of vain obfervances. ^ At what time this fert began firil to appear, is no eafy matter to determine. Jofephus makes mention of them in the reign of Jonathan, an hundred and for- ty years before Chrift, as a very powerful body of men at that time: nor is it improbable, that their origin was fomewhat ear- lier, and that, as foon as the Sadducees difcovered their prin- ciples to the world, thefe men of different fentiments might, not long after, rife up in oppofition to them : for it is evident, from the character which the Jewifh hiflorian gives of them, that, in the main article of their belief, they were intirely re- Tiieir op:- pugnant to the Sadducees. « " The Pharifees believe in a fate, "ions. ** fays he, and attribute all things to it, but neverthelefs they *' acknowledge the freedom of man." They teach that God will one day judge the world, and pnnifh or reward men accord- ing to their deferts. They maintain that fouls are immortal, and that, in the other world, fome will be fhut up in an eternal prifon, and others fent back again ; but with this difference, that thofe of good men fliall enter into the bodies of men, thofe of wicked men into the bodies of beafls, which exaclly agrees with the famous tranfmigration of Pythagoras. Their adhe- rence to the law was fo exadt, that, for fear of violating the leaft precept of it, they fcrupuloufly oblerved every thing that had the leaft relation to it, even though the law had neither commanded no'- forbidden it. Their zeal for the traditions of Vol. II. P p the d Vid. Lamy's IntroduAion and Prideaux's Connexion. e Jof. de Bello Jud. Lib. 11. c. 12. CpS A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. the eiders was fuch, that they derived them from the fame foun- tain whh the written word itfelf, pretending that Mofes received both of them from God on mount Sinai, and therefore alcribing: an equal authority to both. They had a notion that good works were meritorious, and therefore they invented a great number of fupererogatorj' ones, upon which they valued themfelves more than upon a due obfervance of the law itfelf. Their frequent wafhings and ablutions, f their long prayers in public places, their s nice avoidance of reputed finners, their often failing and great abftinence, ''• their minute payment of tythes, their > itrid: obfervance of the Sabbath, and ^ oftentatious enlargement of • phyladleries, were all works of this kind ; which, neverthe- lefs, gained them fuch efteem and veneration, that vihile the common people loved, the greater ones dreaded them ; fo that their power and authoiMty in the ftate Vv-as cor.liderable, though generally attended v/ith pernicious confequences, becaufe their hearts were evil. T^e In conjunclion with the Pharifees, the Scribes are often mcn- mbes, tinned in the fcriptures of the New Teflament. They were not however any particular fedl, but a profelTion of men, of diverfe kinds, following literature : for generally all that were any way learned among the Jews, were, in the time of our Saviour and his apodles, called Scribes ; but efpecially thofe who by their fkill in the law and divinity of the Jews, were advanced to fit in Mofes's feat, and were either judges in the fanhedrim, or teachers in their fchools or fynagogues. They were chiefly of the feci of the Pharifees, becaufe all the learning of the Jews, in thofe times, lay in their Phariiaical traditions, and their way of interpreting (or rather perverting) the fcriptures by them ; and, becaufe they were the men that dictated the law both of church and ftate, it hence came to pafs, that lawyers and fcribes are convertible terms in the gofpel, and denote both of them the .fame fort of men. It ♦ f Matth. vi. 5, 8;c. g Luke vii- 39. h Matth. xxiii. 23. i Ibid. xii. 2. k Ibid, xxiii. 5. 1 The word PHI Jiff ery, in the Greek, iignifies a place to keep any thiT>g in ; in the Hebrew it is called Tephillim, svhiclvfignifies prayers, be- caufe the Jews wear them chiefly wlien they go to their devotion. It is a common opinion, that thefe phylacteries were long pieces of parchment, wkerc- upon were written certain palTages out of Exodus and Deuteronomy, which they tied to their foreheads, and left arm, in memory of the law; but a late explainer of the Jewilh cuftoms alTures us that they were parchment-cafes formed witb great nicety into their proper fhapes; that the cafe for the head had four cavities, into each of which they put a piece of parchment rolled up, wherein were writtten feme feftions of the law; but that whirh was for the arm had but one cavity, and into it they put one piece of parchment, v/herein four paffages of fcripture are written. Lamy's Introduftion, Lib. L c. 16. The whole of this cuftom is founded on Exod. xiii. 9- and Deut. vi. 8. but the words are only metaphorically to be underftood, as a command to have God's laws perpetually before our eyes, and his deliverances always in remembrance: it cannot be denied however, that thefe phylafterics were ge- nerally wore by the Jews in our Saviour's, and were not difufed fo late as St Jcrotue's time. Lamy, ibid. Ch. VII. From the End of the Captivity to the coming ofChri/}. 200 It is fuppofcd (with a good deal of probability) that the fed The Ef- of the ElTenes began during the perfecution of Antiochus Epi- f^nes. phanes, when great numbers of Jews were driven into the wil- dernefs, where they inured themfelves to an hard and laborious courfe of living. Philo, who gives us a full account of them, tells us that they were called Euenes from the Greek word Ojhs, which fignifies Holy^ and that there were two forts of them ; fome, who living in fociety, and marrying, though with a great deal of warinefs and circumfpeftion, inhabited villages, and applied themfelves to hulbandry, and other innocent trades and occupations, and were therefore called Practical ; and others, who living a kind of monadic life, gave themfelves wholly up to meditation, and were therefore called the Con- templative Elfcnes : but however they dilFered in their manner of life, they were both of the fame belief, and followed the fame maxims. They had not indeed the like traditions with the Pharilees, Their opi but, as they were allegories, they had feveral mylHcal books, "ions and which ferved them for -a rule in explaining the facred writintrs. P'"'"^'?'''*- •all which, contrary to the Sadducees, they acknowledged and re- ceived. They believed that God governs the world, but by fuch an abfolute predeflination of every thing, as allowed mankind no liberty of choice in all their adions. They acknowledged a future ftate, thinking that the fouls of good men went into the fortunate iflands, while thofe of the wicked werelhutup in fub- terraneous places ; but, as for the refurrection of the body, and the foul's returning to it again after they were once parted, of this they had no manner of notion. All prat5lical religion they reduced to thefe three heads: i. The love of God. 2. The love of virtue. And, 3. The love of mankind, i . Their love of . God exprefTed itfelf in their accounting him the author of all good, and confequently applying to nim every morning and night for the blellings they wanted ; in their abftaining from fwearing, from lying, and all other lins that are abhorrent to his nature ; and in their ftrift obfcrvance of the Sabbath, and all other holy rites, except facrificing : for, though they fent their gifts to the altar, yet they themfelves went not thitber, prefuming, that the fandlity of their lives was the purefl ancj mofl: acceptable facrifice to God that they could offer. 2. Their love of virtue was Ihewn in the government of their pafljons, their refraining from pleafures, their contempt of riches, their abftinence in eating, their continence, their patience, the fim- plicity of their fpeech, and the modellyof their carriage. And, 3. Their love of mankind appeared in their great benevolence, and ftricl juftice ; their charity to the poor, and liol'pitaliry to flrangers ; and there needs no other proof of their love to one another than the union in which they lived ; for they had the fame houfes, the fame provifions, the fame habits, the fame tables ; 300 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, tables; their gains were put in the common ftock; they divid- ed the care of the Tick among them ; and honoured the elder men of their fociety v/ith the fame reverence as if they had been their fathers. The form This ftriclnefs and regularity of theirs gave them a great of their ad- characler, and made it a matter of no fmall confequence t© be miflion. admitted into their fociety. For when, after a due courfe of probation, any one prefented himfelf for that purpofe, they bound him under the moft folemn vows and proteltations, " to " love and worihip God, and do juftice to all men ; to profefs *' himfelf an enemy to the v.'icked, and a friend to the lovers of '' virtue ; to keep his hands from theft, and all fraudulent " dealings, and his foul unpolluted with the defire of unjuft *^ gain ; not to ufurp upon his inferiors, nor diftinguifh himfelf " froai them by any ornaments of drefs or apparel ; not to con- " ceal any of the myfleries of religion from his brethren, nor *' todifclofe any to the profane, though it were to fave his life; ^' but to preferve the doflrine he profefTed ; the books that (< were written of it ; and the names ef thofe from whom he *' had it." This was the form of admiflion into their commu- nion, which whoever violated in any grofs inftance, was imme- diately excluded, and never received again, without the deep- eft humiliation and repentance. And if fuch was the religion and manner of life of the Effenes, we have the lefs reafon to be furprifed at our finding fome authors fo much extolling their courage and magnanimity upon feveral occafions ; as perfons, who under diftreffes and perfecutions, fuffered death, and the moft grievous torments, even with joy and chearfulnefs, rather than fay or do any thing contrary to the law of God, The Here- There was another fed: among the Jews, "' mentioned in the dians,who. gofpel, which, though of later original, may not improperly be confidered in this place ; and that is the Herodians, who, " in their main principles, were not very different from the Saddu-? cees : they fprang up, no doubt, in the time of Herod the Great, fome twenty or thirty years perhaps before Cbrift, and had their denomination from him, but upon what account it is not Whyfo fo well agreed. The common opinion is, that they looked up- palled. Q^ Herod as the promifed Meffiah ; but it is a very improbable thing that any Jews Ihould, in the time of our Saviour's mi- niftry, above thirty years after the death of Herod, hold him to have been the Meffiah, wh6n they had found no one of thefe particulars, which they expedled from the Mefliah, performed by him, but rather every thing quite contrary. " Others there- fore fuppofe that they were called Herodians, becaufe they con- ftituted a fodality, or club (as we call it) in honour of Herod, at "^m Matth.xxii. i6. Mark iii. 6. Ch. viii. 15. Ch. xii. 13. n Accordingly St Mark (Ch. viii. 15.) calls that the Leaven of Herod, which Chrift ftilcs the Leaven of the Sadducees, Matth. xvi. 6. 0 Scaliger in ainmadverti ad ^ufe- feii CiirQfl. §i Cafauboii Excrtit. S- of every enemy that was able to contend with it. Pompey, their victorious general, came not long after this into Ccelo- Syria; and, as the Maccabxan family had all along courted the alliance of Koine, thefe two contending brothers lent to him both their deputies, praying his protection and determination of the controverly between them. Pompey having heard what was faid on both fides, ordered the two brothers to appear in perfon before him, promifing that he would then take a full cog- nizance z Simon, the laft of the Maccabaean brothers, when he and his two eldeft fons were bafely nuinlered by l't«!eniy his fon in-law, was fucccedcd hy hj$ third fon John Hircanus, who dt(ln>yed the temple of tlie Samaritans, fub- dued the Idumeatis, and opened David's tomb, from whence he took },'>:>:> ta- lents. He wasfucceedcd by his r>n Aiiftobnluj, vv ho firft took upon him the title of king; and he hy his' brother Alexander Jannaeus, a cruel prince, Ihe f father of this Hircanus and Ariltobulus. Du Fin's iiiftory of the Old Tefte^ Tnent. 304 ^ Complete Body of Divinity, Part III* nizance of the caufj, and determine it as juftice fhould dired:* Wlien therefore he was come to Damafcus, Hircanus and Ari- flobulus waited upon him to receive his decifion ; and at the- fame time feveral chief men of the Jews came to remonflrate againfl: them both. The Jews pleaded, *' That it had been *• formerly the ufage of their nation to be governed by the " high-priefl; of the God they worfliipped, who without af- *^ fuming any other title adminiftered juftice to them, accord- ** ing to the laws and conftitutions tranfmitted down to them *' from their forefathers : they owned indeed that the twocon- •' tending brothers were of the facerdotal race ; but then they " alledged that they had changed the old, and introduced a *' new form of government in order to enflave the people ; *' and therefore they prayed they might not be governed by a *' king." Hircanus on his part urged, '' That being the elder *' brother, he was unjuftly deprived of his birth-right by Ari- " ftobulus, who, leaving him only a fmall portion of land for '* his fubfiftence, had ufurped all the reft ; and, as a man born *' for mifchief, pradifed piracy at fea, and rapine and depreda- *' tion at land upon his neighbours :" and for the atteftation of all this there appeared above a thoufand of the principal Jews. What Ariftobulus had to fay in anfwer to this was, ** That *' Hircanus was fuperfeded in the government by reafon of his *' incapacity to rule, and not through any ambition of his; that *' his (loth and inaftivity had brought upon him the contempt ** of the people ; and that therefore he was forced to interpofe, *' merely to preferve the government from falling into other ** hands." And for the witnefling of this, he produced feveral young gentlemen of the country, who, by the gaudinefs of their drefs, and levity of their carriage, did no great credit to the caufe they pretended to abet. Pompey Upon this hearing, Pompey referred the full determination falem"'^'^"" °^ ^^^^ matter till his coming to Jerufalem : but Ariftobulus^ perceiving that his violent proceedings were not approved of, hafted back to Judea, and (hut himfelf up in the ftrong fortrefs of Alexandrion ; which offended Pompey fo highly that, taking the army which he intended againft the Nabatheans, and fome auxiliary troops of Syria, he marched diredly againft him. Upon his approach to Alexandrion, Ariftobulus furrendered himfelf, and had a guard fet over him ; but his party at Jerufalem hav- ing feized the mount of the temple, cut down the bridges over the deep ditches that furrounded it ; and in the caule of their captive king made preparation for a vigorous defence. Pom- pey himfelf with his whole army went up againft them, and, after a fiege of =■ three months, wherein twelve thoufand Jews were a It is fuppored by the Jcwifli hiftorian, that the mount of the temple would have hardly been taken fo foon by the Romans, liad it not been for the fuperfti- ^ tionoftUe Jews ia their obfcrvation of iheir Sabbath. For though they now thowght Ch. VII. From the End of the Captivity to the co?niiig ofChnJ?, 365 were flain, took the place. After this, going up into the temple with feveral chief officers attending him, he caufed the mofl: I'a- cred parts of it to be opened, and himfelf entered alfo into the holy of holies, where none by the law were permitted to come, but only the high-priefl: once a-year on the great day of expia- tion. In the treafuries he found two thoufand talents of mo- ney, befides veffels and other things of a prodigious value, all which he left untouched : but CraflUs, foon after comina that way, not only extorted the two thoufand talents, and a large bar of gold, by way of bribe to reftrain him from farther plunder ; but, contrary to the promife he had given upon oath, ranfacked the temple all over, and robbed it of every thing he thought worth taking away ; fo that the whole of his facrilegious plun- der amounted to the value of ten thoufand talents, which is a- bove two millions of our money. *' Thus J erufalem became aprey *^ to every hungry general of Rome, and, from the aiflention *' between thefe two brothers (fays ^ the hiliorian) may be '^ dated the ruin of the Jewifti nation, with the lol's of their *' liberty to the Romans, the impofition of above ten thoufand <* talents, and the tranllation of the fovereign power, which " had ever till then defcended in the priefthood to the com- ** monalty." In this condition remained the Jewifh ftate, deprived of its Herod ob- regal power, and fubje(n:ed to the tribute and government of its [^'°\|^**^of conquerors ; until Herod, commonly called the Great, by his the Ro- intereft with Antony, and his dole practices with other great mans. men at Rome, from being tetrarch of Judea, obtained a decree for the royal dignity thereof, by the unanimous fuffrage of the whole fenate. This Herod was the fon of Antipas, a noble e Idumean, and of Cyprus, a woman defcended from an illuf- trious family ahiong the Arabians. Antipas (who to bring his name to a Greek termination, called himfelf Antipater) was a perfon of great wifdom and fagacity, and had thereby acquired fuch an interell in Judea, Arabia, Syria, and all Palefline, that he made himfelf neceflary to all the Roman governors who came into thofe parts ; and by this means had fi'equent opportunities of promoting the fortunes of his family. He had by his wife Vol. II. , Q^ q Cyprus thought it lawful to defend themfelves vigoroufly on that day; yet they would not ftir an hand to annoy the enemy, or obftrudt them in any of their works. This Pompey obferving, ordered his men to employ the Sabbath-day in nothing elfe but in making their approaches; in which the befieged giving them no moleftation, their engines of battery were brought forward, and without op- pofition placed juft as they pleafed, and fo being firtcdand played to advantage, foon made a breach in the wall large enough for an alTault Jofeph. de Ball. Jud. L. 1 c. 5. b Jofeph. Antiq. L. XIV. c. 8. c Thefe Idunieans were not Jews by birth, but only profelytes to the Jewifti religion, from the time that John Hircanus, fon to Simon, one of the princes of the Maccabees, obliged ' them to embrace it, on the peril of quitting the country thry hud polTefTed a- bout 129 years before Chrift: fo that king Herod was of the Jewifh icligion, though not of the family or country of th« Jews. Jofeph. Antiq. L, XIU- c. i :• qc6 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. Cyprus "J four fons, now grown up to maturity of age, whereof Jlis cha- Herod was the fecond. He is reprefented by Jofephus as a rader. j^^p of courage and refolution, extremely generous to ingratiate himfelf with the great ones at Rome, magnihcent in his build- ings, liberal, and even extravagant in his public expences. and in all appearance difpofed to do good to every one ; but ilill, in all his adions and behaviour, attending only to the procure- ment of his own honour and greatnefs, of which he was im- moderately covetous : and for this reafon he became very bur- denfome to his fubjedls for the f«pply of his extravagancies, and inexorably cruel and opprellive whenever he was oppofed ; a flave, in Ihort, to his paflions, and flicking at no means, how un- juilifiable foever, to attain his defires. Of the During the Roman civil war, he had always followed An- WorUi, tony's party : but after the fatal battle at Aftium, though he ^Vet'ors^' ^^^ reafon to fear that Auguftus would deprive him of his king- Chrift, dom for being fo firm a friend to his enemy ; yet he was refolv- 30, &c. e(j ^Q i^y^jt upon him as foon as he could. But as he iufpecled HhCCii^ that in his abfence fome inteftine difturbances might arife, he cation to confined his wife Mariamne, and her mother Alexandja, in the Auguftus. caftle of Alexandrion, with a ftrong guard under the command of Jofeph and Sohemus, two of his moft trufty confidents, with this pofitive order, that in cafe they found things went amifs with him at Csefar's court, they Ihould dellroy them both, (that none of the Afmonsean family might be left alive) and pre- ferve the kingdom for his fons and his brother Pheroras ; and fo he fet forward on his journey to meet AuguOus. Auguftus was then at Rhodes, where Herod, having obtained audience, as he entered into his prefence laid afide his diadem, and in his fpeech of addrefs freely owned ail he had done for Antony, and what he was farther ready to have done, had he required it of His fpeech jjim. '* This, he faid, he thought himfelf obliged to by the to "°* " friendfhip that was between them, which, would he be pleafed *' to think worthy his acceptance (fince Antony was loft, quite *' loft) he would not fail to ferve him with the fame zeal and ** fidelity." This Herod delivered with fuch an intrepidity that Caelar, pleafed with the fpirit of the man, caufed him to put on his diadem again, accepted of his friendfhip, and con- firmed him in the kingdom of Judea. He puts Herod, being highly pleafed with this good fuccefs, returned his wife to ^ome with much joy : but on his arrival found all his felicity death. foured with the troubles of his own family. « Mariamne, the wife that he loved moft, having bribed the fecret out of Sohe- mus, d The eldeft was Phafaelus, the third Jofeph, and the youngeft Pheroras. He had alfo by the fame wife, a daughter called Solonie, -w ho by her intrigues was continually creating divifions in the family, whereby fhe very oft perplex- ed her brother Herod's affairs, and yet maintained an intereft with him to the laft. Prideaux's Connexion, P. U. L. VII. eVide Du Pin and HowelF* Hiftorjr. Cfa. VII. From the End of the Captivity to the coming of ChriJ}. 