A Collection Of Sermons And Tracts

COLLECTION O F SERMONS and TRACTS; CONTAINING, I. The Doctrine of the Trinity, stated and vindicated. II. The Doctrine of the Resurrection, stated and defended. III. The Doctrine of Justification, stated and maintained. IV. The Doctrines of God's Everlasting Love to his Elect, and their Eternal Union to Christ, with other Truths, stated and defended, against Dr Taylor. V. The Doctrine of the Saints Final Perse verance, asserted and vindicated. VI. The Doctrine of Predestination stated, and set in aScripture-Light, against Mr Wesley. VII. The Prophecies of the Old Testa ment, respecting the Messiah, proved to be . literally fulfilled in Jesus. VIII. A Dissertation concerning the An tiquity of the Hebrew Language, Letters, Vowel-Points, and Accents. IX. Two Annual Discourses on the Duty of Prayer and Singing of Psalms. X. An Essay on the Original of Funeral Sermons, Orations, and Odes. XI. A Brief Confession of Faith and Prac tice, read and assented to at the Admission of Members into the Church, in Carter-Lane, Southtoark. By the late Reverend and Learned JOHN GILL, D.D. VOL. III. Published at the Request of the Subscribers to the Two former Volumes. LONDON: Printed for G E O R G E K E I T H, in Gracechurch- Street. M DCC LXXVIII. • •

ADVERTISEMENT. THE Volume now published, is in pursuance of the request of many of the Subscribers to the two former Volumes. Not withstanding that almost all the pieces contained in- it may be had separately in Octavo, yet it was thought convenient to have them collected into a Volume of the fame size, that they might have the Doctor's whole Works fit to bind uniform: and there being but a very small impression of this Volume cast off, to oblige the Purchasers of the former Volumes, they are requested to compleat their Setts as soon as possible, lest they be disappointed. There are now printed in Quarto, new and elegant Editions of Dr Gill'S Exposition of the Canticles, in 122 Sermons. ■ Cause of God and Truth, against Dr Whitby and others. • Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity, 3 vol. » — Collection of Sermons and Tracts, 3 vol. ' > Exposition of the whole New Testament, 5 vol. Exposition of the Old Testament, vol. I. and II. con taining the Pentateuch, or Five Books of Moses. As the Editor hao been at a very considerable expence in publish ing these New Editions, to accommodate the Public, (by which means the Purchasers will have the Works at about half the price which otherwise they must have paid for them in a little time) he humbly hopes that, by the generous patronage of the friends of Evangelical Truths he shall have encouragement to compleat the remainder of the Old Testament, containing the Historical, Poetical, and Prophetical Books ; he undertakes it with no lucrative views, but only wishes, by their kind assistance, to be enabled to compleat the Author's Works in this size. Nov. 10, 1778. THE

THE CONTENT S. VOLUME III. 7-> ■ Page HE Doctrine of theTrinity, stated and vindicated-, inseveral Discourses on that important Subject ; reduced into the form of a Treatise, - - i II. The Doctrine of the Resurrection, stated and defended; in two Sermons preached at a Lecture in Lime-Street,- ----_-._ gy III. The Doctrine of Justification by the Righteousness of Christ, stated and maintained; in several Discourses, ---------- 147 IV. The Doctrines of God's Everlasting Love to his Elect, and their Eternal Union with Christ : Together with some other Truths, stated and de fended : In a Letter to Dr Abraham Taylor, ------ ^ V. . The Doctrine of the Saints Final Perseverance, asserted and vindicated z In Answer to Mr John Wesley, ---------- 230 VI. The Doctrine of Predestination fiated, andset in the Scripture-Light ; in Opposition to Mr Wesley'j Predestination calmly considered : With a Reply to the Exceptions of the said Writer to The Doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints, - ---------- 257 VII. The Prophecies of the Old Testament, respecting the Messiah, considered; and proved to be literally fulfilled in Jesus : In Answer to the Author of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, - -------281 VIII. A Disj'ertation concerning the Antiquity of the Hebrew Language, Let' ttrs, Vowel-Points, and Accents, - ---------429 IX. Two Discourses ; the one on Prayer, the other on Singing of Psalms. From 1 Corinthians xiv. 15. -------~.__ c^t X. An Essay on the Original of Funeral Sermons, Orations, and Odes : In a Letter to a Friend, ----------_.__ fog XI. A Declaration of the Faith and Practice of the Church of Christ under the Pastoral Care of Dr John Gill, -- - ----626 S E R MO N S

SERMONS and TRACTS. THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, STATED AND VINDICATED. Being the Substance of several Discourses on that important Subject; reduced into the Form of a Treatise. CHAP. I. The Introduction \ with the proof of the unity of the Divine Essence -, or, that there is but one God. THE Doctrine of a Trinity of persons in the unity of the divine essence is, without controversy, a great mystery of godliness. The ancient Jews used to call it the sublime mystery % and sometimes the mystery of all mysteries1 i which if a man did not endeavour to make himself acquainted with, it would have been better for him if he had never been created : and sometimes they called it the mystery of faith1 -, a phrase which the apostle uses m i Tim. iii. 9. where he makes it one part of the qualification of a deacon, to " hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience." By which, perhaps, agreeable to the use of the phrase among the Jews, he may chiefly design the Vol. III. B doctrine * nuby *H NP Zohar in Gen. sol. 1. col. 3. Ed. Sultzbach. sol. 3. Ed. Crcmon. k rn b21 NP Zohar in Exod. sol. 66. col. 3. sol. 71. col. 4. Ed. demon. f N/w^nDi an ibid.

2 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, doctrine of the Trinity. And if this, is to be held in a pure conscience by dea cons, much more by the Ministers of Christ, who are stewards of the mysteries of God, and whose business it is to make known the mystery of the gospel to others. This is a doctrine of pure revelation. That there is a God, and that there is but one God, who is a Being possessed of all divine perfections, may be known by the light of nature : but that there is a Trinity of persons in the Godhead, who are distinct, though not divided from each other, is what natural reason could never have discovered. The books of the Old a.n,d New Testa ment contain the " sure word of prophecy, to which we do well if we take •' heed, as unto a light that (hineth in a dark place". This is and ought tobe our guide in all such abstruse and mysterious doctrines ; if we leave this, and are led and governed by the false reasonings of our carnal minds, no wonder if we run ourselves into- mazes, and then find it difficult to get clear. " To the law and to the testimony, if any speak not according to this word, -•* it is because there is no light in them V Since this doctrine is revealed in scripture, it ought to be an article of our faith ; though it may be attended with some difficulties, which we cannot account for. That it is a doctrine of great importance, needs no other evidence, though other may easily be given, than the great opposition which Satan has made against it. He, indeed, has recourse to many stratagems, wiles and cunning devices to support his own interest, and hurt the interest of Christ. But there are two ways more especially, which he has taken for this purpose : one is, to depreciate the divine Being in one or other of the three glorious persons wherein it subsists, in their characters or offices : and the other is, to magnify and exalt the reason of man, his in tellectual powers, and the freedom of his will, in spiritual and divine things. One while man is set up as a creams'* invested with powers and abilities to convert himself, to do every thing that is spiritually good, and that may con duce to his present or future happiness, the design of which is, to throw a veil on the glories o^ divine grace, and render the merits of Christ, and the operas tions of the spirit, unnecessary : at other times he employes all his strength and cunning, either to destroy the proper Deity of the Son and Spirit, and to bring into contempt their respective characters, offices and works ; or to introduce a total confusion into the sacred Trinity, by denying a distinction of persons in the Godhead, the whole of which may be properly called antichristianifcn 3 for " he is Antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son." He that fays % The father is the son, and the son is the father, and allows of no d Isa. viii. 20. • Viderint igitur Antichristi, qu\ negant patrem & filium. Negant enim patrem, dum eundem filium dicunt, & negant filium, dum eundem patrem credunt, dando illis qux non lunt, auscrendo qux sum. Tcrtullian. adv. Prax. cap. 30.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 3 no distinction between them, confounds them both; and by confounding them both, tacitlv denies that there is either. Now it being my present design to treat of the doctrine of the Trinity, I shall observe the following method in discoursing on this argument : I. I shall endeavour to prove the unity of the divine essence, or that there is but one God. II. That there is a plurality in the Godhead. III. That this plurality is neither more or fewer than three, which three are the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And, IV. I (hall consider the several characters, the proper Deity, and distinct personality of each of these three. I. I shall endeavour to prove the unity of the divine essence ; or, that there is but one God. This is a truth which the wiser sort ' of the heathens, their philosophers and poets, have assented to, who laughed at, and derided the polytheism of their own people : the Jews have always retained it even to this day, as an article 8 in their Creed; and no wonder they should, since it is writ ten, as with a fun-beam, in the writings of the Old Testament : and as for us Christians, " we know as the Apostle fays h, That an idol is nothing in the " world ; and that there is none other God but one." So that we are all Unitarians in a fense, though not in the fame sense. The method I shall take in discoursing on this head, will be this : Firsts I shall endeavour to prove the assertion, that there is but one God. Secondly, Explain in what fense we use the words, when we fay, there is but one God. First, I shall endeavour to prove the assertion. Now that there is but one God, will admit of proof from the consideration of the being and perfections of God, and his relation to his creatures ; as well as from the testimonies both of the Old and of the New Testament. 1st, That there is but one God, may be concluded from the consideration of the being and perfections of God, and his relation to his creatures. It may be argued from the necessary existence of God. He that is God, necessarily exists : if he does not necessarily exist, his existence must be owing b 2 to ' Mercurius, Trisinegistus, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Proclus, Plotinus, Porphyry, Aristotle, Epictetus, Seneca, Cicero, Plutarch, Homer, Hesiod, Theognis, Sophocles,^. Mornaeus de Verit. Christ. Relig. 1. 3. * It is the second Article in their Creed ; and is strongly asserted by Mttimtmdts, in Ycfodt Hattora, c. 1. j. 4, and by R. Joseph Alio, in Stpher Ihkarim, 1. 2. c. 6, 7. * 1 Cor. viii. 4.

4 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, to some cause, which cause must be either himself or another j not another, for then he that is the cause of his existence, must be God, and not he himself : and if he was the cause of his own existence, then he must be, and not be at the fame moment, or be before he was •, either of which is a contradiction in terms. It remains then, that God exists necessarily : and if he exists neces sarily, then there is but one God ; for a reason cannot be given, why there should be more than one that necessarily exists. The fame truth may be proved from the eternity of God. He that is God,, is eternal ; he is before all things ; he is from everlasting to everlasting ; he is the first and the last, the beginning and the end, and without either; he only hath immortality ; eternity is peculiar to him ; so as it cannot be ascribed to any other being ; nor can there be more than one eternal, and therefore no more than one God : for if, as he fays, " before him there was no God '* formed ; neither shall there be after him '•," and again, that there is- " no- " God with him k ;" then it follows, there can be none but himself. The immensity and infinity of God are strong proofs of his unity* God is infinite in his being and perfections : " his understanding is infinite '," an(i so are his power, his goodness, his justice and his holiness, &c As his eternity is that perfection by which he is not bounded by time, so his immensity* or infinity, is that perfection by which he is not bounded, or circumscribed by space. He that is God is every where ; there is no fleeing ftom his presence $ he fills heaven and earth with it ; and by filling them, is not contained in them : " the heaven, and the heaven of heavens cannot contain m " him. Now more infinites than one there cannot be : if we suppose two, either the one must reach unto, comprehend, and include the other, or it must- not } if it does not, then it is not infinite and immenle, and so not God ; if it does reach unto, comprehend and include the other •, then that which is included by it is finite, and so not God. In short, there cannot be more infinites than one ; and if there cannot be more infinites than one, then there cannot be more gods than one. The argument will receive some strength from the consideration of God's omnipotence. He, that is God, is almighty ; can do all things •, sits in the heavens, and does whatsoever he pleases : and if there is one that can do all things, what need is there of more ? or what reason can be given why more should be supposed ? The word, almighty, admits of no degrees j it cannot be said that there is one that is almighty, and another that is more almighty, and another that is most almighty •, np, there is but one almighty, and therefore but one God. „, i. he « Iso. xliii. 10. * Dcut. xxxii. 39. » Psalm cxlvii. j. ■ 1 Kings viii. 27.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 5 The goodness of God may be brought in to support this truth. He that is God is good originally, and essentially ; he is the fountain and cause of all goodness in and towards others ; he is good, and he does good ; all the streams of goodness flow from him j and if what our Lord fays is true, as it certainly is, " there is none good but one, that is, God n :" then it. follows, that if there is but one good, there is but one God. I might go on to prove the unity of the divine being from the perfection of God. He that is God is perfect in his nature and works. If we suppose more gods than one, there must be some essential difference, by which they are distinguished one from another ; and that essential difference must be either an excellency, or an imperfection : if an imperfection, then he, to whom it be longs, cannot be God; because he is not perfect ; if it is an excellency, he, in whom it is, is thereby distinguished from all others, in whom it is warning •, and so can only be God : take it which way you will, there can be but one God. Moreover, he, that is God, is El Shaddai, God all-sufficient ; he stands in need of nothing, nor can he receive any thing from others : " who hath " first given to him, and it shall be recompensed to him again ° ?" Now allsufficiency cannot be properly, said of more than one. Besides, there is but one first cause of all things, and therefore but one God. Men, from the consideration of effects, arrive to the knowledge of causes, and from the consideration of them, to the cause or causes of them, until they come to the first cause of all things, in which they fix and center, and which they truly call God : and thus by the things that are made, the Gentiles may come to the knowledge of the eternal power and Godhead, or of the unity of the divine essence or being j so that they are without excuse. Now, as there is no reason to believe that there is any more than one first cause of all things ; so neither is there any reason to believe that there is more than one God. In fine, this may be concluded from the relations of God to his creatures. He is their creator, their king, their judge, and lawgiver : now there is but one creator, who is the first cause of all things. There is but one King of kings, and Lord of lords ; but one, whose is the kingdom, and who is the governor among the nations. From the government of the world, we have no reason to conclude that there is any more than one governor ; neither are there any more lawgivers than one, who is able to save and to destroy ; and but one judge of all the earth, who will do right. As God is one in his nature or essence, and cannot be multiplied or divided, so he is one in his relation to his creatures. But I go on ;. idly, » Matt. xix. 17. o Rom. xi, 35.

6 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, idfy, That there is but one God may be sufficiently proved from the books of the Old and New Testament. i. From the books of the Old Testament. That famous and remarkable passage in Deut. vi. 4 fully expresses this truth : " Hear, O Israel, the Lord " our God is one Lord." This is one of the sections of the law which the Jews put into their Tephillin or Phylacteries, and bind on their foreheads and arms, to put them in remembrance of their duty. This place of p scripture they read every morning and night, with great devotion ; and at every turn, object it to the Christians, as asserting the unity of God, to the exclusion of the doctrine of a Trinity of persons ; though to little purpose, as I shall shew hereafter. The prophecy of Isaiah abounds with proofs of this truth. In chap, xliii. io. God fays : " Before me there was no God formed, neither shall " there be after me." And in chap. xliv. 6. " Thus faith the Lord, the " Lord, the King of Israel, and his redeemer, the Lord of hosts ; I am the " first, and I am the last, and besides me there is no God." And in ver. 8. the latter part : u Is there a God besides me ? yea, there is' no God, I know " not any." And in chap. xlv. 5, 6. " I am the Lord, and there is none else, " there is no God besides me : I girded thee, though thou hast not known " me : That they may know from the rising of the fun, and from the west, " that there is none besides me, I am the Lord, and there is none else." And ver. 14. latter part : " Surely God is in thee, and there is none else, there is " no God." So ver. 18, 21, 22. The fame may be observed in chap. xlvi. 9. " Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is none else, " I am God, and there is none like me. These are some of the proofs of the unity of the divine being from the Old Testament ; and therefore we need not Wonder that the Jews so closely adhere to this article. 2. The New Testament is as full and as express for this as the Old Testa ment. Our Lord Jesus Christ not only cites q that text in Deut. vi. 4. but addresses God after this manner, John xvii. 3. " This is life eternal to know " thee, the only true God." And the apostles from him, as well as from the writings of the Old Testament declare, That there is but one God. The apostle Paul fays, in Rom. iii. 30. *' It is one God, which shall justify the *' circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith :" and in 1 Cor. viii. 6. " To us there is but one God the Father, of whom are all things, and " we in him j and one Lord Jesus, by whom are all things, and we by him." So Epb. iv. 6. " One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through «• all, and in you all :" and in that famous text, 1 Tim. ii. 5. " For there is cc one t Vide Talmud, Beracot, sol. 2. 1, 2. & Maimon. Hilch. Kcriat Shema,c. 1. J. 1, a. 1 Mark xii. 29.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 7 ** one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." And to close this account, the apostle parties commends persons for assenting to this truth, when he fays, chap. ii. 19. " Thou believest that there is one " God, thou dost well ; the devils also believe and tremble." I have not made any remarks on these texts of scripture, because I shall have occasion to consider them hereafter, and give the sense of them. I now proceed, Secondly, To explain the sense of this article, or shew what we mean, when we say, that there is but one God. And, 1. We do not understand this in an Arian fense v that there is but one supreme God, and two subordinate or inferior ones. Those phrases of Scrip ture, which express the unity of God, are not so much levelled against the notion of more supreme gods than one ', this being a notion which could never much prevail among the Gentiles ; nor is there much danger of people falling into it, seeing the notion is so absurd and contradictory ; but they are chiefly levelled against the vast number of petty and inferior gods, which men have been inclined to embrace and worship. Nor can any reason be given why two inferior gods should not stand as much excluded as two hundred, by these expressions •, and why we may not as well allow of the latter as the former. Either these two inferior Gods are creators, or creatures ; if they are creators, they are the one supreme God -, for to be a creator is peculiar to the supreme God : if they are creatures, as there is no medium between a creator and a creature, then " they are the gods that have not made the heavens and the " earth," and therefore shall " perish from the earth and from under these hea- '* vens:" nor ought they to have religious worship and adoration given them; because to do so would be a breach of that divine command, " Thou shalt " have no other gods before me ' ;" and would be serving the creature more than, or besides the creator, complained of in the Gentiles, Rom. i. 25. Nor, 2. Do we understand it in a Sabellian fense, that God is but one person. For though there is but one God, yet there are three persons in the Godhead. Though the Father, Word, and Spirit are one, yet not one person ; because if so, they could not be three testifierj. And when our Lord says ', " I and my " Father are one," he cannot mean one person ; for he speaks of himself as distinct from the Father, and of the Father as distinct from himself: and as it would be absurd to say, I and myself are one ; which he must mean if there is no distinction of persons ; so it would be contradictory to fay, that I, who am ' VLJt Dr Watcrland's sermons, p. 125, 126. And his first defence of queries, p. 4, j. • Exod. xx. 3. ' John x. 30.

8 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, am one, and my Father, who is another, are one person : his meaning is, that they were one in nature, essence, power, and glory. Nor, 3. Do we understand it in a Tritheistic fense ; that is to fay, That there are three essences, or beings numerically distinct, which may be said to be one essence or being, because they are all three of one and the same nature : just as three men may be said to be one man, because they are of the same human nature. But this is to make three gods, and not one ; their essences being numerically distinct: Whereas, We fay, that there is but one divine essence, which is common and un divided to Father, Son, and Spirit •, and in this fense we assert that there is but one God. There is but one essence, though there are different modes of subsisting in it. A lace writer has very wrongly represented us as holding u, That the divine nature of Christ is distinct from the father of spirits ; that the divine nature is partly in the father, and partly in the son j and that the son of God, in his divine nature, is a part of God. This we cannot but complain of as an injury done us, and must insist that the author retract it. If he thinks that these are consequences justly deducible from our principles, he ought not however to represent us as holding them, when we at the fame time utterly disavow them : this is not fair dealing. We fay that the whole divine nature or essence is in the Father ; and that the whole divine nature or essence is in the Son ; and that the whole divine nature or essence is in the Holy Ghost ; and that it is simple and undivided, and common to all three. Moreover, when we, with the scriptures, assert that there is but one God, we mean that there is but one only true God, in opposition to all false gods, to the idols of the Heathens-, to all nominal gods, or such that are only called so, and are not so really, are not gods by nature : and allo, in opposition to all figurative or metaphorical gods : thus angels, civil magistrates, and judges, are called gods, because of their exaltation and dignity. Moses is said to be a god to Pharaoh, and to Aaron : a man's belly is called his god, when he indulges it in an Epicurean way : and Satan, because of his usurped dominion, is called the god of this world. Again, when we fay, there is but one God, we thereby design, and so do the scriptures, to include, and not exclude, the deity of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost •, which will appear by considering the forementioned scriptures. To begin with Deut. vi. 4. " Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord :" which words are trulv rendered by the author w of " The great concern of Jew and Gentile ■" " Hear, ■• The great concern of Jew and Gentile, p, 27, 40, 4.1, 47, 50. " Page 1.

STATED AND VINDICATED, 9 *' Hear, O Israel, Jehovah, our Gods is one Jehovah." And the fame author justly observes, That " those words spoken by Moses, in so remarkable a stile, '*« and after many ages, by Christ himself, when he appeared in the world, call *• for the special regard and attention of such, who in all nations, professed his " worship, &c." But the account which this author gives of these words, I must be obliged to make some few strictures upon. His fense is this x : "By ** the first mention of the name Jehovah, in this place, I consider him, says "*' Jie, as the only living and true God, who has one of his names Jealous, '"** and will not give his glory to another : by the second name or character, our " Gods, I consider him in our nature, in his Christ, the man his fellow ; «* whom he has taken into union with himself, under the character of the *• Word ; and having so done, in the appointed time, made his soul an " offering for fin, for the gracious purpose of our redemption and salvation : <c and by the third, that i% the same sacred name, Jehovah, as the first ; I ** understand the fame God, making himself known to his people through his *• Christ, in whom he was to reconcile the world unto himself." I agree with this author in the fense of his first name, Jehovah, as intending the only living and true God ; but can by no means assent to his interpretation of the second name or character, as he calls it, our Gods ; which he makes to be the fame only living and true God, in our nature •, which he has taken into union with himself, under the character of the Word. Now by the only living and true God, he means either God personally, or God essentially considered ; not God personally considered, because he disallows of a distinction of persons : I apprehend, therefore, that he means God essentially considered. Now let it be observed, that the divine nature or cslence, simply and absolutely considered, was not united to the human nature; but as it was in such a mode of subsisting: or in other words, the divine nature, as it subsisted in the person of the Ao'y0f, or Word, was united to the human nature. Otherwise, the Father and the Holy Ghost might be truly said to be incarnate, and to suffer, die, and rise again, as well as the Son : whereas it was not the Father, nor the Holy Ghost, but " the Word that was made flesti, and dwelt among us :" it was not the Father, but the Son that was " made of a woman, made under the law." And after all, it is somewhat shocking and surprising to me, that the human nature, being united to the divine nature, should make a plurality in the Deity, which is the only reason of this. plural expression, our Gods, hinted at by this author : for though the human nature, by its union to the divine nature, is greatly exalted and dignified, yet it is not deified ; it is not transmuted into the same nature; it is not made a God of; nor does it give any plurality to the Deity. As for the author's fense of the third name, Jehovah, I must confess, Vol. III. C I do * Ibid. p. 7.

io THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, I do not understand it ; it is altogether obscure and unintelligible to me ; and therefore this author must not be displeased if I take up his own words, used by him in the same page, and say, It " is a confused meaning and the language " of Babel." The true meaning of the text, 1 take to be this : Jehovah, our Gods, Father, Son, and Spirit, are one Jehovah. How the ancient synagogue, or the old Jewish writers understood these words, you will fee by an instance or two out of their book of Zohar. The author in Gen. sol. i. col. 3. men tioning this text, and the three names Jehovah, Elobenu, Jehovah, fays : " These " are the three degrees in respect of the sublime mystery. In the beginning «« God, or Elohim, created, &c. " And in Exod. sol. 18. col. 3, 4. <c This is «' the unity which is called Jehovah, the first, Elobenu, Jehovah; lo! They are «' all one, and therefore called one, to shew that those three names are as one ; " and therefore we call them one, because they are one ; which is made known " by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, and indeed is abundantly manifest." And then he explains it by a simile taken from the voice, which though but one, consists of three things : so fays he, " Jehovah, Elobenu, Jehovah ; these « are one ; these three \>y\M modes, forms or things, are one." Once more on Numb. sol. 6y. col. 3. " There are two, and one is joined unto them, and " they are three, and these three are one : these are the two names which Israel " heard, Jehovah, Jehovah; and Elobenu is joined unto them ; and they become " the seal of the ring of truth." I need not observe to you, the sense of Christian writers on this text ; therefore will only mention a passage or two out of Fulgentius, because they contain some reasoning and argument. He* mentioning this text and the other, " Thou (halt worship the Lord thy God, " and him only shalt thou serve," makes this remark 7 : " Which God, fays ** he, we believe, is not the Father only, but the Father, and the Son, and " the Holy Spirit. For our faith, by which we serve and fear the one God, tt is not contracted by a personal union, nor disjoined by a substantial diffe- ** rence, lest we should either, after the manner of the Heathens, worship gods «« by worshipping different substances ; or with Sabellius, deny the Son and the « Spirit, not preserving the persons in the Trinity." And in another place2 : « if 1 Audi, Israel, Dominus Deus tuus, Dominus unus est, (3 Dominion Deum tuum adorabis, & illi soli Jervies. Quern Deum, non patrem solum credimus, fed pattern, & filium, & spiritum sanctum. Fides enim nostra, qua unum Deum colimus & timemus, nee unione personali contrahitur, nee substantial! diversitate disjungitur : Ne aut Deos Gentiliter colamus diversas colendo substantial, aut filium & spiritum cum Sabellio denegemus, non servantea, in Trinitate peifonas. Fulgent. Respons. contr. Arrian. obj. 4. 1 Quod si Dominum Deum, solum patrem accipere debemus, filio ergo nee ut Deo serviamus, aec cum adoremus : quicquid enim ad naturam Domini Dei folius non pertinct, ut Deus a rsolus adoiari non debet. Fulgent, ib. obj. 10...

STATED AND VINDICATED. n ** If by the Lord God we understand the Father only, then we should neither " serve nor worship the Son as God •, for whatsoever does not belong to the " nature of the Lord God only, ought not to be worshipped by us as God." In fine, if the Son, or Holy Ghost, stand excluded from the one Lord, in this text, then they must also stand excluded from that love and affection which we are required to pay him, in the following verse. The texts, which have been produced out of the prophecy of Isaiah, for the proof of the unity of God, are not to be understood exclusive of the Son, or of the Holy Ghost. In Isa. xliv. 6. one of the texts cited, the only Lord God calls himself the first and the last ; which title our Lord Jesus Christ takes to himself, Rev. i. 8. which he certainly would never have done, had he stood excluded from the one Lord God in this text, in Isaiah. Again, another of these texts, namely, Isa. xlv. 22, 23. is manifestly applied to Christ in Rom. xiv. 10, 11. which would never have been, had he stood excluded by it. As for the texts in the New Testament, already cited, it will quickly appear, that they are not to be understood to the exclusion of the Deity, either of the Son, or of the Holy Ghost. John xvii. 3. is the first passage cited: " This is life eternal, to know thee, " the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." Now had Jesus Christ, by this text, stood excluded from the only true God, he would never have joined himself with him \ Besides, eternal life is made as much to depend upon knowing Jesus Christ, as upon knowing the only true God. And after all, Christ is expressly called the true God, in 1 John v. 20. " This " is the true God and eternal life :" that is, This, his Son Jesus Christ j for he is the immediate antecedent to the relative, this. Rom. iii. 30. where " one God is said to justify the circumcision by faith, " &c." cannot be understood so as to exclude Jesus Christ ; seeing it is pro phesied of him, in Isa. liii. 1 1. that he should justify many : nor of the Holy Ghost ; because it is " in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our «' God that we are justified." If none can forgive sins, or justify sinners, but the one God ; and yet the Son and the Holy Ghost do forgive sins, and justify sinners ; then they, with the Father, must be the one God. As for 1 Cor. viii. 5, 6. where it is said, That " there is but one God the " Father." It ought to be observed, that the one God here stands opposed to the polytheism of the Gentiles, to them that are called gods, which were many. Moreover, he is not called the Father of Christ, and so not to be considered personally, but essentially, as the one God, the Father of spirits, c 2 the a Vide Dr Watcrland's first Defence of some queries, p. 9.

12 THE DOCTRINE Of THE TRINITY, the Former and Creator of all things; from which character neither the Son-,, nor Spirit stand excluded. Besides, if Jesus Christ stands excluded from this, one God the Father ; then, by the fame rule of interpretation, God the Father must stand excluded from the one Lord ; which is said of Jesus Christ in the very fame text. The fame remarks may be made on Eph. iv. 5, 6.. and the fame reply given to like objections formed upon it. Nor is Christ excluded from the one God, in 1 Tim. ii. 5. " There is one God, and one Mediator " between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." It is true, Christ is spoken of in his lower nature, as man ; yet there are some things said of him, which prove him to be God. Was he not God, he could not be a Mediator between God and men : he could not draw nigh to God, and treat with him about the peace and reconciliation of his people, much less effect it, or be a ransom for them, as he is said to be in the following verse. As to Gal. iii. 20. I do not take it to be a direct proof of the unity of God, and have therefore neglected it in my collection of proofs. The meaning of the text, I apprehend, is this : a Mediator supposes, at least, two parties, between whom mediation • is made. M Now, fays the apostle, a mediator is not of one, that is, of one " party* but God is one;" that is, one party : Now as Moses (for of him the apostle is speaking) was a Mediator between God, as one party, and the people of Israel as the other : so Jesus Christ is a Mediator between God, and his elect people. I shall conclude this discourse, on the unity of God, with a passage ascribed to Ignatius : «* Whosoever asserts the one only God \ to the ** exclusion of the divinity of Christ, (and, I may add, of the Holy Ghost) '** is a defamer, and an enemy of all righteousness." CHAP. II. Proving that there is a Plurality in the Godhead. HAVING, in the preceding chapter, proved the unity of the divine Beings or that there is but one God, I now proceed, II. To prove that there is a plurality in the Deity, which I shall endeavour to do; First, From the plural word Elobim% so frequently used when the divine Being is spoken of; and that in different forms of construction ; as, «J »x8j*« *£™< .Wwwik. Ignat. Epist. afcript. ad Antiochcn. p.. 84. Ed. Yoff.

STATED AND VINDICATED, !r3. r/?, It is sometimes in construction with a verb singular, as in Gen i. i. •* In the beginning God, or Elobim, created the heavens and the earth." Elobim being a word in the plural number, and Bara, which is rendered. created, being singular, many think it is designed to express the truth of a plurality of persons, in the unity of essence Moses might have made use of some of the names or appellations of God in the singular number ,. he might have said, Jehovah Bara,- Jehovah created; a name by which God had made himself known to Moses, and by him, to the people of Israel; or he might have made use of Eloah, the singular of Elobim, which he has made use of in Deut. xxxii. 15, 16. So that he was not obliged to make use of this plural word, from any want of singular appellations of God,, or from any barrenness in the Hebrew language. And when we consider that one design of Moses's writings, is to oppose and extirpate the polytheism of the Heathens, it may well seem strange that he should make use of a plural word, when speaking of God, which might have a tendency to strengthen them in their notion of a plurality of gods : nor certainly would he have used it as he does, thirty times in this history of the creation, and, perhaps, five hundred times more, in one form of construction or another, in the five books of his writings, had he not designed some kind of plurality or another. Now a plurality of gods he cannot mean ; because this is contrary to what he asserts Deut. vi. 4. "-Hear,. " O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord-," nor a plurality of names or characters, to which creative powers cannot be ascribed, but a plurality of persons. For the words may be cast into a distributive form, in perfect agree ment with the idiotism of the Hebrew language, and be thus read : •* In the ** beginning every one of the divine persons created the heavens and the ** earth •" and then the historian goes on to take notice of some of these persons, as concerned in the creation. He makes mention of the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters, in ver. 2. which the ancient c Jews understood of the spirit of the Messiah : and in ver. 3, he observes, that *» God said, that is, God, the Word, said, Let there be light, and there " was light." 2. This word is sometimes in construction with a verb plural,, of which there are several instances, as Gen. xx. 13. " And it came to pass, when " Win \TIN Ot6n the gods caused me to wander from my father's house." And so Gen. xxxv. 7. " And he, that is, Jacob, built there an altar, and called ** the place El bethel; because there vba )b>i DV^Nn, the gods appeared to «* him, &V." And once more, in 2 Sam. vii. 23. " And what one nation " in e Zohar in Gen. sol. 107. col. 3. and 128. 3. Berefhit Rabba, Parafli. 2. and 8. Vajikra.. Rabba, Paralh. 14. Caphtor. sol. 113. 2. Baal Hatturim in loc.

14 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, " in the earth is like thy people, even like Israels whom dvt'w D^TI the gods " went to redeem for a people to himself." Now as one well * observes, " That however the construction of a noun plural, with a verb singular, may " render it doubtful to some, whether these words express a plurality or no ; " yet certainly there can be no doubt in those places, where a verb or adjec- " tive plural are joined with the word Elohim." The plurality here expressed, cannot be a plurality of gods, for the reason above given ; nor of meer names and characters, but of persons ; for to these Elohim are ascribed personal actions ; .as their removal of Abraham from his father's house •, their appear ance to Jacob, and their redemption of the people of Israel. 3. It is sometimes in construction with adjectives and participles plural, as Deut. iv. 7. and v. 26. And in other places where mention is made of the living God, it is expressed in the plural O'TJ OV^N, the living gods ; as in 1 Sam. vii. 26, 36. Gen. xxxiii. 36. A very remarkable construction of this kind we have in Jer. x. 1 o. where it is said, " But the Lord is the true God ; O'TT " D'n1?** Kin he is the living Gods ;" expressing, at once, a plurality of persons in the one divine Being. Of the lame kind is "Josh, xxiv. 19 where Jojhua fays to the Israelites, " Ye cannot serve the Lord, for he is an holy God ■" which, in the Hebrewjs Nin D'ttHp O'n^N the holy Gods is he; which, in the natural construc tion of the words, mould have been on OHtrrp DvV?K the holy Gods are they, had not this mystery of a plurality in the one God been intended. Hence we read of more holies than one, in Prov. xxx. 3. "I neither learned wisdom, nor " have the knowledge D^ttHp of the holy ones." Once more, in Psalm lviii. 11. " Verily there is D*BB» BV^N gods that judge in the earth." Now of these Elohim it is said, that they live, are holy, are near to God's people, and judge in the earth ; all which are personal characters ; and therefore they, to whom they belong, must be persons. This is the first kind of proof of a plurality in the Deity. J do not begin with this because I judge it to be jjic clearest, and strongest proof of the point, but because Elohim is one of the names, and one of the most usual names of God. Nor do I lay the stress of the argument on the word Elohim itself, but as it appears in a very unusual form of con struction. 1 am sensible that the word is used of a single person in the Deity, in Psalm xlv. 6, 7. And it need not be wondered at, that a name that is common to all the three divine persons, should be appropriated to one of them ; especially when it is considered, that each divine person possesses the whole essence and nature common to all three. I know it is also given to Moses, who was appointed to be a god, or Elohim, to Aaron and Pharaoh: and .good reason there is for it, when he represented and stood in the room and stead 11 Allix's judgment of the Jewish Church, p. 124.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 15 stead of the trine-une God to them. Wherefore it is of little service to the Jews to object this to us e : nor ought it to be thought strange, when the idols of the Gentiles, in imitation of the true God, are called Elobim; whose names, as well as worship, Satan has endeavoured to mimic. The ancient Jews not only concluded a plurality,, but even a Trinity, from this word Elobim ; as appears from a passage in the book of Zobar f, where the author fays : " Come, " fee the mystery of the word Elobim: there are three \>ynf degrees, and every " degree is distinct by himself, notwithstanding they, are all one, and are " bound together in one, and one is not divided from the other." This is so. full an account of the Trinity, that one would rather, have thought it came out of the mouth of a Christian, than of a Jew. Was an Athanafian to give an account of his faith in the doctrine of the Trinity, he would do it in much. the fame language, except, that instead of degree he would use the word person.: And yet we find 1ertullian%, an ancient Christian writer, uses the word degree, when speaking of the persons in the Trinity ; and calls the Holy Ghost par ticularly the third degree. I have took no notice of the word Adonim, asapplied to God ; which though it is sometimes used of one, for the fake of honour, in the second and third, yet never in the first person plural, as it is of God in MaL i. 6. " If >ij* OMlia I am Lords, where is my fear ?" But I go on? Secondly, To prove a plurality in the Godhead, from some plural expressionswhich are used of the divine Being in scripture : and shall begin, 1. With Gen. i. 26. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after " our likeness." The pronouns us and our, do so manifestly express a plurality, that he must wilfully shut his eyes, who does not see it •, and yet, lest we should from hence conclude a plurality of gods, the words image and likeness are ex pressed in the singular number; a plurality in the Deity being entirely con sistent with the unity of essence. Nothing is more plain from hence, than that more than one was concerned in consultation about, and in the formation of man. Hence we have those plural expressions used of the divine Being, when he is represented as the Creator of men ; as in Job xxxv. 10. " Where ** is God, n?y my Makers ?" And Psalm cxlix. 2. " Let Israel rejoice vvy2 « in his Makers." And Eccl. xji. 1. " Remember ymz thy Creators in the " days •■ Vet. Nizzachon, p. 4. Ed. Wagenseil. f In Lev. sol. 27. col. 2. Ed. Sultzbach. sol. 29. Cremon. ( Tres autem non statu, kdgradu; nee substantia, fed forma; nee po testate, fed specie; unius autem substantiæ & unius status & unius poteftatis ; quia unus Dcus, ex quo & Gradus isti, 8c formae & species, in nomine patris 8c filii & spiritus sancti deputantur. TtrtuUian- adv. Praxeam, Ci 2. .Hoc mihi 8c in tertium gradum dictum sit, quia spiritual non aliundc puto; quarn a patre per filium, ibid. C. 4.

i6 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, ** days of thy youth." And Isa. liv. 5. " For -p^io thy husbands arc yvy «' thy Makers ; the Lord of Hosts is his name." Now what reason can be given for these plural expressions, if there was not more than one concerned in man's creation ? The Jews have tried at many things to evade the force of this text \ Some times they tell us, that God consulted with the souls of men, and with second causes •, with the elements, and particularly with the earth ', out of which he formed man ; and then breathed into him the breath of life : so that, in respect of his body, which is of the dust of the earth, he was made after the image of the earth •, and in respect of his soul, after the image of God ; and so in respect to both, after our image. But this is so wretchedly stupid, that it deserves no further notice. Others of them sayk, that God consulted with his angels, and speaks to them about man's creation, which is the reason of this plural expression. But it ought to be observed, that angels are creatures, and so not of God's counsel : For " who hath directed the Spirit of the 'Lord j " or, being his counsellor, hath taught him ? With whom took he counsel ? " Not with any of his creatures ; no, not with the highest angel in heaven j they are none of them equal to him, nor equal to the work mentioned in the text, under consideration : they are creatures, and therefore cannot be possessed of creative power ; nor were they concerned in man's creation ; nor was man made after their image and likeness. Others of them fay™, that God here speaks regio more, after the manner of kings ; who in their edicts, proclama tions, tiff, use the plural number to express their dominion, honour and ma jesty. But it ought to be considered, that the reason why kings and princes use plural expressions in their edicts, proclamations, 6JV. is because they con notate other persons, kings acting by the advice of their ministers, or privy counsel. Besides, this aulic or courtly way of speaking is not so ancient. No one instance can be produced in scripture, where the kings of Israel speak after this manner; nor indeed, where those proud, haughty and arrogant monarchs Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, and Beljhazzar use the plural number, when speaking of themselves only. The instances which are usually produced are foreign to the purpose ; and as a learned Jew observes ", are "jpty ny false witnesses. And as a worthy prelate observes °, *« It is a very extravagant 41 fancy to suppose that Moses alludes to a custom that was not (for what " appears) in being at that time, nor a great while after." The first instance of •> Vide Menasseh ben Israel, conciliat. in Gen. qua: It. 6. » So Vet. Nizzachon, p 5. Lipman. Carmen memorial. k Berefliit Rabba, Parash. 8. Jarchi & Aben Ezra in loc ' Isa. xl. 13, 14 0 R. Saadiah Gaon in Aben Ezra in loc. R. Bechai in loc. " Aben Ezra in Gen, i. 26. 0 Bp Kiddcr's demonstration ofthe Mcsliah, part 3. p. 90. Ed, Fol.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 17 of this royal way of speaking, is in the letters of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, mentioned in Ezra iv. 18. and vii. 23. which, as it is the most early intima tion of this mode of expression, so it ought to be observed, that it first appears in the latest account of things which the scriptures of the Old Testament give •, and further, that it is only a proof of this way of speaking in the Cbaldee, and not in the Hebrew language, and probably might take its rife in the court of Persia, from the conjunction of Darius the Mede, and Cyrus the Persian, in the government of the empire j in both whose names edicts and decrees might run, and letters be sent. This might occasion the first use of such plural expressions, and their successors might continue them to express their power and glory. After all, the Jews are conscious to themselves, that these words do furnish out an argument for a plurality in the Deity. Hence in one of their ancient commentaries upon this place p, they fay, That when Moses was writing the six days works, and came to this verse, he made a stop, and said, Lord of the world, why wilt thou give an occasion to heretics to open their mouths against the truth ? And add, that God should say to him, Write on j he that will err, let him err. Now this fabulous story is hatched on purpose to defend themselves against the argument of the Christians for a plurality in the Godhead, founded on this text ; and sufficiently discovers the fense they had of the force of it and the self- convictions they laboured under from this passage. They also tell us % That the seventy two interpreters who were em ployed by Ptolemy, king of Egypt, to translate the law, when they came to this text, read it not rwjtt, let us make ; but as if it was ntw», 1 will make : and this change was made by them, lest Ptolemy should think that they held a plurality of gods, as well as he. And for the fame reason they made the like change in other places ', where there is an intimation of a plurality, as in Gen. xi. 7. And Philo, the Jew *, affirms, That these words declare irxSV, a plurality •, and are expressive of others, as co-workers with God in the creation '. A late writer tells us ", That he " can conceive how God is said to do *« this, that is, to make man in our image, and after our likeness, by his Word " and Spirit-, for that he acted, in those respective characters, in his Christ, Vol. III. D " and t Berefliit Rabba, Parafli. 8. « Talmud, Megilla, so'. 9. I. ' Talmud, ibid. Berefliit Rabba, Parafli. 38. * rE iwr ycif, ^ixri, KufiOf 0 dtof YomVoftu aifipmror xttr iuti>u i/iilifat xa) iutS' ofioa/tru, T a Taivoftit **?•&<>« i/ipaiwlsj. Philo de confusione ling. p. 344. Ed Par. He asserts the fame in his book Dt Prosugis, p. 460. * "On hiru 0 9ioj, iromVof*i» at^fumot, o«»g lyQa'au cvjiTta^aXr,-^^ iti;w, it at trvagyii. Idem de opificio, p. 16. ■■ The great concern of Jew and Gentile, p. 20.

18 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, " and through his holy child Jesus." That the Word and Spirit were con cerned with God in the creation of man, is a truth, and is the true reason of this plural expression ; but then, these are- not to be considered as mere cha racters, under which God acted ; for mere names and characters cannot be consulted with ; nor can creative powers be ascribed to them ; nor have they any image and likeness after which man could be made. The words are a manifest proof of a plurality of divine persons, who were equal to one an other, and to the work of man's creation, in which they were jointly concerned. 2. Another scripture, which bears a testimony to a plurality in the Deity, is Gen. iii. 22. " And the Lord God said, the man is become as one of us." Which words are not spoken to angels, as fay the Jewilh writers v ; for they are not God's socials or equals, nor any of the Deity, as these here are said ta be. Had the words any reference to angels, they would have been read, The man is become as one of you. The words of the serpent to Eve determine the sense of these, when he says to her : " Ye shall be as Gods, knowing good *« and evil." Now whatever equivocal, ambiguous, fallacious, or deceitful meaning, the Devil had in these words ; yet it is certain, that he intended she should understand him of the divine Being-, and so she did. The bait which he laid for her, and which took with her, was not an equality to angels, but to God : this our first parents affected, and this was their ruin. The words may be considered either as an irony, or sarcasm on man's folly and vanity, in affecting Deity ; and then it is as if he had said : Behold the man whom Satan promised, and who himself expected to be as one of us. See how much like a God he looks ; who, but just now, was covered with fig-leaves, and now stands cloathed with the skins of slain beasts ; and who, by his sin, has brought ruin and misery on himself, and all his posterity : or else, they may be considered as a comparison of his past and present state , " Behold the " the man rvn x, was as one of us, that is, he was made in our image, and after " our likeness ; but he has sinned, and come short of his former glory : he has " defaced this image ; he is not like the man he was j and since he has done ■ this, What will he not do ? And now therefore, lest he put forth his hand, " fc?c." Consider the words either way, they prove a plurality in the Deity. Philo, the Jew y, acknowledges that these words are to be understood of more than one. 3. Another passage of scripture, which expresses the fame thing, is Gen. xi. 7. " Go to ; let us go down, and there confound th^ir language." Which cannot ■ Berefliit Rabba, Parafli. 21 . Aben Ezra in Ioc. x Vide R. Abendana in loc. f Keu raXu it«fri> o Seo», iJb ylyonn Ajajx u; it; *iuu>, ra yimax.i\* xakor, *ai »o«i{oir. To yets i!f • fit ifiun, ir. ip' i«5, «M* JwJ nKnirtit t19i1«». Philo dc consul", ling, p. 344, 34.5,

STATED AND VINDICATED.. 19 cannot be meant of Angels, in which fense the Jewish writers understand it1; for God never speaks in such language to them : had he spoke to them, it would have been in such a form as this : Goj« down, and do ye confound their language. But he does not thus speak •, but let us go down, &c. Besides, the work to be done, was such as angels could not do, nor any meer creature. The fame God that gave man the faculty of speech, and use of language, could only confound it. There was as great a display of divine power in the con fusion of language, as there was in bestowing the gift of tougue< on the apostles, at the day of Pentecost. No, this was not the work of angels, but of those divine persons, who are the one Jehovah ; who, in ver. 8. is said to scatter the people abroad from thence, upon the face of all the earth. Philo, the Jew, says *, That it is plain that God speaks to some here as co-workers with him. 4. Another text, which might be produced as a proof of a plurality in the Deity, is Isa. vi. 8. "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I " send, and who will go for us ? Then said I, here am I, send me." These are not' the Seraphim b, in ver. 2, 3. who are here speaking, but the Lord, who says, whom shall I, Jehovah, fend, and who will go for us ? Neither the name, nor the work agree to angels. Not the name Jehovah ; for that is in communicable to creatures : nor the work, which is the sending forth ministers to preach the gospel. For Angels themselves " are ministring spirits ; sent •* forth to minister for them who (hall be heirs of salvation." These are divine persons, and are no other than the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Of the Father, there is no question ; nor need there be any of the Son, since he expressly refers the words to himself, John xii. 39—41. as the Targum on the place does, to the Word of the Lord : nor ought there to be any with respect to the Holy Ghost, seeing they are manifestly applied to him in ABs xxviii. 25, 26. 5. There is one passage more in this prophecy of Isaiah, chap. xli. 2r —23. which I will just mention " Produce your cause, faith the Lord ; bring forth *' your strong reasons, faith the king of Jacob : let them bring them forth, " and shew us what shall happen : let them shew the former things, what they " be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them •, or declare " unto us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that " we may know that ye are gods : Yea, do good or do evil, that we may be d 2 " dismayed * Targum Jon. & Aben Ezra in loc. Jarchi on the place, says, That God consulted with his house of Judgment. * AetTi xai xalaGtiSltf wy^ta/Mt dvriit tijf yXulla.!, fawilai yds Ji<xAiyo(*£»o; Timr, w< dt rvct^yoTs dvra. Philo de confus. ling. p. 344. b So Kimchi & Aben Ezra in loc. r

ao THE DOCTRINE OF" T H E TRINITY, " dismayed, and behold it together." In which words it is manifest that the Lord, the Jebovab, who is the king of Jacobs continues speaking all along in the plural number ; upbraiding the gods of the Gentiles for their ignorance and imbecillity. These are proofs out of the Old Testament* to which some have added Cant. i. 1 1 . 6. I might now produce some passages out of the New Testament, which discover a plurality in the Godhead. Some have thought the words of our Lord, in John iii. n. are an indication of it j where our Lord may be thought to use the plural number, not on the account of his disciples, who were not concerned in that discourse of his with Nicodemus ; but with respect to the Father and the holy Spirit. For he was- not alone but these spoke in him, and bore witness with him. But I (hall conclude this kind of proof with Jobn xiv. 23. "Jesus answered and said unto him, If any love me, he will keep my ** words j and my Father will love him-, and we will come unto him, and make ** our abode with him." That more than one person is here intended is cer tain ; nor can we be at a loss about two, and who they are 1 for the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, are expressly mentioned, as distinct persons, having personal characters and actions,, such as coming to the man that loves Christ, and making their abode with him, ascribed unto them.. But I proceed, Thirdly, To endeavour to prove a plurality in the Deity from those places of scripture which speak of Jebovab, and of the Angel of Jehovah; which angel is also said to be Jebovab. And my argument from thence will be this : That if there is one who is Jebovab, that sends -, and another who also is Jebovab, that is sent ; then there.must be. a plurality in the Godhead. Let us attend to some instances. The first passage I shall take notice of is in Gen. xvf. 7. where we read of an angel of the Lord who found Hagar, Sarah's maid, in the wilderness, and bid her return to her mistress •, which angel appears to be Jehovah; for in ver. lOi he promises her that he would "multiply her seed exceedingly, that it " mould not be numbered for multitude;" which a created angel, or any meer creature, could never perform. And to put it beyond all doubt, that this angel of the Lord was Jebovab, in ver. 13. it is said, that " Ihe called " the name of the Lord, which spake unto her, Thou God seest me.** Again, in Gen. xviii. 1, 2. we read, that the Lord appeared to Abraham, in the plains of Mamre-, and that when he lifted up his eyes, and looked up^ lo, three men stood by him ; which were angels, as appears from chap. xix. 1. Now one of these was the great Jebovab, as is manifest from the name Jebovab being given to him, ver. 13, 20, 26. and in many other verses ; and from his separation from the other two, ver. 22. and from the works of Jebovab, which are ascribed to him, ver. 14. 17. Yea, he is called the judge of all the. earth,.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 21 earth, who will do right, ver. 25. And Abraham all along pays the utmost deference, and gives the profoundest respect unto him, ver.. 27, 30, 31, 32. So that from the whole, there is sufficient reason to conclude that one of these three angels was Jebovab. The angel of the Lord, who appeared to Abraham, when he was about to sa crifice his son, and bid him desist from iti Gen; xxii. 11,12. was no other than Jehovah ; for he tells him, that he had not withheld his Sonf his only Son, from him. Now it was at the command of God, and not a created angel, that Abraham went about to sacrifice his son ; it was to the Lord Jebovab that he devoted him, and to whom he was going to offer him up in sacrifice, and not to a created angel. And because the Lord himself thus opportunely appeared to him, he called the name of the ptecejebovab-jireb, that is, the Lord will appear. And again, a second time, the Tame angel of the Lord called unto him, and swears by. himself, which no creature ought to do, and promises that which no creature can do, that in blessing he would bless him; and in multi plying, he would multiply his feed as the stars of heaven : all which the author of the epistle to the Hebrews applies to the great God, Heb. vi. 13, 14.. So that we may be assured that the angel of the Lord, who here speaks, spoke in his own name, and not ministerially in his who sent him0.' The angel mentioned in Gen. xlviii. 16. cannot be understood of a created, but of an uncreated one. He stands upon a level with the God of Abraham, and Isaac;, and as great an act of divine power and goodness is ascribed to him as to that God, before whom Abraham and Isaac walked : as he fed Jacob all his life long;, so this angel redeemed him from all evil. Yea, he makes him the object of his supplication, and: invokes a blessing from him as from God, upon the lads, the sons of Joseph. The angel of the Lord, which appeared to Moses in the bush, Exod. iii. 2. was no other than Jebovab; which appears from the namesby which he is call ed, namely, Jehovah, God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; I am what I am, ver. 4, 6, 13, 14, 15. As also from the divine works and actionsa scribed to him : as, seeing the afflictions of the Israelites ; hearing their cries ; coming down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians;, and to bring them out of their land into a land flowing with milk and honey. The fame may be said of the angel in Exod. xxiii. 20. whom the Lord promised to send be fore his people Israel, to keep them in the way, and to bring them into the place which he had prepared. Here he requires them to yield obedience to him ; to be cautious of provoking and offending him ; and assures them, that he would not pardon their iniquities ; which would have been needless to • See The great concern of Jew and Gentile, p. 34. /

2z T H ED OC TRINE OF THE TRINITY, 4 to have observed to them, had he been a creature. None can forgive sins but God. Besides, he fays his name was in him, that is, as a late writer well enough observes d, his name Jehovah; and if that is in him, which is incom municable to a creature, then he must be the most high God, whose name alone is Jehovah. Moreover, the apostle Paul has assured us, that he who led and guided the people of Israel through the wilderness, and against whom they there rebelled, was Christ ; when he fays, i Cor. x. 9. " Neither let us tempt ' Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents ." We read also of an angel of the Lord, in Zech. iii. 1. who not only is called Jehovah, in ver. 2. but declares to Jojhua, in ver. 4. that he had caused his iniquity to pase away from him, and would clothe him with change of rai ment ; which none but the most high God can do : for who can take away sin, pardon it, or acquit from it, \>r clothe with a justifying righteousness but him ? Now it is easy to observe, in many of these instances, that obedience to this angel is required 5 that he is invoked and represented as the object of worship and adoration ; which would not be, was he not the true Jehovah. This the author of The great concern % &c. seems to be aware of ; and therefore tells us, That this angel personated Jehovah, and had his likeness ; and that the people of God, under that shadowy dispensation, were permitted to worship him. But to do this, is a breach of that command f, " Thou shalt worship " the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve ;" and to be guilty of that which is condemned by the apostle, Col. ii. 18. even worshipping of angels. As we have no instance of divine worship and adoration given to angels,' but on the contrary, that they are called upon to worship God's first begotten Son, Heb. i. 6. So when an offer of this kind has been made to them, they have always rejected it : an instance of which we have Rev. xxii. 8, 9. Indeed this author intimates, that since the Messiah, the substance, is come, it is not proper or lawful to worship angels : as though the change of the dis pensation made any change in the object of worship. Since the coming of Christ, some things have been altered, as to the outward form or manner of worship •, but the object of worship is invariably the fame : though God may change the one, he cannot change the other without denying himself. It is expected from uss, that we should reconcile these appearances of Jehovah, under the Old Testament, to the invisibility of God. When our Lord says, in John i. 18. That "no man hath seen God at any time ; the only " begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him ;" he d Ibid. p. 24. « Page 25. r Matt. iv. 10. e The great concern of Jew and Gentile, &c, p. 20.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 23 he means God the Father, who is manifestly distinguished, in the text, from his only begotten Son. And still more plainly does he express himself, in John v. 37. " And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath born witness " of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape." It is a rule, which, I believe, will hold good, that whenever any voice was heard under the Old Testament-dispensation, which is ascribed to Jehovah, it is always to be understood, not of the Father, but of the Word ; and when ever any visible shape was seen, it was the shape and form of the human nature, which the a«v>«. or Word assumed as a pledge and presage of his future incarnation. Besides, that God should, in some form or other, make some singular appearances of himself, or afford his singular grace and presence to his people, is no ways inconsistent with the invisibility of his nature or essence. For though he is that God, " whom no man hath seen, or can " fee," that is, his nature or essence ; yet there is a state of glory and per fection, in which the saints shall see him as he is. To conclude this head : my argument from these passages of scripture, as I before observed, stands thus : That if there is one who is the true Jehovah, that sends; and another distinct from him, who is also the true Jehovah, who is sent by him •, then there must be more than one who is Jehovah ; and so consequently there must be a plurality in the Deity: which is the thing I have undertaken to prove. But, Fourthly, This will also admit of proof from those passages of scripture^ which speak of two as distinct from each other, under the fame name of Jehovah, or God. I will just mention two or three instances of this kind. In Gen. xix. 24. it is said, That " the Lord, or Jehovah, rained upon Sodom and " Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord, or Jehovah, out of heaven." This wonderful conflagration was not made by the ministry of angels ; for wherever it is mentioned, as in Jer. 1. 40. Amos iv. 11. it is represented as the work of Elohim, of every one of the divine persons. In P/al. xlv. 6, 7. it is said : " Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever—Thou lovest righteousness, " and hatest wickedness : Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with " the oil of Gladness above thy fellows." Jer. xxiii. 5, 6. is another instance of this kind ; where Jehovah promises to raise up to David, a righteous branch, whose name should be called Jehovah, Our righteousness. And to add no more, in Hosea i. 7. Jehovah, or the Lord God declares, That he would " have mercy " on the house of Judah, and save them by the Lord their God ■" or, as the Targum paraphrases it, by the Word of their Lord their God. Now, in all these passages, it is manifest, that two are spoken of, as possessed of divine perfections, and as distinct from each other. He that rained fire and brim stone

2+ THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, stone upon Sodom and Gomorrah, must be distinct from him, from whom this fire and brimstone was rained, and must be one of equal power with him. He that was anointed with the oil of gladness, -or the Holy Ghost, must be distinct from him, by whom he wai anointed : the anointer and the anointed cannot be, in all respects, the fame. And so likewise Jehovah, who raised up the branch of David, must be distinct from the branch which was raised up by him-, as he also that promises to save his people, must be distinct from him, by whom they are saved. Now this distinction must be either nominal or real j not nominal, because they both bear the same name in all these pas sages. The distinction therefore, must be real j and if it is real, it must be either essential or personal •, not essential, for there is but one divine nature or essence ; otherwise there would be more gods than one. It remains then, that the distinction is personal, and consequently that there is a plurality of divine persons in the Godhead. There is one passage, which I have not taken notice of under any of the fore going heads, which seems to express a plurality in the Deity: it is in Dan. iv. 17. " This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word ** of the holy ones." These words are commonly understood of angels. And I deny not, but that they may be called watchers and holy ones ; and that they may be said to declare the decrees of God, and be the executioners of them: but then these decrees are not theirs: not any affair, that is done in this world, is done in consequence of any decree of theirs, much less a matter of such importance as this which concerned so strange a revolution in the Babylo nian monarchy. Besides, this decree is called the decree of the Most High, in ver. 24. from whence we learn who these watchers and holy ones were. They are no other than the divine persons in the Godhead, who are holy ones, and watch over the saints, for their good j and over the wicked, to bring evil upon them. These are called watchers and holy ones, to express a plurality in the Deity ; and they are called the Most High here, and the watcher, the holy one, in the singular number, ver. 13 to secure the unity of essence. This I take to be the true fense of these words : <nor am I alone in it". These are now some of the proofs of a plurality in the Godhead, which the scriptures furnilh us with-, there are many more which I might have collected ; but as they also prove a Trinity, I have reserved them for their proper place. k Vide. L'Empereur not. in J^chiad. in loc. and Allix's judgment of the Jewish Church, ,*C. p. 1 J2, I53. CHAP. *T

STATED AND VINDICATED, 25 CHAP. III. Shewing that there is a Trinity of Persons in the Unity of Essence. HAVING, in the former chapter, proved that there is but one God, yet that there is a plurality in the Godhead ; 1 now proceed, III. To prove that this plurality is neither more nor fewer than three; which three are the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost : or, in other words, that there is a Trinity of Persons in the Unity of the divine Essence. The doctrine of a real distinction of three Persons in one God, is denied by the Sabellians, called so from Sabellius, who lived in the middle of the third century ; and held that there was but one subjeElum, suppq/itum, hypostqsts or person in the Godhead. This was not first broached by him ; for before him Noetus strenuously asserted ', that there was no plurality in the Godhead ; that the Father and Son were but one Person. From him his followers were called Noetians, and sometimes Patripaffians ; because they held, in consequence of their former notion, that the Father was incarnate, suffered and died. Yea, before Noetus, Praxeas k, who was strengthened by ViElorinus, was much of the fame opinion ; against whom TertuUian wrote, and by whom his followers are called Monarchians '. The fame Christian writer tells us m, That one sort of the Catapbrygians held, that Jesus Christ was both Son and Father. Indeed one of the tenets ascribed to Simon Magus is \ that he held but one person in the Godhead ; and that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, were only different names of one and the fame Person, according to his different way of operation. Simon said of himself0, that he was the Father in Samaria, and Son in Judea, and the Holy Ghost in the rest of the nations. He seems to have received his notion of unity, in opposition to a Trinity of Persons in the Deity, from the Jews, who were now turned Unitarians ; having exploded their anciently re ceived doctrine of the Trinity, in opposition to the Deity and Messiahship of Jesus Christ. I do not mention these things to make any odious comparisons, or to fix any invidious names on persons, but to shew the rise and progress of this error j and lest any should think that they have got new light, when they Vol. III. E have • Vide August, de Hæret. c. 36. k TertuUian. de prescript. Hxret. c. 53. & adv. Praxeam, c. 1,2. 1 TertuUian. adv. Praxeam, c. 10 n De prescript. Ilrret. c. 52. n Vide Danseum in August, dc Hæret. 1. ° Vide Irenseunn, adv. Hærcs. 1. It c, to.

26 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, have only embraced an old stale error, that has had its confutation over and over. The opposcrs of the doctrine of the Trinity, and of the distinction of Persons in it, are not reconciled to the use of the words, Trinity, Unity, Essence, and Person j because they are not literally, and syllabically expressed in scripture. But since we have the things themselves signified by them, why we should scruple the use of the words, I fee not. As for the word Trinity, though it is not formally expressed, yet the fense of it is clearly signified in scripture : for if there are three which are some way or other really distinct from each other, and yet but one God, we need not scruple to say, there is a Trinity in the Godhead. Nor have we the word unity in scripture ; yet we are told, that the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit are one ; and that Christ and his Father are one: now if they are one, then there is an unity, and that is a sufficient reason why we should make use of the word. The word Essence is not used in scripture ; but we are told, that God is that he is, • »», which is, and was, and is to come; and if God is, then he has an essence. An essence is, that by which a person or thing is what it is •, and seeing God is, essence may be truly predicated of him. As for the word Person, it is used in Heb. i. 3. of God the Father ; where Christ is said to be " the brightness " of his glory, and the express image of his Person." It is not indeed agreed, whether the word tW«e-i{, should be rendered substance or Person ; I would only observe, That the Greek Fathers, when speaking of the Trinity, use the word in the same sense, in which our translators have rendered it. There is another word, which they also make use of, when they speak of the Persons in the Trinity, and that is «eo<rw*o»i which is used by the apostle when he is speaking of Christ, in 2 Cor. iv. 6. which our translators render " the face " of Jesus Christ :" The words might be translated, the Person of Christ ; and without such a version, the sense of the words is not very easy. Besides, they have rendered the fame word so in 2 Cor. i. 1 1. where the fense requires it. Justin Martyr uses the word in abundance of places in his writings, if the Expofitio Fidei, and Quast. &f Respons. ad Ortbodoxos are allowed to be his j and defines it to be rfan Jwap|f«5 p, a mode of subsisting in the divine essence; and says, That there were rpi'a wf«r»wa«, three Persons in God. Tertullian, a little after him, who was one of the first Latin writers, frequently uses the word persona ' ; and tells us what he means by it : *' Whatsoever, says he, " was * "Oti to fti> ayiarsior xu\ yttnlot xa. ixwopii/lcy, ux aViotf oro/Mtlo, <U« Tfciroi viresffiaf, 5 Ji TfiltOf TW t/9rap|i«f, roT< hnp.a.o\ xafeuftrifiifia.x twIoi?- Justin. Expos. Fid. p. 373. 4 Ibid. p. 3, 6. Quacst. & Respons. ad Orthodox, p. 401. ' Adv. Prax. c. 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 27 ** was the substance of the Word, that I call a Person ; and to it I give the xt name of a Son : and whilst I own a Son, I maintain a second from the *' Father'." A person has been since defined by Boetius\ " An individual «« substance or subsistence of rational nature." And by others u, « An indi- " vidual, that subsists, is living, intelligent, incommunicable, is not sustained " by another -, nor is a part of another." It is an individual, and therefore something singular : it differs from universal natures. It subsists of itself, and therefore is not an accident ; which does not subsist of itself, but inheres in another. It is living ; hence a stone, or any other inanimate being, is not a Person. It is intelligent, or understands ; wherefore an horse, or any other brute, is not a person. It is incommunicable, and so it is distinguished from essence, which is communicable to more. It is not sustained by another; hence the human nature of Christ is no Person, because it is sustained by the person of the Word. It is not a part of another ; hence a human foul is no Person, because it is a part of man. In one word, I fay, with Dr Water land", " That " each divine Person is an individual intelligent agent : But as subsisting in " one undivided substance ; they are altogether, in that respect, but one un- ** divided intelligent agent." Or, as he elsewhere expresses itx: "A single ** person is an intelligent agent, having the distinctive characters of I, Thou, " He, and not divided or distinguished into more intelligent agents, capable " of the fame characters." Now, according to either of these definitions, we may argue thus : a person is an individual, that subsists, lives, understands, &c. but such is the Father, therefore a Person ; such is the Son, therefore a Person -, such is the Holy Ghost, and therefore a Person. From the whole, there seems no reason to lay aside the use of this word. I am not however so attached to it, but that I could part with it, provided a more apt and suitable word was substituted in its room •, whereby a real distinction in the Deity, might be maintained : but it would be apparent weakness to part with this without the substitution of another, and that a better word ; though it is a difficult thing to change words, in such an important article as this, without altering the sense of it. It is a rule, that in many instances holds good, Qui fingit nova verba, nova gignit dogmata ; he that coins new words, coins new e 2 doctrines. » Quæcunque ergo substantia Sermonis suit, illam dico personana, & illi noraen filii vindico, & dum filium agnosco, secundum a patre defendo, ibid. c. 7. * Persona est naturae rationalis individua substantia. Et, pauLo post : Longe vero illi fignatius [ nature rationalis individuam subsistentiam, viroraa-mt nomine vocaverunt. Boetius de persona & natura, c. 3. u Vide Wendelin. ChriBian. Theolog. 1. 1. c. z. Thes. 2. p. 93, 94. & Essenii System. Theol. par. 1. disp. 16. p. 140. w First, defence of queries, p. 350, " Second defence of queries, p. 766.

2S THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, doctrines. If those, who dislike the use of this word, think it is a lessening or diminishing of the glory of the eternal Three, to call them Persons, it mull be ten thousand times more so, to bring them down to mere names and cha>rasters, and therefore we shall never care to exchange Persons for respective names and characters. If we cannot speak of God as he should be spoken of, let us speak of him as we can ; if we cannot speak with the tongue of angels, let us speak as men, in the best and most becoming way we are able. To reject the use of human phrases, because they are not formally expressed in scripture, is, as Dr Owen observes T, " to deny all interpretation of the " scripture, all endeavours to express the fense of the words of it, unto the " understanding of one another ; which is, in a word, to render the scripture " itself altogether useless : for if it be unlawful for me, to speak, or write,, " what I conceive to be the sense of the words of scripture, and the nature of " the thing signified, and expressed by them ; it is unlawful for me also to •* think or conceive in my mind, what is the fense of the words, or nature •' of the things -, which to fay, is to make brutes of ourselves, and to frustrate " the whole design of God in giving unto us the great privilege of his word." Having premised these things, I shall endeavour to prove the doctrine of a Trinity of Persons, in the one God. Now this being a doctrine of pure reve lation, it cannot be expected that it should be demonstrated by arguments taken from the reason of things r nor shall I go about to illustrate it by na tural similies, which have been observed, by some, to advantage z ; as that of the soul of man, which consists of the mind, and understanding, and will j which are so distinct from each other, so that the one is not the other, and yet are all but one soul : and also, that of the fun ; its beams and light, which are but one fun : and that of the spring, fountain, and streams, which are but one water. But leaving these, I shall endeavour to prove the point from testi monies of scripture, out of the Old and New Testament. And shall begin, ijl, With the creation of all things in general. I before endeavoured to prove a plurality in the Godhead, from thence •, and shall now attempt to establish a Trinity of Persons. I need not long insist on the proof of the Fa ther's concern in the creation of all things ; since he is said to have " created •* all things by Jesus Christ a ;" and by him, his Son, to have " made the " worlds." The apostles addressed him as the Lord God, who " made heaven " and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is b " against whose Christ, and holy child, Jesus, " both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the " people of Israel, were gathered together." Nor need there be any hesitation. concerning y On the Trinity, p. ai * Vide Mornæum de Vcrit. Relig. c 5. • Eph. iii. 9. Heb. i. 2. b Acts iv. 24, 26, 27.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 29 concerning the Word, or the second Person's having an hand in this great work ; seeing the-Evangelist John says of the Word % " who was in the begin- " ning with God, and was God ;" that " all things were made by him, and " without him was not any thing made that was made." It was he, the Word, that so often sard, Let it be so, and it was so. And as for the holy Spirit, it was he that " moved upon the face of the water's," and brought the rude and confused chaos into a beautiful order. The Lord, " by his Spirit"1, hath gar- **• nistied the heavens ; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent." When he sent forth his Spirit, all his creatures were brought into being; and by him, the face of the earth is renewed every returning spring ; which is little less than a new creation. And you will find a'l these three mentioned together, as concerned in the great work of creation : *• By the Word of the Lord were " the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth '." Where by the Lord, is meant God the Father'; and by his word, the AoVc, or Word that was with him from everlasting ; and by the breath or spirit of his mouth, the Holy Ghost. Now here are three who were manifestly con cerned in the production of all creatures, into being ; nor can any one of them be dropped, nor can a fourth be added to them. It remains- then, that there is a Trinity in the Godhead. 2d/y> This will further appear from the creation of man in particular; in which, as it is easy to observe a plurality, so it is to behold a Trinity. If God the Father, made the heaven, and the earth, and the sca^ and all that in them is ; then he must have made man the principal inhabitant of the lower world : and if without the Word was not any thing made that was made-, then without him man was not made, who was made. Besides, Christ, the Word, is called the Lord, our Maker : " O come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel " before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God, and we are the people of ** his pasture, and the sheep of his hand ; to-day if ye will hear his voice g." Which words are expressly applied to Christ, by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews h. In his hand are all God's elect, who may be truly called the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand; being his care and charge and constantly fed and preserved by him. To none so properly as to Christ do those words belong in the prophecy of Isaiah ' : " Thy Maker is thine " Husband, and thy Redeemer the holy one of Israel-" he being in a peculiar sense, the Husband and Redeemer of his people. And as for the Holy Ghost " it6 John i 3. d Job xxvi. I j. Psalm civ. 30. e Psalm xxxiii. 6. f Dicendo enim, Verio, (ilium declarari ; adjungendo Domiyii patrem, Sespiritu oris ejus, utique spiritum sanctum intelligi, qui ante tempora de patre processit, & ut in tribus personis manifests, intelligeretur trinitas, ejus dictum efle non F.crum. Cajjvodor, in loc. » Psalm xcv. 6, 7, 8.. * Heb. iii. 6, 7. « Chap. liv» 5.

30 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, it is expressly said of him, by EIibuk: " The Spirit of God hath made me; " and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." From the whole it appears, That as there was a plurality concerned in the formation of man, this plurality was neither more, nor fewer than three j which are the Father, the Word, and the Spirit ; and which three are but one God : for " have we not " all one Father ? hath not one God created us ' ?" $dly, In the account which is given Isa. lxiii. 7, 9, 10, II, 14. of the people of Israel's deliverance out of Egypt, and of their protection and guidance through the wilderness, is a clear testimony of a Trinity of Persons in the Deity ; where there are three distinctly mentioned, and to them distinct per sonal characters and actions are ascribed. There is, first, the Lord, Jehovah the Father, whose mercies and loving kindnesses towards the house of Israel, are taken notice of in ver. 7. and they are said to be his people, and he to be their Saviour, in ver. 8. And besides him, there is mention made in ver. 9. of the angel of his presence, as distinct from him •, and who also shewed to the people of Israel, great love, pity, and compassion •, and in consequence of it, saved them, and redeemed them, and bore them, and carried them all the days of old ■, all which cannot be said of a created angel : nor are they appli cable to mere names and characters. And then the holy Spirit is introduced, not as a mere name or character, but as a distinct divyne Person, in ver. 10, 1 1, 14. against whom the Israelites rebelled, and whom they vexed ; insomuch that he turned to be their enemy, and fought against them : and yet, though they thus provoked him, he led them on, and caused them to rest, to make himself a glorious name. 4lhly, This truth may receive some further confirmation, from the considera tion of the covenant of grace ; in which, all the three persons are manifestly con cerned. The Father made the covenant ; the Son is become the Surety, Media tor, and Messenger of it ; and the Spirit of God stands by, as a witness to it ; and to fee all the articles agreed upon between the Father and the Son, per formed on each side. The Father's part in this covenant, was to fill it with all spiritual blessings and suitable promises j the Son's part was to receive them all, in the name, and on the behalf of all the elect ; and the Spirit's part is to apply all, in time, to the promised seed. You have them all distinctly mentioned in Hag. ii. 4, 5. where the Lord, by the prophet, exhorts Zerub- . babel, and Joshua, the high priest, and all the people of the land, to be strong, and work, in rebuilding the temple ; and for their encouragement, adds : " For " I am with you, faith the Lord of Hosts, Cum Verbo, quo pepigeram vobiscum, ** with the Word, in whom I covenanted with you, (as Junius reads the text) " when k Job xxxiii. 4. ' Mai. ii. 10.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 31 " when ye came out of Egypt ; so my Spirit remaineth among you : Fear ye " not." Where it may be observed, That here is Jehovah, the Lord of Hosts, the first Person who promises to be with them, together with the Word, the second Person, in whom he covenanted with them, when they came out of Egypt -, at which time God was pleased more largely than heretofore, to reveal the covenant of his grace, which he had made with his Word, from ever lasting : and then here is the Spirit of God, the third Person, who was remain ing, moy standing, continuing, and abiding among them, to fee that there was a performance, and to make an application of all that Jehovah, and his Word had covenanted about, and had agreed unto. But before I proceed further, I (hall briefly consider the notions of a late writer1" ; concerning the covenant, who seems to be aware, that the common notion of the covenant of grace, as an agreement, or compact by stipulation, between two, at least, will furnish out an argument for a distinction of Persons in the Godhead i which he is not willing to allow of. I overlook his mistake in calling that a covenant of peace, in Zecb. vi. 13. which is only a council of peace, and has no reference to any eternal transaction between God and the Lamb ; the transaction being past in eternity : and this, whatever is meant by it, was future, was to come, when the prophecy was given forth. The text does not fay, the council of peace was, but (hall be between them both. It is true indeed, there was an eternal transaction between God and Christ, which may be called a council of peace ; because it was concerning the peace and reconciliation of God's elect : and it is, perhaps, in allusion to this text, that it is so called by divines : but the thing itself is not intended in it, but something else , namely, that peace which should be between Jew and Gentile, as the consequence of peace made by the blood of Christ, and of his preaching it to them both, by his apostles. But to proceed : This author tells us, That by the covenant, " we are not to understand a striking of hands, as some men " boldly speak, as though the Father proposed conditions to the Word, which " he complied with on the behalf of sinners." As to the phrase of striking of hands, it is used among men to express a mutual agreement •, and so it is used in scripture, Job xvii. 3. Prev. vi. 1. and xxii. 26. And when it has been used by divines, with respect to the covenant, and the concern of Christ in it, they only design by it to express the suretyship-engagements of Christ, and the mutual agreement between the Father and him, respecting the elect. And this figurative expression need not be accounted a bold one, since the act sig nified by it, was performed by one who thought it no robbery to be equal with God. Moreover, the Father did propose conditions to the Word, or things a The great concern of Jew and Gentile, &c. p. 30, 32, 33.

32 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, tilings upon condition to him. For instance, upon condition of his making " his soul an offering for sin " " he proposed to him, that he should " see his " feed, prolong his days, and that the pleasure of the Lord should prosper " in his hand ," that he should " see of the travail of his soul, and be satis- " fied, and by his knowledge justify many." He proposed to him a great reward, and promised to " divide him a portion with the great, and the spoil " with the strong," on condition of his " pouring out his soul unto death •, ■*' being numbered with the transgressors, and bearing the sin of many; and " making intercession for transgressors." And with all this, the Word, or Son of God, complied, and said : " Lo, I come : in the volume of the book " it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God : yea, thy law is " within my heart0." This author goes on, in order to remove the notion of agreement by stipulation from the covenant, to tell us, That the word cove nant is used to signify a promise •, and for the proof of this, cites Gal. iii." 15 — 17. Now granting this, that the covenant of grace is a promise of eternal life to God's elect ; it should be observed, that this promise was made before the world began j and so could not be made to the elect, as personally existing; but must be made to Christ, with respect to them, into whose hands it was certainly put : hence we read of " the promise of life, which is in Christ *• Jesus p." So that the argument for a distinction of Persons, is as strong, when taken from a promise, as from the covenant. For if the Father made a promise to the Word, the Word, to whom this promise is made, must be distinct from him, by whom it is made. And after all, this author is obliged to acknowledge, that the *< sure and everlasting covenant is made of our God " with his Christ, and in him, and with respect to him, with his people ;" which is the substance of what sound divines fay concerning the covenant. 5tbly, The doctrine of a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, may be learnt from the oeconomy of man's salvation, in which the Father, the Word, and the Spirit are concerned, and take, by agreement, their distinct parts. Thus we find in scripture, that election is, in a more peculiar manner, ascribed to the Father, redemption to the Son, and sanctification to the Spirit. And we meet with them all in one verse'1 : " Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the " Father, through the sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience, and sprink- " ling of the blood of Jesus Christ." But no where are those acts of divine grace more distinctly ascribed to each Person, than in the first chapter of the epistle to the Ephesians ; where, in ver. 3, 4, 5, 6. the God and Father of Christ, is said to bless his people with all spiritual blessings in him ; to choose them * Isa. Iiii. 10—is. ° Psalm xl. 7, 8. r 2 Tim. i 1. « 1 Pet. i. z.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 33 *hem in him before the foundation of the world ; and to predestinate them unto the adoption of childrem by him ; and to make them accepted. in the beloved. After which, in ver. 7. Jesus Christ is spoken of as the author of redemption, in whom the saints have the remission of sin, and a justifying righteousness, whereby they come to have a right to the glorious inheritance, ver. 1 1. and then in ver. 13, 14. the holy Spirit is mentioned with a distinction from the Father, and from Christ, as the earnest of this inheritance, by whom believers are sealed up, until they come to the full and actual possession of it. 6. The Lord Jesus Christ was sent in the fulness of time, to work out the salvation of his people ; and the account which is given of his mission, to this work, in Isa. xlviii. 16. " And now the Lord God and his Spirit hath sent «* me," is a clear proof of three distinct Persons in the Deity. The only dif ficulty in determining the fense of these words, lies in fixing the person who is said to be sent by the Lord and his Spirit. And, that a divine person, and not the prophet Isaiahs as some think, is here intended, will appear from the con text. He that speaks here, and fays, " I have not spoken in secret from the " beginning, from the time that it was, there am I ; and now the Lord God " and his Spirit hath sent me;" is no other than he, who in ver. 12, 13, fays of himself, " I am he, I am the first, I also am the last. Mine hand also hath '* laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the hea- " vens." And this fame person is continued speaking, in ver. 14, 15. unto the words under consideration. From whence it is manifest, that it is a divine person, the mighty Jehovah, the Word of God, who is here said to be sent by his Father and the Spirit ; which are not so many names and characters of one and the fame person. For then the sense of the words would be : And now 1, and myself, have sent myself; which is no fense at all. 7. The Son of God being sent in the fulness of time to redeem his people, was made of a woman. God was manifest in the flesh, the divine Word was incarnate ; upon which occasion all the three persons appear ; though but one of them was made flesti, and dwelt among us. Mention is made of them all three in the account of the incarnation, which was given by the angel to Mary, in Luke i. 32, %$. where we read of the Highest, that is, the Father, who is the most high God; and of the Son of the Highest, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, who took flelh of the virgin ; and of the Holy Ghost, or power of the Highest, to whose overshadowing influence the mysterious incarnation is owing. 8. Christ being sent, and having united an human nature to his divine per son, he was anointed by, and with the Holy Ghost; whereby he was fitted and qualified for his office, as Mediator. This is prophetically expressed, in Vol. III. F Isa, s

34 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, Isa. lxiii. i. " The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he hath ,; anointed me, i£c" where it is easy to observe three divine persons : the Anointer is the Spirit of the Lord •, the anointed is the Messiah, the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ: and besides these, here is the Lord, ot Jehovah, by whose Spirit he was anointed. Much to the fame purpose is Isa. xlii. i. Under this head may be very properly reduced the unction and sealing of be lievers with Christ; the account of which is given in 2 Cor. i. 21, 22. " Now " he which establilheth us, with you, in Christ, and hath anointed us in God, " who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." Where God the Father is considered as the Establifher and Anointer ; and Jesus Christ, as a distinct Person, in whom the saints were established and anointed ; and the Spirit as distinct from them both, as the earnest of their future glory. 9. Christ, the Word, being made flesti, and dwelling among men, when he was about thirty years of age was baptized of John in Jordan ; at which time the Holy Ghost descended like a dove, and lighted on him ; and a voice was heard from heaven, saying, " This is my beloved Son in whom I am well " pleased'." Here was the Son of God submitting to the ordinance of bap tism; and the Father, by a voice,, declaring him to be his Son ; and the Spirit of God descending on him as a dove. This has been thought so full a proof of a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, that it was a common saying with the ancients: Go to Jordan, and there learn the doctrine of the Trinity. A late writer seems to intimate', that this proof is insufficient; and that it was not the Father's voice which was heard j since our Lord has said : " And the Father ** himself, which has sent me,, hath born witness of me. Ye have neither *' heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape'."' The meaning of which words I take to be this, That though the Father's shape was never seen, nor his voice heard, under the Old Testament-dispensation, but only that of the Word, who was to be incarnate ; yet the Father nad, by a voice from heaven, born witness to the Sonstiip of Christ : and therefore the Jews were the more inexcusable in not believing on him ; since the Father had in such a peculiar way, which he had never used before, given testimony to him. The said au thor endeavours to support his hypothesis from a text in John xii. 28, 29. where, upon hearing a voice from heaven, some of the people that stood by, said it thundered; others said, that an angel spake to him. Upon which, this writer observes that he "doubted not, many amongst us, who profess «« themselves Christ's disciples, would think both those sentiments of the Jews « alike mistaken, had not our Lord himself determined it." And I must take the v * Matt. iii. 16, 17. » The great concern of Jew and Gentile, i3c. p. 58, 5a. " Jonn v- 37- "\

STATED AND VINDICATED. 35 the liberty to tell this author, That many do think, and that very justly, that both those sentiments of the Jews were alike mistaken •, and that because our Lord himself, in ver. 28. has determined it to be the voice of his Father. It was not an angel that spoke ; nor was it the voice of an angel that was heard at his baptism, any more than at his transfiguration ; when " he received " from God the Father, honour and glory ; when there came such a voice to " him, from the excellent glory, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am «« well pleased0." The same writer insinuates as though it was not the likeness of the holy Spirit, which was sent at Christ's baptism; because the holy Spirit is invisible; but that this likeness was ministerial: and gives, as he thinks, a parallel instance in the book of the Revelation ; 'where, he supposes, a created angel appeared in the likeness of Christ ; and in his name, said, I am the Alpha and Omega, &V. which I apprehend to be a very great mistake. For the angel by whom Christ made known the Revelation to 'John, is not the fame with him, whom John saw in the vision, in the midst of the golden candlestics, and who said the abovementioned. It is not usual for those who are messengers, embassadors, or legates, to fay, they are the very persons by whom they are sent •, nor could a created angel, without blasphemy, say, that he was the first and the last, which is peculiar to the Most High God. In fine, I apprehend that the voice, which was heard at Christ's baptism, was an articulate voice formed, by God ; that it was not the voice of an angel, nor the voice of the Son, nor of the Spirit, but of the Father only : and the likeness which was seen, was not the likeness of an angel, nor of the Son, nor of the Father, but of the Spirit, which was assumed pro tern-pore; as he afterwards appeared in the shape of cloven tongues, like as of fire, and fat upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost. And now I am speaking of the baptism of Christ, it may be proper to mention ours, which ought to be performed " in the name of the «« Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." We are not baptized into three names or characters, but in the one name of three Persons distinct, though not divided from each other : " Not into one of three names, as an ** ancient writer has observed, nor into three incarnates, but into three who " are of equal honour and glory w." 10. Our Lord Jesus Christ, not long before his sufferings, and death, made several promises to his disciples, that he would send the Holy Spirit, the Com forter, unto them ; in which there are plain traces of a Trinity of Persons; as when he fays x, " I will pray the Father, and shall give you another Com- «* sorter, that he may abide with you-Tdr ever." Nothing is more manifest, f 2 than u 2 Pet. i. 17. w "Ouli i!« tta Tf ivnijtor, Srt tU Tf t~j ita.t6(vviva*1a() «AX* iff tfiff epolijxu;. Epist. ad Philip. Jgnat. afcript. p. ioo. Ed. Voff. * John xiv. 16.

36 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, than that there are here three distinct Persons. Here is the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Person praying; and the Father, another Person who is prayed unto ; and here is another Comforter, even the Spirit of truth as distinct from the Father, and the Son, who is prayed for. He that prays, cannot be the fame Person with him who is prayed unto ; nor he that is prayed unto, be the fame with him that prays ; nor he that is prayed for, be the fame with him who prays, or is prayed unto. In short, if the distinction between them is not personal, but merely nominal, the sense of the words must be this : I will pray myself, and I myself, will give you myself to abide with you for ever. A writer I have lately mentioned \ acknowledges, that I, Thou, and He, are personal characters ; and if so, then they, to whom they belong, must be Persons: and if these personal characters belong to Father, Son, and Spirit, they must be Persons Again, when our Lord fays % «* But the Comforter, which ** is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will fend in my name, he shall teach " you all things, &V." he gives a plain intimation of a Trinity of Persons, to whom he ascribes distinct personal actions and characters : for otherwise the sense of the words must be, 1 will fend myself, in the name of myself, who shall teach you all things, &c. Once more, when he fays *, " But when the " Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the " Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me ;" we may fairly infer a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead. We are indeed told b, That " if we consider, the Father dwelleth in, and is one with the Son, he " might well fay, The Comforter should be sent by him, from the Father, to " denote his being enriched immeasurably, by his Father and his God, who ** is a Spirit." That the Father dwells in the Son, and is one with him in nature or essence, is allowed ; but unless there is a distinction of Persons be tween them, he could not well fay, that the Comforter should be sent by him, from the Father. II. Our Lord Jesus Christ, by his sufferings and death, procured eternal redemption for his people. Now the redemption-price was paid, the atone ment made, and the sacrifice offered up to God, in the Person of the Father ; and that by the Word, or Son, the second Person in human nature •, and all' this through the eternal Spirit, or third Person in the Deity, according to Heb. ix. 14. " How much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the «« eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, tiff." Some indeed, by the eternal Spirit, understand the divine nature of Christ. But it is not an usual phrase in scripture,, to say, That Christ did this, or the other thing by • his r The great concern of Jew and Gentile, (3c. p. 43. * John xiv. a6. » John xv. 26, b The great concern of Jew and Gentile, iSc. p. 4a.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 37 his divine nature •, but it is usual to say, That he did this, or the other thing, by the Spirit. Thus he is said to "cast out devils by the Spirit of God c;" and to " give commandments to the apostles, through the Holy Ghosts" and • in some copies of Heb. ix. 14. it is read, through the Holy Spirit d. 12. Christ having suffered and died in- the room and stead of his people, -was • buried, and the third day was raised from the dead; "-when he was- declared to " be the Son of God, with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness e : " all the> three divine Persons were concerned herein. That God the Father raised himfrom the dead, and gave him glory will not be denied : and it is very evident,that he raised himself according to his own prediction Nor must the Spirit be excluded,, who will have so great a share in the resurrection of our bodies ae the last day • for "if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead, " dwell in you; he that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken your "mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth inyouV 13. And now I am speaking of Christ's resurrection-, it may not be improper-/ to take notice of the work of regeneration, which is sometimes ascribed to it ; and which. work is*the work of Father^ Son, ,and Spirit. Sometimes it is given to the Father of Christ, as in 1 Pet. i. 3. and sometimes to the Son, as in 1 John ii. 29. and sometimes to the Spirit, as in Tit iii. 4—6. where you will meet with all the three Persons together, by observing, that God, our Saviour, in ver. 4. is manifestly distinguished from Jesus Christ, our Saviour, . in ver. 6. and the Holy Ghost is distinguished from them both, in ver. 5. to whom the washing of regeneration and the work of renovation are ascribed. 14. Adoption is an act of divine grace, in which all the three Persons appear. The Father, of Christ predestinates to the adoption of children ; Christ gives the right and power to as many as believe in him, to become the sons of God ; and the Spirit witnesseth, with our spirits, that we are the children of God. Hence one of. his titles is, The Spirit of adoption. And they are all three to be seen together in one verse : " And because ye are sons, God hath " sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba Father8;" " where God the Father is spoken of as distinct from his Son, and his Son as distinct from him, and the Spirit as distinct from them both. 15. The children of God, after conversion, need fresti divine illuminations ; for which the apostle prays, in Epb. i. 17, 18. " That the God of our Lord " Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto ypu the Spirit of wisdom " and revelation, in the knowledge of him : the eyes of your understanding " being enlightened, &c." Which prayer is no inconsiderable proof of the doctrine e Matt, xii 28. . Hag. i. 2. * Vuk Grotium in loo- • Rom. i. 4. * Rom. iii. 11. * Gal. iv. 6.

38 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, doctrine of the Trinity. Here is the God and Father of Christ, who is prayed unto ; and the Spirit of wisdom, who is prayed for j and that in order to the faints increase in the knowledge of Christ, who is distinct both from the Father and the Spirit. 16. The apostle not only prays for greater illuminations, but, in Eph. Hi. 14— 16. for larger supplies of grace and strength : ** For this cause, says he, 11 I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole " family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you according to " the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the " inner man." He bows his knees to the Father of Christ, as a distinct Person from him, whom he describes as the God of the universe, and implores his Spirit to strengthen the saints with might in their inner man. 17. Though the love of God is plenteoufly lhed abroad in the hearts of his people, at their 6rst conversion, yet they have need to be afresh directed into it by the Spirit of God. Hence the apostle put up such a fervent prayer. for the Thejsalonians, 2 Tbejf. iii. 5. " The Lord direct your hearts into " the love of God, and patient waiting for Jesus Christ." By the Lord, we are to understand the Lord the Spirit, as he is called in 2 Cor. iiL 18. being manifestly distinguished from God the Father, into whose love, and from Jesus Christ, into a patient waiting for whom, he is desired to direct their hearts, which is his proper work and business. 18. And since I have mentioned several petitions, it may not be amiss to consider the object of prayer, and our manner of address to him. The object of prayer, is the one God, the Father, Son, and Spirit. Sometimes the God and Father of Christ is singly addressed, as in some of the preceeding instances; and frequently grace and peace are wished for from Jesus Christ, as well as from the Father •, sometimes supplication is made to the Spirit, as in the instance last mentioned ; and sometimes we find them all three aduresied to gether, as in Rev. i. 4, 5 "■John to the seven churches which are in Asia: «' Grace be unto you, and Peace, from him which is, and which was, and «' which is to come:" which is a periphrasis oi Jehovah the Father. " And " from the seven Spirits which are before his throne :" by whom we are not to understand angels, the worshipping of them being forbidden. Besides, it is absurd to imagine that grace and peace should be wished for from them, equally as from God ; or that they should be put upon a level with Jehovah, and set before the Lord Jesus Christ. But by these seven Spirits are meant the Holy Spirit of God; so called because of the fulness and perfection of his gifts and grace; and in allusion to his seven names in Isa. xi. 2, 3. and with a view to,the seven churches of Asia, who were under his influence. And then it

STATED AND VINDICATED. 39 it is added, "And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, and the first begotten " of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth ," about whom there is no difficulty*. Our manner of address in prayer is to God, in the Person of the Father, though not exclusive of the Son, and Spirit ; and through the Lord Jesus Christ, as Mediator; and by the assistance of the blessed Spirit: which furnishes out a considerable argument for a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, and is very fully and distinctly expressed by the apostle, in Epb. ii. 18. «' For through him, that is, Christ, we both have an access, by one " Spirit unto the Father." A late writer conceives ", the words " should be " thus understood, that God brings Jews and Gentiles, by his powerful in* " fluence, as one Spirit through Christ unto himself, as their common Father:" And to this purpose our Lord says, " No man can come t» me, except the " Father who hath sent me, draw him." But it ought to be observed, that the apostle is speaking, not of God's bringing fouls to himself, through Christ, by his powerful and efficacious grace, as at conversion, but of the comfortable access of his people already converted to himself, through Christ, by the Spirit of Grace; much less does he speak of their being brought as one Spirit, but by one Spirit ; and that unto God, as their Father, in a way of special grace and favour. But to go on, 19. I might instance in the inspiration of the scriptures, which is wholly a divine Work, and is peculiarly ascribed to the Holy Ghost, though not to the exclusion of the Father, and of the Son : for David, in his last words, assures us, That the writings which he was the penman of, as the sweet psalmist of Israel, were dictated to him by the eternal Three ; when he says, in 2 Sam. xxiii. 2, 3. " The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word *« was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, The rock of Israel spake to " me, &c." By the God of Israel I understand God the Father, the mighty God of Jacob; from whence is the Messiah, the shepherd and stone of Israel: and by the rock of Israel, I understand the Messiah, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and prince of peace ; who is sometimes figuratively called the rock : and by the Spirit of the Lord, the third Person, under whose influential motions and directions the psalmist spoke and wrote. 20. There are several passages in scripture, where the name of Jehovah is three times mentioned, and that only ; and where an epithet of the divine Being is three times repeated ; which, though they do not prove the doctrine of the Trinity, yet they cast some light upon it ; and one cannot well read them without taking some notice of it, as Numb. vi. 24—26. " The Lord bless *' thee and keep thee : the Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be " gracious * The great concern of Jew and Gentile, p. 47. V

,40 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, " gracious unto thse : the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give " thee peace." Isa. xxxiii. Q.2. " The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our ** Lawgiver, the Lord is our .King, he will save us." Dan. ix. 19. •*' O Lord *'* hear, O Lord forgive, O Lord hearken and do, &c." The angels, in their adoration of God, fay, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts," Isa. vi. 3. Rev. iv. 8. Lastly, I (hall conclude this argument with the apostle's final benediction to the church of Corinth, 2 Cor. xiii. ,14. " The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, *l and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you " all. Amen." Where not only three distinct Persons are mentioned, but distinct personal actions are ascribed to them. Now this account I may venture to call the scripture-doctrine of the Trinity. And though I do not suppose that every proof I have produced, carries equal evidence in it ; yet, when taken altogether, that man must willfully (hut his eyes, that cannot fee plain intimations of a Trinity of Persons in one God, in the .scriptures. C H A P. IV. Wherein the special charafter, proper Deity, and distinct personality of the Father, are considered. HAVING proved not only a plurality, but a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, I proceed, IV. To consider the several characters, proper Derty, and distinct personality of each of these Three, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit. And shall begin, " First, With the Father, and consider the relation he stands in, or the cha racter of a Father, which he bears ; give some proofs of his Deity, and shew :his distinct personality. 1st, I shall .consider the relation or character of a Father, which he sustains. Now it must be observed, that the word Father, when applied to God, does not always intend the first Person, to the exclufion of the Son or Spirit, as Deut. xxxii. 6. Isa. Ixiv. 8. Mai. ii. 10. Heb. xii. 9. where the one God, Father, Son, and Spirit, is called a Father j because he is the common parent, creator and former of all things : on which account, neither the Son, nor the ,-Sjpirit, as I have before observed, are to be excluded in those scriptures, which speak

STATED AND VINDICATED. 41 speak of one God, the Father of all things, as 1 Cor. viii. 6. Epb. iv. 6. By the word Father, sometimes is understood the first Person in the Trinity, as distinct from the Son and Spirit. Who is so called either with a peculiar regard to his people, whom he hath predestinated to the adoption of children, and has sent his Son to redeem, that they might receive this blessing ; and into whose hearts, he has also sent his Spirit, crying, Abba Father : or rather, he is called so with a peculiar regard to the second Person, the Word •, who is his only begotten Son ; and his Son in such a way of filiation, as neither angels nor saints are. For " to which of the angels, and it may be said also, " to which of the saints, said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day " have I begotten thee' ?" And again, " I will be to him a Father, and " he (hall be to me a Son." Jesus Christ always owned him as his Father, addressed him as such, and frequently distinguished him from his earthly parents, by calling him his heavenly Father; or his Father which is in heaven. But because Father and Son are correlates, and suppose each other ; and because I design to insist at large on the Sonship of Christ, I shall, for the present, dismiss this character and relation of the Father ; and go on, 2d/y, To give some proofs of his Deity. And though the Father's Deity is not scrupled, or called in question, and therefore I need not enlarge upon it-, yet it will be necessary to say something concerning it. And besides express texts of scriptures, such as Rom. xv. 6. 1 Cor. i. 3. Phil. ii. 11. and many others, where the Father is expressly called God •, the thing will admit of proof, 1. From the divine perfections he is possessed of. He that is God, neces sarily is ; he owes his being to no other •, nor does he depend upon another, but subsists of himself: such is the Father of Christ. " For as the Father " hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son, to have life in himself V He that is God, is from everlasting to everlasting ; he is without beginning, and shall be without end : such is the Father of Christ. For he it is " which " is, and which was, and which is to come '." He chose his people in Christ before the foundation of the world, and blessed them in him, with all spiritual blessings •, and will be all, and in all, to them for evermore. He that is God, is immense, infinite, and omnipresent; as he cannot be bounded by time, neither can he be circumscribed by space : he fills heaven and earth, and is contained in neither ; there is no going from his presence, nor fleeing from his Spirit : such is the Father of Christ ; whom Christ often speaks of, as in heaven, and yet with him on earth, and with all his people, at all times, in Vol. III. G all 1 Heb. i. 5. x John v. 26. ' Rev. i. 4. Eph. i. 4. 1 Cor. xv. 28.

42 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY. all ages, and among all nations ; insomuch that they can say, " Truly our " fellowship 'is with the Father, and with«his Son Jesus Christ V He that is God, is omniscient ; he knows the hearts, and tries the reins of the children of men : such is the Father of Christ, who knows the Son in such a sense as no other does -, and knows that which neither the angels, nor the Son as man, do-, even the day and hour of judgment. The time and season of that, as well as of many other events the Father has put in his own power. The apostle Paul appeals to the Father of Christ, as the omniscient God, for the truth of the narrative he gave of his sufferings and labours, when he fays": " The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for ever- " more, knoweth that I lie not." Omnipotence is a perfection which belongs to God. He that is God, can do all things •, and so can the father of Christ • *« Abba Father, fays Christ, all things are possible unto thee •." And he intimates as much, when he bid Peter put up his sword, and said unto him : " Thinkcst thou th.it I cannot now pray to my Father, and he mall presently " give me more than twelve legions of angels p?" And yet more fully, when speaking of the safety and security of his people, he fays : " My Father " which gave them me, is greater than all •, and none is able to pluck them " out of my Father's hand V Once more, He that is God is immutable, the Lord who changes not, who is subject to no variation whatever. Now he that is the Father of Christ, " is the Father of lights, with whom there is no " variableness, nor shadow of turning." He is unchangeably the fame in his purposes in Christ, and in his promises through him ; and in the blessings of his Grace which he bestows on his people in him ; nor can there be any separation of them from the love of God towards them, which is in Christ Jesus the Lord. In fine, there is no perfection that belongs to Deity, but what is to be seen in the Father of Christ. 2. The Deity of the Father may be proved from the divine works and actions which are ascribed unto him : such as creation, providence, and the like. He created all things by Jesus Christ ; by him, his Son, he made the worlds ; and his hands have laid the foundation of the heavens and the earth : he supports the world by his power, and governs it by his wisdom. " My " Father, says Christ ', worketh hitherto, and I work ;" that is, in the pre servation and government of the world, as heretofore in the creation of it. And hence, in another placs, he calls him " the Lord of heaven and earth ';" which he would not do, was he not both creator and preserver of it. Forgive ness of fins is peculiar to God. It is a maxim that will hold good : N© one can m i John i. 3. n 1 Cor. xi. 31. • Mark xiv. 36. t Matt. xxvi. 53. 1 John x. 25. r John v. 1;. » Matt. xi. 25.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 43 can forgive sins but God only. But the Father of Christ forgives sinners. Christ himself applied to him for them, while on the cross ; when he said : " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do '." The resurrection of the dead is a work purely divine, and is frequently ascribed to the Father. As he raised up his Son Jesus Christ, and gave him glory, so he will raise up the dead at the last day : for " the Father raiseth the dead, and quickencth " whom he will." Now from these, a? well as from many other divine works and actions, ascribed to him, we may strongly conclude the Deity of the Fa ther. Which, 3. May also be argued from the worfliip which is ascribed unto him. None but he, who is the most high God, ought to be the object of religious worship and adoration : " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him " only shalt thou serve." Now the Father is frequently represented in scripture, as he whom we are to love, to hope and believe in ; as the object of prayer and supplication, to whom, both Christ and his apostles prayed ; and stands first in the form of baptism ; which is a solemn act of divine and religious worship. But I shall no longer insist on this: But, 3<//y, Proceed to consider the distinct personality of the Father : and that he is a person, I shall endeavour to prove, 1. From his being expressly called so, in Heb. i. 3. where Christ is said to be " the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person." Our translation is indeed blamed by some, who contend that the word iWaa-ij, should be rendered substance, and not person. I shall hint a tew things in vindication of our version. Let it be observed, that the word is only used in the New Testament, in this epistle, and in the second epistle to the Corinthians ; and but five times in all. In 2 Cor. ix. 4. the apostle uses it to express his con fidence in boasting of the forwardness of the Corinthians, in their contributions to the necessities of the poor saints. And in the fame epistle, chap xi. 17. he uses it also to express his confidence in boasting of his own labours in the gospel, and his sufferings for it. And in this epistle to the Hebrews, it is twice used, concerning faith, chap. iii. 14. and xi. 1. and here it is applied to the divine Being. Now the word being used in such a different sense, " The " mere use of it, in one place, as Dr Owen observes u, will afford no light " unto the meaning of it in another ; but it must be taken from the con- " text and subject treated of." Moreover, it ought to be observed, That not only our translators, who were learned and judicious men, but many other learned men, have rendered the word, by subsistence or Person; as Valla, Vatablus, Erasmus, Calvin, Beza, Piscator, Paraeus, and others. And besides, some of o z the * Luke xxiii. 34. » In loo . /^

44 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, the Greek fathers have used the word in the same sense ; and some of them too, who wrote before the council at Nice ; as particularly Justin Martyr ", if the writings, which bear his name, referred to in the margin, are allowed to be his ; and also Origen \ The word subfiantia indeed was used by some of the Latin writers, as answering to tmirao-K-, but then they understood it of frima substantial and used it just in the same sense as we do the word person. And when they ' said, there were three substances in the Trinity, they at the fame time asserted, that there was but one nature or essence; and so distinguished substance from nature or essence. But finding the word substantia to be of ambiguous signification, and having a tendency to lead persons to imagine that there were three distinct divine Beings, they left off using it; and rather chose the word persona, as less excep tionable. A difference there certainly is, between u'*-oV<*e-K subsistence, and *°i<* essence or substance. For though " the composition of the word, as Dr Owen observes % " would denote substantia, yet so as to differ from, and to add some- " thing to «'<^a> substance or being; which, in the divine nature, can be nothing ** but a special manner of subsistence." Add to this, That the apostle is not so much speaking of the Father, and of Christ, in that wherein they are the same as they are in nature and substance; but of them in those things which carry in them an evidence of distinction between them. Thus Christ is said to be the Son, by whom God hath, in these last days, spoke unto us ; and the heir, who is so by his appointment ; and by whom he made the worlds : He is the brightness of his glory. And so, though he is of the fame nature with him, yet is he distinct from him, as the fun and its beams ; and is also the image of his person ; and so distinct from him, as the image is from the person, of whom it is the image. Not that Christ is the image of his Father's personality; for then, as the Father begat, which is his distinctive personal character, so must the Son. I distinguish between personality and person : personality is the bare mode of subsisting ; a Person, besides that connotates the w To ayimslot xai yinnllt xai iKwogitilo*, ax aViaf cNjXo/Iixo, o^pa/Iixa it rui viroreiriut. Justin, exposit. fidei, p. 374. Edit. Paris. "E»a ro'ttw <9io» Œrjoo-jsxin oftoXoyi<» it walfi, xai uSt, xai dy'tti wiiipali yr«{i£ofti»oi>- y ju.i> tcalrif, xai uiof, xai vtivjJ-a uyioit T»{ ftsai Stolulo; T»; i/ssorac-fi? ytu^aiiai' i ii ©fo{, to xar' u<ria» xoirw T» i-aof aaiui tourist;. Idem, p. 379* ^"kctiam Quarit. & Respons. ad Orthodox. Quæst. 17, & 1 29. x 'Ei of ti< tx rirut wseio-"ira-Sr,o-i7ai, pr/ten at/lopoXeftir woo; t<k aim(ut]af tin iirai vverctvuf, Trail ^a- text Jio», iwir»o"aT« To, %r Ji <adt\ot tut in invention i xajJia xai » \|/tij[ii p-a, isa Stu^vCfi tJ iyv »i I vralrp it fo-ps>. Origen. contr. Cclsum, 1. 8. y Unde etiam dicimus unam cite ao-ia», vel aViaio-i*, id est, essentiam vcl subsistentiam deitatis ; fed tres i'*rora'o-fi?, id est, tres substantias. Et quidem, secundum hunc modum, dixere unam Trinitatis elsentiam, tres substantias, tresque personas. Boctius de persona Sc natura C. 3. 1 In loc.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 45 the nature or substance in, and with which he subsists. So that Christ is the image of the Father's Person, as he is possessed of the whole divine nature or substance. From the whole, I cannot see why any should quarrel with our translation of this word. 2. The definition of a Person, which has been given already, agrees with the Father, who is an individual, and so distinguishable from the Godhead, or divine nature, which dwells personally in him, and which is common with him, to the other two Persons. He subsists by, and of himself, and is not sustained by another ; nor is he a part of another. The Father has life in himself; he does not owe his being to another-, nor is he upheld in his being by another ; nor is he possessed only of a part of, but of the whole Deity. He is, in fine, a living, willing, and intelligent agent: he is the living Father, that sent Christ, whose will, not as opposite to, but as distinct from his, he came to do ; who knows himself, his Son and Spirit, and all his works, as none else does. 3. That the Father is a Person, may be concluded from those personal actions which are ascribed to him ; such as creation, providence, the resurrec tion of the dead, and the like : which have been already considered as proofs of his Deity. To which may be added, his several acts of grace towards his elect In Christ Jesus: such as his eternal choice of them in him •, his predesti nation of them, to the adoption of children by him ; his entering into a cove nant with him on their account; his putting them all into his hand, and there blessing them with all spiritual blessings ; his drawing them to himself, and to his Son, with the cords of love and efficacious grace ; the several methods lie takes to administer divine consolation to them; with the promise of the Spirit, called the promise of the Father, which he has made, and fulfils to them. The mission of his Son Jesus Christ into this world, for the salvation of lost sinners, which the scriptures so much speak of, is a plain proof of his Per sonality, and of his distinct personality from the Son. It is true indeed, the Spirit is said to send him as well as he : but then observe, that though the Son is sent, both by the Father and the Spirit, and the Spirit is sent both by the Father and the Son, yet the Father is never said to be sent by either ; he is always the sender, and never the sent. But what is the grand distinctive personal act of the Father, is his eternal act of begetting the Son in the divine nature or essence -, which though unconceivable, and unaccountable by us, yet is plainly revealed in the sacred scriptures ; and is the true reason of his bearing the character and relation ot a Father; and is what distinguishes him from the Son and Spirit. The Son is never said to beget, either the Father or the Spirit ; and the Spirit is never said to beget either the Son or the 2 Father :

46 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, Father : the act of begetting, is peculiar to the Father. What is meant by if, and the proof of it, I shall consider hereafter. Thus much for the Personality of the Father. Now when we call the Father the first Person in the Trinity, we do not suppose that he is the first, in order of nature, or time, or causality; as if the Father was sons Deitatis, the fountain of the Deity j expressions which some good men have made use of with no ill design ; but since an ill use has been made of them, by artful and designing men, it is time for us to lay them aside. As the Father is God of himself, so the Son is God of himself, and the Spirit is God of himself. They all three exist together, and necessarily exist, and subsist distinctly by themselves in one undivided nature. The one is not before the other, nor more excellent than the other. But since it is necessary, for our better apprehension of them, that there should be some order in the mention of them, it seems most proper to place the Father first, whence we call him the first Person •, and then the Son, and then the Holy Ghost-, in which order we sometimes find them in scripture: though, to let us fee that there is a perfect equality between them, and no superiority or infe riority among them, this order is frequently inverted. CHAP. V. Concerning the Logos or Word. HAVING considered the character, and given proofs both of the Deity and Personality of the Father, I shall now proceed to consider the cha racter of the Logos, or Word ; give some proofs of his Deity ; enquire into his Sonship ; and shew his distinct personality. And shall begin, I. With his name, title, appellation, or character, the WORD; a name which John frequently makes use of in his Gospel, Epistles and Revelation. He makes use of it in his Gospel, chap. i. i. " In the beginning was the " Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God :" which words manifestly declare the Deity, and Eternity of the Word; his co-existence with God, that is, the Father ; as is manifest from i John i. 2. and his being a distinct person from him. And that we may not be at a loss which person in the Trinity he intends by the Word, he tells us, in ver. 14. That the " Word

STATED AND VINDICATED. 47 " Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." "John also makes mention of Christ, under this name, in his Epistles •, as in i John i. i. " That which was " from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our " eyes, which we have looked upon ; and our hands haved handled of the " Word qf life :" that is, Christ, who was from eternity with the Father, but was now manifested in the flesh ; which flesh was real, and not imaginary, as he proves by three of the natural fenses, namely, hearing, feeing, and feeling. John, with the rest of the disciples, heard him speak, saw him walk, ear, drink, &V. and handled him ; and hereby knew that he had a true and real body, consisting of flesh, blood, and bones, as their bodies did ; and that it was not a mere phantom % as Simon Magus, and after him Menander, Saturninus, and Bafilides asserted. These denied the true and real humanity of Christ, and affirmed, That he had no more than the appearance of a man ; that he assumed human nature, died, and suffered and rose again in appearance only, and not in reality. Now John here calls Christ the Word of life; because he is the life itself j and the author and giver of it to others. Again, in chap. v. 7. he fays , " For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, " the Word, and the Holy Ghost : and these three are one." So likewise in his Revelation, he speaks of Christ more than once, under the character of the Word ; as in chap. i. 2. where he tells us, That he " bare record of the " Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ ;" which may be justly explained by John i. 1 —3, 14. Once more, in Rev. xix. 13. where having represented Christ as a mighty warrior and triumphant conqueror, he fays : " His name is called the Word of God." And now, since he has so fre quently spoken of the second person of the Trinity under this appellation, I shall, First, Enquire from whence he may be supposed to receive it. Secondly, Whether any other inspired writer of the New Testament, makes use of it besides him. 'Thirdly, The reason, why Christ is called by this name. First, I shall enquire from whence John may be supposed to receive this name, A»yof, or the Word, which he so often applies to Christ. And, 1. It is thought by some, that he took it out of the writings of Plato, or his followers. Amelias h, a Platonic philosopher, refers to the words of the evangelist in John i. 1. whom he calls a Barbarian, as agreeing with their philosophy, ■ Vide. Ignat. Epist. ad Smyrn. p *. Et adTralles. p. 51, 52. Ed. Voss. & Tertull. prescript. Hæretic. c. 46. & August, de Hæres. c. 1, 2, 3, 4. & Danæum in ibid. k Sec his words in Grotius dc Verit. Relig Christ. 1. 1. f. 16.

48 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, philosophy, concerning the Aoyo«, or Word. And it is thought by some % that John, knowing that Ebion and Cerinthus were acquainted with the Platonic ' philosophy, that he might the more easily gain upon them, makes use of this expression, The Word; when that of the Son of God would have been distaste ful to them : but to me it is much more probable, that Plato had his notions of the Word out of the scriptures, than that John should borrow this phrase out of his writings, or any of his followers ; since it is certain that Plato travelled into Egypt J, to get learning and knowledge ; where, it is very probable, he met with the Jewish writings, out of which he collected his best things. And Numenius c, a Pythagoric philosopher, accuses him of stealing what he wrote concerning God and the world, out of the books of Moses. Hence he used to say, " What is Plato, but Moses in a Grecian dress ?" 2. It is much more likely that John took the expression out of the Jewish Targuins, or paraphrases on the books of the Old Testament, where frequent use is made of it ; as also in the works of Philo the Jew : but whether he did or no, it is certain, that there is a very great agreement between what he and these ancient Jewish writings fay of the Word. I will just give some few instances. The evangelist John ascribes Deity to the Word, and expressly affirms that he is God •. " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, " and the Word was God." And the Targums, in many places f, render Jehovah by the Word of Jehovah ; from whence it may be well concluded, that they supposed the Word of the Lord was Jehovah himself. And in other places they fay, that he is God. Thus in Gen. xxviii. 20, 21. it is said: " Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, (Onkelos, " If the " Word of the Lord will be with me) and will keep me in this way that I go, " fcff. Then shall the Lord," (Onkelos, " the Word of the Lord) be my God." Again, in Lev. xxvi. 1 2. it is said, " And 1 will walk among you, and will be " your God." The Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it thus: " I will cause " the glory of my Shekinah to dwell among you, and my Word stiall be your " God, the Redeemer." Once more in Deut. xxvi. 17. " Thou hast avouched " the Lord this day to be thy God." The Jerusalem Targum renders it thus : " The Word of the Lord, ye have made king over you, this day to be your " God." * Arrowsmith in John i. i. * Vide Laert. vit. philosoph. 1. 3. in vita Platonis. • NOYMHNIOE itv§xyo%ix.li ipiTioa-opof, 0 aVaf«t;, tr.t IlXaTUisc Siatoixt riXty^it, «.'( ix tx? ftuaatxvt /3it?ua;» t« m^i, 9sa, >w xioftis d.itav\i>JmTu.tTai' J10 xa) ^ifft, ti yuf iri Tlhcirut v Murix arrixi£k>». Ilcfych. Miles de philosophis, p. 50. f Many instances of this kind may be seen in Rittangcl. in lib. Jetzira, p 84—S6. &c. And Allix's judgment of the Jewish church, c. 12.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 49 " God." Likewise Philo, the Jew f, calls the Word $»°« aqV«, the divine Word ; and Kifiit /»», my Lord ; and represents him as the object of faith, whose pro mises ought to be believed. Moreover John speaks of the Ao'yot. or Word, as a distinct person from God the Father : he says, " The Word was with God," that is, the Father, as we are taught to explain it, from 1 John i. 2. and therefore must be distinct from him, with whom he was. Agreeably hereunto, as the Targums sometimes express Jehovah by the Word of the Lord ; so they likewise distinguish the Word from Jehovah: thus Psalm ex. 1. " The Lord said unto my Lord." Targum, " The Lord said to his Word." Where he is manifestly distinguished from the Lord ; at whose right hand he was to fit. Again, in Hos. i. 7. The Lord promises to " have mercy on the house of Judah, and save them by the «« Lord their God." Targum, " By the Word of the Lord their God." Where the Word of the Lord, by whom the people of Judah were to be saved, is also manifestly distinguished from the Lord, who promises to save them by him. This distinction of Jehovah, and his Word, may be observed in many places in the Targums, and in Philo's writings. Likewise John ascribes eternity to the A«yof, or Word ; and fays that it was in the beginning, that is of the creation of all things -, and therefore was before any creature was made. Philo calls him the most ancient Word h, the most ancient Angel ' ; and fays, That he is more ancient than any thing that is madek : Yea, he calls him the eternal Word1. Again, The evangelist fays of the Word, That " all things were made by •* him, and that without him was not any thing made that was made." The Targumists ascribe the creation of man, in particular, to the Word. We read in Gen. i. 27. "So God created man in his own image :" which the Jerusalem Targum reads, " And the Word of the Lord created man in his likeness." And in Gen. iii. 22. " And the Lord God said, Behold the man is become as one " of us." The fame Targum paraphrases it, " And the Word of the Lord «' God said, Behold the man whom I have created, is the only one in the Vol. III. H " world." 1 O Ji KV{'°« fii, Siio{ Ao'yoc, wpiff-CtTijof* ifi», i wfocriTmt t«t« atetyxt), (at nriu'fi* xaSli innrxv?piiv Philo Leg. Allcg. 1. 2. p. 101. fc Ibid. Leg. Allegor. 1. 2. p. 93. 'EiJvileu j; i pi, vfivQvra.l^- tu S/1®. Aty©- *'{ Jo-Oirra, to» zctrfioi. Ibid, de profugis, p. 466. 1 £«-ii$a£i Koerj*ii<r9ai icala t»» wfuloyotor ctvlu Aiyot, rlt ayyiXo* VfiffSvTcclot. Ibid, de consuf. K"g- P- 34'* E' paulo poll, AtlyS- 0 crpiuffaWl®- & «Ui»' Aiy©-. Kai 3 Ao'y©- ii ra Qig, vmfaw vra.t]6( ij-i Ta moo-fta, *a» œ-piaCi/Tnl®-, xai ymjtaral®- ru oV« ■* yi'you Ibid. Leg. Allegor. 1. 2 p. 93. "o Ao'yD- a vfirCvTiftt- t«> ywwin sitopiruu Ibid, de migratione Abraham, p. 3S9. 1 * Afti* A»y»-. Ibid, de Plant. Noc, p. 217.

50 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINTTT, " world." Also, in the same writings, the creation of all things in general, isascribed to the Word. 'I hose words in Deut. xxxiii. 27. " The eternal God is " thy refuge; and underneath are the everlasting arms;" are by Onkelos para phrased, " The eternal God is an habitation •, by whose Word the world was " made." And in Isa. xlviii. 13. " Mine hand also hath laid the foundation " of the earth." Targum, " Yea, by my Word I have founded the earth." Just as the apostle Paul fays, Heb. xi. 3. And Peter, 2 Peter iii. 5, 7. And the author of the apocryphal book of Wisdom, chap. ix. 1. With whichentirely agree the sentiments of Philo-\ who not only speaks of the Word as an organ™, or instrument, which God used in the creation of all things; but as the archetype", paradigm, exemplar, and idea, according to which all'thingswere made: Yea, he calls him *«!«*/*•{ Kos-ftoarcm'h*.)0, the power which made the world ; and ascribes the creation of man to him -y after whose image he says lie was made p : and also, the creation of the heavens and the earth, and all that is in themq. Again, When John calls the Word the Light, he makes use of a word which was known among the Jews to be the name of the Messiah, of whom they understand Psrlm xliii. 3. "O fend out thy light and thy truth' :" and Dan. ii. 22. "And the Light dwelleth with him'." Pbils speaks of an intelligible Light, which he makes to be the image of the divine Word ; and thinks it may be properly called v*ruvy.iax, the universal Light; which is pretty much, like what John fays of the Word, whom he calls " the true Light, which " lisjneth everv man that cometh into the world." Once more, John speaks of the incarnation of the Word ; and fays, That he " was made flelh, and dwelt among us," Pb'do calls the Word ", The man of God ; who, he fays, being the Word of the Eternal, is himself necessarily immortal. And in the same book ", he calls him the man after God's image. And m Sxi* ©£8 J« • Aoy&- av)S ir'»i » xafiowip ifyeou to-po<r;gpi)o-a'f*«®-, Ixor/jawotn. Ibid. Lea. Aileg. 1. 2. p. 79- And elsewhere, speaking of the most; ancient Word, whom the Governor of the universe uses as a rudder to steer and direct all things, he adds; Xpwafiitof Ifydtu tbt» «rpo{ ti»» a'ruiraiTio» tu dwoltl.tipirui gItwth. Ibid, de migratione Abraham, p. n8g. " Ar^ic» )i Sti tea) » apx'Tirtroj o-ppotyi(, or p*fii» tTtat noo-fior toiflof, du]o( ot» it'll rl ufy(Jirvitn vatoiiciyna, lt(a rut !ji»». i Gsu Aiyof. Ibid, de mundi opisicio, p. 5. • Ibid, p. 4. f 'AkoXkOo* b> t5« dtifu^e -\>vx/k **1a to» dfxtmiret tm ailia Aiyot aVit«>i<r9iiirij{. Ibid. Dc plantatione Noc, p. 217. Vide lb. Leg. Alleg. 1, 2. p. 79. Et de mundi opisicio, p. 31. I Leg. Alleg. 1. 1 . p. 44. Et de temulentia, p. 244. * R. Sol. Jarchi in loc. • Beieihit Rabba, sol. I, 3. Echa Rabbati, sol. 50. 2. « Philo de mundi epificio, p. 6. II "Et* *<xi toi aulon ia-iyiyfafifUttt waltpa a 9m1oi>, a\\' aJotWlor, atdpuvot Qiu, oj rS aiKm Aiy& ut, J J di*7*r>< *<« ivlit ir>* <*?>0*p1O-. Phjlo de consus. ling. p. 316. * Page 341.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 51 And it is easy to observe an agreement between Jesus Christ, who I^W., tabernacled among us, and the Sbekinab of the Jews. The . words in Lev. xxvi. 11, 12. are thus paraphrased by Onkelos ; " I will send my tabernacle " among you, and my Word shall not reject you : And I will cause my " Sbekinab to dwell among you, &c." And the author cf the apocryphal book of Barucb, speaks of wisdom or understanding, which is the fame with the Word, as appearing on earth and conversing with men". Now these Jewish, writers speak of the Word after this manner, either on the account of his appearances in an human form, un.ler the Old Testament- dispensation, or on the account of his future incarnation, which John could speak of as pad. And whereas Jobn calls the Word the only begotten of the Father, Pbilo y fays, " That he is the Father's most ancient Son, his first born; who being begotten " by him, imitated his Father's ways ; and seeing his exemplars, did the fame «« things he did." From the whole it is manifest, that there is a great likeness between what the evangelist John, and these Jewish writers say of the Word. And whether he borrowed the phrase from them or no, yet it is plain that he expressed the traditional fense of his nation. Pbilo's works were wrote before his time; as were also some of the Cbaldec paraphrases. A Socinian writer1, in order to shew that Jobn did not take Aoyot from the Targums, endeavours to prove them to be of a latter date than they are thought to be ; about which, we need not be much concerned : and also, that by the Word they never intend a reasonable Person, subsisting by himself; which the instances already produced, confute : to which more might be added, was it requisite. But there is no -need to fay that John borrowed this phrase from the Jewish Targums ; but, 3. From the scriptures of the Old Testament. He manifestly refers to the history of the creation; where, no less than eight times, we read that God said, " Let it be so, and it was so:" which phrase so often repeated, remains no longer a mystery to us ; since Jobn has told us, " That by the Word all things " are made ;" in perfect agreement with what the Psalmist says, in Psalm xxxiii. 6. " By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the " host of them, by the breath of his mouth." Many instances may be given, where the Word intends a divine Person. See 2 Sam. vii. 21. compared with H 2 1 Cbron. • Mi1<* tbto iiri Ttj y5{ »?pflu, «*J « Toft airflfwB-oif memrfaQn- Baruch iii. 37. y T«5to» fi't» yolf VfioGiralot oSit i rw o/lm «»itiiM valnft ot rripafli Wf«i1o'yo»o» Utifu&i. xxl Philo de consul", ling. p. 329. Which is very much like what the evangelist John fays of the Son of Cod, in John v. 19. x Bilibra veritatis, &c. Contr. Rittangel. Ed. Freistad. 1700.

52 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, i Chron. xvii. 19. and Hag. ii. 4, 5. Psalm cvii. 20. From whence John might easily take this phrase, and apply it to a divine Person, as he does. And some have thought that our Lord uses it himself in the same sense, Jcbnv. 38. So that John might take it immediately from him ; whose words, in many instances, he takes a peculiar delight in making use of. But I hasten, Secondly, To enquire whether any other inspired writer of the New Testa ment makes use of this phrase, besides the evangelist John. And upon en quiry, it will appear, that the evangelist Luke, the apostles Paul and Peter use it in the fame sense. So that though the evangelist John uses it more frequently than they may, yet it is not peculiar to him. The evangelist Luke is thought to use it in chap. i. 2. and by it, to intend Christ the Word'; when he speaks of the disciples as eye-witnesses, and ministers, or servants of the Word; who, in much greater propriety of speech, may be said to be eye-witnesses of Christ, according to 2 Pet. i. 16. and servants or followers of him, than of the gos pel, or written word. And it seems very agreeable, that Luke, intending to wrte a history of the life and actions of Christ, should, in his preface to Tbeopbilus, make mention of him under some name, or another, some title, or character; which he does not, if he is not intended by the Word. The apostle Paul uses the phrase in this sense, Alls xx. 32. where, taking his farewel of the elders of the church at Efhesus, he commends them to God, and to the Word of his grace : where, by the Word of his grace, I under stand not the gospel, or written word, but Jesus Christ, who is full of grace and truth. My reasons for it are these : 1 . Because the saints never commend themselves, or others, either in life or in death, to any but a divine Person. The word here usedb, signifies a commit- •tinof a person, or thing, to the care, charge, and protection of another. Now none but a divine Person is capable of taking the care and charge of the faints, and of making the fame good : neither will the saints trust any other, nor do they. In life they commit their souls to God as to a faithful Creator ; and rest entirely satisfied herein, as the apostle Paul did ; who could fay : " I know *' whom I have believed ;"" whom I have trusted -with my immortal souU into whose hands I have committed the salvation of it : " And I am persuaded, " that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him, against that " day." Now certainly to whom he committed himself, he also committed others ; having had experience of Christ's care, faithfulness, and ability, he could, and undoubtedly did, commend the saints unto him, with the utmost pleasure and satisfaction. And as in life, so likewise in death they commend themselves » Gomarus in Luke i. 2. and in John i. i. and in Htb. iv. iæ. and Arrowsinith in John u 1 . b n«?a1idip«i fignisicat in gcnere, patrocinio, curx-. ac lutclx altcrius aliquidcommendarc, Etza

STATED AND VINDICATED. 53 themselves to none but a divine person, in imitation of Christ; who, in his last moments said : " Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." 2. To put the written word upon a level with the divine Being, does not appear very agreeable. A commendation of the saints equally to the written word, as to God himself, seems to me to be a lessening of the glory of the divine Being, and an ascribing too much to the written word ; but suits well with Christ, the essential Word, " who being in the form of God, thought ic " no robbery to be equal with God." To commend the saints equally to Christ, as to God the Father, is no diminution of the Father's glory ; nor is it giving Christ more than his due, or than what he is able to perform ; but a commendation of them to the gospel seems to be so. 3. The saints are never said to be committed or commended to the gospel ; but that to them. The written word is committed to the care and keeping of the saints ; but not the saints to the care and keeping of that. They are in the hands, and are made the care and charge of Christ, We frequently read of God's committing the written word unto the saints, and especially to the ministers of it ; and of their committing it unto others ; as in 2 Cor. v. 19. i- Tim. i. 11 — 18. and vi. 20. and 2 Tim. i. 14. and ii. 2. but never of the saints being committed to the written word. 4. What is here ascribed unto the Word, is more applicable to Christ than to the written word. Though the gospel is an instrument in the hands of the Spirit, in building up saints in their most holy faith ; yet Christ- is the great master builder; it is he that builds the temple, and must bear the glory. Though the gospel may be as a map, which shews us where our inheritance lies, and which is the way unto it ; yet it is Christ who gives it us, and puts us into the possession of it : it is in, by, or through him, that we obtain the inheritance. For these reasons, I apprehend, that not the gospel or written word, but Christ, the essential Word, is intended : nor am I alone in the fense of this text c. Again, The apostle Paul is thought to use the phrase in this sense'', Htb. iv. 12. " For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any «'• two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, " and of the joints, and marrow ; and is a discerner of the thoughts and *» intents of the heart." This is not so applicable to the written word as to. Christ, who is £«» 3 Aoyo{ rS ®iS> the living Word of God, or the Word of God, which liveth, as the words may be rendered. He is that Word that was made flesh, suftered, and died ; but is now alive and lives for evermore j and may ■ truly, c Vide Arrowsinith in John i. 1. and Gomarus in id. and in Lvkt i. ». and in Heb. iv. !».■. * Arrowsinith, ibid^ Gomarus in id. and in Htb, iv. 11. and Dr Owea in Htb. iv. it.

54 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, truly be said to be «»eyiV, powerful, or efficacious. For so he is in his sufferings and death, being mighty to save ; as also in his mediation and intercession at the Father's right hand ; and will ere long appear to be sharper than any two-edged sword, at his coming to judge the world at the last day. Then lie will pierce, to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints, and marrow, and will shew himself to be *fmxl<, a critical discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart ; for he will then " bring to light the hidden things of " darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the heart j" and will let " all ■* the churches," yea, all the world, angels and men, know that he it is " which scar'chtth the reins and hearts -," all which cannot be so well applied to the written word. Besides, the following verse makes the fense still more plain, which is closely connected with this, by the copulative *»>■■ " And " there is not any creature which is not manifest in his fight; but all things " are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do:" where the apostle manifestly speaks of a Person, and not of a thing -, and of such an one as is omniscient ; and to whom we must give an account at the day of judgment. The words •& rl, n>r» J *iy°u in the last clause, may be rendered, " To whom we must give an account." Now to whom must we give an account? not to the written word, but to a divine Person, as the apostle fays' : "So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to " God." Ministers are accountable for preaching the word, and people for hearing it j but the account will be given not to the written word, but to Christ, the living Word. Moreover, in ver. 14. this Word is said to be an high priest, who is passed into the heavens for us •, which can be no other than Christ, who having assumed our nature, and offered himself a sacrifice for us, as an high priest, is passed into the heavens; where he ever lives to make intercession for us: which the apostle uses as an argument with believers, to hold fast their profession, and to come with boldness to the throne of grace. I cannot but observe, that many things which the apostle here fays of the Word, are said of the Logos, by Pbilo the Jew ; who, as he makes the che rubim in Gen. iii. 24. symbols of God's two powers, his goodness and powerf; so likewise the flaming sword a symbol of his Logos, or Word ; which he makes to be very swift and fervent. Elsewhere he says % That God, by his Logos, * Rom. 14. iz. ' ■ApX'K /*•' ■* *a* otyfl'TJilof tut ivtd/jLtur i* j£«f»iC(f* iirai cv^Soha' Aoy« Si tb» ftoytmi $o/*fa'icti. 'OivxunloTa.'lur yap *a! SsfftM Aoyoc, &c. Fhilo de cherubim, p. It 8. E Z TofiiT rut cv/xvarlun av]S Aiym, 05 ti; ri> o^vlaTJit axor»6iif uxfjiyi, iiaipui a'^iVolt Xnyn ra ai?6n1a araYla iwnitif fi'xf ' T»» arifiur, xai Xiyopirwi «Vff "* ^"4<*9»- tlaAiy an tb'tsi, t« Asy». Ssopula 114 apv9i)Ttr< «*! aVspiyfa'f a; f«/ifa; ap^ilai Jiaip t» Jto; a TOfftv;. Ibid. Quit rcrum divia. Hxres. p. 499. z

STATED AND VINDICATED. 55 Logos, cuts and divides all things, even all things sensible •, yea, atoms, and things indivisible. He represents him as very quick-sighted b, and as capable of seeing all things that are worthy to be seen. And he sometimes speaks of him as the Mediator between God and men ' ; as one that makes atonement, and is an advocate with God. He fays that he is the true High Priest ", who is free from all sin voluntary and involuntary ' ; which is just such an high priest as the apostle Paul fays Jesus Christ is, Heb. vii. 16. But to go on. The apostle Paul uses this phrase just in the same sense, and ascribes the creation of the world to him, as the evangelist John does, when in Heb. xi. 3. he fays : " Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the " Word of God." And also the apostle Peter, in his 2d Epift. chap. iii. 5. where he observes,, that the scoffers were " willingly ignorant ; that by the ' " Word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the " water and in the water." And adds, in ver. 7. That, " by the fame Word, " the heavens and the earth, which are now, are kept in store reserved unto " fire." And in 1 Peter i. 23. the saints are said to be " born,, not of cor- " ruptible seed* but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth " and abideth for ever-," which Word is distinguished from the gospel in ver. 25. From all these passages it may be concluded, that this phrase was not peculiar to the evangelist John, but was used, though not with so much frequency, by the other apostles. 1 proceed,. Thirdly, To enquire the reason or reasons, why the second Person is called' the Word. He may be so called, because As the mental word, or the concep tion of the mind,. which is a.'?©- i,S>dSn®-m, is the birth of the mind, begotten off h *Ovlu xa.) i $t7o<Aiy&- o$u$ipxirctli< Irn, »J* waul* iflofa t luai ixcuof, 2 rd Bias «*{» Kalo^o/Iai » t! yds dt tti) x«fiwfoTipo» i T«iX*uyir«f »» Stta Aoy«. Ibid. Leg. Alleg. 1. 2. p. 92. * TZ it dfxxfy'^" *at trfivCvrdrf Aoyu evqiat i^ai^tlot titixtt i ru oXot yittnocn xaliip, "rot ftf6o£io( reis, to yiiofx.uo> &mx%'itr> tu vriirotrixorof. O i' dvlof !xirti< fi» fri tb Smla xtfai>-.>1o{ du Drsos to atpSaflot, «ff{»e-Ciu$»i« it tb iyipinf w^oj to VTrrixoot. ibid. Quis rerum divin.- Hacres p 509. k"OTt.o woof aXiiSnav a'p^ugiv; *ai f*>S iVii/JtJnUftot, aftilo^o; dpafTDixalur, ifJr. Ibid. Dc victimis, p. 843. 1 Aiyr, j*m yds, rlt d(X"?t» dx ct»3{«T0r, d\\d Xoyot Bitot iinu, vrturtn ax. ixvalm poior, aXXot xa! dxxtr'iui ditxtifidlut duirox0'- Ibid. Dc profugis, p. 4660 , m Ajyoj a ^n1o{, oi\?.» uaniiif, u yds in XaXieTf itdfSfu fun/ut, a'xx' Infytiat Btixtit eViot ymtilii. Ignat. Major epist. ad Magncs. p, 147. Ed. Voff. *E| dfx*i yds '» 0£ov, tit dfttof ut, hx» at3S{ it iotvlw rlt Xoyor ctifriuf Xoyixt? it. Athcn.'g. Legat. pro Christ, p. 10. Edit. Par. "E«g»i» "» 0 ©iof, rlt iavlu Xo'yo» hfridStlei it Toi°{ io^ioif a»Xay^»oi<, iyitrr)<rit dv\lt jAilo. Tij{ iavIS fplai i£iftv£du,iilt w/o Jx*». Theophilus Antioch. ad Autolyc. 1. 2. p 88. Ed. Parili 'AXt]9iia iinyurat rit \Cyo>, . rot orla Sixirutloi itotdvtlot it xdfoix 0i«. Idem, p. ICO. Avll; xat 0 Xoyof 0; rr it dvru vwtrvfi SrtificAi i\ t« «5r^«T»lo{ iv'\S vfiirnid Xoyo;. Tatian. Contt. Gentes, p, 145. Ed. Paris.

56 THE DOCTRINE,OF THE TRINITY, of it intellectually, and immaterially, without passion or motion ; and is the very image and representation of the mind, and of the same nature with it, yet something distinct from it : so Christ is the begotten of the Father, the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his Person ; of the same nature with him, though a Person distinct from him. And he may also be called the Word, from some action or actions which are predicated of him, or ascribed to him. He spake in the ancient council, when the methods of man's salvation were considered, consulted and agreed on ; and declared, that he would be a surety for all the elect. He spoke for every blessing, and every promise in the covenant of grace. He assented to every proposal his Father made ; and agreed to every article in the covenant between them. He spoke all things out of nothing in the first creation : he said, Let it be so, and it was so ; he spake, and it was done ; he commanded, and it stood fast. He is the Word that was spoken of to all the Old Testament-saints, and prophecied of by all the prophets, which have been since the world began ; this is the sum and substance of all the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament. Moreover, he is the interpreter of his Father's mind, even as our word or speech, which is Aoy®- *$»pof»*ec, is the interpreter of our minds ; for which reason he may be called the Word ". "No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten, " which is in the bosom of the Father ; he hath declared him." Being privy to all his thoughts, purposes, and designs, he was capable of declaring his mind and will to his people j which he has done in all generations. It was he °, the Word of the Lord God, whose voice Adam heard in the garden ; and who said unto him, " Adam, where art thou ?" And it was the fame Word of the Lord who continued his discourse with him, and his wife, and the serpent; and made the first discovery of grace to fallen man. It was the Word who appeared to- the patriarchs and prophets in after- ages, and made yet greater discoveries of God's mind and will \ but never so fully and clearly as when he was made fielh, and dwelt among us; for then «« God, who at sundry " times, and divers manners, spake in times past unto the fathers, in these last " days spoke unto us by his Son." Besides, ■ Some in Justin Martyr's time called him the Word, for this reason: 'Evuii K*l t«< «r*p<* ra walpsf Sjn^iat pifii Toi; a'.SfJiroif. Dialog, cum Tryph. p. 358. Ed. Paris. Theophilus of Antioch, calls him Aiy& wfopofixos, ad Autolych. 1. 2. p. 100. TStoh to» Xo'y°» tyinnai «fopn- £ikI>, IB^utiTOKOt vraerr,( )tlitrtv<; a Kc»«Sei? avti; T» Xoyu, a'w* Xoyn ytnruru.u *a» ru Aoyu dvTti Siaircttrot ostler. Clemens of Alexandria denies him to be so : 'O yds ra Wlfof t«» Sw \ly&-, *X ""■'' *r" ' wfo^o{i*of. S'romar, 1. 5. p. 547. Ed. Sylburg. Let it be observed, that those writers who have used these phrases, did not design them in the fame fense whish the Sabellians do, as though the *£y®- was a mere attribute, and not a real person. o See theTargums of Onkclos and Jonathan, in Gen. Hi. 8. and of Jerusalem in ver. 9. '

STATED AND VINDICATED. 57 Besides, he, as the Word speaks for the elect in the court of heaven, where he appears in the presence of God for them ; acts the part of a Mediator on their account ; calls for, and demands the blessings of grace for them •, as the fruit of his death •, pleads their cause, and answers all charges and accusations exhibited against them. So that upon these considerations, he may be properly called the Word, and Word of God. H CHAP. VI. Concerning the Deity of the Word. AVING considered the character of the Ao'yot, or Word, I shall now proceed, II. To give proof of his proper Deity, which I shall do in the following method : First, I shall endeavour to prove it from the divine names which are given to him. Secondly, From the divine perfections, which he is possessed of. Thirdly, From the divine works, which are ascribed to him. And, Fourthly, From the divine worship, which is due unto him. First, I shall endeavour to prove the proper Deity of Christ, from the divine names which are given to him ; such as, i. Jehovah, which is a name expressive of the divine essence, being well explained by 1 AM THAT I AM, in Exod. iii. 4. And it is truly deci phered by John, in Rev. i. 4. By " him which is, and which was, and which " is to come." This is the name by which God made himself known to Moses, and by him, to the people of Israel; by which he had not made him self known to their Fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -, that is, so fully and largely as he had to them ; which name has always* been had in great esteem among the Jews-, and has been highly revered by them, even to a superstitious abstinence from the pronunciation of it p, which arose from a mistaken sense of Lev. xxiv. 16. It is indeed that glorious and fearful name which ought to be feared and reverenced by us ; it being proper and peculiar to the divine Vol. III. I Being, t Vxit Buxtorf. Lexic. fleb. in Rad. nVT.

58 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, Being, and incommunicable to any creature: For " the Most- High over all the «' earth %" is he " whose name alone is Jehovah" If therefore I prove that Jesus Christ is called Jebovab, or that this name is given to him, I prove him to be the Most High God. Which will be best done by comparing some texts of scripture in the Old with others in the New Testament. And to begin, With Exod. xvii. 7. " And he called the name of the place Majsab, and' ** Meribab, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they, " tempted the Lord, or Jehovah, saying, Is the Lord, or Jehovah, among us *' or not?" From hence it plainly appears, that he, whom the Israelites tempted in the wilderness, was Jehovah. And yet nothing is more manifest, than that this was the Lord Jesus Christ •, as is evident from 1 Cor. x. 9. " Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were " destroyed of serpents." And if so, then Christ is Jebovab, and consequently the Most High God. Again," in Isa. vi. 1. it is said : "That in the year that " king Uzziab died," Isaiah " saw the Lord, Adonai, sitting upon a throne j" whom the Seraphim, in ver» 3. call Jehovah Sebaot ; as does Isaiah, in ver. 5. which fame glorious divine person, in ver. 8, 9. sent him with a message to the Jews, saying, " Hear ye indeed, csV." Now these words our Lord Jesus Christ applies to himself, in John xii. 39 —41. and observes, that " these " things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him." Moreover, in Isa. xl. 3. it is said, ** The voice of him that crieih in the wilderness, Pre- " pare ye the way of the Lord, or Jebovab; make strait in the desart, a high- " way for our God." Which words are, by the evangelist Matthew, chap. iii. 1 —3. applied to John the Baptist. Now the Lord, or Jehovah, whose way he was to prepare, could be no other than Jesus Christ, whose harbinger and forerunner John was ; and whose way he did prepare, and whose paths he did make strait, by preaching the doctrine of repentance, administering the ordi nance of baptism, and declaring that the kingdom of heaven, or of the Messiah, was at hand. Besides, the Messiah is expressly called, in Jer. xxiii. 6. the Lord, or Jebovab, our righteousness, it being his work and business to bring in everlasting righteousness, and well suits with Jesus Christ, who is " the end of the law for righteousness, to every one that believeth." Once more, in Zech. xii. 10. it is promised by Jebovab, that he would " pour upon «• the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of «« grace and of supplications :" and adds, " They (hall look upon me, that *• is, Jebovab, whom they have pierced." Which words the evangelist John says,were fulfilled, when one of the soldiers, with a spear, pierced the side of Christ j , z * Psalm Ixxxiii. iP.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 59 Christ; and forthwith there came out blood and water, John xix. 34, 37. The same passage is also referred to in Rev. i. 7. and applied to Jesus Christ. Novr in these, and many other places, Jesus Christ is intended by Jehovah, and if he is Jehovah, then he must be truly and properly God, since this name is incom municable to any other. It is objected, that this name, Jehovah, is sometimes given to created beings; as to angels', Gen. xviii. 13. Exod. iii. 2. and xxiii. 20. to the ark', Numb. x. 35. and xxxii. 20. Deut. xii. 7. Jojh. xxiv. 1. 1 Sam. vi. 2. Psalm xxiv. 8. to Jerusalem., Jer. xxxiii. 16. Ezek. xlviii. 35. to altars, Exod. xvii. 15. Judg. vi. 24. to the mountain where Isaac was to be sacrificed, Gen. xxii. 14 and to judges and priests, Deut. xix. 17. To which I answer, That as to the proof of angels being called Jehovah, 1 have {hewn already, that in all the passages cited, not a created angel, but an uncreated one, even a divine Person is in tended ; who is no other than Jesus Christ, the angel of the covenant ; and are so many proofs of his being Jehovah, and consequently of his proper divinity. Nor is the ark. any where called Jehovah. Numb. x. 35, 36. is a prayer of Moses to the true Jehovah, and not to the ark, to which it could not be made without idolatry. The fense of the words is best understood by comparing them with Psalm cxxxii. 8. In many of the places produced, the ark is not mentioned, nor intended ; not in Numb, xxxii. 2.0. nor in Deut. xii. 7. nor in Josh. xxiv. 1. nor is the word Jehovah, there used, but Elohim. And as for 2 Sam. vi. 2. not the ark, but God, whose the ark was, is called by the name of the Lord of Hosts ; nor is the ark intended in PJalm xxiv. 8. nor could it be called the King of Glory, or the Lord mighty in battle, with out manifest impiety. Nor is the name Jehovah, given to Jerusalem, in Jer. xxxiii. 16. but to the Messiah, as is manifest from Jer. xxiii. 6. for the words may be rendered thus : " This is the name wherewith he shall be called by " her, The Lord our righteousness." Nor is this name given to her in Ezek. xlviii. 35. absolutely, but in composition, or with an addition ; and is only symbolical of Jehovah's presence being with her. Just as the Lord calls her Hepbzibah, and Beulah ; because he delighted in her, and was married to her, Isaiah lxii. 4. The fame may be said of mount Moriab, and the altars, referred to in the objection, which were called Jehovah-jireh, Niffi, Shalom ; which names do not express the nature or essence of God, but are only symbolical, and designed to call to remembrance the divine help, gracious assistance, and wonderful appearance of Jehovah, for his people. Nor are priests and judges called Jehovah, in Deut. xix. 17. for Jehovah is not to be explained by them ; 1 2 he * Crellius de Deo & ejus attributes, c. xi. p. So. • Enjedin. Explic. loc. Vet. & Nov. Test. p. 25. In which he is contradicted by Crellius, ibid. p. 83—85.

6o THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, he is distinguished from them. And though he is joined with them, yet this only designs his presence in judiciary affairs-, " who stands in the congrega- ** tion of the mighty, and judges among the gods." Upon the whole, the argument in proof of Christ's divinity, from the incommunicable name, Jehovah, being given to him, stands firm and unshaken. I go on, 2. To shew that he is called God absolutely, and that both in the Old and in the New Testament. In Psalm xlv. 6. it is said, " Thy throne, O God, is »• for ever and ever :" where by God is meant the Son -, since he is, in ver. 7. distinguiflied from God the Father, who is called his God ; and is moreover said to be anointed by him with the oil of gladness. But this is put beyond all dispute by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews, chap. i. 8. " But unto the " Son he faith, Thy throne, O God, &c." Again, in Isa. xlv. 22, 23. a divine Person is introduced speaking thus: " Look unto me, and be ye saved, " all the ends of the earth ; for I am God, and there is none else : I have " sworn by myself, &c." Which words are, by the apostle Paul, in Rom. xiv. 10— 12. applied to Christ. Many more passages of the like nature might be produced out of the Old Testament. I will but just mention one in the New Testament, and that is in John i. 1. " In the beginning was the Word, " and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." We cannot be at a loss who is meant by the Word ; since he is distinguished from God the Father, with whom he was, and is said, in ver. 14. to be made flesh, and dwell among us. Nor is it any wonder that he should be called God absolutely, and in the highest and most proper sense of the word; seeing he is in the form of God ; and has thought it no robbery to be equal with him. But I proceed to observe, 3. That Christ is called God, with some additional epithets ; such as our God, your God, their God, and my God. He is called our God, in Isa. xxv. 9. and xl. 3. The scope and circumstances of the texts manifestly shew that the Messiah is intended, whom the Jews were waiting for, and whose fore runner and harbinger John the Baptist was to be. He is called your God, in Isa. xxxv. 4, 5. " Behold, your God will come.—Then the eyes of the blind M shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped :" all which were fulfilled in the times of the Messiah, and by him appealed to as proofs of his Meffiahship and Deity. He is called theLord their God, in Luke i. 16. which words " are, in strictness of construction ', immediately connected with " the following word him ; which must necessarily be understood of Christ." Ibomas calls him, in John xx. 28. " My Lord, and my God •," which words are not an apostrophe to the Father, but a full and ample confession of the Deity 1 Dr Clarke's scripturc-dostrine of the Trinity, N° 534.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 61 Deity of Christ, and his interest in him. Now though angels, magistrates, and judges, are called gods, in an improper and metaphorical fense, yet are they never called our gods, your gods, &c. This way of speaking is peculiar to him who is truly and properly God. Again, one of the names of the Messiah is Immanuel, Isa. vii. 14. " which being interpreted, is God with us," Matt. i. 23. that is, God in our nature; cloathed with our flesh, and dwelling among us. Or, in other words, he is " God manifest in the flesh," 1 Tim. iii. 16. on which text Dr Clarke himself observes": That "it has been a " great controversy among learned men, whether 0^;, or S«, or S. be the true " reading in this place. But it is not in reality of great importance : for " the fense is evident, that that Person was manifest in the flesh, whom St " John, in the beginning of his gospel, stiles ©«»«, God." He is moreover called the mighty God, in Isa. ix. 6. which prophecy, though the Jews would wrest to Hezekiah™, yet their attempts have been vain and fruitless. It stands a glorious prophecy of the Messiah, and is expressive of his proper divinity, real humanity, and excellent offices ; which offices he has took upon him for the good of his people, and is capable of performing them, because he is the Mighty God. Likewise he is said to be " over all, God blessed for ever," Rom. ix. 5. It is trifling to observe, that when Christ is said to be over all, that the Father must needs be excepted \ For no one pleads for a superiority of the Son to the Father, but an equality with him : nor is the stress of the proof for Christ's divinity, from this text, laid upon his being over all •, but upon his being God, blessed for ever. Again, Christ is called, the Great God, in Tit. ii. 13. whose glorious appearing, and not the Father's, the saints were looking for ; and of whom the following words, " And our Saviour Jesus " Christ," are plainly exegetical. It is objected y, that this phrase, "The " Great God, being, in the Old Testament, the character of the Father, is «* in the New Testament, never used of Christ, but of the Father only, Rev. " xix. 17." Which text in the Revelation, besides this in Titus, is the only one where this phrase is used in the New Testament; and manifestly belongs to him who is called the Word of God, ver. 13. who is said to have on his vesture, and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords, ver. 16. and who is represented to John, as a mighty warrior, and triumphant conqueror, taking vengeance on the great men of the earth. And therefore, an angel calls to the fowls of the heaven, to come and gather themselves to the u Dr Clarke's scripture-doctrine of the Trinity, N° 540. w See my book of the prophecies of the Old Testament, respecting the Meffiah, considered, (3c. c. xiii. p. zoo, 201, (3c. * Dr Clarke's scripture-doctrine of the Trinity, N" 539. 1 Dr Clarke's commentary on 49 select texts, (3c. p. 86. . t

62 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, the supper of this Great God ; who appears to be no other than he who is before called the Word of God ; which is a character that peculiarly belongs to Jesus Christ. Once more, he is called the true God *, i John v. 20. " And " we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, " that we may know him that is true : and we are in him that is true, even " in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life," that is, Jesus Christ is the true God ; for he is the immediate antecedent to the relative this -, and is expressly, in this epistle, chap. i. 2. said to be eternal life. Since then Christ is so frequently called God, with these additional epithets, which are peculiar to the one only God, it follows, that he must be truly and pro perly God. Secondly, The proper divinity of Christ may be strongly concluded from the divine perfections which he is possessed of: " For in him dwelleth all the " fulness of the Godhead bodily*." There is no perfection essential to Deity, but is in him ; nor is there any that the Father has, but he has likwise; for he fays, " All things that the Father hath, are mine "." Independence and necessary existence, are essential to Deity. He that is God, necessarily exists-, does not receive his Being from another; nor is he dependant on another ; such is the Lord Jesus Christ : for though he is not <*VIo»iJf, Son of himself, yet he is <*V7°Sio«, God of himself: though he, as man and Mediator, has a life communicated to him from the Father, and lives by the Father; yet, as God, he owes his Being to none; it is not derived from another: he is " over all, God blessed for ever." Eternity is peculiar to the Godhead. He that is God, is from everlasting to everlasting. Jesus Christ was not only before Abraham, but before Adam ; yea, before any creature existed. For if he is the «>X'»e» the beginning, the first cause of the creation of God ; if he js w{wto1oko? wdans uTtru**, the first parent', bringer forth, or producer of every creature ; if he was in the beginning of the creation of all things with God ; and by him were all things made ; then he must be before all things. As Mediator he was set up from everlasting, and had a glory with his Father before the world was. His goings forth, or acting in the covenant of grace, on z -See Dr Calamy's sermons, p. 56, 57, (3c. • Col. ii. 9. b John xvi. 15. • Rev. iii. 14. d Col. i. 15. e This is the right interpretation of the text, if we only grant, that the accent (which were all added to the words long since the apostles days) is misplaced; and that instead of «rf«1oToxof, the first born, it should have been wjwIotoxoj, thefirst bringer forth, or former of every creature. This alone will make the fense of the words clear and plain, and free them from all the difficulties which have arose from this mistake. Bedford'i Scripture Chronology, p. 163. in the margin. To which I would only add, That this fense of the word makes the apostle's reasoning in the following verse to appear with much more beauty, strength and force.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 63 on the behalf of his people, were of old, from everlasting. The elect: of God were chosen in him, before the foundation of the world ; and had grace given them in him, before the world began. In fine, he is the alpha and the omega f, the first and the last, the beginning and the ending ; which 'is, and which was, and which is to come ; and therefore a very proper antitype of Melchizedeck •, " having neither beginning of days nor end of life." Again, Omnipresence, and immensity, belong to God. He that is God is every where; is not "confined to any place, but fills heaven and earth with his pre sence. Jesus Christ was, as he was the Son of God, in heaven, whilst, as the Son of man, he was here on earth, John iii. 13. which he could not be if he was not the omnipresent God ; any more than he could make good those promises he makes, Matt, xviii. 20. and xxviii. 20. that he will be with his people when they meet in his name, and with his ministers, unto the end of the world. Nor could he walk in the midst of his golden candlestics, Rev. ii. 1. or be present in all his churches, as he certainly is, and fill all things, Epb. iv. 10. as he certainly does. Omniscience is another perfection of Deity, which is easy to be observed in Jesus Christ g. He knew what was in man, even the secret thoughts and reasonings of the mind. He could tell the woman of Samaria all that ever she did. He knew from the beginning who would believe in him, and who should betray him. Peter appealed to him as the searcher of hearts, and said b : " Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest " that I love thee." He is indeed that divine A*yo{, or Word ', that is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart •, who, in a short time will let all the churches know, that he it is who " scarcheth the hearts and reins k." And though he is said not to know the day and hour of judgment1 ; yet,*that is to be understood of him, not as God, but as man. Omnipotence is another perfection essential to God, and may be truly predicated of Jesus Christ, who is the Almighty™. His works of creation, providence, and sustentation ; as also those of the redemption, and preservation of his own people, and the resurrection of them from the dead ; which he has performed, and does, and will perform, M according to his mighty power, which is able to " subdue all things to himself," loudly proclaim his omnipotence. Once more, He that is God is unchangeable, is without variableness or shadow of turning. And of Jesus Christ, it is said % That he is " the fame, and his " years fail not :" yea, that he is "the fame to-day ° ,yesterday, and forever." In fine, whatever perfection is in God, is in Christ * and therefore he must be truly, properly, and essentially God. Thirdly*. 1 Rev. i. 8 * John ii. 25. Matt. ix. 4. John iv. ag. and vi. 64. h John xxi. if. • Heb. iv. 12. k Rev. ii. 23. • Mark xiii, ja.\ ■ Rev. i< 8. » Heb. u n. * Heb. xiii. 8..

64 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, Thirdly, The true and proper Deity of Christ, may be fully proved from the divine works which he has performed. Indeed, he " can do nothing of himself, " but what he seeth the Father do p ■" that is, he can do nothing but what the Father is concerned in with him : or, he can do nothing that is opposite to his will, or that is not in his power: for "my Father worketh hitherto, and I work." They work together as coefficient causes : though they work in distinction, yet not in contradiction to each other : " for what things soever he (the Father) doth, " these also, ^"c in like manner doth the Son." The works which prove his Deity, are these : The creation of all things out of nothing ; upholding all things by the word of his power •, performance of miracles ; the redemption of his people •, the resurrection of the dead ; and the last judgment. That all things, visible and invisible, were created by the image of the invisible God, is strongly asserted by the apostle Paul* : and that all things were made by the Logos, or Word, and that " without him was not any thing made that was " made," is as fully attested by the evangelist John '. Indeed, God is said to create all things by Jesus Christ s, and by his Son to make the world : but then Christ is not to be considered as the Father's instrument, which he used in making them ; for he made use of none -, but as a coefficient cause, equally working with him. The proposition *•<*, does not always intend the instru mental cause -, it is sometimes used of God the Father *. If now the creation, which is purely a divine work, is ascribed to Christ, and he is properly the Creator of all things, then he himself cannot be a creature ; and if not a creature, he must be God ; for between God and a creature there is no me dium. Moreover, as he has made all things, so by him all things consist ; they have their dependance on him. As he has laid the foundations of the earth, so he bears up the pillars thereof ; yea, he upholds all things by the word of his power, or they would fall into their first nothing ; which he could not do, if he was not truly God. The miracles which he wrought in his own person here on earth, and which were wrought by his apostles through his divine power, are not only proofs that he is ° iex°>»©-> the Messiah that was to come ; but also, that the Father is in him, and he in the Father ; or, in other words, that he is the Son of God, and equal with him. The redemp tion of God's people, obtained by Christ at the expence of his blood and life, is a full demonstration of his Deity. Had he not been God, he would not have been equal to the work ; nor would the Father have entrusted him with it •, nor would he have undertaken it. The reason why he is mighty to save, is because he is the mighty God. It is his true and real Deity which has put a proper t John v. 19. * Col i. 15, 16. ' John i. 1 3. • Eph. iii. 9. Heb. i. 2. * Rom. xi. 36. 1 Cor. i. 9. Heb. ii. ic. |

STATED AND VINDICATED. % proper virtue and efficacy in all his actions, as Mediator. The reason why his sacrifice is expiatory of sin, and acceptable to God, is because it is the sacrifice of himself, who is God. The reason why his righteousness is sufficient to justify all the elect, is because it is the righteousness of God. And the reason why his blood cleanseth from all sin, is because it is the blood of him who is the Son of God : no other blood could be a sufficient price to pur chase the church, and procure all blessings of grace for her. Hence God is said to " purchase the church with his own blood ",." As Christ hath raised himself from the dead by his own power, and thereby has declared himself to be the Son of God, who had power to lay down his life, and to take it up again ; which no mere creature has : so he will quicken and raise the dead at the last day ; for it will be owing to his powerful voice that " they that are " in their graves shall come forth ; some to the resurrection of life, and some " to the resurrection of damnation w." And as the dead will be raised by him, so by him will, both quick and dead, be judged : " For the Father " judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son, that all " men might honour the Son, even as they honour the Father V Now if he was not truly and properly God, he would not be equal to, nor able to go through this work. Was he not God, he could not gather all nations together before him, nor separate the sheep from the goats, and set the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. Nor would he be able to make manifest the counsels of all hearts •, or give to every man according to his works ; or execute the decisive sentence, which his lips had pronounced. Fourthly, That Christ is truly God, may be concluded from the divine worship which is due unto him, and is given him. All the angels of God are called upon to worship him, as they accordingly have, both before and after his incarnation; yea, all men are required to honour the Son, and to give the fame homage and worship to him as they do to the Father. Now this would not be admitted if he was not the one God with him. For he has said, " My glory will " I not give to another; nor my praise to graven images Y." He is the object of the saints love, hope, faith, trust, and dependance ; which he would not be, if he was a creature : for, " cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh " flesh his arm % and whose heart departeth from the Lord." His name is invoked in prayer, and solemn addresses are made to him ; which if he was not God would be idolatry. Yea, the ordinance of baptism, which is a solemn act of religious worship, is ordered to be administered in his name, as well as in the name of the Father, and of the Spirit. In fine nothing more strongly Vol. III. K proves " ARs xx. 28. " John v. 28, 29. "John v. 22. r Isa. xlii, 8. * Jcr. xvii. 5.

66 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, proves the divinity of Christ than his being the object of religious worship, of which God is always jealous ; nor would he ever admit him a partner in it, was he not, in nature and substance, equal to him. From the whole, we need not scruple to assert the Deity of Christ in the fullest and strongest terms ; which is an article of the utmost moment and importance, and furnishes out the most solid argument and foundation for faith, peace, joy, and comfort. CHAP. VII. Concerning the Sonfiip of Christ. HAVING, in the preceding chapter, proved that Christ is truly and. properly God ; I shall now, III. Consider him as the Son of God, which I shall do in the following method : First, I shall give some proofs and testimonies of his Sonship. Secondly, Enquire in what fense he is the Son of God. And, Thirdly, Observe some things respecting Christ's Sonship ; which may serve to help and assist us in our thoughts and enquiries about it. First, I shall give some proofs and testimonies of Christ's Sonship. Nothing Is more strongly asserted than this truth, That Christ is the Son of God. The Father, Word, and Spirit, have bore record of it ; an angel from heaven has declared it ; saints have made confessions of it, and devils have acknowledged it. 1. God the Father bore testimony to the truth of Christ's Sonship at the time of his baptism, by a voice from heaven, saying, " This is my beloved " Son, in whom I am well pleased *." As he also did in much the fame words, and in the fame way, at his transfiguratson upon the mount b. 2. The Word bore witness of himself, as the Son of God. Perhaps this may be the reason why the apostle John makes use of the phrase, the Word, and not the Son, when he speaks of the three that bear record in heaven ; because the thing they bore record of, was the Sonship of Christ. The charge which the Jews brought, and for which they, demanded judgment against Christ, was " because he made himself the Son of God c." He not only asserted » Matt. iil. 17. b Matt. xvii. 5. *Johnxix.7.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 67 asserted that he was, but proved himself to be the Son of God, by unquestion able works and miracles : he asserted himself to be so, when he said : «« My " Father worketh hitherto, and I work ," and " 1 and my Father are oned." The Jews understood him, in these passages, to assert himself to be the Son of God ; and that in such a sense, as to make himself equal with him ; which had it been a mistake, he would have rectified ; but instead of that, he says all the things that were proper to strengthen his Sonstiip. And when he was charged with blasphemy for asserting it, he appeals to his works for the vindication of it; nor does he ever call in his words. Yea, when the high priest asked him, upon his trial, saying, " Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed ? " Jesus said, I am'." If the validity of Christ's testimony should be objected to, and called in question, because it is concerning himself; he has furnished us with an answer which he gave to the Pharisees, when they said, " Thou " bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true*." To which he replied ; " Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true : for I am not " alone, but I and the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, " that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of my- " self, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me." Hence Christ's testimony concerning himself, is good and valid ; because it is not alone, but is in conjunction with the testimony of the Father, and also of the Holy Ghost ; who, 3. Bore witness to the fame truth, by his descent upon him as a dove, at the time of his baptism ; when the Sonship of Christ was so fully expressed. And also, by his plenteous effusion of his gifts and grace upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost ; whereby they were sufficiently qualified to assert, demonstrate and maintain this great truth, that Jesus was the Son of God ; which they every where did ; " God working with them, and bearing them " witness, both with signs and wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the " Holy Ghost according to his will g." 4. The angel which brought the news of the stupendous incarnation of Christ to the virgin, declared, that he should " be great, and be called the" " Son of the Highest h :" Yea, says he, " That holy thing that shall be born " of thee, shall be called the Son of God." 5. Many of the saints have made full and ample confessions of it. John the Baptist, when he saw the Spirit of God descending and remaining on him, at his baptism, bore record that he was the Son of God j. Nalbanael, upon the k 2 first * John v. 17. and x. 30. e Mark xiv. 61, 6s. f John viii. 13, 14, 16—18. « Heb. ii. 4. * Luke i. 32, 35, .' John i. 34,

68 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, first sight of him, said unto him, " Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, the " King of Israel*" When Christ put this question to his disciples, "Whom *• fay ye that I am'?" Simon Peter answered and said, ** Thou art Christ, " the Son of the living God." As he also at another time, in the name of the rest of the disciples, declared, " We believe, and are sure, that thou " art the Christ, the Son of the living God m." Martha, when she was called upon to make a confession of her faith in Christ, expressed it in these words : " I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come " into the world":" as did the eunuch also in much the same words, in order to his admission to baptism : " I believe, says he, that Jesus Christ is the " Son of God °." And indeed, this is the faith of every true believer : for, " who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is " the Son of God"?'* 6. The devils themselves have been obliged to acknowledge it. Though Satan twice put an if upon Christ's Sonfhip, when he tempted him in the wilderness ; yet he, at the fame time, knew that he was the Son of God •, and at other times was forced to confess it ; crying out and saying, " What have " we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God ? art thou come hither to tor- " ment us before the time ' ? " And in another place ' : "And unclean spirits, " when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the ** Son of God." Yea, it is said elsewhere*, " And devils also came out of " many, crying out, and faying, Thou art Christ the Son of God." This then is a truth confessed on all hands, is without controversy, and beyond all contra diction j but in what sense he is the Son of God, is not so easily agreed on j and is what I shall Secondlyt Enquire into. The Socinians deny, that Christ is the eternal Son of God. They own that he is the Son of God, but not before he was the Son of Mary ; yet, where to fix his Sonfhip, and to what cause to ascribe it, they are at a great loss. Calovius ', an Anti-Socinian writer, has collected out of their writings, no less than thirten causes, or reasons of Christ's Sonfhip; and more might be added, which shews the wretched uncertainty they are at. Now twelve of these causes must be false ones ; for there can be but one true cause of Christ's proper Sonfhip. It would be tedious, and to little pur pose to consider all that are mentioned by them. Sometimes they tell us, that he is called the Son of God ; because of the exceeding great love which God * John i. 41. > Matt. xvi. 15, 16. ■ John vi. 67. n John xi. 27. c Acts viii. 37. r 1 John v. 7. 1 Matt. viii. 28, 29. T Mark iii. II. • Luke iv. 41. ' SociniGnus profligatus, Artie 2. Controv. 6. p. 201.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 69 God bears towards him * : and that to be the only begotten Son, and to be the beloved Son, are terms synonymous. That Christ is the Son of God's love, and that he, who is the begotten Son, is also the beloved Son of God, is cer tain j but God's love to him is not the foundation or cause of this relation. The reason why he is the Son of God, is not because God loves him •, but the reason why he loves him, is because he is his Son. It is not love among men that is the cause of such a relation ; there may be love where there is no such relation •, and there may be such a relation where there is no love. Sometimes they tell us w, that he is called the Son of God, because of the likeness which is between them. That Christ is like unto the Father is certain ; for he is " the image of the invisible God, the brightness of his glory, and the express ** image of his person :" but then this likeness is not the cause or foundation of his Sonship. The reason why he is the Son of God, is not because he is like him •, but the reason why he is like him, is because he is his Son, of the fame nature and essence with him. At other times they fay x, That he is the Son of God by adoption ; but the scriptures fay nothing of that. Moreover, if he was his adopted Son, then he could not be his own Son, or the Son of himself, which he certainly is ; and if his own Son, then not his adopted one : an own son is never an adopted one. Nor would he be his begotten Son ; for to be begotten, and yet adopted, is not consistent. Besides, he could not be called his only begotten Son in this fense, because there are many adopted sons, even all the elect: of God, who are predestinated unto the adoption of Children, by Jesus Christ ; which blessing comes to them through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and which is witnessed to them by the Spirit of Christ, who is therefore called the Spirit of Adoption. But passing these, with many others, I shall fix upon three of the reasons or causes of Christ's Sonship, assigned by them, and consider them, which seem to have the most countenance from scripture ; which are these, xsty That Christ is called the Son of God, on the account ofhis miraculous conception and birth. idfyy That he is so called on account of his resurrection from the dead*. And, 3<llyy That he is so called on the account of his office as Mediatori Pro phet, Priest, and King, and his performance of the. fame.. » Enjedin. Explic. loc. Vet. & Nov. Test. p. 178, 179. Catechis. Racov. de persona Christi, o. 1. p. 105. w Socinus, Smalcius & alii. * Socinus, Smalcius. Vide Smiglecium de Christo vero, (3c. c. 5 & 9. Et Calov. Socinisin.. profligat. Artie. 2. Controv. 5 & 6, <-

70 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, ist, It is said, that he is called the Son of God on the account of his mira culous conception and birth r. The only scripture on which this is formed, is Luke i. 35. •« And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost " shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee : " therefore also, that holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called " the Son of God." It will be necessary, before I give my reasons against the notion, built upon this text, to consider the text itself, on which it is built ; and shew that it has no foundation in it : in order to which, let it be observed, 1. That this scripture does not fay, that therefore the holy thing born of the virgin, should be, but that it should be called the Son of God. It is true indeed, that such an Hebraism is sometimes used ; and when persons or things are said to be called, the meaning is, that they are. Thus when the saints are said to be called the Sons of God, the meaning is, that they are the Sons of God. So when it is prophesied of Christ, that his name shall be called wonder ful, counsellor, fcfr. the meaning is, not that he should be usually called by those names, but that he should appear to be all that which was answerable to those names. But this phrase, the Son of God, being a name by which Christ has been, and is usually called, such an Hebraism seems not to be intended here. The angel is not giving a reason of Christ's being the Son of God, or of his constitution as such ; for he was the Son of God long before his incarnation ; but is speaking of his declaration and manifestation as such in the human nature. Besides, 1. The angel does not predict that he should, for this reason, be called the Son ; for either he must call himself so, or others must call him so on this account ; or else, the angel's prediction must be false. Now, though he called himself so, and has been often called so by others in the New Testament ; yet we never read that he was called so for this reason j consequently this cannot be the angel's meaning ; or else, what he said was false, which must by no means be admitted. Again, 3. The particle therefore, is not causal, but consequential. The angel is not giving a reason, why Christ should be the Son of God, but why he should be owned, acknowledged, embraced, and received as such by his peo ple ; who would infer and conclude from his wonderful conception and birth, that he must be the Immanuel, God with us, Isaiah prophesied of, chap. vii. 14. That he must be the child that was to be born, and the Son that was given, whose r Catechis. Racov. de persona Christi, c. i.p. 48. Volkelius de vera Religione, 1. 3. c. 1. p. 38. Enjedini Explic. loc. p. 203, 261. Schlicting. in Ilcb. i. i.p. 16. Ed, Racov.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 71 whose name should be called wonderful, counsellor, the -mighty God, &fc. of whom the same prophet speaks, chap. ix. 6. Once more, 4. The particle *»;, rendered also ought not to be overlooked : " Therefore " also, the holy thing, &c." The meaning is, that the divine Aoyss or Word, being the Son of God, the holy thing which was to be born of the virgin, or the human nature, when united to him, should also be called the Son of God. So that it is not the wonderful conception and birth of the human nature, but the union of it to the divine nature, which was then made, which is the reason why the human nature is called the Son of God-, which is what divines call a communication of idioms, or properties ; whereby names and things proper to one nature, are predicated of the person of Christ, in the other y of which we have many instances in scripture : See John iii. 13. 1 Cor. ii. 8. ASs xx. 28. Having now given the sense of this text, which is the only one pretended to, to build the hypothesis upon ; I shall proceed to give my reasons against it. And, (1.) If the miraculous conception and birth of Christ is the ground and foundation of his being the Son of God, then the Holy Ghost must be the Father of Christ, since he had a special and peculiar concern in that stupendous work. This the Sorinians have been often pressed with by many excellent men who have written against them z; but none I ever met with, have ventured to own the consequence. Yet a late writer has been so hardy as to assert in express terms, that the Holy Spirit is the Father of Christ ; his words are these : " The sure word declares the Son was conceived by the Holy Spirit ; ** therefore he was the Father of Christ in the nature which was conceived, " and was made of a woman ; as it must be true, that he, by whom the ** the child was conceived, is the Father \" He argues both from scripture and reason ; but his arguments from both are exceeding bad. He fays, " The sure word declares the Son was conceived by the Holy Ghost ;" and therefore was the Father of Christ : whereas, the sure word declares that " a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son b, cs?f." And the angel declared to Mary, when he brought her the news of the incarnation, that she should " conceive in her womb, and bring forth a Son c." It is indeed said, that " that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost ' •" but it is never said, that it was conceived by him. It was the virgin that conceived under the overshadowing 1 Smiglccius de Christo vero naturali Dei filio. c i."p. 24, 28. Calov. Socinisin. Profligat. Art; 2. Controv. 7. p. 207, 208. Stegmanni Photinianisinus, Disp. 16. p. 180. Maresri Hydra Soci^ nianismi, torn. ?. p. 6. * The great Concern of Jew and Gentile, &c. p. 42. b Isaiah vii. 14. «■ Luke i. 31, * Matt. i. 20.

72 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, overshadowing of the Holy Ghost. He adds, from reason, as he thinks, " It must be true, that he, by whom the child was conceived, is the Father." But I am persuaded, that all mankind, both male and female, except this author, and he too with a very little reflection, will conclude that the child is conceived, not by the Father, but by the mother of it. That the Holy Ghost is the Father of Christ, is not a hasty thought of this author's, or a sudden flip of the pen, but a settled and established notion of his j and what he published in a pamphlet above eleven years ago'. Against which I object as follows: If the Holy Spirit is the Father of Christ, then there must be two fathers in the Trinity ; and so a wretched confusion, be introduced there. Whereas, we read but of one Father, and he distinct from the Word and Spirit. We are baptized in the name of one Father, one Son, and one Holy Spirit. Besides, the Father of Christ, is, in many places f, distinguished from the Spirit •, and therefore cannot be the same. Yea, the Spirit is called the Spirit of the Son 8 ; which he would not be, if he was the Father of him. Add to this, that Christ, as man, had no Father. Mary called Joseph his father, because he was reputed to be so, as he was supposed to be the son of Joseph ; but in reality he had no father as man. As he was »^Tuf, without mother, with respect to his divine nature, so he was diniruf, without Father, with respect to his human nature j on which account Melcbizedeck was a proper type of him. He is never said to be begotten by the Holy Ghost ; nor is he ever said to be begotten as man. He is said to be conceived in the womb of the virgin, to be made flesh, and to be made of a woman, but never to be begotten as man. All those scriptures which speak of him as the only be gotten Son, are to be understood in another fense, as I shall shew hereafter. (2.) If the incarnation of Christ is the ground and foundation of his beinothe Son of God, then there was no God, the Father of Christ under the Old Testament, nor much more than seventeen hundred years ago. The Maraomtes of old asserted this •, which put the ancient writers upon proving that it was the Father of Christ who made the world h, gave the law, spoke by the pro phets, and was the author of the Old Testament ; which the apostle strongly confirms, when he fays : " God, who at sundry times and in divers manners, " spake in time past unto the Fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days •• spoke unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by " whom also he made the worlds1." Nor is it difficult to prove, that he existed as the Father of Christ, before the foundation of the world : for as "the * The truth as it is in Jesus, i3c. $. 19. p. tl. J. 47. p. 45. f John xiv. 16, 17, z6. and xv. 26. Eph. i. 17. and iii. 14, 16. * Gal. iv. 6. h Set Dr Owen on the Trinity, p. 27. • Heb. i. 1, 2.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 73 •* the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, he hath blessed us with all " spiritual blessings, in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen " us in him before the foundation of the world V (3.) If. Christ is the Son of God according to the human nature only, then that distinctive phrase, according to the flesh, which the apostle Paul sometimes makes use of, when speaking of the person of Christ, is useless and impertinent. If he was a Son only as man, it would be needless to add, according to tbeflejh. We never fay of any one, that he is the son of such an one, according to the flesh.; but only that he is his son. Christ is the son of David, according to the flesh, or the human nature ; but he is the Son of God, according to the divine nature ; which is the true reason of the apostle's use of the phrase ', in Rom. i. 4. where he fays, " Concerning his Son Jesus Christ, who was made «' of the feed of David, according to the flesti, and declared to be the Son of " God, with power, according to the Spirit of holiness/' See also Rom. ix. 5. (tf.) The incarnation of Christ cannot be the reason and foundation of his divine Sonfhip •, because he was not thereby made the Son of God, but only manifested to be so. ** For this purpose, says the apostle, the Son of God " was manifested m •" that is, in human nature, it being a phrase equipollent to " God manifest in the flesh." Now as he was God, before he was manifest in the flesh ; so he must be the Son of God, before he was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. When God is said to send forth his Son, made of a woman, or in the likeness of sinful flesh •, it is certain, that he was a Son before he was sent, before he was made of a woman, or appeared in the likeness of sinful flesti. He did not send forth his Son to become a Son ; bat he sent him forth to become man. That Christ existed as the Son of God, before his incarnation, may easily be collected out of the writings of the- Old Testament. The Jews, in Christ's time, seem well acquainted with the phrase, the Son os God ; and by it understood a divine Person j as is easy to observe in many places n : now this they must learn from the books of the Old Testament. Their ancient writers speak of the Ao'yoj, or Word of God, as his Son. The Jerusalem Targum, on Gen. iii. 22. calls the Word of the Lord Vol. III. L fte kEph.i. 3. 4. 1 1 Sic & Aposlolus de utraque ejus fubstantia docet : Qui sactus est, inquit, ex semine David, hie erit homo & filius hominis; qui desinitus est filius Dei secundum spiiitum, hie em Deus & sermo, Dei filius : videmus duplicem statum, non confufum, fed conjunctum in una persons, Deum & hominem, Jesum. Tertullian. adv. Praxcam, c. 87. TlXr/i afxuro <pcuai Kola o-agxa, vra£a£ti>J!iaat ti» (rtaiyr,pitr,> SiotV)*- Koiib yds dtSqvwu Xiicurxtn 0vysit11a.il, «' \iyu rS iunot i SiTia xccld cd^xa vtU, aWk' aV\w{ tills. Theodoret, Dialog. I . p. 46. Ed. Strigel. »» 1 John iii. 8. ■ Matt. xiv. 33. and xxvi. 63. and xxvii. 40, 54. John v. 17, 18. and x. 30, 33— 36. • '

74 THE DOCTRiNE OF THE TRINITY, the only begotten in the highest heavens. Pbilo the Jew speaks of God as unbegotten ° ; and of the divine Word as begotten. He calls him the first begotten Word % and sometimes the first begotten Son q. He fays the world is God's younger Son, and that he has one older than that •, who, because of his seniority, abides with him r. Yea, he calls him his most ancient Son ', and a Son of complete virtue, who acts the part of an advocate *. And as to his generation, he fays, that he is not unbegotten as God, nor yet begotten as men ". Ben Sira, a famous Jew, who lived many years before Christ's time, and was the author of the apocryphal book of Ecclestasticus, speaks of the Lord God as a Father, and as having a Son, when he fays : " I called upon the " Lord, the Father of my Lord, not to forsake me in the day of tribulation w." Now these hints they took out of the books of the Old Testament ; where are many proofs of a divine Person existing under the character of the Son of God. And to begin with Dan. iii. 25. where Nebuchadnezzar says, ** Lo, I " fee four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt •, " and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." How Nebuchadnezzar an heathen prince, came by this knowledge, that there was a divine Person, who was called the Son of God, I (hall not determine; very probably he had it from the Jews, who were in great number in his dominions, and some of them in his palace •, from whom having heard of such a glorious Person, and seeing such an one in the furnace, he concludes he must be like unto him. All that I bring this passage for, is this, that there was a belief, which obtained in those times, that a glorious divine Person did exist under the character of the Son of God •, or Nebuchadnezzar could not have mentioned him as such, nor have likened the Person he saw in the furnace to him. Agur c .Kai Mwi! fti'rloi t«i tlxipCoXw 9au^«Va« rS dyuttire, tpncr'lr, Kai ru cio/ia1i do'lu opr>, ijjji dvlu. 'ixcuor yds tw ytttrilu vifSvSai, *ai paflvgiitrSat Aoyw @iiv. Philo Leg. Allcg. 1. 2. p. rjg. * £wa'J«£« *co<7-^iib-$ai xald ret Wftiloyotot aula A'jyct. Idem de cons ling. p. 341 . ' 'sl; wot/tit xai @a,?i\tvs 0 0iof dyn xxld oixm xai >6p.ov, Wfofttcdfunf ror op9or dv\e Aiyot Vfv ley"0' <"'"• ^- ^e agricultura, p. 195. * "O fi.11 yds xiepof tiros rum^O- viit &i5, art al o-Qr.Tos £t. Tot yds wgio-Ci>Tipo» th'th «»/»« curt, B Forlo? i$ UiT>9: ri{«ff£uui i' d{nSa-at v*(d iavlu xaraptmr cmotj'Su, Id. Quod sit Deus immutab. p. 298. * Taror (*i» ya( «{urCtTaioj tilt 0 rut it\vi aimiXt fj»1qf, or irifuSi Vftiloyttoi utifian. Id. de tonsus. ling. p. 329. * 'Ata.Txa.T01 yds w rot iifuftitoi ru ru xicfiH wal^J, vafaxta'ry Xf'^ai Ti/tamtVv d^ilmvlu. Id. de vita Mofis, 1. 3. p. 673. u "O1/I1 iyMfo> *i{ 5 0io? it, Srt yonflU «« ifutf. Id. Quis rerum divin. Hseres. p. 509. * Kai 'nrtKa.hio-dp.-ii> xv'gior, walijct avails /*S} ftq iyxaratuwui p' ir r!/*i'j« 9aiiJ>i«s. Ecclciiast. c. H. v. 14..

STATED AND VINDICATED. 75 Agur also knew that there was a divine Person who existed in this character, when he said : " What is his name, and what is his Son's name, if thou canst " tellx ?" Which words plainly shew that the Almighty and incomprehensible God, whom he describe?, had a Son, who existed with him, was of the fame divine, ineffable, and incomprehensible nature, and a distinct Person from him. Earlier than him, David takes notice of a divine Person, as the Son of God -, and calls upon the kings and judges of the earth to pay homage and worship to him, saying, " Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye peristi from the way, " when his wrath is kindled but a little : Blessed are all they that put their " trust in him y." Not to take notice of another passage in the fame place •, " Thou art my Son, this day have 1 begotten thee z :" which 1 shall consider hereafter. To conclude this argument, Christ existed as the Son of God, at the creation of all things. For God, by him h>s Son, made the worlds, Heb. i. 2. Yea, before any creature was made; berime the fun was, he was the Son of God: fee Psalm lxxii. 17. where the words *ov y\y vav »js^> may be rendered, before the fun was, his name was Tintion -, v.'iich the Jews fay % is one of the names of the Messiah, and comes from pj, which signifies a Son ■, and is explained by Aben Ezra ", p N"ip\ pall be called a Son : but on this I lay no great stress. From the whole, it is manifest, that Christ bore the character of the Son of God under the Old Testament-dispensation, and before his incar nation -, and therefore his incarnation cannot be the true cause and reason of his being the Son of God. Moreover, (5.) If the incarnation of Christ was the cause of his divine Sonship, or of his. being the Son of God, then he would be but in the fame class of Sonship as creatures, angels, and men are. Adam is called the Son of God, being wonder fully made and created by him, out of the dust of the earth j and all his posterity are the offspring of God. Angels are also the Sons of God by creation : but " to which of the angels said he, that is, God, at any time, " Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten theec ;" and much less did he ever fay so to any of the sons of men. The filiation of Christ is of an higher rank than that of creatures, and therefore must be placed to another account. I go on, 2dly, To consider another cause or reason assigned, why Christ is called the Son of God d, and that is, his resurrection from the dead ; which must be rejected for the following reasons : l a 1. He * Prov. xxx. 4. r Psalm il. u. * Ver. 7. » Talmud Sanhed. sol. 98. col. a. Pcsachim, sol. 54. 1. Nedarim, sol. 39. z. Berefhit Rabba, sol. 1. 2. Echa Rabbati. sol. 50. 2. b In Buxtorf. Lex Rad. p. e Heb. i. 5. * Vide Calov. Socinism. Proflig. Art. 2. Controv. 9. p. an.

