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 ^"^S/C/LSBi^Vi^ 
 
 E s s ^ Y ; 
 
 O N T H E 
 
 Scheme and Conduct, 
 Procedure and Extent 
 
 O F 
 
 MAN'S REDEMPTION. 
 
 Wherein is fliewn, from the Holy Scriptures, that 
 
 This great Work is to be acco?7JpIified by a 
 
 gradual Rejioration of Ma?! and Nature 
 
 to their primitive State, 
 
 To which is annexed 
 
 A Dissertation on the Defigii and 
 Argumentation of the Book of JOB. 
 
 ■ - - ■ ■ - I - - ■ - - I ■ . _L 
 
 The Second 'Edition improved and enlarged. 
 
 By William vvorthington, M.A. 
 Yicar of Llanrhaiadr in Mochnant, in the County 
 5wt / 70 5 -lit). i77P.'^'^ 'Denbigh. ^^ 
 
 xj X^oXti) >^ «T» fA£fa?" CJem. Alex. Strom, lib. 7. 
 
 i think I fee plainly a gradual workiyig of Providence towards the i?^- 
 demption of the World from the Curfe of the Pall. 
 
 BiOiop Sherlock's Prophecy. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for Edward Cave, at St John\ Cats, 
 M.DCC.XLVIII. 
 
THE 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THERE being fo many writings daily 
 publiflied with a manifeft deiign of 
 vilifying and degrading Chriftianity, 
 it is to be hoped that an attempt to give 
 men more honourable and exalted notions 
 of it will not need any long Apology. 
 
 The chief advantage which the writers on 
 the iide of InJideUfy have had, and which 
 they have well underflood how to ufe for the 
 fervice of their caufe, has been drawn from 
 what unguarded expreffions, and injudicious 
 and unfavourable reprefentations they could 
 pick up, out of the writings of its Friends^ 
 which they turned as arguments agalnft Re- 
 ligion itfelf. This hath occaiioned feveral 
 points to be reconfidered of late, by which 
 means they have been fet in a better light, 
 and explained with greater accuracy. But 
 it is prefumed that this work hath net been 
 fo fully and completely executed, with re- 
 gard to the whole and every part of Religion ; 
 but that it may be ftill farther carried on, and 
 admit of farther improvements. 
 
 The following EJjdy pretends to no more 
 than to fuggeft fome hints of this kind, the 
 Author being of opinion that the mofl ef- 
 feftual method of filencing Infidelity will be 
 
 to 
 
ii 7X^ P R E F A C E. 
 
 to aim at fuch Improvements in the Explana- 
 tion of Chriilianity, that the moft induflrious 
 malice of its advcrfaries will be at a lofs to 
 find out ought againfl: it. 
 
 It is true, their inventions of late have been 
 fo fertile of Objedions, that their quiver hath 
 been full of them j but they have fo plentifully 
 fr2ot cut their arrows^ which have generally 
 been none other than bitter -uDords^ and ground- 
 lefs inved:ives, that v/e may reafonably con- 
 clude they begin by this time to be exhaufted : 
 Nor has their fuccefs been any better than to 
 have procured fuch Anfvvers, as have retorted 
 them upon themfelves, and given fatisfadtion 
 to all candid and unprejudiced minds. 
 
 But tho' it ihould be granted that difficul- 
 ties might be raifed which could not be rea- 
 dily folved on our prefent fyllems, or under 
 the prefent ftate of Chriftianity j yet if Chri- 
 fiiianity be in its nature progreffive towards 
 a fiate of greater Perfedion, with regard both 
 to Knowledge and Pradice, as it is prefumed 
 it will, from the following Eilay, appear to be ; 
 a fair examiner will make fuitabie allowances 
 in this refped — will not look for that from an 
 imperfeB^ which belongs to a perfect ^2Xt -^ 
 and tho' he does not fee all his fcruples re- 
 moved at prefent, yet he will not from hence 
 peremptorily conclude that they are unfur- 
 mountable, and that they may not poffibly be 
 all cleared up hereafter. 
 
 Nor will it be thought any imputation up- 
 on Chriftianity, that all its myflerics and doc- 
 trines 
 
The PREFACE. vii 
 
 trines have not been as yet fully difcovered and 
 underftood, if it be confidered, that no human 
 fcience hath been brought to fuch perfection 
 as not to admit of farther improvements, many 
 of which began to be cultivated long before 
 the commencement of Chriflianity. Nay, 
 what proficiency hath been made in our idoi- 
 reafon itfelf, notwithftanding fuch fufficiency 
 is attributed to it ! Tho' it was reduced to rules 
 of art, fome ages before Chrift, yet have its 
 improvements been but very inconilderable till 
 of late years. And what do its attainments a- 
 mount to at prefent ? Alas ! juft to fo much as 
 ferves to puff it up with pride and conceit, a 
 certain iign of its weaknefs and imperfection ! 
 And if this boailed Light 'within us, be fo faint 
 and glimmering, that it is, indeed, compara- 
 tively, but 'Darhiefsj why fhould it be ex- 
 pelled that the great myfleries of the Gofpel 
 fhould be clearly {^(^"[1 thro' by us ? Is it not 
 rather an argument of its divine original, 
 that its depth and height is fuch as not to be 
 fathomed by our fhort line ? It has from the 
 beginning been fufliciently intelligible to all ca- 
 pacities, with regard to the great and moft ne- 
 celTary purpofcs of prad:ice and filvation, tho' 
 all its doctrines may not yet be fo clearly ex- 
 plained, as to filence the cavils of gain-fayers ; 
 to fatisfy the curiofity, and overcome the pre- 
 judices of thofe whofe lulls prompt them to 
 feek out objedions againfl it, as they tempt 
 them to wifli it were falfe. 
 
 Notwithftanding fo many ages have pa fled 
 
 fince 
 
iv TX^ PREFACE. 
 
 lince Chrift, yet Chriflianlty hath not been 
 confidered in all its views ; though it hath in 
 fo many, as have not a little contributed to 
 the illuftration of it. In the firft ages of the 
 Gofpel, the Apologifts and Advocates of the 
 Chriftian caufe were enga'ged in combating 
 Heathenifm and Judaifm on the one hand, 
 and the many Herejies that fprang up within 
 the Church itfelf, on the other. It had fcarce 
 been well eftablifhed before it began to be 
 woefully rent with fchiftns ; and foon after this, 
 all learning, divine and human, were, in a 
 manner, banifhed the world ; and men's 
 fludies, from this time downwards, were em- 
 ployed only in perverting and corrupting our 
 moft holy religion ; till at length the divine 
 providence brought about the Reformation, 
 the natural and neceifary buiinefs of which, 
 was to confute and purge off thefe errors a- 
 gain, and to vindicate the Protellant Faith. 
 Soon after this, Sectaries began to fpring up 
 among us, and men's labours were then 
 fpent in difputing modes of worilnp and dif- 
 cipline, and other particulars, fome of which 
 were idle enough. And the reafonablenefs 
 and excellence of our moft holy. Religion, 
 having never been called in queftion, was ta- 
 ken for granted by all -, and, therefore, not 
 much confidered till Socinianifm firft, and 
 Infidelity afterwards, began to try their 
 ftrength with it, to ftrike at its foundation, 
 and iliake the main pillars of it j wherein 
 they have hitherto fucceeded no better, than 
 
 in 
 
r/je TREF ACE. > 
 
 in caufing it to ftrike the deeper root, and more 
 firmly to eftablifli itfelf, having given occailon 
 to many excellent treatifes w^hich have greatly 
 contributed to its honour and advancement, but 
 of which the world had other wife been deprived. 
 
 The promoting of the fame great end, viz. 
 the honour and advancement of Chriflianity, 
 is the deiign aimed at in the following Iheets, 
 which if, ill any meafure, they anfwer in the 
 main, it is to be hoped, that whatever lefTer 
 flips or errors may have efcaped the Author's 
 diligence, will be pardoned and overlook'd 
 by the reader. 
 
 I have only to add, That the Di/Jerf/ifion 
 on the Book of Jol^, having a near Relatioi! 
 to the fubjedt of the EJJ'ay, and a tendency 
 to illuftrate it, is not improperly annexed to 
 it. If the Hypothecs I go upon be right, 
 it will, moreover, be of no fmall fervice for 
 the underftanding of that difficult Book j and 
 tho' it fhould prove wrong, yet will it not af- 
 fect the argument of the EJJay, the truth 
 of which does not depend upon it. Both the 
 one and the other are offered with that fub- 
 miffion to the judgment of the publick, which 
 ought to attend do6trines that carry the ap- 
 pearance of novelty or lingularity. 
 
 With regard to this fecond Edition, the 
 reader will find fome few Improvements and 
 Additions both' in the Text and Notes ; the 
 moft confiderable of which are, i . An attempt 
 to account for the hiftory of the firft four 
 day's work of the Creation in the firft Chap- 
 ter 
 
vi r/5e PREFACE. 
 
 ter of Genejis, on the principles of true philo- 
 fophy. /». no. 2. The true grounds of Mo^ 
 fes's filence concerning the dodrine of a fu- 
 ture ftate. /. 93, and 366. 3. 1 have been ob- 
 liged to add notes on fome particular palTages 
 in the Diflertation, in order to vindicate them 
 againft the Objections of the Rev, Dr Richard 
 Grey in his Anfwer to Mr Warbiirton^ vi^hich 
 I hope the reader will find done to his fatif- 
 fadion. 
 
 A SUM^ 
 
^Summary o//^^ CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE State of the Queftion propofed to be 
 difcLiiTed in the enfuing Treatife p. 3, 
 Apology for it p. 4. The Ufefulnefs and 
 Expediency of the Enquiry, p. 5. 
 
 C H A P. I. 
 
 0/ the State of Man before the Fall -, particularly, of 
 the Nature, Improvement, and Decay of Man's 
 Perfection in it, together with a Conjecture concern- 
 ing the Duration of this State -, whereby fonie Cir- 
 cumfiances relating to the Mofaic Account of it are 
 cleared up, and vindicated p. 7. 
 
 Different Opinions concerning the firft State of Man 
 p. 8. The Nature of his Perfeclion /^. Meafure 
 of it 10. Confident with fome Failings /i*. Na- 
 ture and Defign of the Tree of Life 12. Man's 
 Faculties gradually impair'd, and by what Means 
 13. Duration of the paradifiacal State 15. Eve 
 excited to eat of the forbidden Fruit by her Long- 
 ing ib. Her Eating occafioned an Abortion 16. 
 Objedlions anfwered on the foregoing Hypothefis 
 17. Adam how furnifhed with Ideas 20. And 
 Language ib. Author of Chrifiianity as Old ^c. 
 cenfured ib. Adam not immediately placed in Pa- 
 radife 21. His naming the Creatures accounted 
 for in a natural Way 22. Another Objection of 
 the above Author's removed ib. Original Excel- 
 lence of Man vindicated 23. Adain and Chrift 
 compared 25. Happinefs of the primitive State 26. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
The CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. 11. 
 
 Gf the Fall, the Confequences, and Permijfion of ii. i 
 wherein the principal Difficulties relating to thefe 
 Subje^s are attempted to be removed p. 27. 
 
 The Fail of Man accounted for ih. The Devil per- 
 fonating a Seraph impofcs uponEw 28. HisDif- 
 courfe with her 29. Wherein her Crime confift- 
 ed 30. Illuftrated by a parallel Cafe 3 1 . Origi- 
 nal Sin. Confequences of it, with regard to Adam 
 and Eve in their own Perfons. 32. To the Brute 
 '^■^. And inanimate Creation 34. And to Po- 
 fterity ib, Explain'd and vindicated with Regard 
 to the Guilt 35. Propagation ib. And Impu- 
 tation of it 38. And other odious Confequences 
 charged upon it by Mr 'Taylor 40. Permiffion of 
 Evil demonftratively cleared and vindicated 42. 
 Corollaries deduced from the foregoing Demon- 
 ftration afcertaining the Laws of Grace and Li- 
 berty 45. The Heads propofed to be difcuff^d 
 in the remaining Part of the Treatife 4^. 
 
 C H A P. m. 
 
 CdHtaining Remarks on the State of Mankind after 
 the Fall in the Antediluvian World : JVhence it 
 will appear that God, in all his Difpenfations du- 
 ring this Period, had a View to their Amendment 
 and Reformation p. 50. 
 
 Favourable Circumftances in the Sentence of our firft 
 Parents ib. The "VVickednefs of Men, and the 
 Curfe on the Ground increafed gradually e^c^. 
 Caufcs of it e^G. ^/Zo^r^^'sTrandation, what it ty- 
 pified 57, Longevity of the Antediluvians ac- 
 counted for 58. Other Accounts of it examined 
 ';8. Dcftruction of the old World unavoidable 
 
 62. 
 
The CONTENTS. 
 
 6i. Deluge typical of the future State of the 
 Church 6^. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Remarks 07i the State of Man and Nature after thn 
 Flood ; particularly concerning the Removal of the 
 Cur fe from off the Ground p. 6^. 
 
 Bifhop Sherlock's Notion concerning the Removal of 
 the Ciirfe on the Ground examined 66. The Au- 
 thor's Notion of it 72. Stated and confirmed 73. 
 Noah's Drunkennefs apologized for 78. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Containing fome farther Remarks on the State of the 
 JVorld in the early Ages of it^ particularly with re- 
 gard to the Caiifes which retarded its Reformation 
 during this Period p- 79. 
 
 Difadvantages of Mankind in the early Ages So. 
 To which God's Dealings with them were 
 fuited 8 1 . His Preference of the Ifraelites ac- 
 counted for 83. And vindicated from the Abufes 
 of the moral Philofopher 85. State of Morality 
 in thefe Ages 86. Caufes of the Slownefs of Re- 
 formation in thefe Periods 92. The true Reafon 
 why a future State is not more infilled upon in 
 
 . the Mofaic Difpenfation 93. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Of the Reformation wrought in the IVorld in the Jges 
 preceding the Gofpel p. 95. 
 
 Good Effeds of the Confufion and Difperfion of 
 Babel for this Purpofc 96. Regard had hereto 
 in the Divifion of the Nations 97. The Call of 
 
 b yir 
 
rhe CONTENTS. 
 
 Abraham ferviccable to this End 98. What the 
 Mofaic Difpenfation contributed to it. 1. With 
 regard to the Jews themfelves 102. 2. To Man- 
 kind in general 103. The Heathen Religions im- 
 proved by the Jcwijh, and their Philofophy in a 
 great meafiire borrowed from Mofes 107. The 
 Philofophicalnefs of Mofes* Account of the Crea- 
 tion fliewn with regard to that of the firft four 
 Days Work of it 108. The World pre-difpoied 
 for the Coming of the Mejfiah 121. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Concerning the Reformation wrought in the TVcrld by 
 means of Chrijlianity p. 123. 
 
 Small Extent and Influence of Chriftianity apolo- 
 gized for, I. From a Comparifon of it with the 
 true Religion in the preceding Ages 124. 2. The 
 Oppofition of its Enemies 125. 3. Difficulties of 
 the Warfare we maintain 127. 4. Antichriji by 
 perverting the Gofpel helps to confirm it, by fur- 
 nifhing an Evidence of its Truth 128. 5. Bene- 
 fits of the Reformation from Popery 131. ^ery 
 from the fuppofed better Lives of Infidels, whe- 
 ther the World is really bettered by Chriftianity 
 137. Anfwcred iji in general ib. idly particu- 
 larly 141. 
 
 CHAP. VIII, 
 
 Containing fome general Obfervations on the Improve- 
 ment of the Worlds in its civil Capacity 143. 
 
 The firft State of Nature and the prefent compared 
 144. Advantages of Traffick 146. Improve- 
 ments in civil Government ib. Common Preju- 
 *lice that theWorld grows worfe andworfe, remo- 
 ved 
 
The CONTENTS. 
 
 vedi50. Improvements in Learning 1 54. Benefits 
 of the Invention of Letters 155. Mr Sbuckford's 
 Account of their Invention ib. And Mr fVar- 
 burton^s difprov'd 157. Proved to have been 
 tauglit by God to Mofes 158- .An Argument that 
 the Egyptians borrowed their Cuftoms from the 
 Ifraelites^ not thefe latter from them 168. Pro- 
 pagation, Decay, and Revival of Learning 169. 
 Its fuccecding Progrefs 171. The two laft Ages 
 compared 173. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Containing fame Account of Notices given to^ and of 
 the Notions and ExpeUations which prevailed among 
 the Antients, Jews, Heathens^ and ChrifianSy 
 with regard to the future Rejloration and Renova- 
 tion of the World 175. 
 
 Traditions among the Jeios^ and Allufions in their 
 Law to a renovated State ih. Notions of a reno- 
 vated State among the Heathens 179. Inferred 
 
 I . From the profeffed End of their Philofophy and 
 Religions ih. 2. The Do6lrine of two Principles 
 180. 3. The Golden Age 18:5. The Renova- 
 tion of the World held by Plato^ and others 184. 
 And like wife by the primitive Fathers under the 
 Notion of a Milk?inium 186. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Ul)erein it is fJjcwn, that this Hypothefis^ which 
 'maintains the Rejloration of the World to its original 
 PerfecJion before its final Dijfolution^ is agreeable to 
 our Notions of the Attributes of God, to thr Na- 
 ture of Man, and Reafons of Things p. 187. 
 
 Firft, this Notion is lliewn to be agreeable to the 
 
 di- 
 
The CONTENTS. 
 
 divine Wifdom, Power, Juftice, Honour, Good- 
 nefs 1 8 8. And to the Nature of Things 189. 
 An Objeflion anfwered ib. Another Objedion 
 taken from the Shortnefs of the paradifiacal State, 
 anfwer'd 193. This Notion agreeable to the Na- 
 ture of Man 194. 
 
 CHAP. XL . ■ 
 
 Wherein is Jhewn^ that the Chrijlian Religion^ in the 
 general Deftgn and 'Tendency of it^ is calculated for 
 the Recovery of fallen Man to his primitive State 199. 
 
 This fhewn firft from the Nature and Defign of 
 Chriflianity in general ih. From its being repre- 
 fented as a State of Perfection 107^. True No- 
 tion of Perfeftion dated, and the Attainablenefs 
 of it 208. Chriilian Perfedion equal to original 
 Perfedion proved sjl from the Chara6ler and Of- 
 fice of our Saviour, as Redeemer 210,. The 
 common Notion of Redemption examined 211. 
 Definition of perfonal Redemption in general, and 
 of Chriftian Redemption 214. Socinian Objec- 
 tions anfwered 2 1 5. Our Saviour's Life and Ex- 
 ample a Proof that Man (liall regain his original 
 Ferfeftion 219. Proved likewife from the Nature 
 and Tendency of Chrifl's Laws 223. From the 
 Means of Grace 227. From God's Concern for 
 the Honour and Succcfs of his Religion 230. 
 And from the Afliftances of his Holy Spirit 2 3 1 . 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Containing particular Proofs from Scripture of Man''s 
 future Recovery of his primitive State 237. 
 
 Texts relating to the Enlargement and Amplitude 
 of ChrilPs Kingdom w. Nature of ChrilP« 
 
 King- 
 
TJoe CONTENTS. 
 
 Kingdom occafionally explained 241- That it is 
 to be an univerfal Theocracy 244. Prophecies 
 concerning the Converfion of all Nations 245. 
 Gentiles; and Jews^ their Reftoration, and re- 
 building of their Temple and City 247. Return 
 and Settlement of the ten Tribes 249. Holinefs 
 of the future State of the Church 253. Inferred 
 from fome Gofpel- Precepts which fuit only fuch 
 a State 260. From the Promife'of the peculiar 
 Prefence of God, and plentiful Effufion of the 
 Holy Ghoft 261. Increafe of Knowledge in the 
 latter Ages 263. Objedions anlwer'd2 65. Pro- 
 phecies of the flourifhing and peaceable State of 
 the Church 270. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Of the MILLENNIAL State, and that which ts repre- 
 fented by new Heavens and a new Earth : 
 Wherein fome Errors relating to thefe States are at- 
 tempted to be r edified, and the true Notions of them 
 explained 278. 
 