307 mus, conceived thereupon fuch a ftrong hatred and averfion to her hulband, that ihe not only refufed his embraces with fcorn, but (concealing the true caufe of her refentnient) was perpetu- ally upbraiding him with the murder of her own relations, and the meannefs of his birth and extraftion ; infomuch that one time he could hardly forbear laying violent hands upon her. This opportunity his filler Solome, her implacable enemy, took to fend in his butler (whom fhe had before fuborned for that pur- pofe) to accufe the queen of having tempted him to give the king poifon ; whereupon he ordered her favourite eunuch (with- out whofe privacy he knew flie did nothing) to be put upon the rack ; but all he confefled was, that fomething Sohemus had told Mariamne was the caufe of her being out of humour. Upon hearing this, Herod fell into a rage of jealoufy, and fup- pofing that Sohemus would never have been induced to betray this fecret to her, but at the price of an adulterous converfation, he ordered him immediately to be put to death ; and then call- ing together a council of his own friends, and accufing her of an intention to take away his life, had her condemned, but with- out a delign to hallen her execution. Solome, how ever, know- ing very well her brother's temper, and fearing, that, fo long as Mariamne lived, he might eafily relapfe into his former fond- nefs, urged the neceflity of her fpeedy execution, and had that influence over her brother, that he commanded her immediately to be put to death ; but he loon repented of his ralhnei's ; for after his rage was quenched with her blood, his love revived, and the conlideration of what he had done hlied his mind with the agonies of remorfe (which almoll ran him diftraded) and regret for her lofs as long as he lived. A GREAT part of the rell of his life was fpent in a<^s of cruelty; His other for he put to death Collobarus, hufband to his filler Solome, ^^^^^ ^*^s-. his two fons, Alexander and Arillobulus, whom he had by Mariamne ; and not long before his own death, another fon, named Antipater, whom he had by a different wife. Macro- bius, a writer of the Vth century, tells us that among the in- fants whom he put to death at Bethlehem he flew a young fon of his own, whereupon Auguflus made the refleflion, that it was better to be Herod's hog than his fon. It is not however fo likely that Herod, at that age, Ihould have a fon lb young as thefe innocents were, as that the death of Antipater, together with that of Alexander and Arillobulus, might give the occalion for this farcafin. But whatever opinion Auguflus might have of Herod, it is His idola- certain that Herod had no fmall veneration for him, or at leall trous com- carried his compliment very far : for he not only built two P '""'^^** f (lately cities, and called them both after his name, but, in the very city of Jerufalem, built a theatre and an amphitheatre ; and r Scbafte and Cjefaria. 2o8 ^ Complete Body of Divinity » Part III, and in the honour of Auguftus celebrated games, and exhibited fliews, which gave great difguft to the Jews, as things incon- fiitent with the legal conflitntions and religion of their country. Nay, to fuch a degree of compliance proceeded he, as not only to fet up the Roman enfign, which was the figure of an eagle, over one of the gates of the temple ; but even to raife a fump- tuous temple all of white marble, in memory of the favours which Auguftus had conferred on him ; by which idolatrous flattery he alienated the hearts of the Jews, and raifed fome confpirators againft his life : but to recover their good opinion again, and make fome amends for thefe breaches upon their law, in the nineteenth year of his reign, he formed a defign of rebuilding the temple, which by the length of time (having now ftood five hundred years) as well as the violence of ene- mies, was in a very decayed and ruinous condition. In two years time he got together all proper materials, and, in nine and an half more, had it fo far finiihed as to make it fit for di- vine fervice, though, to carry on the out-buildings, workmen were continued about it till the time of our Saviour's miniftry and longer ; in which fenfe we find the Jews telling him, e for- ty and fix years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? When the temple was finifhed, it was con- fecrated with great pomp and folemnity, but ftill retained the fame name, and was called the fecond or latter temple, becaufe this rebuilding of Herod's was only by way of reparation, not of reftoration, and new ereftion after a long and total demoli- tion, as was the cafe of the temple which Zerubbabel raifed. The time WHILE thefe things were doing in judea, the temple of Ja- ofthe birth nus was fhut at Rome. In times of war, the cuftom was to have of Chrift. its gates laid open, but fhut in the time of peace ; and it was now the fifth time fmce the building of the city that the gates of this temple had been fliut. The firft time was in the reign of Numa ; the fecond after the end of the firft Punic war; the third after Auguftus's vidory over Antony and Cleopatra ; the fourth upon his return from the Cantabrian war in Spain ; and the fifth in the twenty-fixth year of his reign, and the thirty- third of Herod's ; when a general peace, which lafled for twelve years together, prevailed all over the world, and was a proper prelude for ufhering in the coming of the Prince of Peace, even Chrift our Lord, who, according •> to the exafteft computation, was born in the four thoufandth year from the creatiop, falling in exactly with the time where ^ an old tradition of the Jews places the beginning of the days of the Meffiah. CHAP. gjohnii. 20, hThat of Archbilhop Ufher. i The tradition fays, that the world was to lafl: fix thoufand years; two thoufand years of which were be- fore the law, two thoufand undar the law, and the laft two thoufand under the Mefliah; which tradition is of great antiquity among the Jews, and ftill retains much veneration, as one of the moft authentical of this fort. Piideaux's Con- nexion, Part iX. Lib. ix, Chap. VIII. The State of Religioft, 8cc. 309 CHAP. vm. The State of Religion, and of the Idolatry, and Poly- theifm of the Heathen World# WE have hitherto confidered the ftate of the Jewifli church, and gone through the feveral remarkable occurrences re- corded in the holy fcriptures, relating to the people of God. It remains now, that we take a fhort view of the reft of man- kind, and inquire a little, how thofe nations that were aliens to the covenant, anddeftituteof divine revelation, conducted them- felves in matters of religion. * That the wifeft, and moft thinking part of the heathens. The wifeft acknowledged but one eternal, independent, and felf-exiftent J'^f.'''^"?. Being, the Creator and Governor of the univerfe, from whom all o„e cod other inferior divinities derived their effence and original, is mani- only, feft from the teftimony of both heathen and chriitian writers : and by what fteps they might arrive at this knowledge, the apoftle to the Gentiles has, in fome meafure, informed us ; *> For the invifible things of God, fays he, from the creation of the world, are clearly feen, being underftood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead. They might argue, from the light of nature, that, as it is a contradidlion for any thing to be the author of its own exiftence, fo all the vifible parts of nature were produced by fome caufe ; and, confidering the fpacioufnefs of their extent, and curioufnefs of their texture,, by fome infinite and almighty caufe ; that, as lefs than an in- finite and almighty Being was able neither to create, nor govern the innumerable parts of the univerfe, fo more than one Being of that kind, would both befuperfluous and repugnant ; fuper- fluous, becaufe one would have all imaginable perfe Se- neca, and not long before him "^ Ariftotle, rejeding a multitude of deities, refolve the difference of God's names into this, that they fignify to us the variety of his operations, and the different exertments of his power : for, though the Pagans worfhipped feveral deities (as » St Auftin informs us) yet their philofo- phers declared, that thefe were only fo many different names of their great god Jupiter, who was called in the air, Juno ; in the fea, Neptune ; in the earth, Pluto ; in hell, Proferpina ; in war, Mars ; in vineyards, Bacchus ; and in the woods, Diana. Yea, all thofe other inferior gods and goddeffes, fays he, fuch as Apis, Lucina, Cunina, Fortuna, and the reft of that numberlefs company, were but one and the fame Jupiter, " who, according to the various benefits that he bellowed upon mankmd, was wor- fhipped under different names and appellations. ** It is of no *' great confequence therefore, concludes " Seneca, by what " name you call the firfl nature, and the divine reafon, which ** prefides over the univerfe, and fills all the parts of it ; he is " flill the fame God. He is called Jupiter Stator, not, as hif- *^ torians fay, becaufe he flopped the Roman armies as they *' were flying, but becaufe he is the conitant fupport of all *' Beings. Some may call him Fate, becaufe he is the firft ** caufe, e Plat. Polit. Vol. II. f TimaEus Locrius, de Anima Mundi. g Plat. Epift, 43' ad Dionyf. h Stoici dicuiit non efle nifi unum Dcum, & unam eandenique effe poteltatem, &c. Serv. in TEii. iv. i Tot appellationes ejus poffunt efle, quot munera — Omnia ejudiem Dei nornina funt, varie utentis iiia poteftate, De ■Benef. Lib. iv. c. 7. k Ets Ae aor. pohooriywos efti, &:c. De Mundo. I And yet, fome other fathers look upon boili the Grecian and Roman Jupiter as no other than an arch devil, and a topical god ; and accordingly deride his vror-f fiiip as the adoration of a man that was born and buried at Crete. Tennifon pf Idolatry, c. 5. raQuid? Ulque adeo majores noftros infipientes & csECoa fuiire credendum eft, ut Bacclium, 8c Cererem Deos putarint? Imo utiuni De- um credebant, cujus ilia munera, illse fandiones effent. Aug. de Civit. Dei, Lib. iv. n De Bcncf. Lib iv.. Chap. VlII. The State of Religion, kc. -ii ** caufe, on which all others depend : we Stoics call him fome- *' times Father Bacchus, becaufe he is the univerfal life that *' animates nature ; Herailes, becaufe his power is invincible ; *' Mercury, becaufe he is the reafon, the order, and the eternal *' wifdoni : you may give him as many names as you pleafe, ** provided you allow him but one fole omniprefent principle, " filling all things that he hath made." But, though Tome of the wifeft heathens are fuppofed to ac- Jhemoie knowledge one fupreme God only, and him to worfhip, accord- beii°'vcd a ing to his feveral powers and perfeclions, under different titles plui-ality. and denominations ; yet it will be very irrational and groundlefs to infer from hence, that there never was any fnch thing as po- lytheifm in the world. The philofophers indeed, who were forced to comply with the follies of the people, might, in excufe of fuch their compliance, pretend, that fuch a multitude of dei- ties as the vulgar owned, was either the parts of the univerle, which, among the Egyptians, was looked upon as a god, or the feveral powers and properties of the one fupreme God, under a variety of appellations : but certainly the common people had no fuch refined thoughts ; they feldom looked farther than the objects of fenfe : and therefore we need lefs w onder (as » one of the moft plaufible apologills for the Gentile religion owns) if men of grofs ignorance efteemed wood and ftones divine images, fince they, who are unlearned, look on monuments that have infcriptions on them as ordinary ftones ; efteem valuable tables as pieces of common wood ; and books of the beft learning, they regard no otherwife than fo many bundles of paper. That the generality of the heathen world was guilty of proved idolatry, and polytheifm, in the common and moft obvious ac- from fcnj>- ceptation of the words, is evident from the moft authentic re- ^^^^' cords, p In the Old Teftament, how pofitively, how exprelsly is the worlhipping a diverfity of gods related? How frequently are the gods and idols, belonging to feveral nations, mentioned? Kow exaftly are the rites, and diftinct circumftances of their adoration defcribed, and the folly and infatuation of their wor- ftiippers fet off, i with all the keennefs of derifion and farcafm > In the New Teftament, among many more, we have one pafTage that fully determines the matter, where the apoftle, fpeaking of the Pagan idolaters, tell us exprefsly ' that they changed j:he glory of the incorruptible God, into an image made like to cor- ruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beafts, and creeping things — and worfliipped and ferved the creature more than the Creator, who is blelled for ever : inftead of true, they enter- tained falfe conceptions of God, and worfliipped corruptible creatures in the place of the incorruptible Creator. All forts of o Porphyr. apud Eufcb. dc Prscpar. Evang. Lib. iii. c 7- P Edwnrds, oftlie Idolatry of tl-.e Gentile World, q Vid. Jfa, Isi. 7, &C. CJi. Ixiv. 9, &c. Hab. ii. 20, Sv'c. r Rom. i. 23, 25. authorities 2J2 A Complete Body of DtvinUy 4 Part III.. of created beings, even thofe that were moft contemptible, had the fame veneration that was due to the glorious Majefty of heaven ; yea, they were worfhipped by them more than God himfelf: or if /»dr^ may be rendered bejides, as well as more than, then it is evident that the Pagans worihipped the true God, and falfe gods too ; /. e, though fome of them were per- fuaded of the exiftence of one fupreme Being ; whom, in fome fort, they reverenced and adored ; yet, befides him, they wor- ihipped other beings, and fet up a vaft number of other gods, who were no more than creatures : and therefore the fame apoftle, who well underftood the nature of Gentile idolatry, tells the Lycaonians, when he found them going to offer facrifice to him and Barnabas, that the intent of his preaching the gofpel to them was * to turn them from thefe vanities, /*. e. the wor- Ihip of the many idols, to which they were addided, to that of the living God who made heaven and earth, the fea and all things that are therein. And other SUBSEQUENT to the apoftle^s time we find Juftin the philofo- pher (once a Pagan, and then writing to the Pagans) reminding them of their images and idols of all forts, and teUing them plainly, • that they not only called thefe gods, but ferved them, and worfliipped them as fuch ; and that they hated the Chrif- tians, becaufe they were of another opinion ; and Clemens of Alexandria, another convert from Paganifm, recounting the reafons of the firfl: invention of heathen deities in thefe words : *' Some contemplating the ftars, ' fays he, and admiring their *' courfes, made them gods ; fo the Indians worihipped the *' fun, and the Phrygians the moon : and others, collefting *' with delight the fruits of the earth, deified corn, which they *' called Ceres, and the vine, which they called Bacchus. ** Some being afraid of punifhments, diftrefTes and calamities, ** found out particular deities whom they either took to be ** means of fending them upon mankind, or of diverting them, ** The philofophers, following the fancy of the poets, made ** gods of the pafiions, as love, hope, joy ; others put the vir- *' tues into the number of the gods, reprefenting them by *' outward fhapes ; and the common people, laftly, did gene- *' rally deify thofe from whom they received any confiderable *' benefit or advantage." So that, according to thefe mens account, not only the common people, but even their philofo- phers and men of the beft underftanding made no fcruple of letting up a multiplicity of gods : we need lefs wonder then, fays Laftantius, (who was a good judge in the cafc^ as having himfelf been bred up in heathenifm) if barbarous nations and the ignorant people erred in adoring the ftars ; feeing the very philofophers of the Stoic feft (who were the prime moralifts as well * Afts xiv. 15. s Taut a Theout kalette toutois douletittt teutois j^ro/kjtidtff &c. ad Doognet. Epift. t Exhort, ad Geat. JRora, i. 22, Chap. VIII. The State of Religion, &ic, ^ 313 well ?.s raturalifts) were of the fame opinion, and thought that all the heavenly bodies which are in motion were to be rec- koned among the number of the gods. And indeed, if we look a little into the firft inftifution ofThefirft idolatry and polytheifm, it will appear mbre than probable that Jnrtitution it was not the ignorant rabble, but fome wiler, or, at leafl, ^^' ** ^' fome pretendedly-wifer head that firft formed the deflgn of in- troducing more gods than one into the world. The apoftle