76 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, i. He was the Son of God before his resurrection j and therefore it can never be the foundation of this relation. The Socirtians themselves fay, that he is called the Son of God, on the account of his incarnation ; and therefore before his resurrection. As his own Son, God sent him forth in the likeness of sinful flesh* j and as such he spared him not, but delivered him up to death ; both which acts were previous to his resurrection. Yea, God, by a voice from heaven, declared him to be his Son, both at his baptism and trans figuration '. And his disciples, even before his death, knew and were sure that he was the Son of the living God r. The fame was confessed by others, whilst he was alive •, and by the Centurion, when he hung upon the cross ". All which fully evidence, that he was the Son of God before his resurrection. 2. If his resurrection from the dead was the cause of his divine filiation, then he must beget himself, or be the author of his own Sonship, which is absurd ; for he was himself concerned in his relurrection from the dead. As he had power to lay down his life, which no mere creature hasj so he had power to take it Up again, which none but God could do : according to his OWh prophecy, when the temple of his body was destroyed, he raised it up again in three days. $. If his resurrection from the dead is the ground of his Sonship, then his ScVmip must be metaphorical, and not proper: whereas, he is called God's 6wh 6r proper Son1, and the Son of himself k j and God is called his own or proper Father *. 4. He could not be called on this account, 'Go^Ts only begotten Son, which is the character he sometimes bears j because there are others that have been, - and millions that will be raised from the dead, besides him. He may indeed, on the accodnt of his resurrection, be castled, as he is, the first born from the dead, Col. i. 18. and the first begotten of the dead, fyv. i. 5. because he is the first fruits of them that sleep, 1 Cor. xv. 20. but he cannot be called the only begotten. Besides, if this was a true cause of divine Sonship, not only saints, but Wicked men, would be the sons of God : for there will be " a resurrection *« both of the just and unjust ":" Some of tHem that' sleep in the' dust of the earth, shall awake to shame and everlasting contempt, as others to everlasting life \ And some of them that are in their graves, shall come forth to the resurrection of damnation, as others to the resurrection of life : yet these are no where called, nor will they ever bear die character of the Sons of God. Indeed, • Rom. vitf. 3, J4. f Matt. iij. 17. and xvii. 5. * John vi.-66» » Matt, xxvii. 5$. ' "Ot yi rS Hiu eiS Sk ipiiewla, Rom. viii. 32. * To, i«rtS i/»», Rom. viii. 3. » n«u'?a lift, John v. 1 8. ■ A6ts xxiv. 15. " Dan. xii. t. John v. *8, 29.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 77 Indeed, the saints are said to be " the children of God, being the children of " the resurrection °." Not that their resurrection from the dead will be the cause of their relation to God as children ; for they were such before : but being raised from the dead by virtue of their union to Christ, and being by him put into the possession of the heavenly inheritance, they will be manifested and declared to be children, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. For this reason, I apprehend, the words in Psalm ii. 7. " Thou art my Son, this " day have I begotten thee," are by the apostle, in Ails xiii. 33. applied to the resurrection of Christ. Not that he was then begotten as God's own Son, for he was so before, as has been proved ; but he was then manifested to be the eternally begotten Son of God. Things are, in an improper fense, said to be, when they are only manifested : So Christ is said to be that day begotten, because he was " declared to be the Son of God with power, by the resurrec- " tion from the dead f." Now this is the only passage on which this notion is built ; and what little foundation there is for it, is easy to be observed; I proceed, 3^/v, To consider another reason given of Christ's Sonship ; and that is, his office as Mediator. The Socinians fay that he is called the Son of God because he was sanctified, or set apart to this work and office * ; and was sent into the world to do it ; and because he has executed the offices of Prophet, Priest and King, and is now exalted in glory. It is no wonder to hear them fay, that Christ is the Son of God by office ; when it is a darling notion of theirs that he is only God by office ; for the fake of which, they endeavour to support this. And since it smells so rank of Socinianifm, or rather, is a part and branch of it, it should have the less countenance from, and be the less regarded by such who have a true value for the proper divinity of Christ. That he who is the Mediator is the Son of God, is certain ; but that his being the Mediator is the reason of his being called the Son of God, is the thing in question. That many, or most of the scriptures which speak of him as the Son of God, do at the fame time hint some things which relate to him as Mediator, is not denied; for the scriptures do mostly speak of God considered in and through the Mediator; and of the Son of God as such : but that his Mediatorfhip is the foundation of his Sonship, is a question that ought to be proved, and not begged. There are few scriptures that speak of Christ as God, but also speak of him as man* or as he is considered in his office as Mediator. Thus when he is called the Mighty God r, he is in the fame verse said to be born as a child ; and when he is represented as " over all, God blessed for ever ' ,'* he 0 Luke xx. 36. P Rom. i. 4. « Vide Calov. Socinisin. Proflig. Art. 2. Controv. 6, and 8. p. 201, tog, * Isaiah ix. 6. • Rom. ix. 5. x

78 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, he is said, at the same time to be of the Fathers as concerning the flesh. If this way of interpreting scripture be allowed of, a subtile Sccitiian knows how to make his advantage of it, to the destruction of Christ's proper Deity, as well as Sonship. The text which the Socinians chiefly build this notion on, is John x. 36. " Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into " the world, Thou blasphemest, because 1 said, I am the Son of God " That he who was sanctified, and sent into the world, was the Son of God, may very well be collected from these words, and from his sanctification and mission; because no other was promised to be sent ■, and no other was expected to come, but he who was the Son of God : but that his sanctification and mission are the reason why he is called the Son of God, cannot be from hence con cluded ; because he was the Son of God before he was sent. In the preced ing verses Christ had asserted his equality with the Father : upon which, the Jews charge him with blasphemy, because he made himself God. To vindicate himself from this charge, he first argues from his inferior character, as being in office ; that if magistrates, without blasphemy, might be called gods, much more might he, who was sanctified and sent into the world by the Father. But he does not let the stress of his Deity and Sonship rest here; but proceeds to prove that he was truly and properly God, and the Son of God, by doing the fame works his Father did. From the whole, 1 fee no reason to conclude from this text, that Christ being in office as Mediator, is the cause of his being called the Son of God. Against which I have further to object as follows : 1. If Christ is the Son of God by office, and not nature, then he must be so only in an improper, allusive, and metaphorical fense; just as magistrates are called gods, and the children of the Most High '. Whereas, as has been before observed, he is called his own Son, his only begotten Son, and the Son of himself. 2. The Mediatorfhip of Christ is not the foundation of his Sonship, but his Sonship is the foundation of his Mediatorfhip. He is not the Son of God because he is Mediator; but he is Mediator because he is the Son of God. He must be considered, at least, in order of nature, as existing under some cha racter or another, antecedent to his investiture with the office of a Mediator. If I prove that he existed as a Son, previous to his being a Mediator, the conclusion is easy, that his Mediatorfhip cannot be the cause, reason, or foun dation of his Sonship. And, I think, this may be done by considering dis tinctly, and apart, his several offices of King, Priest, and Prophet, and his investiture into them. As to his kingly office, and his instalment into that, it * Psalm Ixxxii. 6.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 79 it is said : " But unto the Son, he faith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and " ever-, a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom0." Which words are directed to Christ, under the character of the Son ; and contain the Father's solemn inauguration of him into his kingly office •, his being set up and declared to be King over God's holy hill of Z/<?», and the perpetuity and righteousness of his kingdom. Concerning his priestly office, we read, That " the law maketh men high priests, which have infirmity ; but the Word of " the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for " evermore " •," that is, the Word of the oath, or God's eternal counsel and co venant, which has been made more clear and manifest since the law was given, maketh the Son ; What ? not a Son ; but maketh the Son a priest. It follows then, that he was a Son before he was a priest ; before he was constituted as such, or invested with the priestly office. Again, he was the Son of God, previous to his investiture with, entrance upon, or discharge of his propheticoffice. And indeed, his being the only begotten Son, was what qualified him for it : for " no man hath seen God at any. time j the only begotten Son, *« which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him \" Being the* only begotten of the Father, and lying in his bosom, and so privy to all his thoughts, purposes and counsels, he was the only Person proper to be sent into the world, as the great Prophet of the Lord, to declare his mind and will to the sons of men. 3. Some scriptures do manifestly distinguish him as a Son, from the consi deration of him in the mediatorial office ; as in the eunuch's confession of faith j when he said, " I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God y." If this phrase, Son of God, is only expressive of his office as Mediator, it co-, incides with the other phrase, Jesus Christ -, and then the sense is, I believe. that Christ is the Christ, or the Mediator is the Mediator ; which fense carries in it no distinct ideas. The plain meaning of the confession is ; I believe that Jesus Christ, the true Messiah and Saviour of sinners, who was sent into the world for that purpose, is no less a Person than the Son of God, who is of the fame nature with God, and equal to him. Likewise, when Saul, upon his conversion, is said to " preach Christ in the synagogues, that he is the •' Son of God1." If the term, Son of God, is a term of office, the meaning must be, that he preached that Christ was the Christ, or the Mediator is the Mediator : whereas, the fense is, that he preached that the Messiah* who had lately appeared in the world, with all the true characters of the promised one, . was a divine Person, no less than the Son of God; who had the fulness of' • the • Heb. i. 8. * Heb. vii. 27. * John i. 18. 1 Acts vjii. 37, » Act* ix. 20.

8o THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, the Godhead dwelling in him. The same may be observed in other passages *. In fine, if Christ is the Son of God only as he is Mediator, then he is so as a servant •, for Christ, as Mediator, is God's righteous servant ; and so those ideas of Son and Servant, which are otherwise clear and distinct, are blended together and confounded ; and that beautiful antithesis betveen Moses and Christ is spoiled ; where Moses is said to be " faithful in all his house, as a servant, " but Christ as a Son over his own house V For if he is the Son of God by virtue of his office, as Mediator, he is a servant as such, as Moses was •, only he is a servant of an higher rank, and in a greater office. I believe no instance can be produced among men, of any one being called the son of another, because he is his servant. A Ion and a servant are always reckoned distinct ; not but that he who is a son may also be a servant ; but then he is not a son because he is so. This distinction our Lord keeps up, when he fays ; " The servant abideth not in the house for ever, but the Son abideth ever'." 4. Some scriptures speak of Christ as the Son of God, as adding a lustre to his office, and as putting a virtue into his actions as Mediator; yea, as though it was somewhat surprizing, that he, being the Son of God, should act the part of a Mediator. Sometimes the scripture speaks of him under this character, as adding a lustre to his office as Mediator ; as when the apostle soys, " Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the hea- " vens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession11." What is it that makes this high priest, Jesus, so great an high priest, and furnishes out so strong an argument to hold fast our profession of him ? It is his being the Son of God by nature, and not by office. If this was only a term of office, there would be no emphasis in it •, nor would there be such strength in the argument formed upon it. Again, the scripture sometimes speaks of him under this character, as the Son of God, as putting a virtue and efficacy into his actions as Mediator. Thus the apostle John ascribes the virtue of his blood, in cleansing from all sin, to his being the Son of God, when he fays : *« And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, (here lies the emphasis of the words,) M cleanseth us from all sin c." Once more, the scripture speaks of it as some thing wonderful, that he who is the Son of God, should act the part of a Mediator. Hence we are told, That " though he were a Son, yet he learned " obedience, by the things which he suffered f :" But where is the wonder, or what surprising thing is it that he being a Mediator, should act the part of a Mediator? No, the wonder lies here ; that he being the Son of God, in the form of God, and equal with him, should be obedient to death, even the • death » 1 John iv. 14, 1 5. and v. 5. * Heb. ill. J, 6. • John viii. 35. * Heb. iv. 14. ' • 1 John i. 7. * Heb. v. 8.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 81 death of the cross. In fine, all those scriptures which are designed to express the greatness of God's love in the gift and mission of his Son, and in his delivering him up for the sins of all his people, do better and more fully express it, when this phrase, the Son os God, is understood to intend one who is a divine person and of the same nature with God, than when it is understood to intend only one who is a servant under him 8. There are some who assert the proper Deity of the Son, and his distinct: per sonality from the Father ; who are neither in the Socinian nor Sabellian scheme ; and yet think that the terms, " Messiah, King of Israel, and Son of God, are " synonymous \" And that " the second person is called the Son of God -, " not merely on the account of the divine nature, but as the human nature c* is in union with it':" or, as he is God-man and Mediator. And that " his eternal generation intends nothing else than an eternal communion of " the same nature and co-existence with the first person \" And also, that though " those names, Father and Son, chiefly signify a communion of " the fame nature, yet so as to respect and have a singular regard to the " manner in which the sacred Trinity would manifest it, by the wonderful " oeconomy of persons, especially in the work of man's redemption1." To which it has been replied : That " the reason why the phrase, the Son of God, " is sometimes used in the writings of the New Testament, under the fame " signification with the Word, Messiah, or Christ, as John i. 49. Matt. xvi. 16. " is, because the Jews observing that he, who in Psalm ii. 2. is called the " Messiah, is afterwards called the Son of God, often used the phrase, the Son * John iii. 16. Rom. via. 3, 32. 1 John iv. 9, 10. b Videmusenim nomina ilia, Me (Has, rex Israelis, filius Dei in illis locis (nerape Matt. xiv. 16. Joh. i. 49. Sc xi. 27. Matt. xxvi. 63. Joh. xx. 31.) quodammodo »V«Jti»*ftB»1<x, hoc est, eandem significandi vim habere, ut qui unum novit, alia quoque noverit. Tali enim modo secunda persona in ordine Sc exto-u ad primam, Deitatem suam per opera œconomica demonstravit, quo filius potest in ordine ad patrem suum. Roell. de gencratione silii, Dissert. I. $. 42. p. 43. Vide etiam Dissert. 2. $. ioj. p. 133. 1 Ratio ergo cur secunda persona Deitalis vocetur filius Dei, meo judicio petenda est non ex divina ejus natura simpliciter,j fed quatenus humanam sibi conjunxit, Sc in ea divinæ gloriam demonstrare voluit, operibus iis, qua; secundum ceconomiam pejagere debebat ut Mediator generis humani. Id. Dissert. 2. $. 105. p. 133. k Probatur æternitate secunda: personae proculdubio nihil aliud æterna ejus generatio fignificare potest quam æternam naturae ejufilem communionem & cum prima co-existentiam. Idem Dis sert. 1. $. 31. p. 34. 1 Quod nomina ilia (nempe, pater & Slius) significent præcipuc Sc in emphasi communionem eju/dem natura, verum ita, ut modum quoque, quo earn manifejlare voluit sacro-sancta Trinitas per I admirandun illam pcisonarum, in operibus imprimis redemptionis humani generis teconomiam respiciant, Sc ad eum'fingularem o-^iVn habeant. Id. $. 40. p. 40. Vol. III. M "of

%i THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, •• of God, for the Messiah. But from hence it ought not to be argued, that the *' reason why the second person is called the Son of God, is to be taken from " his mediatorial office. This only can be concluded from it. That the " Messiah ought to be the Son of God, and to be demonstrated as such. Not " that therefore he was to be called the Son of God, because he was the " Messiah, or Redeemer of mankind m." And, That if the generation of the Son, only intends a communion of the fame nature, and a co-existence with the Father, then, " to beget in the Father, intends the fame as to be begotten in " the Son. That the word Father, in the first person, signifies the fame as the " word Son, in the second. That the same who is now called the Father, might " have been called the Son ; and which is now called the Son, might have ** been called the Father : yea, that the second person might as well be called " a Father to the first, as the first be called a Father to the second "." Which produced this ingenuous confession ; That " it might have so been, if it " had been the will of God, that the person, which is now called the Father, " might have been called the Son °." It has been also further observed, That " the first person appears to be the Father, the second person to be the " Son of the Father, and the third person to be the Spirit of the Father and " the Son, in the redemption of mankind. Yet tliis appearance and mani- " festation is not the reason why the first person is called the Father, the " second the Son, and the third the Spirit * for unless they had been Father, M Son, and Spirit, before this manifestation of their oeconomy, these three persons could not be manifested and discovered as such. If therefore they were Father, Son and Spirit, before this manifestation, it evidently follows, " that ■ Quod vero vocabulum filius Dei aliquando in seriptis Novi Tostamenti idem valeat signifi cation*:, quod vocabulum Meflias five Christui, Joh. i. 50. Malt. xvi. 16. Id inde ortum est, quod Judaei considerarent, cum qui Plal. ii. z Mefias vocatur, deinceps vocari jilium Dei. Inde est, inquam, quod phrilin f.lii Dei saepe acceperint pro Meffia. Sed inde- minime argui potest, ex Mediatorio Chrifti offir.io, petendam esse rationem, cur secunda persona vocatur sluts Dei. Id tantum inde colligi potest, quod Mesfias debuerit else it demonstrari Deijilius. Non vero illud, quod ideo Deijilius vocandus erat, quod sit Meflias five Rcdemptor generis humani. Vitrinftt Epilog. Disput. de generatione filii contr. Rocll. J. 28. p. 45. n Quarum refutationi subjunxeram absurda, quibus gravantur, t . Generate in patre idem effe le notare secundum intentionem spiritus fancti, quod generari in filio. 2. Vocem palris in persona prima idem notare, quod ea filii notat in secunda. 3. Earn personam, quae nunc dicitur pater, potuiffe diftam esse /ilium, ie quae nunc dicitur/fttts, potuiffe effe dictam patron. 4. Addonunc personam secundam æque posse dici patrem prirtue, ac prima dicitur pater secundse. Id. p. 3, 4. * Ut ingenue loquar, non video, quid in eo difEcultatis tandem esse possit, si dicamus, potuiffe forte : Neseio enim hoc, & non nisi de perceptis le notis judicare licet : potuiffe, inquam, forte, si visum ita Deo fuisset, fieri, ut quae persona nunc pater vocatur, shut vocata suisset. Rotll. de generatione filii, Dissert. 1. J. 39. p. 40. (C

STATED AND VINDICATED. s3 " that the reason of those names, cannor, nor ought not to be taken from this *• manifestation, but from the nature of the perfections of those three per- " sons : for the three persons would have been Father, Son, and Spirit, if they " never had been discovered and manifested as such among men p." To which I would only add, That if these names are given to these three divine persons on the account of their distinct concern in the oeconomy of man's salvation, some reason from thence ought to be given, why the first person is called the Father, the second the Son, and the third the Spirit. But I shall now proceed to shew that Christ is the Son of God, as he is a distinct divine person in the Godhead •, or, that he is the true and natural Son of God, begotten in the divine essence by the Father, in a way and manner not to be comprehended or conceived of by us. And, (1.) That Christ is the true and natural Son of God, and not so in an improper, allusive, or metaphorical sense, is, I think, evident from all those passages of scripture which speak of him as God's own Son, his proper Son, the Son of himself, and his only begotten Son. If he is his own Son, then he must be so, as he is of the fame nature with him ; and consequently must be his natural Son. If he is his proper Son, then not so in a figurative and an improper fense. And if he is his only begotten Son, he must be so either as he is God, or as he is man : not as he is man ; for as such he had no Father, and so was not begotten ; wherefore he must be so as God. If it should be said, that he is called so because of his constitution as God-man, and Mediator; it ought to be shewn, that there is something in his constitution as such, which is at least analogous to generation ; and will furnish out a sufficient reason for his bearing the name and character, and standing in the relation of a Son to his Father. (a.) It is easy to observe, that Christ, as a Son, is expressly called God; and that the term, Son of God, is used to express a divine Person. Thus, in Heb. i. 8. «* Unto the Son he faith, thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever." And in i John v. 20. " We know that the Son of God is come—-and we art in m 2 " him t rrima persona est demonstrate esse Pater ; jctuitda persona est demonstrate le manifestata esse Filius Patris ; tertia persona est demonstrate St manifestata esse Spiritus Patris £3 Filii in redemptione generis humani ; fed hæc demonftratio & manisestaiio non est causa, cur prima persona Pater., secunda Filius, & tertia Spiritus vocata est ; nisi enim jam ante Ulam maniscjlationtm fuse ceconomSs fuissent Pater, Filius (3 Spiritus Sanilus, non potuissent tres ilia? persons, ut tales ■manisejlari & demonstrari .* si vero jam ante illam moirifestationem fuerunt Pater, Filius, 8c Spiritus. sequitur evidenter, quod ratio horum nominum non polfit vel debeat peti ab ilia maniseslatione, fed ex ipsa natura persectionum trium harum personarum; tres enim persona fuissent Pater, Filius, & Spiritus, etiamsi ut tale} nunquam fuissent demonstrate; & manisestatx inter homines. Vitfing* Epilog. Disput. p. 42.

84 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, \ " him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and " eternal life ;" that is, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the true God ; for with him the true God is closely connected; he is the immediate antecedent to the relative this. Again, the phrases, " God manifest in the flesh," and " the u Son of God was manifested *,** are synonymous, and equally design a divine person, who was made flesh and dwelt among us. Moreover, whenever Christ asserted, that he was the Son of God, or that God was his Father, the Jews always understood him as making himself God, and equal to him ; and there fore charged him with blasphemy ; and on this account demanded sentence of death upon him. (3.) Christ, as a Son, asserts his equality with the Father, when he fays : *• I and my Father are one ' ;" that is, not one in person, which would be a contradiction, but one in nature; and so in power. The same perfections the Father has, the Son has ; as omniscience, omnipotence, &c. As the Father knows the Son, the Son knows the Father ; and as the Son of God he fearcheth the hearts and reins. He has done and does all things that his Father has done or does : he made the worlds, and upholds them by the word of his power. He will raise the dead and judge the world. And has the fame divine honour, homage, worship and adoration given him as the Father. (4.) He was concluded by others to be the Son of God, not from his mediatorial works and actions, but from such works which he performed as God. When Satan disputed his Sonship, he put him upon proof of it, by doing that which none but God could do; which was, to command stones to be made bread': as also, by doing that which he knew, if he was a mere man, and not the Son of God, must end in his death ; which was, to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple. Much in the same manner the Jews insulted him on the cross, and said to him, " Thou that destroyest the temple, " and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come "•down from the cross « ." It was an instance of Christ's omniscience which obliged Nathanael to make that ingenuous confession of him, saying: " Rabbi, " thou art the Son of God \" It was an act of Christ's omnipotence in stilling the boisterous wind, which caused the men in the ship, where the disciples were, to come and worship him; saying, of a truth, " Thou art the Son of God w." "When Christ was suffering on the cross, is was not the satisfaction he then made to law and justice for the sins of his people, or the remission of their sins, which he then procured by his blood, or any such theandric or mediatorial work * t Tim. iii. 16. 1 John iii. 8. T John x. 30. * Matt. iv. 3, 6. • Matt, xxvii. 40. " John i. 46. * M»tt. xiv. 33.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 85 work then performed -, but the darkness of the heavens, the quaking of the earth, rending of the rocks, and such like divine and surprizing works, which made the centurion, and those that were with him, say, " Truly this was the. " Son of God V* (5.) The form of baptism runs, " In the name of the Father, and of the- " Son, and of the Holy Ghost \" Baptism is a solemn act of divine worlhip,. and is not to be administered in the name of any but a divine person. If the term Son does not express the dignity of his divine nature, which is the original, foundation and support of such divine worship, and what gives him a claim to it, but only his office as Mediator : then we are baptized in the name of two divine persons, considered in their highest titles, and characters : and in the name of the other, in his lower and inferior title and character. (6.) As the phrase, the son of man, intends one that is truly man-, so the phrase, the Son os Cod, must intend one that is truly God. If. the Messiah is called the Son of man, from the nature in which he is man, he must be called the Son of God from the nature in which he is God. From the whole I think, we may strongly conclude, that Christ is the true and natural Son of God, begotten by God the Father, in the divine nature or essence; though the modus of generation may be inexplicable by us. I go on, Thirdly, To take notice of some things which may be of some service in the consideration of this momentous article of faith. 1. I observe, that several scriptures which have been formerly insisted on as proofs of Christ's eternal Sonfhip, have been of late dropped; such as Psalm ii. 7. Prov. viii. 22—30. Mic. v. 2. and by those who have asserted the pro per Deity, and natural Sonfhip of Christ y. As for Psalm ii. 7. I am unwilling to part with it, as a proof of Christ's eternal filiation : " Thou art my Son, ** this day have I begotten thee." As for the phrase ibis day, it may be well thought to express eternity ; which is with God an eternal now. A thousand years with him, is as one day ; and so is eternity, and is called a day, in Isa. xliii. 13. Likewise we read of the days of eternity in.Mic. vk 2. And the divine Being is called the Ancient of days, Dan. vii. 9. Christ indeed, in this psalm, is spoken of as Mediator, as King, upon God's holy hill of Zionagainst whom the heathen raged, and the kings of the earth conspired ; and to set forth the dignity of his Person, the greatness of their crime, the fruitlessness of their attempts, it is here declared, that he is no other than God's own begotten Son. In the fame way, to shew the glory of his nature, the excel lency of his person, and his pre- eminence to angels, are the words cited in Hekw Matt, xxvii. 54. * Chap, xxviii. 19. 1 See Hussey's Glory of Christ unveiled, &c. p. 91—93. (it.

86 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, Heb. i. 5. They are also cited in Heb. v. 5. where all that can be made of them is this, That he who made Christ an high priest, had said unto him, " Thou art my Son, &c." Not that his saying so to him, was the constitution of him as an high pried, it being only descriptive of him who made him so. The words are once more cited in A3s xiii. 33. and referred to Christ's resur rection j which, as has been already observed, was only a declaration of the relation itself. And indeed, these words may very properly be applied to every cafe and time, wherein Christ was manifested and declared to be the Son of God*. As for Prov. viii. it is a glorious proof of Christ's eternal existence, though not so clear an one of his eternal Sonstiip. The phrases of setting up, possessing, bringing forth, and bringing up, seem rather to refer to his me diatorial office. Though had he not eternally existed, he could not have been set up as Mediator from everlasting ; or been brought forth before the mountains were formed, or the hills were made. Mic. v. 2. is also a strong and clear proof of Christ's eternity, but not of his Sonstiip. The phrase, bis goings forth were of old, is in the plural number, and denotes more acts than one ; and besides, cannot intend the Father's begetting the Son, but the goings forth, methods and steps of Christ in the everlasting council and covenant of peace, to secure the salvation of his people : though had he not eternally existed, he could not have gone forth in such ways and methods from ever lasting. To these might be added, Isa. liii. 8. " Who shall declare his gene ration," which most of the ancients understood of the eternal generation of Christ; though the Hebtew word, *rn, will by no means admit of such a sense; but the text either intends the numerous offspring and seed of the Messiah, or the cruelty, barbarity, and wickedness of the age, or men of that generation in which he mould live. I have not therefore produced these passages as proofs of Christ's divine Sonstiip : the truth is supportable without them. ' 2 I observe, that the divine nature of the Son is no more begotten than the divine nature of the Father and of the Holy Ghost ; the reason is, because it is the fame divine nature, which is common to, and is possessed by all three. Hence it would follow, that if the divine nature of the Son was begotten, so would the divine nature of the Father, and of the Holy Ghost likewise. The divine essence neither begets nor is begotten \ It is a divine person in the essence that begets, and a divine person in that essence that is begotten. Essence * Atque hinc est quod illud, tuts FiHus mtus, Pfal. ii 7. applicetur in scriptis Novi Testament! omni casui ; in quo Christus demonstratus est esse Dti Films. Vitring* Epilog. Disput. de generatione Filii contra Roell. $. 28. p. 44, » Vide Wendelin. Christian. Theolog. 1. 1. 0 2. Thes. 2. p. 94. Effiw. System. Theolog. par. 1. Disp. 17. p. 149.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 87 Essence does not beget essence, but person begrts person, otherwise there would be more than one essence : whereas, though there are more persons than one, yet there is no more than one essence. A late writer has therefore very wrongly represented us as holding that the divinity of Christ is begotten. 3. I choose rather to express myself with those divines, who fay that the Son is begotten in, and not out of the divine essence c. Christ, as God's only be gotten Son, is in the bosom of the Father. The Father is in him, and he is in the Father. The Father's essence or substance is not the matter out of which he is begotten. The act of begetting is internal and immanent in God. The Father begets a divine person not out ofs but in his nature and essence. All those scriptures which speak of Christ as proceeding and coming forth from God, I understand of his mission into the world as Mediator d. 4. We must remove every thing that carries in it imperfection from the divine generation and Sonship of Christ; such as divisibility, or multiplication of essence, priority and posteriority, dependance, and the like. We are not to make natural or carnal generation the rule and measure of divine generation, which is hvperpliyfical, or above nature; ndr to run the parallel between these two in every respect ; it is enough that there is some kind. of analogy and agreement between them, which occasions the use of the terms, generation, sonship, &c. for instance, as in human generation, person begets person, and like begets like j so it is in divine generation. But, 5. The modus and manner of it, is not to be conceived of, or explained by us. Nor need we wonder that so it should be: we cannot account sot our Own generation, much less for Christ's. We " know not what is the way of <f the Spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with ** child '." The regeneration of the saints is a riddle to the natural man. He fays, with Nicodmus, " How can these things bef ?" And it need not be sur prising, that the divine generation of Christ should be so, even to a spiritual man. If the incarnation of Christ, and the union of two natures in one person, are, without controversy, a great mystery of godliness; we should also be content to have Christ's eternal filiation so accounted. kNThe great concern of Jew and Gentile, (fc. p. 40. e Alting. Problem. Theol. par i. Probl. 1 1. p. 5a. Synopf. pur. Theolog. Disp .8. Thes. I*» p. Sr. * John viii. 42. and xiii. 3. and xvi. 27, 28. * Eccles. xi. 3. ' John iii. 9. CHAP.'

88 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, CHAP. VIII. Concerning the Personality os the Son. HAVI NG considered the character of the Word, which the second person bears ; proved his Deity, and enquired into his Sonlhip, I proceed, IV. To establish his divine and distinct personality. The definition of a person agrees with him. He is an individual that subsists of himself, lives, wills, and understands. He has life of himself, and is the author of life in others. He has a will distinct from his Father's, though not opposite to it ; and knows his Father as perfectly as his Father knows him. To go about to prove Christ to be a Person, and a distinct Person from the Father, and the Holy Ghost, is just such another undertaking, as to prove that there is such a glorious and luminous body as the fun, when it shines at noon day, and we are encompassed with his dazzling beams and light. To give the whole proof of this truth in its utmost compass would be to transcribe great part of the New Testament, where it is to be met with in almost every verse and line. I will just give some few hints : i.. All those scriptures which speak of Christ as the Son of God, as his own Son, and his only begotten Son e, shew him to be a Person, and a distinct one. Was he not a Person, he could not properly be said to be begotten •, and if he is a Son, he must be distinct from him whose Son he is, and by whom he is begotten. As it is the distinctive personal character of the Father to beget, so it is the distinctive personal character of the Son to be begotten. As the Son and Spirit are never said to beget, so it is never said of the Father, or of the Holy Ghost, that they are begotten. 2. All those scriptures ' which declare that Christ was with God the Father, and was as one brought up with him, and the like, plainly bespeak his distinct Personality ; for he must be a Person to be with another •, and he must be distinct from him with whom he is. He cannot properly be said to be with himself; nor is there any reason to conclude, that this is the fense of those scriptures. 3. All ' others. I John i. 14, 1?. and iii. 16. Rom. viii. 3, 32. with many 1 * Prov. viii. 30. John i. 1. 1 John i. 2.

STATED AND VIN DIC ATED. g9 3. All those scriptures ' which assert that he was set up from everlasting, as the covenant-head, and Mediator ; and that all the persons of the elect, with all blessings and grace for them, were put into his hands as such, confirm this truth. He must be a Person, and not a mere name or character, or he could not be said to be set up, and to have all the elect of God, with all spiritual blessings for them, given unto him •, and he must be a distinct Person from him who set him up, and entrusted him with all those persons and things. 4. All those scriptures " which assure us that he was sent in the fulness of time, to be the Saviour of sinners, are so many proofs of his distinct Per sonality. Was he not a Person, he could not be sent ; and he must be distinct from him or them, by whom he is sent. He that sends, and he that is sent, cannot be the same Person ; or else it must be said, that he sent himself. 5. All those scriptures ' which speak of his satisfaction and sacrifice ; as when he is said to offer up himself to God, to redeem us to God by his blood, and to reconcile us to him by his death, shew his distinct Personality. Was he not a Person, he could not be said to do all this. And he must be distinct from him, to whom he offered himself, and to whom he redeemed and reconciled his people. Surely it will not be proper to fay, that he offered up himself to himself; or made satisfaction for the sins of his people to himself. 6. All those scriptures m which speak of his ascension to heaven, and his ses sion at God's right hand, are full and clear testimonies of this truth. He must be a Person distinct from his God, and" our God, from his Father, and our Father, to whom he ascended ; and cannot be the same Person with him, at whose right hand he sits. 7. All those scriptures ■ which speak of his advocacy, intercession, and me diation, confirm the fame. For surely he cannot be said to be an advocate with himself, to make intercession with himself, or to mediate with himself on the behalf of his people. Once more, his judging the world at the last day, with all the circumstances attending it, prove him to be a Person, a divine Person, and a distinct Person from the Father and the Holy Ghost. For as that work is never ascribed to the Holy Ghost in scripture, so of the Father it is said, That " he judgeth no " man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son °." In fine, he will, as a distinct Person from the Father and the Holy Ghost, be the object of the saints praise, admiration, and worship, throughout the endless ages of eternity. * Prov. viii. it, 23. John vi. 37. and x. 28. Eph. i. 3. 2 Tim. i. 9. k Isa. xlvi. 16. Gal. iv. 4. 1 John iv. 9, 10, 14. ' Eph. v. t. Heb. ix. 14. Rev. v. 9. Rom, v. 10. •John xx. 17. Heb. i. 3, • Heb. ix. 24. and vii. 25, 1 John ii, 1. ° John v. 22. Vol. III. N CHAP.

9© THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, CHAP. IX. Proving the Personality and Deity of the Holy Ghost. I Have considered the respective characters, proper Deity, and distinct Per sonality of the Father and the Son ; and I am now to treat of the Holy Ghost. I shall in my entrance on this work just observe, that the words Ghost and Spirit, are of the fame signification ; one and the same word in the Greek language is translated by them both. This, I observe, for the sake of some poor, weak, ignorant persons, who take them to be different ; and foolishly talk of an eternal created Spirit, which is a contradiction in terms, as distinct from the Holy Ghost. The word Spirit is variously used; sometimes it signifies the wind, as in John iii. 8. where the Holy Spirit is compared to it, because of their agreement in name ; and because of some analogy between that and the divine operations of the Spirit. Sometimes by it is meant the breath, as in James i. 26 And it is easy to observe, that the Holy Spirit is called the breatll of the Lord, and the breath of the Almighty T. Now, as generation expresses the Son's distinct mode of subsisting in the divine essence, so spiration may also express the Spirit's distinct mode of subsisting therein } and perhaps, is the true reason of his bearing this name ,. The soul of man is a spirit : " There " is a spirit in man •," and that is his soul, which the Lord has formed irf him •, and therefore he is called the Father of Spirits. But the soul of man, even when renewed and sanctified, is never called the Holy Spirit, as some have vainly imagined, who are no friends to the proper Deity of the blessed Spirit '. Angels are called by the fame name ; God makes his angels spirits, and by him they are sent forth as ministring spirits : but of this kind of spirits is not the Holy Ghost. The phrase is never used for the whole com pany and multitude of holy angels, as some have insinuated '. A single instance of this use of it cannot be produced -, no one proof of it can be given. God, as essentially considered,, is said to be a Spirit, that is, a. spi ritual P Psalm xxxiii. 6. Job xxxiii. 3. • Vocabulum mi cjuando terlitc person* applicatur, notat halitum. Quod inde constat, quia alias vocatur spiritus oris, five haiitus Dei, eo vero emblematc significatur modus fubsistendi Spiritus Santli. Qui est per ■pTorejfiotiem naturalem. Vitri»g* Epilog. Disp. dc generatione Fihi, \. 10,. p. 46. * Vid Witlichii causa Spiritus Sancti, p. 8, 9. * Vid Idem, p. 118, 119, (3c. Sc causaSpiritus Sancti victrix, p. 156, 157, (3c.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 91 ritual Substance; which may be said of all the three Persons, Father, Son, and Spirit ; but the third Person is only called the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, in distinction from the Father and Son, whom 1 shall endeavour to prove to be a Person, a distinct Person, and a divine Person. First, I mall endeavour to prove him to be a Person, which will be easily done, by observing, 1. That personal subsistence is ascribed to him. As the Father hath life in himself, and the Son hath life in himself, so has the Holy Ghost life in himself. He is the author of natural life : " The breath or Spirit of the Almighty, fays " Elibu, hath given me life'." And he is the author of all spiritual life: it is he who implants the principle of life, and maintains and preserves it unto eternal life. All which he could not be, and do, unless he had life in himself. And if he has life in himself, he must be a Person that subsists of himself. 2. Personal characters and actions are ascribed unto him. He is represented as a Person, when he is said to convince of fin, of righteousness, and of judgment ; to comfort the hearts of God's people •, witness their adoption to them ; teach them all things •, guide them into all truth •, assist them in their prayers ; make intercession for them, according to the will of God ; and seal them up unto the day of redemption. And also, when he is said to furnish men with gifts for the work of the ministry, and calls and appoints them thereunto. Now all these things worketh one and the self-fame Spirit : all which he could not do ; nor would he be called, as he is, the Spirit of faith, holiness, adoption, wisdom and revelation •, the anointing which teacheth all things •, with many other names and characters of the fame import, was he not a Person. 3. Personal properties, such as understanding and will, are ascribed to him. He is an intelligent agent ; he knows the things of GoJ, even the deep things of God, which do not lie within the reach of the understanding of creatures, without a divine revelation. " For the Spirit scarcheth all things, yea, the " deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the " spirit of man which is in him ? Even so the things of God knoweth no 41 man, but the Spirit of God V And as he is an intelligent, so he is a willing agent : as he knows all things, so he does all things according to his will and pleasure : *« All these worketh one and the self-same Spirit, dividing •» to every man severally as he will V 4. Personal affections are ascribed to him ; such as love, grief, &c. As the Father loves the elect, and has shewn it in the choice of them to salvation-, n 2 and L .''..' * J°° xxxiii. 4- tt » Cor. ii. 10, ti. w I Cor. xii. U.

92 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, and the Son loves them, and has shewn it in the redemption of them from sin and misery: so the Spirit loves them, and shews it in the sanctification of them, and in the application of all grace unto them. Hence we read of the love of the Spirit, Rom. xv. 30. The Spirit may be grieved by the sins and unbecoming conversation of the saints, Epb. iv. 30. Yea, he may be rebelled against, and vexed, as he was by the Ifraelites, Isa. lxiii. 10. All which could not be said of him, was he not a Person. Yea, he is said to be lied unto, Acts t. 3. to be blasphemed, and have sin, and that unpardonable, committed against him, Matt. xii. 32, 33. which could never be, was he not a Person, and a divine Person too. But, Secondly I am to prove him to be a distinct Person, both from the Father and the Son ; and this may be collected, 1. From his procession from them both. That he proceeds from the Father is certain, and therefore must be distinct from him : " When the Comforter •' is come, whom I will fend unto you, from the Father, even the Spirit «f ** truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me," says Christ \ It was once a warm controversy between the Creek and Latin churches, whether the Spirit proceedeth from the Son as well as from thk Father : it seems he should, since he is called " the Spirit of the Son r," as well as of the Father ; and therefore must be distinct from tam whose Spirit he is. 2. This may be concluded from his mission from them both. The Father is said to send him ; " the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the ** Father will fend in my name, fays Christ, he shall teach you all things-*:'1 and of himself he says, " If 1 go not away, the Comforter will not come •* unto you ; but if I depart, I will fend him unto you \" Now as he must be a Person, and not a mere power, attribute, or quality, or he could not be sent i so he must be a distinct Person from the Father and the Son, by whona he is sent. 3. He is said to be another Comforter. " 1 will pray the Father, says •* Christ, and he shall give you another Comforter b;" that is, another distinct from my Father and me. The Father of Christ is one Comforter; he is *' the God of comfort, who comforteth us all in our tribulation c :" and Jesus Christ is also a Comforter; Menacbem, a Comforter*, was on* of the names of the Messiah, and well known among the Jews. Hence old Simeon is said to wait for the consolation of Israel, that is, the Messiah; whom the Jews expected 1 John xv. 26. 1 Gal. iv. 6. * John x'v. 26. * John xvi. 7. ■ John xiv. 16. * 2 Cor. i. 3, 4. * Talmud Sanhcd. sol. 90. 2. Kiraehi is Zeeh. iii. 8.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 93 expected as a Comforter' . Now the Holy Ghost is another Comforter, distinct from them both -, from the Son who prays, and from the Father, who is prayed unto. 4. The distinct personality of the Spirit, may he argued from his distinct appearances -, as at the baptism of Christ, when he descended as a dove, and lighted upon him-, arid is manifestly distinguished from the Father, who spake by a voice from heaven: and from the Son, who was baptized in Jordan: and also on the day of Pentecost, when « there appeared unto them (that is, the " apostles) cloven tongues, like as of fire; and it (that is, the Holy Ghost, in " this form) fat on each of them •, and they were all silled with the Holy « Ghost'." Now this was neither the Father nor the Son, but the Holy Ghost, as distinct from them both ; for Christ »« being by the right hand of " God, exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy «' Ghost, shed forth this %" which was then seen and heard. 5. He is represented as a distinct Person in the form of baptism j which is performed " in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost "." Now was he a mere power, quality, or attribute, and not a distinct divine Person, he would never be put upon an equal foot with the Father and the Son. He is mentioned as distinct from the Father and the Word, in the record which the Three are said to bear in heaven ' •, if he is not a distinct Person from them, there cannot be Three that bear record, •"•«»? « f*«?1uf*,!«,. thTee Testifiers, as they are said to be. But I proceed, Thirdly* To prove the Holy Ghost to be a divine Person ; or in other words, to be truly and properly God. The Deity of the Holy Ghost was denied by the Macedonians of old", and by the Socinians of late' ; and generally by all such who oppose the proper divinity of. the Son. That the Holy Ghost is truly and properly God may be concluded, 1. From the divine names which are given unto him. He is called Jebovab, which is incommunicable to any creature, and peculiar to the Most High. He whom the Israelites tempted in the wilderness, vexed and rebelled against,, was Jebovab m -, and yet it is certain, that this was the Holy Ghost "j and therefore he must be Jebovab •, and if so, then he must be the Most High God. It was Jebovab, the Lord God of Israel, that spake by the mouth of his holy • Lake n. 25. f Acts ii. 3, 4. * Acts ii. 33. h Matt xxviji. 19. ' 1 John v. 7> * Vide Aug. de Hæres. c. 52. & Darweum in ibid. They arc called ■ H«vf*<*1efux.x<i, opposers of, or fighters against the Spirit, by Epiphanius, Hæres. 74. » Catechis. Racov. c. I. p. 35. & c. 6. p. 214. Vide Calov. Socinism. ProGjg. Artie, g, Controv 1, & 2. p. 219, 222. Stcgman. Photinianisin. Disp. b. p. 65, 66. ■ Exod. xvii. 7. » JUa. lxiii. »o. Heb. iii. 7—jo..

94 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, holy prophets, which have been since the world began °. Now it is evident that it was the Holy Ghost, which spake not only by the mouth of David p, but by the mouth of all the prophets'1 : For " holy men of God spake as they " were moved by the Holy Ghost :" it follows then, that he must btjebovab, the Lord God of Israel. The Lord, the Adonai, who said to Isaiab : " Whom " shall I send, and who will go for us ' ?" And he who bid him fay, " Go *« and tell this people, &Y." is by the apostle Paul, said to be the Holy Ghost*. The Greek word k^io,-, which answers to Jebovab and Æonai, is used of the Holy Ghost in the New Testament : he is that Spirit which is the Lord' : he is called the Lord the Spirit" : and is that Lord who is desired to direct the hearts of the saints into the love of God and patient waiting for Christ " j where he is manifestly distinguished from God the Father, into whose love, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, into a patient waiting for whom, he is entreated to direct the saints. Yea, he is called God in scripture; when Ananias is said to lie to the Holy Ghost, he is said to lie not unto men, but unto God \ If lying to the Holy Ghost is lying to God, it follows, that the Holy Ghost must be God r. The saints are called the temple of God •, the reason is, because the Spirit of God dwells in them ■ ; and because their bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost, they are exhorted to glorify God in their bodies. Now if the Holy Ghost is not God, nor designed as such in those passages, there is no force nor strength in the apostle's reasoning. Moreover, when the apostle is speaking of the diversities of gifts, administrations and operations, he fays, it is the fame Spirit, the fame Lord, the fame God, which worketh all in all * : where it is plain he is only speaking of the Holy Ghost, to whom he gives those divine names, of Spirit, Lord, and God. i. The proper Deity of the Spirit may be collected from the divine perfec tions which he is possessed of; such as eternity, omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. Eternity is ascribed to him ; he is called the eternal Spirit b. •He was "concerned in the creation of all things, and therefore must be before any creature existed, before the world began, and so from eternity. As God never was without his Son, so he never was without his Spirit. As for those scriptures which fay the Holy Ghost was not yet, and that there were some who had ° Luke i. 68, 70. rActsi. 16 IzPet.i. 21. » Isa. vi. 8, 9. _ • Acts xxviii. 25, 26. * 'O i\ KwfiOf To vkuum if", * Cor. iii. 17. * 'AtJ Kt»fi» œ-r/ufialot, ver. 1 8. w 2 TheflT. iii. j. ■ Acts v. 3, 4. y Si enim qui Domino mentitur, mentitur Spiritui Sancto; & qui Spiritui Sancto mentitur, mentitur Deo : nulli dubium est, consortium Spiritus Sancti cfl'c cum Deo. Didymus de Spiritu •fiancto, 1. 1. inter Hicronymi opera, torn. 9. p. 178. col. 4. * 1 Cor. iii. 16. and vi. 19, 20. » 1 Cqr. xii. 4—6. b tlcb. ix. 14. Some copies read it, the Holy Spirit. Vidt Gxotium in loc.

STATED AND VINDICATED. 95 had not heard that there was any Holy Ghost c; these are to be understood of the wonderful effusion of the Holy Ghost upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost, which was to be after Christ's glorification ; and of which dispensation the dis ciples at Ephesus had not yet heard. Immensity is attributed to him: " Whither ** shall I go from thy Spirit ? fays the Psalmist, and whither shall 1 flee from " thy presence d?" Was he not every where, he might be shunned and avoided ; and if he is every where, he must be God. The faints are his temples in which he dwells •, and he dwells in them all, in all times and places ; which he could not do, was he not immense and omnipresent. Omniscience is a divine perfection which belongs to him : he knows all things, even the deep things of God ; his thoughts, purposes, and counsels •, which he could not, was he not omniscient. Nor could he teach the saints all things, or guide them into all truth ; nor make intercession for them, according to the will of God •, much less foretel things to come, as he did under the Old Testament : for the Spirit of Christ, in the prophets, " testified before hand the sufferings of Christ •' and the glory that should follow e." Christ promised the Spirit to his dis ciples, as. he who should shew them things to come, which he accordingly did f. He witnessed to the apostle Paul, that bonds and afflictions should abide him in every city % ; and foretold by Agabus, that there would be a great dearth throughout the world h ; which came to pass in the days of Claudius Cesar. Omnipotence is another divine perfection which properly belongs to him. He is the power of the highest, and the finger of God. He worketh all things according to his will. His concern, in creation j the formation of Christ's human nature in the womb of the virgin ; the many signs, wonders and gifts of the Holy Ghost, loudly proclaim him to be the omnipotent God; Now if those perfections are attributed to him, which are peculiar to Deity, it follows, that he must be God. But, 3. This may be further proved from the divine works which he has perform ed, or which he is or has been concerned in. Creation is a work of divine power, in which the Spirit, with the Father and Son, was jointly concerned •, as " hy " the word of the Lord the heavens were made'," so " by the. breath or " Spirit of his mouth, all the host of them." The Lord, *« by his Spirit,. " garnished the heavens1"." It was the Spirit of the Lord that moved upon. the face of the waters, and brought the rude indigested chaos into a beautiful form and order'. And fays Elibu, " The Spirit of God hath made. me, and •« the breath of the Almighty hath given me lifem." The scripture which " is. « Jphn vii. 39. Acts xix. J. * Psalm cxxxix. 7. • 1 Pet. i. 11. ' John xvi. 13; « Acts xx. 23. fc Acts xi. 28. ' Pseljn. xxxiii. 6. *Jobxxvi. 13. * Gen. i. z. B Job xxxiii 4.

96 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY. »« is given by inspiration of God %" and is a work purely divine, is wholly of the Spirit's inditing : " Holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy ** Ghost °." It was the Spirit of God who formed the human nature of Christ in the womb of the virgin ; a thing marvellous and surprizing ; and filled it with a plenitude of gifts and graces. All the miracles which Christ wrought, he wrought by the Holy Ghost ' ; and all the mighty signs and wonders which were done by the apostles, were by the power of the Spirit of God. The work of regeneration and conversion, a work wherein the exceeding greutness of God's power is displayed, is ascribed to him ; and therefore called the sanctification of the Spirit, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost «. It is he who qualfi.es men for the work of the ministry', calls them to it, directs their labours, and appoints them pastors and overseers in the several churches. He not only dwells in the fouls, but in the mortal bodies of the saints ' * and by him will they be quickened and raised at the last day ; all which sufficiently prove him to be truly and properly God. 4. This truth will receive more weight, if we consider the divine worship which is due to him, and as such is given him. He is not only the Spirit of grace and supplication to the saints, who helps them under their infirmities, and makes intercession for them, according to the will of God ; but he is also prayed unto '. Grace and peace are wished for from him as from the other two persons. Swearing, which is a solemn act of religious worship, is by him u ; and baptism is administered in his name ; which would not be, was he not a divine Person, truly and properly God. To conclude, I hope I have proved what I undertook, That there is but one God •, that there is a plurality in the Godhead -, that there are three divine Persons in it j that the Father is God, the Son God, and the Holy Spirit God ; that these are distinct in Per sonality, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. I shall close all with the following doxology : To the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, three Persons, but one God, he all honour, glory, and praise, now and for evermore. Amen. ■ 2 Tim. iit. 16. • *Pet. i. ai. t Matt. xii. 28. Rom. xv. 19. * 1 Pet. i. 2. Tit. iii. 5. » 1 Cor. xii. 4— 11. Acts xiii. 2. and viii. 29. and xv 6, 7. and xx. 28. « Rom. viii, n. J 2 Thcss. iii. 5. Rev. i. 4. » Rom. ix. 1. SERMON

SERMON I. THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, STATED AND DEFENDED. In Two Sermons, preached at a Lecture in Lime-Street. Acts xxvi. 8. Why JJjould it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead? TH E doctrine of the resurrection of the body from the dead, is a doctrine of the utmost importance; for // there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen ; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain1. In this lecture the doctrines of eternal election, original fin, particular redemption, satisfaction by Christ, efficacious grace in conversion, and final perseverance, have been well explained and defended among you ; and, I hope, to your great comfort and establish ment : but to what purpose are these truths taught, and of what avail will they be, if there is no resurrection of the dead ? The part assigned to me, in this lecture, being to explain and defend this truth, I (hall attempt to do it in the following method. I. I shall observe that the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead has not been credited by some •, it has been accounted incredible. II. Notwithstanding, I shall endeavour to evince both the credibility and certainty of it. III. 1 shall enquire who and what that is which shall be raised. IV. I shall consider the author of this stupendous work, and the particular concern which God the Father, Son, and Spirit, have therein. V. I shall shew the importance and use of this doctrine. Vo L. III. O I. It » i Cor. xv. 13, 14. •

o8 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, I. It will not be improper to observe, that the doctrine of the resurrection of the body from the dead has not been believed by some, but has been accounted absurd and incredible ; though without any just reason, as will be shewn hereafter, and as may be concluded from the words of my text. This doctrine is of pure revelation, what the mere light of nature never taught men, and by which they being only guided, have declared against. It has been denied, as Tertullian observes ", by every sect of philosophers. That the body was mortal, all agreed ; that the soul was immortal, some of them asserted, though they had but dark and confused conceptions concerning its future separate existence; but that the body, when dead, should be raised again to life, was a subject of ridicule and contempt with them. Pliny calls it a childish fancy, vanity, and downright madnesscv as does also Cacilius, in Minucius Felix, who likewise reckons it among old wives fables d. Celfus in Origen represents it as exceeding detestable and abominable e -, and, of all the tenets of the Christians, this was had in the greatest contempt by Julian the em peror f. The maintainers and abettors of this doctrine, were always accounted by the heathens g vain, trifling, and babbling fellows ". Thus the Athenian philosophers, of the Epicurean and Stoic sects mocked at the apostle Paul, when they heard him talk of the resurrection of the dead -% and some said, What will this babbler fay ' ? Other some, He seemetb to be a setter-forth ofstrange gods ; because be preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. They were so ignorant of this doctrine, that they took Jesus and 'A»aV<w»f k, the word used by the apostle for the b Et ut carnis restitutio negetur, de una omnium philofophorum schola sumitur. Tertullian. de prescript. Harttkor. c. 7. p. 232. Edit. Rigalt. * Puerilium ilia deliramentorum, avidæque nunquam desinere mortalitatis, commenta Cunt. Similis & de aflervandis corporibus hominum, ac reviviscendi promiflsa Democrito vanitas, qui non revixit ipse. Quae (malum* ista dementia est, iterari vitam morte ? Flin. not. hist. I. 7. c. 55. Ed. Dakchamp. 4 Nee hac furiosa opinione contenti, aniles fabulas adstruunt & annectunt ; renasci se scrunt post mortem it cineres & favillas: & nefcio qua fiducia mendaeiis suis invicem credunt: putes eos jam revixisse, anceps malum & gemina dementia : ccelo & astris, qua; sic relinquimus ut invenimus, interitum denuntiate; sibi mortuis & extinctis, qui sicut nafeimur & lnteiimus aeternitatem repromittere. Minuc. Felix. Oclav. p. 10 Ed- Oxon. i66z. * "O son fi>)J" iMf Tero TO Joyfta, K»i rut Xf in*1" •>><»< «ni» in- xai to <rtpifya ftiotf or a»r« Kal avoVlvror <>|ii xai nivtartof aVo<pai»8ffi— *M' MTOI yi to. ata-^fd o 0io{ iatarai, ait T<* vea^d $vri> /Sa'xiTai. Ap. Orig. 1. j p. 240. Ed. Spencer. ' "O it pahira. inxytXa. er;o( tok «Moi{ dirnan. Cyril. Alex, contr. Jul. 1. 7. t Ka; yds cranti ^«i»aip«« **» awi(j*o\oye( iij»ik fo^i^DTi, ftoAXor t»'« iri» rlf'V. Tatian. contr, Grace, orat. p. 146 Ed. Paris. *> See Dr Hody's Resurrection of the (same) body asserted, p, 178—180. * 'O »wipj*6>oy®' ar®-. Asts xvii. 18, 32. k Chrysost. in Act. Homil. 38. Œcumen. in loc.

STATED AND DEFENDED. 99 the resurrection, to be the names of some strange deifies they had never heard of before ; and therefore fay, Heseemetb to be a setter-sonb of strange gods. The heathen had no knowledge of this truth, no faith in it, nor hope concerning it Hence they are described by the apotUe Paul, as such who had no hope; where, writing to the Tbejsalonians, he fays, but I would not have you be ignorant, brethren, concerning them wbicb are ojleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope': by whom the apostle means not Christians, who had no hopes of the salvation of their departed friends and relations, but Pagans, who had neither faith nor hope in the resurrection of the dead, and a future state, and therefore had not that to support them under the loss of relations as Christians had •, wherefore the apostle adds, for if we be'ieve that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also wbicbsleep in Jesus will Gal bring with him. Much after the lame manner the Epbejians, whilst they were in their heathenish and uncon verted estate, are described by the same apostle ; at that time, says he, ye were without Christ m ; that is, without any knowledge, promise, or expectation of the Messiah ; being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel ■, and strangers to the covenants of promise ; that is, ye were not so much as proselytes to the Jewish religion, nor members of the Jewish church, and were entirely destitute of divine revelation ; having no hope in the resurrection and future state, and so lived without God in the world, or as "Am, Atheists, in it. And we may be the more induced to believe this to be, at least, part of the apostle's fense in these passages -, since he, in his defence before Felix and Agrippa, represents the doctrine of the resurrection as the object of hope, as in ASs xxiv. 15. And have hope towards God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a rejurretlion of the dead, both of the just and unjust. And chap. xxvi. 6, 7. And now I stand and am judged, for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers ; unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come; for which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused os the Jews. And then follow the words of my text, why should it be thought a thing incredible with you., that^Qodshould raise the dead? Some indeed have thought that the Gentiles had knowledge of the resurrection -, which they collect partly from some notions and opinions of theirs, which seem to bear a semblance with, and to be the broken remains of some tradition concerning it, and partly from express pas sages, wherein they think it is asserted. The notions of the heathen, from whence it is concluded, that they had some hints of this doctrine, are these", o 2 namely, 1 1 Thcss. iv. 13, 14. ■ Eph. ii. 12. ■ See Dr Hody's Resurrection of the (same) body asserted, £3c. p. 3. (3c. where these notion* of the heathens are at large treated of. See also Gale's court of the Gentiles, par. 1. b 3. c. 7. p. 81, 82. and par. 2. b. 2. c. 8. p. 189, 154226

ioo THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, namely, that the soul, after death, has a perfect human shape, and all the fame parts both external and internal that the body has ; that there is an equal duration of the foul and body after death ; that there is a transmigration of souls into other bodies, especially human ; that men may be translated body and soul to heaven ; of which they give instances in Aristæus the Proconnejian, Alcmena, Hercules, Helena, Romulus, Cleomedes Astypalensis, Tbyone, Ganymedcs, and others : and that after certain periods and revolutions, when the stars and planets are in the fame configuration, and respect to one another, which they formerly had, the same men shall appear in the world, and the same things in succession shall be done in it, which formerly have been. For instance : Socrates shall be born at Athens0, of the same parents, be educated after the fame manner, eat the fame food, wear the fame cloaths, teach the fame philosophy to the self same scholars, be accused by the same accusers, condemned by the fame council, and die by the fame poison, And so, my friends, according to this notion, we are all to meet together again in this place, in the fame position and situation, you to hear, and I to preach ; my subject is to be the doctrine of the resurrection, and I am to give an account of the notions of the heathens with respect to it, as I now do. But this notion seems rather expressive of a re generation, or a new birth, or a reproduction of men and things, than a resurrection of them : and, I must confess, I cannot fee what likeness there is between this, or any other of the above-mentioned notions, and the Christian doctrine of the resurrection from the dead. The passages cited out of heathen authors, to shew their knowledge of this doctrine, are such as the Greek verses of Pbocylides f % in which he expresses his hopes, that in a very short time the reliques of the deceased should come forth out of the earth into light. But this poem is thought by learned men not to be the work of the heathen Pbo cylides, but either of some anonymous Christian % or of some ancient Jewish writer. • Origcn. contr. Cels. 1. 4. p. 20°. ft 1, 5. p. 244, 245. This was the notion of Pythagoras, Porphyr. in vit. Pythag. p. 188 and of Plato, Apuleius de Philofoph. 1. i.and of Chryftppus, Lactant. 1. 7. c. 23 and of Zeno, Tatian. contr. Graze, p. 143. and of Timtus Locrus, de anima mundi, p. 24. Ed. Gale. See Dr Hody's Resurrection, &c. p. 16— 22. P 'Ov xaXor affiotitit ra;aAu'sfi<» dryfuiroio Kal Ta.X"' ^' ** y«">4 ifc«r{£ofu» U p«©- faStii Ati-^/xi arttn^oftiitut oviffti i) 9io» T;,V'3oTai. Phocylid. poem, admon. 1. 97—99. 1 Josephus Scaliger ad Eusebium. p. 96. —Scaligeri judicio fubscribunt Daniel Heinsius, Exerc. Sacr. ad Heb. iv. 1 2. & ad Theocritum, p. 20. Huetius, Demonstrat. Evangel, p. 1 13, & 608. & Alnetan. quæft. p 136. VolTius de Poetis Grœcis, p. 22. & de philofophia, p. 146. Joh. Reilkius, p. 67. dc Sibyllinis. Georgius Calixtus de Refurrectione carnis, §. 6. Marcjuardus Freherus, Parcrgon, p. 64. ut Barthium, Taubmannum aliofque prxteream. Fabricii Biblotheca Græca, 1. 2. c. it p. 436.

STATED AND DEFENDED. ioi writer'. Besides, the verses referred to are not so expressed, but that it is thought they may very well be explained, so as to design the Pythagorean transmigration, and not the Christian doctrine of the resurrection \ Theopompus and Eudemus Rbodius*, in Diogenes Laertius, tell us, that it was the opinion of the Persian Magi, that men should live again and be immortal. This they received from their master and the founder of their sect, Zoroaftres •, who foretold, " that there should be a time when there would be a resurrection " of all the deadu." Nor need this be wondered at, since, from the best accounts of him it appears that he was originally a Jew both by birth and religion w •, was a servant to one of the prophets of Israel, and was well versed in the holy scriptures : out of which, without doubt, he took this doc trine, as he did some others, and which he taught his Magi, and adopted into his new religion. It may be more surprizing to hear that Democritus, a cor poreal philosopher, should have any notion of the resurrection of the dead; yet Pliny ascribes it to him, and derides him for it * ; though it has been thought by some that he designs another Democritus, and not the philosopher, since this opinion cannot be very easily reconciled to his philosophy y. But supposing that he, and not another, is meant, it is easy to observe how he came by it, seeing he not only lived in Egypt a while, and conversed with the priests there, but travelled also into Persia, and learned of the Magi theology as well as other things z. The notions of several pagan nations concerning the resurrection, * Vetustiflimi scriptoris Judari gnomas sub Phocylidis nomine legi contendit If. Vossius de Sibyllinis oraculis, c. 5. qua; sententia probatur Joh. Fcllo, Oxonienlt Episcopo, in notis ad Cypriani, 1. 1. adv. Judæos, p. 27. ibid. * Resurrcctionis dogma, v. 97. seqq. neuliquam ita a Phocylide declaratur, ut non posfit de metempsychosi exponi. Ibid. p. 43% * O; xai ataGiuo-trSat xala T8( u.œyx~, piwi, th; atifwime, xa) wio-Sai ahataTSq. Laert. proem, ad vit. philosoph. ■ 'O <ii Z.&t>'>urfr,s iv(o\iyii, »•? ir«» wolt x(z>®-, it 1 iratrut tixfut ataraais irat. Æricas Gazæus, in Theophrast. p. 77. apud Dr Hody, p. 30. w Vide Prideavx's Connection of the history os the Old and New Testament, par. 1. b. 4. p. 212, 213. 8vo. * Natural hist. I. 7- C. 5c. His words are cited at large in p. 98. 1 Quac apud Plinium 7. hist. nat. 55. notatur reviviscendi promissa Demociito vanitas, videtur mihi respicere Democrili dictum ad regem Darium conjugis morte affectum, quod refert Tuliaiius epist. 37. parum enim cum Democriti philosophia commune habet, neque cum ilia facile conciliabitur, quod viri docti ex illo I'linii loco colligunt Democritum a fide Christiana de resurrectione corporum alienum non suisse. Fabricii Bibliotk. Grrtt. 1. 2. c. 23 p. 770. 1 rOKT©< jjtayvt rttut Ji«xu<ri xa) Xahia'un — irap" Zt rain, wif) StoKcytuf xa) aYf oXoyiaj HuxSst iti v;a?f ut Et paulo post, <pr,a) i) Ajift^Tfi®' I» ouam/fcoij, xai Airt<?9/i>;{ it oiaJo^aTf, clttu^ru.f,cat o«to» xa) t!{ Atyvirlct, wjoj Te< li^iat, yief/niTfia* ixa$r,tronttot, xa) Wfo? Xa^aiMf, ft; ir,t n^c-.o*, Ka) 115 rip ijwSf at S«A«9-(ra» yi«V3««i. Laert in vit. Democr. Vide Julian, orat. 8. p. 453.

io2 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, resurrection, are such as are either ascribed to them by authors not to be depended on, or plainly design a transmigration, or are what they have bor rowed from the Jews, eicher by conversing with them, or by reading their writings •, or else are the broken remains of some tradition, received from their ancestors, originally founded on divine revelation. Some have argued from the pagans account of future punishments their belief of this doctrine* ; as when they represent Aridœus and other tyrants in hell, bound neck and heels toge ther, their skins flead, and they dragged through thorns and briars ; when they speak of Sisyphus, rolling a stone up hill, which, when he has got to the top of it, revolves upan his hands ; of Jxicrt, fastened to a wheel, in a continual motion •, of Tityus, having vultures always feeding on his liver -, and of Tantalus in extreme thirst, standing in water up to his middle, with apples hanging over his head, and near his mouth, and yet he unable to exstinguish his thirst with either. But, as a learned author observes, " The reason why " the heathens described the punishment of the damned after this manner, was «« not because they thought that their bodies were not left here on earth •, but " partly, because it was the vulgar opinion, that the soul had all the fame " parts that the body has ; and partly because such descriptions do more easily " move and affect us ; and it is not easy to describe the torments of the " soul after any other manner. Our Lord, in the parable of Dives and La- " zarus, adds the fame author, speaks of them in the fame manner, as if they " had bodies ; though what is related of them, is supposed to be before the " resurrection, and their bodies are supposed to be yet in their graves "." As for some particular instances of persons, who have been said to be raised from the dead to life, mentioned by heathen writers; as Akestis by Hercules"', Hipfclytus by Æsculapius d •, Eurydice by Orpheus, and Glaucus by Polyidus ' ; Capaneus, Lycurgus, Eryphile, Tyndareus, Hymenæus, with many others of the like kind f. Acilius Aviola, Lucius Lamia, Ælius Tubero, and others, are said to revive on the funeral pile': Er Armenius Pamphilius is reported to come to life, after he had been dead twelve days h : Hercules is said to live after he had burnt * So Justin Martyr ad Græcos Cohort, p. 25, 26. Epiphan. Ancorat. p. 534. * Dr Hody's Resurrection of the (same) body asserted, Sec. p. 5. * Vide Palaephat. de Incredibilibus Hist. p. 56. Hygin. Fab. 51. * Pausanias in Corinth, p. 135 Hygin. Fab. 49. Servius in Virgil Æneid. 1. 8. p. 1247. * Apollodorus dc Deorum origin. 1. 1. p. 7. & 1. 3. p. 135. Hygin. Fib. 136. f Apollodor. ibid. 1. 3. p. 172. e Vide Valer. Maxim. 1. i. de Miraculis, c. 8 $. 1 2. & Plin. Nat. Hist. 1. 7. c. 52. h Valer. Maxim, ibid, extern. 1. Macrob. in somn. Scipion. 1. 1. c. 1. Clemens Alexandrinu* calls him Zoroastres Stromat. 1. 5. p. 598, 509. Ed. Paris. Vide Origen. contr. Cels. 1. 2. p. 70. Sc Aug de civitat Dei, 1. 22. c. 28. & L. Viv. in ibid.

STATED AND DEFENDED. roj burnt himself1-, and Æsculapius to be raised after he had been struck with thunder, and who himself is said to restore to life one that was carrying to the pile k ; and much such a story is told of Apollonius Tyaneus1. As for these in stances, I fay, they seem to be fabulous stories, and undeserving of credit m. It is true, indeed, they have been credited by some of the hearhens ; and since they have, an argument from hence may be improved against them with great force, and for the doctrine of the resurrection ; for if they can believe these things, why Jhould it be thought a thing incredible with them that God Jhould raise the dead? It may be, 1 have been too long on this subject; I therefore proceed to observe, That the Jews were particularly blessed of God with that revelation which discovers the truth of this doctrine. In this they had the advantage of the Gentiles, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God " ; and yet there were some among them, as the sect of the Sadducees, which did not believe this truth ; they said, there was no rejurretlion ° ; though in- this, as our Lord fays, they erred, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God9. In this the Hemerobaptists agreed wish them 4 ; nor did the EJfenes acknowledge the doctrine of the resurrection r •, yea, many of the Pharisees held the Pythagorean notion of the transmigration of souls into o:her bodies, which is asserted by Josephus\ and by learned men, collected from several passages of scripurc l ; which no tion has been embraced by many of that people " : nor is it so astonishing, as that, whereas, in the writings of the New Testament, there is a more clear discovery made of this truth, yet it has been denied and opposed by some, who ' Eira virivsn, «i> HpaxXta xaiamra itzvror ^r,t, (a! AtrK\r,vtit xifuvtvSttTa. iyr,y(^ai, T« it vVo r£ &tv a-ot KtyifAtut s«-iri>~(. Theophi'us ad Autolycum, 1. r. p. 77. Ed. Paris. k Vide Apulei Florida, $. 19. Plin. 1. 7 c. 37. & 1. 26. c. 3. > Philostiat. vit. Apoll. 1. 4 c 16. ■ Vide Palæphat. de Incred p. 56 — 58. & Plin Nat. Hist. 1. 7. c. 52. & Cuperi Apoth. Homeri, p. 125. n Rom. iii. 1, 2. 0 Matt. xxi. 23 Acts xxiii 8. » Mitt. xxii. 29. <* Vide Epiphan contr. haeres. 1. 1 . ha: res. 17. Justin. Martyr, dialog, cum Try ph p. 30;. Ed. Paris. ' Vide Joseph, de bello Jud. 1. z. c. 8. $. 11. Ed. Hudson. These perhaps are the Misirai mentioned by Justin Martyr among other Jewish sects as of the fame mind with the Sadducics, Dialog, cum Tryph. p. 507. • Antiq. 1. 18. c. 1. $. 3. & de bello Jud. 1. 2. c. 8. J. 14. Vide Reland. Antiq. Sacr. Vet. Hxbraeor. par. 2. c. 11. $. 6. 1 As Matt. xvi. 14. John i. st. & ix. 1. Vide Poli Synopsin in locos. " Vide Shalshclet Hakabala, sol. 38. 1. Menasseh ben Israel de Resurrections, 1. 1. c. 16 & \. a. c. 18. Leo Modcna't Hist, of the Jews, 1. 5. c 1 1. Holsten. Obscrv. ad vit. Pythag p. 18. & Maji Synops. Jud. Thcolog. loc. 24. $. 5, 6.

io4 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, who have had the advantages of them. It was the error of Hymenæus and Philelus, that the resurrection was past already ' : and some in the church of Corinth held, that there is no resurrection of the dead*. These were followed by Pinion Magus, Saturninus, Bastlides, Carpocrates, Valentinus, and others too nume rous to recite y j and of late the djctrine of the resurrection of the same body is rejected by Sccinians and Quakers. But to go on, II. I shall now endeavour to evince bath the credibility and certainty of the resurrection of the dead, notwithstanding it has been accounted by many absurd and incredible. First, I shall shew the credibility of it ; and that, ist, From its consistence with vthe nature and perfections of God. If God is omnipotent and omniscient, as he certainly is, or he would not be God, the resurrection of the dead is not incredible ; it is what may be. God is omni potent, he can do all things, what is impossible with men, is possible with him : he cannot do any thing, indeed, that argues imperfection and weakness, or implies a contradiction and falshood : he cannot lie or deny himself. But the resurrection of the dead is not an instance of either. It is no contra diction, that the dust, which was formed out of nothing, being reduced to dust, should again form the body which it once constituted ; nor does this argue imperfection or weakness, but is a glorious instance of mighty powers A heathen once said, that it was not in the power of God to raise the dead z ; and to another, it seemed impossible for any to restore life to one that is dead": but if God could make all things out of nothing, as he did, and, from a dark confused chaos, raise up such a beautiful structure as this world, and out of the dust of the earth form the body of man, and infuse into it, and unite it with a living and reasonable soul; then much more must he be able to raise up a dead body, the matter and substance of which now is, though in different forms and shapes, and re-unite it to its soul, which still has a real existence : it is much easier to restore that which is, to its former condition, than to make ■ 2 Tim. ii. 18, x I Cor. xv. 12. 1 Vide Epiphan contr. haeres. August, dc haeres. & alios haeresium scriptorcs. z Imperfects: vero in homine naturae praecipua solatia, ne Deum quidem posse omnia. Natnque nee sibi potest mortem consciscere, si velit, quod homini dedit optimum in tantis vitae peenis : nec mortales ætemitate donare, aut revocarc defunctos : nee facere ut qui vixit non vixerit. Plin. Nat. Hist. I. 2. c 7. • » "Eftoi M ioKiT priiiia dttoBeuitra Ju/aaSat tW »»»&»»<*». Palæphat. de Incredib. Hist. p. 56. Ed. Gale, Cantab. 1671.

STATED AND DEFENDED. 105 make to exist that which is not ". God is also omniscient ; he knows all things ; he knows all the particles of matter of which our bodies are composed} and, when they are dissolved into several parts, blown about by the several winds, crumbled into dust, reduced to ashes, evaporated into air, or digested into the bodies of other creatures, and have been transmuted into ten thousand forms and ihapes ; he knows where they are lodged, and what are the several receptacles and repositories of them, whether in the earth, air, or sea ; and his all-dilcerning eye can distinguish those particles of matter which belong to one body, from those which belong to another ; and his almighty hand can gather and unite them together in their own proper bodies, and range them in their due place and order. If God then is omnipotent and omniscient, the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead ought not to be accounted incredible. Again, if God can raise the dead, and will not, it must be, as an ancient learned Apologist observes % either because it is beneath him, or because it would be a piece of injustice in him. It is not beneath him ; for if it was not beneath him to make a body out of the dust of the earth, which was subject to infirmities, corruption and death, it cannot be beneath him to raise weak, inglorious, and corruptible bodies, in power, in glory, and in incorruption ; or to change our vile body, that it may be famioned like unto the glorious body of his Son. Nor can it be unjust in God to raise the dead. God is good and he doth good ; he cannot do any thing injurious to his creatures : he is good to all, and bis fender mercies are over all bis works. If any injury is done hereby, it must be either to those who are raised, or to some others •, if to any others, they must be either rational and intelligent, or irrational and inanimate creatures •, not rational and intelligent ones, as the angels, who will receive no hurt to their nature hereby, or suffer any damage or reproach, on the account of it ; yea, fey the resurrection the saints will be made yet more agreeable to them ; for they will be iWys *o>, like or equal to the angels, being tbe children of the resurreclion. Nor will it be injurious to irrational and inanimate creatures ; for these either will, or they will not be ; if they are not, there can be no injury done to that which is not ; if they should then exist, no injustice will be done to them ; for if now no injustice is done them, though they are subjected to men, employed . Vol. III. P in * Cctcrum quis tarn stultuj aut brutus est, ut audcat repugnare, hominem a Deo, ut primum potuisse singi, ita poffe denuo reformari?—porro difficilius est id quod non sit, incipere, quam id quod suerit iterare. Mimic. Felix, in Oftav. p. 37, 38. Et utique idoneus est resicere, qui fecit ; quanto plus est fecisse, quam refecisse ; initium dedisse quam reddidifle. Jta reslitutioitem carnis faciliorem credas inliitutione. Tcrtullian. it RtfurTtElionc (amis, c. 1 1. « Ti yds ccG&vror, 5 «'{ ihxor, dvrw i$-iv dGutoriv, >j *.'< aW{>or, &c« Athenagoras de refurrectione mortis, p. 49, 50. Ed. Paris.

ib6 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, in their service, and made use of to support their nature, then surely it can be no damage to them, that men should be raised immortal and incorruptible, and so stand in no need of them, and they be delivered from that bondage and servitude, in which they now are ; and had they tongues to speak, they would not accuse the author of the resurrection of injustice, because they are placed below men, and are not partakers of the resurrection with them ; the righteous God not allotting the fame end to both, their natures being not alike. Moreover, as there is not in them any fense of justice, there can be no complaint of injustice. Nor will there be any injury done to them that are raised, either to their souls or bodies •, their bodies will be immortal and in corruptible, and their fouls will be more capable than now of exercising their several powers and faculties : if any injury is done, it must either be to the righteous or the wicked ; not to the righteous, for they that have done good, fljall come forth to the rtfitrreSHon of life* •, and having their fouls and bodies re-united, shall enjoy an endless eternity of bliss and happiness ; nor will any injustice be done to the wicked, though they shall come forth to the resurrection, of damnation, because they will then receive the just recompence o£ reward for the deeds done by them in the body, which leads me to observe, That as considering the omnipotence and omniscience of God, the resurrec tion of the dead may be, which also is no ways contrary to his goodness; so. the justice of God makes it necessary that it should be. God is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works •, he is the judge of all the earth, who will do right; and it is but just with him that those bodies,. which Christ has purchased with his blood, and the Spirit has sanctified by his grace, and which, have suffered for his name's fake, mould be raised again, that they, together with their souls, may enjoy that glory which is prepared for them, and which, they are made meet to be partakers of: even as it is a righteous thing with God, to render tribulation to them that trouble them ; and so consequently it is no act of injustice in God to raise the bodies, both of the righteous and the wicked, that they may receive the things done in the body whether they be good or whether they be evil. These things being considered, it may be concluded that the resurrection of the dead is not inconsistent with the per fections of God, and so not incredible. To these considerations I add, zdly, The several instances of persons who have been raised from the dead, recorded in scripture ; such as the child of the widow of Zarephath, which came to life upon Elijah's prayer ; and the child of the Shunamite, upon EHJJja's; as also the man that was cast into Elifha's sepulchre, who revived and stood upon his feet upon touching the prophet's bones, mentioned in the Old Testament ; * John v. 79.

STATED AND DEFENDED. 107 Testament •, likewise Jairus's daughter, the widow's son of Nain, and Lazarus% who were raised by Christ ; and not to forget to mention the saints, who came out of their graves, after our Lord's resurrection ; and also Dorcas, who was raised by Peter ; as was Eutytbus, by the apostle Paul; which instances are recorded in the New Testament. My argument upon these instances is this : that what has been may be; and, if these instances of particular resurrections are to be credited, then the doctrine of the resurrection of all the dead is not to be accounted incredible. And, %dly, It may not be improper if I should mention some typical and figurative resurrections. The scripture gives us an account of Jonas's lying three days and three nights in the whale's belly ; and his deliverance from thence, was a type of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The saving of Isaac from being sacrificed, was like a resurrection from the dead ; and, indeed, from thence Abraham received him in a figure e. The redemption of the people of Israel out of the Babyionijh captivity was a metaphorical resurrection, and is signified by the reviving of dry bones •, which was done by laying sinews, and bringing fiesh upon them, covering them with skin, and putting breath into them. The budding and blossoming of Aaron's dry rod, is thought by some to be a figure of the resurrection of the dead s. However, be that as it will, this may be observed, that if God could deliver Jonah out of the whale's belly, save Isaac from being sacrificed, when so near it, make dry bones to live and stand upon their feet, and cause a dry rod to bud, blossom, and bring forth almonds •, then why should it be thought incredible with any, that God should raise the dead? But, • Secondly, I now proceed to shew, that the resurrection of the dead is not only credible but certain ; and this I shall do partly from scripture testimonies ; and partly from scripture doctrines. 1/?, From scripture testimonies, which shall be taken both out of the Old and New Testament. 1 shall begin with producing testimonies out of die former : And, 1. With the words of God to Moses; I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob g. I choose to mention this scripture, and to begin with it, because with this our Lord confronted the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection of the dead, and put them to silence ; insomuch, that, after that, no man durst ask any question at all ; the account os which you have in Matt. xxii. 23. and some following verses ; and it stands thus : The Sadducees came to him with an instance of a woman who had had p 2 seven • Heb. xi. 19. f Vide Epiphan. Ancorat. p. 538. « Exod. iii. 6.

io8 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION", seven husbands, who were brethren; and their question upon it is, whose wifeshe should be in the resurrection ? To which Christ replies, having observed to them their ignorance of the scriptures, and the power of God, That in the. resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage ; but are as the angels of God in heaven ; and then adds, hut as touching the resurrection of the dead, have, ye not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham*, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? God is not the God, of the dead, but of the living. But now here lies a difficulty, how this appears to be a proof of the resurrection of the dead. Some have thought, that our Lord's design is . to prove the immortality of the foul, which the Sadducees denied, as well. as the resurrection of the dead ; for they that deny the former, deny the latter ;. and. some of the same arguments which prove the one prove the other.. Menajseb, ben Israel, a learned Jew of the last century\ produces this fame passage of scripture, to prove the immortality of the soul,, and argues from it much in the fame manner as Christ does. But it is certain that our Lord produced this testimony as a proof of the resurrection. In one of the evangelists it is. said, As touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was. spoken ' ? &c. And in another, Now that the dead are raised, even Mosesshewed, at the bush, when be called the Lord*, &c. Let it be observed then, that it is not said, I was, or 1 will be, but I am the God of: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ■„. which is expressive not only of a covenant which, had been made, but of one. that abides and continues; which must be either the covenant of/ grace made, with them in Christ, of which they had some glorious discoveries and maniiestations, or some particular covenant respecting them and their posterity.. As for the covenant of grace, this respected not their souls only, but their bodies also, even their whole persons ; thereforev as their souls now live with. God in the enjoyment of the promised good, it is necessary their bodies should, be raised from the dead, that, with their souls, they may enjoy the everlasting blessing of glory and happiness ; otherwise, how would God's covenant be an. everlisting one, ordered in all things, and sure ? The learned Mr Mede thinks, that Christ has respect to the covenant which God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in which he promised that he would give the land of Canaan to them, and to their posterity * ; not to their posterity only, but to them also ; therefore he observes, that it was necessary that they should be raised from the dead, that they in their own persons might enjoy the promised land. It must be acknowledged, that this is a way of arguing the Jews were used to, which may be the reason of the Scribes being so well pleased with, it ; and therefore saidx k De resurrestione martuorum, 1. i.e. io. $. 6. J Malt. xxii. 31.. * Luke xx, 37. ' Sec his works, 1. 4. Ep. +3. p. 981, 982.

STATED AND DEFENDED. 109 said. Master, thou bast well said". Such kind of arguments as these to prove the resurrection of the dead, are now extant in their Talmud". For instance : " R. Simai said, from whence is the resurrection of the dead to be proved out *' of the law ? from Exod. vi. 4. where it is said, and 1 have also established *« my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan ; it is not to you, ** but to them." But not to insist any longer on this proof, I proceed, a. To another passage of scripture, for the confirmation of this doctrine, which is in Job xix 25— 27. For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he Jhallstand at the latter day upon the earth; and though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flejb Istall fee God, whom I Jhall fee for myself; and mine eyes shall'behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me, I shall not trouble you with the different versions of these words, some favouring, and some not, the doctrine of the resurrection : and it must be owned that none of the Jewish writers understand the words of a real, but of a figurative or metaphorical resurrection*; and suppose Job's meaning to be, that he should be delivered from the afflicted state in which he then was, and be restored to his former healths honour, and happiness -, in which fense of the words they have beenfollbwed by some learned Christian interpreters p, at which the Sect* Mians very greedily catch'. Temporal afflictions are, indeed, sometimes signified by death, and a deliverance out of them must be as life from the dead j but that this cannot be Job's fense and meaning here, may be concluded from the following hints. Job was so far from having any faith in, or assurance of his restoration to his former state of health, honour and riches, that he had no hope, no expectation of it ; nay, seems entirely to despair of it, though his friends endeavoured to support him with views of it, on condition of his repentance. He declares that he had no reason to hope for life, that he should quickly be gone* and therefore had made death familiar to him ' ; that he did not expect to see any more temporal good j yea, in this very chapter, .at the tenth verse, he says of God, He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone; and mine hope hath he removed like a tree ; and continues his doleful moan to the very words under consideration ; so that it must seem unlikely, that, on a sudden, he should have his expectations of outward prosperity raised. No, the words are rather expressive of what was his inward support and comfort under present afflictions, and in the views of approaching death and the grave. They» Luke xx. 39. • T. Bab. Sanhedrim, sol. 90. 2. • Non allegavi hue illud Jobi c. xix. 25. nihil enira in eo est, quod ad resurrectionem pertinetj neque ullus Hebneorum reperitur qui verba hæc in istam sententiafn exposuit. Menafeh ben Israel dc Refurrctliont, I. i.e. 3. $. 6. P Calvin, MeTcer, &c. * Enjedin. Explic. loc. script, p. 5<, &c. Volkel. de Vera Relig. 1. 3 c. 1 1 p. 59, 60. » See ohap. vi. 11. and viit 7, 8, and x. 20. and xvi ti. and xvii. 1, 14—16. .

no THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, They are an answer to what Bildad had said in the preceding chap. ver. 12— 14. concerning the wicked man ; where, though he may not directly mean Job, yet he had his eye upon him, when he fays, His strength Jhill be hunger--bill'en , and destruction Jhall be ready at his side. It /hall devour the strength of his Jkin, even the first-born of death pall devour his strength. His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors. Well, now as if Job should fay, supposing all this, yet this is my comfort, I know my interest in the living redeemer ; and am comfortably persuaded, that when he appears at the latter day, though this body of mine is now reduced to skin and bones, and will shortly be the repast of worms, yet it shall be raised again, and in this very flesh of mine shall 1 see God, and everlastingly enjoy him. The preface to the words shews, that it was something future, and at a great distance, which he had in view, even after the consumption of his own body, and at the appearance of his redeemer in the latter day ; and which was very considerable, and of moment; and therefore he says, Oh, that my words were now written ! oh, that they were printed in a book ! that they were graven with an iron pen and lead, in the rock for ever! Besides, the vision of God with the eyes of his body, which he expected, is not suited to any state and condition in this life, but rather to the state of eternal glory and happiness, when saints shall fee him in the mediator, as he is ; nor can Job's words have any reference to the vision he had of God, of which he speaks chap. xlii. 6. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye feeth thee. Since that issued not barely in his peace, joy, and comfort, but likewise in conviction of his folly and weakness, in self-abhorrence, and deep humiliation. Add to all this, that Job, in the close of this chapter, puts his friends in mind of the awful judg ment : Be ye afraid of the sword ; for wratb bringeth the punishments of thefwordt that ye may know there is a judgment ; between which and death, there must be a resurrection from the dead, of which he had before spoken, that so every one may come forth to judgment, and receive the things done in their body, whether they be good or evil. From the whole we may conclude, that Job here declares his faith, concerning the resurrection of the dead at the last day, and not his own restoration, from outward misery to outward happiness. An ancient writer once thought, that nothing could be a plainer proof of this doctrine : for fays he, " no one since Christ speaks so plainly of the resurrec- " tion, as this man did before Christ '." 3. Another • Quid hac prophetia maniseflius? Nullus tarn aperte post Christum, quam iste ante Christum de refurrectione loquitur. Hieron. ad Pammach, adv. error, Joan, Hierofd. inter cjus opera, torn. II. p. ;g. col. I. edit. Paris,

STATED AND DEFENDED. in 3. Another testimony I shall produce for the proof of this doctrine shall be Isa. xxvi. 19. Thy dead men pall live, together with my dead body J/jall they arise •, awake, and sing ye that dwell in the dust ; for tliy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth pall cast forth her dead. In ver. 14. the prophet says, They are ded, they pall not live •, they are deceased, they pall not rise; the meaning of which words is, either that those tyrants, who formerly had dominion over the people of Israel, were dead, and should not live any more in this world, or rife again to tyrannize over them •, or that many of the people were dead, or should die by the sword, famine, &c. and not live again ; which the prophet mentions by way of complaint, and as the effect of unbelief, to which these words are an answer. The person speaking is the Messiah, to whom the characters given, in ver. 4, 12, 13. belong ; who assures the prophet, that though his men or people were dead, yet they should live again, that they should be raised again, either at the time of his resurrection, or by virtue of it. The words arc lite rally true of Christ's resurrection, and of ours by him', who, as he was to be born, and die, and rife again, in order to be the saviour of his people, so many of them were to rife along with him ; therefore he fays, with my dead body Pall they arise; which was fulfilled at Christ's resurrection, when the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints, which slept, arose, and came out »s the graves after his resurretlion \ Though these words may be rendered, either thus, As my dead body pall they arise, that is, in the fame way and ■ manner ; Christ's resurrection is the exemplar of ours, our vile bodies shall be fashioned like unto his •, he is risen from the dead, and become thefirst-fruits of them that stept w ; or, assure as my dead body shall they arise. Christ's resurrec tion is the pledge of ours, because he lives, we shall live also. If we believe that JesiiS died, and rose again, even so them also, which steep in Jesus, will God bring with him". The expressions here made use of confirm this fense of the words ; Awake, and sing ye that dwell in the dust ; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs. To dwell in the dust is expressive of the state of the dead ; and a resurrection from thence is aptly signified by an awaking, since death is so frequently, in the sacred writings, compared to sieep y. The power of God, in raising the dead, is fitly expressed by the dew ; for as through the virtue and influence of the dew, the grafs and herbs of the field spring up and grow; so, through the wonderful power of God, our bones, to use the prophet's phrase, paUstourip like an herb, in the resurrection morn 7 ; and it is easy to observe a likeness i * See my book of the prophecies of the Old Testament, (3c. literally fulfilled in Jesiis, p. 1 83. u Matt, xxvii. j2, 53. w 1 Cor. xv. zo. * John xiv. 19. 1 Theff. iv. 14. 7 See Job vii. zi. andxvii. 16. andxx. 11. and xxvii 19. Dan.xii. 2. * Isa. lxvi. 14.

ii2 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, likeness between the last clause of this verse, And the earth stall cast forth her dead, and those expressions by which the resurrection is described in Rev. xx. 13. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell, or the grave, delivered up the dead which were in them. The Jews refer this prophecy to the resurrection of the dead *. But, 4. To add no more testimonies of this kind, I shall conclude the evidence of this doctrine out of the Old Testament, from the famous prophecy in Dan. xii. 2. And many of them that steep in the dust of the earib shall awake ; some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. These words are generally understood of the resurrection of the dead, as well by Jewish as Christian interpreters b. Porphyry % the acute heathen, and sworn enemy of Christianity, would have them design the return of some of the people of the Jews, to their own cities and habitations, after Antiochus's generals were cut oft", who before skulked about in holes and corners , and in which fense of the text he is followed by Grotius. But surely this deliverance, on the return of this people, was not in any of them to shame and contempt, especially to ever lasting shame and contempt; nor was it to everlasting life in any of them, seeing they are all since dead. Nor is it true that the doctors of the Jewish church, from that time, shone as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars of hea ven : but on the contrary, their knowledge decreased, their light grew dim, and they became vain in their imaginations. On the other hand, the whole agrees with the resurrection of the dead ; when, as our Lord saysd, whose words are the best comment on this text, All that are in their graves shall bear his voice, that is, the voice of Christ, andpall come forth; they that have done good, unto the refurrtfiion of life, and they that have done evil., unto the resurrection of damnation ; and when the bodies of the saints shall be raised in incorruption, power, and glory, and shall shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their father. I might have produced several other scriptures out of the Old Testament for the confirmation of this truth •, such as Hosea vi. 2. and xiii. 14, &V. but I forbear, and pass on To the New Testament. And here was I to take the whole compass of proof, which this will furnish out, I must transcribe a considerable part of it. 1 shall only observe, that this is the doctrine of Christ and his apostles-, it * X. Bab. Sanhedrim, sol. 90. 2. Zohar in Gen sol. 6?. 4. & 79- 3- * '00. 3. & in Exod. soU 12. 3. & 62. 4. & 88. 3. Ed. Suhzbac. Aben Ezra & Kimchi in loc. Menasseh ben Israel de resurrectione, 1. i.e. 2. J. i. » T.Bab. Sanhedrim, sol. 02. 1. Zohar in Gen. sol. 67. 4. & 70. 3. & 83. 1. & 100. J. 8c in Exod. sol 24. 3. & 43. 4. Saadiah Gaon, Aben Ezra, Jarchi, & Jacchiades in loc. Menasseh b^ Israel de -resurrectione, 1. 1. .c. 3. $• 5. e Vide Grotium in loc. d John v. 28, 29.

STATED AND DEFENDED. n3 it is a doctrine which Christ himself taught : he declared himself to be the . resurrection and the life, or to be the author of the resurrection unto life ; and that not only those whom the Father had given to him, should be raised by him, but that all that are in their graves, whether good or bad, should come forth from thence at his powerful and all-commanding voice. The fame doctrine was taught by his apostles, who all jointly agree, that there will be a resurrection both of the just and unjust. The arguments of the apostle Paul, for the confirmation of this doctrine, are by him laid together, in the fifteenth chapter of his first epistle to the Corinthians. I do not now take notice of particular passages in the New Testament, partly because they are plain and obvious proofs of this truth at first view ; and partly because I shall have occasion to make particular use of them in some other parts of these discourses. I proceed, idly, To prove the certainty of the resurrection of the dead from other scripture truths and doctrines, which I shall little more than name ; and shall begin, i. With the doctrine of election. That there is an eternal personal election of some to everlasting life and salvation, the scriptures do abundantly declare. Now this act of election regards not their souls only, but their bodies also, even their whole persons : if then their persons, body and soul, are chosen in Christ to everlasting salvation, then their bodies must be raised from the dead, that they, united to their souls, may together inherit the kingdom, prepared for them from the foundation of the world ; otherwise the purpose of God, according to election, will not stand ; when, on the contrary, it is certain, that his counsel shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure. 2. It is the doctrine of the scriptures, that the fame persons who were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, were given to him by the Father, were put into his hands, and made his care and charge. They were given to him not only to be his portion and inheritance, but to be kept, preserved, and saved by him, body and soul. This was the declared will of his Father, when he gave them to him, as he himself assures us ; and this is the Father's will, which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing (no not even their dust) but should raise it up again at the last day ; and this is the will of him that sent me, that every one that feelb the Son, and believetb en him, may have everlasting life ; and I will raise him up at the last day f. Now if these bodies of the saints, which are given to Christ, should not be raised from the dead, the Father's will would not be fulfilled, nor Christ discharge the trust reposed in him. Vol. III. Q^ 3. This ' John vi. 39, 40. f

i#4 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, 3. This truth may be concluded from the redemption of our bodies, as well as of our souls, by the blood of Christ. It is true, this is sometimes called the redemption of the soul, and the salvation of the soul, but not to the exclusion of the body ; for that is bought with the fame price the soul is. Hence the apostle fays to saints after this manner; Ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Cod's s. Now if these bodies, which Christ has bought, should not be raised from the dead, he would lose part of his purchase : nor could he perfectly see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. 4. This doctrine may be inferred from the union of the faints to Christ, body and soul. Their whole persons are united to him ; Know ye not, fays the apostle, that year bodies are the members of Christ*? they are part of his mystical body, they are united to him, as well as their souls, and remain in union with him after death; for as the union of the two natures in Christ was not dis solved, when his soul and body were at death disunited, so neither is the union between Christ and his people dissolved at death ; and, by virtue of this union, their bodies shall be raised from the dead ; otherwise Christ must lose a constituent part of those who are his mystical body, and so the church not be the fulness of him that filleth all in all, as she is said to be, Eph. i. 23. 5. All those who are chosen in Christ, who are given to him, who are re deemed by him, and are in union with him, are sanctified by the Spirit of God, and that not in their souls only, but in their bodies also ; for as the body, as well as the soul, is defiled by sin, it also stands in need of the sancti fying influences of divine grace. Accordingly the Spirit takes up his dwelling in the bodies, as well as the souls of men ; JVbat know ye not, fays the apostle, that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you ' ? He begins and carries on the work of sanctification in the one, as well as in the other, as is needful, and will at last compleatly finish it ; for which the apostle prays, faying, And the very God of peace sancTify you wholly ; and I fray God your whole spirit, foul and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ*. Now if the bodies of these sanctified ones are not raised, the Spirit of God will not only lose that which he has taken possession of, as his dwell ing place, but also a considerable part of his glory, as a sanctifier. 6. It will not be improper to take notice of the transiations of Enoch and Elias to heaven, who were taken up thither, soul and body ; nor of the saints, who came out of their graves at our Lord's resurrection, and went with him to » 1. Cfcr. vi. 20. » Ver. 15. » 1 Cor. vi. 19. * 1 ThcfT. v. 23.

STATED AND DEFENDED. *i$ to glory, as is very probable ' ; nor of those that (hall be alive at Christ'* second coming, who mall not die, but be changed, and be caught up with the rest of the saints in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : now whereas it is certain that there are some faints already in heaven with their bodies, and others that will be, it is very improbable that the reft should be with out ; or that there should be this difference among the spirits of just men made perfect, that some should have their bodies united to tltem, and others not. 7. Nothing is more certain than that there will be a general judgment. God has appointed the day in which, and ordained the person by whom, he will judge the world in righteousness, when all, both great and small, shall stand before God, and the dead shall be judged according to their work9. Now in order to this, the resurrection of them is absolutely neceslary, that they may receive the things done in the body, whether good or bad. 8. Neither the happiness of the righteous will be complete, nor the misery of the wicked be proportionate to their crimes, until the resurrection. The happiness of the saints will not be complete. Hence they are waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of their body™-, when that being redeemed from the grave, and united to the soul, shall with it, enter into the joy of the Lord. Nor will the misery of the wicked be proportionate to their crimes till then, when they shall be cast body and soul, into hell ; and as the one deserves it, as well as the other, it is proper that so it should be. 9. There will be need of, and uses for, bodily organs, or for some of the members of the body, in heaven j as particularly the eye, ear, and tongue,. There will be the glorified body of Christ, or the glorious Mediator in human nature, for thp saints to look upon with unutterable pleasure ; it will be a considerable part of their happiness to fee him as he if. This is one reason why Christ would have his people with him where he is, namely, that they may behold his glory, even this, as well as other branches of it ; and it was Job's support under his afflictions, that in his flesh he should see God, that is, the God-man and Mediator, or God manifest in the flesh. There will be songs of everlasting joy and praise fung in fuck melodious strains, as will delight the ear, and employ the tongue throughout the endless ages of eternity. 10. And lastly, and which is the apostle Paul's grand and principal argu ment for the resurrection of the dead, and which he used with so much strength, and improved to so good a purpose, is the resurrection of our Lord cl. 2 Jesus 1 Vide Autor. qu, & resp. ad orthodox, qu. 85. p. 443. inter opera Justini, Ed. Paris. " Rom. viii. 23.

n6 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, ' Jesus Christ, which you have at large in i Cor. xv. where he thus argues : If there be no refurretlion of the dead, then Christ is not risen ; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is dlfo vain ; yea, and we arefound false witnejfes of God, because we have testified of God, that he raised up Christ, vtbom he raised not up, if the dead rise not ; for if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised ; and ;/ Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are in your fins \ then they also which are fallen asteep in Christ are perished. The saints may comfortably conclude their resurrection from Christ's ; for if the head be raised, the members shall ; every man in his own order, Christ the first-fruits ; afterwards they that are Christ's, at his coming. Job was satisfied that he should rise again, because his Redeemer lived, and would appear at the latter day upon the earth ; and the saints may be assured, that because Christ lives, they shall live also. Other arguments might have been made use of, but they will also prove that the fame body shall be raised again j I shall therefore reserve them for their proper place. SERMON II. Acts xxvi. 8. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with yout that God should raise the dead? HAV I N G, in my former discourse, proved both the credibility and certainty of the resurrection of the dead ; I shall now proceed, III. To enquire who they are, and what that is, which shall be raised. This head of enquiry consists of two parts, and regards both the persons who, and what of those persons it is, which shall be the subject of the resurrection j and in this order I shall consider it. First, I shall enquire who they are which shall be raised from the dead. 1 shall not take notice of the Mahometan notion, that angels and brutes shall rise \ since the former die not, and therefore cannot be said to be raised from the » Vide Focock. Not. Mifcel. in Port. Mosis, c. 7. p. 269. & Reland. dc Rclig. Mohammed. 1. »• P- 53. 54*

STATED AND DEFENDED. 1,7 the dead ; and the spirit of the latter goeth downward to the earth, never to return more. Only men shall rise from the dead, but not all of them ; for though it is appointed for men once to die, yet not unto all men : all men shall not die -, some will be quick, and others dead, at the appearing of Christ to judge the world •, when they that are alive shall indeed be changed from a state of mortality to a state of immortality ; but cannot be said to rise from the dead, because they die not. But then all the dead shall be raised, all that are in their graves shall come forth, whether these graves be in the earth or sea, and whether the persons be righteous or wicked. This was the generally received opinion of the Jews of old ; but since, many of their greatest masters have departed from it, who not only exclude the Gentiles in general, but all ■ wicked and ungodly persons whatever, from having any part in the resurrec tion b. In this they have been followed by the Socinians, though they care not to speak out their minds fully c ; and the Remonstrants have shewn a very good liking of the same notion d. I shall a little consider this, seeing the greater part of the testimonies and arguments, produced in my former discourse, chiefly relate to the resurrection of the just. That the wicked shall rise, as . well as the righteous, may be proved, 1st, From express texts of scripture. The prophet Daniel says,' that 0/ them > that Jleep in the dust of the earth, that is, who are dead, some shall awake, that is, rise again, to Jhame and everlasting contempt' ; who must be the wicked, since it will never be the case of the righteous, who will awake, or rise, to everlastinolife. Our Lord Jesus Christ assures us, that thty that have done evil, Jhall come forth to the resurrection of damnation* ; in which words he does at once describe the character of the wicked, asserts their resurrection, fixes the end of it. The apostle Paul gives a full testimony to this truth, when he affirms, that there shall he a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust S. idly, This doctrine may be evinced from the justice of God, which requires, that they who have sinned in the body, should be also punished in the body. The body is the scat of sin, as well as the soul, nor is any part free from it : if the tongue, which is but a little member, is a world of iniquity, as the apostle James fays it is, what a world of iniquity must be in the whole body h ? And, indeed, * VidePocock. Port. Mosis, p. 157 & Not. Miscel. in ibid. c. 6. p. 180, &c. Maji Synops. Thcolog. Jud. loc. 25. $. 6. p. 337, Jarchi in Isaiam xxvi. 14. Kimchi in Is. xxvi. 19, & xxxviii. 18. & Saadiah Gaon in Dan. xii. 2. « Vide Maccov. rifwTo. 4-ji-J®., Socin. c. 15. p. 82. Sc Antisocin. 1. 5. c. 3. §. 2. Marcs. Hydra Socin. vol. 2. p. 315. Synops. Pur. Thcolog. Disp. 51. J. 34. * Vide Peltii Harmon. Remonstrant. & Socin. Artie. 21. Paragr. 4, p. 260. » Dan. xii. 2. * John v. 29. . «Astsxxiv. 15. . » James iii. 5, 6. -.

uS THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, indeed, there are but few sins but what are committed by the body. It may be considered not only as accessary to sin, but as a partner with the foul i« sinning, and as an instrument by which it is committed, and in ckher respect is deserving of punishment. Now it is certain, that in this life the wicked do not receive in their bodies the fuM reward of punishment, since they have not greater afflictions than the righteous-, nay, it is observed of them, that they, an not in trouble, as other men, neither are they plagued as other men ' ; wherefore ic seems necessary from the justice of God, that the bodies of the wicked should be raised, that they, with their souls, may receive the full and just recompence of reward. idly, That the wicked shall rife from the dead, may be concluded from the general judgment; when the dead, small and great, Jhallstand before God, and he judged according to their works ; when whosoever is not found written in the book of life Jhall be cast into the lake of fire*-, which can be understood of no other than the wicked : and if all men must appear before the judgmeat-feat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in bis body, according to that be bath done, whether it be good or bad1-, then must the wicked appear, that they may receive according to the bad things which they have done in their bodies } in order to which appearance before the judgment-feat, and to the reception of their evil things, there must be a resurrection of them from the dead. 4ibly, The account which the scriptures give of the punishments and tor ments of the wicked, and the effects thereof, manifestly supposes a resurrection of their bodies : how will every eye see Christ when he appears, and all the kindreds of the earth wail, because of him ? why is the place of torment sig nified by a furnace and lake of fire, and by outer darkness, where will be weeping and gnashing of teeth ? wherefore do the scriptures speak of being cast into hell fire, with two eyes, or two hands, or two feet, if there will be no resurrection of the bodies of the wicked ? If it should be said, that these expressions are either metaphorical or proverbial, there must be something lite rally true, to which they refer, and which is the foundation of them : besides, our Lord expressly exhorts his disciples to fear him which is able to destroy both body and foul in hell m. Sthly, This notion, that the wicked rise not, must have a tendency to licen tiousness, and open a door to all manner of sin, and take off all restraints from wicked persons, and embolden them in their vicious course of life ; for what the apostle says of the resurrection in general may be said of this, If the dead rife not, let us eat and drink, for to morrow we die ". But from these several hints, • Psidm lxxiii. 5. * Rev. xx. 12, 15. J 2 Cor. v. lo. ■ Matt. x. 28. f 1 Cor. xv. 32.

STATED AND DEFENDED..- ir$ hints, it may be strongly concluded, that there will be a resurrection of the wicked as well as of the righteous. Indeed there will be a difference between the resurrection of the just, and the resurrection of the unjust, in many respects. There will be a difference in the time of the one and the other ; the dead in Christ (hall rife first •, the upright shall have the dominion over the wicked in the morning of the resurrection ; wherefore blessed and holy is he that hath pars in the first refurrecJioti, on such the second death hath no power0; and as they shall not rife at the fame time, so neither altogether by the same means ; they shall, indeed, be both raised by Christ p •, for all that are in the graves stall hear his voice and shall come forth. The saints will be raised by virtue of their union to Christ, because be lives, they shall live also ; but the wicked will be raised merely by the power of Christ, in order to appear before him, and be judged by him who is Lord of all. Moreover, though the bodies of the wicked will be raised immortal, and in such a state as to continue in perpetual punishment, yet they will not be free from fin, nor cloathed with glory ; whereas the bodies of -the saints will not only be raised immortal and incorruptible, but powerful, spi-: ritual, and glorious; yea, will be fashioned like to Christ's glorious body. In fine, the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked will differ in their end ; the righteous will rife to everlasting life, the wicked to everlasting sliame and contempt. Hence the resurrection of the one, is called the resurrection of life j and the resurrection of the other, the resurrection of damnation. But now let us attend to the arguments and objections advanced against the resurrection of the wicked, which are taken partly from scripture, and partly from reason; i. From some passages of scripture ; and the first that is objected' is Psalni i. 5. therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congre gation of the righteous. From hence some Jewish writers have concluded, that there will be no resurrection of the wicked, their souls perishing with their bodies at death '. This notion may seem to be favoured by the versions of the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin ', with some others, who read the words thus ; therefore the ungodly shall not rife again in judgment. But supposing, and not granting that these versions may be agreeable to the Hebrew text, it will not follow from hence, that the wicked shall not rise again, for it is not said absolutely, that they shall not rise again, but that they shall not rise again in judgment ; that is, so as to appear in the congregation of the righteous at the day of judgment ; when the righteous and wicked will be separated, the one placed at Christ's right hand, the other at his left j they will not rife when the righteous * Rev. xx. 6. T John v. 28, 29. * Vide Kimchi in loc & Abendana, not. in Miclol. Yophi in loc». * Ai« thto i* srarifoiMi Si aViCuf j, xpi<nii Septuag, Idco non resutgent irapii in judicio Vutg. Lat,

120 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, righteous do •, for the dead in Christ Jhall rise first ; the wicked, though they will rile again, yet not in the first resurrection, or in the resurrection of life, but in the resurrection of damnation. Moreover the word here used does not intend the resurrection of the wicked, but their standing before God in a judicial sense, when raised ' •, and the meaning is, that they will not be able to stand, when the righteous judge appears, with any degree of confidence, so as not to be ashamed, as the righteous will j but being filled with confusion and horror 6f mind, will not be able to lift up their heads, or open their mouths, to justify, themselves, or vindicate their cause, and so consequently must fall, and not stand in judgment. Another scripture which may seem to countenance this notion, that the wicked (hall not rife from the dead, is, Isa. xxvi. 14. They are dead, they Jhall not live, they are deceased, they Jhall not rise *. But these words, as I have observed in my former discourse, are either to be understood of the people of Israel, and are. expressive of the prophet's complaint of their present state, that they were dead, and of his distrust of their future resurrection ; to which he has an answer returned in ver. 19. 'Thy dead men Jhall live, together with my dead body Jhall they arise -, or they are to be understood of those wicked lords, who had formerly had the dominion over these people, but were now dead, and should not live again on this earth, or rife again to tyrannize over them ; and, if we consider the words in either fense, they cannot support an argument against the resurrection of the wicked. The words of the prophet Daniel, and many os them who steep in the dust os the earth shall awake, some to everlasting Use, and some to everlasting shame and contempt u •, though they are 2. plain and full proof of the resurrection of the .wicked, as well as of the righteous, yet are made use of by some Jewish writers against it". It is to be observed the prophet does not fay that all of them, but many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake ; yea, « is said, that these many design only a few, and these the righteous, among the • Afcrecible to the fense of this phrase is the Chaldet Paraphrase of the words, fOt> «£ Nil W2V2 ^ttH, thtaUkidJhaU not kjustified in the great day. So Aben Ezra explains IDIpN? by TIDy iib, they stall notjland; and Jarchi on the place fays, there will be no b~T\ s^Pp' flanding for the feet of the wicked in the day of judgment; which is a form of speech used to express a lost cause. Some have thought Kimciu himself designs this fense of the word, when he deniesthere will be any HO^p/l forthe wicked after death. Vide Sixtin. Amams Anti- Barbar.Bibl. 1. 3. p. 699, 700,967, 968, 973. t Vide Jarchium & Aben Ezram in If. xxvi. 14, 19. & Bcchaium apud Buxtorf. Jud. Synagog. c 3 p. 32. ■ Chap. xii. a. >* Vide Pocock. Not. Miscel. in Port. Mosis, c. 6. p. 1 80, &c. Saadiah Gaon, & Aben Ewamin Din. xii. 2. & Kimchium in If. xxvi. 19.

STATED AND DEFENDED. 12. the children of Israel. In answer to which, let it be observed, that the word many may be understood universally of all that sleep in the dull of the earth ; in which sense the word is used in Psalm xcvii. 1. The Lord reignetb, let the earth rejoice, let the multitude of the isles be glad thereof. In the Hebrew text it is; let many isles, that is, let all the isles be glad thereof; or it may be considered in a comparative sense thus : they that sleep in the dust of the earth, and sliall awake, are many in comparison of those few, who sliall be alive and remain, when the dead are to be raised; for there will be some, though but a few, when compared with others, who sliall not die, but be changed ; or rather the words may be taken distributively after this manner : of them that sleep in the dust of the earth, many sliall awake to everlasting life, and many to ever lasting shame and contempt; which is just such a division of them, who are ■ to be raised from the dead, as is given by our Lord when he fays, All that are in their graves shall hear his voice, andshall com forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they that have dene evil, unto the resurrection of damnation"1. Many can never design a few only, as it must, if only the Israelites, who were the fewest of all people, and the righteous among them, are the subjects of the resurrection ; yea, if the righteous of all nations should be only raised; they are but a few in comparison of others. Besides, the prophet fays, that some (hall awake to everlasting shame, which cannot be said of the righte ous, but must design the wicked ; therefore this prophecy is so far from being an argument against it, that it furnishes us with a very considerable one for the resurrection of the wicked. There are some other passages of scripture, besides these, which are made use of by another sett of men against this truth z ; Eccl. vii. 1. A good name is letter than precious ointment ; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. Now, fay they, if the wicked rife again, the day of their death must be worse than the day of their birth. To which it may be answered, that the wise man is not speaking of the wicked or reprobate, of whom it may be said, in some sense, that it would have been better if they never had been born, or had died immediately, rather than have lived to aggravate their condemnation by repeated iniquities, and with whom it certainly will be much worse, than now it is. The words re spect the righteous who are blessed in their death ; for they die in the Lord, and rest from their labours, are free from sin and sorrow of every kind, and are with Christ, which is far better than to come into and be in this trouble some world. Likewise the words of th eapostle, in 1 Thesf. iv. 16. And the dead Vol. III. R in r John v. 28, 29. * Vide Maccov. Thcolog Polcm. c. 23. qnæst. 3. p. 189.

122 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, in Christ stiall rise first, are urged against the resurrection of the wicked ; from whence it is observed, that those who rise again, are such who are dead in Christ, and that these only are believers, and therefore the wicked shall not rife. To which it may be replied, that the apostle is, indeed, speaking of the resur rection of the saints, and not of the wicked, though not to the exclusion of their resurrection. It is certain, that they are only believers who are dead in Christ ; but then it is neither here, nor elsewhere said, that only believers, or that only such who die in Christ, stiall rise; yea, besides, the apostle fays, that the dead in Christ shall rife first, which supposes that the wicked stiall rise afterwards; for it would be an impropiL-ty to fay, that the dead in Christ stiall rise first, if those who are not dead in Christ do not rise afterwards ; a first resurrection supposes a second. I (hall now proceed to consider the arguments and objections formed against the resurrection of the wicked, taken, 2. From reason. It is said, that God is very merciful', and therefore, if he will not eternally save the wicked, yet it is not reasonable to suppose that he will raise them from the dead, merely to torment them ; it will be sufficient that they do not enjoy the happiness of the saints in heaven. To which L answer \ it is true that God is very merciful, yet he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy ; though mercy is natural and essential to him, yet the blessed fruits and effects of it, as enjoyed by his creatures, are limited byv a,nd dependent upon his sovereign will and pleasure ; there are some of his crea tures, of whom it is said, He that made them will not have mercy on them j and he that formed them willjhew them no favour \ Besides, it ought to be observed, that God is a righteous God, as well as merciful, and that one perfection of his is not to be set against another •, though he is merciful, and delights in mercy, yet he is also the judge of all the earth, who will do right. I have before proved, that it is necessary, from the justice of God, that the bodies of the wicked should be raised, not merely to be tormented, but that God may glorify his righteousness in their punishment. It is also argued, that Christ is the meritorious cause of the resurrection, and therefore the wicked, or reprobate, shall not rise again, because Christ has merited nothing for them e. To which I reply, the resurrection may be distinguished, as it is by Christ, into a resurrection of life, and a resurrection of damnation -, that Christ is the meritorious cause of the former, but not of the latter. Christ is not only the exemplar, but the efficient and meritorious sause of the faints resurrection ; he is the first-fruits of them that slept ; every one rises in his own order ; Christ the first-fruits, afterwards they that are Christ's » Vide Maccov. ibid, quacst. z. p. 188. * Isa. xxvii. I f. • Vide Maccov. ibid.

STATED AND DEFENDED. 123 Christ's at his coming. They that are Christ's, rife by virtue of their union to him, and through the power of his resurrection ; not so the wicked, they shall, mdeed, be raised by Christ, but not by virtue of his death and resurrection, or through any merit of- his, but by his almighty power ; their resurrection will not be the effect of his merit, as Mediator, but of his divine power, as Lord of the dead and living. It is further urged, that the wicked die an eternal death, and therefore do not rife from the dead ' ; for fay they, it implies a contradiction to fay that they die an eternal death, and yet are raised from the dead. To which it may be answered, that there is a two-fold death, a temporal and an eternal one. Temporal death is a separation of the foul from the body, and is what may be called the first death. Eternal death is a separation of body and soul from God, and a casting of both into hell, which is what the scripture calls the second death : Now this second or eternal death is consistent with the resur rection of the body •, nay, the resurrection of the body is requisite unto it. If it should be said, as it is, that corporal death is the punishment of sin, that punishment is not taken away in the wicked, and therefore corporal death perpetually continues, and consequently there is no resurrection of the wicked from the dead e. I answer, it is true that corporal death is one part of the punishment of sin, was at first threatened to it by God, and is inflicted on the wicked as the just wages of it. It is true also, that the punishment of sin is perpetual, and is not removed, or taken away from the wicked ; nor is it by the resurrection of the wicked, for their bodies will be raised by the power of God, in such a state and condition, as to bear eternal punishment, which shall be inflicted upon them, and which they shall endure, both in soul and body. It is scarce worthy of notice what is objected by some against an universal resurrection, that the earth will not be sufficient to contain all '. This objec tion may be startling to such who suppose that all men, righteous and wicked, when raised, will be gathered in the valley of Jebojhapbat, and be there judged; for if the whole earth cannot contain them, how should that valley ? If ic could be thought that there is any difficulty in the objection, it might be, in some measure, removed, by observing that whereas the dead in Christ shall rise first, they, with them that shall be found alive, will be caught up together in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and (hall be for ever with him ■, and, R 2 it * Vide. Maccov. Antisocin. 1. 5. c. 3. $. 1. p. 15R. • Vide Maccov. Theolog. Polem. quacst. 3. p. 187. ' This is an objection which is moved by some Jewish writers, particularly by Ahartintl. Vide Pocock. Not. Miscell. in Port. Mosis, c. 6. p. 182. & Maji Synops. Theolog. Jud. loc *,-. $. S. P- 338. ,-

it4 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, it is to be hoped, it may be allowed there will be room enough for them. From the whole, notwithstanding all these objections, it may be strongly con cluded, that there will be a general resurrection of all mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, of all the wicked, and of all the righteous, in all nations. I now proceed, Secondly, To enquire what that is of man which mall be raised from the dead. Man consists of foul and body; it is not the foul, but the body, which is raised ; not the soul, for the foul dies not, and therefore cannot be said to be raised from the dead ; not does it sleep with the body in the grave, and therefore needs no awakening, nor will it be awaked when the body is. 17?, It dies not, and therefore cannot be said to rise from the dead. There were some Christians in Arabia who held that the foul died with the body, and, at the resurrection, revived and returned to its own body6; but it is an im material, immortal substance, which never dies. 1 do not propose to give you an elaborate discourse on this subject, and go through the argument of the soul's immortality ; this would require greater abilities than I am master of, and a larger compass than is allowed me for my subject. I shall just mention two or three things upon this head, in proof of the soul's immortality ; which may be taken, 1. From the nature of the foul itself. It is of the fame nature with angels, who are immaterial and incorporeal spirits, and so not subject to corruption and death b ; they die not : yqa, the soul of man has a likeness to God ; in bears a resemblance of the divine nature. The image of God in man chiefly and principally consists in the soul ; it is of God's immediate creation ; it comes from him, and is the very breath of him. If we consider its several powers and faculties, especially the understanding and will, we may well con clude it to be an immortal and never-dying substance '. The mind or under standing not only apprehends and perceives things corporeal, temporal, and corruptible, but also such things as are immaterial, incorporeal, eternal, and incorruptible; such as angels, yea, God himself, which it could not do, was it not itself an immaterial, incorporeal, and immortal substance. It is capable of considering an endless eternity, though it is easy to observe the difference there is in the mind or understanding of man, with respect to that eternity, which preceded the creation of the world, and that which is to come ; when it considers the former, it is quickly overwhelmed, it flutters and hangs its wing, and * Vide Eof;b. Eccl. Hist. 1 6. c. 37. p. 833. Ed Vales. & Augustin. de Hærcs. c. 83. t,x to ioixerai roT^ a'S«>ar6i{. Aristolcl. de Anima, 1. I. c. z. » Vide Zanchium de operibus Dei, 1. 2. c, 8 quæst. 7. p. 655, &c.

STATED AND DEFENDED. 125 and is obliged to descend ; but when it fixes its thoughts upon the latter, how readily does it apprehend how it shall proceed without end •, and with what pleasure does it roll over millions of ages in it ? The reason of this difference is, because it is not from eternity, and has a beginning, but will continue to eternity, and have no end ? And, besides that large stock of knowledge of various things, which men of the greatest understandings are furnished with, there is a natural arid continued desire of knowing more, which will never be iatisfied in this life; and this was one of the chief arguments Socrates used when in prison, to prove to his scholars the immortality of the foul ; for this desire is not implanted in vain ; the foul therefore must remain after death, when it will arrive to a more perfect knowledge of things. The will has for its object universal good, and especially God who is the chief good, which it desires to enjoy for ever : its actions are free, and cannot be forced by any creature ; no creature has a power over it, to force it or destroy it ; it acts independent of the body ; in willing and nilling, choosing and refusing, it uses no corporeal organ ; yea, when the body is sick^and infirm, and ready to die, the will is then active and vigorous, and shews itself to be so, either by ' a willingness or unwillingness to die •, nay, generally speaking, the more severe the affliction is, and the nearer the approach of death, the more active is the will to be freed from agonies and pains, either by a restoration to health, or by a removal by death; which, shews, that the soul docs not sicken and grow languid, as the body does, nor dies with it. The foul is a pure, unmixed, simple substance" j it is not composed of matter and form; nor is it a ma terial form, educed out of the power of matter, as the souls of brutes, but is altogether spiritual and immaterial; it is not a body made up of the four' elements, sire, water, earth, and air, which is capable of being resolved into them again, as our bodies are ; it has nothing contrary to itself, which can be destructive of it; it is neither hot nor cold, moist or dry, hard or tender: it is not as an accident in a subject, which, when the subject is destroyed, is .destroyed with it; if it haS any subject on which it depends, it must be 'the body ; but it is so far from being dependent on the body, and perishing with it, that, on the contrary, when the soul departs, the body perishes. The soul Jus* Vide Aristofel dc Anima, 1. ,. c. 5. & 1. 2. c. .. & Ciceron. Tusculan. Qt.xst. 1. ,. At vis ilia animx eft cadem pucroque senique Semper, & ipsa oranis per totum didita corpus, iNon anqi^il mixtum, non conerctum ex dementis, Scd puium, Ktcrnum, quodque omni est. tabc (blutum &c. Acinus Pakahus dt Immortal. Amm. I. 2. tin. Pg, £?«. inter ppcift giu, p. 599, Ed Am/Id. U&9&.

i26 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, has no other cause of its being, but God ; on him it depends, and by him it is preserved : he indeed could, if he would, annihilate, or reduce it to nothing ; but since it is evident he will not, we may conclude it is immortal, and will never die. 2. The immortality of the foul may be proved from the law of nature, the religion of mankind, the consciousness of sinful actions, and the fears and terrors of mind arising from thence, and also from the justice of God. The consent of all nations, Cicero fays, is to be reckoned the law of nature ' -, and, according to him, it is the agreement of all nations, that the soul remains after death, and is immortal m. This, in general, may be true, and deserves notice, and is no inconsiderable proof of the soul's immortality ; but it must be owned, that there are many exceptions against it ; some even of the philo sophers denied it, and others who gave into it, spoke very doubtfully and confusedly of it, and delivered their sentiments about it, to use the words of Minutius Felix, corrupta & dimidiata fide, with a corrupt and divided faith, as though they did but half believe it n. The immortality of the soul, is, no doubt, discoverable by tKe light of nature, and was originally the belief of men ; but as this light became dim by sin, and as men departed from the true religion, and went farther off from the professors of it, so they became vainer in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkned, and lost not only the knowledge of this, but many other truths. Thales the Milesian is said to be the first who taught it0; though others fay, that Pberecydes the Scyrian was the first who asserted it p. Some ascribe it to the Chaldeans and Indian Mags, and others to the Egyp tians r, as the first authors of it, who, perhaps, received it from the posterity of Abraham the Chaldean, who dwelt among them. However, it is certain, that there is in man a natural desire after immor tality, which is not in any but immortal creatures •, as it is also natural to him to be religious, hence some have chose rather to define man a religious than a rational animal: all nations profess some religion, and keep up some kind of relio-ious worship •, the most blind and ignorant, barbarous and savage, are not without it. Now to what purpose is their religion ? and why do they worship a deity, 1 Omni autem in re consensio omnium gentium lex naturae putanda est. Ciceron. Tusculan. Quæst. l,i. "> Sed ut Deos esse natura opinamur, qualesque sint ratione cognoscimus: sic permanere animos arbitramur consensu nationum omnium : qua in sede maneant, qualesque sint ratione discendum ed. Ibid. n Oaav. p. 37. 0 Vide Diogen. Laert. 1. 1 . in vita Thalis. r Cicero in Tuscul. Quæst. 1. i. •i Pau<anias in Mestenicis, p. 277. Ed. Hanov. ' Herodot. 1. 2. c. 123. p. 135- Ed. Gronov.

STATED AND DEFENDED. 1*7 a deity, if there is no future state? If the soul remains not after death, but at death perishes with the body,, they need not be solicitous about the worship of God, and the performance of religious exercises, but fay, let us eat and drink> for to-morrow we shall die ; nor to be diligent in the exercise of virtue, or be concerned at the commission of sin. But, on the other hand, it is evi dent that there is a consciousness of sin in men, or there is in men a conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing, or else excusing one another. There are dreadful horrors, terrors, and stings of conscience, which'' wicked men are, at times, attended with ; they are seized with such dread and trembling, with such panick fears, they cannot get rid of. If these, as some fay, were the effects of education, it is strange that they should be so general • and extensive as they are, and more strange that none have been able to shake them off entirely ; and stranger still, that those who have run the greatest lengths in infidelity and atheism, fliould not be able to free themselves from them. Hobbs, that bold advocate for infidelity, who endeavoured to harden 1 himself, and others, in the disbelief of a future state, would be very uneasy, if, at any time, he was alone in the dark. These things not only shew that there is a divine being, to whom men are accountable for their actions, but that there is a future state after death, in which men shall live, either in happiness or misery. And, indeed, this is necessary from the justice of God, who is the judge of all the earth, and will do right, in regarding the good,' and punishing the wicked : it is easy to observe, that, in this life, good men are afflicted, and the wicked prosper •, and there are innumerable instances of this kind ; the veracity, justice, and faithfulness of God are not so manifestly seen in bestowing favours and blessings upon good men, according to his pro mises, and in punishing wicked men according to his threatnings ; it seems reasonable then to suppose that the souls of men arc immortal, that their bodies shall be raised from the dead, and that there will be a future state, in which good men shall be happy, and wicked men miserable. 3. The soul's immortality may be proved from the scriptures, which expressly declare that the body may be killed, the soul cannot*; and that when the dust fliall return to the earth, as it was, the spirit mall return to God that gave it. It may be concluded, from all those scriptures ' which speak of an everlasting covenant, which God has made with his people : for God is not the God of the dead, but of the living ; and from all the promises of everlasting life, he has made unto them ; as also from the account it gives of the eager desire of the saints after future happiness", and of their assurance of enjoying • Matt. x. 28. Eccl. xii. 7. « Isa., Iv. 3. Matt. xxii. 32. John vi. 4c, 47. " Phil i. 23. 2 Cor. v. 6, 8.

i-.S THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, enjoying it upon their dissolution, as well as from their particular commenda tions of their fouls", or spirits, into the hands of God at death, recorded in these writings. And, to add no more, we may be fully satisfied, by the sacred oracles, that the souls of men, immediately upon the dissolution of their bodies, enter upon a state cither of happiness or misery xj all which prove the permanency of the soul afeer death, its separate existence, its future state or condition, either of pleasure or pain. From the whole it follows, that if the foul dies not, it cannot be said to be raised from the dead, or be the subject of resurrectron. 2cfly, The soul sleeps not with the body until the resurrection, and therefore needs no awaking, and cannot be said to be raised or awaked, when the body is. The Sociniansy, and some of the Armimam fay, that the soul after death is . in a deep sleep, is insensible of happiness or misery, and destitute of all sense and operation.. For the confutation of which sleepy notion, let the following things be considered : 1. That steep belongs to the body, and not to the soul z. Sleep is a binding up of the external fenses, or a cessation of them from operation, the vapours filling the nerves and fensorii meatus, and so hindering the influx of the animal spirits. The immediate cause of it is thought to be the rest or immoveablenefs of the animal spirits in the ventricles of the brain : but what is all this to the soul, which is an immaterial and incorporeal substance, and has none of these things, as nerves, animal spirits, fensorii meatus, or ventricles as the brain ? therefore steep cannot belong to it, it has no place in it, nor can it be predicated of it. 2. When the body is asleep, the soul is awake and active, as is evident in abundance of instances from dreams and visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon man, the soul understands and perceives, devises and con trives, reasons and discourses, chooses and refuses, grieves and rejoices, hopes and fears, lores and hates, and the like \ Of like nature are exstacies and raptures, w Psalm xlix. ij. Acts vii. ;g. Luke xxiii. 46. x Luke xvi. 22, 23. Rev. vi. g. 1 Pet. iii. ig. T Vide Maccov. Antisocin. 1. 5. c. z. Calov. Socinism. Profligat. \. 10. art. I. quarst. 3. p. 103:), &c. Pcltii Harmon. Remonstrant. & Socin. art. 22. paragr. 2. p. 258. * Artius dicam, ne in somnum quidem cadit anima cum coiporc, ne turn quidem sternitur cum carnc. Elcnim agitatur in lomnis & jactitatur, quiesecret autem si jaceret j & jaceret si caderct. Ita nee in veritatem mortis cadit, qux nec in imaginem cjus ruit. Tertullian. de Resurrect, c. 18. p. 351 , 3g2. Ed Rigalt. Quid ergo sict in temnore isto ? dormiemus ? atenim animæ nec in viventibus dormiunt. Corporum cnim est somnus, quorum 8c ipsa mors cum speculo suo somno. Ibid, de Anima, c. 58. p. 356. * V.nor,crcrri St iVt iystTi{o» pit, tu di^^uirUu SauxTw tSSit if" iVrS. i) « t» atB^uirs H'l^il toti ir,vH SiioTaTD xaTapawsTai, xai Ton Ti ni /*i*VjiTa>v wjocja' Ton yap, w; lOiMI, ft«?virai?iii>vi£BTai. Cyrus apud Xenophon. de Cyri Instilutione, 1. 8. c. 47.

STATED AND DEFENDED. 129 raptures, when the body lies as it were, dead, senseless, and void of motion : such was the apostle's cafe, when he fays, he knew not whether he was in the body or out of the body, and yet his foul was capable of receiving divine things, of seeing such sights, and hearing such words which was neither lawful nor possible for him to express \ 3. The foul being freed from the body, must be more active than when in ir, especially as it is corrupted with sin, whereby it becomes a clog and an incumbrance to it, and a weight about it ; so that it cannot, as it would, perform spiritual duties, The spirit is willing, but the flejh is weak ; but now when it is freed from the body, and joined to the spirit of just men made perfect, it must be more capable of serving God with spiritual joy and pleasure. 4. The soul separate from the body is most like to the angels, and its state, condition and employment, much resemble theirs ; now nothing is more foreign to angels than sleep and inactivity, who always behold the face of God, stand ready to do his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his word ; and no sooner do they receive orders from him, but they do his plea sure -, they are continually before the throne of God, praising his name, cele brating the divine perfections, and rest not night and day, faying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 5. If the fouls of believers were, after death, to remain in a state of insensibility and inactivity, then the case of departed saints would be much worse than that of the living ; for though the saints are now disturbed with a wicked and unbelieving heart, afflicted with Satan's temptations, and exercised with a variety of sorrows, yet at times they have communion with God through Christ, the discoveries of his love to their fouls, the light of his countenance, and the comforts of his spirit ; they have the word and ordinances to refresh and support them, are employed in the exercise of grace and discharge of duty ; all which is both edifying and delightful to them, and which saints departed are deprived of, if this is their cafe, that their fouls sleep with. their bodies until the resurrection. If this be true, it would have been much better for the apostle Paul, and I am sure, more to the advantage of the churches of Christ, if he had continued upon earth to this day, than to be sleeping in his grave, senseless and unactive. Certainly this great man knew nothing of this when he said, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain : but if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour ; yet what I shall choose I wot not. For! am in a straight between two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Chist, which is Vol. III. S far * 2 Cor, xii. 4, 5.

1 3o THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, far better : nevertheless to abide in the flejh is more needful for you c. Had the apostle known that he must have remained in a state of inactivity and uselessness, deprived of the communion of Christ and his church, it would have been no difficulty with him to determine which was most eligible, to live or die • nor can it be imagined, that the desires of any of the saints would be so strong after a dissolution, as they sometimes are, when they fay, we are willing rather to be absent from the body ", if they did not believe that they mould be immediately present with the Lord. This notion then makes the condition of saints departed worse than that of the living ; whereas the wife man fays, / praised the dead, which are already dead, mere than the living, which are yet alive ' • the reason is, because blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth ; yea, faith the spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them{. As soon as dead they enter upon a state of happiness and joy, and are employed in praising God, and singing the Lamb's new song. 6. This notion is contrary to many places of scripture, which assure us, that the soul after death returns to God that gave it, has an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens, into which it is received, when dislodged from the earthly house of its tabernacle, where it is present with the Lord, enjoying uninterrupted communion with him, in whose presence is fulness of joy, and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore g. This was what Christ pro mised the thief upon the crose, when he said unto him, This day thou shalt bewith me in paradise1'; which would not have been true, if his soul flept with his body until the resurrection. The apostle John says, that he saw under the altar the souls of them that were stain for God, and for the testimony which they held1 ; and we may be assured that these souls were not asleep, for of them he says, And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou notjudge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? The advocates for soul-fleeping, make use of several passages of scripture • to support their opinion"; particularly such as speak of persons deeping when they die, of which there are many instances '. This is a way of speaking which was much used in the Eastern countries, and is expressive of the death of the body, and its lying in the grave, because sleep is the image of death ; so to steep with the fathers, is to die as they did, and be buried where they were ; * Phil. i„ ii—24. * 2 Cor. v. 8. • Eecl. iv. 2. ' Rev. xiv. 13. * Ecd. xii. 7. 2 Cor. v. 1, 3. h Luke xxiii. 43. ' Rev. vi. 9, 10. * Vide Zahchium dc operibus Dei, 1. 2. c. 8, p. 674, &c. » a Sam. vii. 12. 1 Kings i. 21. Job vii. 21. Dan. xii. 2. 1 Cor. xv. 18. 1 Thess. iv. 14. John xi. 11, 12. 1 Cor. xv. 51.

STATED AND DEFENDED. 131 were ; and to steep in the dust, or in the dust of the earth, or in the grave, is to die, be buried, and lie there; which can be understood of the body only, and not of the foul. When we read of any who sell asteep in Jesus, or that steep in Jesus, the meaning is, that they died in the Lord : when Christ said, Our friend Lazarus steepeth, he meant, that he was dead ; and when the apostle Paul fays, We stjall net all steep, he designs nothing else than that we shall not all die, for those who are alive at Christ's coming will be changed. If this mode of expression, and the scriptural instances of it, prove any thing in this controversy, they prove too much •, for if they prove that the soul sleeps with the body, they prove that the foul dies with it, since by sleep is meant no other than death. Again, they urge all those scriptures in favour of their notion, which repre sent the happiness of the saints, and the misery of the wicked, as not taking place until the last day, the end of the world, the resurrection of the just, and the day of judgment, when the wicked shall go into everlasting punishment, and the righteous into life eternal m •, and therefore, during that time, their fouls must be asleep. To which it may be replied, that there is a twofold state of the righteous and the wicked, after death, respecting their happi ness and misery ; the one is inchoate, or but begun j the other is full, con summate, and perfect. Now it is of the latter that these scriptures speak, but not of the former •, and it is allowed that the righteous will not be in the full possession of glory until the last day, when their bodies will be raised and united to their souls, and both together enter into the full joy of their Lord j nor will the wicked receive the full measure of their punishment, until the judgment is over, when both foul and body shall be cast into hell : but then immediately upon death they both enter on a state of happiness or misery ; the righteous as soon as they are absent from the body, are present with the Lord i and the wicked are no sooner dead, but in hell they lift up their eyes. Again, they endeavour to improve all those scriptures to their advantage, which describe men, after death, as incapable of praising God " ; such as these ; What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit ? Jhall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee ? Selah. Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave ? or thy faithfulness in destruction ? Jhall thy wonders be known in the dark ? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness ? The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down intosilence ; for the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot s x ctlebratt ■ Matt. xiii. 40,41, 49, 50. andxxv. 46. Luke xiv. 14. 2'Tim. W. 8. ■ Psalm xxx. 9. and lxxxviii. jo— 12, and cxv. 17, j8. Isa. xxxviii. 18.

i32 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, celebrate thee: they that go down into the ft, cannot hope for thy truth. From which it is inferred, that if the fouls of the saints, after death, are not em ployed in praising God, they must be asleep, or be destitute of fense and operation •, for what work else can they be employed in ? To this it may be answered, that though the saints, whilst their bodies are in theic graves, and before the resurrection, do not, and cannot praise God in and with their bodies, of which only these scriptures can be supposed to speak. ; since nothing but the body goes down into the pit, or is laid in the grave •, yet their fouls do and may praise God, in like manner as the angels do ; with whom, in the book of Revelation, they are sometimes joined and represented as with them, glorifying God, praising his name, singing hallelujahs, and ascribing salvation to him that s:ts upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever0. Like wise, though the saints, after death, do not praise God before men, and in the midst of his church militant, as they did in the land of the living, to which these passages of scripture refer ; yet they may, and do, praise him before the angels, and in the midst of the church triumphant; so that from hence, there is no reason to conclude, that the souls of believers, after death, till the resurrection, are in a state of inactivity, or sleep with their bodies ; there fore seeing the souls sleep not, it is not what will be awaked to the resurrection, or be the subject of it. I go on To prove, that it is the body which dies, that shall be raised. This is not annihilated, or reduced to nothing by death ; it is not a new, airy, etherial, or celestial body, which shall be united to the soul at the resurrection, but it will be the same numerical body, which dies, that shall be raised again ; all which, I hope, to make appear in the following part of my discourse. ist, The body is not annihilated, or reduced to nothing by death. This is asserted by Socinus p, and his followers, but is contrary both to reason and scripture. The body is not made out of nothing, nor will it be reduced to nothing ; it consists of the four elements, and will be resolved into the same} and though it may, after death, pass under many changes and altera tions, yet the matter and substance will always remain in some form, and in some place or another. Death is a separation or disunion of soul and body, but not an annihilation of either ; by death the wliole composition is dissolved, but neither part of it is reduced to nothing •, the dust, or the body, which is of the dust, returns to the earth, as it was, and the soul, or spirit, to God that gave it. . Death is sometimes expressed by returning to the dust •, but to return to the dust, and to be reduced to nothing, are two different things, unless ° Rev. v. 1 1 — 13. an<J vii. 9— 1 7, t Vide C*1qv. Socinisea. ProBigat. $, to. art. 1, Controv. 1. p. 1017.

STATED AND DEFENDED. tyy unless it can be thought that dust is nothing. It is sometimes signified by seeing corruption, but corruption is one thing, and annihilation another ; corruption supposes the thing in being, which is corrupted, annihilation takes away the being of it ; notwithstanding corruption, the matter and substance may remain, though the form and quality may be altered, but annihilation leaves nothing. Death is sometimes figuratively expressed by sowing seed in the earth, and its rotting and corrupting there, by pulling down a house, and putting off a tabernacle. Now though the seed sown in the earth dies, cor rupts, and rots, yet it is not reduced to nothing ; it neither loses its being, . nor its nature, but in due time being quickened, buds and puts forth its seminal virtue ; an house may be pulled down, and a tabernacle unpined, and the several parts be separated one from another, and yet the matter and substance of them all remain and continue. If the body is annihilated by death, Christ will lose that, which is a part of his purchase, and what is united to him, and the Spirit his dwelling place ; for Christ has bought the bodies of Iris people, as well as their fouls ; and which, with their fouls, are the members of him ; and in which the Spirit of God dwells, as in his temple. Besides, if the body was reduced to nothing by death, the resurrection of the body would not be properly a resurrection, but a creation of a new body -, and, indeed, this notion of annihilation is designed to make way for the in troducing of that j the truth of which, I shall presently examine. As for those scriptures, which speak of the dead as though they were not ; as when Rachel is represented weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because thty were not 9 ; the meaning is not, that they no where existed, had no being, or were reduced to nothing. But they were not in the land of the living, existing among men, and conversing with them-, feeing it is said of Enoch ', that he was not, for God took him ; though he was not on earth, yet he was in heaven with God-, his body was not annihilated, but he was taken up foul and body to heaven. When the apostle fays, meats for the belly, and the belly for meats, but God shall destroy both it and them ; he does not design a destruction of the substance of the body, or any part of it, as the belly -, but respects the use of it, which shall be no more employed in re ceiving meats, to supply the natural wants of the body j though it will be neceflary in the resurrection, as a constituent part of the body, and for the beauty of it. idly, It is not a new, aerial, celestial body, or a spiritual body, as to nature and substance, which shall be united to the soul at the resurrection. It is allowed < * Jer. xxxi. 15. ' Gen. v. 24. .

134 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, allowed that the body will be different from what it now is, as to the qualities of it, but not as to its substance ; when the apostle compares the body to feed sown in the earth, which is not quickened, except it die * ; and fays of it, And that wbicb thou fowest, tbou soweft not that body that /hall be, but bare grain', it may chance of wheat, w of some other grain : but God giveth it a body, as it hath pleased him, and to every feed bis own body. He does not design a sub stantial difference between the body, which is laid in the grave, and that which is raised, but only a difference of qualities, as is between the feed, which is sown in the earth, and the plant, which springs from it, which two differ not in their specific nature, but in some circumstances and accidents. That this is the apostle's meaning, is evident, when he fays, it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption ; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory ; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power". The body of Christ is compared to a grain of wheat, which is cast into the earth, and dies, and then springs up, and brings forth fruit x ; and yet it was not a spiritual body, as to substance, but a body consisting of flelh and bones, even the fame he had before his death, and such will the bodies of the saints be after the resurrection. The apostle, indeed, says that the body, which is sown a natural body, will be raised a spiritual one ' ; but by a spiritual body, he does not mean, that the body will be changed into a spirit, and lose its former nature and substance, but that it will be now subject and subservient to the spirit or soul : it will be employed in spiritual service, and be delighted with spiritual objects, and will not be supported in a natural way, and by natural helps and means ; such as meat, drink, cloaths, fleep, and the like, but will live in the manner that angels do. Hence the children of the resurrection are said to be like unto angels. Again, when the apostle fays that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption * ; he does not design the human body, simply considered, but as attended with sin and corruption, or with frailty and mortality •, for flesh and blood, neither as sinful, nor as mortal, shall enjoy the heavenly state •, therefore, in order to that, this corruptible must put on in corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. If it should be a new, aerial, celestial, or spiritual body, different in substance from what the body now is, which (hall be united to the foul, it would not be a resurrection but a creation ; besides, • i Cor. xv. 37, 38. * r«if*»« x«xor, naked grain, the fame with flOW J-IBs! in T. Bab. Sanhedrim, sol. 90. 2. where the resurrection os the just is represented by naked wheat buried in the earth, which springs up again with many cloathings. It seems probable, that it was usual with the Jews to express the doctrine of the resurrection by this metaphor, since both Christ, and the apostle Paul make use os it. « 1 Cor. xv. 42, 43. « John xii. 24. 1 1 Cor. xv. 44. * Ver. 50.

STATED AND DEFENDED. 135 besides, it is not consistent with the justice of God, that new bodies should be created, and which having never sinned, as those must be supposed to be, which are of God's immediate creation, be united to the fouls of the wicked, and be everlastingly punished with them. Nor can they be said to be truly human bodies, which are without flesh, blood and bones ; nor can they be said to be properly men who are incorpoieal; and indeed, the same persons that have finned, cannot be said to be punished, nor the fame persons, who are redeemed, be glorified, unless the fame body be raised ; which I shall, idly, Endeavour to prove. Job k fully expresses his faith in this doctrine, when he fays, though after my Jkin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh Jhall I ' fee God •, whom I Jhall fee for myself and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within mt. He believed that the fame body, which should be destroyed by worms, should be raised again, in which he should see God, and behold him with the self-same eyes of his body he then had, and not with the eyes of another, or of a stranger j and this he firmly believed, though his body would be destroyed by worms, and his reins be consumed within him. The apostle Paul strongly asserts this truth, when he fays, this mortal, this and not another, pointing to his own mortal body, must put on im mortalityv and this corruptible must put on incorruption : so when this corruptionshall have put on incorruption, and this ■mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the faying, which is written, Death is swallowed up in victory b ; which would not be true, if another, and not the fame body, was raised from the dead. Again, in another place, he says that Christ will change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body c : but if the fame body, it will not be our vile body, but another, which will be changed, and fashioned like to Christ's body : for the further confirmation of this truth, let the following things be observed : 1. The signification of the word resurrection *. This properly signifies a raising up that which is fallen ; the fame body which fell by death, is raised ' by the power of God : this is the proper fense of the word, and the just mean ing of it in this article, nor can it have any other j for if the fame body i9 not raised, which fell, but another is given, it will not be a resurrection, but a creation. 2. The resurrection of the body is expressed by such figurative and meta phorical phrases, which manifestly shew that it will be the;same body, which which » Job xix. 26, ij. b 1 Cor. xv. 53, 54. « Phil. iii. 21. * Sic & resurrectionis vocabulum non aliam rem vindicat, quam qua: cecidit. Surgere enim potest dici & quod omnino non cecidit, quod semper retro jacuit. Resurgere autcm non sst, nisi ejus quod cecidit. Tcrtullian. adv. Marcion. 1. 5. c. 9. p. 592. Vid. Idem de resurcectione carnii, c. 18. p. 391,

tj6 THE DOCTTUNE OF THE RESURRECTION, will be raised, that dies -, as when it is expressed by the quickening of seed, which is sown in the earth, and by an awaking out of sleep. Now as it is the fame feed that is sown in the earth, and dies, that springs up, and shews itself in stalk, blade, and ear ; the same I say, as to nature and substance -, for wheat produces wheat, and not any other grain, though with some additional beauty, verdure and greenness ; it loses nothing that it had, though it grows with that it had not before ; so the fame body that dies, is quickened and raised, though with additional glories and excellencies ; the very fame it that is sown in cor ruption^ is raised in incorruption ; the fame it that is sown in dishonour, is raised in glory ; the fame it that is sown in weakness, is raised in power ; the fame it that is sown a natural body, is raised a spiritual body ; or else there is no mean ing in the apostle's words. Likewise as death is compared to a sleep, so the resurrection is expressed by an awaking out of it. Now, as it is the fame body that sleeps, that is awaked out of it, so it is the fame body that falls asleep by death, that will be awaked in the resurrection. 3. The places from whence the dead will be raised, and which will be sum moned to deliver them up, and out of which they will come, deserve our notice. Our Lord says, All that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth'. Every one that reads those words, will easily conceive that the meaning of our Lord is, that the fame bodies, which are in the graves, shall come forth out of them. If other bodies should be produced by God from other matter, and united to souls, they cannot, with truth, be said to come forth from the graves : none but the fame bodies, which are there laid, can be supposed to come forth from thence at the resurrection. It is a very trifling objection made to this doctrine, by a late writer r, that the word bodies is not used in the text. What of men is laid in the graves, but their- bodies ? And what can be expected to come from thence but their bodies ? And what but the fame bodies? It is a very filly question that is put by the fame writer, when he asks, " Would a well-meaning searcher of the scriptures, be apt to " think, that if the thing here intended by our Saviour, were to teach it, " and propose it, as an article of faith, necessary to be believed by every one, «c that the very same bodies of the dead sliould be raised ; would not, I fay, »c any one be apt to think, that if our Saviour meant so, the words should " rather have been *»™ *• '«(«™ * l> Tor{ pnjuUtf, that is, all the bodies that " are in the graves ; rather than all who are in the graves ; which must denote '* persons, and not precisely bodies?" To which 1 reply, that supposing it our Lord's design, as I verily believe it was, to express this article of our faith, that ■' John v. a8, 29. r Locke's Essay on Human Understanding, vol 1. p. 3*5. Edit. 6th.

STATED AND DEFENDED. i37 that the same bodies of the dead {hall be raised, there was no need that the word bodies should be expressed <, it was enough to fay, that all that are in the. graves shall come forth j and every well-meaning searcher of the scriptures will be easily induced to think, that our Lord designs, that the fame bodies of men that are laid in the graves, shall come forth ; nor is any thing more usual, in common speech, than to denominate men sometimes from one part, and sometimes from another, as when we fay, they are mortal, or wife or foolish. Again, we are told, in the sacred writings, that the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them 8. Now if the grave and sea, at the awful summons, shall deliver up the dead, which are in them, they must deliver the very same which are laid in them ; for what else can such expressions design ? 4. The subject of the resurrection is the body, and that such as it is in this life, vile and mortal. Christ will change our vile body, and fashion it like to his glorious body ; and he that raised up Christ from the dead, shall quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit, that dwellctb in you1". These bodies must be the fame we carry about with us ; for what else can be called vile and mortal ? Surely not bodies a-new created, which are said to be spiritual and celestial, and which never sinned, and so not subject to mortality. This also destroys an observa tion of a writer of great note ', that the word <™p*rx, bodies, is not used through the New Testament, when mention is made of the resurrection of the dead ; his words are these: ** He who reads with attention this discourse of St Paul's* " (meaning 1 Cor. xv.) where he discourses of the resurrection, will see, that " he plainly distinguishes between the dead that shall be raised, and the bodies " of the dead ; for it is, »i*joi, warn?, •>, are the nominative cases to, twenrxi, « guoiroiiiQnffcnrui, iyifSwo»T«i, all along and not <t«^*t<», bodies ; which one may, " with reason think, would somewhere or other be expressed, if all this had ** been to propose it as an article of faith, that the very fame bodies shall be " raised. The same manner of speaking, the Spirit of God observes, all " through the New Testament, where it is said, raise the dead, quicken or " make alive the dead, the resurrection of the dead." Now, not to take notice of the dead bodies of the saints, who were raised after the resurrection of Christ, of whom it is said, And many bodies of the saints which slept arose*. The observation will appear to be wrong, if we consider the passages now mentioned, where Christ is said to change'™ oop* rx, tob'mmmwc vjj.u>, our vile body, or the body of our humility : which belongs to, and is expressive of the Vol. III. T resurrection « Rev. xx. 13. * Phil. iii. 21. Rom. viii. 11. ' Locke, ibid. k Matt, xxvii. 52. * Phil. iii. 21. Rom. viii. 11.

138 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, resurrection of the dead •, and jwhere God is said to quicken, *■<* Suit* cupam «,*«»», your mortal bodies : besides in the discourse of the apostle Paul concerning the resurrection, in i Cor. xv. a question is asked, How are the dead raised? and wo{« a»Vn, with what body do they comem ? And an answer is given, it is sown a natural body, and it is raised, <™/*» «»i»f*«T.«o», a spiritual body. Besides, how can the apostle plainly distinguish, as this author fays he does in this discourse, between the dead that shall be raised, and the bodies of the dead, if the bodies of the dead all along are not mentioned ? 5. The instances of resurrections that are already past, prove that it will be the fame body, which will be raised at the general resurrection. The saints which arose at the resurrection of Christ, rose with the same bodies which were laid in the graves ; for it is said, that the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept, arose. Our Lord Jesus Christ arose from the dead with the fame body which hung upon the cross, and was laid in the grave as is evident, from the print of the nails in his hands and feet j nor was it an aerial or spiritual body, as to its substance ; for it consisted of flesh and bones which a spirit does not, and might be felt and handled. Now Christ's resurrection was an exemplar of the saints, their bodies shall be changed, and fashioned like unto his glorious body. Enoch and Elijah were translated into heaven, in the very same bodies they had when here on earth ; and those which will be alive at Christ's second coming, will be changed, and caught up in the very same bodies in which they will be found, to meet the Lord in the' air, and so shall be for ever with him. Now is it reasonable to suppose, that our Lord, who partook of the same flesh and blood with the children of God, should be raised and glorified in the same body, and not they in their same bodies, for whose fake he assumed his ; or that some of the saints should have the same bodies they had whilst here, and others not ? 6. If the fame body is not raised, how will the end of the resurrection be answered, which is the glorifying of God's grace in the salvation of his peo ple, and of his justice in the damnation of the wicked ? Hence the one is said' to come forth to the resurrection of life, and the other to the resurrection of damnation : How shall every one receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad, if the fame bodies are not raised, who have done good or evil ? Where would be the justice of God, if other bodies, and not those which Christ has purchased with his blood, the Spirit hath sanctified by his grace, and which have suffered for the name of Christ, should be glorified-, as also if other bodies, and not those which have sinned against God, blasphemed the name of Christ, and have persecuted his m 1 Cor. xv. 35, 44.

STATED AND DEFENDED. i39 his faints, should suffer eternal vengeance, and be punished with everlastino- de struction from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power ? Where would be the veracity of God, either in his promises or threatnings, if the wood things he has promised, are not bestowed upon the same persons to whom he has promised them, and if the punishment he has threatened is not inflicted on the fame persons to whom he has threatened it ? For how they can be the fame persons, without having the fame bodies, I do not understand. Besides, what a disappointment will it be to the saints, who are waiting for the adop tion, namely, the redemption of their body, from all weakness and corruption, if not that, but another body, (hall be given them, and be united to their fouls, and be glorified with them ? In fine, if the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, which the scriptures of the Old and New Testament hold forth, does not intend the resurrection of the same body ; it is no other, nor better than a transmigration of souls into other bodies, which was the old Pythagorean notion. It is a low and mean quibble, that a man has not the fame body at one time as at another, because he may be taller or bigger, fatter or leaner, at one time, that at another. It is true, that the body has not always the fame fleeting particles, which are continually changing and altering, but it has always the fame constituent parts ; so that a man may be always said to have the fame body, and to be the same man : it is the fame body that is born that dies, and the fame that dies that shall rise again. The several alterations and changes it undergoes, with respect to tallness or largeness, fatness or leanness, do not destroy the identity of the body. If this quibble would hold good in theo logical controversies, and in philosophical disputes, it might also in political affairs; and so one that owes another a sum of money, and has given his note or bond for it, after a term of time, may deny that he owes the other any thing, or that he ever borrowed any thing of him, and that that is his hand-writing, since he has not the fame body he had before. A murderer taken up some years after the murder is committed, may plead he is not the fame man, and that it was not done with the fame hands he has now, and therefore, injustice, ought not to suffer. And the same may be observed in ten thousand other instances, whereby confusion must be introduced into commonwealths, and justice and order everted in governments. This observation may be sufficient to stop the mouths of such impertinent cavillers, who are ready to ask such questions as these: whether the body, at the resurrection, will have all the individual particles of matter it ever had ? or whether it will be raised, as when it was at such an age, or in such a plight ? or as it was emaciated by t 2 distempers,

i4o THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, distempers, or as laid in the grave ? It is enough that it will have the con stituent parts it ever had, which is sufficient to support the identity of it. I shall now proceed, IV. To consider the particular concern which God the Father, Son, and Spirit have in this stupendous work. It is a work that a creature is unequal to, and incapable of. It is always ascribed to God ; it is God that raises and quickens the dead. If it was ever referred to a creature, it mi»ht be well judged incredible ; but it need not be thought incredible that God should raise the dead. Now as all God's works, ad extra, are common to all the three persons ; and this being such an one, they are all three concerned in it. And, i. God the Father is concerned herein. The resurrection of Christ is fre quently attributed to him, and so is the resurrection of the saints, and are sometimes mentioned together •, the former as the pledge and earnest of the latter, as faith the apostle, And God hatb both raised up the Lord, and -will also raise up us by bis own power n ; that is, God the Father has raised up the Lord Jesus, and we may be assured that he will also raise up us ; since as he is able to raise the one, he is able to raise the other, and that by his own absolute, original, and underived power, which assurance of faith, in the doctrine of" the resurrection, the apostle expresses in another place in stronger terms, We. having the fame spirit os faith, according as it is written, I believe, and therefore have I spoken ; we also believe, and therefore speak, knowing that be which raised' up the Lord Jesus, shall raise us up also by Jesus, and shall present us with you • ; where also the resurrection of the saints is ascribed to God the Father, who is manifestly distinguished from the Lord Jesus, whom he raised up, and by whom he will raise up the saints ; not that Christ is the Father's instrument or medium of operation, by which he will raise the dead ; for, 2. Christ, as God, being equal with the Father, is a coefficient cause of the resurrection ; as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, evenJo the Son quickenetb whom he will9. He is the resurrection and the life, that is, the author of the resurrection unto life ; he is the prince of life, has the keys of hell and death in his hands, and can open the grave at his pleasure, and call forth the dead •, at whose all-powerful and commanding voice, all that are in the graves shall come forth ; which will be a further proof of his omnipotence and omniscience : this will shew that he is the Almighty, since he can change cur vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto bis glorious body, according to the working, whereby he is able even to subdue all things to himself'1 ; and that he knows » i Cor. vi. 14. • 2 Cor. iv. 14. » John v. aa. « Phil. iii. 2-1.

STATED AND DEFENDED. Ui knows all things, and is that living Word, before whom every creature is made manifest, and all things are naked and open v for if he was not omni scient, he could not know where every particle of matter is lodged ■, and if he was not omnipotent, he could not collect them, range them in their proper places, and unite them together. That he is equal to this work, we may conclude from the resurrection of his own body ; he had power to lay down his life, and take it up again: he raised up the temple of his body, after it had been destroyed three days, and ib was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to thespirit os holiness, by the resurreSlion from the dead7. As he is the Mediator, he is the meritorious and procuring cause of the resurrection ; there is an influential virtue in his resurrection, not only on the justification and regeneration of his people, but also upon their resurrection from the dead. He is the first-fruits of them that flept, the pledge and earnest of the saints resurrection •, they are in a sense risen with him, and shall certainly be raised by him, by virtue of their union to him, as their risen Lord. As man, his resurrection is the pattern and exemplar of the saints, their bodies shall be like to his ; as his body was raised incorruptible and immortal, powerful and glo rious, so shall theirs, in such manner as never to die more, or fee corruption, or be attended with distempers and death. 3. God the holy Ghost has a joint and equal concern with the Father and the Son in this amazing work. The resurrection of Christ is the act of all the three persons : the Father glorified his Son by raising him from the dead ; he raised him from the dead, and gave him glory. Christ of himself took up the life which he had laid down-, and though he was put to death in the flesh, yet was quickened by the Spirit ' ; so the resurrection of the saints from the dead will be the act of all the three persons, not only of the Father and the Son, but also of the Spirit * j for if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelletb in you. The bodies, as well as the souls of the saints, are united to Christ, by virtue of which union the Spirit of Christ dwells in them-, not in their souls only, but in their bodies also"; What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you? Now as the union between Christ and his people is not dissolved by death, so neither does the Spirit of God forsake the dead bodies of the saints, or neglect to take care of them ; the dust of the saints is under his peculiar care and guardianship, and, at the last day, the spirit of life from God shall enter into them, and they shall, live and stand upon their feet. Thus all the three divine persons, Father,. Son, and Spirit, will be concerned in the resurrection of the just. The ' Rom. i, 4. • 1 Pet. i. 20. and iii. 18. J Rom. viii. it, "• 1 Cor. vi. 19..

i42 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, The means by which God will do this great work, and the time when he will do it, the scriptures are not altogether silent about. As to the means, we are told, that all that are in the graves Jhall bear bis (that is, Christ's) voice, and Jhall come forth ; that the Lord himself Jhall descend from heaven with astjout, •with the voice of an archangel, and with the trump of Cod, and the dead in Christ shall rife " : And that the trumpet Jhall sound, and the deadstall be raised incor ruptible ' ■, but whether by the voice of Christ, and the archangel, the stiout, and the trumpet of God, we are to understand so many distinct things, or one and the fame thing, is not easy to determine. The voice of the archano-e], who shall descend with Christ, may be called the voice of Christ, because formed at his command ; the fame may be signified by the trumpet of God, which shall be sounded, and that may be signified by the stiout which shall be made, either by the archangel alone, or by all the angels with him ; and this shout no other than some violent claps of thunder, which are the voice of God T ; like those which were heard when God descended on mount Sinai, and gave the law from thence, which perhaps were formed by the ministry of angels : and this the apostle Peter may design, when he fays, The heavens Jhall pass away with a great noise, and the elements Jhall melt with fervent beat z ■, or, by the voice of Christ, may be meant an audible and articulate voice of his, so powerful, as to reach all that are in their graves •, such as that was which was heard at the grave of Lazarus, where be cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth : or as that which Saul heard from heaven, saying, Saul, Saul, why persecuteft thou me? or as John heard, which he fays, was as the voice of many waters ; or perhaps, the voice of Christ may design the power of Christ, which shall be exerted upon, and shall be felt and perceived by all that are in their graves, when the archangel shall sound the last trumpet, attended with the stiout of all the rest of the angelic host. , As for the time when the dead shall be raised, it cannot be exactly fixed, nor does it become us curiously to enquire into it : it is not for us to know the times and the seasons which the Father hath put in bis own power1. As no man knowssiihe day and hour of judgment, so no man knows the day when the dead will be raised. In general, it is said that it will be in the last day, and at w John v. 28, 29. 1 Thess. iv. 16. t Cor. xv. 52. * The Jews have a notion that a trumpet (hall be blown at the time of the resurrection, as was at the giving of the law, which shall quicken the dead. Vid. Targ. Jon. in Exod. xx. 18. and Mtchilta in Kdtoreth Haffammim in ibid, and Abarbind. Mashmiah Jeshuah, sol. 11.4. r See Dr Li^htfoot's Works. Vol. I. p 680. who rightly observes from T. Bab. Sanhedrim, sol. 07. 1. that it is said, that there will be voices and thunders a little before the coming of the Messiah, which the Gloss upon the place interprets of the voices of the son of David. Sec also T. Bab. MegiUa, sol. 17. 2. * 2 Pet. iii. 10. » Act* i. 7.

STATED AND DEFENDED. 143 at the coming of Christ b, at which time the dead in Christ shall rise first, that is, they shall rise before the wicked, which will be the first resurrection c : not that the martyrs shall rise before the rest of the righteous, but all the righteous shall rife at Christ's coming; but whether their rising will be successive, or be at once, in a moment, is not very material. The change that will be made on the living, will be in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye ; but it is not so manifest, that the resurrection of the dead will be so quick and sudden, but rather it will be successive ; since it is said, every one in bis own order shall be raised ' ; which may be understood either of order of time, so that they that died first, shall be first raised ; Or of dignity, so that those who have been the most eminent for gifts, grace, usefulness, &c. shall be first called forth out of their graves, which perhaps, may be the different glory that will be upon the saints at the resurrection ; of which the apostle speaks, saying, There is one glory of the fun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars ; for one star differeth from another star in glory, so also is the- resurrection of the dead'. There are many curious, and needless questions which are asked, concerning the resurrection and the state of those who are raised : as, whether abortions, or untimely births, shall be raised ? at what age, and in what stature the dead shall rise? whether with their present deformities, or not? whether there will be any distinction of sexes ? and whether persons shall know one another ? but these I shall not give myself the trouble to answer, but pass on to that which will be more useful ; which is, V. And lastly, to shew the importance and use of this doctrine. 1st, I shall consider the importance of it. It is a fundamental article of the Christian faith : it is called the foundation of God, which stands sure f, though some deny it, and others endeavour to sap it, but none can destroy it : it is reckoned among the first principles of the doctrines of Christ, and is joined with eternal judgment, which it precedes, and in order to which it is abso lutely requisite B. The resurrection of Christ stands and falls with it ; for if there he no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen, then is our preaching vain, and yourfaith is also vainb. The whole gospel is connected with it ; if there is no truth in this, there is none in that. As the doctrine of the resurrection receives con firmation from the doctrines of personal election, the gift of the persons of the elect * John vi. 39, 40, 44, 54. and xi. 24. 1 Cor. xv. 23. 1 Thess. iv. 16. c The Jews are of opinion, that the righteous (hall rife first, especially those who die and are buried in the land of Canaan. Vid. T. Micros. Cdaim, sol. 32. 3. & Berejhil Rabba, $. 96. sol. 83. 4. Ed Aæstelod. Zohar in Gen. sol. 68. 4. & 83. 1. & 100. 3. Ed. Sultzbach. <* i Cor. xv. 23. • Ver. 40, 41. f * Tim. ii. 19. « Heb. vi. 1, a. ■ k i Cor. xv. 13, 14. .--

144 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION, elect to Christ, the covenant of grace, redemption by Christ, union with him, and the sanctification of the spirit, so these can have no subsistence without supposing that. If the dead rise not, there can be no expectation of a future state ; then they also which are fallen ajleep are perished ' •, and so there is no difference between them, and the brutes ; as the one dieth, jo dietb the other : and if this be the cafe, if in this life only we hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable k. Besides as has been observed, the resurrection is absolutely neces sary to eternal judgment : without it the judgment cannot proceed ; for how should every one receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad, if his body is not raised ? To fay no more, prac tical religion much depends upon the truth of this doctrine ; the denial of it must open a door to all manner of licentiousness. The opposcrs of this doctrine have been observed in all ages, to be very bad livers1; and indeed, it need not be wondered at, it is a natural consequence, // the dead rife not, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die m. On the other hand, where this doctrine is firmly believed, and strictly attended to, there will be a studious concern to glorify God, by a becoming life and conversation. This may be observed in the experience and practice of the apostle Paul, which he delivers in these words, And have hope towards God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurretlion of thejust and unjust ; and herein, fays he, «» t«t«, upon this account, do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offence toward Cod and toward men ". idly, I shall now consider the use of this doctrine ; whatever is important, and of moment, must be useful. This doctrine is of use, i. For instruction. It serves to enlarge our views of the divine perfections; as the immutability of God in his purposes ; his faithfulness in his promises ; his omniscience, which extends to all creatures, and every thing that belongs to them ; and his omnipotence which nothing can withstand. Those who deny the resurrection, must not only be ignorant of the scriptures, but of the power of God, as the Sadducees were. This doctrine teaches us to think highly of Jesus Christ, as God over all, blessed for ever, as possessed of all divine perfections ; since he is the resurrection and the life, the first-fruits of them that slept ; he is the efficient cause by whom, and the meritorious cause through whom, and the exemplar, according to whom, the resurrection of the saints will be. The concern which the Holy Spirit has in our resurrection may .serve to endear him to us, and teach us not to grieve him, by whom we are sealed unto 1 i Cor. xv. 1 8. * Verse 19. 1 Nemo enim tam carnaliter vlvit, quam qui negant carnis resurreftionenu Ncgantcs enim ejus pœnam despiciunt & disciplinam. Tcclulliait. dc Resurrectione, c. 1 1 p. 386. ■ 1 Cor xv. 32. D Acts xxiv. 15, 161

STATED AND DEFENDED. 14$ unto the day of redemption, that is, of our bodies from corruption and death •, he not only sanctifies our bodies, and dwells in them, but has the care of our dust, and will quicken it at the last day. What an instruction is this doctrine to faith, and trust in God, Father, Son, and Spirit ? If God can and will raise the dead, what is it he cannot do ? Faith should not stagger at any thing which God has promised to perform, or be discouraged at any difficulties in its way, or any trials and afflictions it meets with. The consideration of this, that God quickens the dead, quickened Abraham's faith, so that he staggered not at the promise through unbelief0; though there were difficulties attending ic insuperable to nature. And when the apostles had the sentence of death in themselves, they were directed not to trust in themselves, but in God, which raiseth the dead, who, fay they, delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver : in whom we trust that he will yet deliver usr. Moreover this doctrine may teach us, that all due, and proper care, ought to be taken of our bodies, both whilst living, and when dead. All proper care ought to be taken of them whilst living : though they are not to be pampered, they are not to be starved : they are to be fed and cloathed, according to the blessing of life, which God bestows upon men, provided the bounds of moderation and decency be ob served ; for to transgress these by luxury, and intemperance, is not to use our bodies well, but to abuse them : and when the body is dead, care ought to be taken, that it be decently interred, which may be confirmed by the ex amples of Abraham, Joseph of Arimathca, and others. 2. This doctrine is of use for consolation. The day of the resurrection will be a day of consolation to the saints. Hence the Syriac version thus reads those words of Martha, I know that he pall rife again, in the refurreclion at the last day'1, " I know that he shall rise again, in the consolation at the last day." Then will be the consummation of the saints joy and comfort, and a believing view of it now must be very delightful to them ; as they are waiting for the adoption, namely, the redemption of the body, so they may lift up their heads with joy, because this their redemption draweth near. The consideration of this doctrine must be a great support to saints under trials and afflictions, under diseases and distempers of body, in the views of death, and the several changes the body shall undergo after death ; I fay, it must be a very comfort able consideration, that, in a little time, all these trials will be ended ; there will be no more diseases, nor death : and though the body, for a while, shall be the food of worms, and return to its original dust, yet it shall be raised immortal and incorruptible, powerful and glorious; this mortal must put on Vol. III. U immortality, 0 Rom. iv. 17—20. r 2 Cor. i. g, 10. 1 John xi. 24.

i+6 THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION. immortality, and this corruption must put on incorruption ; and in our flesh shall we see God, and enjoy the company of angels and saints. To conclude, This doctrine must be of great use to support persons, under the loss of near rela tions ; when they consider, that though they are dead, they shall rise again ; though they have parted with them, it is but for a time ; and therefore they should not sorrow even as those which have no hope ; for if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him ; wherefore we may comfort one another with these words, andso shall we be ever with the Lord '. 1 t Theff. iv. 1 4, 1 7, j 8, T II E

THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, BY THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST, STATED AND MAINTAINED. Acts xiii, 39. And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. THIS, and the preceding verse, appear, at first view, to contain those two great doctrines of the gospel, pardon of sin, and justification from it, the former of which I have largely insisted on, from the foregoing words, and shall now consider the latter, which I propose to do in the following method. I. I shall explain the act of justification, and Ihew what it is, and what it is not. II. Enquire into the author of it, or who it is that justifies. III. Shew the matter of it, or what that is, for the fake of which any are justified. IV. Say something concerning the form of it, which is by imputation of righteousness. V. Consider the date of justification. VI. Point out the objects thereof, or who they are that are justified. VII. Mention the several effects, which follow upon it, or are closely con nected with it. VIII. And lastly, Give some account of the several properties of it. I. I shall explain the act of justification, and shew both what it is not, and what it is. And, u 2 1. Strictly,

148 THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, i. Strictly, and properly speaking, it is not the pardon of fin. These two acts of divine grace are in strict connection with each other, and are not to be separated ; that is to fay, where the one is, the other also is ; yet, I think, they may be distinguished. Divines generally make justification to consist in the remission of sins, and in the imputation of Christ's righteousness ; which some make different parts * ; others fay, they are not two integrating parts of justification, or acts numerically and really distinct, but only one act respectinotwo different terms, a quo & ad quern " ; just as by one, and the fame act, dark ness is expelled from the air, and light is introduced into it; so by one, and the fame act of justification, the sinner is absolved from guilt, and pronounced righteous. Hence they conclude, that those divines express the whole nature of justification, who fay, that it consists in the remission of sins, and who fay, that it consists in the imputation of righteousness ; because, say they, when God for gives us our sins, he pronounces us righteous, by the imputation of Christ's righteousness ; and when he pronounces us righteous, by the imputation of Christ's righteousness, he forgives us our sins. I readily allow that there is a very great agreement between justification and pardon, in their efficient, im pulsive, and procuring causes, in their objects, or subjects, in their commence ment, and manner of completion : the fame God that pardons the sins of his people, justifies them, or accounts them righteous •, the fame grace, which moved him to the one, moved him to the other ; as the blood of Christ was shed for the remission of sins, so by it are we justified ; all who are justified are pardoned; and all who are pardoned, are justified, and that, at one and the fame time ; both these acts are finished at once, Jimul & semel, and are not carried on in a gradual and progressive way, as sanctification. But all this does not prove them to be one and the fame, for though they agree in these things, in others they differ; for justification is a pronouncing a person righte ous according to law, as though he had never sinned ; not so pardon : it is one thing for a man to be tried by law, cast, and condemned, and then receive the king's pardon ; and another thing to be tried by the law, and, by it, to be found and declared righteous, as though he had not sinned against it. More over, though pardon takes away sin, and therefore is expressed by God's casting of it behind his back, and into the depths of the sea, and by a removal of it from his people, as far as the east is from the west c ; yet it does not give a righteousness, as justification does ; pardon of sin, indeed, takes away our filthy garments, but it is justification that clothes us with change of raiment. Besides, * Vid. Alting. Loc. Commun. loc. 14. p. 237. Walsci Enchirid. Relig. Reform, p. 72, 73. & Loc. Commun. p. 426, 428. b Vid. Wendelin. Christian. Thcol. 1. 1. c. 25. thes. 8. p. 500. c Isai. xxxviii. 17. Micah vii. 20. Psalm ciii. 13.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. 149 Besides, more is required, and was given for our justification, than for our pardon; the blood of Christ was sufficient to procure pardon ; but, besides, his suffering of death, the holiness of his nature, and the perfect obedience of his life, must be imputed for justification. Again, though pardon frees from punishment, yet, strictly, and properly speaking, it does not give a title to eternal life ; that justification properly gives, and is one good reason why the apostle calls it Justification of Use d. If a king pardons a criminal, he does not thereby give him a title to his crown and kingdom; if he will, when he has pardoned him, take him to court, make him his son and heir, it must be by another distinct act of royal favour. Once more, justification passed on Christ, as our Head and Representative, when he rose from the dead, but so did not pardon. We may truly say, that Christ was justified, because the scriptures fay so % but we cannot say that he was pardoned ; should we, it would sound very harsh in our ears, as well as be, I think, a very unwarrant able expression ; therefore pardon and justification may be considered as two distinct things. In fine, if these two are one and the same, the apostle must be guilty of a tautology in our text, where he speaks distinctly of justification, having fully expressed forgiveness of sin in the preceding verse. 2. Justification is not a teaching, or an instructing of men in the way and method how they are or may be justified. When Christ, as God's righteous servant, is said to justify many by bis knowledge1 ; the meaning is, not that he, by his knowledge, or doctrine, should only teach men how they might be justified, or what is God's way and method of justifying sinners ; for this is no more than what the ministers of the gospel do, who are said to turn many to righteousness, or, as it is in the original text, to justify many8 ; which they do, by preaching the gospel, wherein the righteousness of God is revealed, from faith to faith; and which, being blessed and owned by the Spirit of God, is the ministration of righteousness to many : but the meaning is, that he should give to many a spiritual know ledge of himself, which, in other words, is faith •, by which they should have a comfortable apprehension in their justification by his righteousness. 3. Justification is not an infusion of righteousness into persons ; to justify, is not to make men holy and righteous, who were unholy and unrighteous, by producing any physical or real change in them; for this is to confound justifi cation and sanctification together, whiqh are very manifestly distinct ; the one being a work of 'grace in us ; the other an act of grace towards us ; the one is imperfect, the other perfect ; the one is progressive, and is carried on by degrees ; the other is compleat, and finished at once. Besides, justification is 11 Rom. v. 18. « 1 Tim. iii. 16. -. f Isai. liii. u. 1 Dan. xii. 3. D^IPT *pH3»l & juslificantcs multos, Jun. & TremM. Arias Montan.

i5o THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, is never used in scripture in a physical, but in a forensic sense h ; and stands opposed, not to a state of impurity, or unholiness, but to a state of con demnation. 4. Justification is an act of God's free grace, whereby he clears his people from fin, discharges them from condemnation, and reckons and accounts them righteous for the fake of Christ's righteousness, which he has accepted of, and imputes unto them. Some very excellent divines have distinguished justification into active and passive '. Active justification is God's act, it is God that justifies ; passive justification is the fame act, terminating on the conscience of the believer •, active justification is strictly and properly justifi cation, passive justification is improperly so ; active justification precedes faith, passive justification is by faith. Again, justification may be considered either in foro Dei, and so it is an eternal, immanent act in God ; or in foro conscientia, and so it is declarative to and upon the conscience of the believer ; or in foro mundi, and so it will be notified to men and angels at the general judgment. Again, let it be farther observed, that the scriptures sometimes speak of the justification of God's people, either of their persons, or faith, or cause, before men, and then it is ascribed to their works ; and, at other times, of their persons before God, which is said to be without works ; it is now, not of the former, but of the latter our text speaks, and which I am considering; and shall now proceed, II. To enquire into the author, or efficient cause of justification, who is the great God of heaven and earth : It it God that justifies* ; which may well be wondered at, when it is considered that he is the supreme Judge of all, who will do right ; that his law is the rule by which he acts in this affair ; that this law is broken by the sin of man; that sin, which is a breach of the law, is especially committed against him, and is hateful to him ; that he is a God that will not admit of an imperfect righteousness, in the room of a perfect one ; and that he has power to condemn, and reason sufficient to do it ; when, I say, these things are considered, it is amazing that this God should justify. For the farther illustration of this head, 1 shall endeavour to shew the con cern that all the three Persons, Father, Son, and Spirit, have in the justifica tion of the elect. 1. God k See Deut. xxv. 1. Prov. xvii. !;. Isei. v. 23. Rom. v. 16, if. and viii.33, 34. I Maccov. Theolog. Distinct, c. 13. J. I, 2. & Theolog. Polem c. 15 Quæst. 2. & Theolog. Qusest. loc, 31. & rijoiTo* -^tvim; Arminian. c. 10. & Loc. Commun. c. 69. Hoornbeeck. Summ. Controvers. 1. 10. p. 705. Rhactorfort. Exercitat. Apologet. exerc. i.e. 2. $. 20. Wolleb. Christian. Theolog. I. 1. c. 30. Eslenii System. Theolog torn. II. disp. 8. ad tit. 15. k Rom. viii. 34.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. 151 1. God the Father is the contriver of the scheme and method of our justi fication i he was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses ' -," he drew the model and platform of it, which is Nodus Deo vindice dignus. It would have remained a puzzling question to men and angels, How should man be just with God ? had not his grace employed his wisdom to find out a ransom, whereby he has delivered his people from going down to the pit of corruption ; which ransom is no other than his own Son, whom he sent, in the fulness of time, to execute the scheme he had so wisely formed in his eternal mind •, which he did by finishing transgression, making an end of sin, making reconciliation for iniquity, and bringing in an everlasting righteousness; which righteousness, being wrought out by Christ, God was well pleased with, because hereby his law was magnified and made honourable ; and, having graciously accepted of it, he imputes it freely to all his people, and reckons them righteous on the account of it. 2. God the Son, as God, is the co-efficient cause of it, with his Father. As he has equal power with him to forgive sin, he also has to acquit, discharge, and justify from it. As Mediator, he is the Head and Representative •, in whom all theseed os Israel are justified; as such, he has wrought out a righteous ness, answerable to the demands of the law, by which they are justified; and is the Author and Finisher of that faith, which looks unto, lays hold on, and apprehends that righteousness for justification. 3. God the Holy Ghost convinces men of the weakness, imperfection, and insufficiency of their own righteousness to justify them before God ; he brings near, and sets before them, the righteousness of Christ, and works faith in them to lay hold on it, and receive it ; he intimates to their consciences the justifying sentence of God, on the account of Christ's righteousness, and bears a testimony to and with their spirits, that they are justified persons ; and hence the saints are said to be justified in the name os the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of cur Godm\ but this testimony of the Spirit is not so properly justification in itself> as an atlual perception of it, before granted, by a kind of a reflex ail of faith, as Dr Ames expresses it". Now this is the part which Father, Son, and Spirit, severally bear in justification : the Father has contrived ir, the Son has procured it, and the Spirit applies it. I go on, III. To consider the matter of justification, or what that is for the fake of which God's elect arc justified. And, 1. Man's 1 2 Cor. v. 19. a 1 Cor. vi. u. " In hoc testimonio Spiritus non tarn proprie ipfa juitisiratio consistit, quam actualis antca conceflæ perceptio, per actum fidei quasi reflexum, Ames. Medulla Theolog. 1. i.e. 27. V. Q. -

i52 THE DOCfRtNE Of JUSTIFICATION, i. Man's obedience to the law of works, is not the matter of his justification, of that for the fake of which he is justified, for this is imperfect, and therefore not justifying; and was man's obedience his justifying righteousness, his justi fication would be by works, and not by grace j which is contrary to the whole stream and current of scripture. Besides, ;/ righteousness is by the law, then Chist is dead in vain, and his righteousness is needless and useless ; which must highly reflect both on the grace and wisdom of God. 2. Nor is man's obedience to the gospel, as to a new and milder law, his justifying righteousness before God. The scheme of some, if I understand it right, is this ; That Jesus Christ has procured a relaxation of the old law, and has introduced a new law, a remedial law, a law of milder terms ; which new law is the gospel, and its terms, faith, repentance, and new obedience ; which, though imperfect, yet being sincere, will be accepted of by God, in the room of a perfect righteousness. But the whole scheme is entirely false ; the law is not relaxed, nor any of its severities abated ; its power is not infringed, it has the fame commanding and condemning power it ever had over those that are under it ; nor is the gospel a law, it is a pure declaration of grace and salvation by Christ ; it has no commands, but all promises ; there is nothing in it that looks like a law ; and, if faith and repentance were the terms of it, and required by it, as conditions of mens acceptance with God, it would not be a remedial law, a law of milder terms ; for it was much easier for Adam, in a state of innocence, to have kept the whole law, than for man, in his fallen state, to repent and believe in Christ of himself; besides, nothing can more reflect upon the justice of God than to fay that he will accept of an imperfect righteousness in the room of a perfect one : he who is the Judge of all the earth, will do right ; and he, whose judgment is according to truth, will never call or account that a righteousness which is not one. 3. Nor is a profession of religion, even of the best, a matter of our justifica tion. Men may have a form of godliness, and deny the power of it% have a name to live, and yet be dead, appear outwardly righteous to men, and yet be inwardly full of all mariner of impurity ; they may submit to all Christ's ordinances, be baptized in his name, sit down at his table, and constantly attend on his word, and yet be far from righteousness, their fear towards God being only taught by the precept of men •, yea, supposing they were sincere in all this, they could not be justified by it. Sincerity, in any religion, even in the best religion, is not our justifying righteousness : there may be sincere Mahometans, sincere Papists, and sincere Pagans, as well as sincere believers in Christ •, one man may be a sincere persecutor of the true religion, as well as another

STATED AND MAINTAINED. 153 another may be a sincere professor of it. Our Lord told his disciples, that the time would come, when some men should think they did God service in killing them0; and it is certain the apostle Paul, before his conversion, thought with himself, that he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth '. But taking sincerity in the best fense, for a grace of the Spirit of God, which indeed, runs through, and accompanies all other graces, and makes our faith to be unfeigned, our love to be without dissimulation, and our hope without hypocrisy ; I say, taking it in this senle, it belongs to sanctification, and not to justification •, which are two distinct things, and not to be confounded ; for the whole real work of fanctification is neither the whole or a part of our justifying righteousness ; and if the whole work is nor, then not a part of it ; and if not a part of it, then, 4. The tJ credere, or act of believing, which is a part of fanctification, is not imputed to us for justification, as Arminius and his followers have asserted q ; endeavouring to establish this notion from some passages in Rom. 1V- 3» 5> 9- where faith is said to be counted for righteousness ; particularly the faith of Abraham ; by which the apostle means not the act, but the object of faith, even the righteousness of Christ, which God, in ver. 6. is said to impute without works. That this is his fense is manifest, from this one single consideration : the very fame it, which was imputed to Abraham for righteousness, is imputed to all those who believe on him, that raised up Jesus eur Lord from the dead, ver. 22 —24. Now supposing that Abraham's faith was reckoned and imputed to him for a justifying righteousness, it cannot be reasonably thought that it ssiould be imputed also for righteousness to all that believe : besides, it ought to be observed, that the apostle does not fay that this was imputed, ***» Jiaaioa-Jm?, instead of righteousness; but «~« iumt»vin», unto righteousness, and intends no more here than what the apostle elsewhere says, that with the heart man believes unto righteousness ' ; that is, with his heart, or heartily, he believes in Christ for righteousness-, which righteous ness, and not faith, is imputed to him for justification ; for faith, as it is our act, is our own ; hence we read of his faith, and my faith, and thy faith in fcripture* j but the righteousness by which we are justified is the righteousness of another, and therefore not faith. Moreover, faith, as an act of ours is a duty ; for whatsoever we do, in a religious way, we do but what is our • John xvifcz. P Acls xxvi. 9. « Armin. Declar. sent, ad Ord. p. io».- & Respons. ad 31. Artie, p. 138. Epistol. ad Hippolyt. Articul. Perpend p. 786. Remonstr. Confess, c 10. $. 2. & c. 18. J. j, Bertii Epist. discept. contra Lubbett. p. 6, 81. Worstii Scholia contra Lubbert. p. 177. * Rom. x. 10. • Hab. ii. 5. James ii. 18. Vol. III. X duty

15+ THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, duty to do ; and, if it is a duty, it belongs to the law •, for, as all the decla rations and promises of grace belong to the gospel, so all duties belong to the law ; and if faith belongs to the law, as a duty, it is a work of it, and there fore by it we cannot be justified •, for by the deeds of the law shall no flesh living be justified. Besides, faith is imperfect, it has many deficiencies ; and, was it perfect, it is but a part of the law, though one of the weightier parts of it; and God, whose judgment is according to truth, will never reckon or account a partial conformity to the law a compleat righteousness. Add to this, that faith and righteousness are manifestly distinguished'; the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith ; it is unto all, and upon all them that believe. Some thing else, and not faith, is represented as our justifying righteousness; faith is not the blood, nor obedience of Christ, and yet by these we are said to be justified, or made righteous". We are, indeed, said to be justified by faith % but not by faith, as an act of ours, for then we should be justified by works; nor by faith, as a grace of the Spirit, for this would be to confound fanctification and justification ; but we are justified by faith objectively, as it looks to, receives, apprehends, and embraces Christ's righteousness for justification. And let it be observed, that though we are said to be justified by faith, yet faith is never said to justify us. And here give me leave to correct a vulgar, though but a verbal mistake, in calling faith, justifying faith. I am well satisfied found divines have used this phrase without any ill meaning ; and no less a person than the great Dr Goodwin, whose works I much value and esteem, has entitled one of his treatises, Of the Object and Acts of Justifying Faith : But why it should be called justifying faith, any more than adopting or pardoning faith, I see not ; since it has just the fame concern in adoption and pardon, as it has in justification. Are we said to be justified by faith, or, by faith, to receive the righteousness of Christ for justification ? We are also said, by faith, to receive the remission of sins, and to be the children of God, by faith, in Christ Jesus T. Besides, what do we, or can we fay more of the righteousness of Christ, than that it is a justifying one? In one word, it is God, and not faith, that justifies. But, 5. The matter of our justification, or that for the fake of which we are justified, is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ ; by which I mean not his essential righteousness, as God ; nor his righteousness and fidelity to him, that appointed him, in the discharge of his mediatorial office; nor do I take in any of his actions performed by him in heaven, as Jesus Christ the righteous; only those which he wrought in his state of humiliation here on earth ; and not all these neither, for his extraordinary works and miracles must be ex cluded ; t Rom. i. 17. and iii. 22. » Rom. v. 9, 19, * Rom. v. 1. 1 Acts xxvi 18. Gal. iii. 26.