 I . Of the Millennium, miftaken Opinion of the An- 
 tients concerning it 279. Accounted and apolo- 
 gized for 280. Dr Whitby' % Notion of it efpoufed 
 281. The Fall of Antichrifl calculated 283. 
 And the Commencement of the millennial State 
 285. And of the Reftoration and P».e-eftabliPa- 
 ment of the Jews 287. State of the new Hea- 
 vens and Earth e^jplained 293. Diftinft from the 
 millennial State 294. Notwithftanding it is none 
 other than an earthly State 29;. Dr 5?ir«^;'s No- 
 tion of the new Fleavens and. Earth examined and 
 difproved 298. His Argument from 2 Pet. iii. 
 13. particularly confidered 301, 307. The lafl: 
 Generation of Men all Rigliteous 310. Matt. 
 
 xxiv. 
 
The CONTENTS. 
 
 xxiv. examined and explained ib. Dr Burnefs 
 Argument from there being no Sea in the new 
 Heaven, i^c. refuted. That Paffage in Rev. xxi. 
 
 1. explained 314. The remaining Characters of 
 this State explained, i. The divine Prefence 318. 
 
 2. Tlie Removal of natural and moral Evil 320. 
 
 3. Reftoration of the paradifiacal State 321. 4. 
 And Removal of t]\Q Curfe 3 2 3. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Concerning the Removal of the natural Evils of Life 
 in general, and. in their fever al Kinds 326. 
 
 *] he Removal of natural Evil in general proved 
 from Reafon ih. and Scripture 328. A Re- 
 demption of the whole natural Creation. 
 Prophecies relating to the future Fertility of the 
 Earth 331. Reftoration of the brute Creation 33-3. 
 A confiderable Clafs of Evils removed by thefe 
 Means 335. Recovery of human Nature with 
 regard to Health 337. The Woman's Sentence 
 repealed 339. Recovery of long Life 343. Ex- 
 emption from Death, and an immediate Tranfla- 
 tion into Heaven 350. Objections anfwered 354. 
 Proved to be the Reward of perfe6t Obedience 
 364. Apology for the whole 372. 
 
 The Conclufion, by way of Application to three 
 Sorts of Men, Jcuos^ Deifis^ and Chrijiians 375. 
 
 Contents of the Dissertation. 
 
 Mr Warburton*s Hypothefis concerning this Book 
 examined, anci proved to be without Foundation. 
 Some previous Matters to be difcuffed. i. Dif- 
 ficulties in the Book of Job according to the 
 
 com- 
 
rhe CONTENTS. 
 
 common Interpretation of it 394. 2. The Age, 
 Family, and Religion of Joby and his Friends, 
 and the Author of the Book ,of Job enquired 
 into 405, 3. 'J he Fhilofophy tiien in Vogue 400. 
 4. Defign of the Book 412. viz'. To reprefenc 
 in thePerfon o^Job the various Revohitions of hu- 
 man Nature 41 3. 5. The Controverfial Part of ic 
 defigned againll the Do6lrine of the Mcte:npfy- 
 chcjis /\.i'j. Proved from feveral Expreffions in 
 the Speeches of Job and his Friends 422. Elihn 
 moderates in the Difpute44i. Equity of God's 
 Decifion of it 442. Dignity of the Subjecl of this 
 Poem according to this View of it ib. How ir 
 removes the foregoing Difficukies 443, 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 PAGE 1 8. line 35, for it is necejfary, read // is 
 not necejfary. p. 94. note 1. 15. for f crip t^€, 
 Y. fcriptd. p. 143. Ch. 8. for the running title to 
 p. 162. r. Improvement of the World in its civil Ca- 
 pacity, p. 152. 1. 18. for fecuring^ r. to fecure. 
 p. 165. 1. 23. for they, r. thy. p. 170. 1. 13. for 
 Room, r. Rome. p. 185. 1. 3. for believe, x. believed. 
 p. 294. for the running title to p. 321. r. State of 
 the new Heavens and Earth explained. p. 317. 1. 
 9. for required r. requireth. p. 320. 1. 27. dele the. 
 p. 337. 1. 8. for heaven, r. health. p. 398. n. 1. 
 27. iov gnaviter, x.graviter. p. 210. 1. 4 and 5. 
 for or, r. to. ib. I. 28. for in, r. on. p. 211. 1. 
 29. for there, r. thereby. p. 238. 1. 26. for/o r. 
 at the end of &c. p. 251. 1. 9. deje late. p. 
 371. 1. 4. for through, r. thought. 
 
ESSAY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 Sche77te and ConcluEl^ &c. of Mans 
 Redemptio?i. 
 
 The INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IN the hiftory of the Creation we are informed, 
 that God in the beginning of time fpake all 
 things into being ; and that the whole world, 
 with all that is in it, was the produ6t of his almigh- 
 ty power. And as it is impoffible for the great 
 Architedl of the univerfe to be the Author of any 
 thing that hath the lead flaw or blemifh in it, or 
 that is not completely perfect in its kind j fo we 
 are told, that as well upon a particular review of 
 every day's work, as a general furvey of the whole, 
 he pronounced his judgment of approbation upon 
 all and every part of it. And God Jaw every thing 
 that he had made^ and behold, it was very good. 
 Gtn. i. 31. 
 
 But it could not be long after this great work 
 of the Creation had been finifhed,, and every thing 
 relating to it adjufted and let in order, when all was 
 in a manner fpoiled and. ruined : For, the very 
 next thing we have an account of is, that much 
 dilbrder and confufion was introduced into the 
 world i the beautiful fcene foon difappear'd, and 
 the face of things underwent a remarkable change 
 for the worfe ; infomuch that the ill effeds of it 
 are but too vifible even to this day. 
 
 It ill becomes us to enquire why God almighty 
 
 had not better fecured his v/orks againit the at- 
 
 B tempts 
 
2 "The INTRODUCTION, 
 
 tempts of inferior beings, but fuffer'd them to be 
 abufed and defaced almoft as foon as they came out 
 of his hands. Known unto God are all his works 
 from the beginning of the world. Ad;s xv. t8. And 
 he giveth not account of any of his matters. Job 
 xxxiii. 1 3. He that made was undoubtedly able to 
 preferve, and to baffle all the efforts of his enemies. 
 But if it tended to the more glorious difplay of the 
 divine Attributes, and was better upon the whole to 
 bring Good out of Evil, than to have prevented it; 
 the bare pofTibility of the truth of fuch a fuppofi- 
 tion, tho* it could not clearly be proved, ought to 
 make us more modeft in ourcenfures of the ways 
 of Providence, and filcnce our complaints againft 
 xkit pe rmiffion of Evil, tho* to the caufing of fo 
 much inconvenience as it brought along with it into 
 the world. 
 
 Neverthelefs, the origin of Evil is a problem, 
 than which there is not any that men have in all 
 ages exercifed their curiofity and rack'd their wits- 
 more about ; nor concerning which their difquifi- 
 tions have proved more unfuccefsful % having 
 tauglit us little elfe than that we ought to be con- 
 tent with our ignorance of fome things, and capti- 
 vate our reafon to the reafon of God. 
 
 And tho' I do not hereby m^eanto condemn the 
 endeavours of learned men to folve this difficulty, 
 having been made neceffary by the monftrous and 
 dangerous tenets to which it hath given birth ; yet 
 it is fomething ftrange that another quefcion, near- 
 ly allied to and naturally refulting from this, hath 
 hitherto been fo entirely overlook'd by all. A que- 
 ftion of fo much greater concern and importance 
 for us to be refolved in, as it is of greater ufe to 
 knov-', how any great cal.imity under which we la- 
 bour, is to be removed, tlian to be informed how 
 it happened, 
 
 L The 
 
State of the ^ejlion, 3 
 
 The Queftion I mean is this : 
 Since it hath pleaCed God to permit Evil to 
 be introduced into the world, how long it fhall 
 prevail, — whether it will continue till the final 
 difTolution of all things, — or whether there be 
 not a poffibility of its being overcome fooner -, 
 and that mankind Ihall at length arrive atfuch a 
 pitch of proficiency under the gofpel difpenfa- 
 tion, that there fhall be no remains left of fin 
 or evil of any kind ; fo as that human nature, 
 as well as nature in general, Ihall recover the 
 Perfedions in which it was created ? 
 
 I muft iatreat the reader not to be furprized 
 at xht Jirangenefs and Jingularity of the quellioii. In 
 this inquifitive age a great many odd things are 
 ftarted, and fcarce any fubjeft efcapes the fcrutiny. 
 I am fenfiblc, that the general corruption which 
 ftill reigns in human nature — the prejudice which 
 men in all ages have againft their own times — 
 and the vulgar opinion, that the v/orld grows worfe 
 and worfe — mankind more degenerate — and the 
 feafons more unfavourable — have made men fo far 
 defpair of an univerfal Reformation and Recovery 
 from the ill confequenccs' of the Fall, that the pof- 
 fibiUty of it hath fcarce ever enter'd their thoughts. 
 And I am apprehenfive the fuppofition will b." 
 looked on as fuch a ftrange and extravagant para- 
 dox, that to oflvr anything in fupport of it, will 
 feem like the preaching of a new Gofpel. 
 
 The imputation of novelty, Jays a judicious au- 
 thor, ' is a terrible charge, amongfc thofe who 
 *■ can — allow of none to be right, but the received 
 
 * dodrines. Truth fcarce ever yet carried it by 
 
 * vote any where at its firft appearance. New opi- 
 
 * nions are always fufpefted, and ufially oppofcd 
 
 B 2 " without 
 
4 Apology for its 
 
 ' without any other reafon, but becaufe they are 
 ' not ah'eady common. But truth, like gold, is 
 ' not the lefs fo, for being newly brought out of 
 ' the mine. 'Tis tryal and examination muft give 
 ' it price, and not any antique fafhion : And tho' 
 ' it be not yet current by the publick ftamp -, yet 
 ' it may, for all that, be as old as nature, and is 
 ' certainly not the lefs genuine.' * Scripture is a 
 rich and unexhauftible mine, which, no lefs than 
 nature, ever affords room for the difcovery of new 
 treafurcs : And tho' the mere affedlation of novel- 
 ty be jufdy culpable, and hath often led men into 
 dangerous errors, yet every attempt of this kind 
 ought not haflily to be condemn'd as fuch, becaufe 
 it may prove to be juft-ified by the fanction of our 
 Saviour Chrifi's own approbation ; who tells us, 
 that every f crib e which is injlrulfed wnto the kingdom 
 of Heaven^ is like imio a man that is an houfeholder^ 
 which hringeth forth out of his treafure things new 
 /2}7d old. Mat. xiii. 52. 
 
 I lliall beg leave to offer but one finglc confide - 
 ration to incline the reader's candour towards the 
 opinion I am advancing, which is, that I think he 
 will find nothing in it that is any ways hurtful in itfelf, 
 or dangerous in its confequences ; it being meant — 
 not to derogate either fnjm the honour of God, of 
 the chrifliian Religion, or of human nature, but on 
 the contrary to do honour to them : And I am fa- 
 tisfied, tho' it Hiould not prove true, yet when it 
 comes to be confidered in its confequences, all good 
 men v/ill wifn it were fo. If this therefore be an 
 error, it is a well-meant, and therefore, I hope, a 
 pardoniible one. It is an error on the right fide ; 
 en the fide of charity. But I muft own withal, 
 tjiat it is a v<jry unfalliicnable one. It is an error in 
 
 favour 
 
 * Loik ^i epiflle dedicatory of his effiiy on human undtrfland- 
 
^he TJfefulnefs and ^ 
 
 favour of chriftianity and revealed religion j and 
 mifreprefents them, (if indeed it doth miir.-prefcnt 
 them,) by attributing /(?£> w/^f^ to them, v/hich, in 
 this age, I confels, is a great fmgul;'.rity. 
 
 But on the other hand, this opinion conceives no 
 lefs highly of human nature, the perfe6lion3 of 
 which, in its prefeht ftate, are greatly magnified 
 by a particular iett of men \ and to fuch, one v/ould 
 think, it could not be ftrange or difagreeable. And 
 yet I forefee it is likely to be difrelillied moft by 
 that very tribe \ becaufe, how great foever the 
 boafted lufficiency of their light and reafon be, they 
 would not ftand obliged to Jeftis Chrift for any of it. 
 
 The difculfionofthis queftion will perhaps con- 
 tribute fomething towards fettling the meafures of 
 our powers and faculties, a fubjed; which hath been 
 much controverted of late ; will fix the improve- 
 ment of them upon its true bottom, and difcover 
 the feveral degrees of our Itrength and weaknefs, 
 diilemper and cure, the lapfe and recovery of our 
 nature. It will give us a view not only of our own 
 microcofm, but likewife of the great world about 
 us, together with the various changes and revolu- 
 tions, which both of them have already futfjred, and 
 hereafter fhall undergo. Laftly, herein will be tra- 
 ced the feveral Ifeps of tiie divine fcheme, proce- 
 dure, andoeconomy, in contriving and accomplifh- 
 ing the recovery and reftoration of fallen man. 
 
 The great myilery of our Redemption indeed 
 contains fuch a wonderful train and fcries of wifdom 
 and policy •, and our faculties are fo difproportionate 
 to comprehend the length and breadth, depth and 
 height of it, that it is impoOible for us, v/ho fee 
 only thro' a glafs darkly, to have any other than a 
 narrow and imperfe(5l, dim and glimmering view 
 of it. And tho' our underftanclings were much 
 more enlarged than they are, tho' we had capicities 
 big enough to take in an adequate idea of it, yet 
 B 3 as 
 
6. Expediency of this Enquiry. 
 
 as this great drama is at prefent but in 'the ading, 
 and many fcenes of it are Hill behind, many more 
 iperhaps than we are apt to imagine, and the plot 
 withal fo deeply laid in the great Counfel of God, 
 it were impoiTible for us at prefent wholly to unra- 
 vel it, and it were prefumption to pretend to it ;. 
 infomuch that probably it will not be fully com- 
 prehended by the higheft order of intelligences, till 
 fuch time as the whole comes to be wound up, 
 and this ' myjlery of God Jhall he finijhed.'' Rev. x. 17. 
 However, there being already fo much of it re- 
 vealed as is proper for us to know in this life, and 
 much more than Chriflians have been hitherto able 
 to collecSt from it, this being what the holy i^ngels 
 likewife make their ftudy, and defire to look intOy 
 (i. Pet. i. xii.) it becomes man more efpecialiy, 
 who is the proper, and, as far as appears to us, the 
 fole object of the great work of Redemption, to be 
 very diligent in his fearch into the divine oracles, in 
 order to inform, himfelf, fo far as his refearches can 
 carry him, of every thing relating to this great truth. 
 To proceed, therefore, the more methodically 
 and difcindliy in this enquiry, and to difcover the 
 extent and fulnefs, as well as nature and neceffity of 
 the Redemption wrought by Chrijt, it will be re- 
 quifite to conlider, 
 
 Firfi^ What the original ftate of man was. Second- 
 ly^ By what means, and how much it became alter'd 
 for the worfe. Thirdly^ how far the Redemption a- 
 fcribed to Jefus CZt//? v/illbeeffedtuai towards the re- 
 covery of that ftate. 
 
 This method the nature of my undertaking de- 
 termines me to chufe, becaufe the do6lrine of Re- 
 demption being founded upon the fuppofition of 
 yfi«?«'s Fall, wemuft firfl confiderwhat the fcrip- 
 tiire fhews we loll in Adam^ before we can under- 
 ftand what we are reilored to by Jefus Chriji. 
 
 C 11 A P- 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 Of the ji ate of man before the Fall -, particular^- 
 ly^ of the nature^ improvement^ and decay of. 
 maffs f erf eB ions in it-, together with a con- 
 jednre concerning the duration of this fate ; 
 whereby fome circumftances relating to the 
 Mofaic account of it, are cleared up a?id viji^ 
 dicated Jrom the objeBions made againft them, 
 
 ON E of the Roman hiftorians, when he 
 fat down to write the hiilory of that ilkif- 
 trious people, confidered them as one 
 man •, and as fuch he points out the infancy, youth, 
 maturity, and old age of that ftateand nation. * 
 
 The following difcourie treats of the hiftory, 
 not of one people, but of the whole race of man- 
 kind ; and in order to prevent and remedy, as 
 much as may be, that diftradion and diffipation of 
 thought, which fo enlarged and extenfive a pro- 
 fpecft naturally occafions, and to relieve and ftreng- 
 then the eye of the mind by contraAing it, the rea- 
 der is here, once for all, defired to look upon the 
 human nature throughout this trcatife in the like 
 view ; that is, to confider it as one perfoii, or one 
 progreflive whole, wliich notv/ithllanding it has 
 greatly increafed and multiplied, and diitufcd itfeif 
 thro' an infinite number of individuals, yet origi- 
 nally was but one-, which as a common root or 
 ilock, like Nebuchadnezzar'' s tree, -f hath fprout- 
 ed out into innumerable branches, and fpread itfeif 
 into all the ends of the earth. And it is but natu- 
 ral to fuppofe, that there is Ibme refemblancc and 
 analogy between the growth and progrefs of the 
 fpccics in general, and that of its individuals. To 
 enter now upon the dcfign of this chapter. 
 
 B 4 Ther^ 
 
 * L. Florus in Proo^mio, f Dan. iv. 
 
8 State of Man 
 
 There is nothing wherein there have been wider 
 differences of opinion, than concerning the primi- 
 tive ftate of nian •, which fome have conceived fuch 
 extravagant and chimerical notions of, as if he had 
 been fometliing more than man, and placed, not 
 in an earthly, but heavenly, paradife ; whence it 
 v/as natural for them to conclude our Fall to have 
 been fo great, that we muft for ever defpair of a 
 recovery. 
 
 Others again have funk this ftate fo low, that 
 they allow Adam to have had no perfedlions fupe- 
 riour to other men •, that confequently we have 
 loft nothing, are not fallen or degenerated at all, 
 but as upright and perfect as ever -, which is flatter- 
 ing the diftemper, and making vis believe we are 
 well, and need not a phyfician, when at the fame 
 time we labour under all the fymptoms of difor- 
 der : And both ways men have been prevented 
 from entertaining any thoughts of the reftoration 
 or advancement of their natures. 
 
 In tracing, therefore, the perfections of Adam 
 in his ftate of innocence, we are not to regard the 
 reveries of Rabbins and others concerning them, on 
 the one hand, whereby they are extolled to fuch a 
 height as quite exceeds nature, and is no more cre- 
 dible than what fome have dreamt of his gigantic 
 ftature : And on the other, we are efpecially to be- 
 ware of the more dangerous fuggeftions oi Deijts 
 and Sodnians, who would fain reduce the firft man 
 to a level with his pofterity, and thereby deftroy 
 the neceflity of a Redeemer : Between both thefe 
 extremes I fhall endeavour to fteer the middle 
 courfe, and to follow nature, reafon and fcrii^ture 
 as my only guides. 
 
 That man was made upright^ i. e. in an exa(ft 
 rectitude of all his faculties, and endued with a ca- 
 pacity 
 
before the Fall. g 
 
 pacity -f of knowledge and wifdom, and every other 
 intelledlual and moral perfedion fuitable to his flate 
 and nature, in an eminent degree, is what might 
 be imagined no man could doubt of, who believed 
 him formed by an Almighty hand, guided by infi- 
 nite wifdom and goodnefs •, whence he miift necef- 
 farily be endowed with all qualities perfeftive of his 
 nature, as well as eflential to it : 'For otherwife the 
 workmanlhip of God had been defeftive, which is 
 no lefs abfurd than impious to fuppofe. § 
 
 But fince we are moreover taught, ibat God 
 created man in his own image and liken efs^ Gen. 
 i. 26, 27, this muft greatly raife our conceptions, 
 and give us the nobleft idea of the original dignity 
 of the human nature -, it not being poflible to con- 
 ceive how it could be more emphatically fet forth. 
 