has , given us good grounds for this conjedure : for, having obferv- ed in what manner divine homage was paid to the moft con- temptible creatures, he immediately denotes the men that were the occalion of it ; they were fuch, fays he, as profefl'ed them- felves to be wife ; which plainly relates to the phiiofophers (as moft commentators allow) who made great pretences to reafon, and were profelfors of wifdom ; and are therefore very appofitcly upbraided with their folly, in making brutes their gods, and, by their practice and perfuafion, encouraging the more ignorant fort to do the fame. In what age of the world the number of gods began to mul- in what tiply upon the face of the earth, is not fo eafy to determine : "Se of the " the filence of the facred hiftorian however is a good prefump- ^ tion, that, in the times before the flood, there was no wor/liip of ftrange gods, fmce it can hardly be fuppofed but that fo foul a fxn (had it been in pradice in thofe early days) would have met with the fame animadverfion from Moles, as X the violence and injuftice wjiich then fillecl the earth, or » the unclean mix- tures of the fons of God with the daughters of men. The old world was doubtlefs > wicked enough to deferve the deftruc- tion which God brought upon it ; but, from the frefti memory of the creation, from the frequent apparitions of God and an- gels, who might remind men of their duty ; from the long lives of the Antediluvian patriarchs who would not fail to inculcate ro their families what themfelves were abundantly alfured of, the almighty power and unity of the Godhead ; from thefe, and perhaps feveral other caufes to us unknown, it might come to pafs, that the worlhip of idols was, either not in being, or, at leaft, not in frequent ufe in this infancy of the world. Some indeed, from a paflage in Mofes, ^ then began men to profane (as they would render it) inftead of tranllating it (as our church has done) to call upon the name of the Lord, have been inclin- , ed to refer the origin of idolatry to the days of .Enos : but, " fmce the name of God may be profaned by fundry other means, as well as by idolatry (as it was certainly profaned be- fore, and with great irreverence abufed in the wicked families Vol. II. R r of u Qiijd mirum, fi aut Rarbiri, aut ifupeiiti homines In adoiandis Aftris errAriijt, cum etiam philofophi Stoicae dilciplinac in cadem fuerint opinione, ut •>ninia vseleflia, quas nioveiitor, iu deoruni uiiinero hubcnda efle cenfiicnnt ? Jnftit. Lib. II. t Teiiniriii), (.t'Idolatry, Ch. iv. xCJtn.vJ. 11. y Ibid. rcr. 12. X Gen iv. 26. aTcnnifoii, of Idolatry. OI4 "w ^ Complete Body Divinity. Part III, of Cain and Lamech) though the Hebrew word may fometiines fignify to profane, yet •'in this place there is no reafon to en- force fuch an expolition ; efpecially fincc the Chaldee interpre- ter feems to come nearer the fcope of the paflage, and has given us a fenfe that feems unexceptionable : In thofe days men be- gan to make fupplications in the name of the Lord, i. e. the number of famihes increafing in the days of Enos, they appoint- ed more pubhc places for God's fervice, in which, at fet-times, they met together, and, in a more folemn congregation, wor- jhipped their great Creator. From Cham therefore, rather than from Enos, the learned have derived the beginning of idolatry ; and they fuppofe that this man's heart, being deeply depraved before the deluge, was but the more hardened by his wonderful efcape from it ; fo that it might be juft with God to give him up to the farther feducement of his fenfuaUty, and to the vifible power of the old ferpent, who for a time might be chained do\\ n by the curfe in paradife, but was now let loofe again for the pu- nilhment of thofe whom God's fevere and miraculous difcipline did not cleanfe of their wickednefs and folly. This date however ' fome have accounted a little toofoon, and therefore placed the beginning of idolatry at the confufion of languages, and under Belus, rather than Cham ; reaionably prefuming, that the dif. ference of mens dialeds, and the diftinftion of their opinions concerning God, might not improbably commence together. £y whom. But be the precife time of the commencement of idolatry what it will, it was the wife men of the world (as we faid before) the reafoning philofopher, or cunning prieft, who found his advantage in it, that having formed the defign, addrefled to the multitude with a grave appearance, * and prevailed, as we may imagine, by fome fuch way of arguing as this: '* We are all ** aware, ye fons of Noah, that rehgion is our chief concern, *' and therefore it well becomes us to improve and advance it *' as mucTi as poffible. We have, indeed, received appoint- ^' ments from God for the worfhip which he requires ; but if " thefe appointments may be altered for his greater glory, who *' doubts but that it will be a commendable piety fo to alter " them? Now our father Noah has inftituted us in a religion, ^' which, in truth, is too fimple, and too unafFefting. It di- *' redts us to worfliip God abftradledly from all fenfe, and un- " der a confufed notion ; under the formality of attributes, '* as power, goodnefs, juftice, wifdom, eternity, and the like ; '* an idea, foieign to our affeiStions, as well as our comprehen- " Hon : whereas, in all reafon, we ought to worfliip God more " pompoufly, and more extenlively, and not only to adore his " perfonal b Tlie vcvrA [CA.t/j] in the conjugation wherein it is here ufed is never taken for profir.irg, but be^hin'mg. c Cj ril. Alex, contra Julian. Lib. 1. d Youns's Sermons, Vol. Ui Chap. Vill. The State of Religion, kc. 0 3I5 " perfonal and eflential attributes, but likewife all the emana- *' tions of them, and all thofe creatures by which they are cmi- ** nently reprelentcd. We ought therefore (if we will be " wife) to worihip the hoft of heaven, becaufe they are eini- *' nent reprefentations of his glory and eternity. We ought *' to worfiiip the elements, becaufe they reprefent his benig- " nity and omniprefence. We ought to worfhip princes, be- *' caufe they fuftain a divine charafter, and are the reprefenta- ** tives of his power upon earth. We ought to worjhip men *' famous in their generation, even when they are dead, becaule " their virtues were the diliinguilhing gifts and communications *^ of God, Nay, we ought to worlhip the ox, and the fheep, *' and whatever creatures are mofl beneficial, becaufe they are *' fymbols of his love and goodnefs ; and, with no lefs reafon, " the ferpent, the crocodile, and other animals that are noxious, *' becaufe they are the fymbols of his awful anger." This feems to be a fair opening of the projedl, and, by fome fuch cunning harangue as this, we may fuppofe, that the firft con- trivers of idolatry drew in the ignorant and admiring multitude. And indeed, conlidering the natural ftupidity of vulgar minds, and the ftrong inclinations they have, in matters of abftrufc con- fideration, to help themfelves by fenfible objects, it feems not lb difficult a talk to have drawn them in. « Those who worlhipped univerfal nature, or the fyftem of ^"'' ■**''*' the material world perceived firft that there were excellencies in the feveral parts of it ; and then to make up the grandeur and perfection of the idea, they joined them altogether in one divine beins;. Thofe who laboured under a weaknefs and nar- rownefs of imagination diftributed nature into its feveral parts, and worfnipped that portion of it v/hich was accounted of molt general ufe and benefit. Ufefulnefs was the common motive ; but it was not the only motive that inclined the world to idola- try : for, upon farther inquiry, we ihall find that whatever ra- vilhed with its iranfcendent beauty, whatever affrighted with its malignant power, whatever aftoniflied with its unconmion great- nefs, whatever, in Ihort, was beautiful, hurtful, or majeltic, be- came a deity, as well as what was profitable for its ufe. f The fun, they perceived, had all thofe powers and proper- ties united in it. Its beauty is glorious to behold ; its njotion wonderful to confider : its heat occafions different efleds, bar- rennefs in fome places, and in others fruitfulnefs ; and the im- menfe globe of its light appears highly exalted, and riding in triumph, as it were, round the world : the moon, they law, fupplied the abfence of the fun, by night gave a friendly light to the earth, and, befides the great variety of its phafes, had a wonderful influence over the lea, and other humid bodies : the flars they admired for their height and magnitude^ the order of their e Ternifor, of Idolatry, f Ibid, 2j6 a Complete Body of Divinity. PartllL their poiiiions, and celerity of their motions, and thence were perfuaded, either tl^iat fonie celeitial vigour or other refided in them, ,or that the fouls of their heroes and great men were tranflated into them when they died ; and upon thefe, and fuch like prefuniptions, they accounted all heavenly bodies to be dei- ties, though the iun, in all places, was the moft univerfal and popular idol, s The force of tire, the fubtiky of air, the ufe- fuinefs of water, as well as the terror and dreadfulnefs of thun- der and lightning, gave, rife to the confecration of thefe ele- ments. The fea itfelf, fwelling with its proud furface, and joaring with its mighty billows, is fuch an awful fight, and the earth bedecked with all its plants, flowers, and fruits, fuch a lovely one, as might well affect a Pagan's veneration : when from the like motive, their beneficial, hurtful, delightful, or a- ftonifhing properties, beads, birds, fifnes, and infects came at firlt to be adored. The pride and pomp of the great, and the lov/ and flavilh difpofitions of the mean occafioned, firft the flat- tery, and then the worlhip of kings and princes, as gods upon earth. Men famous for their great adventures and exploits, the founders of nations or cities, or the inventors of ufeful arts and fciences were reverenced while they lived, and, upon their death canonized. The prevailing notion of the foul's immorta- lity made them imagine either that immediately they afcended up to heaven, and there fettled their abode in fome orb or other ; or that they hovered in the air, whence, by folemn in- vocations, and by making fome ftatue or image refemblant of them, they might be prevailed with to come down and in- habit it. The rife of The author of the book of Wifdom ^ has given us a full images. account of the firll inftitution of Ifatues and images, and upon what occafions they were probably fet up. A father, fays he, afflicled with untimely mourning, when he hath made an image of his child, foon taken away, now honoured him as a god, which was then a dead man ; and delivered to thofe that were under' him ceremonies and facrifices. Thus, inprocefsof time, an ungodly cuftom, grown ftrong, was kept as a law, and graven images were v^orlhipped by the commandment of kings. When men could not honoiir in prefence, becaufe they dwelt far off, they took the counterfeit of his vifage from far, and made an expreXs image of a king, whom they honoured, to the end, that, by this their forwardnefs they might flatter him that was abfent, as if he wercprefent. Alfo the fingular dihgence of the artificer did help to fet forward the ignorant to more fuperllition ; for he, peradventure, v/illing to pleafe one in authority, forced all his fkill to make the refemblanceof the beft faihion ; and fo the multitude, allured by the grace of the work^ took him now for a god, wlio, a little before, was but honoured g Herbert's anticnt Religion of the Gentiles, b Chap. xiv. 1 5. Chap. Vin. The State of Religion, kc. 317 honoured as a man. ■ Thus the fplendor and artifice of the (latues themfelves, together with the juggles and impoftures of the heathen prielts, teiring flrange (lories of their original, or their difcovery, inclined the world to an opinion that what was primarily a tncmorial of a departed child, or heroe, a remem- brancer of a diftant friend, or governor, or a monument of fome remarkable accident in the world, was the receptacle of fome ftrange divinity. When ftatues came firfc to be idolized, is not fo eafy a mat- When f^ft ter to determine; but, that they were of very early inintution worihiji- is manifeft froia that palTage in fcripture, where we are told, ^^ that k Radiel Hole away her father Laban's images. Laban lived in Chaldea, or in Mefopotamia which belongeth to it ; and, as this is the firft inftance of idolatry that we have upon record, it is prefumedby fome learned men, that thefe images, or ' Teraphim, which Rachel Itole, were images in miniature, made in imitation of the (latues of fome great AfTyrian kings, who very probably were the firft heathen gods : and from hence they farther conjecture, that the firft images of this kind were thofe which (as Laclantius tells us) Ninus ercded in remem- brance of his father Belus (whom the fcriptures call Nimrod) and that thefe were the carlielt objects of profane worlhip. Chaldea, no doubt, was the mother of idolatiy : there Abra- ham dwelt ; and from thence he was ordered to depart, that he and his pofterity might be refcued from the general impiety, and taught to worihip the true God only : but then, whether the images of great men were the firft objeds of the Chaldean adoration, is a matter much to be queftioned. "' The Chalde- T"^ r'"^ ans, it is certain, by reafon of the plain and eafy fituation of jj^j " their country, which gave them a larger profpecl of the heaven- ly bodies than thole who inhabited mountainous places, had a great conveniency for aliroiiomical obfervations ; ahd, accord- ingly, were the firlt people that took any great pains to im- prove them. And as they were the firft aftrologers, fo learn- ed men have obferved that « they had no other gods but the ftars, to wliom they made ftatues and images : thofe v/hich they made to the fun, w ere of gold ; to the moon, of (ilver ; and fo to the reft of the planets, of the metals dedicated to them. They fuppofe therefore, that thefe aftrologers, lying on the For what ground, or elfe on flat roofs all night to make their obferva- ^'^^ ''"• tions, fell in love with the lights, of heaven, which, in the clear fii'mament i Tcnnilbn, of Idolatry, k Gen. xxxi. 19. 1 Thefe Teraphim (according to Kircher'i Ocdip. tgypt.J were the lame idol with the Egyptian Serapis, /. e. au .image like a little child wrapped up, without hands or teet- The Jewilh Rab- bins agree with him thus far, that they were images of human iliape ; but they add farther, that tliey were Talifmanical iraagei, made by alhologer*, and ca- pable of celcftial influence : and tlicrcfurc Rachel ftole them from her father, 'fay they, Icrt, by their infpcCtion, he Ihould difcover which way Jacob took his flight. 'Seldtn de Dii» ^yut Syutiig: I. m Stiliinfiflccl'» Orig. Sacrsc u Maimoa. More J^er. P. W. c 29. 2 1 8 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part Wl, firmament of thofe countries, appeared fo often, and with fo much hiftre ; and perceiving the conllant and regular order of their motions and revolutions, they thence began to imagine that they were animated by fome fuperior fouls, and therefore deferved their adoration. And as the fun, excelling all the reft, feemed to command the greateft obfervance ; fo the gene- rality of learned men have, with good reafon, imagined that this bright luminary was the firft idol in the world. Job very probably (as " we have had occaiion to take notice be- fore) lived in Jacob's time, yet it is plain (by his aflerting his innocence in this refpecT:) that this kind of idolatry was cuftoma- ry in his ilays ; h If I beheld the fun, when it ihined, or the moon walking in brightnefs, and mine heart hath been fecretly enticed, or my mouth hath kifled mine hand, /'. e. if, with de- votion of foul, or profefTion of outward ceremony, I have wor- ihipped thofe heavenly bodies, which, by their height, motion, and luftre attrad the eye, and ravilh the fenfes ; this alfo were an iniquity to be punilhed by the judges ; for I (hould have denied the God that is above. Mofes, conducing the chil- dren of Ifrael into Canaan, gives them intimation what kind of idolatry was current in the land, and a flrict caution, ^ that when they lifted up their eyes to the heavens, they fliould arm their minds againlt that enchantment to which they were fub- jetl by the fenfible glory of the fun, moon, and ftars : and therefore, the account which ' the hiftorian gives us of thefirfl: commencement of idolatry feems not improbable, viz. That the moft antient inhabitants of the earth (meaning thofe that lived foon after the flood, and particularly the Egyptians) con- templating on the world above them, and being aftoniflied, with high admiration, at the nature of the univerl'e, believed that there were eternal gods, and that the two principal of them. were the fun, and the moon, the firft of which they called Ofiris, and the fecond Ifis ; ' fmce, of late years, when the ma- riner's compafs directed men to a new world in America (peopled no doubt from feveral parts of the old) many different idols were found in particular places ; but as for the fun, it was the general deity both in Mexico and Peru. The great But whatever the firft idol might be, it foon multiplied to S^dols * ^^^ a prodigious number, as to fill both heaven and earth with its progeny ; infomuch that there were few parts of the crea- tion but what, in one nation or other, had their worfhippers. « They worihipped univerfal nature, the foul of the world, an- gels, devils, and the fouls of men departed, either by them- felves, or in union with fome Oar or other body. They wor- ihipped the heavens, and in them both particular luminaries and conftellations ; the atmofphere, and in it the meteors and fowls of oVifl. page 43. pjob xxxi. 26, Src. q Deut. iv. iQ. r DJod. Sicn)> Bibl. Hiftor. L. lil. c. n, 5 Teanifon, of Idolatry, v Tcnnifon, ibid. Chap. VIII. The State of ReUgiort, kc. ^lo of the air ; the earth, and in it beafts, birds, infc61s, plants, groves, and hills, together with divers foflTils, and terreflrial fire. They worlhipped the water, and in it, the fea and rivers ; and in them fiflies, ferpents and inred:s, together with fuch creatures as are doubtful inhabitants of either element. They wor/liip- ped men, both living and dead, and in them the faculties and endowments of the foul, as well as the feveral accidents and conditions of human life. Nay, they worlliipped the images of jnen, the images of animals, even the mofl hateful, fuch as fer- pents, dragons, crocodiles, &c. images of feveral parts of very different creatures, and reckoned all fuch figures and reprefen. tations, though never fo ftrange and monllrous, facred and ve- nerable. Thus they ranfacked heaven and earth, and in every place found out fomethingto tranfmute into a god. But amidft this ftrange variety, « there were few nations Some ir^- but what had one god peculiar to themfclves, to w hich they paid "°°* ^^'^ a more than ordinary veneration. And * though this nod niidit P^""^"^"'*'" 'mill ir -I 1 I • 1 ^ OIlCSi pollibly be the fame with what other nations worfhipped ; yet, by the difference of the name and title which they gave it, and the diverfity of rites and ceremonies wherewith they addreflcd it, they made it at left feem to be a diftind. deity. Thus the holy fcriptures acquaint us, that riot only '■ every nation made gods of their own ; that y Aftoreth was the goddefs of the Zi- donians, Chemofli the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, &c. but that every city and large town had a particular deity, to which, in a peculiar manner, they were devoted. This the exprobration of the prophet, , 2 according to the number of thy cities, fo are thy gods ; and this the vaunting fpeech of Rabfhakeh implies, => where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Se- phervaim, Henah and Ivah? As much as to fay, that the gods who prefided over thefe feveral cities, and were worfliipped and invoked by the inhabitants thereof, could not deliver them out of the hands of his mafter the king of AfTyria. Nay, fome nations were fo hv infatuated this way as not to be content with the particular deities of their own countries, but were eager to import from other climates, and to worlhip all the gods they could any where hear of. ^ The Romans, for their fuperftition in this refpcd, were very remarkable : for, as they conquered all nations, they adopted their religions : and u Unicuique enim provinciac, ct civitnfi, fuus Deus eft, ut Syriae Aftarte, ut Arabiae Difares, &:c. Tertul. Aj)ol. c. 24. Indc aileo per univerfa impcria. provincias, oppida videmus fiagula, fucrornm ritus Gcnd'ufS habere, et Dcos colere municipes, ut Eleul'inios Cerercm. Phryga^ mtTj^nau) mati-eni, Epidauros j?