STATED AND MAINTAINED.. 155 eluded j for " they, as a great man well observes, rather transcend the predica- " ments of the Ten Commandments, than are parts of the righteousness of the " law : they were proofs of his divinity, and the signs and badges, rather " than the duties of his office. He, indeed, by them, shewed himself to be " the only Mediator, but he did not act the Mediator in them -, and he did " them that men might believe in his righteousness, but they were no in- " gredients in that righteousness on which they were to believe'." But by the righteousness of Christ, I mean that which consists of what is commonly called his active and passive obedience •, by the former, is meant the conformity of his life to the precepts of the law, and is, strictly speaking, that obedience of his, by which we are made righteous ; and by the latter, is meant his suffer ings and death, which, in scripture, are expressed by his blood. This distinc tion, though taken from the schools, is not very accurate. Passive obedience is a contradiction in terms*; nor can Christ's sufferings and death be properly called obedience. Obedience belongs to the predicament, or class of action, and sufferings and death to that of passion. Besides, Christ's sufferings and death flow from his obedience ; they are the effects of it, they are in conse quence of his subjection and submission to his Father's will. What looks most likely to prove Christ's sufferings and death to be an obedience, is the text in Phil. ii. 8. where Christ is said to be obedient unto death. But this will fall short of doing it j for as a judicious divine observes b, it may as well be inferred, because Peter and Paul confessed Christ unto death, therefore their confession and death were one and the same. The true sense of the words is, that Christ was obedient to his Father, from the cradle to the cross, during the whole course of his life, even to the very moment of his death. It will be allowed, that Christ was, in some sense, active in his sufferings, he being God, as well as man. Hence he is said to lay down his life of himself' ; to pour tut his foul unto death ; to give himself an offering and sacrifice j yea, through the eternal Spirit, to offer up himself to God; and it will be as readily granted that Christ's sufferings and death, which are commonly called his passive obedience, are requisite unto, and are imputed to us for our justification. Hence we are said to have healing by his ftripes*% to be justified by his blood, and to be reconciled to God by his death ■, but then this is not to be understood as exclusive of the imputation of his active obedience, nor of the holiness of his human nature. There are some divines e that exclude Christ's active obedience from x 2 being * Dr Goodwin's Works, vol. III. par. 3. p. 336. * Vid. Maccov. Loc. Commun. c. 69. p. 613. Sc Colleg. Thcolog p. 141. & Theolog. Polem. c. 15. Quæst. 2. p. 133. b Maccov. ibid. ■ John x. 18. Isai. liii. 12. Ephes. v. a. Heb ix. 14. d Isai. liii. v. Rom. v. 9, 10. • Vid. Wendelin. Theolog. Christian. 1. 1. C. 2Ji thes. 7. p. 492. Of this opinion were PjfcatCTf Forks, and others.

ia6 the doctrine of justification, being any part of the righteousness by which we are justified : they allow, that it is a condition requisite.in him, as Mediator, which qualifies him for his office, and that without it his death would not have been effectual and merito rious. But they deny that this obedience, strictly and properly speaking, is the matcer of our justification, or that it is imputed to us, or reckoned to us, as ours ; they suppose that Christ was obliged to this obedience as a creature for himself, and that it was unnecessary to us, because his sufferings and death were sufficient for our justification. On the other hand, 1 firmly believe, that not only the active obedience of Christ, with his sufferings and death, but also that the holiness of his human nature is imputed to us for justification. The law requires an holy nature, and perfect obedience, and, in cafe of disobedience, enjoins punishment. Through sin, our nature is become unholy, our obe dience imperfect, and so we are liable to punishment. Christ has assumed an holy human nature, and in it performed perfect obedience to the law, and suffered the penalty of it-, all which he did not for himself, but for us ; and unto us it is all imputed for our justification. He is of God, made unto usy that is, by imputation, wisdom, righteousness, fanilification, and redemption f. Wis dom may stand in general for justification,, because there is in it such a manifest display of the wisdom of God -, and the other three may be considered as so many parts of it. Santlification may intend the holiness of his human nature; which is that law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, wheh frees from the law of fin and death. Righteousness may signify his active obedience, by which many are made righteous; and Redemption may express his sufferings and death, whereby fin was condemned in t e flesh, and so the whole righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us. I shall now very briefly give some reasons why, I think, Christ's active obedience, in particular, as well as his sufferings and death, is imputed for justification. j. Because all that must be imputed for our justification, which the law requires, and without which it cannot be satisfied. Now, let it be observed, that the law, before man had sinned, only obliged him to obedience ; since his fall, it obliges him both to obedience and punishment j andv unless his precepts are perfectly obeyed, and its whole penalty endured, it cannot be satisfied ; and unless it is satisfied, there can be no justification by it. If Jesus Christ, therefore, engages, as a surety, to make satisfaction to the law, in the room and stead of his people, he must both obey the precept of the law, and suffer the penalty of it ; his submitting to the one, without conforming to the other, is not sufficient ; one debt is not paid by another; his paying off the debt of punishment did not exempt from obedience, as the paying off the debt of obedience 1 i Cor. i. 30.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. 157 obdience, did not exempt from punishment. Christ did not satisfy the whole law by either of them separately, but by both conjunctly ; by his sufferings and death he satisfied the threatnings of the law, but not the precepts of it •, and, by his active obedience, he satisfied the preceptive part of the law, but not the penal part; but, by both, he satisfied the whole law, and magnified it, and made it honourable, and therefore both must be imputed for our justi fication. 2. Because we are justified by a righteousness, and that is the righteousness of Christ. Now righteousness, strictly speaking, consists in actual obedience; itstall le our righteousness^ if we observe to do all these commandments^ Deut. vi. 25. Christ's righteousness lay in doing, not in suffering. " All righteousness is •* either an habit, or an act ; but sufferings are neither, and therefore not " righteousness: no man is righteous because he is punished; if so, the devils " and damned in hell would be righteous, in proportion to their punishment; " the more severe their puuishment, and the more grievous their torments, the " greater their righteousness must be ; if there is any righteousness in punish- " ment, it must be in the punisher, not in the punished8." If then we are justified bv the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, it must be by his active obedience, and not merely by his sufferings and death ; because these, though they free us from death, yet they do not, strictly speaking, make us righteous. 3. Because we are expressly said to be made righteous by the obedience of'one1', which is Christ. Now by obedience, in this place, cannot be meant the suf ferings and death of Christ ; because, strictly speaking, they are not his obe dience, but flow from it, as has been observed. Besides, the antithesis, in the text, determines the fense of the words ; for if, by one's man actual dis obedience many were made sinners, so, by the. rule of opposition, by one man's actual obedience, many are made righteous. 4. Because the reward of life is promised not to suffering, but to doing ; the law says, Do this and live ; it promises life not to him that suffers the penalty, but to him that obeys the precept. " There never was a law, as an " excellent divine observes ', even among men, either promising or declaring ** a reward due to the criminal, because he had undergone the punishment of *« his crimes." Christ's sufferings and death being satisfactory to the comminatory, or threatning part of the law, are imputed to us for justification, that so we may be freed and discharged from the curse, and hell, and wrath. But these, as they do not constitute us righteous, do not, properly speaking, entitle us to eternal life ; but the active obedience, or righteousness of Christ, being imputed * Molinseus contra Tikn. in Maccov. Loc. Commun. c. 69. p. 613. * Rom. v. 19, » Dr Goodwin's works, vol. III. par. 3. of Christ the Mediator, pag. 338.

158 THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, imputed to us, is our justification of life, or what gives us the title to eternal life. 5. Because Christ's active obedience was performed for us, in our room and stead, and therefore must be imputed to us for justification. If it should be said, that Christ, as a creature, being made of a woman, and made under the law, was obliged to yield obedience to that law for himself j I answer, that he assumed human nature, became a creature, subjected himself to the law, and^ obliged himself to yield obedience to it, were not for himself, but for us ; not upon his own, but our account j to or for us a Child is born, a Son is given k ; and if Christ only in his sufferings, and not in his obedience, is given to us, we should not have a whole Christ given us, only a suffering Christ, not an obeying one. Let it further be observed, that Christ's active obedience to the law for us, and in our room and stead, docs not exempt us from personal obedience to it, any more than his sufferings and death exempt us from a corporal death, Or suffering for his fake. It is true, indeed, we do not suffer and die in the sense he did, to satisfy justice, and atone for sin ; so neither do we yield obedience to the law, in order to obtain eternal life by it. By Christ's obedience for us, we are exempted from obedience to the law in this fense, but not from obe dience to it, as a rule of walk and conversation, by which we may glorify God, and express our thankfulness to him, for his abundant mercies. Well then, it is what is commonly called Christ's active and passive obedience, together with the holiness of his nature, from whence all his obedience flows, which is the matter of our justification before God. Many things might be said in commendation of this glorious righteousness of the Mediator. The nature and excellency of it may be collected from the several names, or appellations, by which it is called in scripture. 1. It is called, the righteousness cf God' ; and that not only because it stands opposed to the righteousness of man, but because it was wrought out by one that is God, as well as man ; and is greatly approved and graciously accepted of by God, and by him freely imputed to all his people, who are justified from all things by it in his sight. 2. It is called, the righteousness of one™ ; that is, of one of the Persons of the Trinity ; it is not the righteousness of the Father, nor of the Spirit, but of the Son, who though he is a partaker of two natures, yet is but one Person •, it is the righteousness of one, who is a common head to all his seed, as Adam was to his. It may, indeed, be called the righteousness of many, even of all the saints, because it is imputed to them, and they all have an equal right to itj k Jiai. ix. 6. ' Rom. i. 17. and iii. 22. "Chap. v. 18.

STAGED AND MAINTAINED. 159 it ; but yet the Author is but one ; and therefore we are not justified, partly by our own righteousness, and partly by Christ's ; for then we should be justified by the righteousness of two, and not of one only. 3. It is called, the righteousness of the law " ; for though righteousness does not come by our obedience to the law, yet it does by Christ's obedience to it j though, by the deeds of the law, as performed by man, no flesh living can be justified, yet, by the deeds of the law, as performed by Christ, all the elect are justified. Christ's righteousness may be truly called a legal righteousness-, it is what the law requires and demands, and is every way commensurate to it ; it is a compleat conformity to all its precepts; by it the law is magnified and made honourable. It is true, indeed, it makes no discovery of it, for it is manifested without the law, though witnessed to both by law and prophets ; it is the gospel that is the ministration of it ; for therein it is revealed from faith to faith. 4. It is called, the righteousness of faith0; not that faith is qur righteousness, either in whole, or in part; it is not the matter of our justification, as has been before observed ; it has no manner of causal influence on it, nor is it im puted to us for it ; but Christ's righteousness is called so, because faith receives it, puts it on, rejoices in it, and boasts of it. 5. It is called, the gift of righteousness p, and a free gift, and a gift by grace ; because it is freely wro ight out by Christ, and freely imputed by God the Father, and faith is freely given to lay hold on it, and embrace it. 6. It is called, the best robe, or, as in the Greek text, the first robe''; for though Adam's robe of righteousness, in innocence, was first in wear, this was first pro vided in the covenant of grace ; this was first in designation, though that was first in use : and it may well be called the best robe, because it is a better robe than ever sinful fallen man had ; his being imperfect, and polluted, and in sufficient to justify him before God, or skreen him from divine justice, or secure him from divine wrath; yea, it is a better robe than ever Adam had in Eden, or the angels have in heaven ; for the righteousness of either of these, is but the righteousness of a creature, whereas this is the righteousness of God; besides, the righteousness of Adam was a righteousness that might be lost, and which was actually lost ; for God made man upright, and besought out many inven tions, whereby he lost his righteousness; so that now there is none of Adam's posterity righteous in and of themselves ; no, not one ; and as for the righte ousness of the angels, it is plain, it was a loscable righteousness, for many of them » Rom. viii. 4. • Rom. iv. 13. » Rom. v. 15— 17. • Luke xv. 22. ri» s-oNijn t« vrfurm, stolam primam, Vulgat. Lat. Arias Montan. See Huffcj'% Glory of Christ unveiled, p. 741 — 744, iSc. .<

160 THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, them lest their first estate, and lost their righteousness -, and the true reason why the others stand in theirs is, because of confirming grace from Christ ; but Christ's righteousness is an everlasting one, and cannot, nor will it, ever be lost. It is* a righteousness which justice can find no fault with, but is entirely satisfied with ; it justifies from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses ; it secures from all wrath and condemnation, and silences all accu sations •, for who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ? it is God that justifieth : It will answer for us in a time to come, and give us an admittance jnto God's kingdom and glory •, when such that have no better righteousness than what the Scribes and Pharisees had, shall not enter there •, and all that are without this wedding garment, shall be shut out, and cast into outer darkness, where is weeping, wailing, and gnastjing of teeth. But I proceed, IV. To consider the form of justification, which is by the imputation of this righteousness of Christ, I have been speaking of; even as David deferibetb the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works '. The Hebrew word 2!£?n ', and the Greek words, ^yi£o/*<xt, ixxoylu, hAnydfun, which are used to express this act of imputation, signify to reckon, repute, estimate, attribute, or place any thing to the account of another; as when the apostle Paul said to Philemon, concerning Onefimus, If be hath wronged thee, or owetb thee ought, put that on my account ' ; tbto i^oi bAiyu, let it be reckoned or imputed to me ; so when God is said to impute Christ's righteousness to us, the mean ing is, that he reckons it as ours, being wrought out for us, and accounts us righteous by it, as though we had performed it in our own persons. And now, that it may appear that we are justified by the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, observe, i. That we are in our own persons ungodly, who are justified, for God justifieth the ungodly " ; if ungodly, then without a righteousness, as all Adam's posterity are •, and if without a righteousness, then if we are justified, it must be by some righteousness imputed to us, or placed to our account ; which can be no other than the righteousness of Christ. 2. We are justified either by an inherent, or by an imputed righteousness ; not by an inherent one, because that is imperfect, and nothing that is im perfect can justify us. Besides, this is a righteousness within us, whereas the righteousness by which we are justified is a righteousness without us ; it is unto ' Rom. iv. 6. « 2VT1, putavit, imputavit, reputavit, xstimavit. Butctorf. *oyi{o^*i, aeslimo, reputo, item^mputo & alicujus veluti rationibus infero, tribuo, Scapula. « Philem. ver. 18. ■ Rom. iv. 5.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. 161 nnto all, and upon all them that believe*. And, if we are not justified by an inherent righteousness, then it must be by an imputed one, because there remains no other. « 3. The righteousness by which we are justified is not our own righteousness, but the righteousness of another, even the righteousness of Christ : That I may be found in Christ, fays the apostle, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ1. Now, the righteousness of another cannot be made ours, or we be justified by it, any other way than by an imputation of it. 4. The fame way that Adam's sin becomes ours, or we are made sinners by it, the fame way Christ's righteousness becomes ours, or we are made righteous by it. Now, Adam's sin becomes ours by imputation, and so does Christ's righteousness, according to the apostle z : As by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so, by the obedience of one, shall many be made righteous. 5. The fame way that our sins became Christ's, his righteousness becomes ours. Now our sins became Christ's by imputation only ; the Father laid them on him by imputation, and he took them to himself by voluntary susception ; they were placed to his account, and he looked upon himself as answerable to justice for them. Now, in the same way his righteousness be comes ours : For he, who knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of Cod in him, 2 Cor. v. 21. But I hasten, V. To enquire into the date of justification, concerning which there have been various sentiments \ Some have .thought that it will not be compleated until the day of judgment ; others, that it commences at, or upon believing, and not before-, others, that it took place at Christ's resurrection from the dead, when he was justified, and all the elect in him ; others, that it bears date from the time that Christ was first promised, as the Mediator, which was quickly after the fall " -, others carry it up as high as the covenant transactions between the Father and the Son, and the suretyship engagements of Christ from eternity, which are the present sentiments of my mind. The method in which I shall endeavour to represent them to others, shall be as follows : First, I shall endeavour to prove that that which is properly justification is antecedent to any act of believing. Secondly, That the justification, by, or at, or upon believing, is not pro perly justification. Thirdty, Answer the objections made against this doctrine. Vol. III. Y . Firsty * Rom. iii. 12. r Phil, iii 9. z Rom. v. ,g. » vi{J Turreti jnstitut. Theolog. torn. II. loc. 16. Qtiæst. 9. J. 1. * Maccov. Loc. Commun. c. 69 p 608.

i6i THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, First, I shall endeavour to prove, that that which is properly justification, is before faith, or antecedent to any act of believing of ours ; which, I appre hend, may be fairly concluded from the following considerations. i. Faith is not the cause, but the fruit and effect of justification. The reason why we are justified, is not because we have faith ; but the reason why we have faith is because we are justified. Was there no such blessing of grace as justi fication of life provided for the sons of men, there would be no such thing as faith in Christ bestowed upon them, nor, indeed, would there be any use for it; and though it is provided, yet since not for all men, therefore all men have not faith. The reason why some do not believe, is, because they are not of Christ's Jheep' ; they never were chosen in him, nor justified by him, but are justly left in their sins, and so to condemnation ; the reason why others do believe, is, because they are ordained to eternal life*, have a justifying righteous ness provided for them, and are justified by it, and shall never enter into con demnation : and, in asserting this, I fay no more than what Dr Twijse, the famous Prolocutor to the Assembly of Divines, has said before me. His words are these : " Before faith the righteousness of Christ was ours, being in " the intention of God the Father, and Christ the Mediator, wrought out '« for us •, and, because wrought out for us, therefore God, in his own time, " gives us grace of every kind, and among others, faith itself, and, at last, the " crown of heavenly glory'." And, a little after he says : ** Before faith and •* repentance the righteousness of Christ is applied unto us ; since it is on the u account of that, that we obtain efficacious grace, to believe in Christ and <l repent." Likewise the judicious Ptmble writes to the fame effect, when, observing a twofold justification, he says, the one is " Inforo divino, in God's «' sight, and this goes before all our sanctification; for even whilst the elect are " unconverted, they are then actually justified, and freed from all sin, by the «• death of Christ, and God so esteems of them as free, and, having accepted «« of that satisfaction, is actually reconciled to them. By this justification, '• we are freed from the guilt of our sins ; and because that is done away, God, " in due time, proceeds to give us the grace of sanctification, to free from sin's " corruption still inherent in our persons f." The other is, " Inforo confeientia, " in * John x. »6. * Acts xiii. 48. e Ante (idem hæc Christi justitia nostra suit, quatenus ex intentione Dei Patris &. Christi Mediatoris pro nobis prxstita ; & quia pro nobis. præstita, ideo suo tempore Oeus daturus est nobis & gratiam cujufcunque generis, ipsamque etiam fidem inter alias, & tandem aliquando cœlestis gloiiæ coronam Ante (idem & resipiscentiam applicatur nobis justitia Christi, utpote propter quam gratiam consequimur estkaeem, ad credendum in Christum, & agendam poenitentiam. Tn/ijs. V indicia: Gratia;, 1. 1. par. 2. $. 25. p. 197. * Vid. Ptmbk's works, p. 24.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. 163 «* in their own sense, which is but the revelation and certain declaration of " God's former secret acts of accepting Christ's righteousness to our justifi- " cation." And Maccovius fays, " That because that God justifies us, there- " fore he gives us faith, and other spiritual gifts8." Now, if justification is the cause, and faith the effect ; then, as every cause is before its effect, and every effect follows its own cause, justification must be before faith, and faith must follow justification. 2. Justification is the object, and faith is the act, which is conversant with it. Now the object does not depend upon the act, but the act upon the object. Every object is prior to the act, which is conversant with it ; unless it be when an act gives being to the object, which cannot be the cafe here ; unless we make faith to be the cause or matter of our justification, which has been already dis proved. Faith is the evidence, not the cause of justification ; and if it is an evidence, that of which it is an evidence must exist before it. Faith is indeed the evidence of things not seen ; but it is not the evidence of things that are not : what the eye is in the body, that faith is in the foul. The eye, by virtue of its visive faculty beholds sensible objects, but does not produce them ; and did they not previousiy exist, could not behold them. We see the fun shining in its bright ness, but did it not exist before, it could not be visible to us ; the fame observation will hold good in ten thousand other instances. Faith is the hand which receives the blessing of justification from the Lord, and righteous ness, by which the foul is justified from the God of its salvation; but then this blessing must exist before faith can receive it. If any should think fit to distinguish between the act of justification, and the righteousness of Christ, by which we are justified ; and object, That not justification, but the righte ousness of Christ, is the object of faith : I reply, Either the righteousness of Christ, as justifying, is the object of faith, or it is not j if it is not, then it is useless, and to be laid aside in the business of justification-, if, as justifying, it is the object of faith, what is it else but justification ? Christ's righteous ness justifying me, is my justification before God, and as such, my faith considers it, and fays with the church, Surely, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength \ 3. The elect of God are justified whilst ungodly, and therefore, before they believe ; the reason of the consequence is plain, because a believer is not an ungodly person. That God's elect are, by nature, ungodly, will not be denied; as such, Christ died for them : While we were yet without strength, in due time y 2 Christ * Quia ex eo, quod nos Deus justisicat, concedit nobis fidem & alia dona spiritualia. Macco wgvroi 4"v}o; Arminian. c. 10. k Jsai. xlv, 24.

164 THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, Christ died for the ungodly '. And it is as evident, that, as such, God justifies them : But to him that worketb not, but believeth on him that justisieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness \ Not that God justifies the ungodly without a righteousness ; but he imputes and reckons to them the righteousness of his Son ; for otherwise he would do that himself which he abhors in others : For he thatjustisieth the wicked, and he that rondemneth the just, they both are an abomination to the Lord1. Nor does he justify them in their ungodliness, but from it; and, indeed, from all things, from which they could not be justified, by the law of Moses -, and yet he justifies them being ungodly. Now, if it can be proved that a believer is, or may be, called an ungodly person, then there is no strength in my argument ; but, I apprehend, it cannot be proved, from scripture, that a believer is so called ; nor can any just reason be given why he should ; seeing an ungodly person is one that is without God, that is, without the grace and fear of God; and without Christ, being destitute of a true knowledge of him, faith in him, and love to him ; all which is incompatible with the character of a believer. I conclude then, that if God justifies his elect when they are ungodly, then he justifies them before they believe, which is the thing I have undertaken to prove. 4. All the elect of God were justified in, and with Christ, their Head and Representative, when he rose from the dead, and therefore before they believe. The Lord Jesus Christ having, from eternity engaged as a Surety for his peo ple, all their sins were laid upon him, imputed to him, and placed to his account ; for all which he was responsible to divine justice, and, accordingly, in the fulness of time gave full satisfaction for them, by his sufferings and death; and, having done this, was acquitted and discharged: for, as he was put to death in the stesh, he was justified in the Spirit. Now as he suffered and died not as a private person, but as a public one, so he rose again, and was justified as such. Hence, when he was justified, all those for whom he made satisfaction, and brought in a righteousness, were justified in him ; which seems to be the meaning of that scripture, JVho was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for ourjustification m. This justification of the elect, at the resurrection of Christ, and upon the foot of the oblation and sacrifice, already offered up, is acknowledged by many excellent and judicious divines; some of whom, though they only allow a decretive justification from eternity ; yet assert a real and complete one at the resurrection of Christ, on the account of his actual oblation and sacrifice. Dr Ames says, that " The sentence of justi- •« fication was, 1. As it were conceived in the mind of God, by the decree " of * Rom. y. 6. k Rom. iv. 5. > Prov. xvii. 15. ■ Rom. Iv. i£.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. i<5 " of justifying. 2. Pronounced in Christ our Head, when he rose from " the dead \" The learned Hoornbeeck, summing up the tenets of the people called A«tinomians in England, takes notice of their sentiments concerning justification ; and observes, that the difference between them and other., ** May easily be reconciled, by distinguishing justification into active and " passive , the former, fays he, is the act of God justifying ■, the latter the " termination and application of it to the consciences of believers. The one " was done at Christ's satisfaction ; the other is, when a person actually 44 believes0." And a little after, he addsj "Justification was designed for us " from all eternity, in the decree of predestination •, promised immediately 44 after the fall ■, wrought at the death and resurrection of Christ, for these are 44 to be joined together, Rom. viii. 34. being, at the one, merited by Christ, 44 and, at. the other, declared and ratified by God." Wilsms, who engaged as a Moderator in the Antinomian and Necnomian controversies, moved here in England, fays: " Chi ist verily was justified, when God raised him from the 44 dead, and gave an acquittance for the payment made by Christ, and ac- 44 cepted by him : And the fame Christ was raised again for our justification, 44 Rom. iv. 25. For when he was justified, the elect were justified together 44 in him -, for as much as he was their Representative p." And, not to forget our great Dr Goodwin, who observes % that " At the instant when he, that is, ** Christ, arose, God then performed a farther act of justification towards him, 44 and us in- him •, admitting him, as our advocate, into the actual possession of 44 justification of life •,. acquitting him from all those sins, which he had 44 charged upon him. Therefore we read, that as Christ was made sin in his life 44 and death, so that he was justified also, 1 Tim iii. 16. And that he mould 44 be thus justified, is not spoken of him, abstractly considered in himself, but 44 as he hath us conjoined in him, and as he connotates us." And, a little after he fays : cc As when he ascended, we ascended with him, (and therefore we 44 are n Sententia haec suit, 1. In mente Dei quasi concepta perdecretum justificandi. '2. In Christo capite nostro a mortuis jam resurgente pionunciata. Ames. Medull. 1 heolog. 1. i.e. 27. $. 9. 0 Quod levi negotio componi potest distinguendo justificationem aftiuam & paffivam: ilia est actio Dei justificantis ; haec istius terminatio & applicatio ad conscientiam fidelium. Ilia facta est ciuti Christi satissactione, hacc facta est quando quis actu credit. Justification deflinata nobis est ab omni aeternitate, in decreto ptædcstinationis ; promijsa mox post lapsum ; faffa in Christi morte & resurrectione, (conjungenda etenim haec sunt, Rom. viii. 34.) ibi a Christo mcrita, hie a Deo declarata & ratihabita. Hoornhteck. Summ. Conlrov. lib. 10. de Brownistis, p. 705. f Sane Chriltus justificatus est, quando Deus eum ex mortuis sufeitavir, Sc apocham præstitac.a Christo & accepts a fe solutionis dedit Idemque Christus fbfcitatus est ad nostri justificationem, Ram. iv. 25. Nam quum ipse justisicabatur, simul justificabantur electi in ipso, quippe quorum gcrebat perfonam. Wits. Aniraadv. Irenic. c. 10. $. z. s Vol. IV. par. 1. p. 105, ic6.

166 THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, " are said now to fit together with him in heavenly places, Eph. H. 6.) so, when "> he was justified, we were justified also in him. And, as it may be said, *' Adam condemned us all, and corrupted us all when he fell •, so did Christ " then perfect us all, and God justified us all, when he died and rose again." Some divines call this a virtual justification : the phrase, I confess, is unintel ligible to me. The famous Parker calls it an actual justification, both of Christ and us '. His words are these : " Christ is said to be justified when he " rose again, i Tim. iii. 16. and we to be then justified in him, Rom. iv. 25. " because the discharge, that is, his Father's raising him up, was an actual " justification of him from the sins of others, for which he had satisfied, and " of us from our own sins, for which he became a surety." Those who assert there is no justification before faith, ought duly to consider this argument, so well founded in scripture, and so agreeable to the sentiments of great and good men. But, 5. I shall go a step higher, and endeavour to prove, that all the elect of God are justified from eternity. When, I say, the elect of God are justified from eternity, I do not think, that they had an actual personal existence from eter nity, though they had a representative one in Christ; or that an actual payment of their debts, or an actual satisfaction for their sins was then made by Christ, though he engaged to do \t; nor do I intend justification from eternity, in such -a sense, as to set aside the imputation of Adam's sin to the condemnation of the elect in him-, or to render Christ's bringing in an actual righteousness in time un necessary ; or to make faith useless in our justification, in our own consciences, as, I hope, I shall shortly make appear : yet, on the other hand, I mean more by justification from eternity, than merely God's prescience, or fore -knowledge of it, to whom all his works are known, from the beginning of the world, <*V *w«f, from eternity' \ more than a mere resolution and purpose to justify his elect in time, he calling things that are not, as though they were ' ; or, in other words, more than a decretive justification, as some divines call it ; who apprehend that God's elect can, in no other sense, be said to be justified from eternity, than they may be said to be sanctified or glorified from eternity, because he had decreed to sanctify and glorify them : I say, I mean more than this, and assert, with Dr Ames, that justification *« is a sentence conceived in the mind of God, " by the decree of justification j" that this is an act in God, all whose acts in ' Justisicatus Christus dicitur cum resurrexit, i Tim- iii. 1 6. Nosque in eo resurgente juslificati, Rim. iv. ult. Quia ista solutio, iciest, suscitatio Patris, aBualisjusttjicatio suit, illius quidem a peccatis atiorutn pro quibus satis dederat, nostrum vero a peccatis propriis, pro quibus ilk vadimonium pnestitit. Parker de descensu Christi ad inferot, 1. 3. J, go. p. 59. » Acts xv. 18. * Rom. iv. 17.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. i6jr in him are eternal j that this is the grand original sentence of justification ; of which that pronounced on Christ, as our representative, when he rose from the dead, and that which is pronounced by the Spirit of God in the consciences of believers, as well as that which will be pronounced before men and angels, at the general judgment, are no other than so many repetitions, or renewed declarations •, that this includes the whole compleat efj'e of justification ; being, as Mr Rutbersoord observes", " An eternal and immanent act in God, and not " transient upon an external subject. Of which sort, adds he, are the acts of " election and reprobation, which have their whole complete being before the " persons elected, reprobated, or justified, either begin to be, live or believe, ** or do any thing good or evil." In one word, I apprehend, that as God's eternal decree of election of persons to everlasting life, is the eternal election of them, so God's will, decree, or purpose, to justify his elect, is the eternal justification of them ; though his eternal will to sanctify them is not an eternal fanctification of them ; because sanctification is a work of God's grace upon us, and within us, and so requires our personal existence. Justification is an act of God's grace towards us, is wholly without us, entirely resides in the divine mind, and lies in his estimation, accounting and constituting us righte ous, through the righteousness of his Son ; and so required neither the actual existence of Christ's righteousness, nor of our persons, but only that both should certainly exist in time. For the further confirmation and illustration of this truth, let the following things be observed : ( i.) That there is an eternal election of persons to everlasting life, and that the objects of justification are God's elect : Who Jhall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? it is God that jujlifietb \ Now, if God's elect, as such, can have nothing laid to their charge, but are, by God, acquitted, discharged, and justified •, and, if they bore this character of elect from eternity, or were chosen in Christ before the world began, then they must be acquitted, discharged and justified by God from eternity, so as nothing could be laid to their charge. Besides, electing grace before the world began, put then in Christ : He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world r. And if electing grace then put them in him, they must be considered as righteous in him : no man can be considered in Christ as an unrighteous person, or as unjustified, or as in a state * Justificare fumitur vel active, pro actu Dei judiciali, vel passive feu terminative, prout \n credentem terminatur ; priore in modo eft actus in Deo inlernus & immanens, non transiens in fubjectum externum ; cujus modi actus funt electio ic reprobatio, quae habent totum esse completum, priusquam homines elesti, reprobati aut justificati vel esse, vivere, credere incipiant, aliquid boni vel mali faciunt. Ruthtrfoord. Apolog. EnertitaL exerc i. c sr. $. ao. x Rem, viii. 33,. y Eph. i. 4.

i£8 THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, state of condemnation. And, I think, we may be allowed to argue an eternal justification from eternal election, since eternal justification is a branch of it; and, as such, as one observes, " Is the Father's eternal purpose and agreement " with the Son, that the elect should be everlastingly righteous in his sight, in " the righteousness of this dear Son of his ; in which act he constituted and " ordained them so to be1-" And this act, as the fame excellent person observes, is no other than " setting apart the elect alone to be partakers of *' Christ's righteousness, and setting apart Christ's righteousness for the elect " only *." I think we may safely conclude, that if there is an eternal election of persons in Christ, there must be an eternal acceptance and justification of them in him ; since as he always was the beloved Son of his Father, in whom he is ever well pleased, so he always has graciousiy accepted of, and is well pleased with all his elect in him.* (2.) That there was, from all eternity, a covenant of grace and peace made between the Father and the Son, on the account of these elect persons ; when all the blessings of grace, and promises of life, provided and secured in that covenant, were put into the hands of Jesus Christ for his people ; and though they had then no personal or actual existence, yet they had a representative Being in Christ, in whom they were -then blejfed with allspiritual blestings b. And, if with all spiritual blessings, .then with this of justification; which was no inconsiderable part of that grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began'. But I cannot express this better than in the words of Dr Goodwin, who speaking of the date of justification, says'1 : " The first progress, or step, »* was at the first covenant-making and striking of the bargain from all eter- *' nity : we may fay, of all spiritual blessings in Christ, what is said of Christ, *' that bis goings forth are from everlasting. Justified then we were, when first *' elected, though not in our own persons, yet in our Head, as he had our " persons then given him, and we came to have a being and interest in him : " You are in Christ, (faith the apostle) and so we had the promise made of all ** spiritual blessings in him, and he. took all the deeds of all in our name; so " in Christ we were blessed with all spiritual blessings, Epb. 1.V3. As we " are blessed with all other, and so with this also, that we were justified then ** in Christ. To this purpose is that place, Rom. viii. 30. where heVpeaks of *'• ajl those blessings which are applied to us after redemption, as^ calling, " justification, gjorification, as of things already past and done, even then «' when he did predestinate us : whom he hath predestinated, them he hath " called, * Mr Davis, in his letter to Mr Btart, published in Mr. Maurice's Monuments of Mercy, p. 83/ •-Ibid. p. 85. k Eph. i. 3, « 2 Tim. i. 9. ' Vol. 4. par. 1. p. 104, 105.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. i69 u called, them he hath justified, them he hath glorified. He speaks it as in the *' time past ; neither speaks he thus of these blessings, as past simply in regard of " that presence, in which all things stand before him from eternity •, all things " past, present, and to come, being to him as present : nor doth he speak it only " in regard of a resolution, or purpose, taken up to call and justify, he calling " things that are not as though they were, Rom. iv. 1 7. For thus it may be said, " of all his other works towards the creatures in common, that he hath created " and preserved them from everlasting : but in a more special relation are these " blessings decreed, said to have been bestowed, because, though they existed " not in themselves, yet they existed really in a Head that represented them " and us, who was by to answer for them, and to undertake for them, which " other creatures could not do ; and there was an actual donation and receiving " of all these for us, (as truly as a feoffee in trust may take lands for one un- " born) by virtue of a covenant made with Christ ; whereby Christ had all " our sins imputed to him, and so taken off from us, Christ havino- then cow venanted to take all our sins upon him, when he took our persons to be his- " and God having covenanted not to impute sin unto us, but to look at him ** for the payment of all, and at us as discharged. Of this seems that place «• 2 Cor. v. 19. evidently to speak, as importing that everlasting transaction ; ** God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses " to them, that is, not imputing them then when he was reconciling us unto " himself, in Christ. So as then God told Christ, as it were, (for it was a real " covenant) that he would look for his debt and satisfaction of him, and that " he did let the sinners go free; and so they are, in this respect, justified from •« all eternity. And, indeed, if the promise of life was then given us, (as the " apostle Paul speaks, Tit..i. 2.) then also justification of life, without which «* we could not come to life. Yet this is but the. indication, though it be an •' estating us into the whole tenure of life." (3.) Christ was set up from everlasting, as the Mediator of this covenant : his goings forth, and acting therein, on the behalf of his people, were of old from everlasting. He then engaged to be a surety for them, and was accepted of by God the Father as such •, who thence forward, to use the Doctor's words just now cited, looked for his debt, and expected satisfaction of him, and let the sinners go free, for whom he engaged. Looking at him for the payment, he looked at them as discharged } and they were so in his eternal mind, and* in this respect, were justified from eternity. And indeed, it is a rule that will hold good, " That as soon as any one becomes a surety for another' the other Vol. III. Z ' .. is « Quia simul ac.vas aliquis fit pro altero, alter statim liberatur, si vas iste acceptatur. Maccou Theolog. Quest, loc. 31. Quaest. 6.

i7o THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, " is immediately freed, if the surety be accepted " which is the cafe here. And it is certainly most prudential, when a man has a bad debt, and has good security for it, to have his eye upon the bondsman or surety for payment, and not upon the principal debtor, who will never be able to pay him. (4.) That as soon as Christ became a surety, the fins of all those persons, for whom he became a surety, were reckoned and accounted to him ; and, if accounted to him, then not to them •, if they were laid to his charge, then not to theirs ; and, if he was answerable for them, then they were discharged from them. If there was an imputation of them to him, then there must be a non-imputation of them to them ; which the apostle plainly intimates, when he fays, God was in Christy that is, from everlastings reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them'. Witsius, citing this text of scripture, says E : " God hath reconciled the whole world of his elect to himself, and " hath declared that he will not impute their trespasses to them, and that " because of the consummate satisfaction of Christ, 2 Cor. v. 19. wherefore; " fays he, I am of opinion, that this act of God may be called the general " justification of the elect." Nor ought it to be thought strange, foreign, or far-fetched, that the justification of God's people is inferred from the imputa tion of their sins to Christ, and the non-imputation of them to them ; since the apostle Paul, in Rom. iv. 6—8. has so manifestly deduced, and strongly concluded the imputation of righteousness, which is the ratio formalis of justi fication, from the non-imputation of sin, and remission of it (5.) That God from eternity willed to punish sin, not in the persons of the elect, but in the person of Christ their surety. That it is the will of God to punish sin, not in his people, but in his Son, is plain and manifest, from his setting him up h in his purpose, to be a propitiation for theirsins -, from his sending him forth in the likeness of sinful flesh -, to condemn sin in the flesh ; and from his being made both sin and a curse for them, that they might be made the righteousness of God in him. This will was notified to man quickly after the fall, though it did not then begin, for no new will can arise in God •, he wills nothing in time, but what he willed from eternity. If it was God's eternal will not to punish sin in his people, but in his Son, then they were eternally discharged, acquitted from sin, and secured from everlasting wrath and destruction •, and, if they were eternally discharged from sin, and freed from punishment, they, were eternally justified. Dr Twijfe makes the very quiddity, * a Cor. v. 9. * Deus totum electorum siiorum mundum simul sibi reconciliavit,pronunciavitque, fe non imputaturum iia offensas suas, atque id propter Christi consummatam sari»faclionem, 2 Cor. v 19. per me itaque licet, ut haec Dei adio, generalis eleaorum justificatio dicatur. 7FB/: Animadv. Ircnic. c. 10. $. z. k Rom. iii. 15. *n>oi9n*, fore-ordaioed.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. 171 quiddity or essence, of justification and remission of sins, which he takes to be the fame, to lie in God's will not to punisti. His words are these : *« Forgive- " ness of sin, if you regard the quiddity of it, is no other than a negation of " punishment, or a will not to punish : be it therefore, that to forgive sin is " no other than to will not to punish ; why, this will not to punish, as it is " an immanent act in God, was from eternity '." (6.) That the saints under the Old Testament were justified by the fame righteousness of Christ, as the saints under the New ; and that before the oblation, or sacrifice, was actually oft'ered up, or the everlasting righteousness was actually brought in ; before an actual payment of debts was made, or an actual satisfaction for sins given. For Christ's blood, when it was shed, was shed for the remission offins that were past k. And his death was for the redemption of transgressions that were under the first Testament. Now if God could, and did, actually justify some, having taken his Son's word as their surety, upon a view of his future righteousness, three or four thousand years before this righteous ness was actually wrought out j why could he not, and why may it not be thought that he did, justify all his elect from eternity, viewing the fame future righteousness of Christ, which he had engaged to work out for them, and which he knew full well he would work out ; since, though they had not then an .actual, yet they had a representative Being in Christ their Head ? But I proceed, Secondly^ To shew that the justification, which is by, at, or upon believing, is not properly justification, but the manifestation of it. The phrase we fre quently meet with in scripture, of being justified by faiths must be understood either in a proper or in an improper sense: those who understand it in a proper sense, make the *» credere, or the act of faith, to be imputed for justification j or, in other words, to be the matter of it ; or to be accepted of God in the room of a legal righteousness : this is the way the Papists ', Soeinians-mi and Remonstrants take. On the other hand, sound Protestant divines understand the phrase in an improper, tropical, or metonymical sense j and fay, that faith z 2 intends 1 Remiffio enim peccatorum, si quidditatem inspicias, nihil aliud est, quatn aut punitionis negatio, aut volitionis puniendi negatio. Sit ergo, peccata remitterc nihil aliud quam nolle punire. At hoc nolle punire, ut actus immanens in Deo, suit ab æterno. Twijs. Vindiciæ Gratia;, 1. I. par. 2. $ 25. p. 194. To whiih Air Eyra agrees in his Free Justification of a Sinner, &c. p. 89, 91. wliere be give! these two reasons for it. — i. Because it agrees with the'definition the Psalmist and ApoftUgive of justification, Psalm xxxii. i , 2. Rom. iv. 6, y- —2. Because by it God's clcEl are acquitted and dischargedfrom their fins, andsecured from wrath and destruction. Mr Ruthersoord seems to be of the fame mind. Exercitat. Apolog. exerc. i. c. 2 J. 20. k Rom. iii. 25, 26. Heb. ix. 15. 1 Vid. Rivet. Summ. Controv. Tract. 4. Quaest. 2. Ames Bellarmin, Enerv. torn. IV. 1. 6. c. I. ■ Vid. Ptkii Harmon. Remonstrant. & Socin. p. 151, 152.

i72 THE DOCTRINE QF JUSTIFICATION, intends neither the habit, nor the act of faith ; because then our justification would be placed in that which is a part, and a principal part of fanctification ; nor would there be a proper antithesis, or opposition, between faith and works, in the business of justification : therefore by faith they understand, and very rightly, the object of faith, as in Gal. iii. 23. But before faitb came, &c. that is, before Christ, the Object of faith, came: so that we may be said to be justified by faith objectively, the act of faith being put for the object of it ; the reason of which is, because it is to faith that this object is revealed. Faith is the recipient of it ; it is the grace by which the foul lays hold on, apprehends, and embraces Christ's righteousness, as its justifying righteousness before God. So that when we are said to be justified by faith, it is to be understood not in a proper, but in an improper, tropical, or metonymical fense ; faith being not our justification itself, but the evidence of it. For Faith adds nothing to the eJJ'e, but to the bene ejse of justification. Justifica tion is a compleat act in God's eternal mind, without the being or consideration of faith •, that is to fay, God does not justify any because they believe in Christ, nor on the foresight of their future faith in him. A man is not more justified after faith, than he is before faith in God's account; and, after he has believed, his justification does not depend upon his acts of faith; for though we believe not, yet be abides faithful "to his covenant-engagements with his Son. . Faith, indeed, is of great use for our comfortable apprehension of it ; without this grace we neither know, nor can claim, our interest in it ; nor enjoy that peace of conscience, which is the happy result of it. But Faith has no manner of causal influence upon our justification. It is not the impulsive, or moving cause of it, for that is the grace of God ; nor the efficient cause of it, for it is God that justifies ; nor is it the matter of it, for that is the obedience and blood of Christ; nor is it an instrument, or instru mental cause of it, which is no other than a less principal efficient cause. For, as Mr Baxter himself well argues °, " if faith be the instrument of our «« justification, it is the instrument either of God, or man. Not of man, for '* justification is God's act ; he is the sole Justifier, Rom. iii. 26. man doth not " justify himself: nor of God, for it is not God that believeth." Nor is it causa Jine qua non, or that without which a man cannot be justified in the sight of God. For, I hope, I have already proved, that all God's elect are justified in his sight, and in his account, before faith ; and if before faith, then with out it. Besides, all elect infants, dying in infancy, are completely justified, who are not capable of the t« credere, or act of believing in Christ, what ever may be said for the habit of faith in them. Faith ■ 2 Tim. ii. 13. • Aphorism. 56. 6a Eyre's Frujustification, 4c. p. 69. Ed. t.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. 173 Faith is the fense, perception, and evidence of our justification. Christ's righteousness, as justifying, is revealed from faith to faith. It is that grace whereby the foul, in the light of the divine Spirit, beholds a complete righte ousness in Christ, having seen its guilt, pollution, and misery ; when it is enabled to renounce its own righteousness, and submit to the righteousness of Christ ; which it puts on by faith, as its garment of justification ; which it rejoices in, and gives him the glory ofj the Spirit of God bearing witness with his Spirit, that he is a justified Person. And so he comes to be evidently and declaratively justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. Now neither the manifestation of justification to our consciences, by the Spirit of God ; nor our sense and perception of it by faith, are properly our justification : for they both relate to some prior act or sentence, wherein the very essence of the thing lies. The pardon of a criminal is compleat, when signed and sealed by the king. Neither the act of bringing it to the criminal, nor his act of receiving it, is his pardon •, though both are necessary to his knowledge of it, and to his pleading it in court, as well as to the peace, quiet, and satisfaction of his mind. When a man is justified and acquitted in court, and hath the copy of his indictment given him, who will fay the copy of his indictment is his justification or acquittance, and not the judgment and act of the court? For a man may be truly and legally acquitted, and yet not have the copy of his indictment. For a man to have' the copy of his indictment may be of great service in some cases, and be a good testimonial of his acquit tance ; but it is not the thing itself. Just so, neither the intimation of the sentence of justification, made to our consciences by the Spirit of God ; nor our sense and perception of it by faith, so intimated, is, strictly and properly speaking, our justification : for, if they were, then believers themselves might be without it, since they may be without those intimations of the blessed Spirit, and a comfortable sense and perception of their justification by faith ; which seems to be the case of David, when he said : Restore unto me the joy of thysal vation, and uphold me with thy free Spirit p. What I have now said, I think, perfectly agrees not only with the scriptures of truth, but with what some of the best and soundest divines have said on this subject, I have already observed that Dr Ames says, that " The testimony «« of the Spirit is not so properly justification, as it is an actual perception of «' it before granted V As also what the judicious Pemble has asserted, when speaking of justification inforo confcientU, he says ' : It is " but the revelation " and » Pselm li. 12. 1 See pag. 11. * See pag. 37.

174 THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, " and certain declaration of God's former secret act of accepting Christ's " righteousness to our justification." Besides these, give me leave to add on« or two testimonies more. Maccovius, speaking of the Arminian tenet, " That *' we are not justified before we believe," observes, that this mistake arises from their not allowing the distinction of active and passive justification, which he proves thus * : "It is said of God that he justisieth, Rom. iv. 5. and of us, that *' we are justified, chap. v. Not that there is a twofold justification ; for ** passive justification, says he, is improperly called justification, and is only *' the fense of active justification." Mr Rutberfoord1 says, that "Justification " taken passively, or in the termination of it, is to declare a man both living, " and actually believing, righteous, by a judicial act, terminated upon the " conscience of a guilty sinner, cited before the tribunal of God, and convicted " of sin ; in which law-suit the sinner is absolved, and actually perceives and " apprehends the declared absolution, and by a fiducial stay relies on Christ, "now reaching out the manifestation of this sentence: yet, says he, justifica- ** tion in this form of speech, so usual in the scriptures, does not suppose any *' new will in God, beginning in time, as the Arminians with their own Socinus •* assert-, but an intimation of God's eternal will, now made to the conscience." I -will conclude this head with the words of Dr Twiffe": "Justification and " absolution, as they signify an immanent act of the divine will, are from " eternity : but the external notification of the fame will in manner of a " judicial and forensic absolution, which is made by the Word and Spirit, at 44 the tribunal of every one's conscience, is that imputation of Christ's righte *• ousness • Dicitur de Deo quod justisicat, Ram. iv. 5. & de nobis quod justificamur, cap. 5. Non eft ergo propterca duplex justificatio ; nam passiva impropric dicitur justificatio, & est tantum senfus justificationis active. Maccov. IIjwtoi ^tvim Arminian c. 10. Vid. etiam Thcolog. Polem. c. lc. Quxst. 2. * Justificare terminative Sc passive est justum hominem ic viventem, & actu credentem declarare, astu judicial! terminato in conscientiam peccatoris rei, & citati coram tremendo Dei judicis tri bunal!, & peccatorum convicti ; quo lite forensi peccator abfblvitur, & absolutionem declaratam actu sentit, apprehendit, & siduciali innixu in Christum, jam manisestationem illiui sententiae porrigentem recumbit. At vero to justificare, hac usitata in scripturis loquendi forma, non ponit in Deo novam volitionem, jam in tempore incipientem, ut nugantur Arminiant cum fuo Socino; fed. seternac Dei volitionis intimationem conscientiac jam factam. Riuictorfort. E xercitat. Apolog. Cxcrc. 1. c. a. $. 20. * Justificatio & absolutio prout significant actum divinae voluntatis immanentem, sunt ab aeterno: unius autem voluntatis notisicatio externa, per raodum absolutionis cujusdam judicialis Se fbrenlis quse fit per verbum & spiritum, pro tribunali conscientiæ uniuscujusque ; haec est ilia justi tias imputatio, itemque peccatorum remissio, & j ullificatio atquc absolutio, quæ fidem consequitur bincenim fit ut quasi ore judicis pronuncietur. absolutio, eoque internum absolvendi propolitum, ^uod ab irterno suit manifestatur. Twiff. Vindiciæ Gratix, 1. 1. par. 2. J. 25. p. 197.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. 17$ " ousncss, remission of sins, justification and absolution, which follow faith. " For hereupon absolution is pronounced, as it were by the mouth of a judge, «' and so that internal purpose of absolving, which was from eternity, is made " manifest." But I stiall now go on, Thirdly, To consider the objections which are made against this doctrine. 1. It is objected, that persons cannot be justified before they exist ; they must be, before they can be justified ; and this is strengthened with some old trite philosophical maxims : as, Non ends nulla feint accidentia, nullæ affecliones ; acddentis ejfe, est inefj'e; " No accidents can be predicated of a non-entity; no " affections can be ascribed to it, &V." To which I answer, with Maccovius*, That this is true of non-entities that have neither an ejfe actu, nor an ejfe cognitum ; that have neither an actual being, nor is it certain, or known, that they shall have any future being. But God's elect, though they have not an tffe aflu, an actual being from eternity, yet they have an ejfe cognitum ; it is certain by the prescience and fore- knowledge of God, that they shall have one ; for known unto God are all his works from eternity \ Besides, they have an ejfe reprafentativum, a representative being in Christ •, which is, more than other creatures have, whose future existences are certain ; and therefore they were bleffed with allspiritual bleffings in Christ, before the foundation of tie world' ; and had grace given them in Christ before the world began z. Moreover, " Justification ** is a moral act, which does not require the present existence of the subject ; «« it is enough that it shall exist some time or other *." It is, indeed, granted, that justification taken passively, as it is declared to, and passes upon the conscience, by the Spirit of God, and is received by faith •, that this requires the actual existence of the subject on whom it terminates : but we are not speaking of justification as a transient, but as an immanent act; not as received by us, but as it is in God, who justifies. 2. It is objected, that if God's elect are justified from eternity, then they were not only justified before they themselves existed, but also from that which, as yet, was not committed, that is, sin ; and it seems absurd to say, that they are justified from sins, before they were committed, or any charge was brought against them for sin. To which I answer : it is no more absurd to say, that God's elect are justified from their sins, before they were com mitted, than it is to fay* that their sins were imputed to Christ, and laid upon him, as he was delivered up to justice, and died for them, before they were committed. And as this will not be denied by those, who believe the substi tution •Loc. Comraun. c. 69. p. 609. * Acti xv. t . * Eph. i. 3. * 2 Tim. i. 9. » Justificatio est actus moralis, qui non requirit, ut fimul sit subjectum existens; fed sufficit, ut aliquando cxistat. Mauov. Thcolog. Quæst, loc. 31.

i76 THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, tution of Christ in the room and stead of the elect, the imputation of their sins to him, and his plenary satisfaction to divine justice for them, by his sufferings and death ; so it is an answer which ought to be satisfactory tothem. 3. It is suggested11, *« That justification, strictly speaking, cannot be said to " be from eternity, because the decree of justification is one thing, and justi- " fkation itself another j even as God's will to save and sanctify is one thing, " and salvation and sanctification itself another ; and therefore, though the " decree is from eternity the thing itself is not." To which I reply : That as God's decree to elect certain persons to everlasting life and salvation, is his election of them to everlasting life and salvation ; so his decree, will, and purpose to justify any, is his justification of them: for by, or through the decree of justification, as Dr Ames expresses it, (which was before observed '). the sentence of justification was conceived in God's mind •, and, being there conceived, was compleat and perfect. God's will not to impute sin to his. people, is the non-imputation of it to them ; and his will to impute Christ'srighteousness, is the imputation of it to them. The fame may be said of all God's immanent acts of grace concerning us ; such as election, &V. Which are entirely within himself, and do not require that the object should exist;, only that it certainly shall exist some time or other : but this cannot be said of. transient acts, which produce a real, physical and inherent change upon the subject. It is one thing for God to will to act an act of grace concerning us, and another thing to will to work a work of grace in us. God's will in the former instance, is his act; in the latter it is not: wherefore, though God's will to justify is justification itself, because justification is a complear act in his eternal mind without us : yet his will to sanctify is not sanctification, because this is a work wrought in us. Hence it appears, that there is not the fame reason to say, we were created, called, sanctified, or glorified from eternity ; as to fay, that we were justified from eternity Because, as Mr Eyres observes d : *• These import an inherent change in the person created, called, glorified; •* which forgiveness does not, it being perfect and compleat in the mind of •• God :" by which he means justification. 4. It is observed, That the apostle Paul, in recounting the several blessings of divine grace, in his famous chain of salvation, Rom. viii. 30. places vocation before * Non putamus, accurate loquendo, justificationem ipsam posse dici aeternam, quia aliud eft decretum justificationis, aliud ipsa justificatio: ut aliud est volunta* servandi & sanctificandi, aliud vero salus & sanctificatio ipsa: voluntas feu decretum de quibusdam justjficandii aeternum quidem est ; & fidem ipsam præcedtt, fed ipsa actualis justificatio fit in tempore, # idemLsequitur. Turretin. Institut. Theo'.og. torn. II. loc. 16. Quaest. 9. J. 3. • See page 4*, 46, 47. d Free Justification, &C. p. 94.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. i77 before justification, as something antecedent to it'-, from whence it is con cluded, that vocation is, in order of time, before justification. To which I reply : That the order [of things is frequently inverted in scripture. The Jews have a saying, That " there is neither first nor last in the law f," that is, it does not always observe to put that first which is first ; and that last which is last ; but frequently changes the order ; so that nothing strictly is to be con cluded from thence. And as this is obvious in the law, and in the other writings of the Old Testament, so it is in the books of the New Testament •, where it is easy to observe, that the order of the three Persons in the Trinity is not always kept to. Sometimes the Son is placed before the Father, and some times the Holy Spirit is mentioned before the Father and the Son. And though this may well express the equality there is between them ; yet it ought not to be urged, to confound the order among them. But, to consider the instance of vocation before us : let it be observed, that this is sometimes placed before election, as in 2 Peter i. 10. Make your calling and eleclion sure. And yet none but an Arminian, and scarcely such an one, will infer from hence, that vocation, or calling, is before election. And, on the other hand, salva tion is placed before vocation, 2 Tim. i. 9. Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling. From whence it may be as strongly concluded, that salvation, and so justification, is before vocation, as that vocation is before justification from the other text. If, indeed, by justification is meant the declarative sentence of it upon the conscience, by the Spirit of God, and received by faith, it will be allowed, that it follows vocation, and that vocation precedes it. 5. " The several passages of scripture, where we are said to be justified by, " or through faith, are urged, as declaring faith to be a pre-requisite to justi- •* fication ; which cannot be, fay they, if justification was from eternity g." To which I answer : That those places of scripture, which speak of justifica tion, by, or through faith, do not militate against, nor disprove justification before faith : for though justification before, and by faith differ ; yet they are not opposite and contradictory : yea, justification *by, or through faith, sup poses justification before faith. For if there was no justification before faith, • Paulus expresse hoc confirmat in catena salutis, bencficia qua; ex externo Dei amore in electos manant ordine recensens, ubi vocalioncm præponit justifications tanquam aliquid antccedcns, Rom. viii. 30. Quos vocavit, eos justificavit. Turretin. ubi supra, \. 4. ' n-nm -imNDl Cnp'lD r*< Talmud. Bab. Pesachim, sol. 6. col. 2. s Ncc alio tendunt varia ilia loca, ubi dicimur per fidem, & fide justificari, quam ut doceant sidcm efle aliquid ad justificationem prxrequisitum ; quod dici non potest, si justificatio ab jeterno facta fuiflet. Turretin. ut supra. Vol. III. A a there

178 THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, there can be mne by it, without making faith the cause or condition of it. As to those places of scripture, which speak of justification by, or through faith, declaring faith to be a pre-requisue to justification, I reply : If by a pre-requisite, is meant a p re-requisite to the being of justification, it is denied that those scriptures teach any such thing-, for faith adds nothing to the being of justification : but if by it, is meant a pre-requisue to the sense and know ledge of it, or to a claim of interest in it, it will be allowed to be the sense of them. But a learned author says, " : That " to refer them to the fense of " justification only is weak and foreign to the mind of the apostle Paul." But I must beg leave to differ from him, till some reasons are given why it is so. But let us a little consider some of the scriptures which are insisted on. Perhaps the words of my text may be thought to stare me in the face, and to furnish out an objection against justification, before faith ; when the apostle says, And by him all that believe are justified. From whence it can only be in ferred •, that all who believe are justified persons, which no body denies ; and they may be justified before they believe, for aught that the apostle here fays. And if any one should think fit to infer from hence, that those who believe not, are not justified, it will be allowed, that they are not declaratively, or evidentially justified ; thatihey do not know that they are •, that they cannot receive any comfort from it, nor claim any interest in justification ; but that they are not justified in God's sight, or in Christ the Mediator, cannot be proved. Again, the apostle in 1 Cor. vi. 11. fays of the Corinthians, that they were nowjustified, as if they were not justified before. But this, I conceive, does not at all militate against justification before faith : for they might be , justified in foro Dei, and in their Head, Christ Jesus, before now, and yet not till now be justified in their own consciences, and by the Spirit of God; which, it is plain, is the justification the apostle is here speaking of. But the grand text, which is urged to prove justification a consequent of faith, is Gal. ii. 16. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. Here the apostle is speaking of justification, as it terminates upon the conscience of a believer : and this is readily granted to follow faith, and to be a consequent of it ; for that none are justified by faith until they believe, is acknowledged by all. The apostle's meaning then is, that we have believed in Christ, or have looked to him for justification, that we might have the com fortable fense and apprehension of it, through faith in him j or that we may appear to be justified, or to expect justification alone by his righteousness, received} »> Nam hæc ad fcnsum tantum justificationis referre dilutum est, & a Pauli mente alienum. Turrttin. ibid.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. 179 received by faith, and not by the works of the law. In the fame light may many other scriptures, of the fame kind, be considered. 6. It is urged': " That justification cannot be from eternity, but only in " time, when a man actually believes and repents ; because else it would " follow, that he, who is justified, and consequently hath passed from death to " life, and is become a child of God, and an heir of eternal life, abides still " in death, and is a child of wrath ; because he who is not converted, and lies " in sin, abides in death, i John iii. 14. and is of the devil, 1 John iii. 8. and " in a state of damnation, Gal. v. 21." In order to solve this seeming diffi culty, let it be observed, That God's elect may be considered under two diffe rent Heads, and as related to two different covenants at one and the fame time. As they are the descendants of Adam, they are related to him, as a covenanthead, and as such, sinned in him ; and, through his offence judgment came upon them all to condemnation ; and lo they are all, by nature, children of •wrath, even as others. But then, as considered in Christ, they were loved with an everlasting love : God chose them in him before the foundation of the world ; and always viewed and accounted them righteous in Christ, in whom they were eternally secured from eternal wrath and damnation. So that it is no contradiction to fay, that the elect of God, as they are in Adam, and according to the covenant of works, are under the sentence of condemnation; and that as they are in Christ, and according to the covenant of grace, and the secret transactions thereof, they are justified and freed from all condemnation. This is no more a contradiction, than that they are loved with an everlasting love, and yet are children of wrath at one and the fame time, as they certainly are. And again, this is no more a contradiction, than that Jesus Christ was the Object of his Father's love and wrath at one and the fame time ; sustaining two different capacities, and standing in two different relations, when he suffered in the room and stead of his people. 7. It is objected, that this doctrine makes assurance to be of the essence of faith. And, indeed, I think, that assurance, in some degree or other of it, is essential to faith : but then by this I do not mean such an assurance as excludes all doubts and fears, and admits of no allay of unbelief ; which the apostle calls, The full ajfurance offaitb*, and is the highest degree thereof. Nor do I intend assurance in so low a fense, as the mere assurance of the object ; a a 2 for * Liquet talem justisicationem non potuisse fieri ab æterno, fed tantum in tempore quura homo actu credit & pœnitentiam agit; alias sequeretur, cum, qui justificatus, & per consequens transits a mortc ad viiam, & Filius Dei fastus est & hæres vita: æternae, adhuc manere in morte, & esso Filium iræ ; quia qui nondum conversus est, & in peccato jacet, manet in morte, i Joh. iii. 14, It est e* diabolo, 1 Joh. iii. 8. & in statu damnations, Gal. v. 21. Turrctin. ibid. §. 5. * Heb. X. t».

180 THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, for this may be in devils, in hypocrites, and formal professors : but I mean an assurance of the object with relation to a man's self in particular. As for instance : That faith by which a man is said to be justified, is not a meer assurance of the object, or a bare persuasion that there is a justifying righte ousness in Christ ; but that there is a justifying righteousness in Christ for him ; and therefore he looks unto, leans, relies, and depends on, and pleads this righteousness for his justification : though this act of his may be at tended with many doubts, fears, questionings, and unbelief. And what h Ihort of this I cannot apprehend to be true faith in Christ, as the Lord our righteousness. 8. It is objected : That if justification is before faith, then there is no need of faith ; it is a vain and useless thing. To which I answer, that though faith does not justify us, it being neither the whole, nor a part of our justifying righteousness, nor the cause or condition of our justification ; yet, as it ap prehends and receives Christ's righteousness for our justification, it brings much peace, joy, and comfort into our hearts. The awakened sinner, before faith is wrought in his foul, or he enabled to exercise it on Christ, finds himself in a state of bondage, and under a sentence of condemnation ; as he really is, as a descendant os Adam, and according to the open rules of God's word : so that there is nothing else but a fearful expectation of fiery indignation to consume him. But when the Spirit of God brings near Christ's righteousness, and puts it into the hand of faith, and declares the justifying sentence of God, upon the account of that righteousness, in the conscience, his mind is unfettered, his soul is set at liberty, and silled with a joy unspeakable and full efglory. So that faith is just of the fame usefulness in this respect, as a condemned malefactor's actually receiving the king's pardon into his own hand is to him ; when, in, consequence of this, he is not only delivered from prison and confinement, and all the miseries which attended such a state •, but also freed from all those fears, terrors, horrors, and tortures of mind, which arose from his daily expec tation of just punifliment. In fine, justification is by faith, and in a way of receiving, as the whole of salvation is, That it might be by grace, that is, that it might appear to be of grace, and not of works. Thus have I freely given my thoughts concerning justification, both before and at believing, and have endeavoured to remove the objections made against it. I leave what 1 have said to the blessing of God, and pass on, VI. To consider the objects of justification, who are God's elect1 : Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? it is Cod that justifies, that is, his elect \. who are described, i. By 1 Rom. viii. 33, 34*

STATED AND MAINTAINED. 181 i. By their number: They are many: By bis knowledge Jhall my righteous Servant justify many m. And, by the obedience of one many are made righteous". Jesus Christ: engaged as a surety for many, and gave bis life a ramfon for many0', and was offered up to bear the sins of many ; which is the true reason why many are justified by him. Many are brought to believe on him for life and salva tion, even as many as were ordained to eternal life p 5 and many sons, in conse quence of all this, will be brought to glory : Many shallsit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven q. And hence there are many mansions in Christ's Father's house preparing for them. This leads us to observe, ( i.) That they are not a few who are justified by Christ. Though Christ's flock is but a little flock, in comparison of the world's goats ; though Christ's people are but few in comparison of the vast number of hypocrites and formal professors •, (for many are called, but few chosen ' ; many strive to enter in at the strait gate, but few there be that enter in at it ;) yet, considered in themselves, they are a great number, which no man can number. Now this serves to magnify the grace of God, to exalt the satisfaction and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to encourage distressed souls to seek and look to Christ for righte ousness ; seeing it is wrought out for many, and many are justified by it. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, they shall be filled*. (2.) This stiews that all mankind are not justified. Though they are many who are justified, yet they are not all. For all men have not faith to receive Christ's righteousness ; nor are all men saved, as they would be, if they were justified : for those who arJsjustified by his blood, Jhall be saved from wrath through bim\ Yet all the elect; -are justified: For in him shall all the feed of Israel be justified, and shall glory•*{ i. The objects ofj Justification are described by the quality of them, or by their state and condition. Before conversion, they are represented as ungodly ; and after convcrsion/as believers in Christ. Thus, in our text : All that believe are justified. By whom we are to understand, not nominal believers, or such who only profess to believe in Christ •, but real ones, who with the heart believe unto righteousness, and whose faith works by love to Christ and to hi* people. But I go on, VII. To mention the several effects ofjustification, which are these following : I. A freedom from all penal evils in this life, and that which is to come. A justified person shall never enter into condemnation i his afflictions in this life are » Isa. liii. 11. n Rom. v. 19. ° Matt. xx. 28. Heb. ix. 28. t Asts xiii. 48. * Matt. viii. 1 2. John xiv. 2. * Matt. xx. 16. Lukexiii.z4 • Matt. v. 6. « Rom. v. 9. » Isai.xlv. 25.

i8a THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION, are not, strictly speaking, punishments for sins, but fatherly chastisements. They are not inflicted in a way of vindictive wrath, or that by bearing them they should make satisfaction for their sins •, for this would highly reflect on the justice of God, be a lessening of the satisfaction of Christ, and contrary to the whole gospel-declaration. 2. Peace with God is another consequent, or effect of justification : Being justified by faith, we have peace with GWW, that is, peace of conscience, which passeth all understanding, and is one of the most valuable blessings of life. 3. Access to God through Christ with confidence is another effect of it. A justified person can go to God, in the name and strength of Christ, with much boldness, making mention of his righteousness, and of his only j and use much freedom at the throne of grace, in asking for such things as he stands in need of. 4. Acceptance of person and service with God, through Christ, follows upon our justification. God is well pleased with his righteousness, and, for the fake of it, with all his people. Their persons are accepted in the beloved, and their sacrifices and services are also acceptable to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 5. Adoption is another consequent of justification : for though this blessing was originally provided, bestowed, and secured in predestination ; yet way is made for our actual reception of it, by our redemption, which is in Christ Jesus ; who hath redeemed them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children \ Hence Junius calls Justification via adoptions, the way to adoption. 6. Sanctification is also an effect of justification : faith, as has been already (hewn, follows upon it, and is a very considerable part of sanctification. In sine, certainty of salvation, which may be strongly concluded from our justifica tion, and an undoubted title to the glorious inheritance; yea, the full possession of it arise from it, and depend upon it : for whom he justified, them he also glorified r. But I proposed only to mention these things, and therefore proceed to the VIII. And last thing, which is to consider the several properties of justi fication. 1. It is an act of God's free Grace: Being justified freely by his grace*. It was grace that resolved on, and fixed the scheme and method of justification : and which called and moved Christ to engage as a surety for his people ; and which sent him, in the fulness of time, to work out a righteousness for them. And • Rom. v. 1: * Gal. iv. 5. 1 Rom. viii. 30. * Rom. in. 34.

STATED AND MAINTAINED. 183 And then it was grace in God to accept of this righteousness for them, and ■ to impute it to them, and bestow faith on them to receive it; especially will all this appear to be free grace, when it is considered that these persons are all by nature sinners, and ungodly ones ; yea, many of them the chief of sinners, 2. It is universal and not partial. All God's elect are justified, and that from all things, as in our text, that is, from all their sins, and are freed from all that punishment which is due unto them. The whole righteousness of Christ is imputed to them ■, by being hereby justified, they are perfect and compleat in him. 3. It is an individual act, which is done at once, and admits of no degrees. The sins of God's elect were laid at once on Christ, and he made satisfaction for them at once. God accepted of Christ's righteousness, and imputed it at once unto his people, who all have their sins and transgressions forgiven at once. The fense of justification, indeed, admits of degrees : for the righteous ness of God is revealed from faith to faith a; but justification itself does not. There are several fresh declarations, or manifestations, or repetitions of the act of justification ; as at the resurrection of Christ; and again, by the testimony of the Spirit to the conscience of the believer; and last of all, at the general judgment, before men and angels. But justification, as it is an act in God, is but one, and is done at once, and admits of no degrees ; and is not carried on in a gradual and progressive way as sanctification is. 4. It is equal to all, or all are alike justified. The fame price was paid for the redemption of one, as for another ; and the fame righteousness is imputed to one, as to another; and, like precious faith, is given to one, as to another; though not to all in the fame degree, yet the weakest believer is as much justified as the strongest, and the greatest sinner as the smallest. Though one man may have more sanctifying grace than another, yet no man has more justifying righteousness than another. 5. It is irreversible and unalterable. It is according to an immutable decree, which can never be frustrated. It is one of God's gifts, which are without repentance: it is one of the blessings of the covenant of grace, which can never be broken. The righteousness by which the saints are justified is an everlasting one ; and that faith, by which they receive it, shall never fail : And though a righteous man may fall into sin, yet he shall never fall from his righteousness, nor shall he ever enter into condemnation, but be eternally glorified. 6. Justification, though it frees persons from sin, and discharges them from punishment due unto it, yet it does not take sin out of them. By it, indeed, they 1 Rom. i. 1-7.

i84 THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION. they are freed from fin, insomuch that God sees no iniquity in them to con demn them for it. Though he fees and beholds all the sins of his people, in articulo providentia, in respect of providence, and chastises them for them ; yet in articulo justifications, in respect of justification, he sees none in them; they being acquitted, discharged, and justified from all. Nevertheless sin dwells in them : For there is not a just man upon earth that liveth and sinneth not b. 7. It does not destroy the law, nor discourage a careful performance of good works. It does not destroy the law, or make it void ; no, it establishes it ; for the righteousness by which we are justified, is every way commensurate to the demands of the law ; by it the law is magnified, and made honourable. Nor are persons, by this doctrine, discouraged from the performance of good works •, for this doctrine of grace teaches men, That denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, they should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world'. To conclude : If your fouls are under the powerful and comfortable influence of this doctrine, you will, in the first place, bless God for Jesus Christ, by whose obedience you are made righteous: You will value his justifying righte ousness, and make mention of it at all proper times ; you will glory alone in Christ, and will give the whole glory of your justification to him; and will be earnestly and studiously desirous of having your conversations as become the gospel of Christ, and this truth of it in particular. k Eccles. vii. 20. * Tit. ii. 11, 12. THE

THE DOCTRINES OF GOD'S EVERLASTING LOVE TO HIS ELECT, AND THEIR ETERNAL UNION WITH CHRIST: TOGETHER WITH SOME OTHER TRUTHS, STATED AND DEFENDED. In a LETTER to Dr Abraham Taylor. S I R, HAVI N G had the happiness of hearing, and since of reading, your two Discourses, Of the Insufficiency of Natural Religion ; I cannot but express a satisfaction with your method of treating the argument j nor would you have heard from me in this public manner, had you not, in your performance, fallen foul on some of your friends, whilst you was engaging with the common adversary. "When I heard your first discourse on this subject, I observed a paragraph which gave me some uneasiness. I determined to take notice of it to you, as I had opportunity j and knowing I should be present when you con descended to submit your discourses to the correction of some friends, I pur posed humbly to offer some reasons for either dropping or altering the para graph j but, to my great satisfaction, I found myself under no necessity of doing it. The passage I refer to being omitted in reading, I concluded from hence, that upon a revisal of your discourses, you had seen reason in your own mind to strike it out: but, since reading your sermons, now made public, I find, it stands, and, if I mistake not, with some additional keenness and severity : your reason for this you best know. Your words are these \ ■ A Defence of some important Doctrines of the Gospel, by several Ministers, vol. I. p. 48. Vol. III. Bb •• It

i86 THE DOCTRINES OF " It has been said, that during the times of our civil commotions, there was " little preached up but faith in Christ j and that the duties of morality were " little insisted on : it is certain that some ignorant enthusiastic preachers " insisted then much on eternal union with Christ, and that fin could do a " believer no harm ; but all wise and thoughtful men abhorred such immoral " conceits." What I have to complain of in this passage, is as follows : I. The lameness and impertinence of it. You observe " It has been said, «' that during the times of our civil commotions, there was little preached up but " faith in Christ, and that the duties of morality were little insisted on." One would have expected that you would have given an answer to this charge, and it looks as if you had designed it, by your making mention of it, but you neither grant nor deny it; and, instead of doing either, as you ought to have done, you put off the objection, by saying, " that some ignorant enthusiastic " preachers insisted then much on eternal union with Christ, and that fin " could do a believer no harm." Things which are not in the charge, and no way to your purpose to make mention of. Without taking upon me to be a dictator to you, you might have with truth allowed, that during those times, faith in Christ was very much preached up, though not to the exclusion of j moral duties ; and, with a great deal of justness, you might have observed, that the power of godliness very much prevailed ; that the duties of religion were much practised ; that the Lord's day was strictly and religiousty observed ; that social worship was attended on constantly ; that family and closet-devo tion were kept up with much strictness ; and that morality, in all its branches, was in a very flourishing condition in those times, when faith in Christ was so much insisted on. This, I am very sensible, you were capable of observing $ but you chose rather to fling at the doctrine of eternal union with Christ, and to introduce that in an aukward way, and by joining it with a disagreeable notion of sin's doing a believer no harm, to draw an odium upon some good men in those times, whom you call " ignorant enthusiastic preachers," and through them to strike at some who are now in being. II. It does not appear to me matter of fact, that in those times eternal union with Christ, and that sin could do a believer no harm, were much insisted on, as you fay. I know not, indeed, what acquaintance you may have with the pulpit performances of those times. For my own part, I can only judge of their preaching by what they have printed •, and, I presume, that if these

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 187 these doctrines are any where to be met with, they are to be found in the writings of such, who, in those times, were branded for Antinomians ; such as Eaton, Saltmarsh, Simpson, Town, Richardson, and Crisp ; whose writings I have carefully perused, and find no reason to conclude that those doctrines were much insisted on, as you fay. By reading the works of these authors, I have been confirmed in the truth of an observation made some years ago, by the learned Hoornbeeck b : " For I perceive, fays he, while heads of doctrine are " made up by the adversaries, rather than the authors themselves, out of their " dissertations, books, and sermons, that sometimes their fense is not suffi- " ciently taken, nor happily expressed; and that both here and there a great «« deal, indeed, is said, but not much to the purpose; and that they either do " not understand, or mistake the thing in dispute." As to the doctrine of eternal union with Christ, however consistent it may be with some prin ciples of theirs, I do not perceive that they take any notice of it ; and some of them seem to have no notion of it, but tread in the common beaten path of union by the Spirit of Christ, and faith in Christ. Eaton, in his Honey-Comb os Free Justification, has these words ' : " Christ " will have no foul leprous members united and made one with him ; and " therefore he first wastieth us in his own blood, and makes us clean from all " our sins, and then knits and unites us as fit members into his ownself. The " order also and natural dependence of these benefits (that is, justification and " union) upon one another, confirm the fame ; for we cannot be knit into " Christ before we have the Holy Ghost dwelling in us : the Holy Ghost " comes not to dwell in us before we be reconciled to God ; and we are not " reconciled to God before we have all our sins abolished out of God's sight j " but when all our sins are abolished, and we made perfectly holy and righte- " ous, from all spot of sin in the sight of God freely, then the Holy Ghost " comes and dwells in us, and knits and unites us, as fit members, into the " blessed body of Jesus Christ ; then we are, by the wedding garment alone " of Christ's righteousness, made, above our fense and feeling, fit brides for so 14 glorious a Bridegroom." And in another place, he has these words d : " This union and conjunction then is the cause that I am separated from " myself, and translated into Christ and his kingdom, which is a kingdom " of grace, righteousness, peace, joy, life, salvation, and glory ; yea, by this b b 2 *« inseparable b Namque video, dum ex inlegris ipsorum disscrtationibus, libellis & concionibus theses conficiuntur per seriptores adversaries magis quam per auctores ipfos, nonnumquam haud satis feliciter illorum sensus capi & exprimi, & turn hinc turn inde multa quidem dici, at non multum, & VC.1 non intelligi vel non peti to «{i»o/*i»or. Hoornbeeck, Summ. Controv. 1. x. de BiownistiSj p- /<?'» •JOZ. e Chap. 1 5. p. 437, 438. * Page 443.

188 THE DOCTRINES OF " inseparable union and conjunction, which is through faith, Christ and I are " made, as it were, one body in spirit." Simpson, another of those men who were called Antinomiam in those times, expresses himself on the subject of union after this manner, when he is speak ing of the use of faith in justification c : "So that by faith, says he, though " we are assured of God's love in the first place, yet we are not only assured, " but likewise Christ is applied unto us ; we are united unto him, and do " enjoy all things in him, and receive all good things from him." And in another placef; " A believing man is bone of the bone, and flesh of the flesh, ** and one spirit with the Lord Jesus : there is a close and near union and «« application of Christ to the soul by faith." Saltmarjb says nothing in what I have seen of his, concerning eternal union; and what he fays of union itself, is not very intelligible-, yet it seems as though he had no other notion of being in Christ, or of being united to Christ, but by faith. He observes 8 : " That the pure spiritual and mystical fountain of the " mortification of sin, is the being planted together in the likeness of Christ's " death, our old man being crucified with him, Rom. vi. 6. Our union with " Christ, our Head, our Righteousness, our Vine." And, a little after, he has these words : " Now that power wherein we are perfectly mortified, is " our union with Christ, our being planted in the fellowship of his death, »« 6ff. and that wherein we are imperfectly, or in part mortified, is in that «« transformed nature, or spiritual nature, the body of sin being in a believer, " more or less, till he lay down this body and take it up a more glorious one; " so as a believer is to consider himself dead to sin, only in the fellowship of " Christ's death mystically, and to consider himself only dying to sin in " his own nature spiritually : so as in Christ he is only compleat, and in him- " self imperfect at the best. We are compleat in him, faith the apostle, Col. ** ii. 10. yet there is such a power and efficacy, and mighty working in this " mystical union and fellowship with Christ, that he shall find sin dying in " him from this, the Spirit working most in the virtue of this." And, in another place, he fays h ; " A believer hath a twofold condition, in Christ, in " himself; yet he ought ever to consider himself in Christ by faith, not in 14 himself." And elsewhere he observes ' : " The word fays, that we are " compleat • Sermon III. on Eph. ii. 8, 9. p. 116. f Ibid. p. 129. * Free Grace, or the Flowings of Christ's Blood freely to Sinners, p. 66, 67. h Ibid. p. 141. 1 Ibid. p. 156, 157. I have seen two other pieces of Saltmarjh's ; one is called, Shadow flying away, being a Reply to Gataker; the other, The Smoke in the Temple, and chiefly respects church government ; nor is there any thing in either of them concerning union with Christ.

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 189 «' compleat in Christ, and righteous in Christ ; but when I repent, or love, or " obey, I believe, I am in Christ ; and therefore my love, and repentance, " and obedience, is such as I may believe, though not in themselves, yet in " him to be good and spiritual." Town, another writer of those times, who was much charged with Antitiomiani/m, fays nothing of eternal union, but has many expressions in his writings, which mew that he had no other notion of union, but by the Spirit of God, and by the grace of faith. In one of his books he has these words k : " The righteousness of faith unites them, that is, the saints, to Christ, their " Lord, Head and Governor, that so henceforth they may be led by his free " Spirit and swayed by the scepter of his kingdom." And, in the fame treatise, he asks ', " Where doth the law speak a syllable of our conjunction " and union with Christ through faith, whereby Christ and the believer become " one body in spirit?" And in another place "-, "By faith we being united " and married to Christ, do by him bring forth fruits to God, even perfect " obedience imputatively, and inchoative holiness through the operation of " his Spirit, received by the ministry and doctrine of faith, and not of the " law." Though, in another passage in the fame book", he makes the ordinance of water baptism to be the saints union with, and infition into Christ. His words are these : " That ordinance, speaking of baptism, is a true, spi- " ritual, and real ingrafting of them into Christ, 1 Cor. xii. 13. so that faith ** is but the revelation of what was secret and hid before, or an evident testi- *« mony, and lively and comfortable apprehension and application in the «4 conscience of the person of what was conferred and made his before •" that is, if I understand him, in baptism. In another of his books, he has these expressions ° : " Let the poor finful, miserable, and lost soul, first be united •« and married to him, in whom dwelleth the fulness of the Godhead, and in •« whom (he is then compleat, wanting nothing, Col. ii. 9, 10. then tell of «« duties." Again % " If you do truly good works, you do them in Christ, " abiding in him, Jobnxv. 4. in whom you are alive, and walk continually by «* faith. —Now the soul cannot walk in Christ, nor have union with him, save " by faith." Once more % " Can man's nature be changed, fays he, till he be »' united and ingrafted into Christ, the true Vine? And doth .not virtue come *« by that infition and union?" And, in some pages after', "It is by the " Spirit that the soul cometh to union with Christ," And, in another of his treatises, * The Assertion of Grace, p. 4. ' Page 74. ■ Page 118. » Page it. t 2c The Re-assertion of Grace, p. iz. * Ibid. p. 20. 1 Ibid. p. 405. * Ibid. p. 126.

■i9o THE DOCTRINES OF treatises ', he has these words : " Faith cometh by hearing, and after faith " comes actual union." The only writers, in the times referred to, that I have met with, who assert even union before faith, are Richardson ' and Crisp ", who yet speak not a word of eternal union ; neither do they, or the writers above-mentioned, professedly treat of the doctrine of union in any fense, but only take notice of it as it falls in their way. I read their books with a greedy expectation of frequently meeting with the doctrine of eternal union, in hopes of finding arguments for the confirmation of it, and of receiving more light into it, which I believe to be an eternal truth. Eternal union was so far from being a subject much insisted on in those times, as you fay, that I do not find it was insisted on at all. As to the notion of sin's doing a believer no harm, Eaton, Saltmarsh, Simpson, and Town, fay nothing of itj nor have they any thing like it, that I have met with, in their writings ; and 1 could easily fill up whole pages with passao-cs out of them, in which they express their abhorrence and detestation of fin, and their great regard to a holy life and conversation. Richardson and Crisp are the only writers, in those times, that I have observed to make use of any expressions of this kind. As for Richardson, he has but one single passige which looks any thing like this notion, that sin does a believer no harm ; which is this w : "If all things work together for our good, " then, fays he, all falls, pains, diseases, crosses, afflictions, &V. do us no hurt, " 'but work for our good ; all things work for our good, Rom. viii. 28." And yet this is no more than what many found divines have laid, who never were charged with Antinomianism ; when they assert, that all things, even the sins oft God's people, are over-ruled by a kind and good Providence for their good, as their afflictions and crosses arej and by falls into sin doing no hurt, he means the hurt of punishment, as is evident from the whole of his reasoning and argument in that place. He clearly hints, in many places, at the hurt that comes by sin, with respect to a believer's peace and comfort, the damage ic does to others, and the dishonour it brings to God : " Be afraid to sin, fays " he \ and use means to prevent it ; consider God hath forbidden it, Rom. vi. •* Consider sin in the nature of it, in the root and fruit of it: it is the price " of blood i there is no true sweetness in sin, no contentment, no satisfaction ** in it, why you should desire it ? it fills the soul with wounds, sorrow, bitter- *• ness • Monomachia ; or, a single Reply to Mr Rutherfoord, &c. p. 37. * Answer to Dr Homes, p. 111, 112. ■ Christ alone exalted, vol. I. Scrm. VII. p. 104. vol. III. Serm VII. p. J97, 599, 600. Scrm. VIII. p. 609, 614—617. Ed. 410. w Justification by Christ alone, p. at. * Counsels, p. 98.

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 191 " ness, shame •, let expericence speak." And, in another place, he says y : " We should be afraid to fin, 1. because it is forbidden by God. 2. It is " dishonourable to him, his truth and servants. 3. It encourageth others to *' sin. 4. It will fill our fouls with sorrow to fin against so loving a Father, »* and to dishonour him, &c. Having sinned, if but in the least measure, we •• should be so far from covering it with any pretence or excuse, that we " should abhor it, and ourselves for it, with the greatest detestation ?** And elsewhere he says * : "Be sure ye allow yourself in no sin, but in the strength ** of God hate and abhor, with the greatest indignation, all sin, and the ap- " pearance of it •, it is better to die than to sin. There is that which acconv " panieth sin, which strikes at a believer's peace and comfort ; it will damp, " straiten, and oppress the foul; it will hinder their comfort, joy, and peace in " God, unless God doth wonderfully strengthen their faith in him; we find " by experience, that sin is a lett to our faith and comfort, it having often " unsettled and disquieted us in our peace and comfort, though we ought " not to be so." Crisp is the only writer that expresses himself freely and largely on this subject, and with the least guard a ; and yet when he says, that " believers " need not hi afraid of their sins," his meaning is not, that they need not be afraid to commit sin, but that they need not be afraid of sins committed, as Hoornbeeck\ fVitsms\ and Cbaunceyiy have justly observed; and when he says, that " the sins of believers can do them no hurt -," by hurt he means, the hurt of punishment, penal evil, or the penal effects of sin, which believers are freed from, and therefore shall never enter into a state of condemnation, Christ having bore their sins, and made satisfaction to justice for them ; but then he speaks of sin, in its own nature, as odious and dreadful to believers, and of bitterness and evil, as the certain fruits of it. The Doctor, I verily believe, used these expressions in a sound fense, and with a good design ; not to encourage persons in sin, but to relieve and comfort the minds of believers, distressed with sin ; yet, I must confess, I do not like the expressions, but am . of opinion they ought to be disused. And now surely, Sir, this single author's using of this expression, and that not in the gross and vile fense of it, cannot be sufficient to bear you out, in saying, that sin's doing a believer no harm, was much insisted on in those r Counsels, p. 150, 151. " Divine Consolations, p. 245. * Christ alone exalted, vol. I. senn. X. p. 157. vol. III. scrm. I. p. 509— 514. serin. II. p. 528, 529. serm. HI. p. 49, &c b Summ. Controv. 1 x. de Btownistic, p. 714. « Animadvert". Irenicæ, c. iz. S- 6« P* 148* * Neonomianism unmasked, part III, debate 17. p. 26.

i9i THE DOCTRINES OF those times: I can hardly think you have any reference to Archer's book, called Comfort for Believers about their Sin and Troubles; in which the author exhorts believers not to be oppressed and perplexed for their fins * j though he acknowledges that godly sorrow and true shame become them, and says, that till they have it, God will not own them. He asserts, in so many words f, «• that we may safely say, that God is, and hath an hand in, and is the author " of the finfulness of his people :" (Horrefco referens!) and what is enough to make one shudder at the reading of, he says8, that " all the sins which •" believers are left to, they are through and because of the covenant of grace " left to them •, and the covenant implies a dispensation of sinning to them, " as well as other things :" And adds, " By sins are they as much nurtured " and fitted for heaven, as by any thing else." All which is blasphemous, vile and abominable; and for which, if I mistake not, the book was ordered to be burnt by the common hangman. I fay, I can hardly think you can have reference to this author ; for though he asserts this notion in the grossest fense, and in the vilest manner, yet it unhappily falls out for you, that this man was not for eternal union, but for union by faith : he frequently observes11, that faith immediately unites to Christ, and is the bond of union to him, and what brings the Holy Ghost into the foul. If you had this author and his book in your eye, you should rather have said, that " union by faith, and sin's doing a " believer no harm, were much insisted on in those times.". But, III. What I have further to complain of, is your joining the harmless doc trine of eternal union with that hurtful one, as it may be taken, of sin's doing a believer no harm. You could have no other view, than to bring the doctrine of eternal union into disgrace, and an odium upon the asserters of it, as if there was a strict connection between these two, and as if those who espoused the one, held the other. The notion of sin's doing a believer no harm, was never a received tenet of any body or society of Christians among us •, no, not even of those who have been called Antinomians. It is not the sentiment of those who are branded with the name in this day. I am well informed, that some churches, who are despised as Antinomian, have cast some out of their communion, for holding this notion in the gross fense of it. I wish some churches, that reckon themselves more orthodox, would shew a like zeal against Arinnifm, and in the behalf of Christ's proper Deity. There are, indeed, I hear, a scattered scandalous set of persons in the Fen Country, the disciples of one David Culey, who was cut oft" from a church in Northamptonshire, and was infamous • Page 18—zo. f Page 98. « Page 125. * Page 34, 4*, 49, 53, 69, 175.

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. i9$ infamous for his blasphemy and scandalous life, who have imbibed this notion, and live answerably to it, but are disregarded by all persons of seriousness ami sobriety. It was not a general received notion of those who were called Anti nomians, a little before or during the time of our civil commotions. Dr Crisp is the only person that speaks it out, and yet not in the gross fense of it as has been observed. All that their adversaries have said of them, is not to' be relied on ; such unworthy writers as Edwards and Paget, I give no credit to. Mr Crandon ' speaks of some Antinomians in Somersetshire, with whom he was acquainted, and he gives us a catalogue of their sentiments ; but nothino- like this is taken notice of by him: nay, it does not appear that the Antinomians in Germany, the followers of Islebius Agricola, from Luther's account of them k held any such notion. Sleidan1, in his Commentaries, takes notice of them and of their tenets. His short account of them is this : « This year, that ,c 'S, 153 8» sprung up the sect of them who are called Antinomians ; they say, " that repentance is not to be taught out of the decalogue ; and oppose those " who teach, that the gospel is not to be preached, but to those whose hearts ** are first shaken and broken by the preaching of the law : they also assert, «« that whatever a man's life may be, and how impure soever, yet is he justified,' " if he only believes the promises of the gospel." This last assertion of their.s is somewhat ambiguous, and may seem to favour this notion, of da's dping a believer no harm, as this author has delivered it : if his meaning is, that they held that a man may be justified by faith in the gospel-promise, without sanctification ; or though he allows himself in a continued impurity of life this is a contradiction to the grace of God; but if his meaning is, that they -held that a man may be truly justified by faith in Christ, though his former .life has been never so impure ; this is a truth of the gospel,° and eives no countenance to this doctrine. Of all that I have met with, none more ;roundly assert it than Eunomius, and his followers, who lived in the fourth century. « It is reported of this man -, that he was such an enemy to good ♦« manners, that he should assert that the commission of any sin whatever, « Against Baxter part I. chap. 22. p 264t 265, &c. k Vid. Hoornbeeck. Sum. ^txov l,o. P. 690, 69,. 'Hoc anno sect* prodiit eorum qui dicuntur AntinoT hi pocn.tcntiam ex decalpgo non esse docendam dicunt ; & illos impugnant, qui decent non else pr*dicandum evangelmm, nisi primum quassatis animis atque frastis per explications leeis' ipsi vero staruunt, quaxunque tandem sit hominis vita & quantumvis impura, justificari tamen eum simodopromiffionibus evangelii credat. Sleidan. Comment. 1. i2 I ,, s - Ferturetum usque adcofuiffebonis^moribu, inimicu, ut asseveraret, quod' nihil cuiouam y°l-,n= Co sa

194 THE DOCTRINES OF " and a continuance therein, could not hurt any one, if he was but a partaker •* of that faith which was taught by him." This man was a disciple of Aetius, whose followers were called from him Aelians ; of whom Epipbanius writes", that they were unconcerned about holiness of life, or any of the commands of God, and spoke very slightly of sin. Irenaus has a passage concerning the Valentinians, which comes up to this notion ; it is this ° : " As that which is earthly cannot partake of salvation, for they say it is *c incapable of it ; so again, that which is spiritual, by which they mean " themselves, cannot receive corruption, by whatsoever actions they may be '* concerned in. Just: as gold being put into dirt, does not lose its beauty, " but retains its nature, nor can it receive any hurt from the dirt: so they fay, " that they may be concerned in some material actions, and not be at all hurt, " or lose the spiritual substance : hence the most perfect of them do all those " things which are forbidden, without any manner of fear." And then ittstances in eating things sacrificed to idols, attending on the worship of the heathens, frequenting the theatres, and indulging themselves in all fleshly lusts. The Gnofticks, Carpocratians, Saturninians, Bajilidians, with many others, em braced such-like impure notions ; which, it is probable, they received from Simon Magus, the Father of heresies, who allowed those who believed in him and his Helena, to live as they list p ! These things I take notice of, to shew by whom this tenet has and has not been received ; and, to support the justness of my complaint against you, in joining the doctrine of eternal union with it, when they never went together, as I can learn, or were ever received by the fame persons. IV. I observe that you call the doctrine of eternal union, as well as that of sin's doing a believer no harm, an immoral conceit. I do not well know what you mean by an immoral conceit ; every imagination of the thoughts of the heart being only evil, is an immoral conceit j all sinful lusts in the mind are so : When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth Jin ; andJin, when it is finished^ bringeth forth death* . An immoral conceit, properly speaking, I apprehend, is n Contra Hæres. 1. 3. Hæres. 76. " •■ fl{ yap to ^oi«o» alviarot ?uri);ia« fura^to (ou yct-p ii»ai, >,iyvirn at/loi, oixtixoh ctvrr.f) aluf waXt» to wnv/iartxof, SiAacm 01 avloi, rum «oV*'iif fGojaw xa.Ta$t£a£)xit *«» owoiai; crvyxarxyttutlat wpa^ierit' or yap Tfovov Xtvavi " #°f ?op»> xetrali9tt< ex otwo£a?*A!i Tur «»U»ni at/Its, «M« mi that Qvtrtr iia<pvXemu, T« (SopCopii fxitht aftxverxi -rot Xfav'» (fro o*f xaiavlu? *iya<7i, xa> tt oiroiatf vXixcu; cfafiai xxrayttotrai, pii&ir ttvluf <D-<*{«GXa*1ioJai, pvh aTroSaXXm th» vmvfia]txm woracru' Sto it xai t« aTiigtyiiKC c«T* attvf ot TiTinolaToi W{aT7«*o-i» «■/)»». Irenæus adv. Hæref. 1. 1. c. 1. p. 26. edit. Paris. » Hi qui in eum & Helenam ejus spem habeant St ut liberos agere qux vclint. Irenscus adv. Hserci. 1. i.e. 20. p. 1 16. • James i. 15.

GOD's EVERLASTING LQVE, &c. 195 is the first motion, thought, and imagination of sin rising up in the mind ; how this is applicable to the doctrine of eternal union, 1 fee not: but, I sup pose, your meaning is, that the doctrine of eternal union is a conceit and fiction of some mens brains, which has a tendency to promote immorality, and encourage persons in it. That it is no conceit, which has its foundation only in the fancy and imagination of some men, but a truth contained in the sacred scriptures, I hope to make appear. Was it a mere conceit, why you should reckon it an immoral one, I know not-, if it is a conceit, it is an harmless one ; nor can it be reasonably thought to have a tendency to promote immo rality and profaneness any more than the doctrine of eternal election has, by which the holiness of God's people is infallibly secured unto them ; for God has chosen them in Christ before the foundation of the world, that they should be holy, and •without blame before him in love '. Now how persons can be in Christ, chosen in him, and yet not united to him, or how there can be an eternal election of persons in Christ, and yet no eternal union of them to him, is what I do not understand ; and as eternal election secures the holiness of the saints, so does eternal union. It is because Christhas loved them with an everlasting love, and by loving them, has united them to himself, and become the Head of them, and one with them ; therefore he has given himself for them, that he might redeem them from all iniquity., and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous ofgood works ' ; and does also fend down his Spirit into their hearts, to renew and sanctify them ; to implant grace in them, to enable them to perform good works, in which he has before ordained that they mould walk, and to hold on in faith and holiness to the end. Redemption from sin, the fanctification of our hearts, all the good works done in faith, and perseverance in grace to the end, are the fruits and effects of eternal union to Christ. In what fense then it is an immoral conceit, or how it tends to promote immorality, you would do well to tell us, or acknowledge that you have abused it. V. You call the persons who, you fay, insisted much on eternal union,' •' ignorant, enthusiastic preachers." One would have thought you might have spared this severe reflection, for the sake of some, who have aflerred an eternal union, that are above your contempt, and very far from any just charge of ignorance and enthusiasm. Dr Goodwin speaks of an election-union, a virtual and representative one, which the elect have in Christ before the foundation of the world * : "As in the womb, fays he, head and members are not conceived *• apart, but together, as having relation to each other j so were we and Christ c c 2 ^ (as, I Eph. i. 4. » Tit.'ii, 14. « Vol. I. p/ut. I. p. '6a.

196 THE DOCTRINES OF «« (as making up one mystical body unto God) formed together in the eternal " womb of election." Again u , " Were you so chosen in Christ, as that God " never purposed you a being but as in Christ, and then gave you this subsistence *c in Christ, never casting a thought upon you out of him ; then reckon of " no other being, but what you have in Christ. Reckon not of what you " have in honours, or what you are in greatness or parts ; but reckon of what " you were in him, before this world was, and of all the spiritual blessings " wherewith he then blessed you ; and likewise of what you are now in him, " by an actual union, as then by a virtual and representative one." And, in another place w, " We were one with Christ before the world was : there is one M way of union then ; Jesus Christ in the human nature cometh down and " represents us, doth what we have to do ; here is now another way of union ; ** Why ? This is the reason j for we were one with Christ, by his under- " taking for us only from everlasting ; but we were one with him, by an active " representation, when below on earth." And elsewhere he fays * : " There ** is a threefold union with Christ ; the first is relative, whereby we are said *« to be his, and he ours ; as you know he is called our husoand, and the " church is called his wife ; and before husband and wife company together, ** there is such a relation made by marriage -, and the husband may be in one " place, and the wife in another, so that there can be no communion between " them, and yet be man and wife ; so is the union between Christ and you as <c compleat in the relation, before he acts any thing upon you, though he be «c in heaven, and you on earth, as if you were in heaven with him." And so in another part of his works y, he makes union to Christ to be before the Spirit, or faith, Jor any grace is given : His words are these : " Union with *' Christ is the first fundamental thing of justification, and sanctification, and •' all : Christ first takes us, and then sends his Spirit; he apprehends us first j •* it is not my being regenerate that puts me into a right of all those privi- " leges s but it is Christ takes me, and then gives me his Spirit, faith, holi- " ness, iSc. It is through our union with Christ, and the perfect holiness of " his nature, to whom we are united, that we partake of the privileges of the ** covenant of grace." Witfius fays, the elect ** are united to Christ, — i. In *4 the eternal decree of God.—2. By the union of the eternal compact, m •' which Christ was constituted, by the Father, the Head of all those who are «« to be saved.—3. By a true and real union, but what on their part is only *« passive, they are united to Christ when the Spirit of Christ first lays hold on *« them, • Vol. I. part I. p. 64. » Ibid, part II. p. 215; » Ibid, part III. p. 40. y Vol. Ill, book V. c. 20. p. 347,

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 197 •* them, and infuses a principle of new life z :" And, a little after, adds ; " Moreover, since faith is an act flowing from a principle of spiritual life, it " is plain, that it may be said in a sound sense, that an elect man may be truly " and really united to Christ, before actual faith." It is evident, that he allows not only an union to Christ in God's eternal purpose, but a federal union with him from eternity, as the Head of the elect. Now for the fake of these men and others that might be named, you might have forbore the heavycharge of ignorance and enthusiasm ; and if not for the fake of them, yet surely for the sake of your own Father, who asserts an eternal representative union of the elect with Christ, and that in a book of which you yourself was the editor*. His words are these : " It must, indeed, be granted, that God, from *' eternity, decreed to justify elect sinners through Christ ; and that as none *c but they are ever justified, so all that were decreed for justification, are cer- *' tainly justified. It must also be granted, that God, from eternity, entered " into a covenant of grace with Christ, as the Head of elect sinners ; wherein " Christ, as their surety, undertook for their justification.—It must likewise " be granted, that there was a gift of all grace made to Christ for elect sinners, "• as he was their Head and Surety from eternity, 2 Tim. i. 9. It must be •* farther granted, that all elect sinners had a representative union with Christ " from eternity. When Christ was chose as their Head, they were chose toge- 44 ther with him, as his members." In another page ", he fays : " Believers " may, with the greatest delight and comfort, take a survey of their justisica- •* tion, in the different gradations, or progressive steps of it. God decreed ** their justification, and they had a representative union with Christ, as their ** Head and Surety, from eternity. This lays such a sure foundation for their «* justification, as cannot be overturned by the joint power of men and devils : ** they had a legal union with Christ, and were federally justified in him *' when he rose from the dead. This gave them a fundamental right to justi- *' fication : they are actually united to Christ when they believe, and are then *c actually justified." You fee that all wife and thougthful men do not abhor «ternal union, as an immoral conceit : if you fay that these men plead for a real and actual union by faith, you cannot deny that they also assert an union before ■ Uniti sunt Christo,— i. In astemo Dei decreto.—t. Unione confœdcrationis aeternae, qua Christus a Patre constitutus est caput omnium scrvandorum.—3. Vera 8t reali unione, fed quse ab ipsorum parte duntaxat passiva est, uniuntur Christo, quando Spiritus Christi eos priraum occupat, & novae vilae principium infundit.—Porro quutn fides sit actus ex principio fpiritualis »ita emanans, palam est, sano sensu dici posse, quod homo electus vere & realitcr Christo unitus sit ante actualem fidem. Wits Iren. Animadv.-c. 6. $. 1 —3. • Mr Richard Taylor'* ScripUtte Do&rineof Justification, p. 14, 15. b Ibid. p. 19.

i98 THE DOCTRINES OF before faith, yea, an eternal union in some sense; whereas you hare reproached it, as an immoral conceit, and the preachers of it, as ignorant and enthusiastic, without any exception or explanation. You would do well to explain your sense, and clear yourself. For my own part, I should not greatly care to be •reckoned ignorant, and especially enthusiastic, and yet think I may, in a safe and sound sense, insist upon the doctrine of eternal union. And now, Sir, if it would not be thought tedious, I would freely give you my sentiments concerning the doctrine of union. I am persuaded we shall not differ about the persons who are united to Christ, that these are God's elect, and they only ; nor about the nature of the union itself, as that it is an union of the whole persons, souls and bodies, of God's people to the whole person of Christ ; though it is not a personal union, that is, such an one as the union of the divine and human natures in Christ j that it is real, solid, substantial, and not imaginary ; that it is compleat and perfect, and not gradual, or brought about by degrees, but finished at once, as our justification is ; that it is ex ceeding close and near, and indissoluble, of which there can be no separation. What we are most likely to differ about, is, when God's elect are united to Christ, and what is the bond of their-union to him. It is generally said that they are not united to Christ until they believe, and that the bond of union is the Spirit on Christ's part, and faith on ours. I am ready to think that these phrases are taken up by divines, one from another, without a thorough con sideration of them. It is well, indeed, that Christ is allowed any part or share in effecting our union with him; though one should think the whole of it ought to be ascribed to him, since it is such an instance of surprising love and grace, than which there cannot well be thought to be a greater. Why must this union be pieced up with faith on our part ? This smells so prodigious rank of self, that one may justly suspect that something rotten and nauseous lies at the bottom of it. I shall therefore undertake to prove, that the bond of union of God's elect to Christ, is neither the Spirit on Christ's part, nor faith on their part. I. It is not the Spirit on Christ's part. The mission of the Spirit into the hearts of God's elect, to regenerate, quicken, and sanctify them, to apply the blessings of grace to them, and seal them up to the day of redemption, and the bestowing of his several gifts and graces upon them, are in consequence, and by virtue of a previous and antecedent union of them to the Person of . Christ. They do not first receive the Spirit of Christ, and then by the Spirit are united to him ; but they are first united to him, and, by virtue of this •union, receive the Spirit of him. To conceive otherwise, would be as pre posterous

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 199 posterous as to imagine, that the animal spirits, which have their feat In the head, should be communicated to, and diffused throughout the several partsof the body, without union to the head, or antecedent to an union, and in order to effect itj as this would be justly reckoned an absurdity in nature, so is the other no less an absurdity in grace. A person is first joined, *o*A»i/M»ef, glued, closely united to Christ, and then becomes one Spirit with him j. that is, receives, enjoys, and possesses in measure, the same Spirit as he does, as the members of an human body do participate of the some spirit the head does, to which they are united : He that is joined unto the Lordy. is one spi rit'. The cafe is this: Christ, as the Mediator of the covenant, and Head of God's elect, received the Spirit without measure, that is, a fulness of the gifts and graces of the Spirit : These persons being united to Christ, as mem bers to their Head, do, in his own time, receive the Spirit from him, though in measure. They are first chosen in him, adopted through him, made one with him, become heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ •, and then, as the apostle soys, Because ye are sons, God hatb sent forth the Spirit os his Son into your hearts, 'crying, Abba, Father*. Besides, the Spirit of God, in his personal inhabitation in the saints, in the operations of his grace on their hearts, and in the influences of his power and love on their fouls, is the evidence, and not the bond of their union to God or Christ, and of their communion with them : For hereby we know, soys the apostle "John", that be abidetb in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. And in another place f, Hereby know we, that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of bis Spirit. There is, indeed,, an union, which the Spirit of God is the efficient cause of j but this is not an union of God's elect to the Person of Christ, but an union of believers one with another in a church-state j which the apostle designs, when he soys, For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles^ whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit g. The bond of this union is peace and love ; hence the faints are exhorted to walk with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love j. endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace h. 2. Neither is faith the bond of union to Christ. Those who plead for union by faith, would do well to tell us whether we are united to Christ by the habit or principle of faith implanted, or by the act of faith ; and since there arc different acts of faith, they mould tell us by which our union is, and whether by the first, second, third, &c. acts of believing. If we are united to Christ by the habit or principle of faith infused, then our union is not by faith on our part i * 1 Cor. vi. 17. * Gal. iv. 6. « ijohniii, 24. * Chap. iv. 13. ■ i Cor, xii. 13. * Eph. iv. 1, 3.

soo THE DOCTRINES OF ■ _V part ; because faith, as a principle or habit, is a gift of grace, of the operation of God, and which Christ is the author and finisher of. And if we are united to Christ by faith, as an act of ours, then we are united to Christ by a work, for faith, as an act of ours, is a work •, and if by a work, then not by grace; for, if h gracet then is it no more of works ; otherwise grace is no more grace ; but if it be of works, then is it no more grace, otherwise work is no more work '. 1 have often wondered that our divines should fix upon the grace of faith to be the bond of union to Christ, when there is nothing in it that is of a cementing and uniting nature •, it is not a grace of union, but of communion. Had they pitched upon the grace of love, as the bond of union, it would have appeared much more plausible; for love is of a knitting and uniting nature ; it is the bond of friendship among men ; it was this which knit the foul of Jonathan to the foul of David, so that be loved him as bis own foul. This is the bond of union of saints one with another; their hearts are knit together in love. Hence charity or love is called the bond of perfeilnefs k. It was this which so closely joined and cemented the hearts of the first Christians one to onother, insomuch that the multitude of them that believed, were of one heart and of one fouP. Had our divines, I fay, fixed upon this grace, as «. the bond of union to Christ, it would have looked more feasible, and might, perhaps, have been the means of leading them into the truth of the matter. Some, indeed, tell us, that we are united to Christ by faith and love ; but then they do not consider love as a part of the bond of union, but only as an evidence of that faith by which we are united ; or their meaning is, that that faith by which we are united to Christ, is a faith that works by love. Dr Jacomb m, indeed, having treated of a mystical union between Christ and his people, the bond of which he makes to be the Spirit on Christ's part, and faith on theirs, and of a legal union between Christ and believers,' the ground of ■which is Christ's suretyship, speaks of a moral union between them, the bond cf which is love, even " a mutual, reciprocal, hearty love between Christ and " believers ; he loves them, and they love him, and by virtue of this mutual " love, there is a real and close union betwixt them." And, besides him, the learned Aisled is the only divine I have met with, who makes the bond of union to be the mutual love of Christ and his people. " This union, fays he", is the ■" mutual love of Christ and believers, or a mutual obligation of Christ and "** believers to love one another." Now though there is something of truth in this, yet it is not the naked, pure, and unmixed truth of the matter ; for it is 1 Rom. xi. 6. k Col. ii. 2. and iii. 14. * • Acts iv. 32. ■ On Rom. viii. 1. p. 51. n Hscc unio est mutuus inter Christum & fideles amor, five mutuaChristi & fidelium obligatio ad scsc mutuo amandum. Allied Lexicon Tbcolog. c. 10. p. 1 89,

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 2)1 is not our love to Christ, but his love to us, which is alone the real bond of our union to him ; he loves his people, and by loving them, unites them to himself: and this is the ground and foundation of all their communion and fellowship with. him, both in grace and glory. Faith is no uniting grace, nor are any of its acts of a cementing nature. Faith, indeed, looks to Christ, lays hold on him, embraces him, and cleaves unto him ; it expects and receives all from Christ, and gives him all the glory j but then hereby a foul can no more be said to be united to Christ, than a beggar may be said to be united to a person to whom he applies, of whom he expects alms, to whom he keeps close, from whom he receives, and to whom he is thankful. Faith is a grace of communion, by which Christ dwells in the hearts of his people, which is an act fellowship, as a fruit of union, by which believers live on Christ, receive of his fulness, grace for grace, and walk on in him as they have received him. Union to Christ is the foundation of faith, and of all the acts of believing, as feeing, walking, receiving, &?r. A man may 33 well be said to see, walk, and re ceive without his head, or without union to it, as one can be said to believe, that is, to see, walk, and receive in a spiritual sense, without the head, Christ; or as an antecedent to union to him, or, in order to it. To talk of faith in Christ before union to Christ, is a most preposterous, absurd, and irrational notion. Faith is the fruit and effect of union, even of what is commonly called vital union. Faith stands much in the fame place in things spiritual, as reason does in things natural. There must first be an union of the foul and body of man, before he can be said to live ; and there must be life in him before there can be reason, or the exercise of it; man must-first become a living soul, before he can be a reasonable one : so there must be an union of the soul to Christ before it can spiritually live ; and there must be a principle of spiritual life before there can be any faith, or the exercise of it. Now as reason, and the exercise of it, is a second remove from the union of the soul and body ; so is faith, and the exercise of it, a second remove from persons union to Christ. There must be first a vital union to Christ, before there can be any believing in him. This is fitly and fully exemplified in the simile of the vine and branches, which Christ makes use of to express the union of his people to him : Abide in me, and I in you, fays he °, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine ; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the Vine, ye are the branches : be that abideth in me, and 1 in him, the fame bringetb forth much Vol. III. Dd fruit. • John xv. 4, 5. *

2o2 THE DOCTRINES OP fruit. Now faith is a fruit of the Spirit, which grows upon the branches, that are in Christ: the Vine ; but then these branches must; first be in the vine, before they bear this fruit; for the root of the righteous yieldetb fruit T. The branches of the wild olive tree must first be ingrafted into the good olive tree, become one with it, and so partake of the root and fatness of it before they can bring forth good fruit. Could there be the fruit of faith in Christ's people before their union to him, then the branches would bear fruit without the vine, without being in it, or united to it, contrary to our Lord's express words. From the whole^ it may lafely be concluded, that union to Christ is before faith, and therefore faith cannot be the bond of union ; no, not on our part. Vital union is before faith. There always was a fulness of life laid up and reserved for all those who were chosen in Christ j there Was always life in Christ the Head for all his members, which he, when it pleases him, in rege neration, communicates to them, and implants in them, though there is no activity or exercise of this life until they believe q. The everlasting love of God the Father, Son, and Spirit, is the bond of the elect's union to the sacred Three. What may be said of the three divine Per sons in general, is true of each of them in particular. They have all three loved the elect with an everlasting love, and thereby have firmly and ever lastingly united them to themselves. Christ has loved them with an everlasting and unchangeable love, whereby his heart is knit unto them as Jonathan's was to David: He loved them as his own soul, as his own body, and the members of it. This is that cement which wilt never loosen, that union knot which can never be untied, that bond which can never be dissolved, from whence there can be no separation ; for who Jball separate us from the love of Christ ? 1 am persuaded, says the apostle ', that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor princi palities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,Jball be able toseparate us from the love of God, which is in Christ- Jesus our Lord, There are several unions which arise from, or are branches of this everlasting love-union^which are all antecedent to our faith in Christ. j. There is oji election-union in Christ from everlasting: God hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world'. This is an act and instance of. everlasting love, by which the persons chosen are considered in Christ, and one with him. Christ was chosen a*., an head, his people as members with him. Nothing is more commonly said by those who are esteemed sound diviacs, t Piov. *ii. »a. * For the further proof of what I assert, fee Mr Cotton's arguments for union before faith, in Dr Chauncy's Nconomianism unmasked, part II. debate »i.p- 2J5. ' Rom. viii. 3 j, 38, 39. • IJph. i. 4.

GOD'S EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 203 divines ', than this : Now how Christ can be considered as an head, and the elect as members of him in this eternal act of election, without union to him, is hard to conceive. Arminius and his followers \ the Remonstrant st have frequently urged the text now mentioned in favour of election from faith foreseen, and their argu ment upon it is this : " None are chosen to salvation but in Christ ■, none are •• in Christ but believers, who are ingrafted into Christ, and united to him ** by faith, therefore none are chosen to salvation, but those who are believers ** in Christ, are ingrafted into him, and united with him." For they had no other notion of being in Christ, but by faith -, like some others, who yet would be thought to be far from being in their scheme. But then, among other replies, they have been told by the Anti- Remonstrants", " That it is cer- *• tain that we are chosen and regarded in Christ before we were believers i " which is fully proved from several places of scripture, which plainly make *« it appear, that the elect have some existence in Christ, even before they " believe •, for unless there had been some kind of union between Christ and ** the members, Christ would not have been their head, nor could he have " satisfied for them." 2. There is a legal union between Christ and the elect from everlasting t they are one in a law-fense, as surety and debtor are one ; the bond of this union is Christ's suretyship, which is from everlasting, and in which Christ engaged, as a proof of his strong love and affections to his people. He is the surety of the better Testament, the *yfo»<, that drew near to God the Father in the name of the elect, substituted himself in their place and stead, and laid himself under obligation to pay their debts, satisfy for their sins, and procure for them all the blessings of grace and glory. This being accepted of by od 2 God, « Vid. Ast. Synod. Dordrest. p. 4, 83, 86, 87. Ames. Medull. Theolog. c. 25. $ 27. Walaei open, torn. I. p. 330. Polani SynUg- Theolog. p. 248. Synops. Pur. Theolog. disput. 24. thes. *6. p. 281. Zanch. in Eph. i. 4. Dr Goodwin, vol. I. part 1. p. 62. Mr Richard Taylor on Justification, p. 1 5. with many others. ■■ Armin. Examcn Prædest. Perkins, p. 51 2, 594, 599. inter opera ejus, edit. 1 631, 4U). Script, advers. Coll. Hag. p. f>f. Apolog. pro Confess. Remonstr. c. 18. p. 197. Corvin. contr. Molin. c. 19. p. 284, 285. Se advers. Bogerman. par. 2. c. 23. p. 552. Vorst. Amj<;. Collat. cum Piscat. f. 112. p. 233. w Certum est nos esse electos &. respectos in Christo antequam essemus fideles, quod probatur invictis his locis, Eph. v. 25. Rom. v. 8. i John iv. 10. 2 Tim. i. 9. Hxc loca evincunt, electorum aliquam in Christo existentiatn fuisle etiam, antequam eredcrent. Nisi enim aliqua fuiflet unio inter Christum & membra, Christus non esset caput corum, &. pro iis satisfacere non potuisset. Walaeus de electione, inter opera ejus, torn. I. p. 239. Vid. etiam p. ic8, 35a A torn. p. 237. & Synops. Pur. Theolog. disput 24. thes. 27. p. 281. /■

204 THE DOCTRINES OF God, Christ and the elect were looked upon, in the eye of the law, as one per son, even as the bondsman and the debtor, among men, arc one, in a legal sense ; so that if one pays the debtv it is the fame as if the other did it. Thislegal union arising from Christ's surety-ship-engagements, is the foundation of the imputation of our sins to Christ, and of his satisfaction for them, and also of the imputation of Christ's righteousness to us, and of our justification byit. Christ and his people being one, in a law-fense, their sins become his, and his. righteousness, becomes theirs. 3. There is a federal union between Christ and the eltct from everlasting. £.s they were considered as one,, he as head, and they as members, in election •, they are likewise considered after the same manner in the covenant of grace. Christ has a very great concern in the covenant ; he is given for a covenant t.o the people i he is the Mediator, Surety, and Messenger of it. It is made with him, not as a single person, but as a common head, representing aH the elect,, who are given to him, in a federal way, as his feed and posterity. What he promised in the covenant, he promised for them, and on their account •, and what he received, he received for them, and on their account. Hence grace is said to be given to. them in him before the world began x ; and they are said to be blessed with allspiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ r. 4. There is a natural union between Christ and his people; for both be that Jantlifieth, and they who are santlified, are all os one ; that is, of one nature ; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren1. This is an union in time, but is the effect of Christ's love before time : Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flejh- and blood, be also himself likewise took part of the same \ The nature he assumed is the fame with that of all mankind, but was taken to, him with a peculiar regard to the elect, the children, the spiritual seed of Abraham, who are members of bis body, of bis flesh, and of his bones. Now this natural union, whieh is the fruit of Christ's everlasting love, is antecedent to the faith of New-Testament-saints. 5. It is sufficiently evident, that there is a representative union between^ Christ and the elect, both from, everlasting and in time, which is independent on, and prior to their believing in him. He represented them as their head inetection, and in the covenant- of grace, as has been already observed -, and so he did,, when upon the cross, and in the grave, when he rose from the dead, entered into heaven, and fat down at the right band of God. Hence they are said to be crucified with him, dead with him, buried with him, risen with him, yea, to be made tofit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now * * Tiro- i. 9. ' Eph. i. 3. ■ Heb».ii. it. • Heb. ii.. 14..

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 205 Now all these several unions take their rife from, and have their foundation in the everlasting love of. Christ to his people ; which is the grand, original, strong, and firm bond of union between him and them, and is the spring of all that fellowship and communion they have with him in time, and shall have to all eternity. It is from hence that the Spirit of God is sent down into our hearts to regenerate and renew us, and faith is wrought in. our fouls by the Spirit. Faith does not give us a being in Christ, or unite us to him ; it is the fruit, effect, and evidence of our being in Christ and union to him. It is true,, indeed, that God's elect do not know their being in Christ, and union to him, until they believe; then what was before secret is made manifest; and because things are sometimes said to be, when they are only manifested to be, hence. the people of Christ are said tobe in C hrisi, when they are made new creatures-, If arty man be in Christ, he is a new creature*. Being a new creature, does not put a man into Christ, but is the evidence of his being there ; and without which he neither knows, nor ought he to profess himself to be in Christ : And fo likewise, in another place, it is said, If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, be is none of his '. He may be one of his chosen and redeemed ones, though he has not the Spirit of Christ as yet ; but he cannot know this until he has the Spirit of Christ ; for no man canJay that Jesus is the Lord, that is, his Lord, but by the Holy Ghost''. The apostle Paul takes notice of some that were in Christ before hime: all God's elect were chosen together in Christ, not one before another : They had all together a being in him ; but this in con version is made known to one before another. There are different manifestations. of union to different persons, and to the fame persons at different times ; for which Christ prays, when he fays, that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee ; that they also may be one in us, that the •world may believe that tbcu hast sent me-, and the glory which thou gavest me, J have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one ; / in them, and thou in me ; that they may be made serfeel in one, and that the world may knew that thou hast sent me, and hastJoved. them, as thou hast loved me'. The full manifestation of it will be in heaven, when the saints shall be with Christ where he is, and behold his glory, and enjoy ;• uninterrupted communion with him, as the fruit of their eternal union to him. I should now, Sir, have closed this letter, were it not for a passage in your discourse Of the Doctrine of Grace, as it encourages Holiness i. in which, J appre hend, you have poured much contempt on several valuable and excellent truths of the gospel : I will repeat your words, and take leave to make some few strictures on them. They are these : " There have been some, who, by " their * 2 Cor. v- 17. « Rom. viii. 9. * 1 Cor. xii. 3. * Rom. xvi. 7* •Jobnxvii. 21—43.

*o6 THE DOCTRINES OF -*' their life and conversation, have shewed, that they were far from being ene- " mies to holiness, who have amused themselves with fancies about God's *' loving and delighting in his elect, while they were in a state of nature j of •** his seeing no fin in his people, and good works not being necessary to salva- " tion ; and who have been forward to condemn pressing men to duty, as legal " preaching ; and to speak of exhorting to repentance, mortification, and self- *' denial, as low and mean stuff" *.** I. I observe that you esteem the doctrine of God's loving his elect, while in a state of nature, a fancy j and that those who hold this doctrine do but amuse themselves with a fancy. I must beg leave to fay, that if it is a fancy, it is a scriptural one : I would not willingly say or write any thing that is con trary to the purity and holiness of God, or has a tendency to embolden vicious persons in a course of sin and wickedness ; and yet cannot help saying, that the doctrine of God's everlasting, unchangeable, and invariable love to his elect, through every state and condition into which they come, is written as with a fun-beam in the sacred writings. i. God's love to his elect is not of yesterday •, it does not begin with their love to him, We love bim, because be first loved us \ It was bore in his heart towards them long before they were delivered from (be power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of bis dear Sen. It does not commence in time, but bears date from eternity, and is the ground and foundation of the elect's being called in time out of darkness into marvellous light ; / bave loved tbee, fays the Lord to the church, with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness bave I drawn thee ' ■, that is, in effectual vocation. Many are the instances which might be given in proof of the antiquity of God's love to his elect, and as it is antecedent to their being brought out of a state of nature. God's choosing them in Christ before the foundation of the world, was an act of his love towards them, the fruit and effect of it ; for election pre-supposes love. His making an everlasting covenant with his Son, ordered in all things, and sure, on account of those he chose in him •, his setting him up as the Mediator of the covenant from everlasting •, his donation of grace to them in him before the world began j his putting their persons into his hands, and so making them his care and charge, are so many demonstrative proofs of his early love to them ; for can it ever be imagined that there should be a choice of persons made, a covenant of grace so well formed and stored, a promise of life granted, and a security made, both of persons and grace, and yet no love all this while ? a. The t See a Defence of some important Doctrines of the Gospel, by several Ministers, vol. II. p 512. h 1 John iv. 19. » Jerem. xxxi. J- v

GOD'i EVERLASTING LO V E, &c. 207? 2. The love of God to his elect is unchangeable and unalterable ; it is as invariable as his own nature and being ; yea, God is love, and he that dwelletb in love, dwelletb in God, and God in bitnk. Hence it is that the blessings of his grace are irreversible, because they are the gifts of him, who is the Father of tights, with whom there is no variableness, norfiiadow of turning. Hence also it is that the salvation of God's elect does not stand upon a precarious foundation, as it would, if his love changed as theirs does •, but he is the Lord, who changes not, and therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed. The several changes the elect of God pass under, through the fall of Adam, and their own actual transgressions make no change or alteration in the love of God. The love of God makes a Change in them when he converts them, -but no change or alteration is made in God's love ; that does not admit of more or less ; ic cannot be said to be more ardent and intense, at one time, than at another •, it is always invariably the fame in his heart. Love produced a wonderful and surprising change in him, who was afterwards the great apostle of the Gentile?, and of a blaspheming, persecuting, and injurious Saul, made a believer in Christ, and a preacher of the everlasting gospel : but then this produced no change in God, nor in his love. God sometimes changes the dispensations of his providence to his people, but he never changes his love ; he sometimes hides his face from them, and chides them in a fatherly manner; but at all times he loves them : he loves when he rebukes and chastens, and though be hides bis face for a moment from them, yet with everlasting kindness will he have mercy on them ; for he has said, The mountains /hall depart, and the bills be removed; but my kindnessshall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed1. There is, indeed, no sensible manifestation of God's love to his elect before conversion, or while they are in a state of nature ; and it must be allowed, that the manifestations of it to their souls after conversion, are not always alike; and that God's love appears more evident in some instances and acts of it, than in others; yet still this love as in his own heart, is unchangeably and invariably the fame, as it needs must be, if he is God. Since then God's love to his elect is from everlasting, and never changes upon any conside ration whatever, why should God's love to his elect, while in a state of nature, be accounted a fancy, and those who maintain it, be represented as amusing themselves with a fancy ? 3, There are instances to be given of God's love to his elect, while they are in a state of nature : I have already observed some instances of it to his elect, from eternity. I will just mention one or two instances of it to them in time^ *-» John iv. 16. I Isiu Hv. 10. ■

*«s« THE DOCTRINES OF 1 time, and which respect them, while in a state of nature. Christ's coming into this world, and dying in the room and stead of the elect, are, at once, proofs, both of his own and his Father's love, to them •, God' so loved them, as to give his only begotten Son ; and Christ so loved them as to give himself for them, in a way of offering and sacrifice for their sins •, at which time they were considered as ungodly, as being yet sinners, as enemies in their minds, by -wicked works, and without love to God : for the apostle fays m, When we were yt without strength, in due time Christ diedfor the ungodly. God commendetb his love towards us, in thai while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us ; for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of bis Son, much more being reconciled, we stiall be saved by his life. Now certainly these persons were in a state of nature, who are said to be " without strength, to be ungodly, sinners, " and enemies ," and yet God commended his love towards them, when and while they were such, in a matchless instance of it : and so the apostle John makes use of this circumstance, respecting the state of God's elect, to magnify, to set off, and illustrate the greatness of God's love": Herein is love, fays he, not that we loved God, but that be loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. From whence it may strongly be concluded, that God loved his people while in a state of nature, when enemies to him, destitute of all grace, without a principle of love to him, or faith in him. Again, the quickening of God's elect, when dead in trespasses and sins, the drawing of them to Christ with the cords of powerful and efficacious grace in effectual vocation, are instances of his special grace and favour, and fruits and effects of his ever lasting love to them. God, who is rich in mercy, for the great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in fins, hath quickened us together with Christ °. The time of the effectual vocation of God's people being come, fixed in his everlasting counsels and covenant, it is a time of open love to their souls, and that time becomes a time of life; for seeing them wallowing in their blood, in all the impurities of their nature, fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind, be fays unto them, when in their blood, live ; yea, when in their blocd, he fays unto ibem, live. The Spirit of God, as an instance of God's love, is sent down into their hearts in order to begin, carry on, and finish a work of grace, when he finds them in a state of nature, dead in sin, devoid of all grace, impotent to all that is spiritually good : We ourselves also, says the apostle, % were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and plea sures, living in malice and envy, hateful and bating one another, «t«, when the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared -, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy be saved us, by the washing of regeneration^ ■ Rom. v. 6, 8, jo. n I John Lv. io. c Eph. ii. 4, j. » Titus iii. 3—6.

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 209 regeneration, and renewing os the Holy Ghost, which hejhed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. If God did not love his elect, while in a state of nature, thejl^must for ever remain in that state, since they are unable to help themselves out of it ; and it is only the love, grace, and mercy of God, which engage his almighty power to deliver them from thence. There are three gifts and instances of God's love to his people before conversion, which are not to be matched by any instance or instances of love after conversion ; the one is the gift of God himself to them in the everlasting covenant; which covenant runs thus : I will be their God, and they shall be my people : The other is the gift of his Son, to suffer and die in their room and stead, and so obtain eternal redemption for them : the third is the gift of his Spirit to them, to convince them of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. And now what greater instance is there of God's love to his people after conversion ? If the heavenly glory, with all the entertaining joys of that delightful state, should be fixed upon, I deny it to be a greater instance of God's love, than the gift of himself, his Son, and Spirit ; and, indeed, all that God does in time, or will do to all eter nity, is only telling his people how much he loved them from everlasting; all is but as it were, a comment upon, and an opening of that ancient act of his ; nor has this doctrine any tendency to licentiousness, or to discourage the per formance of good works. The consideration of this, that God loved me be fore I loved him, nay, when I was an enemy to him ; that his thoughts were employed about my salvation, when I had no thoughts of him, nor concern for myself, lays me under ten thousand times greater obligations, to fear, serve, and glorify him ; than such a consideration as this, that he began to love me when I loved him, or because I have loved him, can possibly do. Why then should this doctrine be accounted a meer fancy, which has so good a foundation, both in the word of God, and in the experience of his people ; and the maintained of it, traduced as amusers of themselves with fancies? II. Perhaps you will fay, it is not merely the notion of God's loving his elect in a state of nature, but his loving them so as to delight in them, while, in that state, that you condemn as a fancy, and the defenders of it, as amusinothemselves with a fancy; since you join love and delight together, when you express yourself so freely on this head. There is a distinction which you may imagine will help you, which is that of a love of pity and benevolence, an'l of complacency and delight; with the first of these, say some, God loved his elect before conversion, and while in a state of nature, but not with the latter. Jx is an idle and ill-grounded distinction of some ignorant, trifling, popish. Vol. III. Ee schoolmen, t £

210 THE DOCTRINES OF schoolmen, which some of our grave divines have been fond of, and have used, when they have thought it would serve their purpose ; though ic is subversive of the very nature and perfections of God, and represents him as altogether such an one as ourselves, subject to change-, that his love, like ours, alters, and by degrees increases, and, from a love of pity and bene volence, passes into a love of complacency and delight ; it supposes that God first views his elect in a miserable state and condition, with whose misery he is touched, and is filled with bowels of compassion and pity towards them, which occasion some velleities or wishes in his mind for their good ; and these rise up at length into resolutions and purposes to do them good ; which when he has, at least in some measure, executed, his affections glow, his love grows more ardent, and issues in complacency and delight. If this is not to make God changeable, and bring him down into the rank of mutable creatures, I know not what is. I could tell the friends of this distinction, though it may be no news to them, and perhaps they may find their account in it, that these same popish schoolmen have distinguistied the love of God into amor ordinatrvusy a love in ordination, purpose, and design, and into amor collativus, a love in gift, which is actually bestowed. This may suit well enough with the divinity of ibme men, who seem to be ready to give into such schemes as these ; that God's love to his elect, before conversion, is only a purpose to love them when they are converted ; that eternal election, is only a decree to elect persons in time •, that the everlasting covenant is made with persons when they believe, of which faith, repentance, and sincere obedience, are the conditions ; and that there is no re conciliation of God's elect to him before faith ; that the sufferings and death of Christ only make God reconcileable, but not reconciled ; with such-like ; things as these, which I am almost tempted to call low and mean stuff. It is high time that these distinctions about the love of God, with that of an ante cedent and consequent one, were laid aside, which so greatly obscure the glory of God's unchangeable love and grace. It must be an odd sort of love among men, that is separate from delight in the object loved. The philosopher tells me', that benevolence is properly neither friendship nor love ; and that as benevolence is the beginning of friendship, so delight and pleasure, at the fight of the object, is the beginning of love ; and that no man can be said to love, who is not first delighted with the form or idea of the object. Indeed, I cannot fee that that can be love, which is without any delight in the object said «>ai, uavtf id i{«w, n $ia t»; o^i«? »J«n* fc>j yap vggq^ii; td iJne, a9n; t;a, Aristotcl. Ethic, U 9. c. 5.

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 211 said to be loved : if a man should say to his wife, I love you well, I wish you well, and am willing to do you all the good offices I am able ; but, at the fame time, I can take no delight in your person, nor pleasure in your company, would not this be esteemed a contradiction to his expressions of love to her ? So if a father should say to his child, I wish you well, I pity you in what you do amiss, and I design to do something for you, which may be for your good, but I can take no delight and pleasure in you as a child of mine ; what kind of love would this be thought to be ? The fame may be observed in many other such-like instances. God's love to his Son, as Mediator, is an everlasting love j Thou lovedst me, fays Christ r, before the foundation of the world. This love was a love of com placency and delight ; for Christ as Mediator, was from everlasting, then by him, that is, the Father *, as one brought up with him, and was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him. Now God loves his elect with the fame love he loves his Son as Mediator. Hence Christ prays for the open and manifest union between him and his people ; That, fays he*, the world may know that thou hast sent me, and bast loved them, as thou hast loved me. If God therefore has loved his Son, as Mediator, from everlasting, with a love of complacency and de light, and he has loved his elect from everlasting with the fame love he has loved him, then he must have loved his elect from everlasting with a love of complacency and delight : and, indeed, how can it otherwise be, since the elect were always in Christ their Head, in whom they were chosen, before the foun dation of the world ? And they could not be considered in him but as righte ous persons, through his righteousness, with which God is always well pleased, because by it the law is magnified, and made honourable -, and so Christ is often said to be God's beloved Son, in whom, not with whom, be is well pleased ° ; which designs not his person singly, but all the elect, as considered in him, who, together with Christ, are the objects of God's eternal delight and pleasure. It is certain, that Jesus Christ has, from everlasting, loved the elect with a love of complacency and delight ; for " from everlasting, from the beginning, « or ever the earth was, when there were no depths nor fountains, before the " mountains and hills were brought into being, while as yet God had not " made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world, M Christ's delights were with the sons of men V The word "■jnpyip * rendered E c 2 delights, ' John xvii. 24. • Prov. viii. 30. * John xvii. 23. » Matt. iii. 17. and xvii. 5. 2 Pet. i. ijr. » Prov. viii. 31. * Vbcem CyViyitf quod attinct, novies candem deprehendimus in sacris, & semper quidem de oblectatione intima, multiplies suaviilimaquc, quando rem aliquam non satis intucri, meditari aut amplexari possurnus, ulteriori semper eoi propendentes otpidine ; nam radix est iTJflP afpexit, ubi geminatio radicalium radici* ' quooue geminat significatum. Gejer. in Prov. viii. 30.

2i2 THE DOCTRINES OF delights, is expressive of the most intimate, sweet, ravishing delight and plea sure } and it being not only in the plural number, but also having its radical letters, especially its two first radical letters % doubled, which, in the Hebrew language, increases the signification of the word z ; it sets forth, that exceeding great delight and pleasure which Christ had in his people from everlasting -, nay, he not only took delight in the persons of the elect, as they were presented to him in the glass of his Father's purposes and decrees, but took pleasure also in the fore-views of the very spots of ground where he knew his people would dwell : and hence he fays, that he was rejoicing in the habitable part ofbis earth1: Now why God the Father should not, from everlasting, love the elect with the same love his Son did, I know not. Nothing is more evident than that God's choosing his people in Christ before the foundation of the world, is an act of love ; and I will venture to fay, it is an act of love, founded upon, and springing from his delight in them -, evert as God's loving and choosing the people of Israel (which was an emblem and representation of his special love to, and choice of the true and spiritual Israel of God) is owing to that delight he had in them ; for it is said, The Lord bada delight in thy fathers, to love them ; and he chose their seed aster them, even you above all the people, as at. this day \ And, indeed, all the favours and blessings which God bestows on his people in time, arise from his delight in them. His bringing them out of darkness into light, out of a state of nature into a state of grace, out of distresses and difficulties of every kind, springs from his delight in them : He brought me forth also into a large place, fays David c ; be delivered me, because be delighted in me. In a word, the whole salvation of the elect is owing to God's love of delight, with which he loves them. The Lord taketb pleasure in his people j and,, as a fruit and effect of that, he will beautify the meek •with salvation : He has promised to rejoice over them, to do them good; and it is said, he willsave, he will rejoice over thee withjoy ; be will rest in bis love, he will rejoice over thee with singing d. Some, perhaps, will fay, that the elect, while in a state of nature, are destituteof faith, which is very true ; and since without faith it is impossible to please God', he can take no delight in them, while in that state. The Remonstrants have urged this text in favour of election, ex fide prævifa''-, and their argument upon it is this : " That if it is impossible to please God without faith, it is impossible « that J Vid. Aben Ezra in Psalm xlv. 2. " So ^719 >*« very perverse, Deut. xxxii. c. P*1p-)i very yellow, Psalm lxviii. 13. flinTO very black, Cant. i. 6. JVS*9' exceedingly fairer. Psalm xlv. 2. "nDIDn very much troubled, Lam. i. »o. with many other instances of the like kind.. » Prov. viii. 31. * Deut. x. ic. • Psalm *»»«• «9; * Psalm exlix. 4. Jer. xxxii. 41. Zeph. iii. 17. • Heb., xi. 6. f Vid Script. AKxiL Coll. Hag. p. 63.

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. ar* " that any should be chose by God unto salvation without faith ; seeing to •' be chosen unto salvation; is the highest instance of God's love and good-will ** to man that he can shew him :" But they, have been told, by the Anti-Re monstrants, that " though election is an act. of God's great love and good plea- ** sure, yet it may be without faith, since there is a fense in which persons may •' be said to please God before faith8; for God is said even to manifest bis love 1 3 " bis enemies, Rom. v. 8, 10. If then he loved them when enemies, they must «* needs please him before they believed ;" and that " although whatsoever is «' done without faith may be displeasing to God, yet God" may be said to love " some persons, whose actions displease him : so he loved the person of Paul " before he was converted to the faith of Christ; yea, that there is a certain " complacency in the person, if it be proper so to say, before his works and " faith. please God"." And it is easy to observe, that the apostle is speaking, not of the complacency, which God has in the persons of his people, but of that which he has in their works and actions. Now no works without faith can please God, such as praying, reading, hearing, and the like; because what soever, is not of faith, isftm It. is in this sense, that they that are in the ftstj, that is, who are unregenerate, are in a state of nature, cannot please God1 j for it may be as well, expected to gather grapes of thorns, and figs of thistles, as that good, works well-pseasing to God should be tlone by an evil man : but though mea can do nothing without faith, that can please God, yet this does not hinder, but that the persons of God's elect, as considered in Christ, may be welU pleasing to God before faith, and without it. It may be further objected, that God's elect, while in a stateof nature, arechildren of wrath, even as others, and therefore cannot be the objects of God's love and delight ; for how can they be children of wrath, and yet objects of love at one and the fame time ? To which I reply, that " a person may be " the object of love and delight, and of displeasure and wrath, at one and the " same time, in a different respect." It is said of the Jews k, as concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your fakes ■, but touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers fake. But this will be better exemplified in the instance of Jesus Christ, " who standing in two different relations, and sustaining two different t Dicitur enim Deus etiam dilectionem suam manisestare erga hostes suos, Rom. v. 8, 10. si jpsos dilexit etiam quum hostes effent, necefie est placuerint ipsi antequam crederent. Ibid. p. 71. * Quamvis autem Deo displicear, quicquid fit sine fide, potest tamen dici Dam amare qua£dam personas, quarum facta ci displicent ; sic personam Pauli amabat, prius quam ad fidem Chiisti converteretur—denique est qusedam (si fas ita loqui) complacentia personæ antequam cjut opera-. I- sides Deo placeant. Molinaei Enodatio Graviss. Quxst, Tract, 7. c. 3. p. 269, 270. v Rpm. viii. 8. * Rom, xi. z3.

*i4 THE DOCTRINES OF *• different capacities, was at one and the fame time the object of his Father's ** love and wrath ; as he was the Son of God, he was always the object of his ** love and delight ; but as he was the sinners surety, and while bearing the fins " of his people in his own body on the tree, he was the object of his displea- " sure and wrath, which he sensibly felt, and therefore it is said ', Thou bast cast ** off and abhorred •, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed. And yet even then, 11 when he poured out his wrath to the uttermost on him, on the account of " his peoples sins, when he ordered justice to draw its sword, and sheath it in " him, his love towards him, as his Son, was not in the least abated." Thus the elect of God, being considered in different views, may be truly said to be children of wrath, and objects of love at one and the fame time : consider them in Adam, and under the covenant of works, they are children of wrath, they are deserving of the wrath of God, and are exposed to the curse of the law; but then as considered in Christ, and under the covenant of grace, they always were, and ever will be, the objects of God's love and delight. This doctrine, I apprehend, is no ways contrary to the purity and holiness of God's nature ; it does not follow, that because God loves and delights in his elect, while in a state of nature, that he loves and delights in their sins; God is of surer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look upon sin with any ap probation or delight m. He is not a God that bath pleasure in wickedness, neither /hall evil dwell with him. We are obliged to distinguifli between the persons and sins of God's people after conversion •, it is allowed that God loves and delights in their persons, though he hates their sins. Now why the fame distinction may not be allowed before conversion, as after, I fee not; since it is not any thing that is done by them, nor any thing that is wrought in them, that is the ground and foundation of God's love to and delight in them ; but his love to and delight in them is the ground and foundation of all that he does for them, or works in them. No doubt, what lie works in them is welrpleasing in his sight, but their acceptance with God, and their persons being well-pleafing to him, does not lie in this, but in the beloved. When, Sir, these things are considered by you, I hope you will no longer esteem it a fancy, that God should love and delight in his people while in a state of nature. But I go on, TIT. To eonsider another evangelic truth, which, indeed, is the sum and substance of the gospel, and with the proof of which the scripture abounds, though you are pleased to condemn it as a fancy, and that is, that ** God fees 1 Psalm lxxxix. 38. •> Hab. i. 13. Ps*lm v. 4.

G O fc's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 115 •*■ no sin in his people." I know this doctrine has been most odiously traduced, and most vilely misrepresented ; but, I hope, when some few things are ob served, it will plainly appear not to be a fancy, or a freak of some distem pered minds, but a most'glorious and comfortable doctrine of the gospel, and without which the gospel must cease to be good news and glad tidings to the sons of men. \st, When it is asserted that God fees fto sin in his people, the meaning is rtotj.thac there is no sin in believers, nor any committed by them, or that their fins are no sins, or that their fanctificarion is perfect in this life. 1. Sin is in the best of saints •, to fay otherwise is contrary to scripture, and to all the experience of God's people-, If HoeJay that we have no sin, we deceiie dttrfelves, and the truth is not in Us". The ingenuous confession of the faints, their groans and complaints, and that continual war between flesh and spirit they seel m themselves, are so many proofs of fin's being in them j nay, it is not only in them, but it lives in them. It is true, indeed, they do not live in sin, for then there would be no dift'erence between them and unregenerate persons; to live in fin, is not only unbecoming, but contrary to the grace of God: but still sin lives in believers-, though there is an inward principle of grace, and a mortification of the outward actions of sin, and a putting off con cerning theformer conversation the old man, which is corrupt, according to the deceit ful lusts-, yet this old man is not changed nor removed, much less destroyed. Moreover, sin is not merely in believers now and then, by fits and starts, as We fay, but it dwells in them. Hence the apostle calls it, Sin that dwelleth in me0; where it is not idle, but active and busy; it hinders all the good, and does all the mischief it can ; it makes war against the soul, and sometimes brings it into captivity. 2. Sin is not only in the best of faints, but is also committed by them : There is not a just man upon earth, that doth-good and-Jlnneth not'; nor is there any sin, but what has been, or may be committed by believers, excepting the fin against the Holy Ghost : their daily slips and falls, their frequent prayers for the discoveries of pardoning grace, and the applications of Christ's blood, which cleanscth from all sin, confirm the truth of this. It is true, the apostle John fays, that whosoever is born of Cod, doth not commitJin ; for his feed remaineth in him, and he cannotJin, because he is born of Godq ; that is, as born of God, he neither does, nor can commit sin. What is that which is born of God ? The new creature ; the other I, distinguished from sin that dwelleth in him 7 this never did, nor can commit sin ^ there are an old man and a new man in regenerate *• 1 John i, 9. • Rom. vii. I7> 20. f Eccl. vii. 20. lijohniii. 9.

2.6 THE DOCTRINES OF regenerate persons ; the new man never fins, the old nlan does nothing else but sin; there are flejh and spirit in the saints ; all sinful works are the works of the flesh, as all good works are the fruits of the Spirit. The work of grace, though imperfect, is not impure ; nothing impure springs from it, nor is any thing impure to be attributed to it. 3. The sins of believers are sins, as well- as the sins of others : they are of the fame kind, and are equally transgressions of the law, as others are : mur der and adultery, committed by David, were sins in him, as well as they are as committed by others •, yea, oftentimes the sins of believers are attended with more aggravating circumstances than the sins of other men, being acted against light and knowledge, love, grace, and mercy. Though believers are justified from all sin by Christ's righteousness, and have all their sins pardoned through Christ's blood, yet their sins do not hereby cease to be sins. Justification from sin by Christ's righteousness, and pardon of sin through Christ's blood, free them from obligation to punifhent due to sin, but do not destroy the .nature of sin. 4. The work of sanctification is imperfect in this life; it is a good work begun, but not finished ; there is something lacking in the faith of the greatest believer ; love is not come to its full growth : and as for knowledge, it is but in part. There is a twofold sanctification ; the one in Christ, this is compleat and perfect ; the other is derived from Christ, and wrought in the foul by the Spirit of Christ j this at present is imperfect. There is indeed a perfection of parts, but not of degrees ; that is to fay, the new creature has all its parts, but these are not grown up to the perfection they will arrive unto. The best of saints need fresh supplies of grace, which they would not, were they perfect: they disclaim perfection in themselves, though they wish for it both in them selves and others ; when therefore it is said, that " God sees no sin in his ■** people," neither of these things are designed by it. idly, God's seeing no sin in his people, does not impeach his omniscience; nor is it to be considered as referring to the article of providence, but to the article of justification, as I shall shew presently. God is omniscient, he knows and sees all persons and things ; nothing is or can be hid from his all-seeing eye : His eyes are upon the ways of man, and be Jeeth all bis goings ; there is no dark- . ness nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may bide themselves '. All the actions of men, whether good or bad, are known to him, with their secret springs and principles fiom whence they flow: he sees the sins of his own people, as well as the sins of others, both in their first motions, and in their open ' Job xxxiv. ai, ti.

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. *i; open productions ; The Lord's throne is in heaven, his eyes behold, bis eye-lids try the children of men-, the Lord trieth the righteous'. About this there is no debate ; they must be stupid indeed, if there be any ; for my part, I never heard of any who deny that the omniscience of God extends to the sins of his people; it never was thought of, or designed, by this assertion, to limit or deny the omniscience of God ; nor is it limited or denied by it. Though the phrases of seeing and knowing, are used as synonymous in the article of provi dence, yet never in the article of justification ; there they are always distin guished : knowledge and sight are two things •, the one belongs to the attribute of God's omniscience, the other to the attribute of his justice : when therefore it is said, that God sees no sin in his people, the meaning is not, that he does not, with his omniscient eye, see and know sin to be in them ; but he does not fee any iniquity in them with his eye of justice, or so as to punish them for their sins, or require satisfaction at their hands for them. %dly, Nor is the meaning of this proposition, that " God fees no sin in his M people," that he takes no notice of them, nor resents them, nor chastises them, in a fatherly way, on the account of them. God does not, indeed, punish his people for their sins in a way of vindiffive wrath and justice j for. this is contrary to his justice, and must overthrow the satisfaction of Christ ; for either "Christ has perfectly satisfied for the sins of his people, or he has not •, if he has not, they must satisfy for them themselves ; if he has, it is contrary to the justice of God to punish for sin twice, or to require satisfaction, both of the surety and the sinner : but though God does not punish his people for their fins, yet he chastises them in a fatherly way ; he takes notice of their sins, lays his hand upon them, in order to bring them to a fense and acknowledgement of them : If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments -, if they ireak my statutes, and keep not my commandments ; then will I visit their transgres sions with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes ; nevertheless my loving-kindness •will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail'. 4tbly, Though God sees sin in his people, as being but in part sanctified, yet he sees no sin in them, as they are perfectly justified ; though he fees sin in them, with his eye of omniscience, yet not with His eye of revenging justice ; though he sees them, in respect of his providence, which reaches all things, yet not in respect of justification ; though he takes notice of his people's sins so as to chastise them in a fatherly way, for their good ; yet he does not see them, take notice of them, and observe them in a judicial way, so as to impute them to them, or require satisfaction for them : God was in Christ, reconciling the Vol. III. Ff vertf • P&Ijn. xi. 4, j. » p&lni Uxxix. 30—33.

218 THE DOCTRIN ES O F world lo himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ■ ; No, he has imputed them to Christ, he has beheld them in him, he has charged them to him, and Christ has made full satisfaction for them •, and therefore who shall lay any thing to the charge os God's elect ? It is God that justifietb : Who is he that con demned ? It is Christ that died ". God will not require satisfaction at the hands of his people for their sins; he will not punish them on the account of them j they shall .never enter into condemnation ; for there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but aster the Spirit \ Was God to fee sin in his people in this fense, and proceed against them in a forensic way, he must act contrary to his justice, and set aside the satisfaction of his Son. A few things will make it plainly appear that God fees no sin in his justified ones, as such : First, This will be evident, if we consider what Christ has done with respect to the sins of his people. These have been removed from them to him ; they have been placed to his account, imputed to him, and laid upon him. All we, like sheep, have gone astray ; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all1 -, which he has bore in his own body on the tree ; yea, he is the Lamb of God, which taketb away thesin of the world -, he has removed the iniquity of his people in one day : As he was woundedfor their transgressions, and bruised for their fins, so he has washed them from their sins in that blood of his which cleanseth from all sin \ by his righteousness he justifies them from all things, from which they could not bejustified by the law of Moses ; and by the sacrifice of himself, he has put away fin for ever ; yea, he has finished trans gression, made an end os fin, has made reconciliation for iniquity, and has brought in everlasting righteousness. This is the language both of the Old and New Testament and if this be the cafe, as it certainly is, God does not, and cannot fee iniquity in his people, since all their iniquity has been transferred oa Christ, and it is all done away by him. Secondly, This will be yet more evident, if we consider what God the Father has done on the account of the blood, righteousness, sacrifice, and satisfaction of his Son. He has freely forgiven all the sins of his people for Christ's fake -, he has covered them with a covering of mercy, so as they are not visible,; he has blotted them out of his sight, so as they are not legible to the eye of justice ; yea, he has cast them all behind his back, and into the depths of the sea i insomuch that the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall bp none; and thefins of Judab, and they shall not be found: such strong expressions as • * Cor. v. 19. * Rom. viiu J3f 34. * Rom< viii, 1. r !&■ &»• 6»

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, Sec. ar9 as these from the mouth of the Lord of hosts, will sufficiently bear us out in asserting, that " God fees no fin in his people." Thirdly, Add to this, the view in which the people of God are to be consi dered, and are considered by Father, Son, and Spirit, being clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and washed in his blood : they are compleat in Christ j they are without fault before the throne, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing : Christ fays to them, Thou art all fair, my love ; and there is no /pot in thee *. The church is a perfection of beauty in his esteem ; all the saints are perfectly comely through the comeliness he has put on them ; yea, they are, in the sight of God, in the eye of justice, unblameable and unreproveable ; and if so, then surely God sees no iniquity in them. One must transcribe a considerable part of the Old and New Testament to give the full proof of this doctrine. If this is a fancy, it is the glory of the Bible, and the marrow of the Gospel ; what most displays the riches of God's grace, the efficacy of Christ's blood, the compleatness of his righteousness, and the fulness of his satisfaction ; it is the foundation of all solid hopes of future happiness, what supports the life of faith, and is the ground of a believer's triumph. One would have thought, Sir, you might have forbore so severe a reflection on this truth, of God's seeing no sin in his people, since it is the to j,™, the express words of the sacred oracles : He bath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath be seen perverseness in Israel1. I proceed, IV. To another truth decried by you as a fancy ; the assertors of which are ridiculed, as amusers of themselves with a fancy, which is, that " good works " are not necessary to salvation." I am sensible, in some measure, what contro versies have been in the world about this subject, and what extremes have been run into on both sides the question. There was a sharp contention among the Lutherans on this head. George Major asserted, that " good works were neces- " sary to salvation j" on the other hand, Nicholaus Amsdorfius said, that they were " noxious and pernicious to salvation :" neither of these positions are defensible, as they thus stand : Not the former ; for though good works are necessary, upon many accounts, to answer several valuable ends and purposes, yet not necessary to salvation j though they ought to be performed by all God's justified and saved ones, yet not in order to their justification and salvation •, though the people of God ought to maintain good works for necessary uses, yet these necessary uses do not design salvation, but other things, as I shall f f 2 shew ■ C<int. iv. 7. » Numb, xxiii. 21.

*26 T H E DOCTRINES 6 P mew presently. Nor is the latter of these positions to be defended ; for though good works are not necessary to salvation, yet not noxious and pernicious to rt, unless when they are placed in the business of salvation, to the displacing of Christ and his righteousness ; and then they are so far from helping forward, that they hinder the salvation of souls, being an ignis satuus, which leads out of the way of salvation. The Papists and Protestants have warmly contested this point : the former fay that good works are necessary to salvation, per viam efficientiœ, " by way of efficiency or causality," to merit or procure salvation t which is the only fense in which the proposition can well be understood ; sot if good works are necessary to salvation, it must be to procure it ; for m what sense else can they be necesary to it ? This is denied by the latter, and by them fully confuted j though some have made use of some distinctions, in order to qualify and soften this proposition, that good works are necessary to salvation, by which they have betrayed the truth into the hands of the enemy. 1 (hall attempt to shew, First, That good works are in no fense necessary to salvation. Secondly, What they are necessary to, or what are the necessary uses of them. First, I affirm that good works are not necessary to salvation in any sense. ist, They are not necessary to salvation by way of causality, as having any causal influence on our salvation, or any part of it. Christ is the sole author of salvation ; he came into this world to effect it ; he has done it, it is finished, it is compleat and perfect in itself; it needs nothing to be added to it to make it so : Christ is a rock, and his work is perfect j he is a Saviour in whole, and not in part ; he will admit of no copartner or assistant in this matter. Good works have no concern, as causes, in our salvation ; God, in saving persons, does not act according to them, nor by them, nor in consideration of them ; for be hathsaved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his purpose and grace, -which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began". And, says the fame inspired writer, elsewhere'; not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but, according to bis mercy, besaved us, by the wash ing os regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. God saves his elect by Christ in a way of pure grace and mercy, to the exclusion of good works having any hand therein ; For by grace ye are saved, fays the apostle", through faith ; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God ; not of works, lest any man should boast. Good works are not to be placed in any rank of causes of our salvation whatever. i. They are not the impulsive or moving causes of salvation. Nothing out of God can move him to do any thing; good works did not move him to take any » 2 Tim. i. 9. « Titus iii. 5, J Eph. ii. 8, 9,

GOD'S EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 221 any one step relating to the salvation of his people •, they did not move him to choose them unto salvation by Jesus Christ ; he chose them in Christ before the foundation of the world, before they had done either good or evil ; and so not because they were, but that they might be holy. This act of his sprung from his good will and pleasure, and is an instance of pure grace. Hence it is called the election of grace ' ; and, adds the apostle, if by grace, then it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace ; but if it be of works, then is it no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. Good works are the fruits, not the causes of electing grace ; nor did these move God to make a covenant of grace with his elect in Christ, in which the scheme of salvation was fixed, the whole of it secured, and all blessings and promises put into the hands of the Me diator-, nor was it good works that moved God to lend his Son to obtain salvation, but his own free love and grace ; nor what moved Christ to give himself for his people, since at that time they were without strengths ungodly, sinners, and enemies to him; in a word, it is not good works, but grace, which moves God to justify, pardon, adopt, regenerate, sanctify and glorify any of the sons of men. 2 Good works are not the efficient, procuring, or meritorious causes of sal vation ; for they are imperfect in the best of men j and were they perfect, yet the requisites of merit are wanting in them ; for, (1.) That by which we would merit, must not be due to him, of whom we would merit. Now all our works are previously due to God ; he has a right to all our obedience, prior to the performance of it ; and therefore when we have done all those things which are commanded us, we have done but that which was our duty to do. (2.) That by which we would merit, must be some way or other profitable to him, of whom we would merit : but can a man be ■profitable to God, as he that is wife may be profitable to himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous ? or is it any gain to him, that thou mttkest thy ways perfecl ? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him ? or what receivetb be of thine band ? Tby wickedness may hurt a man, as thou art, and- tby righteousness may profit the Jon «f man f. (3.) That by which we would merit, must be done in our own strength, and not in the strength of him, of whom we would merit : we must not be obliged to him for any thing in the performance of it ; whereas all our suffi ciency to think a good thought, ot do a good action, is of God ; without him we can do nothing ; it is by the grace of God we are what we are ■, and it . • Rom. xi. 5, 6. ' Job xxii. a. 3. and raxv. 7, 8.v.

222 THE DOCTRINES OF it is by the grace of God we do what we do •, and therefore to him all the glory belongs. (4.) There must be some proportion between that by which we would merit, and that which we would merit. Now there is a just proportion between fin and the wages of it, but none between good works and eternal salvation •, 'The wages ofsin is death, tut the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord*. In fine, if good works were the efficient procuring causes of salvation, then Christ died in vain j his obedience and sufferings must be useless, and of no effect ; besides, boasting would not be excluded, which is God's design in fixing the method of salvation in the manner he has ; for if men were saved by works, -they would have whereof to boast. 3. Good works are not co-efficient causes or con-causes of salvation with Christ; ■they are not adjuvant or helping causes of it j they do not assist in, or help for ward the business of salvation ; it is done without them ; Christ will not admit -of any rivalstiip in this matter ; his own arm has brought salvation to him ; he has alone effected it, and is the sole author of it •, and therefore good works are needless in this respect. It is a rule in philosophy, Quod potest fieri per pauca, non debet fieri per plura ; " What can be done by few, ought not to be done by " more." There is a fulness, a sufficiency in Christ to salvation, therefore good works are not necessary to salvation. 4. Good works are not causa sine qua non, of salvation ; they are not condi tions of salvation, or that without which persons cannot be saved; as is evident ■from the instances of the thief upon the cross, of elect infants dying in in fancy, and of multitudes of others, as it is to be hoped, whom God calls in the last hour, upon their death-beds, who live not to perform good works. Now if good works are necessary to salvation, and persons cannot be saved without them, then none of those persons mentioned can be saved. idly, There are some worthy divines who utterly deny the efficiency or causa lity of good works in salvation, who yet think that this proposition, that " good «« works are necessary to salvation," may stand safely, and in a good sense, admitting some distinctions, which I shall briefly take notice of, and are as follow : Some fay, that good works are not necessary to salvation, as causes, yet they are necessary, as means. This cannot be true, because every mean is the cause of that unto which it is a mean ; and then good works must be the causes of salvation, which has been disproved already. If good works are the means of salvation, * Rom. vi. 23,

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. azj salvation, they must be either the means of procuring it, or of applying it, or of introducing God's people into the full possession of it , they are not the means of procuring salvation, for that is procured by Christ alone without them ; nor are they the means of applying it in regeneration or effectual voca tion ; because, properly speaking, before regeneration, or effectual vocation, there are no good works done by the sons of men : they must be first rege nerated, and called by grace ; there must be an application of salvation ; the gospel must become the power of God unto salvation* before they are capable of performing good works : We are his workmanship, fays the apostle ", created: in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that wejhould walk in them. Nor are they the means of introducing God's people into the full possession of salvation ; for they that die in the Lord, rest from their labours, and their works follow them. They do not go beforehand to prepare the way for them, or to introduce them into the heavenly glory. Good works are not necessary, as means, either for the application or possession of salvation, neither for the inchoation or consummation of it. Others make use of a distinction, which is Bernard's ; which is, that though good works are not causa regnandi, " the cause of reigning," yet they are via ad regnum, " the way to the kingdom." But it ought to be observed, that Bernard does not fay that they are via ad regnum, but via regni, " the way of •• the kingdom -," between which there is a great difference ; for good works may be the way or course of such, who are of the kingdom of grace, and belong to the kingdom of glory, when they are not the way to either. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life ; the only true way to eternal life. Good works are to be performed by all that are in the way, Christ : they are the business of all sueh that walk in this way, but they themselves net the way,, unless it can be thought that good works are Christ. Others fay, that good works are necessary to justification and salvation; not auoad efficientiam, " as to the efficiency of them," but quoad prafentiam, " as *« to the presence of them ;" and though they have no causal influence on salvation, yet the presence of them is necessary to salvation. That the pre sence of good works is necessary to all those who are justified and saved, that are capable of performing them, and have time and opportunity to perform them, I allow ; but that it is necessary to their justification and salvation, I deny ; for if it is necessary, it must be necessary either as a cause, or a condi tion, or a mean of justification and salvation, either of which has been dis proved already. Others k Eph- ii. 10. .

224 THE DOCTRINES OF Others fay, that they are a necessary antecedent to salvation, and that they are necessary to it, as the antecedent to the consequent : but, from the instances before mentioned, of the thief on the cross, of elect infants dying in infancy, with those whom God caHs by his grace on their death-beds, it appears that salvation is where good works do not go before. It is true, indeed, that without holiness no man shall fee the Lord1 j that is, without internal holiness, without a principle of holiness in the heart. This must be supposed to be in the persons instanced in j but then there may be this, where there is no ex ternal holiness, or any performance of good works before men ; and that either through incapacity, or through want of time and opportunity. And now lest it should be thought that I imagine that the performance of good works are unnecessary, I shall proceed, Secondly, To shew in what sense they are necessary, and what are the neces sary uses of them ; for to fay, that because they are not necessary to salvation, that therefore they are unnecessary to any thing else, is very illogical; though the scriptures no where fay that they are necessary to salvation, yet they direct us to learn to maintain good works for necessary usesk; which are these following : -I. They are necessary on the account of God, who has commanded them : We are under his law as creatures, and ought to do his will and pleasure; and as new creatures are under greater obligation still ; we ought to perform good works in respect to the commands of God, to testify our obedience and sub jection to him, and to shew the grateful sense we have of his mercies, both spiritual and temporal, as well as to answer some ends of his glory : Herein, fays Christ \ is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit. Nay, we not onl glorify God ourselves by our good works, but are the means of others gloryfying him likewise : Hence, says our Lord m, let your light Jo Jhine before men, that they may fee your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 2. Good works are necessary on the account of ourselves. They are useful to evidence the truth of our faith to the world, and discover to them the cer- . tainty of our election and vocation, who have no other way of judging of either, but by our outward conversation : hereby we adorn the pofession we make of Christ and his gospel; so that his name, his ways, truths, and ordi nances, are not blasphemed, or spoke evil of through us j yea, hereby we exer cise a conscience void of offence, both towards God and man. 3. Good works are necessary on the account of our neighbours, who, as they are often injured by evil works, are helped and profited by good works. One part of the moral law is, to love our neighbour as ourselves : now as a turning from ■• Heb. xii. 14. * Titm iii. 14. 1 John xv. 8. • Matt. v. 16.

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 225 from this holy commandment tends to our neighbour's injury, so a conformity to it issues in his good. 4. Good works are necessary on the account of the enemies of religion. A good conversation recommends the Gospel, and the truths of it, and may be a means of winning persons over to it; and if not, yet it silences the ignorance of foolish men, and shames such, anH stops the mouth of those who reproach the Gospel of Christ, as a licentious doctrine, and falsly accuse the good con versation of the saints. From the whole, I hope, it appears, on the one hand, that good works are necessary, and not trifling and indifferent things, that may, or may not, be done-, or that they are useless, unnecessary, and insignificant j and, on the other hand, that it is no fancy, but matter of faith, and what ought to be abode by, that good works are not necessary to salvation. V. I observe that you describe such as assert that God loves and delights in his elect, while in a state of nature ; that he sees no fin in his people, and that good works are not necessary to salvation, as persons " forward to con- *' demn pressing men to duty, as legal preaching ; and to speak of exhorting " to repentance, mortification and self-denial, as low and mean stuff." The fame complaint you make in another place \ ijl, 1 cannot but wonder that you should esteem such culpable or blame worthy, who condemn pressing men to duty, as legal preaching ; for pressing men to duty, can be no other than legal preaching, or preaching of the law-, since duty can be referred to nothing else but to the law, which obliges to it. Should they condemn pressing men to duty, as criminal, or deny that there ought to be any preaching, or that there is any use of the law, you might justly have blamed them. The duties which the law requires, ought to be in their place insisted on in the ministry of the word ; they should be opened and explained ; men should be taught their duty to God and one another ; they should be pressed: that is, if I understand it, be exhorted unto it, with gospelmotives and arguments, such as the apostles frequently make use of in their epistles. They should, at the fame time, be told where grace and strength lie, and are to be had to assist them in it. The preaching of the law is of use both to saints and sinners-, it is made useful by the Spirit of God to convince of sin-, By the law is the knowledge of fin° \ though by it is no knowledge of a Saviour from sin ; it shews the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the deformity of nature, the imperfection of man's obedience, and what is requisite to his justifi- Vol. III. G g cation ■ Sermon of the Causes of the Decay of Practical Religion, p. 5P4. in vol. II. of the Defence of some important Doctrines of the Gospel. ° Rom. iii. 20.

226 THE DOCTRINES OF cation before God ; though it leaves him ignorant of that righteousness which can only answer its demands, and render him acceptable in the sight of God. The law is a rule of walk and conversation to believers, as it is in the hands of Christ, and given out by him, as King of his church ; it contains the per fect and acceptable will of God ; it points out what is, or what is not to be done ; it is in its own nature spiritual, just and good, and very agreeable to the regenerate man, who delights in the law of God, after the inward man. But then pressing men to duty, is preaching the law, and that must needs be legal preaching, though it ought not to be branded with any odious or invidious character; for all duty belongs to a law; grace, and promises of grace, belong to the gospel, but precepts and duty to the law. We have had a controversy among us lately about preaching Christ, in the latitude and restrictive way ; and, no doubt, the people have been much edified and instructed by it ; but men may controvert to the end of the world, it can never be proved, that preaching good works is preaching Christ, or that pressing men to duty, is preaching the gospel; unless it can be thought that good works are Christ, and that the law is gospel. I am entirely for calling things by their right names ; preaching duty, is preaching the law ; preaching the free grace of God, and salvation by Christ, is preaching the gospel ; to say otherwise, is to turn the gospel into a law, and to blend and confound both together. Some very worthy divines, whose names I forbear to mention, did formerly talk of gospel-commands,, gospel-threatnings, and gospel-duties, which, to me, are contradictions in terms ; and I fear that this loose and unguarded way of talking, tended to pave the way for Neonomianism among us, which, some few years ago, gave the churches so much disturbance, and the bad effects of which we still feel. idly, " Exhorting to repentance, you fay, is spoken of by these persons, as " low and mean stuff;" but you do not tell us what kind of repentance is meant, or with what views, or upon what considerations an exhortation to it is given. There is an evangelical and a legal repentance : Evangelical repentance has God for its object, and is called repentance towards GodT. It is the gift of Christ, who is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel, and forgiveness of sins* ; and is one of the graces of the Spirit of God, which he implants in the hearts of his people. It is that sorrow and concern for sin, which springs from, and is heightened and increased by the discoveries of God's love ; it is accompanied with views, or, at least, hopes of pardoning grace and mercy ; it is a godly sorrow r, i **•>-<» e«» \xmr>, " a sorrow according " to God," agreeable to the mind and will of God ; a divine sorrow, which springs » Acts xx. 9i. * Acts. v. 31. r 2 Cor. vii. 10.

GOD's EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 227 springs from divine principles, and proceeds on divine views ; or it is a sorrow for sin, as it is committed against a God of holiness, purity, grace, and mercy; which godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, not to be repented os; and therefore by no means to be spoken slightly of. Nor can exhortations to such kind of repentance, be treated as low and mean stuff, without casting con tempt on John the Baptist*, Christ, and his apostles ; who made use of them, either to shew the necessity of repentance, or to encourage the exercise of this grace in the saints, or to stir them up to an open profession of it, and to bring forth fruits in their conversation meet for the same. Legal repentance is a work of the law, and consists in outward confession of sin, and external humiliation for it, and an inward horror, wrath, and terror, upon the account of it. It is a sorrow and concern for sin, not because of the evil that is in sin, but because of the punishment that is like to come by it. It is a concern for sin, not as it is in its own nature exceeding sinful, or as it is an offence to God, and a breach of his law, but as it entails upon the sinner ruin and destruction : This is the sorrow of the world, which worketh death ; and may be where true evan gelical repentance never was, nor never will be, and therefore is not to be valued and regarded. Not to exhort to this kind of repentance, or even to evangelical repentance, as within the compass of the power of man's will, and as a condition of the covenant of grace, and a term of acceptance with God, and in order to make peace with God, and gain the divine favour, which you know is the rant of some mens ministry ; I fay, to exhort to repentance with such views, and on such considerations as these, is low and mean stuff, too mean for, below, and unworthy of, a minister of the gospel. %dly, You mention exhorting to mortification and self-denial, as treated bv some, in the fame flight and contemptuous manner. You know very well that much of what has been said and written concerning mortification, is low, mean, and trifling, and it would be mortification enough to be obliged to hear and read it. I confess, I have often been at a loss what divines mean by mor tification of sin ; if they mean a destroying the being of sin, a killing, a taking away the life of it in believers, which seems to be their meaning ; this is con trary both to scripture and all the experience of God's people. The word ot God assures us, that sin is in believers, and they find it to be in them j yea, to be alive in them, though they do not live in sin- The old man is, indeed, put off, concerning the former conversation, but not put to death ; he remains and is alive,' and is sometimes very active, though he lies in chains, and is under the power and dominion of mighty and efficacious grace. There is a g g 2 mortification 1 Matt. iii. 2, and iv. 17, Acts ii. 38. and iii. 19. Rev. ii, 5, 16. and iii. 3, 19.

228 THE DOCTRINES OF mortification of fin by the death of Christ ; The old man is crucified with Christ, that the body of fin might be destroyed1. Christ has abolished, destroyed, made an end of sin ; through Christ's bearing the sins of his people in his own body on the tree, and through his death they are dead to fin, and live unto righteousness. But fin is not dead in them ; there is no such thing as a mortification, a killing or destroying the inward principles of sin in believers, nor is it to be expected in this life. If, indeed, by mortification of sin, is meant a weakening the power of fin, so as that it shall not have the dominion over the saints ; this is readily granted to be found in them : but then it will be difficult to prove that ever this is called mortification in scripture. The mortification the scripture speaks of, and exhorts to, does not design the mortification of the inward principles of sin, but the outward actings of it; it is a mortification of an external course of living in sin, and not a taking away the life of sin in the soul, as is evident from those places where any mention is made of it ; mor tify therefore, fays the apostle ", your members which are upon the earth ; forni cation, uncleannefs, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry ; in which ye also walked some time when ye lived in them ; which last words shew, that the apostle has respect to a walk, a conversation, a course of living in these sins •, so when he fays w, they that are Christ's, have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts, he means the works of the flesh, and the actings of unruly passions and deceitful lusts, as appears from the context ; and when exhortations to mortification of sin, in this fense, are given, a special regard should be had to the gracious influences of the blessed Spirit •, for, as the apostle fays % If ye, through the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye stall live. As for self-denial, perhaps no persons are found more in the practice of it, than those you have described, however averse they may be to exhortations to it, made without taking any notice of the grace and assistance of the Spirit of God, as necessary to the exercise of it. They choose to suffer reproach, the loss of good name and reputation, to forego popularity, wealth, and friends, to be traduced as Antinomians, and reckoned any thing, rather than to drop, conceal, or balk any one branch of truth, respecting Christ and free grace. None are more ready to deny self- righteousness than they are, and to submit to the righteousness of Christ, on which they alone depend for justifi cation before God, and acceptance with him ; nor are any persons more powerfully and effectually taught to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. And, you, Sir, are so kind * Rom. vi. 6. u Col. iii. 5, 7. " Gal. v. 24. * Rom. viii, 13.

GOD'i EVERLASTING LOVE, &c. 229 kind as to fay, that such who have amused themselves with what you call fancies, " by their life and conversation have shewed that they were Jar from " being enemies to holiness." And you further add, " Far be it from us to " charge some, who have gone into this way of thinking and talking, with ** turning the grace of God into wantonness." I conclude, Sir, with assuring you, that I write not this with an angry and contentious spirit ; I am willing to submit these things to the scriptures of truth, which are the only rule of faith and practice ; and would gladly enter into a sober controversy, and try whether they be mere fancies, or parts of that faith which was once delivered to the saints. If, Sir, you should think sit to give mean answer to this letter, I desire you would not so much attend to my inaccuracies in writting, which I know you are able to correct, as to the truths themselves herein asserted and defended. I wish you success in your learned studies. I am, S I R, 1 * . j ■ - With all due respect, Yours, &c. THE

23o THE DOCTRINE OF THE THE DOCTRINE OF THE SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE, ASSERTED AND VINDICATED: In Answer to a late Pamphlet, called Serious Thoughts on that Subject. TH E doctrine of the saints final perseverance in grace to glory, being a doctrine so fully expressed in the sacred scriptures, so clearly wrote there as with a fun-beam, having so large a compass of proof, as scarce any other doctrine has ; a doctrine so agreeable to the perfections of God, and the con trary so manifestly reflecting dishonour upon them, particularly the immuta bility of God, his wisdom, power, goodness, justice, truth, and faithfulness ; a doctrine so well established upon his purposes and decrees, his counsel and covenant, and which so well accords with all his acts of grace towards, and upon his people •, a doctrine so well calculated for their spiritual peace and comfort, and to promote holiness of life and conversation ; a doctrine one would think, that every good man must wijh, at least, to be true ; it may seem strange, that any man believing divine revelation, and professing godliness, should set himself to oppose it, and call such an opposition Serious Thoughts upon it, as a late writer has done -, who has published a pamphlet under such a title, and which now lies before me, and which I have undertook to answer, and shall attempt to do it in the following manner. And, it is to be hoped, he will think again, and more seriously, and that his latter thoughts will be better than his former. I shall not dispute his account of saints, and the characters of them, though there are some things which require distinction and explanation. He has rightly observed, that the question about the saints falling away, is not meant of barely falling into sin, but so as to perish everlastingly; and therefore he has

SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 231 has not produced the instances of David, Solomon, Peter, and others ; which, with great impertinence and impropriety are usually brought inro this contro versy. He has put what he has to fay upon this subject into Eight propositions, which he endeavours to confirm by scripture-authorities. And, The First is, " That one who is holy or righteous in the judgment of God " himself, may nevertheless so fall from God, as to perish everlastingly •," in support of which, he produces Ezek. xviii. 24. but when the righteous turnetb away from bis righteousness, and committeth iniquity— In his trespass that be hath trespassed, and in bis sin that be batb sinned, in them shall he die. Which he under stands of eternal death, as he thinks is evident from ver. 26 '. But, 1. such a sense of the words is contrary to the scope and design of the whole chapter, which not at all concerns the perseverance or apostacy of saints, and neither their salvation nor damnation •, but the sole view of it is to vindicate the justice of God, from a charge of punishing the Jews, not for their own sins, but the sins of their fathers, and of injustice and inequality in his providential dealings with them, and has nothing to do with the spiritual and eternal affairs of men. 2. The whole context wholly and solely regards the house of Israel, and the land of Israel, and the conduct of the people of Israel in it, according to which they held or lost their tenure of it, and were either continued in it, or removed from it-, so that it is quite impertinent to the case before us : and this writer is guilty of what he calls & fallacy in others, in applying that to the saints in particular, which relate to the Jewish church and nation only, as distin guishable from all other people ", and so stands self-condemned.— 3. The righteous man here spoken of, is indeed called and allowed by the Lord him self to be so; yet that righteousness by which he is denominated, only regards him as an inhabitant of the land of Israel, and as giving him a title and claim to the possession and enjoyment of it; but not as justifying him before God, and giving him a title to eternal life and happiness. For this righteousness is called his, his own, and not another's, which he himself had done, and not what Christ had done for him, his own in which he trusted ; it was a righteous ness of works, as appears from ver. 5—9. and not the righteousness of faith ; there is not a word of faith in the account, nor of the obedience of Christ, nor of the sanctifying grace of the Spirit; this man does not appear to be either a righteous man or a holy man in an evangelical sense ; wherefore the irislance is quite impertinent. Millions of instances of this kind will never enervate the doctrine of the saints perseverance ; let it be proved if it can, that any one that has been made righteous by the obedience of Christ, and has been truly and » Serious Thoughts, p. 4, 5. b Ibid. p. 7.

232 THE DOCTRINE OF THE and inwardly sanctified by the Spirit and grace of God, ever so fell away, as everlastingly to perish ; let this be proved, and we have done : As for a man's own righteousness and outward acts of holiness, we allow a man may turn from them and be lost, but not from the righteousness of Christ, which is everlasting, nor from an inward principle of grace and holiness, which ever abides.—4. Besides, admitting that a righteous man in an evangelical fense is here meant, though it cannot be allowed ; yet what is here said is only a supposition, which puts nothing in being, and is no proof or instance of matter of fact.—And, 5. the death here spoken of, is not eternal death, or the death of foul and body in hell ; for this death was now upon them, what they were complaining of as wrongfully punished with ; it being, as they supposed, on account of their fathers sins, and not their own •, and from which death also they might be delivered by repentance and reformation, fee ver. 23, 32. All which cannot be said of eternal death ; but is to be understood of some temporal affliction and calamity, which in scripture is often called a death, as in Exod. x. 1 7. 2 Cor. i. 10. and xi. 23. such as captivity in which the Jews now were on account of their sins, and was the subject of their complaint. Dying in his iniquity, is the fame as dying for his iniquity, and both in ver. 26. signify the fame thing, and not two different deaths ; w"hich is repeated to shew the cer tainty of it-, and is also what is meant by the death of the soul, not of the soul only, or of the body only, but of the person of the sinner, punished with, a temporal affliction for his sins •, and so falls stiort of proving that a truly righteous and holy man may peristi everlastingly. The Second proposition is, that " one who is endued with the faith that " purifies the heart, that produces a good conscience, may nevertheless so fall " from God, as to perish everlastingly." In proof of which is produced, 1 Tim. i. 19, 20. holding faith and a good conscience, which some having put away, concerning faith have made shipwreck, os whom is Hymeneus and Alexander c But, x. it does not appear that these men ever had their hearts purified by faith j this should be first proved, before they are produced as instances of the apostacy of real saints •, the contrary appears in their characters ; they were ungodly men, and were never otherwise for any thing that is said of them j and after their profession of religion, they increased and proceeded to more ungodliness ; they were vain-babblers, opposers of the doctrines of the gospel, and blasphemers of it, and were never upon the foundation that stands sure, or were known by the Lord as his, fee ver. 20. and 2 Tim. ii. 16, 19. and iv. 14, 15.—2. Nor is it clear from the text, that they ever had a good con science, * Serious Thoughts, p. 8.

SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 233 science, but rather that they never had one j putting it away does not neces sarily suppose they had it, but rather that they had it not, they rejecting it with dislike ; as the Jews who never had the gospel are said to put it away ; when they contradicted, blasphemed, and rejected it, the apostle says, ye put it from you, «**$«•&•, the fame word that is here used ; ye rejected it, cast it from you, and would not receive it, so here ; had these persons ever had a good conscience, it would rather have been said, which some having put out of them; but they never had it ; when it was proposed to them, as the Christian religion proposes that a man should exercise a good conscience, they disliked it, and put it away, and would not attend to it, and chose rather to drop the faith they professed, as being contrary to their evil consciences and practices : besides, persons may have a good conscience in some sense, and as it shews itself by an external behaviour among men, which does not arise from an heart purified by faith ; the apostle had such an one before he had faith in Christ Atls xxiii. 1. though it does not seem as if these men had ever such an one— 3. The faith they made shipwreck of, is not the grace of faith, which it does not appear they ever had, but the doctrine of faith, the Gospel ; «•?» m, «r,r„, concerning the faith, is a phrase that is never used but of the doctrine of faith, see Ails xxiv. 24. 1 Tim. vi. 21. 1 Tim. iii. 8. This is the faith they made shipwreck of, denied and destroyed, or contradicted and blasphemed, as it is explained in the next verse ; and the particular doctrine of faith they made shipwreck of, erred concerning, and swerved from, was the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, see 2 Tim. ii. 17, 18. Men may profess the doctrine of faith and fall from itj but this is no instance of a man's having true faithwhich purifies the heart, and falling from God so as to perish. The Third proposition -is *, that " Those who are grafted into the good " olive tree, the spiritual invisible church, may nevertheless so fall from God, " as to perish everlastingly." To support which, the text in Rom. xi. 1 7 24. is produced, but to no purpose.—For, 1. by the olive tree, is not meant the spiritual and invisible church of Christ ; that is, the general assembly and church of the first-born which were written in heaven, and consists only of the chosen, redeemed, and saved •, to which there can be no addition, and of which there can be no diminution ; no fresh engrafture can be made into it, nor any excision from it.—But, 2. the outward Gospel-church-state, or the outward state of the church under the Gospel-dispensation ; the national church of the Jews being abolished, and its branches broken, fee Jer. xi. 16. which signify the unbe lieving Jews •, who because of their unbelief also were left" out of the Gospel- Vol. III. Hh church-state i * Serious Thoughts, p. 9.