 For the compleating of this divine pi6i:ure a 
 concurrence of many lineaments muft be fuppofed 
 requifite -, and it argues too much narrownefs to 
 confine it to that one charafter of refemblance 
 pointed out in the context, viz. dominion over the 
 creatures -, efpecially as frripture hath given us fuf- 
 ficient intimations of other fignatures, no lefs ex- 
 preflive of the divine fimilitude ; it being explain'd 
 by St Paul to confift in a difpojition for knowledge, 
 and likewife in right ecufnefs and true holinefs. Col. 
 iii. 10. Eph. iv. 24. And, indeed, it is allowing 
 the words of Mofes no more than their due weight, 
 to underftand them in the utmoft extent the fubjeft 
 they are applied to is capable of, provided the idea 
 we ' conceive of the divine image doth not exceed 
 
 nature, 
 
 T Tf^nof (5 Ada/x) xxroi rilt xa,ra<TXivi» sx lytiuro, Wfoj Js to xvx- 
 
 CUm. AUx. Strom. Lib. VI. 
 
 5 Man was included in the charafler of 'very good, which 
 wKcn God pronounced, it was a. applicable to him as any other 
 of his works. 
 
io Nature and Meafure 
 
 nature, nor impeach -what we are tol^, and the 
 event hath juftified, concerning the debafement of 
 it in the Fall. The perfedlions of Adam ^txt un- 
 doubtedly great, but ftill they were- the perfeftions 
 of a man •, and if we would conceive rationally of 
 them, they ought to be meafured according to the 
 meafure of a man. He was endowed with the fame 
 pov/er and faculties of mind, and the fame appetites 
 and inclinations of body with the reft of the fpecies. 
 He had the fame natural wants to fupply, and the 
 individual was to be fupported, * and the fpecies 
 propagated ■!■ by the fame means as at prefent. 
 And the employment of man, in the paradifiacal 
 ftate, was to have been much the fame in kind, as 
 it hath been ever fince. For, we are told, that the 
 Lord God took the man and put him into the garden 
 of Eden to drefs it and keep it. Gen. ii. 15. The 
 only difference was in the degree •, nature being then 
 fo kind and free in its produftions, that the culti- 
 vation of it was not a toil, but apleafure, of which 
 it might be faid. Labor ipfe Voluptas •, and which 
 ■confifted more in pruning its luxuriances, and keep- 
 ing it from running into diforder, than in alTifting 
 its weaknefs, or repairing its decays. Farther, 
 
 Since Adam was created liable to the great offence 
 of eating the forbidden fruit, it is no abfurdity to 
 fuppofe him fubjed to leffer failings : If it was pof- 
 fible for him to tranfgrefs wilfully, much more fo 
 was it to falter in his duty through ignorance, in- 
 firmity, or furprize. And yet we do not find, that 
 he was to lofe paradife, but upon the commiffion 
 of that one particular tranfgreffion, to which alone 
 the denunciation of death likewife was confined. 
 Whence we may conclude, that the paradifiacal 
 ftate was not inconfiftent with fome failings of a lef- 
 fer 
 
 * Gerr.'ii. g, 16, 17, 21. f lb. 23, 24. 
 
Of Man's Perfedficn, 1 1 
 
 lerand more venial nature. For let it be confider'd, 
 that all created perfection implies fome degrees, 
 more or lefs, of imperfeftion, there being none ab- 
 fblutely perfe6t but he who is infinitely fo, whofe 
 peculiar prerogative it is to be exempt from all im- 
 perfed:ion. The higheft order of Angels, even the 
 Seraphim that wait at the throne of God, out of a 
 conlcioufnefs of their defects, cover their faces in his 
 prefence, Ifa. vi. i . * And Eliphaz in Job pofitive- 
 ly fays, that He chargeth his Angels with folly, and 
 that the Heavens are not clean in his fight. Ch. iv. 
 1 8. XV. 15. Since God, therefore, if he were to 
 go to extremities, might mark fomething amifs, 
 even in the holy Angels, and Heaven itfelf is not 
 abfolutely pure and fpotlefs, it is no more contrary 
 to fcripture than reafon to fuppofe, that man might 
 not have been entirely faultlefs, and yet have conti- 
 nued in paradife, and kept his nrft eftate •, which 
 ftill might have been reckon' d a ftate of innocence, 
 notwithftanding thefe blemifhes, at leaft compara- 
 tively fo. 
 
 The Remonftrant Divines maintain, that our firfl: 
 parents in their original ftate were not exempt from 
 the firft motives of concupifcence, and that this 
 was very confiftent with the innocence of that ftate, 
 as they do not reckon the firft tendency of the af- 
 fections towards Evil to be finful : And herein they 
 feem to be countenanced by the Apoftle St James, 
 who perhaps had the firft tranfgrefllon in his eye, 
 when he thus defcribes the gradual formation, birth, 
 and product of fin. Every man is tempted, when* 
 he is drawn away by his own liifi, and enticed ; then 
 when hift hath conceived, it bringeth forth fin, and 
 fin, when it is finifjed, brijigeth forth death. Jam. 
 i. 15. Indeed, if ^^^w had not been liable to any 
 
 irregular 
 
 * Compare Col. i. 20. 
 
12 Man*s Faculties 
 
 irregular defires, he had not been liable to fin, and 
 temptation would have had no efFeft upon him j 
 but as the event was a proof of his being obnoxious 
 to fin, he muft Ijave been fo likewife to all thoie 
 inclinations that led to it. 
 
 And that this was really the cafe feems probable 
 from the appointment of the Tree of Life, Gen. 
 ii. 9. of which if we form a judgment by the Tree 
 of Life mentioned in the Revelations, Ch. xxii. 2. 
 which is analogous and correfpondent to it, we may 
 perhaps be induced to think, from the variety of 
 fruit it bore, the conftant fupply of it, and the heal- 
 ing virtue of its leaves, that the defign of it was 
 to repair all the decays, natural and moral, both of 
 the outward and inward Man •, and that conftant 
 recourfe might be had to it for that purpofe upon 
 all occafions, as need required ; whereby at length 
 human nature had been advanced and improved 
 both in body and foul to fuch a degree of perfec- 
 tion, as to be qualified for being tranQated from a 
 terreftrial to a celeftial Paradife. But that this Tree 
 was defigned only for repairing bodily decays is 
 furely too low a notion of it : For as the infedtion 
 of the Tree of Knowledge extended to the Soul, 
 the fanative virtue of the Tree of Life, its oppofite, 
 muft have been defigned to have reached thither 
 likewife ; fo that the one was as falutary at leaft as 
 the other was mortiferous, whatever more fo ; for, 
 the Tree of Life feems to have been capable of con- 
 ^ ferring Lnmortality even after eating of the Tree 
 
 ^Vivi'i J /f^ftf Knowledge, Gen. iii. 22. The nature of it may 
 ow ?ioTM«perhaps be farther explained hereafter, when I come 
 rtcvM ^*^h> HQ confider its antitype, the evangelical Tree of 
 ^i ;^'^!''''^ife, from which alone any farther light can be re- 
 )vt\ cf fleftedupon it. 
 
 ^y<{.<i cf But whatever the nature of it was, our firft Pa- 
 afrci rents, we may ilippofe, growing fecure in their 
 r JyovKi^s^ioi, ^rC} cov^VcvvW* iio Innocence, 
 
 )crf [ItMsl H>c2i i^oO >cvc^ lo^Ha 
 
imparted gradualy. 13 
 
 Innocence, and neglefting to improve and cultivate 
 their faculties, began by degrees to be impair'd in 
 them ; and difregarding to renew and invigorate 
 them by having recourfe to the Tree of Life, (which / 
 it is plain, from Gen. iii. 22. they never tailed of) P 
 they chofe rather to gratify and indulge their appe- 
 tites by eating of other fruit more inviting to the 
 eye -, which likewife proving delicious to the palate, 
 they gradually grew wanton in their plenty, andab- 
 iifed the bounty of Heaven to that degree, that 
 at length the Tempter found them ripe for his pur- 
 pofe, and was permitted to pra6life his wiles upon 
 them -, which yet we cannot fuppofe would have 
 been permiitted him, or, in cafe it had, they would 
 have been enabled to withftand the aflault, had they 
 not, previouQy to this, behaved in fome manner or 
 other difpleafing to God, whereby he was provo- 
 ked to withdraw his grace and prote6lion from 
 them. Thus the fuperior powers of the Soul being 
 impair'd by the faculties of fenfe, the plenty of 
 our firft Parents became a fnare to them, and an 
 occafion of fm ; which by the bye is an undeniable 
 proof of the expediency and wifdom of a Law to 
 lay a reftraint upon their appetites, and fhews with 
 how little reafon the inhibition to eat of the Tree of 
 Knowledge of Good and Evil is cavill'd at. 
 
 I do not fee any ill confequences this opinion is 
 chargeable with •, on the contrary, the permifTioa 
 of the Fall feems moll capable of a folution on this 
 fuppofition ; for, the Attributes of God may be 
 better vindicated, and the great guilt and heinouf- 
 nefs of Adani's Tranfgrefiion is more conceivable 
 by fuppofing it, as is molt natural, to have been 
 contracted gradually, and introduced by a train of 
 preceding follies, levities, and flights of divine ad- 
 monitions. 
 
 The Reader may have obferved, that the con- 
 tinuance 
 
14 Diiratioji of the 
 
 tinuance of our firft Parents in Paradife is here fup- 
 pofed to have been much longer than is generally 
 imagined j and therefore I remark in the next 
 place, 
 
 That the crouding of fo many things within the 
 compafs of one day (which is all the time allowed 
 by fome) looks more like fo many imaginary fcenes 
 or theatrical reprefentations than real tranfaftions. 
 ' For when we read of Adam-, in the fame day that 
 
 * he was created (and that was not till God had 
 
 * made every beaft of the field) having a Garden 
 ' planted for him, removing into it, and as we may 
 ' well fuppofe, walking about and taking fome 
 ' furvey of it \ receiving from God the prohibition 
 ' of eating of the Tree of Knowledge, and there- 
 
 * upon ratifying the firft great Covenant with him:* 
 After that, havino; all the Creatures afTembled be- 
 fore him, making fome enquiry into the nature of 
 each kind, and impofing upon them proper names, 
 a work of time ! — Then ialhng into a deep fleep 
 ' — his Wife taken out of his fide, and with fome 
 
 * formality, to be fure, received by him from the 
 ' hand of God. When we read of all thefe things, 
 ' I fay, we cannot but think, that fome time muft 
 ' have been taken up in the doing of them. And 
 
 * therefore to fuppofe after this, that in the clofe 
 ' of the fame day, the Woman wander' d from her 
 
 * Hulband, met with the Serpent, enter'd into a 
 ' parley with him, was overcome by his inlinua- 
 ' tions, did eat of the forbidden Fruit, did prevail 
 
 * v/ith her Hufband to do the fame, and thereupon 
 ' perceiving themfeives naked, both did inftantly 
 ' fall to work, and make themfeives aprons: — To 
 ' fuppofe, that in the fame evening, God comes 
 ' down, fummons the Criminals betore him, hears 
 ' their excufes, decrees their punifhments, drives 
 ' them out of Paradife, and places Cherubim to 
 
 ' guard 
 
Faradifiacal Jlate. 1 5 
 
 ' guard all avenues againft tiicir return. — This is 
 ' crouding too long a feries of bufineis into too 
 
 * Ihort a compafs of tiniej and thereby giving an 
 
 * handle to infidelity, when there is no manner of 
 ' occafionfor it.' * 
 
 Nor does the fpace of eight or ten days, allowed 
 by others for yidam's continuance in Paradife, much 
 mend the matter. Indeed this opinion leems to be 
 the moft groundlefs of the two. The reafon why 
 the paradifiacal ftate is fuppol^ed to have been but of 
 one day's duration is, becaufe they who thought 
 fo, imagined ^dam muft not have had knowledge 
 of his Wife in Paradife •, either groundlefly believ- 
 ing it inconfiftent with that ftate of innocence, or 
 fuppofing he had known her, fli.; mull then have 
 conceived and borne ifllie in confequence of that 
 knowledge, and of the bieffing pronounced, be 
 fj-uiifid and multiply. Gen. i. 28. which IfTue would 
 riot then have been conceived in fin ; as we mufl: 
 maintain all Adam's. Chikiren were, to avoid the 
 confequences of the contrary opinion. But if we 
 allow them to have continued in Paradife for fuch 
 a number of days, we cannot well avoid fuppofing ^- 
 that they had knowledge of each other, as indeed 
 the antient Jews conclude they had, in obedience to 
 the command above-mention'd, he fruitful and mul- 
 tiply \ and therefore we may as well fuppofe they 
 continued there near feven months : And this, indeed, 
 ^ feems to have been the cafe. Jdam knew his Wife, 
 and flie conceived ; but fome time before the term 
 of her pregnancy was fulhll'd, flie was tempted to 
 eat of the forbidden Fruit : And perhaps the condi- 
 tion fhe was in might have the more excited her -f 
 
 longing 
 
 • Siadhu/e'c hiftory of the bible. F'J. i. P. 30. 
 ■f- Tho' IJay above, that £z'A pregnancy migl.t ha\-e contri- 
 buted to excite her longing to taile of the forbidden fruit ; ye; I 
 
1 6 Durafio?i of the 
 
 longing for it ; when /he faw that the Tree was good 
 for food^ and that it was a dejtre to the eyes (as it is 
 in the margin of our bibles) and a 'Tree most desi- 
 rable to make one wife, (which is the full import 
 of the participle lon^ Gen. iii. 6.) than which what 
 can be a ftronger defcription of a Woman in a long- 
 ing condition ? 
 
 However, eat flie did : And the dreadfulnefs of 
 the Sentence denounced againft her, the horror of 
 mind excited in her by the fenfe of her guilt, and 
 her regret for the lofs of Paradife, threw her into 
 fuch a confternation as occafion'd an Abortion •, all 
 which caufes together muft be allowed to have been 
 more than fufficient to produce fuch an effed in 
 Eve, fince much lefs occafions every day the like 
 in her Daughters : And as much feems to be im- 
 plied in her Sentence. — / will greatly multiply thy 
 Sorrow, and thy Conception, Gen. iii. 1 6. / will 
 greatly multiply thy Conception, — That is, thou fhalt 
 conceive much oftner than otherwife had been ne- 
 cefiary, by reafon of the frequent mifcarriages to 
 which thou fhalt be liable. It is, therefore, natu- 
 ral to fuppofe, that this Sentence immediately took 
 
 place, 
 
 will not pretend to maintain, that it proceeds from any original 
 conftitution of nature, that pregnant Women are more fubjedl to 
 longings than others. I am rather inclined to believe, that in 
 Eve it was occafioned by the indulgence of her appetite in eating 
 immoderately of other Fruits ; which irregular paffion growing 
 upon her with her pregnancy, became daily more and more cra- 
 ving, till at length it was heighten'd to that degree, that fhe fell 
 an cafy prey to the Tempter, in tranfgreffing the limits prefcri- 
 bed by God. 
 
 If this account be allowed of, we here find the origin of thofe 
 longings which Women with child are (o liable to; which are fo 
 extravagantly eager and ungovernable, and likewife oftentimes fo 
 flrange and whimUcal, that Naturaliits are at a lofs how to account 
 for ihetn. What was at firR accidental to pregnancy, became by 
 degrees interwoven with it, and makes part of the Curfe entail'd 
 upon the Wom^n, having been derived down from Eve to her 
 Daughters, ever fmce. 
 
State accounted for. 1 7 
 
 place, and hath continued as a part of the Woman's 
 Curfe ever fince. 
 
 And thus we have prolong'd the time of our firft 
 Parents continuance in Paradife to fuch a length as 
 fcems more worthy of God, as well as more a- 
 grceable to reafon. But we cannot extend it far- 
 ther, becaufe of the confequences of fuppofing E've 
 to have had time to bear ilTue in Paradife : Beiides, 
 the time here allotted is fufficient to anfvver all the 
 ends of their continuing there that we know of, 
 fince it allows a reafonable fpace for every tranfac- 
 tion recorded in the hiftory. 
 
 Moreover, this Hypothefis is particularly fer- 
 viceable for the removing of fome difficulties and 
 objedions which have been ftarted, and which have 
 their foundation merely in the confined light in 
 which Men have been accufl:om'd to view this mat- 
 ter, and the narrow limits allow'd to this important 
 Period. 
 
 The Author of Cbrijiianity as old as the creation 
 ridicules Mofes for reprefenting ' Adam as giving 
 ' names to the Creatures as foon as he was created, 
 ' p. 228. 2>vo. Ed — and Eve likewife, asentertain- 
 
 * ing a conference with the Serpent, even before 
 
 * confent had given any meaning to founds, ^.349. 
 ' and feems to imagine^ that the Author of the 
 ' book of Genefis, when he could be guilty of fuch 
 ' an abfurd relation, muft have thought, that 
 ' words had ideas naturally fixt to them, and not 
 
 * by confent : And asks how we can otherwife ac- 
 
 * count for this fuppofition ?* 
 
 The fuppofition that Jdam gave names to the 
 Creatures as foon as he was created, I prefume i'; 
 founded upon Gen. i. 27. male and female created 
 he them, compared with Ch. ii. 22. whence, as it 
 appears trom the former text that Eve was formed 
 on the fame dav with Adam, and her formation in 
 
 C 
 
•I 8 ObjeBiom anjwer'd^ 
 
 the latter text being not mentioned till after the 
 naming of the Creatures, from a furvey of which 
 it appeared that there was not an help meet for Adam 
 to be found among them, to fupply which defedt 
 Eve was formed — hence, I fay, it is inferred that 
 Adam named the Creatures on the day he was crea- 
 ted. But this inference, however it may appear at 
 firft view, is far from being a necelTary one. That 
 Eve was formed on the fixth day cannot well be de- 
 nied becaufe Scripture fays it. After which it is 
 probable that God convey'd her away from y^dam 
 before he awoke out of his fl.eep, and for fome time 
 kept them in a flate of feparation, without their 
 knowing any thing of the being of each other. And 
 when he had continued them fo, long enough to 
 convince each of them how uncomfortable a fbate 
 of folitude was, God Almighty brings the creatures 
 before Adam to fee if he could chufe him a fuitable 
 Companion from among them •, but meeting here 
 with nothing but difappointment, to heighten the 
 value of the Help-mate God had provided for him, 
 he then and not before prefents Eve unto him ; on 
 which occafion, tho' the formation of £i;<?had been 
 juft mentioned before, yet the particular manner of 
 it is very properly defcribed here, where, if the 
 words were made to run in i\\t preterpluperfe£l tenfe, 
 as they very well might. And the Lord God had 
 caufdd a deep Jleep to fall upon Adarn^ ^c. this a- 
 lone would clear up both thefe texts, and fhew their 
 perfect confiflency with each other. And that 
 Eve was kept out of Adatn\ fight tor fome time 
 after flie was formed, is implied in the expreffion 
 .which tells us that God brought her unto the man, 
 whence it may be inferred that Ihe was abfent from 
 hin;} before. . Now if this account be admitted, it is 
 necellary to fuppofe that Adam named the creatures 
 on the day he was created, fince it from hence ap- 
 pears 
 
On the Joregoi?7g Hypothejis, 19 
 
 pears that fcveral days might have pafTef^, before 
 he undertook that talk. Indeed, if that had been 
 the cafe, nothing hinders us from beUeving, that 
 it was in the power of the great Creator to have en- 
 dowed Man at the very inftant of his creation with 
 fuch a clear intuitive knowledge, and to have fur- 
 nifhed his mind with fo plentiful a flock of ideas ; 
 and likewife with the power of exprefling them, 
 and converfing intelligibly with others, as would 
 have been abundantly fufficient for this purpofe. 
 But there is no necefTity for fuppofing any extraor- 
 dinary provifion in the cafe. 
 