-.fculapium, occ. Mia. Felix. • Thus the Oliris of the P>gyptians, the Baal rf the Phoenicians, the Moloch of the Amurites, the Belusofthe Syrians, tl'o Mithras of the Perfians, and the Apollo of the Greeks and Romans, are fup- pofed by fome learned men to be one aud tlie fame deity, and to fignify the fun. Herbert's Religion of the Gt'itiles. x 2 Kings xvii. 29. y i Kings xi.3;. ^Jer. ii. 28. a 2 Kings xviii. 34. b £d wards of the Idolatrv of the Gentile World. O20 ^ Complete Body a f Divinity, Part III. and having built a pantheon or temple for all the gods' of the whole world, they made their worfiiip at univerfal as their em- pire. Nor were the Athenians in the leaft inferior to them : they had their then xenikoi, llrange gods, or gods of other countries, in every corner of the city ; and that they might be • fure to take in the whole complex of them, they ere6ied altars (as not only ' the apoftle, but <» Pagan authors have likewife told us) to unknown gods, infomuch that Athens was but one great temple, or (in the language of « a very confiderable writer) ail altar, all facrifice, all confecration to the gods. The sbfur- . AMONG fuch a number of deities, their importers, or firft in- diticsthey flit-^^tej-s, ran themfelves into frequent abfurdities. ' They r^n into* . . . confounded the fpecies of things, and mixed fometimes the mofl monftrous and inconfiftent together, in order to conftitutc a god of an uncommon m.ake. e T^ hey confounded the fexes, and made one and the fame deity fometimes male, fometimes female, and frequently both. They confounded the officers of their gods, and made them many times prefide in very different and incompatible provinces. Apollo, for inilance, was their god of mufic, and yet at the fame time they made him the god of phy- (ic, the god of poetry, and the god of wifdom, and all this to be reconciled with his being the fun. Diana was the goddefs of woods and forefts, yet, under the name of Trivia, Ihe fome v/ay related to the itreets ; ihe is macje to be the moon or queen of heaven ; fometimes an huntrefs ; fometimes a midwife under the name of Lucina; and again, under the title of Kecate, no better than a witch. What can be more abfurd and ridiculous than the reprefentation they gave of tlveir god Dagon, who in his upper parts was a man or a woman (for they made him of either fex) and below a Hlh ; of the Libyan Jupiter " with his ram's head and a pair of crooked horns ; or of the Egyptian Anubis, who was worihipped in the fhape of a man's body, • with the head of a dog ? This Ihews the fatal progrefs of error, and into what wild conceits men naturally deviate, when once they forfake the worihip of the true God, and by the deception of the devil >= become vain (as the apoUle expreifes it) in their imaginations,, and have their foolilh hearts darkened. The ortTer This prodigious number of deities, giving fuch a latitude to IctiU a a- mens wild conceits, occaiioned great perplexity among their Vv'orfliippers, and raifed difputes about their preference and pri- ority : c Afts xvii. 23. d Paufan. in Attic. Lucian. in Pbilcpat. & Laert. in Epi^ menide. e Zenoph. de Repub. Athen. f Edwards of the Idolatry of ihe Gen- '■■Je World g Among ihe AfTyrians, Syi-issns and Greeks, the Pagan j^ods were «)f both fcKe«s : Bacchus in Ariilides's oration is made mate and female, and f;» is Jupiter in one of Orpheus's Iiynins : among the Romans, Fortune was ac- <'ounted not only a goddefs but a god; and among the Pagnu Siaxons, Fri^a, v.'liich was their Venus, (to whom the fixth day of the week, called Fiiday, M-as dedicated) was an idol reprefentiiig both fexes. Edwards, ibiJ. h Stat Tortis Cornibiis Ammon, l.uc. Lib. IX. i Oninigenurnqr.e Dcum monflra, ct. Latritcr A'.i'abis. Virgil,. ^n. viii. k Rom. i. 21. mor tlitni Ch. VIIT. The State of Religion, kc. ^ai ority : * fo that to end thefe difputes, it was concluded by the Romans and others, that feme fiiould be eftabhfhed as Dii ma- jor wn gentium, much fuperior in power and dignity to the /)// minorwn gentium, who were but called Heroes and Half-gods : not but that the former were only men canonized after their death, as well as the latter ; but the diftance of time, wherein they lived, which increafed the Tories of their atchievenients, as well as the long courfe of devotion which in fucceeding ages had been paid them, railed them above the reft, and in the ge- neral eUeem gave them a pre-eminence. What the number of this order was is not fo well agreed on, fome makir?g them but twelve (fix males, and as many females) and others ' twenty ; and what their feveral ac'tions and adventures were, would be an endlefs work to recount : our prefent purpofe leads us ra- ther to confider by what ways the heathen niythology concern- ing them might poihbly arife. Now, though the chief caufe of this may be imputed «> to Thehea- the fanciful humour of the firlt writers that appeared in the ^',"" ^^' world, the poets who took delight to difguife all antient (lories „ "enc^'t under fables, wherein they were fo loil: as never to be reco- arofe; vered afterwards ; yet it feems apparent to any diligent inquirer, that, n either by taking the idiom of the oriental languages in a literal and proper fenfc, or by altering the names of the antient tradition, and fubfiituting others in their own language of the like importance ; either by attributing what was done by the anceftors of mankind to fome perfons of their own nation, or by afcribing the anions of feveral perfons to one who v/as either the firft or the chief of them ; thefe antient authors did by degrees corrupt the original account of men and things, and changed it into the heathen mythology. That they had fome knowledge of the writings of Mofes is ProbaWj manifeft from the plain footfteps of fcripture-hillory which are f'"'^™ ^crip- . difcoverable in their fidions. • The Saiui-n, the oldeft of their '"'^ '''^" gods, who was the fon of heaven and earth, once in great power, but afterwards depofed and forced to abfcond, agrees exactly with the account we have of Adam's creation, his do- minion in the golden age of his innocence, his lofs of it by his folly, and hiding himfelf from the prefence of the Lord for fear and Ihame. Ihat Tubal-cain gave firft occafion to the name and woriliip of Vulcan, has been probably conceived both from the great affinity of the names, and from Fubal-cain's being called p an inftrudlor of every artificer in brafs and iron. llie Vol. II. S f ftory * Herbert's Religion of the Gentiles. 1 Their names arc Janus, Jupiter, Saturn, Genius, Mercury, Apollo, Mars, Vulcan, Neptune, Sol, Orcus, Bacchus, Terra, Ceres, Juno, Luna, Diana, Minerva, Venus and Vefta ; twelve males and eight females. Herbert, ibid, m .Stillingfleet's Orig. Sacrse. n This and the folloning means of occafioning their mythulogy, the learned Stiilingfleet has illuftrated by feveral inftances. Grig. SaciJe. p. 365, S^c. o Stiilingfleet, ibid, p Gen. iv. 32. 2^2 A Compute Body of Divinity. Part III. ftory of Prometheus, and his forming mankind, relates to the memory cf Noah, from whom the world was re-peopled ; Bacchus's being twice born, Teems to denote -his prefervation after the flood ; and the double face of Janus, wherewith he looks both forward and backward, is not fo fit an emblem of any thing as of Noah's feeing two ages, one before and the other after the flood. It is no vain conjecture that the me- mory of Jacob's long peregrination and fervice with his uncle Laban, was preferved under the ftory of Apollo's banilhment, and being a Ihepherd under Admetus ; and that the memory of Jofeph in Egypt was preferved under the Egyptian Apis, has been Ihewn with a great deal of probability i by feveral learned men : fo that from thefe, and many more inflances that might be produced, we cannot but conclude with ' a very judicious inquirer, that this wonderful agreement of heathen mythology with the fcriptures, is a convincing argument that the one is a corruption of the other, and that many of their Tories came from thence, though by the change of names and other proper inverfions, the firfl: compilers of them gave them a different drefs, to fuit them to their own meridian. Thus we have inquired into the firft inflitution of heathen idolatry, and from what probable occafions it might arife ; into the great number of their gods, and the very confufed accounts they give of them; and have nothing more to fay upon this argument, except it be what relates to the rites and ceremonies The man- wherewith they ufed to worship. That thefe fictitious deities «erofwor-had temples and altars erefled to them in great variety, and ac- th'^fe'^^d c°'"^'"g ^o their refpeclive natures, is too manifefl to need any proof; * only the Perfians, Scythians, and Tartars, who wor- Ihipped the fire and earth, had no flrudlures, at leaft none made in any formal or folemn manner. What they ofl'ered to the terreftrial gods was laid upon the bare ground ; v hat to the infernal was offered in ditches or pits made in the ground ; and what to- the celeftial in places raifed above the earth, ;. e. altars, and thefe fometimes fet upon hills and mountains. Their manner of worlhipping was moft commonly with their heads covered, but on fome occafions bare ; often lying proftrate, and fometimes (landing barefooted ; running fometimes about in frantic fits, with hideous and confufed outcries : and at others, exercifmg great cruelty, and cutting and flafhing themfelves, (as ' we read Baal's worfl)ippers did) with knives and lancets, till the blood gufhed out upon them. The firft.fruits were a com- mon oblation to their deities ; but the chief part of their wor- fhip q Vofiius de Idol. Lib. I. c ag/Krch. Ocd. Egypt. .Syn. 3. C 5. and Tennilbn of Idolatry, who proves it in this luethod, i . That jMofes was the anticnt Egyp- tian or Arabian Bacchus 2. That Bacchus was the Egyptian Ofiris And, 3. That the antient Egyptian Bacchus or Ofiris was no other than Aji-i, p. 126. r Ex mirabili illo confenfu, vel caecis apparebit, prifcos labulariun architcftos a fcriptoribus facris niulta nnUuatos. Bochart, Cana«n. s Edwards of the idolat.-y of the Geutilc World. 1 1 liioss xyiii. 28. Chap. VIII. The State of Religion, Sec. 222 fhip confided in facrificing animals : and this they did out of a real perfualion that their gods were pleafed with their blood, and were nourilhed with the fmoke and nidor of them ; and therefore the more coftly they thought them the more accept- able, for which reafon they ftuck not fometimes to regale them with human facrifices. Some things indeed were offered in common to them all ; but for the generality they had their dif- tinct facrifices. To Apollo was offered a bull ; a goat and a tiger to Bacchus; a boar and a wolf to Mars; a fhe-goat, and fometimes a young heifer to Minerva ; a dove to Venus ; a peacock to Juno ; and a barren cow to Proferpine, &c. Each of thefe gods had rites and myfteries of a peculiar nature ; and to gain an admiiHon to the moft fecret of them, their votaries after a long courfe of penance (for the Perfians were to under- go a dozen forts of torments, fome greater, fome lefs, before they fitted themfelves for the niyfieries of their god Mithras) had certain ° Symbols and forms of words given them as a badge and token of their profefTion, which none but their own fra- ternity were acquainted with. The fealb and other folemni- Their ties, in honour of their gods, were mixed with a great deal of feafts. lewdnefs and intemperance ; nor were they thought to be duly performed, unlefs they were attended with riot and debauchery, and fometimes with cruelty and bloodihed. The Bacchanaha and the rites of Cybele, the mother of the gods, were always celebrated with gluttony and drunkennefs : on this occafion * one of their great moralifts allows of intemperance, and thinks it a very fit and becoming thing to drink to excefs at the feafts of that god who is' the giver of wine. The SaturnaUa were riotous times among the Romans, wherein (as * Seneca com- plains) a licence was given to all public luxury and uncleannefs. The Lupercalia (which were the fealls of the god Pan) were folemnized by naked men ; thofe of Flora by the other fex in the fame condition ; and (to name no more) in the myfteries and ceremonies of Ceres, as well as the rites and facrifices of Bacchus, fuch inhuman adlions and barbarities were committed, y that the obfervation of them was prohibited at Rome by a po- fitive decree of the fenate : for where thefe and fuch other fo- Icmnities were allowed of, the Plalmill fpeaking of thelfraelites has acquainted us in what manner they were performed ; ^ they were mingled among the heathen, fays he, and learned their works, infomuch, that they worlhipped their idols, which turn- ed u With allufion to thefe Symbola among the Pagans, the learned author of the Hiftory of the Apoftlc's Creed, fuppofes that that fyftcm of faith was called by the Dame of Symbi'lum ; and upon this occafion, lias given us a brief ac- connt what fome of thefe fymbols were, both mure and vocal, p- 1 1. as thofe of Ceres more efpecially are mentioned by Arnobius, Clemens of Alexandria, and Julius Firmicus. * Pjnein de eh mcthen outc alhthi pou prepei plen en te tou Qinoniontos Theou hearts. Plato de leg. lib. vi. x Jus Luxuriae Pub- );ca; datum eft. Ep. xviii. y Liy. Kill. Lib. lix. c. Q. & Val. Max. Lib. vi. A, i'lal. tvi. 35, 8cc. 3^4 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. ed to their own decay : yea, they offered their fons and daugh- ters unto devils, and flied innocens blood, even the blood of their Tons and daughters, whom they offered unto the idols of Canaan, and the land was defiled with blood : for fuch as their gods were, fuch were the ceremonies of their worfhip, lewd and riotous, bloody and brutal. Let us now proceed a little farther, and fee whether the cafe is at all amended with relation to the . prefent ftate of idolatry in the heathen world. A fumma- ry of the antient idolatry. In thcEsft- Indies. Th« pre- fent idola- try of the SECT. I. Of the prefent State of the Heathen Idolatiy. HE Gentiles of old (as we Ihewed before) did, mod: of them, acknowledge one fupreme God, the firfl: and uni- verfal caufe of all things, and to him they made their iuppli- cations and vows : but then they imagined likewife that he did not rule by his immediate providence, but by feveral orders of inferior beings, as his fubftitutes, and lieutenants. • They favv that the pride or policy of their princes (in order to create a greater awe and reverence) made them withdraw from the ma- nagement of affairs, appear but feldom in adions themfelves, and commit the reigns of government to their miniftfrs ; and thereupon they fuppofed that it comported beft with the ilate and dignity of God, not to concern himfelf with the govern- ment of the world, but to leave it intirely to his fubilitutes. Upon this prefumption, ^ they were eafily induced (next to the fupreme God) to give divine worfhip, firfl to intelledual fub- fiances of an heavenly nature, v/hom they called Gods, whe- ther they were fubflances feparate from bodies, or the fouls of orbs and flars ; next, they addi-effed to intclleftual fubflances united to aerial bodies, which they called Daemons, and thought worthy of divine worfliip, as being the mediators bet\\een the gods and them ; in procefs of time, they came to worfhip the fouls of fuch as had diftinguiflied "themfelves by their ufefulnefs to mankind, and thefe they called Heroes, as being raifed to an elevation above this prefent life ; and, in the conclufion, tliought it not amif's to pay the like honour even to the feveral images of thefe beings, or of other parts of the creation, as fup- pofing them to participate of a fuperior nature, either fiom the influence of heavenly bodies, or the inhabitation of fome fpirit. Tliis, in fhort, feems to, be the flate and progrefs of antient idolatry, which we come now to compare with the prefent ; beginning (where it is chiefly predominant) in the Eafl. The Chinefe, ' in general, worlhip the fupreme God, the king of heaven and earth, or rather the eternal mind, which (as a Tennifiin, of Idolatry. Jiiodexji JMory» b Til. /i^uinas ceiit. Gent. Lib. iii. c Salmon's Chap. VIII. The. State of Religiorj, kc. 325 (as they imagine) animates the wholr creation; but him they fuppoie ■^ to govern the univerfe by a vicegerent, whom they call Laocon-Tzanty ; by the fun, which they account an eter- nal fpirit ; and by another divinity, named Chanfay, whom they fuppofe to have dominion over all lliblunary things. To thel'e fpirits, « and the three principal minifters employed under them, together with the heavens, and all the heavenly hoft, the fouls of their anceflors, and of fuch as have been the authors of any notable invention, they prefent oblations, and rehgions worfliip; only with this diftinclion, ' ^ that the king alone facrificcs to celefhial bodies, the fun and ftars, &c. the lords and grandees to terreftrial, to the mountains and lakes, &c. the gentlemen and of- ficers to the; four feafons of the year, &c. and the commonalty to their houfehold-gods, and tutelar angels. In their temples, £ they have three remarkable idols fet up for the public ufe : the imagre of immortality, which they worlhip in the form of a monrtrous fat man, fitting crofs-legged, with his breall open, and an huge prominent belly : the ima'ge of pleafure, about twenty foot high ; and between thefe, another large image of thirty foot, gilded all over, and adorned with a crown, and rich apparel, to which they pay a particular adoration, and cajl it the great King Kang, Lelfer images are innumerable, not only in the temples, but in the ftreets, and other public places. Every one has his Jos, or houfehold-god, but they fometimes ufe them very coarfely ; for if they have prayed to them any confiderable time, and find no efFedt of their prayers, they not only upbraid them with ncgledf, but very often drag them through all the kennels of the ftreets : however, if in the nieaa time, they happen to obtain what they aiked, they fet the idoi in its place again, fall down before and adore it, excufmg their ignominious ufage of ic, and (to make it more propitious for the future) they walh, and paint, and gild it over afrefh. They confecrate temples to dxmons, who (as they fancy) are confined within ftatues ; ^ and have, particularly, a little ifland dedicated to the devil, where they facrifice iblemnly to him, under the name of Camaflbno, and where the vellels which pafs by make an offering to him of whatever they have on board, and throw it into the fea, to prevent his anger, i The Banians believe ttiat there is but. one ("upreme Cod, Of the P.