234 THE DOCTRINE OF THE / church-state ; and the few believing Jews were together with the Gentiles grafted into that true olive tree, the Gospel-church ; and the first coalition was at Anlioch.—3. Those that are signified by the broken branches, were never true believers in Christ ; and, because of their unbelief, were broken off, and they were left out of the Gospel- church ; they are distinguished from the rem nant according to the election of grace among the Jews, and are the rest that were blinded, ver. 5, 7. and so no instances of the apostacy of true believers.— , 4. Though the persons the apostle speaks to were grafted into the olive tree, and were holy believers, and stood by faith, and are threatened in cafe they did not behave suitable to their character and profession, that they should be cut off-, yet this can only intend a cutting off from the outward churchstate, in which they were, and from the privileges of it; and had it took place, would have been no proof of their perishing everlastingly—5. There is a strong intimation, though this writer fays there is not the least intimation given, that such that were cut off should be grafted in again ; since it is not only said, that God is able to do it, but that if they abode not in unbelief, it should be done ; and the probability of it is argued ; and so it will be in the latter day, when the Jews shall be converted, and all Israel be saved, ver. 23— 26. of which the first Jews that believed in Christ, were the first-fruits and root, said to be holy, ver. 16. and so were the pledge and earnest of the future engrafture of their people into the Gospel-church-state. Upon the whole, this is an insufficient proof, that any belonging to the invisible church ever so fell, as to perish everlastingly. Let it be proved, if it can, that ever any of the church of the first-born whose names are written in heaven ; that any of that church of which Christ is the head, whom he loved, gave himself and died for; that any of that body which is the fulness of him, that silled all in all ; or that any who are baptized by one Spirit into it, and have been made to drink of that Spirit, were ever lost or did eternally perish. The Fourth proposition is, that " those who are branches of the true vine, of 44 whom Christ fays, I am the vine, ye are the branches, may nevertheless so ** fall from God, as to perish everlastingly, John xv. 1—5. where it is ob- 44 served, the persons spoken of are branches in Christ, some of which abide 44 not in him, but are cast forth from him and his church, and are withered^ 44 and so consequently never grafted in again, yea cast into the fire and burned. 41 Wherefore it is not possible for words more strongly to declare, that even 44 those who are now branches in the true vine, may yet so fall, as to perish ** everlastingly V To which I answer, that there are two sorts of branches in Christ * Serious Thoughts, p. 13.

SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 235 Christ the vine, the c/ne fruitful, and the other unfruitful ; the one are such. who were chosen in bi>,n before the foundation of the world, to be holy and happy; and who are truly regenerated by his Spirit and grace in time, and made his new creatures ; for is any man be in Christ, be is a new creature* ; these are openly, truly, and savingly in him j he is the green fir tree to them, from .whom all their fruit is found ; they are rooted in him, and receive their life and nourishment and fruitfulness from him, and abide in him ; and can never wither away and perish, as is clear from the text and context : these are the .branches which the husbandman, Christ's heavenly father, purges and prunes, that they may bring forth more fruit; and these as they were loved by Christ in the fame manner as his father loved him, so they were chosen and ordained by him, to go and bring forth fruit, and that their fruit might remain and so not perish, ver. 2, 9, 16. hence this parable of the vine and branches, furnishes out an argument for, and not against the perseverance of the saints. The other sort of branches, are such who are in Christ only by profession ; who submit to outward ordinances, and get into churches, and so are reckoned in Christ, being professors of him, and in a church-state ; as the churches of "Judea and Tbejfalonicay and others, are said to foe in Christ $ though it cannot be thought, that every individual person in those churches were truly and savingly in him, Gal. i. ai. 1 Tbejf. i. 1. These are such who were never rooted in Christ, or ever received any life, grace, or fruitfulness from him, and so are unfruitful branches •, and in a course of time wither away in their profession ; and whom the husbandman by one means or another takes away ; and who are cast out of the churches into which they get, and by which they have a name of beino- jn Christ, either for their bad principles or practices, or both ; and at last, as chaff are burnt with unquenchable fire ; but what is all this to real saints or true believers in Christ? no proof at all of their falling and perishing everlastingly. The Fifth proposition is, that " those who so effectually know Christ, as by «* that knowledge to escape the pollutions of the world, may yet fall back into " these pollutions, and perish everlastingly ;" the text to prove it is 2 Pet. ii. 20, 21. which this writer understands of an experimental knowledge of Christ, which some had and lost, and fell back into pollutions, and perished g. —But, 1. it does not appear that the knowledge the persons in the text are said to have, was an inward experimental knowledge of Christ ; had it been such they could not have lost it ; for those who truly and experimentally know him shall follow on to know him ; and such a knowledge of him has eternal life inseparably connected with it \ yea, that itself is eternal life, and therefore can h h 2 - ■ never * i Cor. v. 17, « Serious Thoughts, p. 16

236" THE DOCTRINE OF THE never be lost, Hos. vf. 3. John xvii. 3.—2. The effect ascribed unto it, escaping the pollutions of the world, does not prove it to be an inward experimental knowledge} since that signifies no more than an outward reformation and amendment of life, which may follow upon a notional and speculative know ledge of Christ, or an outward acknowledgement and profession of him.— 3. There is nothing said of these persons which shew that they were partakers of the true grace of God, or but what may be said of such that are destitute of it ; all the characters of them in the context, for they are no other than the false teachers there described, shew them to be very vile and wicked men : they do not appear ever to have had any change wrought upon them •, they ever were no other than dogs andswine ; not only before and after, but even while they were under a profession of religion, and outwardly abstained from gross enormities, as the application of the proverb to them shews j it is hap pened to them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to bis own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire, ver. 22. Where fore the characters and cafe of these persons can never be improved into an argument against the perseverance of real saints, and such as have a spiritual and experimental knowledge of Christ. The Sixth proposition is, that " Those who see the light of the glory of " God in the face of Jesus Christ, and who have been made partakers of the " Holy Ghost, of the witness and fruits of the Spirit, may nevertheless so fall " from God, as to perish everlastingly-," for the proof of this, we are referred to Heb. vi. 4.—6. where it is said, the expressions used are so strong and clear, that they cannot, without gross and palpable wresting, be understood of any but true believers b.—But, 1. admitting that true believers arc meant, the words are only a supposition of their falling away, if they fall away, and prove no matter of fact, that ever any did ; and at most are only expressive of the danger they are in of falling, and of the difficulty of restoring them, from a partial fall, a final and total one being prevented by the power and grace of God. But, says our author, the apostle makes no supposition at all, there is no if in the original •, the words are in plain English, it is impossible to renew again to repentance, those who were once enlightened, and have fallen away: but, though the ;/ or condition is not expressed, yet it is implied, and the fense is the fame as if it was ; an hypothetical or conditional proposition may be as truly expressed without an if, as with it, as it is here; the words in the original lie literally thus, it is impossible that those who were once enlightened, *«• w«?««™«»1«<> and they falling away, to renew them again unto repentance ; that is, should they fall away, k Serious Thoughts, p. 17. -

SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 237 away, which in plain English is, if they fall away ; our translators have there fore rightly resolved the participle into a conditional verb, as many other learned men have done, as Erasmus, Beza, Pifcator, Paraus, and others , the words are indeed in some versions translated without the condition, but then in such manner as to contain an argument for the perseverance of the saints, thus : it is impossible that any that have been once enlightened, and have tasted os the heavenly gists,—and yet fall away ; that isrit is impossible that such should fall away ; and so the Syriac version of the words is, it is impossible, &c. ritaru 2\rn, that they should sin again; so as to die spiritually, or lose the grace of God; which would require the crucifying of Christ again, and an exposing him again to open shame; things impossible to be done, and therefore the former: for, according to this version, the several other things mentioned are joined to the word impossible ; as that they should be renewed to repentance ; and also that they should crucify the Son of God and put him to shame.—But, 2. there is nothing In the characters of these persons which shew them to be true believers; there is nothing said of their believing in Christ, or that necessarily implies it; there is nothing said that is peculiar to true believers ; they are not said to be regenerated by the Spirit of God, called by the grace of God, or sanctified, or justified, or adopted, or heirs of God, and meet for the inheritance, or sealed by the Holy Ghost, or any thing of that kind.—3. What is said of them, is no more than what is to be found in many that are destitute of the grace of , God ; they might be enlightened, or baptized, as the Syriac and Etbiopic versions understand and render it ; or they might be enlightened into the doctrines of the Gospel, and to such a degree as to preach them to others, and yet be strangers to the true grace of God, and the spiritual enlightenings that true believers have of their lost estate by- nature, need of Christ, and interest in him ; they might taste of the heavenly gist, whether it be understood of a justi fying righteousness, remission of sins, or eternal life ; that is, they might have some speculative notions about these things, and desires after them ; which might only arise from a natural principle of self-love, and be destitute of any inward spiritual principle of grace: they might be partakers of the Holy Ghost, not of his person or special grace, but of his gifts •, and that not only ordinary but extraordinary also, as Dr Hammond and Dr Wbitby both understand the phrase, they might taste the good word of God, in the bare form and notion of it, and have a superficial knowledge of, and gust for it ; and yet never have felt the effectual power of it upon their hearts ; they might also taste the powers of the world to come ; and these, whether they intend the glorious things relating to the state of the church after the first resurrection, or the ultimate joys and glories of heaven ; they might have some notions of, and make some natural and

tji THE DOCTRINE OF THE and self-pleasing reflections on them, without having those foretastes which are peculiar to the people of God : or whether they may intend the Jw«/*i«<, mira cles, and mighty works done in the times of the MeOiah, the Jews *oi O1?]/ world to come; which many, as Judas, and others, were able to perform, who were not true believers in Christ, fee Matt. vii. 22, 23.—Besides, 4. these per sons seem to be represented by the unfruitful earth, ver. 8. which bears thorns and briers, and is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, and its end to be burned; and true believers are manifestly distinguished from them, of whom the apostle was persuaded better things, things that accompany salvation, though he thus spoke; put such a case, in the hypothetical and conditional form ; and which was applicable enough to other persons, though not to them, ver. 9. so that nothing can be fairly concluded from hence, against the final perseverance of the saints. The Seventh proposition is, that " Those who live by faith, may yet fall ■' from God, and perish everlastingly •," to establish which, the passage in Heb. x. 38. is produced; now the just Pall live by faith, but is any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him : from whence it is inferred, that a justified person that now lives the life, that is hid with Christ in God, may not endure to the end, may draw back to perdition, and be utterly cast off1.—. But, 1. one that is just and righteous by the righteousness of Christ, or that is truly justified by it, ever remains so ; he cannot be condemned or enter into condemnation; he will be eternally glorified; whom he justified, them be also glorified, Rom. viii. 30, 33, 34. Such whose life is hid with Christ in God, their life is safe, and can never be destroyed ; therefore, when he their life shall appear, they shall appear with him in glory, Col. iii. 3, 4. and such who live by faith on Christ, shall never die ; for so our Lord himself says, who soever liveth and believeth in me,Jhall never die, John xi. 26. that is, he that lives by faith on Christ, shall never die spiritually, or die the second and eternal death ; and therefore, such an one can never so fall, as to perish everlastingly, — a. These words are so far from militating against the doctrine of the saints perseverance, that they greatly establish it; for here are manifestly two sorts of persons mentioned : one that were w»ruw, of faith ; that had true faith in Christ, and lived by faith on him, did not draw back to perdition, but went on believing to the saving of their souls, or till they received the end of their faith, even the salvation of their souls ; of this number were the apostle and others with him, included in the word wey and every truly just, and right eous man. The other were «»«^m, of the withdrawing or separation ; who forsook * Serious Thoughts, p. 20.

SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 239 forsook the assembly of the saints, ver. 25. withdrew from their society and communion, and apostatized from the ways and worship of God ; now by this distinction and opposition between these two sorts of persons, it clearly appears, that those that truly believe, do not draw back unto perdition, but continue in the faith of Christ, and in the true worship of God, until they are everlastingly saved •, which is a firm testimony to the final perseverance of the saints ; so likewise, that those that draw back unto perdition, were not of the faith, were not true believers, nor ever the just ones that live by faith ; and so their drawing back or apostacy which was not from faith they never had, but from their profession of religion they once made, is no proof of one that lives by faith falling away, so as everlastingly to perish. —3. It is indeed said, that the text is not fairly translated, and that the original runs thus ; if thejust man that lives by faith draws back, my foul shall have no pleasure in him ; making he that draws back to refer to the just man that lives by faith : but that this cannot be the fense, and so not the true rendering of the words, appears from the original text in Hab. ii. 4. from whence these works are taken ; Behold his foul which is lifted up, is not upright in him ; which the Greek version and the apostle render, if he withdraws, or draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him; this then is the man that draws back, and who is opposed unto, and distin guished from the righteous in the following clause, but thejust shall live by his faith: hence it is a clear cafe, that he that draws back, and the righteous man, are not one and the fame; and therefore, our translators are to be vindicated in rendering the words by an adversative but, and in their supplement of any man ; which is supported by the authority of other learned men, as Flaccus Hlyricus3 Beza, Pifcator, and others ; and even Grotius himself, who was no friend to the doctrine contended for, owns the justness of it, that *•'?. any one, ought to be supplied, as agreeable to the grammatical construction of the words. Besides, could the translation this writer gives be established, which upon a little reflection he will easily see is inaccurate ; it only contains a sup position of a righteous man's drawing back, which proves no matter of fact ; and moreover, though such a man may draw back partially, and so as to incur the divine displeasure, yet not draw back into perdition ; for from one that does so, the just man is distinguished, as appears from the following verse ; but we are not of them that draw back unto perdition, &c. which seems to be mentioned on purpose to encourage true believers from the doctrine of perse verance, when so many professors were forsaking their communion. The Eighth proposition is, that " Those that are sanctified by the blood of «* the covenant, may so fall from God, as to perish everlastingly;" inpro of of which,

24o THE DOCTRINE OF THE which, Heb. x. 19. is produced ; on which it is observed11, that it is undeniably plain, that the person mentioned was once sanctified by the blood of the covenant ; that he afterwards by known wilful sin trod under foot the Son of God, and hereby incurred a sorer punishment than death, namely, death ever lasting; whence it follows, that one so sanctified may fall, as to perish ever lastingly. The sense of the passage, and the argument upon it, depend intirely upon the meaning of the phrase, saniJified by the blood of the covenant, and of whom it is spoken •, and according to the rules of speech, since the immediate antecedent to the relative be, is the Son of God, it must be he, and not the apostate that is here intended ; and it is mentioned as an aggravation of the sin of such a person, that counted that blood unholy by which the Son of God himself was sanctified, set apart, hallowed and consecrated, to the dis charge of that part of his priestly-office, which lay in intercession for his people; as Aaron and his sons were by the sacrifices of flain beasts, to minister in the priest's-office : it was a mast grievous sin to treat with contempt such a person, as not only God the Father had sanctified, and sent into the world, and who had also sanctified, and set apart himself for the redemption of his people, that they might be sanctified through the truth ; but having offered himself a sacrifice for their .sins, whereby the covenant of grace was ratified and con firmed, was through the blood of that covenant brought again from the dead, and declared to be the Son of God •, and so was sanctified, or set apart by it to accomplish the other part of his priestly-office, intercession for his people; to .do which he ever lives and sits at the right hand of God. And this being the fense of the words, it leaves no room for any argument to be taken from hence, against the final perseverance of the saints.—But, 2. admitting that the words are to be understood of the apostate having been sanctified by the blood of •the covenant ; it should be explained in what sense he had been so, which this writer does not pretend to do, that we may judge whether it is a descriptive character of a real saint, or no ; for if it is not, then it is still nothing to the purpose. It is not to be understood of the inward sanctification of nature, or of the heart j for that is by the Spirit of God •, this the Arminians do not fay: Dr Wbitly himself owns ', it has no relation to that ; yet this is what ought to be proved, to make the person to have been a real saint, or a true believer ; or else he can be no instance of the saints final and total apostacy. Nor is it to be understood of remission of sins, and justification by the blood of Christ, as the above Doctor interprets it ; for either this must be a partial remission of fins, and justification from them or a full one -, not a partial one, for when God forgives sins for Christ's fake, he forgives all sins, and justifies from all iniquities ; k Serious Thoughts, p. it. > Discourse concerning Election, &c p. 141, 406.

SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE. '24a iniquities ; and if a full one, then even these heinous fins he is charged with, must be forgiven ; and so he stood in no need of any more sacrifice for sin -, nor could any punishment be inflicted on him for them ; nor needed he fear any ; and especially so sore and severe a one as is here represented : wherefore if these words are to be understood of an apostate, and of his having been sanctified by the blood of the covenant ; the meaning must be, either that he was sanctified and separated from others by a visible profession of religion, had submitted to baptism, and partook of the Lord's supper, had drank, of the cup, the blood of the New Testament or covenant, though he did not spiri tually discern the body and blood of Christ in the ordinance, but counted the bread and wine, the symbols thereof, as common things ; or else that he pro fesied himself to be sanctified, or to have his sins expiated by the blood of the covenant, and to be justified by it, and was looked upon by others to be so> when he really was not ; and take the fense either way, it furnishes out no argument against the final perseverance of the saints. Thus having gone through the Eight propositions, laid down by the writer of the Serious Thoughts, &c. and shewn that they are without any foundation or authority in the word of God, and that the doctrine of the saints final perse verance stands unshaken by them ; I shall now proceed to offer some argu ments in proof of it, and to establish the minds of God's people in it, and shall vindicate such of them, as are excepted to by the above writer. And, First, This doctrine may be concluded from the perfections of God : what ever is agreeable to them, and they make necessary, must be true } and what ever is contrary to them, and reflects dishonour on them, must be false. The doctrine of the saints final perseverance is agreeable to them, and is made intirely necessary by them, and therefore must be true ; and the contrary doc trine, of the falling away of real saints, so as to perish everlastingly, is re pugnant to them, and reflects great dishonour on them, and therefore must be false ; as will appear by the following particulars. 1. The immutability of God is concerned in this affair ; / am the Lord, I change not, therefore ye Jons of 'Jacob are not consumed": if they were, he must change in his love to them, and whom he now loves he must hate -, he must' alter his purposes concerning them? whereas, he has appointed them to sal vation, he must consign them over to ruin and destruction ; he must reverse his promises to them, and his blessings of grace bestowed on them ; he must alter the thing that is gone out of his lips, his counsel, and his covenant, and be of a different mind from what he has been j but he is of one mind. Vet. III. Ii and * MaLiiL 6.

242 THE D O C T R I N E O F THE and who can turn him ? he is the same to-day, yesterday, and for ever : and, there* fore, his saints shall never perish; this is inconsistent with the unchangeableness of his nature, will and grace, and would greatly reproach this glorious perfecv tion of his. This doctrine makes God changeable,, with whom there is na variableness nor shadow of turning ; nor can this writer disprove it.; he is indeed unchangeably holy, just and good, as he fays"; but he is also unchangeably loving to his people ; unchangeably true and faithful, and unchangeable in his will, purposes, promises, and covenant ; which he would not be, if his, beloved, chosen, and covenant-ones should perish. 2. The wisdom of God is concerned in this doctrine : No wife man that has an end in view, but will prepare and make use of proper means ; and, if in his. power, will make those means effectual to attain the end, or he will not act a wise part : the end which God has in view, and has fixed, is the salvation of his people; and is it consistent with his wisdom to appoint insufficient means, or not to make those means effectual when it is in his power to do it ? which must be the case, if any of those he has appointed to salvation should perish : No, as he has appointed the end, salvation, he has fixed the means, sanctificatioa of the Spirit, and belief of the truth, which he prepares, produces, and makes effectual. Where would be his wisdom to appoint men to salvation, and never, save them ; to send his Son to redeem them, and they never the better for it ; to begin a good work of grace in them, and not finish it ? No, the wisdom of God is wonderfully displayed in this affair, in providing all blessings for his people in a covenant ordered in all things, and sure ; in putting them into the hands of his Son for the security of them ; in their compleat redemption byhim, wherein he has abounded in all wisdom and prudence ; and in assigning the work of sanctification in its beginning, progress, and issue, to the divine Spirit, who is equal to it, and will perform it. There is no searching os his understanding ; hence he givetb p«wer to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.—Wherefore, theyshall run, and not be weary, and walk, and' not saint0; shall persevere to the end, and get safe to heaven and happiness. 3. The power of God is concerned in this matter ; such who are the eleS according to the sore-knowledge of God the Father* and are begotten again according to his abundant mercy, who have a lively hope of a glorious inheritance, these are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation ? -% they are kept as in a garrison, as the word used signifies ; they are surrounded with the power of God ; he is a wall ossire round about them % to protect and defend them, and to n Serious Thoughts, p. 11. ° Isa. xl. 28, 29, 31. * 1 Pet. i. 2, 3, S- « Zech. ii. 5.

SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE. n? to offend their enemies ; as the mountains art round about Jerufalem, so is the Lord round about his people, from henceforth, even for ever. Wherefore they that trust in the Lord, shall be as mount -Zion, which cannot be removed, but abides for ever ' ; and this power of God is' continually employed in the preservation of his people, he keeps them night'and day, left any hurt them' ; they are kept in, and through a course of believing unto the end; and their faith is as much secured and preserved by the power of God, as their persons are, who performs the work of faith with power, as well as begins it ; they are kept by it, unto, and till they come to cornpleat salvation in heaven ; their whole spirit, foul and body, are preserved blameless, to the coming of our Lord Jesus, and safe unto his heavenly kingdom ' : and therefore, since the power of God is so strongly engaged for them, they cannot fall so as to perish everlastingly. The writer, I have to do with, owns, that " undoubtedly so are all they (kept by the power of God) ** who ever attain eternal salvation ; it is the power of God only, and not our *c own, by which we are kept one day or one hour." Now there are not any real saints who are not kept by the power of God, and do not attain salvation; and it lies upon him to shew how the falling away of such, so as to perish ever lastingly, is consistent with the words of the apostle Peter referred to, as he fays it is, or with their being kept by almighty power. 4. The goodness, grace, and mercy of God, serve to establish this truth ; his goodness endures for ever ; his mercy is from everlasting to everlasting, on them that fear him " ; the mercy of God as it is free and sovereign, plenteous, boundless, and infinite, so it is sure, permanent and perpetual ; those that are once the objects of it, arc always so, and therefore can never perish ; it is of the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because his compassions fail votv ; which they would, should any of his be consumed and perish. Can it be thought that that God who is gracious and merciful, abundant in goodness and truth, par doning iniquity, transgression, andfin; that he who has begotten men again, according to his abundant mercy, and because he is rich in ir, and for his great love to them, quickens them when dead in trespasses and sins, after all will suffer them so to fall, as to perish everlastingly ? No, as the Psalmist says, the Lord will perfect that which concernetb me ; the work of grace upon his heart, his whole salvation; his reason for it is, thy mercy O Lord enduretb for ever : hence follows a prayer of faith, forsake not the work of thine own hands * j God will not. 5. The justice of God requires that those should be certainly and eternally laved, for whose sins Christ has died, for which he has made satisfaction by • 1 i 2 suffering ■ Psalm cxxv. 1, 1, * Isa. xxvii. 3. * 1 Theff. v. 23. 2 Tim. iv. 18. 11 Psalm ciil. 17. • Lam, iii. 22. * Psalm cxuviii. 8. ■/"

244 THE DOCTRINE OF THE suffering the punishment due unto them ; it is contrary to the justice of God to punish sin twice, once in the surety, and again in the redeemed, Christ is a surety for ; and yet this must be the cafe, if true believers in Christ, for whom Christ suffered and died, should everlastingly perish , for to perish everlastingly, is the fame as to be punished with everlasting destruction. 6. The truth and faithfulness of God secures the final perseverance of the saints j his counsels of old are faithfulness and truth r ; whatever he has appointed shall be performed ; be isfaithful that has promised* ; and will make good what ever he has said : and, whereas there are many things he has said respecting the perseverance of his saints, his faithfulness is engaged to fulfil them , God is faithful by whom they are called to the fellowstoip of his Son, to confirm them to the endy that they may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus " : and though he suffers them to be afflicted and tempted, yet he is faithfuls who will not suffer them to be tempted above that they are able to bear, but willy with the temptation also make a way to escape b : and those whom he sanctifies, shall be preserved unto the coming of our Lord Jesusy faithful is be that has called them, who also will do it ; and the same Lord is faithful, who shallftablifh and keep his people from evil' : but if any of these should perish everlastingly, where is his faithfulness ? we may be assured therefore they shall not perish, for he will never suffer his faith fulness to fail4 : nor is there any condition annexed to those declarations and promises ; the conditions this writer suggests % are not of God's making, but of his own forging. Secondly, The final perseverance of the saints, may be concluded from the everlasting love of God unto them. Those who are once the objects of God's love, are always so ; his love to them in every state and condition into which they come is invariable and unalterable ■, it is constant, permanent, perpetual, and for ever : God loves his people with the fame love he loves his Son, and therefore it will always continue ; and if it always continues, it is impossible they should ever perish ; can a man. perish everlastingly, and yet be the object of everlasting love ? the love of God to him must cease, or he can never perish : but that never can ; God always rests in his love to his people ; it is more immoveable than bills and mountains , they may depart, but his loving-kindness never shall, that is from everlasting to everlasting ; / have loved thee, faith the Lord f, with an everlasting love, therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee: but it is said *, this " simply declares God's love to the Jewish church ;" be it so, whatsoever things were written aforetime, were writtenfor our learning, that we * Ib. xxv. i. » Heb. x. 23. * 1 Cor. i. 8,9. * 1 Cor. x. 13. • 1 Theft v. 23, 24. 2 Thess. iii. 3. * P&lm Ixxxix. 33. « Serious Thought*, p. 1 1, 12. I Jer. xxxi. 3. < Serious Thoughts, p. 7.

SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE. a45 we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope b. The Jewish and Christian church are loved with the same love ; saints under the gospel-dispen sation are not less loved, than under the legal one ; if the Jewish church was loved with an everlasting love, then much more the Christian church, and believers in it, since their privileges are greater ; and if the blessings of good ness bestowed on the Jewish church, by which the Lord drew and engaged them to himself, were evidences of his everlasting love to them ; then surely the blessings of the new covenant bestowed upon saints under the present dis pensation, and particularly, the Lord's drawing them by powerful and effi cacious grace in conversion to himself, and to his Son, must be evidences of his everlasting love to them ; and therefore, they cannot everlastingly perish, because from his love they can never be separated ; for I am persuaded, says the apostle ', that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord: which words do not merely declare the apostle's full persuasion of his own perseverance at that time, as our author suggests k ; for he does not fay, shall not separate me, but us, and expresses his full persuasion of the perseverance of all saints, whether they themselves had the full assurance of faith, or no ; even of all the elect of God, against whom no charge can be laid, because God has justified them, and on whom no condemnation can come, because Christ has died for them, and whose salvation is sure and certain, because he ever lives to make intercession for them, and had made them more than conquerors over all their enemies; and therefore, nothing can obstruct their eternal happiness, or the bringing of them safe to glory, Rom. viii. 33—37. Thirdly, This doctrine of the saints final perseverance, may be established from the counsels, purposes, and decrees of God ; particularly the decree of election, which stands sure, not upon the foot of works, but upon the will of him that calletb ', which is unalterable and irreversible. I take it for granted, that there is such a decree, by which God has chosen and appointed some men to everlasting salvation by Jesus Christ ; this writer may-dispute it with me if he pleases. My argument upon it is this, if God has chosen some men • toeternal life by Christ, and any of these should everlastingly perish, then the purpose of God according to election concerning them, would not stand ; but his counsel shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure" ; for who, or what, can disannul his purpose ? as he has thoughts so shall it come to pass, and as he has purposed, h Rom. xv. 4. • Rom. viii. 38, 39. k Serious Thoughts, p. 12.. 1 Rom, iz. 11* * Is«. xlvi. 10. r

246 THE DOCTRINE OF THE purposed, so shall it stand*; and therefore, they shall not perish. Divine pre destination to life, and eternal glorification are inseparably connected together; the former infallibly secures the latter, and all the intermediate grace and means leading to it; whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified0. Fourthly, This truth will receive further strength, from the consideration of the covenant of grace, made with the elect in Christ, before the world began ; which is ordered in all things, with all blessings and promises, as well to provide for, and secure the certain perseverance, and eternal salvation of the persons in it, as to promote the glory of God; and it is sure, all the blessings and promises of it, and the salvation in it, are sure to all the feed, to all the covenant-ones ; it is a covenant os peace, that can never be removed; sooner may rocks, hills, and mountains be removed than that; it has the oath of God annexed to it, and the faithfulness of God is engaged to fulfil it; who saysp, I will not suffer my faithfulness to fail, my covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips ; once have Isworn by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David. Which covenant does not relate wholly to David and his family, literally understood, but to our Lord Jesus Christ, the son and antitype of David, and who is some times called David himself; this is he, whom the Lord found in his infinite wisdom to be a proper Saviour of lost sinners ; this is the mighty one, on whom he laid the help of his people ; this is he, whom he chose out from among them, and anointed to be, and invested with the office of, the Mediator, to whom he promised all help and assistance as man ; this is his first-born, he has made higher than the kings of the earth, and whose spiritual seed and off spring shall endure for ever ; all which can never be said of David and his family, in a literal fense. Nor was this covenant a conditional one ; there is no condition either implied or expressed, on the failure of which God failed David, altered the thing that had gone out of his mouth, and broke the covenant of his servant •, all which is without truth affirmed q : sooner may the covenant with day and night be broken, than this covenant with David. Indeed, in the latter part of the psalm, some objections are made to the ever lasting love of God to his Son, to the immutability of his covenant, and the certain performance of k, taken from the sufferings and death of Christ, and his continuance under the power of the grave ; when the faith and hope of his people were almost funk and gone, fee Luke xxiv. 21. and when it seemed to them, being under the prevalence of unbelief, that the covenant made with Christ » Ila. xiv. 24, 27. • Rom. viii. 30. I Pfolm lxxxix. 33—35. « Serious Thoughts, p. 6.

SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 247 Christ was made void : but shall the unbelief of men shake the faith of God of none effect ? whom shall we believe, God that fays, my covenant I will not break ; or his people in unbelieving frames, faying, Thou hast made void the cove nant of thy servant ? not the latter, but the former. Besides, these persons whom the Psalmist represents, emerged out of their temptation, darkness, and unbelief, when they saw the Lord risen from the dead, and triumphino- over death, and the powers of darkness, having obtained eternal redemption for them ; wherefore the psalm is closed with expressions of joy and thankfulness ; blejfed be the Lord for evermore, amen, and amen. Since therefore the covenant of grace can never be broken and made void, those who are interested in it can never perish everlastingly ; sooner may the heavens above be measured, and the foundations of the earth be searched, than that all, or any of the spiritual seed of Israel, and of the antitypical David be cast off, so as to perish, and be lost eternally '. Fifthly, This may be further concluded from the special and particular pro mises made ia this covenant, and which stand on divine record, relating to the perseverance of the saints ; and these are so many, that to name them all would be to transcribe great part of the scriptures ; as that the Lord will establish and keep his people from evil ; will confirm them to the end, and preserve them safe to his kingdom and glory * ; that he will uphold them with the right hand of his righteousness, that they shall not be utterly cast down1; that the righteous shall hold on their way, and shall grow stronger " 5 that he will put his fear into their hearts, and they shall never depart from him w ; with a multitude of others of the fame import, which are all yea, and amen, in Christ Jesus ; and these promises are absolute and unconditional : it is indeed said x, that in many the condition is expressed, and in others implied ; but let it be named what the condition is, that is either expressed or implied in the above promises ; and let the condition be what it will, it will be no difficult thing to prove that it is either elsewhere absolutely promised by the Lord, or undertook by Christ, or will be performed by the Spirit of God, in,, and upon the Lord's people ; so that their perseverance is not at all affected with it : That famous promise, 1 will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, applied to New Testament-believers, Heb. xiii. 5. which, as it is an instance of a promise made to a particular per son, belonging to all the saints in common, and of one being made to a faint under the Old Testament, Joshua, belonging to those under the New Testa ment, so it is not a conditional one, as is asserted y j so far is any condition from T Jer. xxxi. 35—37. and xxxiii. 20, 21 . * I Cor. i. 8. t Theff. iii. 2. 3 Tim. iv. 1 8, • Isa. xli. 10. Pselm xxxvii. 23, 24. " Job xvii. 9, » Jer. xxxii. 40. * Serious Thoughts, p. 12. ' Ibid. p. 22. •-

248 THE DOCTRINE OF THE from being expressly mentioned in it, or along with it, that that which is said to be so, is strongly enforced by this absolute and unconditional promise ; and though it is recited to encourage in things temporal, yet also may be, and is accommodated to things spiritual ; and is of use with respect to such things, as appears from the inference deduced from it ; so that we may boldly say, the Lord is our bHper, and I will not fear what man Jhall do unto me ; no, nor devils neither : and, if God will never leave his people in time nor eternity, as the phrase takes in both, then they cannot perish everlastingly : now, feeing the promises of God to his people are free, absolute, and unconditional, and he is able to perform them, and his faithfulness is engaged to do it, there is all the reason in the world, to believe he will ; and, if he will, and does make good these promises to them, it is impossible they should so fall, as to perish everlastingly. Sixthly, This may be further argued from several acts of God's grace towards his people, which are of such a nature, as ascertain their sure and everlasting salvation ; and, besides his acts of election of them, and making a sure cove nant with his Son on their account, before-mentioned, and the putting of them into the hands of his Son, with all grace and glory for them, of which more hereafter, the following ones may be observed : i. The adoption of them into his family. Predestination to it is according to the good pleasure of God's will, and does not arise from, or depend upon, any merit, motive, or condition, in the. adopted j the covenant in which God takes men into this relation is absolute and unconditional ; it runs thus, J will be a father to yout and ye Jhall be my sons and daughters1 : all obstructions are removed, and way is made for the reception of this Wetting through the re demption of Christ ; the power and privilege of it is a gift of his, and his Spirit bears witness to it, hence called the Spirit of adoption ; and such who thus become the children of God, always remain so ; they that are of the boufhold of Cod, are no more strangers and foreigners, they abide in his bouse and family for ever, and are never cast out ; if sens, no more servants, but bars of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, and shall enjoy the eternal inheritance reserved for them * ; and, therefore, cannot perish everlastingly. To say as our author does ", that " he who is a child of God to-day, may be a child of " the devil to-morrow," is a most vile expression, and reflects great dishonour on that manner of love, the Father has bestowed on men, that they should be called the sons of God' -, his reason for it is weak and groundless : " That a believer 2 to-day, ■ aCor.vi. 18. • Epb. ii. 19. John viii. 35. Gal. ir. 7. fc Serious Thoughts, p. 13, 34. e » John hi. 1.

SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 249 " to-day, may be an unbeliever to-morrow, seeing he may make shipwreck of " faith, and so no longer a child of God ;" but what, though a blaspheming heretic may make shipwreck of the doctrine of faith, which is all that can be proved from the instance referred to, does it follow that a true believer can make shipwreck of the grace of faith ? no, he cannot : besides, adoption does not depend upon faith ; it is not faith that makes men the children of God, but is what makes them manifest, or makes them appear to be so; it is the free sovereign grace of God, which puts them into this relation, and keeps them there, and therefore, they shall never perish. 2. The justification of them by the righteousness of Christ. Such who are justified, can never be unjustified, or be removed from the state of justification, in which they are, into a state of condemnation, but always remain righteous persons through the righteousness of Christ, imputed to them ; the righteous* ness by which they are justified is an everlasting one; the sentence of justification passed upon them, can never be reversed by man or devil ; if God justifies, who can bring a charge of any avail ? who or what can condemn ? there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ, and are clothed with his righteous ness ; they are passed into justification of life, and shall never enter into con demnation ; they have a right to eternal glory, through the justifying righte ousness of Christ, and shall enjoy it ; between their justification and glorifi cation there is an inseparable connection: Whom he justified, them he also glorified, Rom. viii. 30, 33, 34. Wherefore, those that are righteous in the judgment of God himself, as all such are whom he justifies by th« righteousness of Christ, cannot possibly so fall, as to perish everlastingly. 3. The pardon of their sins by the blood of Christ. Those for whom Christ has stied his blood, for whose sins he has made satisfaction by his sacrifice j these God pardons for Christ's fake ; and these he forgives all trespasies \ he heals all their diseases, and forgives all their iniquities'1; not one sin of theirs is left unsatisfied for by Christ, or unpardoned by the Lord ; and if so, then all the sins they ever fall into, or are guilty of, are pardoned ; and consequently, never so fall, as to perish everlastingly : for, is it possible for a man to go to hell, and perish eternally, with the pardon of all sins ? it is impossible; what should he, what can he perish for, when all his sins are satisfied for and forgiven ? Seventhly, This truth may be proved by the love of Christ to his saints, his care of them, what he has done and does for them, their interest in him, and relation to him. Vol. III. Kk u The * Col. ii. 13. Psalm clii, 3,

•250 THE DOCTRINE OF THE i. The love of Christ to them. They are the objects of his everlasting love •, before the world was, his delights were with these sons of men', and have continued ever since ; as his incarnation, sufferings, death, and intercession, shew. He loves them as his Father loved hims; and therefore, his love to them must be very great, permanent and lasting, yea everlasting ; and indeed, nothing can separate from it8: and therefore, such who are interested in it, can never perish everlastingly ; having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the endh. This, the writer I am concerned with1, understands of the apostles only, and of Christ's loving them to the end of his life, and not theirs ; to which may be replied, that all the apostles were not his own in a special sense, one of them was a devil, and was the devil's, and was not the object of Christ's special love, nor did he love him to the end ; and besides, were the apostles the only persons that were bis own ? had he, and has he no special property in others also ? certainly he has ; who are equally the objects of his love as they were ; and are loved by him, not to the end of his life on earth only, but to the end of their lives, even for ever, to all eternity ; which is the fense of the phrase used : for to understand it only of Christ's life as man on earth, is a most trifling sense ; it makes the love of Christ to be only an human affection, and to last no longer than he lived •, whereas, Christ Joves his not merely as a man, but as a divine person, and the Saviour of men ; and loves them as much now he is in heaven, as when on earth •, as his advocacy, intercession and preparations for them there shew. Moreover, h; TeA»«, which we translate to the end, may be rendered continually, as in Luke xvii. 5. for ever ; in which sense it is used by the Septuagint, in Psalm ix. 6, 1 8. and xliv. 23. and answers to an Hebrew word, which signifies for ever ; and so the text in John is rendered by the Ethiopic version, he loved them for ever. a. Those who are the objects of Christ's love, are given unto him by the Father, as his portion and inheritance, and to be kept and preserved by him : and will he lose his portion, his jewels, when it is in his power to keep them ? He will not ; he will keep them as the apple of his eye ; they shall be mine, fays he, in the day when 1 make up my jewels, and I will spare them, as a man fpareth his only son that ferveth him k : when they were given to him by his Father, it was with such a charge, with such a declaration of his Will, that of all which he gave him, he should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day1; which Will he perfectly observed ; those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them. is lost but the son ofperdition™. It is indeed said, " the phrase, those that " thou * Prov. viii. 31. f John xv. 9. I Rom. viii. 35. h John xiii. 1. » Serious Thoughts, p. 14. k Mai. iii. 17. » John vi. 3-9. m John xvii. 1 z.

SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 251 *• thou gavest me, signifies here ( if not in most: other places too) the twelve •*' apostles, and them only ; and that one of thole whom the Father had given " him, did not persevere unto the end, but perished everlastingly";" and so, is rather against than for the doctrine of perseverance : to which I answer, that what in the passage and throughout the chapter is spoken of the apostles, is not said of them purely as such, but as believers in Christ, and the disciples •of him, and so in common belongs to all in that character j and, if such a fallacy can take place, once and again observed by our author, that what spiritual things are said of the Jewish church under the Old Testament, and of the apostles in the New, must be restrained to them, and them only, there ■will be little left for the saints to build their faith and hope upon : besides, it is a most clear cafe, that others besides the apostles are meant by this phrase, in that chapter where it is so much used ; more are meant by the many the Father had given kirn, ver. 2. to more than the apostles had Christ manifested his Father's name, ver. 8. such as are given him by the Father are opposed to the whole world, and distinguished from them ; and even all that the Father had are claimed by him as his, by virtue of this gi-ft, and for whom he prays ver. 9, 10. and it is certain, he prayed for more than the apostles; even for all them that should believe in him through their word, ver. 20. as for Judas the son of perdition, it does not appear, though he was an apostle, that he ■was among those that were given him by the Father ; he is distinguished from them in the very passage, and is opposed to them : for, «» <**, but, is not exceptive, but adversative ; and the sense is, that none of those that were given to Christ in a way of special grace were lost, but the son of perdition, who was not given to him in any such way, he was lost; and so, is no instance of the apostacy of such who were given to Christ ; for of every one of these at the great day, he will say, behold I and the children which God hath given me0. 3. These same persons were put into the hands of Christ for safety and pre servation, even as early as the everlasting covenant was made with him ; yea be loved the people, all his saints are in thy bands p : hence they are said to be preserved in Christ Jesus, as the effect of their being sanctified, or set apart by God the Father in election, and previous to their being called effectually by grace ' ; so they were preserved through the fall of Adam, though not from it, and in their nature-state, till called to be saints, where they remain safe and secure ; they are set as a seal on his heart, and as a seal on his arm -, they are engraven on the palms of his bands, and their walls are continually before him ; they are a crown of glory, and a royal diadem in his band ', and can never be k k 2 removed * Serious Thoughts, p. 15. c Heb. ii. 13. t Deut. xxxiii. 3. « Jude, ver. 1. 1 Cant. viii. 6. Isa. xlix. 16. andlxii. 3.

252 THE DOCTRINE OF THE removed from thence ; they are called the Jheep of his hand \ from whence none can pluck them ; / give unto them, says Christ; ', eternal life; and who or what then can hinder them of it ? and they shall never perish ; who dare fay they may or shall, when Christ fays they shall not ? neither shall any man pluck them cut of my hand; *>u not any one, man or devil, nor they themselves ; nor is there any condition expressed in these words, or in the context, on which the fulfilment of them depends ; hearing Christ's voice and following him, are not conditions of these promises, as is said ° •, but descriptive of the sheep of Christ: in his hand, and are plain marks of their perseverance ■, which is in the strongest manner insured to them by these words of Christ, and still more con firmed by the following ; my Father which gave them me is greater than all, ana* no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hands. I and my Father are one. 4. They that are loved by Christ, given him by his Father, and put into his hands, are redeemed by him, and are the purchase of his blood, and there fore, can never perish ; should they, it must be either for want of sufficiency in the price paid for them, or of power in Christ to keep them ; neither of which can be said : the price of Christ's blood is a sufficient and effectual price for them ; and he is able to keep them, and will ; he will never lose the purchase of his blood ; should he in any one instance, his death would be so far in vain ; nor could it be said, that the pleasure of the Lord has prospered in bis bandy or that he/<r« of the travail of bis foul; and is satisfied'": but our author fays % borrefco referens , enough to make a man shudder to read it ; " If the " oracles of God are true, one who was purchased by the blood of Christ, may " go thither, (that is, to hell ;) for he that was sanctified by the blood of " Christ, was purchased by the blood of Christ, and such an one may never- " theless go to hell :" The assertion is bold and shocking, and stands upon a mistaken fense of the passage in Heb. x. 29. as has been shewn before, and is without any foundation in the oracles of God. 5. Those whom Christ loves, were given to him, and for whom he died, for them he ever lives to make intercession ; in which he is always heard, and therefore, they cannot perish : in particular he prays for their perseverance ; he prays for them, that their faith fail not j that God would keep them through his name, that they might be one; that he would keep them from the evil oi the world, and that they might be with him where be is, to behold his glory, and now as he himself says to his Father, / know that thou hearest me always : if he is always heard, and his intercession is prevalent and effectual in all things, for which it is made, then it is impossible that those for whom it is made, should perish • Psalm xcv. 7. t John x. 28, 29. ■ Serious Thoughts, p. 14. W Isa. liii. 10, 11. * Serious Thoughts, p. 23.

SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 25 3 perish everlastingly -, and, besides, should they, his preparations of mansions of glory for them in his Fathers's house would be in vain, John xiv. 2, 3. 6. There is a close and inseparable union between Christ and the saints, which effectually secures them from a final and total falling away, or so as to perish everlastingly •, he is the head, and they his body ; they are members of his body j they are the fulness of him that filletb all in all y ; and, if any one member, even the least, should perish, they could not be said to be bis fulness : nay, they that are joined to the Lord, are not only one body, but one spirit with him •, they have their life from him ; it is bid with him, and secured in him ; because he lives, they shall live also ; their life is bound up in the bundle of life with his * : so, that as Luther said, si nos ruimus, ruit & Cbristus, " if we fall, Christ " must fall too." They are laid on a foundation that is sure j they are built on a rock, against which, the gates of hell can never prevail ; and from whence, all the winds and waves and floods of their own corruptions, Satan's temptations, and the world's persecutions can never remove them \ Eighthly, The doctrine of the saints final perseverance, may be concluded from the Spirit's work of grace upon their hearts, from his habitation in them$ and from his being the earnest of their inheritance, and the sealer of them unto the day of redemption. 1. From his work of grace upon their hearts. The grace that is wrought in them by him, is a feed which remaineth, and therefore, the man in whom it is, cannot sin, that is, the sin unto death, or so as to perish everlastingly ; the feed he is born of is incorruptible, immortal, and never dies ; the grace which is put into him, is a well of water springing up into everlasting life ; eternal life is the certain fruit and effect of it ; grace and glory are inseparable things ; to whomsoever God gives grace he gives glory ". The several graces of the Spirit are abiding ones, particularly faith, hope, and love j and now abidetb faith, hope, charity, these three': love, though the first ardour of it may be abated, and first-love may be left, it cannot be lost j it may wax cold, yet cannot be extinguished ; many waters cannot quench it •, nothing can separate from the love of Christ * ; as not from Christ's love to his people, so neither from theirs to him, so that it is intirely gone : No, in the worst of times, under whatsoever darkness, desertion, temptation or affliction, a believer is, still Christ is the object of his love ; as the cafes of the church in Canticles % and of Peter shew : *ope is an anchor Jure and stedfaft, being cast on Christ the foundation, from whence 7 Eph. »• *3' " 1 Cor. vi. 17. Col. iii. 3. John xiv. 19. I Sam. xxy. 29. * Matt. xvi. 18. and vii. 24, 25. * 1 John iii. 9. 1 Pet. i. 23, John iy. 14. Psaljn lxxxiv. 11. * 1 Cor. xiii. 13. * Cant. viii. 7. ]Rom, viii. 35. e Cant. iii. 1—3. Johnxzi. 17.

254 THE DOCTRINE OF THE whence it can never be removed s; and faith is that grace, which is much men precious than gold that perifhctb* ; and what gives it its superior excellency is, because it does not perish itself: Christ is the author and finijber of it; he prays For it that it fail not \ and performs the work, of it with power : salvation is annexed to it, and inseparably connected with it ; he that believeth Jhall be saved* ; nay, it is said, that such an one hath everlasting life ; is entered upon ir, does in some fense possess it, has the foretaste, earnest, and pledge of it ; and that he is passed from death to life, and flail not come unto condemnation k ; and therefore, cannot perish everlastingly. But our author says ', the plain meaning is, he that believeth, if he continue in the faith, shall be saved. But this is an interlineation of his ; and to interline a record is felony ; ahd what crime must that man be guilty of that interlines the record of heaven, the great charter of our salvation, the will and testament of our heavenly Father, confirmed by Christ the testator ? Besides, he that believes shall continue in the faith ; there is no if or doubt to be made of it ; he is of them that believe, or goes oa believing to the saving os the soul, till he receives the end of his faith, even the salvation of h\s soulm; or otherwise it could only be said he may be saved: and moreover the phrase, he shall be saved, ascertains his continuance in faith, as well as his salvation. But then it is urged", that " by all the rules of speech," the other part of the sentence must mean, «* he that does not believe at this " moment, Jhall certainly and inevitably be damned" To which I reply, that there is a great difference between faith and unbelief, or between a believer and an unbeliever at the present moment ; the one is certainly final, the other may not be final : he that truly believes this moment goes on to believe, and shall certainly be saved •, he that does not believe this moment may believe hereafter, and so not be damned : or take the answer in other words, more in the language of scripture ; be that believeth bath everlasting life, now, this moment ; and according to the tenor of the Gospel, he stiall be certainly and inevitably saved: be that believeth not, according to the tenor of the law, shall not see Use, but the wrath of God abidetb on him °, even now, this moment ; and he shall be certainly and inevitably damned, unless God of his grace bestows faith on him ; and then he is openly entided to what is in the other declara tion, be that believeth Jhall be saved. Upon which every individual believer may thus argue, whoever believes shall be saved. \ I believe, and therefore I shall be saved, and not perish everlastingly. 2. In t Heb. vi. 19. c 1 Pet. i: 7. » Heb. xii. 2; Luke nii. 3?. * Mark xvi. 16. * John v. 24. « Serious Thoughts, p. 9. ■ Heb. *. 39. 1 Pet. i. 9. • Serious Thoughts, p. 8, 9. • John iii. 36.'

SAINTS FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 255 1. In whomsoever the Spirit of God works the good work of grace, in them he takes up his residence; they are his temples in whom he dwells, and in these he dwells for ever : J will pray the Father* fays Christ % and he '/hall give you another Comforter, that be may abide with you for ever ; and if he abides with them for ever, then they cannot everlastingly perish ; he is that anointing they have received of Christ, which abideth in them % from whence they are denominated Christians, and by which they continue such ; and it is "by virtue of his inhabitation and abiding in them, that their mortal bodies shall be quickened and raised, and be brought into a state of immortality and tliss '. 3. The Spirit of God not only continues in the hearts of his people, but he continues there as an earnest of their inheritance, which ensures it to them •, for as sure as they have the earnest, and which they have from God himself, and is no other than the Lord the Spirit, so sure shall they have the whole ; and if an earnest makes things sure and certain among men, it must needs do so between God and his people. Moreover, the Spirit is the sealer of them until the day of redemption* ; until their bodies are redeemed from the dust of death, from mortality and the grave. He has set his seal and mark upon them, which pan never be broken or erased ; and assures them of their salvation, and bears witness to their spirits, that they are the children of God, and so heirs of him, and joint-heirs with Christ; but of what avail would this earnest, seal and witness be, if they should eternally perish ? But from hence it may be most assuredly gathered that they never shall. Ninthly, From all that has been said, it clearly appears, that the glory of all the three persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Spirit, is concerned in this affair, and they must lose it, if this doctrine is not true ; or if the faints should everlastingly perish, where would be the Father's glory in election, in she covenant of grace, and in the mission of his Son ? Where would be the glory of the Son of God in the redemption of his people, in his sacrifice and satisfaction, and in his intercession for them ? And where would be the glory of the divine Spirit in the sanctification and sealing of them, if after all this they perish everlastingly ? For all depends upon their final perseverance and compleat salvation. And therefore we may be assured, that since the saints are held with this threefold cord, which can never be broken, their final persever ance is certain, and their everlasting salvation sure. Tenthly, The contrary doctrine takes away the foundation of a believer's joy and comfort; it makes the love of God changeable: the covenant of grace failable ; t John xiv. 16. » 1 John ii. 27. » Rom. viii. u. " Eph. i. 13, 14 and iv. 30.

456 THE DOCTRINE OF THE, &c. failablej the redemption and satisfaction of Christ: insufficient! and the work and graces of the Spirit loseablej and so, must: consequently fill the minds of the children of God with great doubts, fears and distresses, if not despair; since their state and condition is so very precarious : what comfort can a believer take in his present circumstances, if they are such, as by a single act of sin, to which he is liable every moment, he may be removed from a state of grace into a state of condemnation -, and, notwithstanding all the favours bestowed on him, and promises made unto him, and grace given him, he may perish everlastingly ? but this writer I have been considering tells us ', that his comfort is not affected hereby •, it does not stand upon this, but upon his present knowledge, sight, faith, frames, and a good conversation ; and bids men go and find a more solid joy, a more blissful comfort on this side heaven. But blessed be God, we have a better foundation for joy and comfort than all this ; the true believer, though he lives by faith, he does not live upon it ; he lives by it as Esau did by his sword* ; he did not live upon it, that would have been hard living indeed, but he lived upon what it brought him ; so a believer lives not on his faith, but upon Christ, and the grace of Christ, faith brings nigh unto him. He has better things than uncertain, precarious frames to live upon, and receive his comforts from ; even the unchangeable love of God ; the unalterable covenant of grace ; the faithfulness of God, who, though we believe not, yet be abides faithful* \ absolute and unconditional promises; Jesus Christ: the fame to-day, yesterday, and for ever •, his precions blood, per fect righteousness, atoning sacrifice, and that fulness of grape which is in him. To conclude : If a man may be confident of any one thing in this world, -» he may be confident of this very thing, that in whomsoever, whether in himself, or in any other, God bath begun a good work, he will perform it until the day of Jesus' Christ * ; and that all the true Israel of God sball be saved in theyLord with an everlasting salvation T -, and that not one of them shall eternally perish. * Serious Thoughts, p. 19, »o. » Gen. xxvii. 40. * a Tim. ii. 13. » PhiL i. 6, y Ua. xlv. 17; THE

THE DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION STATED, AND SET IN THE SCRIPTURE LIGHT; In Opposition to Mr Wesley's Predestination calmly Considered, with a Reply to the Exceptions of the said Writer to The Doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. M;R JVeJley having declared hjmsejf the,author of the Serjous Thoughts upon the Perseveranceof the Saints, to .which I lately returned an answer ; has been pleased to shift the controversy from perseverance to predestination : con tenting himself with some low, mean, ,apd impertinent exceptions to a j>art of what I have written on the subject: of perseverance; not attempting to apswer any one argument advanced by me in .vindication of it; and yet he has the assurance in the public papers, to call this miserable piece of rhis, chiefly written on another subject, A full answer,.to Z)r GWVs pamphlet on perseverance ; any other man but Mr Wesley would, upon reflection, be covered with shame and confusion ; though, to give him his due, in his great modesty, he has Jest out the word full in some after-jpapers ; as being .conscious to himself, pr it may be, some of his friends pointed it to him, that it was an imposition upon the public, and tended ^ greatly, to expose himself and his cause; since he has left me in the full possession of all my arguments; which I will not fay ; are unanswerable, though I think they are ; and it looks as if Mr Wesley thought so too, seejng he has not attempted to answer one pf them ; yet this I may, lay, that as yet they are not answered ; not answered, at all, and much -^sSjis.a full answer given unto them. (And now, though I might be very well excused following him in this wild .pursuit on the subject: of predestinationi; since he h,as|not meddled with my argu ment from it for the sayats perseverance ; since he has not pursued that-subject, as his title promises ; and since throughout the whole he does not argue, only ,harflngue upon it ; and that only on a part of it, reprobation, which he thought would best serve his purpose ; yet for the sake of weak and honest minds, lest Vol. III. LI through

2 5 THE DOCTRINE OF through kis fubtelty, they fiould be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ ; 1 shall endeavour to state the doctrine of predestination, and set it in a true light according to the scriptures, with the proofs of it from thence j and take notice of the principal objections raised by Mr Wesiey in his harangue on that part of it which respects reprobation •, and then close this treatise with a reply to his trifling exceptions to what I have written on the subject of the saints perseverance. As to the doctrine of predestination, it may be considered either, I. In general, as respecting all things that have been, are, or shall be, or done in the world ; every thing comes under the determination and appointment of God ; " he did, as the assembly of divines fay in their confession, from all " eternity, unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass ;" or, as they ex press it in their catechism, " God's decrees are the wife, free, and holy acts of •■ the counsel of his will ; whereby, from all eternity, he hath, for his own " glory, unchangeably fore-ordained whatsoever comes to pass in time :" and this predestination and fore-appointment of all things, may be concluded from the fore- knowledge of God ; known unto God are all his works from the beginning tf the world, «*■' <*i«»o5, from eternity *; they were known by him as future, as what would be, which became so by his determination of them ; for, the reason why he knew they would be, is, because he determined they should be: also from the providence of God, and his government of the world, which is all according to the counsel of his own willb ; for he does every thing according to that, or as he has determined in his own mind. Eternal predestination in this fense, is no other than eternal providence, of which actual providence in time is the execution. To deny this, is to deny the providence of God, and, his government of the world, which none but Deists and Atheists will do ; at least it is to think and speak unworthily of God, as not being that all-know ing, and all-wife, and sovereign ruler of the world, he is : once more that very wonderful thing, prophecy, or foretelling things to come, could not be without a predestination of them •, of which there are so many instances in scripture ; such as the stay of the Israelites in Egypt, and their departure from thence ; the seventy years captivity of the Jews in Babylon, and their return at the end of that time ; the exact coming of the Messiah at such a certain time ; with many others, and some seemingly the most casual and contingent j as the birth of persons by name a hundred or hundreds of years before they were * Acts xv. 1 8. . » * Eph. i. it.

PREDESTINATION, STATED. 259 were born, as Jofiah and Cyrus -, and a man's carrying a pitcher of water, at such a time, to such a place c ; how could these things be foretold with cer tainty, unless it was determined and appointed they should be ? There is nothing comes by chance to God, nothing done without his knowledge, nor without his will or permission, and nothing without his determination ; every thing, even the most minute thing, respecting his creatures, and what is done in this world in all periods and ages of time, is by his appointment i for the proof of which fee the following passages. Eccl. iii. i, 2. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven ; a time to be born and a time to die, &c. a time fixed by the pur pose of God for each of these. Job xiv. 5. Seeing bis days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou bast appointed bis bounds that he cannot pass. Chap, xxiii. 14. He performeth the thing that is appointed for me, and many such things are with him. Dan. iv. 35. And be doth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, or fay unto him, what dost thou ? Eph i. 1 1 . Being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketb all things after the counsel os bis own will. Acts xv. 18. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. Chap. xvii. 26.—.and bath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. Matt. x. 29, 30. Are not two sparrows fold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father i but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. II. Predestination may be considered as special, and as relating to particular persons, and to things spiritual and eternal ; whereas predestination in general respects all creatures and things, even things temporal and civil. First, Christ himself is the object of predestination ; he was fore-ordained to be the mediator between God and man ; to be the propitiation for sin ; to be the redeemer and saviour of his people ; to be the head of the church j king of saints, and judge of the world : hence he is called, God's eletl, ajid his chosen one ; and whatsoever befel him, or was done unto him, was by the de terminate council and fore-knowledge of God ; even all things relating to his sufferings and death j in proof of which read the following scriptures. LM ■ H Rom.. c 1 Kingsxiii. z. Isa. xliv. 28. and xlv. 1: Luke xxii. ie> 13,

a6o THE DOCTRINE OF Rom. iii. 25. IVbcrh God hath set forth, irfcBilo, sore- ordained td be a pro pitiation. 1 Pet. i. 20. Who vetily vjas fore-ordained before the foundation of the world; that is, ta be the Lamb flaifi. See chap. H. 4. Luke xxii. 29. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father bath appointed unto me. Acts* xvii. 3 1 . Because be bathappointed a day in the which hi willjudge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained. See also chap. x. 42. Isa. xliii. *. Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighleth. See Matt. xii. r8. Luke xxii. 22. And truly the Son of man goetb, ds it was determined, but Wo unto that mati by Whom he is betrayed* Acts' ii. 23'. Him, being delivered by the determinate" counsel andfore knowledge of Cod, ye have taken, &C Chap. iv. 28. -For to do whatsoever thy band and iby counsel determined before to be done. Secondly, Angels' also are the Objects of predestination, good and bad ; the blessed angels are chosen unto life, and to continue in their happy state to all eternity : and theif perseverance therein, and eternal felicity, are owing to the eternal choice of them in Christ their head; / charge thee before God, dnd the Ldrd Jesks Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things, 1 Tim. v. 21. The evil angels are rejected of God, and left in that miserable estate their apostacy brought them into, without any provision of grace dnd mercy for them : they ate delivered into chains of darkness, to be reserved to the judgment of the great day ; and everlasting fire is prepared for them, according to the de terminate counsel and will of God, 2 Pet. ii. 4. Matt. xxv. 4r. Thirdly, Predestination- which the scriptures chiefly treat of, is what respects men, and consists of two parts, election and reprobation j the one is a predesti nation unto life, the other unto death, I. Election, which is a predestination tinto life, is an act of the free grace of God, of his sovereign and immutable will, by which from all eternity he has choseh in Christ, out of the common mass of mankind, some men, or a cer tain number of them, to partake of spiritual blessings here, and happiness hereafter, for the glory of his grace. t. The objects Of election are some mert, not all, which a choice supposes ; to take all would be no choice ; called therefore a remnant according to the election of grate, Rom. xi. 5. These are a certain number which though unknown to us, how many, and who they are, are known to God j the Lord knows them that

PREDESTINATION, STATED. 261 that are his, 2 Tim. ii. 19. And though they are in themselves a. great' multi tude, which no ntan can number, Rev. vii. 9. yet when compared with those from whom they are chosen, they are bur few ; many be called, hit few chosen. Matt. xx. 16. These are chosen out of the same common mass of mankind, be it considered as corrupt or pure ; all were on an equal level when the choice was made ; bath not the ■potter power aver the clay of the same lump, to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour ? Rom. ix. 21. these are not whole nations, churches, and communities, but particular persons, whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life ; Jacob have I hved, &c. salute Rusus chosen in the Lord : according as he hath chosen us in him, &e. Rom. ix. 13. and xvi. 13, Epb, i» 4. not a sett of prepositions, but persons; not characters, but men ; or not men under such and such characters, as believers, holy, &V. but men as having done neither good nor evil ; before they had done either, Rom. ix. 1.1. 2. This act of election, is an act of God's free grace, to which he is not moved by any motive or condition in the object chosen ; wherefore it is called the election of grace ; concerning which the Apostle's reasoning is strong and invincible i and ;/ by grace, then it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace ; but if it be of works, then is it no more grace ; otherwise work is no more work, Rom. xi. 5, 6. It is according to the sovereign and unchangeable will of God, and not according to the will or works of men : having predes tinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, Eph. i. 5. and again, ver. 11. being predestinated ac cording to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will; hence it stands immutably firm and sure, even the purpose of God accord ing to election, not of works, but of him that calleth, Rom. ix. 11. 3. This act of election is irrespective of faith, holiness, and good works, as causes or conditions of it ; faith flows from it, is a fruit and effect of it, is secured by it, and is had in consequence of it : as many as were ordained unto eternal life, believed, Acts xiii. 48. hence it is called the faith of God's elect. Tit. i. 1. and though holiness is a means provided in the act of election, it is not the cause of it j men are chosen, not because they are, but that they should be holy, Eph. i. 4. good works do not go before, but follow after election ; it is denied to be of them, as before observed, and it pasted before any were done, Rom. ix. 11. and xi. 5, 6. they are the effects of God's decree, and not the cause of it: God hath sore-ordained them, that voe should walk in them, Eph. ii. 10. jl. The

asia THEDOCTRINE OF 4. The act of election was made in Christ, as the head, in whom all the elect were chosen, and into whose hands, by this act of grace, were put their persons, grace, and glory •, and this is an eternal act of God in him j accord ing as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, Eph. i. 4. and so the apostle tells the Thejfalonians, 2 Thess. ii. 13. God hatb from the beginning chosen you unto salvation ■, not from the first preaching of the gospel to them, or from the time of their conversion by it-, but from the beginning of time, even from all eternity, as the phrase is used in Prov. vii. 23. hence no thing done in time could be the cause or condition of it. 5. What men are chosen unto by this act are, grace here, and glory here after -, all spiritual blessings, adoption, justification, sanctification, belief of the truth, and salvation by Jesus Christ. Salvation is the end proposed with respect to men ; sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth arc the means appointed and prepared for that end. Eph. i. 4, 5. Hatb chosen us in him,—that we should be holy and without blame before him in love : Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children, Sec. 2 Thess. ii. 13. We are bound to give thanks to Cod alway for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord ; because God hatb from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. 1 Pet. i. 2. Elect according to the fore knowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience^ and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. 1 Thess. v. 9. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. 6. Both means and end are sure to the chosen ones, since this is an act of God's immutable will ; these are redeemed by the blood of Christ : he died for their sins, and made satisfaction for them ■, they are justified by his righte ousness, and no charge can be laid against them ; they are effectually called by the grace of God ; they'are sanctified by his Spirit ; they persevere to the end, and cannot totally and finally be deceived and fall away, but shall be everlastingly glorified : Rom. viii. 33. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth : Who is be that condemneth? that is, the elect. // is Christ that died, that died for them. Rom. viii. 30. Whom he did predestinate, them he also called : and whom be called, them he also justified : and whom be jus tified, them he also glorified. Matt. xxiv. 24. For there shall arise false Cbrifts, and safe Prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect ; but that is not possible. 7. The ultimate end of all this, with respect to God, is his own glory ; the glory of all his divine perfections j the glory of his wisdom in forming such a scheme, in fixing on such an end, and preparing means suitable unto it ; the glory -

PREDESTINATION, STATED. 2% glory of his justice and holiness, in the redemption and salvation of these chosen ones, through the blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of his Son ; and the glory of his rich grace and mercy exhibited in his kindness to them through him ; and the whole of it is, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he bath made us accepted in the beloved, Eph. i. 6. This now is the scripture doctrine of predestination, or that part of it which is called election ; from whence it appears to be absolute and unconditional, irrespective of any thing in man as the cause and condition of it. Mr Wesley believes, that, " election is a divine appointment of some men to eternal hap piness •" so that he owns a particular and personal election, and calls it an eter nal decree •, but believes that it is conditional : but if it is conditional, the condition is to be named ; let him name the condition of it ; let him point ic out to us, and in what passage of scripture it is •, this lies upon him to do, and I insist upon it, or else he ought to give up his unscriptural notion of con ditional election. Mark xvl 16. is no expression of this decree, but a decla ration of the revealed will of God ; and points out to us what will be the ever lasting state of believers and unbelievers : But believers, as such, are not the objects of God's decree ; it is true, indeed, that they who are real believers, are the elect of God ; but then the reason why they are the elect of God is, not becaule they are believers, but they become believers because they are the elect of God ; their faith is not the cause or condition of their election, but their election the cause of their faith ; they were chosen when they had done neither good nor evil, and so before they believed ; and they believe in time, in consequence of their being ordained unto eternal life, from eternity : faith is in time, election before the world was ; nothing temporal can be the cause or condition of what is eternal. This is the doctrine of the scriptures •, if Mr Wesley will not attend to these, let him hear the articles of his own church j the seventh of which runs thus : " Predestination to life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (be*- " fore the foundations of the world were laid) he hath constantly decreed by " his counsel, secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he •* hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to ever- «' lasting salvation, as vessels made to honour. Wherefore they which be en- " dued with so excellent a benefit of God, be called according to God's purpose " by his Spirit working in due season : they through grace obey the calling: " they be justified freely: they be made sons of God by adoption : they be J' made like the image of his only begotten Son Jesus Christ : they walk religioufly

264 THE DOCTRINE OF •'Tigiousty in good works, and at length by God's mercy, they attain to ever- " lasting felicity." This is an article agreeable to the Scripture ; an article of his own church ; an article which he as a true son of the Church, has treacherously departed from ; an article which Mr Wesley must have subscribed and sworn to ; an article which will stare him in the face.as long as subscriptions and oaths stand for any thing with him. The doctrine of election, as above stated, standing in so glaring .a light in the sacred scriptures, and appearing with such evidence, as is impossible for all the art and sophistry of men to set aside ; the other branch of predestination necessarily follows, which we deny not, but maintain. Mr Wesley would have an election found out which does not imply reprobation ; but what elec tion that can be, the wit of man cannot devise; for if some are chosen, others must be rejected ; and Mr Wesley's notion of election itself implies it ; for if, as he fays, " election means a divine appointment of some men to«ternal lup- " piness-,'* then others must be left out of that choice, and tejected. ,I:proceed therefore, II. To the other branch of predestination commonly called Reprobation ; which is an immutable decree of God, according to his sovereign will, by which he has determined to leave some men in the common mass of mankind, out of which he has chosen others, and to punish them for sin with everlasting destruction, for the glory of his power and justice. This decree consists of two parts, a negative and a positive ; the former is by some called preferition, or a. passing by, a leaving some .when others are chosen-, which is no other than non-election ; the latter is, called pre-damnatwn, .being God's decree r.o condemn or damn men for sin. First, Preterition is God's act of passing by, or leaving some men when the chose others, according to his sovereign will, and pleasure; of which act .of God there is clear evidence in the sacred scripture; as well as it is necessarily implied in God's act of election, which has such clear and incontestableproof. These are-.i mi*«, -the rest,, those that remain unelected whilst others are xbosei),; ■the- election bath obtained'it; x>r .elect persons obtain righteousness, life, and fair ration, in consequence of their being chose ; .and the rest are. blinded, Rom. ix. 7. -being 'left, they remain in their native darkness and ignorance, and for •their sins are given up to judicial blindness and hardness of .heart. These ace they that are left out of the book of life, whilst others ,have their narnss written in it j Of 4vfa<am itiis .Said, whose~mws>4re -not.written iinJkiMok of ^ *\

PREDESTINATION, STATED. .465 of Use (os the Lamb) from the foundation of the world, Rev. xiii. 8. and chap. xvii. 8. Secondly, Pre-damnation is God's decree to condemn men for fin, or to punish them with everlasting damnation for it : And this is the fense of the Scrip tures •, and this is the view which they give us of this doctrine, Prov. xvi. 4. The Lord hath made all things for himself\ yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Not that God made man to damn him ; the scripture says no such thin**, nor do we ; nor is it the fense of the doctrine we plead for ; nor is it to be in ferred from it. God made man neither to damn him, nor save him, but for his own glory •, that is his ultimate end in making him, which is answered whether he is saved or lost : but the meaning is, that God has appointed all things for his glory, and particularly he has appointed the wicked man to the day of ruin and destruction for his wickedness. Jude, ver 4. For there are cer tain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation.: But who are they ? They are after described ; ungodly men, turning the grace of God into lafciviotifnefs, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence the objects of this decree are called vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, that is, by sin, Rom. ix. 22. And now what is there shocking in this doc trine, or disagreeable to the perfections of God ? God damns no man but for fin, and he decreed to damn none but for sin. Thirdly, This decree, we fay, is according to the sovereign will of God, for nothing can be the cause of his decree but his own will : let the objects of that part of the decree, which is called Preterition, be considered either in the corrupt or pure mass of mankind, as fallen or unfallen creatures, they are to be considered in the same view, and as on an equal foot and level with those that are chosen •> and therefore no other reason can be given, but the will of God, that he should take one, and leave another. And though in that branch of it, which is an appointment of men to condemnation, sin is the cause of the thing decreed, damnation •, yet it is the will of God that is the cause of the decree itself, for this invincible reason ; or otherwise he must have ap pointed all men to damnation, since all are sinners ; let any other reason be assigned if it can be, why he has appointed to condemn some men for their sin, and not others. Fourthly, God's end in all this is the glorifying himself, his power and his justice j all his appointments are for himself, for his own glory, and this among the rest ; What if God, willing to shew his wrath, his vindictive justice, and to make his sower known, in the punishment of sinners for their sin, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction ? Rom. ix. 22. Vol. III. M m The

266 THE DOCTRINE OF The doctrine of reprobation, considered in this light, has nothing in it con trary to the nature and perfections of God. Harsh expressions, and unguarded phrases, which some may have used in speaking or writing about this doctrine, I will not take upon me to defend ; but as it is thus stated, I think it is a defen sible one, equally as the doctrine of election, and is demonstrable by it. The Scriptures are indeed more sparing of the one than of the other, and have left us to conclude the one from the other, in a great measure, though not without giving us clear and full evidence ; for though reprobation is not so plentifully spoken of, yet it is clearly spoken of in the sacred writings : wherefore, upon this consideration, we judge it most proper and prudent, not so much to insist on this subject in our discourses and writings ; not from any consciousness of want of evidence, but because of the awfulness of the subject. This our opponents are aware of; and therefore press us upon this head, in order to bring the doc trine of election into contempt with weak or carnal men ; and make their first at tacks upon this branch of predestination, which is beginning wrong •, since re probation is no other than non-election, or what is opposed to election; let the doctrine of election be demolished, and the other will fall on course; but that will cost too much pains ; and they find a better account with weak minds in taking the other method ; a method which the Remonstrants formerly were de. sirous of, at the synod of Dort, could it have been allowed ; a method which Dr Wkilby has taken in his discourse of the five points ; and this is the method which Mr IVeflsy has thought fit to take, and indeed he confines himself wholly to this subject : for though he calls his pamphlet, Predestination calmly con sidered; yet it only considers one part of it, reprobation, and that not in a way of argument, but harangue ; not taking notice of our arguments from scripture or reason, only making some cavilling exceptions to it ; such as have the face of an objection, I shall gather up, as well as I can, from this wild and immethodical performance, and make answer to. And, ist, He desires it may be impartially considered, how it is possible to recon cile reprobation with the following Scriptures : Gen. iii. 17. and chap. iv. 7. Deut. vii. 9, 12. and chap. xii. 26—28. and chap. xxx. 15. 2 Cbron.xv.xi. Etra'ix. 13, 14. Job xxxvi. 5. Psal. cxlv. 9. Prov. i. 23. Isa. lxv. 2. Ezek. xviii. 20. Matt. vii. 26. and chap. xi. 20. and chap. xii. 41. and chap. xiii. 11, 12. and chap. xxii. 8. and chap. xxv. Jobnui. 18. and chap. v. 44. Ails viii. 20. Rom. i. 20. 2 Tbejs. ii. 10 \ In all which there is not a word that mi litates against the doctrine of reprobation ; nor is any thing pointed at worthy of consideration : we know very well, nor is it contrary to this doctrine, that the 1 Predestination calmly considered, p. 13,

P R E.'D ESTINATION, STATED. 267 the curse came upon men for sin •, and that it is that which renders them unac ceptable to God, and is the reason why at last they shall find none with him, nor him favourable to them : there is a repentance which may be found in nonelect persons ; instances of that kind do not at all weaken the doctrine. Matt. xiii. 11, 12. proves it. The word any is not in the original text in Job xxxvi. 5. It is certain there are some whom God despises, Psal. liii. 5. and lxxiii. 20. It is pity but he had transcribed two or three hundred more passages when his hand was in ; even the whole books of Chronicles, and the book of Esther, which would have been as much to his purpose as those he has produced. idly, He proposes the following Scriptures which declare God's willingness that all should be saved, to be reconciled to the doctrine of reprobation, Matt. xxi. 9. Mark xvi. 15. John v. 34. Ails xvii. 24. Rom. v. 18. and chap. x. 12. 1 Tim. ii. 3, 4. Jam.]. 5. 2 Pet. iii. 9. 1 John iv. 1 4 b. Some of which do not respect eternal salvation at all, but the temporal salvation of the Jews ■, and others have nothing to do with salvation in either sense-, some speak only' of God's will to save his elect, to whom he is long-suffering •, and others of his will, that Gentiles as well as Jews should be saved •, and that it is his plea sure that some of all sorts should be saved by Christ ; neither of which militate against the doctrine of reprobation. 3<#y, He thinks this doctrine is irreconcileable with the following Scrip tures, which declare that Christ came to save all men j that he died for all 5 that he atoned for all, even for those that finally perish •, Matt. xvii. n. John i. 29. and chap. iii. 17. and chap. xii. 47. Rom. xiv. 15. 1 Cor. viii. u. 2 Cor. v. 14. 1 Tim. ii. 6. Heb. ii. 9. 2 Pet. ii. 1. and 1 John ii. 1, a.e. But these Scriptures fay not that Christ came to save all that are lost ; or that he came to save all men, or died for all men, for all the individuals of human. nature ; there is not one text of scripture in the whole Bible that says this : that which seems most like it, is Heb. ii. 9. That he might taste death for every man y but the word man is not in the original text; it is only vmp ™»>1©., for every one \ for every one of the sons of God, of the children, of the brethren of Christ, and feed of Abraham in a spiritual sense, as the context determines it. As for the other above-cited passages, they regard either the world of God's elect ; or the Gentiles, . as distinguished from the Jews-, or all sorts of men j but notall the individuals of mankind : and those who are represented as such, that should perish or in danger of it, are either such who only profesied to be bought by Christ ; or real christians whose peace and comfort were in danger of being destroyed, but not their persons ; and none of the passages militate against the., doctrine under consideration. m. m 2 4/^,'This " Predestination calmly considered, p. 16) 17. c Ibid. p. 18.

268 THE] DOCTRINE O t 4-thhj This doctrine is represented as contrary to, and irreconcileable wkh the justice of God, and with those Scriptures that declare it, particularly Ezek. xviii d. To which may be replied, that that chapter in Ezekiel concerns the people of the Jews only, and not all mankind ; and regards only the pro vidential dealings of God with them, with respect to civil and temporal things, and a vindication of them from inequality and injustice-, and not spiritual and eternal things: or the salvation and damnation of men ; and therefore is im pertinently produced. And if any one does but seriously and impartially con sider the doctrine as above stated, they will lee no reason to charge God with injustice, or find any difficulty in reconciling it to his justice. In the first branch of this decree, called Preterition, let the objects be creatures fallen or unfalkn, it puts nothing into them ; it leaves them as k finds them; and therefore does them no injustice: in the other branch of it, appointment .to condemnation, this is only but for sin ; is there unrighteousness with God on that account? No surely; if it is not injustice in him to condemn men for sin, it can be no injustice in him to decree to condemn them for fin : and if it would have been no unrighteousness in him to have condemned all men for sin, and to have determined to have done it, as he doubtless might; it can be no ways contrary to his justice to condemn some men for sin, and to determine so to do ; wherefore all that is said under this head is all harangue, mere noise, and stands for nothing. Let the above argument be disproved if it can. 5thly, This doctrine is represented as contrary to the general judgment ; and that upon this scheme there can be no judgment to come, nor any future state of reward and punishment' : but why so ? How does this appear ? Why, according to our scheme, " God of old ordained them to this condemnation :" but then it was for sin ; and if for sin, how does this preclude a future judg ment? It rather makes one necessary •, and certain it is, that a future judg ment is agreeable to it, and quite inevitable by it ; God decrees to condemn men for sin ; men sin, are brought to the judgment-scat of God, and are justly condemned foT k. The judgment of God takes place, and the just rewardof punisliment pursuant to the righteous purpose of God, and accord ing to the rules of justice. But this writer has the assurance to affirm, that we fay, that " God sold men to work wickedness, even from their mother's womb; " and gave them up 'to a reprobate mind, or ever they hung upon thek mo- " ther's .breasts" This is entirely false ; we fay no such thing; we say, with the Scripture, that men sell themselves to work wickedness as they grow up; and that God gives men up to a reprobate mind after a long train and course of sinning j * Predestination calmly considered, p. 19. e Ibid, p. 26, 30.

PREDESTINATION, STATED. 269 sinning ; and it must be a righteous thing with God to bring such persons to judgment, and condemn them for their wickedness. But then it is said they are condemned " for not having that grace which God hath decreed they should never have." This is false again ; we fay no such thing, nor believe any such tiling ; nor does the doctrine we hold oblige us to it; we fay, indeed, that the grace of God is his own ; and whether it is the sense of the text in Matthew or no, it matters not, it is a certain truth he may do what be will with bis own grace •, we own that he has determined to give it to seme and not to others, as we find in fact he does : but then we fay, he will condemn no man for want of this grace he docs not think fit to give them ; not for what they have not ; but for what they have and do ; not tor their not .believing that Christ died for them ; but for their sins and transgressions of his righteous jaw. And is not here enough to open the righteous judgment and proceed upon ? Besides the sovereign decrees of God respecting the final state of men, are so far .from rendering the future judgment unnecessary, that that will proceed according to them, along with other things : for with other books that will be opened then, the look of life will be one, in whichsome mens names are written, and others not ; and the dead will be judged cut of those things which are written in the booky according to their works. —And whosoever is not found wrilieninjbe book of life, shall be cast into the lake of fire, Rev. xx. 1 2, j 5. J never knew you, defart from me, Matt.vii.a3. 6thlyt This doctrine is said to agree yery Ul with the truth and sincerity of God, in a thousand declarations, such as these, Ezek. xviii. 23. chap, jcxxii. 32. Deut.v. 29. Pfal. lxxxi. 12. Jcls xvii. 30. Mark xvi. 15 s. To which I reply, that some ?of those declarations concern the Jews only, and not all mankind ; and are only compassionate enquires and vehement desires after their civil and temporal welfare; and at most only shew what is grateful to God and approved of by him, and what was wanting in them ; with which they are upbraided, notwithstanding their vain boasts to the contrary. Others only shew what is God's will of command, or what he has made the duty of man; not what are his purposes man stiall do, or what he will bestow upon him ; and neither of them suggests any insincerity in God, supposing the doctrine of reprobation. The gospel is indeed ordered to be preached to every creature to whom it is sent and comes ; but as yet3 it has never been brought to all the individuals of human nature ; there have been multitudes in all ages that have not heard it. And that there are universal offers of grace and sidyation made to ' Predestination, &c.,p. 3^ 33, ,

270 THE DOCTRINE- OF' to all men, I utterly deny ; nay, I deny they are made to any ; no, not to God's elect ; grace and salvation are provided for them in the everlasting co venant, procured for them by Christ, published and revealed in the gospel, and applied by the Spirit ; much less are they made to others j wherefore this, doctrine is not chargeable with insincerity on that account. Let the patrons of universal offers defend themselves from this objection •, I have nothing todo with it; till it is proved there are such universal offers, then Dr IVatts's reasoning on that head, will require some attention ; but not till then. Jtblyt It is said that the doctrines of election and reprobation least of all agree with the scriptural account of the love and goodness of GodE. The doctrine of election surely can never disagree with . the love and goodness of God ; since his choosing men to salvation is the fruit and effect of his everlast ing love and free grace ; the reason why any are chosen is, because they arc beloved of God ; election pre-supposes love; this the apostle points out clearly to us, when he fays, we are bound to give thanks always to God for you brethreny beloved of the Lord ; because God bath from the beginning chosen you to salvation^ i ThefT ii. 13. And the goodness of God greatly appears in consequence of this decree in the redemption of the chosen ones by Christ, in the regeneration, and sanctification of them by the Spirit, and in bringing them at last to eter nal glory and happiness according to his original design. But it may be, it is the doctrine of reprobation only, though both are put together by our author, that so ill agrees with the love and goodness of God. It is not inconsistent with his providential goodness ; in which fense the Lord is good to alt, and his tender mercies are over alibis works ; and notwithstanding this decree, all men have a large share of this goodness of God ; and though they may abuse this goodness, which will be an aggravation of their condemnation ; this is their own sin and fault, and not to be charged on the decree of God, as this writer falsly does ; who fays, that God, according to us, gives men this world's goods on purpose to enhance their damnation ; and every one of their comforts is, by an eternal decree of God, to cost them a thousand pangs in hell; whereas the abuse of mercies given, which will enhance their damnation, flows not from the decree, but from their own wickedness. The special mercy and goodness of God is denied to such indeed, which is at his sovereign will to give to whom he pleases ; who will have mercy on whom he will have mercy : the act of election is an act of God's love, and flows from it; reprobation indeed slows from his hatred, which is an appointment to wrath ; but (hen it is 1 Predestination, &c. p. 35.

PREDESTINATION, STATED. 271 is from his hatred of fin, which is no ways contrary to his being a God of love and goodness : besides there is a much greater display, of the love, grace, mercy, and goodness of God in choosing some men to salvation and infallibly securing it unto them, and bringing them safely to the enjoyment of it, than in the contrary scheme ; according to which not one man is absolutely ch:6sen •to salvation •, salvation is not insured to any one single person ; it is left' to the "precarious and fickle will of man ; and it is possible, according to that scheme, jthat not one man may be saved ; nay, it is impossible that any one man should "te saved by the power of his own free-will. Let it be judged then, which "scheme is most merciful and kind to men, and most worthy of the God of love and goodness. Upon the whole, the doctrine of reprobation, though Yet in so ill a light, and represented in such an odious manner, is a defensible doctrine when stated and cleared •, nor are we afraid to own and maintain it. " This cloven foot does not affright us j so Mr Wesley calls *, as he thinks, beautifully, but most blasphemousiy, an act of the divine will •, nor is this a miljione that hangs about the neck of our hypothesis, as he no doubt very ele gantly expresses it' •, but let me tell him, it will be his distinguishing mercy, if it is not a milstone about his Own rieck. From hence he wanders to free-will and irresistible grace ; sometimes he is for free-will, sometimes for free-grace ; sometimes for resistible, and sometimes for irresistible grace. When he can agree with himself, he will appear in a better light, and may be more worthy of notice. What he says of free-will on the one side and reprobation on the other, as agreeing or disagreeing with the perfections of God, may be reduced to one or other of the above objections, where they have had their answer. It is scarcely worth my while to observe what he says of the covenant of grace k ; which he owns he has no understanding of; and I believe him, as that " God the Father made a covenant with his Son before the world began, '** wherein the Son agreed to suffer such and such things ; and the Father to " give him such and such souls fof a recompence, in consequence of which " these must be saved." And then he asks where it is written ? And in what part of scripture this covenant is to Be found ? Now not to inform or instruct Mr We/ley, but for the fake of such who are willing to be informed and instructed, read Psal, xl. 6—8. Isa. xlix. 1—6. and chap. liii. 10— 12. P/al. lxxxix. 3, 4, 28—36. in which will appear plain traces and footsteps of a covenant, or agreement, of a stipulation and restipulation, between the Father and the Son ; in which the Father proposes a work to his Son, and calls him to it, even the redemption * Predestination, &c. p. u. ' Ibid. p. 77. k Ibid. p. 52.

272 THE DOCTRINE OF redemption of his people ; to which the Son agrees, and fays, Lo I come to do thy willt 0 my God I and for a recompence of his being art offering for sin, and pouring out his foul unto death ; it is promised he should see his feed and prolong his days, and have a portion divided him with the great, and a spoil with the strong. And that there was such a covenant subsisting before the wofld began is clear-, for could there be a Mediator set up from everlasting, as there was, and a promise of life before the world began made to Christ and put into his hand, and all spiritual blessings provided, and all grace given to his people in him, before the foundation of the world ; and yet no covenant in being ? See Prov. viii. 23. Tit. i. 2. 2 Tim. i. i, 9. Epb. i. 3. The covenant of circumcision made with Abraham, and that made with the Israelites on mount Sinai, are no instances of the covenant of grace ; but are covenants that are waxen old, and vanished away ; and do not concern us who are not under the law, but under grace : but however these covenants were condi tional, to them that were under them ; the covenant of grace Is absolute and unconditional to us, being made with Christ our head, who has fulfilled all the conditions of it. , , . But I proceed now to vindicate wliat I have written on the subject of the saints Final Perseverance, from the exceptions made unto it. Mr Wejky fays ', " this is so pleasing an opinion, so agreeable to flesh and blood, so suitable to " whatever of nature remains in thole who .have tasted the grace of God, that " I fee nothing but the mighty power of God, which can restrain any who " hear it from closing with it." Strange ! that the doctrine of perseverance in grace and holiness, for no other perseverance do we plead for, should be so pleasing and agreeable to corrupt nature •, besides such who have tasted the grace of God, as they have a principle of grace in them, cannot easily give into a doctrine which manifestly gratifies corrupt nature, but would oppose and re ject itj surely it must come with very great evidence, that nothing but the power of God can restrain from closing with it -, and which they close with, not to indulge their corruptions* but to encourage their faith and hope, and to promote holiness of heart and life ; to which they are induced both by argu ments, from experience, and from scripture ; the former, it seems, weigh but little with those who believe the possibility of falling; and the latter are not plain and cogent. There are some Scriptures, it is said, are against perseve rance, and determine the other way j the arguments from them have been con sidered in a former treatise y to which Mr Wesley has made some exceptions, and to which I (hall now make a reply. The 1 Predestination, &c. p. $7.

PREDESTINATION, STATED. 273 The first text produced against the perseverance of the saints, is Ezek. xviii. 24. When the righteous man turnethaway from his righteousness, &c. This, passage, and the whole context, I have observed wholly and solely regard the house of Israel, and is impertinently produced. Mr Wesley calls upon me to prove this. What proof would he have ? Let him read the chapter, and he will see it with his own eyes; the house of Israel is mentioned by name, and that only; the addresses are only made to them ; the expostulations and reasonings are only with them ; and the exhortations are unto them ; the dispute is be tween God and them, the charge against Gud is brought by them ; and the answer to it is returned to them. Let Mr IVefley disprove this if he can ; it lies upon him to point out any other person or persons than the house of Israel, to whom any passage in the chapter is directed. The righteousness of the righteous man, spoken of in it, I have affirmed to be his own righteousness, and not the righteousness of faith ; nor is there the least hint of the sanctify ing grace of the Spirit in the account of it. To disprove this, Mr IVefley refers to ver. 31. Castaway from you all your transgressions —make you a new heart, &c. Monstrous ! This is a most evident proof that the Jews had no true righteous ness ; that notwithstanding their pretensions to it, they had not cast away their transgressions, and were without any inward principle of grace or holiness. I further observe, that what is said of the righteous man, admitting him truly righteous, is only a supposition. This Mr Wesley flatly denies. But if he reads over the chapter to which he directs, he will find the facts supposed and not asserted, ver. 5. If a man be just, &c. ver. 10. If he beget a son — that doth not any of these duties, &c. ver. 14. If be beget a son that seeth all his father's fins, &c. and in the passage under consideration, ver. 24. When the righteous man turneth away from his righteousness ; that is, if he should ; and so it is rendered in the Vulgate Latin version, and by Pagnine, and is the fense of ©ur own tranflation ; for a supposition is as well expressed by when, an adverb of. time, as by the conjunction //: For instance; when Mr Wesley writes more to the purpose, he will deserve more attention ; that is, if he should. Where as I explained the death in ver. 26. of one and the fame death, a temporal death for sin ; it is no unusual thing for one and the same thing to be expressed by dis- . ferent words ; and which may be the case here, without any force upon the text, or making it speak nonsense; for which I have given a reason that is not taken notice of: and that this death is a temporal, and not an eternal one, is clear, because it was now upon them, and of which they complained, and froovwhence they might be delivered by repentance and reformation ; and which, I fay again, VoiL.3II. N n cannot -

274 THE DOCTRINE OF cannot be said of eternal death, when a person is once under it. Upon the whole, as this chapter relates not to eternal salvation or damnation, the passage from it is an insufficient proof of the apostacy of real saints. The second text of scripture brought in favour of the said doctrine, is i 'Tim. i. 19. Holding saitb and a good conscience, which some having put away, con cerning faith, have made shipwreck : In which I have observed, that it does not appear, that these men referred to, whose names arc mentioned in the next verse, ever had their hearts purified by faith •, but were ungodly men, and so no instances of the apostacy of true believers. To this no reply is made. I further observe, that putting away a good conscience, does not necessarily sup pose they had ir, but rather that they had it not ; which I support by the use of the same word in Acls xiii. 40. where the Jews are said to put the word of God from them. This instance Mr Wesley fays makes full against me, it being undeniable they had the word of God till they put it away. But this I must deny; they never had it, they never received it, never gave their assent to it, or embraced it, but contradicted and blasphemed it ; and so is an instance of the use of the word to my purpose. It is owned by him that men may ha ve a good conscience in some sense, without true faith ; but such is not that the apostle speaks of, be cause he exhorts timothy to hold it : Be it so ; yet it does not appear that these men had such a conscience that arises from a heart purified by faith ; putting it away, we fee, does not prove it ; and, besides, it deserves consideration, that it is not said they made shipwreck of a good conscience, which it does not appear they ever had, but of faith which they once professed, even the doc trine of faith : but that faith means only the doctrine of faith, wants better proof, he fays. What proof would he have ? I have shewn that the phrase is never used but of the doctrine of faith, and have pointed to the places where it is soused ; nay have pointed out the particular doctrine of faith they made shipwreck of. It lies upon him to disprove this. From the whole it appears, that this also is an insufficient proof of the apostacy of real saints. The third text of Scripture insisted on as a proof of the above doctrine, is Rom. xi. 17-^24. concerning the breaking off of the branches, and cutting off those that are grafted into the olive-tree-, which olive-tree I understand not of the invisible church, but of the outward gospel-church-state, or the visible gospel-church. This Mr Wesley fays I affirm, and he proves the con trary. But though I affirm, yet not without a reason for it •, a reason which he takes no notice of, nor makes any reply to : and how does he prove the contrary, that it is the invisible church ? Why, because it consists of holy believers

PREDESTINATION, STATED. 275 believers, which none but the invisible church does. But does not the visible church consist of such ? Are there no holy believers in it ? Read over the epistles to the visible churches and you will find the members of them are called holy and believers, saints and faithful in Christ Jesus. I observe that those signified by the broken branches, were never true believers in Christ, and so no instances of the apostacy of such. To this he replies, That he was not speaking of the Jews. Very well, but I was ; but of the Gentiles, exhorted to continue in bis goodness^ and so true believers ; and yet liable to be cut off. So they might be, though it does not necessarily follow from the apostle's exhorta tion i which is to be understood not of the goodness, or love, and favour of God; but of the goodness of a gospel-church-state, the ordinances of it, and an abiding in them, and walking worthy of them •, or otherwise they were liable to be cut off from the church-state in which they were. This is said to be a forced and unnatural construction, and requires some argument to support it. But what else could they be cut off from ? Jf the olive-tree, in which they are said to be ingrafted, is not the invisible, but the visible church, as is proved by an argument not answered ; then the cutting off from the olive-tree, must be a cutting off from that. And whereas there is a strong intimation that the Jews, the broken branches, may be grafted in again ; why may not those be grafted in again which are cut off, when restored by repentance, which is often the case. It remains then, that this passage of scripture does not in the least militate against the final perseverance of the saints. The fourth text of Scripture quoted as against the doctrine of perseverance, is John xv. 1 —5. concerning the branches in Christ the vine, which abide not, are taken away, are cast forth and withered, and are cast into the fire and burned. I observe that there are two sorts of branches in Christ, the one fruit- , ful, the other unfruitful; the one in him by regenerating grace, the other, only by profession ; of the latter are all the above things said, not of the former. This Mr tVestey fays is begging the question, and taking for granted the point to be proved : far from it. 1 answer to the instance alledged, by distinguish ing the different branches in the vine ; I prove the distinction from the text and context ; as well as illustrate it by the instances of the churches in Judea and Tbejalonica, being said to be in Christ ; all the members of which cannot be thought to be really in him, but by profession. There are some that never bore fruit, and so never gave any evidence of their being true believers, and consequently can be no instances of the apostacy of such. There are others that bring forth fruit and are purged, that they may bring forth more fruit, and whose fruit remain, and are instances of perseverance. Let it be proved, n n 2 if

276 THE DOCTRINE OF if it can, that any of those who never brought forth any fruit, that we read of, were true believers in Christ ; or ever received true grace or life from him, that are said to be cast out and burnt •, , and that any of those Who brought forth fruit and were purged and pruned by the Father of Christ, that they might bring forth more fruit, ever withered away and were loft. Till this is done, this passage will be of no service for the apoltacy, or against the perseverance of the saints. The fifth text of Scripture pressed into this argument is, 2 Pet. ii. 20, 21. concerning those that have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of Christ, being entangled therein and overcome. Of whom I observe, that it docs not appear that those persons had an inward experimental knowledge of Christ •, which is what ought to be proved, or else it furnishes out no argument against the perseverance of real sainis. Had it been such, I add, they could not have lost it. This Mr Wesley calls begging the question. It might seem so, if my argument had rested here; but I give reasons why such a knowledge cannot be lost-, which he conceals and takes no notice of; as the promise of God, that such shall follow on to know him, and the decla ration of Christ, that eternal life is inseparably connected with such know ledge, Has. vi. 3. John xvii. 3. Escaping the pollutions of the world does not prove the persons to have such knowledge, or to be real saints, since it signi fies no more, I fay, than an outward reformation. Here, he fays, 1 aim at no proof at all. Let him make more of it, if he can. He owns that these per sons might be called dogs and swine before their profession of religion, and after their departure from it, but not whilst under it : but unless it can be proved that they passed under a real change, and were truly converted, which their having knowledge and escaping the pollutions of the world are no proofs of; they migh: as well deserve the appellation during the time of their pro fession, as before and after. If any thing is done to any purpose from this instance, it soould be proved that these men had an inward spiritual and ex perimental knowledge; that from dogs and swine they became the sheep of Christ, and had the nature of such, and from the sheep of Christ became dogs and swine again ; or it can never be thought to be any proof of the final and total falling away of true believers. The sixth text produced in favour of the saint's apostacy, is Heb. vi. 4—6. which speaks of enlightened persons, and such that have tasted the heavenly ^ift, &?f. falling away. Upon which I observe, that the words contain only "'ppofition, */ they faU away. Mr IVe/ley fays, there is no// in the original. tic 3 Ire-

PREDESTINATION, STATED. a77 I reply, though it is not expressed, it is implied, and the fense is the fame, as rf it was ; and that the words in the original lie literally thus : // is impossible that those who were once enlightened—**» vapmaoriov, and fhey falling away, tfl renew them again 4o repentance •, that is, should they fall away, or if they fall away. Here Mr Wesley rises up in great wrath, and asks, " Shall a man lie '** for God ?• Either yo» or I do •," and avers, that the words do not literally fcie'thus ; and that they are translated by him, and have fallen away, as literally ^bs the English tongue will bear ; and calls upon all that understand Greek to judge between us. I am well content, and extremely desirous they fhouloj, and even willing to be determined by them, which is the most literal version i mine, which renders it as # participle, as it is ; or his, which renders it as a 'verb, which it is not. 1 am supported in mine by the authority of the great and learned Dr Owen1, whose knowledge of the Greek tongue no one will Ycruple, that is acquainted with his writings : He fays, that verbum de verbo, Or literally, the words lie in the text, and they falling away ; just as I have ren dered them. Take tome instances of the participle of the fame tense, both in the simple theme of the ward, and in other compounds, as so rendered by our translators •, ^n«», falling down on his face, i Cor. xiv. 25. v^mn^axi, falling down before him, Luke viii. 47. *ttmmm< falling into a place where two seas "met, sffoi Jixvil. 41. Did these learned men lie for God ? Mr Wejltfs quibble is, beciuse the participle is not of the present, but of the aorist : the instances now given are of the fame tense. Every one that has learned his Greek Gramwar knows, that the .aorist or indefinite, as he names it, is so called, because it is nndeterrttimd as to time, being used both of time present, and of time past b -t and when1 of the '■ Utter, it :is left undetermined, whether just now past, or some cimfc agd, is meant, : but as the circumstances of the place stiew : b/ut let irbeVentiereU^iekheif way,, either .in the present or past, the sense is the fame, . and the condition is implied ; he it and they falling away, or and they having fdkn avsay; .for one or other it must be to render it literally ; that is, should ttey f-atl away, or mould they have, fallen away ; or, ui pther worejs, if they should'. And now why ail this wrath-, \f*Mfcmcse». ajid .indecency ? Is this the 'tidm Considerer, as the title ofc his book promises? The-man.is p;qchpd and rages. This puts me in mind of .a story of a country fellow listening with great attention to a Latin disputation ; which a gentleman observing, stepped to him, and said, Friend you. had better go about your business, than stand here idling away your time to ihear what you do not understand. To which he re- ■• - :: ;. . • .• ■ ... plied * On Perseverance, c. 17. p. 423 b Of which see instances in Dugard'sGr. Gram. p. 126.

478 THE DOCTRINE OF plied, I am not so great a fool neither, but I know who is angry ; suggesting by the temper of the disputants, one of them being very angry, he knew who had the better, and who the worst of the argument. And since MxWestey has brought it to this dilemma, that either he or I must lie for God ; 1 am very unwilling to take it to myself, seeing no reason for it ; and therefore, without a compliment, must leave it to him to get out, and off, of it as he can. But to return to the argument : let it be a supposition or a fact contained in the words ; the question is, who these persons supposed, or said to fall away are, and from what they fell ? There is nothing in the characters of them, as has been observed, which shew them to be regenerated persons, real saints, and true believers in Christ. This ought to be proved, ere they can be al lowed to be instances of the apostacy of such ; whereas they are distinguished from them, and opposed to them, ver. j —9. There is nothing in the account of them, but what may be said of a Balaam, who had his eyes open and saw the vision of the Almighty, and of such who are only doctrinally enlightened j or of a Herod that heard John gladly, and of the stony-ground hearers, who received the word with joy; or of a Judas who had no doubt both the ordinary and extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, and a power of performing mi raculous works, called the powers of the world to come, or the gospel dispen sation. So that from hence nothing can be concluded against the perseverance of the saints. The seventh passage of Scripture brought into this controversy, is Heb. x. 38. the just shall live by faith, but is any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him : But very impertinently ; since he that is said to live by faith, and he that is supposed to draw back, is not one and the fame person. Mr We/ley asks, ** Who is it then ? Can any one draw back from faith, who never came to it ?" To which I answer, though he cannot draw back from faith he never had, yet he may draw back from a profession of faith he has made. In order to make it appear, that one and the fame person is meant, Mr Wesley, finding fault with our transtation, renders the words thus : Is the just man that lives by faith draws back, my foul shallhave no pleasure in him. This translation I call inaccurate. He desires to know wherein •, I will tell him. &w, //, is by force removed from its proper place, even from one sentence back to another j inserting the word that before live is doing violence to the text ; rendering {iktiIo., that lives, as if it was of the present tense, when it is future, and ihould be shall live. Leaving out *<*• and or but, which distinguishes two pro positions ; so confounding them and making them one. And after all, were one

PREDESTINATION, STATED 279 one and the same person meant, it h only a supposition, which, I say aaain, proves no matter of fact ; let Mr Wejley shew that it does if he can : it is a clear cafe, that the just man in the text, and he that draws back, are two sorts of persons ;~itis most manifest, and beyond all contradiction, that in the ori ginal text in Hab. ii. 4. the man whose soul is lifted up with pride and conceit of himself, and is not upright in him, has not the truth of grace in him, is the person who both according to the Apostle and the Seventy, is supposed to draw back ; from whom the just man that lives by faith is distinguished, and to whom he is opposed : and by the Apostle two sorts of persons are all along spoken of in the context, both before and after ; besides, that these two mustbe different and not the same, is evident, since it is most surely promised the just man, that he shall live ; which would not be true of him, if he drew back to perdition. So that this also is an insufficient testimony against the perseverance of the saints. The eighth text of Scripture made use of to prove the Apostacy of true be lievers, is Heb. x. 29. Of bow much sorer punishment jhall he be thought worthy of, who bath trodden under foot the Son of God, and bath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing. The stress of this proof lies upon the person being sanctified with the blood of the covenant, who is sup posed to be the same that trod under foot the Son of God. But I have observed that the antecedent to the relative he is the Son of God, and so consequently he, and not the apostate, is said to be sanctified with the blood of the co venant ; wherefore the words are no proof of the apostacy of truly sanctified persons. Mr Wesley fays I forgot to look at the original, or my memory fails. Neither, is the cafe. However, I have looked again to refresh my memory, had it failed ; and find indeed other words going before, but no other sub stantive but mot, the Son of God, to whom the relative he can refer ; and that this does refer to the Son of God in the clause immediately preceding, is not a singular opinion of mine ; that learned Dutchman Gomarus*, and our very learned countrymen Dr Ligbtfoot\ and Dr Owenc of the last age, and Dr Ridgley d of the present, are of the same sentiment. But admitting that it re fers to the apostate, since this may be understood of his being sanctified or se parated from others by a profession of religion, by church-membership and partaking of the Lord's Supper, in which the blood of the covenant is repre sented •, and of his being sanctified by it in his own esteem and in the esteem of others, when he was not inwardly sanctified by the Spirit ; this can be no proof .... " of 1 Comment in Heb. x. sg. b Harmony, (3e. p. 341. c On Perseverance, p. 432. d Body of Divinity, Vol. II. p. 125.

28o THEt>OCTRINE, &c. of the apostacy of a real faint. It should be proved, that this sanctification is to be understood of inward sanctification, or else it proves not the point in debate. Mr tVefley thinks it may be so understood, and that for this reason ; because the words immediately following are, and bath done despite unto the Spirit of grace. Surprising! that a man's having done despite to the Spirit of grace, should be a proof of his having been inwardly sanctified by him ; which might more reasonably be thought to be a proof of the very reverse. So then it re mains, that this passage also does not militate against the doctrine of the saints final perseverance. Mr Wcjley has thought fit to add several other texts, which he proposes to con sideration, as proving that a true believer may finally fall j but as he has not advanced any argument upon them, I (hall not enter into an examination of them, and of the weight they bear in this controversy •, and besides, they being such as either do not respect true believers, about whom the question is, or only their falling from some degree of grace and stedfastness of it, and do not design a total and final falling away •, or else they only intend persons receiving the doctrine of grace and a falling from that, and so are nothing to the purpose. And unless something more to the purpose is offered, than yet has been, I shall not think myself under any obligafion to attend unto it. i ■ ■ ■ . THE

THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDEREDj AND PROVED TO BE LITERALLY FULFILLED IN JESUS. Containing An Answer to the Objections of the Autlor of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy. PREFACE. THE design of the following sheets is to consider the prophecies of the Old Testament, respecting the Messiah ; and to prove that they are li terally fulfilled in Jesus, against both Jews and Deists. I have therefore col lected together the exceptions of the former to those prophecies, and the rather because they are, as far as known, made use of by the latter. I have con sulted, as much as I was able, the writings, both of old and later Jews, and shewn, that in most, if not in all the prophecies considered, they have un derstood them of the Messiah. I produce those authorities, not as decisive in this controversy, but as the convictions and concessions of an adversary, and that a bitter and implacable one to Christianity, and which I think deserves consideration with the Deist. I cite old Jews to (hew the fense of the ancient synagogue ; and later ones to shew the strength of conviction upon their minds, who cannot but have observed, what use the Christians have made of those pro phecies, and though often pinched with them, yet they have been obliged to own them as prophecies of the Messiah, for which reason the testimonies of later Jews, seem to have the most strength and force in them. And that the reader may not be at a loss about old Jews, and later Jews *, he is desired to ob- Vot. III. O o serve ; Vid. Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c p. 264—266.

232 PREFACE. serve, that by old Jews, I mean those who wrote, or are supposed to nave wrote within the first; live or fix. centuries after Christ, as the authors of the- Targums, Talmuds, Rabboih, Zobar, &c. and by later Jews, I mean those who wrote within the last five or six centuries, as Maimonides, Jarcbi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, &c. The author of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, whose exceptions I have all along considered, has advanced several things with regard to the be-: lief of the Jews, concerning a Messiah, which I think myself obliged to take notice of in this place. Firjt, He seems to insinuate as though the belief of a Messiah b among the Jews, was not anciently a fundamental article of their faith, but made so from the eleventh century, when their confession of faith was drawn up by R. Moses Maimonides, That the Jews confession of faith, was drawn up by Maimonides, about that time, in thirteen articles, is not denied, which articles are generally believed by all of them, without any contradiction, as Leo Modenn fays c ; buc then this no mare prove:;, that the article relating to the Messiah, then began to be a fundamental article-of their faith, than the article respecting the unity of the Divine Being, which must be acknowledged, was always the faith of the Jewish church : Besides, Maimonides did not make, but only drew up, thole articles, and it is highly reasonable to suppose; that he drew them up not as the novel opinions of some particular persons; but as what had been the ancient, constant, and universal sense of his people ; and what would be received as such without hesitation, as they accordingly were. R. Joseph Æo is the only person that is usually cited as denying the article of the Messiah to to be a fundamental one; he reduced the Jews confession of faith, to three general heads, which he calls roots, namely, the belief of the Divine Being, the law of Moses, and a state of rewards and punishments, to which he thought all the rest reducible ; now, though he is not willing to allow the article of the Messiah to be ~ipy a root or a fundamental principle, his design herein being ma nifestly enough to oppose the Christian religion, whose main fundamental prin ciple is faith in the Messiah, Jesus ; I fay, though he is not willing to allow it to be a root -, yet he grants that it is spy a branch*, which *)yfiDa 3.1 ~\py p arises from the third root, that is, that of rewards and punistiments, and de clares that all ought to believe the Messiah, who receive the law of Mojes; that the prophets b Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. p. 20, 25, 26. c History of the Rites, Customs, &c. of the present jaws, part 5. c. 12. Vid. Baihagc*s History of the Jews, Book 4. c. 1". a Orat. 1. cap. 4. *cap. 23. sol. 29. 1. ft Orat. 4 cap. 24. in Majt Synopf. Thcolog. Jud; loc. I. de Scriptura, s. 8. p. 24, •■ J .- « t

PREFACE. 283 prophets prophesied of his coming, which is sure and evident ; that he who does not believe the coming of the Messiah, denies the words of the prophets, and is a trans gressor of the affirmative precepts ; so that chough he will not allow the article of the Messiah, to be a fundamental one ; in which he was alone, and had no followers-, yet he owns it to be a branch of a fundamental one ; and therefore we mould be so far from concluding from the single opinion of this person, that this was not a fundamental-article of the Jewish faith, that the contrary is rather evident from hence. Secondly, The fame author intimates0, that many of the Jews themselves, have seemed to have no expectation of a Messiah, as the Sadducees and Scribes, the Samaritan Jews, Jofephus, and some in his time, R. Hillell in the third centurv ; nay, that Mnimonides speaks very indifferently of it. As to the Sadducees, they as impatiently expected the Messiah f, as the rest of the Jews did, were as intent upon detecting of Jesus, WfoJfti they supposed not to be the true Messiah, and' were as violent opposersof him and his followers, as any others; which they would not have concerned themselves about, had they not believed in a Messiah. Some fay8, that the Caraites, are of the old stock of the Sadducees, and hold the fame doctrines as they did, who it is certain expect a Messiah, as muclv as the other Jews do. As to the Scribes, who, though they were, as this author fays, letter men, yet believed \ that Christ, or the Messiah, is the son of Davids and that Elias must first come ; indeed he lays that what he has said of the Sadducees and Scribes, he only proposes in the way of conjecture, buc it seems to be a conjecture without any foundation for it. As to the Samaritan Jews, nothing is- more manifest, than that in the times of Jesus they expected a Messiah ; it was a notion which seemed uni versally to obtain among them, as appears from the woman of Samaria, with whom Jesus conversed, who could say ', / know that Mejfias comclb which is called Christ. It is allowed that the modern ones, have notions of a Messiah % though very confused and very different, which need not be wondered at, since they reject the books of the prophets, and confine themselves to the five books of Moses. In one of their letters' to Scaliger, they fay the name of the Messiah with them, is snttfn which it seems they do not know the signification of, though 002 k ' Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. p. 20-24, z8, &c. ' Basnagc's History of ihe Jews, book 2. c.-6. f. 15. * Buxtorf. Synagog; Jud.- c. 1. & Lex. Talmud. Rad. $*)p Leo of Modena's History ps the Rites, Customs, &c. of the present Jews, part 5. c. 1; h Mark xii. 35.- and chap. ix. 1 1 . ' John iv. 25. k Basnage's History of the Jews, book 2. c. 2. f. 35. ' 1 Epist. Sam, ad Seal. p. 126. in Basnage ibid, book 7, c. 26. s. 7.

284 PREFACE. it seems to be an abbreviation of Mnn^n • <?;W&-, be that is to come, whereby the Samaritan as well as the Jerusalem Jews, understood the Messiah, as is ma nifest from the words of the woman just naw mentioned. As to Josepbus, and some other Jews in his 'time, who thought that Vespasian was time prince that was to come, it is manifest enough that they expected a Messiah, though they were mistaken in the person, whom they thought to be he, nor can any thing else be fairly concluded from hence. R. Hillellm, it is true, gave out tluc " Israel was to have no Messiah, because they enjoyed him " in the days of Hezekiab •" but then this was only the opinion of a Angle person; for notwithstanding his authority, the Jews still expect a Messiah; besides, this saying of his was not a disbelief of the Messiah, but a mistaken notion about the time of his coming.; and as for Maimomdcs speaking indif ferently of the Messiah, it need not be wondered at in him, nor in any other of his nation, if rhere has been any other who has done so; since they have been so wretchedly disappointed in their expectation of him, and since they see so little need of, and expect so little from him. Thirdly, This fame author would have us believe, that the expectation of a Messiah, among the Jews, was grounded, not upon "the literal, but upon the allegorical, and traditional fense of the scriptures*, but if so, how came the Scribes, who, as this author acknowledges; were a party of letter-men, to ex pect a Messiah, and to fay, that he was the fan of David, as has been before observed ? Surely those men who are " supposed to have rejected many of " the prevailing Jewish notions, not founded on the letter of the scriptures," would have rejected the notion of a Messiah, if not founded thereon. Besides, the Caraites, or Scripturarians, an ancient sect among the Jews °, rejecting the mystical, enigmatical, traditional, and allegorical expositions of the Rabbis, strictly and closely adhere to the very letter of the scriptures, and yet 'expected a Messiah as much as other Jews do. Now, from whence could this expecta tion arise ? or whereon could it be grounded, but the literal sense of the Scrip tures ? It is therefore a mistake, that a notion of a Messiah cannot be establish ed from the prophecies of the Old Testament, without a mystical and allego rical fense of them ; for in their first, literal, and obvious fense, they respect him, as I hope, the following account of them will make appear. Fombfy, ■ Talmud Sanhcd. sol. 9 1, a. and «J-j: t. * Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. jj. si, t2. " Basn age's hi (lory of the Jews, book s. e. 8. s. 8, 9. Leo Modena's History of the Rites and Cui'oms, &c. of the present Jews, part 5. c. 1. Buxtors. Synagog. Jud cap. 1. and Lckic. Talaiudrad. Nip » Balnage, ibid. s. SO.

PREFACE. 2ff5 - ■ Fottrpbly, 1 cannot but imieh wonder, Chat this author should1 think, it '** most probable, that many of the places, wherein the Messias is expressly "** named in the Cbaldee Paraphrases, are interpolations *" especially, when he thinks that those writings are much mOre modern, and of a later date than the Jews r would have them to be ; for the later the date of them is, the less reason is there to suppose them to be interpolated in those passages which respect: the Messiah ; for surely it can never be thought, that they would take such a method with their own Targums on chose prophecies, when they must be sup posed to know what use the Christians made of them, both against them, and in vindication of Christianity ; nor is there any thing with which the Jews are more puzzled and confounded, than when they are urged with those paraphrases; and there is a great deal of reason to suppose, that those places, wherein the Messiah is expressly named, are so far from being interpolations, that were not those writings so sacred with them, as that they dare not corrupt them, they would have expunged them long ago. As to this author's reason for these thoughts, that '•* Josepbus fays, those Jews who were in the vulgar error, or " the belief of a Messias to arise out of their nation, built their expectation but " on one ambiguous oracle or prophecy, found in their sacred books." I would only reply, that Je/epbus indeed, speaks of an oracle or propbecy found in their sacred books; that about that time one of them, from their country, should rule over the world; which oracle he calls an ambiguous one, and fays was what chiefly excited the Jews to the war, but then he no where fays, that the Jews ex pectation of a Messiah was built upon one single, douhtful prophecy, but that their expectation of his arising out of their country, and at that time was so •, the ambiguity of which oracle lay in his arising out of their nation, which some understood of his being born there, as the generality of the Jews did ;. and others, of his entering upon his government there, as Josepbus did, and therefore applied it to Vespasian : From whence it appears that this instance gives no reason to conclude, that the passages respecting the Messiah, in the Cbaldee paraphrases, are interpolations ; for the Jews might have many plain prophecies, on which they built their expectation of a Messiah, some of which these paraphrases have pointed out to us } and yet Josepbus * speak but of one ambiguous or doubtful prophecy respecting the time of his coming, and the country from whence he was to arise, which excited the Jews to the war, and animated them obstinately to persist therein ; in which he supposes them to be i Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. p. t6. ' Vid. Eliæ Levitæ praefat. ad Methurgeman. Galatin. de arcanis, C. V. lib. i.e. 3. and AUix's Judgment of the Jewish Church, &c. p. 85, 86, &c. 5 DeBelloJud..Jtf>7. c. 31.-

286 PREFACE. be mistaken, though, alas! the ground of their mistake, and which there fore was fatal to them, was, that the Messiah, the person prophesied of, was already come. I conclude with dt- firing the reader to observe, that I do not produce the prophecies of the Old Testament, respecting the Messiah's second coming, as literally fulfilled in Jesus, but as to be so fulfilled in him, and the reason of my taking notice of them, is to make the scheme of prophecy more compleat; and seeing all the rest of the prophecies, respecting the Messiah, have had a literal completion in Jesus, there is a great deal of reason to believe that these will also ; especially, seeing it is such a completion of them, that Jesus and his apostles have given us reason to expect. I have not, indeed,, enquired into the authenticness of the book of Daniel, and of the two first chapters of Sc Matthew's gospel, which the author of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy has called in question, but have taken them for genuine parts of the l.icre.i writings •, the reason why I have not attempted an enquiry of this na ture, when I have had occasion to consider some passages in those parts of scripture, is, .because 1 was not willing to interrupt the reader, by breaking the thread of prophecy. I must confess, that what this author has advanced on this head deserves consideration ; and I hope, that some of the learned writers tn this controversy, will think it worth their notice and regard. I shall only add, that whereas my design in writing the following sheets, is an honest, and impartial enquiry after truth, and an attempt to establiso and pro mote it ; in doing of which, as I have treated the argument with candor and temper ; so, I hope, if I mould appear to be mistaken in any thing I have advanced, I (hall be as candidly treated, as I fliall be heartily thankful for such a discovery. • ■ CHAP. i '

THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, Sic. 28; CHAP. I. T e In roduflun ; with a particular consideration of that first prophecyt respecting the Messiah, recorded in Gen. iii. 15. THOUGH the prophecies of the Old Testament, concerning the Messiah, which have had their exact completion in Jesus, arc not the only proofs of the truth of the Christian Religion •, there being many others, namely, the nature, importance, and tendency of the doctrines of the gospel, the verity and reality of facts recorded in the New Testament, such as the miracles of Christ, his resurrection from the dead, isle, yet are they real and unquestionable ones, and such as deserve our particular consideration ; especially seeing Christ, and his apostles, so frequently appealed to them, to confirm the truth of what they delivered. Salvation by Jesus Christ, is the greac doctrine of the gospel, and the sum and substance of the Christian Religion, of which salvation, says the apostle Peter % the prophets have enquired, and searched dili gently, who prophesied of the grace that stjoirfd come unto you : searching what, or what manner os time the Spirit os Christ, which was in them, did signify, when it test/fed, before-hand, the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that Jhould follow. One main and principle branch of this salvation, is the forgiveness of sin through the blood of Christ •, now to him give all the prophets witness, thai through his name whosoever believeth in him, shall receive remission of Jins b ; and indeed Jesus and his apostles said % none other things than those which the pro phets and Moses did fay should come : that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rife from the dead, and fiotild shew light unto the people and to the Gentiles. It was the common and usual practice of Christ to directhis hearers to search the scriptures of the Old Testament, they are they, fays he \ which testify of me ; yea he expressly fays that Moses wrote of him ; he al ways spoke of his sufferings, and of several circumstances of them, as pre dicted by the prophets ; and therefore after his resurrection, in order to lead his disciples into a thorough acquaintance with these things % beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, be expounded unto them in all the scriptures, the things con cerning himself and declared that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning him. The marks and characters of the Messiah, as fixed by the prophets, in the Old Testament, are very plain and visible in Jesus, which have been no small confirmation ■ 1 Pet, i. 10, 11. " Acts x. 43. « Acts xxv i. 22, 23. d John v. 39, ^6. ' Luke xxiv. 27, 44.

288 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, confirmation of the faith, hope, and joy, of those who have believed in him. Hence, says f Philip to Nathanael, these two being some of the first that be lieved in him, and whose hearts were filled with joy at the first notice of him, We have sound him, os whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son os Joseph. Now though this kind of proof is not the only foundation of the Christian Religion, yet it must be esteemed a very con siderable part of it, for we who believe in Jesus, are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone, which foundation a late author has endeavoured to undermine, in several * tracts on this subject of prophecy. Wherefore it highly becomes those who have any value for Jesus, the Redeemer, to attempt the rescuing of it, against such bold attacks, and daring insults, upon the best and most excellent religion in the world. 1 am sensible that several prophecies have been already, in this present controversy, very learnedly and judiciousiy discussed, and sufficiently cleared from those exceptions which have been made against them, as also am conscious of my own weakness and inability to engage in such a work; yet, having the Redeemer's glory at heart, and being fully assured of the goodness of the cause, as well as willing to contribute what I can towards the securing the honour of Jesus, the confirmation of believers, and conviction of infidels, I have undertaken the consideration of the prophecies of the Old Testament, respecting the Messiah, which are either cited as such in the New, or are ge nerally, by Christian interpreters, referred to him •, and shall attempt to prove, that they truly and properly belonged to the Messiah, and have been actually and exactly fulfilled in Jesus, which must be no inconsiderable evidence of the truth of the Christian Religion. I shall begin with Gen. iii. 15. which is the first prophecy respecting the Messiah, of whom in the volume of the book, in the first roll thereof, » xi?«?uJi G&mh, in the head or beginning of the book of God, /'/ was written, that he should do the will of God ; which was no other than to destroy Satan the old serpent, with his works, and rescue sinful and miserable man out of his hands, pursuant to this original prophecy, which was given quickly after man's apofta.cy from God, and stands at the head and front of the Bible, from the giving fprth of which, the Messiah has been spoken of by the mouth os all God's holy prophets, which have been since the w.orld began \ Now this, and the preceding verse, contain the judiciary sentence pronounced by God upon the serpent, for his concern in the apostacy of man from his Creator, » John i. 45. 1 A Discourse of the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Religion, &c. The Scheme of Literal Prophecy considered, &c. Letter t? Dr Rogere, &c. b Luke i. 70.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 289 Creator, of the real causes of which, and what artful methods were used to effect it, together with the dreadful consequences thereof, a particular account is given in this chapter. But for the better and more full explanation of those words, it will be proper to consider these two things, I. Who, or what is meant by the serpent, on whom this sentence is pronounced. II. The several parts and branches of that sentence. First, It will be proper to consider who, or what is meant by the serpent. That a true and real serpent, and not the meer appearance or image of one, is here intended, is manifest, from its being reckoned among the beasts of the, field, ver. 1. from that cunning and subtlety which are there, ascribed to it, and which are remarkably eminent in this creature, as also from the nature of the curse denounced against it, which was to go upon its telly and eat dust all the days of its life. These words cannot be understood solely, and alone, of a real serpent, but of Satan in it, and with it, and of that only, as used and actuated by him, he being the principal, this only the instrument, as will ap pear from the following considerations. 1. Speech is ascribed to it, which is peculiar to rational creatures •, for the opinion of Philo, Josephus, Aben Ezra, and others, that beasts, in their ori ginal, and primæval state, were endued with a faculty of speaking, must be rejected as intirely fabulous : but this may well be understood of Satan speaking in the serpent, whose common practice has been to utter voices in persons pos sessed by him ; nay, to give forth oracles from the Gentile idols, things inani mate, and may as well be supposed to form articulate words in the mouth of the serpent, as the angel of the Lord did in the mouth of Balaam's ass. 2. This serpent appears to be endued with reason and understanding; here is a design formed by him against the glory of God and the happiness of man, managed with all the subtlety and contrivance imaginable, as well as malice and envy, which are very visible throughout his whole conduct, and can never be applicable to an irrational -creature. 3. It is not reasonable to suppose, that human nature, as endued with rea son, knowledge, and wisdom, even in its full strength and glory, could be out witted, seduced and overcome, by a creature so mean and inferior to it. Vol. III. Pp 4. The

*9o THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, 4. The writings of the New Testament always refer the deception of man kind, to the malice and cunning of Satan •, and that often, under the name ot a serpent, John viii. 44. 2 Cor. xi. 3. Rev. xii. 9. 5. Though these writings are of no account with Jews and Deists, yet the fense of the former, respecting what we have now under consideration, per fectly agrees with them •, many of their chiefest * masters acknowledge, that Satan accompanied the serpent, was in him, was the cause of the ruin and de struction of mankind, and was principally intended in the curse, which also appears from the names they give the serpent, as biiQV which signifies the God that bath blinded, to which the apostle has some regard, when he fays, 1 Cor. iv. 4. speaking of Satan, the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not : also they call him JTiDrt "IN^Q the Angel of Death, because he was the cause of death to Adam, and all the world •, to this the apostle refers, when he tells us, Heb. ii. 14. that Jesus came to destroy him that had the power of death, that is the Devil. Moreover, nothing is more usual with them than to call Satan ^lOTpn œnj the old serpent, which is the very name St John gives him, Rev. xii. 9. and xx. 2. and no doubt takes its rife from this history of the serpent in Genesis. But, Secondly, I shall now consider the several parts of the curse denounced against the serpent, which are these, namely, to be the most accursed of all creatures, to go upon its belly, to eat the dust of the earth, and live in a continual en mity with mankind, to which, though it would be hurtful, yet man should have the advantage over it ; all which has been exactly fulfilled in it ; for the serpent is the most hateful of all creatures, and, however erect its posture might be before the execution of this sentence, it is certain that now it is a reptile upon the earth ; the dust of which is its food ; and between which and man there is a real enmity •, man abhors the fight of a serpent, and a serpent abhors the sight of man, and though it may secretly, and at unawares, bite the heels of men, yet man has the advantage over it, so as he can easily bruise and crush its head, which, being most in danger, it is most careful to guard k. Now, the infliction of this upon the serpent is no ways unreasonable, since it was used by Satan as an instrument to bring about his vile and wicked designs ; besides, by this curse, God shewed the more his detestation of the sin of Satan, in 4 R. Saadiah Gaon & R. Samuel ben Hophni in Aben Erra in Gen. iii. 3. &. Bechai in ibid. R. Moses ben Maimon. in Mor. Nevoch. lib. 2. cap. 30. Targum Jon. in Gen. iii. 6. Zohar in Gen. sol. 127. 1. 1. Sepher Bahir & Imre Binah in ibid. k Fraazii Hist. Animal. Sacr. par. 4, c. 1. Topsell's History of Serpents, p. 604, 606;

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 291 in ruining mankind, and how much it was displeasing to him •, seeing he would not suffer either principal or instrument to escape ; for it must not be supposed that this curse only regarded this brute creature, but that it was chiefly designed against Satan, the sole projector and conductor of the whole affair ; for it would not be agreeable to the justice of God, to inflict this on the instrument and let the principal go free; nor would there be any propor tion between the sentence against man and the serpent, if this concerned the serpent only, which will appear more manifest, by considering the several parts of the sentence, and how they have been executed upon Satan. ■""**! Firsts One part of the curse is that he mould go upon his belly, which is a periphrasis of creeping upon the earth, and is aptly expressive of the great dragon, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan being cast out of heaven into the earth, and his angels with him ; where he now has his abode, and rules in the hearts of men, for which reason he is called the God and prince of this world, being never able to rife higher, and regain his place, and first estate in the highest heavens, which is no small part of his punishment. i Secondly, Another part of the curse denounced against him is, his eating the dust of the earth, which designs the mean and abject condition in which Satan now is, who does not, as formerly, feed upon angels food, the joys of heaven, but entertains himself with base, mean and earthly lusts, in which that impure spirit delights. Moreover, it may also intend the very great subjection of Sa tan, not only to Christ, the King of kings, who, has led captivity captive, but even to the meanest of his people, under whose feet the God of peace willshortly bruise him, which is no small mortification to that proud spirit : Thus the phrase of sicking the dust of the earth is used in Pfal. lxxii. 9. Mic. vii.17. ^thirdly, As a further degree of punishment to him, it is threatened by God that he would put enmity between him and the woman, between his feed and her feed; the meaning of which is, that the woman, jnto whose affectipns he had in sinuated himself and with whom he had had so much familiar conversation, now seeing how much she had been imposed upon, , and seduced by him, to the ruin of herself and posterity, should be filled with an enmity to him, which should be placed in her, as a punishment of him, and which enmity should not center in her only, but be transmitted to her feed, by which must be meant more especially the Messiah, who, .by way . of eminency, may be called. Afo feed ef the woman, who should oppose himself to Satan, and his seed, the evil angels, , and the whole race of wicked and ungodly men, which would hate and perse cute both him and ,hU people. p p 2 Fourthly,

79i THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD T'£'§ T AMENT, Fourthly, For the filling up the measure of his just punishment. It is pomiscd that an entire victory over him should be gained by the woman's feed, it stall bruise thy head, and thou Jhalt bruise his heel, for this word it, manifestly refers to the woman's feed, by which is intended the Messiah •,- nor can it be any just objection, to the application of it to him, that the word feed is a col lective word, seeing it is often used to design a single person, as in Gen. iv. 25. chap. xv. 2. and chap xxi. 13. That this is to be understood of him, will appear more evident, if we consider the following things : First, That the person spoken of, is called the feed of the woman, and not of the man, which can agree with no other than the Messiah, who was to be born of a virgin, as was afterwards more clearly revealed by Isa. vii. 14. Be hold, a virgin stall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Imtnanuel ; which was fulfilled in Jesus, who was truly the feed of the woman, and of her • only, being made of a woman, and not begotten by man, but was conceived in the womb of the virgin, by the power of the holy Ghost. Secondly, The word Nin which is here rendered it, is one of the names of God, and is so used in Pfal. cii. 27. but thou art the fame, tfin ruiH thou art HE. See also Isa, xlviii. 12. and thus the Jewsk frequently use it, nay, in Zohar1 they apply it to the eternal and blessed God, bruising the serpent's head, as expressed in this text, which well agrees with Jesus, who is the unchangeable, eternal, and omnipotent HE, the «u7*., who is the fame yesterday, to day, and for ever, the true alpha and omega, the first and the last, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Thirdly, The work he was to do deserves consideration, and proves the per son spoken of, to be the Messiah, which was to bruise the serpenss head, that is to destroy Satan and all his works, set aside all his craft and cunning, crush all his machinations and designs, and overturn his whole empire j now this is frequently spoke of in the Old Testament, as the Messiah's work; and, in some places, a peculiar reference seems to be had to this original prophecy, as in Pfal. ex. 6. which psalm solely belongs to the Messiah, where it is thus prophesied of him, be shall wound the heads over many countries, wn~\ yrrD nm Y"1N W> which may be thus rendered, he stall wound the bead, that is, him that is the head, or ruler, over a large country m, which is no other than Satan ", the god and prince of this world, who was to be wounded, bruised, and de 1 st royed, ' k Seder Tephillot, sol. 2. 1. & 4. 1. Edit. Basil. ' ' Vid. Broughton's works, p. 531, 465,490, 507. m The Hebrew word E?NT is frequently used to signify a Chief, a Captain, Ruler, or Governor, fee Numb. xiv. 4» J"dg. xi. 8, 9, u. 1 Sam. xv. 17. t Chron, xi. ii, 20. Neh. ix. \j. Hos. i, it, n Vid Gejerum in loc.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED 293 stroyed, by the Messiah. Again, in Hab. iii. 13. ic is said0, Thou wentest forth for the salvation of 'thy people, even for salvation with thine Anointed ; thou Woundedst the head out of the house offthe wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Se/ah. Which, agreeable to Kimchi's reading and comment, who expounds it of the Messiah, may be thus paraphrased, " As thou wentelt " forth for the salvation of thy people, when they entered into the land of " Canaan ;' so wilt thou go forth for the salvation of thy people by the hands '*'. of Messiah, she son of David, who shall wound Satan, who is' the head, " the king and 'prince of the house of the wicked, and shall rase up all his " strength, power, policy, and dominion." Now all this well agrees with ' Jesus ; who has destroyed Satan, got an entire conquest over him, has spoiled principalities and powers, and subverted his whole empire. Fourthly, The sufferings of the Messiah, are very fitly expressed by the ser pent's bruising his heel : Some by' his heel, understand his people, here on earth; and by bruising ir, those persecutions which' Satan and his emissaries, are conti nually raising against, and afflicting them with; though it rather seems to in tend his human nature, which, as the divine nature is. the head and chits in Christ, this is the heel, the inferior and lowest nature in him, which was fre quently exposed to Satan's insults, temptations, and persecutions, and what he particularly struck at, and at length so far succeeded as to bring him to a shameful and ignominious death, the iniquity of his heels, the fins of his peo ple, which he bore in his own body on the tree, then compassing him about. Fifthly, Several Jewish writers have understood this clause of the Messiah, and particularly the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem; the former of which in his paraphrase of it, fays, there shall be a healing for the heel, in the days of the king Messiah ; and much to the same purpose says the latter. The Tar^um of Onkelos, seems well to express the secret, spiteful, malicious, and insidious manner, in which Satan attacked the Messiah, in the end of the world; by paraphrasing the words thus, he shall remember thee what thou didst to him of old, and thou shalt observe or watch him in the end. Though later Jews n oppose the application of it to the Messiah, especially to Jesus, and two things are chiefly objected by them. First, that Jesus did not bruise or destroy Satan, but rather Satan was the procuring cause of the death of Jesus ; to which I reply, that Satan' so far gained his point, as to bring about the death of Jesus, we Chris tians do not deny, but then we. assert, that Jesus, through death destroyed him, that had tfe power of death, that is the devil, by which we do not mean an an nihilation " Jarchi, in Psal. ex. 6. couples those two texts together, as agreeing in one and the fame fense. " R.Isaac. Chizuk, Emun. par. j. c. 12. r

294 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, nihilation of his being, but a dilpossessing him of his power, a confounding of his schemes and projects, a destruction of his works, and a subjection of him to Christ, the triumphant conqueror, who has ascended on high, and led captivity captive. Secondly, they object that Satan still retains a power over persons ; and that the apostle Paul himself acknowledges, that he hindered him and others from coming to the Thejsalonians, i Thess. ii. 18. and that in Rom. xvi. 0.0. the fame apostle speaks of Satan, as to be bruised, under the feet, of the followers of Jesus, and not as already bruised ; to which I answer, that Satan indeed has often a permission from Christ, to do many things which tend to the disquietude and discomfort of his people ; but yet he can go no further than he has leave, which shows that he is entirely conquered by Christ, and in subjection to him ; and though he is not fully, and compleatly bruised under the feet of saints, yet is he under the feet of Jesus, who has spoiled principalities and powers and made a shew of them openly. A late author objects °, that though Jesus might bruise the devils bead, or tri umph over him, yet Jesus was the only person, that ever was born, whose heel. the devil could not bruise, or ever whom the devil could not triumph, by any attack whatsoever. But I have already stiewn in what fense Christ's heel was bruised, by the devil, and how he, and his emissaries triumphed over him, having nailed him to the cross, and afterwards laid and secured him in the grave : But this triumph did not last long, for though be was crucified through weakness* yet he liveth by the power of God; though his heel was bruised, his head could not be ; for though he was dead, he is now alive, and will live for evermore. In fine, from this first prophecy, we learn, that the Messiah was to be in carnate, born of a woman, and not begotten by man; that he was to suffer and die; as also, that he was to destroy Satan and his works, which Jesus has done : And it may be observed, that salvation was proclaimed, as soon as fin was committed, and a prophecy of a Messiah given forth, as soon as there was any need of one. CHAP. ♦ The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, p. 2394 ....

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 295 CHAP. II. Shewing that the Messiah was promised to Abraham, and what ad vantages the nations of the world were to receive by him. THE next prophecy, respecting the Messiah, or discovery that was made of him to the sons of men, was made to Abraham, Gen. xxii. 18. And in tby feed Jhall all the nations of the earth be blejfed. Now, in the former pro phecy, it was left undiscovered and undetermined, out of what people or na tion the Messiah .should arise, and only, in general, declared, that he should be the feed of the -woman ; but in this it is expressed in plain terms, that he should be of the feed and posterity of Abraham ; as Jesus, the true Messiah, was, who p took not upon him the nature of angels, but the feed of Abraham, and is therefore justly called'1 Abraham's son. But, for the better understanding of this prophecy, two things should be enquired into, 1. Who is meant by the feed of Abraham, in whom all nations should be blessed. 2. What ad vantages the nations of the world should receive by this promised seed. First, It will be proper to enquire, who is meant by the feed of Abraham, in whom all nations of the earth were to be blessed. Now this feed cannot intend Isaac, the immediate feed of Abraham, because this blessing in the extensiveness of it, was never verified in him : Besides, it is carried down to his posterity, Gen. xxvi. 4. as not terminating in him, it not being intended of him •, and, for the very fame reasons, it cannot design Jacob, the immediate feed of Isaac, fee Gen. xxviii. 14. nor has it ever received its completion in the whole body of the Ifraelitijh nation, the posterity of Jacob ; for what advan tages have the nations of the world ever received from them ? or when, and how have they been blessed in them, or the Jews ever been the occasion of any blessing to them ? Whilst they continued in their own land, they dwelt alone, and were not reckoned among the nations -, they kept themselves at the utmost distance from other people ; their religion, laws, and customs being different from them-, they would have no communion with them, either on a civil or sacred account 5 nor any conversation ; they would not perform any civi lities to them, no, not even the common offices of humanity ; nay, there was a real enmity in the Jews against the Gentiles : The former thought it no crime to do any hurt or mischief to the latter, either in person or estate ; nay, their hatred to them has run so high, as even to do all they could to hinder their f Heb. ii. 16, 1 Matt. i. I.

796 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, their everlasting salvation, and all arising from a mistaken sense of DfK/.|xxiii. 6. And since the destruction of their civil polity, and their dispersion, the nations have received no advantage from them ; they have not been in a capa city to give them any assistance : so that as the nations of the world never have been, they never are likely to be blessed in those people, who have always been so far from being accounted a blessing to them, that their name has been used by way of reproach, and as a proverb, a taunt, and a curse, wherever they have been driven. From whence it appears, that the nations of the world never took up this, as a form of blessing among them, God Mess you, as be did the Israelites or feed of Abraham; which a late author' thinks to be the fense of the phrase here, from its use in all other places •, in which fense, it h true, he has the concurrence of the greatest part of the modern Jews ; authorities which he at other times treats with the utmost contempt : But no one instance can be produced, when the'nations of the world ever used such a form of blessing as this •, nor does the use of the phrase, in all other places, determine this to be the fense of it here : see Dent. xxix. 19. PsaL lxxii. 17. Isa. Ixv. 16. Jer. iv. ?. where there is not the least foundation for such an interpretation. Besides, in parallel texts, the word is used in Nipbal, in a passive form, as in Gen. xii. 3. and chap, xviii. 18. and xxviii. 14. which direct us to the plain fense of the words in this. And as to Gen. xlviii. 20. the only place produced in favour of this fense, the word is purely active, and so no proof of the use of it in a dif ferent form ; and though that text informs us what would be a usual form of blessing among the Jews •, yet neither that, nor any other text, nor any his tory, either sacred or profane, acquaints us, that that, or any other Jewish form of blessing, would be used among the Gentiles. Now, as it appears that this prophecy never had its completion, either in the more near posterity of Abraham, as Isaac or Jacob, or in his more remote, even the whole body of the Jewish nation, in any age, or period of time, it remains, that some other person or persons must be fixed upon, which can be no other than the Messiah, even our Jesus, to whom the apostles have applied it, Ails iii. 25, 26. Gal. iii. 8. The import of which is, that the Messiah should be of Abraham's seed, and that the Gentiles mould be blessed in him ; and though modern Jews have coined other interpretations of this prophecy, yet the ancient' ones understood it in the fense now given. Two things are principally objected by' modern Jews against the application of it to the Messiah, and in favour of its intending the whole body of the Israelites : 1 . They fay the word feed cannot be understood of ' The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. p. 132, 133. * Sepher Chafidim, S. 961. in Allix's Judgment of the Jewish Church, &c. p. 57.- ' R. Isaac Chizuk, Emun, par, I, c. 13.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 297 of a single person, but is used collectively of a large number •, but instances have been given, in the preceding chapter, where the word seed is used of a single person •, so that St Paul is to be justified, when he fays u, Now to Abra ham and his feed were the promises made. He faith not, and to feeds, as of many ; ■ but as of one, and to thy feed, which is Christ. 2. They object that no blessing comes to the nations of the world, but through the Jews : to which I answer •, it is true that salvation is of the Jews ; that to them belong ■ the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giv ing of the law, and the service of God, and the promises ; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blejsed for ever ; from whom the nations of the world receive all their blessings ; but then we deny that the Gentiles receive any blessing from them, but only as through the Messiah, Jesus, one of their nation, who was made a curjt, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles. But, Secondly, Let us now consider the advantages which the nations of the world were to receive from the Messiah, this promised seed. And it is to be observed, that by all the nations of the world, every individual person therein is not in tended, but only some in all nations, who, with Abraham, believe in the fame promised seed, as the apostle has taught us to explain this prophecy ■, So thenx fays he % they which be of faith, are blessed with faithful Abraham. The Jews look upon it to be a sufficient verification of this prophecy y, that some of the Gentiles, by means of their patriarchs, have been brought to the knowledge of the being, unity, providence, and omnipotence of God, which knowledge is the cause of all true blessedness : but the plain meaning of the prophecy is» that though the Messiah was to be of Abraham's feed, yet his posterity alone were not to receive the advantage thereof ; but his divine blessings were to ex tend to the several nations of the world. The calling of the Gentiles, by the Messiah, was the great mystery, which in other ages was not made known so clearly, as it is now under the Gospel dispen sation : there were indeed frequent intimations of it in the Qld Testament, and the Jews could not be altogether strangers to it, though nothing was more dis pleasing and provoking to them : This temper of theirs, God long ago fore told by Moses, faying, *7 will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people, I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation; that is, by calling and blessing them. Ifaiab, of all the prophets, spoke most largely concerning the blessings designed for the Gentiles by the Messiah -, but the apostle fays % that Vol. III. Q^q he ■ Gal. iij. 16. w Rom. ix. 4, 5. * Gal. iii. 9. * R. Isaac Chizuk, Emun. par. 1. c. 13. ■ Deut. xxxii. 21, * Rom- x. 20.

298 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, he was very bold on that account •, for he was sure to incur the displeasure of the Jews ; nay, run the risk of his life for being so. Near the time of the Messiah's coming, this controversy was much agitated in the schools of Hillell and Shammai, namely, Whether or no, when the Messiah came, the nations of the world would have any advantage by him ? A vast majority were on the ne gative side of the question ; though some few, such as old Simeon, and others, knew, that he was to be a light to the Gentiles, as well as the glory of his people Israel : but the greater part were so far from thinking, that the Gentiles would be redeemed by the Messiah, that they firmly believed they would be all de stroyed at his coming, and have no favour or mercy shewn them. This u no tion Jesus and his apostles much opposed, and is the true reason of the grace and redemption of Christ being expressed in those universal terms, they so often are inAhe New Testament. The controversy was not then, as it is now, betwen the Arminians and Calvinists, Whether all and every individual of human nature were to be redeemed by Christ ; but, Whether any of the Gentiles should be redeemed by him, or no? which, as I said before, was determined in the negative : But Jesus and his apostles declared against it : Our Lord, in a discourse of his with one of their learned Rabbis, says% God so loved the world, that he gave bis only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him ficuM not perijlo, but have everlasting Use. By the world here, Christ means the Gen tiles, as distinct from the Jews, as manifestly appears from the words of the apostle John, who lay in the bosom of Jesus, and must be allowed to be the best interpreter of his words. Now he tells us, that Jesus was d the propitiation for cur sins, meaning the fins of the Jews ; for John was a Jew •, and, fays he, and not for ours only, but also for the fins of the whole world; wherein he ex plains the words of Jesus, and, at the fame time, struck at the darling notion of the Jews. The apostle Paul uses the word in the fame fense, Rom. xi. 12, 15. for there was much the fame distinction then as now ; there were Israel, and the nations of the world, as now the church and the world, the former of which the Jews claimed to themselves, and the other they gave to the Gen tiles, whom they looked upon as rejected of God ; but Jesus gave himself a ransom for ally for Gentiles as well as Jews, and the grace os God bath appeared to all men ; the doctrine thereof, after the resurrection of Jesus, was no more confined to Judea% but carried into the Gentile world, by the first preachers thereof, who had a commission from Christ to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature ; whereby the blessings of the Messiah were conveyed to v Vid. Lightfoot Hor. Heb. in John iii. 17. c John iii. 16. "1 John ii. 2.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 299 to the Gentiles as well as to the Jewsj which brings us to consider the several advantages which the nations of the earth were to receive from the Messiah, the promised seed, which are as follow : 1. Redemption, which is the source and spring of all the rest. The Messiah is frequently spoken of, in the Old Testament, under the character of a Re deemer, and the Jews always expected him as such ; many instances might be produced from thence as proofs of it : I shall content myself with mentioning one, which I the rather choose, because it is cited in the New. The passage is in Isa. lix. 20. And the Redeemer stall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, faith the Lord. This, fays Abe* Ezra, is the Messiah. St Paul cites the text in Rom. xi. 26. after this manner, There shall come out of Sion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. The Jews* quarrel with this citation, and charge the apostle with a perversion of the prophet's words, which, how justly, will appear by considering the principal differences between them : the prophet fays, The Redeemer shall come to Zion ; but, ac cording to the apostle it is,. There shall come out of Sion the deliverer: For the reconciling of which, it ought to be observed, that the servile letter, b sometimes signifies from, as well as to, when it is put in the room of d, of which some instances may be produced; fee Exod. xvi. 1. and chap. x;ix. i> Numb, xxxiii. .3,8. Ezra iii. 8. 1 Kings xii, 24. compared with 2 Chron. xi. 4. J&esides, the Messiah was to come out of Zion: Hence fays David', O that the salvation or Saviour of Israel were come out of Zion: so that our apostle fitly expresses the faith and expectation of the old Jewish church* in this citation. The other difference is, in Isaiah; it is said, that this Redeemer should come to those that turn from transgression in "Jacob ; when the apostle says, that when he is come he shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. The Jews, who quarrel with him for his version of this clause, would do well to consider, that this is exactly agreeable to the Septuagint version, the authors of which were all Jews : besides, the T'argum on the place favours our apostles version and fense, which paraphrases it thus, " The Redeemer shall come to Zion, *• and so turn the rebellious ones of the house of Jacob to the law." From, the whole it appears that they have no reason to charge the apostle with a false cita tion or perversion of Isaiah's words, which not only declare the character of the Messiah, as a Redeemer, but also acquaints us with the nature of his redemp tion •, not a deliverance from the Roman yoke, as the Jews vainly expected j but this Redeemer was to remove ungodliness fran Jacob ; he wasto redeem Israel from all her iniquities : Salvation by him was to be an everlasting salvation, and c^q 2 not *' R. Isaac Chizuk, Eraim. par. z. c. 81. f' Psal xiv. 7. f Gen. xlix. 18.

3co THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, not a mere temporary one: and such a salvation old Jacob expected, who, whilst he was blessing his sons, a little before his death, breaks out in this pathetic ] manner8, / have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. Remarkable is the para phrase of Jonathan ben Uzziel on these words 5 " When Jacob saw, fays the " paraphrast, that Gideon the son of Joastj, and Sampson the son of Manoah, *' were appointed to be redeemers, he laid, Not for the redemption of Gideon do " 1 wait, nor for the redemption of Sampson, because their redemptions are " but temporary ; bu( for thy redemption, O Lord, do I wait; because thy " redemption is an everlasting one." Some copies read the last clause thus ; " but for the redemption of Messiah the son of David." Much to the same purpose also is the Jerusalem Targum on the place. From whence it appears, what fort of a redeemer, and what kind of redemption the ancient Jews ex pected, even such a Redeemer as Jesus is, whose name was called so, because he saves his people from their fins, who is become the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. Now of this salvation and redemption, by the Messiah, the Gentiles were to partake as well as the Jews ; for God gave him to be h a light to the Gentiles, that he might be his salvation unto the ends of the earth; and accordingly the Gospel is become the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believetb, to the Jeiv first, and also to the Greek. Though salvation is of the Jews ; the author of it came from among them, and to them it was first preached, yet it does not belong to them only, all the nations of the earth being to be blessed, in the Messiah, with this blessing. The writings of the Old Testament abound with intimations of the Messiah, as a Redeemer, and the nature of redemption by him ; nor are they wanting to give us an account of the greatnels of his person ; they represent him ' as the mighty God, God's equal and fellow y, as the Adon, or Lord1, whom the Jews sought, of whom, in a time to come, it should be said, Lom, this is our God, we have waited for him, and be will save us : this is the Lord, we have waitedfor him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation ; though they also often speak of him as a man, as a son born, and a child given, as one that should be exposed to very great sorrows, hardships and sufferings, nay to death itself* hence it ap pears, that the Jews had no reason to quarrel with Jesus, as they did, for that he being a man made himself God; especially when his works declared him to be so •, for the Messiah of the prophets was to be both God and man. 2. Another blessing which the nations of the earth were to be blessed with, in the Messiah, or advantage they were to receive by him, is justification from all sin "Isa.xlix.6. 'Chap.ix.6. k Zech. xiii. 7. ' Mal.iii. 1. -ICuxxv.9.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 3oi fin and condemnation ; the apostle seems to have this blessing, designed for the Gentiles iolely in view, namely, citing Gen. xii. 3. he fays k, And the scripture foreseeing that God wouldjustify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. The people of God, under the Old Testament, were sensible that there was no justification before God, by any righteousness of their own, which they knew and acknowledged to be as filthy rags, wherefore they desired ' that God would not enter into judg ment with them; for in his fight no man could be justified, that is, by any works of his own. Now one part of the Messiah's work was m to bring in everlasting righteousness, for the justification of those that believed in him; hence one of his famous names and titles is, The Lord our righteousness ", and from him, they expected their justifying righteousness, surely", shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength in the Lord, or according to the Chaldee para phrase, in or by the Word of the Lord, the eternal A.yof, shall all the seed of Is rael be justified and shall glory ; which blessing the Jews were not to enjoy alone, for the Gentiles were to (hare with them in it, who were not only to see this righteousness in others, but to enjoy it themselves ; for all the Messiah's people, whether Jews or Gentiles, were to be all righteous, and indeed at present the latter have the greatest share in this righteousness-, for while Israel*, which fol lowed aster the law cf righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness ; the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith, which they have not from themselves, but from the Messiah, Jesus, who is the q end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes, by whom they ' are justified from all things, from which they could not be justified by the law cf Moses. 3. Another Messing, which the Gentiles, as well as Jews* were to receive from the Messiah, is peace. Peace and abundance of it were promised to be in the days of the Messiah -, many ' prophecies speak of it, one of the Messiah's titles is Prince of peace •, nay, he is called The peace •, because all true peace is owing to him, he is both the author and donor of it, which Gentiles as well as Jews participate of-, for the Messiah was to xspeak peace unto the heathen, which Jesus has done, by preaching peace to them which were afar off, and to them which were nigh ", that is, to the Jews, who were a people near onto the Lord ; and to the Gentiles, who were afar off from him ; the one also being k Gal. iii. 8. ' Psal. cxliii. 4. ■ Dan. ix. 24. ■ Jer. xxiii. 6. • Isa. xlv. 14, 25 r Rom. ix. 30, 31. 1 Rom. x. 4. r Actsxiii. 39. t« Psal. lxxii.- 3, 7. Isa. ix. 6, 7. Hag. ii.9. * Zech. ix. 10. " Eph. ii. 17. with which compare Isa, v. 7, 19. the same phraseology U'used in Zohar in Num. sol. 89. 3.

3o2 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, being upon the spot where Jelus and his disciples first began to preach, the other at a distance from them; and this Jesus did, as having an equal right unto, and a real concern for bodi, being lord of alL 4. Paidon of sin is another valuable blessing, which the nations of the earth were to be blessed with in the Messiah, as well as the posterity of Abraham. This is one of those consolations in Isa. xl. 2. which Kimchi acknowledges sliall be in the days of the king Messiah ; it is part of the covenant, Jer. xxxi. 34. which was then to be more fully and clearly opened •, this God promised, and this the ancient Jews expected on the score of the Messiah's being wounded for their transgressions, and bruised for their iniquities ; though now they have lost the true notion of atonement for fin, which they expect not from the death of the Messiah, but from their own death ; which, in their form of * confession used by sick perlons, they desire may be for the pardon, remission, and atone ment of all their iniquities, transgressions, and fins, which is owing to their ignorance of the true expiation and forgiveness of fin, by the death of Christ, who is the propitiation, not for the sins of Jews only, but for those of the Gentiles also, for '< to him give all the prophets witness, that whosoever beiieveth in him, shall receive rtmisficn of sins ; which valuable blessing we have in Jesus, whole blood was shed for many to obtain it. 5. Submission to the Messiah's laws and government, in and among the na tions of the earth, as well as among the Jews, was promised and might be ex pected in the days of the Messiah. The apostle Peter seems to make the com pletion of the prophecy, now under consideration, so far as it respected the seed of. Abraham, chiefly to lie in this, his words are these, z 2'e, says he, speaking to the Jews, are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers,, faying unto Abraham, And in thy feed flail all the kin dreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God having raised up his son Jesus, hath sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. Now, though the Messiah was sent to the Jews, and first made known unto them, the gospel first preached among them, and some of them turned to him •, yet, by far, a greater number among the Gentiles, which was predicted in many prophecies; that when Shilob was come, the gathering of the people, the nations of the world, was to he to him: as'fooh as ever the root of Jefe'was set up as an ensign to the people, the Gentiles were to seek unto it, nay, the isles afar off were to wait for his law, and would readily embrace it, upon its first pro mulgation ; all which have been more or less fulfilled since the times of Jesus. 6. A * In Seder Tephillot, sol. 333. col. 2. 1 Actix. 43. * Aftsiii.aj, 26.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSltfEREf). 303 6. A very great effusion of the Spirit was promised and expected in the days of the Messiah ; which was eminently fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, quickly after the ascension of Jesus, to verify the prophecy of Joel, in chap, ii. 18. which "many Jewish writers acknowledge belongs to the days of the Messiah. 7. The nations of the earth were to be blessed with abundance of know ledge, when the Messiah came; b the earth was to be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea ; so that there would be no need for every man to teach his neighbour, and every man his brother, faying, c Know the Lord, for they were all to know him, from the least of them unto the greatest of them : and this was so current an opinion, and so universally known and embraced, that the poor woman of Samaria could say '', / know the Messiah cometb,' which is called Christ , when he is come he will tell us all things; which character well agrees with Jesus, who has opened the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, has made an ample discovery of his Father's mind and will, has brought life and immortality to light by the gospel, and diffused the savour of his knowledge in every place. In fine, all blessings here, and everlasting happiness hereafter, were pro mised unto, and might be expected from the Messiah, by the nations of the world -, of which blessings, the gospel of Christ has brought them the joyful tidings ; for the salvation of Cod has been sent unto them, and thfy will bear it. And seeing it is 1b, no wonder that this promised seed of Abraham sh6uld be so much expected, so ardently prayed for, and earnestly desired as he was ; it need not therefore seem strange that he mould be the delight of the Jewish na tion, and the desire of all others. CHAP. III. Concerning the time of the Messiah; coming. HAving endeavoured to prove that there was a very early intimation given of the Messiah, as the feed of the woman, to our first parents after their apostacy from God ; and considered the several advantages which the na tions of the earth were to receive from him, as the seed promised to Abraham; and * Vid Kimchi, Rathi, and Aben Ezra in Joel ii. t8. and Zohar in Num. sol. 09. 2. and R. Isaac Chizuk, Eraun, p. 51. b Isa. xi. 9. Zohar in Lev. sol. 10. 1. c Jcr. xxxi. 34* Zohar in Lev. sol. 24. 3. and in Num. sol. 54. 4. d John iv. 25.

304 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, and the various blessings which might be justly expected at his coming; it will be proper now to enquire into the time when this great person was to make his appearance in the world. That there was a time fixed and appointed by God for the Messiah's coming, which the apostle calls c the fulness of time, the prophet Habakkuk assures us, when he fays f, the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall /peak and net lie : though it tarry, wait for it, be cause it will surely come, it will not tarry. The vision, or prophecy, concerns the Messiah, therefore is called, by way of eminency, the vision ; the impletion of which was exceeding desirable to the people of God, who were often impatient because it was so long deferred ; and therefore wanted frelh assuran ces to support them in their expectations thereof, which is the manifest design of these words. The person here spoken of, is described by a character which is peculiar to the Messiah, as being he who was to come, for those words ay K3 O may be thus rendered, because he that is to come, or that cometh, will come j. and so they are by the Septuagint version, and justified by the apostle's citation in Heb. x. 37. Now this was such a common paraphrase of the Messiah, and so well known among the Jews, that when John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus, for satisfaction about his Messiahfliip, the question was put in no other form than this g, Art thou he that should come, » i^o^o;, or do we Itok for another \ which character will be hard to fix upon Cyrus, or any other beside the Messiah. Moreover, the manner of the Messiah's coming is very aptly represented in this text ; for what we render, it stall speak and not lie, may be well translated, he shall break forth as the morning, and not deceive. And thus the coming of the Messiah is described in 2 Sam. xxiii. 4. and be, that is, the king Messiah, according to the Targum, who, ver. 3. was to arise and rule in the fear of the Lord, stall be as the light of the morning, even a morning without clouds •, ■which well agrees with Jesus, who is called * the day spring from on high that hath visited us ; but if we read the words thus, he stall speak and not lie, they are fitly enough expressive of the Messiah's work and office, as a prophet, who was to speak truth and not deceive, and well agrees with Jesus, who spake such words of truch and wisdom, and in such a manner as never man did. Nay, the very time of the Messiah's coming is pointed at in this pro phecy, at the end he stall speak, or break forth, that is, at the end of the Jewish economy, as Bishop ' Chandler well observes, when their civil and church state were near their dissolution ; at which time it is notorious enough that Jesus 1 Gal. iv. 4. * Hab. ii. 3: » Matt. xi. 3: h Luke i. 78. ' Defence of Chris tianity, p. 166, 167.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONS1DEKED.- 305 Jesus cattfe. Moreover, many ' Jewish writers acknowledge, that this pro phecy belongs to the Messiah, and often use it k to support tliem under the wretched disappointments they meet with, as to the coming of their vainly ex pected Messiah, as it was indeed of real service, this way, to their fathers be fore the coming of the true One : for the manifest design of it seems to be, to encourage the just to live by faith, in a full and humble expectation of it, though it might seem to tarry longer than they first looked or wished for, and not proudly and haughtily reject the promises of God, as never to be fulfilled ; as appears from the following verse. . These things being considered, it will appear, that this prophecy does not intend Cyrus, and the restoration of the Jews from captivity by him ; which a late author ', supported by the authority of Grotius, thinks to be a more na tural sense of it : but it is designed to carry the faith and expectation of God's people to a greater person, and a far greater deliverance. Now, as there was a fixed, determinate, and appointed time for the Messiah's coming ■, so the prophets of the Old Testament were very solicitous and dili gent in their enquiries about it™, Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them, did signify, when it testified before hand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Nor were their searches fruitless j for God was pleased to point out to many of them, the very exact and precise time of his coming : And it is somewhat remarkable, that whereas Jesus came at the very time fixed by the prophets, so t.here was about that time a general expectation of the Messiah's coming among the Jews, arising from the prophecies which went before it; which I shall consider in the following method. I. I fliall endeavour to prove, that the Messiah was to come before the tribe of Judab, and rule and government in that tribe ceased ; or before the Jews commonwealth or political state were abolished. h II. Make it appear, that he was to come before their ecclesiastical or churchstate ceased ; or, in other words, before the second temple was destroyed. III. Shall consider the exact and precise time of his coming, as fixed in Daniel's weeks. Vol. III. R r . First, 1 Vjd. R. Abendani not. in Miclol Yo'phi in loc. Talmud Sanhed. sol. 97. 2. k Vid. Maimon. in Pocock, Tort. Mos. p. 176. & Gedaliæ Shalfheleth Hakkabala in Wagenseil. Lipman. Carmin. Confut p. 617, 625. & Talmud. Sanhed. sol. 97. 2. ' The Scheme of .Literal Prophecy, p. 205, 206. m 1 Pet. i. 1 1 .

3o6 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, First, I (hall endeavour to prove, that the Messiah was to come before the tribe of Judab, and rule and government in that tribe ceased -, or before the Jews commonwealth or political state was abolished ; which I shall endeavour to do from Gen. xlix. 10. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a law giver from between his feet, until Shilob came ; and unto him Jhall the gathering of the people be : which words are a prophecy of Jacob's concerning the tribe of Judah, and of the Messiah, who was to spring from thence, as I shall also endeavour to make appear. Jacob perceiving that the time of his departure was at hand, called his sons together, and being under a spirit of prophecy^ declared unto them what would befal their posterity in succeeding ages ; for it ought to be observed, that what he prophesies of them, does not so much concern them personally, as their tribes and future posterity; as also, that what he predicts concerning them, was to befal them in the times of the Messiah; for, fays he, Gen. xlix. i. Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which Jhall befal you in the last days ; that is, in the days of the Messiah. Kimchi fays ", wherever the last days are mentioned, the days of the Messiah are to be understood, as they are here, which many Jewish writers ac knowledge ; and more especially what is foretold concerning the tribe of Judah, seems to concern him and his times ; as when he speaks of his brethren prais ing of him, of his enemies being subdued under him % and the respect he should have from his father's children, ver. 8. as also when he compares him to a lion's wbelp p, ver. 9. Hence one of the titles of Jesus is, The lion of the tribe of Judah, Rev. v. 5. the time of whose coming is manifestly predicted in ver. 18. as will appear by considering, 1. Who is meant by Shilob. 2. The time of his coming, as here fixed. 1. I (hall consider who is here meant by Shilob. The Targums of Onkelos, Jonathan ben Uzziel, and the Jerusalem, understand it of the king Messiah, which was certainly the generally received fense of the ancient Jews 9, and is acknow ledged by many of the modern ' ones ; though some indeed, observing how much this prophecy militated against them, and what use has been made of it by the Christians, to prove that the Messiah must be already come, have en- •dcavoured to apply the words to something else, or to some other person. Some " In Isa. ij. 2. ° Zohar in Gen. sol. i 27. 1. t Raya Mehimna in Zoharin Exod. xlix. 3, 4. 1 Zohar in Num. sol. 101. 2. & Raya Mehimna in Exod. sol. 4. Talmud Sanhed. sol. 98. c. 2. Rcrefhit Rabba in loc. ' Jarchi & Baal Hatturim in loc. Kimchi in lib. Shoraib. rad. ^V0 Nizzach. Vet. p. 29. Nacbman. Disput. cum fratre Paulo, p. 53.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 307 Some would have the city Sbilob intended ; others Moses, others Saul, others David, others Jeroboam, others Abijab the Sbilonite, and others Nebuchadnezzar•% which different fenses, shew the wretched puzzle and confusion they are thrown into, since they have forsaken the true sense of the words ; and these bein<» so disagreeable to each other, as well as inconsistent with the text, do not deserve a particular consideration. But that the Messiah is here meant by Sbilob, I shall endeavour to make appear ; \ft, From the signification of the word Sbilob. idly, From what is said of him in the text, that unto bim Jball the §fitbering cf the people be. jjl, That the Messiah is intended by Sbilob, may be collected from the signi fication of the word ; for though learned men, both among Jews and Chris tians, differ about the derivation and signification of it; yet, in any, and every of the senses, which they give thereof, it well agrees with the Messiah. Kimcbi fays * it signifies his son, and so should be rendered, until his son come \ that is Judœh's son : now what son of his can be so reasonably supposed to be intended, as the famous renowned son of his, the Nagid, the prince Messiah, who was to spring from his tribe, as it is manifest the Messiah Jesus did ; and the word having a feminine affix, has led some ' to observe, and that not with out some reason, that this son of Judah was to be the feed of the woman, or to be born of a virgin. Others, as Onkelos and Jarchi, paraphrase it, as if it was "fry, that is, whose it is ; thus, until he comes whose is the kingdom j and understand it of the Messiah, as they might justly do; for to him of right the kingdom belongs, and to him it is given ; as it is said in Ezek. xxi. 27. / will overturn, overturn, overturn it, and it Jball be no more until be come whose right it is ; which R. Abendana" applies to the Messiah, as it ought to be. Others have taken it to be a compound word of *b and w, and so read it, to whom gifts, that is, belong or shall be brought; for which Jarchi cites the Midrafh Agadah. Now of the Messiah it is prophesied, that presents should be brought, and gifts be given to him, Psal. lxxii. 10, 15. which had its li teral accomplishment in the Messiah Jesus, to whom the wife men presented gists ; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh . But most learned men derive the word from the root nbw, which signifies to be quiet, peaceable, and prosperous ; so that Sbilob is one that is so ; which character well agrees with the Messiah, who was to be of a quiet and peaceable disposition : His voice was not to be ar 2 beard t In lib, Shorash. rad. ^10. , ' Galatinus de Arcan. Cathol. Ver. 1. 4. c 4. u Not, 10 Miclol. Yophi in loc. _,:^

So8 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, beard in the streets ; he was to be the man, the peace, the author and donor of all peace, with whom all things were to succeed well •, for the pleasure os the Lord was to prosper in bis band, as it did in Jesus's, who obtained a compleac victory over all his enemies, and procured eternal salvation for his people. From the whole it appears, that the variety of interpretations this word is subject to, is not sufficient to confound the application of this prophecy to a. Meflias, as the author of 'The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. p. 136, asserts. 2d'y, That the Messiah is here intended, may be also concluded from what is here said of this Sbiloh, namely, and unto him shall the gathering of the people, or Gentiles, be ; which can agree with no other but the Messiah, to whom the Gentiles would seek, and in whom they would trust ; for which way soever the words be rendered, they will suit with him. Some render them* the obedience os the people, agreeable to the use of the word in Prov. xxx 17. Now this is true of the Messiah, whole people are a willing people ; that is, to serve and obey him in the day os his power, to whom the Gentiles have, in a very re markable manner, given a free and cheerful obedience, and verified this pro phecy of him * •, Behold, thou s/ja't call a nation that thou knowest not, and na tions that knew not thee stall run unto thee ; that is, to him who is promised as a leader and commander of the people : which Kimchi understands of the Messiah. Again, the Sepluagint render the words by ■a^hiaa iW, the expectation of the nations ; and, so indeed the Messiah was ; not only of the Jewish, but of other nations ; the isles afar off waited for him, who was the desire of all nations, Hagg. ii. 7. Moreover, if we read the words according to Jarchi, to him shall the gathering of the people be, and which is our version, they are very appli cable to the Messiah, to whom the people, and particulars the Gentiles, were to be gathered j and well agree with Jesus, who had no sooner entered upon his public ministry, but crouds of people flocked to, and attended on him ; *nd as soon as his gospel was published among the Gentiles, vast numbers of diem embraced, and stedfastly adhered to it; through the preaching of which, there has been a very great collection of persons to Christ, in all ages ever since; before whom all nations will be gathered, at the day of judgment, whom he will separate one from another, as a shepherd dividetb his sheep from the goats. But I proceed, 2. To consider the time of Shi/oh's, or the Messiah's, coming, according to this prophecy; which was to be, before the scepter and lawgiver depart from Judab. The Hebrew word &2V here translated thescepter, frequently signifies a tribe w So Kimchi in lib. Shorash. rad. rtp*, with which agree the three Chaldec paraphrases on the {..lace, and Abcrj Ezra in loe, « Isa, lv. 5.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 3co tribe, and is so used in this chapter, ver. 16, 28. and may be so here; and then the meaning is, that Judab's tribe should not be scattered and confound ed, as the rest of the tribes of Israel were, but remain a distinct tribe, until the coming of the Messiah. The word may be rendered a scepter, and often is, which, being an ensign of government, is here expressive of the rule or government yhich was to continue in the tribe of Judah until Sbileb came. The Jews7 acknowledge that rule and government are here intended ; and I think, that these two senses of the word may be very easily joined together ; for there can be no rule or government, where there is not a tribe or a body of people collected together in some order, any more than such a body can sub sist long without rule or government ; and then the meaning cf this prophecy is, that Judab's tribe, and rule and government therein, were to continue un til the Messiah came ; or that the Messiah was to come before it ceased to be a tribe, and rule and government were removed from it: That Judah con tinued a distinct tribe, and that only, until the coming of the Messiah Jesus, is cerrain : Now, that this may appear manifest, let it be observed, that Judab, with his posterity, upon this blessing, designation, or appointment of Jacob, first commenced a distinct tribe of themselves, as did also the other sons of Jacob, with their posterity : for in this chapter we have the first account of the tribes of Israel, and of Jacob's family being reduced into such a form : Now, from henceforward they, with Judah, continued so until they were car ried away captive into Assyria, where they were scattered and lost, and never returned more ; and yet, which is very remarkable, and was, no doubt, de signed to fulfil this prophecy, Judah, though carried cap. ive into Babylon, was preserved as a distinct tribe, returned as such from thence, and continued so until the times of Jesus. Now, as long as this tribe continued a distinct tribe, rule and government continued in it; as they commenced together, they con cluded together. What kind of rule or government was in Judab's tribe, may be collected from what appears to have been in the rest of the tribes : Judab's rule or government was of the fame nature with that of his brethren, only it was to * continue longer; his scepter was of the fame kind with theirs, only it was not to depart when theirs did; and therein, and therein only, lies the superior excellency of Judab's blessing, as to this part of it at least, to the rest of his brethren. Now it is plain and manifest from scripture, that every tribe had its beads, princes, and rulers ; we are informed of this very early, tor be-" fore the coming of the children of Israel out of Egypt, we have an account of r Sept. & Triplex Targum in loc. R. David Kimchi lib. Shorafh. rad, to2't>. R .Sol. U.bin. Ohel Moed. sol. 50. j. * Vid. Sherlock's Dissertat. 3. p. 307.

3io THE PROPHi CIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, of the heads of their fathers houses, Exod. vi. 14. which in other places are culled the heads of the tribes. Numb. xxx. 1. Joshua xiv. 1. and feeing this f mil of government obtained so early, it is highly probable that it was fixed by Jacob a little before his death, at the time when the distinct tribes were fet tled by him ; and it is manifest enough, that the rule or government designed by the scepter here, be it what it will, was in the hand of Judab, when this prophecy was given forth; as appears from those words, the scepter shall not depart from Judab, which, as a late ingenious writer1 well observes, " Sup- " pose the scepter to be already in the hand of Judab, for there cannot be any " sense in saying, that a thing Avail not depart which never yet was in pof- " session." Now, as it appears that this form of government, among the tribes, was before Moses's time, so no alteration was made therein by him, tho* he was their legislator, who delivered to them, from God, the best system of laws and government that ever any people enjoyed, but left it just as he found it-, fee Numb i. 14. Dent. xxxi. a8. and so did Joshua his successor, as is ma nifest from Josh, xxiii. 2. and chap. xxiv. 1. It continued during the time of the Judges ; nay, when all the tribes of Israel united under one head, and the kingly government took place, it noways affected this, 1 Gbron. xxviii. 1. 1 King$ viii. 4, And thus it remained in all the tribes as long as they sub sisted ; the tribe of Judah, continuing longer than the rest, it abode with them, and that even in the Babylonish captivity, where it was preserved by nvbj ^EWl the heads of the captivity, as the Jews call their rulers which they had at that time, who returned with them into their own land, and marched at the head of them, Ezra i. 5. and chap. ii. 2. Nay, this rule and autho rity were not abolished by the reign of the Hafmonaans, who were of the tribe of Levi -, for, during their reign, the Sanhedrim, which was their highest court of Judicature, chiefly consisted of men of the tribe of Judah, there being only that tribe, and little Benjamin which was confounded with it, that re turned from Babylon; and especially the WtM b, or prince of that assembly, was always of the tribe of Judah ; even quite down unto, and in the times of Jesus, we have an account of those elders and rulers of the people ; they are so frequently mentioned in the New Testament, that I need not take notice of particular instances : but quickly after those times, the tribe of Judab failed, and appeared no more a distinct tribe in the world, and with it was put down all rule and authority ; the tribe ceasing, of consequence all rule and government must cease with it ; the Jews are no more a body politic, in the possession 1 Sherlock's Disscrtat. 3. p. 308. b Vide R. David Ganz. Zcmach David, p. 84, S6.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 3u possession of rule and government among themselves •, but have been sub jected, for theie sixteen or seventeen hundred years, to the laws and govern ment of other nations, among whom they are dispersed : the scepter is en tirely departed from Judab, and therefore the conclusion which we may fairly deduce from hence is, that the Messiah must be come. It appears from what has been said, that there is no need to suppose kingly power and authority intended by the scepur, that not always being an emblem of regal dominion. Those who understand it in this fense, are notable to de fend the prophecy against the Jews ; for the kingly power, in the tribe of Ju dab, did not take place till David'i time, above six hundred years after this prophecy, and ceased in Zedekiab, above five hundred years before the birth of Jesus •, but this form of government, which was placed in the heads and princes of the tribe\ commenced when the tribe itself did, and continued in it, without interruption, as long as there was one. Therefore, if any parti cular form of government is here intended by the scepter, this bids the fairest for it; but if only rule and authority in general are here intended, without designing any one particular form, but that this tribe should be a body po litic, governed by its own laws, until the coming of the Messiah, the pro phecy has had its completion -, for this tribe, ever since it existed, has been under some kind of government or other, either Monarchical, Aristocratical, or Democratical ; nay, during the Babylomfi captivity, it remained a body po litic, governed by its own laws, as it was when Herod, an Idumean, was u()on the throne, the scepter even then was not departed from it ; but now there is not the least appearance of any form of government whatever, nor has there been for many hundreds of years ; and indeed how should there be any, when even the tribe itself is not in being. There remains one thing more to be considered, and that is, what is to be understood by the lawgiver between bis feet, who was not to be removed from thence until the Messiah came : by a lawgiver, we are not to understand a per son or persons, that have a power of making and prescribing laws ; for the tribe of Judab had no power to make laws either for itself or others, but was subjected to, and governed by those unalterable laws which were delivered by Moses to that and the rest of the tribes. Some Jewish, writers0 understand by this word ppiriD any rul«ror governor that has dominion and jurisdiction over others, and so the word is used, Judg. v. 1 4. and then it intends the fame as the word scepter does ; others, as the three Targums on the place, underv stand 1 R. David Kimchi in lib. Shoralh. rad. ppn. Vet. Nizzach. p. 31. R. Isaac Chisjk, Kmun. par. i. c. 14.

3i2 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, Hand by ic, the Scribes and teachers of the law, of which there was a great number among the Jews, in the time of Jesus •, lo that these were not then removed from between Judab's feet ; but now the tribe is extinct, their ge nealogies are entirely loft, so that, though the Jews pretend to have doctors of the law among them, they are not able to make it appear that they are of the tnbe of Judab. Now the Messiah was to come whilst this tribe was in such a state, that it might appear that it had rule and authority within itself, and proper persons to execute and explain its laws, which does not now appear, neither has it for many hundreds of years, and consequently the Messiah must be come •, let the Jews therefore tell us what person appeared before the de parture of the scepter and lawgiver, from that tribe, with whom the cha racters of the Messiah so well agree as with Jesus. The Jews have tried several ways to enervate this testimony of the Messiah's being already come. Menajfeb ben Israel*, has collected together, no less than eleven different fenses of the words, and all designed to baffle the argument made use of, from hence, by Christians, but to no purpose ; the word trans lated a scepter, they would have rendered a rod or staff; and sometimes to signify a rod os correclion, at other times a staff os support, which they fay shall not be wanting to the tribe os Judab, until the Messiah comes ; but it may be very reasonably demanded of them, what peculiar affliction has befallen that tribe, which did not the rest of the tribes of Israel; besides, Judab was in a very flourishing condition, for five hundred years, under the reign of David's family ; and when the rest of the tribes were carried captive, and returned no more, Judab was preserved as a distinct tribe : it is true, ever since the rejection of Jesus, as the Messiah, the rod of correction has been upon them and will continue until God gives them repentance : As to a staff of support, what support have they had, when they have been for so many hundred years out of their land, destitute of thole privileges they there enjoyed, living among the nations in the utmost disgrace, and for the most part, in poverty and distress ? Again, sometimes Sbilob must mean any body but the Messiah ; and at other times they are obliged to own the Messiah is intended, which shews both the ignorance and confusion of their greatest masters. The story of Benjamin of Tudela, of a certain Jew of the house of David, having jurisdiction over a thousand Jews at Begdat in Persia, is not to be credited, it having never been as yet confirmed ; and if it could, how would it prove that the scepter is still in the tribe of Judab, and that the lawgiver is not yet removed from between his feet. From * Cgnciliat. in Gen. Qu. 6j.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 313 From the whole, it appears that the tribe of Judab is not now a distinct tribe, but has lost all manner of rule and authority •, and that the Jews are not a body politic, having rule and dominion within themselves, therefore the scepter is departed from them, and consequently, the Messiah must be come. That this is the true state of that people, themselves have been obliged to ac knowledge = and particularly that saying of R. Rachmon, recorded in the Tal mud1, is very remarkable, " Wo to us, fays he, for the scepter is departed " from Jwiab, and the son of David is not yet come." Now Jesus did come before the departure of the scepter and law-giver from Judab, and before the Jews ceased to be a nation, a body politic, governed by their own laws, and he having all the marks and characteristics of the true Messiah, ought therefore to be received as such. But I proceed, II. To shew that the Messiah was to come before the Jewissi Church state ceased, or before the destruction of the second temple, which I shall endea vour to make appear from Haggai ii. 6—9. For thus faith the Lord of hosts, Yet once, it is a little while, and I will stjake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will /bake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come, and I will fid this house with glory, faith the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, faith the Lord of bests. -The glory of this latter house stjall be greater than of the former, faith the Lord of hosts : and in this place will I give peace, faith the Lord of hosts. From whence I shall at tempt to prove, First, That by this bouse, in the text, must be meant the second temple. Secondly, That the Messiah, who is here designed by the desire of all nations, was to come into this temple ; and that accordingly our Jesus did. Thirdly, That the Messiah's coming into this temple, is the greater glory which is promised to it. Fourthly, I shall consider some circumstances in the text, which not only point out the person that was to come, but also the time of his coming. First, I shall endeavour to prove, that the house here spoken of is to be un derstood of the second temple. This is so plain a cafe, that one would think no person could deny it. The temple which Solomon built was burnt down by the Chaldeans, and entirely destroyed. The people of the Jews were just now returned from Babylon, with leave from Cyrus to rebuild their temple, which Vol. III. S s they * Vid. Targum & Kimchium in Hos. lii. 4. Talmud Sanhedr. sol. 41. 1 * Talmud Jerus. Tract. Sanhedr. in Galatin dc Arcanis, C. V. 1. 4. c. 6. /*~

3i4 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, they undertook under the conduct: of Zerubbabel, "Joshua, and others ; and it is the manifest design of the prophet, both in this and the preceding chapter, to animate them to it, and encourage them in it, notwithstanding the mean figure it was like to make in comparison of that of Solomon's. Several8 Jewish writers acknowledge the second temple to be here intended ; though h others of them, evidently seeing how strong the argument from hence is to prove that the Messiah must be come, would have a third temple intended, which they fancy will be built in the days of the Messiah. But that the second tem ple, and not a third is here meant, is evident, i. From the pronoun this, nm JVSn /IN this house, which manifestly points out the house that was then building, exclusive of all others ; this house, this very house, which you have begun to build, and which appears ib mean and contemptible in your eyes, in comparison of the former, even this house will 1 fill with glory. Nay, 2. It is expressly called, in ver. 9. ynntfn run iVSn this latter house, which distin guishes it from the former that was built by Solomon ; now if that was the first house, then this must be the second. Bishop Kidder1 has given instances, from Exod iv. 8,9. Deut. xxiv. 3, where the word vnnN, translated latter, must ne cessarily signify the second. Besides, 3. The scope of the prophecy being to encourage the present builders, confines it to the second temple. Cyrus had given the Jews leave to go into their land, and build their temple, which they undertook, but finding some difficulties attending it, laid the work aside, and betook themselves to beautifying their own houses, vainly imagining, that the time was not come for this house to be built, as appears from chap. i. 2. therefore the prophet reproves them for it, ver. 3 — 6. exhorts them to attend the work again, ver. 7, 8. and informs them, that all the calamities which were come upon them, were owing to their remissness herein, ver. 9 — n. whereby the princes and people were stirred up, and encouraged to reassume it, ver. 12 14. but still it was discouraging to those who had seen the glory of the first temple, to observe that this came so very considerably short thereof. Now the Lord, by the mouth of the propher, encourages those persons to go on in building, by assuring them, that, notwithstanding the meanness of this fabric, it should be filled with a glory excelling the former. Had a third temple been intended, what encouragement would it have been to the builders to be told, that this house, which they were building, would in a very little time be pulled down, and a very stately and magnificent one built in its room, • Wiu' which t Zohar in Exod. sol. 43. 1. R. Azarias in Meor Enayim R. Sol. Jarchi. R. Aben Ezra. A. R. David Kimc'hi in loo' h Abarbincl in loc. R. Abendana not. in Miclol Yophi in loc. R. Isaac Chizuk, Eraun. par. «. c. 34. ' Demonstration os iheMcITias, par. 3. p. 150.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 315 which should not only equal, but be superior to that of Solomon's ? I say, what encouragement would this have been to them to go on with their work, and prosecute it with vigour ? It would rather have discouraged, and made them remiss, careless, indolent, and inactive. Moreover, 4. The time, yet a little while, when all this glory was to appear, can by no means agree with a third temple; it is now above two thousand years ago since this prophecy was given out, which surely cannot be accounted a little while, and yet no third temple built, nor any likelihood of any. The objection from hence against the ap plication of the prophecy to the times of Jesus, will be considered hereafter. The second temple then being intended by this latter house, I shall, Secondly, Endeavour to prove, that the Messiah, who is here designed by the desire of all nations, was to come into this temple, and that Jesus accord ingly did. It may be expected that I should first prove, that the Messiah is intended by the desire cf all nations. Jarchi, Kimchi, and Aben-Ezra*, would have the desirable things of the nations meant, such as gold, silver, and pre cious stones, which they would bring into the temple and offer there as pre sents, which fense is not only contrary to the grammatical construction of the words, but foreign enough from the context, as well as too low to answer those surprising instances of God's power, as the shaking the heavens and the earth, &c. which were to ustier it in. R. Akiba1 applied this prophecy to the Messiah, and the character, here given, well agrees with him ; all nations of the earth were to receive very great blessings and considerable advantages from him, as has been already proved, and therefore he must needs be a very desira ble person. Besides, the very great commotion of the heavens, the earth, the lea, and dry land, and all the nations therein, here mentioned, can agree with no other but the Messiah, and the time of his coming. Moreover, nothing but the appearing of the Messiah in this temple, could make it preferable to, and more glorious than that of Solomon's. Now it is certain, that the Messiah was to come into this temple, the desire of all nations shall come ; whither ? To his temple, as we are taught to explain it, from what follows, namely, I will sill this house with glory, and from a parallel text in Mai. iii. 1. Behold I will fend my meJJ'enger, and he stjall prepare the way before me : and the Lord, whom ye seek, stall suddenly come to his temple : even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in : behold, he shall come, faith the Lord of hosts. R. David Kimchi understands this prophecy of the Messiah, who may very easily be concluded to be the per son intended, from those magnificent titles here given to him, as the Lord, and ss a the k In loc. ' Talmud Sanhed. sol. 97, 2

3i6 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, the messenger cf the covenant, which can agree with no other : One and the same person is meant both in llaggai and Malachi, in the one he is called the desire of all nations, in the other the Lord whom the Jews ftught and delighted in ; the one fays, he shall come in a little while ; the other that he shall come suddenly to bii temple ; which is the fame with Haggai's latter house ; for into no other could he come suddenly. Nothing is more manifest, than that Jesus did come into this temple : The Jews expected to meet with the Messiah in the temple; hence aid Simeon and Anna the prophetess waited there for him ; where the former mec with the young child Jesus, at the time of his presentation before the Lord : Here, at twelve years of age, he disputed with the doctors ■, when he had en tered upon his public ministry, here he taught the people, and that daily •, here he wrought many of his miracles ; here he was acknowledged to be the Messiah, and that even by the children, who cried in the temple, and said, llosanna to the son of David ; where, as the Lord and proprietor ra of it, he cast out the buyers and sellers, and other profaners thereof, Matt. xxi. 12 — 14. It can be no objection against the application of these prophecies to Jesus, that it was the temple built by Herod", that he came into; for the tem ple which was built by the Jews, after their return from Babylon, re-edified by Herod, and at last destroyed by Vespasian, was but one and the fame and is al ways called by the Jews *m ri*2 the second house -, besides, if they make Herod's temple to be distinct from ZerubbabePs, and so a third temple ; then this temple which they vainly expect must be a fourth, and not a third ; nor can the ob jection of the Jew ° be thought to have any weight in it, namely, that Jesus came into this temple at the latter end of it ; for it is enough that he was there at all ; and the very objection is an acknowledgment thereof. But I proceed, thirdly, To (hew, that the Messiah's coining into this temple is the greater glory promised unto it. / will fill this house with glory,- ■ The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former. Now let it be observed, that Solomon's temple, which is the former house referred to, was very great, glorious, and magnificent ; nay wonderful great, as will evidently appear, if we consider the vast treasure amassed together by David, and expended by Solomon; the large number of workmen employed therein, the prodigious charge in making pro visions for them, the stateliness and richness of the fabric •, the'like to which was never seen in the world ; God himself having drawn the model and pattern of it, and gave it to David in writing : Its dedication by Solomon was very mag nificent ; to all which add, the glory of the Lord filled it, and continued in it. Now m Vid. Scheme of Literal Prophecy, p. 121. "So Jacob ben Amram the Jew objects, in Kiddcr's Demonstration of the Meffias, par. 3. p. 153. • R. Isaac Chizuk, Emun.p. i.e. 34.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 317 Now the glory of the latter house must be something very considerable, which made it not only equal, but even superior to this. Again, it ought to be remark1ed, that by the Jews own confession, there were several things wanting in this latter house, which wtre in the former, especially these fivep, the ark, the Urim and Tbummim, ike sire from heaven, the Sbecbinab, and the Holy Ghost : Besides, several of the ancient men, who had seen the glory of the former house, wept when the foundation of this was laid ; it being, in their eyes, in comparison of that, as nothing. Therefore I fay it must be something very considerable in this latter house, which must make the glory of it exceed that of the former. Some of the Jewish" writers would have the glory of this second house consist in its duration ; the first house, they fay, continued four hundred and ten years, but this second house four hundred and twenty ; so that, according to this computation, it stood ten years longer than the former, though they are not able to give any proof thereof: But supposing this to be true, and that the builders were beforehand acquainted with it, what great encouragement could this be to them to go on with their work ? how could the continuance of it a few years longer compensate for the want of what has been mentioned, and set it upon a level with, nay make it preferable to such a glorious fabric, as Se.'omon's was ? Besides, can it ever be imagined, that such a strange and uncommon commo tion would be made in the heavens, earth, and sea, and that only to usher in such a trifling glory as this ? Others therefore fay, that the structure of this second temple, as it was built by the Jews in Zerubbabel's time, the glory of ic increased by the great riches which the Gentiles brought into it in the times of the Hasmoneans ; and as it was re-edified by Herod, exceeded in magnificence even that built by Solomon: But it is not at all likely, either that the people of xhe Jews, who were just returned from captivity, and were both poor and few, or that Herod, who was a tributary to the Roman empire, should ever be able to raise such a structure : Their whole account depends upon the authority of Jtsepb hen Gorton, who was a much later author than the true Jcsepbus •, and as to the riches which were brought into this temple by the Gentiles, in the times of the Hasmoneans, they were very inconsiderable, and couli never equal, much less give it an excelling glory to Solomon's temple j besides, gold and silver are expressly excluded in the text, from being any part of this glory : The siher is mine, and the gold is mine, faith the Lord of hosts ; as much as to fay " Silver and gold, which so much adorned the first house, the want of " which makes this look so mean and contemptible in your eyes, are wholly at ** my f Ra(hi& Kimchi in Hag. i. 8. i Talmud Baba Bathr*, sol. 3. 1. V.id, Jarchium & Kimchium in loc.