 It feems indeed more natural to conceive, that 
 Man did not at once ftart into being, having his 
 Mind ready furnifn'd with thefe and all other qua- 
 lifications and accomplifhments that are required by 
 Men of mature age, in the ordinary way of expe- 
 rience and application ; but that God in the crea- 
 tion of the firil Man, allowing for the peculiar cir- 
 cumflances he was created in, proceeded according 
 to the analogy of Nature cftablifhed and preferved 
 by him ever fince : For tho' he was not brought 
 into the world like an Infant, but in full maturity 
 of reafon, as well as bodily flrength and ftature •, 
 yet it is not eafy to conceive what knowledge he 
 could immediately have of the application of either 
 the one or the other. * 
 
 C 2 His 
 
 * " If we fuppofe a perfon brought into the world \vi:h both 
 *' thele (z'/z. underllanding and bodily flrength) in maturiiy, a; 
 " far as this is conceivable ; he would plainly at full be as luiqus- 
 *' lified for the human life of mature age, as an ideot. He would 
 •' be in a manner diliraded with aftonifliment and appreheifilion, 
 *• and curiofity and fufpenre : Nor can one guefs how long it 
 " would be before he would be familiarized to himfelf and the ob- 
 " jcdls about him, enough even to fet himfelf to any thing. It 
 '* may be qucllion'd too, whether the natural information of his 
 " fight and hearing would be of any ufe to him iu aflicg before 
 * experience." 
 
 Bifliop Butler's analogy of religion and nature, ire. p. 85. 
 
20 ObjeBiom anfwer'd 
 
 His Mind did not open all at once •, but its Fa- 
 culties awoke, and its Capacities were enlarged by 
 degrees : And as the fenfes are the only inletts ot" 
 our ideas, his Mind was this way furnifh'd with 
 them, by means of its own reflex A6ls upon them. 
 His reafoning powers, however excellent, were 
 not to be brought forth, improved, and perfected 
 but by exercife and application, being form'd unto 
 knowledge^ as the Apoflle intimates. Col. iii. lo: 
 ei$ l7rly\(jo(r\,v i- e. unto the gradual attainment, but 
 not in the adual poffeflion of it. His Mind being 
 competently furnifh'd by this means, (which in a 
 ftate of maturity and perfeftion it foon might be) 
 God Almighty, in order to his exprefllng the con- 
 ceptions of it, inftrufted him in the ufe of Lan- 
 guage -, which, I am fatisfied, was originally the 
 gitt of God, * that it is not in Man by nature, and 
 that no Man, or number of Men, could ever have 
 acquired it of themfelves, otherwife than as they 
 had learnt it from others: For we find, that thofe 
 who are born deaf are likewife conftantly dumb ; 
 and Hiftory informs us of experiments that have 
 been tried on Children, by fecluding them from all 
 human converfe from their Infancy, in order to 
 find out what the Language of nature was, which 
 in thofe Inftances proved to have no Language at 
 all. 
 
 This Author is, therefore, as far miftaken in fup- 
 ponng Language to have been at firft inftituted by 
 confent, as he would perfuade us Mofes was, when 
 Jie makes him imagine, that words had ideas natu- 
 rally affix'd to them. Jdajji being competently 
 ilock'd with ideas, and inftrufted in Language, we 
 mayfuppofe, was thereupon advanced into Para- 
 dife : For on his being placed there, God, we are 
 
 told, 
 
 * See a late' trcatife entitled, The hnctcledge of divine things 
 from Reveltiiion, votfrom reafon or nature, p. 1 04. 
 
071 the foregoz7ig Hypothejis. 2 r 
 
 told, made a Covenant with him. Now it is not 
 to be conceived, that God would make a Cove- 
 nant with him, before he could fufficiently under- 
 ftand the nature of it, any more than that he had 
 not fufficient abilities and afTiilance to perform it: 
 But a competent degree ot knowledge, as well as 
 fkill in Language, being neceffary to underftand 
 the terms of any Covenant, it is probable, that for 
 thefe purpofes fome confiderable time intervened 
 between Adam's Creation and advancement into 
 Paradife. 
 
 And this fuppofition beft agrees with the Scrip- 
 ture account, which informs us, that after the for- 
 mation of Man, the Lord God planted a Garden 
 eajiward in Eden, and that there^ it being firfl: pre- 
 pared for his reception, he pit the Man whom he 
 had form* d^ Gen. ii. 8. * Here it was that Adam, 
 by nature mortal, had the privilege of Immortality 
 conferr'd upon him, on performing the conditions 
 of it , was admitted to a more intimate intercourfe 
 with his Maker, and was vouchfafed the divine 
 afilftance for the enlightening of his Underllanding, 
 and maintaining the due regulation of his Will and 
 Atfe6tions, as far as was ncceffary for the preferva- 
 tion of his Innocence, and the gradual improve- 
 ment of his Faculties •, in which he had begun to 
 make confiderable proficiency, as appears from his 
 being endow'd v;ith the gift of Prophecy relating to 
 Eve and the marriage Hate, Gen. ii. 23, 24. and 
 likewife from this bufinefs of naming the Creatures : 
 C 3 For 
 
 * This fuppofition, that there was fome dillancc of time be- 
 tween the creation and planting of the Gaiden of Edi'?t, eafily 
 removes an objedlion infinuated by another writer, viz. " That 
 •' there was already a Tree whole fruit our unhappy Parents talt- 
 •' ed ; though in the famechapter, when God forbids it, 'tispo- 
 " fiiively faid, the plants of the held were not yet grown ; for 
 ** God had not caufcd it to rain on the Earth." 
 
 Religio Meaici. />. 20. 
 
22 Ohjedtiom anfwer'dy 
 
 For tho* it fhould not be granted, that this neceffa- 
 rily impUes an intimate knowledge of their natures, 
 as fome learned Men think -, yet it fhews at leaft-, 
 that he was not an iinattentive Obferver of their 
 outward qualities, to which he adapted their names, 
 having firft been taught the names of thofe feveral 
 qualities by God. 
 
 And thus this affair may be accounted for in a 
 natural way, and clear'd from thofe abfurdities 
 which this Author would fix upon it, even on his 
 own fuppofition, ' that the firft pair came into the 
 .' world in every fenfe naked, with regard to their 
 ' minds as well as bodies.' And Eve\ conference 
 with the Serpent, having the fame objection made 
 againft it, admits of the fame vindication : But this 
 will come to be confider'd more particularly in an- 
 other place. 
 
 I now proceed to confider another of this Author's 
 objections, which is eafily folved on this Hypothe- 
 fis, tho' fcarcely on any other. The objeftion is, 
 
 * That God made unto Adam and Eve Coats of the 
 
 * fkins of Beafts newly created in pairs •,' wherein 
 is infinuated, that as there muft at leaft a pair of 
 Beafts have been flain for tlie making of thefe 
 Coats, one whole Species would be therein de- 
 ftroy'd and loft, almoft as foon as made, unlefs 
 God fupplied this lofs by a fecond Creation of them, 
 Nov/, fuppofing there was but one pair of a kind 
 made, as very probably was the cafe, with all as 
 well as the human race •, yet there are feveral Spe- 
 cies of Animals that might have propagated and 
 fupplied their kind, from the Creation to the fup- 
 pofcd time of our firft Parents expulfion out of Pa- 
 radife. To inftance in the Sheep, whofe fkins v/ere 
 the rnoft likely to be made ufe of, as being the 
 v/armeft, and in that refped: the moft fuitable for 
 cloathing of any other ^ this likewife being the 
 
 Creature 
 
0?2 the foregoing Hypofbe/is, -^ j 
 
 Creature moil ufually {lain in Sacrifice, as probably 
 the Beails here mentioned were flain for th.:t piir- 
 pofe in atonement of our firft Parents Sin. Now 
 this Animal, which goes not c^\\ttfive months with 
 young, might, within the above fuppofed period, 
 have brought forth twins, as it frequently doth, and 
 fuckled them likewife till they were fit to be wean'd •, 
 after which the original pair might have been flain 
 for the purpofes above mention'd. 
 
 It is time now to proceed to a conclufion of this 
 charafler of Man in his firft eftate : He was upright, 
 but liable to fall -, and tho' made in the divine Image 
 and Similitude, yet we mufb allow, that the Copy 
 fell infinitely fhort of the Original ; and therefore 
 might well admit of the Hmitations and imperfec- 
 tions, to which, according to the above fuppofition, 
 and the neceffary laws of Creatures, it was liable. 
 Man even in his prefent fallen ftate is call'd the 
 Image of God^ i Cor. xi. 7. and is faid to be made 
 in his Similitude^ James iii. 9. tho' much defaced, 
 yet ftill retaining fome of the divine hneaments ; as 
 an abufed Pifture is ftill the Pidlure of the Perfon 
 it was drawn for, as long as the principal lines and 
 features of his Face may be traced in it. 
 
 But to fuppofe, with a late Writer, * that Man- 
 kind at prefent retains the divine Image in as emi- 
 nent a degree as our firfl Parents before the Fall, 
 and that our prefent powers to difcharge our duty 
 are equal to his original powers and perfections, is 
 an injurious reprefentation of the divine workman- 
 fhip in the original formation of Man, and con- 
 trary to his difpenfations ever fince, and may be 
 proved to be fo from his own princi[")les. 
 
 ' For if every Man's powers are proportion'd to 
 ' the duty requir'd of him,' as he himfelf allows 
 and argues in his fuppkvicnt^ §. 4 i tlien yldam^s 
 
 C 4 powar 
 
 • Ta;jlory in his fcripturc-dodlrine of Oi iginal Sin./. 1 68. & Stqq. 
 
24 Original Excellence 
 
 powers muft have been fuperior to thofe of his poC- 
 terity -, becaufe, to ufe his own expreflion, ib. p. 
 125. ' Jdam in his innocent ftate was under the 
 ' rigour of Law, which, as this Author conceives, 
 
 • promifed neither aid againft temptation, nor par- 
 
 * don when he was overcome by it.' The firft 
 Covenant made with him was eftabhlh'd upon 
 terms of perfect unfmning Obedience •, this do and 
 hve, tranfgrefs and die : ' Notwithftanding, Jdam 
 ' had fufficient powers to do what God herein re- 
 ' quired of him, and he required of him no more 
 ' than what he had fufficient power to do,' p. 64. 
 But I fuppofe he will not fay, that Mankind now 
 have fufficient powers to fulfil the terms of fuch a 
 Covenant ; tho' it is not to be doubted, but that 
 they have fufficient at prcfent for what is at prefcnt 
 required of them : It is likewife very evident, that 
 Jdajn's powers v/cre greatly impair'd by the Fall, 
 and that he communicated the fame feeble nature 
 to his pofterity ; becaufe for this very reafon it was, 
 'VIZ. in pure condefcenfion to his and their weak- 
 nefs and inability, that God was pleafed to make 
 another Covenant with them upon eafier terms, and 
 fuch as were more adequate to this their degenerate 
 ftate. 
 
 If it be faid, that the Jews were placed under a 
 Law equally rigorous with that at firfl: given to 
 Admn^ even the fame Law renew'd, tho' their pow- 
 ers to perform it were not greater than thofe of 
 other people — To this it may be anfwer'd, that 
 therefore, as none of them ever livedo ever were 
 favcd by it, fo neither was it intended for that pur- 
 pofe i but only to convince them of this their ina- 
 bility, and of the difference between the two Cove- ' 
 nants •, and fo to ferve as a Schcolmajler to bring 
 them to Chriji : And it was only in virtue of the fe- 
 jfond Covenant in his blood (to which the Law had 
 
 refpe(fc 
 
of Man "oindieaUd. 25 
 
 refpeft as well as to the firft Covenant, and which 
 was typified by the Law) that they were to cxped 
 falvation. 
 
 Adam^ therefore, was an imperfeft Image of his 
 Maker j his Sons much more fo : Would we fee a 
 perfedl and exad refemblance of HIM ? we have 
 it in his only begotten Son : He^ and, He alone is 
 the exprefs image of his Perfon^ Heb. i. 3. tor in h:m 
 dwelkth all the fulnefs of the Godhead bodily^ Col. 
 ii. 9. 
 
 As poflibly the trueft knowledge gf the attnbutes 
 of God may be colle6ted and inferr'd from the life 
 and charader of our Saviour, fo the fame divine 
 clue may, perhaps, be the bell help to lead us toi? 
 and illuftrate the original ftate of Man, and enable 
 us to form a right idea of the perfeftion which he 
 was capable of attaining, had he continued in his 
 Innocence. 
 
 And this feems to be not obfcurely hinted in 
 Scripture, where Adam is faid to be the figure or 
 type of him- that was to come, Rom. v. 14; and 
 iCor. XV. 45. they are exprefly call'd the firft and 
 laft Adam. Whence may be inferr'd, — not that 
 they were both endow'd with equal perfections — 
 far from it •, for the type is ever inferior to the an- 
 titype — but that the Man, Chrift Jefus, having 
 fuccefsfuUy undergone the probation, and pertorm'd 
 that perfeft obedience, which it was the capital 
 crime of the other to have fail'd in, has thereby ex- 
 hibited and characterized the attainments which hu- 
 man nature was capable of, had it, in the perfon 
 of Adam^ gone thro' its tryal with equal fuccefs, 
 and proceeded from ftrength to ftrength, fti 11 im- 
 proving in virtue during the v/holeterm ot his con- 
 tinuance in the terrcftrial Paradife, till at length he 
 fnould be received into a cclcftial on/ \ which 
 >vould be as foon as he ihould render hunfcif qua- 
 lified 
 
26 Happinefs cf the primitive State. 
 
 lified for it. This gradual proficiency towards 
 perfeftion, and a tranflation to a heavenly Immorta- 
 lity, as a reward of it, is by Bifhop Bull fhewn to 
 have been the catholic doftrine of the primitive 
 Church, by numerous citations out of the antient 
 Fathers in proof of this truth. * 
 
 So happy was Man in his firft Eftate, could he 
 but have kept it ! created in perfeft innocence and 
 purity of Mind, with a juft harmony and regularity 
 of all his Faculties j made Head and Lord of a 
 World, in which every thing was very good ; 
 wherein there was no Evil of any kind, natural or 
 43ioral, and where no Evil could enter but through 
 his own fault — ^v/here all things were form'd to 
 give him delight, and nothing to grieve or incom- 
 mode him ; enjoying a full flow of health and 
 vigour, the air pure and ferene, the feafons tempe- 
 rate and regular, and the earth pleafant, whole- 
 fome and fruitful -, in the moft delightful fpot of 
 which he was placed by his Maker, where nothing 
 was wanting to complete his Happinefs. 
 
 Nor was this felicity intended for the firft happy 
 Pair only : It was to be continued and perpetuated 
 to their pofterity, who after innumerable ages and 
 fuccelTions, were, in their courfes, fooner or later, 
 in proportion to the quicknefs of their growth to 
 Perfedlion, to be taken up to a heavenly Paradife, 
 of which the earthly was but a Type. 
 
 This is what I thought proper, in profecutioh of 
 my principal defign, to obferve on the ftate of Man 
 before the Fall. I now proceed to confider the Fall 
 itfelf and its confequences. 
 
 C H A P. 
 
 * See Bifhop 5.v//'s State of Man before the Fall, 
 
27 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Of the Fall, the Coiifequences, and Fermtjjion 
 of it : JVherei?i the principal dificulties re- 
 latifig to thcfe fubjeSls are attempted to he re- 
 moved. 
 
 GREAT pains have been taken to expofethe 
 account given by Mofes of the Fall of our 
 firft Parents. As the Hiftoiy is fliort, it is 
 not without its difficulties, for the folving of which 
 Jeveral methods have been offered by learned men. 
 That which feems the moll fatisfaftory and unex- 
 ceptionable, and beft to anfwer the defign of the 
 whole, is as follows : 
 
 God almighty, as we have ground to believe 
 from feveral circumftances of this Story, had vouch- 
 fafed to our firft Parents in Paradife frequent mani- 
 feftations of his Glory, wherein he was attended 
 with a retinue of Angels, which always made a part 
 of the divine Shecinah. Of thefe Angels there were 
 principally two orders. Cherubim and Seraphim j 
 which, as we learn from other places of Scripture, 
 appear'd in the forms of certain Animals ; the Che- 
 rubim with faces rcfembling thofe of Oxen, as is in- 
 ferred frorn Ezek. i. lo. x. 14. compared ; the Se- 
 raphim affuming the likenefs of the moft eminent 
 fort of winged ferpents. That there were ferpents 
 of this kind we are informed both by facred * and 
 profane authors : But before they were degraded 
 from their original excellence by the curfe inflicted 
 upon them, they may well be fuppofed Co have 
 been, both for their outward luftre, and inward fa- 
 gacity, not. only greatly fuperior to what they are 
 
 at 
 * See Jftj. xiv. 29. xxx. 6. 
 
28 7he Fall of Man 
 
 at prefent, but perhaps the chief and tlie moft glo- 
 rious of the whole brute Creation, and therefore the 
 more proper Symbol for the celeftial Inhabitants to 
 exhibit themfelves by. 
 
 Accordingly the fame name is common to both -, 
 the word ^"^E^, in the plural number DS^IJ'^ being 
 iifed in Scripture to denote, as well a fiery flying 
 Serpent, i. e. fhining like Fire when he flies, as an 
 Angel of this order. * 
 
 As thefe, the Seraphim efpecially, * were all mi- 
 nifiering Spirits fent forth to minifier for the Heirs 
 of Salvation. Heb. i. 14. they probably were often 
 difpatch'd on that errand to our firfl Parents in 
 Paradffe, and Eve might have frequently held fa- 
 miliar converfe with them under the fore-mention- 
 ed appearances. 
 
 The apoftate Angel perceiving this, the better 
 to cover his deceit, enters the body of one of thefe 
 Serpents. Indeed the name which the Serpent is 
 call'd by in Gen. iii. is not T16^', but l^'HJ f ; which 
 however is fynonymous with it, as appears from 
 Numb. xxi. 8, 9, where they are convertibly ufed 
 for each other. It is therefore mofl probable, that 
 it was a Serpent of this very kind which Satan made 
 life of, the natural fubtilty of this Creature difpof- 
 ing him to be the fitter Inftrument for his defign ; 
 and thus perfonating one of the glorious Seraphim.^ 
 he transforms himfelf into an Angel of Light -, wiiich 
 the Scripture exprefsly alfures us he could do. 
 2 Cor. xi. 14. and therefore probably did do it on 
 this occafion, as we know not any more hkely. 
 And the context, if confider'd, will confirm us in 
 this perfuafion. For St Paul is here cautioning the 
 Corinthians againfl the fedu6lion of falfe Jpojlles, 
 
 deceitful 
 
 • See Archbifitep Tnirifon^ difcouiTe on idolatty, Ch. xjv. 
 ■f In the tfelfh tranflation it is renda'd by Sarpk, which is 
 maniieilly a conuadlion o{ Saraph. 
 
accounted for. 2.0 
 
 deceitful Worh&rs^ fransformhig themfehes into the 
 Apoftles of Chriit. Ayid no marvel^ fays he, for 
 Satan himfelf is transformed into an Angel of Light, 
 therefore it is no great things if his Minifters alfa 
 he transformed as the Minijlers of Righteoufnefs. 
 And thele tlilte Teachers he in die 3d verl'e of 
 tliis Chapter compares to the Serpent beguiling Eve 
 thro' his fubtilty ; fo that if the one part of the 
 context be explained by the other, this was tlie oc- 
 cafion, at leaft the principal one, on which Satan 
 is faid to have transformed himfelf into an Angel 
 of Light. V. 14. 
 
 Hence it is eafy to conceive how Eve might en- 
 tertain famihar difcourfe with the Serpent without 
 the leaft furprize or fufpicion of deceit, as fhe 
 might take him for a Seraph come, as ufual, on a 
 friendly vifit to her. 
 