-. whom tliey call "^ Parabrama, which, in their language, fignifies '"^''s- abfolutely perfect, cxilbngfrom himfelf, and free from all corrup- tion : but then they fay, that he has committed to Brama the ^ rare d Mandelflu's Travels into the Jntlifs, Lib. il e The three niinifters, or coadjutors in the goverr.meiit of the world, arc, Tanquam, Teiquani, and 1 znjquaiii; wliereof the firtl prcf.olci over the air, «n«J Hi^kes it rain ; the It- cond, over the generation of men, er.d the produftioii of fruits iiiid animals ; and the third has the government of the ftr Modern, and Salniou's iVlodcrn Hiltory. h Atlas Ueosr. iModcni. i Bartcli de Vita ^ Geft Xavcrii, Lib i. k i\iau.ia- flu, ibid. '" -126 -^ Complete Body of Divlnky. Part III, care of all things concerning religion ; to Wiftnow, another of his Tons, the care of mens rights and neceffities ; and to a third, the power over the elements and human bodies. > Thefe three they reprefent by an image » with three heads rifmg out of one trunk, and make their addrefies to them as the ciiief difpenfers of divine favours. But becaufe they imagine that God created the devil, on purpofe to puniih, and to do mifchief to mankind, they therefore worlhip him likewife, and have their temples filled with the reprefentations of him, in ftatues of all kinds of metals and materials. The figure, under which they ufually reprefent him, is dreadful to behold. Out of its head (which is adorned with a triple crown, in the faihion of a tiara) grow four horns ; out of its mouth come two large teeth, like the tufk of a wild boar; and its chin is fet out with a great ugly beard. Under its navel, between its two thighs, comes out another head more ghaftly than the former, having two horns upon it, and from its mouth thruding out a filthy tongue j and (as an addition to all this ghafdinefs) inftead of feet, it has paws, and behind it a long cow's tail. This figure they fet upon a table of ftone, which ferves inftead of an altar ; on the right-hand of which ftands a trough full of water, wherein thofe that intend to do their devotions, walh and purify them- fclves ; and, on the left, a box or cheft, for the reception of fuch offerings as they are minded to make to the » Braman, or priefl of the place that is in waiting, of the ja- The Japanefe, though they acknowledge a fupreme Being, panel*. , ji/hich dvvells in the higheft: heaven; ° yet admit of feveral other inferior gods, whom they place among the flars ; though, it muft be owned, they do not much worfhip and adore them. What they chiefly worfliip and invoke are the gods whom they fuppofe to have the fovereign command of their country, and the chief direction of its produce, its elements, its animals, &c. , and who, by virtue of their power, can more immediately affeft their prefent condition, to make them either miferable or happy in this life, and, by their alliftance and intercefTion, obtain re- wards for them, propoitionable to their deeds, in that which is to come. Of thefe gods of their own country, they make mention of two fuccefllons ; the firft, they fay, was that of the feven great celeftial fpirits, who lived in the mofl antient times of the fun, long before the exiftcnce of men and heaven, and inhabited the Japanefe world (the only country, in their opi- nion, 1 Mandelflo fays that tliey fometimes call him Wiftul, and fometimes Etwa- ra. Mandelilo's Travels into the Indies, Lib. I. m Some are of opinion that this idol with three heads, reprcfents their three great philofophers, Confufius, Xequiam, andTanzu. Rofs's View of all Religions. n The Bramans, who are the priefts among the Banians, malce it their boaft that they came out of the head of their god Brama. jMany other creatures, they fay, were produced out of his arms, thighs, feet, and other ignoble parts; but their peculiar privi- lege was to be born of the brain of their god. Mandelflo, ibid, o Engeibcr-" tu5 Kcinpfcr's Hiftory of Japan. Chap. VIII. The State of Religion, Sec. 327 nion, then exifling) many millions of years. The feventh and laft: of thefe celeQial fpirits, whofe name (as they fable) was Ifanagi, begot of his divine confort Ifamani, a fecond fuccefTion of divinities, called the SuccelTion of the five Teneitrial Deities, who lived and governed the country of Japan a long while, and of whofe adventures and knight-errantries, their defeats of giants, dragons, and other mongers, they tell many ridiculous ftories. But befides thefe inviiible deities which they call by the names of Sin and Canii, fignifying fouls or fpirits, they have an infinite number of pagods ; e and, among thefe, s one of a prodigious fize in a (lately temple at Meaco, and another at Tencheda, ' no lefi famous for other extraordinaj-y qualities, have the principal efteem and adoration. Their temples which are curiouQy carved and gilt, and dedicated fome to the devil, and others to apes, rivers, and fiflies, have many frightful figures in them, and in that dedicated to Chamis, one of the heads of their feds, they have as many idols as there are days in the year. The Siamefe believe that there is one God who created the Or the Si- univerfe ; ' but at the fame time they are perfuaded that he ^''''^^'^' has under him feveral other gods, by whom he governs the world. The god whom they worfljip with the higheft devo- tion, they call Sommona Codom, and of him they tell this ro- mantic ftory ; — ' that he, being the king of Ceylon, beftowed all his eflate in charity, and even killed his wife and children, and gave them to the Talapoins, i. e, the priefts of the place, to feed upon ; that before he entered into blifs, he had ac- quired a prodigious llrength, and was able to work miracles ; could enlarge his body to what fize he pleafed, and then re- duce it to fo fmall a point as almoft to be invifible ; that he had two principal difciples, Pra Molga, and Pra Scarabout ; that Pra Molga, at the requeil of the evil genii, overturned the earth, and took hell-fire in the hollow of his hand, with a defign to extinguifli it ; but, finding himfelf not able to do it, he begged the aifiilance of Sommona Codom, who, apprehending that men would abound in vvickednefs, if the dread of the pu- nifhment p Salmon's Modern Hiftorj. qThis idol, which is of copper, reaches up »o the roof of the temple : its chair, according to Sir Thomas Herbert, ii feventy foot high, and eighty broad : its head big enough to hold fifteen men, and its thumb full forty inches round : by which we may malce a judgment of the whole. Salmon, ibid. r The Bonzes, /. e. the priefts of that place, pretend that every new moon their god appears in human fhape to a virgin, whom at that time they bring into the temple, all illuminated with golden lamps, and place before the great image; when, on a fudden, the light* are miraculoufly put out, and fomething in human fliape immediately embraces, and fometimes impregnates the young damfel. But whether this be done by one of the prieftj, or by the phantom they adore, is left to the reader to conjcfture. The girl however, after this adventure, is highly honoured by priefts and people, and (as if Ihc were infpired) takes upon her to refolve the mod difficult queftious that are propgundcd to her. Salmon, ibid. t Mtndelflo's Travels, t Salmon, ibid. 328 A Complete Body of Dhhiity. Part III^ nifliffient were once removed, refufed to grant it him. This and abundance more of the Hke nature the deluded people be- lieve, and accordingly place tiie image oF this their favourite deity \v\Ci\ his two diiciples on the fame altar, and behind him feveral other (latues reprefenting the officers of his court, to whom they addrefs their vows and fupplications. Tliey are of opinion that the dead have power to affiit or torment the living ; " and are therefore very careful and magnificent about their burials. The priefls are hired to ilng in the room, on pretence of teaching the fouls of the deceafed (which they fup- pofe to (land about the chamber) the road to heaven ; and, as they believe therafelves commonly tormented by their appari- tions, they carry provifions to their tombs, in order to appeafe them, and give alms to the priefts, as efteeming charity the be ft ranfom for the fins of the deceafed. and other The people- of Peru hold an eternal fucceflion of worlds people of without creation, and a multiplicity of gods to govern them : to " ■ thefe they offer up their petitions fonietimes ; but, in all their calamities, theLr firft addreffes are to the devil, to whom they make their vows, and pundually perform them ; and to whom^ at their meals, before they eat any themfelves, they throw over their ftoulders part of what they have by way of oblation. Thofe of Bengal worlhip the river Ganges, and are fo befotted as to think that whoever at the point of death drinks of its water, ihall immediately be tranflated into paradife. Thofe of Goa, bcfides feveral idols of horrible afpefts, pray to the firft thing they meet in a morning all that day, efpecially if it be a hog ; and every new moon falute its appearance with fuppli- cations on their bended knees : and, to finifh the account of this part of the world v/ith the people of Narfinga and Bifnagar, here is an idol whereunto pilgrims in great numbers refort, with ropes about their necks, or knives flicking in their legs and arms, which, if they happen to fefter, are accounted holy. This idol is every year carried about in proceffion, with virgins and mufic going before it ; vmder its chariot-wheels the pil- grims flrive to be cruHied to death, and whoever are fo, have their aflies kept as facred rcliques. Its votaries cut off their fle/li, and let out their blood, by way of offering : and thofe of the female fex make no fcruple of proftituting themfelves, in order to procure money for its maintenance. Of the From the idolatry of the J^^^ei'^ nations we proceed to that Tartars, ^f ^^ Tartars (a people now fubjecl to the empire of China) * who are faid to acknowledge one God, the maker of all things, and the author of all worldly bleflings and punifliments ; but yet, u Atlas Geogr. Modern- * Unum deum credunt, quera credunt cfTe fafto- rem omnium vifibilium &r invifibiliuro, & credunt euni t»m bonorura in hoc mundo, quam poennrum efie faijlorem ; uon taraen orationibus, aut Laudibus, aut Kitu alieno ipfum colunt. Joh. a Piano Caprini Lib. de Tartaris. Ghap. Vlir. The State of Religion, tc. 329 yet, inftead of acIdrefTihg him, " they have a kind of inferior deity called Itoga, whom they believe to be the god of the earth, and him they worlhip with thegreateft folenmity, though their adoration generally terminates in fecular advantages. They worlhip likewile the fun and moon as the authors of all the noble producHiions of the earth ; and, though they do not be- lieve that there is an hell, yet they are perfuaded there are de- vils, and evil fpirit^ which afflicl and torment people m this life; y and therefore endeavour to appeafe them with rich prefents , and cofily facrifices. One fort of idolatry peculiar to this na- tion, efpecially to thofe who live in the eaitera parts of it, is their worfhipping a living man, whom they call Lama, and to whom they pay fucli a fuperititious veneration, that the great- eft lords elleem theml'elves happy, if they can, by rich prefents, obtain fome of his excrements dried, which they put into a golden box and wear about their neck, as a certain prefervative againft calamities of all forts. In a fecret part of his palace, bedecked with gold, filver, and precious (tones, and illuminated with coftly lamps, the man is ihewn, fitting upon a (tately throne, and drelfed in robes exceiTively rich, to receive the ado- rations of thofe who come from all parts to prollrate themfelves before him, and humbly kifs his feet. They call him the Eter- nal Father ; and, that he may be thought immortal, and, in fome raeafure, anfwer his name, his prieils take care to have one m readinefs, as like him as poihble, to fet up in his Ifead as ibon as he dies ; and burying the corpfe privately, carry on the impofture to a miracle, and make his votaries believe that he really lives for ever. From the Eafl: we come to the Wedcrn parts of the known IntheWeft world, and, if we take a Ihort view of fome of the moft cobfider- in^'ic"- able nations, we fiiall find that their idolatry is much of the ^.nttLu- fame Go:i3pl5xion. ^ In Virginia, the Indians tliat itill remain try of Vir- unconverted to chriftianity feem to have fome fenfe of one fu- S'-'-''^* p/eme God, who has been, as they fay, from all eternity ; but then they affirm, that, when he firft purpofed to make the world, he made other gods of a fuperior order to be his inlh'uments in the future creation ; and, after them, the fun, the moon, and ftars, by whofe influence thefe firll-created gods were, in a good meafure, to govern the world. They have no notion of a pro- vidence, and therefore they neither fear, nor worlhip the I'u- preme God ; ^ but the devil they think mull be pacified, for fear he lliould ruin their health and plenty, and be always vifuing Vol. II. T t .them X Pau'.us Venetus, de Res- Orient L. 1. t. 29. y About forty leagues from Cafan there is a place called NemJa, amiclft the fens, whither the Tai tars ^o in pilgrimage to do their tlevotion ; iiml they believe that thole who go thither empty handed, and carry no prefent to the dovil (who, as tht-y imafilne, has his principle refidence in the brook Shntkfchem, only becaiifc its rapidity hin- ders it fnim being frozen) lliall l.in;',uilh, and pine away of. fome long and in- curable tlifeafe. Ukai ias's fravi-l;, into 1 ai tary. z Harriot'^ defcription of Virginia, a ^.tlas Geograph, Ant:isi:t timi ^iodeni. 3^0 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III. them with thunder and flornis, &c. and therefore thej' make no Icruple to offer up young children to him. 1 heyhave idols in abundance, but a great part of tlieir devotion, with regard to them, confifts in howling, and dancing about fires, with rattles in their hands : in beatino- the ground witli flenes, and ofterine tobacco, deer-fuet, and blood, on their altars, which are com- monly made of ftone. •' Their notions of another ftate favour' of Mahometifm ; for to the good their priefts proniife perfect plcafiire, fine v/omen, and an eternal fpring ; but thofe that are bad, they threaten with lakes of fire, and torments infiicled Canada, by a fury, in the fhape of an old woman. In Canada, « the na- tives believe that there is an Almighty God, the creator and fupporter of all things, whom they call the great Spirit, or Mailer of Life, fuppoling that he contains, appears, a£ls in, and gives motion to every thing ; for v/hich reafon they pretend to adore him in Vv'hatever they fee, efpecially what is fine and cu- rious, as the fun, and flars, &c. Kvery thing, however, that furpafTes their underftanding, they call by the name of Genius or Spirit ; and of thefe they imagine there are t\vo forts, fbme good, the caufe of all fortunate, and others bad, the authors of all unlucky events that befal them. To the evil fpirits they never facrifice living creatures, but only fuch p-oods as they have from the French for bevers ; and when they facrifice, the air muft be ferene. Then every one lays his offering on a pile of wood, and, when the fun is high, the children make a ring, and burn the pile, while the warriors dance and fing, and the old men harangue the evil fpirit, and prefent him with pipes of tobacco, lighted at the fun : and in this manner they continue, dancing, Tinging, and haranguing till fun-fet, only that, at cer- Ilorida. tain intervals they fometimes fit down and fmoke. In Plorida, ^ their great idol is the fun, which, once every 'year, they wor- iliip in this manner. They fill the fliin of a flag with fruits and fweet herbs, and fo adorning its horns and neck with garlands, place it, with the head towards the fun, upon the trunk of a tree; and then kneeling down, pray to the fun to blefs them ■with a continuance of fuch fruits as they offer unto him. Be- fore any engagement, they turn with great reverence towards the fun, begging of it to grant them fuccefs, which, if ihey ob- tain, they return folemn thanks, and, by way of acknowledg- ment, facrifice their own eldeil fons, knocking out their brains with a club. Peru. ' In Peru ' they generally own one fovereign lord, and maker of all things, whom tliey call Pachacamac, or wonderful Creator of heaven and earth. To him they offer what they efleera nioft precious, and pay fuch a profound veneration, that both their kings and priefts enter his temple with their backs towards the b Atlas Geograpl). Antjent and Modern, c Ibid, d Ibid, e GarcilifTo de la Vega, dans le CwinmenUJic F-oyal Yhcas, L. II. c. i. • Chap. VIII. The State of Religion, kc. 331 the altar, and focome out again, without daring to turn about, and look upon his image : but, together with him, they worfhip the fun, by reafon of the benefits which the world receives from it ; the moon, as wife, and fifter to the fun ; and tlie ftars, as her daughters, and fcrvants of her houfe. Among theftars, they have great refpeft for the planet Venus, which they call The Page of the Sun ; a great awe for thunder and lightning, as the executioners of jultice ; and a great veneration for the rainbow (which their \ncas or kings made their coat of arms) as the ilfue and produ6iion of the fun. ^ liuman facrifices are generally prohibited ; but, upon more folcmn occafions, fuch as the licknefs, or coronation of their king, tlieir entering upon a war, and public fupplications for fuccefs, they facrihced children, from four to ten years of age : and (to finilh the account of this part of the world with the Pagans of Mexico) though they un- Mexico, doubtediy have a notion of one fupreme God, th^ maker and preferver of the univerfe ; yet all their vilible worihip centers upon idols, of which they have multitudes, fome of gold and other metals, and fome of wood and flone ; but among thefe, two of diftinguilhed note ; the one, made of wood, but curioufly adorned with gold and jewels, reprefcnts the fun, and therefore is feated in an azure-coloured chair, to Ggnify his abode in the iky, and has an high tuft of feathers, tipped with gold, on his head, to denote his brightnefs and glory ; and the other, Mhich they call the God of Repentance, made of black fliining (lone, has in his left-hand a plate of gold, burniihed like a looking- glafs, in which, as they fancy, he obferves all worldly tranfac- tions ; and in his right, a rod, a quiver, and four darts, for the punilhment of all criminals ; and therefore of this idol they iland in great awe, for fear it ihould difcover, and take cognizance of their crimes. They facrifice to devils, and (as s an author, who dwelt in the place, tells us) have feveral oratories, or dark I'oufes, full of idols, great and fmall, which they bathe and waHi in blood, even the blood of men, of which they ilied fuch quan- tities, that the walls of the houfes are an inch thick with it, and the floor a foot. Into thefe oratories the priefts fuffer none to enter, but perfons of the firft diilinction, and when any fuch go in, they are obliged to offer fome man or other as a facrifice, that the priells may waOi their hands, and fprinkle the houfe with the blood of the victim. The author of the civil and mo- ral hiiiory of the Spaniih V/eft Indies, fays, that the Mexicans never facrifice any, but fuch as are captives in war ; but of the blood of thefe, their prielts were fo profufe, that they thought it diihonourable to facrifice lefs than forty or fifty at a time to one fmgle idol ; and had fuch an afcendant over their princes, that they made them believe their gods were angry, and would r Anton, de Ilerrtra's Iliftorv of Aitjerica. g G?s«; >" l^'S Survey of th« 'yv r!t Iiiflies, c. i. 222 ^ Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, would not be appeafed, without four or five thoufand men fometimes facrificed in a day. In the The fpreading of the chridian faiih in the North has happily ^"''^'^* aboliihed polytheifm and idolatry in mofl places, but ^ there are Lapland. ftiH fuch confiderable remains of it among the Laplanders, as incline many authors to believe, that they never heartily embra- ced chriftianity ; for they worlhip Chrift and their idols promif- cuonfiy, and with the fame form of worlhip. They own indeed' one fupreme God, whom they arm with thunder, and have the fame conceptions of him, that the Pagans of old had of their Jupiter : but they have another fubordiuate god, to whom they acknowledge, they owe all the blefiings of life ; and, together with him, they worlhip the fun, whom they call Baiva, becaufe of his influence over the bodies of men and beafts. To each of their gods they have temples confecrated, and images made of flone, or rujlely carved out of the trunk of trees, which, when they worlhip, they anoint v/ith the blood of the facrihce they offer, and • then, lying flat on their bellies, they mutter then- prayers into the ground, under which they conceive that the devil has his abode. The witch- No nation has been fo remarkable for forcery and enchant- crafts there nients as this. ^ Here parents teach their children thefe diabd.