3i8 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, ** my command ; I have an indisputable right to, and propriety in them ; and •** was it my will and pleasure, I could easily amass vast treasures together, to " enrich and adorn this house •, but 1 have in my eye a greater glory than this, " which I design to introduce into it ; The glory of this latter house Jball be " greater than of the former." R. Azarias ', by the the desire of all nations, and the excelling glory of this latter house, would have the coming of Alexander the Great to Jerusalem, with his princes, intended, who honoured the temple with his presence, and gave peace to the Jewish nation, when all the rest of the nations were in commotion and disturbance : but surely the coming cf this person into this house, could not give it a greater glory than that which the first house had, which was built and dedicated by Solomon •, who was a far greater prince than ever Alexander was : However, this we gain by this interpretation, that a person or persons are here intended by the desire of all nations, and not things •, which person I have before proved to be the Messiah. Seeing therefore none of the things mentioned can give this latter house a greater glory than the first, and there being nothing, either in the text or context, which points out this excelling glory to us, but the coming of the desire cf all nations into it, it may very safely be concluded, that it was the appearance of the Messiah in his temple, which was here designed, whose pre sence made it far more glorious than the former house was ; for the glory of God, which was in shadow in the former house, here appeared bodily. But, Fourthly, There are several circumstances in the text which point out, both the person that was to come, and the time of his coming. i/?, All this was to be done in a very little time. Yet once it is, a- little while ; very quickly after this prophecy, ot suddenly, as Malachi fays> the Messiah was to come. Now, if the Messiah was to come in a little time after this, cer tainly he must be already come •, for surely the space of two thousand years, and upwards, (for, so long it is since this prophecy was given) can never be accounted a little while. Indeed a late author objects % that this seems a phrase net very properly applicable to a fail four hundred years after ; to which I answer, that this space of four hundred years, might very well be called a little while, in comparison of the long space of time which had elapsed since the first pro mise of the Messiah was given ; besides, it is usual with the prophets to repre sent things which were at some distance, near ; in order to strengthen the faith, and encourage the expectation of God's people j moreover, it was but a little »■ hile ere things began to work towards the accomplishment of this prophecy. idly, It ' Mcor Enayim in R. Abendana not. in Miclol Yophi in loc. • The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. p. 147.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 319 idly, It is prophesied that at, or before, the coining of this great person, there would be a very great shaking of the heavens, the earth, the sea, and dry land, yea, of all nations ; which may intend those mutations and revolu tions that were made in the several kingdoms and nations of the world, be tween this prophecy, and the coming of Jesus, which the history of those times gives an account of: and indeed it was but a little wbileerc this fkakinn; began, for the Persian monarchy, which was then flourishing, was quickly after subdued by the Grecian ; and that, in a little time, underwent the same fate from the Reman : Or else it may intend those ' prodigies and wonders, which were wrought in the heavens, earth, and sea, at the birth, in the life-time, and at the death of Jesus ■, at whose birth an unusual star appeared in the hea vens, in whose life-time miracles of various forts were wrought, both by land and sea ; and at whose death the sun was darkened, the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent asunder. Never was there such a shaking among thenations as at the time of Christ's coming. Herod and all Jerusalem with him, were moved and shaken at the tidings of his birth ; angels descended from heaven to cele brate it, wise men came from the east to enquire after it; and, in a little time, all the nations under the heavens were shaken, moved, and stirred up, either to oppose or embrace him. Moreover, the apostle, in Heb. xii 26, 27. does not unfitly apply those words to that change which was made in the worship of God, by the coming of Jesus the true Messiah. %dly, The Lord promises to give peace in this place at this time, and in tins place will I give peace, faith the Lord of bo/Is ; which was made good, when he gave the Messiah, Jesus, the man, the peace, who has made peace by the blood of his cross, and has sent forth his ministers into all the nations of the earth,1 preaching peace by Jesus Chriji, who is Lord of all. And if it is true, what some' have asserted, that there was an universal peace in the world, in the times of Augustus, after all those shakings in the nations, in whose time Jesus was born j this prophecy has then had its fulfilment in a temporal way, and if there waV' not peace in those times, it will be hard to find it during the second temple.' From what has been said, it appears, that the Messiah was to come before the second temple was destroyed, and consequently must be come many hundred years ago: and it is certain that Jesus did come whilst this temple stood* at tended with all the characters of the Messiah. The Jews are very much.,pcr-» plexedwith this argument i and therefore are forced to acknowledge, that the Messiah 1 Both Jarchi & Aben-Ezra in loc. interpret the words of Wonders' and Miracles which weir to be wrought.

3co THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, Messiah was born before the destruction of the second temple, but ridiculously enough tell us, that he lies hid, either ac Rome, or in the sea, or in paradise, which shews the wretched ignorance, obstinacy, and judicial blindness, attending those people. R. Jose, who saw the destruction of the temple by Titus", said, " The time of the Messiah is come ;" which he might very well conclude from hence, as all Jews ought to do. III. The next thing to be enquired into, is the exact and precise time of the Messiah's coming, and cutting off, as fixed in Daniel's weeks ; the whole prophecy we have at large in Dan. ix. 24—27. Seventy weeks are determined . upon tby people, and ut en thy holy city, to finish the tranfgrejfion, and to make an end of fins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righte ousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. Know therefore, and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the prince, shall be seven weeks, and three score and two weeks, the street shall be built again, and the wall even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Eimsclfi and the people of the prince that shall come, shall destroy the city and the sanUuary, and the end thereof shall be with a stood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one •week : and in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations, be shall make it desolate, even un til the consummation, and that determined, fiall be poured upon the desolate. The occasion of this prophecy is manifestly this : The prophet Daniel now being in captivity, and understanding by books, especially by the prophecy of Jeremy, that it would be a seventy years captivity, falls into a very great concern of mind for the people of the Jews, the city of Jerusalem, and the holy temple ; and therefore sets apart some time in fasting and prayer to God on the account thereof j whose prayers were very quickly heard, he being a person greatly be loved) for even at the beginning of his supplications, the commandment came forth, orders were given, and the angel Gabriel immediately dispatched, as a mes senger, to give him an account of those things which he was so very solicitous about-, and the things which the angel had a commission to give him skill and understanding in, were of very considerable importance •, as that there would be a royal edict iflbed forth in favour of the Jews ; by virtue of which they would have full liberty to rebuild Jerusalem, the streets and wall thereof, tho* it would be attended with a great deal of trouble and opposition j that after acertain * *. J»c*b m lia. C«pfat*t in Grot, de veriu R, C. 1. 5. s. 14?

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. &i certain space of time, here specified, was elapsed, the Messiah, the prince, whom he, and those of his nation expected, would be cut off; and that upon the cutting off" of this great person, would very quickly ensue the utter ruin and destruction of the Jewish nation, city, and temple. These things, I fay, which the angel had to deliver to him, being so very important and momentous, he prefaces the account of them after this manner, understand the matter, and consider the vision, that he might closely fix his attention thereunto. And that we may the better understand the meaning of this prophecy it will be proper to. consider, First, What kind of weeks are here intended, which are said to be determined upon Daniel's people, and upon his holy city, and what meant by their being thus determined. Secondly, The several events which were to be fulfilled within, or quickly after, the expiration of these weeks, and how they have had an actual and exact completion. First, It will be proper to enquire, what kind of weeks are here meant, and in what fense they were determined upon the people of the Jews, and their holy city Jerusalem. By weeks here, we must either understand weeks of days or weeks of years ; not weeks of days, that being too short a time for so many events, as are here specified, to be fulfilled in ; the whole seventy weeksv taken in this fense, not amounting to a year and a half, within which space of time, none of those things, predicted by the angel, came to pass : Jerusalem wtjth Its streets and wall was not rebuilt in seven weeks time, nor was the Mes siah cut off after sixty-nine weeks, understanding them of weeks of days, ac cording to any hypothesis whatever -, nor were the Jewish nation, city, and temple wholly destroyed, after the expiration .of the whole seventy weeks, taking them in this fense : therefore we are to understand by them weeks of years; and about this, we have no controversy with the Jews, nor with the author of the Scheme of Literal Prophecy™, who readily acknowledge it. This way of speaking and writing has been used both by Greek and .Latin authors x ; though was it not, yet the frequent use of it, among the Jews, would be suf- - ?<"- UI- ,. ,-;. '•,: . :," X C ■•' : sicient- . '•" R. .Sot Jarehi, R. Saadiah Gaon, R.:Ab«i E»m jn Joe. R.. AbencLna not. in Miclol Yophi in loc. The Scheme of LiteraU'ropbecy, <&£• p> 175. * Arisi\ot. Politic, life. 7. Varro apud Aul. Gell. noct. Attic, lib. 3.' c. »D. See Lively'* Chronology of thef cilian Monarchy p. 157, 158.

3i2 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, ficientto justify such a sense of it here ; thus in Gen. xxix. 27. fays Laban to Jacob, concerning his daughter RacJbael, JlNi yaw "N^n, fulfil her week, or fill up a week for this ; that is, Serve me seven years for this, and we will give her also unto thee, which Jacob accordingly did, ver. 28. Thus the Jews reckon their Jubilees by sabbaths or weeks of years ; fee Lev. xxv. 8. Besides, this appears to be a style in use among the prophets, to put a day for a yeart as in Ezek. iv. 4, 5. which way of writing the apostle John has followed in his. Revelation, see chap. xii. 6. and xiii. 5;. and that this kind of weeks Daniel intends here, seems manifest from chap. x. 2, 3. where Daniel, speaking of his mourning and fasting for the space of one and twenty days, expresses it, not as our translation, three full weeks, but D^D' CPyiV Twbv, three weeks of days, which seems to be designed to distinguish them from those weeks used in; this prophecy, as well as to prevent any mistakes that might arise from hence u so that by the space of seventy weeks we are to understand four hundred ninety years; for such a length of time was to run out, ere all the events specified in this prophecy should have their full accomplishment. ■> Now these weeks are said to be determined upon DanieFs people, and holy city: By his people, we are no doubt to understand the Jews, who were his country men, of the fame stock and religion with him, for whom he had a very great and affectionate regard ; and by his holy city, the city Jerusalem, the metropolis of Judea, where the temple formerly stood, and the pure worship of God had been kept up, for which Daniel had no small concern. Now when seventy weeks, or four hundred ninety years, are said to be determined upon these, the meaning is, that such a space of time was fixed and'determined for the accom plishment of several events here mentioned, relating to the people of the Jews and their city ; and a verb singular being in construction with a noun plural, may denote, that every week in the whole number was determined, fixed, and cut out for some event or other ; every which event was to have its full and exact completion. The word which is here translated determined, is, by the Vulgate, rendered abbreviate, shortened ox abbreviated; which version the Pa pists adhere very closely to, and which the author of the Scheme of Literal Pro phecy, page 175, appears to be an advocate for ; he fays it is so rendered by the Greek. The Septuagint indeed translate it <rt,«V«9iHr«r, concise funt, are concise or cut, but not shortened : He cites Tertullian, as rendering the word the fame way, whose authority cannot be very considerable, seeing he was entirely igno rant of the Hebrew language : It is somewhat surprising to me, when he says, the original word both in Hebrew and Chaldee signifies to abbreviate or cut and net -: to3

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 323 to determine ; which I am sure is contrary to the judgment of Jewish writers % who must be allowed to understand their own language and writings •, they tell us that it signifies the fame as in, to decree, determine, or decide any thing : That the word signifies to cut, is not denied ; but that it does not signify to determine must be denied ; for the word is oft so used, as will appear hereafter. It is strange, that Lively's Chronology should be referred unto, who was far from embracing the version of the Vulgate, as appears from what follows •, which I shall the rather choose to transcribe, because it furnishes us with instances of the use of the word under consideration : " The Papists, fays he% in their expo- " sitions, alledge that tran station (the Vulgate) preferring it before the original " text itself received from heaven. And hereof it is, that Pererius, in his ex- ." position on this place, standeth so much upon the word abbreviate, (Jjortened, ** urging it greatly in proof of his short moon years : It is a proof indeed " from the bad interpretation of a man, not warrantable from the mouth of " God, whose word in this place is -y/in, which, in the holy tongue, signi- " fieth properly to cut, in that sense it is often used by the Hebrew writers " thereof, calling a piece of thing -\r\n and rowr, as Camius, in the second ** part of his Miclol, and Elias in his Tijhbi testify. It is also expounded by " the Greek interpreter, who here, to express the Hebrew word "jnn hath 44 <jtoV»w, signifying, to cut " " The meaning is, that so many years were determined and decreed, by a 44 speech borrowed from things cut out, because that in determining and de- M creeing things, the reason of man's mind sundering truth from falshood, and " good from bad, doth, by judgment, as it were, cut out that which is con- 44 venient and fit to be done. Whereunto a like example in the fame word is 44 read in the Cbaldee Paraphrase of Esther, the fourth chapter, and the fifth 44 verse Rrro'jD '-sins pnnnn nois idvs b^i inn npnDT bwrh iriDN nanpr 44 which in Englistj is thus much : And Esther called for Daniel, whose name 44 was Hathac, by the word of whose mouth, the matters pertaining to the 44 kingdom were cut out, that is, determined and appointed," After whichhe proceeds to give like instances in other words of the fame signification, as EJlb. ii. 1. j Kings xx. 40. and observes, that Latin authors use the word decido in the fame sense, and concludes with remarking that Theodoret, in his exposi tion of this place, takes the Greek word in the fame sense ; they are cut ; that is, appointed and decreed. From hence it appears, that his appeal to Lively is- T t 2 Of ' R. Saadiah Gaon, R. Aben Ezra, R. Sol. ben Melee, in loc. & R. Abendananot. in ibid. R. David Kimehi lib. Shorasli. & David de Pomi>, Lex. Heb. rad, IJUV 1 Chronology, p, 184—186.

324 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, of little service to him. Again, it is stiU more strange, that this author should refer us to any texts of scripture, to confirm this fense of the word, when k is not used in any other place of the Bible, nor indeed any word derived from it ; and more remarkable still, that two passages mould be referred to in the New Testament, to give us the fense of an Hebrew word, though perhaps this author only designs to observe to us, in what fense the word fljorten is used, or tile how the word brevio, or abbrevio, is used by the Vulgate ; for which father Ihrduin *, has produced the fame passages, namely, Job xvii. i. Prov. x. 27. Matt. xxiv. 22. Ron. ix. 28. from whence this author seems to have taken the hint •, but, after all, it is a little difficult to know what he aims at in attempt ing to establish this version, unless it be to give countenance to that notion which he seems to espouse b, and in which he agrees with Harduinz, namely, that the seven weeks and the sixty -two weeks have one and the fame epoch, which they make to be the fourth of Jehoiakim ; for lunar years are rejected by them both, which most, who follow this version, contend for, and which they sup pose to be the reason, why those weeks are said to be shortened : But, not to insist any longer upon this, I would only add, that to understand the word in its first and primary fense, which is to cut, is very aptly expressive of the di vision or section of those seventy weeks into distinct periods, as 7. 62. 1. in which distinct periods different events were to be accomplished. I therefore, Secondly, Proceed to consider the several events which were to be fulfilled within, or quickly after the expiration of these weeks, and how they have had their actual and exact accomplishment •, which are delivered, First, More generally, in ver. 24. When I say more generally, I mean, that the angel in this verse gives an account of the several events which are not par ticularly referred to any distinct period, into which those seventy weeks are di vided ; but are given out in general as to be all of them fulfilled within the term of seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety years, which upon en quiry, we shall find to be fulfilled in, or by Messiah, the prince, and ar, or about the time of his being cut off, and principally regard the work he was to do, which was, I. To finijh the transgression. The Hebrew word vbs signifies to restrain, as well as to Jhut up or finijh ; and the former, as Dr Prideaux observes d, rather than the latter; fee Gen. viii. 2. Psai. xl. 11. and cxix. 101. Ezek. xxxi. 15. and indeed it will be very difficult to give one single instance where it is used in the latter sense ; so that the meaning is not to put an end to all punishment for 1 Harduini opera,, p. 595. * Scheme ofLiteral Prophecy, &c. p. 188, 189. c lb!d. * Connect. Hist, part 1. book 5. p. 263, 8vo.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 325 for the fins of the Jews, which the author of the Literal Scheme % from Grotius, Mar/ham, and Harduin, endeavours to establish ; for nothing is more manifest, than that the measure of the punishment of that people, is not compleated yet •, but the plain meaning is, that a restraint would be laid upon the preva lence of transgression by the Messiah when he came. Now it is notorious enough, that though sin very much abounded when Jesus came, both in the Jewish nation and in the Gentile world, and, perhaps, as it had never done be fore, since it first entered into the world, and which, by the way, the ' Jews make to be one sign of the Messiah's coming ; yet, notwithstanding this, I fay, there never was an age wherein greater restraints were laid upon sin, than in this ; and that first by the ministry of John the Baptist, and of Jesus Christ, in the land of Judea, and then by his apostles, in the Gencile world. 2* Another thing, mentioned in this prophecy, which the Messiah was to do at his coming, was to make an end offins. Our translators here follow the Keriy or marginal reading, and not the Cetib, or textual writing, which is to seal up sins ; either reading, fully expresses the Messiah's works : Things which are sealed up are hid and covered, and sin is said to be so, when for given, P/al. xxxii. 1. Now when the Messiah is said to seal up fins, the mean ing is, that he should procure the pardon of them, which Jesus has done by the effusion of his blood ; as also, by the sacrifice os bimselsy has put awaysin, or made an entire end of it. 3. As another branch of his work, he was to make reconciliation for iniquity. The Hebrew word "ISD here used, signifies to expiate or make atonement for sin by sacrifice, as it is frequently used; see Exod. xxx 10, Lev. iv. 20, 26, 3r, 35. Now that the Messiah, Jesus, made reconciliation for the fins os the people, this way, is manifest enough from the writings of the New Testament, and especially from the epistle to the Hebrews. I shall take no other notice of three different Hebrew words being here used, to express fin by, than only just to ob serve, that it may be to shew, that all manner of sin was to be restrained, sealed up, made an end of, and expiated by the Messiah ; to which well agrees what the apostle John fays, the blood of Jesus Christ bis Son cleanseth us from all fin, 1 John i. 7. 4. The Messiah was also, according to this prophecy, to bring in everlasting righteousness , for this, surely, could be brought in by no other, than he, whose name is the Lord our righteousness. The author of the Literal Scheme e, refers this to the very great piety and religion of the Jews, in the times of Onias the high- * Page '75* ' In MHha Tract. Sotth, c. 9. s. 1 j » Page ij6.

326 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, high- priest, so much extolled in 2 Mac. iii. 2. which father Harduin h makes typical of the holiness that was to be brought into the world by the Messiah ; but surely, how considerable so ever the improvement of those persons was, in the observation of their religion and laws ; yet it could never be called an everlasting righteousness. Sir J. Marsham ' has given a better fense of this clause than this, who acknowledges it to be the eternal righteousness of God, to whom righteousness is ascribed in ver. 7. and indeed it is no other thanAfo righteousness of God, which is unto all, and upon all them that believe, of which the Messiah, Jesus, is the author, who is become the end of the law for righ teousness to every one that believes. Now , 5. By the Messiah's accomplishing all this, he was to seal up the vision and prophecy ; not the prophecy of Jeremiah, concerning the end of the captivity, which the author of the Literal Scheme* thinks is intended, supported by the authorities of Marsham and Harduin ; for this prophecy, when Daniel had this vision, wanted but a very little time of having its full accomplishment ; there fore it cannot be supposed, that seventy weeks of years should be fixed and de termined, for the accomplishing of an event, which was to be fulfilled, in two years time, or thereabout. No, by sealing the vision and prophecy is meant the Messiah's fulfilling whatever was predicted by the prophets concerning him, whereby he would seal up, and put an end to vision and prophecy in the Jewish church j all which. has been exactly compleated by the Messiah, Jesus, who, in what he has done and suffered, has sufficiently verified whatever was, in the Old Testament, prophesied of the Messiah ; as I hope my account of prophe cies will make appear. It is undeniable matter of fact, that ever since the times of Jesus, prophecy has ceased among the Jews ; nor can they themselves deny it, nay they tell us ', that " There has never arose a prophet in Israel " since the building of the second temple;" which deficiency, they say, was supplied by Batb-Kol; but that is ending prophecy too soon, for the law and the prophets were until John •, however, it is now ceased ; it lasted so long as there was any need of it ; but when the Messiah, the sum and substance of all, was come, it was at an end among that people. Now in order to the accom plishing all these things, 6. The most holy was to be anointed. The author of the Literal'm Scheme would, with Mar/ham and Harduin or rather Harduiris defender, have either the high-priest or temple intended, which cannot be true of the second temple, nor of the high-priest under that ; for the anointing oil being hid, as the Jews " fay, by 11 Opera, p. 595. ' Canon. Chron. Egypt p. 613. Edit. Franeq.- k Page 176. ' R. Saadiah Gaon, in loc. « Page 176. ■ Vid. Cunæum de repub. Heb. lib. 1. c. 14,

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 347 by Jofiab* could never be found, and consequently not used under the second temple. It is better, therefore, with some Jewish writers % to understand the Messiah, who was typified, both by the high-priest and temple, and was to be anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows •* the whole well agreeing with the Messiah, Jesus, who was perfectly holy, both in nature and life, and be ing anointed with the Holy Ghost* and with sower* went about doing good and sealing all manner of diseases •* preached the gospel to the meek, expiated the sins of his people, and now reigns as God's anointed king, uson his holy bill of Zion. But I proceed, Secondly* To consider those events which are more particularly delivered in the verses 25—27, where the seventy weeks* or four hundred and ninety years, are distributed into three distinct periods, and to every period, particular events are assigned. 1st, The seventy weeks are distributed into seven weeks* or forty- nine years. idly* Into sixty and two weeks or four hundred and thirty-four years. And, $dlyy Into one week, or seven years. I shall begin, 1st* With the consideration of the seven weeks, or forty-nine years, and the events to be fulfilled within that time, and endeavour to fix the true epocha of them, which, as Sir J. Mar/bam fays, is p totius negotii cardo* the chief point of all, the very hinge, on which the whole affair turns. Now the rule which we are to go by, and which is fixed by an express character in the text, is, the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, its streets and wall, within the compass of which time all this was to be effected j now then the question is, of the going forth of what commandment these words are to be un derstood ? That the word* commandment* or promise of the Lord to Jeremiah in chap, xxv, and xxix, concerning the end of the captivity, is not intended ; which hypothesis the author of the Literal Scheme has embraced % is manifest •* because that was not a commandment to rebuild Jerusalem* its wall and street, after an expiration of seven weeks, or forty-nine years j but only a promise of release from captivity, after seventy years were accomplished ; so that there is a wide, difference between the one and she other; besides, these seventy years were now very near accomplished, nor did Daniel want any information about the expiration of them •, he had learnt, by books* the number of the years where of the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet * so that he knew when these years began, and consequently when they would end, therefore there was .no necessity of an angel's being .dispatched from heaven to acquaint him with these 0 R. Aben Ezra in loc. R. Mosei Gerundens in Grot, in loc. Abai bind in Wagenscil. Mantissa de LXX. Hebdomad. Dan. p. 64. t Can. Chron. Egypt, p. fin. « Page 177,

3a8 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, these things ; nay, this would be t > make the angel's preface tothe account of these weeks trifling, when he fays, know therefore, and understand, when he must be supposed to know this already ; nor can the epocha of these weeks be the going forth of the commandment to the angel in ver. 23, to go to Daniel, and acquaint him with these things, which commandment tame forth at the be ginning of Daniel's supplications, as Sir J. Mar/ham has fixed it* ; for that was no command to rebuild Jerusalem, &c. but an order to Gabriel, forthwith to go to Daniel, and apprize him of things relating to his people and city, for which he was so much concerned. But to proceed ; after the exhibition of this vision to Daniel, there were no less than four several commandments, or edicts, issued forth in favour of the Jews, their nation, city, t>r temple. The first was that of Cyrus in the first year of his reign, recorded in Ezra, chap. i. 1, 3. which appears to be a proclamation to build the house of the Lord, the temple, and not the city of Jerusalem with its streets and wall, and therefore cannot be the commandment here intended; k was only the temple he gave them liberty to rebuild, encouraging them to, and making provision for it ; moreover it appears, that when this record of Cyrus was researched, the con tents of it were only ^.-decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, which was made in this following form, Let the house be built, the place where they offered sa crifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid, &c. as for the text in Isa. xliv. 28. it is no prediction of any decree that Cyrus would issue forth for the rebuilding of Jerusalem, nor did he ever make any on that account ; and it ought to be observed, the words are manifestly the words of God, and not of Cyrus -, for he that faith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd; is also represented as fay ing to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built ; and to the temple, Thy foundation stall bs laid; these words are God's promise, and not Cyrus's decree j besides, to com pute these seven weeks, and sixty- two weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three years, from the date of Cyrus's decree, in favour of the Jews, will fall short by many years, of reaching the great event, which was to be accomplished at the expiration of them, namely, the cutting off of the Messiah •, therefore this can never be the true epoch of these weeks. The second decree stiade in favour of the Jews, was in the times of Darius king of Persia; Which Darius, as Dr Prideaux' has sufficiently proved, could not be Darius Notbus, as Scaliger, and others who have followed him, much less Darius Codomannus, but truly Darius Hystafpis. The decree referred to, which lie' inade in favour of the Jews, is recorded in Ezra vi. which decree only regards -the 'temple, and in deed is only a confirmation, or ratification, of Cyrus's decree, with a strict charge » Can. Cbron. Egypt, -p. 6»> ' « Conn. Hist. Tart 1. Book 5. p. 270, 871, &c

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 329 charge to his governors not to disturb, but to assist the Jews in their work -, so that for the fame reasons that the computation of these weeks cannot begin from Cyrus's decree, it cannot begin from this ; whether the decree went forth in the second, or third, or fourth years of this king's reign it matters not. There were now two other decrees made in favour of the Jews, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia ; the one in the seventh, the other in the twentieth year of his reign. This Artaxerxes was not Artaxerxes Mnemon, nor Artaxerxes Ocbus ; but Artaxerxes Longimanus, as Dr Prideaux ' has fully made appear. The decree which was made in favour of the Jews, in the seventh year of his reign, is recorded in Ezra, chap. vii. 7, 13, 21. in which lie only confirmed what his predecessors had granted concerning the temple, and that only with respect to needful provisions for offerings and sacrifices; in the decree, he gives order to his treasurers to assist herein, and exempts the priests, Levitts, &c. From all tbll, tribute, or custom; but not one word of building the streets and wall of Jerusalem Ezra, to whom the king gave the letter which contained this decree, had no commission to rebuild Jerusalem, nor did he attempt it •■, from hence, therefore, we are not to begin the computation of these weeks. It remains then to consider the last decree, or commandment, which went forth in the twentieth year of this king's reign, of which we have an account in Neb, ii. 1, 6 —8. The occasion of it was this ; Nebemiab having an account of the state and condition of the Jews, and of the city of "Jerusalem, how they were in great affliction and reproach, and particularly that the wall os Jerusalem was broken down, and the gates thereof burnt with fire -, having, I fay, received such an account of things from Hanani, and some other Jews, who were lately come from thence, it filled him with a great deal of trouble and concern ; in somuch that when he came into the king's presence, it was easily discerned by the king; who enquiring the reason of it, Nehemiah freely tells him, that it •was because the citv, the place of his fathers sepulchres, lay waste, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire ; and then takes the opportunity to re quest of him, that he might be sent unto Judah, to the city os bis fathers se pulchres, that he might build ;'/; and also humbly desired a letteri'rom the king unto Asapbtbe keeper of the king's forest, that he might give him timber to make beams for the gates of the palace, which appertained to the bouse, and for the wall of the city ; all which was accordingly granted him •, by virtue of which grant, he immediately Went to Jerusalem, and encourages the Jews to build the ivall, which they accordingly did, and that in a very little time, notwithstand ing all the opposition that was made against them. Now this grant, or com- Voi. IIL U v mandment, ' Conn. Hist. Part i. Book 5. p. 279, 280.

330 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, mandment, of Artaxerxes to Nebemiab, exactly agrees with the express character of the commandment in this prophecy under consideration. The seven weeks were to bear date from the going forth of a commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, even the street and wall thereof. Now there never was any com mandment went forth before this, on the account of the city and wall of Jerusalem, nor any since : there being no need of any, for by virtue of this, the city, street, and wall, were actually re-edified. Now here must the epoch of the seven weeks, or forty-nine years, be fixed, within which com pass of time this event was to be fulfilled, namely, the rebuilding the streets, and wall of the city of Jerusalem ; for that this event belongs solely to the pe riod of the seven weeks is manifest, as Dr Prideaux observes u, from the appro priating the time of the Messiah to the period of sixty two weeks in the next verse, which necessarily leaves this entirely here where I have fixed it; be sides, it is here predicted, that the street should be built again, and the wall D\nyn pIXll which some have w rendered in the strait or smallest pittance of time, in angustia temperurn, in the narrow space of these two periods, that is, in the lesser of them, which is that of seven weeks ; so that the prophecy ex pressly refers this event to this distinct period ; though, if it should be ren dered troublous times, or times of oppression and affliction, it is notorious enough, what trouble and affliction Nebemiab and the Jews met with, from Sanballat, Tobiab, and Gejhem the Arabian ; fee Neb. iv. and vi. Now for the compleating of this work, seven weeks, or forty- nine years, are cut out, limited and determined, in which space of time it is reasonable to suppose the city was built upon her own heap, its streets, or broad places, were filled with agreeable ranges of houses, and its wall settled upon its own foundation, and indeed in much less time all this could not well be done. But I proceed, zdly, To consider the sixty-two weeks, or 434 years, after the expiration of which the Messiah was to be cut off. Having fixed the epoch of the seven weeks, or forty-nine years, there is no difficulty in beginning these, for these weeks begin where the others end ; the seven weeks and sixty-two weeks have not one and the fame epoch, as the author of the Scheme of Literal Prophecy x, from father Harduin, would have it, who here contends for abbreviated weeks ; for the seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks, are, in the 25th verse, reckoned by the angel, in one and the same continued reckoning, as reaching to the Messiah ; for he expressly fays, that from the going forth of the commandment-——unto the Messiah the prince, shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks, that is, sixtynine » Connect. Part 1. Book 5. p. 290. w See Bishop Chandler's Defence of Christianity, p. 133, Marshall's Chron. Treat, p. 3. * Page 188, 189. See Harduini opera, p. 593, 595*

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 331 nine weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three years ; but there being this par ticular event, of the street and wall to be rebuilt within the compass of the first seven weeks of this sixty-nine, or which was to be compleated about the end thereof, is the true reason of the angel's using this uncommon way of reckoning ; and therefore having dispatched the first period, and the event which belonged to it, he now proceeds to the second and larger period, which would reach down to the Messiah's death ; and in order to the clearing of this part of the prophecy, it will be proper, r. to enquire who is to be understood by the Messiah, and the Messiah the prince, 2. what by his being cut off, and that not for himself; and, 3. the exact and precise time thereof according to this prophecy. 1. I (hall enquire who we are to understand by the Messiah, and the Mtsstab the prince : that the Messiah the prince in ver. 25. is the fame with the Messiah in ver. 26. that was to be cutoff, manifestly appears at first view, there being no character whereby to distinguish one from the other in the whole prophecy, though indeed the author of the Scheme of Literal Prophecy % with the help of father Harduin, has found out no less than three Messiahs in this prophecy, namely Messiah Cyrus, Messiah Judas Maccabaus, and Messiah Onias the high priest ; the two first he makes to be Messiah princes, and the other a Mejfiah priest. The Messiah Cyrus he makes to come at the end of the seven weeks, or forty-nine years, from the date given, which he supposes to be the fourth of Jeboiakim ■, and the Messiah Judas Maccabeus at the end of sixty-two weeks, or four hundred and thirty-four years, beginning from the fame date ; about which time also a third Messiah was to arise, even Messiah Onias the high priest, who was an upright person, of great holiness, and taken off by an un just death ; but to all this I reply, that Cyrus cannot be intended by the Messiah in ver. 25. whom this author places at the end of the seven weeks, or fortynine years, because he was dead long before these weeks began -, nor can Judas Maccabaus be the Messiah that was to come after the expiration of sixty-two weeks, supposing that they bear the same date with the former j because Judas Maccabaus must have lived and been dead many years before the expiration ot these weeks •, and for the very fame reason Onias the high priest cannot Be meant, whose death father Harduin makes typical of the death of the true Messiah, Jesus, who he fays is diretth intended here by the Holy Ghost ; and herein the author of the Scheme of Literal Prophecy dissents from him, seeing he will not allow the Messiah, jesus, to be at all intended-, but as for Harduii% he fays the prophecy particularly belongs to Christ, and that it had hot its u u 2 completion y PaS' "77» 183. Vid. Harduini opera, p. 593, 59$. 1

332 THE PRQPHHCJES OF THE OLD TE5TAMENT, ojmpkci.on in the times of Anticcbus and Jud'is Maccabœus and herein opposes both Eftius and Sixtus tenenfis ; he likewise z afferts, in so many words " that ♦> this was far from being fulfilled in Otiias, that he was the most bcly, for " strictly and properly speaking, says he, this word only denotes him who is " eminently the boly one ; nor was it ever fulfilled in the times of Onias that " everlasting righteousness should then appear ; nor was it then fulfilled that " the Messiah should be slain, neither was Onias properly the Messiah, as we " have before said, as the Jews themselves acknowledge, nor was it ever fuL " filled under Onias, that the whole Jewish nation should deny him, and that the " same people should be rejected upon that account; nor was it fulfilled after " the death of Onias, that the desolation of the temple should continue until " the consummation ; for before the people were to cease to be a people, that " is, before the last and utter destruction of the temple, all the prophecies " concerning the Messiah were to be fulfilled." Some Jewish writers * would have Herod Agrippa intended by the Messiah that was to be cut off, who they fay was the last king of the Jews, and was slain by Vespasian in the destruction of Jerusalem ; but this is all false •, for he was not properly a king of the Jews, having only Galilee for his jurisdiction, was not slain by Vespasian, but was a confederate of the Romans, lived some years after the destruction of the city, and at last died in peace. This is manifestly designed to destroy the applica tion of the prophecy to the Messiah, though some of them have b acknowledged that it belongs to him. R. Nebumiabc, who lived fifty years before Christ, asserted, that the time of the Messiah, signified by Daniel, could not be pro tracted beyond those fifty years. The Jews tell us a story of Jonathan ben Uzziel, that having finistied his Targum on the law, he attempted to write one upon the Hagiograpba, but was hindered by a voice from heaven, which gave this as a reason why he mould not proceed, because ' therein the end of the Meffiab is de livered to us, that is, the time of the Messiah's being cut off as fixed in Daniel, which book is one of the Hagiographa ° ; that the Messiah is here intended may be collected from the name and title here given him, by which I not only mean that of Nagid the prince, who was to come out of Judah's tribe, i Cbron. v. 2. but « Atque impletum ccrtc non est in Onia, ut esset ipse Sanctus Sanctorum, nam propric & in rigore nonnisi eum vox ilia dcnotat qui *»T ifo^>i» sanctus sit. Non est impletum Oniae temporibus, ut tune appareret justitia sempitema—non est tune impletum ut Christus occisus si>, neque enim Onias certe, ut ipiimet Judæi consitentur, propric o Xf>i«-o< erat, ut diximus, &c. Harduini opera, p. 597. • Jarchi & Abarbinel in loc. b Vid. Wagenseil. Mantissa de LXX. Hebdom. p. 73. c InGrotiusde Verit. C. R.lib. 5. s. 14. * Vid. Talmud Megillah. sol. 3. 1. e Vid. Buxtorfii Tiberiadcm. c. it.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 333 but that other of Messiah ; it is certain that this name was well known among the Jews, and that in the times of Jesus, as belonging to that great person spoken of by all the prophets ; it is used sixty or seventy times in the Targums. Now, if this does not belong to him here, it will be hard to find another place where it is absolutely, and by way of eminency, given unto him, and yet we find that he was commonly known among the Jews by this name, and that by the meaner fort ; fee John i. 41. and chap. iv. 25. which surely they must have learned from some of the prophecies, and it can hardly be conceived from whence, unless from this prophecy ; besides, the work this person was to do, can agree with no other ; the several branches of which, are mentioned in ver 24. I go on, 2. To enquire what is meant by his being cut off. The Hebrew word rilD here used, signifies to be cut off in a judicial way, and so it is frequently ; fere Gen. xvii. 14 Exod. xii. 15. Numb. xv. 30, 31. so that when the Messiah is said to be cut off, the meaning is, that he shall die, and that his death shall be penal, or executed upon him in a judicial way, which was verified in Jesus, who was tried, condemned, and adjudged to death in a judicial way by men, as well as made a curse by God ; and herein fulfilled what was prophesied of the Messiah in Isa. liii. 8. who was to be taken from prison and from judgment, to be cut off out of the land of the living, and to be stricken for the transgression os the staple of the Jews. And now, least it stiould be thought that he was cut off for any iniquity that was found in him, it is added, and not for himself; no, as Isaiah fays in chap. liii. 5. be was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities ; though some f choose to render this clause otherwise, zsbe shall have no people, that is, among the Jews, that will believe in or obey him ; as Jesus had few indeed in that nation ; or they shall not be his people ; for upon their rejection of the Messiah, Jesus, they were rejected from being the people of God ; or there shall be none to help him, that is, in obtaining eter nal redemption, because he needed none. Jarchi makes i1? 1»N to be the fame as 1^8 is not, which phrase is frequently expressive of death, as Gen. xlii. 13, 32, 46. Jer. xxxi. 15. Then the meaning will be, that the Messiah shall bt cut off and die, or be cut off by death. The author of the Scheme of Literal Prophecy B objects, upon this account, against the application of this prophecy to the Messiah ; and observes, that " the Jews, in Jesos's time, were so far «' from understanding Daniel's MeJ/ias, who was to be cut off, to have any re- " lation to the Messias they expected •, that their opinion was, that the Messias " stiould f Vid. Poli Synops. in loc. • Page 184, 198, 199.

334 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, " should never die ; and even the apostles and disciples of Jesus thought Jesus " could not be the Christ when they saw him suffer and die" To which I answer, this is no proof that the Messiah, according to the prophets, was not to die •, but only a proof of the ignorance of those persons, which seems to arise from want of being sufficiently acquainted with this truth, that the Messiah was to be both God and man •, and indeed it is no wonder that the com mon people were ignorant of thole things, when their learned doctors were so ; hence it was that they were so wretchedly confounded by Christ when he ques tioned them about the Messiah, and in what sense he was both David's son and Lord, Matt. xxii. 42. besides, this notion that the people had learnt out of the law, that Chist abideth for ever, was no ways inconsistent with his death-, for though Jesus was dead, yet he is now alive, and will continue so for evermore : It is certain ihe Jews are aware that the Messiah of the prophets was to suffer and die, as well as to be exalted and dignified •, and finding such different cha racters of him, which they thought irreconcileable in one person, have vainly imagined two Messiahs ; the one they call Messiah the son of Joseph, who they fay shall be stain in the war of Gog and Magog, and the other they call Messiah the son of David, whom they fancy will be a very potent, magnificent, and victorious prince ; though about the h time of his continuance they are divided •, and as to the disciples of Jesus, it must be acknowledged that there was much ignorance, diffidence, and unbelief in them, especially in those two referred to by this author, all which was removed by the resurrection of Christ from the dead, when life and immortality was brought to light, and he declared to be the Son of Cod, and true Messiah, -with power. In short, these exceptions are in sufficient to disprove the Messiah being intended in Daniel's prophecy, or that the Jews understood it of him, for this they might, and yet not understand all thole things that were laid of him therein, and much less be capable of recon ciling them with the characters elsewhere given of him. I have already given instances of Jews, both before and after the times of Jesus, who understood this prophecy of the Messiah •, besides, we have the testimony of Josephus in this matter, and in him, as Bishop Chandler observes', the testimony of the whole nation. But I proceed, 3. To consider the exact and precise time of the Messiah's cutting off j in order to which, it will be proper to fix the form of the year here made use of, which it is highly reasonable to suppose, was that which was in common use among the Jews. The learned Mr Marshal*, according to whose hypothesis I have h Vid. Talmud Sanhed. sol. go. 1. Poeock Porta. Mosis, p. 159, 160. ' Defence of Christianity p. 141. * Chron. Treat, part 2. c.4. p. 233, 234, &c L

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 335 have all along proceeded, in the consideration of these weeks, has made it suf ficiently appear, that the year in common use, not only among the Egyptians, Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, and other nations of Asia ; but also among the an cient Jews, consisted of just three hundred and sixty days, they reckoning thirty days to a month, and twelve months to a year, which way of reckoning appears to be as old as Noah's flood •, fee Gen. vii. 1 1, 24. and chap, viii 3, 4. but what has fully satisfied me, and I think is sufficient to satisfy any person, that this form of year is here used, is, that not only the seventy years captivity of the Jews in Babylon, which, at the time of this prophecy, was not fully ex pired, were reckoned according to this form of year, as the above-mentioned learned writer has fully proved ' ; but also that St John, in his Revelation, who in many things copied after Daniel, using Daniel's language in speaking of a time, and times, and half a time, explains it by forty-two months and one thou sand, two hundred, and sixty days ; fee Rev. xii. 6, 14. and chap. xiii. 5. which number of days, cannot be reduced into three years an A a half, by any form of year whatever but this. From the whole it appears, that the form of year then commonly in use, was according to this eastern way of reckoning. The famous Selden" indeed tells us, thit the Jewish astronomers had a solar year, consisting of three hundred and sixty-five days and six hours ; but then at the fame time he informs us, that this was only used in schools, as being servicea ble and helpful to learned studies, and not in common among the people. It is somewhat strange to me, that the author of the Scheme of Literal n Prophecy stiould account Chaldee and Lunar years of one and the fame form, as consist ing of three hundred and eighty days ; when in a lunar year, strictly and pro perly, there are but three hundred and fifty-four days and about nine hours -, and so the Jews now reckon °, when they have an equal number of full and deficient months ; that is, when six of their months consist of thirty days each, and the other six of twenty-nine only ; so that the number of the days of the year varies according to the number of the full and deficient months •, but then their highest number of days is but three hundred and fifty-six, as their lowest is three hundred and fifty-two : but a Chaldee year, or a year according to the old eastern way of reckoning, consisted of three hundred and sixty days, and not as 1 Chron. Treat, part 2. c. 4. p 248, 249. m Annus solaris illis erat. uti et aliis plcrisque astronomice putantibus dierum 365. præter quadrantem aut circitur Unde etiam a seculis rationem hanc naturalem vetustissimis sibi derivant, fed utschotis ac civilis rationis artificum fludiis inservientem, atque auxiliarem, nee perse ac simpliciter omnino ufui populari, aut riyiliter adhibitam. Seldeni opera, Vol. 1. Dissert, de Ann. Civ. Vet. Jud. c. t. p. 9, .9. » Page 194— 196. ° Sclden. de Ann. Civ. Vet. Jud. c. \. p. 8. &c. 3. p. 15.

33<5 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, as this author fays, of three hundred and eighty, unless there {hould be a misprifion of the figures 380 for 360 ; but then Lunar and Cbaldee years will not appear to be the fame. And if our author refers to the form of year made use of by the Jewilh Sanhedrim for the regulating of their festivals, who when they thought proper intercalated a thirteenth month, which they called Veadar, or the second Adar, which way of reckoning is entirely unscriptural as well as very uncertain p, depending upon the judgment, will, and pleasure, of the Sanhedrim ; though the Jews assert'', that Moses received this form of interca lation from mount Sinai ; if, I fay, he refers to this form of year, it is mani fest that such an intercalated year consisted of more days than three hundred and eighty ; for when, according to their reckoning, their months consilted equally of thirty and twenty-nine days, and supposing the additional month Veadar only consisted of twenty-nine days, yet then there must be three hun dred and eighty-three days ' in the year, and, according to their different reck onings of their full and deficient months, it had sometimes three hundred and eighty five and three hundred and eighty-six days, and the lowest number was three hundred and eighty-one. But to return from whence I have digressed : The form of year used in this prophecy of Daniel, appearing to be that wheh was commonly in use among the eastern nations, which consisted of three hun dred and sixty days, and there being four hundred and eighty of those years cut out and determined for the cutting off the Messiah, we shall consider how this event had its full and exact completion. Let it therefore be observed, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem in the month Nisan, which answers to our April, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxts king of Persia, unto the month Ijar, which answers to our M >y, in the eighteenth year of Tiberius emperor of Rome, and of the vulgar æra of Christ 32. were just four hundred and eighty-three of those eastern years; here then ending Daniel's sixty-nine weeks or four hundred and eighty-three years, we must look out for the cutting off the Messiah, which must beaccomplistied before one day in another week was over, or one year more was elapsed, and accordingly the Messiah, Jesus, was cut off the passover following, in the month Nisan, being the nineteenth year of Tiberius, and the thirty-third of the vulgar æra of Christ ; and herein was verified this very great and illustrious prediction ; but for fuller satisfaction, as to a particular calculation of those weeks or years, I refer the reader to Mr MarJhaWs excellent Chronological Trea tise upon the Seventy Weeks of Daniel, and his Chronological Tables therein inserted; wherein p Selden. de Ann. Civ. Vet. Jud. c. 9. p. 31. & c. 16. p. 46. « David Nieto, Matteh Dan. Dialog. 5. sol. 85. 2. & 87. 4. ' Vid- Selden. dc Ann. Civ. VcU Jud. c. 5. p. 18.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 337 wherein he has demonstrated the real truth of these things, in perfect agree ment with the scriptures, with this prophecy, and all the parts of it, and with Ptelomy's Canon, that golden rule of time. And now having proved the time of the Messiah's cutting off, as fixed in this prophecy, to be literally, pre cisely, and exactly fulfilled in the death of the Messiah, Jesus, I have no fur ther immediate concern therewith ; but however, not willing to overlook any part of so considerable a prophecy, I mall therefore, $dfy, Consider the remaining one week, and the events which were to be ac complished within that time. After the cutting off of the Messiah, the de struction of the Jewish nation, city, and temple, was quickly to ensue, which is expressed in general at the latter end of the twenty-sixth verse ; for after the angel had observed to Daniel, that the event of the Messiah's death was to have its accomplishment at the end of the sixty-nine weeks, he adds, and the staple of the prince that /ball come, Jhall destroy the city, and the Jantluary, and the end thereof Jhall bt with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are de termined The meaning of which is, that in a little time after the cutting off of the Messiah, the Roman army, under the command of Vespasian, should enter into the land of Judea, make war there, destroy the city of 'Jerusalem, and that famous temple that stood there ; nay, the destruction should be uni versal, like a mighty flood, or violent inundation, it should overspread the whole country, and carry all before it -, for from the beginning of the war to the end thereof, utter ruin and destruction is determined by God upon that peo ple and nation. There are some learned ' men who, by the prince that Jhall come, understand the Mejjiah the prince, whose people the Romans should be, under whose direction, and by whose order, all these judgments should be in flicted upon the Jewish nation ; but I choose rather to understand Titus Ves pasian, who was to come in a little time after the death of the Messiah, and make all these very great devastations in the land of Judea ; and many ' Jewish writers so interpret it j. and it ought to be observed that the word Nan that Jhall come, is not in construction with Djr the people, but with TJJ the prince-, and accordingly Aquila thus renders the word mh>? nft/pim .^o^oa, the people of t-he prince that is to come, or of the future- prince ; and, in the fame form, the Septuagint read the words. But to proceed, to consider the period of time in which the desolation determined was to have its accomplishment, and that is Vol. III. X x within « Junius, Pblanus and Gcjerus in loc. Mr Marshall's Chron. Treat, p. 5, 254, 256, 257. Mr Whiston's Supplement to the Literal Accomplishment, &c. p. 82. * Jarchi & Aben Ezra in loc. Abarbinel & Jacchiades in Wagenseil. Mantissa deLXX. Hebdom. p. 92, 93.

338 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, within the remaining one week, and especially in the half part thereof; but of this period, and of the events to be fulfilled therein, we have a particular account in the twenty-seventh verse of this prophecy, and be Jhall confirm the covenant with many for one week : and in the midst os the week be Jhall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading oj abomination be stjall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined sljall be poured upon the desolate, which is a prediction of these following events ; First, that the Roman people, who was to destroy the city and sancluary, would, for the more easyeffecting the same, make peace with many nations for the space of one week or seven years, which is meant by confirming the covenant with many for one week ; in the beginning of which week, as it appears", they did actually make peace with the Partbians, Me -es, and Armenians, whereby this event predicted had its full accomplishment. Secondly, it is said that the same people should in the midst of the week *sm in the half part thereof, cause the sacrifice and oblation, that is, the Jewish sacrifice to cease, which accordingly was literally fulfilled towards the close of the latter half part of this week, when the city of fernsalem being closely besieged by Titus, what through the sharpness of the siege, the divisions of the people, and the want both of time and men to offer sacrifice, and beasts to offer up, the rniikvx,****** or daily sacrifice, as Josepbus fays", entirely ceased, to the great grief of the people; nor have the Jews ever since the destruction of their city and temple offered sacrifice, esteeming it unlawful so to do in a strange land. Thirdly, in the same half part of the week, for the overspreading of abominations, they were to make the land desolate, &c. which words bin 3J3 D'XlpP OQtMD may be thus rendered, and upon the wing, or battlements of the temple, shall be the abominations of the desolator, or os him that maketb desolate, that is, either the ensigns of the Roman army, which had upon them the images of their gods and emperors, which they set up in the holy place and sacrificed unto, than which nothing could be a greater abo mination to theijews ; or else the blood of the zealots, who were flain upon those battlements is here meant, by which the holy place was polluted and de filed •, and thus this city and sanctuary were to continue in their ruin and de solation until the consummation of God's vengeance determined by him should be fully poured upon the desolate people of the Jews, which has been and continues to this very day. It may be now proper to enquire, when this one week, or period of seven years, began, in which time these several events were to be accomplished ; and this we may easily learn from the ending of it, which must be ■ Vid. Marshall's Chron. Treat, p. 271. w Dc Bell. Jud. lib. 6. c. 2.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 339 be in the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem, when the daily sacri fice ceased, and the abom nation os desolation was set up, which was in the vulg.ir sera of Christ seventy ; and consequently the beginning of these seven years must be in the sixty-third of the fame æra, above thirry years after the expira tion of the sixty nine weeks, where one would have thought these should have begun, had it not been for the express characters in the text, which pin them down to the times where we have placed them. The true reason why the judgments of God were not immediately inflicted upon the Jewish nation, for their rejection of the Messiah, but were deferred unril this time, seems to be the display of God's goodness, patience, and long-suffering to that people; as he gave to the old world space to repent before he brought the flood upon them, so he did to this nation ; but all instances of his grace and goodness being flighted and despised, about the beginning of this one week, which was cut out and determined upon them, things began to work towards their final ruin and destruction, which at the close thereof were fully accomplished. And now seeing the utmost extent of this prophecy is the destruction of the city and temple of 'Jerusalem, as many Jewish writers x themselves acknowledge, it may therefore be fairly concluded, that the Messiah must be come; for if the Melsiah was to be cut off at the end of sixty-nine weeks, of thole seventy determined upon Daniel's people and city, and the whole seventy weeks have many hundred years ago had their full accomplishment in the utter desolation of that people and city ; then consequently the Messiah must be come, and be cut off also many hundred years ago. The Jews are sensible of the poignancy and strength of the argument formed from hence, and therefore have de nounced a curse, upon those who compute the times of the Messiah, in the following form, as recorded in their Talmud ' rfflVl pSJ? bvf *3tOTT0 TTp " Let " them burst," or, as others render them, " Let their bones rot who compute " the times •" which is manifestly designed to deter the people from consider ing this prophecy of Daniel, wherein the time of the Messiah's cutting off is precisely fixed, and to keep them in ignorance and unbelief as to the true Messiah, Jesus, who came and was cut off at the precise time fixed herein. I shall conclude this chapter with only observing, that the prophecy in Hos iti. 4. is exactly verified in this people, for the children os Israel stall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an Ephod, and without Teraphim. They are not now a body politic, having rule and dominion among themselves, they have no king nor x x 2 prince ' Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Abarbinel, &c. ut supra. * Tract. Sanhcd. sol. 97. 2. Vid. Maimon. in Pocock Porta A'osis, p. 176,

34o THE- PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, prince of their own, the scepter is departed from them, neither is any sacrifice offered by them, for the daily sacrifice is ceased; and though they were a peo ple once very prone to idolatrous worship, there is not now an image among them. May the following words have the fame exact completion, which there is reason to believe will in God's own time ! Afterwards (hall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king ; or as their own Targumist paraphrases it, " And shall hearken to the Messiah the son of David " their king, and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days." CHAP. IV. Shewing the Lineage and Descent of the Messiah. HAving considered the time of the Messiah's coming into the world, it may now be proper to enquire into hib lineage and descent : from what nation he was to arise, in what tribe and family thereof he was to be born, of which the prophecies of the Old Testament are not waiting to inform us. And, First, Tt appears that he was to be of the nation and stock of Israel; no stranger might fit upon the throne of Israel, all their kings in common were to be of themselves, and much more the king Messiah, of whom it is prophesied in so many words8: Their nobles, m» their noble one, shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed out of the midst of them; which thtTargum ren ders thus, their kin? shall be anointed from among themselves, and their Messiah stall be revealed from the midst of them; and so it is appplied in the Talmud', *« It is very well known, fays Kimchi on the text, that the king Messiah shall " be of Israel ," and it is as well known that Jesus was of the fame stock : and herein, principally, lies the glory and preferableness of that nation to the Gentiles •, that of them, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever * ; to which Jesus refers, when he said to the woman of Samaria, Salvation is of the 'sews" ; and the author of The Discourse of the Grounds and Reasons f, &c himself thinks, that it '« seems to signify only, that the Messius, "■ or Jcr. xxx. 21. . c Talmud Sanhed. sol. 98. col. 2.' ' Page 197. Rom. ix. 5. ' John iv. 22.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 34i " or saviour, or redeemer of Israel, should arise out of the Jetusalem Jews." The first prophecy concerning the Messiah, left it entirely undetermined as to what particular people, or nation, he should spring from ; had he arose from any nation, or any family, among men, it would have been sufficient to have ve rified that ; but after the promise and oath were made to Abraham, it was ne cessary that he should be of his feed, as Jesus is, who is therefore called tie son of Abraham*, and is an Israelite indeed, in the fullest and most extensive sense of that phrase ; hence it appears, that no one of any other nation could be the Messiah, whatever pretensions he might make unto it; Herod therefore could not be the Messiah, because he was an Idumean ; this some have thought to be the principal tenet of those called Herodians h, though they seem rather to be Herod's courtiers, or his menial servants •, nor could it be Vespasian, he being a Roman -, though Josepbus, more out of flattery \ perhaps, than from his real judgment, bestowed that title on him. Secondly, It is also as plain, that the Messiah was to be of the tribe of Juctah ; hence he is called Shi oh, his, that is, Judab's son ; on this score that tribe had the pre-eminence of the restk, for Jttdah prevailed above bis brethren, because as him the chief ruler, the Nagid, the prince Messiah, was to come ; for which reason this tribe was preserved a distinct tribe until, and after, the times of Jesus, when the other tribes were not only carried captive, but scattered among the nations, and never more returned as such. Now it is evident, as the apos tle says ', that our Lord sprang out of Judab ■, hence one of his famous titles is ™, she lion os the tribe of Judab. Thirdly^ It is no less manifest from the prophecies of the Old Testament, that the Messiah was to be of the house and family of David -, hence, tst, The Messiah is called the root es Jesse, and the rod which should come out of his stem, according to the prophecy in Isai. xi. i. and there shall come forth a rod out os the stem of Jesse, and a branch foall grow out of his roots ; which the Targumist paraphrases thus, " And a king shall come forth from the sons " of Jesse, and the Messiah shall be anointed from his childrens' children •," and is acknowledged to be a prophecy relating to the Messiah, by many Jewish writers " ; as is also" ver. 10. where it is said, and in that day there shall be a root * Matth. i. i. h Vid. Basnage's History of the Jews, book t. c. 14. sect. 4. ' Ibid, sect Ci 14. and book 4. c. 24. fast. 16. k 1 Chron. v. z. ' Heb. vii. 14. m Rev. v. 5; compared with Gen. xlix. 9. which in Raya Mehimna in Zohar inExod. sol. 49. 3, 4. is ex plained of the Messiah. n Vid. Talmud Sanhed. sol. 93. z. Aben Ezra, Kimchi, & Rashi, in loc. Nachman. disputat. cumfratre Paulo, p. 53. ° Zohar in Exod. sol. 71.1.

342 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, root of JeJJ'e, which Jhall stand for an ensign of the people, &c. This manifestly enough appears from the whole context, as might be easily argued and suffi ciently proved, from the very great qualifications of this person, ver. 2, 3. from his work and office, in judging the world j and that righteousness and integrity with which he will perform it, ver. 4, 5. from the peaceablcness of his kingdom, ver. 6—9. and from the prodigious gathering of the Gentiles to him, ver. 10— 12. The prophecy in ver. 1. aptly enough expresses the very low, poor, and mean condition of Jesse's or David's family, at the time when the Messiah should spring from thence, which should be like to a tree cut down to its roots, and have nothing left but a stem or stump under ground, from whence should arise a noble branch ; and well agrees with the state of that family, when Jesus came of it, which, though it had been very consi derable and very flourishing, was now reduced very low ; yet from thence, out of the very roots and stem of Jesse, God brought forth his servant tht Branch. The Jews to this day pray for the Messiah under the name of the son of Jesse*. This prophecy cannot be understood of Hezekiahq, as a late author fays, because Hezekiab was now born when this prophecy was given out ' ; nay, must be then ten or twelve years of age. Secondly, On this account he is also called the son of David ; this is a title which the Jews frequently give to the Messiah, and was much used by them in the times of Jesus, who put this question to some of them, faying, What think ye of Christ ? Whose son is be' ? to which they very readily reply, with out any manner of hesitation, The son of David, it being an opinion univer sally received among them, that the Messiah should be of David's line ; nor was this known only to the wife and learned, but even among the vulgar peo ple ; the poor blind man that begged by the way side, saluted Jesus with this title, as believing him to be the Messiah •, nay, the very children in the temple cried, Hosanna to him, as the son of David: and manifest enough it is he was of that family, for his supposed father Joseph, and his real mother Mary, were both of that house. The author of the Scheme of Literal Prophecy says \ " That it does not ap- " pear that the virgin Mary was of the line of David, but rather of some «* line in the tribe of Levi -, and that Jesus could not be of the line of David, " as descended from her, seems plain, since St Matthew makes him to be of " the t Seder Tephillot, sol. 278. 1. & 285. 2. 1 Scheme of Literal Prophecy, p. 103, 137. ' See Isa. vii. 1. compared with 2 Kings xvi. s, and chap xviii. 2, » Matth. xxii. 42. « Page jo9.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 34j " the line of David only on account of Joseph, who was not his father, and " at the time of Jesus's birth only betrothed to the virgin Mary; (which " mould seem an extraordinary method of proceeding in St Matthew, if Jesus . *' had been of the line of David by Mary) and since the Jews never reckon " families by females." To which I reply, that Joseph, the husband of Mary, was of the line and family of David, is not disputed, and that Mary was of the fame line and family may be easily collected from her being taxed and en rolled in the fame city with him, Luke ii. 3—5. And all went to be taxed, every one into bis own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (because be was of the bouse and lineage of David) to be taxed with Mary bis espoused wise, being great with child. Now, as Grotius upon the place observes ", had not Mary been of the house and family of David, she ought to have been taxed or enrolled in the city of her own family, and not in this ; besides, she is ex pressly said to be of the house of David, Luke i. 27. where the angel Gabriel is directed to go to a virgin (espoused to a man whose name was Joseph) of the bouse os David, and the virgin's name was Mary. Those words, of the house of David, are to be connected with the virgin, and not with Joseph ; for the de sign of the words is not to give an account of Joseph, to whom the virgin was espoused, but of the virgin herself, who is here described by the place of her abode, Nazareth; her relation to Joseph, being espoused to him-, her lineage and descent, being of the house of David ; and by her name, which was Mary ; and this sense and reading of the words the grammatical construction of them will easily admit of, as several learned men have observed w. What our author seems to have a regard to, as what would serve to support this his hypothesis, " That it does not appear that the virgin Mary was of the line of David, but " rather of some line in the tribe of Levi," is, Luke i. 5, 36 which he cites in his margin, in which place Elizabeth, who was of the tribe of Levi, is said to be cousin to the virgin Mary ; from whence, I suppose, he would conclude, that they were both of a family •, to which I answer, that though Elizabeth's father was of the house of Aaron in the tribe of Levi; yet, her mother might be of the house of David, in the tribe of Jtidab •, and so Mary and she be cousins ; u Aperte satis ostendit Lucas etiam Mariam ex genere Davidis fuissc: nam alioqui ipfa in familiæ i'ua: urbe profiteri debuit. Grot, in Luc. ii. 5. "■" Imo etiam istud ex domo David, tarn potest. ad ipsatn Mariam quam ad Joscphum, grammatica constructione referri, Beza in Luc. i. 17. Kiddcr's Demonstration of the Messiah, par. z .p. 151. Chrysostom. & Nicetat in ibid.

344 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, cousins j nor can our author well object to me, that it was either unlawful or unusual to marry out of their tribes and families, for, according to his own hypothesis, Joseph of the house of David, in the tribe of Judab, must marry - Mary, of the house of Aaron, in the tribe of Levi. Again, whereas the fame author fays, " That Jesus could not be of the line " of David, as descended from her, (the virgin) seems plain, since St Matthew " makes him to be of the line of Davids only on account of Joseph who was " not his father, and at the time of Jesus's birth only betrothed to the virgin " Mary." I reply, that St Matthew makes Jesus to be of the line of David, on the account of Joseph is certain -, but how this makes it plain that he could not be of the line cf David, as descended from the virgin, I cannot see ; for if Joseph and Mary were both of one house and family, as I think has been already proved, then St Matthew's making Jesus to be of the line of David on the account of Joseph, who was the reputed father of Jesus, and was be trothed to his real mother Mary, makes him also to be of the fame line, as descended from her. I perceive that this author thinks it to be an extraordi nary method os proceeding in St Matthew, in tracing the genealogy of Jesus down to Joseph, and not to Mary, if Jesus had been of the line of David by her, which I think need not seem so, since, as he himself observes, the Jews never reckoned families by females ; for it is a common maxim with> x them nnj)U?0 xb OS* nrnitpa Matris familia, non familia, and therefore the genea logy of Jesus is reckoned not by Mary, but by Joseph, to whom she was espoused ; besides, Joseph was the reputed father of Jesus, the Jews knew no other, and had Joseph been of any other family than that of David, they would have rejected Jesus on that very score ; therefore it need not be wondered that St Matthew, in order to remove this stumbling block out of their way, gives us the genealogy of Jesus by Joseph ; and it deserves to be observed, that it is not so much the design of St Matthew to give us the natural descent of Jefas as St Luke does, but to shew us the royal line of Jesus, and that being the legal heir of Joseph, as he certainly was, being born of his wife, and that not in adultery, whilst he himself was living, had an undoubted right to the crown and throne of David. For if a child begotten of a woman, after death of her husband, by his next brother, was, according to the law, in Deut. xxv. to be accounted the son and rightful heir and successor of the deceased ; much more might Jesus, who was born of the wise of Joseph whilst he was living, and that not begotten by another man, be accounted the son of' Josephy of the fame * Juchasin, sol. 55.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 345 same house and family with him, nay appear to be his rightful heir and suc cessor. So that from the whole, there appears to be a great deal of reason why St Matthew took such a method, notwithstanding Jesus was of the line of David, as descended from the virgin Mary; nor should this seem to be an extraordinary method os proceeding in him, seeing it was so very agreeable to the laws, customs, and usages of the Jews. $dly, For the very fame reason the Messiah is called David in many places of scripture y, as in Jer. xxx. 9. Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24. and chap, xxxvii. 24, 25. Hos iii. 5. in all which the Jews themselves acknowledge the Messiah is intended •, and good reason there is for it, for they can never be understood of David himself, these prophecies being given out a great many years after his death ; neither can they agree with any so well as with the Messiah, who was to be of his posterity, and therefore bears his name, which is no unusual thing for children to do ; besides, the context of these several prophecies, and the manifest scope of them, determine them to belong to him. Moreover, David was an eminent type of the Messiah, and that in many respects, as in the mean ness of his descent, the comeliness of his person, his wisdom and prudence, his courage and valour, in his holiness, and the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, with which he was endued, as also in his kingly office, and in the bat tles which he fought, as well as in the conquests which he obtained, and therefore the Messiah might well bear his name ; and no wonder it is, that David should so often speak of the Messiah in his own person, and that many things which are spoken of David may very aptly be applied to him. Now .of this man's feed hath Cod, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus \ y Kimchi in Jer. xxx. 9. Ezek. xxxiv; 23. and chap, xxxvii. 24. Targum Sc Aben Ezra in Hot iii. 5. & Miclol Yophi in Psal, exliv. 14. and R. Abendana not. in Miclol Yophi in t Kings xi. 39.. & Hagg. ii. 23. « A£h xiii, 23. Vol. III. Yy CHAP.

346 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, CHAP. V. Concerning the miraculous Conception and Birth of the Messiah. HAving considered the lineage and descent of the Messiah, I (hall proceed to enquire into the manner of his conception and birth, which were to be very extraordinary and unheard of; for it appears from several prophecies, that he was to be born of a virgin, which truth I (hall endeavour to establish from the consideration of the following ones ; and shall begin, First, With Isa. vii. 14. 'therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign ; be hold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. This is the grand and principal prophecy which concerns this affair ; for though it might be hinted before, yet it does rfot seem to be so clearly revealed till now. The Messiah, in his person and office, was gradually revealed unto the sons of men ; what some ages had but a very faint and glimmering view, others en joyed a more perfect knowledge of; the first prophecy may indeed be well thought to contain this truth, when it speaks of the Messiah as the feed of the woman ; but yet it does not so clearly express it as this, for Eve does not seem to be apprehensive of it, who, upon the birth of her first child, . says % / have gotten a man nwnN the Lord; which "Jonathan ben Uzziel paraphrases thus, " I have gotten a man, the angel of the Lord •" supposing that she had got the promised seed, the angel of God's presence, and messenger of the cove nant ; now had she clearly known that he was to be born . of a virgin, slie could not have imagined that she had brought him forth ; and perhaps this may be the reason, why many of the good women of Israel, as Racbael, and Hannah, were so desirous of children, every one hoping that the Messiah would come of them, not being so well acquainted with the extraordinary manner of his birth ; but this prophecy of Isaiah puts it beyond all doubt, that he was to be born of a virgin j nor could the Jews ever after expect him to be born of any other, as will manifestly appear from the following considerations. 1st, The f Gen. iv. 1.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 347 ist, The Hebrew word nttty, signifies a virgin, and no other, and is justly rendered by va^n®-, by the evangelist Matthew, as it had been some hundreds of years before by the Septuagint interpreters, and appears to be the constant and universal sense of the word in all places of the Old Testament where it is used, which are these following, Gen. xxiv. 43. Exod. ii. 8. P/al. Ixviii. 21. Cant. i. 3. and chap. vi. 8. Prov. xxx. 19. the latter of which the Jews b have pitched upon, and chiefly insist on, as militating against this fense of the word na!?y used by Solomon for a maid, or virgin, where they say it cannot be meant of a pure and uncorrupted virgin ; because, it is added, such is the way of an adulterous woman, she eatetb, and wipetb her mouth, and faith, I have done no wickedness : to which I answer, that it does not appear, that the maid and the adulterous woman, are one and the fame person •, but supposing they were, (he might, though vitiated, be called a maid, or virgin, according to her own profession of herself, or as she appeared to others who knew her not; or as she was antecedent to her defilement, which is no unusual thing in scripture ; see Deut. xxii. 28. though the genuine sense of the words seems to be this, that Solomon was not acquainted with, much less approved of the secret contrivances, artful ways, and hidden methods, which wicked men take to seduce and de coy innocent virgins, and compass their lust upon them ; for had it been in tended of the way of natural generation, he could not be ignorant of it ; so that this instance makes nothing for them, nor any thing against us j besides, the Hebrew word is derived from the root nby which signifies to hide, or cover, which well agrees with the pure and incorrupt state of virgins ; as also with a common custom used in the eastern nations, where virgins were kept recluse, and shut up from the public company and conversation of men. idly, The birth of this son is represented, as something stupendous and ex traordinary, as a sign, ma, a prodigy, wonder, or miracle ; and for that rea son has a behold prefixed unto it : Was the meaning of the prophet only this, that a young married woman should be with child, where would the wonder be ? What surprising thing is this which every day gives us repeated instances of ? And if this was all, that is intended, what need of such a pompous appa ratus as this to introduce it ? Hear ye now, 0 house os David 4be Lord him self shall give you a sign, behold, &c. Some of the Jewish writers1 would have the sign, or wonder, be, that this young woman was unfit for concep tion at the time of this prophecy ; but no such intimation is given either in y y 2 the b Kimchi & Aben Ezra in loc. Vet. Nizzach. p. 84, R. Isaac Chizuk, Emun. p. i.e. ai.* c Jarchi in loc.

348 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, the text or context ; others d, that it lies in this, that it was a male child, and not a female, which is predicted ; but the sign or wonder does not lie in the truth of the prophet's prediction, but in the greatness of the thing predicted ; besides, the verification of this would not have given the prophet much cre dit, not Ahaz, or the house of David, much consolation ; for this might have been ascribed rather to a happy conjecture, than to a spirit of prophecy ; much less can the wonder be, that this child should eat butter and honey as soon as. it was born, as others', when nothing is more natural to and common with young children, than to take down any kind of liquids which are sweet and pleasant. $dly, The scope of the prophecy is to comfort the dejected house of David, who appear to be in the utmost confusion, at the tidings of the conspiracy formed against them by the kings of Syria and Israel; upon which Isaiah is sent with a message to Ahaz, who, upon meeting with that prince, attended with his nobles, bids him ask a sign os the Lord his Cod, either, in thei height above or in the depth ; but he, in a haughty, irreverent, and irreligious manner, rejected it, under a specious pretence of not tempting God •, upon which the prophet turns himself from him, to the distressed house of David, and comforts them with the news of the Messiah's birth, who was to spring from them, than which nothing could be more supporting to them under their present fears ; for hereby he assures them, that they should never be destroyed or cut off before the Messiah came -, who was to be born of a pure virgin ; and consequently they need not fear any thing from this formida ble confederacy. Afthly, This prophecy had its literal accomplishment in Jesus, whose con ception and birth were after this extraordinary manner, which cannot be said of any other person s ; Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wife : when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost < which was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, faying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, $$c. which matter of fact, as it was not attempted to be disproved by the Jews in Christ's time, who were most capable of discovering the fraud or im posture, if "there had been any, so it cannot by the malice and cunning of later ones, who, though in contradiction to it, do now assert, that the Messiah was to be born as other men are, in the ordinary and common way of generation } yet it appears, that they were formerly of different sentiments, as is manifest from * R. Saadiah. Caon. in Aben Ezra in loc. * Aben Ezra in loc. R.Isaac Chizuk, Emun. p. i. c. 21. f Matt, i. 19, 22, 23.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 349 from several of their traditionary sayings, recorded both in their own and in the writings of the evangelists, which Bishop Chandler has collected and laid together in his excellent Defence of Christianity 5, and it deserves to be remarked what that learned prelate observes, that those who set up for Messiahs, as Simon Magus, and others, pretended to have God for their father, and to be born of a virgin ; and no wonder they should, for how could they expect to be re ceived, especially among the Jews, without such a pretence, when so glaring a prophecy as this respecting the manner of the Messiah's birth, stood so openly in their sacred books ? The Jews object several things to the application of this prophecy to Jesus, which aie as follow : 1. They fay, that the birth of this child was to be a sign to Ahaz, and to the house of David, of present deliverance, which, say they, the birth of Jesus, seven or eight hundred years afterwards, could not be h ; to which I answer, that this promise does not seem to be made to Ahaz \ he having despised the prophet, and rejected his offer, but to the disconsolate house of David; who are hereby assured, that no conspiracy, now, or hereafter formed against them, should ever succeed to the extirpation or destruction of them, before Immanuel came, who was to be born of a virgin ; and indeed, as Mr Whiston well ob serves ', " The longer that birth was suture, the longer was the house of David " secure by this prophecy of deliverance from destruction : because that fa- " mily was by no means to fail till the birth of Immanuel, of a pure virgin, " was come to pass." Besides, what is suggested, that a thing future cannot be a sign of what is present, or of what was done long before the sign ex isted, is not always true ; for Moses's serving God on mount Horeb, after he had brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, is mentioned in Exod. iii. 12. as a sign or token of his then present mission to that people, which was some con siderable time before this sign existed j so likewise the sign of the deliverance of the city of Jerusalem from the army of Sennacherib king of Assyria, was not fully to exist until the third year after it, Isa. xxxvii. 30. moreover, the word sign is not to be taken relatively, but absolutely for a wonder or miracle; and we find that signs and wonders are frequently joined together in scripture, as explanative of each other; and it is easy to observe, that the miracles of Jesus Chfist are sometimes called signs. 2. They object that this deliverance was to be before this child came to years of discretion, and therefore cannot be understood of one that was to be born several hundreds of years after; to which it may be replied, there is no necessity of I Page 333—338. h Vet. Nizzach. p. 85, 86. R. Isaac Chizuk, Emun. p. i.e. zi. 1 Supplement to the Literal Accomplishment, &c. p. 54.

350 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, . of concluding, that the child, in ver. 16. is the fame with the son that was to be born of a virgin, in ver. 14. but rather the prophet's son Sbearjajbub, w horn he is bid to take with him, ver. 3. and who must therefore be supposed to bear some part, or answer some end or other, in this prophecy, which it is very probable may be this, namely, to afiure the houle of David, that the land which was abhorred by them, should be forsaken of both her kings, before the child, which was with him, was grown to years of discretion ; though it may as well be understood of any child, and so of the promised Messiah ; snd the meaning be, that before any child, or new born babe, such an one as is pro mised in ver. 14. arrives to years of discretion, that is, in the space of three or four years, this remarkable deliverance shall be wrought, and ye shall be freed from all fears of being destroyed by those princes. 3. They further urge, that this son prophesied of, was to be called Immanuel; whereas Jesus was never called so-, in answer to which it will be sufficient to say, that the meaning is, that he should be so, and not that this should be the name whereby he should be commonly called, which is a very frequent use of this phrase in scripture; as for instance, it is said of the child prophesied of in Isa. ix. 6. that his name should be called wonderful, counsellor, the -mighty God, the everlasting father, and prince os peace •, now let this child be who he will, Hezekiab, or the Messiah, or any other, it cannot be supposed that he should be usually called, and commonly known by all those several and pompous names, but only that there should be something in him, or done by him, which should answer to these characters given of him, which agrees with the instance under consideration •, Jesus is the true Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature, who dwelt among us, and has, by his blood, procured peace and reconcilia tion with God for us. Besides, though Jesus and Immanuel differ in sound, yet not in sense, the one signifying a Saviour, the other God with us, who when he is so, is a Saviour of us ; so that Jesus is to us, what he is here promised he should be. 4. What they further object, that it is no where said of Jesus that he eat butter and honey, as is said of this child ver. 15. is very weak and ridiculous ; for though the evangelist does not relate this, it does not from thence follow that he did not eat thereof, it is rather highly reasonable to suppose he did ; for the land of Canaan, where he was born, was a land flowing with milk and honey •, so that there was plenty of this kind of food for poor families, in one of which Jesus was born, and therefore no doubt lived upon the common food of the country : besides, the phrase seems designed to express the truth of his human

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 35i human nature, that he should be educated as other children were, and does very particularly point out the land where he was to be born. Now, for such reasons as these, they, as well as some others, would not have this prophecy under stood of Jesus, but of Ahaz's wife, and his son Hezekiab, which cannot be; for Abaz reigned but sixteen years, 2 Kings xvi. 2. and Hezekiab his successor was twenty-five years old when he began his reign, 2 Kings xviii. 2. so that he was nine years of age when Abaz began to reign, and therefore could not be less than eleven or twelve years old when this prophecy was given -, which some Jewish writers observing, have declined this fense of the words, and would have them be understood of some other son of Abaz, by some young woman ; but no other son of Abaz was ever lord of Judea, as this Immanuel is repre sented to be, in chap. viii. 8. nor can the words be understood of Isaiah's wife and son, since Isaiah would never call her a virgin who had born him children, one of which was now with him-, nor indeed a young woman, but rather the prophetess, as he does in chap. viii. 3. nor was any son of his king of Judah, as this appears to be in the place before cited. Therefore as this prophecy is applicable to none but Jesus, so it had a literal accomplishment in him only. R Akiba explained it the fame way as we Christians do k. But I proceed, Secondly, To the consideration of Jer. xxxi. 22. as another prophecy re specting the extraordinary conception and birth of the Messiah '; where it is thus written, How long wilt thou go about, 0 thou backsliding daughter ? For the Lord bath created a new thing in the earth : a woman shall compass a man. That the incarnation of the Messiah is here intended, will appear, if we consider that all other senses, whether of Jewish or Christian interpreters, are weak, ridi culous, and impertinent ; as when they understand the text to refer to the heroic spirit which appears in some women, superior to men ; to the unusual practice of women suing to men to be joined in marriage to them, as in Isai. iv. 1. or to the people of Israel's turning to God after their apostacy from him, with others of the fame stamp. Besides, the context manifestly shews, that this is a prophecy of the Messiah ; for here are several blessings promised, which only could be had from him, and which the Jews only expected in his days j fee ver. 10—14. and it deserves to be remarked, that the slaughter of the infants, at his birth, is prophesied of in ver. 15. which I shall particularly consider hereafter : moreover, the scope of the text well suits with the incar nation of the Messiah, which is to excite the Jews to return to their own land, since k Basoage's History of the Jews, book 4. chap. 35. s, 4. 1 Vid, Pocock. not. Miscel. p. 345, 34.8. Hulsii Theolog. Jud. p. 300,

352 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, since nothing could more effectually do it, than to put them in mind that the ] Messiah was to be born there, whose incarnation was to be extraordinary : he was to be conceived by, and born of a virgin, which may therefore well be called a new thing, an unheard of one, and a creation ; for the human nature was immediately prepared and formed, by the power of the Holy Ghost:, with out the help of man. This phrase, a woman's comparing a man"', does very aptly express her conception, and bearing of a man child, and intends here such a conception as is extraordinary and miraculous, and therefore is called a new thing in the earth, produced by an almighty creative power. Besides, to whom can this -Q3, this mighty man, be so well referred as to the man, God's fellow, the promised Messiah. Some of the Jews themselves have acknow ledged % that the Messiah is here intended, and that by this woman is to be understood a virgin : the version of the Septuagint very manifestly hints at it, which renders the words thus, »1> »*1>o-i xt^t^ oVInpian u< xx\a$v\tv<rt* *«»>!>,, because the Lord hath created salvation for a new plantation ; by which they seem to design no other than the promised Saviour, the branch of the Lord's planting, which was to be beautiful and glorious, as well as to arise in a new, surprising, and unheard of manner. Thirdly, This surprising mystery of the Messiah's incarnation, is represented in Dan. ii. 45. by a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. That the Messiah's kingdom is intended in the former verse, the Jews" acknowledge, and what is said of it well suits with the kingdom of Jesus, which is not of this world ; but is a spiritual one ; set up by God himself, and not supported and preserved by human policy or worldly force, and so is such a kingdom as this was to be, notwithstanding the insinuations of a late author p to the contrary j for m The Hebrew word 22D here used, among other things, signifies to be the cause or occasion of any thing, and is so used i Sam. xxii. 22. Eccles. vii. 25. and may be very well applied to the case under consideration, the woman being a very great occasion of, and much concerned in the conception or birth of man, as the Virgin Mary more especially was in the conception and birth of Jesus, she being the only natural and second cause thereof. 22D in generc est complecti, item circumdare & ambire, optimeque congruit uterina: circumdationi, qua foetus undique ab utero circumscribitur. Hac voce R. R. Chaldaii & Arabes Causam exprimunt ; conservatio causalis, qualis est infantis in utero, non male sic exprimitur, quin & vocem NsOID menstruum Chaldæi inde deducunt, & expressit hanc vocem interpres Arabs per vivincabit, quod ad officium uteri pertinct. Calovius in Poli Synopf. in loc. » R. Moses Haddarsan in Gen. xli. in Galatin de arcanis C. V. 1. 7. c 14. R. Oshua in Lightfoot Harmon, p. 42. Bereshith Rabba Parash. 89. in Pearson on the Creed, Art. 3. 0 Jarchi & Aben Ezra in loc. Zohar in Gen. sol. 85. 4. f The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. p. 165, 166.

^RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 353 for though it Jhall break in pieces and consume all other kingdoms, yet this (hall not be effected by force of arms, or worldly policy, but by the prevalence of the gospel, in rooting out from among them, idolatry, superstition, and every thing else which is opposed to his kingdom-, and by subjecting them entirely to him, whose kingdom Jhallstand for ever ; which cannot be said of any other ; nor should the small beginnings of it, or the progress it has yet made in the world, be any hindrance to our faith in the full and compleat accomplishment hereof; seeing it is manifest enough, that the Messiah's kingdom, in this fense, is set up, gains ground, and is daily advancing in the world. But to proceed to the consideration of these words, let it be observed, ist, That it is no unusual thing in scripture for a king or kingdom to be signified by a stone q •, nor is it any thing uncommon for the Messiah to be re presented under the same metaphor ; as in Gen. xlix. 24. from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel, that is, the Messiah, who is both the shepherd of his flock, and the rock and fortress of his people, who, as m~n, descended from Jacob, and as the God-man from Jacob's God. R. Saadiab Gaon explains the text in Daniel, by this in Genesis. So Pfal. cxviii. 22. the stone which the builders refused, is become the bead stone of the corner, is to be understood of the Messiah, as it is applied, both by Jesus Christ and his apostles r, which is acknowledged by the Jews themselves J ; and is sufficiently evident from the context; see also Isa. xxviii. 16. and the Targum on the place, which tried stone there spoken of, Jarcbi understands of the king Messiah, agreeable to 1 Pet. ii. 6. 2dly, It deserves to be remarked, that natural generation, especially when there is something unusual and remarkable in it, is sometimes expressed by a cutting, hewing, or digging out of a rock, as in Isa. Ii. 1, 2. hearken to me, ye that follow aster righteousness, ye that seek the Lord, look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged ; which metaphorical ex pressions are explained in the following words, " Look unto Abraham your " father, and unto Sarah that bare you ;" where the birth of Isaac, when his father was an hundred years old, and his mother ninety, which was some thing extraordinary, is manifestly referred to ; to which might be added, Deut. xxxii. 18. where a phrase is used which may deserve consideration under this head. $dly, It ought to be observed, that this phrase without hands, is expressive of a work, not to be effected by the hands of men, but by the power of God, Vol. III. - Zz which 9 Vid. Mede's Works, p. iom. ' Matt. xxi. 42. Acts iv. 10, 1 1. 1 Pet. ii. 7. • Zoharin Exod. sol. 93. 3. & in Numb. sol. 100. 1. & Jarchi in Mic. v. a. /-

i54 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. which is the constant use of the phrase in the New Testament, borrowed from hence; see 2 Cor. v. i. Col. ii. n. Heb. viii. 2. now this, as it is applied to the Messiah, who is here represented under the metaphor of a stone, and whose incarnation is expressed by being cut out of a mountain, signifies, that it was sine opere virili, without the help of man, and was brought about in a divine, supernatural, and extraordinary manner, as was the birth of the Messiah, Jesus, who was born of a virgin, through the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost, which is both an instance of almighty power on God's part, and won derful condescension on Christ's, as well as gives a very great display of the divine wisdom, which has provided a Saviour for us m our own nature, brought into the world in such a way, whereby he became entirely exempted from that pollution which has infected all human nature; so that hereby, that human nature, which was assumed by him, was very fit and proper to be united to a divine person, and he a very suitable Saviour for us sinners ', for such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sin ners, and made higher than the heavens. CHAP. VI. Concerning the place of the Messiah'* Birth. TH E place of the Messiah's birth comes next to be enquired into, which, by prophecy, has been fully determined, and clearly pointed out to us in Mic. v. 2. But thou Bethlehem- Ephratab, though thou Be little among the thousands as Judah, yet out of thee shall be come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israeli whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Now in order to set this prophecy in a clear light, and to make it appear that it concerns the place of the Messiah's birth, for which it is cited in the New Testament, I shall endeavour, 1 . To prove, that the Messiah and no other is here intended. 2.That the Jews expected the Messiah to be born at Bethlehem, according to the true intent of this prophecy. 3. That Jesus was born there. 4. Answer the objections made against the application of this prophecy to Jesus, supposing the Messiah, intended ; and, $. Attempt to reconcile the seeming differences between 1 Hcb»vii,i5,

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 355 between the text as it here stands, and as it is cited by the evangelist Matthew. First, I shall endeavour to prove, that the Messiah, and no other, is in tended in this prophecy. Zerobabel cannot be meant, who is the only person produced, besides the Messiah, to whom the prophecy is thought to belong ; for he was not born at Bethlehem, but at Babel, as his name declares, nor was he any ruler in Israel, as is said of this person ; he was indeed a governor of Judab, and an head of the captivity, but never was a ruler in the land of Israel, or over the tribes which bore that name, much less can it be said of him, that his goingsforth have been from of old, from everlasting ; for to fay, with Grotius, that this phrase intends ° " Zerobabel's taking his origin from an illustrious " house of old, and a royal family of five hundred years standing," is into lerable ; for however Zerobabel may be considered as scminally in David's loins, as Levi was in Abraham's, so long before his birth ; yet his goings forth from thence can never be said to be five hundred years before they were : besides, it is a wretched perversion of a phrase, which is peculiar to the eternal God, and belongs to the Messiah, as being such, who appears to be the only person here intended, as is manifest, i. From the context. In ver. i. the person intended is called the judge of Israel, whom Aben Ezra fays, is either the Messiah, or Zerobabel ; but the cha racter well agrees with the Messiah, to whom it is frequently given w, and by no means to Zerobabel, who never was a judge of Israel, as has been already observed ; nor do we read that he was ever treated in that rude and barbarous manner, as it is here prophesied this person should be, namely, to be smitten with a rod upon the cheek, which was literally fulfilled in the Messiah, Jesus % in whose face some spit -, and others buffeted him, and others smote him with the palms of their hands, iffavura; smote him with rods, as the word primarily signi fies. Moreover, the characters given of the person mentioned in this verse, agree well with the Messiah ; as that he should be a ruler in Israel •, for the Messiah is all along in scripture represented as a king, a prince, or governor, and as such the Jews expected him ; and of him, he being the eternal God, it may be very well said, that his goings forth have been from of old, from ever lasting, a phrase used to express the eternity of God, Bab. i. 12. and, being applied to the Messiah, is by Solomon Jarcbi well explained by Pfal. lxxii. 17. low 3W tPDttf wb before the fun was, his name was Jinnon, which the Jews fay z z 2 is J The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. p. 201. w Isa. ii. 4. and xi. 3, 4. Mic. iv. 3. * Matt. xxvi. 67.

356 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, is one of the names of the Messiah y, and signifies son ; and so the words are expressive of his eternal filiation, the phrase well agreeing with this here used. Likewise what is soid in the following verses, exactly suits with him, as that until his birth, according to ver. 3. the Jews were to be given up to a great deal of sorrow and trouble, which was true of the times, between this pro phecy and the birth of Jesus •, after which, there was to be a coalition of Jews and Gentiles : In ver. 4. he is represented as a shepherd feeding his flock, in the strength, and by the authority of his God •, on the account of which his name should be great in all the earth, which can be applied to none so well as the Messiah : In ver. 5. he is called the peace, that is, the author of peace, which he gives unto his people, whenever their enemies, such as sin, Satan, the world, &c. make any attack upon them ; nor need it be thought strange, that these should be represented by the Assyrian, who was the then known, com mon, and avowed enemy of the people of Israel; nor ought this to be con% eluded to lie against its being a literal prophecy, that though the Assyrians are by name mentioned, yet not they, but other enemies, under their name, may be intended, as a late author would insinuate z; for according to himself, in another place % " A literal sense may be signified as well and as obviously by " a figurative, as by the most simple or literal expression." The words may, and I think ought, to be rendered thus, and this man, or person, shall be the peace, O Assyrian, $y< *3 scr he, that is the man, the peace, shall come into our land, that is, shall be made flesh and dwell with us, and so make peace with God for us ; and because he JJjall tread in our palaces: in the temple, and in the synagogues : and we will raise up, that is, by our prayers and intreaties to God for him, or with himb, by for DJJ seven shepherds and eight principal men, that is, a sufficient number of gospel ministers, who shall carry the gospel into the Gentile world, and with the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, do execution there, by pulling down the strong holds of sin and Satan, and subject ing souls to the obedience of Christ. 2. It appears from the scope of the place, that the Messiah is here intended, which is to comfort and support the Jews under those severe afflictions that should befal them. In the three last verses of the preceding chapter, they are assured of deliverance out of the hands of the Chaldeans, over whom they should have the ascendant ; yet, nevertheless in process of time, either for their evil treatment of their magistrates in common, or rather particularly of the Messiah, 1 Talmud Sanhed. sol. 98. col. 2. z The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. p. 202, 1 Ibid p. 251. b Vid.R. David Kimchium in loc. &R. Isaac Chizuk, Emun. par. I.e. 33.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 357 Messiah, the Roman army, called the daughter of troops in ver. i. under the command of Titus Vespasian, should be gathered against them, and lay siege to their city, whereby it would be laid desolate, and the adjacent towns entirely depopulated, and among the rest, Bethlehem. Now for the comfort of the Jews, in the view of these calamities, and particularly the in habitants of Bethlehem, it is promised, that the Messiah should arise from thence, before those desolating judgments came upon them. 3. It is acknowledged by many Jewish writers c, that this prophecy belongs to the Messiah, and was certainly so understood by the Jews in Christ's time, as I shall have occasion to take notice hereafter. For, Secondly, It is manifest enough that the Messiah was expected by the Jews, to be born at Bethlehem, as appears, \st, From some passages in the New Testament, which mew that this was the current opinion of the Jews, in Christ's time. When Hercd had the tidings of the king of the Jews being born, brought him by the wife men of the east, which gave him a great deal of uneasiness, he summoned the chief priests and scribes together, and demanded of them where Christ stjould be born -, to which they reply very readily, without any manner of hesitation in Bethlehem os Judea d; and for strengthening of their assertion, and for the satisfaction of him, cite this very prophecy of Micab, which manifestly (hews, what was the then received fense of this prophecy in the Jewish church, as well as where they expected the birth of the Messiah : nay, this was not only the opinion of the more learned among the Jews, who were better versed than others in the knowledge of the law and the prophets, but even of the common people, who concluding from the education and conversation of Christ in Galilee, that he was born there, thought they had got a considerable argument to prove that he was not the Messiah ; for, fay they % Shall Christ come out of Galilee ? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? Now from whence should they be in formed of this ? or what scripture could they have in view, but this prophecy of Micab ? idly^ This appears to be the fense of their ancient Targums ■, thus upon the text in Gen. xxxv. 21. where it is said, that Israel journeyed and spread bis tent beyond the tower of Edar; which, by comparing with ver. 19. appears to be a place near Bethlehem ; the Targum of Jonathan adds, " the place from whence " the * Targum, Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi in loc. & Abendana in not. in Miclol Yophi in loc. & R, Isaac Chizuk, Emun. par. 1. c 33. d Matt ii. 5, 6. c John vii. 41, 42.

35® THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, " the Messiah (hall be revealed in the last days," and mention being made in Mic, iv. 8. of this Migdal Edar, or tower of Edar, the "Targumist takes occa sion to speak vf the Messiah and applies it to him. Nay, idly, Later Jews have asserted, that the Messiah was born at Bethlehem, before the destruction of that place, but not yet revealed, being hid, because of their sins and transgressions ; which, though a Talmudic story, is a plain indication of the conviction of their minds, as to the intent of this prophecy, and of the universal and constant expectation of their forefathers grounded upon it. There are indeed some objections advanced by the author of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, 8cc. against this general expectation of the Jews, concerning the place of the Messiah's birth. i. He objects, " That, since Jesus's timef, it has been deemed among the " Jews a matter of no consequence, where the Messias was born, since they " have set up many Messiahs, who they knew were not born at Bethlehem^ which need not at all be wondered at in them, who have rejected the tree Messiah, since whose times this town of Bethlehem has been wholly destroyed ; and therefore despairing of meeting with this character of a Messiah, in any person, have laid it aside, as they have done many others ; such as his being born before the departure of the scepter from Judab, and during the second temple, and that he should be of the tribe of Judab, &c. though, when pressed with those instances, are obliged to recur to the forementioned Talmudic fiction, of his being there and then born, but hid for the sins of the people, which is a manifest indication of the wretched puzzle and confusion they are thrown into. 2. He objects8, that " the Jews, in Jesus's time, made it a part of the " character of the Messias not to know whence be was" Jtbn ix. ao. to which may be replied, that the meaning is, not that they knew not the place of his birth, for the contrary is evident from the ready reply of the chief priests to Herod, and the way of reasoning the common people made use of, from the prophecy of Micah, to confront the Messiahship of Jesus, as has been already observed. : And, by the way, what service this instance of the Jews arguing against Jesus, that Bethlehem, and not Galilee, was to be the place of the Messiah's birth, can be of to our author. I cannot see, which is in another place produced by him h, seeing it directly militates against his notion, But to proceed ; neither can the meaning of this phrase be, that they did not know who were his re mote ancestors, for they knew thac he should be the son of David ; but the meaning is, that they should not know who was his father, seeing he was to be r The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. p. 35. 202. * Ibid. p. 35. h Ibid. p. 202.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 359 be born of a virgin, and his descent and original to be from above. Besides, this author ought to have confuted the fense given of this phrase in Jzbn vii. 26, 27. by Bishop Chandler*, who has very well supported it, before he had made this an objection against the place of the Messiah's birth being pointed out by prophecy, and its being made known unto, and expected by the ancient Jews. 3. He objects, that there are some " Jews k who deny the truth of Herod's " sending for to know of the chief priest where the Messiah was to be born ; " and fay, that Jesus was not born in Herod's time, but in Cyrenius's time, " eleven years after the death of Herod-" who these Jews are he does not fay, unless he means the evangelist Luke, whom he cites, whose words are in chap. ii. 1, 2. And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed (and this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) Now this author supposes, that this tax, or enrollment, is to be understood of that which was made by Cyrenius when Governor of Syria, when Judea was annexed to it as a province, which was ten or eleven years after the death of Herod, and from thence would con clude, that Jesus was not born in the days of Herod, but about eleven yea:s after his death ; which will appear to be a mistake, for this tax here mentioned, was not made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria, but rather when Sentius Saturninus was as Tertullian fays ', and is here very manifestly distinguished from that made when Cyrenius was president ; for the words may be read either thus, and this tax, or enrollment, was made before Cyrenius was governor of Syria, wp^i being used for »fo?if«, of which many instances are given by learned men ™, who also approve of this reading of the words and this solution of the difficulty, OT else the WOrds (A»1d n oMrospacpu mfuln lyatle uyifMucwlot *n{ Zvp«{ Kofwitr) may be read thus, this was the first tax, assessment, or enrollment, of Cyrenius the governor of Syria. Many instances of a parallel construction with this have been given by a late writer" ; so that the meaning is, that this tax which was made at the birth of Jesus, was the first that Cyrenius was concerned in, and is manifestly distinguished from that which was made during his being governor of Syria, when Archelaus was banished from "judea, ten or eleven years after Herod's death : which Josepbus gives an account of", and Luke refers to in A£!s 1 Defence of Christianity, p. 333—336. k Scheme of Literal Prophecy, p. 36. 203. ' Contr. Marcion. lib. iv. c. 19. m Herwarti Vera & Nova Chronolag. p. 189. Schmidius in Luke ii. 2. Cloppenburg. Fasciculus Select. Disputat-disput. 9. s. 19. ■ Lardner's Credibility of the Gospel History, Vol. II. ch. i. p. 161, 162, &c. f Antiq. lib. 18. c. 1,

360 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, ASls v. 37. Moreover the words do not suppose that Cyrenius was governor of Syria when this first tax was made, for he then acted only asGrsar's procurator, but that he had been so before Luke wrore this history ; and this being a title of honour, and what might perhaps distinguish him from others of the fame name, he gives it to him. Tbird'y, Having proved that the Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem, and that this was the expectation of the ancient Jews, I proceed to prove, that Jesus was born there ; though it was very improbable it mould ever have been so ; for his mother dwelt at Nazareth, where he was conceived, and where it was most likely he would have been born ; but an all-wife providence, in order to bring about the completion of an ancient prophecy, and to fix upon him one of the true characters of the Messiah, orders it otherwise, putting it into the heart of Augustus Cæsar, the Roman Emperor, to make a taxation, or en rollment of the subjects and tributaries of his empire, which obliged Joseph and Mary to go from Nazareth to Bethlehem, in order to be taxed with those of their own lineage and family, where Mary was delivered of the child Jesus ; whither, in all probability, she had not come, being so near the time of her delivery, had soe not been obliged to it by this decree ; which decree appears the more remarkable, because there does not seem to be any real necessity for it ; nor is it certain that it went through the empire ; but seems designed to bring about this event: and it will appear still more remarkable, when it is observed, that Augustus had decreed such an enrollment p at Tarracon in Spain, twenty- seven years before the birth of Christ, but was diverted from it by some disturbances in the empire ; so that it was deferred to this time; now had this enrollment been made then, in all likelihood it had not been done now, and Joseph and Mary would not have had occasion to come to Bethle hem ; but thus it must be, and thus were things ordered by an infinite and all-wife providence to effect it ; nor do the Jews themselves deny that Jesus was born there; nay, acknowledge it, in a vile and blasphemous book of theirs', designed to cast all the odium and reproach upon the name of Jesus, that they could possibly heap together. But, Fourthly, There are some objections made against this prophecy of Micab's being applied to Jesus, though the Messiah be allowed to be here intended. "Which are as follow : 2 1. It p Vid. Kidder of the Messiah, par. 1. p. 21. and Hammond in Luke iu I." 1 Toldosjesu, p. 1. 7. apud Wagenseil, Tela ignea.

HESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 361 1. It is objected, that Jesus did not rule over Israel', but they over him, feeing they so far prevailed against him, as to put him to death ; and therefore cannot be the perlon intended, because he was to be a ruler in Israel. To which may be replied, it is true, that, by the divine permission, the Jews compassed their design in taking away his life ; yet God has exalted him, with his own right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour ; and whom they crucified, he has made both Lord and Christ -, whose kingly power has appeared in the destruction of that nation and people, whom he has ruled ever since with a rod os iron ; and now rules over the true Israel of God, by his word and Spirit j having carried the gospel into the Gentile world, where it has been propagated and maintained, notwithstanding all the art, policy, and power of man. 2. It is further urged', that this person in ver. 5. is said to be the peacet that is, the author of peace ; and that the times of the Messiah are always re presented as peaceable times, which, it is asserted, is inapplicable to the times of Jesus. But it ought to be observed, that the peace which the Messiah was to effect, and was expected in his days, is a spiritual, and not a temporal peace; and such a peace as this was proclaimed by the angels at the birth of Jesus, procured by his blood, and is bestowed on his people ; who, in the midst of all their sorrows, afflictions, and persecutions, enjoy a peace which passetb all understanding. Though, 3. On the other hand, it is objected, by the author of The Scheme os Literal Prophecy, &c \ that the fifth and sixth verses of this prophecy, which repre sent this person as appearing in an hostile manner against the enemies of Israel, *' are so plain, as not to need the least comment, to shew them to be inappli- «' cable to the peaceable times, and to the person of Jesus," though they, in a very beautiful manner, represent him as the prince of peace, obtaining a glorious victory overall his and his peoples enemies, thereby saving them out of their hands, and of his mighty conquests, through the preaching of the gospel in the Gentile world ; whereby his people were delivered from their ignorance, infidelity, idolatry, and superstition, as well as from the wretched slavery of their lusts and corruptions. But, Fifthly, I proceed to reconcile some seeming differences between this pro phecy, as it stands mMicah, and as it is cited by the evangelist Matthew", the most material of which are as follow : Vol. III. Aaa 1, The ' Kimchi in loc. & R. Isaac Chixuk, Emun. par. i.e. 33. • Ibid. « Page aoi, a Matt. ii. 6. >

36a THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, i. The first seeming difference, is in the name of the place ; for what Micab calls Bethlehem- Ephratab, is called by Matthew, Bethlehem in the land of Judab. The reason whereof seems to be this, there were two Betblebems, one in the tribe of Zabulon, Jojh. xix. 15. and the other in the tribe of Judab, which is sometimes called Bethlebem-Judab, Judg. xvii. 7. and sometimes Bethlebem- Epbratab •, for that Betblebem-Epbratab was in the tribe of Judab is manifest enough from the Septuagint version of Job xv. 60. as well as from Rutb i. 2. Now in order to give a plain answer to Herod's demand, where the Messiah was to be born, it was proper to distinguish this Bethlehem in the tribe of Judab, from that in the tribe of Zabulon ; so that he might not be at a loss about the place of his birth •, and this distinction was the more needful, seeing the Messiah was to spring from the tribe of Judab. But, 2. And what is attended with a greater difficulty, is another seeming differ ence, as to what is predicated concerning this place ; the text in the prophet fays, that it was little among the thousands of Judab; but, as cited by Matthew, it is said to be not the least, though this difference 'does not appear so very con siderable, as it is represented by some expositors j for though this place was little among the thousands of Judab, yet it might not be the least; it is true, the difference between the Septuagint version of the' text, and the citation in Matthew, is considerably greater, for, according to the former, this place was oXiyirof, the least, the very least •, but according to thejatter **«/**« ix«x>n>, by no means the least. But we are not now immediately concerned for the recon ciliation of the citation to the Septuagint version, but to the Hebrew text, which may be either rendered by way of interrogation thus, art thou the least ? &c. and the answer be according to Alattbew, No, tbou art not the least, &c. or else the word "Ofl may be understood, and so be rendered thus, it is a small thing to be among the thousands of Judab, for out of thee, &c. that is, a greater honour stiall be conferred on thee ; the Messiah shall spring from thee. Again, Bethlehem might be little, and not little, or the least, in different respects, and at different times j it might be little, mean, and contemptible, as to worldly splendor, riches, number of inhabitants, pompous buildings &c. and yet not be little or mean when considered as the place of the birth of many great persons, such as Boaz, Jesse, David, &c. and especially the king Messiah ; it might be little in Micab's ume, and yet not little in Matthew's time ; especially seeing it had then received a considerable additional honour by Christ's being born there. 3 Besides,

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 363 Besides, Dr Pocock has proved *, that the Hebrew word -pyx signifies both little and great, or of great note and esteem, which he has confirmed from the authorities of R. Tancbuma, Eben Jannabius, the Cbaldee paraphrast on Jer. xlviii. 4. and from the Arabic, Syriac, and Septuagint versions of Zecb xiii. 7. and it i> very easy for any one, who is ever so little acquainted with the Hebrew language, to observe that many words are used therein in a contrary significa tion. I need not give instances, the learned author now mentioned has fur nished us with many. 3. There are some other lesser differences which admit of a more easy recon ciliation ; as what Micab calls thousands, in Matthew, are called princes. The tribes of Israel were divided into thousands, and every thousand had its prince or ruler ; so that though here is a difference in words, yet none in fense : it is true what Micab calls a ruler in Israel, Matthew expresses by a governor that shall rule or feed my people Israel, but here is no repugnancy : and whereas the pronoun 'h to me, is omitted by Matthew, the reason is, because the words are only historically recited by him, God himself speaking in his own person in the prophecy. Thus have I endeavoured to reconcile the seeming differences be tween Micab and Matthew ; though had they been such as would not have ad mitted of a reconciliation, the evangelist could not have been justly charged with a perversion, or misquotation, of the prophet's words, seeing it is not his own version, but that of the chief priests and scribes, which he gives us, and therefore had it been never so faulty, they, and not he, must have been charge able with it ; for he would have acted the part of a faithful historian, in trans mitting it to us in their own words. From the whole, it appears, that Mic. v. 2. is a literal prophecy of the place of the Messiah's birth ; that it was perti nently and faithfully produced for that purpose in Matt. ii. 6. and that Jesus was born at Bethlehem, according to the true purport of this prophecy : though we do not produce this singly, as an argument to prove him to be the true Messiah, for we know as well as the Jew x, who objects to us, that there were hundreds and thousands born at Bethlehem, who could not be all Messiahs ; nor did they make any pretensions to it ; yet this being a characteristic of the Messiah, as fixed in the Old Testament, and fully agreeing with Jesus, may, with other evidences, be urged as a corroborating one of his being the true Messiah. Aaaz CHAP. " Not. Misc. p. 17—19, Vid R. David Kimchi lib. Shorash rad. -JJ»S ■ R.Isaac Chizuk, Emun par. I. c. 33. : i

364 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD; TESTAMENT, CHAP. VII. Shewing the several Circumstances which were to attend or follow, upon the Messiah'* Birth, according to the prophets; and bow they were punctually fulfilled in Jesus. i FRotn enquiring into the place of the Messiah's birth, I proceed to consider the several- circumstances which were to attend it, or very quickly follow upon it, according to the prophecies of the Old Testament, and stiew how exactly they had their completion in Jesus ; the principal of which are cited and laid together by the evangelist Matthew., in the second chapter of his gos pel •, I shall begin, * First, With that uncommon and unusual appearance of a star in the east, at the birth of Jesus, the account of which we have in Matt. ii. 2, 9, 10. and though no prophecy is there referred to, as fulfilled by this phœnomenon j yet I (hall attempt to prove, that there was a prophecy went before of it; that this was agreeable to it, and that accordingly the Jews expected such, an appearance at the time of the Messiah's birth. The prophecy which, I sup pose, points out this circumstance to u,s, is in Numb. xxiv. 17. 'There Jhall come a star out of Jacob, and a feester Jhall rife out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sbetb. That this is a prophecy of the Messiah, is acknowledged by many Jewish writers y : both the Targums. of Onkelos and Jonathan interpret it of him; and Aben Ezra fays, that many, that is, of their Rabbis, expound it of the Messiah. \ nor have other writers any just reason to understand it otherwise. That Balaam spoke this by a prophetic spirit, is manifest from ver. 16. that he speaks of a person, whom he should fee at a distance in future times, is no less evident, from the former part of this verse, which seems to be no other than he whom every eye shall fee% when he comes in the clouds of heaven : and that this person is the Messiah, may ., very ' Zoharin Exod. sol. 4. 1. & in Numb. sol. 85. 4. & 86. 1. Pcfikta in Kettoreth Hassammim in Numb. sol. 28. 1. Sc R. Isaac Chizuk, Emun. p. 71, 72.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 365 very easily be evincd, not only from the title which is here given him, a scepter, that is, a scepter- bearer, i whose throne is for ever and ever ; the scepter of whose kingdom is a right scepter ; as also from whence he was to arise, which was out os Israel; but likewise from the work he was to do, which is to smile the cor ners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth ; which never had its completion in any one else of the posterity of Jacob : hence a learned Jew was obliged to confess \ that Balaam spake this concerning the Messiah, " whose coming, ". fays he, we are waiting for, that this prophecy might be fulfilled :" which has been fulfilled in and by Jesus, who has spoiled principalities and powers, and has obtained an entire conquest over all his enemies, signified here by the corners of Moab, and now rules over all the children of men, as Onkelos renders the last clause of the verse; his dominion being from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth: though by the children of Sheth, are rather meant the people of God, the Sethites, as distinguished from the Cainites, who are not so, whom the Messiah, in a peculiar manner, was to rule over and not destroy; or rather whom he was to gather together to himself; for the word signifies to cluck together^ as a hen does her chickens, which simile Christ makes use of Matt, xxiii. 37. Having thus proved that the Messiah is prophesied of in this tettt, it may be proper to enquire whether the star here mentioned, is to be considered as one of the Messiah's titles, or as one of the signs of his coming. It must be acknowledged, that some. of the ancient Jews looked upon this as one of the Messiah's titles-, hence one, who1 set up for a Messiah among them, and was for a time received by them as such, was called hUJO "Q the son os a star, with a view to this prophecy ; though when he was discovered by them to be an impostor, they called him NirfD "Q the son of & lie ; and perhaps it may be with a regard to this prophecy, that Jesus is called the bright and morning star, though I am rather inclined to think, that the star, here spoken of, is to be considered as a sign of his coming, and not as one of his titles •, that as there will be a visible sign in the heavens of the second coming of the son of man, so there was to be one of his first coming •, and that the words should be rendered thus, when a star walks yn ot steers its course* from Javob, then- a scepter, or scepter-bearer, shall rise out of Israel ; and there are, two things which confirm me in this sense of the words. 1. The conclusion of the wise men, that the king of the Jews was born, from an appearance of a star in the east; and their coming to Jerusalem to worship * R. Abendina in not, in Miclol Yophi in loc.

$66 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, worship him upon that account ; for what could direct them to make sue h an observation, or draw such a conclusion, but this prediction of Balaam's ? which had been some way or other conveyed to them, or rather had remained among them, ever since the times of Balaam, who was one of their country men. Ahdpharagius \ an Arabic writer, tells us, that Zoroastres, who lived four or five hundred years before Christ, foretold to his magians the coming of Christ •, and that at the time of his birth, there should appear a wonderful star, which would stiine by day as well as by night •, and therefore left it in command with them, that when that star appeared they should follow the directions of it, and go to the place where he was to be born, and there offer gifts and pay their adoration to him : And that it was by this command, that the three wife men came from the east, that is, out of Persia, to worship Christ at Bethlehem. Now supposing all this to be true, it is very easy to guess where Zoroqstres had his information •, for, by the accounts given of him b, he ap pears to be a Jew, both by birth and religion, was a servant of one of the pro phets of Israel, and well versed in the sacred writings ; and therefore may well be supposed to have learned all this from the prophecy of Balaam, which he informed his magians of 1. The Jews themselves have expected such a star to appear at the time of the Messiah's coming j for thus they fay, more than once, in the book of Zcbar', that "when the Messiah shall be revealed, a bright and shining star " shall arise in the east." Now what could lead them to such an expectation, but this prophecy of Balaam, which is cited by them in the very fame place ? for surely the account which our gospel gives of the appearance of a star at the birth of Jesus, could never be the foundation of such a thought ; they would never pay such a deference to the evangelic history, and to our Jesus, as to forma notion, or ground an expectation of their Messiah, agreeable there unto j but would rather, as in other cases, either stifle their former generally received notions of a Messiah, or deny plain matters of fact relating to Jesus ; so that this expectation of their's, that a star should appear at the coming of the Messiah, must be founded on this prophecy, which had its fulfilment in Jesus. But 1 proceed,. -< •. •, v, r*r ' •■ ■ ■■*■' <■■ ■■ Secondly, To consider another circumstance that was to follow upon the bjrth of the Messiah, which, very agreeable to ancient prophecy, had its com- „. -. 4\ ■ , - pletion ] • Hlstor. Dynast, p. 54. " Vid. Pridcaux Conneaion of the History of the Old and New Testament, part 1. book 4. p. 2 is, 213. 8vo, « In Exod. sol. 3. 3, 4. and in Numb. 9. sol. 85. 4. and 86. 1. ■'"

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 367 ' pletion in Jesus, and was brought about after this manner : Herod having given in charge to the wife men, who were directed into the land of Judea, by the star before mentioned, that when they had found the young child they en quired after, and paid him their adoration, they should return and give him an . account thereof; but they being warned of God in a dream not to do as he had commanded them, returned another way ; and immediately an angel is dispatched to Joseph, to order him to take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt, who accordingly did so. Now all this was done, fays' the evangelist % that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the pro phet, saying, Out os Egypt have I called my son. Now the question is, what prophecy is here referred to, and whether what is referred to, is a prophecy of the Messiah, and may be justly applied to Jesus. There are some who have thought that the prophecy referred to is either Numb, xxiii. 22. or else chap. xxiv. 8. though the more generally received opinion is, that it is Hos. xi. i. When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out os Egypt j which words, at first view, seem solely to regard the deliverance of the people of Israel out of Egypt •, wherefore different ways have been taken to make a just and proper application of them to the Messjah, and are by some considered either by way of accomodation of phrases to a like event, or by way of type, which has a fresh completion in its antitype, or as a proverbial sentence which might be adapted to any remarkable deliverance out of hard ship, misery, and destruction. Now though it may be granted, that Israel was a type of the Messiah, and is therefore one of the names by which he is called in the Old Testament, particularly in Isa. xlix. 3. and that there is a very great resemblance between Israel's going down into, and coming up out of Egypt, and that of Christ's, as also, that the deliverance of the people of Israel out of Egypt might be used proverbially to express any remarkable de liverance from imminent danger, yet I apprehend that the words are to be un derstood of the Messiah in their first, literal, proper, and obvious sense, and of him only; and so the evangelist Matthew must be supposed to understand them, whose manifest design is to produce diretl proofs of Jesus's Messiahship, out of the Old Testament, which mere allusions, types, allegories, and ac commodations of phrases cannot be allowed to be. Now, in order to fix the literal sense of these words, as applicable to the Messiah, let it be observed^ that the scope and design of the preceding chapters is to set before the people of Israel their many provoking fins and transgressions, in order to bring them to i Matt.ii, 15.

S$S THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, an acknowledgment of, and repentance for them; and to declare^ that upon their non-repentance, divine judgments would be executed upon them, to the utter ruin of their kingdom and nation, which account is continued to the end of the tenth chapter ; but God being rich in mercy', in wrath remembers mercy, and for the fake of his own people, which were among them, mitigates this sentence, and in this eleventh chapter declares the yernings of his heart towards them, and his very great affection for them, notwithstanding all their ingrati tude to him j the true causes of which kindness of his, are laid together in this first verse, which may stand connected with the latter part of the last verse of the preceding chapter •, in a morning jhall the king of Israel be utterly cut off% the true reason of whicli is because Israel ijo o is a child, that is a rebellious and disobedient one, therefore he shall be many days ■without a king and without a prince ; nevertheless / love him ; and have therefore determined to call my son out os Egypt, who will be obliged to retire there for some time, and will set him upon the throne os bis father David, who pall reign and prosper and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth : or else the words may be considered, as giving the reason of God's merciful dealing with the people of Israel, notwithstand ing all their rebellions against him, and the many provocations he had received from them, because Israel is a child, that is, weak, helpless, and cannot govern himself; foolish, ignorant, imprudent, and needs instruction ; and. I love him, therefore I have determined to call, or / will call, the past tense for the future, which is common in the Hebrew language, especially in the prophetic writings, my son out os Egypt, who, through Herod's rage and malice, will be obliged to abide there for a while, yet I will bring him from thence into the land of Judea, where he shall be brought up, and (hall help my child *«•*»<, Israel, (hall instruct him in the precepts of the law, and in the doctrines of the gospel, and at last, by suffering death, (hall procure the pardon of all his transgressions ; for not withstanding all his ingratitude towards me, of which a particular account is. given in ver. 2—7. yet I cannot but have a regard for him, and (hew com passion to him, and therefore he fays in ver. 8. How shall I give thee up, Epbraim ? how shall I deliver thee, Israel ? how shall I make thee as Admah ? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings ari kindled together. Now this appears to be the natural and unconstrained sense of these words, which sufficiently justifies the evangelist Matthew in his citation of them, on the occasion of Jesus's going into Egypt and his return from thence 1 they being a literal prophecy of the Messiah, which had its exact fulfilment in Jesus. But, Thirdly,

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 369 Ibirdlyt, The next circumstance we meet with, which followed upon the birth of Jesus, agreeable to ancient prophecy, is the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem, the commission of which barbarous action, the Jews themselves acknowledge c ; and was on thiswise: Herod finding himself disappointed by the wise men, fell into a very great rage, and immediately orders all the infants in Betblebem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, to be (lain ; which orders were accordingly obeyed, and then, fays the evan gelist f, was fulfilled, that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. The prophecy referred to, is in Jer. xxxi. 15. which, upon examination, will appear to be a literal prophecy relating to this fact, and this only ; for that it cannot be understood of the Babylonish captivity, and of the mourning of the Jewish women upon that account, is evident* if it be considered, i.Thdt in such a general calamity the mourning is general, as undoubtedly thnc was, and not confined to mothers only, as this is. 2. That there is no reason to believe that the mourning for the captivity was confined to a particular place, much less that Ramah ssiould be that place, since there is no manner of evi dence that the captives were gathered together there, and there deplored their miserable condition. Besides, 3. The cause of this mourning is not captivity, but death : Rachel is introduced weeping for her children, not because they ■were carried captive, but because they are not ; which is a phrase by which death is frequently expressed, as in Gen. xxxvii. 30. and chap. xlii. 13. but every thing well agrees "with the, slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem, and there are several things in the context, ar well as in the text, which serve to confirm this fense. \st, The preceding verses manifestly speak of the blessings of the Messiah's kingdom, and of the joy and comfort which his people should partake of; but least any mould imagine that that dispensation ssiould be entirely free from the usual sorrows, distresses, and afflictions of life, it is declared, that the people of God would at some times, not only be attended with distress in their own consciences for sin, and the chastisements of God upon their persons for the fame, as in ver. ifl, 19. but also with bitter persecutions from the world, and that, even almost as soon as the Messiah was born, Satan would begin to exert his rage, and the most tragical and barbarous action be committed, that ever was heard of, which is expressed in the prophecy under consideration. Vol. III. Bbb 2dly, The « Toldos Jcschu. Edit. Huldric. in Basnage's History of the Jews, book 4. chap, xxviii. s. 5. f Matt. ii. 17, j 8.

370 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, idly, The tender and sorrowful mothers mourning over their slaughtered in fants, in and about Bethlehem, may very well be represented by Rachel; not only because Bethlehem was the place of her sepulchre, Gen. xxxv, 19, 20. but because of her eager desire and overmuch fondness of having children, Gen. xxx. 1. and therefore a very fit person to represent tender and affectionate mothers bewailing the death of their children; and though Bethlehem was in the tribe of Judab, where Leah's, and not Rachel's children lived, yet Ramah was in the tribe of Benjamin, who was Rachel's child •, which two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, bordering on each other, the prophecy well agrees with the evangelill's account of this matter; for though Bethlehem of Judah was the principal feat of this tragical action, yet it was not confined there, but was extended to all the coasts thereof; so that the voice of lamentation was heard in Ramah of Benjamin: Thus the objection of the Jew8 against the citation of this prophecy in Matthew, and its application to Jesus, is removed. %dly, The comfort administered from the consideration of a better resurrec tion, is suitably adapted to the case of those sorrowful mothers, ver. 16, 17. Thus faith the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weefing, and thine eyes from tears : for thy work fJjall be rewarded, faith the Lord, and they, that is, the children which were slain, pall come again, in the resurrection from the land of the enemy, the grave, for the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death ; so that there is hope in thine end, faith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border, and stand in the latter day upon that very spot of ground where their blood was shed. \lhly, The miraculous conception and birth of the Messiah, are predicted in ver. 22. as has been made appear in a preceding chapter. t)thly, An account is given of the new covenant in ver. 31 —34. which peculiaily belongs to the times of the Messiah, as is acknowledged by the Jews themselves •, so that from the whole it appears, that Jer. xxxi. 16. is a literal prophecy of the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem, justly cited by the evan gelist Matthew, and properly applied to that cafe, which happened quickly after the birth of Jesus. Fourthly, The next circumstance to be considered, is Jesus's dwelling in a city called Nazareth, whereby the evangelist fays h, was fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. Here * R. Isaac Cl1i7.uk, Emun. par. 1. c. 28. & par. 2. c. 5. h Matt. ii. 23.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 37i Here the enemies of Christianity mightily triumph, and charge the evange list with manifest falshood ', in citing a passage out of the prophets which is not to be found in them : and it must be acknowledged, that there are some seemingly considerable difficulties attend this place, and perhaps greater than any passjge which occurs in the whole controversy about prophecy. Bishop Kidder* has observed several things which considerably abate the difficulties, thereof; as that the evangelist does not quote any particular prophet for these words, but says,,that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets; so that he seems to regard rather the fense of many, than the words of any par ticular prophet. Again, that the expression, he shall be called a Nazarene, im ports no more than this, he /hall be one, which is the frequent use of the Hebrew ■word Kip to call; so that if it can be proved, that it was the fense of the pro phets, that the Messiah should be a Nazarene, the evangelist will be sufficiently justified in this passage •, besides, as the fame learned prelate well observes, the evangelist only fays, that it was spoken by the prophets, he does not fay that ic was written by them ; so that we lie under no obligation, from hence, to find out a passage in their writings where those words expressly occur, for the writers of the New Testament assert many things as matter of fact, which they re ceived by tradition, and which cannot be reasonably denied ; as that Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, 2 'Tim. iii. 8. that Moses said, he exceedingly feared and quaked, Heb. xii. 21. at the giving of the law on mount Sinai, &c. And I would add, that these words, he shall be called a Nazarene, seem rather to be the words of the evangelist, than any citation out of the prophets ; or allusion to any words of theirs ; what Matthew fays, is, that he came and dwelt in a city called- Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets ; he does not tell us, in express words, what that was which was spoken by the pro phets, though he very plainly hints it to us, which is that he should be de spised, contemned, and reproached by men, which was not only foretold by one, but by many of the prophets •, and then assigns a reason to prove, that what was spoken by the prophets, was fulfilled in his dwelling at Nazareth, dt N«£wpai©- «A»i8))o-i1ai, because he is, and will be called a Nazarene, from his dwelling there, which name was given to him and his followers by way of re proach ; and'astothe two instances produced by Mr Wbiston1, of Christ's being called by Pilate and Philip, Jesus of Nazareth in a contrary fense ; he would do well to observe, that the former used this title with a design to reproach, and the latter to shew that he was not ashamed to own him under b b b 2 one 1 R. Isaac CKizuk, Emun. p. 2. c, 6. k Demonstration of the Messiah, par. ii. p. 65. Edit. sol. 1 Supplement to the Literal Accomplishment, p. 27.

372 THE PROPHEOIESOF THE OLD TESTAMENT, one of his most contemptible characters ; and it may not be amiss to observe, that the word *tyo,1a>, saying, is not here used by the evangelist ; he does not fay, which was spoken by the prophets, faying, as he does in ver. 15, 17. where he cites plain and direct prophecies; though, supposing that the evangelist regards some passages of the prophets, the fense of which is, that the Messiah should be called, or be, a Nazarene, it will not be a very difficult task to under take to find them out; for not to insist upon Isa. xi. 1. where the Messiah is called Nefzer, as the "Targum on the place explains it, which is the very name of the city of Nazareth, as David de Pomis observes m, and signifies a branch, by which name the Messiah is well known in the Old Testament, as the Jews themselves acknowledge"; I fay, not to insist upon this passage, which some think the evangelist had in his thoughts, in Jer. xxxi. 6. it is said, there shall be a day that the watchmen O'l'iJ the Nazarenes, upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion, unto the Lord our God ; by which name of Nazarenes, it is well known the follower? of Jesus were called, as appears from Ails xxiv. 5. and this being a prophecy of rhe means of the Jews resto ration* well ' suits with them. R. Abarbinel fays % that the prophet, by the Holy Ghost, foresaw that the Romans would believe in Jesus of Nazareth, and therefore would be called Nazarenes from him : now, if the prophets foretold that the followers of the Messiah would be called Nazarenes, then he himself must be called so, from whom they take the denomination, and, by some way or other, this must be brought about, which was by his dwelling in the city of Nazareth. Besides, in Isa. ix. 1, 2. which, by comparing with ver. 6. appears to be a prophecy of the Messiah, there is mention, not only made of Galilee os the nations, as the place of the Messiah's habitation, where that f»c that great light, was to appear, but also of the land of Zebulun, in the midst of which was the city of Nazareth p ; but this text I shall more fully consider here after in its due place ; from the whole it appears, that it may be collected from the prophets, as their fense, that the Messiah was to be a. Nazarene, which had its exact completion in Jesus. m Lexic. Heb. p. 141. n Targum & Kimchi in Jer. xxiii. 5. & xxxiii. 15. Zcch. iii. 8. tc vi. 12. • In loc. p Ar. Montan. Jud. Antiq. 1. 2. c 3. C H A P.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 373 CHAP. VIII. Concerning the Prophetic Office of the Messiah; wherein is proved, thai be is the prophet spoken of in Deut. xviii. 15. also enquiry is made, •who was to he his fore-runner y what this prophet's work ; and where he was to perform his office. HAving traced the prophecies of the Messiah to the very place of his habitation, and they being entirely silent as to any thing relating to him, or that should befal him, until the time of his manifestation, as the great prophet in Israel, and the evangelic history bjcing as silent with respect to Jesus, during the fame space of time,; unlessi it be. in the single instance of his going up to Jerusalem, at the feast of the pafaver, with his parents, and his disputing with the doctors in the temple, when at twelve years of age, I (hall therefore, in this chapter, consider him in the capacity of a prophec, and as exercising that office; and the method I (hall take will be as follows : . First, I mall endeavour to prove from Deut. xviii. 15. that the Messiah was to be a prophet. Secondly, Shall enquire who was to be his fore-runner, according to the prophecies of Isaiab and Malacbi. Thirdly, Shall consider his work as a prophet, in the several part? and branches thereof. Fourthly, Point out the very place, as directed to in prophecy, where he was to perform this office. And, Fifthly, Shew the success which was to attend his ministry. First, I shall endeavour to prove, that the Messiah was to be a prophet, from Deut. xviii. 15. The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him shalt 'ye hearken. These words are appled to the Messiah, Jesus, by the apostle Peter in Jfls.m. '32. Christ seems to have regard to them when he fays, Job* v. 46. Moses wrote of me. Nay,

374 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, Nay, God the Father manifestly directs to them, at the transfiguration of Christ upon the mount, when, Moses and E'ias being present, he enjoined the disciples, by a voice from Heaven, only to hearken to him •, saying, Ibis is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased •> bear ye bim : which is the very injunction in the text under consideration. How just the application of these words in the New Testament, to Jesus, as the Messiah, is, I shall now consider. These words can be understood of no other but the Messiah •, not of any single pro phet, as Jojhua, as some ' ; or Jeremiah, as others think. ' ; not Joshua, for though he was the immediate successor of Mojes, and was appointed a leader and commander of the people of Israel, to whom they hearkened ; yet was he no prophet, nor was he ever accounted as such by the Jews -, nor Jeremiah, for though he was a prophet, yet not like to Moses, at least he had no peculiar likeness to him, which might not be observed in other prophets ; nor isa suc cession of prophets here intended, which is the opinion of others r, for it is a single prophet that is here spoken of; so the Targums, both of Onkelos and Jonathan, and the Septungint version, understand it ; neither had the Jews ever a constant succession of prophets, being frequently without any ; besides, take all the prophets, from Mses to the times of Jesus, and consider them either collectively or singly, there will appear a very great dissimilitude between them ; whether we regard the very great familiarity and intimate converse he had with God, or the signs and wonders which were done by him, or the great deliver ance which he was an instrument of, as it is laid in Deut. xxxiv. 10, n. Ani there arose not a prophet since in Israel, like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do, &c. Accord ingly the Jews have always magnified and extolled Moses above all the pro phets, and that in the cafe of prophecy, calling him ', the prince of the prophets; and fay, that " all the prophets prophesied from the fountain of his pro- " phecy." Maimonides assigns several differences between the nature of their prophesying and his ', though he allows the Messiah to be equal with him as a prophet " : and as to miracles, put all those of the prophets together, they do not come up to Moses's ; his miracles in number exceed them all. Manaffeb Ben-Israel has took the pains to collect and compare them together'", and ac cording to him, the miracles done by, or on the account of the prophets, were seventy i Abcn Ezra in loc. r Baal Hatturim in Ioc. Abrah. Sebah. in Vorst. not. in Maim.- Yesod Hattor. c. 9. s. 3. ' Jarchi, Grotius, &c. in loc. • Vid. Void. not. in Maimon. Yesod Hattorah. c. 7. f*. 6. & Seder Tcphillot, sol. 212. 2. * Yesod. c, 7. s. 6—8, 3. &, in Pocock porta Mosis. p, 1 70— 17J. u In Trast. Tefliuva, c, 9. * Concil. in Deut. ii. 11.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 375 seventy-four; but. those done by Moses, or on his account, were seventy- fix ; but how just this account is, I do not pretend to fay. Moreover, it ought to be observed, that it was a single prophet, some famous and noted one, whom the Jews expected in the times of Jesus, the foundation of which expectation must be those words of Moses, and from what they saw and heard of Jesus, they were, ready to conclude he must be the person, John vi. 14. then those men when they had seen the miracles that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet which should come into the world. From the whole it appears, that a succession of prophets is not intended, nor any other single prophet, but the Messiah, as may be more fully evinced, 1. From the connection.of the words with the preceding verse, which should be read thus, for these nations which thou slsalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners : but.as for thee *, not so are they, whom the Lord thy God giveth unto thee, that is, the prophets whom the Lord will raise up among you, will not be like the jugglers and diviners among the heathens, who deceive and im pose upon mankind, for these will be men sent and inspired by God, and will be true and faithful in the discharge of their office: Now that they might be encouraged to hearken to these prophets, and least they should be discouraged because they would come far short of Moses, he informs them in this verse, that a prophet, an eminent one, one preferable to all others, and every way like to him, would God raise up unto them ; so that if a succession of prophets is in tended any where, it is in the former verse, and not in this, where speaking of the preferableness of them to the diviners and wizards of the Gentiles, he takes the opportunity to raise their expectation of, and direct their faith unto, the famous and super-excellent prophet that was to come. 2. From the occasion of the words, which, according tover. 16— 18. was the request of the people of Israel, who, being terrified at what they saw and heard at mount Sinai, desired that God would not speak with them immediately, 3 but * Junius has translated this part of the words after the seme manner, and in his notes upon them makes this remark, " Hanc interpretationem docet profbdia (nam cllipscos genus istud est " frequentiflimum) & verba sequentia flagitant;" for as there is a regal accent, Sakeph Gadol, upon n/ltO which our translators have well observed, and justly rendered it, " as for thee," and placed a comma after it, as there ought to be ; so it should be observed, that there is another regal accent, of still greater power and authority, namely. Sakcph Katon, upon p after tib and therefore at least a comma should be placed aster it, wtitb clause may be literally rendered *' not so," where there is a manifest ellipsis of the verb, than which nothing is more frequent. See Job ix 35. Psal. i. 4. Prov. xv. 7. Isa. xvi. 6. and therefore the words may easily be sup plied, as they are by Junius, and as they ought to be, thus, " but as for thee, not so" are they, whom " the Lord thy God giveth unto thee." . '

j76 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, but that some person might be appointed to deliver his rrtind and will, and accordingly Moses was ; which, for the present, was a satisfaction to them. Moreover, the Lord also assured them, that for the future, when it was his pleasure to make a new revelation, or a further discovery of his mind and will, he would not do it in this terrible manner, but would raise up a person of their own flesh and blood, like unto Moses, by whom it should be delivered, which was sufficient to prevent their sears for the future ; and thus it was, for as the lava was given by Moses, so grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. From hence it appears, that there is no room for the exception of a late author y, namely, that the exigencies of the people required an immediate prophet, or a succession of them, to be raised up, which exigencies could not be answered by a prophet two thousand years to come, for the people were in no such exigency ; they had just now received a revelation of God's mind and will to them by Mofts\ and this was to suffice until the Messiah came •, for the business of the prophets, who were afterwards raised up, was not to bring a new revelation, but to urge, inculcate, and explain the old one ; and it was enough for the satisfaction of the people, and to answer their exigencies, that whenever it pleased God to make a new revelation of his will, whether it was one, two, three, or four thousand years afterward, that he would raise up such a person as is here de scribed, by whom he would do it •, which he has accordingly made good in the Messiah, Jesus. 3. This may be further argued, from what is threatened to those who should refuse to hearken to him, ver. 19. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken to my words, which he Jloall speak in my name, I Will require it of him, that is, I will punish him for it-, which the apostle expresses by% a being destroyed from among the people ; and Maimonides fays % that such a person is " guilty of death by the hands of Heaven." Now this never was so re markably fulfilled, as in the destruction of the Jewish nation, for their rejection of Jesus, as the true Messiah and prophet of God ; though the author of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy fays b, that this was " so far from " being true in respect of Jesus, that himself was cut off, and not his opposers " and enemies." To which may be replied, that it is true that Jesus was cut off for the sins of his people, as was before predicted of him ; but then, that those who rejected him died in their sins, that wrath came upon them to the uttermost, that their city and temple were destroyed, and they involved in utter ruin and destruction, this author surely cannot be ignorant of. 4. That y The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. p. 241,242. z Acts iii. ttf » Yefod Hattorah c. 9. s. 4. b Page 262, * Scheme of Literal Prophecy, p. 262. y "n

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 377 That the Messiah is here intended, and that Jesus is he, will appear from the description of this prophet, which exactly agrees with him ; for besides that general character of his being an Israelite, one raised up in the midst of them, of their own flesh and blood, which is common to all Jewish prophets, he is every way like unto Moses, and that even in those things in which there is - a dissimilitude between Moses and other prophets j was Moses a mediator, and faithful in the discharge of his work ? so was Jesus ; was he a deliverer of Israel out of Egyptian bondage ? Christ has delivered his people out of a far worse bondage, even that of sin •, had Moses such familiar converse with God as none of the other prophets ever had ? Jesus lay in the bosom of God, and has revealed him unto us ; was Moses preferable to all others, for the signs and wonders which he wrought ? Christ did those works which none other man did : If then Jesus is not only like to Moses in those things in which other prophets were, but also in those in which there was a dissimilitude between them, cer tainly he bids fairest to be the prophet in the text. The above mentioned author fays c, " This prophecy cannot relate to Jesus, inasmuch as the prophet *' here spoken of might be tried and condemned as really a false prophet." To which I answer, that the trial and condemnation of the false prophet, in ver. 20—22. can never be understood of the prophet promised in ver. 15. for it can never be thought, that he who was to be raised up by God, and was to have his words put into his mouth, and to whom the people were to hearken, should speak in the name of other gods, or that which God commanded him not; it only supposes, that some persons might make pretensions to be this prophet who were not so, and, in order to the discovery of them, they were to be tried after the manner directed to, and upon conviction to be cut off, which no ways prejudices the application of this famous prophecy to Jesus, who appears, from all considerations, to be the person intended. I proceed, Secondly, To enquire who was to be the forerunner of this great prophet, according co the prophecies of Isaiah and Malacbi ; and shall attempt to prove that John the Baptist is the person designed. ist% This person is represented as the voice os him that crietb in the wilderness, whose work was to prepare the way of the Lord, and to make straight in the desert a highway for our God, Isa. xl. 3. Mai. iii. 1. which prophecies are in the New Testament applied to John the Baptist, Matt. iii. 3. Mark i. 1, 3. Luke iii. 4. and how justly will easily appear, if it be considered that the very place where Vol. III. C c c he d The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. p. 262.

378 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, he began his ministry is pointed at, who came preaching in the wilderness of Judea -, and as for the work he was to do, which was to prepare the way of the Lord, it exactly suits with him •, for John's ministry had a very great tendency to dispose the people to a reception of the Messiah, he preached the doctrine of repentance to them, which the Jews acknowledge to be necessary to the coming of the Messiah ' ; he declared that the kingdom of Hearten, or of the Messiah, was at hand; he baptized with the baptism of repentance, which made the Jews enquire whether he was not the Christ, or Elias, or that prophet*, and at the fame time he advised the people to believe on him which Jhou'd come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus, as the apostle Paul informs us Ails xix. 4. he endeavoured to take off the Jews from their vain cortsidence in fleshly privi leges, as being the descendants of Abraham, and so fulfilled Isaiah's .prophecy of him, every valley stall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be "made low : and the crocked pall be made straight, and the rough places plain. Where- .by persons were prepared to receive the Messiah ; nay, he did, as it were, with his finger point him out unto them, saying, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. That the Lord, whose way was to be thus prepared by this person, is the Messiah, and that this prophecy belongs to the time of his appearing, may easily be" concluded from the context. The con solations to be administered to God's people by his ministers, mentioned in ver. 1, 2, were to have their full completion in the days of the Mestsdb, as Kimcbi on the place observes, who is prophesied of more expressly in ver. "9—11. as one that was to appear to the joy of his people, and would come with a strong band, vigoroufly prosecute his designs, faithfully perform his work, and "then receive his full reward. He is moreover represented under the character of 'a shepherd, and as one that would very tenderly discharge the several parts and branches of that office ; which character, as it is Frequently given to the Messiah in the Old Testament, is what Jesus bears in the New. idly, The person who was to be the fore-runner of the Messiah, is spoken of under the name of Elijah the prophet, Mai. iv. 5, 6. Behold, I will fend, you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, and he /hall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the chil dren to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a 'curse. All which well agrees with John the Baptist -, and that he is the person intended, may very easily be argued from the time of his coming, which was before the coming of ibe great and dreadful or illustrious imps*-* as the Septuagint render it^- day of the Lord: from the work he was to do, which was to turn the heart of the fathers to, ' Talmud Sanhed. sol. 97. 2.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. m to, or rather with, the children* by for oy as Kimcbi on the place observes j and the meaning is, that he mould convert, or turn, abundance of people, both fathers and children, from their iniquities, which John the Baptist was art instrument of doing f, for Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, went out to him, and were baptized of bint in Jordan, confessing their fins. Besides it deserves consideration, that the awful argument, which this person .was to enforce his ministry with, left I come and smite the earth, or land, with a curse, which is expressive of the destruction of the Jewish nation, in cafe of non-repentance, exactly suits with the ministry of John the Baptist, who de clared to the Jews, that, unless they brought forth fruits meet for repentance, wrath wquld come uppn^them, that the axe was then laid to the root of the tree, and tljat every fruitless one would be hewn down and cast into the fire -, and ac cordingly, fqr their iion-repent^e, their contempt of John's ministry, and rejection of the Melsiah, t^xis wrttth did corne upon them •, their land was smitten with a curse, their cjty and temple were destroyed, and they wholly ceased to be a nation or common wealth. Two things principally are objected against the Jpnjg of the ,wqrds by a late author. j. That the real Ellas is here intended P, and therefore the Septuagint trans lators render jt expressly, Elias the fijbbite, and that the Jews accordingly .expect E,liaj ,\o come in person. To which I answer, that as to the Sep tuagint version, i-t can ;be of no weight in this cafe i because the word Tijhiiteh not in the original text, but put in by those translators, without any warrant or authgrfcy for it •, and though it was indeed the opinion of many of •the Jews, that Elias should come in person, before the coming of the Messiah ; yet not of ajl of them, for some 9s them have thought, that some great pro phet, jequal to Elias, and endued with the same spirit, is intended ; and par ticularly jhis is the opinion of Maiftonides*'. Besides, it is no unusual thing for one person to be called by the name of another, very much like him for integrity, wisdom, courage, zeal, &c. this is no ways disagreeable to the lan guage of other authors ; thusSsumus is by Virgil called another Achilles ' ; much less to the language of the scriptures, where the Messiah is frequently called by the name of David, .because of their very great likeness and agreement •, besides, it is usual with the Jews to call Pbinebas by the name of Eliask, be cause of his great zeal for the Lord of hosts ; and for the very fame reason may John the Baptist be called by the name of Elias, there appearing to be a very c c c 2 great * Matt iii. 5, 6. * The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, &c. p. 127. * In Pocock not. misc. in port. Mos. p. zio. ' Æneid. 6. k Baal Hatturim. in Numb. xxv. 12.

3B0 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT* great resemblance between Elias and John, in their temper and disposition, in their manner of cloathing, and austere way of living, in their eximious piety and holiness, in their courage and integrity in reproving vice, and their zeal and usefulness in the cause of God and true Religion ; so that John the Baptist may well be said to come in tbe spirit and power os Elias, as the angel expresses it Luke i. 17. and on the account thereof be called by his name. 2. Another objection produced by the fame author ', and which appears the most formidable is, that " John, who must be supposed to know who he was " himself, when the question was asked him, whether he was Elias, denied " himself to be Elias." In answer to which, let it be observed, that the Jews, in putting this question to John, whether he was theEliasor no, meant whether he was Elias in person, the real Elias, Elias the Tishbite, or no, and so John understood them, and therefore very honestly and sincerely replies, that he was not, that is, that he was not Elias the Tishbite, though he does not deny that he was the person intended by the Elias, that was prophesied should come, and Therefore, that they might not be at a loss to know who he was, he tells them, he was the voice of one crying in tbe wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, according to Isaiah's prophecy, who is the fame person that Malacbi in chap. iii. 1. calls tbe Messenger of the Lord, who was to prepare the way before him, which messenger is no other than Elias the prophet in chap. iv. 5. as will appear by comparing the places together ; so that though "John denies himself to be Elias the Tishbite, yet owns himself to be the person intended by the Elias that was to come. And from hence it appears, that when Christ fays of John the Baptist m, This is Elias which was for to come, he fays nothing con trary to, or irreconcileable with the words of John, as the Jews object" ; for Christ does not fay, that he was Elias in person, of Elias the tifhbite, but only that he was the Elias which was for to come, that is, he who was intended by him. I proceed, . Thirdly, To consider the work which the Messiah, as a prophet, was to do, and which our Jesus did. 1st, One part of the Messiah's work, as a prophet, was to preach the gospel, according to Isa. lxi. 1. The Spirit of tbe Lord God is upon me, because tbe Lord bath anointed me, to preach the good tidings to the meek ; which prophecy is acknowledged, by some Jewish writers', to belong to the Messiah j and indeed the 1 Page 1 28. m Matt. xi. 14. • R. Isaac Chizuk, Eaiun. par. 1. c. 39. where the very fame objections against John the Baptist's being the Elias, produced by the Author of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, may be met with. " R. David Kimclii in lib. Shorafh. rad. TWO R. Saadiah Gaon in lib. Haemun. c 8.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 381 the unction of the Spirit here spoken of, best agrees with him, who was anointed with the oil of gladness above bis fellows, as well as the work he was to do, which is such as no mere creature is capable of, especially that of binding up the broken hearted. With this prophecy Jesus began his ministry, applying it to himself, and, in all respects, answered the several things contained there in, which is no small proof of his Messiahfhip. Hence, among the several evidences thereof, which he gave the disciples of John, who were sent by their master to enquire of him, whether he was be that should come, or whether they were to look for another; this was one, the poor have the gospel preached to them ; for as the Messiah was to preach glad tidings lo the meek, or poor, vA»x"t, as the Septuagint render it j so it is manifest enough, that Jesus's audience was chiefly of that sort j those flocked unto him, attended on his ministry, and embraced his doctrine, when he was rejected by the wife and wealthy. Besides, the Gos pel was preached by him, not after the ordinary manner, but in such a way as it never had been before, nor has been since -, for his enemies themselves being witnesses, never man spake like him, his words were cloathed with majesty and power, he taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes, to the surprize and astonishment of all that heard him. idly, Another part of his work was, to perform miracles for the confirma tion of the truth of his mission. That the Messiah was to work miracles, is manifest from the predictions of the prophets, especially Isaiah p, who says, that when God comes with vengeance, even God with a recompence to save his people, which is to be understood of the great salvation by the Messiah, then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing ■, all which was verified in Jesus, who gave these very instances to John's disciples, as evidences of his being the true Messiah. That the Jews in the times of Jesus, expected the Messiah to do miracles, is plain, from what they fay in John vii. 31. When Christ cometb, will be do more miracles than these which this man bath done ? And though later Jews would willingly establish such a notion, as that there is no need to look for miracles to be wrought by the Mesliah when he comes, yet it is certain that their more ancient writers were of a different mind % and expected as many, and as great miracles to be wrought, as were at the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt ; nay, Maimonides himself', who seems fond of the abovesaid notion, yet is obliged to acknowledge, that miracles will be wrought by the Messiah, and that upon the account of them, he will meet f I(a. xxiv. 5, 6. « Zohar in Exod. sol. 3, 4. & 4, 2. Targ. in PCil. xviii. 32. & in Isa. liii. 8. « Pocock porta Mos. p. 158.

382 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, meet with a great deal of respect: from the nations of the world. That Jesus did do such miracles as were predicted of the Messiah, is not only affirmed by the evangelists, who were men of probity, honesty, and integrity, but is also acknowledged by those who were no friends to the religion of Jesus ; nay, by those who were his bitter and implacable enemies ' ; which miracles of his are very good proofs of his being the true Messiah, and that prophet whom Moses spoke of, and the Jews expected : hence some of them, that saw the miracles which Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that Jhould come into the world, John vi. 14. gdly, Another part of a prophet's work is to foretel future events ; and it is a rule which Maimonides lays down ', that if all a prophet fays comes to pass, then he is to be accounted a true and faithful onej now Jesus foretold many things before hand, which exactly and punctually came to pass -, he foretold the evil treatment he should meet with from the Jews, his being betrayed by one of his own disciples, his being denied by another, and forsaken by them all ; also his death and the manner of it ; his resurrection from the dead ; the destruction of the Jewish nation ; the preaching of the gospel, and the -success thereof in the Gentile world ; all which were exactly accomplished ; and there fore he justly deserves the character of a prophet, and to be esteemed as one sent by God. But, Fourtb'y, I (hall now enquire into the place where the Messiah was chieflyto fulfil his ministry, as the great prophet in Israel, which appears to be Galilee as the nations, according to a prophecy in Isa ix. t, 2. Nevertheless, the dimness shall not be such, as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly cffliiied the land of Zebulun, and the land of Napthali ; and afterwards did more grievously ufflitl her by the way of the sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the nations, the people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light : they that dwell in the land of'she shadow os death, upon them bath the light shined. The former of which verses should be read thus ; Nevertheless the dimness shall not be to her as her oppression, for as at the first time be debased the land of Zebulun and the land of Naptbah, so in the latter time, or hereafter, he will make it glorious by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan in Galilee of the nations -, the learned Mr Mede reads the word* much the fame way" •, and the plain meaning of them is this, that whereas thole parts of the land of Israel, here mentioned, had suffered much by Tiglatb Pilezer, who had carried them captive, 2 Kings xv. 29. which is the vexation referred to ; so they * Toldosjesu, p. 8. 11. in Wagenseil. Tcla ignea. ' Ycsod Hattorah, c. 10. C a. u Mcdc's works, p. 131, 132, 566.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 383 they should be very much honoured and glorified, by the presence and conver sation of the Messiah, who is the great light, in ver. 2. that was to shine in those dark and obscure parts, and give light unto them, and there become famous himself, and make them so by his doctrines, miracles, and holy life and conversation ; who is no other than the child born, and son given, of whom such great things are spoken, and to whom such magnificent titles are given in ver 6, 7. Now this prediction was exactly verified in Jesus •, for though he was born at Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, according to the pro phecy in Mic. v. 2. yet he was educated and brought up in Galilee, from •whence he came to be baptized by John, when the time drew nigh of his •entering upon his public ministry-, but after he had been tempted in the wilderness, and had heard of John's being cast into prison, he departed into ■Galilee., and, leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coasts in the borders as Zabulon and Napthali : that it might be fulfilled ■which was spoken by Isaias the prophet, faying, The land of Zabulon, &c. •Matt. iv. 12— 16. it was. here he began to preach ver. 17. here he called his first disciples ver. 18, .21. here he staid and continued some time, for he went about all Galilee teaching in .their synagogues, &c. ver. 23. here he wrought his first miracle, John ii. n. here he chiefly conversed, here he promised to meet with his disciples, Matt. xxvi. .32. and here he accordingly did, Matt, xxviii. .7, io.,v6. he was so muchin those parts, that the Jews concluded that Galilee was>the place of his. birth ; hence fay they, in John vii. 41. Shall Christ come cut cf Galilee ? but though he was not to be born there, yet he was to converse there much. The~ancient Jews expected the Messiah to be revealed, and make his first appearance in Galilee ; £6r so they affirm in their book of Zoharv ; now what could be the foundation of such an expectation, but this prophecy of Isaiah, which has had its literal. accomplishment in Jesus ? But, Fifthly, I. proceed to consider what success was to attend the Messiah's ministry, which was to be but very small and inconsiderable; for he and his ministry were to be flighted and rejected by men, according to the prophecies that want before of him, which declare, that the hearts of men, instead of being converted under his ministry, would grow more obdurate, their ears be heavy, and their eyes shut ; which is not to be imputed to any weakness and insufficiency, either in his doctrine, or method of teaching, but to the wretched depravity and corruption of human nature. Now so it was with respect to the ministry of Jesus ; for though he spake as never man did, taught with authority^ as w In Gsn. sol. 74. 3. and in Exod sol. 3, 3.

384 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, as the scribes did nor, and confirmed his doctrines by many surprising and unquestionable miracles, yet there were but few that believed on him ; for their minds were blinded, and their hearts were hardened ; and that this might be no occasion of stumbling to his disciples, he acquaints them, that this was no other than what was prophesied of beforehand, Matt. xiii. 13— 16. John xii. 37—40. The prophecy which he more especially refers to, is in Isa. vi. 9, 10. which prophecy a late author asserts x, *• according to its literal " fense, relates to the obstinate Jews, who lived in the time of Isaiah, though " Jesus fays that it was fulfilled in his time, in those to whom he spoke in " parables •" but why, according to its literal fense, it may not as well relate to the Jews in Jesus's time, as to those in Isaiah's, there seems no reason to conclude ; for the Jews, in Jesus's time, were much of the fame complection with those in Jsaiab's -, nay the character suits better with the Jews in the time of Jesus, than with those in the time of Isaiah ; for though this judicial blindness began in the time of Isaiah, yet in succeeding ages it increased, being grown to a prodigious pitch in the time of Jesus, and was still increasing until the utter destruction of the nation, for Ib long it was to continue, accord ing to Isaiah'* prophecy, who asks this question, ver. 11. Then said I, Lord, bow long ? that is, will this obstinacy and blindness continue ? and be answered* Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the bouses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst os the land, which cannot be understood of the devastation by Sennacherib, or of the Babylonish captivity, in neither of which was there such an utter desolation of the land of Judea, as is here spoken of, but seems very plainly to point out the destruction of the Jews temple, city, and nation, by the Romans, which was the just demerit of their blindness, obstinacy, and infidelity. Besides, it looks as if Isaiah had the Jews in the times of the Messiah, principally in view, for these things saidr he of them when be saw the glory of the Messiah, of which some account is given in ver. 1 —5. and spake os him. * Discourse of the Grounds »nd Reason*, &c .p. 48. r John xii. 41. CHAP.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 385 CHAP. IX. Concerning the remarkable occurrence of the Messiah'j riding to Jerusalem upon an ass, wherein the prophecy in Zech. ix. 9. is particularly considered. HAving traced the prophecies which concern the Messiah, quite down to his entrance upon, and discharge of his work and office as a prophet, I cannot proceed any further, without taking notice of a remarkable occur rence, which was to happen towards the close of his ministry, namely, his riding to Jerusalem upon an ass. That Jesus did do so, a little before his death, not only the evangelists assure us, who are to be credited, but even the Jews themselves % the avowed and implacable enemies of Jesus, have acknow ledged ■, now hereby an ancient prophecy was fulfilled, as the evangelists observe, Matt. xxi. 4, 5. John xii. 14— 16. the prophecy referred to is Zecb. ix. 9. Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zion; Jbout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy king cometh unto thee ; be is just and having salvation, lowly and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. That this prophecy, in its primary, obvious, and literal fense, is to be understood of the Messiah, and no other, and may justly be applied to Jesus, is what I mall attempt to prove. Some indeed would have Zerobabcl here intended*, others Nehemiah ", and others Judas Maccabœus c ; but neither of these can be meant, for neither of them were Ijings, nor were they poor, or is it any where recorded of any of them, that they rode upon an ass to Zion, or Jerusalem, in such a public manner, attended with such demonstrations of joy, as this person is said to do ; and no other person being mentioned, to whom this prophecy is supposed to be applicable, the Messiah must be intended, to whom all the characters here mentioned exactly agree ; who is frequently re presented in the Old Testament as a king, and as Zion's king -, as one that stiould Vol. III. D d d execute * Toldosjcsu, p. 9. » Grotius in loo b R. Moses in Abcn Ezrainloc. c R. Abcn Ezra in loc.

386 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, execute judgment and justice in the earth, as the Saviour of his people, and the prince os peace. Several Jewish writers'1 understand this prophecy of the tykffiah, and it is certain that the Jews, in the times of Jesus, so under stood it, as is manifest from their behaviour towards him ; for when they saw him coming to Jerusalem upon an ass, they spread their garments and branches of trees in the way, and cried, faying, Hofanna to the son of David. Blessed be the king of Israel, that cometb in the name of the Lord; which stiews that they looked upon this prophecy to be a prophecy of the Messiah •, and from this circumstance concluded that Jesus was he, or they would never have attended him with such kind of acclamations, and given him such magnificent titles as these; and indeed there is nothing in the whole prophecy, which, as it solely concerns the Messiah, but what is entirely applicable to Jesus. First, The person here prophesied of, is represented as a king, as Ziorii king, and as one that should come to her, for her good. That the Messiah was to be a king, is no controversy between us and the Jews ; one of the most common and usual epithets they give him, is the king Messiah; but the controversy between us, is, whether he was to be a temporal or a spiritual one ; the Jews expected him in the former character, and there fore rejected Jesus, because he was not such a one ; a king he was, and never denied it, though he declared that his kingdom was not of this world; he is Zion's king, the king of saints, and will rule and reign as' such for ever, for the good, safety, and protection of his people, and to the confusion of all his and their enemies. Secondly, Another character of this great person is, that he should bejust, or righteous in all his works, actions, and administrations, which well agrees with Jesus, who was just in all his actions both to God and man, he rendered to Cæsar the things that were Cæsar's, and to God the things that are God's $ his whole life was one continued series of righteousness and holiness ; so that though his enemies sought, time after time, an occasion against him, they could find none ; and therefore, in order to take away his life, which they thirsted after, they exhibited a false accusation against him ; and though they carried their point so far, as to prevail upon Pilate to adjudge him to death, yet he washed his hands and declared him to be an innocent person. Thirdly, * Jarchi & Kimchi in loo Saadiah Gaon in Dan, vii. 14. Zohar in Gen. foL 127. 3 tc PalEm. Talmud Sanhed. sol. 98b col. 1. & 99. t.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 387 Thirdly, It is said of this king of Zion, that he is one having salvation, that is, one that has a commission to effect it, is every way qualified for it, and is become the author of it. Such an one is Jesus, as his name signifies, who is become the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him. The author of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy* objects from a late writer', that the Hebrew word should be rendered saved, and that it relates to Zerobabel, or some person who came from Bab)lon, and was saved during their captivity and destruction ; to which I answer, that granting the Hebrew word yanj should not be rendered actively having salvation, saving, saving himself, or a Saviour, as most versions do, the word being in the passive form, though there are many instances of words in that language, which are of the passive form, that are to be under stood in an active sense ; I say, granting that it should not be rendered so, but passively, saved, there is no need to apply it to Zerobabel, or some person who came from Babylon, and was saved from thence, to whom the other characters in the text will by no means agree ; for, in this fense of the word, it is applicable enough to the Messiah, Jesus, who was saved, rescued, and delivered out of the hands of death and the grave, and thereby became a fit and proper Saviour for others •, for had he not been saved himself, he could never have been the Saviour of others. Besides, I find the Jews s use this word yw\l among the several epithets which they give to the most high God, in their solemn prayers and addresses to him : now, if it may be predicated of the great God, it may surely of the Messiah, without any diminution of his glory-, yea, even as considered, in his highest nature, as the eternal Son of God. Fourthly, Another epithet given to this great person in the text, is, that he is lowly or poor, as the word may be rendered ; which character alone is suf ficient to exclude the above-mentioned persons from being intended here ; Zerobabel cannot, who was governor of Judab, and with such vast expences rebuilt the temple; nor Nehemiab, who, during his captivity, was cupbearer to the king of Persia, and afterwards made governor of Judah, though he did d d d 2 not e Page 145. f Sykes's Essay, page 243. b Thus in Seder Tephillot, sol. 155.1. Edit. Basil. 1578. where intreating God that he would take notice of the proud, the obdurate, and irreligious, they make use os this as an argument yt^131 p^lS "\ty£b " Because thou art righteous, and a Saviour;" and so in Sepher Shaare Zion, sol. 42. 2. the principal part of which book is a collection of prayers, in one of which, among the several arguments taken from the perfections of God, and the goodness of his nature, to obtain the pardon of sin, this is one, ftf JNJMJ HDH which surely cannot be rendered, " thou art saved from sin." when thepeison is manifestly speaking to God, but ■' thou art the " Saviour," or " thou art he that saveth from sin."

38S THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, not cat the bread of the governor, but at his own charge kept one hundred and fifty Jews at his table out of his own substance, gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basons, five hundred and thirty priests garments j and there fore surely could not be a poor man ; nor can Judas Maccabæus be intended, for the same reason, who was much enriched with the spoils he took in war, wherewith he adorned and beautified the temple ; but the character well agrees with Jesus, who was not only born of poor parents, and brought up in a mean and obscure manner, but even in his more public life was attended with poverty in his outward circumstances •, he had no where to lay his head, was obliged to some women for his sustenance, who ministered to him of their substance, and when he died had nothing to leave his mother, but bequeaths her to the care of one of his disciples. Again, if we render the word lowly or meek, it exactly suits with him, whose unparallelled meekness and lowliness of mind appeared in his assumption of human nature, in his courteous and affable carriage to persons far ir ferior to him, even publicans and sinners, and in his ministering to his own disciples, especially in that last act of his washing of their feet, in which, as well as in all the actions of his life, he set them a pattern, and taught them to learn of him, who was meek and lowly. Fifthly, This person is further described by his riding upon an ass; and accordingly the Jews have expected the Messiah to make such an appearance, as Jesus did, which is not only attested by the evangelists, but acknowledged by the Jews themselves, as has been already observed. Sixthly, This person was to remove all the instruments of war, and speak peace unto the heathen, ver. 10. which has been exactly fulfilled in Jesus, who having made peace by the blood of his cross, has by his ministers preached it both to Jews and Gentiles ; whose gospel is the gospel of peace, his kingdom a king dom of peace, and he himself the prince of peace. (Seventhly, His kingdom was to be very extensive ; for it is said that bis dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river even unto the ends of the earth -, which is the reason Jarchi gives, why it is impossible to understand this prophecy of Zecbary, of any. other but the Messiah, of the encreafe of whose government and peace there shall be no end ; and which will more manifestly appear when the kingdoms of this world shall visibly become the kingdoms of our Lord and of bis Christ. 3 Eighthly,

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 389 Eigbtbly, The coming of this person is represented as something very remarkable and extraordinary, and as what would be matter of joy to Zion; and therefore, a behold, is prefixed to it, and Zion is called upon to rejoice and stout ; all which was literally fulfilled in Jesus's entrance into the city of Jeru salem -, for it is said that all the city was moved, being surprised at the strange and uncommon appearance he made, which was attended with shouts and acclamations of joy, from the people, crying Hosannab to the son of David. So that from the whole it appears, that this is another literal prophecy of the Messiah, which had its exact accomplishment in Jesus. 1 :,.. CHAP. X. . . • . ..\ Lr:r. .i-.- : - . ' ' ' Concerning the sufferings of the Messiah ; wherein Psalm xxii. and Isaiah liii. are particularly considered: as also the several circumstances •which were to attend these sufferings. THE writers of the New Testament, as they give an account of the sufferings of Jesus, so they appeal to the books of the Old Testament, as containing prophecies which speak of the Messiah's sufferings •, from whence they reasoned with the Jews h, opening and alledging, that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead ; and that that Jesus -whom they preachsd was Christ. They aver, that the divine Spirit in the prophets ' testified before hand the sufferings of Christ unto them, as well as the glory that should follow ■, and that when they spoke of the sufferings of Jesus, they said *, none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did fay, should come to pass ; and that, in what the Jews did to Jesus, was fulfilled, what 'God before bad shewed by the mouth of all his prophets. Nay, Jesus himself, in reproving some of his disciples for their dulness and unbelief, said unto them'", O fools, and stow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken ! ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory ? therefore beginning at Mcfes, and all the prophets, be expounded unto them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself; that is, those things which chiefly concerned his sufferings. Now, seeing there are such manifest appeals to the books of the Old Testament, as containing prophecies h Actsxvii. 2, 3. * 1 Pet. i. II. k Actsxxvi. zz, 23. 1 Actsiii. 18. m Luke xxiv. 25-87.

39o THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, prophecies of a suffering Messiah, which had their fulfilment in Jesus, my business in this chapter will be, Firsts To consider those prophecies which speak of him as such, and attempt to prove that they belong to him, and him only. Secondly, To point out the several parts of his sufferings according to these prophecies. And, Thirdly, Take a view of the several circumstances which were to attend those sufferings. First, I shall consider those prophecies which speak of the Messiah as suffer ing, and attempt to prove that they belong to him, and him only. Now the principal prophecies which speak of this affair, and are generally understood to belong thereunto, are contained in Psal. xxii. and Isa. liii. which I shall particularly consider. \ft, The twenty-second Psalm is commonly understood by Christian inter preters to be a prophecy of the Messiah as suffering ; and indeed it cannot with any tolerable colour or pretence be applied to any other. That one single individual person is spoken of, throughout the Psalm, the whole series and connection thereof manifestly shew, and therefore the whole body of the Jewish nation \ or the congregation of Israel, cannot be intended. Besides, this person is not only distinguished from the viler sort of the people, by whom he' was reproached and reviled, ver. 6—8. but also from those who are called the brethren, the congregation of Israel, and those -who fear the Lord, ver. 22, 23. before whom he was to praise the Lord. And as a single person, so a suffering person is certainly intended, as is manifest from his being represented as one forsaken of God, despised by men, encompassed by his enemies, by whom he is cruelly racked and tortured, his bones dislocated, his hands and feet pierced, and he even brought to the dust os death. Now this single and suffering person can be no other than the Messiah ; some of the Jewish writers °, indeed, would have Esther to be the subject of this prophecy, to whom not one sentence, nor single word in the whole Psalm, can with any tolerable shew of reason be applied. Others, and with much more appearance of truth, would have David intended ; but yet there are some things in this Psalm, which, in their plain, obvious and literal fense, cannot be applied to him, as the shooting out of the lip, and shaking the head at him, by wicked persons, using at the fame time ■ See Kimchi in loc. ° Vid. Jarchium in loc. y

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. j9t « time that very form of words mentioned in ver. 8. the dislocation of his joints, ver. 14. the piercing of his hands and feet, ver. 16. the parting of his gar ments and casting lots upon his vesture, ver. 18. neither of which were true of David, but were to be accomplished in the Messiah, and had their full and literal completion in Jesus, as will be more particularly observed hereafter. And that the Messiah is intended in this Psalm, may be collected from the title ; upon, or concerning Aijeleth Shahar, which respects the subject thereof, and may be rendered, the hind of the morning, which well agrees with the Messiah, and is expressive of his swiftness and readiness in appearing for the salvation of his people, and with our Jesus, who in the very morningof his infancy, was hunted after by Herod, and his agents, to take away his life : Others render it the morning star p, which is one of the titles of Jesus, Rev. xxii. 16. The Targum expresses it by the daily morning sacrifice, which was typical of the Lamb of God which takttb away the fin of the world, and is very justly taken notice of here, where the sufferings of the Messiah are so parti cularly set forth, which were to be a propitiatory sacrifice for the fins of men. Besides, the person treated of in this Psalm, is one in whom the happiness of God's people was much concerned -, by whom the meek were to be satisfied, and enjoy eternal life, as the consequence of his sufferings, and therefore are called upon to praise the Lord on that account, ver. 23 —26. Moreover, the con version of the Gentiles through the preaching of the gospel, which was pecu liar to the days of the Messiah, was to follow upon the sufferings of this per son. Nay, even some Jewish writers , have been obliged to apply some parts of this Psalm to the Messiah, which they evidently saw could not in any toler able sense be referred to any other. idly, The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah is another prophecy, which is generally understood by Christian interpreters of the Messiah and his sufferings. The modern Jews, indeed, not being able to make it suit with their now generally received notions of the Messiah, have endeavoured to substitute some other person as the subject thereof. It would be both tedious and needless to reckon up the several different persons to whom they endeavour to apply this pro phecy-, all disagreeing with each other -, which shews the wretched uncertainty they are under, since they have left the true, plain, obvious, and anciently received sense thereof ; some referring it to Abraham, others to Moses, others to Ezra, others to Zerobabel, others to any righteous person in general ; all which p Vid. R. Abendana not. in Miclol Yophi in loc. t Midrash Tillim in hunc Psalmuin. R. Sol. Jarchi in ver. 26.

392 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, which senses are weak, ridiculous and impertinent, there being no manner of foundation in the whole prophecy for an application of it to any of those per sons, and therefore deserve not our consideration. The principal opinions, and which seem mostly to prevail among them, are, that this prophecy is to be understood eicher of the body of the people of Israel in general, or of Jqfiab or Jeremiah, in particular j though in each of them they go contrary to their own Targum', Talmud \ and other ancient writings of theirs'; there are some " who strenuously contend for the former, namely, that the whole body of the people of Israel, in captivity, is intended, which can never be the true fense of the prophecy ; for one single individual person is spoken of from the beginning to the end thereof, who is manifestly distinguished in ver. 4—8. from the people of Israel, whose fins and sorrows he was to bear, and for whose transgressions he was to be stricken and wounded. Abarbinel would have king Jo/tab here intended, who was slain by Pbaraob-Necbo at Megiddo, and supposes that it is the report of his death which is complained of in ver. r. as whac none would believe, by reason of his celebrated piety ; he farther supposes that he is said in ver. 2. to grow up as a tender plant, because of his early devotion, and the great progress he made therein ; that he is said to be despised, ver 3. because he was killed by Necbo, a contemptible man ; that he was a man of sorrow, because often sick and troubled with the gout"; that it appears he bore the griefs of the people, ver. 4. since the sins of the nation caused his death, ver. 5. that it is a mistake that the people were much addicted to the law in his time, for he fays, ver. 6. all we, like sheep, have gone astray, and that God would revenge his death upon many nations. But Abarbinel here contradicts himself, for he, at other times, with other Jews, would have the prophecy understood of the people of Israel, and therefore not of Josteb; besides, here are several things laid relating to Josiah, of which some are true, others notoriously falle, and destitute of all manner of proof; it is true in deed that he was a very pious prince, and devoted himself very early to re ligion, but then it is notorioufly false that the people were not much addicted to the law in his time ; for it was in his time that the book of the law was found, the covenant between God and the people renewed, a general reforma tion obtained, and such a passover kept as never had been since the times of the ' In chap. Jii. 13. andinliii. to. * Talmud Sanhed sol. 98 col. 2. 1 Zohar in Exod. sol. 85. 2. Beresh Rab. in Gen xxiv. 67. Pesikla in Kcttoreth HasTammim in Targ. Jerus. in Numb. xxix. 7. Tanchuma in Isa. lii. 13. Midrafh Ruth, sol. 34. col. 3, u Jarchi, Kimchi, & Abcn Ezra, in loc. * Vid. Basnage's History of the Jews, book 4. chap.xxiii. s. 17, 18.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 293 the judges : it is also false, that the sins of the people were the occasion of Jo/tab's death, but rather his own rashness, vanity, and ambition, in meddling in an affair to which he did not seem to have any real call ; and it is equally as false, that God revenged his death upon many nations ; nor was Pharaob- Necbo, by whom he was slain, a contemptible person, but a very potent and considerable prince ; his saying that none would believe the report of JofiaV% death, wants proof, as well as his representing him as a sickly person, and sub ject to the gout. But to let pass these things, as not worthy of consideration, it may easily be observed, that there are many things in this prophecy, which can by no means agree with him •, as that he did no violence, the contrary is evident in the case of Pbaraob-Necho -, that he bore the sins of others, and died for them, and made his soul an offering for sin ; that his days were prolonged, that the pleasure of the Lord prospered in bis band; much less could it be said of him, Wbo shall declare bis generation? Others x would have Jeremiah in tended, in which they are followed by Grotius, and this the author of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy seems to incline to y : But the characters given of the person, who is the subject of this prophecy, by no means agree with Jeremiah, for this person is represented as one without guilt, entirely free from sin, and who had never gone astray, like other men ; as one that was to suffer for the sins of others, which sufferings he was to bear with the utmost patience; nay, even to intercede for those transgressors who were the cause of them ; and though he was to be cut off, or die, yet he was to live again, have a large jiumber of disciples and followers, and be very much exalted and dignified -, which cannot be said of Jeremiah, who was subject to the same sinful infirmi ties as other men are, was not wounded nor bruised, nor did he die for the sins of his people •, and as for the sufferings which he underwent for them, he was •far from bearing them with patience •, for he even cursed the day wherein he •was born % on the account thereof; he prayed that he might fee the vengeance of God upon them ; that God would pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter ; neither had he a large number of disciples, nor was he exalted and extolled, as this person is represented to be. But all and every part of this prophecy exactly agrees with the Messiah Jesus, whose first appearance was mean and abject, on the account of which he was despised by men, by whom he suffered many things, which he bore with inex pressible patience, and at last death itself, which was an expiatory sacrifice for the sins of all his people, which, being laid on him, he bore in his own body on Vol. III. Eee the * Saadiah Gaon in Aben Ezra in loc. i Page 211. z Jer. xx. it, 14. and chap. xii. 3. S~

39+ THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, the tree, and being raised from the dead, is now exalted, extolled, and made very high, at his Father's right hand, where he ever lives to intercede for trans gressors •, and has ever since had a large number of disciples, who have embraced his doctrines, and espoused his cause ; a seed which have served him, and will continue to do so, till time shall be no more. Secondly, Having considered those two remarkable prophecies which speak of the Messiah as suffering •, I proceed to consider the several parts of his sufferings, as they are pointed out in those prophecies, and observe their fulfilment in Jesus. ifty He was to undergo much reproach from men, to be despised * and rejetled by them •, nay, to be accounted a worm and no man. How much jesus was flighted and disesteemed by the men of his generation, on the account of his mean parentage, education, outward poverty, the despicableness of his followers, See. is notorious enough ; as well as how he was flouted, jeered, and scoffed at, when upon the cross, by his enemies, who used the very words in Psal. xxii. 8. wagging their heads at him. idly, He was to be smote and buffeted j this judge os Israel was to be smote with a rod upon the cheek b, as Jesus was, both by the Jewilh and Roman soldiers, which he very patiently endured j and, as was prophesied of him % gave bis back to the fmiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the bair, and bid n*t his face from shame and spitting. yily, He was to suffer death for the sins of his people ; he was not only to be wounded* and bruised for their transgressions, but to be cut off out os the land os the living, his foul was to be poured out unto death, and he brought into the dust thereof ; accordingly Jesus died for our fins % according to these scriptures. \tbly, As he was to die, so he was to die the death of the cross, which might be collected from the piercing of bis bands and feet, the disjointing of bis bones, and the prodigious fever which was to seize him, and dry up his strength like a potsherd, and cause his tongue to cleave to his jaws, all which circum stances, usually attending the crucifixion of persons, were prophesied of in the twenty-second Psalm. Now it is manifest enough that Jesus was obedient unto death, even the death os the cross -, though it was very unlikely that he ever should have died in that manner, that not only being a Roman punishment, but also what was not usually inflicted on persons guilty of the crime with which he was charged, and for which he was condemned •, but so it was, that these prophecies might be fulfilled, as well as his own predictions be verified. Stbly, He » Ise. liii. 3. Psal. xxii. 6. b Mic. v. 1. c Isa. 1. 6. * Ib. liii. 5, 8, is. Fsal. xxii. 15.- e 1 Cor. xv. 3. S~

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 395 Sthly, He was to be buried and laid in the grave, which was the finishing part of his humiliation. Isaiab fays of the Messiah f, that be made bis grave with tbe wicked, and witb the rich in bis death, which words may be rendered thus, he put, or placed, his grave with the wicked, but his tomb-stone, g vnai or sepulchral monument, was with the rich ; which was literally fulfilled in Jesus, whose grave, though it was put under the care and custody of the wicked soldiers, who were placed there to watch, lest the disciples should remove the body, and say he was risen from the dead, which circumstance attending his interment, might seem somewhat dishonourable, yet there being a famous tomb erected over it, at the charge of Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man, rendered his burial honourable, which honour was done him, because be bad done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Hereby another prophecy appears to be fulfilled, which speaks of the Messiah's burial, in Isa. xi. 10. and bis reft shall be glorious, this may very well be understood of the grave, which is a place of rest, where, as Job fays, chap. iii. 1 7. Tbe wichd cease from troubling, and the weary be at rest. The Vulgate renders the words thus, erit sepulcbrum ejus gloriosum, " his grave shall be glorious." I have already proved, that this pro phecy belongs to the Messiah. Abarbinel owns ith, and not only so, but also acknowledges, that this clause may be expounded of the Messiah's honourable burial. The author of Tbe Scheme os Literal Prophecy ought to take this as a full answer to his exception ', out of Grotius and White, against the prophecy in Isaiah. To conclude this head ; the occasion, nature, efficacy, and intent of the Messiah's sufferings, as delivered in those prophecies, appear to be the very fame as those of the sufferings of Jesus, delivered in the New Testament. iee2 The f Isa. liii. 9. « The Hebrew word JYIQ2 signifies, High places, and is frequently so rendered; see Dcut xxxiii. 29. Psal. xviii. 33. Hab. iii. 19. and here the plural number being put for the singular, it signifies an High place, or a structure over a grave, as R. Aben Ezra, from their Rabbis, observes ; and if it should be objected, that the point Camets, and not Sheva, should have been placed under the letter 2 if that U here radical ; I answer, (not to say anything of the original of vowel points) it is easy to suppose an irregular punctuation, of which there are a very large number of instances in the Bible ; nor it this a mere supposition, for. the authors of the Masora, in their marginal note upon this word, observe that it is no where extant* in the like form. Sheva being in the room of CametSi and the letter Vau wanting. The first among Christians who observed this, was Forsterus, in his Lexic. Heb. Rad. iT03. which was after, wards taken notice of with approbation by those excellent Hebricians, Mercer and Sthindler. b Vid. Kidder's Demonstration of the Mesilas, part 1. p. 90. ' Page 217,

396 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, The occasion of the Messiah's sufferings was not to be for any fin of his own, but for the fins of others, for which his death was to be a propitiatory sacrifice, whereby sin was to be abolished and done away, peace and pardon procured, and an everlasting righteousness brought in, and this upon the account of all the people of God ; for he was to bear the sins of many, and be stricken for the transgressions of his people ; all which perfectly agrees with those doctrines re specting the occasion, nature, efficacy, intent, and extent of the sufferings of Jesus, which the New Testament abounds with. But I proceed, Thirdly, To consider the several circumstances which were to attend the death, and sufferings of the Messiah. And I (hall begin, ist, With the hypocrisy and treachery of one of his familiar friends •, that Jesus was betrayed by Judas, one of his disciples, not only the evangelists affirm, but the Jews themselves acknowledge in the account which they themselves give of the life and actions of Jesus k. Now this, Jesus fays, was to come to pass ', that the scripture might be fulfilled, He that eatetb bread with me hath lift up his heel against me. The scripture referred to is Pfal. xli. 9. which Psalm, in its first, literal, and obvious fense, wholly belongs to the Messiah. In ver. 1 —3. the happiness of those persons is set forth, who stiould consider the poor, that is, the Messiah in his low estate, one of whose characters is lowly or poor, Zech. ix. 9. in ver. 5. his enemies are represented wishing for his death, saying, When shall he die and his nameperish ? which was the thing the Jews so earnestly desired, and so much longed for, with respect to Jesus, and never left plotting till they had effected it ; which hypocrisy, perfidy, treachery, and vile designs of theirs, are very aptly described in ver. 6, 7. where the true complection and actions of the Jews, in the times of Jesus, are expressed to the life ; fee Matt. xxii. 15—18. and chap. xxvi. 3, 4. and this thing which they so much desired, they brought about by suborning false witnesses, and bring ing a wrong charge, and false accusation against him, which is signified in ver. 8. an evil disease byhl "Q"T a word of Belial, a wicked word, or false ac cusation, fay they, cleaveth fast unto him, which was that of making himself a king, forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar, Luke xxiii. 2. which succeeded according to their wishes, to the taking away of his life ; and therefore, in an exulting and triumphing manner, they fay, And now that be Heth, that is, in the grave, as the word 22® is sometimes used j see 2 Sam. vii. 12. be shall rife up no more, that is, from the dead, though that was a mistake of theirs, for he was raised from the dead, for which he prays, ver. 10. that he might requite these k Toldosjesu, p. 15, 16. ' Johnxiii. 18.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 397 these his enemies, as he did, by destroying their city, temple, anda nation. Now all these things must needs be very afflicting to the Messiah, and he men tions them here by way of complaint ; but yet what was an aggravation of them, and made them still more heavy, was the deceitfulness and treachery of one of his disciples, who betrayed him into the hands of his enemies ; and he complains of it as such in ver. 9. Tea, mine own fami'iar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lift up his heel against me : Though he concludes the Psalm with joy and thankfulness for God's raising him from the dead, exalting him with his own right hand, and setting him before his face for ever, ver. 11 —13. there is indeed one thing which may seem to render this Psalm inapplicable to the Messiah, and so to Jesus, and that is, this person confesses himself to be a sinner in ver 4. I said, Lord be merciful unto me, and heal my foul, for I have finned against thee. The words may be rendered thus, heal my foul, that is, deliver me out of my sorrows and afflictions, m"\b Tl^ton »3 because I have made an offering for fin unto thee ; the word NZOT in Pihel, is frequently used to expiate, atone, or make an offering for fin ; see Exod xxix. 36. Lev. vi. 20. and chap. ix. 15. Pfal. ii. 7. And in Hithpahel, to purify, or cleanse, oneself from sin -, see Numb. xix. 12, 13, 20. and though the word is not so frequently used in Kal, in the sense of making an offering for sin ; yet some instances may be produced, where it seems to require such a translation ; thus in Lev. v. 7. If he be not able to bring a lamb, then shall he bring xyt))H T)H his trespass-offering, Nton *WN which he shall, or is to offer for sin, two turtle doves, &c. Again in ver, 11. If he be not able to bring two turtle doves~— then shall he bring his offering xjan ~\v$, which be shall offer for sin, offeret pro peccato suo, Vulg. Lat. the tenth part of an ephab, &c. besides, r)H®n is frequently used for a sin offering ; see Exod. xxix. 14. Lev. iv. 3, 8, 21, 24, 29, 33, 34. which well agrees with the Messiah, who was to make his foul an offering for fin n, and with Jesus, who was made fin °, that is, an offering for sin, for us, who knew no fin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. From the whole it appears, that this Psalm is a literal prophecy of the Messiah, and that Judas's betraying of Jesus, was a literal accomplishment of the passage referred to in it. I proceed, idly, To consider another circumstance which was to attend the Messiah as suffering, and that is his being sold, by the fame person that betrayed him, for thirty pieces of silver. That Jesus was sold at such a price, cannot well be denied, neither is it : Judas agreed with the chief priests to deliver him into their a Vid. Viccarfium in loc. " Isa. liii. 10. ° 2 Cor. v. 21. ■ r~

398 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, their hands, on this consideration, who, having done his work, received his wages ; but his conscience afterwards accusing him for this vile and barbarous action, he returned them the money, acknowledging his guilt •, but they not judging it lawful to put this money into the treasury, because it was the price of blood, bought the potter's field with it, to bury strangers in •, all which was exactly according to the prophecies of the Old Testament, for the evan gelist, when he had given the historical narration of these things, observes, That p then was fulfilled, that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying And they took the thirty pieces of silver; the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value : and gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me. This prophecy not appearing in any of the writings which bear the name of Jeremy, but being in the prophecy of Zecbariab, chap. xi. 12, 13. creates some difficulty-, which, in order to remove, let it be observed, that the sacred writings were divided by the Jews into three parts ; the first is called the law, which contains the five books of Moses ; the second the prophets, which contain the former and the latter prophets ; the former prophets began at Joshua ', the latter at Jeremy ; the third was called Cetubim, the Hagiographa, or holy writings, which began with the book of Psalms. Now, as this whole third and last part is called the Psalms, Luke xxiv. 44. because it began with that book, so all that part which contained the latter prophets, beginning at Jeremy, for the fame reason, might be called by his name ; hence a passage standing in the prophecy of Zechariah, who was one of the latter prophets, might be justly cited under the name of Jeremy. Moreover, the learned Mr Mede has proved r, by many arguments, that the four last chapters of the book of Zechary were wrote by Jeremy, and if so, the difficulty is at once removed ; therefore the next thing to be enquired into, is the justness of the application of this prophecy. Now that it is a prophecy of the Messiah, which was fulfilled in Jesus, manifestly appears from the context, as well as the text itselfj the person here spoken of, is, in ver. 4. called to feed the flock of slaughter, which being in a very poor condition, ver. 5, 6. the state of the Jews therefore, at the time of Christ's coming, is hereby very aptly represented ; he agrees to do it, ver. 7. and accordingly furnishes himself for it ; but he is rejected, despised, and abhorred, by the shepherds, the principal men in church and state, because he severely inveighed against their doctrines and practices, ver. 8. whereupon he rejects them, and dissolves both their civil and church state, which can suit with no other times than p Matt, xxvii. 9, 10. 1 Vid. Kimchii pnefat. in Jer. • Medc's works, p. 963, 1022, 1023.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 399 than the times of Jesus, ver, 9— n, 14. and least it should be thought that he used them with too much severity, he gives one single instance of their wretched ingratitude to him, which shews how little they esteemed of him, and that is their valuing of him at no greater a price than thirty pieces ofsilver, ver. 12, 13. which were afterwards cast unto the potter. It may perhaps be ob jected to the application of this prophecy to Judas's betraying of Jesus, that, supposing the Messiah is here intended, the money is said to be given into his hands, and not into the hands of him that was to betray him , and I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price ; and if not, forbear. To which I answer, that the words now UH should not be rendered give me my price, but give my price, that is, give what you think fit to value me at, into the hand of him that is to betray me, and accordingly they did so j so they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver ; which is the very sum the chief priests covenanted with Judas for, and which he received, according to Matt. xxvi. 15. Again, if it should be objected to the citation of St Matthew, that it is considerably different from the words of the prophet ; for whereas it is said in the prophet, I took the thirty pieces, and cast them, &c. the evangelist says, they took the thirty pieces, &c. and they gave, &c. It may be replied, that «x«Co» in St Matthew ' may be very well rendered / took, as «W<*v may very reasonably be supposed to be put for «>«*<»; and so the Syriac seems to have read it, feeing it renders the word by raiT / gave; but all this cannot be better expressed than in the words of the learned Mede', " E*aSo» here in St Matthew (fays he) is ** the first person singular, and not the third plural, as we are wont to translate ** it, for it answers to nnpNI in the Hebrew. The fame person and number must ** also «*»*»» be, whether the , be paragogical, or an ancient flip of the scribe ; '* for the Syriac translates it deal, and in the Hebrew it answers to "pbuw, all •* this to be so, the words following evince ; namely, **9* o-Mflafi p.01 Kt/pi®-, '* how will it cohere else ? they gave, &c. as the Lord commanded me ; must it ** not needs be, / gave, &c ?" But if it should be still objected that the Messiah, and not the betrayer, is said to cast this money to the potter, And I took the thirty pieces ofsilver, and cast them to the potter, in the house of the Lord; it may be replied, that Jesus may be said to do that which Judas and the chief priest did, because, by his almighty power and providence, he over-ruled those things for good, which in themselves were evil, sudds thought to have converted the money to his own use, and the priests would have been glad to have taken it again to themselves, but Christ obliged Judas to carry back the money * Vid. Bezam. in loc. * Mede's works, p. 963.