 And we may be fure he on his part was not 
 vl^anting to confirm her in this perfuafion, pretend- 
 ing, we may fuppofe, a commifTion from God to 
 explain the command relating to the Tree of Know- 
 ledge. And therefore he thus accofts her. Tea, 
 hath Gou faid, ye fhall not eat of every Trse of the 
 Garden? Gen. iii. i. q. d.. ' How is it that you 
 underitand this matter ? Do you apprehend, that 
 God means to lay any reftraint upon your Liber- 
 ty, or that he forbids you the ufe of one Tree of 
 the Garden any more than another ?' , We are 
 fenfible, fays Eve, that we are allow'd the privi- 
 lege of eating freely of all the Trees of the Garden, 
 That one only excepted, which grows here in the 
 midft of it, and which he hath peremptorily for- 
 bidden us ib mu(*h as to touch, under the denun- 
 ciation of Death, if we tranfgrefs. — ' Now that 
 is your miftake, replies the D<ceiver : ' You 
 mull have been under fome great mifapprehenfion 
 concerning this matter ; Yuur redon was but be- 
 
 ' ginuing 
 
30 'the Fall of Man 
 
 «• ginning to dawn, when you imagined God gave 
 
 ' you this command, whereby perhaps you were 
 
 < not fully capable of underflanding him. Be that 
 
 < as it will, there is no fuch penalty annexed as you 
 
 < imagine : I'ake my word for it you fhall not die. 
 « God never intended to prohibit the eating of this 
 ' Fruit of all others : For is not this the Tree of 
 ' Knowledge ? Whence you may conclude from 
 
 * the nature of it, that God defigns it for your ufe, 
 
 < who is too good, and too well knows the virtue of 
 
 * it, to reftrain you from it. For this is fo furpriz- 
 ' ingly great and efficacious, that it will enlighten 
 « your underilanding to that degree, as to raife you 
 « to an equality in a manner wjth God himfelf, in 
 
 < the Knowledge of Good and Evil.' 
 
 By this impudent and fpecious Lye was the cre- 
 dulity of our Parent Eve impofed upon •, whence 
 we fee how juft that charadter is which our Saviour 
 gives us of the grand Deceiver. Jo. viii. 44. T'hat 
 there is no Truth in him^ but that he is a Lyar ayid 
 the Father of Lyes. And from hence, by the way, 
 it appears, if we may be allowed to interpret Scrip- 
 ture by Scripture, that the Devil was principally 
 concerned in this affair, and made ufe of the Ser- 
 pent as his inftrument -, for he is here called not on- 
 ly a Lyar, but a Murderer from the beginning \ and 
 in Rev.^ii. 9. xx. 2. the Dragon., that old Serpent ^ 
 is exprefsly called and faid to be the Devil and Sa- 
 tan. To return. 
 
 This plaufible (lory of the pretended virtue of 
 the Tree, to which her own longing defire, exciteci 
 by the fairnefs of its fruit, incHn'd her to lend a will-' 
 ing ear, prevailed at length upon Eve to try the 
 experiment. And her great crime confided in this 
 — In believing any creature., how great or holy fo- 
 ever floe might think him to be., contrary to the ex- 
 
 p-efe 
 
Accounted for and illufirated. 3 1 
 
 prefs command of God himfelf. Tho' a real Angel 
 from Heaven had told her any thing that contradidted 
 divine Authority, her own natural Reaibn, as well 
 as Religion fhould have dictated to her, with St 
 Paul^ Gal. i. 8. to pronounce him accurfed, and 
 to deteft him accordingly. 
 
 A learned Friend hath fuggefted to me another 
 cafe in Scripture parallel to tiiat of Ez-e^ which will 
 afford, a lively illuilration of her Tranfgreflion. 
 The cafe is that of the man of God, who was fent 
 to prophefy againft the Altar at Bethel, i Kings xiii. 
 and who was peremptorily charged by God neither 
 to cat nor drink at Beihel^ when he executed his 
 commiflion there : And this he had fo flrid: a re- 
 gard to, that he declined Jeroboam^ invitation to 
 refrefli himfelf at his houfe, tho' back'd with tlie 
 promife of a confiderable reward. If thou ivilt give 
 pte half thine houfe^ fays he to him, I zvill not go in 
 'with thee., neither will I eat bread nor drink water 
 in this place. For fo it was charged me by the 
 word of the Lord, faying^ Eat no bread, nor 
 drink water, nor turn again by the fame way that 
 thou cameji. v. 8, 9. Ncverthelefs, after he had 
 withftood tliis temptation, and fet out from the 
 place on his journey homewards, an old Prophet 
 pretending orders from an Angel to bring him back 
 to his houfe, and to make him eat and drink, pre- 
 vailed with him to return merely by this Itratagem ; 
 for he could have no profpc(5l of being entertained 
 or rewarded by him as well as he might have been 
 by Jeroboam. And this finful compliance he ato- 
 ned for with his life. — llad he afted as he ought 
 to have done herein, having received the command 
 from God, he fliould not have looked upon him- 
 felf as difcharged from it by any Autliority inferior 
 to that which enjoyn'd it. And thus ought Eve to 
 have reafon'd with herfelf likcv/ife. But the one 
 
 iiilen'd 
 
32 The Conjequences of 
 
 liften'd to the fuggeftions of the old Serpent per- 
 fonating one of the holy Angels, and the other to 
 an old Prophet pretending a commiflion from an 
 Angel ; wherein the Text exprefsly fays^ he lyed 
 unto him v. i8. as the Devil his Father had done 
 before him in the former cafe. And as both the 
 one and the other yielded to thefe wicked fuggefti- 
 ons to gratify their appeties in dire6l contradi6lion 
 to the pofitive command of God, they were both 
 involved in the Urnie condemnation, and Death was 
 the wages of the Sin of both the one and the other. 
 
 Having obferved thus much concerning the Fall, 
 the Confequences of it prefent themfelves next to 
 our confideradon. 
 
 A late Author, in a Treatife * concerning this 
 fubjecl, feems to wifh ' that the do(ftrine of origi- 
 ' nal Sin might be accounted for, in a manner con- 
 
 * fiftent with the divine Attributes, by the original 
 
 * law of Propagation only, without the fuppofition 
 ' of a federal Head i' which he has recourfe to be- 
 caufe he thought it could not be accounted for in 
 the former way ; but fuppofing it could, he plain- 
 ly enough intimates his opinion, that it would be 
 the moft eligible and fatisfaftory of all others. 
 
 This is what the Reader will here find attempted ; 
 which if it lliould be attended with fuccefs, will 
 ferve to clear this dodlrine from the odious and 
 terrible confequences charged upon it by the above- 
 mentioned Author's -f- Adverfary, and might be 
 the happy means of reconciling all differences in o- 
 pinion concerning this dilEcult and long controvert- 
 ed point. 
 
 The plain account of tlie effedls of our firft Pa- 
 rents Tranfgreflion is this — that thereby thty loffc 
 their native Innocence and Integrity — were degrad- 
 ed 
 
 * Ruin and Recovery of Mankind, p. loi. 
 -f- Taylor's, Scrip. ure Dodrine of original Sin. 
 
Adam* J T*ranfgreJjion. 33 
 
 cd from their happy fituation in Paradife — forfeit- 
 ed the favour of God, and their title to the Tree of 
 Life and Immortahty — and render'd themfelves ob- 
 noxious to miferies and evils of feveral kinds. The 
 Woman was condemn'd to a muItipHcity of forrows 
 in her pregnancy and delivery •, the Man to labour 
 and drudgery ; and both of them to Death) tempo- 
 ral, fpiritual, and eternal. 
 
 Moreover, the wife Creator^ in the original con- 
 ftitution of things, had eftablifhed fuch a necelTary 
 connexion between the feveral parts of the creation 
 and each other, that when the harmony which fub- 
 fifted throughout was broke but in one part, the 
 whole was thrown into difcord and diforder. Thus 
 the natural and moral world were fo interwoven to- 
 gether, that no change could be made in the one, 
 but the other Iliared its fate, and moral Evil being; 
 introduced into the world, drew after it a train of 
 natural Evils likewife. I'he ivhole Creation, at St 
 Prtz^/ teftines, Rom. viii. 20. was fubjected to the 
 fad effefts of Adani's fin. That the brute part of it 
 was afteded thereby, is implied in the Serpent's 
 Curfe -, Curfed are thou above all cattle, and above 
 every beaji of the field, G^n. iii. 14. Whence it is 
 evident, that his fellow-brutes were in fome mea- 
 fure involved in his fentence, and accurfed for his 
 fake •, that as he, from being the head of them, was 
 degraded to the lowed degree of infamy, and the 
 vileft condition of all others ; fo they in like manner 
 greatly degenerated from their firft ftate, and par- 
 ticularly feem to have loll their original mildnefs, 
 and to have contracted a favagenefs, which at lirll 
 was not natural to them •, whereby Man incurr'd 
 another lofs, viz. his fovireignty over the Creatures. 
 
 The brute creation being joyn'd in the fame 
 fyftem with Man, muft neceifarily, in virtue of the 
 La-iv of connexion above-mention'd, be in fome de- 
 
 D sree 
 
34 Dodhine of original Sin 
 
 gree obnoxious to the inconveniencies of his fate ; 
 but. as they had no proper demerit of their own, fo 
 tne curfe feems to have fallen the lighter upon 
 them, being obferved to aft more agreeably to 
 their natures, and more regularly to anfwer the 
 End of their creation. 
 
 Nor was even the inanimate world fo infenfible, 
 as not to fympathize in the general difafter ; for it 
 groaneth and travaileih in fain together until now^ 
 Rom. viii. 22. The very Ground was laid under 
 a Curfe for the fake of Man •, its former Fertility 
 was greatly impair'd, the temperature of the Air 
 was changed ; the Seafons became irregular, and 
 the Weather unfavourable -, and the Vv'holc face of 
 Nature was very much alter'd for the worfe. 
 
 Nor did the Evil flop here. The contagion 
 fpread and infetled poflerity ; and the whole race 
 of Mankind, which were then in the loyns of their 
 common parent, partook more or lefs of his Sin, 
 both in the corruption and guilt of it. Nor ought 
 it to be fo niuch wonder'd at, notwithftanding it 
 is by fome thought fo great a difficulty, that his 
 own flefn and blood, who fprang from his loyns, 
 and derived their being and nature from him, fhould 
 with that nature receive the corruption which was 
 infeparable from it, when the other parts of the 
 Creation, that did not bear fo near a relation to him, 
 were fo remarkably affected thereby. When Adant's 
 Sin was the caufe of fo much natural Evil, can it 
 be fuppofed that this Sin was attended with no ill 
 confequences of the moral kind — of the fame kind 
 with itfelf ? Why therefore fliould it be thought 
 incredible, that moral Evil fhould beget and pro- 
 pagate moral Evil, when it is allow'd, natural Evil 
 vv'as begot by it ? Indeed it could not be in the na- 
 ture of things, that a fountain fo polluted fhould 
 fend forth pure ftreams, or that fo corrupt a tree 
 
 fhould 
 
explained and 'viftdicated. 3 5 
 
 fKould bear any other than corrupt fruit : For who 
 can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? not one. 
 Job xiv. 4. 
 
 But it is thought to bear hard upon the divine 
 Attributes, that Adam\ crime fhould be imputed 
 to his innocent Children yet unborn, and that his 
 lateft pofterity muft be loaded with the guilt, as 
 well as depravity of it: In juftilication of which 
 appointment, let it be confider'd, 
 
 I. That as Adam's, Children could receive no 
 other nature from him but fuch as he had to com- 
 municate, viz. a corrupt one ; fo it is a Law re- 
 fultino; from the immutable relations of thing;s. 
 That every degree of depravity, every the leaf devi- 
 ation from Right and Good, fhould he attended with 
 proportionable degrees of inconvenience to the Subje5i 
 in which it fhould be found : Guilt *, or obnoxiouf- 
 nefs to fuffering, or, if you pleafe, punifhment, is 
 included in the very notion of it ; for all fuffering 
 is, either immediately or remotely, the puniHimenc 
 of Sin. In a word, moral Evil muft have phyfical 
 Evil infeparably annexed to it : Whence it follows, 
 that all who partake of Adam's, corrupt nature, 
 muft fo far forth partake of his Sin, and ftand guil- 
 ty in the fight of God ; fo that it is begging the 
 queftion to fuppofe them innocent, -f 
 
 2. With regard to the propagation of this origi- 
 nal Sin through a fuccellion of fo many generations 
 D 2 to 
 
 * See an EfTay on the guilt and defilement of fin, annex'd tea 
 treatife entitled, Ihe ruin and recovery of mankind, where the na- 
 ture of guilt is well explain'd. 
 
 f Milton underltood the force of this argument, when he re- 
 prcfents Adam as ufing it by wry of lelf-condemnation in thele 
 words. 
 
 Ah ! zchy fhculd all mankind 
 
 For one tnan's fault thus guilt lefi be ccndemrid? 
 
 //"guiltlefs ; But from me what can proceca. 
 
 But all Qori\.\^x 1 Paradii'c loft, B. xo.F. 122. 
 
36 DoBrine of original Sin 
 
 to the prefent time, let it be confider'd, that this 
 is not altogether to be imputed to Jdam ; but that 
 every one of our intermediate parents had a fhare 
 in it. For he could transfer it only to his imme- 
 diate offspring •, they to theirs -, and fo on — each 
 of whom had it in his power either to increafe or 
 diminifh the corruption he received from his im- 
 mediate Parents. And if every Parent from Jdam 
 down to this prefent time, had ufed all the means 
 in his power, and made due application of every 
 portion of Grace offer'd him for that purpofe, in 
 order to the purifying of his nature, I cannot con- 
 ceive that the original ftain was fo very deep, that 
 it might not in fo many generations have been 
 wafh'd off fo entirely by the blood of theRedeemer, 
 that there had not been the lead remainder of it lett. 
 The firft Sin confider'd in its confequences, was 
 undoubtedly very great and heinous. And its 
 heinoufncfs feems to have been aggravated by this 
 ' — That it was the Jirjl, and gave birth to all other 
 Sin and Evil : For it is obfervable, that God hath 
 always expreffed his. indignation in a more fevere 
 and extraordinary manner againft the firft inftances 
 of notorious and prefumptiious Sins, than againft 
 any fucceeding commiffions of them •, as in Cain, 
 Corahy Ananias and Sapphira, and Simon Magus, 
 A nd hence likewife, the Sin of Adam being the firft 
 Sin of all, might become fo much the more exceed- 
 ing Jinf id -, infomuch, that not only Mankind, but 
 all nature underwent a confiderable change for the 
 "worfe on account of it ; but more efpecially as God 
 Almighty immediately hereupon was obliged to 
 change the fcheme of his condu6t towards Mankind, 
 in entering into a new Covenant with them of a 
 quite different nature from the former, and fending 
 his only begotten Son to feal it with his blood. This 
 was fo important a change, that nothing but tiic 
 
 utmoll 
 
explained and ijlndicatcd. 3 7 
 
 iitmoft necefTity could be the Caiife of it. And if 
 Adam\ Sin were confidered in this view, I am ptr- 
 iiiaded it could not, as it too often is, be fo Hght- 
 ly efteemed. 
 
 On the other hand, if we confider the ^61 itfelf 
 abftrafted from every thing but what was perfonal 
 to Adam, it were eafy to recount feveral extenuat- 
 ing circumftances with which it was attended, even 
 in the view above given of it. And in this refpeit, 
 I am apt to think, there- have been as great, not 
 to fay, greater offences fince committed in the 
 world ; and fuch as, perhaps, convey 'd no lefs cor- 
 ruption to the poilerity of thofe who committed 
 them. One I will venture to name, z'iz. the Sin 
 againft the Holy Ghoft, which, as well as Adam's 
 Sin, ftill too powerfully reigns in the Defcendants 
 of thofe who were guilty of it. For, that the Sin 
 of Adam, notwithftanding the fad effe6ts of it, was 
 an unpardonable Sin, hath not been maintain'd by 
 any that I know of,unlefs by fome Hereticks of old; 
 and it is fcarce to be doubted, but that he repent- 
 ed, and was actually pardoned for it. So thinks 
 the Author of the book o^ IVifdom, 'That fie (\N\{- 
 dom) preferved the Jirji form'' d Father of the '•jjcrld 
 that was created alone, and brought him out of his ■ 
 Fall, Chap. x. i . And Iren^us declares no lefs ex- 
 preQy for the fame * opinion, in oppofition to the 
 trror of Tatian concerning the Damnation o'i yldam. 
 Now if the Sin of Adar.i was mt in it felf fo very 
 heinous, it admitted of the eafier cure ; nor had it 
 at this day reignM fo much, if at all, in our natural 
 bodies, had every one done his part towards the cor- 
 recting and eradicating of it. I'he increafe of wick- 
 ednefs that hath been in the world, hath greatly en- 
 hanced the corruption derived from the firft Sin, 
 D 3 which 
 
 * Adam prior f ah aiur a Dor.hio, Lib. 3. Cap, 34. vide etiam 
 Capp- 35' 37- 
 
38 DoBrine of original Sin 
 
 which hath contra6ted much additional filth from 
 the polluted channels through which it hath palTed. 
 This is evident from the greater prevalence of this 
 depravity of nature which appears in fome Perfons, 
 and fome ages and parts of the world, than in 
 others •, and is generally to be afcribed to this caufe, 
 viz. to the wickednefs of their proximate parents, 
 or of a whole line of profligate Anceftors •, while 
 others defcended from virtuous Progenitors, in- 
 herit their excellent qualities, and difcover the hap- 
 pinefs of their birth in their good nature *. That 
 we have any depravity in our nature, we owe to 
 our firft Parents, as the Introducers of it •, that each 
 of us hath precifely fo much, neither more nor lefs, 
 to lament, we owe to all our other Progenitors in 
 conjunftion with them, each in proportion to what 
 he contributed to it, or fuhftracSled from it ; but 
 chiefly to our more immediate Parents. But, that 
 original Sin is invariably the fame in all, is an idle 
 dream of the Schoolmen^ without foundation in Na- 
 ture, Scripture, or Reafon. When therefore what 
 we call by this name is divided between fo many, 
 there will but little fall upon Adam^ and the lefs, 
 the more removes we are from him j but none at 
 all can be charged to God's account. For, 
 
 3. The confideration of his Attributes will not 
 fuffer us to think that any Man was ever damned 
 merely for original Sin, otherwife than as he made 
 it his own, by his own aft and deed, i. <?. by a vir- 
 tual approbation of it, ratifying it to himfelf, and 
 confirming himfelf in it by his actual tranfgreflions 
 unrepented of. For thus he in effedt figns and 
 feals it, as he would a Deed in Law ; whereby he 
 becomes mofl: jufi:ly liable to the penalties of it 
 himfelf ; and moreover conveys it down entire, or 
 
 perhaps 
 
 * See Bcilgufs. fecond letter to a Deifl:, /. 18. where he rea- 
 fons well to tins purpole. 
 
explain V and vindicated. 3 9 
 
 perhaps double to his pofterity, if he has any. As 
 for all others from the beginning of the world, 
 who either died in their infancy, before they came 
 to the knowledge of Good and Evil, or who be- 
 coming moral Agents, lived up to the light and 
 knowledge they had of their Duty, and in their 
 feveral circumftances made the befl ufe of the helps 
 they had to become wifer and better ; of all fuch, m. 
 I think, there ought no doubt to be made, but that /j/L 
 they obtain Salvation through the Merits of the ^fj/ 
 Mediator. For as the promife of a Redeemer was 
 made immediately after the Fall, even before the 
 fentence of condemnation was pafs'd upon our firft 
 Parents, the virtue of our Saviour's death com- 
 menced immediately then, and became appHcable 
 to all who have, or fhall have lived from that time 
 to the end of the world ; as well by way of retro- 
 fpe6t or anticipation to thole who lived before it 
 happen'd, as to thofe who were, or fhall be born 
 afterwards, and that without refpecSt of perfons. 
 For as the promife was made to Adam^ all his Sons 
 have an equal title to it, provided they be duly 
 qualified to partake of the benefits of it, Jefus 
 Chrijl being the fame, yejierday, to day, and for 
 ever, Heb. xiii. 8. * 
 
 Infhort, if we confider Man in his n.^tural ftate 
 after the Fall, his condition is moft deplorable : 
 We are all Children of wrath under the fentence of 
 condemnation, and there cannot be too melancholy 
 a pi(5ture drawn of us. But then this is a ftate 
 which never actually fubfifled any otherwife than as ^ 
 
 Men by their own fault relapfcd into it, converting, /J/i 
 if I may fo fay, original, into a6tual Sin ; fmce our •^ 
 blefled Saviour, to ufe the words of the Author of 
 the Scripture do^rine of original Sin, immediately 
 D 4 upon 
 
 * See Rom. iii. 25. Hcb, ix. 15, 25, &c. and Grot, de Satif- 
 f act tone, Cap. 5. 
 