= iical arts, and, as part of their inheritance, bequeath fuch fpirits to them, as they think have been ailiflant to themfelves. Each family has its daemons, and, with fome, thefe daemons are fo fa- miliar that they meet them in woods, and in private walks, and teach them a fong, which, when they iing, they always appear to attend their commands. They fend abroad flies of a blueiih colour, which they pretend to be their familiars, to hurt their enemies, their cattle, or their children ; and between fonje fa- milies there frequently happens a trial and conteft, whofe fami- liar fliall be moll powerful. They tie knots, by which they pretend to make the vv'inds favourable or crofs to fea-faring men : but the ufual inflrument of magic and divination is their drum ; which he that beats, mutters fome charms all the while, till falling into a trance (during which, all that are prefent fet up a finging) he pretends, when he comes to himfelf, that whatever it was, lie employed this enchantment for, was fully revealed to him. The people, in ihort, are under flrong decep- tions of the devil ; they believe nothing of the refurredion ; and have fuch grofs notions of a future ilate, that, Vvhen any of them die, they put into the cofiin a flint and Iteel, that they may not want light in the other world ; an hatchet, that they may cut out their way to heaven through woods ; together with a bow, arrows, and vivfluals, that they may be able to en- ... counter h Atlas Geogr. i The people of Greenland arc fa:d to obferve the lame way of vton'hip ; and of them ii is likeivifc reported that in fome uifcafc:. lays it down for a woruiip- certain pofition, that there never was in any age any people fo ' * rude and barbarous which did not acknowledge and worihip one fupreme Deity, the firft principle and governor of all things : '* But that the wifer fort, fays he, might teach the more ignorant ** that the fupreme Being, whom they called God, was prefent " In all places, they therefore made abundance of gods in all ^' places, and over all things." But from v«'harever caufe the multitude of their gods might arife, it is certain that they al- ,v/ays had one whom they looked upon as fupreme, to whom their public as well as private worihip, their prayers and vows, and liim, and purfuing him a conlideraWe way out of the totvn ; which, when they have done, tbey come back rejoicing; ; and the women, to prevent his return, take care to wafli and fcour ail their woodrn and earthen vefi'c}5 very clean. Bofman's new Defcription of Guinea, m This our author, who lived long in the country, tells us, he verily believes without the lead fliuplc. iiolnian, ibid, n Herbert's antien; Kcligion cf the Gentiles, o Kirchet's Ocd. Kgypt- Sya. 3. Chap. Vlir. The State of Religion, kc. -o: and other acts of re]ip_ious homage wei'e in a peculiar manner addreiTed. i' Among the Romans, Jupiter (whom tiie poets call the father of gods and men, and graver writers diilinguiih by the itile and title of Optimus Maximus) was accounted this firO; and greatefl god, the fupreme governor of the world, and king over all rational beings ; and to fignify what great elteem they had of all moral virtues and perlec'tions, they deified, and virtue to built templeis to honour and chaftity, to "fidelity and fortitude be vaJucii, &c. Cicero, in his fccond book de Lcgibus, has given us an ab- flracl of the religion of the antients, and plainly tells us that men have no other means of carrying them to heaven but a pure mind, an holy faith, a lincere piety, and a combination of all manner of virtues ; and, in his proem to his natural quef- tions, Seneca maintains that virtue enlarges the foul, prepares it for the knowledge of celefiial things, and renders it fit and worthy to be admitied into the fociety of God. '1 Together with thefe injuntlions and commendations of F-cpcn- virtue, as perfcclive of man's nature, and conducive to his hap- ^.^"^"^ ^"'" pinefs, they prefcribed the wifefl: rules, both for the prevention ""*" and expiation of lin. They fuppofed that all fin and wirkednefs proceeded, either from the fociety of bad men, from impru- dence or ignorance of v.'hat was evil, or from anger or concu- pifcence, the paihons or depraved appetites of the man's own mind ; and from hence they concluded that the beft remedies "would be to avoid all Wicked company and convcrfations ; to re- train the impetuofity of evil aJfections ; to correct and cure fuch unruly propenfions as arife from human frailty; to walh away thofe flains of fni which had defiled their confcience ; and to make frequent and fervent fupplications tp their gods, that they might become kind and propitious to them. They imagined that man, coniulered fimply, and in his own nature, was neither good nor evil, but inclinable either way according to his edu- cation; and that vice and Hn were not fo radicated in him, but that with good n"!anngem.ent they might be totally weeded out and deftroyed : fo that, unlefs the foul was obiiinately bent up- on wickednefs,, they faw no reafon why it might not be re- duced to a good rtate (even after the pollution of fm) by an in- ternal purification. Confcious they were of the deformity of vice, and what an high provocation it was to God ; but then they confidercd t!>at goodnefs was eflrntial to a divine being, and that where goodnefs refidcd, wrath and refentmcnt could not laft long: whereupon they encouraged themfclves with hopes of a pacification, iipon expreihng their forrow and regret for what they had done amifs : and that they were finccre in , fuch exprclfions, the many vows they made, the many prayeis they put up, the temples they built and dedicated, and their ex- piations, lullrations, and other piacular rites and ceremonies to pacify p Stilliagfljet. q Herbert's anticot Religion of the Gentiles. X oj6 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III^ pacify their gods (whereof the writers of their antiquities give^ us fo long a deEaii) are a fufficient indication. Future re- r SoME of the wifeft of their philofophers owned that the wards and fupj-enie God was to be wor/hipped for himfelf, the moft ex- !!.Vo.*l cellent nature defervino- the utmoft veneration ; but, notwith- ftanding this, from his bounty and goodnefs they promifed themfelves a reconipence of reward, if not in tliis, at lead: in the other world, for all their fufferings and fervices. In this world they perceived an unequal dillinbution of things, the good oftentimes opprefTed with calamities, and the wicked re- joicing in pleafure and plenty ; and thereupon, from the juftice as well as the goodnefs of God, they inferred that the righteous v/ere to receive ample rewards, and the wicked fuffer condign punifhments after this life ; for it fcarce ever entered into their thoughts that this was the only life they were to experience, or that fo noble a creature as ' man^ who is big with immortal defigns, and full of projects for future ages, who was made to contemplate the wonders of nature and providence, to admii'e and adore his Maker, and can look backward and forvv?ard, and view an eternity without beginning and without end, was made but for a moment, as it were, and finally perifhes when he dies : and from this reflection they inferred that the foul was immor- tal, and that death only tranflated it to another flate, joyous to the virtuous, but full of torments to the wicked. Thus far were their notions juft and regular : ' but when thej' came to afcertain the places where thofe that deferved well received their reward, and the guilty their punilhment ; as the Elyfian fields, the ifles of the blefled, the ftars and heaven, for the vir- tuous ; Tartarus, Erebus and Orcus, and the four infernal ri- vers for the vicious ; they fell into very grofs and abfurd errors, without any manner of neceflity. For they might more eafily have convinced the people that divine juftice had allotted punilh- ments after this life in fome place or other, according fio what every one had deferved, though they could not define the pre- cife place, manner and duration of them ; than railily determine it to be in fome obfcure, fubterraneous caverns near the centre of the earth, or in apartments in the middle region of the air, with many other circumftances equally ridiculous and uncer- tain : though it muft be confelFed that their making heaven and the ftar.s the feat of tl^e blefled was not at all incongruous ; fince the univerfal opinion, even at this time is, that an eternal and happy ftate is only to be found in God and heaven. Of the mo- These are fome of the truths of the antient heathen theo- (lernhca- logy, and (to compare them now a little with what are more ^b" i^^^'" modern) in China we find a fed called the Literati, that adhere China. . . 1 • to * .'* ■ r Herbert's antient Religion of the Gentiles, s Sherlock \ipon Dea:h.. t Herbert, ibid. Chap. VIIl. The State of Religion, Ice, ^,-, to the dodlrines of the much celebrated " Confucius, « whofe philofophy, hke that of Socrates in Greece, is thought to have been brought down from heaven. i He fpeaks of God as the moft pure and perfed principle, the fountain and eflence of all things ; he prohibits the worlhip of images ; acknowledges the immortality, though he allows the tranfmigration of the foul ; believes a future flate ; and, ^ in a book which is called Siudo, 1. e. the Philofophical Way of Life, has left a c'olleclion of fuch wife fentences and moral maxims, as are not inferior to any of that kind ; wherein he recommends to his followers the prac- tice of virtue, a free confcience, and a good and honeft life ; * and teaches them to contemn riches and pleafurc, to lubdue their paflions, and improve their reafon. In Japan, there is a fec^, following the inftitutions of ^ Siaka In Japan, their founder, <= who believe that the fouls of men, and animals both, are immortal ; that thofe of men, after their departure Vol. II. U u from uTliis Confucius whom the Chinefe call Koofi, was born in the province of Kok, about 483 years before Chrift. He was called a child of forrow , becaufe his birth was polthumous, which neverthelels was accompanied with fome re- markable figns and prognoftications of his being a feftn or philofopher: for mufic, they fay, was heard in heaven while his mother was in labour, and two dragons were obferved to attend while the child was waflied. His ftature when gr-own up was very noble and majeltic; bis deportment grave, and his piety, even in his earlieft years, very exemplary. He honoured his relations ; endeavoured to imitate his grandfather, wlio was much admired for his I'aniJti- ty, and never ate any thing before he offered it to the fupreme Lord of heaven by proteftation. Afier the death of his grandfather, lie made a confiderable proficiency in the knowledge of antiquity, and compiled the above-mentioned collection of moral and political maxims, which ever fince (now upwards of two thoufand years) has been looked upon as a performance incomparable ia its kind, and an excellent pattern of a good and virtuous life. A profound refptft is ftiewn to his memory, both in China and Japan, by public as well as private perfons- His picture is allowed the moit honourable place in the houfes of philofophers; and it is not long ago fuice the emperor of Japan caufed two temples to be built to him in his capital city Jedo, whither he went in perfon as foon as they were finifhed, and on this occaflon fet forth, in an handfome fpeech to his courtiers, the merits of this great man, and the peculiar excellency of the maxims of government which he had laid down. Ksempfer's HiftoiV of Japan, and Atlas Geogr. Antient and Modern, x Ibid, y Salmon's Modem Hiltory. % Kaempfer, ibid, a Atlas Geogr. Modern, b Ti)is Siaka, whom the learned men among them ufually call Sommona Codom, was (according to the Japancfe hiftorians) a native of Magattakokf, which is fuppofed to be the ifland of Ceylon, and born above 1029 years before Chnft, fon to the king thereof. When he came to the nineteenth year of his age he qnitted his parent.':, leaving his wife and an only fon behind him, and became ailifcipleof Arara-Sennin, then an hermit of great repute, who lived on the top of a mountam called Dan- dokf ; and, under his infpeflion, betook himfelf to an auftere life and conti- nual meditation on heavenly and divine things, whereby he penetrated into the moft fecret and important points of religion, viz. the exiftence and ftate of heaven and hell, the ftate of fouls in the life to cdiuc, and the manner of their ^ranfmigrations, the way to eternal happinefs, the power of the gods in go- verning the world, and many more things beyond the reach of human undcr- ftanding, which he afterwards freely communicated to his difciples, who, fi>i the fake of his doftrine and inftrutftions. followed him in crouds, and embraced the fame auftere courfe of life. He lived in this manner feveniy-nine years, and died (according to the common computation) 950 years before Chrift. Kempfer's Hiftory of Japsn. c Ibid. 338 A Complete Body of Divinity, Part III. from their bodies, have their portion in a place of happinefs or mifery, accoi-ding to their behaviour in this life. In the place of happinefs they fuppofe that there are different degrees of plea- fnre, in order to reward every one according to his deferts ; but the whole place is fo thoroughly filled with blifs, that each happy inhabitant thinks his lot the beft, and, far from envying the greater felicity of others, wilhes only for ever to enjoy his own. Amida, the general patron and protedor of human fouls, is the fovereign commander of thefe happy regions ; and the leading a virtuous life, and doing nothing that is contrary to the commandments of the law of Siaka (which are chiefly thefe, not to kill any thing, not to Ileal, not to whore, not to lie, not to drink flrong liquors, but to fafl: and pray, to adore God, his •word, and thofe that imitate his virtues) is the only way to be- come agreeable to him, and worthy of eternal happinefs. In the place of mifery (which they call Diigokf ) degrees of tor- ments are, in like manner, proportioned to mens offences. Juf- tice, they imagine, requires that every one fhould be puniihed according to the nature and number of his crimes, the number of the years he lived in the world, and the ftation he lived in, and the opportunities he had to be virtuous and good. Jemma, or with a more majeftic character, Gemma O (as they call him) is thefe vera judge, and fovereign commander of this place of darknefs and mifery ; to whom all the vicious adtions of man- kind appear in their proper horror and heinoufnefs, by means of a large looking-glal's placed before him, which is call the Look- ing-glafs of Knowledge. The miferies of the fouls, confined ta thefe difmal abodes, are however not fo inceffant and lafting, but that fome relief may be expedled from the virtuous life and good aftions of their friends and relations whom they left be- hind, but more efpecially from the prayers and offerings of their priefts to the great and good Amida, who, by his powerful in- terceffion, can fo far prevail upon the judge of this infernal place, as to oblige him to abate of the feverity of his fentence ; where it is confiftent with juftice, and the punifliment due to their crimes ; to treat thefe unhappy fouls with kindnefs ; and, at laft, to fend them abroad again, ^ in order to enter upon afrefli probation. A rcfK-cr These doftrines, though difguifed with abundance of fidlion, tion here- aj-g^ jn the main intendment of them, true ; and, abating the notion of the pre-exiilence and tranfmigration of the foul, and its temporal confinement only to the place they affign for its puniih- ment , d For this istlieiropiia.m, that when thefe foulshave been confined long enough "to expiate their crimes, they are fent back aoain into the world, not indeed to animate the bodies of nien. b\it ot' fuch creatures whofe nature refcmbles their Former liiifid inclinatinii"; ; where lifter feveral traiiftnigrations, they are buffered at laft to enter human bodies again, and by that means are put in a ca- j<;icity either by a good and virtuous life to make themfeives unalterably hap- py; or by a new courfeof vices to expofe themfeives to a frefli confinemeut, aud aiiojher round of traiifmigrations. Kempfer's Hiftory of Japsji. ipon. Chap. Vlir, The State of Religion, kc. 330 ment, there are few points in them, but what, not only an honert heathen, but even a fober chriitian may embrace ; while the integrity of their Uves, their remarkable juftice, and tem- perance, and fobriety, the ftriclnefs of penance impofed upon theinfelves,. and great feverity in punilbing molt enormous crimes, are enough to upbraid us chriftians, and make us alhamed of the comparifon. It can hardly be expe£led, that, in countries over-run with cf Peru, ignorance, and devoid of all kind of learning, reafon ihould have power enough to preferve any of the fundamental articles of religion ; and yet we are told of the people of Peru, ' that they have a clear notion of God, and edeem his name lb very facred, that, without an abfolute neceility, they never pro- nounce it, and then with all imaginable figns of devotion ; that they are fo cautious of profaning it, that, in the moft important caufes, witneUes never take an oath, but only promile the judge to fpeak truth, which they do with great fti-iclnefs, and make any falllfication herein capital : and that the natives of Canada andCana- have a full perfuaflon of the immortality of the foul, as well as da. future rewards and punifhments, ^ upon this motive — that they fee moll men, efpecially the beft, are fubjecl to hardlhips here, which they fay are ordained, that they may be happy in the other world, and therefore they account none of their calamities to be real misfortunes. A true principle in religion ! and a good preparative, one would think, to their converfion ; but to this (as 8 our author obferves) the bad manners of the priefts, teaching chriftianity, and the wicked lives of the Frertch that have made their fettlement there, are the greateft impediment and obftruclion. In general (for it would be cndlefs to produce particulars) Whether we may obferve that in moft of the countries hitherto difcover- *'"^ /^l,'^'"' ed, the belief of a God, and obhgation to worihip him ; the be- heathens lief of a future ftate, and necelTity of virtue to prepare men for will lave it ; forrow for fin, and the invention of many rites to ^''^"»- expiate it, have been the known principles of the heathen reli- gion : but whether thefe principles, loaded as they are v.ith all the fuperftitions above-mentioned, the worlliip of idols, the fa- crifice of human blood, the adoration of devils, and other fuch impieties as the divine nature cannot but deteft, will be avail- able to their falvation, is a queftion neither lo eafy nor So fafe to be refolved. This only we may fay (without intruding in- to the counfels which God has hid in his own brcaft) that as ig- norance of duty, the prevalence of cuftom, and the power of prepofTeflion pltad ftrongly in mitigation of any fault, fo has the heathen world, not only thefe apologies to produce, but fome declarations likewife in holy writ, v\ hich feem to have their particular cale under confideration. For if, '■ as St Paul tells e Atlas Gcogr. flbid. g La Ilontaji; in his account of the Savsgts of Canada, Sic. b Afls xvii- 30. 