4oo THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, money to the priests, and cast it into the temple; and worked upon the minds of the priests not to put it into the treasury, but to buy the potter's field therewith, whereby the prophecy, in its literal fense, was fully accomplished. gdly, Another circumstance which was to attend the Messiah's sufferings, is, his being forsaken by the rest of his disciples. That the disciples of Jesus forsook, him and fled, when he was apprehended by his enemies, not only the evangelist, but the Jews themselves affirm u. Now this was foretold by Jesus, who declares that so it should be, because it is written w, / will smite the shepherd, and the peep of the flock Jhall be scattered abroad. The place referred to, where these words are written, is Zecb. xiii. 7. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, faith the Lord of hosts : smite the Jhepherd, and the sheep Jhall be scattered; which prophecy is a manifest prophecy of the Messiah, as appears not only from the character of a shepherd, which is frequently given to the Messiah in the Old Testament, and is what Jesus bears in the New •, but also from his being God's fellow, which cannot be said of any other, and is justly applicable to him, whox, being in the form os God thought it not robbery to be equal with him. Many Jewish writers7 refer those words of Zechariab to the days of the Messiah, even to Messiah the son of Joseph. 4thly, The Messiah was not only to be forsaken by his disciples, but also by his God ; this dereliction is prophesied of in Psalm xxii. which Psalm has been before proved to belong to the Messiah. Accordingly Jesus, while he was suffering on the cross, was deserted by his Father, and in his agony used the very words with which the Psalm begins, My God, my God, why bast thou forsaken me ? 5tbly, The Messiah was to be numbered with the transgressors ; accordingly, with Jesus, the Jews crucified two thieves % the one on bis right hand, and the other on bis left ; and the scripture was fulfilled, which faith, And be was num bered with the transgressors. Nothing could more effectually do it, than their placing him between them, and his dying with them, which was a manifest indication, that he was reckoned as a malefactor, and so was numbered with them. 6tbly, His garments were to be parted, and lots cast upon his vesture, according to Pfal. xxii. 1 8. which was literally fulfilled in Jesus, Matt, xxvii. 35. jtbty, It 0 Toldosjesu, p. 17. w Matt.xxvi. 31, 56. " Phil.ii. 6: y Vid. Aben Esra. & Miclol Yophi in loc. * Mark xv. 15, 27, a8.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 401 •jthly, It was prophesied of him, that gall would be given him for his meat, and vinegar for him to drink, and accordingly these were given to Jesus, when upon the cross ; and therefore, in order to bring it about, and that this scrip ture might be fulfilled, he said, / thirst ; which was not fulfilled by a mere accommodation of such a phrase found in the PJalms \ for this does not sup pose that there was a prophecy of him, that he should say, / thirst, but his saying so, was an evidence of that thirst being upon him, prophesied of in P/al. xxii. 15. which was the occasion of fulfilling the prophecy, concerning the gall and vinegar, which were to be given him in this distress, P/al. lxix. 21. Sihly, A bone of him was not to be broken. Now it is very remarkable, that whereas it was a custom to break the legs of the crucified, and accord ingly the legs of the thieves, which were crucified with Jesus, were broken ; but when they came to him, finding him dead, notwithstanding all their rage and malice against him, they brake not his legs ; and the evangelist observes b, that these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. The scripture referred to, is Psal. xxxiv. 20. hekeepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken. Which, if understood of the righteous in general, had a very particular and remarkable completion in Jesus, though it seems rather to regard some particular person, and who can be so well supposed to be under stood as the Messiah ? To understand it of the righteous in general, will not hold good, for such a calamity sometimes befals them as well as the wicked; and when under such a distress of body, they would be liable to a greater dis tress of mind •, for from hence they would be apt to conclude, that they were not righteous persons, nor under the special care and protection of God, other wise this promise would be made good to them, he keepeth all his bones : not one cf them is broken. gthly, The Messiah was to be pierced, at the time of his suffering, and accordingly Jesus was ; for one of the soldiers, with a spear, pierced his side ; whereby, as the evangelist observes % that scripture was fulfilled, they shall look upon him whom they have pierced : the scripture is Zecb. xii. 10. Which pro phecy, by many Jewish writers A, is understood of the Messiah, and of the piercing him. The author of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy', fays, that the words " manifestly appear not to concern Jesus ; his reasons are, because Vol. III. Ff f " there 1 So Mr Sykes, in his Essay, p. 266. which way of interpretation, the author of The Schemeof Literal Prophecy, p. 347, 348. justly finds fault with. b Johnxix.36. c John xix. 37. d Talmud Succah, sol. 52. 1. Jarchi, Kimchi, & Aben Ezra in loc. & Bereshith Rabba, in Pearson on the Creed, art. 4. c Page 147. S'

4o2 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, " there was to be a war in Judea, and a siege of Jerusalem, and then a " deliverance of the Jews, by the destruction of all the nations that should " come up at that time against Jerusalem" And Mr Sykes askss, " Did any " one circumstance of all this happen to the Jews about the time of the death " of Jesus ? or rather, was not every thing the reverse of what Zecbariab ** says -, and instead of all nations being destroyed that came about Jerusalem^ " Jerusalem itself was destroyed j instead of a spirit os grace and supplications, •• the Jews have had their hearts hardened against the Christ ; instead of u mourning for him whom they pierced, they curse him and his followers even «' to this day." To both which I reply, that these things instanced in, were not according to this prophecy, to come to pass at the time of the piercing of the Messiah, but at the time of the Jews looking to him, and mourning for him, on the account thereof, when brought under a conviction of their evil in so doing ; now, whereas the piercing of the Messiah has been literally ful filled in Jesus, and though the Jews, even to this very day, are hardened against him ; yet there is no reason to conclude, but that that part of the pro phecy, which concerns their looking to him, and a mourning for him, on the account of his being pierced by them, will also, in God's own time be ful filled; when we may reasonably expect all these circumstances, attending it, will have their full accomplishment. CHAP. XI. Concerning the resurrection of the Messiah from the dead. HAving considered the several prophecies which regard the Messiah's suf ferings, and the several circumstances, which were to attend them, I shall now proceed to consider those which speak of his resurrection from the dead ■, and shall begin, First, With Psal. xvi. 10. For thou wilt not leave my soul in bell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy One to see corruption. The meaning of which is, be it spoken I Essay, p. 268.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 403 spoken of who it will, that God would not leave the body of this person in the grave, so long as to be corrupted in it, but would raise him up from thence ; by soul, being meant a dead body, as the word i£>33 sometimes signifies j fee Lev. xix. 28. and chap. xxi. 1. and by bell, the grave, which is no unusual sense of the word b"\VW, for which see Gen. xlii. 38. Isa. xxxviii. 18. Now this text is more than once produced by the apostles, to prove the resurrection 6f Christ from the dead, who argue from it, not in a mystical, enigmatical, and allegorical way, not by mere allusion to it, nor by an accommodation of phrases, but from its strict, literal, and obvious fense ; in which sense they prove, that it cannot be understood of David, for as one of them fays 8, David is both dead and buried, and bis sepulchre is with us to this day, and is not ascended into the heavens, that is, he died and was buried, and continues in his grave to this day •, he never ascended to heaven, therefore cannot be the person intended ; and yet still more plainly and nervously, another of them argues, that David h, after be bad served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption ; but be whom God raised again, saw no corruption. And now, as there are some things in this Psalm which cannot be true of David, and especially in this text, so every thing in it well agrees with the Messiah ; such as his trust in God, as he was man, and Mediator, ver. 1. his very great regard to the saints and delight in them, ver. 2, 3, his disregard to others who were hastening after another god, or another saviour ; whose sacrifices, as an high priest, he would not offer up, neither make intercession for them, ver. 4. his very exceeding great satisfaction, in having the God of Israel for his portion, and in his lot, being cast among his peculiar people, ver. 5, 6. his thankfulness for advice and direction in the time of his sorrows, and sufferings, and his dependance upon God's almighty power then to support him, ver. 7, 8. and lastly the joy and comfort he was filled with, in the views of his resurrection from the dead, and his enjoyment of the heavenly glory, ver. 9— 11. AU which well agree with Jesus ; and especially what is said in ver. 10. where the character of an holy One exactly suits with him, who was so, both in nature and life, as also this holy One's seeing no corruption, was eminently, remarkably, and literallyYulfilled in him, who, though he was crucified and laid in the grave, yet was raised from thence the third day, which was before the usual time that dead bodies corrupt and putrify; fee John xi 39. Mr Sykes observes ', « That it is in the original, thou wilt *' not leave me b^vb to the grave, nor suffer thine holy One to see the pit : That f f f a « in b Acts ii. 29, 34.W k Acts xiii. 35—37. 1 Essay on the Truth of the Christian Religion, p. 277, 278.

4o4 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, «' in the translation used by the apostle, it is exactly according to the original,. " •■* «Ja, not » *^» ; and it is impossible to render the word «>?i to or into, by " «», in : That as to the other word corruption, the fame word signifies the pit, " or grave, in Hebrew ; and that so it ought to be rendered, according to the " customary way of speaking amongst the Hebrews." To which I reply, that as to bwvb signifying to, and not in the grave, it may be observed, that b is frequently put for 2, and so signifies in, which is a very common acceptation of itk, many instances might be produced in proof thereof, and even of it, asaffixed to this very word ; thus in Psal. xxxi. 17. Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent b"X8&>t not to, but in the grave. Again, Psal. xlix. 14. Like Jheep they are laid 'ttNtyS not to, but in the grave ; once more, though as affixed to another word, Isa. li. 14. The captive exile bastenetb that he may be loosed, and. that he should not die, ivwb, which surely cannot be rendered to, but in the pit. And as to the transtation used by the apostle, «•« *i* seems plain enough to be put for «» «&»> where there is a manifest ellipsis of the word ' ^f*®-, or •»«*> or tow®-, or some such word ; for neither >n, nor «, are usually put in construction with a word of the genitive case ; and Mr Sykes cannot be ignorant of «»« being frequently put for •»; of which, instances might be given ; fee Matt. ii. 23. Mark ii. 1. and chap. xiii. 16. Luke xi. 7. It is true, the Hebrew word nnv, here translated corruption, does signify a pit, and is fre quently so rendered j on which account the Jews object against the apostle's version of the words m, and the application of them to Jesus * but then it ought to be observed, that the word, in its first, proper, and literal fense, signifies corruption ; and that a pit, or grave, is only called by this name, because dead bodies, or carcases, are thtrein corrupted •, now we ought not to depart from the first and literal fense of a word, unless some very good reason can be given for it ; instances may be produced, where the word cannot be understood in any other fense : Thus, in Lev. xxii. 25. it is said, Neither from a stranger's hand shall ye offer the bread os your God of any of these, because Dnnitfn their corruption is in them; and so in Psal. lv. 23. But thou, O Gods shalt bring them down, nrw ~)H2b, into the pit of destruction, or corruption •, and that it must be so understood here, is manifest, because, as the Author of The true Grounds and Reasons, &c. well observes % " Whether the Psalmist speaks '* in his name, or the Messiah's, they were both thrown into the pit of cor- •* ruption ," so that from the whole, nothing can be concluded from hence, against k Ipsa tb b pro in acceptio vulgariflima, Gejer in Psal. cxix. 3&. » Vid. Piscator in A& ii. 27. & Psochen. diatrib. dc Ling. Gnec, N. T. Puritat. n. 76. p. J3*>54« rj R. Isaac Chizuk, Emun. par. z. c. 69. * Page 124,

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 405 against its being a literal prophecy of the Messiah ; nor ought the Jews, espe cially, to object this, when their own Midra/h acknowledges n, that the fense of these words is, that the moth and worm should have no power over him ; which was not literally true of David, but was of the Messiah Jesus. Secondly, Another text of scripture, which may be considered as a prophecy ©f the Messiah's resurrection, and is produced by the apostles0, as a proof thereof, is Psal. ii. 7. / will declare the decree. The Lord bath said unto me, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten tbee. The whole Psalm belongs to the Messiah, and was so. understood by the ancient Jewish writers D, who have applied several passages in it to the Messiah, and particularly this verse0. That the whole Psalm is to be understood of the Messiah, may be easily collected from the mad council, and vain attempts of the kings of the earth against him, ver. r —3. who in ver 2. is expressly called the Lord's Anointed, or Mefftah; from God's decree and resolution to make and declare him king of Zion, notwithstanding their utmost efforts against him, ver. 4—6 from his having the Gentiles for his inheritance, ver. 8, 9. which is true of no other; and especially from that reverence, adoration, and worship, which are to be given to him, and that trust and confidence that is to be placed in him, ver. 10— 12 which can by no means agree with David, nor with any mere creature whatever •, and as for this seventh verse, it is inapplicable to any but the Messiah, for unto which of the angels, said God, at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten theeT ; and if not to any of the angels, much less to David, or any other ; and is therefore very justly produced by the apostles, as a proof of the Messiah's resurrection, which is very aptly expressed by a begetting, even as the general resurrection of the dead is called waXiysiMo-ia, the regeneration, or a begetting again ' ; and it is upon this account that Jesus is called the first born from the dead1. Besides, as there is a very great affinity between the birth and resurrection of a person^ so the resurrection of Christ was reallv natalis imperii, the birth-day of his kingdom, or when he was made, or declared to be both Lord and Christ ; nay, he was thereby delcared to be the Son of God with power, so that these words, Tbou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee, are very pertinently applied by the apostles to this present purpose. Thirdly, " Midrafh Tillim in Pearson on the Creed, art. 4. • A£fe xiii. 33. p Vid. Jarchium, Aben Ezram, & Kimchium in hunc Psal. « ZoharinNumb. sol. 82. 2. Talmud Succah, sol. 52. 1. Maimon. in Tract Sanhed. c. .I0» I Heb. n 5. • Matt. xix. 28. « Col. i. 18.

4-0*5 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, Thirdly, Another prophecy, which seems to regard the resurrection of the Messiah, is Isa. xxvi. 19. T/jy dead men Jball live, together with my dead body Jhall they arise-, which, by many interpreters, both Jewish and Christian", is understood of the resurrection from the dead ; now these words are not the words of the prophet w, but are an answer to the prophet's complaint, in the preceding verses, wherein he is assured, that though his people should be dis tressed and diminished by several calamities, as captivity, sword, famine, &c. yet they should live again in the resurrection of the just ; and the person speaking, appears to be the Messiah, from the characters of him in the con text, who is the Lord Jehovah, in whom is everlasting strength, ver. 4. the desire, the expectation of his people, ver. 8, 9. who ordains peace for them, and works all their works in them, ver. 12. and has the sole dominion over them, ver. 13. Now, at the time of the resurrection of the Messiah's dead body from the grave, others were to arise with him, which was accordingly fulfilled in Jesus, for the graves were opened x, and many bodies of the saints, which stept, arose, and came out of the graves after bis refurrecJion. Though these words may be rendered y, Tby dead men /hall live, as my dead body shall they arise, that is, either in the fame way and manner as my dead body shall they arise ; or, as sure as I shall arise, so sure shall they ; agreeable hereunto, the resurrection of Jesus is both the exemplar and pledge of ours, for Now is Christ risen from the dead1, and become the first fruits of them that stept. Fourthly, As another proof, out of the Old Testament, that the Messiah was to rife from the dead, theapostles produce* Isa. lv. 3. / will give you the sure mercies of David. That the Messiah is here intended, appears very mani fest from his name David, which name is frequently given to him ; fee Jer. xxx. 9. Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24.. Hof. iii. 5. as also from his several offices in the following verse, where he is said to be given for a witness to the people, a leader and commander of them ; which words, as well as the former, are by Aben Ezra and Kimchi understood of the Messiah ; but the greatest difficulty is how this appears to be a pertinent proof of the Messiah's resurrection from the dead ; and therefore, in order to make it appear to be so, let it be ob served, that by the sure mercies of David, are to be understood the blessings of the everlasting covenant, which the Messiah, by his death and sufferings, was to procure for all his'people •, but had he only died and not been raised from the u See Mede's Works, p. 718. w Vid. Maji synops. Theolog. Jud. p. 335, 336. * Matt, xxvii. 52, 53. r Vid, Kimchiura in loc. ■ 1 Cot. xv. 20 » Act» xiii. 3+

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 407 the dead, those blessings had not been ratified or made Jure unto them ; there fore, when God promises his people, that he will give them the sure mercies of David, or of the Messiah, he promises that the Messiah shall not only die to procure mercies for them, but that he shall rise again from the dead to make them sure to them. ,^ Fifthly, As the resurrection of the Messiah from the dead, was predicted by the prophets, so the very time thereof was fixed by them. Hence the writers of the New Testament, as they declare that Christ rose from the dead, according to the scriptures of the Old Testament, so they likewise declare, that he rose from the dead the third day, according to these scriptures b ; which scriptures referred to, are not merely some typical predictions of the Old Tes tament, as that of Isaac's deliverance on the third day, after he had been given up to death by his father, Gen. xxii. 4. and that of Jonah's being three days and three nights in the whale's belly, Jonah i. 17. compared with Matt. xii. 40. though undoubtedly reference is made to them -, but to a real prophecy, whiefc in its literal and obvious fense, is to be understood of this affair. The pro phecy I have in view is Hos. vi. 2. After two days he will revive us, in the third day be will raise us up ; and we shall live in bis sight. The Targum understands the words of the resurrection of the dead ; for of no other resurrection, but the resurrection of the Mdsiahc, and of his people in him, can they, in their literal fense, be understood •, because the time, the third day, will agree with no other •, whose coming is prophesied of in the following verse, as what would be very glorious in itself, and profitable to God's people ; besides, it suits best with the scope of the place, which is to animate and encourage sinners to turn to the Lord, where they might expect healing, or pardon, through the promised Messiah, who by dying would obtain life for them, and by rising again the third day, procure their justification and acceptance with God, that so they might live in his sight ; and the reason why it is expressed in the plural number, in the third day he will raise us up, was to encourage those per sons to hope and believe in God, from the consideration of their sharing in the resurrection of the Messiah, and the several benefits which were to spring from thence, who was to arise from the dead, not as a single, but as a public person, representing all his people ; so that when he was raised from the dead, they might be said to be raised up together with him ; which is a phrase that the writers of the New Testament, more than once, make use qf -t see Epb. ii. 6. Col. b 1 Cor. xv. 4. c They are applied to the Messiah by R. Moses Haddarsan in Gen. xxii. 4, inCalatin.de ArcanisC, V. I.3, c. 12. &1. 8. c. 22. Berefhith Rabba in ibid. 1. 12. c.3.

4o8 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, Col. iii. i. Now that Jesus rose from the dead, according to these prophecies ef the Old Testament, as well as his own predictions, we have the most un questionable evidence; that he really died, the Jews themselves make no doubt of it; that he rose from the dead, his disciples, with one mouth, asserted d, ¥0 whom he Jheived himself alive after his passion, by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days : So that they had all the opportunity they could desire, of satisfying themselves in this matter, some of them not being very credulous of it •, they were men who perfectly knew him in his life-time, and after his resurrection eat and drank with him, saw the very prints of the nails and spear in his hands, feet, and side, handled his body, had views of him at several times, and a conversation with him for full forty days •, and now, upon this ocular demonstration, they published it to the world, in doing of which they could have no sinister end to serve ; for upon the score hereof, they were sure to meet with Ihame and reproach, afflictions and persecutions ; nay, death itself, wherever they came. Besides, as they were men of probity, and integrity, who attested this with sudi plain evidence, so they were not a few ; for it was not only two or three, nay, nor the twelve only, that saw him, but he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once'; and besides this human testimony, which in other matters of fact-we should no ways scruple, we have that of an angel, Matt, xxviii. 6. nay, of the Holy Ghost himself, for, says the apostle, speaking of Christ's resurrection f, And we are his witnesses of these things, and so is also the Hots Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him ; ■which testimony he gave by the very large effusion of his gifts and graces upon men, as Jesus, in his life-time, had promised. Nay, the vile methods which the Jews took to stifle the belief of the resurrection of Jesus, might easily be improved into an evidence of it, who hired the soldiers to fay, His disciples came by night, and stole him away, while westept%; which shews, that they were under a conviction of the truth of his resurrection, though they were not willing it should obtain in the world ; besides, it is very improbable that the disciples, who were but a weak body of men, and now terrified and dis heartened at the death of their master, should attempt to remove his body, when they knew there was a guard of soldiers about it ; and if they did attempt it, why did not the soldiers hinder them, who certainly had it in their power ? and if it should be said, as they did, they were asleep, what credit can be given to such a testimony ? for if asleep, how should they know the disciples did it ? Nor * A£U i. 3. . i Cor. xv. 6. » Aa« v. 32. « Matt xxviii. 13.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 409 Nor have we less evidence of his rising again the third day ; it was proper that he should continue in the grave for some time, that it might appear that he was really dead •, though it was not convenient he should lie so long, as that his body should corrupt and putrify 5 because it was prophesied of him, that he should see no corruption •, and whereas the third day was fixed in pro phecy for his rising from the dead, and which was the day he gave out he should rise on, so he accordingly did ; for though there were but one whole day and two nights, between the death of Christ and his resurrection, yet it was on the third day, from his death, that he rose again, the day on which he died being reckoned as one, and that on which he rose again another. Now this article, of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, as it is a grand article of the Christian religion, for if a man believes in his heart h, that God hath raised him from the dead, he shall be saved ; so it is an unques tionable evidence of Jesus's being the true Messiah ; this, Jesus gave as a sign thereof to the Jews ', when they desired one of him, and it should be a satisfactory one to the Deist. ■ 1 CHAP XII Concerning the Jlscension of the Messiah to Heaven, his sejpon at God's right hand, and second coming to judgment. THAT the Messiah was to suffer death, and rise again from the dead, according to the prophecies of the Old Testament, I have endeavoured to prove in the two preceding chapters ; my business in this will be, to ihew that he was to ascend into Heaven, sit down at God's right hand, and come a second time to judge the world in righteousness. First, I shall endeavour to prove, from the prophecies of the Old Testa. ment, that the Messiah, after his resurrection from the dead, was to ascend up into Heaven ; and there are several prophecies which point out this unto us, as particularly Psal. xlvii. 5. God is gone up with a shouty the Lord with the found of a trumpet ; which Psalm, both Kimchi and Aben Ezra acknowledge, belongs to the Messiah, who is very manifestly propesied of in the glory of Vol. III. G g g his k Rom. x. 9. ' Matt xii. 38—40.

4io THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, his regal majesty, and as exalted upon the throne os bis holiness ; and if it should be said, that these words are inapplicable to the ascension of Jesus into Hea ven, because his ascension thither was not attended with a shout, or the found of a trumpet ; it may be replied, that if it be considered what the angels said to the disciples, who stood gazing at Jesus as he went up to Heaven, it will appear highly reasonable to conclude, that he went up with the shout of angels and the trumpet of God, for they tell them k, that this fame Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven. Now we are told ', that he shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice os the archangel, and with the trump of God. If therefore his ascent to Heaven was as his descent will be, then it was both with a shout and with the sound of a trumpet. Again, the Messiah's ascension to Heaven might'be argued from his session at God's right hand ; for if he was not to ascend up into Heaven, he could never sit at God's right hand there. That he was to sit at God's right hand is manifest from Psal. ex. i. which cannot be understood of David, or any other person, but the Messiah, as the apostle, from its literal and obvious sense, very strongly argues, faying"1, For David is not ascended into the Heavens, for be faith himselft the Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand; but of this more here after. Again, Dan. vii. 13. where one like the son of man is said to come with the clouds of Heaven, unto the Ancient of days, and to be brought near before him, may very well be understood of the Messiah's ascension into Heaven, and his introduction into the presence of the Most High. That the Messiah is here intended by the son of man, many Jewish writers acknowledge n, and the word ">}& Anani, which signifies clouds, in which the son of man is said to come, is from hence become among them a known name for the Messiah ° -, and that this is to be understood of his ascension into Heaven, may easily be collected from his coming with the clouds of Heaven, which was literally fulfilled in Jesus, whom when he was taken up from the earth, a' cloud received out of fight r : from his being conducted by others to the Ancient of days, as Jesus was by angels into his.Father's presence : from that dominion, glory, and kingdom, which are said to be given him, in ver. 14. which well agrees with the ascension of Jesus, who being exalted at God's right hand, was made or declared to be both Lord and Christ, all which, is certainly more agreeable to the literal sense of Daniel k Acts i. U« • 1 Thcff. iv. 16. m Acts ii. 34. » Zohar in Gen. sol. 8;. 4. Jarchi & Saadiah Gaon in loc. & R. Jefliuafh in Aben Ezra in loc Tzeror Hammor Talmud Sanhcd. & Midrash Tillim in Psal. xxi. 7. in Pearson on the Creed, arti 7. 0 See Bishop Chandler's Defence of Christianity, p. 131. and Berestuth Rahba in Pcarfon on the Creed, art. 7. t Acts i. 9.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 4" Daniel than what the author of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy advances % who, with Grotius, by the son of man, understands the " Roman kingdom ;" and by coming with the clouds of Heaven, " coming with a quick motion," which is his literal fense of this prophecy. Again, Mic. ii. 13. might be alledged, as a prophecy of the Messiah's ascen sion into Heaven, where ic is said, that The Breaker up is come up before them : they have broken up and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it, and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the bead of them. The Jews understand this of the Messiah r, which may be very aptly applied to Jesus, who is gone up and entered into heaven as wfojpof*©-, the forerunner for his peo ple, having broken up the way, removed all difficulties out of it, and opened the gates of heaven for them. But that which most clearly of all expresses the ascension of the Messiah into heaven is Pfal. lxviii. 18. Thou hast ascended on high, thou bast led captivity captive, thou bast received gifts for men : yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. The design of this Psalm is to prove, that the presence of God among his people is always useful and salutary to them, though to the confusion and destruction of their enemies, which the Psalmist expresses in ver. 1 —5. which he proves by an induction of particular instances under the legal dispensation, beginning at ver. 7. and ending at ver. 14. and from thence proceeds to set forth the glory and security of the gospel church, from the presence of Jehovah in it, ver. 15, 16. who is described by his magnificent retinue, even thousands of angels, ver. 17. by his triumphant ascension into Heaven, ver. 18. and by his being the author of salvation, ver. 19, 20. the whole of which description entirely agrees with the Messiah •, and particularly what is said of this person's ascending on high, can be under stood of no other ; not of Moses's ascending up to the firmament at the giving of the Law, as the Targum and Jarchi interpret it, for though Moses ascended to the top of mount Sinai, yet we no where read that he went up to the firma ment of Heaven ; nor is it to be understood of David's going up to the high fortresses of his enemies, as Aben Ezra would have it, which sense is both jejune and impertinent j or of God's ascent from mount Sinai when he gave the Law, of which ascent there is not any mention made in scripture -, but of the Messiah's ascension into Heaven, which may very well be signified by this phrase on high; see Pfal. cii. 19. jer. xxv. 30. which ascension is not to be g g g 2 understood 'Page 170—173. ' The Author of Sepher Abkath Rochel & R. Moses Haddarsan in Gen. pel. 9. 8c Berefhith Rabba in xliv. 1 8. in Pearson on the Creed, art. 6. Vid. Galatin. dc Arcanis, C. V. 1. 8. c. 23.

4J2 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, understood figuratively, as Gen. xvii. 22. but literally, it being real, local, and visible, as that of Jesus's was. Besides, the circumstances which were to attend this ascension, manifestly shew this to be the fense of the words, as his leading captivity captive, which well expresses the Messiah's triumphant con quests over all his enemies, and had its full accomplishment in Jesus, who made an end of Jin, abolished death, and spoiled principalities and powers, and made a jhew of them openly, and having so done, went up, as a triumphant conqueror, to Heaven, where he received the promise of the Holy Ghost, that is, the several gifts and graces of the Spirit in their fulness, and bestowed them upon men, even rebellious ones, whereby they became a fit habitation for God, that he might dwell with them and they with him ; and thus the other circum stance which was to attend the ascension of this person, namely, his receiving gifts for men, had its completion in the Messiah, Jesus. The apostle, inciting those words, Eph. iv. 8. and applying them to Jesus, renders this last clause somewhat different from what it is in the original text, and instead of received gifts for men, reads it, and gave gifts to men ; though the Jews have no reason to quarrel with it as they do ', for their own Targum renders it after the fame manner, the Hebrew word signifying both to give and to receive ' ; nor is there any disagreement in sense •, the Messiah was to receive these gifts, in order to give them to men •, accordingly Jesus, having received them, did so. The words, as they stand in the Psalms, are a prophecy of what the Messiah was to do, but as cited by the apostle are a narration of what Jesus had done. From the whole it appears, that the Messiah was to ascend into Heaven, according to the prophecies of the Old Testament, which had their fulfilment in Jesus, who, as he before-hand declared that he should ascend into Heaven, actually did so, of which his disciples were eye-witnesses ; he also being seen of angels, and accompanied by them, was received up into glory, where he ever lives to make intercession for his people. I proceed, Secondly, To shew that the Messiah, upon his ascension into Heaven, was to fit down at God's right hand. He is called u the man of God'j right band, Pfal. Ixxx. 1 7. and that not only because he is most dear to God, as Benjamin was to his father, and therefore was called by him the son of the right band; nor because that by him he sustains and upholds all things, nor because he was strengthened and supported by God's right hand in performing the work of salvation ; » R. Isaac Chiiuk. Emun. par. 2. c. 91. « Vid. Pocock. Not. Misc. in Port. Mot p, 84. and Bishop Kidder's Demonstration of the Messiah, par. 2. p. 87. Edit. sol. • Vid. Targum in v. 15. & R, Aben Ezram in loc.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 413 salvation •, but because, being exalted by it, he was made to sit down at it, which is in so many words expressed in Tsal. ex. 1. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right barrels until I make thine, enemies thy footstool. That the Jews, in the times of Jesus, understood this Psalm of the Messiah, is manifest from the discourse which passed between him and them concerning the Messiah : He first asks them", What think ye os Christ ? Whose sen is be? To which they readily reply, The son os David. To this he objects, How then does David in spirit call him Lord? and for the proof thereof, produces this very text, The Lord said unto j»v Lord, &c. from whence he argues, Is then David call him Lord, haw is he his son ? which nonplussed them, and threw them into the utmost confusion ; for no man was able to anfiver him a word. Now had it been the generally received sense of the Jewish synagogue, at this time, that this Psalm was to be understood of some other person, and not the Messiah, they could very easily have objected it to him : but Jesus seems to argue with them from what was agreed on, on all hands, and of which there could be no dis pute among them: namely, that this Psalm was wrote by David; that it was wrote by him under the inspiration of the Spirit ; and that the Messiah was the subject thereof : and, indeed, they by their silence acknowledge it-, for had they not believed it, they would not have been reduced to the distress they were; nay, even some of their most celebrated Doctors since", have confessed the fame, though others, observing what confusion their forefathers were thrown into from hence byjesuc, and what improvement his followers have made of it since, for the vindication and establishment of their religion, have quitted the sense of the old synagogue, and introduced strange and foreign ones, which are inconsistent with themselves, and have no manner of founda tion in the Psalm. Some of them y would have Abraham the patriarch to be the subject thereof, and that it was composed, either by Melchizedek, or Eliezer the servant of Abraham, or else by David, on the account of the vic tory Abraham obtained over the kings, Gtn. xiv. in rescuing his kinsman Lot. But Melchizedek could not be the author of it, because he was a far greater person than Abraham ; he blessed him, and received tithes from him, and therefore could not call him his Lord. It is true Eliezer might, as being his servant, but then he could not assign unto him a feat at the right hand of God j w Matt.xxii. 42—46. * ZoharinNumb. sol. 99. 2. Raya Mehimna in Zohar in Gen. sol. 87. 3. R. Moses Haddarsan in Bereshith Rabba ia Gen. xviii. 1. Midrash Tillim in lac. and in Psal. xviii. 35. R. Obadiah, & R. David Kimchi in loc. R. Saadiah Gaon in Dan. vii. 13. Nachmanides in disput. cum fratre Paule, p. 36, 55. » Jarchiinloc. & Vet. Nizzachon, p. 179, 180.

4i<4 THE PROPHECIES OT THE OLD TESTAMENT, God ■, nor say of him, that he had an everlasting priesthood aster the order of Melcbizedek : Besides, the Psalm is a Psalm of David, though not composed by him on this account, for the very fame reasons. Others1 would have David intended, but David was the penman of this Psalm, and therefore cannot be supposed to say so of himself-, and whereas some of them fay % that it was wrote by some of the singers, concerning him, it may be replied, that the title declares the contrary. Besides, David is not ascended into the Heavens neither is he set down at the right hand of God, nor had he any thing to do with the priesthood, much less was he a priest after Melchisedek's order; which is peculiar to the Messiah Jesus, who was made an bigb-priest for ever after toe order of Melchistdtk b, of whose kingdom and priesthood, sufferings and ex altation, his conquests over his enemies, and success of his gospel, this Psalm is a very plain and manifest prophecy. The person speaking in this first verse, is Jehovah, the father •, the person spoken to is David's Adoit, or Lord, the promised Messiah, whom the Jews, in Mai. iii. i. sought, and whose coming they earnestly desired. What is said unto him, is, that he was to Jit at God's right hand, which is expressive of his exaltation, power, and authority ; the time how long, is, until he made his enemies his footstool; that is, until they arc all subdued under him, and the last enemy which shall be destroyed, is death. Now that Jesus is set down at God's right hand, the writings of the New Testament constantly affirm. Jesus himself, before the high-priest, declared, that they should fee the Son of man', meaning himself, fitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of Heaven ; and his apostles do frequently aver, that he is set down on the right band of the Majesty on high : Nay, Stephen saw him standing there, being risen from his scat, as one provoked at the indig nity offered to his servant j otherwise his usual posture is to stt ; which signi fies, that he has done his work, which has been graciously accepted, and is now taking his rest, ease, and pleasure, being placed upon the same throne with God, and crowned by him with glory and honour, where he will continue to sit, for the advantage of his <hurch and people, until he comes a second time to judge the world, which I (hall, in the next place, Thirds consider. Thatthere will be a future judgment, we have no con troversy with the Jews, and it might easily be established, from the very reason of things, against the Deists. The Jews suppose a revelation of this truth very early in the world ; yea, that this notion obtained as early as the times of Cam ■ R. Isaac Chizuk, Eniun. par. 1. c. 40. * R. Aben Ezra in loc. b Heb* vi. 20. c Matt. xxvi. 64.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH-, CONSIDERED: 415 Cain and Abel*, making the reason of their disagreement to be their differing sentiments about it, which was the cause of that tragical and barbarous action which Cain committed. However, it is certain, that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of the day of judgment0, and the writings of the Old Testament abundantly confirm the truth of it, where God is frequently repre sented as a judge, and the persons to be judged, both the righteous and wicked1, are very evidently pointed out, as well as the several things which (hall be brought into judgment, as every kind of work, whether it he good, or whe ther it be evil1, nay, the several issues and events thereof, as the everlasting happiness of the saints, and perpetual punishment of the wicked ; yea, the glory, majesty, form, and manner of this awful procedure are exactly describ ed, as the setting of the judgment, the placing of the thrones, the majestic appearance of the judge, his vast retinue, the large number of persons that shall stand before him to be judged, and the opening of the books, from whence they are to be judged; fee Dan. vii. 9, 10. compared with Rev. xx. 11, 12. Now the person who is to have the conduct and management of this awful affair, is the Messiah, who is often spoken of as a judge h in the Old Testa ment, and as every way qualified for such a work, being a person of great knowledge and wisdom ', courage and majesty, having the fear of God before his eyes, of very great sagacity and penetration, as well as of very great in tegrity and faithfulness, of whom it is prophesied in Psal. xcviii. 9. that he cometb to judge the earth : with righteousness shall be judge the world, and the people with equity ; which Psalm solely belongs to the Messiah. Kimchi k says, that all the Psalms, from the ninety-third Psalm to the hundredth Psalm inclusive, belong to the days of the Messiah, and the several arguments, of them will easily evince it. Jarcbi endeavours to prove ', that the ninety-sixth Psalm, which is of the fame nature with this, beginning and ending in the fame man ner, regards future times ; because it thus concludes, for he cometb to judge the earth ; and adds, that wherever mention is made of a new song, it is TDyn by concerning the time to come, or relates to the times of the Messiah ; and R. Abendanahysm, the reason of those metaphorical expressions being used in ver. 4—8. is, because of the greatness of that joy which shall be in the days of the Messiah ; which is justly occasioned by those marvellous things which he has done, Vid. Targum Jon inGen.iv. 8. ' Jude 14, 15. ' Eccles. in. 17. * Eccles. xi.o. and chap. xii. 14. h See Mic. V. 1. Isa. H. 4. Obad. 21. and Kimchi and Aben Ezra on the same. ' Isa. xi. 2—5. k In Psal. xciii. 1. 1 In Pfcd xevi. 1 . ■ Not. in Miclcl. Yophi in Psel. xcviii.

4i6 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, done, in redeeming his people, and those conquests which he has obtained over all his and their enemies, ver. 1. as also, by making his salvation known, and openly shewing his righteousness to the Gentiles, as well as to the house of Israel, ver. 2, 3. which exactly suits with the Messiah, and has had its fulfil ment in Jesus ; that this is to be understood of his second coming, and not of his first, may be concluded from the end thereof, which is to judge the earth ; but the end of his first coming was not to judge the world", but to save it. Moreover, in the parallel text to this, in Psal. xevi. 1 3. this phrase is re peated, for he cometb, for he Cometh, to judge the earth ; which may be designed to denoxe either his second coming, or the certainty thereof, or else the speed and haste he would make in coming, as Jesus fays, Surely I come quickly" ; to which John replies, Amen, even so, come Lordjesus. Again, as the first coming ■of the Messiah was matter of great joy to all those who waited for the consola tion of Israel, so will his second coming be to all those who love and look for his glorious appearing; at or about which time many prophecies of the Old Testa ment, which now remain unfulfilled, will have their full accomplishment, for which the people of God, under the present dispensation, are looking, wait ing, and praying. CHAP. XIII. Concerning the magnificent and august names and titles of the Messiah in the Old testament. I Thought to have concluded this account of the prophecies of the Old Testament, respecting the Messiah, with the preceding chapter •, but ob serving some prophecies left unconsidered, which contain some of the famous names and titles of the Messiah, I thought it necessary to take notice of them, and especially, seeing they are objected to, by the enemies of Christianity: I have already, in the course of this work, considered several of the names and titles of the Messiah, by which he is called in the prophecies, as that of Shiloh, the Saviour or Peace-maker, Gen. xlix. 10. Immanuel, or God with us, Ifai. vii. 14. Messiah » John xii. 47. • Rev. xxn. 20.

KESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 417 Messiah the Prince, Dan. ix. 21. the desire of all nations, Hagg. ii. 7. all which several titles serve to set forth the greatness of his person, the nature of his work, as well as his very great usefulness to mankind, as do also the following ones, which I now intend to consider; and shall begin, First, With I/ai. ix. 6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government Jhall be upon his shoulder, and bis name stall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince os Peace. The ancient Jews applied this prophecy to the Messiah. Their ridiculous tradi tions, recorded in their Talmud, of God's desire to make Hezekiab the Messiah, and Sennacherib, Gog and Magog; and that saying of R. Hillell's9, "That " Israel should not have a Messiah, because they enjoyed him in the days of " Hezekiab," shew plainly that they were under a conviction of this prophecy's belonging to him, though they foolishly attempt to wrest it to Hezekiab, whom they are therefore obliged to make the Messiah, The Targum manifestly refers those words to the Messiah, as do also others of their ancient and later q writers •, though others of them would have Hezekiab intended r, who are herein followed by Grotius ', and the author of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy ', who fays, Ci The words are manifestly spoken os' him •" but Hezekiab surely can never be this "ib* this new born babe, as the word properly signifies, when he was at least nine or ten years of age, when this prophecy was given forth •, nor can any reason by assigned, why he should, in such a peculiar and unusual manner, be called \1 a son ; nor can it be said of him, that he was that great light which shined upon the inhabitants of Galilee ; nor was his birth the occasion of so great joy, as the birth of this child is said to be-, nor can it with any just ness be said of Hezekiab, that os the increase os bis government and peace there was no end, seeing his government extended only to the two tribes of Judab and Benjamin, his reign was but twenty-nine years, and that for the most part attended with affliction, oppression and war; besides, the august titles, here used, cannot be ascribed to him, or to any mere creature whatever ; for as R. Sol. ben Melecb on the place observes, they are "pn/V bvb □"US " the names ** of the blessed God," which Kimcbi and Jarcbi acknowledge, and therefore are forced to transpose the words thus, and he who is the wonderful Counsellor, Vol. III. Hhh the p Talmud Sanhed. sol. 98. 2. & 99. 1. *! Debarim Rabba, sol. 196. col. 3. likewise R. Jose Galilæus præsat. in Echa Rabbati in Allix's Judgment of the Jewish Church, &c. p. 44. & Maimon. in Maji Synops. Theolog. Jud. loc. 8. de Meslia, p. 121. Vid. Reuchlinum de arte Cabahe, lib. 1. p. 745. ' Jarchi, Kimchi & Aben Ezra in loc. Lipaiann. Carmen memor. vet. Nizzach, p. 87. R. Isaac Chizuk, Emun. par. 1. c. 21. » In loc. l Page 140.

4i8 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, /hall call bis name, The Prince of Peace j so that only this last is the name of the child, and all the rest are the names of God, who calls him so. But this reading is a violent distortion of the text, and if such a method was allowed of, we should be left to a very great uncer tainty in the sacred writings. " It is contrary to the use of the scripture, (as a •« learned man observes ",) that the word yam, his name, should be placed be- " fore the name of him that calleth, when every where else it is placed between " the name of him that calleth, and him that is called ; so that that name " which follows the word IDP, his name, is always ascribed to him that is *• called, and not to him that calleth, as appears from Gen. xvi. 15. chap. c* xxi. 3. chap, xxiri. 14. Exod. ii. 22. Ruth iv. 17. 1 Sam. 1. 20. 2 Sam. " xii. 25." This reading is also contrary to the very syntax of the words, for if they were to be read thus, there should have been n$ the sign of the accu sative case, before ni^iy "W the Prince of Peace, to have distinguished it from those several nominatives ; whereas there is not : It is moreover contrary to the accents, for there is only a Tipbca on "jy vjk the everlasting Father, which is no distinguishing accent, especially in propositions ; and often idle and does not distinguish at all, but serves only to carry on the sentence to the next member. It would have appeared more plausible, if the stop had been made at "TOi bit the mighty God ; for a Sakepb Katon is there, which is an accent of far greater power, but this would not answer their end ; for they would be under an equal difficulty, in applying the title of the everlasting Father to Hezekiab, as that of the mighty God. Besides, vwhat reason can be given, why the great God should have so many titles and epithets given unto him, and that only at the giving of a name to a young Prince ? What was there in Hezekiab that should require this, especially when we consider, that when God has either given new names to persons, or changed their old ones, who were as famous as ever Hezekiab was, and as much in the divine favour, yet he never used such a way of speaking as this. What the Jews think will much help them in this fense, and reading of the words, is, that Nipn is in the active, and not in the passive form, and there fore should be rendered, and be stall call bis name, Sec. and not as we render it, and bis name stall be called, &c. on which acountw, they are ready to charge us with a corruption of the text. To which I answer, it is true, the word is in the active form ; but yet, nothing is more frequent in the Hebrew language, ■ Frifchmuth. in Wagenseil. Carmin. Lipmann. Confut. p. 516. 7 R. Isaac Chi*uk, Emun. par. 1 . c. 21 .

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 419 language, than for verbs active of the third person, to be used passively, when the nominative is not expressed ; and this is the very manifest fense of this word in many places ; fee Gen. xvi. 14. 2 Sam. ii. 16. Isai. lxii. 2. Besides, this word is rendered in the passive fense, in this very text, both by the Targum, and by several versions made by the Jews themselves x ; though, if we under stand the word actively, it no ways prejudices the application of those several names to the Messiah ; for it is very easy to supply the nominative case, either thus, Jehovah, or God the Father shall call, &c. or thus, and every one shall call his name Wonderful, &c. From the whole it appears, that all, and every one of those titles, belong to one and the fame person, even to the child, or Son, here spoken of, which Abc* Ezra acknowledges to be the true fense of the words -, but how they can, with any justness, be applied to Hezekiah, or be thought to be manifestly spoken of him, I cannot apprehend ; for will it be sufficient to say, with the abovesaid Jewish writer, that he was called Wonderful, because of the miracles which God wrought in his days •, Counsellor, because he consulted with his princes about keeping the passover in the second month, 2 Chron. xxx. 2. the mighty God, because he was strong and powerful •, the everlasting Father, or Father of Eternity, because the kingdom of the house of David was continued some what longer for his fake ; and the Prince of Peace, because there was peace in his days ? Surely it cannot be thought sufficient to entitle him to the name of Wonderful, that God did, in his days, and for his fake, cause the fun to return ten degrees ; nor could he be called so on the account of his eminent virtues, which did not shine more brightly in him than in many others. Nor is it enough to fay, that he was the Counsellor, because he took counsel with others, but was not a counsellor of others, often wanted counsel himself, and there fore sometimes acted a foolish part, as in the case of his (hewing the ambassa dors of Babylon all his treasures ; much less could he be called the mighty God, or the strong One, because of his might, power, and prowess in war, when we read but of one single exploit of his, of this kind, which could be any indi cation of it, and that is, his smiting the Philistines unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, 2 Kings viii. ,8. Though afterwards we read, that the King of Assyria came and took all his fenced cities, and obliged him to pay a considerable tribute to him ; nor ought he to be called the everlasting Father, or Father of Eternity, who himself lived but four and fifty years, and the regal power of h h h a his '" JTQtP ^p/lXl Targ. xai xaAiilaj to oropg> mv\u, Sept. *«i ix*>jS« to «»of*« av\u, Aquila. **' **»iSia'i'l«» to o»oj*<* avln, Symmach.

4"o THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, his posterity, in a few years, ended in Zedekiah ; nor can I fee how he can well be called the Prince of Peace, who was frequently distressed and oppressed by his enemies, his reign was chiefly spent in war, and can be supposed only to enjoy peace towards the close thereof. 'But now the whole prophecy, and the several names given to this child, well agree with the Messiah ; it is he, whose conversation in Galilee of the nations would make it glorious, as has been elsewhere observed, at whose coming light woukl shine upon the inhabitants thereof} whose birth would produce a joy like the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil; whose deliverance of his people from the yoke of slavery, would not be effected in a common way, but as in the day of Midian, when Gideon, in such an incredible and extraordinary manner, delivered the Israelites : for this victory which he, the Messiah,, was to obtain over all his enemies, would not be, like the victory of other warriors, attended with confused noise, and garments rolled in Mood, but would be tt/N JI^NO TXSTVlh nrvm like to the burning of devouring fire, effected suddenly, in a moment, and without any noise, blood, or wounds; which fame person, being placed upon the throne of David, would bear the government upon his shoulder, wield the scepter in righteousness, and increase the peace of all his subjects. He might well be called Wonderful, because he was to be born of a virgin, Ifai. vii. 14. Counsellor, because the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, was to rest upon him, Ifai. xi. a. the mighty God, because the Adon, the mighty Lord, who fits at God's right hand, and rules in the midst of his enemies, having obtained a compleat vic tory over them, Psal. ex. 1, 2, 5, 6. the everlasting Father, because he was to see his feed, and to prolong bis days, Ifai. liii. 10. the Princtof Peace, because he was to be the man, the peace, who was to speak peace to the Heathen, abundanceof which was to be in his days, Mic. v. 5. Zech. ix. 10. Psal. lxxii. 3, 7. Now, how well also these names suit the Messiah, Jesus, is easy to observe, who may well be called Wonderful, on the account of his extraordinay and wonderful conception and birth, as well as on the account of the many sur prising miracles which were wrought by him; and if we regard him both as God and man, having two natures, human and divine, united in one person, he will appear to be k^3, a wonder, a miracle. With as good reason also may he be called Counsellor f*«y«A« P^r,, aysiMa-, the angel of the great counsel, as the Septuagint render it, who was always with God; was privy to all his designs, counsels, and purposes ; was consulted by him in all the works of his hands, as creation and redemption ; is the wisdom of God, and has all the treasures of wisdom

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 421 •wisdom and knowledge hid in him, and therefore a very proper person to give advice and counsel to his people. No less does he deserve the title and cha racter of the mighty God, who has spoiled principalities and powers, subdued all his and his people's enemies, procured everlasting salvation for sinners, and is able to save, to the uttermost, them that come unto God by him ; very agreeably mayhe be called, the everlasting Father, or the Father of the age to come, niks r* ,*e?a»1©. *.«>©y as the words are rendered by the Septuagint : for the sun □'ny the world to come, God has not put in fubjeclion to angels y, but has made it the care and charge, and put it under the government and conduct of his Son, Jesus Christ, at whose coming this new age, ox world, began, and therefore he may well be called the Father of it : And, to conclude this, nothing can more fully and aptly express the temper of his mind, the nature of his work, and the diffusive bleiiings of his goodness to the sons of men, than when he is called the Prince of Peace. These things being considered, the author of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy, with Grotius and the Jews, will have little reason to conclude, that these " words are manifestly spoken of Hezekiah," but rather conclude, that they are manifestly spoken of Jesus the Messiah ; nor will the Jew have any reason z, in that audacious and insulting manner, to say, as he does, " That " it is impossible that Jesus should be called by those names; for, fays he, how " can his name be called, Wonderful, Counsellor^ when a foolish disciple of " his knew his counsels, even so as to. deliver him unto his enemies ? And *« how can he be called the mighty God, . who was slain ? Moreover, how can he ** be called the everlasting Father, who died before he had. lived out half his " days ? Besides, how can he be called the Prince of Peace, in whose days there •« was no peace, for as he himself testifies, saying, / am not come to give peace «' on earth, but a sword ?" all which, with what spite and malice, want of truth, as well as with what folly and ignorance they are spoken, may easily be collected from what has been already said concerning Jesus, and the applica tion of this prophecy to him. 1 proceed, Secondly, to consider, Jer. xxiii. 6. where we have an account of another of the Messiah's names, the words are these, In his days Judah stjall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is bis name, whereby he stjall be called, The Lord our righteousness. The person intended in those words, is undoubtedly the fame, who in the preceding verse is called, The righteous Branch, and is promised to be 3s Heb, ii. 5. * R. Isaac Chizuk, Emun. par. i. c. »*, Much to the same purpose objects the author of the old Nizzachon,. p. 86.

422 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, be raised up unto David, which not only the Targum understands of the Messiah, and therefore thus paraphrases it, / will raise up unto David, Messiah the righteous, but also many other Jewish writers". Grotius, indeed, would have Zerobabel intended, but that cannot be, for though Zerobabel was a branch of David's family, yet he never was king over Judah and Israel; nor were those people in such a very safe, secure, and prosperous condition, in his days-, and though he was, no doubt, a righteous person, yet was he not so by way of eminency, nor was his name 'The Lord our righteousness, neither can any reason be given, why he should be called so. But every thing agrees well with the Messiah, who was frequently promised, and always expected as a king, in whose hand, the pleasure os the Lord should prosper, and by whom justice and judg ment should be executed in the earth ; for ligbteousness was to be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins ; Israel was to be saved in him with an everlasting salvation ; he was to be just, or righteous, in himself, and to bring in everlasting righteousness for others, whereby he was to justify many ; so that it is no wonder, that bis name should be called, The Lord our righteousness, which name the Messiah Jesus well deserves, seeing he is become the end of the Law for righteousness, to every one that believes, and is of God, made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanclification, and redemption. Abarbinel thinks that "op"ix mn*, The Lord our righteousness, is not the name of the Messiah, but the name of God, who calls the Messiah the righteous Branch; but this fense is contrary to the natural position of the words, and can never b]esupported without a violent torturing of the text. R. Saadiah Gaon is for separating niiT the Lord, from ijp-ra our righteousness ; he is willing to allow, that Up-re our righteousness, is the name of the Messiah, but then he would have mrr Jehovah to be the name of God, who calls him so-, but such a division of the words Is contrary to the accents, which R. Aben Ezra opposes unto him, and fays, that he would never have attempted such a division of the words, had he observed that the accent Tiphca is upon WIpS he shall call him, or he shall be called, which divides it from mrr, Jehovah, and that the accent Merca is upon m;T, Jehovah, which unites it to "tipiX, our righteousness ; this observation sufficiently confirms our version of this text. There » Kimchi & R. Sol. ben Melech in loc. R. Isaac Chizuk, Emun. par. i . c. 42. who also inter pret The Lord our righteousness, of the Messiah in ver. 6. and so it is likewise understood by R. Jochanan in Talmud, Baba Bathra, sol. 75. col. 2. by R. Aba bar Cahana in Echa Rabbati, sol. 58. col. i. by R. Saadiah Gaon in Dan.vii. 13. and by Bereshith Rabba in Gen xxv. 6. in Galatin de Arcanis, C. V. lib. 8. c. 3.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 423 There is one thing more I would just observe, before I dismiss this prophecy, and that is, that the word lhnpS which we translate passively, Jhall be called, is in the active form, and may be rendered, Jhall coll him, as it is both by the Targum and Septuagint, though, as has been observed on the preceding prophecy, verbs active of the third person, when the nominative to them is not expressed, as here, arc often used passively •, but if the active sense should be insisted on, it is easy to supply it, either thus, every one Jhall call him, &c. or thus, God Jhall call him, &c. or thus, as Kimcbi and others, Israel Jhall call him, The Lord our righteousness. From the whole it appears, that this prophecy belongs to the Messiah, and admits of a very easy application to Jesus. Thirdly, The next prophecy of this kind, which I shall consider, is Zecb. vi. 12. And Jpeak unto him, that is, to Jojhua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, Thus Jpeaketh the Lord of Hosts, Jaying, Behold the man, whose name is the Branch, and be Jhall grow up out of bis place, and be Jhall build the temple of the Lord. The same person is spoken of under the same title and character in chap. iii. 8. For behold I will bring forth my servant the Branch, which the Targum paraphrases thus, Behold I will bring forth my servant the Messiah ; and has been so understood by many Jewissi interpreters b. I have, in considering the former prophecy, observed, that the Messiah is called the righteous Branch in Jer. xxiii. 5. as he is also in chap, xxxiii. 15. and in Ifai. iv. 2. it is said, In that day Jhall the Branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious ; which the Targum renders thus, At that time the Mefstab of the Lord Jhall be for joy and glory -, and so Kimcbi expounds it of him. Once more, the Messiah is in Ifai. xi. I. called, a Branch, which ssiould grow out of Jesse's roots. Thus we see, that this name, the Branch, is very frequently given to the Messiah ; and per haps, some reference is made to this name in Pfal. cxxxii. 17. where it is said, There will I make the horn of David to bud ; I have ordained a lamp for mint Anointed And it is certain the Jews have so understood it% who, in their prayers for the Messiah's coming, frequently express themselves after this man ner d, " O God make the horn of thy servant David to bud, and ordain a " lamp for the son of Jesse, thy Messiah, in haste, in our days." The author of The Scheme of Literal Prophecy indeed fays % from Grotius and White, " That *' Lfay, Jeremy, and Zecbaryt do not, by their use of the term branch^ mean to b Vid. Kimchium & Aben Ezram in loc. ■ Vid. R. Sol ben Mclech. in Miclol Yophi in loc. & Kimchium in loc. d Seder Tephillot, sol. 278, 1. & 285. 2. See Bishop Chandler's Defence of Christianity, . p. 221, 2.22. e page 288.

424 THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, " to signify the MesTias •, but the Jews in captivity in one place, namely '* Isai. iv. 2. Hezekiah in another, namely, Isai. xi. 1. Zerobabel in three other u places, namely, Jer. xxiii. 5. Zecb. iii. 8. and vi.' 12." though he offers nothing in proof thereof. As to Isai. iv. 2. it is much more likely that the Messiah is intended than the Jews in captivity ; for what great beauty and glory appeared in them, even when they returned from thence ? Nay, this branch of the Lord, and fruit of the earth, is manifestly distinguished from them that are escaped from Israel, and him that is left in Zion. The beauty and glory predicated of this branch, best agrees with the Messiah ; as do also the bless ings promised in the following verses ; such as the sanctisication, washing away the filth, purging the blood of God's people, and the protection and glory of them. That Hezekiah cannot be intended in Isai. xi. 1. I have already proved in a preceding chapter •, for he must be born some years before this prophecy was given forth •, and that Zerobabel is not Jeremy's righteous Branch in chap, xxiii. 5. I think. I 1iave .sufficiently made appear ; and shall now attempt to prove, that the Messiah, and not he, is intended by Zechary, when he fays, Behold the man, whose name is the Branch. TheTargum reads it, Behold the man, whose name is Ihe Messiah. Jarchi fays, there are some who interpret it of the king Messiah ; which interpretation R. Abendana strenuously contends forf ; and which is the fense of some of their ancient writers g ; and that it is the true sense, may be pretty easily collected from the context. This peison was to be both a king and priest-, he shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne. Zerobabel was neither king nor priest, the Messiah both. This person was to build the temple of the Lord, and to bear the glory.: Not a third temple, which the Jews vainly expect •, nor the second temple, built by Zerobabel, from whence so much glory did not arise to the builder of it, it being mean and contemptible, in comparison of that of Solomon's ; but the church of God, which is the temple of the living Cod, the pillar and ground of truth, which was to be built in a very glorious manner, in the days of the Messiah, and was to consist of Jews and Gentiles •, for they that were afar off, that is, the Gentiles, were to come and build in the temple of the Lord, and so the counsel of peace was between them both ; that is, Jew and Gentile, which was exactly fulfilled by the Messiah Jesus, who made peace between them both, incorporated them both into one building, of which he -himself h the corner-stone, in whom all the building fitly framed together, growetb unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye alfoh, that is, ye Ephesians, ye Gen tiles, * In not. in Miclol Yophi in loc. s R. Joshua in Echa Rabati, sol. 58. col. 2. h Eph. ii. i,,, 17, 20— 22.

RESPECTING THE MESSIAH, CONSIDERED. 425 tiles, are builded together, with the Jews, for an habitation of God through the Spirit ; and now he bears all the glory of it. Once more, this person was not as yet grown up out of his place, but it is promised that he mould, which can not be true of Zerobabel, who was already grown up, and had been for some time actually engaged in building the second temple, as appears from Haggai's prophecy. The Messiah then, and not Zerobabel, is the person intended, whose name may well be called the Branch, by way of eminency, he being the most glorious branch of David's family, who also was to spring from thence, when that family was only like a root in a dry ground ; all which well agrees with the state of that family in the times of Jesus, and with that very mean appearance, which he made, when he, this branch, first budded forth from thence. The Septuagint here render the word nns, the Branch, by «»*!«*»i, which properly signifies the rising of the fun, or that part of the heaven where the fun rises, and so may respect the Messiah as the fun of righteousness, who was to arise with healing in his wings '. Hence Zacharias in his song, calls the Messiah Jeiusk aiwloxu •! v^uu (he day-spring from on high, who hath visited us : and from hence, perhaps, Oriens was used for a name of the Messiah ; and it is not without some shew of reason, that some' have thought this to be the meaning €>f the word in Tacitus, when he fays m, Pluribus perfuasto inerat, antiquis facerdotum literis contineri, eo ipfo tempore fore, ut valefceret oriens, " many were " persuaded that in the ancient books of the priests were contained a pro- « phecy, that at that time the east should prevail." In fine, the Messiah is the manwhofe name is the Branch, so often spoken of by the prophets, so much expected by the Jews, and who budded forth in the person of Jesus. I shall conclude all with the words of Zachar/as"t Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for be hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation fir ms in the house of his servant David, as he spake by the mouth of all his holy pro phets, which have been since the world began : That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us, to perform the mercy promised ta our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which be fware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us ; that we being delivered out of the bands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. i Which is understood of the Messiah by Kimchi, and R Tanchuma In Allix's Judgment «f the Jewish Church, p. 44, 64. k Luke i. 7?. ' Hammond on Luke i. y9. Bishop Ch*ndler's Defence of Christianity, p. 28, 246, m Hist. lib. 5. c. 13. n Luke i. 68, &c. Vol. III. I i i A

[ 426 ] TARLE of the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which are cited and explained in the preceding Treatise. Cbtp. 3 4 4 7 8 8 12 :s16 •7 «7 18 21 21 22 22 23 It28 29 30 35 35 37 4» s49 49 49 49 2 z 3 12 16 »9 29 30 Genesis. Vtr. ■5 1 2> II, 24 Z 3.4 3 2 •4 '5 14 18 3 •3 .1 • '4 43 4 14 *7 1 19, »o 21 13, 32, 46 3* 20 9 10 18 2 + Exodus. 8 22 12 8,9 >4 •5 1 1 19, 36 10 Ptgt 288 346 292 335 324 335 296 291 419 418 333 412 296 418 292 407 .295 418 347 29S 295 322 37° 370 357 369 333i 369 403 296 306, 341 306, 416 300 353 347 418 349 3>4 310 333 299 299 397 32S L E V I T I C U i. Cbap. Vtr. 4 3.8. 21, 24 4 20, 26, 3'. 35 5 7. « 6 26 9 «9 w22 25 2j 8 Numbs «_i. I 14 •5 3°. 31 •9 12. *1, 20 23 22 24 8 24 17 30 1 33 38 D ED71ROKOMY 18 «4 18 ' 15 18 16, 17,18 18 '9 18 20, 21, 22 22 28 23 6 24 3 25 5,6 29 19 3' 28 32 21 33 20 34 18 34 10, II Joshua. 14 1 '9 »5 23 2 24 1 Judges. 5 >4 '7 7 397 3*5 397 397 397 4°3 4"4 3" 3.0 333 397 307 364 310 299 J75 37? 376 377 93'4 $ 310 297 395 353 374 j,o 362 310 tlO 362 RUTH.

A TABLE OF TEXTS. 427 Chap. I 4 1 22 2 12 23 8 12 20 8 :i18 j 11 30 1 1 2 3 6 7 3 9 •S 1 :118 • Ru T H. Psalm Vtr. Part 22 2 362 22 »7 418 22 22 1 Samuel 22 20 418 3' 22 3SZ 32 2 Samuel* 34 16 410 40 *S 418 ■ 41 47 4 304 49 1 Kl NCS. !• 4 310 55 68 34 299 68 40 323 69 2 Kings. 72 8 4'9 7* 29 382 72 2 35' 7* 2 35' 72 80 1 Chronicles. 96 2 33*» 34« 98 1 310 102 2 Chronicles. 102 no 4 299 110 2 4'9 119 Ezra, 132 •43 2»3 328 5 310 2 310 >5 8 299 30 32s 3°7, 13, 20 329 Nhieiiiah, 7 I, 6, 8 329 Esther. 1 1 3*3 6 J 0 *. »7 395 4 35 375 4 60 362 6 Psalms. 7 8 4 375 9 7 405 9 7 299 11 10 402 1 1 33 395 11 JV. 39°. Page 394 I 4OO 6, 8 394 40! 18 400 >7 404 i 325 20 401 1 1 3*4 9 396 S 409 '4 4°4 7 397 23 404 18 411 SI 547 21 401 3 301, 4*0 7 301, 420 9 291 iOi 15 307 '7 296, 355 >7 412 »3 416 9 4«S •9 411 27 292 1 410, 4'i. 420 6 292, 420 IOI 3*4 <7 423 2 301 Prove rbs. 7 375 17 308 '9 347 ICCLESaSTES, *5 352 Cash c le 2 3 347 8 347 Isa 1 a h. 1 35' 2 423 9» io, 1 1 384 •4 292, 346, 416, 420 3. 4 35* I, 2 3?2- 38* 6 3°o» 350. 4>7 1 34'. 372> 424 2 420 9 303

428 TEXTS. A TABLE OF 0 F A H. Ctaf. 1 1 is. H 228 37 38 40 40 14 4S 4s 49 5° 5> S« S3 53 53 53 53 53 55 61 62 65 4 iz 20 23 23 I S A I Vtr. IO 6 5.6 9 \% 3° 18 2 3 28 16 24. «5 12 6 6 '> 2 .'< 5 8 9 10 1 2 5 1 2 16 Jeremiah* 2 3 H I30 i*. 34'. 395 381 300 406 353 349 403 302, 378 377 328 296 301 292 3O0 394 353 404 391 333 333 395 420 420 308 299 380 4'9 296 296 395 393 423, 424 301, 421 411 25 30 30 3' 3» 3' 3' 3« 3 4 21 3» 34 37 9 21 6 '5 '7 22 3* '5 4 £zuuu 4. 5 27 »5 23» 24 24. 25 •6, 3°*l 345, 333» 35'. 3°3> 406 340 372 369 370 37° 370 423 363 322 307 32* 345» 400 34S Daniel. Chip. Ver. ff 2 45 35* 7 9, 10 4'S 7 >3 410 9 24 301 9 24—27 320 10 «. 3 322 Hossai 3 4. 5 339 3 5 345» 4°fi 6 2 407 11 1 367 J O B L, 2 18 30J Jonah. I '7 4<>7 M 1 C A 11* 2 13 411 ,4 8 35* 1 1 355. 357 5 2 354. 394 5 5 356, 420 7 •7 291 H A B BAKKCK « 1 12 35S 2 3 304 3 >3 293 3 >9 395 II AC C A I. 2 6—9 • 3»3 2 7 308, 417 z 9 301 Z E C 11 A R I A 11 • 3 8 423 6 12 42J 9 9 385 &c. 396 9 10 301, 420 ti »2, *3 398 12 10 401 '3 7 300, 363, 400 M A L A C H I. 3 1 300>3»5>377,380,414 4 5.6 378, 38° A DIS-

t 429 ] A DISSERTATION CONCERNING THE ANTIQJJITY OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, LETTERS, VOWEL-POINTS, AND ACCENTS. PREFACE. THE following Dissertation has long lain by me-, nor was it written at first with any design to publish it to the work! ; but was written at lei sure hours for my own amusement, and by way of essay to try how far back the antiquity of the things treated of in it could be carried. And what has prevailed upon me now to let it go into the world, and take its fate in it, are the confidence which some late writers on the opposite side have expressed, their contempt of others that differ from them, and the air of triumph they have assumed, as if victory was proclaimed on their side, and the controversy at an end, which is far from being the cafe ; and what seeming advantages are obtained, are chiefly owing to the indolence and sloth of men, who read only on one side of the question, and such who write one after another, and take things upon trust, without examining into them themselves, either through want of ability, or through unwillingness to be at any pains about it. I confess, it has given me offence to observe the Jews called by such oppro brious names, as villains, wilful corrupters of the Hebrew text, &c. It must be owned indeed, that they are very ignorant of divine things, and therefore the more to be pitied ; and many of them are, no doubt, very immoral per sons ; but have we not such of both sorts among ourselves ? Yet, as bad as the Jews are, the worst among them, I believe, would sooner die, than wil fully corrupt any part of the Hebrew Bible. We should not bear false witness 3 against

43o PREFACE. against our neighbours, let them be as bad as they may in other things. I have never, as yet, seen nor read any thing, that has convinced me that they have wilfully corrupted any one passage in the sacred text % no not that cele brated one in Psal. xxii. 16. Their copiers indeed may have made mistakes in transcribing, which are common to all writings •, and the Jews meeting with a various reading, they may have preferred one to another, which made most for their own sentiments j nor is this to be wondered at, nor are they to be blamed for it. It lies upon us to rectify the mistake, and confirm the true reading. It does not appear, that there ever was any period of time, in which the Jews would or could have corrupted the Hebrew text ; not before the coming of Christ, for then they could have no disposition nor temptation to it ; and to attempt it would have been to have risqued the credit of the prophecies in it ; nor could they be sure of any advantage by it : and after the coming of Christ, it was not in their power to do it without detection. There were the twelve apostles of Christ, who were with him from the beginning of his ministry, and the seventy disciples preachers of his Gospel, besides many thousands of Jews in Jerusalem, who in a short time believed in him ; and can it be supposed, that all these were without an Hebrew Bible ? And particularly that learned man, the apostle Paul, brought up at the feet of a learned Rabbi, Gamaliel; and who out of those writings convinced so many that Jesus was the Christ, and who speaks of the Jews as having the privilege of the oracles of God committed to them, Rom. ii. I, 2. nor does he charge them, nor does he give the least intimation of their being chargeable, with the corruption of them •, nor does Christ, nor do any of the apostles ever charge them with any thing of this kind. And besides, there were multitudes of the Jews in all parts of the world at this time, where the apostles met with them and converted many of them to Christ, who, they and their fathers, had lived in a state of disper sion many years ; and can it be thought, they should be without copies of the Hebrew Bible, whatever use they may be supposed to have made of the Greek version ? So that it does not seem credible, that the Jews should have it in their power, had they an inclination to it, to corrupt the text without detection. And here I cannot forbear transcribing a passage from Jerom \ who observes, in answer to those who say the Hebrew books were corrupted by the Jews, what Origen said, " That Christ and his apostles, who reproved the Jews for other *' crimes, are quite silent about this, the greatest of all." Jerom adds, " If " they » Sec a good Defence of the Jews, by F. Simon against Leo Castrius, Morinus and Voffius in his Disquisit Critic, c. ix. and x. b Comment, in Esaiam, c. 6. sol. 14 G.

PREFACE. m\ " they should say, that they were corrupted after the coming of the Lord, " the Saviour, and the preaching of the apostles ; I cannot forbear laugh- " ing, that the Saviour, the evangelists and apostles Ihould so produce testi- " monies that the Jews afterwards mould corrupt." To all which may be added, that the Jews are a people always tenacious of their own writings, and of preserving them pure and incorrapt : an instance of this we have in their Targums or paraphrases, which they had in their own hands hundreds of years, before it appears they were known by Christians ; in which interval, it lay in their power to make what alterations in them they pleased ; and had they been addicted to such practices, it is marvellous they did not ; since they could not but observe, there were many things in them, that Christians were capable of improving against them, should they come into their hands, as in fact they have done -, and yet they never dared to make any alterations in them : and had they done any thing of this kind, it is most reasonable 10 believe, they would have altered the passages relating to the Messiah •, and yet those, and which are many, stand full against them. Indeed, accoiding to Ortgenc, as some think, the Targums were known very early, and improved against the Jews in favour of Jesus being the true Messiah, agreeable to the fense of the pro phets ; since he makes mention of a dispute between Jason, an Hebrew-Chr\{~ tian, supposed to be the same as in Atis xvii. 5. and Papiscus, a Jew ; in which, he fays, the Christian Ihewed from Jewish writings, that the prophe cies concerning Christ agreed with Jesus ; and what else, fays Dr Allix d, could he mean by Jewish writings, but the Targums ? Though it is possible the writings of the Old Testament may be means, by which the apostle Paul also proved that Jesus was the Christ. However, if the Targums are meant, they do not afterwards appear to have been known by Christian writers for some hundreds of years. If may be said y perhaps, that the Jews are self-condemned, and that it may be proved out of their own mouths and writings, that they have in some places wilfully corrupted the Hebrew text ; as the thirteen places they own they changed, on the account of Ptolemy king of Egypt ; and also what they call Tikkun Sopherim, the ordination of the scribes, and Tttur Sopherim., the ablation of the scribes : as to the first of these, it is true, that they fay % when Ptolemy king of Egypt' desired to have their law, and seventy men sent to translate ir, that they made alterations in the copy they sent ; but then it should be ob served, c Contra Celsum, 1. 4. p. igg. <i Judgment of the ancient Jewish Church, &c p. 376. e T\Hierot Megillah, sol. 71. 4. T. Bab. Megillah, sol. 9. I. Maffechet Sopherim, c. 1f. 8. sol. 8. 1.

432 PREFACE. served, that they do not say they made any alteration in their own copies, only in that they sent to him ; and which appears also to be a mere fable of the Talmudists, and that in fact; no such alterations were made : but the story was invented partly to bring into disgrace the Greek version of the Seventy, as if it was made after a corrupt copy ; and partly to make the minds of their own people easy, who disapproved of that work, and kept a fast on occasion of itf. My reason for this is, because the Greek version does not correspond with the pretended alterations. There are but two places out of the thirteen, which agree with them ; the one is in Gen. ii. 2. which the Seventy translate, and on the sixth day God ended his work ; the other is in Numb. xvi. 15. which they render / have not taken the desire of any one of them, instead of one ass from them ; neither of which seem to arise from a bad copy before them, but from some other cause. The first of them is not peculiar to the Septuagint, it is the fame in the Samaritan Pentateuch ; and the latter plainly arises from the similarity of the letters Daleth and Rest). There is a third, Exod. xii. 40. in which, there is some agreement, but not exact. Besides, neither Philo the Jew, nor Josepbus, though they wrote very particularly of this affair of Ptolemy, yet make not the least mention of these alterations, in the copy sent to him, nor in the translation of it. They observe, there never was any change made in the sacred writings, from the time of the writing of them to the age in which they lived. Philo fays8, " The Jews, for the space of more than two. " thousand years, never changed one word of what was written by Moses, but " would rather die a thousand times, than receive any thing contrary to his '" laws and customs." Josepbus h observes, « It is plain, in fact, what credit ** we give to our writings, for that so long a space of time has run out, yet " no one ever dared, neither to add, nor to take away, nor to change any " thing." And Walton himself, I observe, reckons this story about the alterations for the fake of king Ptolemy, to be a Rabbinical fable ; and, as such, Jerom k had got a hint of it from one of his Rabbins. The Tikkun Sopherim, or ordination of the scribes, is supposed to be the order of Ezra, as it is said in the Masorab on Exod. xxxiv. 1 r. and on Numb. xii. 12. and of his colleagues •, though some think1 it is no other than the order or in struction of the inspired writers themselves. It respects eighteen passages in the Bible, so expressed, as that some smatterers in knowledge might gather from ' Schulchan Aruch, par. T. c. 583. s. 3. * Apud Euseb. præpar. Evangel. 1. 8. c 6. p. 357* h Contra Apion, 1. 1. c. 8. » Prolegom. Polyglott. 9. s. 16. k Poefat ad Quaest. Heb. Tom, 3. sol. 65. c. ' Buxtorf. Epist. Glaflio in PhiLolog, Sacr. p. 40.

P R E F A C E. 433 from the context, that something else is intended than what is written •, and so suspect a corruption in the text, and take upon them to alter it. Now this ordination of the scribes, as it is called, is so far from implying a corruption itself, and from encouraging an attempt to make an alteration in the text, that it is just the reverse ; it is an ordination that the text should be read no otherwise than it is ; and would have it remarked, that the words so read, and which are the words of the inspired writer, contain an Eupbemy in them, what is decent and becoming the majesty of God ; when, if they were read, as the context might be thought to require they should be read, they would express what is derogatory to the glory of the Divine Being. Thus, in the first of the places^ this ordination respects, Gen. xviii. 22. Abraham stood yet before the Lord; it might seem to some from the context, that the Lord descended to stand before Abraham ; but as this might be thought derogatory to the glory of God, the inspired writer chose to express it as he has done ; and the design of what is called the ordination of the scribes, is to establish it, and to admo nish that none should dare to alter itm; and so it was to prevent an alteration, and not to make one •, they made no change at all, far be it from them, as Elias Levita fays". As for Ittur Sopherim, or ablation of the scribes, that is only the removal of a superfluous Vau in five places ° ; not that it was in the text, and removed from it by them, but what the common people pronounced in reading, as if it was there; which reading the scribes forbid, to secure and preserve the integrity of the text; and which prohibition of it to the common people, is called a taking it away ; though in reality it never was in the text> only pronounctd by the vulgar. There is a passage in the Talmud*, produced by some % as a proof that the Jews studioufly corrupted1 the scriptures, and allowed of it, when an end was to be answered by it ; which is this, " It is better that one letter be rooted out " of the law, than that the name of God should be profaned openly ;" but their fense is not that any letter should be taken, or that it was lawful to take ■ any letter out of any word in the law, to alter the fense of it, in order to serve that, or any other purpose ; but that a lesser command should give way to a greater : as for instance, that the law concerning not putting children to death for the sins of their parents, and of not suffering bodies hanged on a tree to Vol. HI. Kick. remain » Halichot Ohm, p. 47, 48. Pnefat. Ben Chayim ad Bibl. Heb. Buxtors. sol. 2. Buxiorf. Talmud. Lexic. Col. 2631. » In Tisbi, p. 270. ° Baal Aruch, in voce lipy Pnefat Ben Chayim ut supra. Buxtors. ut supra. Col. 1507, 1598. » T. Bab. Yevamot, sol. 79. 1. h Vid. Morin. dc Sincer. Heb, 1. 1. Exercitat. 1. c. 2.

434 PREFACE. remain so in the night, should give way to a greater command concerning sanctifying the name of God publicly ; as in the cafe of SauPs sons being given to the Gibeonites to be put to death, and whose bodies continued hanging a considerable time, which is the case under consideration in the Talmudic passage referred to; and the sense is, that it was better that the Law in Deut xxiv. 16. should be violated, rather than the name of God should be profaned ; which would have been the case, if the sons of Saul had not been given up to the Gibeonites to be put to death for their father's sins, because of the oath of Joflma and the princes of Israel to them. The falsifications charged upon the Jews by Justin and Origen respect not the Hebrew text, but the Septuagint ver sion } and even, with respect to that, Trypbo, the Jew, rejects the charge brought by Justin as incredible ; whether, fays he r, they have detracted from the scripture, God knows ; it seems incredible. It has been very confidently affirmed, that there is no mention made of the Hebrew vowel-points and accents, neither in the Mi/nab nor in the Talmud: and this is said by some learned men, who, one would think, were capable of looking into those writings themselves, and not take things upon trust, and write after other authors, without seeing with their own eyes, and examining for themselves, whether these things be so or no : in this they are very culpable, and their mistakes are quite inexcusable. But to hear some men prate about the Talmud, a book, perhaps, which they never saw ; and about the Masorab and Masoretic notes, one of which, as short as they be, they could never read, is quite intolerable. These men are like such the apostle speaks of, on another account, who understand, neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. What is this Misorah ! ? Who are these Masoretes ? And what have they done, that such an outrageous clamour is raised against them ? To me, they seem to be an innocent sort of men •, who if they have done no good, have done no hurt. Did they invent the vowel-points, and add them to the text, against which there is so much wrath and fury vented ? To assert this is the height of folly ' j for if they were the authors of the points, the inventors of the art of pointing, and reduced it to certain rules agreeable to the nature of the language, and were expert in that art, as, no doubt, they were, why did not they point the Bible regularly, and according to the art of pointing, at once ? Why did they leave so many anomalies or irregular punctuations ? And if, upon a survey of their work, * Justin. Dialog, cum Tryphone, p .297, 299. ' Plane divina res est Hebrscorum Critica, quam ipfi Massoram vocant. If. Casaubon. Epist. ep. 390. Porthacsio, p. 467. ' Punftationcm Hebraicam non esse Massora, nequc dici, norunt qui nondum ære lavantur. Owen. Thcologoumen. par. 4. Digress. 1. p. 293.

PREFACE. 435 work, they observed the irregularities they had committed, why did not they mend their work, by casting out the irregular points and putting regular ones in the text itself, and not point to them in the margin, or there direct to the true reading ? Is it usual for authors to animadvert on their own work in such a manner ? If they make mistakes in their work at first, is it usual in an after edition, and following editions, to continue such mistakes in the body of the work, and put the corrections of them in the margin ? The Masoretes, had ■ they been the inventors of the vowel-points, would never have put them to a word in the text, to which they were not proper, but what better agree with a word placed by them in the margin •, had they invented them, they would have put proper ones to the word in the text ; or have removed that, and put the word in the margin in its room, with which they agree ; fee Gen. viii. 17. and xiv. 3. and it may be observed, that their critical art and notes are not only frequently exercised and made upon the points, but even upon the points without consonants, and upon consonants without points •, which would not have become them, had they been the inventors of them ; fee an instance of each in Jer. xxxi. 38 and li. 3. The truth of the matter, with respect to the Masoretes., is, that the pointing of the Bible was not their work ; they con sidered it as of a divine original, and therefore dared not to make any altera tion in it; but only observed, where there was an unusual punctuation, that it mjght be taken notice of v and that so they found it, and so they left it ; and that those who came after them might not dare to attempt an alteration- Punctuation was made before their time, as their work itself shews ; and Walton u, an opposer of the antiquity of the points, has this observation ; " The Masoretic notes about words irregularly pointed, and the numbers of " them, necessarily suppose that pointing was made long before." Have these Masoretes employed their time and study, in counting the verses and let ters of the Bible, and how many verses and letters there are in such a book ; and where exactly is the middle of it ; where a word is deficient or lacks a< letter-, or where it is full and has them all ; or where one is redundant and has too many •, where one letter is larger and another lesser than usual, and another suspended -, suppose now this is all trifling, and of no manner of importance,, yet who or what are injured by it ? The mispending of their time in such trifles, is a loss not to others, but to themselves ; and, as a learned man remarks w, " How trifling soever this scrupulous exactness of the Masoretes " (with respect to the letters in the Hebrew text) may appear, yet it suggests " to us one observation, that the Jews were religiously careful to preserve the- K.kki ; . " true ■ Prolegom, 8. s. 1 2k * Chappelow's Commentary on Job ix, 34. Sec also on chap. xi. 1 4,

436 PREFACE. " true literal text of scripture •, and consequently, notwithstanding their " enmity and obstinate aversion to Christianity, they are not to be charged " with this additional crime of having corrupted the Bible ■" and after all, have not the Christians had their Masoretes also x, who, with like diligence and faithfulness, have numbered all the verses, both of the Greek version of the Old Testament and of the books of the New ? And have they been blamed for it ? Jerom y numbered the verses of the book of Proverbs, and fays they were 915, exactly as the Maforab. Some words, through length of time, became obscene and offensive to chaste ears, at least were thought so ■ •, hence the Masoretes placed other words in the margin, which, perhaps, is the boldest thing they ever did, and of which the Karaite Jews complain ; but then they never attempted to remove the other words from the text, and put in theirs in their room ; they only placed them where they did, that, when the passages were read in public, or in families, the reader might be supplied with words that signified the fame, only more pure and chaste, and less offensive-, at least which were thought so; and which were left to their own option to read them or not. The passages are Deut. xxviii. 27, 30. 1 Sam. v. 6, 9. Isai. xiii. 16. chap, xxxvi. 12. Zech. xiv. 2. 2 Kings vi. 25. chap. x. 27. and chap, xviii. 27. and it would not be improper, if, in the margin of our Bibles overagainst the last, and others that have the fame word, another Englifi word or words were put to be read less offensive. And, by the way, from the change of words proposed in those passages, may be drawn an argument in favour of the antiquity of the Masoretes. For this part of their work must be done, whilst the Hebrew language was a living language, when only the difference of words offensive or not offensive to the ear could be discerned, and a change of them. necessary : and certain it is, these notes were made before the Talmud, for mention is made of them in it*-, yea, these variations are followed by the ancient Targutns, by Onkelos, and the Jerusalem on Deut. xxviii. 27, 30. and not only by Pseudo Jonathan on 1 Sam. v. 6, 9. 2 Kings vi. 25. chap. x. 27. and chap, xviii. 27. but by the true Jonathan on Isai. xiii. 16. and chap, xxxvi. 12. and Zech. xiv. 2. who and Onkelos are supposed to live in the first century. As for the word Sebirim, sometimes used by the Masoretes in their notes; this only respects*the conjectures of some persons, who thought a word mould be otherwise read or pointed ; but it is what the Masoretes object to, and fay of such persons, that they are mistaken: and this they observe, that no one may presume * Vid. Croii Observ. in Nov. Test. r. 1. & c. 10. y Qi-rcfl. sou Trad. Heb. lib Reg. 3. sol. 80. I. torn. 3. z Maimor. Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 8. » T. Bab. Mcgillah, sol. 25, 2»

PREFACE. 437 presume to make any alteration upon such conjectures : and are they to be blamed for this ? And, besides these things, what have they done, except transmitting, from age to age, the marginal or various readings, which had been observed by collating copies, or which arose from their own observations, by comparing different copies that lay before them ; and from delivering them down to posterity, they obtained the name of Masoretes •, and can this be thought to be culpable in them ? They left the text as they found it j nor did they offer of themselves to insert a various reading, different from the commonly received copy, but placed such readings in the margin, that others might make what use of them they pleased ; or rather they took this method, to prevent the insertion of them into the text, suggesting, that so they found them, and there it was proper to continue them : and is a Bible with such readings the worse for them ? Is a Greek Testament to be dis-esteemed, for having the various readings in it collected from different copies ? Or are our English Bibles with the marginal readings in them, placed by the translators themselves, with references to other scriptures, the less valuable on that ac count ? Nay, are they not the more valued for them ? And it may be observed, that these Keries, or marginal readings of the Hebrew text, are followed in many places, by some of the best translators of the Bible, both ancient and .modern. Aquila and Symmacbus, the best of the ancient Greek interpreters, almost always follow themb. Jerom had knowledge of them, and testifies to Aquila's following them, in a particular instance. His words are % " AJferemotb ";in Jer. xxxi. 40. for which, in a Hebrew copy it is written Sedemoth, which " Aquila interprets suburbana" And which reading is preferred by Jerom\ as is the marginal reading of ver. 38. And if he was the author of the Vulgate Latin version, that agrees with the marginal readings of the Masoretes in several places -, fee Jojh. iii. 16. and chap. xv. 47. 2 Sam. viii. 3. 2 Kings xix. 3 s. all which shew the antiquity of these readings. So modern interpreters, Junius and Tremellius, our own translators, and the Dutch % often follow them, as do various interpreters, both Papists and Protestants. Nay, some of these read ings and notes are confirmed by the inspired writers of the New Testament. Thus, for instance, in P/al. xvi. 10. the word rendered holy One, is written with a yod, as if it was plural ; but the Masoretic note on it is, that the yod is redundant, and so the word is to be considered as of the singular number ; and this is confirmed by two inspired writers, the apostles Peter and Paul, Acts ii. 27. and b Montfaucon. Hexapla Origen. vol. 2. p. 549. c De loc. Heb. sol. 89. B. * Comment. inHieremiam, c. 31. 40. sol. 161. F. e Leusden Philolog. Heb. Mixt, Dissert. 10. s. 9. p, 84,.

438 PREFACE. 27. and chap. xiii. 35. Again, in Prov. in. 34. the Cetib, or textual writing is, a»tyb, the poor ; but the Keri, or marginal reading, cnjy1?, the humble, or lowly, which is followed by our translators of the text, and is confirmed bytwo apostles, 'James and Peter, Jam. iv. 6. 1 Pet. v. 5. And what have the Maforetes done in this respect, but what the learned Dr Kemticott is now doing, or getting done in the several libraries in Europe; that is, collating the several copies, and collecting from them the various readings ; and which, if I un derstand his design aright, is not to form, upon his own judgment, a new copy of the Hebrew text; but to do with the present copy in common use, what others have done with the New Testament ; let it stand as it is, with the various readings thrown into the margin as they may be collected, and leave them to every one's judgment, with some critical rules to form it, to make use of them as they please : and when this learned gentleman has finished his large Masoretic work, he will be the greatest Masorete that ever any age produced j since not only eight hundred and forty-eight various readings, as Elias f has reckoned those of the Maforetes to be, but as many thousands, and more will now appear. I fay not this, to depreciate his laborious undertaking, far be it from me •, he has my good wishes for the finishing of it, and what little assist ance otherwise 1 can give him in it. For I am not so great an enthusiast, for the integrity of the present printed Hebrew copy, as to imagine, that it is entirely clear of the mistakes of transcribers in all places : to imagine this, is to suppose a miraculous interposition of Divine Providence attending the copiers of it, and that constant and universal •, and if but one copier was under such an influence, it would be very extraordinary indeed, if his copy should be lighted on at the first printing of the Hebrew Bible ; and besides, the first Hebrew Bible that was printed, was not printed from one copy, but from various copies collated ; nor is there more reason to believe, that the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, which is more ancient, should be preserved from the escapes of librarians, than the Greek of the New Testament, which it is too notorious are many ; nor is suffering such escapes any contradiction to the Promise and Providence of God, respecting the preservation of the Sacred Writings, since all of any moment is preserved in the several copies ; so that what is omitted, or stands wrong in one copy, may be supplied and set right by another, which is a sufficient vindication of Divine Providence ; and this may serve to excite the diligence and industry of learned men, in collating the several copies for such a purpose ; and besides, the Providence of God re markably appears, in that the escapes suffered to be made do not affect any doctrine [ Præfat. 3, ad Masorct.

PREFACE. 439 doctrine of faith, or any moral praliice, as has been observed and owned by many % : and after all, if from the present collation of manuscripts, there should be published, what may be thought a more correct and perfect copy of the Hebrew text, we shall be beholden to the Jews for it, against whom the clamour rises so high : for by whom were the manuscripts written, now col lating, but by Jews ? For the truth of this, I appeal to the learned collator himself; and who, if I mistake not, in his printed Dissertations always repre sents the several Hebrew copies, whether more or less perfect, as the work of Jewish transcribers ; and indeed the thing speaks for itself : for from the times of Jerom to the age of printing, there were scarce any, if any at all among Christians, capable of transcribing an Hebrew copy-, that interval was a time of barbarous ignorance, as with respect to arts and sciences, so with respect to languages, especially the Hebrew. To know a little Greek, in those barbarous times, was enough to make a man suspected of heresy ; and to study Hebrew, was almost sufficient to proclaim him an heretic at once : the study of which lay much neglected, until it was revived by Reuchlin and others, a little before, and about the time of the Reformation. There might, in the above space of time, rise up now and then one, who had some knowledge of the Hebrew tongue, as Raymund in the thirteenth century, the author of Pugio Fidei ; and friar Bacon, who wrote an Hebrew grammar in the latter end of the fame cen tury, and which perhaps was the first, at least one of the first Hebrew gram mars written by a Christian ; though since, we have had a multitude of them : for almost every smatterer in the Hebrew language thinks himself qualified to write a grammar of it. However, there is no reason to believe, as I can un derstand, that any of our Hebrew manuscripts were written by Christians, but all by Jews, I mean such as were written before the age of printing; for what have been written since, can be of no account. I observe there is much talk about the Masoretic Bible, and about Masoretic authority. As to the Masoretic Bible, I could never learn there ever was such an one, either in manuscript, or in print, that could with any propriety be so called. Is a Bible with points to be colled Masoretic ? It must be with great impropriety, since the Masoretes, as has been observed, were not the authors of pointing : are any called so, because they have various readings, and other notes in the, margin ? As well may a Greek Testament, with various readings, and notes in the margin, have such a name. Let it be shewn, if it can, that 2 there % Amamae Antibarb. Bibl. 1. I. p. 20, 22, Bochart. Phaleg. 1. 2, c. 13. col. 91, 92. Walton. Prolegom. 6. s. 1. 3. & 7. s. 12, 15 and Considerator considered, p. 127, 162, Capellus de Critica. Epist. ad Usser. p. 116. Dr KennicoU, Dissert. 1. p. 11. 301. f

440 PREFACE. there ever was in manuscript, or in print, a copy of the Hebrew text, in all things conformable to the Masoretic notes and readings in the margin, or in which these are inserted in the body of the text, call them corrections, emenda tions, various readings, or what you please ; but if these cannot be shewn, then whatsoever Bible, that does not conform in the text to the Masorab in the margin, with much greater propriety may be called Anti-masoretic than Masoretic. As to authority, the Masoretes never claimed any j their Keri is no command to read so or so, nor even a direction how to read, and much less a correction of the text, as if it was faulty ; it is only a suggestion, that so it fs read in some copies •, for the word for which p stands in the margin of some Bibles, is not the imperative np Kere read, but is "np ; and is either the fame ... . . with ^"ip something read, or with wip a reading, that is, a various reading. And if the Masoretes ever pretende d to any authority, as they have not, it h not regarded ; for notwithstanding their antiquity, their readings, and what is agreeable to their notes and observations, are not admitted into the text, but are obliged to keep their place in the margin •, and where then is their autho rity ? Thus, for instance, in defiance of Masoretic authority, as it is called, and notwithstanding the Masoretic note in the margin, the second yod is con tinued in ?pTDn Psal. xvi. 10. and in defiance of the punctuation of the word, which is different from all other places, where the word is manifestly plural, as in PsaL lii. 9. lxxix. 2. cxxxii. 9. and cxlv 10. 2 Cbron. vi. 41. in all which places Segol is put under Daletb ; but here Sbeva, as it is in other words, in which the yod is redundant also, and the word to be read singular, as Debareca, 1 Kings viii. 26. and chap, xviii. 36. Dameca, 2 Sam. i. 16. Tadeca, 1 Kings xxii. 34. Prov. iii. 27. Abdeca, 1 Kings i. 27. Ragleca, Eccles.v. l. with others : and in defiance of the Talmud also. There are but two places " I have met with in the Talmud, where the text is quoted j and in both of them the word is without the yod ; so that if these, especially the first, had any authority, the yod would not continue in that word. The different schemes men have formed, for reading Hebrew without the ancient points, shew the necessity of them, and the puzzle they are at without them •, but what need men rack their brains to find out a scheme of reading that language, when there is one so suitable, ready at hand for them, consisting of vowel-points, which for their figure and position cannot be equalled by any -, which are so contrived, that they take up scarce any, or very little more room, than * T. Bab. Eruvin, foL 19. r. & Yoma, sol. 87. j.

PREFACE. 441 than the words do without them ; which neither increase the number of letters in a word, nor make it longer, nor give it any unsightly appearance ? Whexeas, for instance, Masclef's scheme, besides the augmentation of letters, makes the word look very aukward : and if it was thought the present vowel-points were too numerous, and too great an incumbrance to words, one would think, men might content themselves with reducing their number, and not throw them all away : but the great offence taken at them is, that they tie down to a certain determinate fense of the word, and that they cannot bear, but choose to be at liberty to fix what sense upon it they please. Great complaint is made of the ignorance of the Masoretes in pointing ; and an instance is given of it, in their pointing the word Cyrus, as to be read Corejh or Cbcrefb, though indeed they had no hand in it ; but admitting they had, and whoever had, there does not appear to be any just blame for it. It is true, it may be thought so, if the Greek pronunciation of the word must be the rule of punctuation: but the original name is not Greek, but Persic, and which, in that language signifies the fun. So Clesias1 and Plutarcb* fay : whether Cyrus had his name from the fun being seen at his feet, while steeping, which he three times endeavoured to catch with his hands, but it siipt from him-; and which, according to the Magi, portended a reign of thirty ' years, is not certain : now the word for the fun, in the Persic language, is Chor or Cor, the fame with Or, Job xxxi. 26. and it is now called CorJhadm : hence the god of the Persians is called Oromazes, and sometimes Oromasdes ", Hormusd, and Ormusd; this shews the propriety of the first point put to the word, a Cholem and not a Sburek ; and it may be observed, there is a similar word used for the sun in other eastern languages, and is pronounced Cberes, Job ix. 6. to which may be added, that the oriental versions, both Syriac and Arabic, read the word for Cyrus in all places in the Bible, with 0, e, and Sbin, according to the Bible-pronunciation. It was usual with the Persians, to give men names taken from the fun, as Carjhena, Esth. i. 14. and Orsines in Curtius" : as for the Greek pronunciation of the word, it is not unusual with the Greeks to pro nounce a Cholem by an Tpsilon, as Tzor, Lod, Beerot, by Tyrus,'Lydda, Berytus. In like manner may the punctuation of Darius be vindicated, which is Darjavescb, Dan. v. 31. in much agreement with which, this name is Aapn*«>t, Dareiaios vr\thCte/ias?, and is a, word confuting of four parts, and signifies a Vol. III. L 1 1 great, 1 In Persicis ad Calcem Herodot. Ed. Gronov. p. 687. k .In Artaxerxe, p. 1012. 1 Cicero de divinationc, 1. 1. Vid. Hiller. Onomastic. Tacr, p. 615, 61 7. m Vid. Bochart. Phaleg. 1. 1. c. 15. col. 61. n Plutarch, ut supra, p. 1026. et in Vita Alcxandri, p. 682. « Hist. 1. 10. c. 1. t In Persicis, ut supra, p. 641, 643.

4*2 PREFACE. great, vast, vehement fire q •, and Escb, fire, is well known to be the deity of the Persians, which was taken into the names of their kings and great person ages, as was usual in the eastern nations. So Va/hti, the wife of Abafuerus, or Va ejbti, a great fire, EJlb. i. 9. Zere/h, or Zebar-ejh, the wife of Hamany chap. v. 10. the brightness of fire ; and it appears in Ajlyages, a king of the Medes. Strabo fays ', some people called Darius, Darieces. Casaubon * thinks,, that Strabo wrote Aufiuen, Dariaoues, which is near the Hebrew punctuation. 1 have sent the following Dissertation into the world, not to revive the con troversy about the things treated on in it, nor with any expectation of putting an end to it ; no doubt, but some will be nibbling at it : and though I may be very unfit to engage further in this controversy, through weight of years upon me, and through the duties of my office, and other work upon my handsi some third person may perhaps arise, to defend what may be thought defensible in it. Should any truly learned gentleman do me the honour, to animadvert upon what I have written, I am sure of being treated with candor and dei cency ; but should I be attacked by sciolists, I expect nothing but petulance, supercilious airs, silly sneers, and opprobrious language ; and who will be righteoufly treated with neglect and contempt. To conclude ; if what 1 have written should merit the attention of men of learning, and cause them to think again, though ever so little -r and be a means cf directing such, who are enquiring after these things ; and of engaging such who may hereafter write on these subjects, to think more closely, to write with more care, caution, and candor, and with less virulence, haughtiness, and arrogance, than have appeared in some writings of late upon them, my end wilt be in a great measure answered. * Hillcr. ut supra, p. 635. . r Gcograph. 1. 16. p. 540. S Comment, in ibid. p. 21 7.^ CHAP.

[443 ] CHAP. I. Of the Antiquity of the Hebrew Language. . . i ACCORDING to the Targum of Onkelos, on Gen. ii. 7. when God breathed into man the breach of life, that became in man N^aa slVl a speaking spirit, or soul j or, as Jonathan paraphrases it, " the foul in the " body of man became a speaking spirit;" that is, man was endued with a natural faculty of speech ; so that he may be defined as well ab matione, a speaking animal, as a ratione, a reasonable one ; for speech is proper and pe culiar to men : when it is said, man is endued, as all men are, with a natural faculty of speaking, it is not be understood, as if he was endued with a faculty of speaking some particular language ; but with a power and capacity of speaking any language he hears, or is taught ; I fay hears, because unless a man has the fense of hearing, he cannot express any articulate sounds, or words : hence such persons as are totally deaf from their birth, are always dumb, and can never speak any language. Adam first heard the Lord God speaking, before he uttered a word himself, as it seems from the sacred history. The language Adam spake, and which, perhaps, he received not the whole instantaneously, but gradually ; in which he improved, as circumstances, and the necessity of things required, and which was continued in his posterity ; this very probably is that which remained to the confusion of the tongues at Babel, and the dispersion of the people from thence. But of this more hereafter. Some have fancied, that if children, as soon as born, were brought up in a solitary place, where they could not hear any language spoken, that at the usual time children begin to speak, they would speak the first and primitive language that was spoken in the world. Psammitichus, king of Egypt, made trial of this by putting two children, newly born, under the care of a shep herd j charging him, that not a word fliould be uttered in their presence ; and that they should be brought up in a cottage by themselves; and that goats should be had to them at proper times to suckle them ; and commanded him L 1 1 2 tO

444 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING to observe the first word spoken by them, when they left off their inarticulate sounds. Accordingly, at two years end, the shepherd opening the door of the cottage, both the children^ with their hands stretched out, cried bee, bee. This he took no notice of at first, but it being frequently repeated, he told his lord of it, who ordered the children to be brought to him •, and when Psammitichus heard them pronounce the word, he enquired what people used it, and upon enquiry found that the Phrygians called bread by that name; upon this it was allowed that the Phrygians were a more ancient people than the Egyptians, between whom there had been a long contest about antiquity. This is the account given by Herodotus * ; but the Scholiast of Aristophanes fays b, that it was at three year's end the king ordered a man to go in silently to them, when he heard them pronounce the above word. And so Suidas relates % that at the fame term of time, the king ordered one of his friends to go in silently, who heard and reported the fame ; and all of them observe, that the story is differ ently related by others ; as that the children were delivered to a nurse or nurses, who had their tongues cut out, that they might not speak before themj and so says Tertullian d : yet they all agree in the word spoken by the children. But, as Suidas observes, if the former account is true, as it seems most pro bable, that they were nourished by goats, and not women ; it is no wonder, that often hearing the bleating of the goats, be-ec, be-ec, they should imitate the sound, and say after them bee, which in the Phrygian language signified bread ; and so food is expressed in Hebrew by a word of a similar found J2 beg, Ezek. xxv. 7. Dan. i. 8. and chap. xi. 26. and might as well be urged in favour of the antiquity of that language ; but this proves nothing. It may seem needless to enquire what was the first language that was spoken, and indeed it must be so, if what some say is true, that it is not now in being, but was blended with other languages, and lost in the confusion at Babel; and also if the Oriental languages, the Hebrew, Samaritan, Cbaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic, are but one language ; which is more probable, as Ravius thinks ', and so may go under the general name of the Eastern language •, and it must be acknowledged, there is a very great similarity between them, as not only appears from Ravius, but from the Pentaglot Lexicon of Scbindler, and especially from the Harmonic Grammars and Lexicons of Hottinger and Castell; and yet I cannot but be of opinion, that the Hebrew language stands distinguished by its simplicity and dignity. The celebrated Albert Scbultens reckons • Euterpe five, 1. 2. c. 2, 3, b In Nubes, p. 1 50. c Voce BexxuriXnw. * Ad N»tioncj, I. 1. c. 8. « A Discourse of the Oriental Tongues, p. 38, 39.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, 8cc 445 reckons s the Hebrew, Cbaldee, Syriac, and Arabic languages, as sister-dialects of the primæval language; which 1 am content they should be accounted, allowing the Hebrew to be the pure dialect, which the others are a deviation from, and not so pure: though I should rather choose to call them daughters, than sisters of the Hebrew tongue ; since, as Jerom fays g, the Hebrew tongue is the mother of all languages, at least of the oriental ones. And these daugh ters are very helpful and assisting to her their mother in her declining state, and now reduced as to purity to the narrow limits of the sacred scriptures ; for I cannot prevail upon myself to agree that she should be stripped of her ma ternal title, dignity, and honour •, since she has the best claim to be the primi tive language, as will be seen hereafter. Dr Hunt h, though he is of the fame mind with Scbultens, that the above languages are sisters, having the fame parent, the Eastern language, yet seems to allow the Hebrew to be the elder sister. And Schultens himself asserts', that the primæval language, which was from the beginning of the world spoken by our first parents, and the antedeluvian patriarchs, and after the flood to the dispersion, is the fame which was afterwards called Hebrew, from Heber •, from whom it passed through Peleg and Abraham to the nation of the Hebrews, and so the mother language ; but • how it could be both mother and sister, is not easy to say. That there was but one language spoken by men, from Adam to the flood in the times of Noah, and from thence to the confusion and dispersion at Babels seems manifest from Gen. xi. 1. and the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech : and which is confirmed by the testimonies of several heathen writers, as by Sibylla in Josepbus*, by■ Abydenus1, and others; and which continued in that interval without any, or little variation : the longevity of the patriarchs much contributed to this, for Adam himself lived to the tenth century, and the flood was in the seventeenth. Methujelah, who died a little before the flood, lived upwards of two hundred years in the days of Adam, and six hundred years cotemporary with Noah, and who doubtless spoke the same language that Adam did ; yea, Lamecb, the father of Noah, was born fifty years or more before the death of Adam-, so that the language of Adam to the days of Noah is easily accounted for as the fame : if any variation, it must be in the offspring of those of the patriarchs who removed from them, and settled in different parts of s Prsefat. ad Comment, in Job. & in Prov. & Orat. de Ling. Arab. Franeker. 1729, & alters Lugd. Batav. 1732. * Comment in Soph. c. 3. sol. 100. A- h Orat. dc Antiq. &c. Ling. Arabic, p. 3, 49, 53, Oxon. 1738. & Orat.de usu Dialect. Orient, p. 2. Oxon. 1748' 1 Vid. Orationes supradictas, p. 6, 41. k Antiq. 1. 1. c. 4. $ g. 1 Apud Euscb. Evangel Præpar. 1. 9. r. 14. p. 416.

446 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING of the world, but of this there is no proof; the separation of Cain and his posterity on account of religion, does not appear to have produced any altera tion in language -, but the fame language was spoken by one as another, as is evident by the names of persons in the line of Cain, and of places inhabited by them to the time of the flood ; when, no doubt, the fame language was spoken by Noah, from whom his sons received it, and was continued unto the dispersion, which before that was but one ; and it is the opinion of the Persian priests or Magi that the time will come when the earth will be of one lan guage again ' ; and if so, it is probable it will be the primitive one, but what that was, is the thing to be enquired into. The Targums of Jonathan and Onkelos on the place, add, by way of explanation, " and they spoke in " the holy tongue, in which the world was created at the beginning," mean ing the Hebrew language, usually called the holy tongue ; and this is the fense of Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and the Jewish writers in general, and of many Chris tians. But most nations have put in a claim for the superior antiquity of their nation and language, the Europeans not excepted. Goropius Becanut pleaded for the Teutonic language, or that which is spoken in lower Germany and Brabant, to be the original one, and attempted to derive the Hebrew from it ; but it has been thought he was not serious in it, only did it to shew his acumen, and the luxuriancy of his fancy and imagination •, the eastern nations have a much be ter pretext to antiquity, and most, if not all of them, have put in their claim for it. There was a long contest between the Egyptians and Phrygians about this matter, as before observed. The Armenians have urged in their favour, that the ark rested on one of the mountains in their country, where Ncah and his posterity continued some time, and left their language there. The Arabs pretend, that their language was spoken by Adam before his fall, and then changed into Syriac, and was restored upon his repentance, but again degenerated, and was in danger of being lost, but was preserved by the elder Jcrbam, who escaped with Noab in the ark, and propagated it among his pos terity. The Chinese make great pretensions to the primitive language, and many things are urged in their favour, as the antiquity of their nation, their early acquaintance with arts and sciences, the singularity, simplicity, and modclly of their tongue*. A countryman of ours, in the last century, published a treatise, called, " An Historical Essay, endeavouring a probability that the " language of China is the primitive language, by J. Webb, Esq-, London, " 1669, 8vo." But as when many candidates put up for a place, they are generally j Plutarch, de Iside & Osir. p. 370. k Sec the Universal History, Vol. J. p. 346, .347.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 447 generally reduced to a few, and, if possible, to two ; the same method must be taken here ; for the contest lies between the Syriac, or Cbaldee, and the Hebrew. The Cbaldee, or Syriac language, has its patrons for the antiquity of it •, not enly Tbeodoretwhov/as by birth a Syrian, and Amyra the Maroniie, who are not to be wondered at, and others who have made it their favourite study ; but even the Arabic writers, the more judicious of them, give it not only the pre ference to their own language in point of antiquity, but even make it as early as Adam. Elmacinus fays ', there are historians (Arabic ones) who affirm, that Adam and his posterity spoke the Syriac language until the confusion of tongues ; and so Abulpbaragius saysm, " Of our Doctors, Basilius and Epbraim ** assert, that unto Eber the language of men was one, and that that was Syriac, ** and in which God spoke to Adam •" and it must be allowed, that there are many things plausibly said in favour of this language being primitive : it must be owned that the Cbaldean nation was a very ancient one, Jer. v. 15. and that the Syriac language was spoken very early, as by Laban ; but not earlier than the Hebrew, which was spoken at the same time by Jacob ■, the one called the heap of stones which was a witness between them Jegar-fabadutba in the Syro-Cbaldean language, and the other Galeed in Hebrew, which both signify the fame thing : what is commonly urged is as follows : 1. That the names of a man and woman are as much alike, if not more so, in the Cbaldee or Syriac language, as in the Hebrew ; a man is called Gabra and a woman Gabretba, which is equally as near as IJh and Ifiah produced to prove the antiquity of the Hebrew, Gen. ii. 23. But neither in the Cbaldee of Onkelos, nor in the Syriac version of that place, is it Galretha, but Ittetba in the one, and Anletba in the other. Theodoret n instances in the names Adam, Cain, Abel, Noah, as proper to the Syriac language ; but the derivation of them from the Hebrew tongue is more clear and manifest. 2. That it is rather agreeable to truth, that the primæval and common language before the confusion should remain in the country where the tower •was built and the confusion made, which was in Chaldea, and therefore the Cbaldee language must be that language ° ; but rather the contrary seems more natural, that the language, confounded and corrupted, should continue in the place where the confusion was made, and that those possessed of the pure and primitive language should depart from thence, as in fact they afterwards did. 3- U 1 Apud Hottingcr. Smegma, 1. 1. c. 8. p. 228. m Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 1. p. 16. * In Gen. quæst. 59. ° Myricæi Presat.ad Gram. Syio-Chald.

4+8 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING. 3. It is observed % that both Eber and Abraham were originally Chaldeans, and were brought up in Cbaldea, and so must speak the language of that country, which therefore must be prior to the Hebrew ; but it should be con sidered, that not only Eber but Abraham lived before the confusion and disper sion ; for if the confusion was in the latter end of Peleg's days \ Abraham, according to the Jewish chronology, must be forty-eight years of age ', and consequently possessed of the pure and primitive language, be it what it may ; and since it does not appear that either he or any of his posterity, as Isaac and Jacob, used the Chaldee language, but the Hebrew only, it seems to follow, that not the Chaldee, but the Hebrew, must be the language spoken by him, and so the primitive one. 4. It is said ', the Hebrews sprung from the Chaldeans, Judith v. 5. and so their language must be later than, theirs •, this is founded on Abraham's being of Ur of the Chaldees, from whence he came ; but it does not follow, that because he was born and lived in that country before the confusion of Babel, that therefore he spoke the language used in that country afterwards, since he was soon called out of it -, and it appears that he spoke not the Chaldee, or Syriac language, but the Hebrew, as before observed. 5. It is urged ', as highly probable, that the language the second Adam spake, the first Adam did ; now Christ and his apostles, and the people of the Jews in their times, spoke in the Syriac language, as appears from Matt, xxvii. 46. Mark v. 41. and chap. vii. 34. but according to some learned men, as Mafias', and Fabricius Boderianusw, this was not the ancient language of the Syrians and Chaldeans, but a new language, which had its first rife in the Eabylonijh captivity, and was a mixture of Chaldee and Hebrew -, though rather the mixture began'in the times of the Seleucidæ, the Syrian kings, who entered into and distressed Judea-, and therefore no argument can be taken from it in favour of the Syriac being the primitive language. I proceed now to propose the arguments that are, or may be used in favour of the Hebrew language being the primitive one ; and the First, may be taken from the alphabet of the tongue itself, which appears to be the first alphabet of all the Eastern languages. The Chaldee, or Syriac, Phœnician, or Samaritan, have their alphabets manifestly from it ; the names, the t Myricaci Prsefat ad Gram. Syro-Chald. « So R. Jose in Seder Olam Rabba c. 1. p. «. Abarbinel in Pentateuch, sol. 51 3. Juchafin, sol. 8. 1. Shalfhalet Hakabala, sol. j. 2 ' Seder Olam, ibid. * Myricxus, ut supra. ' Jbid. " 1'isefat adGramSjr. " Pnefat. ad Diction. Syro Chald.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 449 the number, and order of their letters, and even the form and ducts of them, seem to be taken from thence, and to be corrupt deviations from it ; and the Arabic language, though the order of its alphabet is somewhat disturbed, yet the names of most of the letters are plainly from the Hebrew ; and so indeed is the greater part of the names of letters in the Greek alphabet, from whence the Romans have taken theirs, and other European nations. Hermannus Hugo observes \ that it is agreed among all, that from the names of the Hebrew characters, the letters of all nations have their names ; now that language, whose alphabet appears to be the first, and to give rife to the alphabets of other tongues, bids fairest to be the first and primitive language : let it be ob served that the Hebrew alphabet, as it now is, is exactly the fame as it was in the days of David and Solomon, so early it can be traced ; for it is to be seen in the cxixth Psalm, and in others, and in the last chapter of the book of Proverbs, as well as in the book of Lamentations, written before, or at the beginning of the Babyloni/h captivity. Secondly, Another argument for the antiquity of the Hebrew language, may be formed from the perfection and purity of it. Abraham de Balmis fays of it", that " it is perfect in its letters and in its points. Our language, fays ** he, is the most perfect language, and in its writing the most perfect of all «' writings of all languages ; there is nothing wanting, and there is nothing *' redundant in it, aeccording to the laws and rules of things perfect and com- " pleat." It consists of words which most fully and effectually express the nature of the things signified by them; its roots, which are of a certain num ber, are, for the most part, of three letters only, and it has no exotic or strange words used in it. Whoever compares it with the Syriac or Chaldee, will easily perceive the difference as to the purity of them, and that the Chaldee is derived from the Hebrew, and is later than that •, for as Scaliger long ago observed ", -jbo Melech must be before KD^D Malca, the latter being derived from the former; and the same may be observed in a multitude of other in stances : now that which is perfect, pure, and underived, must be before that which is imperfect, corrupt, and derived; or, as the 'philosopher T expresses it, that which is vicious and corrupt must be later than that which is incorrupt. Vol. III. M m m - -'■ '- : • ■ Thirty, u De prima scribendi orig. c. 7. p. 65. * M'ikne'h Abraham, p. 39. lin. 13—15. x Epist. ad Thompson. Ep. 242. 1 Aristot. de Republica, 1, 3/ c. 1. \

450 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING Thirdly, The paronomasia which Adam used when he called his wife woman, may be thought to be a good proof of the antiquity of the Hebrew language ; since it will agree with that language only, she Jhall be called IJJjab, woman, because she was taken, meish, out os man, Gen. ii. 23. which paronomasia does not appear neither in the Syriac version, nor in the Cbaldee paraphrases of Onkelos and Jonathan, in which though Gabra is used of a man, yet never Gabretba of a woman, not even in places where men and women are spoken of together;, see the Syriac version and Cbaldee paraphrase of Exod. xxxv. 22» Deut. ii. 34. and many other places ; and the reason for it is plain, the word is expressive of power and might, and so not so proper to be used of the weaker sex. The Syriac, or Cbaldee language, will not admit of such an allusion as is in the text ; for on the one hand, as Gabra is used for a man, and not Gabretba for a woman, so on the other hand Itta, Ittetba, and Intetba, oc Antetha, are used for a woman, but never /// for a man. Now as we prove that the additions to the book of Daniel were written in Greek, from the paro nomasia in chap. xiii. 55, $g. so this seems to prove that the language Adam spoke in to his wife must be the Hebrew language, and consequently is the primitive one z. * Fourthly, The names of persons and places before the confusion at Babel, are in the Hebrew language, and are plainly derived from words in it ; as Adam from nDTN Adamah, earth, out of which he was formed, as is generally thought. Eve, from rvn Cbayab,. to live, because the mother of all living ; Cain, from rup to get, obtain, possess, being gotten from the Lord -, AbeU from bin Hebel, vanity, as his life was-, and Setb, from TW Sheth, put, ap pointed, because put, set, or appointed another seed in the room of Abel1 : and so all the names of the Antediluvian patriarchs down to Noab and his sons, and their names also, with all those before the confusion and dispersion at Babel; and likewise the names of places, as of the garden of Eden, from ]~iy delight, pleasure, it being a very pleasant place-, and the land of Nod from to to wander about ; Cain being an exile and wanderer in it : now these being the names of persons and places before the confusion of tongues, clearly shew what language was spoken before that time, namely, the Hebrew, which there fore seems to be the primitive one. Fifthly, It is notorious that the law and the prophets, or the books of the Old Testament, were written in the Hebrew tongue. The law was written in it * Yid. Bereshit Rabba, s. »8. sol. 15, a, • Vid. Sephcr Cosri, par. 1. c. 68.'

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 451 it on two tables of stone by the finger of God himself, and the sacred books were written in the fame language under divine inspiration. Now it is rea sonable to conclude, that the same language God wrote and inspired the pro phets to write in, he himself spoke in to Adam, and inspired him with it, or however gave him a faculty of speaking it, and which he did speak, and therefore may be concluded to be the first and primitive tongue. It now remains only to be enquired into, why this language is called Hebrew. It is supposed by some to have its name from Eber, the father of Peleg, in whose days the earth was divided, and from whom the Hebrews sprung and have their name b ; and which opinion has been most generally received. Others think it has its name from iny Abar, to pass over, from Abraham's passing over the river Euphrates into the land of Canaan ; this notion Alen Ezra makes mention of on Exod. xxi. 2. and has been espoused by Theodores c among the ancients, and indeed, according to Origen d, the word Hebrew signifies passer over, and so Jerom ; and by Scaliger' and Arias Mcntanus f, among the moderns, in which they have been followed by many. The matter is not of very great consequence, but 1 must confess I am most inclined to the former ; for as Austin observes l, before the confusion language was one, and common to all, and needed no name to distinguish it •, it was enough to call it the speech of" man, or the human language ; but when there was a confusion of tongues, and so more than one, it became necessary to distinguish them by names ; and what name more proper for the first language than that of Hebrew, from Eber, the last man in whose days it was alone and common to all ? For in his son's days the earth was divided into different nations, speaking different languages. Moreover, Sbem is said to be the father of all the children of Eber, Gen iv. 2r. or as Jonathan paraphrases it, of all the children of the Hebrews, or of Hebrew children : respect is had, as the learned Rivet observes h, to the blessing of Sbem, in opposition to the curse of Ham, Gen. ix. 25, 26. Now as Canaan sprung from Ham, and was the father of the Canaanites, so Eber sprung from 'Sbem, and was the father of the Hebrews ; and as afterwards they were called the children of Israel, and Israelites, from Israel, and the children of Judab, and Jews, from Judah ; so the children of Eber, or Hebrews, from him, and with equal propriety the language they spoke may be called Hebrew from him •, m m m 2 and b Suidas in voce EGfaio.. « Theodoret. in Gen. Qu. 60. * Comment, in Matth. p. 230. Ed. Huet. et in Num. HomiJ. sol, 19, 129. E. Reuchlin, de verbo mirific. I.3. c. 13* « Epist. ad Thompson, et ad Ubertum. ' Canaan, c. 9, 10. * De Civ.Dei, L 16. c.ix. h In Gen, Exercitat. 66. p. 319. /""

452 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING and their country likewise, as in Gen. xl. 15. for it does not seem probable that the land of Canaan should be called the land of the Hebrews, as it is there, so early as in the youth of Joseph, from a single family being passengers, tra vellers, and strangers in it, which are characters not very respectful and ho nourable, nor distinguishing; but rather from Eber, who, and his immediate offspring, might inhabit itE, it being that part assigned and divided to them at the division of the earth, Deut. xxxii. 8. out of which they might be driven by the Canaanites ; see Gen. xiii. 7. and chap. xiv. 1, 4. therefore it was an act of justice to dispossess them, and replace the children of Eber in it: and this may also serve to account for the names of places in pure Hebrew in old Canaan, by which they were called, when Joshua made a conquest of it, as well as in the time of Abraham, since it was the land of Eber before it was the land of Canaan ; if Melchizedek was Shew, as the Jews in general believe, he was king of a city in it, and Elam his first born had a right unto it, claimed by Chedarlaomer, a descendant of his, who attempted the rescue of it from the Canaanites, who had usurped a power over it, at least over some part of it ; and it is easy to observe that in the prophecy of Balaam, Numb. xxiv. 24. as the AJfyrians are called AJhur, from their original progenitor, so the Hebrews have the name of Eber from him ; and so the word Eber there is rendered Hebrews by the Septuagint and pther translators ; and as they, so their language, may be called from him. As to what is objected h, that Eber and Abraham were Chaldeans, and spoke the Chaldee language, this has been replied to already ; and whereas it is observed, that from the time of Eber to Abraham, no one is ever called an Hebrew from him ; it is not to be wondered at, since Eber lived to the time of Abraham, and even to the time of Jacob, according to both the Jewish and Scripture-chronology. The foundation of the other opinion, that the Hebrews and their language have their name from Abraham's passing over the Euphrates to the land of Canaan, is the Septuagint version of Gen. xiv. 13. which instead of Abraham the Hebrew, reads r« *«p*1», the transitor, or passer over ; though perhaps no more is meant by that version, than that he was, as Juvenal* expresses it, natus ad Euphratem, " born near the river Perat" for that is its name in Hebrew ; but whatever may be said for Abraham's being called an Hebrew from such a circumstance, it can scarcely be thought that a whole nation should be deno minated from such an action of a remote ancestor, when they themselves passed not over the fame river j besides there were multitudes who passed over the Euphrates « See Dr Lightfoot, vol. 2. p. 327. ■> Erpen. Orat. de Ling. Heb. f Seder Olam Rabba, c. 2. p, 4. k Satyr. 1, ver. 104.

THE HEBREW LANGUANGE, &c. 453 Euphrates besides Abraham, who yet never were so called ; as Canaan and his posterity must pass over it, when they removed from Shinar to the land after wards called by their name ; and indeed Erpenius ' is of opinion that the Canaanites were first called Hebrews, or pasters over, by the Chaldeans, because they passed over the river Jordan into the country which lay between that and the Mediterranean sea, afterwards called from them the land of Canaan; and that Abraham had not his name from his passage into it, but from his dwelling there, and learning their language ; hence his posterity were called Hebrews, and the Hebrew language the language of Canaan, Isai. xix. 18. and the same writer thinks, that if the- Hebrews were only those of the family of Jacob, they would not have been so well known to the Egyptians in the time of Joseph as they were : but to all this it may be replied, that the Canaanites were ever called Hebrews, does not appear from any writers, sacred or profane ; nor is it probable that the pure and primitive language, that is the Hebrew, as has been (hewn, should be left with and continued in the race of Canaan ; and still more improbable, that Abraham should learn it of them, who was possessed of the first and primitive language before the confusion of tongues, as has been observed, and before he came into the land of Canaan ; besides he seems to be called Abraham the Hebrew, Gen. xiv. 13. to distinguish him from Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner, who were Canaanites, confederates with him ; nor is the Hebrew language called the language of Canaan, because first spoken by the Canaanites, but because the people of Israel spoke it, who for a long time had inhabited the land" which bore that name; nor need it seem strange, that the name of Hebrew should be so well known in Potipbar's family, and to the Egyptians in Joseph's time, when he himself told them, no doubt, that he was an Hebrew, as he told the chief butler, .Gen. xxxix. 17. and xli. 12. and espe cially if what has been before observed concerning the land of the Hebrews, can be established, Gen. xl. 15. as being inhabited by Eber and his sons, before the Canaanites possessed it. There are other etymologies of the name of the Hebrews and their language, which scarce deserve any notice ; as that they have their name from Abra ham ; so Artapanus n, an heathen writer, fays the Jews are called Hebrews from Abraham, but there are but few that have embraced this notion ; others fay, they are so called from Eber-hanaar, which signifies beyond, or the other side of the river, that is, of the Euphrates, where Abraham and his father 7"erab dwelt 1 Ut supra. « Vid. Gloss, in T. Bab. Menachot, sol. 109. a. & Abarbinel. in Isai. xix. 18. » Apud Euseb. Evangel. Præpar. 1. 9. c. t8.

454 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING dwelt, and from whence Abraham is said to be taken ; but there were many besides them, even whole nations who dwelt beyond that river, who were never called Hebrews, nor can any good reason be given, why these and their posterity and their language should be called Hebrew from thence, thouah many, both Jews and Christians, have imbibed this notion • : Ensebius T, though he thinks the Hebrews had their name from Eber, yet as the word signifies a passer over, not from one country to the other, but from the vanity of the things of this present world, to the study of divine things, and in which they rested not, but passed on in search of more recondite knowledge : perhaps, after all, the true original of the name may be taken from the place of Abraham's birth, who is first called n:iyn the Hebrew, or rather the Ibrite, Gen. xiv. 13. the place of his birth was Ur of the Chaldees, as Aben Ezra rightly judges % since it is expressly said to be the land of his brother Haran's nativity, and therefore most probably his also ; now Ur of the Chaldees is called NTJ'T N"l2y Ibra Zeira' and so Abraham might have this epithet from the place of his nativity, the Ibrite, to distinguish him, as before observed, from the Amorites, among whom he then dwelt, and whence his posterity frequently afterwards have the name of onary, or Ibrites, Gen. xxxix. 14, 17. and chap. xl. 15. and chap, xliii. 32. One thing more I would just observe, that whether the Hebrews and their language are so called either from Eber, the father of Peleg, or from Abar, to pass over, or from Eber, beyond, or the other side of the river, or from Ibra, the native place of Abraham ; though custom has prevailed to write the word with an aspiration, Hebrew and Hebrews, it should be written without one, Ebrew and Ebrews, as words beginning with y usually are, as Amminadab, Immanuel, &c. • Vid. Buxtorf. de Ling. Heb. Conservat. s. 32, 33. r Evangel. Pnepar. 1. 9. c. 6. p. 520. •i Comment, in Gen. xi. 28. ' T. Bab. Bava Bathra, sol. 91.1. & Gloss, in Ib. CHAP.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 455 CHAP. II. Concerning the Antiquity of the Hebrew Letters. IT has been a controversy among learned men, for a century or two past, whether the modern letters used by the Jews, and in which their sacred books are now extant, are the fame in which the law and the prophets were originally written.. This is denied by some, and it has been affirmed, that the original letters of the Hebrews, and in which the books of the Old Testament before the times of Ezra were written, were what are called Samaritan ; and that Ezra, after the return of the Jews from the captivity m-Babylon, changed these letters for the Merubbab, . or square ones since in use-, and in them wrote all the sacred books then in being, and gave the ancient letters to the Samari tans -, and this notion has been embraced upon the testimonies of Eusebius and Jerom j the foundation of which appears to be a tradition of the Jews, and that far from being generally received by them. The former of these, in his chronicle at A. M. 4740, writes, that " it is affirmed, that Ezra, by the " strength of his memory, compiled or put together the divine scriptures, and " that they (the Jews) might not be mixed wich the Samaritans, changed the Jew- " isti letters :" Now this passage of Eusebius, as Marckius observes r, is not to be found in Scaliger's editions of his Chronicle, neither in the original Greek, nor in the Latin version ; and the illustrious Spanbeim' has fully proved, that it-is spurious, and added to the text by some modern hand ; and admitting it to be genuine, it smells rank of a Jewish tale, particularly that Ezra compiled the scriptures memoriter ; and it is no difficult thing to account for it, from whence Eusebius had it, if he had it at all ; for since he was Bishop of Cæsarea, where both Jews and Samaritans lived, he might receive this notion from the one or from the other ; from the Samaritans, as Buxtorf conjectures ', who were con_tinually boasting of their language and letters, in which, they fay, the law was given, a copy of which they pretend to have, written by Pbinebas the son of' Eleazar; or rather he might have this account from the Jews that resided there. * Exercitat. in Matt, v j8. s. 6. p.67. * ApudCarpzov. Critic, par. 1. p. 240. « De Literis Heb. s. 61.

456 , A DISSERTATION CONCERNING there. Jerom, who lived a little after Eusebius, and who might take what he writes from him, or rather from some of the Jewish Rabbins he had for his preceptors and instructors, for he had four of them at different times, is more confident, and fays % " Certumaue est, &c. It is certain that Ezra the scribe, »' and teacher of the law, after Jerusalem was taken and the temple rebuilt " under Zerobabel, found other letters, which we now use, when to that time " the characters of the Samaritans and Hebrews were the fame ;" but how could Jerom be certain of this, who lived near a thousand years after the sup posed fact ? Do Ezra or Nehemiab give the least hint of such a change of let ters, though they relate things of much less consequence than this ? Or do any of the other prophets suggest any thing of this kind ? Not the least syllable. Do Josepbus or Pbilo the Jew say any thing about it ? Not one word, but the reverse, as will be seen hereafter ; from whence and from whom then could Jerom be assured of it ? From no other than his Jews and their tradi tions •, from whom it is certain he received many things, as his treatise called Quœstiones feu Traditiones Hebraic*, on various parts of scripture shew •, which are all, or most of them, to be found in the Talmud, and other writings of the Jews, and particularly this. The Jerusalem Talmud was written about the year 230, long enough before Jerom, for him to have knowledge of it at least from his instructors. The Babylonian Talmud was compiling in his time, though not finished before the year 500 ; but the traditions it consists of were well known before, being handed down from one to another, and with which Jerom's Jews could furnish him, and did. But what puts this matter out of all question, is a fragment of Origen's, published by Montsaucon™, who also speaks of letters used by Ezra after the captivity, different from the more ancient ones, and plainly declares from whom he had it, and opens to us the true source of this notion : " In some accurate copies, he fays, it (the word " Jebovab) is written in ancient Hebrew letters, but not in those now in use, «« ip«r. yap, for they say, (that is,' the Jews) that Ezra used others after the «« captivity :" so that it clearly appears to be a Jewish tradition j and it is not improbable, that Jerom had what he calls certain, from this passage of Origen, as well as from Eusebius, supposing the passage in him to be genuine; and in which he might be confirmed by his Rabbins ; so that all that has been said about this matter comes from the fame fountain, a Jewish tradition. And the tradition respecting it in the Jerusalem Talmud" is as follows : " It is a tra dition -, 0 Pratfat. in lib. Reg. Tom. 3. sol. 5. L. w Pneliminar. in Hexapla Origcn. p. 86. ■ T, Hieros. Mcgillah, sol. 71. a, 3.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 457 " dition ; R. Jose says, Ezra was fit to have the law given by his hand, but " that the age of Moses prevented it; yet though it was not given by his hand, " the writing and the language were; the writing was written in the Syriac " tongue, and interpreted in the Syriac tongue, Ezra iv. 7. and they could " not read the writing, Dan, v. 8. from hence it is learnt, that it was given " on the fame day. R. Nathan fays, The law was given in breaking, (in rude " rough, and broken letters, supposed to be meant of the Samaritan) and " agrees with R. Jose ; but Rabbi (that is, Judab Hakkode/h) fays the law " was given in the Assyrian character (the square letter) and when they finned, " it was turned into breaking, (into a rough, and broken character) and when rt they were worthy, in the days of Ezra, it was turned to them again in the " Assyrian character, according to Zecb. ix. 12. It is a tradition; R. Simeon " hen Eleazer fays, on the account of R. Eleazer ben Parta, who also fays, on " the account of Eliezer Hammodai, the Law was written in the Asj'yrian cha- " raster." As it stands in the Babylonian Talmud1 , it is thus expressed : " Mar " Zutra, or as others, Mar Ukba, fays, at first the law was given to Israel in " the writing beyond the river, (or the Samaritan) and the holy tongue ; and " again it was given to them, in the days of Ezra, in the Assyrian writing, " and Syriac tongue ; they chose for the Israelites the Assyrian writing and the *' holy tongue, and left to the ideots the writing beyond the river and the " Syriac tongue. Who are the ideots ? R. Cbasda fays, the Cutbites (that is, " the Samaritans :) what is the writing beyond the river ? R. Cbasda fays, the " Libonœan writing •" which the Gloss explains of great letters, such as are written in amulets and on door-posts. Now though this account is far from being clear and plain, as to what is the fense of these Rabbins ; yet admit it to be the fense of R. Jose, and of Mar Zutra or Ukba, that the law was written in Samaritan characters -, to which if you add R. Nathan, as agreeing with them, there are but three on that side of the question ; whereas there are four who affirm it to be written in the Assyrian, or square character, namely, R. Judab the saint, R. Simeon, and the two Eleazers ; and as for R. Judah, he was of so much account with the Jews, as to weigh down all others ; the de cision of any matter in debate was, for the most part, according to him -, and it is to the latter sentiment that the Jews now universally agree. There is but one, R. Joseph Albo, on the other side of the question, unless Nachmanides can be thought to be which is yet doubtful1. Now this seems to be the whole and sole foundation of the above notion, which has prevailed so long Vol. III. N n n among y T. Bab. Sanhedrim, sol. ai. 2. and 22. 1. and Zebachim, sol. 62. 1. and Gloss, in ibid, ■ Vid. Buxtorf. de litcris Heb. s. 20. 52—54.

458 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING among Christian writers. I cannot but remark the foible of some learned men, that if any thing against a received opinion is produced from the Talmud, and other Jewish writings, it is at once condemned as a Jewish dotage, dream, and fable ; but if it accords with a favourite hypothesis, how greedily is it catched at ? How tenaciously is it held ? It is amazing that so many learned men should give into the change of the Jewish letters by Ezra. It is not likely that the law should be given to the Israelites, and the sacred books be written in Samaritan letters, that is, in the old Phœnician characters, which belonged to the race of Canaan •, and if they were, that the people of the Jews could be prevailed upon to part with them, in which their holy books were written •, and if they were written in them, as then, besides the Pentateuch, the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, the Psalms of David, and books of Solomon, and the Prophets before the captivity, must be written in the fame character j and if so, it is strange that not one copy of either of these should be heard of, seen, or known : nor is it probable that the books of the Old Testament should be written in two different characters ; those before the cap tivity in Samaritan letters, and those after it in the square letters, as they must be according to this hypothesis. It is not to be believed, that Ezra would attempt such a change of himself without an order from God, which no where appears, when such a charge against innovations stands in Deut. iv. 2. nor does it seem possible that he should be able effectually to do it ; it could never be in his power to call in all the copies of the sacred books, which the Israel ites had carried into the several parts of the world, through their captivities ; nor is it probable that the Samaritans, if possessed of the square character, which is grand and majestic, should ever be prevailed upon to part with it, for a character so ugly, so ill shaped and deformed as the Samaritan is ; nor was it in the power of Ezra to oblige them to it: to which may be added, that surely it cannot be thought that those ugly and ill-shaped letters were formed by the finger of God, and the law written by him in them, the con trary to which is now universally affirmed by the Jews ; and yet with what con fidence has this been asserted, and those of a different sentiment treated with most abusive language, unbecoming men of learning, by such as Scaligery Drusius, and Vqffius, as if they were men but half learned, half divines, mere fools, sceptics, &c. but of late I observe this confidence abates, and learned men begin to think that it is far from being a determined point, what were the original characters of the Hebrews. The learned authors of the Universal His- 1 m

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 459 tory ' have taken the side of those who are against the Samaritan characters, and are for the square letters being the original Hebrew, and have given their reasons for it •, and I hope to make it appear, at least probable, that the Jews always had and retained their letters and characters, and also the Samaritans theirs ; and that there has been no commutation of letters between them : and to begin With the Jews; though we cannot come to any certainty of their ancient letters.and characters, yet there is a probability that they were the fame in which their sacred writings are now extant ; and this is all I shall attempt to shew. It has been observed, that the Hebrew alphabet is the first of the oriental languages, from whence the rest have received theirs •, but in name only, not in signification ; for the signification of the names of the letters in the alpha bet only correspond with the figures of the square letter •, indeed though the Hebrew alphabet is observed in order no less than twenty times in the Old Testament, Psalms xxv, xxxvii, cxi, cxii, cxix, eight times, cxiv. Prov. xxxi. Lamentations six times, yet not the name of one letter is given ; but in the Septuagint version of the Lamentations, made three hundred years before Christ, the names of all of them are given just as they now are. The Greeks had the names of their letters very early, not only before the writing of the New Tes tament, in which mention is made of some of them, as of Iota, Alpha, and Omega : and in Josephus of Tbeta", and Tau ; but Herodotus'", who wrote his history between four and five hundred years before the birth of Christ, ob serves, that the Persian names end in a letter which in the Doric dialect is called San, and in the Ionic dialect Sigma. Plato x, as early, makes mention of the names of several of the letters of the Greek alphabet ; and Homer, some hun dreds of years before them, has the names of the whole Greek alphabet ; for his works, both his Iliad and his Odyjfey, the several books of them, have their titles from thence, and are called by their names ; unless it should be thought, as it is by some, that the titles are added by some ancient Gram marians ; which names are chiefly taken from an Eastern alphabet ; and as the Greeks are generally supposed to have their letters, at least most of them, from the Phœnicians, they doubtless had the names of them along with them ; and Diodorus Siculus r expressly fays, that as Cadmus brought the letters from Phœ nicia into Greece, so he gave to every one their names, as well as formed their, n n n 2 characters ; • Vol. xvii. p. 302, 304. ■ Antiq. l.i. c. 6. w Clio sive, 1. 1. c. 139. x InCratylo, p. 271, 280, 284, 889, 892, 297, Ed. Ficin. 1 Bibliothec. lib. 3. p, «oo«

46o A DISSERTATION CONCERNING characters •, and as the Phœnician, or old Samaritan alphabet, consisted of letters of the fame name, though of a different character from the Hebrew, it may reasonably be supposed that the names are derived from thence, as the language is but a dialect of the Hebrew, with a little variation and deflexion from it ; so that the Hebrews had these names originally ; and it cannot be thought otherwise but that when their letters were first invented, and marks made for them, names were given unto them ; and Capellus * himself is quite clear and express in this matter : " Before the age of Cadmus the Phœnician, " he fays, that is 1450 years before the birth of Christ, the Hebrew letters had " their own names, and indeed the fame with those by which they are now " called, as is plain by comparing the Greek alphabet with the Hebrew ■" and a little after he fays, the fame names of Hebrew letters are as they were three thousand years ago : now the names of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, though adopted by others, only correspond in their signification with the figure of the square letters now in use : thus according to various writers b, K Alepb the first letter, signifies an ox, and its figure resembles the head and horns of one, and as that, gives the lead to the rest ; 2. Beth, an house, and it represents one, its foundation,'Wall, and roof, which with the Hebrews was flat •, j Ghnel, a camel, and it has the figure of its long neck and bunch on its back ; *t Daletb, a door, and it describes the lintel and post of one ; n what it signifies and represents is not easy to say : 1 Vau, an hook, and it resembles one ; \ Zajin signifies armour, and has the figure of a dart, spear, or club ; n Cheth a beast, and its position is like that of a quadruped ; D Teth, folding or invol ving, as is is the form of it ; » Jed, an hand, the small part of it, the finger, it represents ; D Caph, the hollow of the hand, or a curvature, as its figure is ; b Lamed, a goad, and it is like one ; d Mem, a spot as is impressed on the hollow of the hand •, 3 Nun, a son, child, or infant, and it is thought to re semble one sitting •, D Samech, a support, the pedestal of a column, to which it is not unlike ; y Ain, an eye, and it is the figure of one open ; s Pe, a a mouth, an open one -, s Tzadde, a fork, and such is its figure ; p Koph, a revolution, a semicircle, with a descending line, or a monkey, having the tail of one -, *i Rest), the head, the hinder part of one it resembles ; w Scbin, a tooth, and is the figure of three teeth ; n Thau, a mark, sign, or border, being * Arcanum punstat. Revetat. 1. 1. c. 12. ' b Vid. Schindler. Lexicon Pentaglott. Herman. Hugonem de prima Scribend. Orig. c. 7. p. 69, &c. Wasmuth. Vindiciae Heb. par. 1. c. 1. p. 58, 86. Marckii Exercitat. ad Matt. v. 18. Bedford's Chronology, p. 497» and Dr Gregory Sharpe's Origin of Languages, p. 69, Ac.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 461 being the boundary of the alphabet. Now the figures of the letters of the alphabet, neither in the Samaritan characters, nor in any other but the square, will answer to the signification of these names. As the Hebrew language was the first and primitive language, and was spoken by Adam, as has been fliewn, it is probable the letters were first invented by him, as some have thought c j since as man is not only a speaking, but a social animal, it can hardly be imagined that Adam should live so many years, and not consider the advantage of letters to his posterity, and attempt to form such for their use ; nor could arts and sciences, which no doubt were found out in his time, be well cultivated without the use of letters. It is certain some of the arts and sciences were in use before the flood, Gen. iv. 21. and very pro bably astronomy, as it must be, if there is any truth in the history of the pillars erected by the posterity of Setb, which must make writing necessary, as Huygens* observes : besides, it is not reasonable to suppose that Adam himself should be without the knowledge of the sciences, since the very first sight of the heavenly luminaries would lead him into a contemplation of them, and to make future observations upon them ; and by observing their motions, ap pearance, and disappearance, their revolutions, and the distinctions they made of days, months, and years, and of the seasons, of summer and winter •, he must obtain by degrees a considerable knowledge of this science. Some have thought' that the knowledge of all things natural, both terrestrial, as plants, &c. and celestial, was of God infused into him, and implanted in his nature; and in whatsoever way he had it, it may be reasonably concluded that he would communicate it to his posterity,' which seems to require the use of letters j and Scaliger f made no doubt of it that the art of printing was known by him ; though that is not very probable, yet he might have the knowledge of letters, and of the use of them \ indeed the Indian Brachmans g, and the ancient Druidsh and Pythagoras1 taught their doctrines without the use of letters ; but it was not through want of them, nor through mere neglect of them, but be cause they had some peculiar ends to answer thereby : now if letters were in vented by Adam, it seems most reasonable that as his language, so his letters were • Suidas invoce A&xft. Hermannus Hugo, ut supra c. 3. p. 47. Bibliander & alii in ibid. The Jews ascribe several writings to Adam, Wolfii Biblioth. Heb. p. 1 10, 111. In the Tal mud they speak of the book of the first Adam, T. Bab. Bava Metzia, sol. 85. 2. and of a book the angel Raziel gave him, which bears the name of that angel, Zohar in Gen. sol. 43. 3. Some writers make mention of a book composed by Abel the son of Adam. See Bangi Coelum Orient, p. 103, 123. * Cosmotheoros. sot. 10. p. 56. e Vid Lydiat. desens. trail, de ann. form. c. 8. p. 26. f Apud Lydiat ibid. p. 125. * Alex, ab Alex. Genial, dier. 1, 2. c. 30. h Cæsar. Comment. 1. 6. c. 13. J Alex, ab Alex, ut supra.

4*2 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING were continued to the times of Noab, and were communicated in the times ot' Sbcm through the families of Eber and Abraham to the people of Israel; and though the precise character cannot be determined, it is most probable, it was the square character, as being the most expressive, perfect, and elegant. The Jewish writers are quite clear in this matter, that not only the letters, but even the points and accents as they now are, were known to Adam, being taught him of God j as the author of the book of Cosrik, and his commentator R. Judab Muscatui '. If the pillars set up by the sons of Setb could be depended on as genuine, there would be proof not only of the arts and sciences, particularly astronomy, being known and taught, but of letters, and their use in their days -, and to Setb himself the invention of letters has been ascribed m; Josepbus says", the pillars erected by his posterity continued to his time : but it is not likely that these pillars, the one of brick, the other of stone, should survive the flood ; and the account he has given of the place where they stood, is very dark and intricate ; he calls it the land of Syriad, but whether he means Syria, or a place in the land of Egypt, or Seiratb, near Gilgdl, Judg. iii. 26. each of which is guested at°, cannot be determined ■, nor does he give us the least hint what kind of characters were upon them ; and indeed had the pillars been really in being, it can scarcely be thought that the characters could be legible, or that even conjectures could be made of what they were. In Syria and Mesopotamia are said to be some ancient books of the Zabians, which they pretend to be the patriarch Setb's p ; and the rfrabic writers fay q, that Setb was the inventor of writing letters, and (hewed them in the Hebrew tongue. If the account r that is given of Cainan, the grandson of Setb, could be credited, it would not only prove the use of letters in those early times, but that the Hebrew letters were then used -, the account is what is said to be sent by Alexander the Great, when in India, to his master Aristotle, and is as follows : " When I came to «* such a place in India, says he, the natives told me, that they had with them »* the sepulchre of an ancient king that ruled over all the world, whose name •* was Cainan, the son of Enos, who foreseeing that God would bring a flood " upon the earth, wrote his prophecy of it on tables of stone, and they are " here: the writing is Hebrew writing." Enoch, k Cosri, par. 4. s. 25. ' Comment, in ibid. sol. 229. 1. m Vid. Suidam in voce X»8. n Antiq. 1. 1. c. 2. • Vid Marsliam. Canon, fecul. 1. p. 3. Frideaux. Praefat. ad Marmor. Arundel. & Vodium de actate mundi. c 10 p. 37. f Praefat. Hyde ad Hist. Relig. Pers. 9 Elmacinus apud Hottkiger. Smegma, p. 228. ' Juchasin. sol. 3. a. soBenGorion, 1. 2. c. 18. p. 131.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 463 En:cb, the seventh from Adam, delivered out the prophecy referred to by the apostle Jude 14, 15. but whether it was written is not certain ; it is not improbable it might be: the Jews make mention of a writing of his in their ancient book of Zokar', and in the Targum of "Jonathan on Gen. v. 24. he is called the great scribe; and several of the Christian fathers speak of a book of his as authentic, as Tertullian ' and others ; and the Arabic writers" tell us of pyramids and pillars erected by him, on which he engraved the arts and the in struments of them ; and some writers v ascribe the invention of letters and writing of books to him ; but what characters he wrote and engraved in are not said : others x have pretended to give the alphabets of Adam, Seth, Enoch, and Noah ; but the characters they give neither agree with the Hebrew nor with the Samaritan, and are mere figments, and are no more to be depended on than in what the prophecy of Ham the son of Noah was written, out of which Pherecydes the Syrian, is said to take his allegories y. If Abraham the ancestor of the Jewish nation was the inventor of letters, as some fay, the Hebrew characters might bid fair to be the first; nay, Suidas fays * they were the sacred letters he invented ; and to him is sometimes ascribed the cabalistic book of the Jews called Jetzirah \ Some of the Jewish Rabbins fay, that the grains of manna which fell from Heaven about the tents of the Israelites in the wilderness were figured with the character of the Hebrew letter 1 Vau very perfectly expressed ; and that is the principal reason why the wondering Israelites said one to another Klil |!3 Man hu, which according to them is to fay, what means this Vau? The reason of which figure they suppose to be, because the manna was only to be gathered on the fix days of the week, which that letter numerically signifies: this is to be treated as a mere fable, nor have I met with it in any writer but GaffareMus b; all the advantage I make of it is this, that those Rabbins who relate this, be lieved that the square letters were in use before the giving of the law, for so early was the original descent of the manna; and indeed if the Israelites did not understand letters before the giving of the law, of what use could the writing of it be unto them ? And to what purpose was it written and brought unto them. It ' In Gen. sol. 53. 2. and 74. 1. « De Cultu fœmin. 1. 1. c. 3. vid. Bang! Cœlum Orient. Exercitat. 1. 24. Q11.5. u Abulpharag. Hist, dynast, dyn. 1. p. 9. w Vid. Hugo, de Orig. Scribendi, c. 3. p. 41. ShaHhalet Hakabala, sol. 94. 2. x Vid. Bangi ut supra, Exercitat. 2. Qu. 1. p. 100, 101, 104, 105. 7 Vid. Clem. Alex. Stromat. 1. 6. p. 642. z In voce AGfaap. Vid. Herman. Hugo, ut supra, p. 41. » Cosri, par. 4. c. 27. Juchasin, sol, 52. 2. 5 Unheard of Curiosities, par. 4. c. 12. p. 352, ^

464 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING It is not only the opinion of some Christian writers' that the Hebrews re ceived their letters first from Moses through the giving of the law unto rhem, but even Eupoiemits, an heathen writer, as quoted both by Clement of Alexandria d, and Eusebius'- affirms that Moses first delivered letters to the Jews, which is received by many ' ■, however this be, it is certain, the law was written in let ters engraved by God himself, and given to Moses for the Israelites ; and it is most probable, as has been already observed, that those letters were not. the ill-shaped letters of the Samaritans, the fame with those of the old Phœnician* or Canaanites, but the noble, majestic square letters, in which the books of the law and prophets are now extant. Philo the Jew fays B, the law was anciently written in the Chaldee language, that is, in the Hebrew language, properly so called ; for, as Jerom h observes, Philo thought the Hebrew and Chaldee were the fame language ; and nothing is more common with the Jews l, than to fay the writing in which the law was given, is the Assyrian language and writing, by which they mean the modern Hebreiv letters, in distinction from the Samaritan* as appears by what has been quoted out of the Talmud, and which they ex pressly fay k is what they now write in. This they call the Assyrian tongue and writing, from the word Asher, which signifies happy and blessed, being happy . and blessed above all languages ; or because they had it from their ancestor Abraham, who came out of Assyria ; 'and as they carried it into Assyria, when led captive thither, so it came out of Assyria with them, when they came from thence ' ; and that the tables of the law were written in it, is generally agreed on by them. R. Jacob fays m, the whole world acknowledge that the tables and book of the law, which were in the ark, were written in the Assyrian cha racter, by which they mean the square character ; that is, the whole Jewish naflon, a few only excepted, not more than two or three ". If the mediums of proof made use of by the Jews could be admitted as valid, as they cannot, it would put the matter out of all doubt, that the square letters were as early as the law: they observe, that the hooks of the pillars in Exod. xxvii. 10. are called c Vid. Aug. deCiv. Del, 1. 18. 'C. 39. Isidor. Origin. 1. 1. c. 3. &. chronic, p. 263. 11 Stromat. 1. 1. p. 343. e Præpar. Evangel. 1. 9. c. 26. f So Clemens Roman. Cornelius Agrippa, Crinitus, Textor, Gyraldus apud Herman. Hugo.' ut supra. MS. ire Vatican. Biblioth. apud Wafer, de Nurnis Heb. 1.2. c. 3. vid. Owen. Theologoumena, 1. 4. Digress. 1. p. 301. s DevitaMosts, 1. 1. p. 657, 658. h Comment, in Dan. i. 4. l Balmesii mikneh Abraham, p. 2. lin, 26. " Gloss, in T. Bab. Megillah, sol. 8 2. Salshalet Hakabala, sol 74- 2. 1 T. Bab. Sanhedrim, sol. 21. 1. & Balmes. ut supra, lin. 24, 25. & p. 6. lin. 13, 141 ■ In En Israel Megillah, c. 1. foL 415. 1. » VidBuxtorf. de lit. Heb. s. *o, 23. /^

; THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 465 called Vaus, and as the pillars were not changed, so the Vaus were not changed ; from whence they conclude, the Vaus were made like hooks, and that in the days of Muses the Vaus were like those now in use0 ; and what is true of one letter is true of the rest ; and that their letters were never changed, and which they also conclude from Estb. viii. 9. They have likewise a notion that the letters of the Law were perforated, so that the figures of the letters could be seen on both sides, wherefore they observe D Mem claufum and d Samecb, which were in the tables, stood miraculously p ; for they being near or like to a circle or an O, they had nothing to adhere to, or subsist by, but must fall, unless supported by a miracle. Now though these notions cannot be allowed of, they serve to sbew the sense of the Jews, that the square letters were then in being, since these observations will not agree with the said letters in the Samaritan alphabet ; nay, they fay that the forms of letters, vowels and ac cents were written by God on the tables, as we now have them °. It was usual in ancient time to inscribe things on rocks and mountains, in order to perpetuate them to posterity, to which Job may allude, chap. xix. 24. Thus Semiramis engraved her image and an hundred Ihield-bearers by her at the bottom of a rock, and wrote upon the rock in Syriac letters, as Diodorus Siculus relates ' ; so the Arabians, Phœnicians, and Egyptians, and others, before the use of paper, engraved their sentiments on rocks and stones \ Tbemiftocles cut letters upon stones which the hnians, coming the day after to Artemifium, read, as Herodotus reports ' ; and it was usual with the Danes to write the acts and deeds of their ancestors in verse, and engrave them in their own language on rocks and stones \ In a journal made about forty years ago, from grand ■Cairo to mount Sinai, a translation of which is published by Dr Clayton, late bishop of Clogber, it is related w, that those who made it came to some hills near mount Sinai, called the written mountains -, on which with others they passed for an hour together, were engraved ancient unknown characters, cut into the hard marble rock, twelve or fourteen feet distant from the ground •, and though they had several in company acquainted with the Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, &c. none of them had any knowledge of those characters. The bishop thought it probable that these were the ancient Hebrew characters, which the Israelites having learned to write after the giving of the law on mount Vol. III. Ooo Sinai, • TVHieros. Megrllah, sol. 71; 3. T. Bab. Sanhedrim, sol. 22. 1. & Gloss, in ibid. ' T. Bab. Sabbat, sol. 104. 1 Tiphcret Israel in Broughton's works, p. ,506, 670, 684, 703. * Biblioth. 1. s. p. 100, 101. • Plin. 1. 6. c. 28. vid. Huet. Demonstrat. Evangel, c. 2. s. 15. « Urania five, 1. 8. c.22. vide Melpomene sive 1. 4. c. 87. u Salmuth. in Pancirol. par. 2. p. 256. * Journal, /*C p. 45, 46. Ed. 2.

466 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING Sinai, diverted themselves with practising it during their forty years abode in the wilderness j and he was of opinion that the ancient Hebrew charac ters might be recovered by them j wherefore he proposed to the Society of Antiquarians in London, to send a proper person thither for that end, and offered to bear a proportion in the expence of it •, and could those characters be re covered, and an alphabet formed out of them, it would doubtless determine what was the ancient figure of the Hebrew letters. About an hundred years before the above journal was begun, Petrus a Valle and Thomas a Novarit transcribed several of them, which the former had in his possession, and shewed them to some Jews, to whom some of the letters seemed to be like to those of the Hebrew now in use, others like the Samaritan, and others agreed with neither j but the sense of them none could understand p. Now these letters were no doubt of one and the fame alphabet, form, and figure ori ginally, and if many of them are of the square form, or like those Hebrew letters now in use, and those the greater part of them, as it should seem by their being mentioned first j I should think they were all when first written of the same form ; and that such of them as are now broken and disjointed, are those said to be like to the Samaritan letters, which are rough and deformed ; hence the Jews call them yjm, a fracture, broken, and uneven ; and such that agreed with neither, those that are greatly effaced by time •, and I am the more strengthened in this supposition by the relation of Co/mas Ægyptius, who travelled into those parts in the sixth century, more than twelve hundred years ago ; who testifies, that he himself saw many stones in the wilderness engraved by the Hebrews in Hebrew letters, in memory of their journey in it'; his ac count, as Montfaucon ' relates it, is, that in the wilderness of Sinai, and in all the mansions of the Hebrews, you may see stones fallen from the mountains, all engraved with Hebrew letters, as, fays he, 1 testify, who travelled that way. Now I imagine that this man in that age could have no other notion of Hebrew letters than of those then in use with the Jews ; and he adds, " Some Jews who " read these inscriptions, told us, they signified so and so—such a journey— «« out of such a tribe— in such a year—in such a month—that is, such and «« such things were done." Now the letters which these Jews were coversant with, and capable of reading and interpreting, seem more likely to be the Hebrew letters, which they then used, than the Samaritan, which it is not reasonable to suppose they would give themselves the trouble of learning, hav ing nothing to do with the Samaritans, but at enmity with them. The t Antiq. Eccl. oriental, p. 147; * Vid.Fabritii Bibliothec. Græc. Tom. a. p. 615. ' In Dr Kcnnicott's Dissert, s. p. 147, 148.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 467 The plate of gold on the forehead of the high-priest, on which was en graven Holiness to the Lord, the Jews' dispute about it, whether this was in more lines than one, and what letters were in a line, but it was never a question with them in what character it was written. Jerom fays ', indeed, that the word Jehovah was in his time found written in ancient letters, in some Greek volumes ; but it should be observed, that Jerom speaks not of Jewish, or Hebrew copies, but of Greek volumes, meaning the Greek versions of Aquila and Theodotion in Origen's Hexapla, and of ancient Hebrew letters in the said Greek versions, where the word Jehovah was written in Hebrew characters thus, rum, which the Greeks not understanding, and being deceived with the similarity of the characters to some of theirs, read it from the left to the right, as they were wont to do, Pipi, whereas the word was to be read no other than Jehovah, and was written neither in Greek nor in Samaritan characters, but in Hebrew letters, as sometimes figured, or however as formed by some Greek writers not expert in the Hebrew letters, as may be seen in a specimen of such letters, given by Montfaucon °, which seem to have been written by some Grecian who had but little knowledge of the Hebrew tongue and its characters, in which the Hebrew letter He., though Scbindler would have it to be the Samaritan He, resembles the Greek letter Pi, and the letters Vau and Jod are very similar in Hebrew, and both have some likeness to the Greek letter lota. Drujius out of ProcopiusonJsa.l'ix. 13. observes, that in his margin were written A.Th. » mm, that is Aquila, and Tbeodotion so read ; and he further observes, that so formerly they wrote the letters of the name tetragrammaton or Jehovah, which they read Pipi, because of the similitude of the letters w j and Jerom x himself is as express for it as can be, he fays, " The name of four letters is written with " these, Jod % He n, Vau 1, He n, which some not understanding, because " of the likeness of the characters, when they found it in Greek copies, used «• to read it Pipi" and elsewhere y he fays, " The name of God, on the plate " of gold, was written in Hebrew letters, those above-mentioned ;" hence, because as R. Asariab * understands him, he affirmed, that these were engraven in the Assyrian character, he conjectures, that Jerom had seen the plate of gold at Rome, which R. Eliezer ben Jose saw there, and that Jerom was of the mind that the present Hebrew letters were then used by the Jews -, and indeed it is 0002 not • T. BaK Sabbat, sol. 63. a. & Succah, sol. 5. 1 ' « Prsefat. in lib. Reg. sol. 5. L. u Præliminar. ad Hexapla Origen. c. 2. p. sz. w Vide, etiatn Drusium dc voce Elohim & Tetragram. c. 20. & Grotium in Matt. xxii. 44. Montfaucon. præliminar. ad Hexapla Origen. vol.2, p. 90, 184. Lexicon, col. 430. * Epist. adMarcellam, torn. 3. sol 31. B, y Ad Fabiolam, sol. 20. B. z Meor Enayim, c. 58. sol. 178. 2.

468 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING not probable that this plate should be engraved in the Samaritan, that is, in the letters of the old Phœnicians or Canaanites, the race of Canaan, whom the Jews, when this order about the plate was given to Moses, were going to drive out of their land. It must be owned that Origen has the following words in a fragment of his ' : " With the Jews the name of the four letters (Jehovah) ** is ineffable, which was engraved on the golden plate of the high priest, " and with the Greeks is pronounced Lord ( ««?">< ) ; but in correct Hebrew " copies it is written (that is, with its four letters Jehovah, which may be " believed : but when he adds it was written) in ancient letters, but not in ■*■* those now in use." If he means the Samaritan letters, as it is supposed he does ; this depends on a Jewish tale he next relates, which has been already considered. That the Pentateucb written by Moses was written in the square characters or letters now in use with the Jews, seems clear by comparing Gen. x. 3, 4. with 1 Cbron. i. 6. where the persons called Ripbatb and Dodanim by Moses, are by the author of the book of Chronicles in some copies called Dipbatband Rodanim ; and who is called Hemdan in Gen. xxxvi. 26. is Hemram in 1 Cbron. i. 41. and Hadar in Gen. xxxvi. 39. is Hadad in 1 Cbron. i. 50. The author of the book of Cbronkles, through the similarity of the letters n and T Rejh and Daletb, puts one for another, and still signify the same persons ; so Riblab in Numb. xxxiv. n. and as it is read in the second book of Kings, and prophecy of "Jeremiah, is in Ezek. vi. 14. called Biblath ; on which Jerom remarks, that through the near likeness of the Hebrew letters T and ~\ Daletb and Rest), which are distinguished by a small apex, it may be called Deblatba, or Reblatba-, and so Theodotion reads it Deblatba in Jer. xxxix. 5. and this will account for the fame man being called Deuel and Reuel, Numb. i. 14. and chap. ii. 14. Now this cannot be owing to the mistakes of late transcribers, since the same difference is observed in the Septuagmt version of these places, at least in most of them, and were so from the beginning, from the writers themselves ; and those letters being much more similar in the Hebrew than in the Samaritan alphabet, the Samaritan Daletb having a hook at the back of it thus «s which strikes the eye at once, and easily distinguishes it from \Resb, shews that Moses, in all probability, wrote in the former and not in the latter j so like wise differences of names in the fame books plainly arise from the similarity of the letters * and 1 Jod and Vau in the Hebrew square characters, when there is no such similarity in the Samaritan character sir and x, as to occasion such differences, thus Alvan, in Gen. xxxvi. 23. is Allan 1 Chron. i. 40. Paakan, Gen. ■ Apud Montsaucon. ut supra, p. 86.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 469 Gen. xxxvi. 27. is Jaakan, 1. Chron. i. 42. Zepho, Gen. xxxvi. 11. is Zephi, 1 Chron. i. 36. Sbepho, in Gen. xxxvi. 23. is Sbepbi, 1 Chron. i. 40. Alvab, Gen. xxxvi. 40. is yzV/tfi, 1 Chron. i. 51. Pau, Gen. xxxvi. 39. is /W, 1 ChrOn. i. 50, Heman, Gen. xxxvi. 2a. is Homam, 1 Chron. i. 39. Kimchi, on 1 C&ra*. i. 6, 7. takes notice of the difference of these several words, as read in Genesis and Chronicles, and attributes it to the similarity of letters ; and ob serves, that let them be read as they may, they are the fame names, and so Ben Melech after him. Aben Ezra has helped us to another proof of the Pentateuch being written in the square character; he observes, " that the word iTsl in ExoJ. i. 16. is irre- " gular according to the grammar, and should be nJVTli for He radical is " changed into Tau, according to usual construction, as in Gen. i. 30. but so " it is, because these letters are near alike in writing, there being only the " duct of a point between them, which is in the letter He, but in pronuncia- " tion and name they differ ; for at first it is called He, and when the point is " protracted it is called Tau •, and this is a sign or proof that the writing we " now use is Hebrew :" and as the Pentateuch was originally written in this cha racter, so it cor tinued until the Samaritan Pentateuch was written, which plainly appears to be copied from it, by its having the interpolations of Ezra's copy in it, which it would not have had, had it been more ancient than that ; and if ic was first brought to the Samaritans, as is probable, by Manajfeb, when he fled to them, it was in the square character first introduced among them, as Dr Prideaux owns b, who otherwise is an advocate for the Samaritan letter being the ancient Hebrew character. That this was the cafe, appears from the dif ference between the Hebrew and Samaritan Pentateuch, occasioned by the simi larity of the letters in the square character, the same with that now in use with the Jews, as has been observed by many learned men % particularly in Rejh and Daktb •, see Gen. xiv. 4. and chap. xlix. 10. which shews that the Pentateuch was originally in the modern Hebrew characters, and which is superior in point of antiquity to the Samaritan, which is copied from it ; and to the fame cause, in many instances, is. owing the difference between the Hebrew text and the Septuagint version, namely, the similarity of the Hebrew letters, as Jerom fre quently observes ; for that was made out of the Chaldee tongue, as Philo the Jew affirms", that is, the Hebrew according to him j and Justin Martyr' asserts, that . .ri: _; i ,it: ,>-0 "O ...y.i.V :: ■■.,- .v.'XX .-n " Connection, parti, p. 416, 417. c Hottinger Antimorin. p. 50. Carpzofr. Critic. seer. p. 229, 604, 610. Universal History, vol. 17. p. 305. * De vita Josephi^l. 1. p. 658. • Ad Græcos, p. 13. - '.'.

470 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING that Moses, under a divine inspiration, wrote his history in Hebrew letters, (he does not fay in Samaritan, though he himself was a Samaritan) and that out of their ancient books written in Hebrew letters, the Septuagint, or seventy elders, made their translation, which books in Hebrew letters were then preserved by the Jews in their synagogues. Ptolemy, king of Egypt, had only at first the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew letters, transcribed and sent him -, but not being able to read and understand it, he sent for men out of Judea to translate it into Greek1; and Tertullian K affirms, that in the Serapeum, or library of Ptolemy, the translation was to be seen in his time, with the Hebrew letters themselves, from which the translation was made ; and certain it is, as the authors of the Universal History h have observed, that the Septuagint version is of higher anti quity than any of those shekels which are said to have the Samaritan characters on them, the eldest of which did not precede the settlement of the high-priest hood in the Asmonean family, that is, not much above 150 years before Christ; and yet this is the main argument advanced in defence of the Samaritan letters being the ancient Hebrew characters ; of the validity of which, and the genuineness of the Samaritan sliekels, more hereafter. The argument in favour of the Pentateuch being written in the square cha racter, taken from the similarity of Daletb and Re/h, occasioning different readings of words, may be used with respect to the second book of Samuel, as written in the fame character, the penmen of which seem to be Gad and Nathan ; see 1 Cbron. xxix. 19. in which the king of Zobab is called Hadadeztr, 2 Sam. viii. 3. but the writer of the book of Chronicles, generally supposed to be Ezra, putting Rest) for Daletb, through the likeness of the letters, calls him Hadarezer, 1 liUiron. xviii. 3. and so one of David's worthies is called Shammah the Harodih, 2 Sam. xxiii. 25. but in 1 Chron. xi. 27. Shammotb the Harorite; where may be observed another difference, arising from the same cause, the likeness of the letters n and r\, the fame man being called Sham mah in one place, and Shammotb in the other ; and that it cannot be owing to the mistakes of late transcribers, since the fame difference is to be observed in the Septuagint version of both places ; besides there is another difference in the name. Harodite in Sam. is written with a n Chetb, and the Harorite in Chro nicles with an n He, which two letters are also very similar in the square cha racter ; whereas neither the =c He and a Tau, nor the ^ Cbetb and « He are at all alike in the Samaritan character. So that the fame that is called Hiddai, a Sam. xxiii. 30. is Hurai, or Cburai, 1 Chron. xj. 32. and another is called the Gadite 2 Sam. xxiii. 36. and Haggeri, or the Haggerile, 1 Chron. xi. 3%. So through f Epiphan. de ponder, s Apologet. c. 18. fc Ut supra, p. 301, 304, 305.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 471 through the likeness of Jod and Vau in the square character, which have none in the Samaritan, as before observed, the king of Tyre is called Hiram, 1 Kings v. 1, 2. and Huram, 2 Chron. ii. 3, 11. Aben Cbabib, or R. Moses Scbem Tob, a Jew, who lived about the year 1480, was shewn, in the kingdom of Valentia, in Spain, a sepulchral monument of a general of Amaziab king of Judab, on the top of a mountain ; which, though much effaced, he was just able to read a verse or two in rhyme and metre, at the end of which was rrctDNb ' ; from whence he concluded that such kind of verse was in use with his ancestors, when in their own land : and he might have concluded also the antiquity of the Hebrew letters, as Buxtorf observes11, could this inscription be thought genuine; but it is hard to con ceive how a general of Amaziab, king of Judab, should be buried in Spain : and of like credit must be accounted the grave of Adoniram, the taxgatherer for Solomon and Reboboam, in the same country, and found at the same ' time ; and could the account be credited which Benjamin of Tudelam gives of the cave Macbpelab, where he fays there are six graves, of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarab, Rebecca, and Leab, opposite to one another, on which are written, " This is the grave of Abraham," and so on the grave of Isaac, and on the rest, it would prove the very early antiquity of such letters ; but these are not to be depended on. The Hebrews have five letters, which they call double letters, or final ones, because the figure of them is different at the end of a word from what it is at the beginning of one, or in the middle of one •, and these are Mem, Nun, Tzade, Re, and Capb, commonly called *|B2U3 Manatzpacb; these must be of very ancient use, they are mentioned in Bereshitb Rabba n, and in both the Talmuds ; in one ° they are said to be used by the seers or prophets, and in the other p to be an Halacab or tradition of Moses from Sinai ; yea, by an ancient writer * they are said to be known by Abraham -, and indeed they seem to be as early as the other letters in the alphabet. Hence Abraham de Balmis ' makes the Hebrew alphabet consist of twenty seven letters; and Jerem' speaks of these five final letters as of as early, and equal use with the twenty-two letters, and so Epipbanius ' •, and Irenaus ", before them, is thought, by Dr Grabe to refer to a final Hebrew letter, when he fays, ** That God in Hebrew is called " Barucb, 1 R. Azariah, ImreBinah, c. 60. sol. 182. k De liter. Heb. s. 27. & de prosod metric. ad calc. Heb. Gram. ' Vide Hottinger. praefat. ad Cipp. Heb. p 4. m Itinerar. p. 48, 49. n Parasli. 1. sol. 1, 4. • T. Bab. Sabbat, sol. 104. 1. r T. Hieros. Megillah, sol 71.4. « Pirke Eliezer, c. 48. * Mikneh Abraham, pag. 2. lirt. 12, 13. * Præfat. ad lib. Reg. sol. 5. M. « Dc Mensur. & ponder. » Adv. Hæresi 1. 2. c. 41.

472 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING " Barucb, (blessed) which consists of two letters and a half ," Dr Grate's note upon it is, that "j is taken for half of the letter n ; but in that he is miltaken, for the word has not that letter, nor has that letter a final, but 3, and the final of that does not shorten, but lengthen the letter. Now if these final letters were of Moses and the prophets, then the law and the prophets must be written in the Hebrew characters now in use, and not in the Samaritan charac ters, for the Samaritans have no final letters •, and particularly the book of the prophet Ifaiab, which was written 200 years or more before the supposed change of letters by Ezra, must be written not in the Samaritan character, according to that notion, but in the modern Hebrew ; since the Mem final, contrary to common usage, appears in the middle of the word rQID1? Isai. ix. 6. which has occasioned much speculation and enquiry, both among the Jews and Christians, which could not appear if written in the Samaritan character; in which, as before observed, are no final letters ; and that it was so read in the ancient Hebrew copies, is clear from both Talmuds °, where it is written and reasoned upon, and the Jerusalem Talmud was finished A. D. 230. Jerom owns the reading of it w, and offers a reason for it, and observes that the Mem clausum, in the middle of the word rQID1? is so written for the fake of a mystery, to shew the exclusion of the Jews from the kingdom of Christ ; even that fame Jerom makes this remark, who fays, " It is certain that Ezra changed the " Jewish letters ;" but if Ifaiab wrote in the Samaritan character, as that change supposes, it would spoil the remark he has made ; in this he contradicts him self. ' This is an observation of WasmutVs ; but I suspect that Wasmutb has mistaken Hieronymus de santla fide, a later writer, who wrote a book against the Jews, for Hieronymus the ancient father •, since I can find no such treatise as is referred to by him in Jerom's works, either genuine, or ascribed to him. The book of Daniel, if written by himself, as it seems plainly to be, must be written before the pretended change of letters by Ezra -, the Jews in the Talmudx indeed fay it was written by the men of the great synagogue, that is the synagogue of Ezra ; but the reason given for it is frivolous, as in the Gloss upon the place, that prophecy was not suffered to be written without the land (of Israel) ; for did not Moses write the Pentateuch without the land ? And was not Eztkiel ordered by God to write among the captives at the river Cbebar ? Ezek. i. 3. and chap. xxiv. 2. Josepbus1 is express for it, that Daniel wrote his own prophecies, and left them to be read, and this is clear from the book itself, " T. Hicros. Sanhedrim, sol. 27. 4. T. Bab. ibid, sol. 94. 1. * Apud Wasmuth. Vidic. Heb, par. 1. p. 44. * T. Bab. Bava Batbra, sol. 15. t. 1 Antiq. 1. 10. c. 11. s 7. ♦

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 473 itself, chap. xii. 4. and from the words of Christ in Mitt. xxiv. 15. Now since this book was written partly in Hebrew., and partly in Chaldee, I ask, in what letter it is most probable it was written, whether in two different cha racters, which seems not at all probable ? And whether in one character ? what most probably that was, whether the Samaritan or the square letter ? It should seem more probable to be the latter, according to the hypothesis of those who are for the change of letters by Ezra, who suppose that was the character used in Cbaldea and Babylon, where Daniel lived ; and I should think it more probable for another reason, because it was better known to the Jews, for whose use chiefly that book was written : and particularly it deserves con sideration, in what letter or character the hand-writing Beljhazzar saw on the wall was written, which the Chaldeans could not read, only Daniel the Jew. It is certain the words in Dan. v. 25. are Cbaldee, and had they been written in their own characters, which were the fame since called Samaritan, as will be shewn in the following chapter ; the Chaldeans, no doubr, could have read them, though they might not have understood the meaning of them : now though we cannot be certain of the character, yet it is probable it was the square character then and now in use with the Jews, to which Daniel was ac customed before he came to Babylon, and therefore could easily read the hand writing, though without doubt it was by divine inspiration that he gave the interpretation of it. Jofephus ben Gorion % is quite clear in this ; the letters, he fays, were the holy tongue, that is, Hebrew, but the writing or words were the Syriac tongue, or the Chaldee ; and indeed if these words had been in a different character from that which Daniel wrote, it is much he had not given them in it. wh Bianconi ', the last that wrote on the antiquity of the Hebrew letters, is of opinion that the Chaldeans used the same characters with the Hebrews. He sup poses their language to be the fame, which he argues from the relation of Abraham and Nahor being brethren, and from the Hebrews descending from the one, and from the other the Chaldeans ; hence Jofephus b calls the Chaldeans their kindred •, though perhaps the latter rather sprung from Arphaxad ; he urges the conversation which passed between Abraham's servant and Nabobs family, when he was sent thither to take a wife for Isaac, and what passed be tween the men of Haran, Nahor's city, and Jacob, and between him and Rachel and Laban, in which there appeared no difficulty of understanding one another. All which is true, and yet the language might not be exactly the Vol. III. Ppp fame; x Hist. Heb. 1. 1. c. 5. p. 45. » rje Antiq. liter. Heb. p. 6, Bonfiniæ 1748. * Contn Apion. 1. 1. s. 13. x

474 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING same-, the Cbaldee being a dialect of the Hebrew, might be understood by the Hebrews, especially in those earlier and purer times, when the deviation from the Hebrew might not be so great as afterwards ; and yet it is certain that Jacob and Laban used a different language, at the time of their covenanting together, and gave different names to the heap which was the witness between them, though to the fame fense. This learned writer indeed thinks that the Chaldean name of it was given by anticipation, and that it was called so by Laban's sons afterwards, which being known to Moses, he inserted it : but be it so, that will prove the difference of that language in the times of Moses at least, and which, in the times of Hezekiab, appears to be still more different from the Hebrew, since the common people among the Jews understood it not, 2 Kings xviii. 26. and in the times of the captivity, some of the Hebrews, carried captive, were taught the Chaldean tongue, Dan. i. 4. and the difference be tween that and the Hebrew may be seen in the books of Daniel and Ezra, yea, it is called a language not known nor understood by the Jews, Jer v. 15. Now from the sameness of language, as this writer supposes, he proceeds to argue the sameness of character, which however probable it may be thought to be, it is not conclusive. The Syriac and Cbaldee are nearer to each other, ' than either to the Hebrew, and yet their characters are very different, at least as we now have them. But what this learned writer seems chiefly to depend upon, and what he thinks to be greatly to his purpose is, the instance of Cyrus being able to read the prophecies in Isaiah, concerning himself, according to Josepbus c ; which he imagines he could not have done, if the Cbaldee and Hebrew characters were not the fame. He supposes he understood the Cbaldee language, and could read that, having been some time in the court of Darius ; but that is not quite certain, since at his taking of Babylon it does not appear that the Cbaldee tongue was much known in his army ; for he then gave orders, according to Xenophon d, to those who understood the Syrian, or Cbaldee lan guage, to proclaim that such of the inhabitants that were found in the streets, should be slain, but those that kept within doors soould be safe ; and it was immediately after this, even in the first year of his reign with Darius, that he gave liberty to the Jews to return to their own land, when he had knowledge of the prophecy of Isaiah concerning himself; and besides, why may he not be thought to know the Hebrew character also as well as the Cbaldee, supposing them different ? He was a very enterprising prince, and had conquered many nations, and might be master of many languages, as Mitbridates king of Pontus * Antiq. 1, it, c.i. s. 2, * Cyropædia, 1. 7. c. 23.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 475 Pontus was, and especially the Hebrew, if what is said by an Arabic writer * is true, that he married the sister of Zerubbabel, and his mother also is said • to be a Jewess } and after all, the whole depends upon the testimony of Jofepbus, that he did read the prophecy of Isaiab, who produces no authority for it-, and if he did read it, it might be through an interpreter, or as translated for him, supposing' him ignorant of the Hebrew language and its character: and it can hardly be thought that when the fame Josepbus fays f that Alexander was shewn the prophecy in Daniel concerning himself, that he understood Hebrew, or the language in which it was written, but that it was read and interpreted to him. There is a passage I confess in Josepbus1, which makes the Hebrew and Syriac character very similar ; for according to him, Demetrius the librarian of Ptolemy Pbiladelpbus told the king when he acquainted him with the Jewish writings, that their character was very much like to the. Syriac letters, and were pronounced like to them ; but according to Aristæus h, and whose words are also preserved in Eusebius^ Demetrius said very much the contrary; that the Jews, as the Egyptians, had a peculiar character, and a peculiar pronunciation ; some think they used the Syriac, but it is not so, fays he, it is in another form and manner. Thus have I traced the Hebrew letters and characters from the beginning of them to the times of Ezra, when the supposed change took place -, what I un dertook to shew was no more than that it is probable that the ancient letters of the Jews, and which they have always retained, are the square letters, as they are commonly called, or those in which the sacred scriptures are now extant; and I think I have made it appear to be probable. I lay no stress on the pillars of Setb, nor the tables of Cainan, and the writing of Enoch, nor the letters of the law, and the fancies of the Jews about them and the manna, nor upon any inscription on sepulchral monuments ; but I think it is probable, that as the first language men spoke, and was after the confusion of tongues called the Hebrew language, to distinguish it from others, if there were letters before that confusion, as it seems reasonable to suppose there were, they were such as were proper and peculiar to it, and it is probable that they afterwards continued in it ; and whereas the alphabet of the Hebrew language appears to be the first of the oriental languages, from whence the rest have the names, order, and number of their letters, it is probable, yea it seems more than probable, that the letters of the Hebrew alphabet were those of the square p p p 2 kind, d Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast, dyn. 5. p. 82. e Hottinger. apud Pfeiffer. Theolog. Jud. Exercitat. 7. c. 1. th. 1. ' Antiq. 1. 11. c. 8. s. 5. e Antiq. 1. 12, c. 2. s. 1. Hist. 72. Interpr. p. 4, 5. ' •» Praepar. Evangel. 1. 8. c. 8. p. 350. h

476 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING kind, since to them only the names of the letters in their signification corre spond : it is probable that the law of the ten commands was written and given in those characters, and not in the Samaritan ; it is more probable the letters on the written mountains, supposed to be written by the Israelites in the wilder ness, when encamped, and on their travels there, were of the fame kind, rather than of the Samaritan, or any other ; it is probable, that the letters on the plate of gold the high priest wore on his forehead were the fame as now in use, and that Moses wrote his Pentateuch in the fame character; that Isaiah also wrote his prophecies in the fame ; and that the book of Daniel, and particu larly the hand-writing that terrified Bel/hazzar, were written in the fame ; nor is there any just reason to believe that the Jews ever had any other sort of letters, nor that Ezra changed their ancient ones for those ; for, as has been already observed, he never would have done it without a divine command, which it does not appear he had ; and if he would have done it, and had had ever such an inclination to it, he never could have done it ; nor is it credible that the Jews in Babylon so forgot their language, and their let ters, as to make such a change necessary, which is suggested k. Can it be thought that the men who remembered the first temple in ir,s glory, and wept at laying the foundation of the second, Ezra iii. 12. should forget their lan guage, and the alphabet of it, when the greater part were only fifty-two years there ? for the seventy years are to be reckoned from the fourth of Jeboiakim, eighteen years before the destruction of the city and temple by Nebuchadnezzar., and their being carried captive by him into Babylon ; where they lived together in bodies, did not mix with the Chaldeans, nor intermarry with them, and con versed together in their own language, had their sacred books in it to read, held a correspondence with Jeremiah by letters, at the first of the captivity, and had the ministry and sermons of Ezekiel to attend upon in it, Ezek. i. 1. and chap. iii. 15. and chap. xxx. 30, 33. Jer. xxix. 1, 25, 31. Nor is it true that their language was corrupted in Babylon -, the captives that returned spoke the language of the Jews purely, only the children of some few, whose fathers had married wives, not in Babylon, but women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab, after the return from the captivity, who spoke half in the language of those people, for which Nehemiab reproved them ; and this shews it was not a general thing : and certain it is, that the prophets Haggai, Zecbariab, and Malachi wrote in pure Hebrew, as it was in the days of Moses ; the fame roots, prefixes, suffixes, idioms, constructions, and terminations, are to be observed in * Eliæ Præsat. Mcthurgeman.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 477 in them as in the Pentateuch of Moses. Upon the whole, the Jews certainly spoke the Hebrew language after their return from the captivity, and some when they came back to Persia again, in Nebemiab's time ; nor had he forgot it, nor disused it, for walking before Susa, the chief city of Persia, as Josephus relates ', he overheard some strangers lately come from Jerusalem discoursing, together in the Hebrew tongue, and understanding them, he asked the ques tions as in Neb. i. 2. He himself wrote in Hebrew, as did Ezra, not only his own book, but the books of Chronicles, as is supposed ; yea, some of the Psalms were written after the return from the captivity, as Psal. cxxvi, cxxxvii. and even as late as the times of Antiochus Epiphanes, and all in pure Hebrew. Daniel in the captivity wrote in Hebrew, excepting what concerned the Chal deans ; and so did Ezekiel. The book of Esther, supposed to be written by Mordecai, was written in pure Hebrew, and if Ahasuerus was Xerxes, it must be written many years after the captivity ; and in his time, Psal. lxxxviii. is by some thought to be written. It is the nature and glory of the Hebrew lan guage to have been always constant and invariable, and so it is probable its letters were ; the Jews glory in their sacred writings, that no innovation was ever made in them. Josephus fays™, ** It is manifest in fact in what veneration " and credit we have our letters or books ; for though so many ages are past, ** as almost 3000 years, (as he fays) yet no man has dared to add any thing to «' them, nor to take any thing from them, nor to change them :" it is plain from hence, that this historian knew nothing of the change of the letters of the sacred writings made by Ezra, which must be an innovation in them. Philo the Jew fays ", " Our law only is firm, unmoveable, unshaken, sealed as it " were with the seals of nature ; it remains firmly from the time it was written, *' until now ; and it is to be hoped it will remain immortal throughout all M ages, as long as do the fun and moon, the whole heaven, and the world." The eighth article of the Jewish creed runs thus" : " I believe with a perfect " faith, that is, sincerely, that the whole law which is now in our hands, is ** that which was given to Moses our master, on whom be peace, without any •* change and alteration •," but we have a greater testimony than these, of the unalterableness of the law, and even of the letters in which it was written, the words of Christ in Matt. v. 18. for verily I fay unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be ful filled; which though it is not to be understood of the bare letter Tod, which as it is sometimes redundant, so in some places wanting, as in 1 Sam. xxi. 2. 2 Sam. \ Antiq. 1. xi."c. 5. s. 6. ■ Cont. Apion. 1. 1. s. 8. » De vitaMosis, 1, 2. p. 656. 1 Seder Tephillah, sol. 86. 2. Abaibinel. Pnefat. in Jer.