40 Do5frine of original Sin 
 
 upon Adam's tranfgreflion, ' ftept in and caught up 
 ' his falHng,' or rather fallen, ' Creature in his 
 ' arms,' and provided a remedy for original as well 
 as aftual Sin, ready to be applied to all proper ob- 
 je6ls, as their needs required, and before it was 
 pofTible for any one to be a Sufferer by it. 
 
 Add to this, that original Sin is not invincible in 
 any one -, for the Grace of God is fufficient for us 
 all, in order to overcome all our Sins whatfoever ; 
 nor does he deny his Grace to any that render 
 themfelves fit objeds of it. 
 
 Mr 2". indeed obje6ls againft this docflrine, as 
 fome have taught it in quite too rigid a fenfe, 
 ' -fThat according to that fcheme, a corrupt Na- 
 ' ture will, to the end of the world, remain in 
 ' every Man fo long as he liveth , and confequent- 
 ' ly, that the reformation of Mankind muft be im- 
 ' practicable with regard to the impure fpring of 
 ' all wickednefs — that Men are in no capacity of 
 ' ufmg the means of amendment, and therefore 
 ' under no obligation to attempt the reformation of 
 
 * the world — And that no Man, except Adam, is 
 
 * blameable for the wickednefs that is in it, as it 
 ' proceeds from a caufe which we cannot, and God 
 
 * will not, totally remove in this life.' But no 
 part of this objeftion lies againft this do6lrine, ac- 
 cording to the account here given of it, which quite 
 contrary to what is obje6led, fuppofes no fuch in- 
 vincible corruption of nature, but that the reforma- 
 tion of Mankind is in every refpeft pradlicable — ■ 
 That every other Man, as well as Adam, is ac- 
 countable for the wickednefs that is in the world — 
 that it proceeds from a caufe that v/e can, and, as I 
 fhall prove, with the divine affiftance, ftiall totally 
 remove in this life •, and therefore that we are not 
 only obliged, but moreover greatly encourage*d, to 
 attempt the reformation of the world. If 
 
 -f- T'i^-r/Vs Scripture Dodlrine, p. 167. 
 
explained and vindicated. 41 
 
 If the DoiSlrine of original Sin be confiderW in 
 this hght, it is to be hoped its Adverfaries will be 
 better reconciled to it ; and that it will not feem 
 fuch a frightful Bug-bear, as the above Author is 
 pleafed to call it, that they need be lb feared at it, 
 as to run almoft out of Chrifiendom to avoid it •, as 
 fome may be faid to have done, by finking their 
 Chriftianity fo low, as to be but a degree above 
 Deifm. For it appears to be no more than the natu- 
 ral confequence of Jdanfs TranfgrefTion, refulting 
 from an eilablifli'd Law of propagation ; and even 
 this is prevented and removed as far as the nature 
 of it doth admit, and as is confident with the wif- 
 dom of God's Government. 
 
 If it be afk'd what evidence we have of this 
 Law of propagation, whereby a moral taint is de- 
 rived from Adam to his pofterity ?— I anfwer, it 
 appears in many fimilar cafes to be fo in fa(5l. For 
 every Man's obfervation may inform him, that 
 there are hereditary diflempers of Mind as well as 
 Body, reigning in certain Families, being too 
 faithfully convey'd down from Parents to Chil- 
 dren in a long line of ir.r.ny Generations. How 
 this Taint is communicated to the Soul, we cannot 
 pretend to fay, becaufe we are utterly unacquaint- 
 ed with the Laws of union of Soul and Body, o- 
 the'rwife than as we may judge of them from theii* 
 effeds : Whence it appears, that the Soul, in in- 
 numerable inftances, is greatly affected by the ha- 
 bit of the Body.— Nor will the confequences hold 
 thus in oppofition to fad, which Mr 'T. draws 
 from the confideration, that God is the Author of 
 our natures •, befides, that He is not foin the man- 
 ner that he was of Adam's, which came immedi- 
 ately, and therefore purely out of his hands : But 
 He is the Author of our natures only mediately 
 and derivatively from our Parents, whofe inftru- 
 
 mcntality 
 
4-2 PermiJJton of Evil 
 
 mentality he iifes for this purpofe, and of whofe 
 natures we partake ; which makes a great differ- 
 ence between both cafes ; fo that no argument can 
 be drawn from the one to the other. 
 
 BUT all that can be faid in juftification of the 
 divine Attributes with regard to the confequences 
 of the Fall, will fignify little if the Fall itfelf is 
 not to be juftified. The Permiffion of Evil, is 
 that wherein the great (Irength of Atheifts and In- 
 fidels lies, nor Ihall the unfuccefsfulnefs of former 
 attempts difcourage my endeavours to deprive 
 them of it. The objedlion which hath been pufh'd 
 with much acutenefs and fubtility may be dated in 
 few words thus, * ' Since God forefaw, that Man 
 ' would fin, how was it confiftent with ideal Good- 
 ' nefs not to prevent it -, when, for that purpofe, 
 ' it was in his power, either to have over-ruled his 
 ' liberty -, or elfe, without prejudice to it, to have 
 ' afforded him fuch afTiftances, as muft have ef- 
 ' fed:ually preferved him in his Innocence ? 
 
 In anfwer to this, let it be confider'd, that it is 
 the nature of Creatures to be dependent — that de- 
 pendency implies need of fupport — that in the 
 vouchfafement of this fupport, the divine conducft 
 regulates itfelf by certain Rules and Laws founded 
 on the Natures and Relations of things, and ad- 
 julled according to the utmoil exa<5lnefs— That 
 thefe Laws are inviolable ; becaufe the violating of 
 them upon any account, would argue fuch weak- 
 nefs and variablenefs as is unworthy of the divine 
 Being, and would be violating the Reafons and 
 Natures of things— That one of thefe laws is, to 
 govern all Creatures according to their Natures— 
 Another, that the fupport vouchfafed them, bear 
 
 a jufl 
 
 * See Bayle's Dift. Art. Manicho'avs^ Faulicians, ^ aliii 
 pnjjim, and the Life of jVlr B'Jyle prefix'd to his Did. by Mr 
 des MaizeauXy p. 1 02. 
 
clear' d and vindicated . 43 
 
 a juft proportion to the need they have of it; 
 and that it be fuited to the ftate and nature of its 
 objedl— That the fupport or affiftance vouchfafed 
 to free Agents, bear a certain Ratio, or propor- 
 tion to Free-Will ', that, in conjun6tion with it, it 
 may be fufficient to enable them to preferve their 
 llate, and to advance it — That, however, it lay no 
 force upon their freedom. Whence it follows, 
 that it miift neceflarily be an inferior Principle of 
 action to Free-Will, and therefore liable to be o- 
 ver- ruled by it— and that, if God beftow fuch a 
 Ratio of Grace, as will prove an over- balance to 
 Free-Will, or fufpend it in aqiiilibrio, it either 
 way deftroys its motion -, which is contrary to the 
 fore-mention'd Laws of his Government. 
 
 If therefore thefe Principles be right, it is not 
 conceivable how God himfelf, confider'd as a wife 
 Governor of the world, can prevent Man's fin- 
 ing •, becaufe he is bound by the Laws of his con- 
 dud:, not to afford him any more than fuch a 
 quantity of Grace, as leaves Free-Will to be the 
 more powerful Principle of a6lion •, which if it 
 be oppofed to Grace, muft neceflarily overcome iL 
 
 Upon thefe Principles God is fufficiently jufti- 
 fied in making fuch a Creature as Man, as well 
 as in permitting him to fin : For as he cannot 
 make a Creature ftriftly impeccable \ in miaking 
 Man, as at firft He did, he left him no more than 
 the bare -pojfibility of finning, the 'probability lying 
 on the other fide. For he firft endowed him with 
 Freedom of Will, which being balanced with the 
 utmoft exaftnefs between Good and Evil, that was 
 as much as God, in jujlice, was bound to do j 
 fince the determination of his happinefs and mi- 
 fcry was left entirely in himfelf. But as God more- 
 over threw an additional wcio;ht into the fcale on 
 the fide of Good, this made // to preponderate -, 
 
 and 
 
44 Termijjion of "Evil vindicated. 
 
 and therefore adually gave him the firfl determi- 
 nation to Good ; which is fuflicient to juftify the 
 Goodnefs of God likewife. 
 
 How then, it may be afk'd, was it in the power 
 of Man to give himfelf a contrary determination 
 afterwards ? Very eafily ; even as eafily as we often 
 fee well difpofed Perfons now adays, whofe incHna- 
 tions are moftly bent towards Good, yet fome- 
 times to relapfe, and even finally to fall away from 
 Grace, whereby the balance is turned to the other 
 fide. 
 
 To make it plainer, let us fuppofe the Mind of 
 Man to refemble a Perfon holding a pair of Scales -, 
 the one fcale G. inclining to Goad ; the other E. 
 inclining to Evil : To thefe two fcaks belong two 
 weights ; the one leffer Gr. Grace^ always belong- 
 ing to the Scale G. the other greater L. Liberty^ 
 not confined to either y^<^/^ •, but lodged in the per- 
 fon's hand who holds the balance M. who has it in 
 his power to put it into that which he thinks fit, 
 and may remove it from the one to the other at 
 pleafure. 
 
 Who now fees not, that tho' the odds lye on 
 the fide of G. yet that it is intirely in the power of 
 M. to turn the balance to which fide he pleafes, 
 and that as often as he thinks fit ? q. e. d. 
 
 This Demonftration is built upon a few fuch 
 fimple an4 felf-evident Principles, that I think it 
 is unconteftable, and gives an eafy folution of that 
 difficulty, which has lb long been the triumph of 
 Infidels, in which they fortified themfelves as their 
 dernier refort, and which has fo often baffled the 
 endeavours of the Advocates of Religion to ac- 
 count for it. It fully vindicates the moral Attri- 
 butes of God with regard to the Permiflion of 
 Evil, which feemed to bear fo hard upon them, 
 and obviates all the objedions, as well thofe of Mr 
 
 Bayle 
 
Laws of Grace and Liberty. 4 c 
 
 Bayle as of others relating to it, fo far as I have 
 had opportunity to examine them. And the origin 
 of moral Evil being thus accounted for, without 
 making God acceffary to it, or arraigning any of 
 his Attributes, I need fay nothing of -phyfical Evil-, 
 that being neceffarily conne6ted with, and refult- 
 ing from moral Evil, as I have fhewn page 33. 
 
 I fhail hereto fubjoin the following Corollaries 
 drawn from the foregoing reafonings. 
 
 Coroll. I. That every free Agent, at his firft fetting 
 out in life, is endowed with a certain quantity of 
 liberty. 
 
 II. That this Liberty muft, in the nature of it, 
 have a double afpedt, or be two-fold, viz. Li- 
 berty to Good, and Liberty to Evil : For if it 
 hath not a power of determining itfelf either 
 way, it is no more Liberty, but NecefTity. 
 
 III. That this Liberty, like all other faculties of 
 the mind, is capable of being improved or im- 
 paired : i. e. That his Liberty towards Good 
 will be advanced, or diminiflied, and v. v. to- 
 wards Evil, in proportion to the ufe he makes 
 of it. 
 
 IV. That every Increafe of Liberty to Good is a 
 Diminution of Liberty to Evil i and v. v. 
 
 V. That the firil, as well as every other fubfc- 
 quent portion of Grace, is the free Gift of God, 
 and is proportioned to the quantity of Liberty 
 in the Subje6l. 
 
 VI. That in the progrefs of it, it keeps pace with 
 Liberty, /. e. it is increafed or diminiflied in 
 proportion to the Increafe or Diminution of Li- 
 berty to Good. 
 
 VII. Becaufe Grace Is confined within the bounds 
 iet it by Liberty, the more Liberty to Good is 
 increafed, the mofe in proportion Grace will be 
 
 increafed. 
 
46 ^he Laws of 
 
 increafed, and its bounds enlarged : And every Di- 
 minution of Liberty to Good is a Diminution of 
 Grace, v. v. Every Increafe of Liberty to Evil 
 is a Diminution of Grace ; and every Diminu- 
 tion of Liberty to Evil is an Increafe of Grace. 
 
 VIII. That by the Increafe of Liberty to Good ad 
 infinitum^ Liberty to Evil will be diminifhed ad 
 infinitum.) i. e. deftroycd ; and v. v. by the In- 
 creafe of Liberty to Evil ad infinitum., Liberty 
 to Good will be deflroyed. 
 
 IX. Liberty to Good being increafed ad infinitum, 
 Grace will be increafed ad infinitum likewife ; 
 and V. V. Liberty to Evil being increafed ad in- 
 finitunty Grace will be deftroyed. 
 
 X. Liberty to Evil being intirely deftroyed, the 
 relapfe of the Subje6t, it is deftroyed in, to Evil 
 becomes impoftible, by the Laws of Grace and 
 Liberty. On the other hand, Grace and Liber- 
 ty to Good being intirely deftroy'd, the reco- 
 very of the Subje<5l, it is deftroy'd in, becomes 
 impoftible, without deftroying human Liberty, 
 or over -ruling it. 
 
 Infer. Hence it is barely poftible, that all free 
 Agents may fufi^er their Liberty to Evil, to gain 
 fuch a head as to deftroy Grace and Liberty to 
 Good -, and in infinite numbers of them, it is not 
 at all ftrange if many of them will. On the other 
 hand there is a poftibility, that they may all im- 
 prove their Liberty to Good, and the Grace given 
 them in aid of it, to that degree, as to deftroy 
 their Liberty to Evil \ and there is the higheft de- 
 gree of probability, that the bulk of them at 
 length will. Becaufe it is moft reafonable to fup- 
 pofe, that reafonable Creatures,- after the continued 
 experience of the benefits of Good, and inconve- 
 niencies of Evil, will at laft perceive their true in- 
 
 tereft. 
 
Grace mid Liberty. 47 
 
 tereft, and aft accordingly — that after 'vihrating 
 for a time from one extreme to the other, the cen- 
 tre of moral ofcillation * will at length be fix'd. 
 That the two Principles, Liberty to Good, and 
 Grace, afling in conjimclion with each other, will 
 in the end prevail againft the fingle Principle, Li- 
 berty to Evil — and that however the balance may 
 be kept flu6tuating for a while, and continued in 
 fufpenfe, the fcale which has the advantage of 
 Weight muft finally preponderate. 
 
 Having demonftratively cleared the divine con- 
 du(ft with regard to the origin of Evil, and per- 
 mifiion of the Fall, I think 1 have, by dediidions 
 from the fame Principles, gone near to demon- 
 ftrate likewife our future Recovery from it ; the 
 finally complete prevalence of Good over Evil. 
 Nor do I know of any deficiency in this rea- 
 foning, unlefs it be faid, that the fuggeflions of 
 the Devil ought to be confider'd as a counter-ba- 
 lance to the afiiftance of divine Grace : Admittino- 
 this therefore, it only brings the fcales nearer to an 
 equality ; for as He that is with us is fironger 
 than him that is againji us, the advantage muft 
 ftill lie on the fide of that inclining to Good ; {o 
 that the conclufion is ftill the fame. 
 
 If thefe Principles are right, it will be allowed, 
 that they give us clearer and more rational notions 
 of Grace and Free-will -, whereby they will ferve 
 to correfl thofe enthufiaftical conceits relating here- 
 to that feem to be reviving among us ; and to con- 
 vince us, that God doth not a6t arbitrarily, par- 
 tially, or irrefifiiibly in the diftribution of his Grace, 
 but proceeds according to certain eftablifhed Laws, 
 whereby the Freedom of Man's Will is always fe- 
 cured. And if the many and long controverted 
 
 difputes 
 
 • See Bay/e*s DlCt Vo]. v. p. 832. i. 
 
48 Connediion of Grace and Liberty. 
 
 difputes relating to thefe fubjc6ts were brought to 
 this touchftone, they would be Ipeedily adjulled. 
 
 Hence iikewife it appears, that there is a ftrifl 
 connexion between true Liberty, that is. Liberty 
 to Good, and chriftian Grace — that they are infe- 
 parable — and that the one cannot fubfifl in any 
 tolerable degree without the other : Whence we fee 
 how groundlefs the pretenfions of Infidels are to 
 Liberty — what fort of liberty that is which they 
 fo much pique themfclves upon — what enemies 
 they are to themfelves and to it, in difclaiming di- 
 vine Grace in aid of it — and how juftly the Apoftle 
 obferves concerning fuch, that while they promife 
 Liberty to others, whom they would feduce, they 
 themfelves are the Servants of corruption. 1 Pet. ii. 1 9 . 
 
 What I have hitherto olTer'd is only preparatory 
 to my general defign ; which is to fhew the final 
 Prevalence of Good over Evil in this ftate, and 
 that Mankind, before the end of the world, fliall 
 recover from all the ill confequences of the Fall, 
 and be reftored to their original Perfeftion. In 
 proof of this truth I fliall offer the following con- 
 fiderations, from all which taken together, 1 hope 
 it will be fully eftablillied. 
 
 I. I fhall offer fome remarks on the ftate of the 
 world after the Fall •, whence it will appear, that 
 God from the beginning had the Amendment 
 and Preformation of it in view •, and wherein 
 fome account will be given of his procedure in 
 this refpecl, with the reafons of it, as well as 
 of the caufes why the work ot Reformation took 
 place no fooner, and went on no fafter. 
 
 II. I (hall fliew, that it went on notwithftanding, 
 and that the difpenfations of Providence in the 
 feveral periods of the world had a manifeft ten- 
 dency to this End, and according to the ufe made 
 
 of 
 
Method of the whole. 40 
 
 of them were more or lefs efFe6lual In the Im- 
 provement of Mankind, both in their rehgious 
 and civil capacities. 
 JII. I fhall fhew what the notions and expe6lations 
 of the ancient Jews, Heathens, and Chriftians 
 were, with regard to the future Reftoration and 
 Renovation of the world. 
 
 IV. I Ihall fhew, that this Doftrine is agreeable to 
 the attributes of God, the nature of Man, and 
 reafons of Things. 
 
 V. I fhall fhew it to be the general defign and ten- 
 dency of the chriflian Religion to reftore Man to 
 his primitive flate. And 
 
 VI. I ihall particularly prove, that he (hall be fo re- 
 ftored in every refpeft, from feveral pafTages in 
 the prophetical writings of the old and new Tef- 
 tament, as well as from many other places of 
 Scripture. 
 
 And in order to clear the way, I fhall begin with 
 fome Remarks on the flate of the world in the ages 
 next after the Fall. 
 
 E CHAP. 
 