340 A Complete Body of Divinity. Part III, tells the Athenians, a people wholly given to idolatry, God ■winked at their former times of ignorance ; if, • as our Saviour tells the Pharifees, fuch as are blind, /. e. without a competent knowledge of their duty, have no fin, at leaft, not in fo great a meafure ; ^ and if, as he tells his difciples, Mofes, the law.giver of God, fufFered the Ifraelites to do things which were not di- reftly right, for the hardnefs of their hearts, ' /'. e. becaufe the imperfedion of his revelation wanted proper efficacy to work their hearts to a greater foftnefs ; then have we fufficient rea- fon to fuppofe that the fame connivance, and kind conftruclion of faults will be granted to the prefent, that was to the genera- tions of old : though, when we confider farther, that there is " no communion between light and darknefs, no concord be- tween Chrift and Belial, no agreement between the temple of God and idols, in what method this grace will be extended, and the divine attributes remain unblemilhed, is a myftery paft our comprehenfiqn. This only we know farther, that, as the me- rits of Chrifl:, whereby alone we obtain falvation, are imputable to the Gentile, as well as the chriftian world (which we have in fome meafure fhevved already) = in his interceding with God, and offering facrifice for fin, he can (as the apoftle affures us) have compaifion on the ignorant, and fuch as are out of the way, fince their error is involuntary, and their ignorance na part of their crime ; for how can they call on him (as ° he ar- gues in another place) in whom they have not believed ? How can they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? And how ca3 they hear without a preacher? on of "the ^^ I'atisfy, in fome meafure, thefe inquiries, thofe who fa- Miliena- vour the dodlrine of a Millennium ha^^e deviled a fcheme, ries. whereby to account for the future condition of the heathen world, p They lay it down for an undoubted truth, that the great defign of Chrift's coming into the world was to procure the falvation of all mankind, and that the merits of what he did and fuffered were available tc that purpofa ; that falvation is to be had by no other name but only that of the Lord JefusChrift ; and yet thofe who fhall be faver* by him mud believe in him, i. e. mull receive him for their Saviour, and embrace the con- ditions of that covenant which he hath eflabliihed in order to their falvation. Since therefore men cannot believe in him of whom they never heard ; and yet there are many men, yea, many nations of men, that never heard of the name of Chrift ; from hence they conclude, that, at fome time or other, he IhalJ be made known to all men ; and, fince fo great a part of man- kind had no knowledge of him before their death, that they certainly fliall have it after their relurreclion ; and to fupport this i John ix. 41. k Matth. xlx. 8. 1 Young's Sermons, Vo]. I. ni 2 Cor^ vi. 14, &c. nHeb. v,2. ojlum. x. 14. p Vid. Staynoe's ihort Iri^'.;iry, said BarriCt's Theory. Chap. VIII. The State of Religion^ kc. 341 this conclullon, they fuppofe that, after this life, there will be a threefold refurreftion. 1 The firlt will be of the faithful in Chrift, fuch as have been martyrs for Jefus, and lived in this life obfervant of his laws. Thefe, for a thoufand years Ihall reign with Chrift upon earth, and then, together with him, af- tending into heaven, fhall there continue for ever. The fecond will be of thofe who, during this life, never heard of the found of the gofpel, or had the offer of a Saviour made them. 7 hqfe, upon their refurredlion, fhall be admitted to the knowledge of him and his doftrines, and put upon the fame probation that we now are, who live under the goipel-covenant. If they believe and obey, they ihall be inftated in the fame happinefs that good chriftians are to enjoy, and, without tafting death any more, be tranflated into heaven : but, in cafe they prove impious or infidels, fliall be referved to the third refurredtion, which will be of fuch as rejeded the Saviour of the world in this life, and, together with them, fliall be caft into the lake of fire. But though this hypothefis, as it is chiefly built upon ab- Whatbeft ftrufe paflages in a ' very difficult and myilerious book, has not ^f'^°'"" obtained a general reception ; yet this we may lay down for an infallible truth, that, as the judge of the world cannot but do right, mankind will never be condemned for (.he want of what they were in no condition to attain ; and therefore, ' inftead of ftretching the feverity of God's juftice, in relation to this argu- ment, we may rather venture to extend the bounds of his mercy; t fince this is the attribute, which, of all others, is the moft mag- nificently fpoken of in the fcriptures. But indeed the molt proper way is, to leave the fecrets of God as mylkries too far above us to examine, and rather iludy to work out our falva- tion with fear and trembling, than let our minds run into uncei- tain fpeculations concerning the nieafures and conditions of that of others. We are allowed very juftly indeed to commiferate the ftate of thofe who fit in darknefs, and in the Ihadow of death ; " but, as darknefs itfelf is fometimes called upon in fcripture to praife the Lord ; fo even intelleftual darknefs, /*. e. ignorance has, occafionally, grea: reafon to join in the praife r for fuppofmg men to be fintul, it is happy for them if they are ignorant ; the fuprcme judge of the world having laid down this for one rule by which he v. ill proceed at the laft day, viz. « that the fervant who knew his mailer's will, and prepared not himfelf, neither did according to his will, Ihall be beaten with manyftripes ; but he that knew not, and committed things worthy of ftripes, fliall be beaten with few. A COMPLETE qRev. XX. 14. r Ibid. chap. xx. s Burnet oa the .Articles. t Ibid, a Young's Sermons, Vol 1. x Luke xii. A7, 48. COMPLETE BODY O F SPECULATIVE and PRACTICAL DIVINITY. PART IV. Of the Myfteries of our moft Holy Faith. covenant. Not to be CHAP. L Of the Nature of the Second Covenant, commonly called The Covenant of Grace. M'haftobe \7f 7E left the firft parents of mankind » under the breach of d'lr.e v.'ith YV the firft covenant, and in them all their pofterity loft and der the Undone ; fentenced to labour, to forroM , to fufferings, to fick- breach of nefs, to death, and expofed to the vengeance of Almighty God : the firft 2j,j jj^ {.j^jg fituation there are but three things that can occur to our thoughts; i. that God Ihould deftroy them inftantly ; or, 2. referve them for punilhmentj or, 3. extend mercy and forgivenefs to them. If indeed we confider the pure and fpotlefs nature of God, deitroyed. ^j^j ^^^ abominable and loathfome all fm and wickednefs is to him, we muft he inclined to think, that, upon the commiiTion of it, he Hiould immediately withdraw his divine influence, and fuffer his rebellious creatures to fmk into nothing : '■ but then, if we confult farther the idea we have of an infinitely perfect being ; one who forefees the.neceflary connexions of caufes and effefls, and all the refults and confequences that attend them ; one whofe property it is to be conftant and immutable in all his counfels and actions, and what he wills for once, to will for ever ; we H-iall find that it was not fo confiftent with the attrir butes of God ever to have created mankind at all, if there could be any fubfequent reafon of fifficient force to induce him to de- ftroy a Vide Vol. I. p. 455- et feq. b Taylor on the two Covenants, Chap. I. Of the Covenant of Grace. 243 ftroy them. To projeft and contrive to no purpofe, to build and deftroy again, is common to men, vvhofe views are ihort and humours fickle ; but God cannot be miftsken in his mea- fures, nor defeated in his purpofes : and yet (upon the fuppofi- tion of an annihilation) it is on him only that the difappointment falls, if fo be that after the vaft expence and pains (if we may fo fpeak) of building this majeftic temple of the world, he fhould be obliged to fet it on fire with his own hands, and thereby give his great adverfary the devil, and fin and rebellion, his de- tefled offspring, a fufficient matter of triumph in having effedled fo glorious a mifchief as to force the Almighty to the dilhonour- able work of razing his own foundations, and yet neceflitate him to leave the ftain of wickednefs fiill behind, as an everlafling blemifli on his power and glory. Since therefore the deftruclion of the world for the tranf- Bntreferv- greffion of mankind, would have been a work wherein God a- '^^' ^"'* T"- lone had been the fufferer (the finner being only to be reduced to the condition he was in before) our thoughts in the next place fugged, that this guilty creature niuft be preferved to atone for offending againft infinite majefiy, by the infinity, ;'. e, the eternal duration of his fufferings : and in this thought we are the rather confirmed, not only by the notions we have of the juftice and holineis of (rod, but by his particular proceed- ings againft a nobler rank of creatures, the angels of heaven ; «^ who, not keeping their firft eftate, but difobeying their Maker, were thrown headlong thence into the bottomlefs regions of defpair, and are referved in everlafling chains, unto the judg- ment of the great day. That this muft have been the wretched condition of apoftate For he man, if no fatisfaclion could be made to the injured Deity, if no '^^'Jl'' "*>' ranfom could be paid to offended jultice, feems to be a plain himfelf. diftate of reafon. And now, if we calt about and confider where fuch a fatisfadion is to be found, as may pacify the wrath and indignation of an angry God ; where fuch a ranfom is to be met with as will be a fufficient price for the fins of all mankind ; the earth faith, it is not in me ; the fea faith, it is not in mc. It cannot be gotten with gold, it cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx and the fapphire ; and there- fore vain are all attempts of man to emancipate himielf ; <> it coft more to redeem his foul, therefore he muft let that alone for ever. We may fuppofe indeed, that Adam, having now experienced the folly of his choice, might think of returning with firmer re- folves to obey his Maker ; that the fliame and guilt of fm having wounded his confciencs with a deep Temorfe, might put him upon an unfeigned repentance, which would happily reftore him to the favour of God, and blot cut the remembrance of his tranfgrelfion ; cjudever. 6. d Pfal. xlix. 8. 244 -^ Complete Body of Divinity. Fart IVj' cranfgreffion : but '■ alas ! he is not capable of repentance ; or if he were, his repentance would not be available for his par- don. Repentance, which leads to faivation, is the gift of God, and a conliderab'e branch it is of the divine mercy : but that attribute as yet lies hid and undifplayed in the infinite goodnefs of God, and cannot exert itfelf till Almighty Juftice be fatisfied. ^ So thk guilty man can find no expedient for his deliverance; he cannot conceive how mercy can fave him without the viola- tion of juftice, nor can he be brought to make an humble con- feffion of his fault, when he experts nothing but an irrevocable doom. And accordingly we may obferve that the hillory of Adam's tranfo-relfion makes no mention of an overture on God's part, or any fort of advance on man's, towards a recovery this way. The man and woman indeed are afliamed, but it is of their nakednefs ; and afraid of God, but it is with a flavilh fear of punilhment for their offence. There appear no tokens of a lincere contrition ; no deploring their unhappinefs, no depre- cating offended juftice, no promife of amendment, no fears, no forrow for what was paft, nor any indications of perfons pof- feffed with the heinoufnefs of their guilt, and importunate for pardon: on the contrary, they both make excufes for their fin, and, in effe ' Jor.n ii- 1. X Bates's JIarniony of Uie Divine Attributes. 34S A Complete Body of Divinity, Part IV. (which is therefore called the Blood of the NewTeftament) and "the fruit of his redundant merit ; with whofe perfedl obedience God was fo well pleafed, that hepromifed to confer upon thofe that believed in him all the glorious privileges becoming the fons of God ; to make them aflbciates with himfelf in his eter- nal kingdom, and in thofe celeltial abodes, whereof paradife with all its pleafures, was but a faint Ihadow and fimilitude. Why God These are the advantages of the fecond covenant, that it is the cove- ^o^ndcd Upon milder terms, better helps, and richer promifes ; naivt of that it admits of repentance after fm ; accepts of fmcerity in- grace firft. ftead of perfedlion ; aflifts the infirmities of human nature, and crowns its fervices with immortality. " But if this covenant " was fo excellent, why did not God eftablilh it at firfl, and *^ place man, as foon as he was created, under the bell means ^' of perfeverance in his duty?" Now, in anfwer to this, it fhould be confidered, that, as it would have been inconfil^nt with the glory, and wifdom, and power of God, to have had any creature come out of his hands but what was perfed: in its kind; fo would it have been a difparagement to that perfedion not to have given it a law commenfurate to its abihties ; and an encouragement to fm, not to have enforced that law with fanc- tions of the greateft feverity. We indeed, in this degenerate {late of oars, live under eafier terms ; we have an indulgence given to our infirmities ; nor is every tranfgreffion irreparable, and threatened with immediate death : but then we are to re- member that not only our condition requires thefe alleviations, but that, when we do amifs, we have a Saviour's propitiation and intercefilon to flee to. Butsour firlt parents, in their ftate of integrity, flood upon their own bottom, and had none to an- fwer for them ; for which reafon any mitigation in the cove- nant, or hopes of impunity in the violation of it, muft necelfarily have impaired their attention to the divine command. For let lis fuppofe God concluding the covenant he made with them in fome fuch terms as thefe ; *' Thus I have given you a law requir- "■ ingthe ftrifteft obedience ; have inverted you with powers to *' enable you to perform it ; and have annexed a dreadful pe- *' nalty to engage your care and afiiduity ; but be not difcou- " raged at this feverity, my wifdom Ihall find out an expedient, ^' in cafe you fhould tranfgrefs, to punifh the f\n, and yet to *' fave the finner." This is exprefsly the form of the fecond, and ytit it had been highly improper in the tenor of the firfl co- venant, y fmce a comfortable provifion againlt fm had been a ''{trong temptation to it : For certainly, if our firfl parents could breiik through thofe reflraints of threatening and terror, where- vv'ith God had guarded his co;nniandments ; of how much light- er account would it have been to have made a fally v.hcre there was y Tsyi.oy on the two Cov?nsr.ts« Chap. I, Of the Covenant of Grace. 349 was fuch an avenue opened to a vain curiofity, as n^ight, of it- I'elf, been inducement enough to have put them upon the trial ? Nor was it for man's fecurity only , but fcr the manifelta- tion of God's greater glory, that the covenant of juftice preced- ed that of mercy. It is darkening the plot that gives beauty to the difcovery ; and the deeper the diltrefs is laid, the more confpicuous is the deliverance. » Whether therefore we fup- pofe that the incarnation of Chrift: was primarily in God's inten- tion, even when he made the world, or was only a defign fub- fequent upon the profpecl of Adam's fall, and the many cala- mities attending it ; yet fo it is, that the feveiity of the firft co- venant, did fo far contribute to this defign, that there had not been that neceflity for a Redeemer, had not fin, taking occalion from the commandment (as • the apoltle fpeaks) deceived our firft parents, and by it flain them ; not but that the command- ment was holy, jufi, and good ; but tin, that it might appear (in (i. e. very deltrudtive) worked death in them by that which was good. Sin indeed, in its own nature, has no tendency to good, nor any proper efficacy to promote the glory of God : <• but as a black ground in a picture, which in itfelf only defiles it, when placed artfully, fets off the brighter colours, and heightens their beauty ; fo the evil of fin, m hich, confidered ^bfolutely, obfcures the glory of God, by the over-ruling dif- pofition of his providence, ferves to illuifrate his name, and make it more glorious in the efceem of alJ reaionable creatures ; and therefore '' O happy fault (as one of the anticnts calls it) ** not in itfelf, but by the wife and merciful coimfel of God, ^' which was repaired in a way fo advantageous, that the ial- ** vation of the earth is the wonder of heaven, and the re- ** demption of man the jc^.of angels !" This agreeable contraft of danger and^efcape, of miferyand Go^j's (U- happinefs in man, difplaySthe vi'ondrous work of our redemp- li,';»i" '-« tion, and fhews forth ^ the mercy pf God in defigning it ; the y*e''„'ant. wifdom of God in contriving it ; the power of God in efFeding it ; and the holinefs of God in the manner wherein it was efted;- ed ; i the breadth, and length, and depth, and heighth of the Jove of Chrill:, which pafieth all knowledge, in being the great jnftrument and performer of it ; none of which had appeared to fo much advantage, had it not been for the violation of the firit covenant. In fuffering this covenant then to be violated, and by that means introducinc; a new one, « God intended to glorify himfeh ; his unfearchable counfel in finding out a means to reconcile juUice and mercy ; his perfcft righteoufnefs in the rcmillion of iins through the propitiation of Chrift ; and his abundant grace if'* z Taylor on the two Covenants. a Rom. vii. n, 13. b Bate's Harmorv, ^ fselix culpa, «iv.K tantum, S; talcm meruit hnberc redcmpiiorem ! c Bau'f ".mory. * <1 F-r^h- iii- 18, 19. c Hopkins on the tMO Covcuduis. 