47? A DISSERTATION CONCERNING 2 Sam. xvi. 23. and chap. xxi. 8. Nehemiah xii. 46. and though it is a- pro verbial expression, signifying the unchangeableness and unalterableness of the law, with respect to the least precept in it ; yet it is founded upon, and is an allusion to the writing of the law, and the letters of it ; not to any copy of it in any language whatever ; but to the original writing of it, and its letters, in which it had continued unto his time, and in which the Iota or Tod is the least of the letters ; and therefore could have no respect to the Samaritan copy of the law, in which language it is not the least letter, but a very large one ; which has besides the stroke above, three large prongs, descending from it, each of which is as large again as the Hebrew Tod; which is so small, that Irenœus p calls it half a letter ; and to which our Lord manifestly refers : and this makes it at least highly probable, that the law was originally written not in the Samaritan, but in the square Hebrew letters, which had unalterably re mained unto the times of Christ: all which make it greatly probable, that the Jews only had one sort of letters, which always remained with them, and are what are extant to this day. ' Bianconi q, the learned writer before mentioned, is quite clear in it, that the Hebrew letters were never changed by Ezra, nor by any public authority ; and which he judges improbable, since neither he nor Jofepbus make mention of any such change •, and from the great numbers of Jews left in the land at the captivity, and the return of multitudes from it ; and from Ezra's coming to them with a large number also, and that sixty or eighty years after the return of the first •, and from the prophecies of Haggai and Zecbariah, and from the shekels in the times of the Maccabees, which, supposing such a change, would have been not in the Samaritan, but in the square character; and from the unlikelihood of a conquered people taking the characters of an enemy's lan guage, and quitting their own, and that after they had been many years deli vered from them. He supposes, that the Hebrews, Chaldeans, Phœnicians, and Samaritans, had all the fame characters originally, and that there was a change made among the Jews long after the times of Ezra, from the ancient character to the square one ; and that it began in the shekels in the time of the Maccabees, in which he observed a mixture of the ancient and modern characters, and supposes, that by little and little the change was made, from frequent tran scribing the Bible, and daily writing; and that the modern letters were gradually formed from use, and the swift manner of writing, and for the con venience of it : but it does not seem probable that a character should be mended through swiftness of writing, and that such a grand, majestic, regular, and * Adv. Hjcres. 1. 2. c. 41. q De Antiq. Liter. Heb. p. 18—22, 25, 26.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 479 and well-formed character, as the square letter is, should be produced in that way ; but rather that the ill-shaped, ragged, rough, and deformed Samaritan character, should spring from thence ; and which seems to be the fact, but not so late as the times of the Maccabees ; but as early as the division and dis persion of the nations, in the times of Peleg -, so Gaffarellus observes r, that the Samaritan characters are corrupted from the Hebrew ; and he adds, this is so certain a truth, as that it is a point of infinite preverseness to offer to doubt of it. According to Dr Bernard's table of alphabets, called Orbis eruditi Literatura a characlere Samaritico deducla, it has been thought, that the letters of all nations must have sprung from the Samaritan character ; but this seems to depend much on fancy and imagination ; and I am inclined to think, that all are deducible from the Hebrew square character, the Assyrian first, then the Phœnician., from that the Greek, and so on ; according to Hermannus Hugo ', the Hebrew letters (the present ones) were the first ; next sprung from them the Chaldean letters, which he fays are scarce extant ; then the Assyrian, or Baby lonian, and the Syriac, or Aramæan, and from the Syriac the Samaritan. The principal argument by which the hypothesis opposed, is supported^ is taken from some coins or shekels, said to be dug up in Judea, with these words on them " Jerusalem the holy," and " The shekel of Israel," the letters of which, it is asserted, agree, in form, with the Samaritan. Now as the Sama ritans, because of their aversion to the Jews, and the ten tribes, after their separation from the other two, had nothing to do with Jerusalem, nor any esteem for it, neither of them can be thought to strike these pieces ; and it is inferred from hence, that they must have belonged to the Jews before the cap tivity* and to the Israelites before the separation of the ten tribes j and conse quently the Samaritan letters, supposed to be the same with those on the coins, were the ancient Hebrew characters, and in which the books of the Old Testa ment-were written •, and this argument is thought to be unanswerable : but it should be observed, that the letters on the most unexceptionable of these coins differ considerably from those in the Samaritan Pentateuch, and seem to resem ble, in some instances, the Hebrew almost as much as the Samaritan ; and besides, the oldest of them do not precede the settlement of the high-priesthood in the Asmonaan family, and were not much above one hundred and fifty years before the æra of Christ, and some of them are later ' j to which may be added, there are coins, both silver and brass, with inscriptions in the square character, which according to them are much more ancient than the other, and so prove the * Unheard-of Curiosities, c. 13. s. 6. p. 40. » De prima Scribendi orig. p. 54.. * See the Universal History, vol. 17. p. 302—304.

48o A DISSERTATION CONCERNING the superior antiquity of the square character to that of the Samaritan. R, Azariah says u, that he saw among some ancient coins at Mantua, a silver coin which had on one side of it the form of a man's head, and round about it, " King Solomon" in the holy tongue, and square writing, and on the other side the form of the temple, and round about it written, " The Tempi eof " Solomon •" and Hottinger affirms v, he saw one of the same sort in the collec tion of the Elector Palatine. The Jews in their Talmud x, speak of a Jerusalem coin, which had David and Solomon on one side, and the words, " Jerusalem% " the holy city," on the other side ; and of a coin of Abraham's, having on one side, the Hebrew words for " An old man and an old woman," and on the other side, those, for " A young man and a young woman ;" and the learned Christopher Wagenseil assures us y, he had both these coins in his own possession, of which he gives the figures with the words on them, in the square letters ; besides Abraham, the Jews z speak of three more, that coined money, Joshua, David, and Mordecai ; the coin of Joshua had on one side a bullock, and on the other, an unicorn, see Deut. xxxiii. 17. that of David's had a staff. and scrip on one side, and a tower on the other: that of Mordecai's had sackcloth and assies on one side, and a crown of glory on the other ; elsewhere* it is said, it had Mordecai on one side, and Esther on the other : there was also a coin of Moses ; I myself have seen a coin of his b, having on one side, his face, with his ears horned, like rams horns, and underneath is the word nttfD, in square characters, and on the other side, the first commandment, in the fame cha racter, *]"? rPiT vb and thou shalt have no other God before me ; and which exactly agrees with one Mr Selden c had in his possession, found among some rubbissi at Sbene in Surrey. It will be said, these coins are spurious ; the fame may be, and is said of those that have the Samaritan characters on them : nor is there any reason to believe that those ssiekels or coins which have on them " Jeru- " salem the holy," and " The ssiekel of Israel," are any of them indisputably genuine. Ottius and Reland, who have applied themselves closely to the study of those coins, have as good as confessed it ; and Spanheim, by what he has said, appears to be in a very great doubt about it d. The celebrated Charles Patin, so famous for his skill in coins and medals, and who had free access to the cabinets of all the princes in Europe, declared many years ago to the learned Christopher ■ Meor Enayim, c. 58 sol. 174. 2. See sol. 54. w Pnesat. ad Cippi Heb. p. 4,1. * T. Bab. Bava Kama, sol. 97. 2. vide Wafer, de Num. antiq. 1. 2. c. 5, r Sotah, p. 574. 575. z Berelbit Rabba, Parasti. 39 sol. 34. 4. » Midrafb Esther, sol. 95. 4. b Penes Mr Richard Hall, in Southwark. c X>e Jure Naturæ, 1. 2. c. 6. p. 187. * Universal History, ut supra, p. 303.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 481 Christopher Wagenseil', with great assurance, that he never found, in those col lections, an Hebrew coin, but what was manifestly spurious ; wherefore these coins are not to be depended on, nor can any sufficient argument be drawn from them in favour of any' hypothesis. Moreover, it has been said •, that the ancient Hebrew or Samaritan characters, were given to xhzCutbitcs or Sama ritans, and left with them out of hatred to them, and that the square letters in the times of Ezra were chosen, taken, and retained by the Jews for their use ; but then how comes it to pass that the Samaritan characters were reassumed and inscribed on the coins three hundred years after, namely, on those of Simon the high-priest, of Jonathan his brother, and of John Hyrcanus, his son, as the coins published by Mr Swinton shew f? And by John Hyrcanus, the last of these, Samaria was destroyed, the temple in Gerizzim demolished, after it had stood two hundred years, and the Samaritans made tributary to the Jews ; and it is observable, that upon the coin of Hyrcanus, on one side are Samaritan letters, and on the other Greek letters, and which was usual with the Cartha ginians^ Syrians, and Sidonians; and there is an instance of it in a coin of Demetrius* : and by the way, this furnishes us with an answer to a question of Bianconih, who asks, Why the Maccabees did not put Creek letters on their money, a well-known custom in that age, and common to all the east, for it seems he never saw any ; and adds, that Jewish coins with two forts of letters •were never seen. But to proceed •, from the different letters on the coin of Hyrcanus, from the one, it can no more be inferred, that Samaritan letters were in use among the Jews, than that from the other, Greek letters were; and though I profess no skill in coins, I should think that the reason of those different characters were designed by Hyrcanus as an insult on both people, and as a triumph over them, and to perpetuate the fame of his conquests both over the Samaritans and the Greeks, or Syro-Macedonians : however, it appears, that from these coins no argument can be taken to support the hypothesis, that the ancient Hebrew characters were the Samaritan ; and indeed it is en tirely inconsistent with it ; for how does it appear that those letters were left to the Samaritans, and others taken by the Jews ? And it is also clear that there is no necessity to give into the notion of a twofold character in use with the Jews, the one sacred, in which their holy books were written, namely, the square character ; and the other common, used in coins and civil affairs, as Vol. III. . Q^q q the ' Ut supra, p 576. s Dissert, de Num. Samar. p. 46, 49, 6t. * Montfaucon. Diar. Italic, p. 355. b DeAntiq. Liter. Heb. p. 23, 24.

+82. A DISSERTATION CONCERNING the Samaritan ; to which some Jews ' and Christians k seem to have been led by the above coins ; for though the Egyptians ' had their sacred characters and their common ones, and so had the Greeks m, yet not the Jews, whose priests had no juggling tricks to play, as the priests of Egypt and Greece had ; and though some later Jews have given into the notion of a double character, as in use formerly, yet it is not mentioned in their ancient writings, as if they had one for the sanctuary and sacred uses, and another for common use ; the only place I have met with, that seems to favour it, is the Targum of Jona than, on Gen. xxxii. 2. " And he called the name of the place, in the language " of the holy house, Mabanaim" which is not to be rendered the language of the house of the sanctuary, or the temple, as by some, since that is usually called, nHpn /TO or Nitfipia, as in Gen. xxviii. 17,. 22. and not wr\p JTa as here ; but the language of the holy house, or family, the people of God, that is, the Hebrew tongue j to which may be added, an ancient writer among the Christians, Irenæus ", who fays, that " The ancient and first letters of the " Hebrews, and called sacerdotal, are ten in number ■" bur. that he means to distinguish them from any other letters or characters, used by the Hebrews, does not appear •, besides, he speaks only of ten, and what he means is not easy to say ; however, by them he cannot mean the Samaritan letters,, because among these letters he reckons the Tod, which he calls half a letter, which cannot agree with the Samaritan Tod, but does with that of the square character. - 1 Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Yedaim, c. 4. s. 5. k Vide Buxtorf. de Lit. Heb. s 45. ' Herodot. Euterpe five, 1. 2. c. 36. Diodor. Sicul. 1. 1. p. 72. & 1. 3. p. 144. Clement. Alex. Stromat. 1. 5. p. 555. m Theodorct in. Gen. Quxst. 60. n Adv. Hæres. 1. 2. c. 41. CHAP. 4

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 4$ j CHAP. III. Concerning the Original of the Samaritans, their Language and Letters. HAVING, in the preceding chapter, shewn that it is probable that the Hebrews always had the fame letters, without any material change or alteration, and which have been retained by them, and are in use to this day ; 1 Ihall endeavour, in this chapter, to make it appear as probable, that the Samaritans always had distinct letters from the Jews, and retained them : so that there never was any commutation of letters between them : and in order to set this in as clear a light as I can, it may be proper to enquire into the original of letters, and particularly of the Samaritans. It is highly probable that there were letters before the flood, as already hinted, and so before the confusion of. tongues, which, as the first language they belonged to, were pure and incorrupt, and the original of otfTers ; which first letters were the Hebrew, that being the first tongue, as Hermannus Hugo observes ° ; nor, as he adds, did the figures of letters begin to differ before the diversity of languages at Babel. But my enquiry is concerning the first letters after the division of tongues; and these are claimed by various nations : some fay they were the invention of the Egyptians, others of the Phœnicians, and others of the Chaldeans''. Many ascribe the invention of letters to the Egyp tians, to the Thoth, Taautus, the Mercury of the Egyptians, as Sanchon'atho'1, Gellius r, and others, as some in Plato 5 ; but Pliny fays ', the Phœnicians bear away the glory of it ; and if fame is to be credited, as Lucan " expresses it, they were the first that dared to mark words by figures. Sttidas w ascribes the invention of letters to them, and so does Mela x ; but Vojsius, in his observa tions on him, is of opinion, that by letters he means numbers, and that o^q q 2 arithmetic 0 De prima Scribendi origi c. 3. p. 42, 43* p Thcophilus ad Autolyc. 1 3. propc sinem. 1 Apud Euscb Evangel. Præpar. 1. i. p. 31. ' Apud Plin. Nat. Hist. 1. 7. c. 56. s In Philebo, p. 374. & in Phscdro, p. 1240. ' Plin. 1. 5. c. 12. u Phænices primi, &c. Pharsal. 1. 3. v. 320. So Critias apud Athenæum, 1. 1 . c. 22. p. 28. * In voce yfapftala, and in Kafytoj. x De Situ Orbis, 1. t. c. ta.

484 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING arithmetic and astronomy were the invention of the Phœnicians, which need the assistance of numbers ; and perhaps the true reason why letters have been thought to be found out by them is, because they first brought them into Greece; but as Dr Cumberland remarks % the Chaldeans and AJsyrtans will not grant them this honour, but contend for an earlier invention of them, and that the inventors lived among them, and not in Phœnicia, nor in Egypt ■>, and Pliny is of opinion % that the Assyrian letters were always, or that the Assyrians always had letters ; which he confirms by the testimonies of Epigenes,. Berofus, and Critodcmus, who fay, they had observations of the stars inscribed on bricks, for a long course of years past : as they might have from the beginning of their nation, or nearly, and which was very early : it was in their country the confusion of tongues was made ; and their language comes near to the Hebrew, the first and pure language, from which theirs is a deviation ; and so their letters might be taken from theirs, though greatly corrupted. Ellas'- observes, that the Syrian language is nearest to the holy, or Hebrew language, of aH languages ; and quotes Aben Ezra as of opinion that the Syrian language is no other than the holy tongue corrupted j which corruption Elias thinks took place after Abraham departed from Chaldea, though perhaps it might be sooner; so Ephrem Syrus, who well understood that language, fays b, that the Syrian language has an affinity with the Hebrew, and in some respects nearer reaches the fense of the scriptures ; and R. David Gantz observes % that those who were nearest to the place where the confusion was made, were purer and nearer the holy tongue, as the Syrians and Arabians ; the Assyrian, Chaldee, and S)rian language and letters were the fame ; and they are of great affinity, if not the fame, with the old Phœnician, now called the Samaritan, as will be seen here after j and the ducts of their letters may well be thought to be had from the Hebrew ; but as the Assyrians are the first the heathen writers had knowledge of, to them thty impure the original of letters, as many do d. Diodorus Sicu/us ralates', that some fay the Syrians (chat is, the AJJyrians) were the inventors of letters ; and Eufebius also observes the fame f, that some fay, the Syrians first devised letters ; and he seems willing to allow it, provided that by Syrians are meant Hebrews ; but no doubt those writers intended the Syrians or Assyrians^ commonly so called : some, in Clemens of Alexandria E, join the Assyrians and Phœnicians y Sanch-iniaiho, p. 191. * Ut supra, 1. 7. c. 56. a Praefat. ad Methurgcman. b Apud Basil, in Hexaemeron, Homil. 2. . e Tzemach David, par. 2. sol. 4. i». d Vide Alex. ab. Alex. Genial. Dier. 1. a. c. 30. • Bibliothec, K 5. p. 310. ' Praepar. Evangel, ut supra, s Stromat. 1. 1. p. 307.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, ice. 485 Phœnicians together, as the inventors of Jetters ; but the real fact seems to be as follows. The Phœnicians received their letters from the Assyrians, or Syrians, and not from the Hebrews, as some have thought ; not from Abraham the ancestor of them, who, according to Suidas%, invented the holy letters and language, the knowledge of which he fays, the Hebrews had, as being his disciples and posterity : that he invented the letters and language, may be doubted : but that he spoke it is not to be questioned, since he was forty-eight years of age, when the confusion of tongues was made, as before observed, and therefore spoke the pure language •, yea, Elias Levita says h, it was clear to him that language was confounded immediately after he went from Chaldea, and that he and his ancestors spoke the holy tongue as received from Adam, to Noah, which may be admitted ; but it cannot by any means be admitted, that when he came among the Canaanites, that he either learned the primitive or Hebrew language from them, as some have fancied, which they neither had, nor he needed, since he spoke it before ; or that he taught it them. Eupolemus and Artapanus, who say ', that Abraham taught the Phœnicians astronomy, yet do not pretend that he taught them letters •, nor is there any foundation for the one or the other^ since he chose not to have such a free conversation and so ciety with them as these required, who would not so much as bury his dead with them, nor suffer his son to intermarry with them •, and the like precau tion Isaac his son took with respect- to ■'Jacob, who for some years was out of the land, and when he returned,, was but a sojourner in it, as his fathers had been ; and after a while went down with his posterity into Egyptt where they abode at least two hundred years ; and when they came from thence, and after forty years travel in the wilderness, and entered the land of Canaan, -the inhabitants were either destroyed by them,, or. they fled before them, and even at the report of their coming k ;. and so had.no time to learn a language of them, or receive letters from them. Cadmus, the Phœnician, whom jjocrates1 calls the Sidonian, is generally supposed to go from Phœnicia to Greece, in the times of Jofloua, whither he carried letters, and therefore must be possessed of them before Joshua entered Canaan; he is said to come to Rhodes in Greece, and at Lindus to offer to Lindia Minerva a brass pot with Phœnician letters on it ; and the huge serpents, who, upon his coming thither, are said"' to waste that country,, seem * In voce AGfaap. h Pxxsat. ad Methurgeman. 1 Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. 1. 9. c. 17, 18. k Targum in Cant. iii. 5. 1 Helenæ Laudat. in sine. "> Diodor. Sic. 1. 5. p. 329.

486 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING seem to be no other than the Hivites, the same with the Cadmonites, Gen. xv. 1 9. which the word Hivites signifies, whom Cadmus brought with him thither. Others of the Phœnicians or Canaanites fled into Africa ", particularly the Girgcsites, as is asserted in the Jerusalem Talmud0, and is confirmed by Procopiusv, who fays they came into Numidia, where they had a garrison in the place where in his time was the city of Tingis (now called Tangier) where they erected two pillars of white stone, then in being, A. D. 540, which he himself saw and read, on which in Phœnician letters were written, " We are they that fled " from .the face of Jesus (or Jojbua) the robber, the son of Nave {or Nun)." Suidas fays ?, it was written, " We are the Canaanites ;" which is a full proof they had letters before the times of Joshua, and did not learn them of the Israelites when they came into Canaan; besides, it is clear from the scriptures also, that they had letters before that time, as appears from the names of some cities among them, particularly Debir, which in the Persian language, as Kimchi r, from the Rabbins fays, signifies a book ; and which place was alto called Kirjatb sannah, and Kirjath-sepber, which signify, that it was a city where either there was an academy for the instruction of persons, or a library of books, or where the archives of the country were kept, a city of archives, as the Targum, which supposes letters ; and the Septuagint render it " a city of letters," Jojh. xv. 49. from all which it seems plain, that the Phœnicians, or Canaanites, did not receive letters from the Hebrews, but rather from the Assyrians, or Syrians. The Assyrians, or Syrians, though they may be distinguished, the one having their name from A/bur, a son of Sbem, and the other from Aram, a younger son of his, Gen. x. 22. hence they are called in Strabo' Aramæans or Arimei ; and in the times of Ahaz king of Judah there were both a king of Assyria, and a king of Syria, yet these two names are often confounded, and indiffer ently used by the ancients, as if the fame people, Syria being commonly thought to be a contraction of Assyria1 ; so Lttcian of Samosata in Syria, calls himself an Assyrian ", and on the other hand, Tatian the Assyrian, is called by Clemens of Alexandria w, a Syrian ; these countries being contiguous, yea, the one a part of the other, they may very well be called the one and the other j the Syrians, according to Suidas % have their name from the Assyrians ; hence Isidore n T. Bab. Sanhedrim, sol. 91. 1, • T. Hieros. SheUiith, sol. 37. 3. p Vandalic. 1. 2. p. 135. apud Prideaux. Not. ad Marmor. Arundcl. Tingit. p. 139, 140. Evagrii Eccles. Hist.. 1. 4. c. 18. 1 In voce x«««>, so Athanasius contr. Gcntes, p. 16. ' Comment, in Jud. i. 1. T. Bab. Avodah Zarah, sol. 24. 2. ' Geograph 1. 16. p. 540* ' Universal History, vol 2. p. 255. u De dea Syria, p. It w Stromat. 1. 3. p. 460s * In voce Aprvftot.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 487 Isidore fays y, " Whom the ancients called Assyrians we call Syrians" so Justin re marks % that the Assyrians, who were afterwards called Syrians, held the empire one thousand, three hundred years; and the fame people who, according to 'He rodotus, were by the Greeks called Syrians, are by the Barbarians called AJJyrians, among whom were the Chaldeans; and Strabo observes b, that Semiramis and Ninas were called Syrians, by the one Babylon the royal city was built, and by the other Nineveh, the metropolis of Assyria ; and that the fame language was used both without and within the Euphrates, that is, by the Syrians strictly so called, and by the Babylonians, or Chaldeans : and it need not seem strange that the Phœni cians should receive their letters from these people, since they were their neigh bours, and lived so near them. Herodotus c speaks of them as springing out of Syria, and dwelling in Syria, and of Phœnicians and Syrians as together in Palestine d. Phœnicia is often described as included in Syria, and as a part of it; so Diodorus Siculus', speaking of Cœle-Syria, adds, in which Phœnicia is comprehended ; and Strabo fays f, some divide all Syria into Cœle-Syrians and Phœnicians ; and Clemens of Alexandria*- calls Phœnicia, Phœnicia of the Syrians; and Isidore observes h, that Syria has in it the provinces of Comagene, Phœnicia^ and Palestine; so Pliny K : Philo the Jew asserts k, that Phœnicia, Cœle-Syria, and Palestine, went by the common name of Canaan in the times of Moses ; and the Phœnicians and Assyrians are reckoned as one by Macrobius ' ; with all which agree some passages of scripture ; the womaa of Canaan, in Afa//. xv. 22. is called a Syro-Phœnician in M«r£ vii. 26. so the disciples are said to lail into Syria and land at; Tyre the chief city in Phœnicia, Acts xxi. 3. and as their country was much the fame, so their manners : hence the proverb m, " The " Syrians against the Phœnicians" signifying, their being alike as to temper and behaviour ; their religion and deities were the fame ; the rites of Adonis were common to them both ; Adad, the god of the Assyrians ", is the fame with the Adodus of the Phœnicians0; so that, all things considered, it may well be thought they had the same language and letters, or nearly the fame. Annius of Viterbo affirms p, that the ancient Assyrian and Phœnician letters were the fame, who certainly was a man of learning, for the times he lived in, and very. y Orig. ].. 9. c. 2. * A Trogo, 1. 1. c. 2. a Polymnia five,.!, jx c. 63. b Geograph. 1. 2. p, 58. c Clio five, 1. 1. c. 105. & Euterpe five, 1. 2. c. 116. d Euterpe five, \. 2. c. 104. & 1. 4. c. 89. c Bibliothec. 1. 18. p. 591. 1 Geograph. 1. 16. p 51-5. s Admon. ad Gnec. p. 25.. b Orig. 1. 14/ c. 3. 1 Nat. Hist. I.5. c. 12. k De vita Mosis, 1. 1. p. 627. ' Saturnal. 1. 1. c. 21. m Vid Suidam in voce Eupoi, & Reines. de Ling. Punic, p. 11. ■ Macrob. Saturnal. 1. 1. c. 24. • Sanchoniatho apud Euscb. Præpar. Evangel. 1. 2. p. 38. » Comment, in Xenophon. de Æquivocis, p. 118.

48.8 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING very inquisitive, however culpable he might be in publishing some fragments as genuine, thought to be spurious ; on which account perhaps he has been a little too severely treated by critics, as Dr Clayton, late bishop of Clogher has observed ' ; and who is of opinion, that his fragment of Berosus, so much complained of, ought not to be entirely rejected as spurious j and the fame writer fays r, that the first Phœnix, from whom the Phœnicians had their name, and the first Cadmus from whom the Greeks had their letters, sprung from Syria ; which Phœnix, who is said by him to reign in Sidon, according to * Sanchoniatbo, was no other than Canaan the son of Ham; for he says, that " One of these " (the Phœnicians) 1/tris, was the inventor of three letters, the brother of " Chna (or Canaan) who was first called Phœnix." The old Canaanitijh, or Phœnician language, and also the Punic, were the fame; hence Austin fays ', that the country people living near him, who were a colony of the Phœnicians, when asked who they were, used to answer, in the Punic language, Cbanani, Canaanites. Now, though this language was near the Hebrew language, so that the Hebrews and Canaanites could converse toge ther as to understand one another, which appears from Abraham's conversation with them, Gen. xiv. 18 — 24. and chap, xxiii. 3 — 16. and from the conversa tion of the Hebrew spies with Rahab the Canaanite, Josh. ii. 9— 21. and from the names the Canaanites imposed on their cities before they came into the hands of the Hebrews, as is evident from the books of Jojbua and Judges, unless those names were given them by Eber and his sons, who dwelt here before the Canaanites, as Dr Lightsoot suggests u ; yet the language was not altogether the fame, it differed much, and especially in after-times, and particularly in their colonies, where it had the name of the Punic. Austin having remarked w, that the Hebrews call Christ Messiah, observes, that " the word agrees with the " Punic language, as very many Hebrew words, and almost all do ;" which may be true of proper names in particular, but not of words in general. St Jerom, who understood the Hebrew language better than Austin, affirms, that the Canaanitijh, or Punic language, was bordering near unto the Hebrew x, and in a great part near unto it r ; he does not fay, as Fuller observes % in the greatest part, 9 Tntroduct. Chronology Heb. Bible, p 19 —22. ' A-nnii Comment, in Manethon. Supplement, p. 97. • Apud Euscb. I'ræpar. Evangel. 1. 2. c. 10. p. 39. ' Expos. Rom. torn. 7. p. 363. u Works, vol. 2. p 327. w Contr. Petil. 1. 2. p. 123. torn. 7. vid. Reines. de Ling. Punic, c. 4. s. 4. p. 20. * Trad. Heb. in Gen. sol. 71. M. r Comment, in Isaiam, c. 19. sol. 42. C. & in Hierem. c. 25. sol- 51. B. torn. 5» 1 Misctllan Sacr. 1. 4. c. 4,

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, k 4S9 part, nor almost in every part, and still less in every part, but in a great part •, and so Origen asserts % that the Hebrew language differs both from the Syrian and the Phœnician. Jerom in one place saysb, that the CanaanitiJJj, or Punic language is a middle language between the Egyptian and the Hebrew. Salmafius suggests % as if some thought that the Punic and Egyptian languages were the fame j which can by no means be admitted. It seems most probable what "Jerom elsewhere observes d, that the CanaanitiJJj, or Phœnician language is the Syrian, or nearly that ; and Austin affirms % that the Hebrew, Punic, and Syrian languages are very near a- kin ; and most of the words which he makes mention of as Punic, are plainly Chttldee or Syriac; so mammon, he fays f, is the word for gain, in the Punic language, and is the Syriac word used for riches in the time of Christ, Luke xvi. 9. hence with the Phœnicians is the name of a man Ædamammon*, which signifies a servant of mammon, riches, wealth, or gain ; fee Matt. vi. 24. So he fays h blood, in the Punic language is called Edom -, now in the Hebrew tongue it is Dam; but in the Chaldee, or Syriac tongue, it is DTK, or DTK, which are frequently used in the Chaldee paraphrases : he s also observes, Baal in the Punic tongue, signifies Lord, and Samen heaven, and both together, Lord of heaven, which with Sanchoniatho*, a Phœnician writer, is a deity of the Phœnicians; and so Balsamen in the Pœnulus of Plautus ', is mani festly of a Chaldee, or Syriac termination; the above Phœnician writer m speaks of a sort of intelligible animals, whom he calls Zophasemin, and which Philo Byblius, who tranflated his work out of the Phœnician language into Creek, in terprets seers, or contemplators of the heavens, which word also, is plainly in the Chaldee or Syriac dialect ; and Kircher affirms n, that he had in his possession a fragment of Sancboniatbo, written in the Aramæan or Syrian language. The Maltese, or the inhabitants of the ifland called Melita, Acts xxviii. 1. a colony of the Phœnicians as Diodorus Siculus affirms % have in their language a great deal of the old Phœnician, or Punic unto this day •, and it is observable, that their numerals from two to eleven, end in a, and from twenty to an hun dred in in p ; which are exactly the terminations of the fame numbers in the Chaldee, or Syriac dialect. The Carthaginians were another colony of the Vol. III. Rrr Phœnicians, » Contr. Celsum, I.3. p. 115. b In Isaiam, ut supra. c Not. in Pallium Tcrtull. p. 205. d In Isaiam ut supra. ' In Ioannem, Tr. 15. p. 58. torn. 9. s De Sermon. Dom. 1. a. p. 35a. torn. 4. » Vid. Swinton. Inscript Cit. p. 21. b Enarrat. in Ps. 136. p. 646. B. ' Quæst. super Jud. I. 7. p. 130. B. torn. 4. * Apud Euseb. Praepar. 1. 2. p. 34. ' Act 5. sc. 2. v. 67. m ApudEuscb. 1. 2. p. 33, 0 Obelise. Pamphil. p. 111. apud Fabritii Biblioth. Gr. torn. t. p. 164. 0 Bibliothec. 1. 5. p. 294. p Sec Universal History, vol.17, p. 299.

490 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING Phœnicians, and the old name of the city of Carthage was Cartheia j which, as Solinus fays % in the Phœnician language, signifies the new city, being composed of amp Kartba, a city, and N/nn new, which are both Chaldee words. There was a city in Canaan, or old Phœnicia, called Hadattah, or Hazor-Hadattah, New Hazor, Jolh. xv. .25. .and another city there is called Keriotb : another name of Carthage we meet with in Plautus ', appears to be of Phœnician original, Chadreanac, the chambers, lodging, or feat of Anak, that is, the Anakim, such as were in old Canaan; though, according to Dr Hyde', the word signifies, as he conjectures, the new city also: and Bochart' has observed many words in the Punic of Plaulus, which are in the Syrian dialect ■, and there are several words in different authors said to be Punic, or Phœniciany which are manifestly Chaldee, or Syriac. Plutarch says u, the Phœnicians call an .ox Thor, which is the word used in Chaldee for it. Jonah's gourd, according to Jerom w, was called Elkeroa in the Syriac and Punic language, as if they were the fame. Sanilius observes*, that in Spain a garden is called by a Punic name, Carmen, which signifies a vineyard, though set with other trees : which Punic word, he makes no doubt (as he need not) comes from the Hebrew word Cerem, a vineyard, and which in the Chaldee language in the plural number is Cermin ■, and Cbarmisy is the name of a city given by the Phœnicians, because of the multitude of vines about it. Isidore"' fays the Phœnicians call a new village Magar ; the word is used by Plautus in his Pænulus % where it signifies a place in Carthage, some public building there, and it is the fame with the Syriac word Magar, which signifies an habitation j so Anna in Virgil b, the filter of Dido, or Eli/a, who were both Phœnicians, anti daughters of Pygmalion king of Tyre, is the Syriac name for Hannah. See Luke ii. 36. Cades, or Cadiz, corruptly called Cales, which belongs to Spam, the Phœnicians called Gadir, or Gadira, which in the Punic language signifies an hedge, as is observed by many % and so it does in Chaldee -, the reason df which name is, because that place was hedged about on all sides by the sea: the Syriac word Korban, used by the Jews in Christ's time for an oath, Mark vii. 11. is said by Theophraftus6 to signify the same in the Punic language; and Lacbmsn i Polyhist. c. 40. So Isidor. Orig. 1. 14. c. 14. r Pœnulus, Acts. se. ». v.,35- ' Not. in Peritzol. Itincrar. Mundi. p. 44. ''"Canaan, 1.2. c.'6. u Opera, vol. 1. Vit. Sylkc, p. 463. w Comment. In Ionam, c. 4. sol, .59. B. * Comment, in Gantic. i. 6. p 58. f Stephan, de uib. * Orig. 1. 15. -c. tz. >co Servius in'Vrrgil. Æneid. lib.*, v. 369. » Prolog, v. 86. vid. Philip. Pareum in ibid. & Lexic.'Plautin b Æneid 1. 4. v. 9 & passim. « FestusAvienusinOiaMaritim.l.i.Solinus)c.-36.'Plin.Nat,Hist.l. 4. c.'22.Isid.Orig.l.J4 c.6. * Apud Joseph, conir. Apion. 1. 1, s. 22.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 491 Lachman is used by Atbauuts' for bread, which the Syrians so call, and which in Syria is the best bread •, and by the Syrians and Syria, he means Phœnicians and Phœnicia, where it seems it was so called, and is manifestly a Chaldee word; as is the word Nabla, the name of a musical instrument, said by him f to be an invention of the Pbaniciant ; as Sambuca is of the Syrians, called the Phœnician lyre* the fame with the Chaldee Sabbecay Dan. iii. 5. there rendered Jackbut. Pausanias E uses this as a proof that Cadmus was not an Egyptian, but a Phœnician j because Minerva is- not called by the Egyptian word Sais, but by the Phœnician word Siga, which comes from the Chaldee, or Syriac word njo to increase, or be increased ; from all which it appears, that the Chaldee, or Syrian language, and the Phœnician, are- nearly the fame, and so the letters may be supposed to be. , Let it be further observed, that the Greeks had their letters from the Phœni cians, at least sixteen or seventeen of them \ which Cadmus, some say ' Linus, brought out of Phœnicia into Greece; which, without mentioning their number, is asserted by Herodotus k, who fays, they were called Cadmeian and Phœnician letters, and that he saw some of them at Thebes in Baolia, engraved on some Tripods there* and that they were greatly like the Ionic letters ; the fame fays Diodorus Siculus of the original and nameVof those letters, and relates1, that the brass pot Cadmus offered urMinerva Lindia, had an inscription of Phœnician letters on it : the Greeks therefore, themselves, acknowledge, that they had their letters from the Phœnicians, as the above write rs affirm, and so Euphorus n, Zenodotus \ and others ; hence Josephtts observes °, that they glory in it, that they received them from them •,. so that this is a matter out of question : and Bianconi f is of opinion, that the ancient Greeks used the very letters of the Phœnicians ; and indeed this seems to be the meaning of Herodotus, in the place before referred to ; and Diflys Cretensis is said q to have written his His tory of the Trojan wars, in the Greek language,, but in Phœnician letters ; and so Linus and Orpheus wrote in the letters of the Pelafgi, the fame with the Phœnician, as fays Diodorus ' 5 and the Greeks formerly wrote as the Phœniciansdid, from the right to the left, for in this form was the name of Agamemnm written, on his statue AtOlympia.' 1 and thus wrote the Etrusci, who had their r r r 2 letters • Deipnofophist 1. 3. c. 19. p. 113. sibid. lr 4 c.ag. ■>. 175. 8 Baeotica five,. 1. 9. p. 560. h Pltn. 1. f. c. 7. c.56. Irenaeusadv. Haeres. 1. 1. c. it. Isidor. Orig. 1. 1 c. 3. 1 Suidas invoce Auo«. k Terpsichore five, 1. 5. c. 58, 59. 1 Bibliothec. 1. 3. p. 328—340. m ApudCIem. Alex. Stromat. 1. 1. p. 306. " In Laert. vit. Philosoph. f. 7. p. 455. ° Contr. Apion. 1. 1 . s. a. p De Antiq. Liter. Heb. p. 5g. * Vid. Fabritii Bibliothec. Gr. 1. 1. c.5. s. 10. p. 33. ' BibliotRee. V. $. p 200, 201.' .• Pausan. Eliac. 1. five, I 5. p. 338.

492 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING letters from the Greeks1, whose ancient language was the Aramæan, or n Syrian ; which way of writing by the Greeks, was gradually by little and little disused, and issued in a form like that of the ploughing of oxen, called Purlin, in which manner the laws of Solon were written, as appears from Suidasw and Harpocratian % that is alternately, from the right to the left. Now as the Greeks received their letters from the Phœnicians, and there is a similarity of the letters of the one to those of the other, as it is reasonable to suppose there should, and as Herodotus, upon his own sight, affirms there was, as before observed, nay, were the same ; so there is a great likeness between the Greek and the present Samaritan letters -, as the Samaritans wrote from the right hand towards the left, if the position of the Samaritan letters be inverted for that purpose, as Mr Bedford remarks y, the letters will appear to be the samej or however, very much alike : the use to be made of this will soon and easily be perceived ; for, as Bocbart reasons z, this being the cafe, it follows that the Samaritan characters are the very fame which were used in Phœnicia in the times of Cadmus ; and it is acknowledged by many learned men, that the letters or characters of the ancient Canaanites, that is, the Phœnicians, were either the fame with, or very like to the Samaritan characters % or that the old Phœnician letters, and the Samaritan, are very similar, and nearly the fame, so that they may be reckoned the sameb; and whereas the Phœnicians received their letters from the Assyrians, or Chaldeans, it follows that the Samaritan letters being so like the Phœnician, must be the fame, or near the fame, with the old Assyrian and Chaldean characters •, and that the people who are properly called Sama ritans', had both their language and their letters from the Chaldeans or Syrians, will appear highly probable from the original of them, next to be considered. It is amazing to me, that some learned men should make the ten tribes of Israel that revolted under Jeroboam, the original of the Samaritans. Samaria indeed was built in the times of Omri, a successor of his, and not before, and by him, between whom and Jeroboam, reigned Nadab, Baasha, Elah, and Zimri, and this city also became the metropolis of the ten tribes, and was inhabited only by Israelites, though never from hence called Samaritans, but Israel, or Ephraim ; nor had they any more connection with the people after called Samaritans than with the Scythians and Tartars ; for it was not till after the Israelites were carried captive into Assyria, that those, after called Samaritantt 1 Vid. Dickinson. Delphi Phœnic. c. 10. & Rcincstum dc lingua Punica, c. 12. s. 30. 8 Rcines. ibid. c. 2. s. 16. » Invoce n^of. * In Oxa«9t». * Chronology, p. 479. * Ep. Voflio, col 859. » Universal History, vol. 2. p. 347. » Bochart. Canaan, 1. i.e. 20. col. 451. Dr Kennicott. Dissert. 2. p. 151, 156.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 493 Samaritans, were sent as a colony from thence to re-people Samaria, which was entirely stripped of its inhabitants by the king of Assyria ; nor does it appear that those who were left in the land of Israel had any society with this new colony, or mixed with then), either in civil or religious things, but re turned, at least, many of them, to the pure worship of God, and joined with the tribe of Judah, and put themselves under the government of the kings of it, and went with that tribe captive into Babylon. Nor is it clear that either those of the ten tribes, or those of the two tribes, had any thing to do with these Samaritans, for three hundred years after their first settlement in Samaria, nor they with them ; even until they were joined by some renegado Jews in the times of Manasfeb the priest, for whom a temple was built in Gerizzim by Sanballat ; the only instance is of the priest sent from Assyria to teach them the worship of the God of the land, and which they very coolly and hypocritically received, still continuing m the idolatry they brought with them, and in which they continued to the times of Ezra, 2 Kings xvii. 27—29, 33, 44. on which account the Israelites that were left in the land were obliged to keep at a dis tance from them, even when they first came among them, for had they joined them, it may reasonably be thought, there would have been a priest, who, though of Jeroboam's religion, could have instructed them as well as the priest sent from among the captives in Assyria, who also must have been of the fame fort : now, either there were no priests left in the land, or, if there were, they had not joined the Samaritans, and though they had officiated in Jeroboam's idolatry, did not choose to join them in theirs j and certain it is, that in the times of Ezra and Nebemiab, the Jews would have nothing to do with the Samaritans, especially in religious things, Ezra iv. 1 —3. Nebemiab 11. 20. and though under the influence of Sanballat their governor, they received the rene gado Jews, with his son-in-law Manajfeh ar the head' of them, it does not appear that they cordially embraced them, since in any time of trouble the Jews were in, they did not care to own they had any connection with them ; so in the times of Antiotbus Epipbanes, by whom the Jews were greatly dis-* tressed, they wrote unto him, and desired they might not be considered as of die fame religion with the Jews, and be involved with them in the fame distress ; since, though their ancestors had been forced into a compliance withsome parts of their worship, yet they assured him they were different from them, both in their manners, or customs, and in their original ; and, whereas they had built an altar on mount Gerizzim, not dedicated to any deity, they desired it might, for the future be called the temple of the Grecian c Jupiter •, though, c Joseph. Antiq. 1, 1 2. c. 5. s. 5;

49+ A D I S S E R T ATION CONCERNING though, at other times, when the circumstances of the Jews were more favoura ble, then they claimed kindred with them, and derived their descent from Joseph, and his sons Manasseh and EpbraimA, as they did from Jacob in the times of Christ; and yet then the Jews had no dealings with them, Joha'w. <^ 12, and they are manifestly distinguished by our Lord himself from the Jews, and from the lost stieep of the house of Israel, Matt. x. 5, 6. John iv. 22. What is said in favour of the Samaritans by Jewish writers, as by Maimonides % and by Obadiab Bartenoraf, must be understood as expressing the opinion their ancestors had of them, after they embraced the Jewish religion ; in which they thought they were hearty and sincere, and so gave credit to them, until the wise men of Israel, as they fay, made a strict enquiry about them, and found that they worshipped the image of a dove •, after which they reckoned them as other idolatrous heathens, and would have nothing to do with them, as is asserted by them in those very passages where the character is given of them, as strict observers of the written law8. A late writer h suggests, that Jeroboam not only coined a new religion by the help of his priests, but a new language and letters, to keep the people close unto him, which language he supposes to be the Samaritan ; but this is said with out any proof, or shadow of probability ; and with equal probability is what Genebrard\ from a Jewish writer, asserts, and which perhaps may better suit the hypothesis of a change of letters, than where it is commonly placed ; that 11 the Jews in Rbeboboam's time, that they might not join with the schismatic " Israelites, in any use of sacred things, contrived the form of letters which " are now used, that is, the square letters, changing their former figures, and " left those which have been since called the Samaritan letters ;" but, the Samariums had their original language and letters elsewhere ; and from whence they had them, may be concluded from the account given of them in 2 Kings xvii. 24, 30, 31. where the places from whence they came areexpresty named, and the idolatry they brought with them fully described,, and in which they continued-, and by considering which, it will appear, that they were originally Chaldeans, or Phœnicians, and had the same religion, language, and letters they had •, some of them were brought from Babylon, the metropolis of the Chaldean empire, and perhaps the greater part, since they are first mentioned , and who, no doubt, brought with them their language and letters, the Chal dean A Ibid l.ii. r . 8 . s. si ■ Comment, in Misn. Bcracor, c. 8. 8» f Comment, in ibid. c. 7. 1. e Vide Guilium in ibid. 11 Kals. Dissert. Philolog. dc Ling. Heb. Natal, p, 72. ' Chronolog. ad A. M. 3203. e Mose Gerundcnse.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 495 dean, as they did their idolatry; for they made succoth benotb, ox the tabernacles of the daughters, or booths of Venus, as Selden k thinks it may be rendered ; and -which may have respect to the apartments in the temple of Mylitta, or Venus .in Babylon, the like to which those people made in Samaria, in which women, .once in their lives, prostituted themselves to whomsoever asked them, in honour of Venus ; of which filthy practice, .Herodotus makes mention1; and from the Babylonians the Phœnicians had the fame custom, their women prostituted them selves before their idols, and dedicated their gain to them, being strongly per suaded they would be propitious to them, and they should enjoy prosperity, as Athanasius affirms"1, and Valerius Maximus relates n, that they had a temple called the temple of Secca Venus, which is near in found to succoth Benoth, where their matrons before marriage prostituted their bodies for gain ; and there was a Phœnician colony, three days journey from Carthage, called Sicca Veneria0 ; to which may be added, that it was a custom wich the Cyprians, another colony .of the Phœnicians, for virgins before marriage to prostitute themselves, and igive their gain to Venus p ; by all which, it is plain from whom these Samaritans received their impiety and impurity : others of these people were brought from Cuthah, or Cutba, a city in Erec, a province of Babylon'1, where it is said Abraham lived ; thejSamaritans are commonly called Cuthim, or Cuthites in Jewish writings ' ; and so these were of the fame country with the former, and had the fame language and letters in all probability; the idol 'they nude for themselves was Nergal,. which is part of the name of two of the princes of Babylon, it being usual with great personages in the east, to take their idols into their names ; fee- Jer. xxxix. 3. This name, according to Hillerus, signifies the fountain of light, and denotes the fun the Babylonians worshipped ; the next that were brought to Samaria by the king of Assyria were brought from Ava, the same with Iva, Isai. xxxvii. 17. and perhaps the fame with the Avim, Deut. ii. 13. a people that formerly dwelt in Phœnicia, or on the borders of it, from whence might be a colony of them in the country of Affyria, or Babylon ; in the Septuagint version of ver. 3 1 . they are called Hivites, which were one of the seven nations of Canaan, or of old Phœnicia, the remains of which had settled in those parts ; these had for their idols, k De DiisSyr. Syntagma. c«7- p- 713.. 'Clio five, 1. 1. c. 199. a Contr. Gentcs,p. si* n Dict. & Fact.. MetDQrab. Lax. 6. s. i£. •Ptolem.Geograph.l.4.c«3.vid.ReineLdeLing.Punic.c.8s a8<AJRivin.deMajumis,c.7.s. 26... J" Justin, e Tiogo, 1. 18. c. 5.. 1 Hyde Hist Relig. Vet. Pets. c. 2. p. 39, 40 ' T, Bab. BavaBathra,iol, 91, 4. Vid. Pirke Elicacr, c. 26. sol. 26. 2. andc. 38. sol. 44, *•

496 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING idols, Nibhaz and Tartak, which according to Hillerus', signify the one the " remote one sceth," that is, the fun which beholds all things, and the other, " a chain," denoting either the fixed stars chained to their places, or the Sa tellites of the planets fixed to their orbs, worshipped by the Chaldeans and Assyrians : the next came from Hamatb, a city in Syria, on the northern borders of the land of Canaan, Numb, xxxiv. 8. their idol is called AJhima, which, as Hillerus fays ', was with the Arabs the name of a lion, the symbol of the fun ; which might be worshipped by these men, under this name, as the fun was the chief object of the worship of the Assyrians and Phœnicians, as Macrobiits observes " : the last of this colony of the Samaritans were men that came from Sepbarvaim, which was either the Sipharab of Ptolemy *', \n Mesopo tamia, or that which was near Babylon, Abydenusx makes mention of, or rather, as Vitringa thinks y, a city in Syro-Pbœnicia, or a province in which * Abydenus places Heliopolis, namely Cœle-Syria ; and it is certain the idolatry these men were guilty of, is the fame with that of the old Canaanites, or Phœnicians, who burnt their children in the fire to Molecb, Lev. xviii. 21. as. these did to Anammelecb and Adrammelecb, the same with Molecb, as the word Melech with which they end, shews, which signifies king, as Molecb does : that the Phœni cians sacrificed their children to Saturn, or Molecb, is observed by Pliny1, Eusebius b, anAAlbanaJius* ; hence those words of Ennius, " Pceni sunt soliti, " suos sacrificare puellos," as did the Carthaginians, a colony of the Phœni cians, which is affirmed by Porphyry d, Justin*, Curtius', Pescenius Festus%, Diodorus Siculus h, and others ; from all which it clearly appears, that the Sa maritans sprung from the Assyrians, or Chaldeans, and the Phœnicians 3 and sometimes they would call themselves Sidonians1, from Sidon, a chief city in Phœnicia ; so that they may well be thought to bring with them to Samaria, the language and letcers of the Asj'yrians and Phœnicians : and certain it is, that the Samaritans used the Syrian tongue and letters, Ezra iv. 7. the fame with the Cbaldee, Dan. i. 4. and chap. ii. 4. more than two hundred years after they* came to Samaria ; for their epistle to the king of Persia was written in that language and letters ; and according to Josepbus", the Syrians, Phœni cians, Ammonites, and Moabites, joined the Samaritans in it ; and with great propriety * Onomastic. sacr. p 606. * Ibid. p. 609. ° Saturnal. 1. 4. c. si, 42. w Geograph. 1. 5. c. 18. * Apud Euseb. Præpar. Evangel. 1. 9. c. 41. p. 457. >' Comment, in Ifaiam, c. 36. tg. z Apud Euseh. ut supra, C. it. » Nat Hist 1.3,6. c.5. b De Laud. Constantin p. 646. c Contr. Gent. p. Si. •» De Abstincntia. 1. 2. c. vj. « E Trogo, 1. 18. c. 6 & I. «9» c. 1. s Hist li 4. c 3. t Apud Lactant. Institut. 1. 1. c. 21. h Bibliothcc. 1. 20. p. 756, 789, 1 Joseph. Antiq, 1. it. c. 8. s. 6. & 1. 1a. c. 5. C 5. k Antiq. 1. 11. c. 2. s.i.

THE 'HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 497 propriety did they use them in writing to a king of Persia, since the Persians arid Syrians, for the most part, used the same letters and characters, as Epiphavius asserts '. Jerom m is clear in it, that the old Canaanitish, or old Phœnician language, is the fame with the Syrian; and that the Samaritan language ap proaches nearer to the Chaldee, or Syriac, than to the Hebrew, is affirmed by Bochart " ; and whoever has but dipped into the Samaritan version of the Pen tateuch, will easily perceive it is in the Chaldee dialect, here and there an Hebrew word j and it is not to be wondered at, that they should get into their lan guage, when some of the Jews had mixed themselves with them : and Walton owns the fame °, that the dialect of the Samaritan version is of the fame kindred with the Chaldee language, though it has some few words proper and peculiar to itself: and so F. Simon says p, that the Samaritan version is written in the Syro-Chaldean language, not impure, which fliews the antiquity of it. There are three dialects of the Syriac language, as Abulpharagius q, an Arabic writer, relates ; the Aramæan, the most elegant of all, which the inhabitants of Rohay Harran, and outer Syria used ; that of Palestine, which was spoken by the inhabitants of Damascus, mount Libanus, and interior Syria ; and the Chaldee Nabathean dialect, the most unpolished of all, used by those who dwelt on the mountains of the Assyrians, and in the villages of Erac, or Babylonia ; which latter very probably, was spoken by the Samaritans. What were the ancient Syrian or Assyrian letters can only be concluded from the old Phœnician, which appears to be the fame with the modern Samaritan ; for since the Phœnicians received their letters from the Syrians, or Assyrians, they must be nearly the fame. The usual Syriac characters, in which are written the versions of the Old and New Testament, are comparatively of a late date and use, being in troduced by the Christians of Antioch ; who, in imitation of Daniel and Ezra, had used the Hebrew character, but changed it for those now in use, because they would have nothing in common with the Nazarenes, or Ebionites' : the more unusual and more ancient character is the Estrangelo, used only now for capitals and frontispieces and titles of books, which is rough and unpolished, and bears a resemblance to the old Phœnician, or Samaritan ; and Mr Castcli* is express for it, that the Estrangelo is the Chaldee character j for that the Assyrians and Chaldeans ever used the square character of the Hebrews cannot be proved, Vol. III. S s s since 1 Contr. Hæres. I.e. lucres. 66. m Comment, in Isai. xix. sol. 29. I. D Epist. Vossio, col. 860. ° Praesat. ad Introdust. Ling. Oriental, s. 25. P Disqu. Critic, c. 11. p. 88. 1 Hist. Dynast, p. 16, 17. ' Boderian. Praesat. ad Lex. Syro-Chald. Walton Praesat. ut supra, s. 35. » Lexic. Heptoglott. col. 178. vide Psefferi Critica sacra, s. e. problem. Quest. 1.

498 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING since we have no writings of theirs extant : for what Cbaidee books we have v/ere written by Jews, either in, or after the Babylonijh captivity ; as by Daniel, and Ezra, who wrote Cbaidee in the square character, because it was what their sacred books were written in, they had been used to, and the people also, for whose use they wrote ; and in after times, the Cbaidee paraphrases were written by Jews ; and so both Tahnuds, though less pure ; and it seems this character was used by the Syrian Christians, in imitation of the Jews* before their change of characters already mentioned ; but after the Cbaidee monarchy ceased, no books were written by any of that people in their own language. Berosus, the Chaldean, and others, wrote in Greek. Tbeopbilus of Antioch1 indeed fays, that Berosus shewed the Greeks Cbaidee letters ; but whe ther by them he means their learning, laws, and history, or the characters of their letters, is not certain j if the letters, it does not appear what they were : hence Hot'linger a concluded that the ancient character of the Assyrians and .Chaldeans is unseen, and unknown, and that nothing certain is had concern ing it ; some, he fays, think it is the Samaritan, which is right, others, the Etbiopic \ but he himself was in suspense, and hoped, that in some time would be published by Golius, some Cbaidee writings, in the ancient tongue and character j but whether any ever were publislied, I never heard. The Jews sayw, that after the hand-writing of the angel upon the wall, and the publication of the Hebrew characters by Ezra, the Chaldeans left their own characters, and used them j but this seems to be said without any good foundation. Now, since both the Samaritan language and letters differ from the Hebrew being the old Phœnician and Assyrian : it was necessary that, when the Penta teuch of Moses was brought among them, it should be copied, and put into Samaritan letters, that they might read it ; as it was, and that from a copy in the square character, as the variations /hew, before observed •, and it was ne cessary also, that there should be a version of it in their own language, that they might the better understand it, and which also has been done -, and upon the whole, I think it plainly appears, that they always retained their own language and letters, wlhich were the Assyrian and old Phœnician, to the times of Manajseh their high-priest, and ages after, as the Hebrews retained their language and letters also, the square ones j so that there seems to be no foun dation for any such change of letters being made by Ezra, as has been con tended for. • Ad Autolyc. 1. 3. p. 133, » Smegma oriental, par. 1. p. 35. Gram, Chald. Syr. p. 4. w Buxtorf. de Lit. Heb. Addit. 1 CHAP.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 499 CHAP. IV. Of the Antiquity of the Vowel-Points and Accents. I Put the vowel-points and accents together, because, according to the doc trine of them, they have a dependance on each other ; the points are often changed according to the position of the accents, and therefore the one must be as early as the other ; and as Ellas Levita x himself observes, " There is no *' syllable without a point, and there is no word without an accent." About the antiquity of these there has been a controversy for a century or two past, and which is not yet decided ; nor do I expect it will be by this essay of mine ; all that I propose is, to try how far back, or how high, in point in antiquity, these things can be traced and carried. There have been divers opinions concerning them. Some think they are of a divine original ; and others, that they are of human invention. Some sup pose that they were first invented by Ben A/her and Ben Napbtali, about the year 1037 y; others, that they were devised by the Jews of Tiberias, 500 years after Christ at least, or however were invented after the Talmud w as finished 2;others ascribe them to Ezra, and the men of the great synagogue ' ; who they suppose at least revived and restored them, and fixed them to the consonants, which before were only delivered and used in a traditionary way ; and others, are of opinion, they were given to Moses on mount Sinai, as to the power of them in pronouncing and reading, though not as to the make and figures of them in writing, but were propagated by tradition to the times of Ezra; whilst others believe they were ab origine b, and were invented by Adam together with the letters, or however that they were coeval with the letters, and in use as soon as they were: which account is most probable, may appear by tracing them step by step, from one period of time to another ; and to begin with the lowest of them. s s s 2 A. D. * Sepher Tob Taam, five, de accent, c. 4. 1 So Morinu< de Sinceritate Heb. & Gr. Text 1. 2. Exeicitat. 14. c. 1. Gencbrard. chronolog. p. 181. Calmet. &c. ■ Elias Levita, praefat 3. » Ben Chayim præfat. Bibl. in principio, & multi script Jud. " Cosri par. 4, s. 25. Muscatusin ibid, so], 229 1. Meor Enayim, c, 59.

5oo A DISSERTATION CONCERNING A. D. 1037. In this year, according to R. Gedaliah" and David Ganz*, flourished two famous Jews, Ben AJher, and Ben Napbtali, to whom some have ascribed the invention of the vowel-points ; and so early, however, it is owned that they existed, even 700 years ago and more : but that these were the inventors of them is not probable, since in the following century lived many eminent Jewish doctors, Jarchi', Kimchi, and Aben-Ezra, who often make mention of the points, but never as a novel invention; which, had these been the authors of, it can hardly be thought, but that they would have made mention of of them as such, and commended them for it. Kitrtcbi observes % against: those that read Adonai, lord, and immecba, with thee, in Psal. ex. 1, 3. instead of Adoni, my lord, and ammeeba, thy people, " That fronvthe rising of the sun ." to the setting of it, (that is, throughout the world) you will find, in all f* copies, Nun with cbirek, zx\d[Ain with patbacb :" so that in his time pointed Bibles were in common and general use. Besides, he charges Jetom with an error on account of the points, and therefore must believe they were in his time. The author of the book of Cosri s, even if R. Judab Halkvi was the author of it, lived about 1 140, or as others, 1089 ; and he speaks of punctua tion as a divine thing, as the effect of divine wisdom, and does not appear to have the least notion of its being of human invention, and much less the in vention of the present age or preceding century ; nay R. Judab Cbijug%, said to be' the first grammarian and the chief of them, found the Bible pointed and accented, as Elias Levita fays h ; and he was coeval with Ben AJher, and .wrote a book of the double letters, and another of pointing ', as if it was of longtime and generally received, and was become an art; he makes not the least mention of Ben AJher being concerned in it ; and so R. Jonah, another grammarian, a little after him, is silent concerning this matter"; and Aben Ezra speaks ' of Ben Labrat, who was before them both, as having found JYQ-in with patbacb in Psal. ix. 6. in an ancient pointed copy ; so that there was an ancient pointed Bible before these men were in being : and what puts it out of all doubt that these men could not be the inventors of the points, is, as Eias Levita observes m, that their dissentions. and disputes were about the points e Shalflialet Hakabala, sol. 28. 2. A Tzemach David, par. 1. sol. 37. 1. * Apud Pocok. Porta Mafia mifccll. not. p. 58. f Par. 3. c. 3a. % Balmcsii Miknch Abraham, p. 24. lin. 10. Eliæ przesat. Methurgcman, sol. 2. «• h Ibid. » Wotfii Bibliothec. Heb. p. 338, 424. k Vide Buxtorf. dc Punct. Antiq. par, 8. p. 3*9. ' Comment, in Psal. ix. 6. »Prsefar.3.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 501 point/3 ,and accents, and about words before pointed, and not then pointed; wherefore ic is not reasonable to suppose that they would disagree and dispute about what they themselves had invented ; so that it most evidently appears, that the points must be in use before their time. A. D. 927. About this time lived SaadiabGaon, who wrote a book, concerning pointing, which Jarchi, on P/al. xlv. 9. makes mention of, and fays he saw it ; the points therefore must be before his time ; for it cannot be thought that he should write a book concerning an art, and the rules of it, which did not exist •, the accents also must then be in use, since, as Gaon was for dividing Jehovah from " righteousness" in Jer. xxiii. 6. making the latter to be the name of the Messiah, and the former the name of God, who called him so. Aben Ezra* replies to him, that he mistook or perverted the author of the accents, and made him guilty of an error, who put Tarcha (or TipBca) on W\p* ; and again, whereas the word Jehovah is repeated in Exod. xxxiv. 6. Gaon observes, that the first name is to be connected with Nip*), " pro- " claimed •," but Aben Ezra replies °, if it should be so, why did not the author of the accents connect it ? But, fays he, it is right to repeat the name, as Abraham Abraham, Jacob Jacob, Moses Moses. Now it would have been absurd in Aben Ezra to have charged Gaon with a mistake or perversion of the accents, if they were not in being in the times of Gaon : he lived many years before Ben AJher and Ben Naphtali ; this proves that they were not the in ventors of them •, and Aben Ezra himself lived in the next century to them, and he speaks of the accents not as a novel invention, but of as early use as the men of Ezra's great synagogue ; and expresses such an high opinion of them, that he advises not to acquiesce in any exposition that is not according to them, nor hearken to it. A. D. 900. In the church of St Dominic in Bononia, a copy of the Hebrew scriptures is kept with great care, which is pretended to be the original copy written by Ezra himself, and is valued at a high rate: so that sometimes the Bononians have borrowed large sums of money upon it, and repaid them for the redemp tion of it. It is written in a very fair character, on calf-skin dressed,- the letters retaining their blackness, and it is made up in a roll, according to the •<■' ' ancient " Comment, in Exod. 18. 3. * Ibid, in Exod. xxxiv. 6. '

502 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING ancient manner. This copy was presented by the Jews to Aymericus, the then master of the order of St Dominic, who exercised that office about the year 1308, as Montfaucon relates p, who saw it; and who further observes, that besides a Latin inscription sewed to it in the middle of the volume, which he gives, there is also one in Hebrew, " This is the book of the Law of Moses, «« which Ezra the scribe wrote, and read before the congregation, both men " and women ; and he stood in a wooden pulpit." Montfaucon says not whe ther it is pointed or no, but dean Prideaux fays q, it has the vowel-points ; and Francifcus Tifardus Ambaceus asserts the fame r, who fays he often saw it ; as did also Arias Montanus ', and who affirms, that it has the Massorab, the fame as in the Venetian and Bombergian editions. Now though there is no reason to believe it to be the autograph of Ezra, nor near so early, yer, according to the account of it, it must be ancient j for it is near 460 years ago since it was presented by the Jews to the monastery, and as they presented it as a very ancient copy, even as the autograph of Ezra, it must have had then marks or" antiquity on it, and must have been written some ages before ; and as Dr Kennicott observes ', it is a moderate supposition to imagine it was written as long before it was presented, as ft has been since, and so must be of as early a date as where I have placed it. A. D. 740. If the book of Cofri, before mentioned, was not only compiled from loose sheets and put together by R. Judab Halhvi, as some think ; but that the dialogue itself was had between a Jew, whose name, some say, was Isaac Sangari, and a Persian king, whose name was Cbosroes, and which R. Judab fays, was 400 years before his time, so he suggests in the beginning of the book -, and whereas he flourished about the year 1140, this book must be composed, or this dialogue held, about the year 740. Now in this work the points and accents are much spoken of, in which the author commends the excellence and elegance of the Hebrew tongue on account of them ; gives many of the names of both, and declares the usefulness of them ; asserts that they were received by tradition from Moses ; that they are the production of admirable wisdom, and would never have been received had they not come from a pro phet, or one divinely assisted u ; and he does not give the least hint of their being » Diar. Italic, p. 399, 400. vid. ejusdem Præliminar. in Hcxapla Origen. p. 23. 9 Conneaion, par. 1 . p. 362. ' Gram. Heb. apud Hottinger. Thesaur. Philolog. p. 5« 2, 513. • Prafat. dever. Lest in Heb. Lib. ' Dissertation, Vol. 1, p. 310, * Cosri, par. a. s. 80. & par. 3. s. 31, 32.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 503 being of an human, and much less of a modern invention j yea, expresly ascribes the seven kings, or vowel-points, as Aben-Ezra also calls them, to Ezra and the men of his synagogue, and which he supposes they received by tradition from Moses. t A. D. 600. Those who ascribe the invention of the points to the Jews of Tiberias, sup pose that this was after the year 500, when the Babylonian Talmud was finished. Their reason for it is, because, as they affirm, no mention is made of them in that work, and therefore the invention of them must be later than that ; but of this more hereafter. However, according to this hypothesis, one would think they must have been invented and in use by the time above given; though indeed those who espouse this hypothesis, are at a very great uncertainty about the exact time of this invention. The first person that broached this notion was Elian Levita, a German Jew, who lived in the 16th century, con trary to the sentiments and belief of Jiis whole nation ; who either suppose the points were from Ezra, and the men of the great synagogue, or from Moses at mount Sinai, or from Adam who had them from God himself. This man asserted ", that after the finishing of the Talmud, which he places in the year 436, after the desolation of the second temple, arose the men of Tiberias; wise and great men, expert in the scripture, and in purity and in eloquence of language excelled all the Jews in those times -, and after them did not arise any like them, and that these were the authors of the points : this is said with out offering the least proof of it, and by one that lived near a thousand years after ; it is strange that he only should be in this secret ; that no history, Jewish nor Christian, should make mention of it for such a course of years : it is not probable that there were such a sett of men at Tiberias about the time suggested, since a great destruction of the Jews was made at it, in the year 352, by Gallus, at the command of Constantius ; and since promotion to doctorship ceased in the land of Israel with Hillell the prince, who flourished about the year 340, as the Jewish chronologers observe" : and since the flourishing university of the Jews was at Babylon at the time of this pretended invention, very unlikely it is, that it should be done without their knowledge, advice, and assistance, and without either approbation of it, or opposition to it by any of them, for ought appears ; and that it should be universally received by the Jews at once every where, and not one Momus to find fault, this is very extra ordinary; yea, that it should be received by the Karaite Jews themselves, enemies » Pnefat. 3. ad MasoreU * Shalslialet Hakabala, sol. 85. ». Gan. a. Tzemach David.. sol. 33. 1 .

5o4 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING enemies to tradition and innovation, as will be seen hereafter. It is strange that, according to this scheme, as many persons must be employed in this work, that there should be but one sort of pointing-, that they should all take the same method, throughout the whole Bible, without any variation, except some anomalies, and which are to be observed in letters as well as in points ; and that this should be always continued with the Jews, and never any other scheme proposed and attempted j and that it should not be known who began it and when. And indeed we are left at a very great uncertainty about the place where this wonderful affair was transacted ; Elias, the relator of if, should he be pressed hard, seems to have found a subterfuge to retreat unto, and therefore he tells us that Tiberias is Mtesia Y ; but where that is he fays not, but leaves us to seek for it where we can, and take a wild goat's chace into Asia Minor, to Pontus, or Bitbynia, or Papblagonia, where Mcesia or Myfia is said to be •, but never famous for Jewish doctors, nor have any been heard of in it : the Tiberias of the "scripture, and of Jcfepbus, and of the Jewish writers in general, was a city in Palestine, situate on the lake of Genesaret -, famous in their writings for the last sitting of the Sanhedrim in it, for a very considerable university there, for the residence of R. Judab, the saint, in it, where it is probable he compiled the Misnah, and of many others of their celebrated doctors, in the second and third centuries ; and where it is certain the Jerusa lem Talmud was finished, in the third century •, after which the university in it began to decrease, and we hear but now and then of a doctor in that place, the universities in Babylon bearing away all the glory ; therefore it is not pro bable, that this business of pointing the Bible was done by the men of Ti berias in later times : and if it was, it is strange that none of them should declare themselves the authors of the points, or that they had an hand in the invention of them, or were assisting in that work, since it would have gained them immortal honour, it being allowed to be an ingenious and useful work ; and especially since the Jews are proud boasters and lovers of fame and reputa tion : strange, very strange it is, that not one of the men concerned in this work can be named ; nor any time fixed when it was done by them, whether ioo years after the finishing of the Talmud, or 200^ or 300, or 400 ; neither of which it seems the espousers of this notion choose to fix upon, neither on particular men, nor on a particular time, lest they should be entangled. The only man I have met with, that has ventured to fix the date of the invention of * Praefat. 3. ad Maibret, he seems to have taken this name of Tiberias from Ben Chayim in Masor. Mag. Lit. n sol. 31. 2. or from David Kimchi, in Miclol, sol. 108. 2. ■ Apud Herman. Hugonem de prima fcribeadi orig. c. 27. p. 168. '

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 505 of the points, is PoJJ'evinus the Jesuit z, who in his great wisdom has pitched on the year 478, when the points began to be in use ; and so some years before the finishing of the Talmud^ according to the most early account of it; where by he has destroyed the hypothesis on- which this notion is built. It is incre dible that men under a judicial blindness, and the curse of God, ignorant of divine things, should form a scheme which so well ascertains the fense of the scriptures ; that they should hit on such an invention, and publish it, so sub versive of their own religion, and so serviceable to Christianity and its doc trines, and which in no one instance opposes it; and that after they;had seen, as they must in the age they are supposed to invent them, what use the Chris tians had made of various passages of scripture against Judaism, and in favour of Christianity ; and yet should point and accentuate those very passages against themselves, and for the Christians : take one instance in the room of many as to accents, in Gen. xlix. 10. how gladly would they have the Atbnach re moved from vbll to iy and then read the words, as they have attempted to do% the scepter Jhall not .depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet for ever ; for Shilob shall come : but. the accents are against them, and forbid this reading ; of what use they are in Jer. xxiii. 6. has been already observed : nor is it credible, that the accents should be invented by the Jews about the time supposed ; since one use of them was to lead and direct in music, and that the use of accents mould in prose and verse be different, as they are in metrical and prose writings of the Bible, when at the time supposed, metre was disused, and the metre of the Hebrews lost and unknown. He that can believe such a romantic story as all this is, need not be squeamish to be lieve the most arrant lie and notorious fable, to be met with in the whole Talmud ; a greater I know not ; a louder lie I believe was never told by a Jew, nor by any other, that ever met with the least degree of credit in the world ; it is amazing it should be believed by any : some Protestants at first received it, through their too great credulity, and through their high esteem for the above-mentioned Elias, by whom they were taught the Hebrew lan guage, of the usefulness of which they were sensible. Many of the Papists greedily catched at it, and commended the Protestants for receiving it ; who might hope, in the issue, to avail themselves of it, since it would appear from hence, that the fense of scripture the Protestants had given into, depended on the invention of men, even of some Jews, long since the time of Christianity; and they might hope that on this account, they would reject the points, and Vol. III. Tt t then, 1 Apud Herman. Hugonem de prima Scribendi orig, c. 27. p; 168. ■ Vid. Menassch ben Israel. Conciliat. in Gen. QuxlX. 65. s. 3.

506 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING then, as words would be subject to various fenses without them, and some con trary to each other, they would at last be convinced of the necessity of one infallible interpreter of scripture. Morinus, a Papist, and a very principal opposer of the points, in a book b, highly commended by some Protestant writers, speaks out plainly ; he fays, " The reason why God would have the •• scriptures written in the ambiguous manner they are, (that is, without " points) is, because it was his will that every man should be subject to the " judgment of the church, and not interpret the scriptures in his own way ,• for " feeing the reading of the scriptures is so difficult, and so liable to various " ambiguities, (that is a mere nose of wax, to be turned any way) ; from the ** very nature of the thing, he observes, it is plain, that it was not the will *' of God, that every one should rashly and irreverently take upon him to *» explain it, nor to suffer the common people to expound it at their pleasure, " but, that in those, as in other things respecting religion, his will is, that *'* the people should depend upon the priests." * • • .'.,... \\ , \\i i . » * Oh A. D. 500. About this time the Babylonian Talmud was finished; according to e Scatiger, in 508 •, in which it is said no mention is made of the points and accents : but, upon enquiry, it will be found to be otherwise ; for though the Talmudists do not mention the names, nor express the figures of the vowel-points, they manifestly suppose them : which shew they were in being in their times, as when they fay, " Read not so, but so," it is plain they have no reference to the consonants, which are the fame one way as another -, they must have re spect to the difference of the vowel-points, the doctrine of which is the foun dation of their remarks, and therefore must be known by them : so the Karaites charge the Rabbins with perverting the commands of God by their Æ-Tikra*s, " Read not so, but so," not changing the consonants but the vowels and accents ; for having said that the copies of theirs and the Rabbins, with respect to punctuation were the same ; they observe, that otherwise in the places where they change the vowels and accents, and fay, " Do not read ** so, but so," they would not have said, " Do not read," but absolutely would have pointed according to their pleasure ; but that it is suggested they dared not do ; which the Karaites add, is a proof, that before the finishing of the Talmud, from the days of old, the Law was pointed and accented d j thus when » Dc Heb. & Graec. Text. Sinceritate, 1. 1. Exerciut. 6. c. 1. s. 8. p. 196, 199. c De Emend. Temp. 1. 7. p. 323. J1 Dod Mordecai, c. 11. p. 137. ft it. p. 15a, «53<

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 507 when they say % with respect to Psal, 1. 23. " Do not read our\ but Qtyv." they mean, Do not read Sbin with a point on the right hand, but with a point on the left ; so quoting Prov. xix. 23. they direct f, " Do not read JD» " but y2V," that is, Do not read the word with the point on the left hand of Shin, when it would signify, satisfied, as the common punctuation reads •, but with the point on the right hand of it, and then it signifies, seven -, and so proves what it is quoted for, as they think, that that man that lies seven nights without a dream, is an evil man, and so read what follows •, " he shall " not be visited, he is an evil man:" and so in Isa. ii. 22. Ula saysB, "Do not " read rial but 7\D2" that is, to serve his own purpose, Do not read as if it was Bameb, (that is pointed with a Patacb and Segol) which would signify, wherein ; but Bamah, (that is, with two Kametzes) and so signifies, an high place j likewise in Isa. liv. 13. it is said h, " Do not read *pn (that is with " a Kametz) thy children ; but "pn, (that is, with a Vau and Cholem) thy ** builders-," so quoting Ezekiel xlviii. 25. it is observed ', " Do not read 7XQV " Sbammab there (that is, with two Kametzes) but TtOV Sbemab, his name," (as if v/hhSbevab and Kametz) and this form does not suppose any corruption of the text, nor even a various reading ; but is a kind of allegorical sport of these Rabbins among themselves, as F. Simon calls it k ; when to shew their acumen, observe, what different senses may be put upon a word by its being differently pointed, which they propose to consideration, as if it was thus, or thus pointed ; but then this supposes the points to have been in being, or they could not divert themselves after this manner : and it should be observed, that this phrase is used chiefly in giving allegorical expositions, and is not by way of authority and command, as enjoining such a reading j but by way of concession ; or supposing it was read so, it would yield a commodious fense, especially if allegorical ' : nor can I see how this phrase could be used in writ ing by giving instances as above, without expressing the very marks and figures of the points as put to the words in debate ; or otherwise they must act like delirious men indeed : nor can I fee how the ridiculous story, concerning c}oab\ flaying of his master for teaching him to read wrong could be related in the Tal mud™ without the vowel-points being put to the word in it, which is told thus : After Joab had cut off every male in Edom, 1 Kings xi. 15, 16. when he came t 1 1 2 before • T. Bab. Sotah, sol. 5. 2. Moed Katon, sol. 5. 1. f T. Bab. Beracot, sol. 14. 1. * T. Bab. Sotah, sol. 4. 2. b T. Bab. Beracot, sol. 64. 1 . - 'T. Bab. Bathra, sol. 75. 2. Disquis. Ciit. c. 3. p. 17. ' Vide Maimon. Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 43. Hottinger. Thcsaur. philolog. 1. 1 . c. 2. p. 214. Buxtorf. dc Punctual, par. 1. p. 97, 98. Surenhus. Biblos Kattalagcs, p. 4. 59j 60. ■ T. Bab. Bava Bathra, sol. 11. 1. 2.

508 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING before David, he said to him, What is the reason thou hast so done ? (that is, that thou hast not destroyed the females, as the gloss is) he replied, Because it is written (Deut. xxv< 19.") Thou (halt blot out iDt of Amalek -, David said unto him, But behold we read "D? •, Joab answered, I was taught to read it "DT : he went and asked his master, faying, How didst thou teach me to read ? He told him -Dt ; he drew his sword to kill him. Now where is the difference ? They all lay the fame thing, David, Joab, and his master, as the bare letters of the word, without the vowel-points, are given. What sense can be made of this story, thus told ? No doubt but in the Talmud, as ori ginally written, the several vowel-points were put to this word ; as said to be read by Joab, it was zacar, male, with two Kametzes ; as by David and Joab's master, it was zecer, remembrance;* with two Segols -, and so in other cases, of a similar kind, the points were put, though in process of time left out, through the carelessness or sloth of transcribers ; and two instances of this I have met with where the very figures of the vowel-points are used ; thus having quoted Numb. xiii. 31. it is directed", " Do not read wao, than us (with a Sbureck) " but faDD than him (with a Cbolem)" and in another place0, with respect to the passage in Deut. xxiii. 18. they say, " Do not read rtfl? (with a Kametz) T " but mit (with a Segol) •" the first word, pointed as directed, signifies a whore, being feminine, the other, differently pointed, is masculine, and sig nifies, a fornicator p. My Talmud is of the Amsterdam and Frankford edition, and I have no opportunity of consulting another : should it be said, these points are annexed to the words by the editors of this work •, I ask why they are not added to the words in the other instances ? No doubt the reason is, because they were originally so in the Talmud, and so 1 found them ; and I make no question of their being put in all other instances, though omitted by copiers. To these observations I would add, the prick or point on the Vau in the word for arose, in Gen. xix. 33. is taken notice of in the Talmud11 ; and so are the fifteen pricks on several words in the Bible, among which this is one' and on the word for unless, in Psal. xxvii. 13'. and on Deut. xxix. 29'. Now if these pricks and points were so early, which are of so little use, much more the vowel-points ; and as for the accents, they are exprefly mentioned ; thus those words in Nebem. viii. 8. are interpreted, so tbey read in tbe law of Cod, this » T. Bab. Sotah, sol. 35. j. ? T. Bab. Temurah, sol. 29. a. t Vide Schindler. Lcxic. Pentaglott. col. 495. « T. Bab. Horayot, sol. 10. a. & Nazir, sol. aj. j. ' Aboth. R. Nathan, c.34. sol. 18. Sopherim, c 1, s. 3. • T. Bab. Bcracot, sol. 4. 1. 1 T. Bab. Sanhedrim, sol. 43. 2.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 56$ this is the scripture ; distinctlyt this is the Targum ; and gave the sense ; these are the verses pointed, as R. Nisstm on that place in the Talmud inter prets it, and caused them to understand the reading ; these are O^Dyta ^pD^S) «« the distinctions of the accents ° ;" and so in other places mention is made of the distinctions of the accents w, and of the accents of the Law x, which might be shewn and pointed at by the hand, and therefore must be visible marks or figures ; and which are to be understood both of vowel-points, and of accents •, and so the gloss on that place interprets it, both of pointing and the elevation of the voice in singing according to the accents. And the marks and figures of them, they fay in the Talmud, Solomon y instructed the people in ; for so those words are paraphrased in it, He taught the people knowledge, for he instructed them D'DVD *JD*D3 " in the signs/' marks, figures, or characters " of the accents :" and on the phrase, his locks are bushy% it is observed, from hence we learn that he (Solomon) sought out and explained every tittle, prick, or point (in the law) heaps of heaps of the constitutions or decisions of it z : and in one of the above places * referred to, they dispute about giving a reward to such who taught the accents j which surely could never be thought of, if the accents were not yet invented ; to which may be added, that in the Talmud b mention is made of some words in the Bible, " written, but not read," and of others, «' read, but not written ;" those that are written, but not read, are alone without thevowel-points, as in Jer. li. 3, &c. Those that are read but not written, are those whose vowelpoints stand alone in the texts and the consonants in the margin, of which there are ten, Judges xx. 13. Ruth iii. 5, 17. 2 Sam. viii. 3. and chap. xvi. 23. and chap, xviii. 20. 2 Kings xix. 31, 37. Jer. xxxi. 38. and 1. 29. This shews that the state of the Hebrew text, with respect to these Keries and Cetibs, was the fame at the composition of the Talmud as now ; and that the Talmudists must have been acquainted with pointed Bibles, and consequently points must have been in use before the finishing of the Talmud \ and so before the pre tended men of Tiberias : the ablation of the scribes is spoken of in the same tract, which forbids the reading the superfluous Vau in five places j and also the reading of the scribes, which shews how they read and pronounced some words, as yirets, Shamaim, Mitzraim •, as Aretz, sometimes Aratz, and some times Erets, according to the diversity of the accents, as Buxtorff' observes, and » T. Bab. Megillah, sol. 3. 1. & Nedarim, sol. 37. «. w TV Bab. Chagigah, sol. 6. 2. » T. Bab. Beracor, sol. 62. 1. & Gloss in ibid. Pesachim, sol. 119. 1. ■ 'T.B. Eruvim, sol. 21. 2. z Ibid. » Nedarim, sol. 37. ti b T. Bab. Nedarim, sol. 37. 2. Maffechet Sopherim, c. 6. s. 7. 8. ' Tiberias, c. 8. p. i\

po A DISSERTATION CONCERNING and Sbamaim sometimes with Kametz and Patacb, and sometimes with a double Kametz, because of the pause •, and so Mitzraim. The note of R. Nijfim on the place is, because of the Athnacb, Aretz is read with a Ka metz, and Sbamaim and Mitzraim, though they have no Alepb in them, are read as if they had. A. D. 400. The Masordb, or Masoretb, as it is sometimes called, which signifies, tra dition, is a work consisting of remarks on several things in the Bible, handed down to posterity from one to another , it does not appear to be the work of one man, nor of a sett of men, and living in one age or place, who were jointly concerned in it, but of various persons, in several ages : it might be begun "by the men of the great synagogue of Ezra, to whom the Jewish writers generally ascribe it ; and be carried on by scribes and copiers in after ages, and at last finished by the men of Tiberias ; not the Utopian men of Tiberias, after the year 500, who lived in the sixth and seventh centuries, as pretended, but by those who lived in the second and third centuries, and in the beginning of the fourth ; men of fame and note among the Jews, and whose names are given, and an account of them, in the Jerusalem Talmud, of whom more here after ; though in later times some things have crept into this work, and addi tions made to it, in which the names of Jarcbi and Ben Gersom are mentioned, and even some are the notes of Ben Cbayim himself, the first editor of it in printed Bibles ; who with much pains brought it into some form and order, and disposed of it in the manner it is in some printed copies : however it is cer tain the work was in being before the Babylonian Talmud; for the just now mentioned editor of the Masorah, in his preface which stands before Bombcrg's Bible, and which Buxtorff also has placed before his, asserts, that in many places the Talmud contradicts the Masorah ; and besides, it is exprefly men tioned in it. Such phrases are sometimes d to be met with in it as mpzb ON, and JWlDD1? DN j the meaning of which is, that such an exposition of a word or passage, has its foundation in the Scripture, or is according to that, and is the literal fense of it, as it is commonly read j and that such an exposition or interpretation of a word or passage, has its foundation in the Masorah, or is according to thatc : and is the traditionary sense of it, as it may be read and pronounced by other vowels : yea, those men who are said to have numbered all the letters in the Law, and the verses in it, and to have pointed out the letter * T. Bab. Pesachim, sol. 86. 2. Succah, sol. 6. 2. Kiddushin, sol. 18. 1. Sanhedrim, soL 4. 1. ' Vide Halicot Olatn, par. 4. c. 3. p. 187.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 511 letter which is exactly in the middle of the Pentateuch, and in other books, are called D"W*n the Ancients ; who had lived long ago, and with whom the compilers of the Talmud were not to be named f j and are thought by the learned bishop Usher E to be the men of the great synagogue of Ezra ; false therefore it is what F. Simon fays h, from Elias Levita, that the Ma/orab is later than the Talmud : yea, Christ himself, in his time, speaks of a traditionary sett of men, who, he says, were of old time, and are called by him, *pxa,l"> the Ancients •> who delivered down peculiar fenses of the Law from age to age, and may be truly said to be a sort of Maforetes, Matt. v. 28. the same who elsewhere are called elders, and to whom traditions are ascribed, Matt. xv. 2-. Mark vii. 3, 5. though perhaps the misnic doctors are more peculiarly in tended : and certain it is, that the several parts of the work of the Maforetes ascribed to them, are made mention of in the Talmud; as not only the num bering of the letters and verses in the Law before asserted •, but the distinction of verses themselves ir spoken of in it, and is ascribed to Moses, though by Elias Levita ' made to be the work of the Maforetes : in the Talmud* it is said, " Whatever verse Moses did not distinguish, we do not distinguish :" yea, we read of the distinction of verses in the Misnab ' : which was compiled some hundreds of years before the Talmud. The various readings which the Mafo retes are said to be the authors of, even divers sorts of them are mentioned in the Talmud m •, and their concern with the points and accents will be presently observed : but not only these parts of the work assigned them, but the forms of letters, greater, lesser, or suspended, marked by the Maforetes in the Bible, are observed in the Talmud" ; yea, the Masorah itself is mentioned in it. In the interpretation of Neb. viii. 8. taken notice of in the preceding section, that part of it, and caused them to understand the reading, as some inter pret it of the distinction of accents -, others fay, these are the Masorab ", or Masoretic notes, as R. Nijim, on the place, explains it, what is delivered in the Masorab : yea, not only in the Jerusalem Talmud* mention is made of it, but in the Msnabq itself, finished in the year 150, as a saying of R. Akiba, who died in the beginning of the second century ; " The Masorab is an hedge « to f T. Bab. Kiddushin, sol. 30. 1. & Sabbat, sol. 112. 2. « Epist. adCapcll. in cake de Sept. interpr. p. 211. h Disquis. Critic, c. 4. p. 23.- 1 Sepher Tob Taam, c. 2. " T. Bab Megillah, sol. 22. 1. ' Misn. Megillah, c. 4. s. 4. m T. Bab. Nedarim. sol. 37. 2. " Maffech. Sopherim, c. 9. s. 5, 7. T. Bab. Bava Bathra, sol. 109. 2. & Gloss, in ibid. T. Bab. Kiddusliin, sol. 30. 1. T. Bab. Sanhedrim, sol. 103. 2. • T. Bab, Nedarim, sol. 37. 2. Megillah, sol. 3. 1. f Megillah, sol. 74. 4. s Hrke Abot, c 3. C 13.

5U A DISSERTATION CONCERNING " to the Law ;" the note of Bartenora on it is, the Masoretb, which the wife men have delivered to us, concerning words defective and redundant in the Law. I must; be safe therefore in placing this work ioo years before the Ba bylonian Talmud, it certainly must be in being so early at least, and much earlier; and Walton, an opposer of the points, acknowledges ', that some part of the Majorette notes were collected before the Talmud was finished j and thinks it probable, that though not immediately after Ezra, yet about the time of the Maccabees, when the sect of the Pharisees rose, some might begin to make those observations ; and Dr Prideaux ' supposes that they began a little after the time of Ezra : now the observations of the Maforetes were not only about entire words, nor about letters or consonants, but also about the points and accents : take a few instances, instead of many which might be produced, on Gen. i. 5. the note of the Maforah is, "y\vh is written several times with a Kametz; on Gen. xiv. 5. Cbedarlaomer, one word with two Shevahs -, and on Exod. xxxii. 6. it is observed, the word pro1? is no more found with Segol and Silluk; on Job xix. 7. ruyN is no more written with Segol and Kametz •, and on Psal. lxxxiv. 11. it is remarked, that vV?N is twice with a Patacb and Atbnacb. See also on Gen. xvi. 13. and chap. xix. 2. Exod. xxvi. 5. Lev. x. 4, 19. Numb. ix. 2. Deut. xviii. 17. Josh, vi. 14. 1 Sam. x. 21. Psal. xxvii. 4. Jer. xvii. 17. and chap. iii. 32. Dan. i. 3. and chap. iii. 21. Ezra viii. 16. and other places ; wherefore the points and accents must be before the Mascretes, and not invented by them. A. D. 385. Jerom died in 420, being upwards of ninety years of age, and therefore must flourish about this time. He was the best versed in Jewish literature of any of the ancient writers, having had no fewer than four Jews, at different times for his instructors j and that he had knowledge of the points and accents, which therefore must be in his time, I think is most clear from his writings. I do not insist upon the marks and figures of the vowel-points, which go along with the Hebrew words used by him, which I suppose are added by the editors of his works ; though I confess, I cannot persuade myself that so sensible and learned a man as Jerom was, would ever fay what he does, unless not only he saw the Hebrew words he mentions, with the vowel-points to them, but put them to them himself, when he wrote them ; though in length of time they might be disused in the copies transcribed from him ; for how otherwise he could say, of such and such a word, it is not written so, but so, in the Hebrew text, and yet » Prolegom. 8. s. 12; • Connect, par. 1. b. 5. p. 353.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 513 yet gives the word either way with the fame consonants exactly ; so he gives the word nD3, in Isa. ii. 21. and others, as will be presently observed : what is there then to distinguish them ? or how could he expect to be believed, or to convince any by such a method ? This was to make him appear very ridi culous ; but supposing the vowels put to the words by him, these would dis tinguish one word from one another, and make him act like himself, and like a true critic ; and this being the cafe, it is easy to account for it, why the vowel-points and accents are not mentioned by him, there being no need of it j since they were presented to the eye of the reader, and supposed to be un derstood by him. However, the same Hebrew words expressed in Roman cha racters, I take for granted were done by himself, and this I think is owned by Walton '. 1 have indeed no other edition of his works, than that of Erasmus, nor an opportunity of consulting any other; now the words, as thus read, greatly agree with, and very rarely differ from the modern punctuation, and where they do, it may be owing to inadvertency, or to too great confidence in his memory, or to copiers ; but be this as it may, it is certain he often speaks of the Hebrew points and accents, and of the variety of them, and that the fame words are pronounced by different sounds and accents, and that Hebrew names are variously interpreted, according to the diversity of accents, and change of the vowel-letters u •, now, besides the notice he takes w of the prick or point on the word Kumab, in Gen. xix, 34. which he calls pointing; he makes many observations on divers words, which manifestly shew his know ledge of the Hebrew points, without which he could never have made them : thus he observes x, that in P/al. xc. 8. in the Hebrew it is written liD^y, alumenu, which he translates, " our neglects," and wonders at the Septuagint interpreters, that they should translate it, "our age," as if it was olamenu ; and now how could he fay it was written in the Hebrew, alumenu and not olamenu, since the word without points may be read either way, if he had not seen it himself, nor had been told that it was so pointed ? Nor could he y fay, that in Exod. xiii. 18. he found it written in the Hebrew volume, carefully examining its characters, Hamujim, and not Hamisim ; if the Hebrew volume he examined had no points ; for this he had not from tradition, nor from use and custom of reading, but found it so written : he also observes*, that the word onyw, written with the fame letters, has a different signification, as it may be differently read; if Searitn (that is, with zKametz) then it signifies "estima- Vol. III. . ■ . Uu'u' • " tions," r Bibl. Polyglots, prolegom. 3. s. 47. <■ Epiflr. ad Evagr. sol. 13. F. Tom. 3. Comment. in Ezck: c. 28. sol. 220. C. Tom 5. & in FJagg. 1. sol. 101. & sol. 102. B. 1. 6. & in Ephes. sol. '95. F. Tom. 9. * Quæll. Heb. in Gen. sol. 68. 1. * Epist. ad Cyprian, sol. 33, B. Tom. 3. y Ep. Damaso, 2. qu. sol. 12. A. B. 1 Quacst. Heb. in Gen. sol. 70. 4.

514 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING " tions," but if Seorim, (thac is, with aCbolsm) then it signifies, "barley;" again, he remarks \ that njn, written with the samel etters, if read Re, (that is, with a Shevah) then it is a " friend," if Ro, (that is, with a Cholem) then it is a c: shepherd;" a like remark b he makes on the word rrD3, in Isa. ii. 22. that if it is rendered, " wherein," then it must be nao, bameb, but if an " high place," or " high," then it must be read non, bamab ; so the three letters "Ot, when we fay they signify " memorial," or " remembrance," then he fays % the word is read zecer, (that is, with two Segoh) but if a male, then it is read zacar, (that is, with two Kameizes) ; again d, these three letters 13T signify according to the quality of the places ; if read, dabar (that is, with two Kameizes) it signifies, " a word," but if deber, (that is, with two Segoh) then it signifies " the plague ;" so the word lpty, he observes % thac if the accent is varied, that is the point, it signifies either a " nut," or " wacch- " ing ," that is, if it is pointed for a verb, then it signifies, " to watch," but if as a noun, then it signifies, " a nut," an almond-nut. And whereas, in the Septuagint version of Jonah, chap. iii. 4. it is three days instead of forty, Jerom wonders ' how they should so translate, when there is no likeness in the Hebrew words, for three and for forty, neither in the letters, nor in the sylla ble, nor in the accents, that is, vowels; and again he observes 8, the ambi guity of the Hebrew word ^v, which is written with three letters, » and 3 and U? ; " If, fays he, it is read Shene, (that is, with a Shevah and a Tzere) it sig- " fies " two," but if Shane, (that is, with a Kametz and a Tzere) then it " signifies " years," and so in many other places. Jerom must have know ledge of the point placed sometimes on the right hand of the letter w, and then called Tamin, and sometimes on the left hand of it, and then called Smol, which gives it a different pronunciation, and the words a different fense : he observes h, that from ljh, a woman is rightly called ljha, but Theodotion, he fays, suggests another etymology, faying, She shall be called, " assumption," because taken from man ; and, adds he, Iffd may be interpreted " assump- " tion," according to the variety of the accents, that is, the points ; his meaning is, that if the word is derived from wn, with the point on the left hand, then it may signify " assumption," since the word, so pointed, signifies, to assume : again, Bersabte, he fays ', as differently accentuated, that is pointed, may *l Quaest. Heb. in Gen. sol. 72. C. b Comment, in Isa. c. 2. sol. 7. D. T. 5. « Ibid, in c. 26. sol. 50. H. d Ibid. in c. 9. sol. 19. H. &inHabac. c.3. sol. 87. H. tom.6. • Comment, in Eccles. sol. 43. G. torn. 7, & in Jerem. sol. 133. C. f Comment, in Jon. c. 3. sol. 57. M. * Comment, in Ezek. 15. sol. 194. C, k Quatst. Heb. ad Gen. sol. 65. I. > Comment ia Amos, c. 8. sol. 99. B.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 515 may be translated, the " well of the oath," or the " well of satiety," or of the " seventh ;" the reason of which is, because yaty with a point on the right of ty, signifies " seven," and to " swear;" but with the same point on the left of the letter, it signifies " fulness" and " satiety ;" the same is ob served by him in another place k, that it has different fenses according to the variety of the accents. Now could Jerom possibly make such observations as these without the knowledge of the points ? For though from some of these passages it maybe gathered, that unpointed books had been used, and so some were deceived through the ambiguity of words without points ; yet how came it to pass that he himself was not deceived ? And how could he be sure of the true Hebrew reading, if he jMd not seen pointed Bibles, or had not been taught that they were so pointed in such and such places ? To suppose otherwise is quite incredible. And it appears also, that the punctuation in his time was the fame with the modern punctuation which he follows, and scarce ever de parts from ; take, for instance, his reading the title of the forty-fifth Psalm, ** Lamana2eah al Sosannim, libne Corah, Maschil sir jedidoth1 j" there is but one point miffing, and that is the Shevab in the first word, and which is sometimes not pronounced, and had no certain pronunciation with the ancients ; sometimes by a, sometimes by i, sometimes by an e, as now usually ; accord- ■ ing to the Hebrew grammarians, it has the nature of all the rest of the vowels, and is equal to them, and pronounced like them, at certain times, under cer tain conditions1". Three whole verses in Gen. xvi. 18—'2o. are exactly pro nounced according to the modern punctuation " ; his version of the P/alms agrees with the Hebrew text, as it now is, and as it is with the points : besides what can he mean by faying", that he then in his old age could not read the Hebrew text by candle-light, since the letters were so small, that they were enough to blind a man's eyes at noon-day ? for the Hebrew letters, let them be wrote as small as they well can be, cannot be lesser than the common Roman character ; he must be understood surely of the small pricks or points which belonged to the Hebrew letters. How came he to put Adanai instead of Jeho vah, in Exod, vi. 3. if he is the author of the Vulgate Latin version, Unless he knew that the Jews put the points of Adonai to Jehovah ? There is a passage in Jerom p which is produced by some to disprove the knowledge and use of u u u 2 vowel k Comment, in Isa. c.65. fob u5. C. ,„ >r . \ Aid Princijpiam, fol. 34. Ft Tom. 3. m Vid. Balmes. Heb. Gram, five Mftineh Abraham, p. 28* Sepher Cosri, par, 2. s. 80. & Muscatum, in ibid. fol. 128. 1. & R« Judah Chijug, 4 Aben Ezram in Muscat. n Ad Evagrium, fol. 13. 6. ibid. ■ Proem, in Sept. Comment, in Ezek. c. ao. sol. 208. G. ' Epist. Evagrio, torn, 3. fol. 13. F.

5i6 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING vowel-points in his time -, when speaking of Enon near Salim, " It matters " not, he fays, whether it be called Salem, or Salim, since the Hebrews very " seldom make use of vowel-letters in the middle : and according to the plea- " sure of readers and the variety of countries, the fame words are pronounced '•* with different sounds and accents." Now Jerom is here to be understood either of the Matres LeRionis ^K ; and it is very true, that these are seldom used in the sacred books of the Hebrews, and which makes the use of vowelpoints the more necessary •, and if the Matres Leflionis were expunged upon the introduction ( f the points, as is suggested by some, then the points must have been before Jerom's time, and consequently not the invention of the men of Tiberias ; since it seems the above letters were rarely used in his time as placed between consonants, as Dabar, and other words observed by him shew : or else he is to be understood of vowel-points going along with letters-, and these he might truly fay were very rarely used, because pointed Bibles in his time were very rare : but then he supposes such were used, though but seldom ; and this Dr Owen i took to be his sense ; " Either, fays he, I cannot understand " him, or he does positively affirm, that the Hebrew had the use of vowels in " his epistle to Evagrius ;" upon which he observes, " If they did it perraro, " they did it, and then they had them ; though, in these days, to keep up 11 their credit in teaching, they did not much use them ■, nor can this be spoken " of the sound of vowels, for surely, they did not seldom use the sound of " vowels, if they spoke often." And to this sense, the words of Jerom are quoted by R. Azariab' -, and from whence he concludes, that the points were really in being before his time, and so they are understood by others s ; to fay no more, as not only the vowel-points and accents are said to be the invention of the men of Tiberias, after the finishing of the Talmud, but the distinction of verses also ; it is certain, that Jerom, who lived a century or two before these pretended Tiberiatis are said to live, frequently * speaks of verses in the Hebrew books, and distinguished by him into colons and commas, which the accents make j and of which mention is made before him in the Jerusalem Talmud, and even in the Misnab, as will be seen hereafter ; yea, in the New Testament, Luke iv. 17. ASis viii. 31. A D • s Of the Divine Original of the Scriptures, p. 285. ' Imre Binah, c. 59. sol, 181. ». • Simeon de Mus, Joseph de Voysm. apud Owen. Theologoumen. p. 412. « Pnesat. in Josuam, Paralipomen. Esaiam & Ezekiel.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 517 A. D. 370. . About this time lived Epipbanius, bishop of Cyprus; he flourished in the times of Valens, Gratian, and Tbeodqfius, and wrote a book against various heresies ; and among them takes notice of those of the Nicolaitans, and their followers the Gnosticks, &c. who had a fort of deities they paid honour to, and which they called by barbarous names ; and one of them was called Caulaucauch, a word taken from Isa. xxviii. 13. as he observes 5 upon which he gives" the text in Hebrew, thus, Saulasau Saulasau, Caulaucauch Caulaucaucb, Ziersam Ziersam, exactly agreeing with the present punctuation, only the Sbevab in the last word is pronounced as an i; which may be owing to the copier, and is sometimes not pronounced at all, as before observed, and when it is, it is differently : and very near to the fame manner of pointing, is his quotation of P/al. ex. 3. according to the Hebrew text, Mercm mejfaar LaElal wjeledeebetb ; and so of I/a. xxvi. 2, 3. the likeness is very great, and much the fame*. I suppose Epipbanius took these Hebrew passages from Origen's Hexapla, a work in being in his time ; and if so, this carries the punctuation still higher ; of which more hereafter. Moreover, the first word observed, was so pro nounced by some heretics, if not in the first, yet in the second century. A. D. 360. About this time lived R. Ase, the head of a school, or academy, at Sura, m Babylon Y ; he is said to write a large book concerning pointing, and the caba listic secrets in it, which book R. Nacbman1, who lived about the year 1200, fays, was then in their academy. Now if this Rabbin so early wrote a book about the points, they must then, and before that time, be in use, and must have been some time before in use, to be reduced to an art, and brought under certain rules, and treated on at large. A. D. 340. About this time lived R. Hillell, the prince, the last of those who was promoted to doctorship in the land of Israel, as before observed. Now R. Zacutb* speaks of a copy of the book of twenty-four, called the Bible, » Epiphan. contr. Hæres. 1. 1. hæres. 25. * Ibid. 1. 2 hæres. 65' x Ibid. 1. 3. hæres. 76. vid. Montfaucon. Hexapla Origen. vol. 2. p. 130. y Vide Gantz Tzemach David, par. 1. sol. 33. 1, 2. f Apud Buxtorff. de Punct. Antiq. par. 1. p. 55. » Juchafin, sol. 132. 1,

5i$ A DISSERTATION CONCERNING Bible, written by R. Hillell, by which all books were corrected in the year 956, or 984, (according to the Jewilh account) and that he saw a part of it sold in Africa, and that it had been written in his time 900 years ; and observes, that Kimcbi fays in his Grammar, that the Pentateuch was at Toletolo, or Toledo. Some, as Scbickard* and Cunœus" are of opinion, that this Hillell, was the famous Hillell, that lived before the times of Christ, and flourished 100 years before the destruction of the second temple ; and if so, since his copy was pointed, as will presently be seen, it would prove the points to be as early ; but he is more generally thought to be Hillell the prince, before mentioned ; for that he should be a Spanish Jew, who lived about 600 years ago, as Morims suggests d, is not credible, since it cannot be thought he was an obscure person, but of some note, from whom, for the sake of honour, the copy had ks name, and especially as by it all copies were corrected ; besides, the above Jewish chronologer, who gives the account of it, fays, the copy he saw had been written 900 years before his time, and he lived about the year 1500. Now this copy had the points, as is certain from.what Kimcbi fays, who lived in the twelfth century ; he observes % that the word WXI, in Pfal. cix. is writ ten with a broad Kametz, and in the copy of Hillell, at Toletolo, or Toledo, it is written concerning it in the Maforah, .that it is no where else with Cbatepb, that is, with Kametz Cbatepb -, and in another work f of his, he fays of the word nDltWl, in 2 Sam. xiii. Mem is with Segol, which is not usual, and is in the -room of Patach ; and in the book of Hillell, which is at Toletolo, or Toledo, it is with Patach -, and the learned Mercer observes g, that the word njn, in> Prov. xxiv. 14. is, in a manuscript, written with a Tzere, but in the margin it is remarked, that in Hillell it is written with a Segol. Wherefore the points must be annexed to the Bible as early as the times of Hillell and before. In the library at Berlin is a Hebrew manuscript, written by Elias the pointer, containing the Pentateuch, the five Megillot, with the book of Job, and some chapters out of the Prophets, with Masoretical observations in the margin ; which, if what is said of it could be established, it would be full as ancient as HillelPs copy : at the end of it the writer has put his name, and declares that he wrote it, and pointed it, and finished it in the year from the creation of the world 4094 ; and Andrew Mullerus, sometime provost at Berlin, wrote at the beginning of it, that this copy was written by Elias, in the island of Rhodes, b Bcchinat haperushim, p. 51. & Jut Reg. Heb. c. a. theor. 5. s. 4. c De Republic. Heb. 1. 1. c. 18. d Exercitat. Bibl. 1. 1. c. a. p. 89. - Comment in Psal. cix. icv s Sepher Shorash. rad. QWt Comment, in ProV. xxiv. 14.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. $13 Rhodes, A. C. 334; but La Croze k, the late librarian, says, that at the end of the book there are manifest traces of letters blotted out, and others put in, and that the colour of the ink, and form of the parchment clearly (hewed, that it could not then be written scarce 400 years, There are several ancient copies of the Bible pointed, but the precise age of them cannot be ascertained. The Jews in China, have a very ancient Hebrew Bible in Pekhi, said to be not at all differing from ours'; by which it should seem that it is pointed, or otherwise it would differ. A copy called Sinai, a correct copy of the Pentateuch, has the accents, as Elias Levita ac knowledges k, who observes, that the first word in Exod. xviii. r. is with Geraflxm,. but in Sinai with a Rekiab ; and he also gives another instance of a different accentuation, but adds, that he knew not who was the composer of it. R. Nachman ', who lived about the year 1 200, lays, he searched most diligently in all the Babylonian and Jerusalem copies, and in HilIelFsy and could not find any where a Dagesh in those three gutteral letters, rr, rt, V, but found it in », in three places, Lev. xxiii. tf. Gen. xliii. 26. and Ezra viii. 18. by which it appears, that not only Hillelfs copy, but the Babylonian and Jerusalem copies were pointed. Ben Melecb, on Ezek. xxiv. 10. observes, thatR. Jonah writes, that he found the word Harkach with a Kametz under He in the Jerusa lem copy, but in the Babylonian copy, he found it with a Patacb. There was a Jerusalem copy made mention of by several, that was a pointed one; Muscatus fays", that the word in**, in Deut. vi. 4. is pointed with Segol and Kametz, as it is found in the correct Jerusalem copy ; and so Kimcbi* affirms, that in the correct Jerusalem copy, the word Vin in Job xxix. 1 8. was with a Sburek for those of Nahardea, and with a Cbolem for the western Jews ; and seems to be the copy R. Jonah, the grammarian, and Maimonides, who both lived in the twelfth century, trusted to and depended on ; and which the latter calls0 the famous Egyptian copy, which was many years at Jerusalem, and which Ben Asher spent much time in correcting, who lived there a long time, as Elias fays p, and by which other copies were corrected ; and this Azariab consulted \ and says, it was in Jerusalem from the times of the misnic doctors, and had in it the Tikkun Sopherim, the ordination of the scribes, and Biblesections open and shut. 4 A. D. * Apud Wolf. Biblioth. Heb. p. 166, 167. 1 Semedo's History of China, par. 1, c, 50, * Sepher Shibrc Luchot. ' Apud BuxtorfF. ut supra. • Comment, in Cosri, par, 4. sol. 230. 4. ■ Sepher Shoresh. rad. ^7. • Hilchot Torah, c. 8. s. 4. r Shibre Luchot & Præfat. 3. ad Malbret, « Meor Enayim. c. 9. sol. 52. 2.

520 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING A. D. 300. The Rabbot are commentaries on the five books of Moses, written by R. Bar Nachmoni, who flourished, according to Buxtorff' about this year. There are fifteen words which have unusual pricks or points upon them, observed by the Masorab, and in the Talmud ; ten of them in the law, four of them in the prophets, and one in the Hagiograpba ; those in the law, most, if not all of them, are taken notice of in these commentaries* -, in one ' of which are these words concerning them : " Said Ezra, if Elijah (another copy has Moses) " should come and say, Why hast thou written them ? I will say to him, Now " have I pointed them ; if he should say, Thou hast written weJl, I will im- " mediately remove the points from them." In another of them, " Express " mention is made of the accents, Neb. viii. 8. is thus paraphrased, they read " in the book of the Law of God, this is the scripture ; distinctly, this is the Tar- " gum -, and gave the fense, these are the accents ; and caused them to understand " the reading, these are the heads of the verses." A. D. 230. In this year the Jerusalem Talmud was finished, as is generally owned, though Scaliger" places it in 370, and Whiston w in 369, in which the accents are made mention of*. The passage in Nehemiab is explained much in the fame man ner, as in th? Babylonian Talmud, and in the Rabbot just now quoted ; the dis tinction of the verses is observed in it y, which is made by the accent Silluk. In this Talmud z the double reading of a word in Hag. i. 8. is observed, which in the text is written -rnDNl, but in the margin it is read rmDNl ; the one is according to the letters without the n paragogic, the other according to the points with it, which, as Scbindler fays *, is the true reading •, for because the point Kametz is under the last letter, the quiescent letter n is to be assumed, and so the word is to be read with n paragogic ; but if the word had no points at the time this Talmud was compiled, nor written with n in any copies, why should it be read, or directed to be so read ? I have placed this Talmud here because ' Biblioth. Heb. p. 326. » Bcrefhit Rabba, s. 48. sol. 43. 1 . & s. 51. sol. 46. t. & s. 78. sol. 68. 3. & s. 84. sol. 73. 3. Bemidbar Rabba, s. 3. sol. »8a. 2. * Bemidbar Rabba, s. 3. sol. 182. 2. Abot R. Nathan, c. 34. vide Aruch in voce lp2 & Maaric Philip. Acjuin. sol. 343. 2. who from hence concludes that Ezra put the points and accents. » De Emend. Temp. 1. 7. p. 323. » Chronological Tables, cent. 19. * T.Hieros.-Megillah, sol. 74. 2, 4. 1 Ibid sol. 75. 1, 2. ■ T. Hieios. Maccot, 101.3a. 1. & Taaniot, sol. 65. 1. » Lexic. Pentaglott. col 830.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 521 because it is generally received, though some think it was not written so early, since mention is made in it of Dioclesian the king j and if the Roman emperor of that name is meant, it must be written in or after his time ; .though it ap pears from the Talmud itself", that the Doclet or Dioclesian spoken of was, according to that, some petty king, that lived in the times of R. Judab Hakkodejhy the compiler of the Misnab, by whose children he had been beaten, as pretended, and when he became a king, complained of it ; which cannot so well agree with the emperor Dioclesian : however, what is quoted from it, is a proof of the accents being mentioned in it, which some have denied, and for the fake of which it is observed. About this time flourished that indefatigable writer Qrigen, who had know ledge of the Hebrew tongue, and is almost the only one of the ancients that had, excepting Jerom. This writer, in one of his commentaries % quotes the Hebrew reading of Psal. cxviii. 25, 26. and agreeable to the present punctua tion; in which he appears to be instructed by a Jew, since he puts Adonai, instead of Jebovab, and by which it is evident that the Jews pointed as they do now. The fame writer composed a work called Hexapla ; which, had it been preserved, would have been of great use in this controversy about the antiquity of the Hebrew points ; for in this work he placed in the first two columns, first the Hebrew text with its proper letters, and then the fame in Greek characters : Fabricius d has given a specimen of it in the whole first chap ter of Genesis, collected out of the fragments of the ancient Greek interpreters ; and so has Montfaucon' after him ; which I have compared with our pointed Bibles, and find it exactly agrees with our modern punctuation, with scarce any variation at all ; take as a proof the first two or three verses. 1. urhx n"d /nmna• v: t t • » 1 V")xn /ini own /inYTT ••: - T - 2. irtai in/i n/ivn y-wmt t ;t t tt : C\nn *J9 by -nvmv •• 1 - v . by /ismo ovb» rrrn- v v - 1 • •.•: - •• can -os•t - - : 3. "rt» m Tin w avb» tmw EfeeriS Eafa EXuij* Ed ava/Mtip »i$ «afi{ fit aftaip UiUfUf E?.fc'»f* tlf If Kill Us Vol. III. X x x The * T. Hieros Trumot, 46. a, 3. « Comment, in Matt, p. 438, 439. Ed Huct. * Bibliotliec. Graec. torn. a. p. 346. ' Hexapla Origen torn. 1. p. s, &c.

522 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING The rest of the specimen, throughout the whole chapter, is agreeable to this ; both Fabricius and Montfaucon have given another specimen of the Hexapla, on He/, xi. I. the same which IValton* has transcribed from a copy of cardinal Barberini, from whom they seem to have taken it, which does not so exactly agree with the modern pointing as the other does ; but Mont/aucon has given two more specimens g, one out of the Oilapla of P/al. ii. 6. and ano ther out of the Enneapla of Hob. ii. 4. which perfectly agree with the present punctuation •, and it is surprising they should, when it is considered, that par ticularly the specimen of the whole first chapter of Genesis is collected from fragments preserved in various writers, and those but little skilled in the Hebrew language, and who sometimes wrote differently one from another ; and that these have pasted through the hands of various copiers, entirely unac quainted with that language ; and yet Fabricius complains not of any difficulty in collecting it ; Montfaucon indeed does h, and it is pretty much he should, sincere wrote after Fabricius j this (hews that he did not consult him, and tMt he had not his specimen from him ; and therefore it is the more surpris ing, that they should so nearly agree, the difference between them being chiefly not in the vowel-points, but in the powers of some few of the conso nant letters. With what precision and exactness, agreeable to the modern punctuation, may it reasonably be supposed were the Hexapla of Origen, as first published by him, and as it would have appeared, had it been preserved ; and who must have had a pointed Bible before him when he composed it ; and the most exquisite care, circumspection, and diligence must have been used by him, to observe every letter and every point, so as to write each word in Greek characters, and give them a proper regular pronunciation. Though I must confess, that since Origen was but indifferently skilled in the Hebrew language, as Huetius ' has observed, and so F. Simon k \ I greatly suspect he had, by some means or other, obtained a copy of the Hebrew Bible, written in Greek charac ters, perhaps from a Jew with whom he was acquainted, well versed in the Hebrew language, both letters and points ; for it was allowed by the Jews ' to write the Hebrew text in the characters of any language, though not to read it so written in their synagogues : and especially they allowed of writing it in Greek characters, it may be for the use of the Hellenistic Jews ; nay they allowed the sacred books to be written in Greek characters only, for so it is said in the Mi/naby ' Biblia Polyglott. torn 6. 72. Interpr. Ei Roman, p. 133. * Præliminar. ad Hexapla, c. 1. p. 16. h Hexapla Gen. p. 14 ' Origenian. 1. a. c. i. s. a. p. 26. k Disquisit. Critic c. 9. p. 61. 1 T. Bab. Sabbat, sol. 115. ». & Megillah. sol. 9. 1. & Debarim Rabba, s. 1. sol. 233. xt

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 523 Misnabm, " There is no difference between the (sacred) books, the Phylac- " teries, and Mezuzab (the parchments on the door posts) only that the books " may be written in every tongue, but the Phylacteries and Mezuzab may not " be written but in the Assyrian (that is in Hebrew characters). R. Simeon Ben Gamaliel fays, " They do not allow the books to be written but in Greek •" and the decision was, according to Simeon, as Maimonides observes"; and who agreeable to this fays, " They may not write the Phylacteries and Mezuzab but *' in Assyrian characters, but they allow the (sacred) books to be written also " in Greek, and in that only." I suspect therefore, I say, that Origen lighted on one of those copies, and what serves to strengthen the suspicion is, that in . his Hexapla, Adonai is put for Jebovab, as the Rabbins read it". Now what he did in compiling his Hexapla, was placing the several copies, as he found them, in order, in distinct columns as follows ; first, the Hebrew text in He brew letters, as then in use with the Jews, z%Eusebius assures p, who doubtless saw the work itself; and next a copy of the same in Greek characters, he had somewhere met with ; then followed the Greek versions of Aquila, Symmacbus, the Septuagint, and Tbeodotion : but be it in which way it may, whether the composition of the Hebrew copy in Greek characters, was Origen's, or another's, it seems a clear cafe that a pointed Bible must then be in being, and was made use of •, and that there was a regular punctuation, and that by the specimen the present punctuation agrees with it j which observation sufficiently confutes and destroys those notions and vulgar mistakes so generally received, of the invention of the points by the men of Tiberias, and of their being invented after the writing of the Talmud, and of their being unknown in the times of Jerom ; all which must now be retracted. I A. D. 2C0. In this century, and the preceding, lived the Rabbins of Tiberias, so fre quently mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud, finished in the year 230, as before observed ; at this time as there were many synagogues of the Jews at Tiberias, so there was a famous academy ; and now lived the true men of Tiberias, spoken of in Jewish writings, and at this time only, as to any number of them j for in the following century, universities and promotions ceased in the land of Israel. These men, so famous in Jewish writings for their knowledge of the Hebrew language, and the purity and elegance of it, and the right x x x 2 manner ■ McgilUh, c. 1. s.8. T. Hicros. S»bbat, sol. 15. 3. ■ TcphilHn, c. .. s. 19. 0 Vide Epiphan. contr. Hxres. 3. hxr. 76. t Ecclesiast. Hist. 1. 6. c. 16.

524 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING manner of reading and pronouncing it, lived before the times of Jerom, and so not after the finishing of the Talmud, as Elias fays -, for Jerom manifestly refers to them, and to the sentiments the Jews had of them, for their know ledge of the law, and the beauty and elegance of their language \ But though these men studied the Hebrew language, and were very expert in it, and in the affair of pointing, yet they were not the inventors of the points; which may be concluded from what Aben Ezra fays ' of them ; " I have seen, " fays he, the books which the wife men of Tiberias examined, and fifteen of " their elders gave it upon oath, that three times they diligently considered " every word and every point, every full and deficient word, and behold, Tod " was written in the word niyy\n," that is, in Exod. xxv. 31. by which it appears that the Bible was not pointed by them, but pointed Bibles, which they had, were examined by them ; so that pointed Bibles were in being before their time; they were pointed to their hands; they only searched into them, and studied them, and became very expert and accurate in their knowledge of the points : hence the fame writer, in another work ' of his fays, that from them the men of Tiberias, were the Maforetes ; from them we have the whole pointing; not that they were the authors and inventors of the points; but that by them they were handed down to them with great accuracy and exact ness ; for he expresly says in another work of his ', that " the men of the ** great synagogue taught the people the sense of the scriptures by the accents, " and by the kings and ministers •, so he calls the vowel-points, Cbolem, Sbu- " rek, &c. and were instead of eyes to the blind; therefore in their foot- steps " we go forth, them we follow, and on them we lean in all expositions of the *« scripture." But whatsoever skill the men of Tiberias might attain to in the study of the points, they appear to be very unfit for, and unequal to such a work as the invention of them. Hear what Dr Ugbtfoot u has observed of them, who was thoroughly acquainted with their characters, as to be learned from the above Talmud. " There are some who believe the holy Bible to be " pointed by the men of Tiberias ; I do not wonder at the impudence of the " Jews who invented this story ; but I wonder at the credulity of the Chris- 11 tians, who applaud it. Recollect, I beseech you, the names of the Rabi" bins of Tiberias, from the first situation of the university to the time that it *' expired •, and what at length do you find, but a kind of men mad with Pharisaism, * Quxst. feu Trad. Heb. in Gen. T. 3. sol. 73. I. K. ' Comment, in Exod. xxv. 31. • Tzachut, sol. 138. a. apud Buxtorf. de Punct. Antiq. p. it. « Mozne Leshon Hakodcsh apud Buxtorf. ibid. p. 13, 14. » Works, vol. a. Chorograph. Cent. c. 81. p. 73, 74.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 525 « Pharisaism, bewitching with traditions and bewitched, blind, guileful, « doting, they must pardon me, if I fay magical and monstrous ? Men how »< unfit, how unable, how foolish, for the undertaking so divine a work ?" Then he gives the names of many of them, and observes their childishness, sophistry, froth and poison, and adds, « If you can believe the Bible was » pointed in such a school, believe also all that the Talmudists write. The » pointing of the Bible savours of the work of the Holy Spirit, not the work « of lost, blinded, and besotted men •," and elsewhere he says, " It is above " the skill of a mere man to point the Bible ; nay, scarcely a verse as it is. « The ten commandments may puzzle all the world for that skill w." As about this time, the universities both of Tiberias and Babylon were the most flourishing, it may be reasonably supposed, that as they had each of them copies of the Bible, which they carefully examined, and preserved for the use of the Jews in Palestine and Babylon, that now were made the various readings called western and eastern, published at the end of some printed Bibles; the one for the Jews in their own land, called western, and the other for the Jews in Babylon, called eastern. The difference in number are 216, and none of them in the law; and they are mostly very trivial, and chiefly about letters and words, but not altogether, for in two places, Jer. vi. 6. Amos iii. 6. they make mention of the point Map-pick, in which the one copy differs from the other ; so that Elias x is wrong, in saying that the differences are about words and letters only, but not about points and accents, and therefore he supposes they were made before the invention of the vowel-points and accents ; but he is mistaken, these were then in beings In Lam. v. 2 1. the western Jews have the Tetragrammaton, Jehovah, but the eastern have Adonai ; the former word, as it should seem, having in their copy the points of the latter, as it sometimes has, they put Adonai instead of it; which shews that the points then were. A. D. 190. Clemens of Alexandria lived and wrote about this time, and is thought to make mention of the Hebrew points and accents, where he fays \ " There are « some, who in reading, by the tone of the voice, pervert the Scriptures to " their own pleasure, and by a transposition ri»<w *f oeuhvt *«. nyp*» (which Syl- «« burgius, his interpreter renders; of certain accents and points, what are " wisely and profitably commanded, force to their own liking;" in which he has respect to a text in Mai iii. 15. and which he vindicates against some heretics • Erubhim, or Miscellanies, c. 31. vol. 1.- p. 1014. * Pnefat 3. ad Masorct. 1 Stromat. 1. 3. p. a". r

5i6 A DISSERTATION, CONCERNING heretics of his time ; but not to the Greek version of it, and the accents of that ; for those in the opposition say, there were no accents in the Greek tongue for ages after z ; but to the Hebrew text, and the points and accents in that* and the rather this may be supposed, seeing it appears in several parts of his writings, that he had some knowledge of the Hebrew tongue. A little before Clemens, Irenaus wrote, who, though he had but a small de gree of knowledge of the Hebrew language, yet something of it he endea voured to get, that he might answer the heretics of his time, who were fond of introducing foreign words and their significations into their schemes. The first and ancient Hebrew letters, he fays % were but ten ; which Feuardentius his annotator explains of the ten from Alepb to Tod inclusive, because these were the first and chief from whence all the rest were formed ; and indeed the cabalistic Jews b, fay the Tod is the beginning of all letters ; and Hertnannus Hugo observes % that all the Hebrew characters are composed from the single letter Tod variously joined together •, but Irenæus adds, " that every one of " the letters are written by fifteen, the last letter coupled to the first." Now what he means by fifteen, Dr Grabe fays, he could not devile. I suspect he means the fifteen vowel-points, as some grammarians reckon them *t and call them five long, five short, and five most short, which Irenæus might have some knowledge of from those who taught him the little Hebrew he had •, for that he consulted the Rabbins of his time is clear from what he before fays of the Hebrews and their language, " Sicut periti eorum dicunt :" and it is ob servable, that in his time Hebrew words were read and pronounced according to the modern pointing ; as for instance, p*? ip is read not Cuiacu, nor Coloco, as most natural, without points ; but Caulacau % as it is in our pointed Bibles in Isa. xxviii. 13. and was read so before his time by the heretics he opposes. There are other words in Irenxus l which agree with our modern punctuation, zsSabaotb, Elocu, Adonai: and here I cannot forbear observing, that Pbilo Byblius *, who lived half a century at least before Irenæus, in translating Santboniatho's history out os the Phœnician language, reads DvV?N, his author's word 1 Some fay, they began in the seventh century, vide Velasti DisseYt. de Lit. Grace. Pronunciat. par. 4 ca. p. 95. Romæ, * 751. It is said the ancienter the manuscripts are, the fewer arc the accents, and that those which exceed a thousand years have none at all, Mirtifb. Sarpeflon (alias Frideric Rcissenberg) Differs, dc Vera Attic. Pronunciat. par. 3. c. 1. p. 48. Rornar, 1750; but Gregorius Placentinius makes them much more ancient. Sec his Epitome ©rase. Paleograph c. 11. p. 88. Romæ, 1735. The controversy about the <*rcek accents has been of late years revived at Rome. * Adv. hx res. la. c. 41. b R. Abraham Dior, in Jetzirah, p. 58. Ed. Rittangel. e De prima Scribendi Orig. p. 64. * Vide Balmesii Mikneh Abraham, p. 85. lin.3. & a6.1in. 6. f Adv. hæres. 1. 1. c. *3f Ibid. 1. 2. c. 66. 8 Apud Euseb. Prtepar. Evangel. 1. 1. p. 37.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 527 word no doubt, in Creek E*»itf*, asjerom*, Basil*, and Epipbanius*, in the fourth century read it Eloim ; and Origen before them, as the specimen of his Hexapla given above shews. This very ancient way of reading and pronounc ing Elohim, as it agrees with the modern punctuation, so it may be observed against the Hutcbinsonians, who sometimes write and pronounce it Elahim and sometimes Aleim, as Ma/clef also does. A. D. 150. In this year, or about this time, the Mi/nab or book of Traditions wa3 finished, which R. Judab Hakhdejh collected together, that they might not be lost ; and it must be written so early, since by the unanimous consent of Jewish writers, it was compiled by this Rabbi, who flourished in the times of Antoninus Pius, with whom he was very familiar. Some Christian writers in deed place it at the beginning of the sixth century, or at the end of the fifth, and others at the end of the fourth j but no good reason can be given why the Jews should antedate this book, for whose use only it was written. There is not one Rabbi mentioned in it but lived before R. Judab, the supposed compiler of it •, nor is there any chronosogical character in it that brings it lower than the times of Adrian the predecessor of Antoninus, whose name is once mentioned in it'j therefore Maimonides* thinks the Misnab was compos ed about his time. Now the Jews had been very much harrassed in the times of Trajan and Adrian, but obtained some favour and ease in the times of An toninus -, and having more ease and leisure, it was the fittest opportunity of set ting about this work of collecting their traditions from several parts ; which were put together by the above Rabbi, that they might not be lost : accord ing to the author of Co/ri % this year 150 is the year 150 from the destruc tion of the second temple, which brings it to the year of Christ 220 ; but R. Abraham Ben David*, and R. Menacbem e place the Misnab in 120 from the destruction, which is A. D. 190; but Morinus ' himself owns that Rabbenu Hakados compiled the Mifnaioty or traditions, almost two hundred years before the council of Nice, and that council was but little more than three hundred years after the birth of Christ. The general regard paid to the Misnab by the Jews in all parts, in Palestine and in Babylon, the puzzle the Gemarists are at in many places to understand it, many of the traditions in it being the fame * Epist. Marcellas, sol. 31. A. Tom. 3. Quxst. Heb. in Gen. sol. 66. E. r Adv. Eunom. 1. 1.' * Contr. Hæres. 1. 1. hasres. 40. ■ Avodah Zarah, c.3. s. 3. * Comment, in ibid. * Par. 3. c. 67. so R. Serira in Juchasin, sol. 1 1 5. and R. Azariah. Meor Enayim, c, 34. sol. 95> t». Sepher Cabala. c Apud Ganz Tzemach David, par. 1. sol, 30, 2. d ' De sinceritatc Heb. Text.l. i.Exercit. 1. c. zrp. 17. .

528 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING same that arc observed or referred to in the New Testament, are proofs of the antiquity of it; and though it is denied, yet it is most clear that Jerom had knowledge of it as a written book ; his words are, that * " the traditions " of the Pharisees are what to this day are called SuV^m (secondary laws, " or the Misnah) and are such old wives fables, that I cannot bear evolvere to " turn them over ; for neither will the bigness of the book admit of it, and " most of the things in it are so filthy that I am ashamed to speak of them ;" in which he not only gives the work its proper name, a secondary law or Misnab, buc speaks of it as a book, and of a considerable bulk, it being bigger than our New Testament, and there are things in it which agree with the character he gives of it, and such as well deserved his censure, as h Dr Wotton thinks-, though I must confess in this I am of a different mind; but choose rather to subscribe to what the learned Wagenseil says', that in the Misnab as abstracted from the Gemara, "there is no fable nor apologue in it, nor any " thing very foolish, nor very remote from season ; it contains mere laws " and traditions." Jerom therefore fays this upon hearsay, and it is plain by his own words he had not read it; or, it may be, rather he refers to the Jerusalem Talmud, which consists both of the Misnab and Gemara ; and not only the matter but the bulk of the book Jerom speaks of better agrees with that, which is a large folio ; and being finished in the year 230, as before observed, there was time enough for Jerom to 'have knowledge of it ; however, I think it is beyond all doubt, that there was a collection of the Jewish tradi tions called in his time "Misnab or Misnaiot, and that this was a written book, in somefoTm or another, either by itself, or with the Gemara, of which Jerom had knowledge ; and that Jerom saw the Misnab itself is the opinion of the learned Dr Bernard in his letter to the bishop of Ferns, prefixed to the Mis. nab of tiurenbujius * ; and Jerom in the fame epistle makes mention of the Msnic doctors by name, as Rob, Akiba, Simeon, and Hillell, who delivered to the Jews the tradition of walking 2000 feet on a sabbath-day ; and a little after he says, " on certain days when they (the Jewish doctors) explain their traditions " they usually fay to theirdisciples, 01 <ro<po. Jn>l«f»w, that is, the wife men teach ** the traditions," than which no words can more fully and fitly express or give a better translation of the phrases 1J2") 13/1- Our Rabbins teach, that is, in the Misnab, and lai *3J1 such a Rabbi teaches, that is, in the Misnic way ; phrases to be met with in innumerable places in Talmudie writings'; which shews f Epist. Algasiae, Qu. 10. sol. 55. I. Tom 3. h Miscellaneous Discourses, &c. p. 94. 1 Prscfat. ad Tela Ignea. p. 57, 58. k Videret equidem aliquando opus illud Misnicum Rtfclor Bethleemiticus, &c Vid. Triglandium de scsta Karæorum c 9. p. 123, who is of the tune opinion. ' See the meaning of these phrases in Halicot Olam, p. 35,33- Ed 1' Empereur.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 529 shews the knowledge Jercm had of them, and that they were in being before his time ; and hence it is, that the wife men are called Tanaim, Misnic doc tors, and the Mi/nab itself Mathnitha, tradition, instruction, doctrine. The Misnic doctors are frequently called wife men in it. The most famous of ' them for their doctrines, debates, and decisions in the Misnah were well known to Jerom, and their names and the order of time in which they lived, are given by him : " The Nazarites, fays m he, interpret the two houses {Isa. viii.) of " the two families of Sbammai and Hillell, from whom sprung the Scribes and ** Pharisees, in whose school Akiba succeeded, thought to be the master of M Aauila the proselyte, and after him Meir, succeeded by Johanan the son of " Zaccai, after him Eliezer and then Delphon (Tarphon I suppose is meant) and ** again Joseph the Galilean, and Joshua unto the captivity of Jerusalem. Sham- " mai and Hillell therefore did not arise in Judea much before the Lord was ** born; the first of which signifies a disstpator, and the other profane •, be- •* cause that by their traditions and secondary laws (or Misnic doctrines) they " dissipated and despised the precepts of the law ; and these are the two houses " which did not receive the Saviour." It is observable in this passage, that Jerom calls the schools of Hillell and Sbammai, which make so considerable a figure in the Misnah, houses and families, which is the very name they go by in the Misnah hundreds of times, as jva Hillell and JV3 Sbammai. So Jerom elsewhere n calls the Jewish fables and traditions, A««1«p«<«'f» secondary laws, as is also before observed, and answers to Mishnaiot, the very name by which their book of traditions is called : and Eusebius °, who lived before Jerom, makes mention of the Deuterotœ or Misnic doctors among the Jews, by which name Jerom p often calls the Pharisees, who were traditionary men, retailers of traditions, and the authors of the Misnah ; and by the fame name he calls one of the Rabbins, that instructed him in the Hebrew tongue % and from whom, with others, he became acquainted with many things now to be met with in the Misnah and Talmud ; and this accounts for Jerom\ know ledge of the Misnah) which might not be known by those who were his cotemporaries ; and which need not be wondered at, since the book was written purely for the use of the Jews, and was pot designed to be made pub lic to others ; and it was only through Jerom's acquaintance with some Jew ish Rabbins his preceptors, that he came to have any notion of it $ where fore Austin, not knowing ic was committed to writing r, is no objection to ir, Vol. III. Yyy since n Comment, in Esaiam. c. 8. fol. 1 7. I. Tom. 5. " Comment, in EQiiatn, c. $9. sol. 103. in Ezelc. c 36. sol. 235. H. and in Matt. 22. sol. 30, ,M, 3|>i& »d Pamasum, T. 3. sol. 40. A. • Præpar. Evangel. I. M. c- 5, 9 In E&iara. p. g. sal. 9. C. & c. »o. fol. 20. D. & c. 29. fol. 57. C. Tom. 5 q In Habacuc. c. 2. fol 85. D. Tom. 6. • Opera, T. 6. contr. Adversar. Leg. & Proph. 1. 2, c. t. p 256. S-

53o A DISSERTATION CONCERNING since it might be written, and he be ignorant of it, he having no correspond ence with die Jews, as Jerom had : and it may be farther observed, that of the Misnic doctors some lived before the birth of Christ, and some after, yet be fore the destruction of Jerusalem, and others after that, but all before R. Judab Hakkodesh, the last of them, and who compiled the Misnab about the date given ; and it may also be observed, that whereas some of these men lived before this date some considerable time, in course, their debates and de cisions about any matter must be reckoned as early •, so that the discourse between two Rabbins I shall presently produce, founded upon punctuation, who lived about, or a little after, the destruction of Jerusalem, carries the • affair of punctuation higher than the date fixed % even into the first century. The Misnab, according to the Jews, was pointed. Ephodeus ' fays, you will find all the ancient copies of the Misnab written with points and accents ; and R. Azariab ■ affirms, that he saw two copies of the Misnab more than 500 years old, with points and distinguishing accents ■, and in the Misnab not only mention is made of verses in the Bible, and how many to be read at a time", by which it appears that the sacred books were distinguished into verses so early, but the points are manifestly referred unto. Two doctors are introduced x as disputing about the reading of the text in Cant. i. 2. Says R. Joshua, brother Ishmael, how dost thou read the words, "p*TY1 or -p-m ? that is, whether he read the word with a masculine or feminine affix ; and so, whe ther it was the congregation or church that spoke to God, or whether it was God that spoke to the church ? now this could not be determined by the let ters or consonants which are the fame ; but by the vowel-points, which distin guish the affixes : according to R. Ishmael it was to be read feminine TjniT as if spoken by God to the church -, but this R. Joshua denied -, Not so, fays he, but yfn masculine, and so spoken by the church to God. Now though these two Rabbins might have an unpointed Bible before them, yet the foundation of their reasoning lay in the points ; for their dispute was not barely how the word was pronounced, but how it was read ; and it is observable, that it is the modern punctuation of this word that is by this instance esta blished ; to which may be added, that the Masoretb is expresiy made mention of in the Misnab y as the hedge of the law, one branch of which is concerned with the points and accents, and to the authors of it those that oppose the points • Vid.HalicotOlam, c. a. p. 19, 26, 228. & Pocock. Port. Mosis, p. 120. « Apud Buxtorf. de Punct. Antiq. p. 78. " Meor Enayim, c. 59. sol. 18c. 2. * Megillah.c. 4.s. 4. * Avodahzarah,c.2.s.5. rPirkeAbot, c.3. s. 13. vidcLcusden. in ibid*

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 53* points ascribe them. Now R. Akiba, whose saying this is, flourished about eighty years after Christ, and died in the year 120, in the war of Adrian against the Jews ; in whom the glory of the law is said to cease, because he gave hjs mind to search out the meaning of every apex, tittle, and point in it, as it was.foretold of him that he should1 :.!the extraordinary point in the letter n in ripim, Numb. ix. 10. is observed in the Msnab*. A. D. 120. . . About this time, according to the Jewish chronology b, lived Simeon ben Jocbai a disciple of R. Akiba author of the book of Zobar ; the authority and antiquity of which book, is not called in question by any of the Jews, no not by Elias Levita himself, who first asserted the points to be the invention of the men of Tiberias ; yet declared', if any one could convince him that his opinion was contrary to the book, of Zobar, he should be content to have it rejected. What may be urged in. favour of the antiquity of that book, is not only, that the persons introduced speaking in it, and whose sayings are record ed, were as early or earlier than the time to which it is placed ; but the neat ness of the language in which it is written, which far exceeds any thing writ ten after this times as also their being no mention made of the Talmud in it, though there d is of the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan. Some things ob jected to its antiquity may be only interpolations. R. Azariab fays", it was written before the Misnab was compiled. According to Majius { it was writ ten a little after the destruction of Jerusalem. Now in this book it is said, " the letters are the body, and the points are the spirit or soul ;" and the text in Dan. xii. 3. is thus paraphrased, they that be wise stall/hive, the letters and points j as the brightness, the modulation of the accents ; they that turn many to righteousness^ these are the pauses of the accents g ; so Nehemiah viii. 8. is inter preted in it, of the pauses of the accents, and of the Masoretb h ; and in ano ther place ' " Jehovah is called Elohim, because he is the river of mercies ; " and it is written mercy, and pointed by Elohim ■" yea, the very names of the points and accents are mentioned in it in various places k, as Cbokm, Sburek, Chirek, Patacb, Segol, Shevab, Kametz, Tzere, Zarka, Segolta, Shalshekt, &c. and elsewhere mention is made of the seven vowels, which are by gramv y y 2 • marians 1 Misn. Sotah, c, 9. s. 15. Bartenora in ibid.T. Bab. Menachot sol. 29,2. * Pesachim c.9. s.2. b Ganz Tzemach David, par. 1. sol. 30, 1. cPraefat.3. ad Masorct. d Zohar in Gen. sol. 61,1. e Imre Binah.c. 59. sol. 179, 2. f Comrnent. in jsosh. 1, 3. t Zohar inGcn. sol. 1,3. » In Exod. so). 82, 4. i Ibid, in Lev. sot. #'#* W.'Suhzbaci.* ' .' .'• k Ibid, in Gen. sol. j, 2. &'7I) 2. Tikkune fcohaY'præfat. folse, 2. '& s, h,

532 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING marians called Kametz, Tzere, Cbirek, Cbolem, Sburek^ Patacb, Segol; so some of the extraordinary points or pricks, on certain words are observed in it, as that on the word for be luffed bit*, Gen. xxxiii. 4. and on the word for afar off, in Numbers ix. 10 ' 5 the double letters in the Hebrew tongue, the pronuncia tion of which depends upon the points, are made mention of in this book™. A. D. 100. In the time before this date, or in the first century, the Targums of Jonathan and Onkelos were written -, the one is upon the prophets, and the other upon the Pentateuch, and are by fiuxiorfa said to be the most ancient books of ail the Hebrews, Jonathan flourishing a little before Christ, and Onkelos a little af ter; though some write that they knew one another 5 however they were in this century : it is certain also there was a Targum on Jtb, as ancient0 as R. Gamaliel the master of the apostle Paul i and Onkelos must be cotemporary with him, if what is said p is true, that he burnt at Gamaliel's funeral as much as was worth seventy Tyrian pounds. The Targums are now in our printed Bibles pointed ; but whether they were so when first written cannot be said. Elias Levita , is very positive and fays, without doubt the Targumifts wrote their paraphrases without points •, and affirms also, that they were not pointed by the Maforetes, but by men of note long after their time -, but this is all said to serve an hypothesis of his own, that there was no pointing before the men of Tiberias ; that the points of them were then in a corrupt state, and very ir regular ; and so indeed Buxtorff' found them, and took great pains to restore them ; and which not only supposes their being, but it may be that such a state was owing to their great antiquity and the long neglect of them. With some Jewish commentators Jonathan is observed in some places to translate and paraphrase according to the points. Kimcbi on 2 Sam. xix. 14. observes, that instead of be bowed, Jonathan renders it passively, was'bowed, by which ic seems, he fays, that he read D'l with a Tzere under Tod, but the Masorab tes tifies of it that it is with a Patacb under the Tod; and on Hos. v. 15. he re marks, that in the word mKW the Aleph and Shin are with a Sbevab, agree able to which is the Targum of Jonathan-, and Jarcbi on Ezek. xxvii. 16. ob serves that as to the point Dagejh, Jonathan explains the word that has it some times literally, and sometimes allegorically •, for in that way he sometimes paraphrased otherwise than in the copy before him ; so the Jerusalem Targumijl on ' Ibid. In Gen. sol. 98, 4. » fo Gen. sol. 38, 1 . B Biblioth. Rabbin, p. 293. • T. Hieros. Sabbat, sol. 15, 3. i T.Bab. Avodah zarah, sol. u,i. ' Preset, ad Mcthurgeraan, sol. a, j . » Preset, ad Bibl. Heb.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 533 on Gen. xiv. 5. what Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan take for the proper name of a place, he instead of Zuzim in Ham, -ha it, the illustrious ones among them ; and so it is quoted in Berejhit Rabba % on which the commentator ob serves1", that Zuzim is allegorically explained, as if it had the signification of splendor and lustre, and Beham, which is with a Kametz, as if it was written with a Segol ; but if the points were not then known, there could be no foun dation for such ah allegorical interpretation. Capellusc himself owns, that Jonathan and Onkelos made use of an Hebrew copy different from what the Sep~ tuagint did, and almost the same we now have from the Masoretes ; and indeed. Onkelos scarce ever departs from the modern punctuation, and it will be difficult . to produce a single instance, proving that he used an unpointed Bible. . A. D. 70. Josephus, the famous Jewish historian, flourished about this time. Scarce any thing can be expected from him concerning the Hebrew points, who wrote in Greek, and conformed Hebrew words to the genius of that language, and who read and pronounced consonants, as well as vowels, different from the Hebrew words. There is a passage of his which is thought to militate against the antiquity and necessity of the vowel-points, when he fays d, that the sacred letters engraven on the mitre of the high-priest, meaning the word Jehovah, , are four vowels ; which are supposed to be a sufficient number of vowels for the Hebrew language, at least, if another or two are added to them : but, tp take off the force of this objection, if there is any in it, let it be observed, 1st, Jofephus's want of skill in the Hebrew tongue, with which he is charged by some learned men ; the Syro-Cbaldean language being commonly spoken by the Jews in his time, and which, perhaps, may serve also to account for his different pronunciation of the Hebrew words in some places, adly, What he calls vowels, and which some think may be used instead of vowels, are allowed by the fame to have also the power of consonants ; and it is certain, that the Vau was used as a consonant before, and in the times of Josephus -, so David is read a«6.J, in Matt, i 1, 6, & passim, and in the very name Jehovah he speaks ofj for the Samaritans' pronounced it Jabe, and 1 and n are some times changed for one another in the Hebrew language, as in Bathjbua for Bath' sheba, 1 Chron. iii. 5. and Josephus must have known that the Tod is used in the Bible as a consonant, in a multitude of proper names of men and places, and in other words, and even in his own name, jdly, If the sacred name Jehovah consisted » Paralh. 42. sol. 37. 2. » In Maitanat Cchunnah in ibid. e Critica, p. 324. - De Bello Jud. 1. g. c. 5. s. 2. • Theodoret. in Gen. Qu. i5. vide Epiphan. contra Htcres. 1. 1. hær. 40.

•3?4 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING consisted of vowels only, it could not be pronounced; for as consonants can not be pronounced without vowels, so neither can vowels without consonants ; and though the word is by the Jews said to be ineffable, yet not because ft could not be pronounced, for it was pronounced by the blasphemer in the times of Moses, by Hiram, by the former wife men to their children once a week ', and by the high priest in the sanctuary, as they allow k ; but because as they thought it was not lawful to pronounce it, at least in common, as lay both Pbilo1 and Josepbusm ; and so in the Mi/nab", he is said to have no part in the world to come who pronounces the name Jehovah with its own letters. When the ancient Greek writers fay it is unutterable, as the author of Delphi Pbœnicizantes observes °, it is only as written by the Greeks, who scarce admit of v as a consonant, and cannot express aspirates in the middle and end of a word, as this word requires ; but then he adds, not because it cannot be pronounced, for it may be pronounced according to the Hebrew letters, with which it is written. 4thly, The three letters in the name Jehovah, for there are no more in it of a different kind, can at most be only considered as matres leftionis, as they are called, and so used in the room of vowels; but then these are often wanting in the Hebrew text, and in places where they might be ex pected, and where their presence would be necessary, if this were their use, and there were no other vowels or vowel-points, and therefore are insufficient to supply the place of them. 5th 1 y, After all, yf«f»p«I« and fvnul* are the same in Josephs as in the Greek epigram in Eusebius p, and they the fame with fun the human and articulate voice, which, as Capellus observes ">, consists not of vowels only, but of consonants also •, and both in the one as in the other, the tetragrammaton, or the name of four letters, Jehovah is thought to be meant ; or of seven letters, four consonants, and three vowel-points •, hence Scaliger fays', " There is no necessity by fmwT* to understand vowels, in the ■*• above Greek epigram, since Josephus exprefly calls the four letters of the " tetragrammaton <p»>»nrla, whence it appears that any letters may be so called ;" and Jofepbus's view in the observation he makes was not to tell us what fort of letters they were that were upon the mitre of the high priest, whether vowels or consonants ; but that it was the tetragrammaton, or name of four letters, that was written upon it, using the language of his own nation, and which continues in use to this day ; wherefore both Selden ' and Braunius1 render the passage 1 T.Bab. Kiddufhin, sol. 71. 1. k Midi. Sotah, c. 7. s. 6. T. Bab. Yoma, sol. 39 2. 1 Devita Mosis, 1. 3. p. 670. ■ Antiq. 1 2. c. 12. s. 4-' " Sanhedrim, c. 11. s. 1. 0 Dickinson, c.6. p. 57. P .Praepar. Evangel, 1. xi« c. 6. ,. * -Orat.de Nom. Tetragram. p. 172. ' In Fragm. ad Calcem lib', de Emendat. Temp, p 34. • De Succes. in Pontif. Ebr. 1. 2. c. 7. « De Vcstitu Sacerd. Heb. 1. 2. c 22. s. 18. p. 8» 1.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 535: passage in Josepbus thus, " About it (the mitre) was another golden crown. " bearing sacred letters, that is, the name tetragrammaton." Pbilo calls them the four' engravings of the name, and the engravings of the, four letters, and 'this, fays he, divines call tetragrammaton u. Moreover, though Josepbus doesnot make express mention of the Masorab in his writings, yet Arias- Montanus* thinks w, he never could have so confidently said what he said without the help of it ; as when he fays % in such a space of time that was past, meaning from Moses, " no man dared to add, nor to take away, nor to change any thing in" " the Scripture, choosing rather to die ;" and the same says Pbilo1 the Jew, who lived in the fame age, and a little before him, that the Jews in the space of more than 2000 years, " never moved out of its pUce one word of what u was written by Moses, rather willing to die a thousand times than go contrary «' to the laws and customs ;" and that there was a Masorab before their times is acknowledged by some who have been opposers of the points, as before ob served. The silence of Pbilo and Josepbus about the points, is only a proof that they were not a matter of controversy, but no proof of their not being, in use. a. b. 31. That the points were in use in the times of Christ may be concluded from Matt. v. 1 8. //// heaven and earth pass away, one jot (or one Tud, asjthe Syriac version) or one tittle (or one Chirek, as Elias Hutter in his Hebrew version) shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled ; and so as the least letter in the Hebrew alphabet, Tod, is referred to, the least of the points in use, Chirek, is also ; between which and the Greek word *ip<*i«, used by the evangelist, is great nearness of sound, and seems to be no other than that point made Greek. So that Dr Ligbtsoot observes', that our Saviour in his words of one Iota, and one Keraia, not perishing from the law, seems to allude to the least of the let ters, Jod, and to the least vowel and accent. The argument from hence can not well be put more strongly than it is by Dr John Prideœux*, who yet was an opposcr of the points ; " If the points, fays he, were not at this time, *' why does the Saviour make mention of them ? If they were the fame with " the consonants, or only cornicular eminencies of them, why are they reck- •« oned here as distinct things ?" and to which he makes a very feeble answer, and 0 De vila Mosis, 1. 3. p. 670, 673. w De Varia Heb. Lib. Script & Lect. x Contr. Apiop. 1. 1. c. 8. 1 A pud Euseb. Evangel, præpar. 1. 8. c. 6. p. 357. ■ Works, vol.i. p. 1014. » Viginti duæ Lectiones, Lect. 12. p. 182.

536 -A :iXFSSERT AT I ON CONCERNING and indeed the. argument seems unanswerable: nor can the pricks on certain letters called m/i, be designed, though very ancient, being mentioned in the Talmud b, and the same letters on which they are put, and on them only, and not on all j and as Brougbton observes % " These, and likewise accents, are no " part of the word, therefore vowel-pricks (or points) must be meant-," and it may be concluded with Piscator on the place, that Christ " so calls, that re, *' 'tittles, what now go by the name of points, which in Hebrew writing are " variously put to letters, both to signify the proper sound of some of them, " and the vowel-sounds, and also the accents and parts of a sentence; hence " it appears that the holy Bible in the timeof Christ was pointed, and that that " punctuation was approved of by him ■" so Pasor^ in his Lexicon fays, " By " tittle here is meant a point ; wherefore the vowel-points were in the time of " Christ, and not, as some pretend, a new invention." The words of Christ expressed on the cross, Eli, Eli, &c. and the names of persons in the genealo. gies of the Evangelists, and in Heb. xi. and in other places of the New Tes tament, seem to confirm the modern punctuation. The Dagejh forte appears, and is preserved in many words in those times, as in Immanuel, Matt. i. 23. Matthew, Lebbæus, Tbaddœus, Matt. x. 3. Ho/anna, Matt. xxi. 9. Epbpbatba, Mark vii. 34. Anna, Luke ii. 36. Mattbat, Mattbatbias, Luke iii. 24, 25. Matthias, Acts i. 23. Abaddon, Rev. ix. 11. Armageddon, Rev. xvi. 16. Sabbaton, Matt. xii. 5. Lamma, Mark xv. 34. with others, and the Dagejb lene in Capernaum, Sarepta, and others ; and even the use of the Patacb Genubab appears in the pronunciation of Meffias and Siloam as well as the other points, 'John i. 41. and ix. 7, 11. A. 30. Ante Christum. About this time lived two famous doctors among the Jews, HiHelJ and Sbammai, heads of two schools and of two sects, so different, that it is said, the law was as two laws d, and a fast was appointed on account of the division between them'; the former was followed by the Rabbinite Jews, and the latter by the Karaite Jews : and it may be observed, that Jcfepbus f calls PoRie, the fame with Hillell, a Pharisee, but not Sammeas, or Sbammai, he mentions with him ; through whom the Karaites derive the genealogy and succession of their doctors, and from whom they fay, they received the doctrine and copy of the lawE ; which Sbammai had from Sbemaiab, and he from Judab ben Tabhi, in b T. Bab. Mcnachot, sol. 29. 2. c Works, p. 204. d T. Bab. Sankedrim, sol. 88. t. • Schulchan Aruch, par. i. c. 580. f Antiq. 1. 15 c. 1. s. 1. * Dod Mordecai, five Comment, de Karaeis, c 9. p. 97. Edit, a Wolfio.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 537 in whose days the separation was made, 120 years before Christ, as will be seen hereafter. Now the Karaites with one consent declare, that the copy of the law they had h, had the points and accents, and that such copies they al ways had and used ; as the Hillellian copy is also a pointed one. I have ob served under A. D. 340, that some learned men take that copy to be this Hilleli's, and I am pretty much inclined to the fame opinion ; for, as Sbammai had a copy for him and his party, so Hillell had, no doubt, one for him and his : and as the Karaites boast of their copy, and of the antiquity of it, so the Rabbanites boast of HilUli's copy; which must be the copy of some emi nent person of that name, by which all copies were corrected ; and who so eminent as this Hillell ? It is indeed most generally ascribed to a Hillell, who lived in the fourth century, not so famous as this ; and as for the copy which R. Zacutb saw, and which had been written 900 years before he saw it, which, from 1500, in which he lived, carries it up to the year 600, it falls short of that Hillell, and still more of this. I suppose, therefore, that that was a copy taken from the original copy of the elder Hillell, and being the only one re maining, was valued, and made use of for correcting all other copies -, so that if this was the cafe, there were two pointed Bibles as early as the date given. Hillell began his government, as the head of an academy, 100 years before the destruction of the temple, about the beginning of the reign of Herod1, with which Jofepbus agrees k, who calls him Pollio, as before observed. A. 40. Ante Christum. About this time lived ~R.Necbuniab ben Kanab, as the Jewish ' chronologers generally place him. 1 suspect him to be the same whom Grotius™ calls R. Nebumias, who, according to him, was fifty years before Christ, and who then openly declared, that the jime of the Messiah signified by Daniel, would not be prolonged beyond those fifty years. To this Rabbi the book of Babiris generally ascribed by the Jews : could the authenticity and antiquity of it be established, it would furnish out a very early proof of the points ; for R. Becbai ", a celebrated writer with the Jews, has a quotation out of it to this purpose, '« Letters are like to the body, and points to the soul, for the points c« move the letters as the soul moves the body, as our Rabbins expound Vol. III. Zzz "in h Dod Mordecai, five Comment, de Karaeis, c. is. p. 150. 1 T. Bab. Sabbat, sol 15. 1. Juchasin, sol. 19. a. Gantz Tzemach David, par. 1. sol. 24, a. k Antiq. 1. 15. c. 1. s. 1. & c. 10. s. 4. & Josipp. Heb. 1. 5. c. 13. 1 Juchasin, sol. 20. 1. Gantz Tzemach David, par. 1. sol. 24. 2. » De Ver. Relig. Christ. 1. 5. s. 14, » Apud Buxtorff. Tiberiad, c. 9.

538 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING " in the book of Babir" but seeing such antiquity of this book is' doubtful as ascribed to it, 1 lay no stress upon it j though Buxtorff fays % it is the most ancient of all the Rabbinical books, and if so, it must be as ancient as it is said to be ; since Jonatban ben Uzziel, who wrote on the prophets, was cotemporary with the supposed author of it. ■ A. 1 20. Ante Christum. In the times of John Hyrcanus, and Alexander Jannæus his son, sprung up the sect: of the Karaites p, in opposition to the Pharisees, who had introduced traditions, and set up the oral law, which these men rejected. In the times of the said princes lived Simeon ben Sbetacb, and Judab ben Tabbai, who flourished A. M. 3621, these two separated, the latter from the former, because he could not embrace his inventions which he formed out of his own brain ; and from him the Karaites sprung, who were first called the society or congregation of Judab ben Tabbai % which was afterwards changed into the name of Karaites: for that they had their rife from Anan and Saul, who lived in the eighth century after Christ, and so after the Talmud was finished, as fay Morinus ' and others, is very false ; for mention is made of them in the Misnab s compiled in the second century •, they were only the restorers not the authors of Karaism, which must be near as early as Phariaism ; and that, according to x Josepbus, was as early as the times of Jonatban the Maccabee. Now these men, the Karaites, adhered to the Scriptures only, whence they had their name, which signifies, " Scripturarians," the fame, as some think, with the Scribes, ypaW*1iif, " letter-men," and these the fame with the lawyers in the New Tes tament, who kept to the letter of the Scriptures, Matt, xxiii. 13. compared with Luke'u. 52. and Matt. xxii. 35. with Mark xii. 28. but the Scribes and Pharisees are not only put together, but as agreeing with each other, and so they might in some things agree against the Sadducees, who denied the resur rection, see Acts xxiii. 9. and might differ in other things •, but what makes most against the Scribes being the fame with the Karaites, is their joining with the Pharisees in the point of traditions, Matt. xv. 1, 2. Mark vii. 1 —5. and on the other hand, what seems most to favour the notion that the Scribes and Lawyers differed from the other sects, is the text in Luke xi. 45. and certain it • Bibliothec. Rab. p. 319. so Groddeck de Script. Rabbin, s. 74. p. a6. » Cosri, par. 3. s. 65. Maimon. in Pirke Abot, c. 1. s. 3. Juchasin, sol. 51. 1. • Dod Mordecai, c. a. p. 12—14. r De Sincer. Heb. Text. 1. a. Exercit. 7. c. t. s. 6. • Megillah, c. 3. sol. 24. a. Amstelod. Ed. vide Houting in Misn. RoQihaJhanah, c. a. s. t- &Trigland. de Sect. Kaiaeonun, p. 20, at. « Antiq. 1. j 3. c. 5. s. 9.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 539 it is, that Christ does speak more favourably of the Scribes than of others, Matt. xiii. 52. and chap. xvii. 10, 11. Mark xii. 28,34. and he is sometimes compared with them, though with some difference, Matt. vii. 29. and Orobio, a Jew, of the last century, said u our Jesus was a Karaite ; and a Rabbinical Jew, out of ill-will to the Karaites, feigned a letter* from them to the other Jews, asserting that Jesus of Nazareth agreed with them, and exhorted his followers to receive their rites, and not those of the Rabbanites ; and that their ancestors had no hand in his death, and that they were the Rabbanites that flew him, and were only answerable for it •, but it is evident that the Scribes were concerned in the death of Christ, Matt. xvi. 21. chap. xx. 18. chap. xxvi. 3. and chap, xxvii. 42. though after all, it may be reasonably thought that the Karaites, some of them, were among the Scribes, of which Scribes there were some in every sect, and included in them x j for as there were Scribes on the side of the Pharisees, Afts xxiii. 9. so mention is made in Jewish writ ings, of the Scribes of the Sadducees7, and of the Samaritans. Now the sentiments of these men, the Karaites, were from the beginning of them, con stant and uniform ; they made the Scripture their only rule, would not admit of any innovation in it, nor addition to it, nor that the inventions and tra ditions of men should be made equal to it, and much less set up above it. The testimony therefore of such men for the points, must be very considerable. Buxtorff2, the younger, indeed, does fay of the Karaites, that they rejected punctuation as a species of the oral law, and of tradition ; greatly mistaking the author of the book of Cosri, who from the Karaites admitting the points, urges their admission of tradition ; since he, and other Jews, thought punctua tion, from the times of Moses to Ezra, was delivered by tradition, and there fore, fays he % " If so it is, both we and the Karaites, are bound to admit " tradition •," to which king Cbosroes is made to answer, " So the Karaites •" indeed will fay (that is, with respect to the necessity of the tradition of the " points and accents to read the book of the Law) but when they have found " or got a perfect law (a copy with points and accents) they will deny that " they have any farther use of tradition, that is, for the explanation of it." Now though this writer may go too far in ascribing traditions to the Karaites, though they did allow it in some sense-, yet it is plain he took it for granted, that they were for using, and did make use of pointed copies of the law ; and z z z 2 so u Apud Trigland. ut supra, c. 6. p. 66. w Apud AuWri'c. Not. ad Toldos Jefchu, p. 82, 83. * Vide Drusium de Sect. Jud. 1. 3. c. 13. Alting, Shilo, 1. 4» c. 8. Trigland. Ut supra, c. 6. y G. Ursin. Antiq. Heb.Academ. c. 9. p. aaj. * Dc Punct. Antiq. par. 1. p. 300. • Cosri, par. 3. s 33, 34.

54o A DISSERTATION CONCERNING so Morinus b himself understood it, and owns it •, but this is still more clear and manifest from their own writings : in a book of theirs % in great repute with them, it is observed, that the patrons of tradition explain boughs, of thick trees, used in the feast of tabernacles, Lev. xxiii. 40. of a tree whose leaves are treble, according to Exod. xxviii. 14. bur, fays the Karaite writer, this is contrary to the nature of the language, for this y (in r\2y) is with a Kametz, but that is with a Sbeva ; so in another work they fay d, the Rabbanites affirm, that what is written in the law needs explanation by tradition, but we do not believe so ; but that what is written, its explanation goes " along with it," meaning in the vowel-points -, and a little after some pointed words are used. The Karaites own, that their copies of the Bible agree with those of the Rab bins, because the disposition and order of the books of Scripture were made by Ezra, who lived before the schism ; and as to the various readings of Ben Ajher and Ben Napthali, many of which are about the points and accents, they rather agree with the latter; but it greatly displeases them, that in some places the points are changed and others put in their room for e modesty-fake, as in 1 Sam. v. 6, 9, 12. and chap. vi. 4. 2 Kings vi. 25. by which it appears they are very tenacious of the points, and are not for altering them on any account; which they would never be sticklers for, could they be thought by them to be the invention of the Rabbins, and additions to the Scripturesjnade by them. Mordecai, the famous Karaite, in 1699, and his associates, are una nimous for the antiquity and coevity of the points with the lettters ; his words, in answer to some questions sent him by Triglandius are these f, " All our wise " men with one mouth affirm and profess, that the whole law was pointed and " accented, as it came out of the hands of Moses the man of God :" how false then is it what Morinus fays 6, that " All the Jews, the Karaites also, " though enemies of the traditions, and the Kabala, believe, as a most certain " tradition, that the book of the Law which Mojes delivered to the Israelites, " was without points and accents " but F. Simon h is against him, and affirms, that the Karaites readily receive the Bible with the vowel-points, accents, and Ma/orab. The above Karaite goes, on, and fays, " Far be it that the invention ;« of points and accents was made after the finishing of the Talmud, for this is " largely b Epist. Buxtorff. cp. 70. in Antiq. Eccles. Orient, p. 362. • c Addareth Eliahu apud Trigland. de Sect. Kar. p. 3a. * R. Caleb, Asarah Maamarot, manus. apud Trigland. ibid. p. 117. * Chtllouk manusc. apud Trigland. ibid. p. 189, 190. s Dod Mordecai, c. 12. p. 150—157. * Epist. Buxtorsio in Antiq. Eccles. Orient. Ep. 70. p. 394.^ > Disquistt. Critic, c. 4. p. 25. & c. la. p. 93, 95.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 5^ " largely to be confuted ; for/ the division of the Rabbans and Karaites was *' long before the finishing of the Talmud, as has been proved : and if there " were no points nor accents in the time of the division, but were found out " only after the finishing of the Talmud, then there would be different copies ** of the law and of the prophets in our hands ■, that is, copies in the hands *' of the Karaites, pointed different from the pointing of the copies in the " hand of the Rabbans ; for in the places where the Rabbans have contra- " dicted the vowels and the accents, and fay, " Do not read so and so," they ** would not have said, " Do not read," but absolutely they would have " pointed according to their will and sense ; of which he gives instances ini " which they might have so done ; and observes, that many of the Rabbans " assert, that the points and accents were equally as ancient as the letters j as " R. Azariab in Meor Enayim, and R. Samuel Arkevolti in Arugat Habbojhem :" and he goes on and fays, that " the copy of the Scriptures which we have is " the fame that the Rabbans have ; in this there is no division, no difference " between us ; for the disposition or order of the Scriptures was from the men " of the great synagogue, those good figs, on whom be peace, at which time " there was no dissension between them ; wherefore with us there is nothing " full and deficient, neither first and last, no Keri and Cbetib, but what are in " the order of the Scriptures which is now in the hands of the Rabbans ; and " the most correct books are the most in esteem with us, and we follow, or " depend upon the reading of Ben Napbtali:" and it is certain their Bibles had the fame Masoretic notes and observations in common with the Rabbanites j so it is observed by them ', that the letter n in twenty places is written at the end of a word but not read, which agrees with the present Masorab. R. Aaron, a Karaite, published a Hebrew grammar in 1 58 1, in which he never deserts, as can be observed, the modern punctuation of the Bible, and consults the Ma sorab in words written defectively, or in any other irregular way, and is full of Masoretic observations, such as the Rabbanites produce k j and a Karaite ', of the fame name, who wrote a commentary on the law in 1294, frequently refers to the points, and makes mention of the names of them, as Tzere, Patacb, Sbeva, Hataph-cametz, Cbolem, Sburek, Dagejh. This sect, the Karaites, would never have admitted the present punctuation, if they had not believed it ob tained in the Bible of old, and came from God himself j and as others re late, 1 Menachem in Dod Mordecai, c. 10. p. 130. that Menachem was a Karaite, vid. Trigland. defect. Karæorum, c. 11. p. 187. k VideWolfii Access, ad Notitiam Karxorum, p. 37. & Biblioth Heb. p. 119: I Vide Simon. Disqu, Critic, c. 12. p. 95, 96. vide Massechet Sopherim, c. 6. s. 4.

542 A. DISSERTATION CONCERNING latez, they strongly affirm, that the vowel-points of the Hebrew Bible are from Moses and the prophets. The fense of the Karaites about the points is with' me an invincible proof of the great antiquity, and against the novelty of them ; for from the time that this sect rose up, it was not possible for the Pbarisets, Rabbaniles, Mqforetic, or traditionary Jews, call them by what names you will, to have introduced such an invention as the vowel-points, in any period of time whatever, but these men would have objected to them as such, and would never have received them ; it is to me a demonstration that the vowel-points were in being before the schism was, which was about the time before given, and were universally regarded by the Jews so early, as of a di vine original. A. 164. Ante Christum. The Keries apd Cttibs, of which Elms fays a there are 848, are various read ings, or differences of the marginal reading from the written text. That these are of great antiquity is certain ; since they are boc only mentioned in the Ba bylonian Talmud b, but in the Jerusalem Talmud % particularly the. various read ing of Haggai i. 8. and in the book of Zobar d ; though when these marginal readings were first made or began to be made, is not certain : the Jews say% they are a tradition of Mosei from mount Sinai -, but that cannot be, since his books were not then written, ami much less the books of the prophets ; some Christians indeed are of opinion, as Broughtcnt Ainswortb^ and H/asmutbt that both the text and marginal reading, are of divine inspiration j and it must be owned, that in many places they may. be both taken into the sense of the pas sage, and much enrich it, and both are taken in by our transiators in Prev. xix. 7. and in the margin of 2 &?/». xxiii 13. and in other versions ; but they are by others supposed to be put by Ezra and the men of the synagogue, on the return from the captivity, who, upon revising the books of Scripture, and several copies of it, observed various readings ; so Kimcbi on 1 Kings xvii. 1 4. fays, the copies were perplexed or disturbed in the captivity f ; they found one copy so, and another so ; and some they did understand, and some of which they did not choose to put into the text, nor to cast away, and therefore put one within in the text, and the other without in the margin, to be used at discretion ; and in his preface to the former prophe:s he observes much the fame : • Legeri Epist. Hottinger. inThesaur. Phllolog. p. 54.' a Pracsat. 3. ad Masorct. bT. Bab. Nedarim, fpl 37, 2. Sopperim, c. 6. s. 5. 8. & c. 7. s. 1—4. & c. 9 s. 8. c Maccot,sol. 32, t. * In Deut sol. 119,3. &226,3. eT. Bab. Ncdar. utfiipra, Schulchati Aruch.par. c. 141.1". 8. f Vide Ben Chayim Præsat. adBibl. Heb. col. 1.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 543 same : " In the first captivity the copies were lost or removed out of their " place (were out of order; and the wife men that knew the law were dead ; " and the men of the great synagogue, who restored the law to its former " state, found variations in the copies, and they went after the greater .num- " ber (of copies) according to their judgment ; and a place which they could " not clearly understand, they wrote the word and did not point it ; or they M wrote it without (in the margin) and did not write it within (in the text) " and so they wrote in one way within, and in another way without." It is said in the Jerusalem Talmud1 " they found three copies in the court, (not " with Ezra, as Morinus h renders it,) in one they found it written pys, " Deut. xxxiii. 27. in two njtyo ; they confirmed the two (as the true read- " ing) and rejected the one ; in one they found it written ""laiayt, Exod. xxiv. " 5. in two njtt, they confirmed the two, and rejected the other ; in one they " found it written jrtyn, Gen. xxxii. 22. in two rmw Jinx, they confirmed " the two and rejected the one." Some think ' these three copies were what belonged to the three bodies of the Jews in Judea, Babylon, and Egypt ; and conjecture, that from the collation of these copies arose the Keri and Cetib -r though this refers to times after Ezra and the great synagogue. Translators sometimes follow the Cetib, and sometimes the Keri, as do the Chaldee para phrases, which sometimes take in both, as in P/al. xxii. 16. which is a proof of the antiquity of them : there is a various reading in Isa. xlv. 5. Jonathan ■ ben Uzziel, and so Aquila, an ancient Greek interpreter, translate according to the .margin ; and Symmachus and Theodotion, two other ancient ones, trans late according to the textual writing, which is observed by Jerom k ; so that these various readings were known by him, though it has been denied, and were in being before the pretended Masoretes of Tiberias. Nay, the forms and figures of letters unusual, or of an unusual position, marked by the Masoretes are observed in the Talmud ' ; so that these Masoretic remarks were before those men were, said to be after the finishing of that. These readings seem to be designed not as corrections and emendations of the text, but only some as various readings, and others as euphemisms, to be regarded by readers as may seem good to them, and others as observing anomalous punctuations ; but in none was it intended that alterations should be made in the text, but that that * Taanioth, sol. 68, 1. h Exercit. 1. 2. exerc. 12. c. 3. 1 Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. inMatt.v. 18 p. 140. Othon Lexic. Rabbin, p 315. k Vide Comment, in Isa. c. 49, 5. in Hierem. c. 31, 4c. sol. 160. Vide Loc. Heb. sol. 89. B. 1 T. Bab. Kiddushin, sol. 30, 1 , & 66. 2. Bava Bathra, sol. 109, 2. Sanhedrin, soJ.> 103, «.- Maflech. Sopheiim, c. 9.s. 7.

.544 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING that should stand as it is, and was found: but it seems better with Carpzovius m to suppose that these marginal readings were made after the times of Antiochus, when the temple was purified and worship in it restored ; and the autograph of Ezra, perhaps, and many copies of it being destroyed, though .not all, (fee Mac. i. 59, 66. and iii. 49, and xii. 9.) it was thought proper to revise the books of the scripture; and observing different readings in the co pies they found, they placed them in the margin for the said uses ; and there fore I have put the date of the original of them as above : now though these greatly respect: words and letters, yet in some instances the change of consonants appears to be in the margin for the fake of vowels found in the text not so suitable to the consonants in it ; and therefore the vowels must be in the text when the Keri was put in the margin, as the learned Pecock ■ has observed in the Keri and Cetib of P/al. xxx. 4. " for, says he, unless the Ma- ■ " soretes, or whoever put the Keri in the margin had found mVD, so as it is " now pointed, with vowels agreeing to the word HTD, what need had they " to substitute it ? since the sense as well, if not better, flows by reading ic " H"VD ; but if in other copies they had found it »TYD, and without vowel- " points, why did not they dash out the Vau, and read it so ? and if they " had found niVD, with its own vowels, in which they read it, they would " never have dared to have cast them away without necessity, and put those " in their room, proper to an infinitive-, as it is said, the same commonly is *« the reason of others, in which Vau is postponed to Kametz, 1 Sam xxvii. 11. " Jojh. xv. 63. Psal. ci. 5. and to Patacb, Psal. v. 9." so that it appears to be the doctrine of the points, and the anomalous ones observed, that is some times the cause of the marginal Keri ; see Isa. xxxvi. 12. where the points un der the word in the text better agree with that in the margin, and seems to be the reason of the marginal reading. Some of those Keries may not be so an cient as the date above * but additions may be made by some in later times; yet they seem chiefly to be of great antiquity, as appears by what has been observed of the Targums and ancient Greek copies ; and Buxtorff ° has given some rules to discern the one from the other. A. 277. Ante Christum. sn this year, according to bishop Usher*, Ptolemy Philadelphia king of Egypt* being desirous of erecting a library in Alexandria, employed Demetrius his librarian • Critic. Sacr. p. 342. ■ Mifcettan. Not. in Port Mosis. p. 64, 65. • Anticritica, par. a. c. 4. p. 501. » Aunal. Vet. Test. p. 480.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 545 librarian to collect books for that purpose, who in a letter to the king pre served by Eusebius', tells him that he had diligently executed his orders; but that with some few other books, there remained the books of the law of the Jews to be got, which he fays were contained in Hebrew letters and vowels ; for what else can be meant by P»n, as distinguished from letters ? not the pronunciation and found, which those volumes could not be said to lie in, but the vowel-points, by which the letters were read and pronounced, and are an nexed to them for that purpose ; so that it seems at this time the books of the Jews were written not only in Hebrew letters, but with Hebrew points, and in their own characters, as Demetrius fays ', which were different both from the Egyptian and Syrian, as he affirms ; and which deserves to be remark ed, as what may be of some service to shew what were the Hebrew characters then in use : and though it is commonly supposed that the seventy interpreters used an unpointed copy from which they translated, whence came so many mis takes to be made in their version ; yet Hottinger*has observed near fifty places in which for Kametz they read Tzere or Segol; so Leu/den w observes, that they read words with wrong vowels, as Tzere for Kametz, Psal. xl. 5. Patacb for Tzere, Psal. vii. 12. Cbirek for Patacb, Psal. vii. 7. Patacb for Segol, Psal. xci. 3. and which might be owing either to a vitiated pointed copy before them, which led them wrong ; or to an unpointed copy, and trusting to their me mory, put one point for another ; though Dr Lightsoot * suggests they pur posely •* used an unpricked Bible, in which the words written without vow- " els might be bended divers ways, and into divers fenses, and different from " the meaning of the original ; and yet if the translation was questioned they " might prick or vowel the word so as to agree to their translation : how they ** have dealt in this kind there is none that ever laid the Hebrew Bible and the " Septuagint together, but hath observed ;" though he adds, " their diffe- " rences from the original, which were innumerable, were partly of igno- " ranee, they themselves not being able to read the text always true, in a «' copy unvowelled •, but this ignorance was also voluntary in them ; they not " caring to mistake, so that they might do it with their own security ■" and so Mr Brougbton y says, « that the seventy had not the vowelled Bible, both " for the rareness, and because they never meant to give the truth i" but be it that they used an unpointed Bible purposely, or a pointed one vitiated, it shews that points were in use in their time, and very necessary : and it may Vol. III. 4 A be 'Praepar.Evangel.1.8 c 3 p.351. ' ApudEuseb.p.350.VidcAristeaeHist.70.p.4,5.Ed.Oxon.»69a. "Thesaur. Philolog. I. i.e. 3. p. 354, &c. w Philolog. Heb. Mixt. Dissert. 4. p 31. * Works, vol. 1 . p. 4go. * Works, p. 670, 684.

546 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING be observed, that the Pentatuecb, which some, as Jesepbus and others, think was the only part of Scripture translated by them, is almost every where . translated in agreement with the modern punctuation ; and Jerom x long ago observed this, that the five books of Moses translated by them more agreed with the Hebrew than any other. It is an observation of * Capellus himself, that the seventy interpreters, who lived about 300 years before Christ, instead of the tetragrammaton, or the word Jehovah, always read Adonai, and always render it by *t>piot, a word nor expressive of essence, as Jehovah is, but of lordship, as Adonai is ; and that they are followed in this by the Apostles of Christ, and the rest of the writers of the New Testament, and the ancient fathers of the church ; and that from them the Greek interpreters of the Old Testament never depart, as Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion. Now what could lead them to read Adonai, and sometimes Elobim instead of Jehovah, and translate the word accordingly ? not the consonant letters of Jehovah, but the points of Adonai and Elobim put unto it as they now are ; and b Capellus plainly confesses that this word had the points of Adonai, and sometimes of Elobim in their time ; for he fays, the seventy when rrirp has the points of DTl^N oftener render it *»?•■ kv(U, as P/al. lxviii. al. & paffm, and sometimes *»fi»f, and 6«°«, as in Amos iii. 7, &c. from whence it is conjectured that for Adonai Jehovah they read Adonai Elobim. A. 454. Ante Christum. In this year, according to bishop UJher % Ezra was returned from Babylon, and was at Jerusalem, and read, and expounded the law to the people of the Jews there. It is the generally received notion of the Jews, that the vowel-points were annexed to the letters of the sacred Books by Ezra ; not but that they suppose they were originally from Moses and the prophets, and that they are equally of divine authority as the letters; only they ima gine they were delivered down from them by oral tradition to the times of Ezra, and by him affixed to the letters ; and Elias, who invented the story of the men of fiberias, is of the fame mind, only with this difference, that the oral tradition of the points was carried down to those men, and they put them to the letters : as much like a fiction as this oral tradition looks, as it undoubtedly does, yet it is little less, if any, what Capellus and Walton al low, especially the latter ; that the pointing of the Masoretes is not arbitrary, and * Quæst. seuTrad.Heb.inGen.fol.65.D.Tom.3. »Orat.deNom.Tetragram.p.i83,i9«,i92. b Ibid, p. 146. c Annal. Vet. Test. p. 197.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 547 and at their pleasure, but according to the sound, pronunciation, true and accustomed reading, always in use, handed down successively to their times, and which contains the true fense and meaning of the holy Ghost. Dr "John Prideaux *, an opposcr of the antiquity of the points, yet thinks it probable that some of the points and accents for the distinction of the text, and, for the direction of the reading, were devised by Ezra, and by the succeeding Masoretes before the Talmudijis, and were preserved in separate parchments and sheets, and that they were used and increased to the times of the Siberian Ma> foretes, who were after the Talmudijis •, which is giving up the invention of them by the men of Tiberias, and ascribing the original of them to Ezra. Many who are clear for the divine authority of the points and accents are content they should be ascribed to Ezra, since he was divinely inspired, as Buxtorff and others •, and it may safely be concluded that the points and accents were in being in his time, since the Masorab which was begun by him, dr about his time', at least by the men of his synagogue, is concerned about the points and accents, as well as other things* as has been observed ; and besides, the Scribes, which were assistant to Ezra in reading the law^ cannot well be thought to read, at least so well, to read it distinctly, and cause the people to understand the reading of it, even men, women and children^ with out the poinits. Not to take' aHy' farther notice of the fense the Talmudijis, both Jerusalem and Babylonian? give of the tevtin Neb. viii* 8; I now refer to, which has been quoted already? J Dr1'tfunipbrey Prideaux, though he took that side of the question, .which denies that 'the" Vowel-points were affixed by Ezra, and of the fame divint authority with the rest of the text, yet allows, that they came into use a little >aft«< the time' of> Ezra\ being then nee'eu'ary for the reading and teaching of the ' Hebrew Xekt{ -, which Is' hot only aV ac knowledgment of the great usefulness of the poincs, but carries the iririqUrtfy of them very high ; and I fee not if they 'were needful fbY "the1 reading arid teaching of the Hebrew text a little' after' the time of 2sfcA*y':wny thWwererirJt as necessary in the time of \Eir*j.for was the necessity 'of?lflrem' owing toi the Hebrew language, then ceasing to be vulgarly spoken, fo,'a,ce8rtling Whim", it did cease to be in the times of Ezra ; though I apprehend 'thaf/ii d! rm'sta'k^ for it was some hundreds of years after, ere it ceased to 'be- ♦tstgarry jpokerf. ' There is nothing to be observed betweeri ttte^tim'e9'iof: Ezr'a'-An<A<MoJis relative to the points ; for I lay no stress- upon -tfcevdifferen* prbrrarida'tion of 4 A 2 Shibboleth, * Viginti&duae Leaiones, Lest. 12. p. 196,197.' ' «Cafati^.Epffl/ip?35yi¥ifn^clte'.5.568. f Connedion, par. 1. b. 5. p. 352, 353. - ''•••■>.»•'• '' ' *"• ' , mol-lw be .g .lirsi 1 *

548 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING Shibboleths in Judges yin. 6. though Schindler% is of opinion that from hence it appears, that the point on the right and left hand of v was then in use, and so by consequence the other points also. Elias Levita \ roundly asserts, that the copy of the law which was given by Moses to the children of Israel was without points and accents ; but this is said without proof, and is what no man is able to prove. He quotes Aben Ezra ', who fays, the points were delivered at Sinai, but the tables of the law were not pointed, which seems to be a flat contradiction, at least it is • what is very improbable. Much better does another writer k argue, whom he mentions, who in answer to the question, How do we know that the points and accents are of God ? fays, " It may be replied, what is written " in Beat, xxvii. 8. and thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law 44 very plainly ; but without the points and accents, which explain the words, 44 no man, he fays, can understand them clearly and plainly .-" and whatever may be said for the king's writing out a copy of the law, and reading in it all the days of his life, Deut. xvii. 18, 19. and for the priests reading it once a year in the hearing of all Israel, which yet is not very easy to account for, without the points, so as to be understood, Deut. xxxi. 11. yet how the com mon people should be able to read it to their children, and teach them the knowledge of it without the points, is still more difficult of belief. The common opinion of the Jews is, either that the points and accents were delivered to Moses on mount Sinai, yet only as to the power of pronounc ing and reading, but not as to their marks and figures in writing ; but that the true manner of reading the scriptures was propagated and preserved by oral tradition to the times of Ezra -, or that they were given to Moses at Sinai, but were omitted in writing for the most part afterward, and so were forgot ten, till Ezra came and restored them. But it rather seems that they were as early as the Hebrew letters •, and since it is not improbable that these were before the flood, and before the confusion of tongues, the points were also ; and could the sense of Gen. xi. 1. given by a late writer1, be established, it would be out of all doubt ; which is this, and the whole earth was of one lan guage, that is, the Hebrew language, as afterwards called, and of one speed, ox words, that is, according to this writer, words distinguished by acute or sharp points j deriving the word used from -nn to sharpen, whereby he thinks, the tautology in the text is avoided ; and to which may be added, that the latter clause * Lex. Pentaglott col. 1792. vidBalmesii Gtam. Heb. p. 14. lin. 9. 14. 16. * Frafat. 3. ad Masoret. ' Zach Shephataim in ibid. * R. Levi bar Joseph Semadar, in ibid. » KalC de Ling. Heb. Natal, p. 33, 37, 38» 39*

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 549 clause of the text is plural : yet I fear the word will not bear this fense, since the singular and plural words used, the one in one clause, and the other in the other, must have a different derivation, which is not usual of a word in the same text. If the book of Jetzirah was compiled by Abraham, to whom the Jews' com monly ascribe it, though sometimes to Adam, the points might be traced to his time j for in that book frequent mention is made of the double letters Begad Cephas, or Begad Cephrat, as there so called % because they have a double pronunciation, which pronunciation depends upon the points, their having or not having in them the Dagejh lene. But though there is no reason to believe that the book was written either by Abraham or Adam, yet it is an ancient one, and by this instance it carries the antiquity of the points higher than is now commonly allowed unto them •, for the book is spoken of in the Talmud d ; and if it was written by R. Akiba, who is the only one mentioned by the Jews as the author of it, besides Adam and Abraham, he died in the beginning of the second century ; though if Jonathan ben Uzziel wrote a supplement to it, which was as a commentary on it, as is said % it must be before his time, since Jonathan was cotemporary with Christ, or a little after him •, and it may be observed, that the double pronunciation of the above letters was in use in the times of Christ, as appears from the words Armageddon, Capernaum, Euphrates^ Joppa, Pascba, Sarepta, and others. It is not only the opinion of some Jewilh writers, that the vowel-points, as well as letters, were given by God himself to Adam, as the author of Cofri {, and his commentator Muscatus%, and of R. Azariabh, and of others; but some" Christian writers also ', ascribe them to Adam j and indeed, if the Hebrew letters were of his invention, as many have thought, and Walton himself thinks fc, there can be no reasonable doubt but the vowels were also ; but be this as it may, I am inclined to believe that the vowels were coeval with the letters, and that the penmen of the sacred Scriptures, severally annexed the vowel-points to letters in their writings. My reasons are these : 1. The perfection of language requires vowels. No language can be per fect without them \ they are the life and soul of language ; letters without them are indeed dead letters ; the consonants are stubborn and immoveable things, k Cofri, par. 4. c. 27. Juchasin, sol. 52. 2. e C. 1. s. 2, 9, to. & c. 2 s 1. &C.4. s. 1 —3 * T. Bab. Sanhedrim, sol. 65. 2. « Vide Wolsii Bibliothec. Heb. p. 28, f Par. 4. c. 25. s In ibid. sol. 229. 1. h Meor Enayim, c. 59. 1 Alsted. Chronolog. p. 267, vide Buxtoiff. de Punct, Antiq. par. 2. p. 309, 310. k Prolegora. 2. s. 7.