5o Remarh on the State 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Containing Remarks on the Ji ate oj Mankind af-^ 
 ter the Fall in the antediluvian world ; whence 
 it will appear^ that God in all his difpenfa- 
 tions during this period^ had an eye to their 
 Amendment and Reformation, 
 
 THERE are feveral favourable circum- 
 flances obfervable in the fentcnce pro- 
 nounced on our firft Parents alter their Fall. 
 As firft, the promife of a Redeemer even before 
 the pronunciation of it •, which was a comfortable 
 ground of hope for their fupport under it, as here- 
 in was contain' d a gracious aifu ranee that they were 
 not entirely abandon'd to perdition ; but that God 
 immediately began to lay meafures for delivering 
 them out of the deplorable condition, into which 
 they had plunged thernfelves. And when the fen- 
 tence came to be pronounced, it is to be obferved, 
 that it is couched in milder terms than that on the 
 Serpent, or even that on the Earth : For God al- 
 mighty does not exprefly tell either Adam or Eve^ 
 that they are curfed, left the harftinefs of the fen- 
 tcnce fliould caft them into defpair, but leaves it to 
 be inferr'd by themfelves, as it well might be, from 
 the Earth's being accurfed for their fakes ; and his 
 transferring of the Curfe in this manner from them 
 to the Earth, was an aft of clemency, and intimated 
 his inclination * to releafe them from it. Moreover, 
 God's gracious intention towards thefe unhappy Cri- 
 minals, may be inferr'd from the relaxation he made 
 in the execution of the fentence after it was pro- 
 nounced : 
 
 * (Deus) mn ipjum mn ^cJixit Adam, fed terram in vperibus ejus^. 
 quanirim quidem tranJluUt Deus jiinledictum in terratn^ ut non per- 
 ftTuaut inhomine. LcK^eiUib. '^, Cap. 35. 
 
of Man after the Fall. 51 
 
 hounced : For whereas He had threaten'd, that in 
 the day they fhould eat, they fhould furely die, yet 
 he was pleafed to grant tht^m a reprieve for a long 
 term of years, that they might have time for re- 
 pentance and recovery. 
 
 And it is efpecially worthy our obfervation, tliat 
 this fentence was fo wifely contrived in the nature 
 of it, as to be an expedient for removing itfelf, 
 which is obfervable with regard to every part of it. 
 
 Thus the Man's fentence to eat his bread in the 
 fweat of his brow^ feems to be the injunction of a 
 falutary penance^ that is, not merely a punilhment, 
 but alio a remedy againfl the diforders of various 
 kinds, which he would be liable to in this his fallen 
 and degenerated ftate ; Labour and exercife being a 
 neceffary means not only of preferving the Body in 
 due plight, maintaining health, and prolonging life, 
 but of promoting the health and vigour of the 
 Mind likewife, and inuring it to many Virtues. 
 The fteriiity of the Earth compell'd him to betake 
 himfelf to Indufrry ; and his neceffity, which is the 
 mother of invention, fharpen'd his wit, and laid the 
 foundation of all the ufeful Arts that have been 
 found out ever fince, which are the natural means 
 of overcoming the Curfe on the Ground, as will be 
 fhewn in the next Chap. The lov/ * diet and hard 
 labour to which he was condemn'd, fubdued the 
 impetuofity of his appetites and pafTions, which un- 
 fubdued, or fupported in luxury and idlenefs, would 
 have run riot. 7\nd as hi$ guilt had reduced him 
 to a neceffity of leaving this world, the Curfe on 
 the Earth made it lefs defirable to him, wean'd his 
 affections from it, and made him more refigned and 
 willing to part with it, when the time of his depar- 
 ture fhould approach. The Woman's fentence to 
 forrow in Child-bearing, was wifely ordain'd as a 
 E 2 check 
 
 * Revel, cxamin'd. Vol, i. P. 114. 
 
52 Remarks on the State 
 
 check and reftraint upon her inclination to carnal 
 pleafure, and as a great prefervative of her chaftity : 
 And by making her fubje^l to her Hufband, was 
 eftabhfn'd that neceffary fubordination of the one 
 Sex to the other, which was gracioufly appointed to 
 prevent endlefs contentions for fuperiority, which 
 could never otherwife have been decided. The Sen- 
 tence on the Serpent convey'd to Mankind a gene- 
 ral hope of fome remedy for the Evil they lay un- 
 der, * whereby the expedlation of it was kept alive 
 from age to age -, a fenfe of Religion, with the great 
 duties of it, faith, hope, and trull, was maintain'd ; 
 and at the fame time, the defigns of Providence 
 were by this means carried on in bringing about the 
 great work of our Redemption. Even the tempta- 
 tions and afiaults of the Devil are not without their 
 ufe for the exercife and improvement of our Virtue ; 
 which for want hereof would not have fo mucli of 
 the nature of Virtue in it.-f 
 
 Irenaus has a thought, |1 that Code's turning Man 
 out of paradife, and preventing his approach to the 
 Tree of Life, was defign'd in pure compafllon to 
 him, as the eating of that Tree, after his Fall, would 
 be attended with no other effedl, than to perpetuate 
 his fin and mifery beyond the polTibility ot a reco- 
 very. And probably, the plenty and happinefs of 
 the paradifiacal ftate, having been already abufed by 
 
 him, 
 
 * See Bifiiop Sherlock on Prophecy, Difc. 3 . 
 
 ■\ To this purpofe Ladantiin obferves, Iccirco em?n in primor- 
 dits tranfgrejjionis, non JIatifn ad pcenam detrufus a Deo eji (Jcil. 
 diaholus ) ut hominem malitid fud exerceat ad vhtutem: qutv nifi 
 agitetur, ni ajfidud ^jcxatione rohoretiir, nott poteji e^e perfclca. — • 
 Ex quo ft, ut 'virtus nulla fit, f ad'verfarius deft. Lact. Inltit. 
 Lib.^. 
 
 11 (Deus) tjec'tt eum (fcil. hominem) de paradifo, i^ a Ugno 'vi- 
 ta Icnge tranfulit : Non in'videns ei Ignum 'vil<^, quemadtnodum 
 quidam dicur.t, fed miferans ejus, ut no7i perfeveraret Jemper tranf 
 g'tffor, neque imtnortale efet quod efj'et circa eum -fcccatum^ i^ 
 malum interminabile, ^ infanabiU. IreniXi Lib. 3. Cap. 37. 
 
of Man after the Fall. 53 
 
 him, his continuance in it had only adminlfter*d oc- 
 cafion to his immerfing himfelf the more in fenfe, 
 jyid indulging himfelf in eafe and luxury. 
 
 To v/hich may be added, that the eating of the 
 Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil opened a 
 large fource of experimental fcience, and occafion'd 
 his exercifing of that moftufeful branch of Wifdom, 
 the diflinguilhing Good from Evil, which his for- 
 mer inexperience kept Iiim in ignorance of. 
 
 Therefore his expulfion out of paradife, and 
 change of ftate confequcnt thereupon, whatever ap- 
 pearance of feverity it may have, was, indeed, no 
 more than a neceflary meafure, a wholefome difci- 
 pline, and as fuch to be accounted as another re- 
 markable inftance of God's gracious intention to- 
 wards his fallen creature. 
 
 Thus did the wife Difpofcr of all things contrive 
 to bring Good out of Evil : Not but that the evils 
 -of our Fall, are evils ftill in their own nature, which 
 liowever ufeful they may be to us, yet are they fo 
 only in our fallen ftate. They were infiicfled in con- 
 fequence of our Fall, and therefore cannot in that 
 view be confider'd otherwife than under the notion 
 of a curfe or punilhment ; and as fuch it is one 
 great end and defign of our Redemption, not to 
 Testify and convert them into bleftings, which 
 Mr J". pleads for, but abfolutely to remove and de- 
 llroy them, which I fliall hereafter particularly prove 
 it will effedl ; but this would not be requifite, nor 
 would it be an end worthy of God, to deprive Man- 
 kind of them, if they had been really and proper- 
 ly blefllngs, or could be converted into fuch. Con- 
 fider'd in their moral ufe, they arc, as I have inti- 
 mated, to be efteem'd as chaftifements, whereby 
 they become inftrumental of much Good to us,* but 
 E 3 th s 
 
 tfiovala (pviiaccv kxk'mv, u^fy,<-ov x^ tuvu^sXr) ^ivuM, fji.-i^fi\ jiajjv kxto, iranx 
 
 0hx0e(dv xvrrtY yevh^xi. Clem. Alex. Strom. Ub. i. p. 312. 
 
'54 Retnarks en the State 
 
 this does not caiife them to lay afide their natures, 
 being no lefs natural Evils ftiil. 
 
 II. God did not leave himfelf without- a witnefs 
 in other refpefls. For foon after the Fall, Sacrifices 
 were infrituted, an admirable means to infpire Man- 
 'kind with a horror of Guilt, and which likewife 
 ferved for a perpetual memorial of Mercy from ge-r 
 neration to generation. Moreover, there is reafon 
 to believe, that God exhibited himfelf at that feafon 
 by fom.e fignal manifeftations of his Prefence, as he 
 did afterwards in the tabernacle and temple.* This 
 is implied in Cain's, complaint, that he fhould be 
 hid from the face of God. As his punifhment was 
 a fignal warning againft fin, efpecially the heinous 
 fin of Murder : So EnocFs Tranflation was a noble 
 encouragement to piety and virtue, and a fure do- 
 cument that God had ample rewards referved for 
 the righteous in a future ftate. , 
 
 In the days of Enos^ God feems to have made 
 fome extraordinary Revelations of his Will, parti- 
 cularly with regard to the divine Woriliip : For we 
 are told, that then Men began to call upon the name 
 of the Lord, Gen. iv. 26. Or rather, as Mr Shuck- 
 ford elfewhere judiciouQy tranQates the phrafe, 
 nini D^m i^1p*7 to invoke in the name of the Lord 
 Jehovah, that is, they were then firfl taught to wor- 
 ihip thro' the Mediator. 
 
 The laft method of mercy and monition for the 
 amendment of Mankind, was. the appointing Noah 
 a Preacher of righteoufnefs, to warn them of the in- 
 tended deftruftion of the world, and to afllire them, 
 that for the averting of it, they were to have no 
 more than 120 years tryal. There were probably 
 many Preachers of righteoufnefs before him •, fome 
 think there were feven very eminent in that office. 
 So they render 2 Pet. ii. 5. Noah the eighth Preacher 
 
 "f 
 
 * Sec Mr Lno'i Con/idersiion? on R.':g!on, p, 60. 
 
before the Flood, ^^ 
 
 if Right eoufnefs. But as the Scripture account of 
 the old world is very Ihort, there might probably 
 have been many more methods ufed for the reform- 
 ation of it, than is neceffary for us to be acquaint- 
 ed with. However, thefe that are recorded, ar^ 
 fufficient to vindicate the ways of God with Man, 
 during this period ; fince it may hence be colledted, 
 that the world wanted neither wife inftitutions, nor 
 authentic Teachers from God, to keep them in their 
 duty, and deter them from evil : Tho' all was in- 
 fufficient to ftem that torrent of corruption, which 
 iiniverfally fpread over the face of the whole Earth ; 
 nor was even this without its ufe, to convince all 
 fucceedino; generations of the difmal effects of the 
 Fall, the malignity and contagion of fin, and to 
 what a monftrous height iniquity will rife, if fuffer'd 
 to have its full fway. However, 
 
 III. From the hiftory of the antediluvian world, 
 Ihort as it is, it appears, that the corruption, which 
 at length prevail'd over the whole earth, tho' fpeedy, 
 yet was gradual in its progrefs. Cain'?, murder of 
 his brother is the firft heinous crime recorded in 
 Scripture ; and yet this was not committed till about 
 J. M. 129, as is inferr'd from the birth of Seth^ 
 who was given in lieu of Jbel^ A. M. 1 30.* which 
 was probably the year after his death. Cain^ and 
 his family, after this, fell off" apace from their obe- 
 dience, and by degrees corrupted the reft of the 
 v/orld ; all except the Defcendents of Seth^ who per- 
 fevered in their innocence, maintain'd a fenfe ot 
 Religion, and kept up the worfhip of God among 
 themfelves for many generations ; and it was not till 
 towards the laft age of the world, that they depart- 
 ed from the fervice of God, and were involved in 
 the general corruption. Agreeably to this, the Curfc 
 on the Ground was gradual likewife, and bore pro- 
 E 4 portion 
 
 • According to the Septuagint Chron. 230. 
 
56 Remarks 07t the State 
 
 portion to the increafe of wickednefs. This may be 
 inferr'd from the repetition of it upon the offence 
 of Cain, Gen. iv. 12. which was the fame in kind 
 with the firft curfe, and could differ from it only in 
 degree, as indeed the words themfelves imply, IVben 
 thoti tilleji the ground, it jJoall not henceforth, (i. e. 
 as heretotore) yield unto thee her Jlrength. The fame 
 may be likewife colleded from Lantech's prophecy, 
 'This fame fhall comfort us concerning our 'work and 
 toil of our hands, becaufe of the Ground which the 
 Lord hath curfed. Gen. v. 29. which are the words 
 of a Man groaning under the utmoil feverity of 
 this curfc. This appears laftly from the judgment 
 of the Flood, which was inflifted in confequence 
 of the Curfe ; and wherein it arrived at its greatefb 
 height, even to the deflruftion of the Earth. And 
 accordingly both the Curfe and the Flood are join'd 
 together, as being both owing to the fame caufe, 
 Ge7t. viii. 21. 
 
 IV. As the prevailing fins of the times are re- 
 corded to have been Corruption (by which are gene- 
 rally underftood luft and debauchery, unlawful mix- 
 tures, and pollutions) and Violence, i. e. cruelty and 
 opprefTion ; fo the caufes of them feem to have been, 
 I. The fecurity and temptations of a long lite of 
 youth and vigour. 2. The great increafe of Man- 
 kind, which foon overflock'd the earth in its then 
 ftate of fterility,. to that degree, that they fell to 
 injure, opprefs, and deftroy each other for their fub- 
 fiftcnce. V/hence we may obferve, 
 
 V. That long Life is not always a BlefTing, nor 
 defign'd by God as an earned of his favour, unlefs 
 it be attended with other happy circumftanccs ; 
 fmce he was pleafed to lengthen the lives of this 
 wicked race of Men, far beyond what he hath vouch- 
 iafed ever fince. It is undoubtedly happier v/ith us 
 in our prefent circumilances, when Men feldom 
 
 reach 
 
before the Flood. 57 
 
 reach the tenth part of the days of the antedilu- 
 vians, to finifli the term of our probation fo foon, 
 and to be deUver'd out of this prefent finful world, 
 rather than have our Hves protrafted to fuch a te- 
 dious length as theirs was ; and efpegially on fuppo- 
 fition that the world were lb wicked now, and un- 
 der fo fevere a Curfe as it was then, which it is to 
 be hoped it is not. 
 
 A remarkable inftance of the truth of this obfer- 
 vation we have in Enoch, who being a favourite of 
 Heaven, was removed out of this world before he 
 had arrived at near half the age of Man at that 
 time -, agreeably to the Prophet's obfervation, Tba^ 
 the righteous are taken away from the evil to comcy 
 Ila. Ivii. I. 
 
 VI. The Tranllation of that extraordinary Perfon 
 without ever tafting of death, as a reward of his 
 eminent probity and fanftity, in the midft of a 
 crooked and perverfe generation, was not only 
 vouchfafed to Mankind as a fupport and comfort 
 to them under the fenfe of their mortality, by inlpi- 
 ring them with the hopes of a Life immortal, of 
 which this was an earneft — but it was more-over 
 an intimation to them., that if they overcame the 
 depravity of their nature, as he did, they fliould be 
 delivered from the ill confequences of it, as he was -, 
 the chiefeft of which was Death, temporal and e- 
 ternal, both which he avoided. For to fuppofe him 
 delivered from all the ill confequences of the Fall, 
 before he had been purged from all the corruption 
 of it, feems to argue a partiality fo contrary to the 
 ftated methods of God's dealings v/ith Mankind, 
 and to the law of their nature, as is not to be fup- 
 pofed in him who hath no refpe5i of Per fans, and 
 in whom is no variablenefs, nor fhadow of turning. 
 Befides that he had not been qualified for the pure 
 maniions above, if he had had any finful impurities 
 
 aahering 
 
58 Remarks on the State 
 
 adhering to him. Enochs therefore, having over- 
 come the corruption of his nature, of which his 
 Tranfiation was a proof, was an inftance of the pof- 
 fibility of the thing in others ah'b. And moreover 
 he was a type, not only of our Saviour's afcenfion, 
 but Ukewife of the change which the Saints fhall 
 in a moment undergo, at the laft trumpet. But of 
 this more hereafter. 
 
 VII. From the longevity of the Antediluvians it 
 may be conchided, that God at firft defigned the 
 age of Man in general, in all fucceeding periods of 
 the world, for fuch or for a greater length. From 
 their wearing fo well, notwithftanding their corrupt- 
 ing of themfelves by lull and debauchery, we may 
 juitly inferr, that the texture of their original Sta- 
 mina mufb have been of a prodigious ftrength, and 
 that they were built for Immortality. But the great 
 length of Men's lives flocking the earth too faft with 
 Inliabitants in its then barren ftate, and being made 
 an occafion of fin, God thought fit after the Flood 
 to Ihorten by degrees the period of human life, that 
 the increafe of Mankind might bear a due propor- 
 tion to the ftatc of the earth for their fubliflence, 
 and that death being brought nearer to their view 
 might draw oft their attachmant from this world, 
 and induce them to place it upon another, which 
 at the difcance of fo many hundreds of years it had 
 little power to effeft. 
 
 I know this way of accounting for. the longevity 
 G^ xhut Antediluvians is objeded to by fome learned* 
 Men, becaufe of the comparative fliortnefs of the 
 lives of Noah's fons, who tho' they had all the 
 ftrength of an antediluvian* conflitution, fell fo far 
 Ihort of the age of their Fore-fathers, that Shem^ 
 for inftance, lived but to 600 years : And therefore 
 they have fought out otlier methods of accounting 
 
 for 
 
 * Buriiet'i Theory, and Shuckford\ Conneii. B. i. p. 32. 
 
before the Flood. '59 
 
 for it. But they themfelves in a great meafure fur- 
 nifli an anfwer to this * objedion. 
 
 The decay in the conftitution of Noah*s fons pro- 
 ceeded not from any alteration for the worfe in the 
 flate of the earth and heavens in the new world, 
 but was the immediate efFe6l of the rain and wa- 
 ters. Wet weather we know relaxes the fibres and 
 mufcles, caufes a refolution of the humours, and 
 fets them all afloat, and otherwife greatly affeds the 
 habit of the body. 
 
 Now when all the fountains of the great Deep 
 were broken up, and the windows ot Heaven open- 
 ed, what a moifture muft this have occafioned in 
 the air, and how iinwholfome muil the weather have 
 been during the v/hole time the Rains continued ? 
 
 But moreover as Noah and his family were pent 
 up in a clofe veflel, with only one fmall window to ^'^;^^/^ 
 it, and that not open'd till after the waters abated, c^ ly ^a 
 Gen. viii. 6. fo that they had no opportunity of ^^^^ 
 drawing any frefh air, (except what got in thro' the^^y'^' 
 pores and crevices of the veffel, which, as I have^ ^ ^^ 
 fhewn, was unwholfome) for a whole year together, -^c^P*^ 
 notwithftanding they were crouded with fuch a mul- j^C^'^t^^ 
 titude of Animals ; I appeal to any lea-faring Man, 
 if this alone had not been fufficient to deilroy the 
 ftrongeft modern conftitution. This I take to be 
 a moil convincing proof of the ftrength and firm- 
 nefs of their frame, that they were able to wea- 
 ther out this ftorm, as well as they did : For had 
 they been fuch trail, feeble Creatures, ciOi vZv 
 /SpsTOi hah they muft have been as effedually de- 
 ftroyed in the Ark, as the reft of the world was 
 out of it. 
 