350 A Complete Body of Dtvimty, Part IV, in giving his Son to die for rebels. He intended to glorify his Son'; his free love in lubjecting hiq^felf to a fhameful death for our ranfoin and deliverance ; his alinig ity power in fupport- ing human nature under the load of God's wrath ; his complete facrifice in fully perfecting thofe that are fanctitied ; and his ef- fectual intercelfion in procuring to his church the gifts and graces of the holy Spirit. He intended, lalily, to glorify us ; by the precepts: of the gofpel purifying our hearts and hands from all undeainjefs, and by the operations of his Spirit repair- ing his defaced iHiage in us; that fo, being ^ made partakers of the divine nature again, we might thereby e be made meet like- wife to become partakers of the inheritance of the faints in light. The an^i- BuT though for thefe, and leveral other reafons that might »pity ot It. jjg produced/ the tird covenant was not to be fuperfeded ; yet it is worth our obfervation that the fecond covenant, or cove- nant of grace, which was to fiicceed it, was determined in the divine counfel, and commenced, and continued all along from the firit foundation of the worldj for ^- God hath redeemed us (fays one apoitle) with the precious blood of Chrift, as of a lamb, without blemilh and without fpot, fore-ordained before the foundation of the world, but manifeft in thefe laft times ; and he hath faved us (fays ■ another) and called us with an ho- ly calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpofe, and the grace given to us in Chrift Jefus, before the world began, but now made manifeft by the appearing of our Saviour Jefus Chrift. k Now, in order to a right underftanding of this important point, we muft remember that, ever fmce the fall of man, and the original promife of a Saviour to come, that feed of the wo- man alone, who was to break the head, and deftroy the power of the old ferpent, the devil ; the covenant, under which all mankind was placed, was no other than the covenant of grace, or the covenant of the redemption pnd falvation of the world, upon the conditions of faith and obedience to the Mefhas, the Son of God. We muft alfo remember, that, though this co- venant was revived, explained, and publilhed more folemnly to the world by Chrilt and his apoftles ; yet was it, from the be- ginning of things, made known and delivered down to all future generations ; partly, by fuch exprefs revelations as the frequent appearance of the Son of God upon earth did then permit ; partly, by the feveral renewals of it to Noah, to Abraham, to David, and others ; partly, by the clearer and clearer intima- tions of it to the prophets, as the fulnefs of time grew near ; and partly, by the inftitntion of propitiatory I'acrifices, derived down from Abel to all future ages, as conftant and 'tanding n)o- uuments and memorials of the necelTity of that great propitia- tion, f 2 Pet- i. 4- gCol.i. 12. h r Pet. i. i8, fee. i 2 Tim i. 9, to. k V.'hif tea oa the Antiquity of the Chriftlan Covenant. Chap. I. Of the Covenant of Grace. 3 5 1 tion, that one facrifice upon the crofs, on which this new cove- nant was founded and eftabhflied for ever. Under this covenant both Jew and Gentile hved ; and, if they hved well, were made partakers of its promifes. • The covenant of Mofes was but a kind of little codicil, annexed to this great teftament, made with all mankind. It was indeed a fpecial provilion to feparate one nation (of which the JMeflias was to come) from the idola- try and wickednefs of the rell of the world ; but the patriarchs and prophets, looking beyond the bounds of this difpenfation, "> faw the promifes of the gofpel afar oft, and were perluaded of them, and embraced them ; they defired *a setter, that is, an heavenly country, and looked for a city prepared for them, whofe builder and maker is God : and that the heathens, efpe- cially the wifeft of them, had the like notion, and expecled the lame provifion, appears by a remarkable teflimony in the moft antient book of holy writ, I mean the book of Job, where we find that noble Arab, in the midft of his fore afflidions, and when he feems to have no longer preferved any hopes of a tem- poral deliverance, profelling his faith in his gracious Saviour, and in a joyful refurreclion at the laft day ; = I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he fii all (land at the latter day upon the earth ; and though, after my fkin, worms deltroy this body, yet, in my flefli, lliall 1 fee God ; whom I ihall fee for myfelf, and mine eyes fliall behold, and not another, though my reigns be confumed within me. " But if the covenant of grace was all along from the firft An objec- ** beginning extant in the world, why was the law of Mofes, *'°"* ** which, as the apoltle affirms, could not convey righteoufnefs, *' or » juftify any man in the fight of God, inftituted at all? ** Of what ufe or purpofe^i^Mf^^it to the people on whom it was " impofed \ Or why is it fo frequently called v the firfl, and *' 1 the old covenant, if there was another of fo much excel- " lence that preceded ii?" I'o elucidate this matter, the apoftle Anfverec!, propofes this queRion to hlmfqlf, ■" wherefore then ferveth the by iiiew inje law \ And the anfwer which he makes is this ; it was added ^^^',^y "'^"* becaufe of tranfgrelhon, until the feed fliould come, to whom la^v was the promife was made. It was added »becaufe of tranf- ialUtutcd. ^ grelTion ; ' for fuch was the blow given to human under- itanding by our firft fall, and the progrefiion of degene- racy ever after, that even tlie natural ienfe and dilHncTiion of moral good and evil was ift a great meafure obliterated ; and therefore, to repair this decay, the law of the ten command- ments, which, in its fpiritual fenfe, anfwers the pure law of na- ture, was promulgated, to give a clearer perception of the ex- tent of duty, and the nature and enormity of fin ; for fo the apoftle feems to mean, when he tells u^ ' I had not known fin, but 1 Whifton on the Antiquity of the Chriftian Covenant, m Heb- xi. lo. &c. Jobxix. 25. oGal.iii. II. p Ileb viii. 7. q Ibid. vei. 1 3- rGal-iii. 19. \ilea on tlie two CovenaatSt t Koia« vii' 7' ,^2 -^ Complete BoJy of Divinity, Part IV, but by the law ; for I had not known luft, or the fmfulnefs of covetin'T whac belongs to another,' except the law had faid. Thou Ihalt r\pt covet. It was added becaufe of tranfgreffion ; for fuch was the general prevalency of idolatry, that few na- tions were exempted from it. The worlhip of the Geptiles conhrted of many fuperftitious rites and ceremonies, which the • Ifraelites being naturally addicled to, were in great danger of falling into an adoration of their gods ; and therefore frequent injunctions were given them " not to imitate the manner of the land of Egypt, from whence they came, nor of the land of Ca- naan, whither they were going, but to keep the ftatutes and judgments of God, which if a man do, he ihall live in them. So that, to employ their bufy minds, and thereby prevent the danger of defection , God defignedly appointed them a worlhip which confifted much in bodily fervices, and inftituted. many laws * which ftood in meats and drinks, and divers walhings, and carnal ordinances, impofed on them until the time of the reformation. It was added becaufe of tranfgreflion , and that, not only to reftrain the Ifraelites, but to reform all other na- tions round about them, who, hearing of the wifdom of their laws, and perceivinjr how profperous they were, fo long as they obferved them, might then be. induced to quit their idola- trous praftices, and join themfelves to the people of the God ©f Ifrael ; even as it came to pafs in fuch as were profelytes to their religion. * To them were committed the oracles of God, and from them it was expedled that they Ihould commu- nicate knowledge to fuch as were ignorant of his laws, by mak- ing their own obfervance of them more confpicuous ; for y this is your wifdom and your underftanding, fays their great law- giver, in the fight of the natioiws, ^ho Ihall hear all thefe fla- tutes, and fay, furely this great nation is a wife and an under/land- ing people ; for what nation is there fo great that hath God fo <• nigh unto them as the Lord our God ;s, in all things that v\e call upon him for? Or what nation is there fo great, that hath ftatutes and judgments fo righteous as all the law is which I fet before you this day ? The apoftle ha# fuggefted another reafon why the law of Moles was inftituted, even while the covenant of grace v^as iti being, by calling it « a fchoolmafter to bring us unto Chrift, that we might be juftified by faith. For, as children are fent to fchool to be taught the firil rudiments of learning, but after- wards, as their underftanding advances, are initiated into higher fciences ; or (to ufe another of die apoftle's fimihtudes) » as an heir, during his minority, is under tutors and governors, until the time appointed by his father ; t fo God was pleafed to deal with his church, beginning with fuch inltruftions as were adapted to their capacities, in the ftate of their ignorance, and thence z u Lev. xviii. 3, &c. • Heb. Ik. 10. x Kom. iii. 2. y Deut. \y:(>, %if Gal. «]. 24. a Ibid. iv. I. b All«n on the ivro Covenants. Chap. I. Of the Covenant of Grace. 353 thence proceeding gradually to fuch as were higher ; till being come toa perfedi man, unto the meafure of the ftature of the fui- nefs of Chrill (as the apoftle words ii) they were to be admitted ' to all the riches of the full affurance of underilanding, to the ac- knowledgment of the niyitery of God, and of the Father, and of Chriit. i'he law, in the typiciil nature of it, was of great ufe to the Jews, to facilitate and Itrengthen their belief in • Chrift. The predidions of their prophets ferved of old to raife their expeftation, as they do now to confirm our faith in him, in whom they are all found to centre. Their ceremonies were mofl of them prefigurative of his performances ; and the inili- tution of their facrifices, in particular, as atonements for legal guilt, was a fulTicient indication of God's, willingnefs to accept of his own Son's offering himfelf for the expiation of ours ; •i For if the blood of bulls, and of goats (as the apoftle argues) and the afhes of an heifer, fprinkling the unclean, faiiClifieth to the purifying of the flelh ; how much more ihall the blood of Chri/l, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himfelf without . fpot to God, purge our confcience from dead works to ierve the livinp- God ? Thus the law was an hand-maid to lead us to Chrifl ; fome- thing preliminary to a clearer manifeftation of God's will, when he fhould think fit to reveal it ; and the people who lived un- der that difpenfation. Mere both fandified and faved (as f the . apoflle argues) not fo much by the performance of its ordi- nances, as by faith in the covenant made with their forefather Abraham (the fame which was made with the Protoplaft Adam) and by the merits of the Meffias to come, « who was all along the Mediator of the Nev/ Tel>ament, that, by means of death, for the redemption of tranfgreffions, that were under the firft Teflament, they which are called may receive the promife of eternal inheritance. 1'he truth is, if we would fpeak {lri61Iy and properly, the xhe law- covenant of God with his church has. in all ages, ever fince the anj gofpei fall of our firft parents, been bur one and the fame, f Its tenns ''°^'' ""*; on God's part are, rorgivenels of (ins, relionng mankind to ho- linefs and immortality, for the fake of hisSoW, and in view of his facrifice and death for them : on man's part, belief in that Son, dependence upon that facrifice, repentance for pall: offences, and fincere obedience for the future ; and thefc terms have always been required by God, always expeded and hoped for by fuch as had an eye to the promifes, and carried their contemplations to a due extent ; in which ferfe our blefTed Saviour tells the Jews, c your father Abraham rejoiced to fee my day, and faw it, and was glad. ^ The promifes made to Abraham and the Vol. II. Y y patniarchs cCol. ii. 2. d Heb. ix. 13, 14- t Gal. iii. paffim. eHeb.ix. 15. f Stan- hope on the Epiftles and Gofpels, Vol. 11. g Juhn viu. 56. h Gal. iij. i?' 554 Under dif- ferent da- riomioa- tions< A Complete Body of Diviniiy. Part IV. patriarchs were confirmed in Chrift, i the Spirit, fpeaking by the prophets, was the Spirit of Chrift ; nay, even before the fiocd^ J- it was Chrift that preached to the old world, while the ark was preparing in the days of Noah ; fo that Chrift being the fame, > under all difpenfations, the covenants of the law and the gof- pel are not two, with refpeft to the fubftance and principal intent of them, but onlv in regard of their different a'dminiitration, and the more or Icfs obfcurity in the general promile of i'alvation. " The promifes and covenant of the gofpel are declared better indeed than thofe of the law, as they are pronounced with greater cJearnefs, confirmed with ftronger evidence, and are, in fome meafure, accompli'hed ; for the gofpel hath brought life and immortality to light, of which mankind before had but dark and doubtful expecT:ations. It teaches, in exprefs terms, what the law taught in Oiadows and types, and with an obfcurity, under which carnal minds feidom difcerned the fpiritual and hea- venly blefiingsthat were to be underftood: it changes the objetl of our faith from the Meiliah to come, to one already come ; but ftill the MelTiah is the Saviour ; ftill the joys of heaven the re- ward ; ftill virtue, and piety and faith, the conditions of attain- ing it ; whether the fimpler worfliip of the patriarchs, or the rites of the Mofaic law, or the faith and facraments of the gof- pel, difburdened frofn thefe rites, were the method which Al- mighty God, in his wifdom, thought fit, each in their proper feafon to prefcribe as a neceiTary qualification for them at that time. So that, though the law and the gofpel, as to their dif- ference in modes and circumftances, were perfedlly diftinft ; yet, in effect, and as to the efientials of obedience and moral virtue, the reward aimed at, and the ground and foundation of mens hope, they were one and the fame covenant ; but under different denominations, according to the period of time where- in it was fully difcovered.— I fay fully dilcovered ; for though the covenant of grace was certainly prior to the giving of the law, and (as we faid before) virtually included in it ; jet, for- afmuch as it was not fuliy revealed until the preaching of Chrift, which was about fifteen hundred years after the giving of the law, the aptoftles, in their writings, call it the New, and Second Covenant, in conformity to the manner of diftion obferved among the prophets ; for » Behold the days come, faith the Lord, that I will make a ncv/ covenant with the houfe of ifrael, and v.ith the houfe of Judah ; not according to the covenant I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt ; but this fliall be the covenant that I will make with them :— I will put my law in their inward parts, and v>'rite it in their hearts ; I will be their God, and they Ihall be my people , and they Ihall teach i I Vn. i. 1 1, k Ibid. iii. 20. 1 Keb. xiil, g. aud Gi'fpels, Vol. II. r Jer xxxi. 3:, Uc m Star;bopc on the Epilllc* Cliap. I. Of the Covenant of Grace. 355 teacli no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brotlier, faying, Know the Lord ; for they fliall all know me, from the leait of them unto the greateft of them, faith the Lord ; for I will forgive their iniquity, and will remember their fin no more. Of the Conditions of the Second Covenant. IN the beginning of this work we have difcourfed at large of r. . the truth and veracity of the Mofaic and prophetical, Chrif- f^ith. tian and apoftolical revelation ; and (what more immediately concerns us here) from the miracles and predictions of Jefus Chrift, the excellency of his dodrine and wonderfulnefs of its J.'^ "ecef- propagation ; from the atteftation God gave of his being no im- ''' poltor, by many figns jind tokens, efpecially his rcfurreclion from the dead ; and the undeniable charadters concurring in his apoftles, to prove that they were true witneifes of what they relate concerning him, we have ihewn that God, who at fun- dry o times and in d'vers manners, fpake in time paft unto the fiuhers by the prophets, hath in thefe lail days fpoken unto us l\y his Son, whom he hath made heir of all things, by whom nllb he made the worlds ; who being the brightnefs of his glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himfelf purged our fms, fat down on the right hand of the Majefty on high. And if God has been pleafed to make fuch a revelation of his will, and therein to declare the covenant of grace by no lefs a perfon than his own beloved Son ; the firft and fundamental duty which this lays us under is, (as the apoflle exhorts) to 1' take the more earneft heed to the things which we have heard, left at any time we fiiould let them flip ; to fix it inde- leblyin our minds, and to give the utmofl confentof our hearts, without the leafl: doubt or referve, to this infallibly revealed truth — * that the man Chrift Jefus who was fo miraculoufiy born (as the holy evangelifts relate) fo wonderful in all the works and miracles of his life, fo furpading all the wifdom of the world in the excellency of his doctrine, and by his own choice (for the fake of --is miferable fmners) foihamefully treated and put to death upon the crofs, was likewife no lefs than the eternal Son of God and Saviour of the world, united in one and the fame perfon to our frail nature, for this very purpofe, that he might redeem us from the llavery of fm and Satan, and fatisfy the juftice of his heavenly Father for our rebellion againft him ; without which gracious interpofition we muft have lain under the Almighty's difpleafure for ever, and finally periihed in our fins. Faith o Heb. i. ), J