55o A DISSERTATION CONCERNING things, they cannot be moved or pronounced without vowels, which are, as Plato fays', the bond of letters, by which they are joined, and without which they cannot be coupled together: can it be thought, therefore, that the Hebrew language, the first, and most perfect of all languages, mould be without them, which, if this was the cafe, would be the most imperfect of all the oriental languages ? for notwithstanding what has been said to the contrary, the Sama ritan had its points, though differing from the Hebrew, asjerom observes01, and so a later writer n has observed it has. The Syrians, Chaldeans, Arabs, and Persians, had vowel-points likewise, as Hottinger affirms % and so Dean Prideaux9. The invention of the Syriac vowel-points is indeed by some ' ascribed to Epbrem Syrus, who lived in the fourth century ; and as for the Ethiopic lan guage, the vowels are incorporated into the consonants, and are a part of them, and so must be ab origine, and coeval with them •, and even those who are for casting away the vowel-points, seem to be sensible of a necessity of substituting. something in their room, the matres leSiionis, as they call them, v)N to which some add n ; but these -are not sufficient, being wanting in a great number of words ; witness also the various methods of reading Hebrew, contrived by men -, but why should they be at pains to find out a method of reading and pronouncing the Hebrew language, when there is such a plain one at hand, ready prepared for them, and of which W*alton himself saysr, that it is a most profitable and useful invention no man can deny ? 2. The nature and genius of the Hebrew language require points ; without these the difference cannot be discerned between nouns and verbs, in some instances "Ql, without many others : between verbs active, and verbs passive, between some conjugations, moods, tenses, and persons, Kal, Piel, Puah, imperatives and infinitives, are proofs hereof; nor can the Vau conversive of tenses be ob served S, which yet is used frequently throughout the Bible, and without which the formation of some of the tenses by letters would be useless. Morinus him self fays ', " That without the points a grammar cannot be written, as Elias " rightly observes ; for example, describe the conjugation Kal without points, 41 and immediately you will be at a stand, and much more in Piel;" and Wal ton " also owns the use of them in the investigation of the roots. The pronun ciation of some -letters depends upon the points, as has been observed. 3- The 1 Sophista,p. 177. m Praesatad Reg. T. 3. sol. 5. L. » Petrus a Valla in Antiq. Eccl. Orient, p. 1-84. ° Thesaur. Philolog. p. 403. t Connection, par. 1. b. 5. p. 55. ' Vide Fabritii Bibliothec. Gr. torn. 5. p. 320. * Prolegom. 8. s. 10. • Vide Cosri, par. 2. c. 80. 1 Epist. Buxtorfio in Antiq. Eccl, Oriental, p. 392. M Inlrodust Orient. Ling p 5.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 551 3. The vowel-points are necessary and useful to the more easy learning, reading, and pronouncing the Hebrew language. What men well skilled in the language may be able to do is one thing, and what learners of it, and beginners in it can do, is another thing ; men well versed in it may choose to read without them ; and so a man that is master of Brachygraphy may choose to read what he has written in Ihort hand, and to which he is used, rather than in long hand ; but this is no proof of the perfection and propriety of his Brachygraphy. " A tongue, as Dr Lightfoot fays m, cannot first be learnt " without vowels, though at last skill and practice may make it to be read " without ; grammar, and not nature, makes men to do this :" and a late learned writer has observed n, " That to talk of reading Hebrew without points, 4i is- a collusive way of speaking ; we may do it when we have learnt the lan- " guage» Dut not before ; as it is a dead language we want instructions either " by word of mouth or by grammar. Points in Hebrew are like scaffolds in " building, when the work is finished we may take them down and throw them " aside, but not sooner with safety." Dr John Prideaux", an opposer of the antiquity of the points, owns that " the tongue being tossed about by various " calamities, the points were added,- that it might be the more accurately pre- " served, and that by the Jews, to whom it ceased to be vernacular ; as also «« that by others it might the more easily be understood, and be more exactly " pronounced :" and elsewhere he says p, " Let them be whose additions to the " text they may, they are so far from corrupting it, that they rather protect it " from corruption, and lead to a more easy reading and understanding of it ;'* and so Walton % another opposer of the points, fays, " The Christian church " received their (the Masoretes) punctuation, not upon their authority, but ** because it expressed the true sense received in the church of God ; and ** withal because they saw it conduced much to the more easy reading of the *' text, and even to the true reading of it, as he owns':" and their great master and chief leader Capellus', having treated of the points and accents devised and added to the sacred Hebrew text by the Masoretes, as he supposed, frankly owns, " That upon that account we now certainly owe much unto •* them •, or rather, stiould give thanks to God, who stirred up these men to " it, and put them upon the study of it j for in that work they have certainly »« laboured most successfully, so that now, by the help of these little marks, " we ■ Works, vol. 1. p. 1014. » Chappelow's Preface to his Comment on Job, p. 18, 19. 0 Viginti & duæ Lcctiones, lect. 12. p. 189. T Fasciculus Controvers. de Script, qu. 3, p. 21. 1 The Considerator considered, p. 209. » Prolegom. 8. ft 1 7. • Arcan. Punct. 1. 1. c. J7. s. n.

£52 A D I S SE R TATION CONCERNING "' we can far more easily, and even more happily, be conversant in reading and " understanding the sacred Hebrew text, than otherwise could have been done " by us without this help." Why then should it not be attended to? And indeed I cannot see how common people, men, women, and children, could be able to read it without points, when it was their mother tongue ; it was their duty and interest to read their Bible in it, for whose sake it was written, and who had as great an interest and concern in it as men the most learned have, it being the grand charter of their salvation •, the Bible was not written for learned men only, but for these also, and therefore it was written, as it was proper it should be, in the most plain and easy manner. 4. The vowel-points and accents are useful and necessary, to remove am biguity and confusion in words and sentences, and that the true fense of them may be come at with ease, by persons of the lowest capacity and meanest abi lity, for whose sake, as observed, the Bible was written ; and that they are of this use has been owned by the opposers of them : so Capellus ', speaking of the accents, fays, " Certainly these little marks, when fitly and opportunely put, " are indeed of this use, that sometimes we less hesitate about, and more " expeditioufly take in the mind and sense of the writer ;" and so Walton says of the Masoretes ", that " They pointed the text, not at their own will " and pleasure, but according to the true sense and received reading from the " sacred writers to their times ; hence the reading is made more easy, and the »« text less obnoxious to ambiguity and corruption." Should it be said, as it often is, that by attending to the connection of words, and to the context, the fense of a word in question may be soon and easily understood. Let it be observed; that all have not the same natural parts and abilities, and the like acumen of wit, clearness of understanding, and critical judgment, as parti cularly the above persons mentioned ; and besides, the words in connection and in the context being unpointed, some of them may be equally difficult to be understood, and the fense of them must be examined and fixed, ere the sense of the word in question can be determined ; all which will require time, and perhaps after all, entire satisfaction is not obtained : and if men who may be thought to be well versed in the language, and men of parts and abilities, have been led into mistakes, through a neglect or want of the points, much more may persons of mean and ordinary capacities. The authors of the several Greek versions of the Bible, the Septuagint interpreters, Aqmla, Tbeodetisn^ and Symmacbus, were all Jews, excepting the last, and he was a Sama ritan, and may be allowed to have a considerable share of knowledge of the Hebrew * Arcan. Funct. 1. 2. c. 25. s. 7. u Prolegom. 8. s. 10.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 55$ Hebrew language •, yet these, especially the seventy interpreters, neglecting the points, and translating without them, what gross fenses have they put upon the text ? sometimes directly contrary to what is intended, sometimes what is very absurd, and even wicked and blasphemous, or nearly so; take an instance of each, God is angry every day, Psal. vii. it. the Greek version is, does not bring on anger; or is not angry every day, the word bit differently pointed, is used for God, and for the negative not. The passage in Isa. xxiv. 23. then the moon Jhall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign, &c. which, with others, Dr Lowth represents w, as so grand and magnificent, and so coloured, that no translation can express, nor any altogether obscure; and yet this is most miserably obscured in the Greek version of it, and a sense given extremely low, mean, and absurd ; the brick shall waste, and the wallshall fall when the Lord reigns. &c. r\22b differently pointed signifies the moon, and a brick, and rtDrr the fun and a wall, the authors of this version have absurdly taken the latter sense. Lam. iii. 33. it is he, that is, God, doth not willingly affiitl ; the Greek version is, he doth not answer from bis heart, cordially and sincerely, thereby charging God with insincerity and dissimulation ; yet the three letters ruy unpointed, signify, to answer, as well as to afflict ; in Kal it signifies the former, in Piel the latter ; which is the true fense here, and to be distinguished by the points ; and how have the fame interpreters, by changing points and letters, spoiled the famous prophecy of the Messiah in Isa. ix. 6. where, in stead of everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, they translate, I will bring upon the princes peace j though the passage is otherwise produced by Clemens of Alexandria*, more agreeable to the Hebrew text ; which {hews that the Septuagint version is not in the fame state now it formerly was. The learned Vitringa has observed v, that " The Greek interpreter of Alexandria, who came forth *» under the name and number of the Seventy, not being expert in the Jeru- " salem reading, has often in his unhappy and unlearned version, so deformed '* the prophet (Isaiah's) discourse, in the more obscure places, that Isaiah cannot *• be known again in Isaiah :" and through negligence or disuse of, or want of the points, the Greek interpreters have made mistakes, where one would think ic was almost impossible they should ; thus ^n differently pointed, or without any points, may signify sons, or builders. They have taken the word in the first fense in 1 Kings v. 18. and contrary to the context and plain sense of the words, Vol. III. 4 B read » De Sacr. Poes. Heb. Pnelect. 6. p. 69, 70. * Pædagog. 1. 1. c. 5. See also Euscb. Demonstrat. Evangel. 1. 7. c 1. p. 336, 337. r Piaefat. ad Comment, in Isaiam, vol. 1, p. 5.

554 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING read, Solomon's sons and Hiram's Jons bewed them, the stones. The fame word consisting of the same letters, as differently pointed, has two or three fenses, and sometimes half a dozen, and even eight or ten, as the word "D"t. How difficult therefore must it be to attain unto, and settle the true sense, as in such and such a place, at least to common persons ; and for these the Bible was originally written, as well as for learned men. 5. It will be difficult to assert and maintain the perspecuity of the scripture, laying aside the vowel-points accents ; and make it to comport with the wis dom of God to deliver out his laws, the rule ef man's conduct: both towards himself and one another, and doctrines designed to make men wife unto sal vation, and to instruct them in mattejs of the greatest moment for time and eternity : to deliver these, I say, in ambiguous words, that admit of various fenses, and at best give a fense difficult to attain unto by men of the deepest learning, and of the greatest capacity. It is the part of a wise law-giver to express his laws, and of a king to publish his edicts, and of a teacher to give forth his doctrines and instructions in the clearest manner, in the plainest terms, in words the most easy to be understood ; and not in ambiguous lan guage capable of admitting divers fenses, and such as is contrary to what is intended •, and can it be thought that God, our law-giver and king, and who by his word proposes to teach men to profit, and to lead them by the way they should go, would act otherwise ? 6. Nor shall we be able, 1 fear, to support the infallibility of the scrip ture, that part of it the Old Testament, as a sure rule of faith and practice, when by taking away or laying aside the points, it becomes flexible, and may be turned as a nose of wax to any thing to serve a purpose, to countenance any doctrine or practice agreeable to the different tastes and ^inclinations of men -, since hereby it will admit of different fenses, and so in consequence must be uncertain, and not to be depended on : and, I fear it is this wanton ness of spirit that has Jed many to throw away the points and accents, that they might be under no restraint, but at full liberty to interpret scriptures as their fancy inclines, and their interest leads •, but if the points give the true fense and mind of the Holy Spirit in the sacred writings, which has been owned by such who have opposed the divine original of them, why should they be laid aside, to make way for any sense the fancy of men may impose upon them ? Walton in so many words affirms f, that " they (the Ma/orelis) ** express in their punctuation the true fense of the Holy Ghost, which was « dictated ' Prolegom Polyglott, 3. s 51.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 555 ** dictated to the holy penmen, and by them committed to writing, and pre- " served, both by Jews and Christians •" and that " they pointed the text ac- «c cording to the true and received reading, which expressed the true sense of the " Holy Ghost, and not as they pleased ; nor is it lawful for any one to reject " their reading at pleasure, but all are tied to it, unless some error or better " reading can be clearly proved B •" and Capellus himself says h, " none are « to be obliged to admit the punctuation of the Mqforetes, because, and as it ** is from them ; but all may be bound by this punctuation, as and because «« it can be demonstrated, that it almost every where both agrees with the " consonants to which it is added, with the series and structure of the words " in the passage, and that it produces a fense commodious, true, coherent, " &c. nor can any other punctuation be produced more apt and more com- " modious ' ." 7. The inspiration of scripture is affected thereby. If all scripture, or the whole writing of the Bible, is by inspiration of God, then not the matter only, but the words in which it is written, are of divine inspiration ; and indeed what else are meant by the words the Holy Ghost teachelh ? 1 Cor. ii. 13. and if the words of scripture are of divine inspiration, and given by God himself, then, surely, not half words, as consonants without vowels are ; and if whole words, which is most agreeable to the wisdom and honour of the Divine Being, then both consonants and vowels were given by inspiration •, and if the latter were not, but of human invention, then so far as they have been and are in use, and the sense of scripture has been and still is taken from them, and made to depend on them, such sense stands not upon divine authority, but upon human authority; and on that of a sett of men, blinded, besotted, and destitute of the Spirit of God, bitter 'enemies to Christianity, and perhaps a sett of men, as bad as ever was on earth ; and if the points are of their invention and addition, they ought never to stand in our Bibles, and be used by us, but should be rejected with great indignation : a pointed Bible, if possible, should not be in the world, having in it such an addition to the word of God, which ought not to be made, and which is so directly contrary to his order, Deutiv. 2. and xii. 32. Prov. xxxi. 6. And to which may be farther observed, 4 b 2 8. If * The Considerator considered, p. 200. h Arcan. Punft. 1. 2. c. 26. s. 2. 1 Qui puncta vel negligunt, vel prorsum rejiciunt, ceite carent omni judicio & rationed Calvin, in Zech. xi, 7.

S5& A DISSERTATION CONCERNING 8. If the vowel-points were not annexed to the letters by the penmen of the sacred writings, when penned by them, but have had a later and a new beginning, that would have been known; some would have divulged it; it would have been on record somewhere or another, and we should have been informed by some means or another, by whom they were placed, and where and at what time ; but nothing of this has ever transpired. The story of Elias about the men of Tiberias merits no regard ; and even that the points were annexed by Ezra, or by the men of his congregation, is mere conjecture, without any foundation ; and therefore upon the whole it may be concluded that they were originally put by the sacred penmen, Moses and the prophets. It is often said, in favour of reading the Bible without points, that Rabbi nical books are written without them, and are easily read. But then it should be observed, that they are read by such who have first read the Hebrew Bible with points, and who are well versed in Bible-Hebrew ; and by such the com mentaries of Kimcbi, Abarbintl, and others, may be read with some ease, whose style is plain and clear -x and by degrees other writings more rough, crabbed and difficult may be read also; but as Buxtorff'' and others observe, there is a great difference between the Bible and Rabbinical books, in writing, in style, in manner and means of learning and reading them. In Rabbinical books, the manes lefiionis, as -ON are called, are used to supply the want of vowels ; whereas in the Bible they are most frequently omitted, and even in places where they might be expected, and least of all should be omitted : the style of Rabbini cal books is for the most part plain, and where it is not, as in the Talmud and other writings, it is hard and difficult to read them ; but the style of the Bible is generally short, concise, full of ellipses and other figures, especially in the prophetic writings ; add to which, what is contained in Rabbinical writings are things usually before known, or easily Understood, and to be read without much stop or hindrance ; but the sacred scriptures contain mysteries, tilings sublime, and more remote from the capacities of men, and require more attention, help and assistance in reading them ; and besides, if a mistake is made in Rabbinical writings, it is not of that importance, as in reading the Bible; and therefore we may venture to read with less pain and with more safety, the one without points than the other. Buxtorff, the son, upon his own observation asserts k, that it is more easy to read Rabbinical books unpointed, than any of the books of the Bible pointed ; and that he could ven ture to fay, that he could more readily and certainly read any Rabbinical books k De Punct. Antiq. par. 3. p. 370. * Ibid. par. 2. par, 376.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 557 books never seen by him before, than any book of the Bible even pointed, and though well known by him, and often read over and over again. Yet, notwithstanding all the advantages on the side of Rabbinical writings, how many mistakes have been made by learned men, as by Scaliger, Scbickard, Kircbert Vorstius, and others ? what blunders in transiation has Buxtorff exposed in Morinus and Capellus ? and even those great masters in Rabbinical literature, as the Buxtorffs themselves, Selden, Ligbtfoot, &c. are not without their errors -, nor need it be wondered at, since, in the Talmuds especially, there are many places which seem quite unintelligible, and besides are written in the Cbaldee dialect, and that very impure, and abounding with exotic words. It is frequently objected against the Bible being written and read with points, that the copy of the law every where kept in the Jewish synagogues is without points, as answering to the Mosaic Archetype. That it is an un pointed copy of the law which is usually kept in the Jewish synagogues now, will be allowed ', but that the Archetype or Autograph of Moses was with out points may be asserted, but not easily proved ; nor can it be said, with any precision, how long it has been the custom of the Jews to have an un pointed copy of the law in their synagogues ; nor can what they have, be thought to be an ectype of, or to answer to the copy of Moses, nor be kept with that view. For had the Autograph of Moses the Keri, or marginal read ings it will not be said by the opposers of the points that it had -, but the present copies of the law in the synagogues of the Jews have, if I mistake nor, and even the pricks and points which they call crowns™ ; are the present copies in the synagogues written in Samaritan characters ? they are not : and yet, according to the hypothesis of Morinus, Capellus, and those that follow them, they ought to be so written, to be an ectype of, or to answer to that of Moses ; since that, according to them, was in that character : but to have a copy in that character now would be contrary to their own rules, one of which runs thus", <c they do not write (the sacred books) neither in the lan- " guage beyond the river (or the Samaritan) nor in the Syriae, nor in the " Median, nor in Greek ; and in whatsoever language Or writing they are writ- «' ten, they may not be read (that is, publicly) until they are written in the " Assyrian" or square character. There are other reasons to be given, why unpointed copies are kept and used in the synagogues of the Jews, and which 1 LyrainHos. ix. 12. Menassehben Israel. Conciliator, in Exod. qu. 50. p. 170. " Schulchan Aruch, par. 1 . c. 141. s. 8. & par. 2.C 275. s. 6. Vid. Hackspan. Cabala, p. 309. • Massechet Sopherim, c. 1. s. 6.

558 A DISSERTATION CONCERNING which may serve to lead to the original of this custom, and the reason of its continuance. i, One reason was, that the Cabalists, and those who had got into the al legorizing way of interpreting the scriptures, might have the opportunity of framing and establishing their own and even various fenses of them, which an unpointed Bible will admit of, when a pointed one will not. Hence that saying of R. Menachem °, " a book of the law in which there are many faces •* (or on which many fenses may be put is one not pointed ; for, as he fays, " when letters are not pointed, they have many faces (or may be differently " read ;) but when they are pointed, they have only one sense, according to " the punctuation :" and thisR. Becbai? plainly suggests, is the original cause and reason of using unpointed copies; " letters not pointed, he fays, admit M of various senses, and are divided into divers parts; and because of tbis we " are commanded not to point the book, of the law ; for the literal sense of every •• word is according to the punctuation, and there is but one literal sense in 41 a pointed word ; but an unpointed word a man may understand many ways, 11 and find out many wonderful and excellent things :" and it is for much the fame reason, that men may not be tied down to one sense of a word, that points are now so much opposed. Some have drawn an argument for the novelty and against the antiquity of the points, from the Cabalists making no use nor mention of them in their writings, but drew their various senses, it is said, from the letters only, and the combination of them, and not from the vowels and accents ; but this has been abundantly confuted by Buxtorff*. The commentator on the book of Cofri ' makes mention of R. Aaron, a great Mekubbal or Cabbalist, the head of the university at Babylon, as the author of a book of pointing, and which is quoted by Rittangelius ' ; and in the Caba listic Lexicon1, under the word DHIpi, mention is made of nine points, and their names are given, Kantetz, Patacb, Zere, &c. and the use that is made of them is observed ; and Menaffeb ben Israel * describes the Cabalists, as employ ing themselves in searching out the deep mysteries of the law, which are con tained in the letters, points and musical accents ; and a little after, he observes, that • Apud Munster. Praefat. ad Vet. Test. p Apud Buxtorff. ut supra, p. 45, 46. * Ut supra, par. 1. c. 5. p. 54, &c. ' R. Judah Muscatus in Cofri, sol. 230. 4. Vid. Wolf. Bibliothec. Heb. p. 1 »8. » De Verit. Relig. Christ, p. 27. 40. * Kabela. Denudata. par. 1 . p. 592 » Conciliat. in Exod. qu. 50. p. 169, 172, 174. Vid. Leisden. Philolog. Heb. Mixt. Dissert 13. p. ic6. & Philolog. Heb. Dissert. 26.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, &c. 559 that " the law was given without points, like the books the Jews now have *' in their synagogues ; so that when any word occurs, whose letters now are " not tied to certain vowels, men may put what points they please to them, *c and so the words may be read one way and another." i. Another reason of the Jews having an unpointed copy of the law in their synagogues is, that it might be a memorial of the oral tradition of points and accents, from the times of Moses to Ezra. They suppose the points were of Moses, but not annexed by him to the Pentateuch ; but that they were deli vered and handed down by oral tradition from one to another until Ezra, who added them to it •, and therefore to keep in memory this wonderful affair, they always have an unpointed copy in their synagogues. 3. Another reason why only unpointed copies of the law are kept in the synagogues, may be their superstitious accuracy and exactness in writing the law ; so as to letters, if any are wanting, or not rightly placed, or similar ones put for each other, the copy is profane or rejected •, and as it is still more difficult to have the points and accents exactly put, they choose to have none at all : hence they say w, " A pointed copy is profane, or to be re- " jected, even though the punctuation is razed out •," partly because it will not admit of various fenses, as before observed, and partly because of the difficulty and almost impossibility of a perfect pointed copy ; and the rather they are indifferent to one, and like as well to have an unpointed one in their synagogues, since there, none but their learned men, as priests, &c. read in them. 4. But the chief reason of unpointed copies in the synagogues seems to be, that none but learned men, or such who are well versed in the Hebrew language, should be admitted readers there ; for if the copy was pointed, as then, any common man might read it, so any such man might be chosen to the office of a reader, though otherwise very illiterate ; and to prevent any such being introduced into it, is the principal reason now, why it is unpointed. And though those who are expert in the language, and are able to read without points, and are chosen into the office of reader in the synagogue, and have exercised that office many years j yet it is their custom, as one of those readers told Cocceius long ago *, to prepare themselves at home by reading out of a pointed copy, for their better, easier, and more accurate reading in the syna gogue. And it is their usual method to this day, for the precentor of the synagogue, though ever so well versed in the scripture, and ever so exact in the knowledge of the Hebrew tongue, the day before the sabbath, to read the passages, w Schulchan Aruch, par, 2. c. 274. i". 7. * Coccci DesenC Cod. Heb. s. 19. p. 22. torn 7. /""

56o A DISSERTATION, &c. passages appointed to be read that day out of a pointed copy, and thereby make himself master of the exact reading of them, that so the day following he may read them without hesitation or stop, and pronounce, as he does, exactly in conformity to the present punctuation r : and after all, it follows not, because the Jews now have, and have had for ages past, unpointed Bibles in their synagogues, which men of learning could read, that they have not, nor had any pointed ones for the common people. It is certain that they had formerly, and have such now ; wherefore this is no sufficient objection against the antiquity and use of the points, but an argument in favour of them ; since the true reason of having unpointed copies in the synagogue, is, that none might be admitted readers in them, but such who are so perfect in the Hebrew language as to be able to read exactly in an unpointed copy, agreeable to the points and accents in a pointed one. i Carpzov. Critic sacr. par. 1, p. 267. TWO

A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. 561 TWO DISCOURSES; THE ONE ON PRAYER, THE OTHER ON SINGING OF PSALMS. FROM 1 CORINTHIANS XIV. 15. In which are shewn the Obligation to these Duties ; the Nature of them -, and the Manner and Usefulness of performing them. 1 Cor. xiv. 15. former Part. What is it then? I will pray with the Spirit, and will pray with the understanding also. THE design of this epistle is chiefly to reprove the Church at Corinth for the divisions and contentions, which were there fomented and kept up on account of their ministers j some being for Paul, some for dpollo, and others for Cephas ; and to remove some irregular practices from among them, which were either openly avowed, or connived at by them ; such as continuing a wicked person in their communion, going to law with one another before heathen magistrates, and the disorderly attendance of many of them at the Lord's table. The apostle having finished this part of his design, does, in the twelfth chapter, largely insist on the subject of spiritual gifts -, where he gives an account of the diversity of them, of their author, and of their various usefulness in the church of Christ ; for which reason h£ exhorts the members of this church to covet them earnestly, though he would not have Vol. III. 4 C them

562 A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. them depend on them, since they are not saving. In the thirteenth chapter, he prefers charity, or love, to them, and shews, that without this they arc useless and unprofitable to those who have them. In this fourteenth chapter, he presses them to follow aster charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather, fays he, that ye may prophesy. He proves, by many arguments, and especially by that taken from edification, that prophesying in a known language, in the mother tongue, which is understood by the people, is preferable to the gift of speaking in an unknown language, not understood by the people, and so unedifying to them. It is evident, that by prophesying, he means not only preaching, but praying, since he instances in it, and argues, in the words preceding my text, thus : For if 1 pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayetb, but my understanding is unfruitful ', that is, when I pray in an unknown lan guage, being under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, I make use of that extraordinary gift which he has bestowed upon me, and my own spirit is in deed refreshed by it : But what I myself conceive, understand, and express, is useless and unprofitable to others, who do not understand the language in which I pray •, therefore, lays he, in the words of my text, What is it then ? What is to be done in this cafe ? What is most prudent and adviseable ? What is most eligible and desirable ? Must I not pray with the Spirit at all ? Shall I not make use of that extraordinary gift which the Spirit has bestowed upon me ? Shall I entirely neglect it, and lay it aside ? No, / will pray with the Spirit ; I will make use of the gift I have j but then it shall be in such a way and manner, as that I shall be understood by others, / will pray with the un derstanding also. In these words may be considered, I. The work and business of prayer, which the apostle resolved in the strength of Christ, and, by the assistance of his Spirit, to be found in the performance of j / will pray, &c. II. The manner in which he is desirous of performing this duty ; with tbt Spirit, and with the understanding also. I. I shall consider the work and business of prayer, which the apostle re solved, in the strength of Christ, and by the assistance of his Spirit, to be found in the performance of. It will not be amiss, under this head to enquire into the object of prayer, the several parts of it, and its different kinds. I shall begin, i. With

A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. 563 1. With the object of prayer, which is not any mere creature. Prayer is a part of religious worship, which is due to God only. To address a crea ture in such a solemn manner is idolatry. This is a fin the Gentiles have been notoriously guilty of % who have paid their devoirs this way, both to animate and inanimate creatures. The idolatrous Heathen is thus described by the prophet b -, He maketb a god bis graven image ; be falletb down unto it, and worjhippetb it, and prayetb unto it, and faith, Deliver me, for thou art my god. Such a practice as this, is an argument of great ignorance and stupidity e -, They have no knowledge, that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot jave. It is no wonder that their prayers should be in vain, since their idols are silver and gold, the work of mens bands : They have mouths, but they speak not ; eyes have they, but they fee not ; they have ears, but they hear * not. They are insensible of the wants of their votaries, and unable to help them ; they are not in a capacity to give them the least relief, or bestow the least temporal mercy on them : Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain ? Or can the heavens give showers ? Art not thou he, O Lord, our God ? Therefore we will wait upon thee ; for tbou baft made all these things c. The Papists have followed the Pagans in their idolatrous prayers to angels f, the virgin Mary, and other saints departed, and even to many that were not saints ; but it may be said to them, what Eliphaz said to Job *, in another case ; Call now, if there be any that will answer thee ; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn ? God only is, and ought to be the object of prayer. My prayer, fays David, shall be unto the God of my life h. God has a right to this part of worship from us, as he is the God of our lives, in whom we live, move, and have our being ; who grants us life and favour, and whose visitation preserves our spirits •, who daily follows us with his goodness, and loads us with his benefits ; to whom we are obliged for every mercy, and on whom the whole support and continu ance of our beings depend ; and we are under greater obligation still, as well as have greater encouragement, to address the throne of his grace, as he is the God of all grace, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings, in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus ; all which may assure us, that his eyes are upon us, his ears are open to our cries, that he has both a heart and a hand to help and 4 c 1 relieve 1 What the Heathens prayed to their gods for, and what rites and ceremonies they used in prayer, see Alex, ab Alex. Genial. Dicrum, 1. 4. c. 17. b Isa. xliv. 17. c Isa xlv. 20. * Psal- «v> 4—6- e J«". xiv. 23. ' Vide Roman. Breviar. « Job v. 1. * Psal. xlii. 8. /~

564 A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. relieve us ; he is a God that hears and answers prayer, to whom all flelh shall come, who are sensible of their need of him, and dependance upon him ; bis arm is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor bis ear beavy that it cannot hear j nor did be ever fay to any of the feed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain. Though the Lord our God is but one Lord •, there is but one God, which, with the Scriptures, we assert, in opposition to the polytheism of the Gentiles, who had gods many, and lords many ; yet there is a plurality of persons in the Deity ', which are neither more nor fewer than Three, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, which Three arc One ; the Father is God, the Word is God, and the Holy Ghost is God ; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. Though the Persons in the Godhead are more than One, yet the God head itself is single and undivided. Now God in either and each of the Three divine Persons, may be prayed unto. It is lawful for us to address in prayer either God the Father, or God the Son, or God the Holy Ghost distinctly, though <iot any of them to the exclusion of the others. This I mention, to disentangle the minds of some, who may have some scruples and hesitations about praying to the distinct Persons in the Deity. Now it is easy to observe, that there are petitions directed to each of the three Persons distinctly ; of which I shall give some few instances from the Scriptures. God the Father is sometimes singly and distinctly prayed unto, though not to the exclusion of the Son or Spirit. It would be too tedious to reckon up all the instances of this kind : The epistle to the Epbesians will furnish us with a sufficient number to our purpose. In one place the apostle says to them k; I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wis dom and revelation in the knowledge of him ; where God the Father is prayed unto, as distinct from the Lord Jesus Christ, whose God and Father he is, and distinct from the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, who as such is prayed for. And in another place, he fays ', For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he would grant you, according to the riches of bis glory, to be strengthened with might, by bis Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith ; in which passage God the Father is addressed, as the object of prayer, distinct from Christ and the Spirit; the former of which he desires might dwell in their hearts by faith, and that they might be strengthened by the latter in their inner man. If these instances were not sufficient, others might • See my Doctrine of the Trinity stated and vindicated, &c. chap. 2, * Eph. i. 16, 17. J Eph. iii. 14, 16, 17.

A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. 565 might be produced ; but about God the Father's being the object of prayer, there is no question nor hesitation. God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, may be distinctly prayed unto, of which are many instances in Scripture. Sometimes he is prayed unto in con junction with his Father, as appears from all those passages'" in the epistles, where grace and peace are desired from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ ; and from many others such as these n : Now God himself, and our Father, and our Lord Jesus, direil our way unto you; and the Lord, that is, the Lord Jesus, make you to increase and abound in love one towards another, and towards all men, even as we do towards you ; and in another place °, Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us ever lasting consolation and good hope, through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablifh you in every good word and work. Sometimes Christ is prayed unto singly and alone ; as by Stephan at the time of his death, when he prayed, saying p, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. By the apostle Paul q, when he had a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet him ; for this, says he, / besought the Lord thrice, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, as appears from the context, that it might depart from me : And be said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee •, for my strength is made perfecl in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. By the apostle John, when Christ said to him r, Surely I come quickly, he replies, Amen, even so, come, Lord Jesus. And by many others ; such as those mentioned by Ananias to Christ, when he bid him arise, and go to Sauls; Lord, says he, 1 have heard by many of this man, how much evil he bath done to thy saints at Jeru salem ; and here be hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. God the Holy Ghost may be also prayed unto, as he is sometimes singly and alone, and as distinct from the Father and the Son ' ; The Lord direcl your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. By the Lord, I understand the Lord the Spirit, whose work it is to direct the hearts of believers into the love of Gocl, and to shed it abroad in their hearts ; who is manifestly distinguished in this petition from God the Father, into whose love, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, into a patient waiting for of whom, the hearts of the saints are desired to be directed by him. Sometimes he is prayed unto distinctly, , ■ Rom. i. 7. t Cor. i. 3. a Cor. i. 2. Gal. i. 3. Eph. i. 2. Phil. i. 2. Col. i. 2. 1 Thess. i. 1. 2Theff. j. 2. j Tim. i. 2. 2 Tim. i. 2. Tit. i. 4. Philem. 3. 2 John 3. Rev. i. 4, 5. n 1 Thess. iii. 11,12. 0 2 Theff. ii. 16, 17. ■ ' Acts vii. 59. * 2 Cor. xii. 8, 9, _' Rev. xxii. 20. » Acts ix. 14. '2 Thess. iii. 5. /"

566 A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. distinctly, in conjunction with the other two Persons, as by the apostle Paul i The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen ". And by the apostle John w, Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come ; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness. By the seven spirits cannot be meant angels j for it cannot be thought that they, being creatures, should be put upon a level with the divine Being, and be with him addressed in such a solemn manner; but by them we are to understand the Holy Spirit of God, who is so called either in allusion to Isa. xi. 2. or on account of the seven churches of Asia, to whom John wrote by his dictates, or to denote the perfection and fulness of his gifts and graces. Now though each divine Person may be singly and distinctly addressed in prayer, and all Three together, being the one God, be considered as the object of it j yet, according to the order of the persons in the Deity, and suitably to their several and distinct parts, which they, by agreement, take in the affair of man's salvation, God the Father, the first Person, is generally addressed as the object of prayer, though not to the exclusion of the Son and Spirit : Christ is the Mediator, by whom we draw nigh to God ; and the Holy Ghost is the inditer of our prayers, and who assists in the putting of them up unto him. The first Person is usually addressed in prayer under the character of a Father, and as our Father ; so Christ taught his disciples to pray x, Our Father, which art in heaven, &c. and he is to be considered in this relation to us, either as the Father of our spirits, the Author of our beings, by whom we are pro vided for, supplied, and supported in them. In this manner the church in Isaiah's time applied to him y, saying, But now, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter, and we are all the work of tby hand. Be mt wroth very fore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever : Behold, fee, we be seech thee, we are all tby people. Or he may be considered as the Father or Author of our mercies, temporal and spiritual, which he, in a kind and gra- > cious manner, bestows on us, through Christ, and that as the Father of Christ, and as our God and Father in Christ. In this view the apostle addresses him, when he fays », Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Fa ther of, mercies, and the God of all comfort. And, in another place % Blessed be . the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiri tual - 2 Cor. xiii. 14. w Rev.i. 4, fi, * Matt. vi. 9. y Isa. lxiv. 8, 9. ■ 2 Cor. i. 3. » Eph. i. 3.

A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. 567 tual bleffings in heavenly places in Christ, Now these several considerations fur nish out so many reasons and arguments to induce and encourage us to apply to him who is the God of all grace, and is loth able and willing to supply our need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. The second Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both God and man, is the Mediator between God and man. God, absolutely considered, is a consuming fire -, there is no approaching to him as creatures, and especially as sinful crea tures. Job was sensible of this, when he said b, He is not a man as I am, that Istjould answer him, and we stould come together in judgment •, neither is there any days-man betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both. Now Christ is the days-man, the Mediator, the middle Person, who has opened a way for us to God, even a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to fay, hisflesh". He himself is the way, the truth, and the. life-, he is the way of access to God ; through him we, both Jews and Gentiles, have an acces, by one Spirit, unto the Father ; he is the way of acceptance with God -, our persons are accepted in the Beloved, and our spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise are acceptable to God by Jesus Cbrift : The prayers of the saints are called odours di they are of a sweet smelling savour to God ; which is owing to the me diation of Christ, the Angel of God's presence, who stands continually at the golden altar before the throne, with a golden censer in his hand, to whom is given much incense, with which he offers the prayers of all saints, and which makes them a sweet odour to God. Our encouragements to prayer, and to the exercise of grace in that duty, are chiefly taken from, and our pleas for the blessings of grace, are founded on the person, blood, righteousness, sacri fice, and intercession of Christ. Seeing then, says the apostle0, that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us holdfast our profession : For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with theseeling of our infirmities ; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without fin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. And in another place f, he exhorts and encourages to this work in much the fame manner ; Having, fays he, an High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full as surance offaith, having our heartssprinkledfrom an evil conscience^ and our bodies washed with pure water. The » Jobix. 32, 33. « Heb. x. 20. John xiv. 6. Eph. ii. »8. and i. 6. 1 Pet. ii. 5. * Rev. v. 8. and viii. 3, 4. « Heb. iv. 14—16. f Heb. x. si, 2a.

568 A DISCOURSE ON PRAYEF. The third Person, the Holy Spirit, takes his part, and has a peculiar place in this work j he is the author of prayer, the inditer of it, who forms it in our hearts, creates breathings, and desires after spiritual things, stirs us up to prayer, and assists in it. Hence he is called E, The Spirit of grace and of supplications ; both the gift and grace of prayer come from him •, he informs us of our wants, acquaints us with our necessities, teaches us, both in what manner, and for what we should pray j for what is most suitable for us, and agreeable to the will of God to bestow on us, and helps us under all our in firmities in prayer •, which is observed by the apostle, for the use, instruction, and comfort of believers, when he fays h, Likewise the Spirit also belpetb our in firmities ; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought ; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered ; and he that fearcheth the hearts, knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because be maketh intercession for the saints, according to the will of God. As Christ is our Advo cate with the Father, pleads our cause, and makes intercession at the righthand of God for the acceptation of our persons and prayers, so the Holy Spirit is our Advocate within us ; he makes intercession for us in our own hearts •, he puts strength into us j he fills our mouths with arguments, and en ables us to plead with God. Christ is the Mediator, through whom, and the Spirit, the assister, by whom we have access to the Father. God, as the God of all grace, kindly invites us to himself •, Christ, the Mediator, gives us boldness-, and the Spirit of grace, freedom and liberty in our access unto him ; and this is what the scriptures call' praying with all prayer and supplica tion in the Spirit, and praying in the Holy Gb&st. But of this more hereafter. I proceed, 2. To consider the several parts of prayer; in which I do not design to prescribe any precise form of praying, but to observe to you the method and matter of it, which may serve to direct and assist you in it. It is proper to begin this work with a celebration and adoration of some one or more of the divine perfections ; which will at once have a tendency to strike our minds with a proper fense of the divine Majesty, glorify him, and encourage us in our supplications to him •, all which is highly necessary in our entrance on it. All the perfections of God are instructive to us in this work, and serve to in fluence our minds and affections towards him, command our fear and reve rence of him, engage our faith in him, strengthen our dependence on him, and raise in us expectations of receiving good things from him. The great ness, t Zcch. xii. 10. l Rom viii. 26, 27. ' Eph. vi. 18. Jude 20.

A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. 569 ness, glory, power, and majesty of God, the holiness, purity, and righteous ness of his nature, oblige us to an humble submission to him, and reveren tial awe of him. The consideration of his love, grace, mercy, and goodness, will not suffer his dread to make us afraid. We learn from his omniscience, thac he knows not only our persons, but our wants, and what is most suit able for us, when the most convenient season, and which the best way and manner to bestow it on us. It can be no small satisfaction to us, that all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do ; the thoughts of our hearts are not hid from him -, the secret ejaculations of our minds are known to him ; the breathings and desires of our fouls are before him ; he understands the language of a sigh and groan ; and when we chatter like a crane or a swallow, it does not pass unobserved by him. His omni potence assures us that nothing is too hard for him, or impossible to him % that he is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ajk or think \ that we cannot be in such a low estate, or distressed condition, or attended with such straits and difficulties, but he is able to relieve, deliver, and save us. We conclude from his omnipresence, that he fills the heavens and the earth \ that he is in all places, at all times 5 that he is a God at hand, and a God afar off; that he is near unto us, whereever we are, ready to assist us, and will be a very present help in trouble. His immutability in his counsel, and faithful ness in his covenant, yield the heirs of promise strong consolation. These give us reason to believe that not one of the good things which the Lord has pro mised shall ever fail -, that what he has said, he will do ; and what he has either purposed or promised, he will bring to pass: He will not suffer his faith fulness to fail ; his covenant he will not break., nor alter the thing that is gone out of his lips. You fee that the notice of these things is necessary, both for the glory of God and our own comfort. It is also very proper, when we begin our address to God, to make mention of some one or more of his names and titles, as Jehovah, Lord, God, &c. and of the relations he stands in to us j not only as the God of nature, the Author of our beings, the Donor of our mercies, and the Preserver of our lives, but as the God of grace, the Father of Christ, and our Covenant God, and Father in Christ. After this manner our Lord directed his disciples to pray, saying, Our Father, which art in hea ven, &c. In the next place, it highly becomes us to acknowledge our meanness and unworthiness, to make confession of our sins and transgressions, and pray for the fresh discoveries and manifestations of pardoning love and grace. When we enter into the divine presence, and take upon us to speak unto the Lord, Vol. III. 4 D we

570 A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. we should own with Abraham k, that we are but dust and ajhes ; and with Ja cob ', that we are not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth which God has shewed unto us. Confession of sin, both of our nature and of our lives, is a very proper and necessary part of this work. This has been the practice of the saints in all ages ; as of David, which appears from his own words m ; J acknowledge my fin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid : I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. So Daniel, when he set his face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, made confession both of his own and of the sins of others ; / prayed unto the Lord my God, fays he n, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant, and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments. We have sinned and com mitted iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts, and from thy judgments ; neither have we hearkened unto, thy ser vants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. And the apostle John, for the encou ragement of believers in this part of the duty of prayer, fays °, If we confess our sins, be, that is, God, is just and faithful to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness : Not that confession of sin is either the procuring cause, or means, or condition of pardon and cleansing, which are both owing to the blood of Christ ; in justice and faithfulness to which, and him that shed it, God forgives the sins of his people, and cleanses them from them ; but the design of the apostle is to (hew that sin is in the saints, and is committed by them, and that confession of sin is right and acceptable in the sight of God •, and, to animate and encourage them to it, he takes notice of the jus tice and faithfulness of God in pardoning and cleansing his people, through the blood of Christ, which, as he had a little before observed, cleanfetb from all sin. Nay, we are not only to make confession of sin in prayer, but to pray for the pardon and forgiveness of it. Christ directed his disciples to this part of their duty, when he bid them pray after this manner p ; Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. This has been the constant practice of the saints, as of Moses q ; O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go amongst us, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance. Of David ' ; For thy name's fake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. Tea, he fays to the Lord ', For this, shall every one that is godly pray unto thee, in a time when thou mayest * Gen. xviii. 27. • Gen. xxxii. lo* m Psal. xxxii. 5. n Dan. ix. 4—6. • » Johni. 9. p Matt. vi. 12. 1 Exod. xxxiv. 9. ' Psal. xxv. 11. » Psal. xxxii. 6.

A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. 571 mayest be found. And of Daniel \ O Lord, bear; O Lord, forgive; 0 Lord, hearken and do, defer not, for thine own sake, O my God ; for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. Now it ought to be observed, that very fre quently when the saints pray, either for the forgiveness of their own, or others sins, their meaning is, that God would, in a providential way, deliver them out of present distress, remove his afflicting hand, which lies heavy on them, or avert such judgments which seem to hang over their heads, and very much threaten them ; which, when he does, is an indication of his having par-, doned them. We are to understand many petitions of Moses u, Job w, Solo mon1, and others, in this fense: Besides, when believers now pray for the par don of sin, their meaning is not that the blood of Christ should be shed again for the remission of their sins ; or that any new act of pardon should arise in God's mind, and be passed by him j but that they might have the sense, the manifestation, and application of pardoning grace to their fouls. We are not to imagine, that as often as the saints sin, repent, confess their sins, and pray for the forgiveness of them, thai God makes and passes new acts of par don •, for he has, by one eternal and compleat act of grace, in the view of his Son's blood and sacrifice, freely and fully forgiven all the trespasses of his chosen ones, all their sins, past, present, and to come ; but whereas they daily sin against God, grieve his Spirit, and wound their own consciences, they have need of the fresh sprinklings of the blood of Jesus, and of renewed manifes tations of pardon to their souls ; and it is both their duty and interest to attend the throne of grace on this account. Another part and branch of prayer lies in putting up petitions to God for good things, temporal and spiritual mercies, the blessings of nature and of grace. As we ought to live in a dependance on divine providence, so we should daily pray for the common sustenance of our bodies, the comfort, sup port, and preservation of our lives ; as our Lord has taught us, saying, Give us this day our daily bread y. Our requests in this way ought, indeed, to be frequenr, but not large ; we stiould not seek great things for ourselves. Agur's prayer * is a proper copy for us to follow : Two things, fays he to the Lord, have 1 required of thee, deny me them not before I die ; Remove far from me vanity and lies : give me neither poverty nor riches ; feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be full and deny thee, and fay, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. The spiritual blessings we should ask for, 4 d 2 are * Dan. ix. 19. u Exod. xxxii. 3a. Numb. xiv. 19, 20, w Job vii. 21. * 1 Kings viii. 30, 34, 36, 39, 50. ' Matt. vi. 11. * Prov. xxx. 7—9.

57* A DISCOURSE. ON PRAYER. are such as God has laid up in the covenant of grace, which is ordered in all things and sure, Christ has procured by his blood, the gospel is a revelation of, and the Spirit ofgGod makes intercession for in our own hearts, according to the will of God ; for these things we should pray in faith, nothing wavering * ; for this is the confidence that we have in him, that is, God, that if we ajk any thing according to his will, be heareth us ; and if we know that be hear us, whatsoever we ajk, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. When we pray for special mercies, spiritual blessings, such as converting grace for unconverted friends and relations, we ought to pray in submission to the secret will of God. Thanksgiving for mercies received, is another thing which we should not be forgetful of at the throne of grace ; In every thing, by prayer and supplica tion, with thanksgiving, says the apostle b, Ut your requests be made known to God. As we have always mercies to pray for, so likewise to return thanks for ; it becomes us to continue in prayer % for constant supplies from heaven, and to watch in the fame with thanksgiving, that is, to wait for the blessings we have been praying for ; and when we have received them, to watch for a proper opportunity, and make use of it, to offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. When this part is neglected, it is highly resented by the Lord ; as appears from the cafe of the ten lepers % when one of them saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified Godt and fell down on bis face at bis feet, giving him thanks : and he was a Samaritan ; upon which our Lord fays, Were there not ten cleansed ? But where are the nine ? There are not sound that returned to give glory to God save this stranger. Before we conclude the exercise of this duty, it is proper to deprecate such evils from us, which are either upon us, or we know we are liable to, or may befal us ; such as the temptations of Satan, the snares of the world, the dis tresses of life, public calamities, &c. This was in part practised by Daniel: O Lord, says he% according to ail thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain ; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our Fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are be come a reproach to all that are about us. And this is intimated by Christ to his disciples, in that excellent directory of praye/ he gave them, part of which was this i Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil'. At » Jame* 5. 6. 1 John v. 14, 15. b Phil. iv. 6. c Col. iv. 2. * Lukcxvii. 15—18. ' Dan. ix. 16. f Matt. vi. 13.

A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. 573 At the close of this work of prayer, it is necessary to make use of doxologies, or ascriptions of glory to God j as we begin with God, we should end with him ; as in the entrance on this duty, we ascribe greatness to him, so at the conclusion of it we should ascribe glory to him. Such an ascription of glory to God, we find, was used by Christ at the end of the prayer he taught his disciples, in this manner : Thine is the kingdom, and the sower, and the glory. By the apostle Paul in this form h i Unto him, that is, God, be glory in the church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. And in ano ther place thus i ; Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise Cod, be honour and glory, for ever and ever. By the apostle Jude in these words ; Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of bis glory, with exceeding joy j to the only wife God, cur Sa viour, be glory and majesty, dominion and sower, both now and ever*. And by the apostle John after this manner'; Unto him that hath loved us, and washed us from our sms in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father ; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. These, and such like ascriptions of glory to God, Father, Son, and Spirit, are necessary at the finishing of our supplications, since the mercies and blessings we have been either petitioning, or returning thanks for, come from him •, besides, they serve to shew forth the praises of God, and to express our fense of gra titude to him, our dependance upon him, and our expectation of receiving good things from him. The whole of this exercise of prayer should be concluded with pronouncing the word Amen ; as a testification of our hearty assent to what we have ex pressed, and of our sincere desires and wishes, that what we have been praying for might be accomplished, and of our full and firm persuasion and assured belief that God is able, willing, and faithful to perform all that he has pro mised, and give whatsoever we have been asking of him, according to his will. But 1 proceed, 3. To consider the several sorts and kinds of prayer, or the various distri butions into which it may be made, or the different views in which it may be considered. Prayer may be considered either as mental or vocal. Mental prayer is what is only conceived in the mind ; it consists of secret ejaculations in the hearts ■which are not expressed with an audible and articulate voice. Such was the 1 prayer * Matt. vi. 13. * Eph. iii. ai. • 1 Tim. i. 17. * Jude 24, 25. ' Rev. i. 5, 6. •

574 A* D I S C O U R S E ON PRAYER. prayer of Hannah, of whom it is said ra ; that as Jhe continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah Jhe spake in her heart, only her lips moved ; but her voice was not heard, therefore Eli thought /he bad been drunken. Vocal prayer is that which, being conceived and formed in the heart, is ex pressed by the tongue, in words, with an audible and articulate voice, so as to be heard and understood. This the prophet intends, when he fays", Take with you words, and turn unto the Lord, fay unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously ; so will we render the calves of our lips. Again, Prayer may be considered either as private or public. Private prayer is that which is either performed in the family, by the head or master of it, the rest joining with him in it, or by a society of Christians in a private house, or by a single person in secret and alone ; concerning which Christ gives these directions- and instructions": When thou prayest, fays he, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are ; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the ■corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men ; verily, I fay unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet ■, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret, and thy Father which feeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. Public prayer is what is used in the house of God, which is therefore called p, an house of prayer ; where the people of God meet together, and, with the other parts of divine, public, and social worship, perform this. The first Christians, in the early days of the gospel, are commended, among other things, for their continuing stedfastly in prayers, that is, in public prayers9, they constantly met where payer was wont to be made ; and God was pleased to give a signal testimony of his appro bation of this their practice ; for,' at a certain time, they bad prayed, the place was stjaken, where they were assembled together ; and they were all filed with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of Gcd with boldness'. Once more : Prayer may be considered either as extraordinary or ordinary. Extraordinary prayer is that which is made use of on particular and special occasions ; as that exercise of prayer, which was kept by the church on ac count of Peter's being in prison. The divine historian says ', that Peter w\is kept in prison ; but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him ; which instance of extraordinary prayer was followed with an extraordi nary event ; for whilst they were praying, an angel was dispatched from heaven, and loosed Peter from his bonds, who came to the place where the church was assembled, before they had broke up their exercise. Such also were the prayers of the ■ i Sam. i. i«, 13. n jj0st x;v# 2# . Matt, vi. 5.6. ' If*. Ivi. 7. 1 Aa»ii. 4s. « Adsiv. 31. • AfUjui. 5.

A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. 575 the ciders of the church in those times for the sick, which the apostle James speaks of ' j Is any sick among you ? let him call for the elders of the church, and let them -pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord ; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord Jhall raise him up. Ordinaryprayer is what is used in common in the church of God, in a religious family, or by a single person, at stated times j which, with David and Daniel under the Old Testament, were three times a day u, evening, morning, and at noon j which practice is laudable enough to follow, provided no stress is laid on the punctual performance of this duty at these precise times, and is not made the term and condition of our acceptance with God, and of our standing in his favour, which would be to reduce us to the covenant of works, ensnare our souls, and bring us into a state of bondage. II. I come now to consider the manner in which the apostle was desirous of performing this duty. 1. With the Spirit. By the Spirit", some understand no more than the human breach, or voice ; and suppose, that the apostle's meaning is, that he would pray vocally, with an articulate voice, with distinct sounds, so as to be understood : perhaps some passages in this chapter, which may seem to favour this fense, might incline them to it ; as when the apostle observes x, that things without life giving found, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the founds, how Jhall it be known what is piped or harped ? For if the trumpet give an uncertain found, who Jhall prepare himself to the battle ? So likewise you, except ye utter ly the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken ? for ye shall speak into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them are without signification ; therefore, if I know not the meaning of the voice, I Jhall be unto him that fpeaketb a Barbarian ; and be that fpeaketb, a Barbarian unto me. But the apostle here, by voice and dis tinction in sounds, does not intend a clear, distinct, articulate voice, but the mother-tongue, a known language, in opposition to an unknown tongue and foreign language, not understood by the people. This fense of the words is mean, low, and trifling, as well as forced and strained. By the Spirit, rather is meant the extraordinary gift of the Spirit bestowed on the apostle and others, by which they spoke with divers tongues, and which he « James v. 14, 15. « Psal.lv. 17. Dan. vi. 10. * Primasius, Gaignaeus & Erasmus in Estius, in v. 14. Vide Bezam & Paraeum in ibid. * Verses 7 — 11.

576 A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. he determined to make use of, though in such a manner, as to be understood : He would not use it without an interpretation. This is the fense I have given of it already, and is the most generally received fense of interpreters, and which may be confirmed by the use of the word in the context ; as in ver. z. He that speake.b in an' unknown tongue, Jpeaketb not unto men, but unto God, for no man understandetb him ; bowbeit, in the Spirit, that is, by exercising the ex traordinary gift of the Spirit, be speaketb mysteries ; and in ver. 14. If I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayetb, that is, I pray by virtue of the extra ordinary gift of the Spirit, bestowed on me ; but my understanding is unfruitful ; I am of no use and service to those that hear me. So likewise in ver. 16. Else when tbou shalt bless with the Spirit, that is, when thou givest thanks in an unknown tongue, through the gift of the Spirit, bow shall be that occupieth the room of the unlearned, fay, Amen, at thy giving of thanks, feeing he understandetb not what tbou fayest ? There is another fense of the phrase, which I am unwilling to omit, and that is this : By praying with the Spirit, some understand the apostle's own spirit, or his praying in a spiritual way, with a spirit of devotion and fer vency ; and, indeed, in such a manner he performed every part of religious worship and service, whether preaching or praying, or any thing else : God is my witness, says he y, whom I serve with my fpitit, in the gospel of bis Son •, which kind of service is most agreeable to the nature of God * : He is a Spirit, and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth. And it be comes us to be fervent in spirit, whilst we are serving the Lord. Such a frame of soul, particularly in prayer, is most suitable to the work, most desirable to the saints, acceptable to God, and powerful with him ; the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much \ We may be said to pray with our spirits, or in a spiritual way, when we draw nigh to God with a true heart; or when we are enabled to lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens ; people may draw near to him, as the Jews of old did\ with their mouth, and with their lips honour him, and yet, at the fame time, their heart may be removed far from him, and their fear towards him, be taught by the precept of men. It is one thing to have the gift of prayer, and another to have the grace of prayer, and that in exercise ; it is one thing to pray with the mouth, and another to pray with the heart. Praying in a formal, grace less manner, is mere outside worship, lip-labour, bodily exercise, that profiteth nothing; t Rom. i. 9. T John iv. »4»« * James v. 16. b Isa. xxix. t$.

A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. 577 nothing ; it is useless to men, and unacceptable to God, who accounts of it, and calls it no other than howling. Hence he fays of some % They have not cried unto me with their hearts, when they bowled upon their beds. Spiritual fer vent prayer is, more or less, performed in the exercise of the grace of faith ; such who draw nigh to God with a true heart, should also in full assurance of faith. The apostle James directs to prayer in this way d ; If any of you, fays he, lack wisdom, let him ajk of God, that giveth to oilmen liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him : But let him a/k infaith, nothing wavering ■, for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind, and tossed ; for let not that man think, that be pall receive any thing of the Lord. We mould not only have an assurance of faith, with respect to the object whom we address, which is absolutely necessary ; e For he that cometb to God, must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him ; but also with re spect to the things we pray for, when they are such which God has promised, which he has laid up in his covenant, put into the hands of his Son, and, we know, are according to his revealed mind and will to give ; all which is consistent with that reverence and godly fear, by which we serve God accep tably ; with that humility which becomes supplicants, and is grateful to God, who refisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the bumble; and with that submission and resignation of our wills to his will, in which Christ is a glorious pattern to us, when he in prayer said ', Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me ; nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. In a wOrd, when we pray with our spirits, or in a spiritual way, we not only lift up our hearts to God, and what we ask for, ask in faith, with a reverential, filial fear of the divine Ma jesty, in deep humility of soul, and with an entire submission to God's will; but also in the name and for the lake of our Lord Jesus Christ; we do not present our supplications to God for our righteousnesses, but for the Lord's fake, and for his great mercies •, we come not in our own name, but in Christ's; we go forth not in our own strength, but in his ; we make mention of his righteousness, and of his only ; we plead the merits and efficacy of his blood ; we bring his sacrifice in the arms of our faith; we expect audience and ac ceptance upon his account alone, and that our petitions and requests will be heard and answered for his fake ; and weleave them with him, who is our Advocate with the Father. This may be called true, spiritual, fervent, and effectual prayer. Prayer cannot be performed in such a manner, without the grace, influence, and assistance of the Spirit of God. Some therefore think, that by the Spirit, in my text, is meant the Holy Spirit of God s and that praying with the Spi- Vol. III. 4 E rit, • Hos. vii, j 4. •> James i. 5—7. • Heb, xi. 6. ' Luke x.-.ii. 43. x

578 A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. rit, is the fame which the apostle Jude calls, praying in the Holy Ghost. If we take the words in this fense, we are not to suppose that when the apostle says, / -willpray with the Spirits that he imagined he could pray with the Holy Spirit, and under his influences when he pleased; his words must be consi dered only as expressive of the sense he had of the need of the Spirit of God in prayer, and of his earnest desires, after his gracious assistance in the per formance of it. I have already observed what place the Holy Ghost has in the work of prayer ; he is the Author of it ; he is the Spirit of grace and sup plications •, the inditer of it, he forms it in the heart g ; the effectual fervent, wipya(*i»D, the inspired, the inwrought prayer of a righteous man avaikth muchv that is, such prayer as is formed in the foul by the powerful energy of the Spirit of God, who puts things into the heart, and words into the mouth : Take h with you words, and turn to the Lord j fay unto him, Take away all ini quity, and receive us gracioufly : He directs- in the matter of prayer; * for we know not what we Jhouidpray for as we ought ; he maketh intercession for the faints, according to the will of God. And, indeed, who so proper as he, who searches the deep things of God, and perfectly knows his mind ? he helps the saints under all their infirmities : when they are Ihut up in their souls, and cannot come forth in prayer with liberty, he enlarges their hearts, and gives them freedom of soul, and liberty of speech, so as they can pour out their souls, before God, and tell him all their mind : Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty*. Without him we cannot pray, either in faith or with fervency; nor can we call God our Father without him, the Spirit of adoption, or use that freedom with him, as children with a Father ; but because ye are sons, fays the apostle ', Gcd hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Perhaps it may be objected, that if the Spirit of God is so absolutely ne cessary in prayer, then men ought not to pray, unless they have the Spirit, or are under the immediate influences of his grace. To which I answer, That prayer may be considered as a natural duty; and as such is binding on all men, even on a natural man, destitute of the Spirit, and ought to be, and may be, performed by him in a natural way ; to which there is something analogous in the brute creatures, whose eyes wait upon the Lord ; And he giveth to the beast bis food, and unto the young ravens which crym. And we may observe, that the apostle Peter put Simon Magus upon prayer, though he was in * James v. i6. h Hof. xiv. 8. ' Rom viiu 26, 27. * 2 Cor. iii. 17. 1 Gal. iv. 6. ■ Psal. cxlv. 1 5. and cxlvii. 9.

A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER; 5y9 in a state of unregeneracy ; Repent, says he n, of this thy wickedness ; and pray Cod, ifperhaps the thought of thine heart may be. forgiven thee. It is true, none but a spiritual man can pray in a spiritual manner; but then the spiritual man is not always under the gracious and powerful influences of the Spirit of God ; he is sometimes destitute of them, which seems to be David's cafe, when he said °, Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me : restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit ; and yet we are to pray without ceasing, to pray always, and not faint q. And one , thing we are to pray for is the Spirit, to influence and assist us in prayer, and to work, in us whatever is well pleasing in the sight of God : And we have reason to believe that such a petition will be heard and answered ; for if earthly fathers know how to give good gifts unto tbeir children, how much more shall our heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ajk bimf ? And, indeed, when we are in darkness and distress, without the light of God's countenance, the influences of his Spirit, and the communications of his grace, we have need of prayer most, and ought to be most constant at the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. This was David's practice' ; Out of the depths, fays he, have I cried unto thee, O Lord; and so it was Jonah's, when he was in the belly of hell, and said, / am cast out of thy fight ; yet, says he, / will look again towards thy holy temple ' ; And he adds, fVhen my foul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord ; and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. And so it was the practice of the church in Afapb's time ; who, under darkness and distress, said ', Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. . 0 Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people ? But I proceed, a. To observe that the apostle is desirous of performing this duty of prayer, with the understanding also, that is, in a language that may be under stood by others ; for, as he observes in ver. 9. except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken ? And for his own part, he declares, in ver. 19. he had rather speak five words in the church with his understanding, that by bis voice he might teach others also, than ten thou sand words in an unknown tongue. This condemns the practice of the Papists, who pray in a language not understood by the people. Or to pray with the understanding, is to pray with the understanding illumi nated by the Spirit of God, or to pray with an experimental spiritual under standing of things. A man may use many words in prayer, and put up a great many petitions, and yet have no savoury experience, or spiritual under- 4 E 2 standing * Actsviii. sa. • Psal. li. 11, 19. t 1 Thess. v. 17. Lukexviii. 1. « Lukexi. 131! 1 Psal. cxxx. 1. • Jonah ii, 2, 4, 7* * Psal. lxxx. 3, 4, 19.

580 A DISCOURSE ON PRAYER. standing of the things he prays for. The understanding of man is naturally dark, as to divine and spiritual things. The Holy Ghost is the spirit of wis dom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, who enlightens the eyes of our understanding, to fee our lost state and condition by nature, the exceeding sinfulness of fin, the impurity of our hearts, the imperfection of our obe dience, the insufficiency of our righteousness, the need of Christ, and salva tion by him, and the aboundings of God's grace and mercy, streaming through the Mediator's person. Such who are thus enlightened, are able to pray with the understanding also : they know who they pray unto, whilst others worship they know not what j they can come to God as their God and Father, as the God of all grace and mercy •, they know the way of access to him, and are sensible of their need of the Spirit to influence and assist them, by whom they know what to pray for, as they ought, and are well assured of the readiness of God to hear and answer them for Christ's fake : And, fays the apostle", If -we know not that he bears us, whatsoever we ajky we know that we have the petitions' that we desired of him. These are the persons who pray with the Spirit, and' with the understanding also ; these find their account in this work, and it is a delight to them. I shall conclude this discourse with a few words, by way of encouragementto this part of divine worship. It is good for the saints to draw near to God ; it is not only good because it is their duty, but because it yields their souls a spiritual pleasure ; and it is also of great profit and advantage to them : It is often an ordinance of God, and which he owns for the quickening the graces of his spirit, for the restraining and subduing the corruptions of our hearts, and for the bringing of our souls into nearer communion and fellowship with himself. Satan has often felt the force and power of this piece of our spiri tual armour •, and it is, indeed, the last which the believer is directed to make use of. Praying souls are profitable in families, neighbourhoods, churches, and common-wealths, when prayerless ones are in a great measure useless. The believer has the utmost encouragement to this- work he can desire ; he may come to God, not as on a feat of justice, but as on a throne of grace. Christ is the Mediator between God and him, his way of access to God, and his Advocate with the Father ; the Spirit is his Guide, Director, andAssister; he has many exceeding great and precious promises to plead with God ; nor need he doubt of a kind reception, a gracious audience, and a proper answer, though never so mean and unworthy in himself; since the Lord will regard tht prayer of the destitute, and not despise his prayer, » i Johnv, 15. „ (COR.

C 581 ] 1 Cor. xiv. 15. latter Part. I will Jing with the Spirits and 1 will sing with the understanding also. ON this day, in the last year, you were pleased to call me to preach to you from the former part of this verse j which led me to discourse concern ing the work and duty of prayer, which, at your request, was published to the world ; and now, at your fresh instances, I am desired to insist upon the latter part of it, which regards the duty of singing ; and, since the text and context were opened, so far as was necessary, in my former discourse, I shall immediately attend to the consideration of the subject before me ; which I shall handle in the following method : I. I shall endeavour to stiew you what is singing, and the nature of it, as an ordinance of God. II. Prove that it is an ordinance not confined to the Old Testamentdispensation. III. Enquire into the subject-matter of singing, or what that is which is to be fung. IV. Point out to you the persons who are to sing. And; V. Observe the manner in which this ordinance should be performed. I. I am to shew you what is singing, or what is the common idea we have, or can have of it. Singing may be considered either in a proper, or in an im proper fense •, when it is used improperly, it is ascribed to inanimate creatures : so the heavens, the earth % mountains, forests, the trees of the wood, the pastures clothed with flocks, and the vallies covered with corn, are said to sing and shout for joy, or are exhorted to it : And it is also in this improper fense that the heart is said to sing j as when Job fays ", / caused the widows heart to sing • Isa. xliv. 23. and xlix. 13. 1 Chron. xvi. 33. Psid. lxv. 13. b Job. xxix. 13.

582 A DISCOURSE ON sing for joy -, that is, greatly to rejoice •, singing for joy being put there for great joy, which is the cause of it. Singing, taken in a strict and proper sense, and as a natural act, is an act of the tongue, or voice •, though not every action of the tongue, or found of the voice, is to be called singing. Speech is an action of the tongue •, but all kind of speaking, or saying, is not singing. Singing is speaking musically, or with the modulation of the voice: These two sounds, speaking, or saying, and singing, have not the same idea. When I am told, as it is commonly expressed, that such an one said grace be fore and after meat, I readily understand, that he asked a blessing of God upon his food before eating, and returned thanks for it afterwards, accord ing to the common use of speech in prayer to God, and in conversation with men : But if it should be told me, that he sung grace before or after meat, I should not be able to form any other idea of it in my mind, but that he expressed all this in a tonical, musical way, with a modulation of the voice. Likewise it is not any clamour of the tongue, t>r every found of the voice, that is to be accounted singing, but an harmonious, melodious and musical found of it ; otherwise, why should the tuneful and warbling notes and strains of birds be called singing, any more than the grunting of a hog, the bray ing of an ass, the neighing of a horse, the barking of a dog, or the roaring of a lion ? Let us now consider this action of the tongue, or voice, as performed reli giously, and we shall find, that singing of God's praise is speaking out his praise musically j or it is an expression of it, with the modulation of the voice; and so is an ordinance distinct from prayer, praise, giving of thanks, and in ward spiritual joy. It is distinct from prayer, as is evident from my text ; otherwise the apos tle must be guilty of a most wretched tautology -T which is by no means to be admitted of. The apostle James mentions Prayer, and singing of Psalms, as two distinct things ; to which he advises different persons, or persons un der different circumstances, when he says% Is any among you affliQed? Ut him fray. Is any merry? let him sing Psalms. Nor ought it to be objected to us, chat we sometimes sing petitions, or what is prayer-wife, since praying, or making petitions, is different from singing them : However, those who are of a different mind from us about singing, should not object this, since the only way of singing, or at least, the most principal one, they pretend to make use of, is in prayer, and that is praising God in prayer. But, Singing * James v. 13.

SINGING OF PSALMS. 583 Singing of God's praise is distinct from praising him •, though we do praise him in singing, yet all praising of God is not singing ; singing is one way in which we praife God •, but there are many ways in which we praise him, when we cannot be said to sing : As for instance, we praise God when we give thanks unto him for mercies spiritual or temporal •, when we speak well of his adorable perfections and glorious works, either in public or private ; and we are capable of praising him by our lives and actions, as well as by our tongues ; in neither of which fenses can we be said to sing. If all prais ing is singing, I mould be glad to know what singing of praise is. For ■ That it is different from giving of thanks, appears from the institution of the Lord's supper •, in which, giving of thanks, and singing an hymn, or psalm, as in the margin of your Bibles, or a song of praise to God, are men tioned as very distinct things ; but of this more hereafter : I shall now only just observe, that the apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Epbesians*, when he exhorts them to sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, afterwards mentions giving of thanks to God in the name of Christ, as another duty incumbent on them. Nor is inward spiritual joy, or heart-rejoicing, singing of God's praise. True spiritual joy is wrought in the soul by the Holy Ghost, and takes its rife from views of the person, blood, righteousness, sacrifice, and atonement of Christ ; and is increased by the shedding abroad of the love of God in the heart, and by discoveries of covenant-interest in the Father and in the Son. Now when the soul is in such a comfortable situation, it is in the most agree able frame to sing the praises of God ; hence fays James, is any merry ? i«Sw(*h t»<» is any of a good mind, or in a good frame of soul ? let himsing Psalms : Not that these are the only persons that are to sing Psalms, or this the only time, any more than that afflicted persons are the only ones that are to pray, and the time of affliction the oniy time of prayer : But as affliction more especi ally calls for prayer, so spiritual joy and rejoicing, for singing of Psalms ; but then this spiritual joy is not singing, but the cause or reason of it, and what eminently fits a person for it. Though there is such a thing as mental prayer, there is no such thing as mental singing, or singing in the heart without the voice ; speaking or preach* ing without a tongue or voice, are not greater contradictions, or rather im possibilities, than singing without a tongue or voice is •, such an hypothesis is suited for no scheme but Quakerism : And we may as well have our silent meetings, dumb preaching, and mute prayer, as silent singing. Singing and> ? Eph. v, 19, ao,

584 A DISCOURSE -ON and making melody in the heart, is no other than singing with or from the heart, or heartily c ; or, as it is expressed in a parallel place, with grace in the heart •, that is, either with gratitude and thankfulness, or with grace in exercise, together with the voice. Singing of God's praises is a vocal action, and should be performed in a social way, in concert with others ; with the voice together Jhall they sing* ; and not only with the voice, but with the modulation of it : It is not any noise of the tongue or voice, but an harmonious, melodious, joyful one. O come, let us sing unto the Lord ; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation : Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with Psalms s. But, II. I shall endeavour to prove, that this ordinance of singing does not belong to the ceremonial law, or was confined to the Old Testament-dispen sation •, but is a part of natural religion, and moral worship, perpetually bind ing on all mankind; and so to be performed by believers in a spiritual and evangelic manner, under the gospel-dispensation. And, 1. It will appear, from the practice of the heathens, that it was a part of natural and moral worship •, who, though greatly in the dark, both about the object and manner of worship, yet, by the dim light of nature, groped aster the knowledge of both, if haply they might find them ; and as by this dim light they were directed to pray to a superior Being when in distress, as Jonah's mariners did ; so by the same light, they were directed to sing praises to him when they received mercies ; prayer and singing being alike parts of natural religion and moral worship. So that though the Gentiles had no po sitive laws nor scheme of revelation to guide them in the worship of God, yet, in some instances, did by nature the things contained in the law ; which shew tbt work of the law written on their hearts. I will just produce some few instances respecting the present case. Clemens Alexandrinus intimates, that one part of the religious worship of the Egyptians, consisted of hymns to their gods ; his words are these ; " First a singer goes before, bringing forth some one thing " of the symbols of music j and they fay, that he ought to take two books " out of those of Hermes, the one containing the hymns of the gods, the other, " the method of a royal life." And a little after, he adds, " There are ten " things which arc suitable to the honour of their gods, and contain the Egyp- " ticn « Nusqnam enim legimus aliquem sine voce cantasse. Unde necesse est hie, in corde, e* corde intelligi : Scilicet ut non solum ore, fed etiam corde cajtfemus. Hieronym. in Col. iii, 1 6. ' Ik- Hi. 8. 1 Psal, xcv. l, a.

SINGING OF PSALMS. 5s5 " tian religion, as sacrifices, first-fruits, hymns, prayers, shews,, feasts, and " such like things'1." This is confirmed by Porphyry, who fays, that the Egyptians devote " the day to the worship of their gods ; in which, three or " four times, namely, morning and evening, noon and fun-setting, they sing *• hymns unto them '." The fame Porphyry fays, concerning the Indians., that " they spend the greatest part of the day and night in prayers and hymns to " the gods k :" And moreover, that when they commit their bodies to the " flames, that they may, in the purest manner, separate the soul from the " body, they sing an hymn and die1." And, in another place, explaining that symbol of Pythagoras, " That drink offerings are to be poured out to the ** gods, by the ear of the cups ; by this, fays he, is intimated, that we ** ought to honour the gods, and sing hymns to them with music, for this ,l goes through the earsm." Very remarkable is a passage of Arrianus, the stoic philosopher ; «* If, says he, we are intelligent creatures, what else should *' we do, both in public and private, than to sing an hymn to the Deity, to *' speak well of him, and give thanks unto him ? Should we not, whether '• digging or plowing, or eating, sing an hymn to God ? Great is God, " who has given us these instruments, by which we till the earth. Great is *« God, that has given us hands, a faculty of swallowing, and a belly ; that " we secretly grow and increase, and that, whilst we sleep, we breathe; each " of these things ought to be taken notice of in an hymn : But the greatest and " most divine hymn we ought to sing is, that he has given us a reasonable " faculty of using these things in a right way : What shall I say, since «' many of you are blind ? ought not some one to fill up this place, and give " out an hymn to God for you all ?■-■■ If I was a nightingale, I would do " as a nightingale ; and if a swan, as a swan ; but since I am a rational crea- *« ture, h ripwIO' "ftic yap wpstfxilat o uiof u ti ru r«i{ fiscixii? «ttpipof*i»d* eviA&Ktn' T»7ei <pxe, |M £i?Au( o»tiX»(pr«2i iut ix rut Epp*. fi» $a1ifo» stir, vpMif «ipu>jM Qtut, n\ofurfUt it SetrtKtXit £ib to hvlifu. Paulo post, oNxa 01 ift to us tu» Ti.uri. an*iil« rm ■arms xvlon Qtvt, «j tj» Aiycxlia* Evo-ibiiai Wipiijjo/la- emr «7if i Stfialwr, aMrapjgw, vpiwt, ivj(»'j VOftmr, lop?»», xai Tut Teloif opowt. Clem. Alex. Stromat. 1. 6. p. 633. edit. Paris. 1 Hpi pat it ii( Si,'«7r!i*> rut Glut, tuti' tit n Tf i< d fi1faxi<i na.1t* Tm tv, *•> Tm Knttpctt, pus**p«is»1a ti tof nXioi nai wpo; iWt» xa1*^ipof*(ro» rulm vpuo*i)if« Porphyr. ac Abstinent, I. ^, J. 8. p. 153. edit. Cantab r. k Ton toiioi xf"" Tit if*!f«<, >mi tm milts r»t w>\i.r« »t vfutti run 8hm »Tintf*a» xat i»x*t< Ibid. $. is. p. 168. ' Tlvft TO C-upx Wa.f*iot\tt, 0T4>< it HCt9»[ulnTW **txf>um tm r*ifia1*< TXt ^vx*> Vf»M/M»OI TI. \iv1utrn. Ibid. J. 18. p. 170. , m Xrmit ti Woni70«t Tot{ Oioif xala to Vf TM ixWupaW Eiliwflri yap *i»t1«7o Ti,an T«( 61*1 xai vja.hu to ftwe-iKD, avrn y«p ita ulvt x*("- Ibid, de vita Pythag. p. too* edit. Cantabr. Vol. III. 4 F

586 A DISCOURSE ON " ture, I ought to praise God -, this is my work ; this I will do ; nor will I " desert this station to the utmost of my power •, and I exhort you to the self " same song \" And in another place he says, " This is my work whilst I " live, to fing an hymn to God, both by myself, and before one or many0." Much of this language would well become the mouth of a Christian. It is observed concerning the muses p, that they were chiefly employed about the hymns and worship of the gods ; and that some of them had their namesfrom thence, as Melpomene, Terpsichore, and Polymnia; and that Homer q got so -much credit, admiration, and applause as he did, was owing, among other things, to the hymns which he composed for the gods j and there is still extant, among his works, an hymn to Apollo. Moreover, formerly rewards were proposed in the Pythian games ', for such who best sung an hymn to the god. And Julian ', the emperor, takes notice of many excellent hymns of the gods, which he advises to learn, as being of great use in the knowledge of things sacred ; most of which, he says, were composed by the gods -, some few by men inspired by a divine spirit. From these, and other instanceswhich might be produced, we may conclude, that the Gentiles were obliged,, by the law of nature, to this part of worship, and, by the light of nature,. were directed to it-, and consequently that it is a part of natural religion and moral worship. Moreover, 2. It is evident, that the people of God fung songs of praise to him before the law was given by Moses. When the Lord so remarkably appeared for the children of Israel, by delivering them out of the hands of the Egyptians, and carrying them safely through the Red-sea, though their enemies were drowned " Ei yaf tat u^opcy, aWo ti tfru nfiatf wtmt atat xotm *ai tJta, » vputit to 0fio/> «U tvlpn(iut} xat iWf{ifj£so-6fZt rat XaP,''*«» t"t E^" **• crKavlotlaf, MH afa/lo« xai to-Oio/la;, uotu to» vptoi t«i st? To» 0io»; fiiya? o 0iof, oil ijfitV tsxfiff^tt ofyxta Tott/lat, 0*1 it mt ynt tfya.otptba,' fj.tya< o 0to?, OTt X'H^f i^utit, olt Kalairotrtt, oil KoiXiat, olt at/|«ir9«t JiiXrjfloloic, olt Kadfvootlat aMtnii- Tavla s<p ixartf if v/miiii lofi, KS> Ton jAiyifQt, text 9«ioTaloir v/j.101 11^1/fx.viir, oil T»i» Svttzp-it tovxi T»i» wctf&xehtjiv rix»» ralut, xca oju jjpijrixi»' ti ax, tvn ot uroAXoi airo1t1v$\utrQi, ax liti ti»« iiiwi tof rxvlnt iMrXn- •wla Tr» X"la,t **' vwtf '"atlut hxiiSotla. rot vutit rot ei{ rot 0io» ;— si ya> ctritvt '!f*i»> ur°>& r* TD{ ar)$ot&; ft XfXF©- Tot T8 *u»>!i, fuf 0*1 Xoytxof itjti, vfAttit (*s Jft rot 0to»" Tslo fia To ifyo» ir». Iloiu otuTo, aJ' lyxolaXsnJ/u tu> t«|if raelnt, tlpatroi at JiJolat' xott vpx<; tin mt avln' raulm, omi>» vrafaxaXu. Arrian. Epictet. 1. i c. 16. p. 127, 1 28. edit. Cantabr. 0 Koti £ut1o< iau thIo to ipyo» nt, vfuat rot @eot, xxt av\ot 1% ipat/la, x»t wf«< i»«j *«» ^f0* woXXac Ibid. 1. 3 c. 26. p. 350, f Phurnutus de natura deorum, p. 22, 23. Ed. Gale. i Herodotus de vita Homeri, c. 9. p. 58. Ed. Gronov. ' Pausanias in Phocicis, five 1 10. p. 620. Ed. Hanov. « Opera, p. 551 . Ed. Paris. 40 1630, of these hymns to the gods, fee more in Alex, ab Alex- Genial. Dier. I. 4. c. 1 7. prope sinem.

SINGING OF PSALMS. 587 drowned in it ; Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song, unto the Lord, and spake, saying, 1 willsing unto the Lord, for he bath triumphed gloriousty ; tie horse and his rider hath he thrown into the Sea ', &c. Miriam and the Israelitijh •women, sung the same. This is the first song the scriptures make mention of; though, the Jews u fay, Adam fung one before. Now by what law did the Israelites sing this song? it could not be by the Levitical law; for that system of laws was not as yet given to that people ; and when that body of laws was delivered to them, we do not find that singing of God's praises was any part of it ; it is not to be met with in the whole body of Jewish laws, given out by Moses \ why then should it be reckoned of ceremonious institu tion, or a part of worship peculiar to the Old Testament ? Nor was it by any positive law, or according to any part of external revelation God had made to the sons of men, the children of Israel fung ; for no such positive law was extant, or any such revelation made, as we know of: It remains then, that in doing this, they acted according to the dictates of their consciences, and the examples which might have been before them, by which they were in fluenced, as to cry to the Lord when in distress, so to sing his praises when they were delivered. 3. It may easily be observed, that when psalmody was in the most flourishing condition among the Israelites, under the direction and influence of David their king, the sweet psalmist of Israel, it was not confined to that people ; but all nations of the earth were called upon, and exhorted to sing the praises of God, even by the psalmist himself; Make a joyful noise unto Cod, allye lands, (Heb. all the earth) sing forth the honour of his name; make his praise glorious. Let the people praise thee, 0 God, let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy ; for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. Osing unto the Lord a new song ; sing unto the Lord, all the earth, sing unto the Lord; bless his name, fiew forth his salvation from day to day w. Now if singing was not a part of moral worfliip, but of a ceremo nious kind, and peculiar to the Old Testament-dispensation, the nations of the earth would have had no concern in it ; it would not have been obligatory upon them, but proper only to the Israelites, to whom alone pertaineth the giving of the law and the service of God. 4. Nothing is more manifest, than that when ceremonial worship was in its greatest glory, and legal sacrifices in highest esteem, that singing of psalms and spiritual songs was preferred unto them, as being more acceptable to Godj 4 f 2 / will- < Exod. xv. 1, 20, 21. » Vid. Targum, in Cant. i. i. and my notes upon it. " Psal. lxvi. I, 2. lxvii. 3,4. andxcvi. 1, 2.

588 A DISCOURSE ON J will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving, says David ; This also shall flease the Lord better than an ox or bullock, that hath horns and hoofs \ Now can any other reason of this difference be given, than that the sacrifice of an ox or bullock was of ceremonial institution j whereas, praising God was a part of moral worship, which might be performed in a spiritual and evangelical manner ? 5. When the ceremonial law, with all its instituted rites, was abolished, this duty of singing remained in full force. The apostle Paul, in his epistles writ ten to the churches at Epbefus and Colojse, declares in the one, that the middle wall of partition, between Jew and Gentile, was broken down: Meaning the ceremonial law, and that which was the cause of enmity between both ; even the law of commandments, contained in ordinances, was abolished7 : And in the other, says, Let no man judge you in meat or in drink, or in respet? of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ * ; and yet, in both *, exhorts them to fing, psalms, hymns, and spiritualsongs. Now it is not reasonable to suppose, that the same apostle, in the same epistles, written to the fame persons, should declare them disengaged from some things, and under obligation to regard others, if these equally belonged to the ceremonial law, and were alike pe culiar to the Old Testament dispensation. 6. This practice of singing the praises of God, has been performed by crea tures who were never subject to the ceremonial law •, by whom I mean not the Gentiles, who have been already taken notice of, but the angels, who, though subject to the moral law, so far as their nature and condition will admit of; yet, in no one instance, were ever concerned in ceremonial service. Now these holy and spiritual beings were very early employed in this divine and heavenly work of singing ; these morning stars, so called for their brightness and glory, fang together ; these sons of God, by creation, shouted for joy, when the foundations of the earth were fastened, and the corner stone thereof laid v : As they did also when the corner stone of man's redemption was laid in the incarnation of the Son of God ; at which time there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men c •, who will likewise join with the saints in hallelujahs and songs of praise to God, throughout an endless eternity. For, 7. We » Psal. Ixix. 30, 31. y Eph. ii. 14, 15. ■ Col. ii. 16, 17. • Eph. V. 19. Col. iii. 16. » Job xxxviii 6, 7. ' Luke ii. 14. " Cor. xiii. 8.

SINGING OF PSALMS. 589 7. We may say of this duty what the apostle fays of charity \ that it never faileth, though prophesies, tongues, and knowledge shall. For, when all ordinances whether of a moral nature, or of positive institution, shall cease, such as prayer, preaching, baptism, the Lord's supper, and the like ; this will continue, and be in its greatest glory and perfection. This will be the employment of saints when raised out of their dusty beds, on the re surrection morn, in the power and virtue of the resurrection of their risen Lord. Thy dead menjhall live, together with, or as my dead body, Jhall they arise : Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust ; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead' : These having their souls and bodies reunited, shall come to the Zion above, with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads : These shall stand upon the mount with the Lamb, and sing in the height of it, even that new song which no one can learn, but those who are redeemed from the earth. But I proceed, III. To consider the subject-matter of singing, or what that is which is to be fung. The direction of the apostle Paul in this cafe, is certainly to be regarded, who, in two distinct epistles', exhorts to the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs * and what these are, it will be proper to enquire. And, 1. By psalms, is meant the book of psalms, composed by David, Afaph, Heman, and others, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God ; which is the only fense in which this word is used throughout the whole New Testament: Nor is there any reason to believe, that the apostle Paul designs any other in the above-mentioned places i or the apostle James, when he fays6, Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Those who are of a different mind, ought to shew in what other sense this word is used, and where, and what those psalms are we are to sing, if not the psalms of David, &c. since it is certain, there are psalms which are to be fung under the New Testament dispensation. 2. By hymns, we are to understand, not such as are composed by good; men, without the inspiration of the Spirit of God. I observe indeed, from ancient writers, and from ecclesiastical history ", that such compositions were made * 1 Cor. xiii. 8. ■ Isa. xxvi. 19, f Epruv. 19. Col. iii. 16. * James v. 13. 1 Clemens Alcxandr. Pædagog. 1. 3.x. i«. in fine, p. 266. Ed. Paris. Tertullian. Apolog. c. 39» P- 36- E<i. Rigalt. Euseb. Eccles. Hist. 1. 2. c. 17. p. 55, 56. and 1. 5. c. 28. p. 196. and L 7. c. 24. p. 271. Ed. Vales* Of these hymns, fee more in Fabricii Biblioth. Grxc. Vol. fi. c.i. p. jo5, 196, &c. and Bibliograph. Antique. 11. p. 368, &c. These were first objeaed to by Paul of Samo&ta. Euseb. 1. 7. c. 3P. p. 281 . and prohibited by the council of Laodicea, in Can. 59.

59o ADISCOURSE ON made use of very early, even from the times of the apostles ; and I deny not but that they may now be useful ; though a great deal of care should be taken that they be agreeable to the sacred writings, and the analogy of faith, and that they be expressed, as much as can be, in scripture-language; yet after all, I must confess, that 1 cannot but judge them in a good measure unnecessary, since we are so well provided with a book of psalms, and scriptural songs, indited by the Spirit of God, and suitable on all occasions : However, I cannot think that such composures are designed by the apostle ; nor can I believe that he would place such between psalms and spiritual songs, made by men inspired by the Holy Ghost, and put them upon a level with them, to be sung equally with them, to the edification of the churches j therefore, I take hymns to be but another name for the book of psalms ; for the running title of that book may as well be, the book of hymns, as of psalms -, and so it is rendered by AinJwortb, who also particularly calls the cxlvth psalm, an hymn of David : So the psalm which our Lord sung with his disciples, after the supper, is called an hymn, as the psalms of David in general, are called, by Pbilo the Jew', «v*M»i hymns, as they are also songs and hymns by Josepbus k. 3. By spiritual songs, may be meant the fame psalms of David, Asapb, Sec. the titles of some of which are ', songs, as sometimes a psalm and song, a song and psalm, a song of degrees, and the like i together with all other scrip tural songs, written by men inspired by God •, and are called spiritual, because the author of them is the Spirit of God, the writers of them men moved and acted by the fame Spirit ; the subject-matter of them spiritual, designed for spiritual edification, and opposed to all profane, loose, and wanton songs. These three words, psalms, hymns, and songs, answer to oniDtD, D^TUI, and Dn'lff, the titles of David's Psalms ; and are, by the Septuagint, rendered by the Greek words the apostle uses. I shall not trouble you with observing to you how these three are distinguished by learned men m, one from another, but only observe, what has been remarked by others before me; that whereas the apostle, in his exhortations to singing, directs to the titles of David's psalms, it is highly reasonable to conclude, that it was his intention that we should sing them : but, inasmuch as there are some queries, scruples, and objections, about the singing of them, it will be proper to attempt a satisfactory answer to them. (1.) It ' 1. de Mutat. nom. & 1 de Somniis & alibi. k Antiq. 1. 7. c. 12. 1 So Psal. xxx, xlv, xlvi, xlviii, lxv, lxvi, Ixvii, lxviii, lxxv, lxxvi, lxxxiii, lxxxvii, lxxxvir, xcii, cviii, cxxvi—cxxxiv. ro Vide Zanchium, Grotium, & Hammond, in Eph. v. 19. Bczam in Col. iii. 16. & Leigh's Critica Sacra in voce, vju&.

SINGING OF PSALMS. 591 (1.) It is inquired, Whether the book of Psalms was originally written in verse or metre ? The reason of this enquiry is, That if it should appear that it was not originally written in Hebrew metre, then there is no reason why it should be translated into metre in another language, and so consequently not to be sung in the manner we do. To which I answer, That the book of Psalms, with some other writings of the Old Testament, were originally writ ten in metre, is universally allowed by the Jews, and does also appear from the different accentuation of them, from that of other books. Josephus n, a learned Jew, fays, " That David being free from war, and enjoying a pro- " found peace, composed songs and hymns to God, of various metre j some " trimetre, that is, consisting of three feet, and others, pentametre, that is, " of five feet." David's Psalms seem to be of the Lyric kind ; hence Jerom, who of all the fathers best understood the Hebrew language, calls " David, " our Simonides, Pindar, Æcaeus, Flaccus, Catullus, and Serenus," who were all of them Lyric poets. And, in another place, he fays, " If it should seem " incredulous to any that the Hebrews have metre, or that the Psalms or the «' Lamentations of Jeremiah, or almost all the scriptural songs are composed " after the manner of our Flaccus, and the Greek Pindar, and Æcaeus, and. " Sappho ; let him read Philo, Josephus, Eu/ebius Caesariensis, and he will find, " by their testimonies, that what I fay is true0." The learned Gomarus, in his Lyra?, has given out of the Psalms, and other poetical books of the scrip tures, several hundred of instances of verse of the Iambic, Trochaic, Dactylic, Anapaestic, Choriambic, Ionic,. Antispastic, and Paeonic kind,, which he has compared with a like number out of Pindar and Sophocles* The Jews indeed have now lost the knowledge of the sacred poetry, and have been, for many hundred of years, unacquainted with it ; though R. Benjamin Tudelenfis ° fays, that there lived in his time, at Bagdad, one R. Eleazar, and his brethren, who knew how to sing the songs as the singers did, when the temple was standing. But n AflijMay/-'"©' y 1^1 vO^tfun " AafeiJ>i;, xat jSa&nJa? earaXavu* to Xoire* tipum;, uaut nc Tor ®>.o»,. xai «i/*»B{, eviAa^alo /*s1p« tooixiTiu. T»c yap TpifiElpaf, t«; ft *7t»1aftt'ifB{ tnromo'ir. Joseph.. Antiq. 1. 7. c. is. J. 3. 0 David, Simonides noster, Pindarus & Alcaeus, Flaccus quoque Catullus- & Serenus Christum lyra personat. Hieron. Ep. ad Paulin. inter opera ejus. Tom 3. p. 3. Edit. Paris. Quod si cui videtur incredulum metra scilicet esse apud Hebraeos, & in morem nostri Flacci, Graecique Pindaii & Alcaei, & Sapphus, vel Psalterium, vel Lamentationes Hiercmiae, vel omnia ferme scripturarum cantica comprehend]', legat Philonem, Josephum, Origenem, Cae-sariensem Eusebium, & eorum testimonio me verum dicere comprobabit. Ibid. p. 8, P Inter ejus opera, torn. 2. p. 3 1 7, &c. - 5 R.Benjamin. Massaot vel Itinerarium. p. 70, 71. edit. L'Empcreur.

592 A DISCOURSE ON But be this as it will, there is reason enough to conclude, that the book of Psalms was originally written in verse ; and therefore it is lawful to be tran flared into verse, in order to be fung in the churches of Christ. 2. It is queried, Whether the book of Psalms is suitable to the present gospel dispensation, and proper to be sung in gospel-churches. I answer, Nothing is more suitable to the gospel-state, or more proper to be sung in the churches of Christ; since it is so full of prophecies concerning the person, offices, grace, and kingdom of the Messiah ; concerning his sufferings, and death, his resurrection, ascension, and session at the right hand of God ; which are now more clearly understood, and are capable of being sung by believers, in a more evangelic manner than when they were first composed : Besides, this book is full of exceeding great and precious promises, as the ground of the faith and hope of God's people ; it is a large fund of expe rience, a rich mine of gospel-grace and truth, and is abundantly suited to every case, state, and condition, the church of Christ, or a particular believer, is in at anytime. A little care and prudence used in the choice of proper psalms, on particular occasions, would fully discover the truth of this. (3.) It is objected, that persons often meet with things which are not, and which they cannot make their own case; yea, sometimes with what is shock ing and startling to a Christian mind ; such as imprecations and curses, on enemies or wicked men. And it is asked, Should persons sing cases not their own, and such things as these now mentioned ; would they not be guilty of lying to God, and of want of that charity to men which is so much recom mended under the gospel-dispensation ? To which I reply, That as to singing cases not our own, this is no more lying to God than reading them is, singing being but a flower way of pronunciation in a musical manner; therefore, if this ought to deter persons from singing, it should also from reading : besides, in public worship, we sing not as single persons, but in conjunction with, and as parts of the community, and body of the people ; so that what may not be suitable to one, may be so to another, and in both, the end of praise be an swered. Moreover, when we sing the cases of others, and which we cannot make our own, we sing them as such, and not as our own sense and experience; which yet may be very useful to us, either by way of example, or advice, or comfort, or instruction, or admonition, and the like : and if this should not be the case, yet there are two other principal ends of singing, namely, the praise and glory of God, and the edification of others, which may be attained chis way •, and, after all, the fame objection will lie against public prayer, as much as public singing; since no prayer put up by the minister, in public, at least,

'SINGING OF" PSALMS. 593 least, not all the petitions in it, any more than every psalm or hymn, sung in public, are suitable to the cases of all persons present ; yet this has not been thought a sufficient argument against public prayer, or to deter persons from joining it. As for imprecations and curses on wicked men, though the scrip tural instances of them are no examples to us to do the like •, because these were made by men under the inspiration of the Spirit of God •, yet they were prophetic hints of ruin and destruction to wicked men, and as such should be considered, and may be sung by us, and that to the glory of God and some instruction to ourselves j for herein we may observe the justice and holiness of God, the vile nature of fin, the indignation of God against it, and the just abhorrence and detestation that sin and sinners are had in with God, and should be had in with all good men. (4.) It is said, that if we must sing the psalms of David, and others, then we must sing by a form ; and if we may sing by a form, why not pray by one ? I answer, The case is different ; the ordinance of prayer may be performed without a form, but not the ordinance of singing : the Spirit of God is pro mised as a Spirit of grace and supplication, but not as a spirit of poetry. And suppose a person had a gift of delivering out an extempore psalm or hymn, that psalm or hymn would be a form to the rest that joined with him ; unless we suppose a whole congregation to have such a gift, and every one sing his own psalm or hymn ; but then that, namely, joining voices together, which is the beauty, glory, and harmony of this ordinance, would be mere jargon, confusion, and discord. Besides, we have a book of psalms, but we have not a prayer-book : had we a book of prayers, composed by men inspired by the Spirit of God, as we have a book of psalms made by such, we should think ourselves under equal obligation to pray by a form, as we now do to sing by one. Add to this, that the psalms of David were composed on purpose to be sung by a form, in the very express words of them, as they accordingly were. David, when he had wrote them, sent them to Asapb, and his brethren, or to the chief musician, the master of the song, who had the management of it, or some such person, to be made use of in public ; for thus it is ' written, fshen on that day David delivered first this ■psalm, to thank the Lord, into the hands ef Asapb and his brethren. And we may observe, that some hundreds of years after, the psalms of David and Asaph were fung in the express words of them, by the order of king Hezekiab ; for so it is said ', Moreover, Hezekiah the king, and the princes, commanded the Levites to fing praise unto the Lord, with the words Vol. III. 4 G of 1 1 Chron. xvi. 7. • 2 Chron. xxix. 30. -

594 A DISCOURSE ON of David, and of Asaph the seer ; and they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their beads and worshipped. Henee also, when the people of God were exhorted to sing his praise, they were bid not to make, but take a.psalm, ready made to their hands ' ; Sing aloud unto God our strength ; make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob; take a psalm, and bring hither the.timbrel, the pleasant harp, with the psaltery. Which leads me, (5.) To consider another objection made against singing the psalms of David. The singing of these was formerly attended with the use of musical instru ments ; such as the harp, timbrel, cymbals, and the like : if then they are to be fung now, why not with these instruments, as heretofore ? And if these are dis used, why should not singing itself? J reply, That the use of musical instruments was not essential to singing ; therefore, though these are laid aside, that con tinues. The Old Testament-dispensation was a showy, gaudy, and pompous one, suited to the then infant state of the church; there were many ceremonious rites which attended the worship of God, even that part of it which was of a moral nature; which ceremonious rites, though now abolished, the worship being of a moral nature, remains in full force : as for instance ; it was usual to burn incense at the time of prayer; now the use of incense, which was ■typical of the acceptance of the prayers of the saints, through the mediation of Christ, is laid aside ; but the duty of prayer, being of a moral nature, continues : so the use of musical instruments, which attended the work of sing ing the praises of God, and were typical of inward spiritual melody, is at an end ; when singing, being equally of a moral nature with prayer, is still obli gatory. It is now sufficient, if, when we sing vocally, at the same time we make melody in our hearts to the Lord. 1 close this with an ohservationof an ancient writer " ; " Barely to sing, fays he, is not sit for babes, but to sing «' with inanimate instruments, with cymbals, and with dancing; wherefore, •" in the churches (that is, under the gospel-dispensation) the use of such instru- " ments, and others, fit for babes, is taken away, and.bare, or plain singing «' remains." I proceed, IV. To point,out to you the persons who are to .sing, and whp ought to be found in the performance of this duty : 1 shall take no notice of a xprivate person's ' Psal. ljcxxi. 1, 2. " Ov to acai aw**>; trt Toif »>i«riOK »pf*ojioy, aX\» ro.^sl* ,t«i AdJ/D^W ofyxw t^ffati, ftqn J*»1« »fX»" *iv< x'ai xpoloW ; ho it t«i; txx?.i)o-iai( wpoaifslai (lege, «tr«f»p»>1ai) ix. tut ao-palo^ 71 ^fW« T*» -Toitf]«» ofyatur, *ai ran a>,>,u> rut mirioij o/lut afpoiiui, «at viroXi?.Hir1a To ac-xi ar***. AutOs. Quæst. & Respons. ad orthodox, inter Justin, opera, p. 462. edit Paris.

SINGING OF PSALMS. s95. person's singing by himself alone, or of the family-discharge of this duty, or of its being done in concert, between two or more persons ; no doubt but it is lawful for a single person to sing the praises of God alone, at home, in his own house, in his closet, when he thinks proper ; and it may very laudably be performed in Christian families, where they are able to carry it ort with decency and good order j yea, any two or more persons, may join together in this part of divine service, as Paul and Silas did in prison w, who, at mid night, prayed and Jang praises unto God; which is an instance of singing vo cally, and in concert ; and was attended with some miraculous operations, with which all gospel-ordinances were at first confirmed ; and which brought on, and issued in the conversion of the jailor. But what I shall chiefly attend to, will be to prove that gospel- churches, or the churches of Christ, under the gospel-dispensation, ought to sing the praises of God vocally j and this I shall do from the following considerations. i. From the prophecies of the Old Testament, which declare, that the churches, in gospel-times, should sing ; and in which they are called upon, exhorted, and encouraged to do it. In many of the psalms, which respect: the times of the Messiah, and the gathering of the Gentiles to him under the gos pel dispensation, such as the xlviith, lxviii"1, and xcvth, the people of God are frequently invited to sing praise unto him, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. Likewise, in the prophecies of Isaiah*, it is declared, that not only the watchmen, gospel-ministers, such whose feet are beautiful on the mountains, who bring good tidings, and publish peace and salvation, shall list up the voice, and that with the voice together shall they sing ; but also the churches under their care, and such souls they are made useful to, are called upon to break forth into joy, and sing together ; yea, it is promised, that the Gentile church, under the name of the wilderness, and solitary place, shall be glad and rejoice, even with joy and singing ; that even the tongue of the dumb shall sing, and the ransomed os the Lord return, and come to Zion with songs, and ever lasting joy upon their heads. Moreover, that, in that day, meaning the gospelday, shall this song be sung in the land of Judah, in the gospel-church: We have a strong city ; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. To add no more, How expressly is the Gentile church exhorted and encouraged to this work in another part of these prophecies ? where it is said, Sing, O barren, thou that didst not i?ear ; break forth into Jinging, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail 4 G 2 with v Actsxvi. 25. x Isa. Hi.- 7—9. and chap. xxv. 1, 2, 6, 10, and chap. xxvi. U and chap. liv. 1. -

j96 A DISCOURSE ON with child ; for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife., faith the Lord. Blessed be God, these predictions are, in a great mea sure, fulfilled j gospel- churches among the Gentiles, as well as in the land of Judea, have lift up their voices, and fung the praises of God according to these prophecies ; which is, at once, a confirmation of the authority of the scriptures, and of the truth of this ordinance. But, 2. I prove it to be a duty incumbent on gospel-churches, under the New Testament-dispensation, from express precepts and directions given to them concerning it. It is not only prophesied of in the Old Testament, but it is also commanded in the New, that they should sing. The church at Epbesus was a gospel-church, as was also that at Colojfe ; and they are both expressly enjoined as such, by the apostle Paul, who in this, as in other things, had the mind of Christ, to sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs r. Besides, if sing ing was not a duty belonging to New Testament-churches, why should any directions about it be given to them ? Such as to sing with grace in their hearts, with the Spirit, and with the understanding; and to do it in such a man ner, so as to speak to themselves, and to teach and admonish one another z. 3. That New Testament-churches should sing, will more fully appear from New Testament-instances and examples. There are not only prophecies and precepts, but also precedents in favour of this practice-, and the first instance of this kind I shall mention, is, that of Christ and his apostles, who fung an hymn, as a church, at the close of the Lord's-supper •, of this the evangelist assures us ; When they had fung an hymn, fays he, they went out unto the mount of Olives : our ears are continually dinned, by those who are of a different mind from us, with an old translation, in which, they say, the" words are rendered, When they had given thanks. But, first, This work was done already, he, that is Christ, took the cup, and gave thanks. Secondly, A different word from that is here used, and which, in its first and primary fense, signifies, to sing an hymn, or song, to the honour of God. And, thirdly, This old translation must be a false one, since it fixes such a character of rudeness and arrogance upon the apostles, as is unbecoming the disciples of the meek and lowly Jesus •, what, they give thanks ! what business had they to give thanks ? ' Had they done so, they had took upon them an office, and thrust themselves into a province that did not belong to them. Who should give thanks but Christ, the master of the feast, who was then in person present at his own table ? y Eph. v. 19. Col. iii. 16. z 1 Cor. xiv. 15. Eph. v. 19. Col. iii. 16. a Matt, xxvi. 30.

SINGING OF PSALMS. 597 table ? No, they sung an hymn in concert, with their Lord at the head of them ; which hymn was either one of Christ's composing on that special occa sion, or rather was a part of the Hallel*, the Jews fung at the passover, which began with the cxiiith, and ended with the cxviiith Psalm ■, the|first part of which they fung before they fat down to eat, and the other after they had eaten, and after they had drank the fourth and last cup ; which last part seems to have been postponed to the eating of the Lord's-supper, as containing in it several verses suitable to that ordinance, especially the closing part, which is this •, / will praise tbee, for thou hast beard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused, is become the headstone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing ; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made ; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometb in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. God is the Lord which bath shewed us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. Thou art my God, and 1 will praise tbee •, thou art my God, 1 will exalt thee. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for bis mercy endureth for ever c. For my own part, it would be agreeable to me, if this was always fung at the celebration of this ordinance. But to return to my argument. This hymn, or psalm, was fung by Christ and his apostles, as a church ; which, though one of the least of the churches, yet the purest that ever was on earth j where Christ fung, according to his promise made long before, when he said, I will declare thy name unto my brethren : In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee' ; which the author of the epistle to the Hebrews cites in this man ner : / will declare thy name unto my brethren, and in the midft of the church will J sing praise unto thee, vpnm at ; will I Jing an hymn unto tbee" ; which he ac cordingly did sing in the midst of the congregation, the church, among his brethren, the apostles, at the institution of the supper ; and is an example we ought to follow at the administration of that ordinance. The church at Corinth, in the times of the apostles, fung psalms : There were, indeed, some disorders among them, in the performance of this, as well as other parts of public worship, which the apostle Paul endeavours to rectify in his epistle to them ; How is it then, brethren ? fays he, when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation* bath an interpretation ; let all things be done to edifying f ; where he does not blame them for those things, provided care was taken to avoid confusion, and that the b VideBuxtoiff. Lex. Talmud in voce, ^ilcol. 613, &c. Lightsoor, vol. s. p. 354, 444, 1160. c Psal. cxviii. 21, to the end -1 Psal.xxii. 22. c Heb. ii. 12. f 1 Cor. xiv. 26.

£93 A DISCOURSE ON the edification of each other was regarded : And what he fays in my text, with respect to himself and his own conduct in the discharge of both, the duties of prayer and singing, is designed as an example and an instruction to this church. The book of Revelation is. a. representation of the state and condition, ser vice and sufferings of the churches of Christ on earth, in the several periods of time, until his second coming; in which we have frequently an account of their being concerned in this work of singing8, either the Lamb's new song, or the song of Moses, or both ; and which is represented as their employment, more or less, until the end of time. Now, since we have prophecy, precept, and precedent, for the practice of singing in New Testament churches, none should scruple the performance of it. But, before I dismiss this part of my subject, it will be necessary to give an answer to the two following queries. (i.) Whether women should sing in public, or in the churches ? The rea son of this query is, because the apostle says h, Let your women keep silence in the churches ; for it is not permitted unto them to speak j but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also faith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home ; for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. From whence it is inferred, that if women are to be silent, and not to speak in the church, then they are not to sing or speak to themselves and others, in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. To, which I answer, that it is evident the apostle is to be understood of such kind of speaking in public, as carries in it authority over the man, which singing does not •, so he explains himself in another place, Let the women learn in silence, in all subjeblion. But I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence '. It is certain, that all kind of speaking in the church, is not forbidden to women : otherwise it would not be lawful for them to give an account of the work of God upon their souls, byword of mouth.; nor could they be witnesses for or against any member of the church, chargeable with any iniquity. In these and such like cases, they have, no doubt, a right, and should have the liberty . of speaking in the church : As for singing of psalms, though, as an ancient writer observes k, " The apostle commands women to be silent in the church ; " yet. they are capable of performing this service well, which is agreeable to " every age, and fit for both sexes." And indeed, if this is a part of moral worship, as, I think, I have sufficiently proved it is, it must be a duty belong ing to them, and binding on them : Besides, it has been practised by them in all t Rev. v. 9, 10. and chap. xiv. t, 3. and chap. xv. 3. and chap. xix. 1 —7« fc 1 Cor. xiv. 34, 35. * 1 Tim. ii. 11, 12. k Mulieres apostolus in ecclesia tacerejubet, psalmum etiam bene clamant ; hie omni dulcis aetati, hie utrique aptus est sexui. Ambros. in PM. u

SINGING OF PSALMS. 599 all ages of the church. Miriam, and the israelitijh women, fung, as well as Moses and the children of Israel, at the Red-sea ; as did also Deborah with Barak ; and not to take notice of the singing women in the temple-service, there is a prophecy of gospel-times, in which it is said ', that a great company of the blind and lame, with the woman with child, and her that travaileth with child, should come and sing in the height os Zicn ; and indeed what else is the woman's prophesying™, which the apostle docs not object to, though he does to her doing it with her head uncovered, any other than her singing of psalms ? as is well judged by a learned writer n •, since prophecy is explained by thefame apostle, by singing as well as by praying andpreaching in another place". (2.) It is a cafe of conscience with some, whether they should sing in a mixed multitude, or in the presence of unbelievers, they joining with them. The solution of which I would attempt in the following manner ; let it be observed, that singing, as a part of moral worship, is binding on all men, without exception, believers and unbelievers •, the former, indeed, are the only persons who are capable of performing it in a spiritual and evangelic man ner ; but the latter may have a sense of God's goodness upon their mind?, and be able to praise him for their temporal mercies, though they cannot do it in faith, nor without sin ; nor indeed, can they perform a natural or civil action, any more than amoral one, without sin j for the plowing os the wicked issin p : But it does not from hence follow, that a man must not plow, or perform any civil action, because he sins in it. And so likewise it ought not to be concluded, that a man should not pray, or sing psalms, or perform any other moral action, because he cannot do it in a spiritual way, for it is better for him to do it in the best way he can than not at all. But, supposing that it is: not the duty of unbelievers to sing psalms, it will be very difficult to know who are such in public assemblies; and if such should join with _you, why should this affect you that are believers ? Will this sin of theirs he ever laid to your charge, or you be accountable for it ? Should you neglect your duty because they are not in theirs ? Must your mouths be stopped, because. theirs are open ? Should you not rather blush and take shame to yourselves ? When they seem so forward to what you judge is npt their duty, and you yourselves so backward to it. Besides, it has been the practice of the faints in all 3tges, to sing in mixed assemblies. There was a mixed multitude which came up with the Israelites out of Egyp{, in whose presence Moses and the ' children s*f .Israel fung at the Red-sea, and who, very probably, joined with them 1 Jer. xxxi. 8—12. .m ,Cpr, *{, S. " Lightfoot, vql..a. p. 785, 1*57. •1 Cor. xiv. 15,24, 26. p Prov. xxi. 4.

600 A DISCOURSE ON them in the song, since they had a share in the common deliverance. The psalmist David, declared it as his resolution, and, no doubt but it was his practice, when he had opportunity, to fing the praises of God among the heathens. Therefore, fays he, will I give thanks unto thee, 0 Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people, 1 willsing unto thee among the nations '. The church, in Solomon's song, is represented, not only as taking her part in the song in the midst of, but as joining with the daughters of Jerusalem, though they were ignorant of Christ her beloved. It is evident, that the church at Corintb fung psalms in the presence of unbelievers, as well as performed other parts of public wor ship ; which was one reason that made the apostle so desirous of rectifying the irregularities in this, as in the rest ; that so unbelievers, who came in among them, might be convinced and obliged to own, that God was in them of a truth. Moreover, inasmuch as unbelievers are admitted to public prayers, and to join with you in them, why not to public singing ? especially, since some ends of this ordinance cannot be answered without their presence ; which are to declare the Lord's doings among the people, and make known bis won ders and his glory among the heathen ' : To add no more, This ordinance has been an ordinance for conversion ; I have known it to be so, and so have others besides me ; and a good reason this is why it should be continued publicly in our churches, and unbelievers be admitted to an attendance on it. V. I come now to consider the manner in which this ordinance should be performed, which I shall do very briefly, and shall chiefly regard what is expressed in my text, in which the apostle is desirous that he might, and determined to, sing with the Spirit, and with the understanding also. i. With the Spirit. By which may be meant, either the extraordinary gift of the Spirit, by which the apostle was capable of delivering out a psalm or hymn extempore, and that in an unknown tongue j though he was determin ed to make use of this gift in such a way, as to be understood by others, that so they might receive some profit and edification by it -, or else, by the Spirit, may be designed the Spirit of God, who is absolutely necessary to the spiri tual performance of this duty. Believers4 in the discharge of this work, stand in great need of him to excite their attention, assist their meditations, enlighten their understandings, raise their affections, strengthen their faith, and make a comfortable application of what is fung to themselves j or, by singing * Psel. xviii. 49. and lvii. 9. • » Psel. ix, 11. and xcvl 3.

SINGING OF PSALMS. 601 finging with the spirit, may be meant, singing with his own spirit ; and in deed, believers should be fervent inspirit, whilst they are serving the Lord in any ordinance: As God is a Spirit, he must be worshipped in spirit, or with our spirits, that is, with our hearts, engaged in the work we are con cerned in ; and then may we be said to sing with the spirit, when we sing with grace in our hearts, or in the lively exercise of faith, and hope, and love ; for to the due performance of this ordinance in a spiritual way, are re quired a large measure, of grace, a good deal of spiritual light, knowledge, experience and judgment; for we should sing, 2. With the understanding also ; that is, either in a language that is to be under stood, or with the understanding of what is fung •, sing ye praises with under standing * ; or to the understanding of others j for one end of this duty is, to teach and admonish others as well as ourselves ; and perhaps, the apostle may have some regard here to one of the titles of David's psalms ', namely, b^VQ maschil, which signifies a psalm, giving instruction, or causing to understand. Unless we sing in all these senses with understanding, we sing with little ad vantage, either to ourselves or others. In a word, besides our mutual edi fication, we should have in our view the glory of God •, we are to sing unto the Lord, not to ourselves, or to raise our natural affections, or to gain ap plause from others, by the fineness of our voice, and exact conformity to the tune* but to the glory of Father, Son and Spirit, who are that one God,, who condescends to inhabit the praises of Israel. Having now considered the several things I proposed, relating to the ordi nance of singing, I shall subjoin a short account of the faith and practice of the saints in the first three centuries of Christianity,, with respect either to finging alone, or in the family, or in the churches ; which, added to the scrip tural account of this duly, may serve the more to confirm us in the prac tice of it. If the Therapeutæ, a set of religious persons mentioned by Pbilo the Jew, who was cotemporary with the apostles, were Christians, as Eusebius u thinks, then we have a proof, besides the scripture ones, of the Christians singing of psalms and hymns in the times of the apostles ; for of these Pbilo says, '* That they not only gave themselves up to a contemplative life, but com- ** posed songs and hymns to God,, in various kinds of metre and verse ; and «« which they wrote as was necessary in graver rhyme, and which they not Vol. III. 4 H " only • Psal. xlvii. 7. « So PsaL xxxii, xlii, with many others. ■■ Eccles. Hist, 1. 2. c. 17. p. 59.

6oj A DISCOURSE ON " only composed but sung * ," though perhaps he may intend the EJsenes, of whom Porphyry fays \ that " They kept the seventh day of the week in " hymns to God, and in rest." There arc some, indeed, who think T they were neither, but a sect of Jewish philosophers : However this be, it is certain, That there is now extant an epistle of Pliny to Trajan the emperor ; in which he tells him, that one part of the charge against the Christians was, ;** That they used to meet together at a stated time, before it was light, and «' sing a hymn among themselves, to Christ, as to a god V Turtullian re- • fers to this letter, and expresses the charge in it thus •, " That they had their *« meetings before it was day, to fing to Christ and to God *." Eusebius cites the fame, and observes, that " Pliny declared that he found nothing impious ** in them, nothing done by them contrary to the laws, except that rising early " together, they fung an hymn to Christ after the manner of a god b." Now this letter was written in the latter end of the first century, or at the begin ning of the second, and, as some think, while the apostle John was yet living. Justin Martyr, Anno 150, in his epistle to Zena and Serenus, if it will be allowed to be genuine, speaks of the singing of psalms, hymns and songs ; and directs to the use of psalmody, in such a manner, as not to grieve our neighbours c. Atbenogenesy a martyr, in the second century, as he was going to the fire, delivered an hymn to those that stood by, in which he celebrated the Deity of the blessed Spirit d. Clemens Alexandrinus, Anno 190, or 200, speaking of a good man, says, •* His •« whole life is a continual holy day ; his sacrifices are prayer and praise ^ the " scriptures v ile-V a diufMffi poior, ah>.ct xj vrciucrtt atr/Aula x) vjUUf tif Siov Jia va/ltiut fulftn k} fu/\u', • •u9f*o« cri(*ro1sfn{ atayKatuq ^apa-rlso-i.- Philo dc vita tontempliva, p. 893. edit. Paris. Ella aivci Œ-iwoiti(*fF«< it< top Oioi vfuat woXXotf prfeoif $£ prAicn. Ibid. p. go 2. * Tr tGitpaSt f*» iitdai xinmvfyir rnfut iujSa<nr u< Ttrf up>«< T» ©iw, ») ft* m»icttv9a. Porphyr.dc Abstinent. 1. 4. $. 13. p. 16a. r Vid. Vale*, not. in Eufcb. p. 34, 35. » Arnrmabant autem, hanc fuissc summam vcl culpac sutc Tel erroris, quod essent solili ftato die, ante lucem convenire : Carmenque Christo quasi Deo, dicere lecum invicem. Plin. Ep. 1. 10. ep. 97. p. 878. edit, Londin. 17*2. * Nihil aiiud se dc sacrament is comperisse, quam cœtus antelucanos ad canendum Christo & Deo. Tertull. Apolog. c. a. p. 3, b l&fliu a»oerio>, fi» i^ vraf* tb( nopuf «o*t1iw ai/li>f xalaXtilpivai, «rta» To yt «fM T» m htyvff ♦"'«»«» ™ Xfr" ©«« *"">» vjau,. Euseb. Eccl. Hist. ]. 3. c. 33. p. 105. c Tsf»«{ ti kJ ^aX/Agf «J Ufa «j «„„ pflnr, f»u it* ^oAfcwJiaj to> w?;w»w Xvwh Justin, ad Zenam. p. 509. edit. Paris. * Vid. Fabricii Biblioth. Gtæc. vol. £. c. 1. J. 24. p. 195.

SINGING OF PSALMS. 603 " scriptures are read before eating of food ; and, whilst eating, psalms and " hymns are fung ; and, at night, before he goes to bed, prayer is per- « formed again '." And, in another place, he observes, that " a man's love, ** friendship, and good-will to God, should be shewn by thanksgiving and «* singing of psalms f ■" and he himself composed an hymn to Christ, which is still extant at the end of his Pædagogue. Vertullian, who lived about the fame time, has many things in his writings, which shew that singing of psalms, both publicly and privately, was prac ticed in his day; in one place* he fays, " After washing of hands, and " lighting up of candles, (meaning at their Christian meetings, and love- *« feasts ) every one might come forth, and sing to God, either out of the ** holy scriptures, or what was of their own composing." • And, elsewhere h, among the arguments he makes use of to prevail on Christians to marry among themselves, this is one ; " Psalms and hymns, fays he, are harmoni- ** ously fung between the happy pair -, and they provoke each other to sing ** the better to their God." And in another place ' he speaks, " of the **- reading of the scriptures, singing of psalms, preaching sermons, and of ** prayer," as the several parts- of public worship. And to add no more, in another book k he makes this to be one part of the happiness of a chaste and continent man, that " If he prays to the Lord, be is near to heaven ; if **■ he studies the scriptures^ he is wholly there ; if he sings a psalm, he pleases « himself" Origin, Anno 226, or 230, speaking of the need of the Spirit of God in prayer, adds* " Even as no man can sing a psalm or hymn to the Father in «« Christ, in good rhyme, proper verse and metre, and in concert, except the ** Spirit, whosearcheth all things, even the deep things of God, first searches,, 4 h 2 " and, *■ Aira; ii o /3\G» «t/l« Vtunyvfif «yia' auliJwr.Sutrmt jut av\at iv%at vti x) txuoi, jej <zi wpo rut ari- &91UC, «»1ip|»n ruv yfa/fui' -v^aX/*oi frt kJ vptoi ma(x th» tnavit. ITpj T« rr,<; xvilns, otAXæ, xj tvitlaf, tvx*> vaXtt. Clement. Alex. Stromat. 1. 7. p. 726; edit. Paris. f IIpolip* fMM) 11; ©ior ii tvxufirixs kj ^a^iM/haf ym<A<* tptAofporwi, Id. Paedagog. 1. a. c. 4. p. 165. R Post aquam nunualem & lumina, ut quisque de scripturis sanctis, vel de proprio ingenio potest, provocatur in medium Deo canere. Tertull. Apolog. c. 39. p. 36. h Sonant inter duos psalmi & hymni, &mutuo provocant, quis meliusDeo suoeantes. Ibid, ad uxorem, 1. 2. c. 8. p. 191. 1 Jam vero pro ut scriptura* leguntur, aut ptalmi carwntur, aut adlocutiones proferuntur, aut petitiones deleganlur, ita inde materiae visionibus fubministiantur. Ibid, de anima, c. 9. p. 31 1. k Si orationem facit ad dominum, prope est Cœlo. Scripturis incuæbit, totiu illic est. Si psalmum canit, placet sibi. Ibid, de Exhort. Castitat. c. 10. p. 670.

604 A DISCOURSE ON <* and, as much as can be, comprehends the deep things of the mind, with " songs of praise and hymns'." Cyprian, Anno 246, exhorted Donatus to the practice of singing of psalms, in an epistle to him ; " Let a psalm, says he, be fung at a feast, kept with " moderation ; and that thoU mayest have a retentive memory, let thy voice " be melodious. Begin this work after the usual manner"." Nepos, an Egyptian bishop, Anno 260, is greatly commended by Eusebius, not only for his faithfulness, labour, and diligence in the scriptures, but for his psalmody; which was very grateful to many of the brethren at that pre sent time \ I might go on to produce testimonies, proving psalmody to be in use in the churches in the times of Constantine, not far from the third century, which, as Eusebius, who was on the spot, relates0, was performed with a very decent and agreeable modulation of the voice. As also, in the churches at Alexandria and Milan % when Atbanasius was bishop of the one, and Ambrose of the other, who both lived in the fourth century. I might also observe, what spiritual delight and comfort the great Austin q found in attending on this ordinance j but I choose to go no further than the three first centuries, which were the purest and most uncorrupt ages of Christianity. Paulus SamosatenuL, who denied the divinity of Christ, is the only person I have met with in this period of time, that objected to the psalms and songs being fung in the churches, which he condemned as novel compositions ' ; and yet provided women to sing in the church concerning himself: His rea son for it seems to be, because the divinity of Christ was in an excellent man ner set forth in the old songs and psalms ; as appears from a passage in Euse bius, mentioned to confront Arlemon and Tbeodotus, who had represented Christ's divinity Oa-rif »Ji •Ixkxt x) iufyfy*«? k) ippiAv; x) ij*f«.i1f»i« xj ovpfVHH Vfunteu rot Calif* « Xtif-tf, Mt> pv to Unvote crania tfivtvr, kJ ra #a9i> ts'Gib, «rpo1ipo» auto-n «» vputaix T« in r» 0a6n Kfivtnxi, xai us ifio-^jta-t xa1i>Xi)^m. Origen riipt tv%it. edit. Oxon. 1686. m Sonet psalmos (vel psalmus) convivium sobrium : Et ut tibi tenax memoria est, vox canora; •ggredere hoc munus ex more. Cyprian, ad Donat. p. 10. edit. Oxon. 1682. E» oXAok l*i' «ro*Xoi{ an-oiy^ojxai xai ayttimi Nnrola, Tilt ti «in«i« xai td« fttawmac xai rut «i T*'« 7f«?«»« <W!pi£n5, xai t»ic «roX*D{ ^aXpuitccf, n fUXt1 '<" woWkOl TB» aSiXfw ivflef*«»1at. Eufcb. Eccl. Hist. I. 7. c. 24 p. a;i. 0 Ibid. 1. 2. c. 17. p 57. &1. 10. c.3.p. 371. r August. Confess. 1. 9. c 6. $. 2. & 7. 1. & 1. 10. c. 33. $. a. 1 Ibid. 1, .9 c. 6. $. 2. & 1 10. c. 33. $, 3. » Euseb. Eccl Hist. 1. 7. c. 30. p. a8j. - . ■

SINGING OF PSALMS. 605 divinity as a novel doctrine. " The psalms and songs of the brethren, fays f* Eusebiui'y which .were ..written byjhe faithful, from the beginning, set " forth the praises of Christ as the Word of God, ascribing divinity to him." From the whole it may be concluded, that this ordinance of singing of psalms, as it was used by Christ and his apostles, so it was continued in the ages next to tfiem j and though it has been dragged through the sinks of Popery* yet it ought not to be rejected on that account : Had our reformers treated the ordinances of Christ in such a manner, because they found them cor rupted, we should have had no ordinance now in being : Let us rather do all we can to clear this of every degree of superstition, and restore it to it* native simplicity and spirituality. ' ¥oAj»oi ce 00*01 xai wJai aiitJput awx(%fif (scribcndum eft aic af%i?) vie* viru yfaptitran, Tt» teyu ra Qm rt* Xfiro» wpttcJt, $uhoy»/lt<. Ibid. 1. 5, C. 28. p. 196. AN

6o6 AN ESSAY ON THE ORIGINAL ,.*•.- AN ESSAY ON THE ORIGINAL OF Funeral SERMONS, ORATIONS, and ODES. Occasioned by Two Funeral Discourses, lately published on the Death of Dame Mary Pa&b, Relict of Sir Gregory Page, Bart. The one by Mr Harrison, with an Oration at her Interment ; and an Ode sacred to her Memory; The other by Mr Richardson. With some Observations on each of them* In a LETTER to a FRIEND. Dear Sir, 1HAVE for some time been of opinion, that the custom of preaching Funeral Sermons, and making Orations at the interment of the dead, took its rife from some such practice first in use among the heathens : Two discourses of this kind having been lately published on the death of the Lady Page, both attended with some odd circumstances, which I am sensible you are no stranger to, they have occasioned some fresh thoughts on this subject, the result of which I now send you, together with some few observations on the said discourses, all which I humbly submit to your impartial judgment. The Egyptians, the posterity of Ham, were the first cultivators of idolatrous worship, and superstition, after the flood •, they were the first that gave namesto deities1, built temples, erected altars, and set up images for divine adora tion. They were the first who asserted the imortality of the soul \ its trans migration » Herodoi. 1. 2. c. 4. & 58. Laftant. do Orig, Error. 1. 2. c. 14. » Hcrodot. 1. a. c. t%s

OF FUNERAL SERMONS, &r. 607 migration into all kinds of animals in earth, air, and sea, and its return to the human body * which they supposed to be within the term of three thou sand years : Hence proceeded their very great care in embalming of their dead bodies, and their being at such vast expences, as they were, in building proper repositories for them; for they were more solicitous about their graves than their houses : This gave birth to those wonders of the world, the pyramids, which were built for the burial of their kings, with such vast charges, and almost incredible magnificence, the fame whereof has since spread itself all the world over. It cannot therefore be foreign to my present design, to en quire after what manner these people performed their funeral obsequies, which. 1 find, was as follows : • " When the corps was to be buried, the nearest a-kin gave notice of the " day for the funeral to the judges, the relations, and the friends of the de- " ceased ; and particularly gave out, that he, naming the name of the de- " ceased, would then pass the lake. The day being come, more than forty *< of the judges seated themselves in the form of a semicircle by the side of " the lake, where the boat, which is managed by a pilot, whom the Egyptians " in their language call Charon, being first prepared for use, is drawn up in " readiness. The vessel being let into the lake, before the deceased's coffin is " put into it, every one has a liberty to bring in an accusation against him. If " any one can prove he has lived a bad life, the judges pronounce the sen- " tence, and the corps is forbid the usual sepulture ; but if it appears, that •« the accuser is guilty of calumny, he is liable to the severest punishment. ** When either there is no accuser, or a false one, the relations lay aside their *• mourning, and praise the deceased. They make no mention of his descents u as the Grecians do, because they reckon that all in Egypt are equally noble j " but then they rehearse his education and learning in childhood, and his ** piety, justice, continency, and other virtues in his adult age ; beseeching " the gods below to receive him into the society of the pious : while the mul- «• titude, in the mean time, applaud and proclaim the praises of the deceased, •* as one that is to spend an eternity with the godly in Hades'." In this account it is easy to observe the first rudiments of funeral orations, and what was the subject of them, which were afterwards formed into a more polite and regular manner by other nations, who received this custom from the Egyptians. Nor can I omit remarking, that those funeral solemnities were attended, not only with orations in praise of the deceased, but with prayers for f Diodor. Sicul. 1. <• c 5*

608 AN ESSAY ON THE ORIGINAL for him; which prayers, it seems, were made by one who personated the de ceased : an entire form of one of them is preserved by Porphyry*, and perhaps it may in some measure, gratify your curiosity to recite it from him. " When, " says he, they, taht is, the Egyptians, embalm their deceased nobles, they pri- " vately take out the entrails, and lay them up in an ark or chest : more- " over among other things which they do in favour of the deceased, lifting " up the ark or chest to the sun, they invoke him ; one of the e Lihitinarii «« making a prayer for the deceased, which Eupbantus has translated out of «* the Egyptian language, and is as follows : O lord, the fun, and all the '« gods who give life to men, receive me, and admit me into the society of " the immortal ones, for as long as I lived in this word, I religiously wor- •« shipped the gods whom my parents shewed me, and have always honoured " those who begat my body : nor have I killed any man, nor have I de- «« frauded any of what has been committed to my trust, nor have I done any '* thing which is inexpiable. Indeed, whilst I was alive, if I have sinned *« either by eating or drinking any thing which was not lawful; not through " myself have I sinned, but through these, shewing the ark and chest where " the entrails were. And having thus spoke, he casts it inro the river, but •* the rest of the body he embalms as pure." I cannot but couclude, that such like practices as these among the heathens, have given rise to praying for departed saints among the Papists. But to goon : The Grecians received the seeds of superstition and idolatrous worship s from the Egyptians, through the coming of Cecrops, Cadmus, Danaus, and Erecbtbeus, into Greece. The first of these was the first king of Athens, from whose coming thither, the Attic Æra begins; where he first % introduc ed the worship of Jupiter and Minerva, setting up an altar for the one, and the image of the other; and among the rest of the Egyptian customs and laws which he brought along with him into Greece, the burial of the dead bodies in the earth was one. Of this Cicero particularly informs us in the following words : " They report, fays he, that from the times of Crcrops, it " remained a custom at Athens to that day, to bury the bodies of their dead •«' in the earth ' :" which some fay were laid with the head towards the East1, and others towards the (Vest *. But what Cicero fays, as to their manner of interment, * De Abstinentia, 1. 4. sect. 10. • These were a sort of men who provided every thing needful for burials, so called from the goddess Libitina, in "whose temple all such things were exposed to sale. Vid. Kennel's Anti^. par. 2. b. 5, c. 10. p. 340. { Herodot. 1. a. c. 4. & 58. 1 Euscb. de praspar. Evangel. 1. io. c.9. h Delegibus,l.s.propefinem. » Diogen. Lacrt. in vita Solon. * Ælian. var. Hist. 1. 5. c. 1 4. & 7. 1 9.

OF FUNERAL SERMONS, &c. 609 interment, is this : " That the relations, or neighbours of the deceased, laid " the body in the ground, and having cast the earth over the corps, sowed ** the ground with all manner of grain or fruit; that so the earth might be M as the bosom or lap of a mother to the deceased ; and yet, being expi- «« ated by these fruits, might be restored, or rendered useful, to the living. ** After the interment, as he further tells us, followed the epulœ, or feasts, at *« which the company used to appear crowned ; when they spoke in praise 44 of the dead, so far as they could go with truth, it being esteemed a no- " torious wickedness to lie upon such an occasion k." A rule that very well deserves to be observed in making panegyrics or encomiums on the dead in Funeral Sermons and Orations j in many of which, I fear, the bounds of truth are too often exceeded. And not only at those feasts, but ' even be fore the company departed from the sepulchre, they were sometimes enter tained with a panegyric upon the dead person. The Grecian soldiers, who died in war, had not only their tombs adorned with inscriptions (hewing their names, parentage, and exploits, but were also honoured with an oration in their praise. Particularly the custom among the Athenians in the interment of their soldiers was as follows m, namely, " They ** used to place the bodies of their dead in tents three days before the funeral, " that all perlons might have opportunity to find out their relations, and pay «' their last respects to them. Upon the fourth day, a coffin of cypress was " sent from every tribe, to convey the bones of their own relations ; after 44 which went a. covered hearse, in memory of those whose bodies could not be 44 found. All these, accompanied with the whole body of the people, were 44 carried to the public burying place, called Ceramicus, and there interred. . ,c One oration was spoken in commendation of them all, and their monuments 44 adorned with pillars, inscriptions, and all other ornaments usual about the • 14 tombs of the most honourable persons. The oration was pronounced by *' the fathers of the deceased persons, who had behaved themselves most va- 44 liantly. Thus after the famous battle at Marathon, the fathers of Callimachus " and Cynœgyrus, were appointed to make the funeral oration n. And upon . 44 the return of the day, upon which the solemnity was first held, the fame " oration was constantly repeated every year0." From the Egyptians and Grecians, especially from the latter, the Romans re ceived many of their laws and customs, as well as much of their polytheism Vol. III. 4 I and. k Cicero, ibid. • Potter's Archaeolog. Græc. vol, s, book 4. chap. 8 0 Ibid. b. 3. c. 11. p. 103, 105. » Folemo i» Argwnento rut nrtlafm *eyor„ • Cicero de Oratore. ;

610 AN ESSAY ON THE ORIGINALand idolatrous worship. It is well known that the custom of making funeral orations in praise of the dead obtained among them. The manner in which their funeral services were performed is as follows p ; ** Upon the eighth day, '" that is, after the person's decease, a certain cryer, in manner of a bell-many " went about the town to call the people to the solemnization of the funeral, " in this form of words % Exequias L, Titio L. Filio quibus eft commodum ire. " Jam temptts est, ollus ex œdibus effertur. After the people had assembled them- " selves together, the bed being covered with purple, or other rich coverings, " the last conclamation being ended, a trumpeter went before all the company, •* certain poor women, called Prœficey following after, and singing songs in *« the praise of the party deceased. Those that carried this bed, were the " next of the kin, so that it fell often among the senators themselves to bear " the corps ; and because the poorer sort were not able to undergo the charges " of such solemnities, thereupon were they buried commonly in the dusk of " the evening ; and hence a vespertino tempore, those that carried the corps, " were termed vespæ, or vespillones. In the burial of a senator, or chief " officer, certain waxen images of all his predecessors were carried before him " upon long poles, or spears, together with all the ensigns of honour which " he deserved in his life time. Moreover, if any servants had been manu- " mized by him, they accompanied the mourners, lamenting for their master's " death. After the corps followed the dead man's children, the next of the " kin, and other of his friends, atrati, that is to fay, in mourning apparel. " The corps being thus brought into their great oratory, called the Rostra, " the next of the kin r laudabat defuntlum pro rostris, id est, made a funeral " oration in the commendations principally of the party deceased, but touch- " ing the worthy acts also of those his predecessors, whose images were there " present." The account given by a later writer*, is in these words : " In ail the fu- " nenals of note, fays he, especially in the public, or mdictive, the corps was " first brought, with a vast train of followers, into the Forum ; here one of " the nearest relations ascended the Rostra, and-obliged the audience with an ' " oration in praise of the deceased. If none of the kindred undertook the " office, it was discharged by some of the most eminent persons in the city for *' learning and eloquence, as Appian reports of the funeral of Sylla \ And M Pliny" the younger, reckons it as the last addition to the happiness of a . "very t Godwin's Rota. Hist. Anthotyg. 1 -a. sect. b. c at. , - s Rosin. lAntiq. !••$• ' Seuton, Jul. Ctesar. c. 6. « Kennel's Antiq. gf Rome, part*, b. 3. e. ro. :p. 3§l. 4 Znfv*, lib. 1. u Lib. a. ep. 1.

OF FUNERAL ORATIONS, &c. 6u " vcrY grcat man> that he had the honour to be praised at his funeral by the •* most eloquent Tacitus, then Consul; which is agreeable to Quintiliian's ac- • count of this matter*, Nam &f sunebres, &V. For the funeral .orations, " fays he, depend very often on some public office, and by order of senate, " are many times given in charge to the magistrates, to be performed by " themselves in persoff. The invention of this custom is generally attributed ** to Valerius Poplicola, soon after the expulsion of the regal family. Plutanb " tells us, that honouring his collegue's obsequies with a funeral oration, it " so pleased the Romans, that it became customary for the best men to cele- ** brate the funerals of great persons with speeches in their commendations." Thus Julius Cæsar y, according to custom, made an oration in the Rostra, in praise of his wife Cornelia, and his aunt Julia, when dead ; wherein he (hewed, that his aunt's descent, by her mother's side, was from kings, and by her father's from the gods. Plutarch fays % that " He approved of the law of *' the Romans, which ordered suitable praises to be given to women as well as " to men, after death." Though by what he fays in another place ', it seems that the old Roman law was, that funeral orations should be made only for the elder women ; and therefore he says, that Cæsar was the first that made one Tjpon his own wife, it not being then usual to take notice of younger women in that way : but by that action, he gained much favour from the populace,, who afterwards looked upon him, and loved him as a very mild and good man. The reason why such a law was made in favour of the women, Livy b tells us, was this, That when there was such a scarcity of money in the public treasury, that the sum agreed upon to give the Gauls to break up the siege of the city and capitol, could not be raised, the women collected among themselves, and made it up; who hereupon, had not only thanks given them, but this addi tional honour, that after death, they mould be solemnly praised, as well as the men : which looks as if before this time, only the men had those funeral ora tions made for them. But to proceed : This custom of the Romans very early obtained among the Christians j some of their funeral sermons or orations are now extant, as that of Eusebius on Conftantine, and those of Nazianzen on Basil and Cæsarius ; and of Ambrose on Valentinian, Tbeodosius, and others. Gregory, the brother of Basil*, made, nri*»Jn.r uy<„, a funeral oration for Melitius, Bishop of Antiocb : in which orations, they not only praised the dead* but addressed themselves to 4 i 2 them, ■ Instil, lib. 3 e.g. r Suet, in Jul. Cæsar, c. 6. * De Mulier. virtut. in principio, ■ In vit. Cæ&r. in principio. * Hist ab U. C. 1. 5. c. 50. « Socrat. Eccl. Hist. L 5. c. 9.

6.2 AN ESSAY ON TffE; ORIGINAL them, which seems to have introduced the custom of praying to departed saints. Now these orations were usually made'1 before the bodies of the de ceased were committed to the ground, which custom has been, more or less, continued ever since, to this day. And now, Sir, having thus far proceeded in my enquiries on this subject, I cannot but conclude, that those rites and ceremonies among the heathens^ which have been thus delivered from one people to another, are what have given birth to funeral sermons and orations among us Christians ; and though the practice, no doubt, is considerably improved, and cleared of many things which would smell too rank of paganism, and isthrown into a method which, perhaps, may be of some service to Christianity, yet notwithstanding this new dress., its original may very easily be discerned. The method in which the characters of deceased persons are given in our funeral sermons, is very much the. fame with that observed in those pagan orations, where first an account is .given of the parentage of the deceased, then of his education ; after that, we hear of his conduct in riper years : then his many virtues are reckoned up, with his generous, noble, and excellent performances. I would not be understood as though I condemned the practice because of its rile and original •, for why may not the customs of heathens, if just and laudable in themselves, and no ways pernicious to Christianity in their conse quences, be followed by us Christians ? And seeing we are come into this prac tice., there is one thing we should take care to follow them in, and that is, not to make those sermons or orations for every one j but for those only whose characters are distinguishing, who have been eminently useful in the world, and in the church of Christ. The old heathens only honoured those with this part of the funeral solemnity, who were men of probity and justice, or re nowned for their wisdom and knowledge, or famous for warlike exploits : This, as Cicero informs us, being part of the law for burials, which directs, that the praises only of honourable persons shall be mentioned in the c oration. The Jews also make funeral orations in praise of the party deceased f, provided -he is. a person of note, or a man of worth and value amongst: them, such as *he minister of the congregation, or the like. It would be much more agree able, if our funeral discourses were not so common, and if the characters given of the deceased were more just; devoid of that fulsom flattery, with which r * Onupbrius de sepcl. roort c. 8. " Hunoratorum virorum laudes in condone memorantor, &c. De legibus, 1. a. propc sinem. ■f •Buxtorff Jud Synag. c. 49. Leo Modcna's Hist, of the rite*, customs, &c. of the present Jew*, par. 5. c. 8. sest. 4. •'.'"■•

OF FUNERAL SERMONS, &c. 6.J which they too often abound. I would not be understood, as though I thought the deceased lady, whose funeral sermons have occasioned this essay, was a person undeserving of having her memory perpetuated this way, or that what is there said of her is not just and true. As for scripture history, I cannot, Sir, recollect any passage which gives countenance to our practice, unless that short oration of David's at the grave of Abner, may be judged of this fort, 2 Sam. iii. 33, 34. Josepbus* seems to have this view of it, when he fays, David buried him very magnificently, and composed funeral Lamentations for him. And it is observable, that Cocceius, in his Funeral Oration on Maccovius, after he had remarked, that the practice was agreeable, not only to the an cient custom of that University, before whom he delivered it ; but also to the customs of the Athenians and Romans, who fudged it very ornamental and profitable to the Commonwealth, to praise those who had been famous in peace or war : he further directs his auditors to David's Elogium on Saul and Jonathan, in 2 Sam. i. 17, &c. and to the anniversary lamentation of the daughters of Israel for the daughter of Jeptbab, in Judges xi. 40. in favour of this custom. But, with submission, I take it, that these instances will ra ther justify the use of funeral odes, than of funeral sermons and orations. And now, Sir, if 1 thought, I should not trespass too much upon your patience, I would briefly enquire into the rife and original of our funeral elegies and odes, which are likewise made to perpetuate the memory, and celebrate the praises of the dead. Who were the inventors of elegy is very uncertain, for Horace tells us it was controverted in his time, and left unde termined by the critics \ As to the original of the name, the Grecians ' " had *« a custom of drawling out their words, and repeating the interjection, " «, it ", *t with tears ; and hence, if we may credit the Scholiast upon Aris* " tophanes k, funeral lamentations were called &*v<", Elegies." "With respect to singing at the interment of the dead, Macrobius ' says, " It ** is established by the practice of most nations or countries, who do it upon " this persuasion, that after the decease of the body, the soul returns to the « original of the sweetness of music, that is, to heaven :" And it is no great difficulty to collect some instances of this kind. Potter fays on this head, that the Grecians m " had mourners and musicians « to increase the solemnity : these Homer calls *Z*tx»< 3f»»*», because they en- " deavoured « Eiri1*^in* ni/Vf*4">fMMf ifmuf. Antic, lib, 7. h Dc arte poetica, 1 Potter's Archeolog. Grace, vol. a. par. 4. e. 3. k Avibu*. 1 Somn, Scip. 1. 2, c. 3. ■» Potlct t Antiq. vol. ?•

6i4 AN ESSAY ON THE ORIGINAL " deavoured to excite sorrow in all the company, by beating their breasts M and counterfeiting all the actions of the most real and passionate grief. " They are likewise termed, ««'»'i *p»<™><>«> &c. from the songs they fung at " funerals. Of these there seem to have been three, one in the procession,. " another at the funeral pile, a third at the grave." The pipes or flutes they made use of at those solemnities were those of the Carian, My/um, Lydian, and Phrygian original. «« Those who were killed by elephants, either in the hunting of them, or *' in battle, Ælian informs us ",. were buried very honourably, and had cer- " tain hymns fung in their honour by the Lybians. The argument of these " hymns was, That those were valiant men, who engaged with such a beast;. " and that the best funeral ornament was to die gloriously." What was the custom of the ancient Romans in the burial of their dead, is sufficiently notorious : It has been already observed, that at the funeral pro cess, certain poor women, called Præfica, fung songs in the praise of the party deceased •, these women were hired for this purpose, making a trade of k,. and getting their livelihood by it. Besides these, there were also, Siticines, and Tibicines. " The name Siticines", A. Gellius r derives from situs and cano,, "• from singing to the dead : They were of two sorts, some sounding en the- " trumpet, others on the flute or pipe. That the trumpets had a stiare in " this solemnity, we learn from Virgil, in the funeral of Pallas" Æn. xL •* Exoritur clamorqiie virum, clangorque lubarum". And from Profertius^ Lib. 2. Eleg.7. ** Ab ! mea turn quotes caneret tibi, Cynthia, fotnnos **■ Tibia, funest-a tristior ilia tuba. *• Suetonius q mentions the Tibiæ, in the funeral of Julius defer, and Seneca- '** in that of Claudius ' -, and Ovid fays of himself in plain words, ** Interea nostri quid agant nisi trifle libelli ? *' Tibia funeribus convenit ista trieis" Trist»5. Eleg. 1. Cicero ' fays, It was the custom, not only that the praises of deserving men mould Jbe mentioned in the oration, but also " that Tibicines, or pipers should «*- follow » Var. Hist. 1. is. c. 55. • Kennel's Antiq. par. a. b. 5. p. 345. t Lib. ao, c. 3. i C, 84. ; VW. Apocol. * De legibus, 1. 2. prope fin.

0F FUNERAL.SERMONS, k 615 ** follow those commendations with songs, called Nœnix j which is the name " the Grecians give to mournful songs." These Ntenia were the same with, the * Nugx of Plautus, Hac stint non nugœ, non enim mortualia. * , Both which may be understood of those songs which were fung in praise of the dead, at the time of their interments for the word Nugæ is an Hebrew word, it is used in Zepb. iii. 18. / will gather WJ them that are sorrowful, which Jerom not understanding, imagined it was the Latin word Nugæ and accord ingly rendered it so •, whereas it comes from TO"' which signifies to be sorrowful, and here intends sorrowful persons ; and in Plautus, mournful songs. Now because a great many weak and foolish things were laid in those songs, as there are in many of our elegies, and funeral odes ; the words Nug<t and Nœniœ are frequently used for silly and trifling things." So likewise among the Grecians, " Funeral dirges l were called t**.^., whence " r«\ipi£f» is expounded in Hejycbius by 9f.»"»i to mourn •, and -nPa^rfMu is " another name for mourning women •, hence also •»•« t»*i/**J, signifies empty " and worthless things, and Ta^f*« <j/vxpo1if><>;, is proverbially applied to insipid " and senseless compositions. Much the fame custom obtained among the Jews, which it is highly pro bable, they received from some of the neighouring nations, for they were a people always fond of following the ceremonious practices of the heathens ; they had their jrojpD, or mourning women, which were the fame with the Prœficœ of the Romans, and the T«xifnrf»at of the Grecians, just now mentioned, who by their dishevelled hair, naked breasts, and mournful voice, moved upon the affections, and produced tears from others, as well as set forth the praises of the dead in their songs or funeral odes, being hired by the relations of the deceased for these purposes. Maimonides " fays, That the heirs of the deceased were obliged to give them a reward. The manner in which they .performed their doleful ditties was this w, First one spoke, and then all the rest answered. Of these mourning women, and what they were to do, we read in Jer, ix. 17—22. where the Lord by the prophet, not as approving, but deriding the practice, fays, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, &c. Besides these mourning women, they also made use of minstrels and pipes, of these we read in Matt. ix. 23. Pipes apd such like instruments of music, were ' Asinaria. « Potter's Antiq. ; " Hilchot Ebel. c. ia.C i. w Moed Katon, c. 3, 9, R. David Kimchi lib. Sborash. rad. np.

616 AN ESSAY ON THE ORIGINAL were used by them ac their ■ funerals, as well as at their marriages ; and according to their Rabbins r, even the poorest man in Israel, when his wise died, never had less than two pipes, and one mourning woman. The Christians indeed, instead of these Pagan and Jewisti customs, have sub stituted the practice of singing of psalms before the corps, at the burial of the dead ; a practice which prevailed very early, and has been approved of and established by Emperors \ Popes, Fathers, and Councils, and is continued in many places, to this day ; and I cannot but be of opinion, that these last rites and ceremonies among the heathens, have given birth to our elegiac Verses and Odes sacred to the memory of the dead. Whether David's Elegium en Saul and Jonathan, and the anniversary celebration of the case of JeptbaFs daughter by the daughters of Israel beforementioned, together with the lamen tations of Jeremiah, and those of the singing men and singing women on the death of Josiab, give any countenance to these kind of performances, I shall not determine. But leaving these enquires, I shall now, Sir, present you with my thought* on those two Funeral Discourses, which have been the occasion of this essay. I shall begin with Mr Harrison's sermon, not only because it was first preached and published to the world, but because another discourse, prepared on the same subject, and for the same purpose, was obliged to give way to it •» on. which account, one might reasonably have expected, that this would have been a very valuable and excellent performance, if not an extraordinary onev that it would have been filled with solid divinity, judicious thoughts, strong reasoning, and good learning -, when, on the contrary, I am bold to say, there i» neither law nor gospel, good learning, nor good fense in h ; nothing but rant and a mere jingle of words : There appears no more divinity in the ser mon, than there does humanity in his conduct ; it is an empty, jejune, trffling work. " The apostle Paul, he fays ', had a fine imagination, as well as " a solid judgment." Indeed he had, and, I suppose, he means, that they both appear particularly in the b text, the subject of this discourse •, and so they do, but it will be exceeding difficult to observe any thing like either throughout the whole discourse upon it. One would have thought, that a man insisting on so fruitful a text, could not have failed of expressing himself as fully and largely, both on the nature of the grace and doctrine of faith, had he understood either, as the bounds of a single discourse would admit of. But * Bava Metzia. c. 6. sect. I. Shabbat. c. 23. sect. 4. 1 Cetubot. r. 4. sect. 4. * Vid Roma l'ubterranca, torn. ». 1, J. c. 19. » Sermon, p. 8. ► Which ii s Tim. i*. 7, 8.

OF "FUNERAL SERMONS, &c. 617 But here is no notice taken, either of the apostle's faith, or any others, but a studious concern appears, throughout the whole, even to avoid those descrip tions of the people of God, which are taken from their faith : instead of which we have the sincerely good, the sincere followers of the Lamb, sincere professors, the good man, the virtuous man, &c. But I had almost forgot that this sermon was calculated for the polite part of the town, to whom those sounds, believers, converted persons, regenerate ones, &c. are as disagreeable, as the characters ex pressed by them are unsuitable. He tells us c, that by the faith, which the apostle fays he had kept, " It is natural in this place to understand the doc- ** trine of the Gospel." It would have been well if he had thought fit to have given us some account of it, and not to have run out in those wild excursions another way, which are foreign from his text, and the doctrine of the gospel; for he is not contented silently to pass over the great doctrines of faith, but throws out his indigested crudities to the shame and reproach of them, nay, in direct opposition to them, same instances of which I will just observe to you. 1 will give you his entire paragraphs, that I may not in the least injure him, or curtail his fense And the first faulty paragraph I shall take notice of, we have, page 17, which is as follows, *' Though the apostle had described his own conduct,' «' which had something peculiar to his public station, though he had been " viewing a crown, the lustre of which was to bear a proportion to bis attain- " m'ents and labours •, yet he intimated, that in some things, there was an " agreement between his cafe, and that of Christians in general, both as to " service and reward." In what is here said, I am very much mistaken, if he has not obscured the lustre of the grace of God, the righteousness of Christ, the purchase of the Redeemer's blood, and the crown of life itself, as well as put too great a lustre upon the attainments and labours of a creature ; fOr what proportion can there be between the crown of life, and the best perform ances of men ? There is a proportion between sin and death, but none be tween eternal life and works of righteousness which we have done : The wages, the just wages of fin is death d, but eternal life is the gift of Cod, through Jesus Christ our Lord. The whole of our salvation, from first to last, is wholly owing to the grace of God, exclusive of, and in contradistinction from any sort of works whatever, performed by mortals. The choice of persons to this crown, is an instance of special and distinguishing grace, for which rea son it is called an eleiJion of grace •, upon the mentioning of which, the apostle Vol. III. 4 K * argues 1 Sermon, p. 1 1. * Rom. vi. 33. . .

6iS AN ESSAY ON THE ORIGINAL argues after this nervous manner % if it be of grace, then is it no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace ; but if it be of works, then is it no more ofgrace, otherwise work is no more work. And in another place : we are justified jreely by his grace f, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. The pardon of our fins g is according to the riches of his grace, so is our regeneration, and final per severance ; and the finishing of the whole work of salvation, will be attended with the shouts of angels and saints h, crying, Grace, grace, unto it : for it is not ' by works of righteousness which we have done ; but according to bis mercy, be batb saved us by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. The grace of God is a bright and sparkling jewel in this crown of righteousness, the glory of which will appear in it to all eternity, with an amazing and foul- ravishing lustre; and therefore to fay, that the lustre of this crown is to bear a proportion to the attainments and labours of men, without taking any notice of the grace of God, which shines so resplendently in it, is to obscure thei lustre of this grace. Again, The lustre of this crown, is to bear a proportion to the righteousness t>T Christ, from whence it takes his name. It is this which gives a person an undoubted right and title to it k, being justified by his grace, we are made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Without this there will be no admission into God's kingdom and glory, let a man's labours and attainments be what they will, for if he is destitute of this he is an unrighteous person, and the unrighteousshall not inherit the kingdom of God1. Those who are found without this wedding garment, though they may have m -prophesied in Christ'/ name, and in his name have cast out devils, and done many wonderful works ; yet the judge will fay to them, 1 never knew you, depart from me ye that work iniquity ; and will give orders " to bind them band and foot, and cast them into outer dark ness, where will be weeping and gnajhing of teeth -, wherefore, to fay, that the lustre of the crown of righteousness is to bear a proportion to the attainments and labours of a creature, without taking any manner of notice of the righ teousness of Christ, which is our only title to this crown, between both which* there. is the most just and adequate proportion, is to obscure the lustre of this righteousness. Again, The lustre of this crown is to bear a, proportion to the purchase of Christ's blood, and not to the attainments and labours of men ; for if rigb- ■teoufnefs*, life and happiness, come by the law, and men's obedience to it, then Christ • Rom. jti. 5, 6. ' Rom. iii. 24. & Eph. 5. 7. k Zech. jv. 7. »Tit. J1L5. k Tit. iii. 7. ' 1 Cor. vi. 9. ■ Matt. vii. 22, 23. » Matt. xxii. 1 1—13. * Gal. ii. z».

O F TV NERAL ORATIONS, &c. 619 Christ if dead in ihrin. Mr Richardson, in his b sermon, has well observed, that one reason why this crown is called a crown of righteousness is, ** be- "• cause Christ has purchased it ; and thus God, as a just and righteous God, **' confers it. There is no degree of happiness, adds he, to be enjoyed in a *' future world, but what Christ has paid a valuable price for, therefore hea- "' ven is called % The purchased possession." Now between this valuable price of Christ's blood, and the lustre of the crown of righteousness, there is a just proportion ; but none between that and the attainments and labours of men ; to fay then, that the lustre of this crown is to bear a proportion to these, with out taking any notice of the purchase of Christ's blood, is to obscure the lustre and glory of it. Besides, such a way of speaking must obsedre the lustre of the crown itself; for what lustre can their be in that croWn which only bears a proportion to the attainments and labours of men, when their best d righteousness is as filthy rags, and they themselves are as an unclean thing? But to fay, that it bears a proportion to the riches of God's grace, to the royal robe of Christ's righteousness, to the invaluable purchase of his blood, is to spread, to increase, and set off in the best manner, the lustre of this crown. Moreover, such an expression as this, puts too great a lustre upon the at tainments and labours of a creature, though those attainments and labours may be never so great and considerable : indeed the apostle Paul's were of this kind ; yet ! am satisfied, he never entertained such an opinion of them as to imagine, that the lustre of the crown of righteousness he was viewing, was to be proportioned to them. When he compared himself with the other apostles of Christ, he fays8, / am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God, but by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace which was bestowed upon me, was not in vain ; but I laboured more abundantly than they all : yet observe how he corrects him self; yet net I, but the grace of God which was with me. And when he was obliged to make mention of his Own attainments and labours, in the vindi cation of himself, against the insults and reproaches of false apostles j yet how Often does he call himself a F00V for it, and his just defence a speaking foolistjly in this confidence of boasting ? He was very well apprized', that though lie knew nothing by himself8, yet he was not hereby justified -, that his right and title to the crown of life did not lie in those things. He accounted that all his attainments and labours, whether before or after conversion, were but 4 k 2 loss * Page 13. This is the sermon which was obliged to give way to Mr Harrison's ingenious one, 1 Eph. i. 14. 1 Isa, lxiw£. e 1 Cor. xv. 9, *o. ? 2 Cor.xi.i6, 17,21, 23. « 1 Cor.iv.4.

620 AN ESSAY ON THE ORIGINAL . loss and dung*, soy the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his herd. And indeed, there is no more proportion between our best performances and eter nal life, than there is between a crown and a dunghill: Yea, he reckoned, that his sufferings ' for Christ, which were the greatest as well as the purest part of his service for him, were not worthy to he compared with the glory which (hall be revealed: So little reason had Mr Harrison, from the apostle's mouth, to conclude, that he bad been viewing a crown, the lustre of which was to bear a proportion to his attainments and labours. But no more of this. I go on to consider another faulty paragraph of his, which you will find in page 20, it runs thus, " Should it not then raise our wonder, to the highest " pitch, that he will recompense us for these stjort services which are very imper- " self, with an incorruptible crown ? That he will send his only begotten Son " from his throne in heaven, to meet us, and conduct us to everlasting man- " sions ? well might St John fay k Cod is love." The fame spirit of error ap pears in this as in the former paragraph j but if any thing, it appears here more barefaced : He acknowledges that our services are short, and very im perfect -, and yet fays, that God will recompense us for them, and that with an incorruptible crown. Alas ! what profit and advantage can our short and im perfect services be to God, that he should recompense us for them after this, manner ! ' Who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? " Verily, there is a reward for the righteous j but not for his own righ teousness fake, but for the righteousness of Christ imputed to him, which only can truly and properly denominate him a righteous man. " Jn keeping if the commandments of God, there is great reward even in this world, but not for keeping of them j much less in that which is to come. God indeed does reward his own grace which he has bestowed upon his people, and there fore faith, hope, confidence, &c °. have a great reccmpence of reward even now, and will be found unto praise ', and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Christ -, but God never rewards his people for their services, though he re wards them in his service -, for when they have done all they can, they have done but their duty, and must acknowledge themselves 9 unprofitable servants. Heaven is indeed called the reward of the inheritance ', and the recompense of the reward -, but as the apostle Paul fays ', the reward is not reckoned of debt, but of grace. , Give » Phil. Hi. 8. * Rom. viii. 18. * 1 John iv. 8. ' Rom. xi. 34. » Psal. lviii. 11. » Psal. xix. it. • Heb. x. 35. * 1 Pet. i. 6. » Luke xvii. 10. * Col.* iii. B4. . • Heb. xi. 26. • Rom. iv. 4.

OF FUNERAL SERMONS, &c. 6it Give me leave, Sir, to transcribe one paragraph more, which is in page 2'i, " Let me therefore, fays he, recommend this to you with the greatest earnest- *' ness, that you would now secure the favour of your judge : if you think " seriously on the subject, you will confess, that it deserves your best regards, " whatever the language of your practice has been." If by the favour of the jddge, he means the love of Jesus- Christ to sinners, that is not to be secured now, nor does it need any security from creatures. Christ fixed his love upon his people before the world began u : When there was no depth, no fountains abounding with water, .while as yet God had not made the earth, nor the fields,, nor the highest part of the dust of the world, Christ was rejoicing in the ha bitable parts of his earth, and his delights were with the sons of men-, and these have continued with them ever since ; for having w loved his own which were in the world, he loved them to the end. There is no danger of losing his love and favour where it is once fixed, for it is like himself, the fame yesterday, to-day, and for ever%. There can be no alteration made in it, nor any separation from it, for who r, or what shall separate us from the love of Christ ? But if by se curing it, he means getting an evidence, a manifestation, a knowledge of interest in his love, why must the Spirit of God be neglected as useless ? And why is the creature set to work for it alone, without any hint of gracious assistance from him, especially when it is his peculiar work z to take of the things of Christ, and shew them to us; the love of Christ % and shed it abroad in us -, and so b to direct our hearts into it, that c we may be able to comprehend with all faints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ which paffetb knowledge. Again, if by the favour of the judge, he means the favourable regards of Christ, considered in that cha racter to criminals, and that those favourable regards are to be secured by their application to him, it is a vile reflection on him, as the judge of the whple earth, who always will do right ; whose judgment is, and ever will be, according to truth, not to be governed by favour and affection to any. He is of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord*, he will not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of bis ears, but with righteousness will be judge the poor, and reprove with equity, for the meek of the earth. He is not to be bribed with any of the gifts, presents, or services, that any of his creatures are capable pf bringing him ; his favour is not to be secured by any method of theirs': Will he esteem their riches ? No, not gold, nor all the forces ofstrength. ... Could ^rov. viii. 24, 26—31. * John xiii. 1. x Heb. xiii. 8. t Rom. viii. 35. 2 John xvi. 15. » Rom. v. 5. . *.* TheJT. iii. 5. c Eph. iii. »8, 19. d Isa. xi. 3, 4. • Job xxxvi. 19. " .

6%z AN ESSAY ON THE ORIGINAL Could they give him thousands of rams, or ten .thousands of rivers of oil, these would not ingratiate them into his favour : all their repentings, cries, and tears, can never work upon bis affections •, nor can all their services and per formances recommend them, to his regard : nothing short of a perfect righ teousness, answerable to the righteous law by which all shall be judged, will be taken notice of by him. If he of his own grace and favour, as a Saviour, does not secure them by cloathing them with his own righteousness, they can never secure his favour, as a judge, by any thing they can do. The saints themselves will be admitted into heaven, not by the favour of the Judge, but by the righteousness of the Redeemer ; their acquittance before men and angels will not be an act of favour but of righteousness. The fame degree of strict justice will appear in the awful procedure with them, as with others f-, for we must all appear before the judgment feat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his bodyt. according to that be hath done, whether it be good or bad: and at this bar, their only security will be the righteousness of the Son of God, which will be sufficient, according to the strict rules of justice, to answer for them. If therefore Mr Harrison has any regard to the salvation of the souls of men to whom he preaches, he ought to direct them, not to seek the favour of the Judge, but the grace and. righteousness of the Redeemer. I shall not, Sir, trouble you any longer with remarks of this kind. I can not but observe, that this is the usual strain of Funeral Sermons published to the world ; for which reason I cannot have the greatest opinion of them. I must confess there are some exceptions from this observation, and I take Mr Richardson's sermon to be one, which was preached upon the fame subject, and for the same purpose as this. There are many things in it, which I persuade myself will be grateful and pleasing to you. I will just give you some few hints, which shew his regard to the doctrines of the Gospel. In page 18, he gives a plain intimation of his faith in the doctrine of elec tion •, a doctrine that has always been a burthensome stone, an immoveable rock to all its adversaries, where, speaking of the glories of heaven, he has these words, "There, fays he, the whole elect of Jesus, who have lived in the «♦ different ages, and dwelt in the several corners of the world, shall make ** one glorious body, one triumphant assembly." In page 14, he expresses himself on the head of Christ's suretyship engage ments, and undertakings for his people, and his compleat performance of them, after this manner : «« As the Redeemer failed not in any part of his «' undertakings ' 2 Cor. v. io,

OIF FUNERAL SERMONS, &c. 623 " undertakings for his people, agreeable to his own engagements, so the Fa- " thcr has obliged himself to bestow all the glory and felicity upon his feed, " which he has purchased for them." Which is a brief summary of the covenant of grace. Again, page 1 a, speaking of the righteousness of Christ, he has expressed his sentiments very judicially, " When, fays he, the Christian hath made the ** greatest advances in holiness, he cannot but reflect upon the whole of His *' conduct with shame and blushing : it is in the righteousness of the Redeemer " only, we can appear spotless at the throne of God •, this is the Christian's " sole dependence, this his joy, this his comfort, under a view of his own " imperfections, even this, that he has a righteousness to trust to, and depend " upon, which is equal to all chat the law has demanded." This one single paragraph, I will venture to say, is worth Mr Harrison's whole sermon. In page 22, he ascribes the work of grace in its implantation and exercise, to the Spirit of God, and asserts the absolute necessity of it, to the perform ance of good works with acceptance ; where, speaking of the meetness or fit ness of saints for Christ's appearance, he fays ; " This, divines call either •' habitual or actual ; by the former, they understand those graces that accom- 11 pany salvation, and are implanted in the soul by the Holy Spirit, whereby '* they are turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, «' And by the latter, -a lively exercise -of those graces implanted by the Spirit; " for grace in the soul is an active principle, and the best teacher of good ** works, without which indeed, none can be performed acceptable unto God." And, in page 11, he fays, that " God carries on this work, notwithstanding " all difficulties and oppositions, with victorious efficacy." He asserts, in page 10, the necessity of " receiving strength from Christ for performing the ** several parts of evangelical*obediehce." And in page a, gives his thoughts of the final perseverance of the feints, in these words ; " Many snares are laid " in the Christian's way to hinder his progress towards heaven; yet is he " enabled to walk agreeable to the rules which Christ has prescribed, without " being led away with the error of the wicked, or falling from his own V stedfastnefs." These, Sir, 1 presume, are the reasons why this discourse was slighted and discouraged, and designed to be stifled in the embryo, never tohave seen the light!; the above doctrines not being agreeable to the taste of the polite part of the town ; but sure I am, they are so to every one that has tasted that the Lord, is graeitus : And I am very glad to observe, that they were to the lady \.r ■ ■ ■. 1 I--)-- »:i ; deceased,

624 AN ESS AY ON THE ORIGIN AL deceased. I think that part of her character, which Mr Richardson has given, adds a glory to the whole of it, when he tells us g : " Her hopes of everlast:- ." ing life, as she declared to him, were entirely placed on Christ and his righ- «' teoulness, using these words, There we are safe." But, Sir, before I conclude, I must beg leave to return again to Mr Harri son. He has been pleased to favour us with the oration which he delivered at the grave. I shall not trouble you with remarking his unguarded sentences, his low thoughts, and mean compliance to a certain set of men, which are too visible in it : I only think, it is pity he had not published his own prayer, and the Lord's prayer, with the benediction at the end of it, which it seems were also delivered at the time of interment, and then we should have had a com- . pleat form of service for the burial of the dead. He observes to us, that " The service frequently performed amongst the Dissenters, at the burial of " the dead," is in this form, whereas there are but very few Dissenters in the nation that use any service at all, at the burial of their dead, but in this city of London ; where the greatest part also make no orations at such times, and some of those that do, make no prayer at all, and still fewer use the Lord's prayer : But perhaps, our Orator, is in expectation of making this practice, in time, more common by his example. He has also published an ode, sacred to the memory of the deceased lady : I confess, Sir, I have but little judgment in poetry, yet I am ready to conclude, , it is the best of these his performances. In the dedication of his sermon to the worthy gentleman and lady there addressed, he appeals to their fenses, that it was composed at their request, though in order to be preached by another ; and therefore it is very cautiously expressed : " A request, fays he, which was contrary to my expectation," and, indeed, an unheard of one, and which a man of any honour would never have complied with ; though he has the vanity to add, " but founded on reasons 44 which both to you and to me (fine language !) appear to be capable of the ** fullest vindication." And pray now, What were these reasons ? Why, suspicions of Mr Richardson's ability to compose, preach, and publish a ser mon, which might be acceprable. What little reason there was for those suspicions, the world is now capable of judging, seeing the discourse is made public ; and you, Sir, may easily conclude, from the few hints I have ex tracted out of it, Mr Harrison tells them, " A very small time was allotted M him for finishing the discourse •," time enough, unless it had been better performed. He goes on with compliments upon Sir and Madam, and con cludes with praying for them, that they might long " enjoy together the «* blessings « Page 30.

OF FUNERAL SERMONS, ice. 625 *' blessings of an indulgent providence," that they might be " eminently useful, •' and extensively happy ;" which, by the help of transposition, would make a beautiful sentence ; and that, *' at last," they might " receive a distinguishing ** crown :•" but whether he means one different from that in the text, I cannot fay. I subjoin to this, that I apprehend it would not have been amiss, if he had had the ingenuity to have acknowledged, that the character which he gave in his sermon of the deceased lady, was drawn up by this gentleman to whom the dedication is made •, whereas, he has published it to the world as his own, without giving the least hint of it. Andjfiow, Sir, I shall detain you no longer; excuse the freedom I have taken with you. If the reading these lines gives you any satisfaction, or the publishing of them may be a means to reform this vain man, I shall heartily rejoice : only I desire you would observe, that Mr Richardson is entirely igno rant of the contents of this letter, that he knows nothing of my writing to you on this subject, nor of my design to do so ; nor has he in the least insti gated me to ic lara. Sir, Your very much obliged, &c. Vol. HI. * L , A

6i6 A DECLARATION OF T H E DECLARATION OF THE FAITH and PRACTICE O F T H E CHURCH of CHRIST In CARTER-LANE, SOUTHWARK, Under the Pastoral Care of Dr JOHN GILL; Read and assented to ac the Admission of Members. HAVING been enabled, through divine grace, to give up ourselves to the Lord, and likewise to one another by the will of God ; we account it a duty incumbent upon us, to make a declaration of our faith and practice, to the honour of Christ, and the glory of his name -, knowing, that as with the heart man believetb unto righteousness, so with the mouth confession is made unf salvation ' ; which declaration is as follows, namely, L We » Rom. to. 10.

F A I T, H AND PRACTICE, &c. 627 I. We believe, That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, are b the word of God, and the only rule c of faith and practice. II. We believe, That there is but one * only living and true God : that there arec three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, who are equal in nature, power, and glory j and that the f Son and the Holy Ghost % are as truly and properly God as the Father. These three divine persons are distinguished from each other, by peculiar relative pro perties : The distinguishing character and relative property of the first person is begetting \ he has begotten a Son of the fame nature with him, and who is the express image of his person h ; and therefore is with great propriety called the Father ; The distinguishing character and relative property of the second person is that he is begotten ; and he is called the only begotten of the Father, and his own proper Son ' •, not a Son by creation, as angels and men are, nor by adoption, as saints are, nor by office, as civil magistrates are -, but by na ture, by the Father's eternal generation k of him in the divine nature •, and therefore he is truly called the Son: The distinguishing character and relative property of the third person is to be breathed by the Father and the Son,, and to proceed from both ', and is very properly called/^ Spirit, or breath of both. These three distinct divine persons, we profess to reverence, serve, and wor ship as the one true God"V III. We believe, That before the world began, God did elect" a certain number of men unto everlasting salvation •, whom he did predestinate to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ of his own free grace, and according to the good pleasure of his will ; and that in pursuance of this gracious design, he did contrive and make a covenant ° of grace and peace with his son Jesus Christ, on the behalf of those persons ; wherein a Saviour p was appointed, 4 l 2 and k s Tim. 3. 15 —17. 2 Pet. 1. 21. e John 5. 39. Acts 17. 11. a Pet. 1. 19, *o. * Deut 6 4. 1 Cor. 8. 6. 1 Tim. r. 5. Jer. 10. 10. r I John 5. 7. Malt. 28. 191 ' John 10. 30. Phil, 2. 6. Rom. 9. 5. 1 John 5. 20. * Acts 5. 3, 4.. 1 Cor, 3. 16, 17. 2 Cor. 3. 17, 18. k Psal. 2. 7. Heb. I. 3: 1 John 1. 14. Rom. 8. 3,. 32. . . k Psal. 2. 7. 1 JOD 33- 4- PW. 33. 6. John 15. 26. & chap, 20. 26. & chap. 20. 22. Gal. 4. 6. - m l John 5. 7, :Matt; 4. lo» n Eph. 1. 4. 1 Theff. 1. 4. and chap. 5. 9. 2 Thcss. 2. 13. Rom. 8. 30. Eph. I. 5. 1 John 3, 1. Gal. 4. 4, 5. John 1 12. * 2 Sam. 23, 5. Psal. 89. 3, 28, 34, Isa. 42. 6. » Psal. 89. 19. Isa. 49. 6.

62I A DECLARATION OF THE and all spiritual * blessings provided for them ; as also that their ' persons, with all their grace ' and glory, were put into the hands of Christ, and made his care and charge. o IV. We believe, That God created the first man, Adam, after his image, and in his likeness, an upright, holy, and innocent -creature, capable of serv ing and glorifying him ' : but he finning, all his posterity sinned in him, and came short of the glory of God " ; the guilt of whose sin is imputed* ; and a corrupt nature derived to all his off- spring descending from him by ordinary and natural generation r : that they are by their first birth carnal and unclean ; averse to all that is good, incapable of doing any, and prone to every * sin : and are also by nature children of wrath, and under a sentence of condemna tion * ; and so are subject, not only to a corporal death b, and involved in a moral one, commonly called spiritual c ; but are also liable to an eternal death11, as considered in the first Adamy fallen and sinners; from all which there is no deliverance, but by Christ, the second Adam*. V. We believe, That the Lord Jesus Christ, being set up from s everlasting as the Mediator of the covenant, and he having engaged to be the* Surety of his people, did in the fulness of time really assume' human nature, and not before, neither in whole, nor in part ; his human soul being a creature, ex isted not from eternity, but was created and formed in his body by him that forms the spirit of man within him, when that was conceived in the womb of the virgin ; and so his human nature consists of a true body and a reasonable soul •, both which, together and at once the Son of God assumed into union with his divine person, when made of a woman, and not before > in which nature i a Sam 23. 5. Isa. 55. 3. Eph. 1. 3. * Dcut. 33. 3. John 6. 37, 39. and chap. 10. »8, 89. Jude 1. * 3 Tim. 1. 9. Eph. 1. 3. Col. 3. 3, 4. ' Gen. 1. 26, 27. EccleC 7. 29. Psal. 8. 5. " Rom. 5. 12. and chap. 3. 24. * Rom. 5. it, 14, 18, 19. 1 Cor. 15. 22. Eph. 2. 3. r Job 1 4. 4. Psal. 51.5. John 3. 6. Ezek. 1 6. 4—6. 1 Rom. 8. 7, 8. and chap. 3. 10—12. Gen. 6, 5. ■ Eph. 2. 3; Rom. 5. 12, 18. b Gen. t. 17. Rom. 5; xe, 14. Heb, 9. 17. c Matt. 8. 2t. Luke 15. 24, 32. John 5. 25. Eph. 2. 1. d Rom. 5. 18. and chap. 6. 63. Eph. 1. 3. * Rom. 6. 23. and chap. 7. 24, 25, and chap. 8. 2. 2 Tim. 1. 10. I Cor. 15* 45, J7» * Prov. 8. (2, 23. Heb. 12. 24 » Psal. 40. 6—-8. Heb. 7. 22. * John 1. 24. Gal. 4. 4. Heb. 2. 14, 16, 17.

F A I T H . A N E) ; f £ A G T I C E, &c. 659 pmtre he really suffered, and died ' a* the suhstiwte of his people, in their room and stead ; whereby he made all that satisfaction k for their sins, which the law and justice of God could require, as well as made way for all those blessings ' which are needful for them both for time and eternity. VI. We believe, That that eternal Redemption which Christ has obtained by the shedding of his blood a is special and particular : that is to fay, that it was only intentionally designed for the elect of God, and sheep of Christ, who only (hare the special and peculiar blessings of ic. VII. We believe, That the justification of God's elect, is only by the righteousness" of Christ imputed to theroi without the consideration of any works of righteousness done by them j and that the full and free pardon of all their fins and transgressions, past, present, and to come, is only through the blood of Christ % according to the riches of his grace. VIII. We believe, That the work of regeneration, conversion, fanctisication, and faith, is not an act of p man's free-will and power, bvt PJF the mighty, efficacious, and irrefistable grace * of God. IX. We believe, That all those, who are chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sanctified by the Spirit, shall certainly and finally ' persevere ■, so that not one of them shall ever perish, but shall have everlasting }jfe, X. We believe, That there will be a resurrection of the dead ', both of the just and unjust ; and that Christ will come a second time to judge ' both quick and 1 Rom. 4. a J. 1 Cor. 15, 3. Eph. 5. z, 1 Pet. 3. 18. k Rom. 8. 3, 4. and chap. 10. 4. Isa. 42. 21. Rom. 8. 1, 33, 34, ' 1 Cor. 1. 30. Eph, I» 7# " Malt. 20. 28. John 10. ii, 15. Rev. 5. 9. Rom. 8. 30. * Rom 3. 28. and chap. 4. 6. and chap. 5. 16—19. * Rpau j. (j. Eph. 1. 7. Col. t. 13. 1 Jpbpi. 7, q. » John 1. 13. Rom. 9. 16. and chap, 8. 7. * Phil, 8 13. 4. Tim. 1. 9. James i. 18. 1 Pet. 1. 3. Eph. 1. 10. Ib. 43- 13. ' Matt. 24 24. John 6. 39, 40. and chap. 10. 28, 29. Matt. 16. 18. Psal. 125. 1, "., 1 Pet. 1. 5. Jude 24. Heb. c. 13. Rom. 8. 30. * Acts 24. 1;. John 5. 28, 29. Dan. 12. 2. I Heb. 9. al. Acts 17. 31. a Tim. 4. 1, 2 Thtss. 1. 7—10. 1 Thcss, 4. 15—1?.

63o A D E CLARATION OF THE . and dead ; -when he will take vengeance on the wicked, and introduce his own people into his kingdom and glory, where they shall be for ever with him. XI. We believe, That Baptism a and the Lord's Supper are ordinances of Christ, to be continued until his second coming ; and that the former is abso lutely requisite to the latter ; that is to fay, that those x only are to be admitted into the communion of the church, and to participate of all ordinances in itr, who upon profession of their faith, have been baptized % by immersion, in the name of the Father', and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. XII. We also believe, That singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs vocally b, is an ordinance of the Gospel, to be performed by believers ; but that as to time, place, and manner, every one ought to be left to their c liberty in using it. Now all, and each of these doctrines and ordinances, we look upon our selves under the greatest obligation to embrace, maintain, and defend ; believ ing it to be our duty d to stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving toge ther for the faith of the Gospel. And whereas we are very sensible, that our conversation, both in the world and in the church, ought to be as becometh the Gospel of Christ0 j we judge it our incumbent duty, tof walk in wisdom towards them that are without, to exercise a conscience g void of offence towards God and men, by living h soherly, righteously, and godly in this present world. And as to our regards to each other, in our church- communion ; we esteenrv it our duty to1 walk with each other in all humility and brotherly love; to " watch k over each other's conversation j to stir up one ' another to love and good ■ Matt. 28. 19, 20. 1 Cor. 11. 23—26. x Acts 2. 41. and chap. 9. 18, 2&. y Mark 16. 16. Acts 8. 12, 36, 37. and chap. 16. 31 —3^. and chap. 18. 8. 3 Matt. 3. 6, 16. John 3. 23. Acts 8. 38, 39. Rom. 6. 4. Col. 2. 12. • * Matt. 28. 19. * Matt. 26, 30. Acts 16. 25. • i Cor. 14. 15, 26. . Eph. 5. 19. Col. 3.- 16» c James 5. 13. * Phil. 1. 27. • Jude 3. ■ Phil. 1. «7 * Col. 4. 5. ( Acts 24. 16. . h Tit. 2. it. 1 Eph. 4. 1 —3. Rom. 12. 9, 10, 16. Phil. 2. 2, 3. * lev. 19. 17. Phil. a. 4. J Heb. 10. 24, 25.

FAITH AND PRACTICE, &c. 631 •good works ; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, fas we liave opportunity, to worship God according to his revealed will •, and, when the cafe requires, to warn ", rebuke, and admonish one another, according to the rule* of the Gospel. Moreover, we think ourselves obliged " to sympathize with each other, in all conditions, both inward and outward, which God, in his providence, may bring us into ; as also to ° bear with one another's weaknesses, failings and in firmities -, and particularly to pray for one another p, and that the Gospel, and the ordinances thereof, might be blessed to the edification and comfort of each Others fouls, and for the gathering in of others to Christ, besides those who are already gathered. All which duties we desire to be found in the performance of, through the gracious assistance of the Holy Spirit ; whilst we both admire and adore the . grace, which has given us a place, and a name in God's house, better than that of sons and daughters q. ■ 1 Theff. 5. 14. Rom. 15. 14. Lev. 19. 17. Matt. 1S. 15—17. n Rom. 12. 15. 1 Cor. 12. 26. • Rom. 15. 1. Eph. 4. 12. Col, 3. 13. » Eph. 6. i8, 19. 2 Theft. 3. 1. « I&. 56. 5V I N S. ^'

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