 ' Noahy * as is well obferved, had lived fix hun- 
 ^ dred years before the Flood came, fo that we may 
 
 'rea- 
 
 * Shuckfordy ib. p. 34, 
 
6o Remarks on the State 
 
 ' reafonably fuppofe he had contracted a lirmnefs oF 
 
 ' conilitution, to be able to weather out the incon- 
 
 * veniences of it, and we find his Ufe was not fenfi- 
 
 * bly fhortned thereby. But his Children were very 
 ' young Men when the Flood happened, their na- 
 ' tures were not fixed and hardened, fo that they 
 
 * fcarce exceeded two thirds of what they might 
 
 * probably otherwife have lived to.' 
 
 Their conftitutions being thus broken, what won- 
 der is it, that their Children were affedled by it ? 
 And that the decay being once begun, they continued 
 to degenerate for many fucceeding generations ? 
 There is no reafon, therefore, for rejedling this ac- 
 count of the longevity of the antediluvians : On the 
 contrary v^e may perhaps be confirmed in it, v/hen 
 we examine the other caufes to which it hath been 
 afcribcd. 
 
 Some impute it to their abftemioufnefs and the 
 fimplicity of their diet, but neither of thefe caufes, 
 if trae, was adequate. Indeed fimplicity of diet, 
 if they confined themfelves to the vegetable kind, 
 might contribute fomething to this end ; but it doth 
 not appear that they did. On the contrary I am in- 
 ^/4^/H^ pined to think,* that animal food was permitted 
 i^H UUi ever fince the firft inftitution of Sacrifice, that is, in 
 ^it\ f^tC all likelihood immediately after the Fall, when we 
 ^^ "tit, are given to underftand, that beafls were llain. Gen. 
 Vtf^ - jii. 2 1. the flefli of which probably was partly con- 
 '^•(T^i^' fumed in Sacrifice, and partly eaten, as was ufuai 
 afterwards. Thus we are told with regard to Abel's 
 offering, that he brought of the firfilings of his flock, 
 end of the fat thereof. Gen. iv. 4. What then be- 
 came of the reft of the meat .^ was it thrown away ? 
 that were a fin. It is probable, therefore, it was 
 eaten, as was cuftomary in all Sacrifices, but fuch as 
 were made Holocaitfls of, which this was not, fince 
 
 there 
 
 * Vide Heidegger Hifioria Patriarch. Exercif, xv. 
 
before the Flood. 6i 
 
 there is no mention made of any part being offered 
 befides the fat. 
 
 Neither do I fee any ground for fuppofing them 
 fuch abllemioiis regular Livers. 1 fliould ratlier be 
 incHned to believe the contrary of them ; for as they 
 were addifted to all manner of vice, and particular- 
 ly luft, of which intemperance is a never-failing 
 companion, I can hardly be perfuaded to acquit 
 them of it. 
 
 But the moft plaufible opinion is that of the inge- 
 nious Theorifb * above-mentioned -, who attributes 
 the length of their Lives to their breathing in a pu- 
 rer air, and living under a greater ferenity and e- 
 quality of the Heavens. And I find this opinion is 
 efpoufed by another i" very learned Man, which is 
 the more to be wonder' d at, both upon account of 
 its being fo unphilofophical and antifcriptural. That 
 it is built upon a wrong hypothecs in Philofophy 
 hath been fliewn by others ; I fliall therefore only 
 take notice of its inconfiftency with Scripture and 
 Divinity. 
 
 The Curfe on the Ground was denounced on the 
 Fall, and there is all the realbn in the world to fuppofe 
 it took place immediately then. The words of it 
 are particularly diredled to Adam : Curfed is the 
 Ground for thy fake, in forrow fhalt thou eat of 
 it, and thorns and thifiles fhall it bring forth /i? thel'. 
 Gen. iii. 17, 18. Accordingly he is turned out of 
 Paradife to till the Ground, and eat his bread in the 
 fweat of his face -, and that the Curfe was continued 
 or rather increafed during the continuance of the old 
 World, I have fliewn above p. 70. Now how is 
 this confiftent with that conftant ferenity and equality 
 of the Heavens — that even temperature of the Sea- 
 fons — that perpetual Equinox, and one continued 
 Spring, of which thefe Writers give fo fine a de- 
 
 fcription ? 
 
 * Dr Burnetii Theory. f Shuckfcrd ConneSl. B. i. p. 33. ..^ 
 
62 Remarks on the State 
 
 icription ? This fuits the paradifiacal State rather 
 than that which fucceeded it ; at leaft the lofs of Pa- 
 radife was very fupportable, when every thing went 
 on fo fmoothiy out of it. For it cannot be fup- 
 pofcd that the Earth could be unfruitful, when the 
 Heavens were fo favourable ; fince common obfer- 
 vation informs us, that the fruitfulnefs of the one 
 depends upon the favourablenefs of the other. It 
 is, therefore, more agreeable to Scripture and Rea- 
 fon to fuppofe, that the fterility of the Earth was 
 attended with a proportionable degree of inclemen- 
 cy in the Air, and inftability in the feafons ; or ra- 
 ther that it chiefly proceeded from it, and both 
 from the wickednefs of the then world, to which 
 they bore proportion, and with which they gradually 
 increafed. For it is contrary to the methods of God's 
 Providence, as well as to the tenor of Scripture, 
 That he Jhould open the good treafures of Heaven to 
 fo wicked and profligate a race of Men, and lavifli 
 his blefllngs upon fuch unworthy objefts. It is more 
 confiftent with both 1 3 believe,* that the Curfe on 
 the Ground was more feverely felt in the old world, 
 than it hath been ever fince \ agreeably to what the 
 Pfalmift obferves, That God tiirneth a fruitful land 
 into harrennefs for the wickednefs of them that dwell 
 therein. •\ To proceed. 
 
 VIII. The Inhabitants of the old World having 
 withfl:ood the ofi?ers of God's grace, and overcome 
 the fl:rivings of his Spirit, were at laft arrived at fuch 
 a monftrous height of wickednefs, that it was be- 
 come impra6ticable for God himfelf to bring about 
 a reformation of them by any methods confifl:ent: 
 with the ftate of Free-Agents, at leaft within fuch 
 a period of time as he had limited for the duration 
 of this World ; and, therefore, their deftruftion was 
 
 be- 
 
 * See Bllhop Sherlock's ufe of prophecy. Difc. iv. and 
 DilTert. 2. -)• Pf. cvii. 34. 
 
before the Flood. 6^ 
 
 become inevitable — and his faving a remnant amidH 
 fuch a crooked and perverfe generation, and pre- 
 ferving a holy feed for the peopling of the new 
 World, was a fpecial inftance of the providence of 
 God, that his grace might have the fitter Subjeds 
 to operate upon, in order to the gradual reformation 
 and reftoration of the human nature. 
 
 IX. I obferve, that the Deluge, with the feveral 
 circumftances of it, was typical of the future ftate 
 of the Church and World. Thus Noah, as he wa3 
 the Reftorer of Mankind after the Hood, was a 
 type of our Saviour •, and his Father, from the name 
 he gave him, is fiippofed by fome to have conceiv- 
 ed hopes, that he himfelf was the promifed Seed. 
 The Ark was a type of the Church •, and the waters 
 of the Deluge were typical of thofe of Baptifm : 
 For as in the former, the old World was drowned 
 and deftroyed, the fins and pollutions of it wafhed 
 away, the face of the Earth renewed, and thofe 
 who emerged were faved ; fo the Apoflle tells us, 
 that hereunto Baptifm is a like Figure^ i Pet. iii. 
 2 1 . which is a means of faving the chriftian world., 
 by purging off and dellroying its filthy and finful 
 pollutions, and making us new Creatures. Accord- 
 ingly it is called AvatcctivMa-iCjUoLAiyyivicFici, ^c 
 and the deluge being here compared to it, may be 
 fuppofed to have been the fame to the natural, aa 
 Baptifni is to the chriflian world. And tho' at iirlt 
 there were but few, that is, eight Perfons faved in 
 the ark by water, yet as they afterwards increafed, 
 and ftill continue incrcafing to great multitudes ; fo 
 thofe Chriflians, tho' at firft but few, that in the 
 gofpel age were faved by Baptifm, (liall yet conti- 
 nue increafmg till they grov/ i7tto a great multitude^ 
 which no man can number, of all nations, and kin- 
 dreds, and people, and tongues. Rev. vii. g. 
 
 To this may be added, tiiat the mildncfs necefTi- 
 
 riiy 
 
64 Remarks on the Stafe^ &c. 
 
 rily to be fuppofed in the creatures which were ta- 
 ken into the Ark, was an indication, that they fhould 
 hereafter be reftored to their firft mildnefs and fub- 
 je6lion to Man. Their being all fed with fodder, 
 the only food which can well be fuppofed to have 
 been provided for their fubfiftence in the Ark, im- 
 phes, that they fhall ceafe to annoy Man, and to 
 prey upon each other ; but that beafts of prey fhall 
 be fatisfied with vegetable food, according to Ifaiab's 
 predidion, 'The Lyon Jhall eat firaw like the Ox. 
 Chap. xi. 7. But of this more hereafter. 
 
 CHAR 
 
CHAP. IV. 
 
 ^Remarks on the State of Man and of Nature 
 after the Flood -y particularly concerni?jg the 
 removal of the Ciirfe from off the Ground. 
 
 WHEN Noah and his Famil)/ firft came out 
 of the Ark, the face of nature, undoubt- 
 edly, afforded them a very difmal and 
 melancholy profpeft ; nothing but defolation and ruin 
 was any where to be feen, and the whole Creation 
 was but one wide wafte. 
 
 As the Deluge was thus fatal to the oU world, it: 
 cannot well be fuppofed otherwife than that it left 
 fome lafting effefts upon the new ; but whether for 
 the better or the worfe is the qucftion upon which 
 learned Men have been divided. 
 
 As God had fatisfied his juftice and vengeance 
 upon the old World, by an utter devaftation of it — 
 as the few that furvived had been remarkably diflin- 
 guifhed, by his providential care and mercy in fav- 
 ing them from the common deftruclion — as it is a 
 favorite maxim in the divine Politicks to bring 
 Good out of Evil — laftly, as the Earth had been 
 fo well flooded and faturated with water for fo long 
 a time, and alfo manured Vv'ith the carcalTes of fo 
 many millions of Men and other Animals convert- 
 ed into its fubftance — hence I fay, without going any 
 farther, one would be apt to conclude, that the 
 drowning of the old world was the enriching of the 
 new^ and that it arofe out of the Deluge much re- 
 frefhed and renovated. 
 
 This is certain, that an opinion prevailed among 
 many of the antients, that the very Earth was cor- 
 rupted, as well as its Inhabitants, and was therefore de- 
 llroyed and form*d a-new at the deluge, which was 
 F reputed 
 
66 Remarks on the State 
 
 reputed a kind of luftration or purification of the 
 World. 
 
 A great Author has gone fo far as to maintain,, 
 that the Earth not only became more fertile after 
 the Flood, but that it recovered the original fertility 
 it had before the Fall, and that the Curie then laid 
 on it, had its period with the old World, and was 
 fully executed and accomplilhed in the Flood. * 
 And it muft be owned, that his Reafonings and Re- 
 fleftions are in the main very juft, and that he hath 
 much Countenance from Scripture for his Opinion. 
 
 But notwithftanding the deference I owe to the au- 
 thority of fo great a Name, from which, for the 
 fingular Felicity in interpreting Scripture on which 
 it is founded, it is by no means defireable to differ 
 in any inftance •, yet in this I cannot entirely fubfcribe 
 to it, tho' I have the happinefs of agreeing with his 
 Lordfhip in the main dodlrine \ wherein he feems to 
 have the jufteft notions of Man's recovery from the 
 Fall of any Author I have met with. 
 
 ' I think I fee plainly,' fays he in. one place, ' a. 
 
 * gradual working of providence towards the Re- 
 
 * demption of the World from the Curfe of the 
 
 * Fall.' t But if I rightly underftand his meaning 
 by the manner in which he explains it, he fuppofes 
 the feveral parts of the Curfe to b'e removed rather 
 fuccejfivelyy firft one part, and then another, than 
 gradually in the ftrift fenfe of the word -, whereas I 
 apprehend the removal will be ftridtly and properly 
 gradual, i. e. that all the feveral parts of the Curfe 
 wmU keep pace with each other, and be worn away 
 together by degrees : Where the difference is not in 
 the Dodrine, but in the manner of explaining it. 
 
 What his Lordfhip chiefly grounds his Hypothe- 
 fn upon is the prophecy of Lamsch, Gen. v. 29. 
 
 This 
 
 * Bifliop ShrrLrJi'ii Ufe and Intent of Prophecy. Dlfc. 4. 
 I U.e ot Piophecy p. 114, 
 
dfier the Flood, 67 
 
 ^his fame Jhall comfort us concerning our work and 
 toil of our hands, becaufe of the Ground which the 
 Lord hath curfed. From whence he very julVly in- 
 "fers, I. ' That this Curfe fubfifted in all its rigour 
 ' till the days of Lamech •,' or rather, I fhould chufe 
 to fay, that beginning at the Fall it continued in- 
 creafing in proportion to the increafe of wickednefs 
 in the World, till his time, and even till the Deluge. 
 1. ' That as there Was an expectation in Lamech' s, 
 ^ time of a deliverance from the Curfe of the Fall,* 
 fo there was no ground ' to expedl it to be perfor- 
 
 * med immediately, or all at once, but by degrees-,* 
 which notion of a gradual deliverance I likewife 
 ' believe to be moft agreeable to ail that hath hap- 
 
 * pen'd fince, and to the prefent ftate of things un- 
 ' der the Gofpel.* Nor can 1 deny, that the Ante- 
 diluvians had fuch a notion ; tho' it be mofi: natural 
 to fuppofe, that their notions of it were not fo clear 
 and diftinft, but more general, fanguine, and con- 
 fufed. 
 
 Be that as it will, the Prophecy, however under- 
 flood, hath undoubtedly been verified in the event: 
 But to that end 1 humbly conceive it was not necef- 
 fary, ' that the Earth fliould be entirely reftored 
 ' from the Curfe laid on it at the Fail,' becaufe I 
 apprehend the Prophecy doth not intimate fo much. 
 It promifeth, indeed, an abatement of the toil and 
 labour there was in cultivating the Ground ; but not 
 a removal of it to fuch a degree as his Lordfhip 
 contends for. The very words fuppofe a co^iti- 
 nuance of the Curfe in fome meafure. This fame fJoall 
 comfort tis concerning our work and toil of our handsy 
 becaufe of the Ground which the Lord hath curfed. 
 For comfort implies a continuance of forrow and af- 
 fiidion, and is never defign'd to refcue us from, 
 but to relieve us under it. Therefore all that can 
 be inferr'd from this text, or, indeed, from the 
 F 2 whole 
 
68 Remarks on the State 
 
 whole tenor of Scripture is, that the Curfe was in 
 part removed from the Ground after the Deluge, 
 and that the Earth was in fome meafurs reftored to 
 its original fruitfulnefs. This much, and I think 
 no more, can be fairly concluded from hence. And 
 this fenfe, if 1 miftal^e not, will render the Scripture 
 moft confiftent with it felf, where it mentions any 
 thing concerning the fertility or flerility of the 
 Earth, and is likewife moft agreeable to the ftate 
 of the World ever fince. — God's declaration. Gen. 
 viii. 21. I will not again curfe the Ground for Man^s 
 fake^ &c. may be thus paraphrafed — ' the Cujfe on 
 ' the Ground being arrived at its full crifis in the 
 ' Flood, I will now caufe it to take a turn towards 
 ' an abatement, in order to the gradual removal of 
 ' it: Nor fhall the wickednefs of Man hereafter pro - 
 ' voke me to a total renewal of it : Much lefs to 
 ' deftroy every thing living, as I have done ; how- 
 ' ever the offences of particular people or nations, 
 ' may require particular vifitations of this kind.' 
 And as to the fubfequent bleffing. v. 22. While the 
 Earth remaineth^ feed-time and harvefl^ cold and heat^ 
 fmmner and winter; day and nighty fhall not ceafe^ it 
 can mean no more than that there fhould be a 
 o-reater regularity and conftancy in the return of the 
 Seafons, than had been in the old World, as there 
 muft have been, in order to remove the Curfe in 
 any fenfible degree. 
 
 As to the extending of the Covenant, mentioned 
 chapter ix. to the fertility of the Earth, it is what I 
 could eafily reconcile to my fentiments, were I fatif- 
 fied of the truth of that Interpretation. But the 
 bare reading of that chapter is fufficient to convince 
 us, that that Covenant relates to the prefervation of 
 the Earth only, and not at all to the refloration of 
 it to its original fertility : Two very diftincl things 
 which ought not to be confounded. There is not 
 
 the 
 
after the Flood. 6() 
 
 the leafl: mention of this in it •, but it is exprefsly, 
 over and over, faid to be made in afllirance, that all 
 flejh JJjould not any more be cut off by the waters of 
 the Flood : And the Bow in the cloud is repeatedly 
 mentioned as the token of this Covenant, to which 
 in its nature it is beft adapted, and which is declared 
 in fuch plain and exprefs terms, that the Rainbow 
 has never been iinderftood to have been inflituted 
 with any other defign : Nor are all the palTages pro- 
 duced to fupport the former fenfe fufficient for that 
 piirpofe •, nay, fome of them manifeftly reftrain it to 
 this latter fenfe, as the Reader may fee by confult- 
 ing Ifa. liv. 9. Pf. xxxvi. 5, 6. Ecclus xliv. 1 8. 
 
 With regard to the renewal of the Charter to Noah 
 in much the fame words, or to the fame effedl, with 
 that given to Adam, no argument can be form'd 
 from thence •, becaufe the former World being de- 
 ftroyed, ^^in<^Noah now entering upon a new one, he 
 could not replenifli the Earth without God's bleiTmg 
 and command fo to do •, neither could he have a 
 right to the ufe of the Creatures, or Dominion over 
 them, without an exprefs grant for that purpofe. 
 Notwithftanding the feverity of the Curfe on the old 
 World, it did not extend to debarr its Inhabitants 
 from the privileges of the original Charter granted 
 to Ada7n -, and it appears from the nature of thefe 
 privileges, that they actually muft have enjoyed 
 them to the laft, as far and fully as the fterility of 
 the Earth would admit of And tho' the Curfe had 
 not in any meafure been removed, Noah muft have 
 had fome fuch Grant as he had, if God intended he 
 fliould ftock the Earth with Inhabitants, and that 
 they fliould live, and not ftarve upon it. For food 
 they muft have had j and the additional Grant of 
 animal food (if it was not ufed and allowed before 
 the Flood, fee p. 60.) is an inftance, not that the 
 Curfe was entirely removed from the Ground, but 
 
 F 3 • that 
 
rt' 
 
 70 Remarks on the Stah 
 
 that it ftill in a great meafure continued ; otherwife 
 there had not been fo much need of the Grant, if 
 they could have raifed a ilifRcient fupply from the 
 Earth without it : And at the fame time that this in- 
 fiance proves the continuance of the Curfe, if it 
 proves any thing ; it proves hkewife the abatement 
 of the rigour of it, fmce God was pleafed this way 
 to make up the deficiency there ftill v/as in the pro^ 
 duceofthe Earth. But my real perfuafion is, that 
 animal food was permitted in the old World •, and 
 therefore that no argument at all can be drawn from 
 hence. 
 
 But if any thing extraordinary be, indeed, im- 
 plied in the renewal of Jdajn's Charter to Noah and 
 his Sons, why may it not be fuppofed to contain an 
 intimation, that thofe privileges which he had for- 
 feited, fhould by degrees be reftored to them in their 
 pofterity ? 
 
 His Lordfhip forefeeing it would be objedled to 
 his Scheme, ' That the Life of Man is ftill labour 
 ' and toil, that he ftill eats the bread of forrow and 
 
 * carefulnefs in the fweat of his brow ; and that the 
 ^ Earth ftill abounds with thorns and thiftles, fays^ 
 ' That fuch complaints as thefe are theeffedofpre- 
 
 * judice,' p. 105. But certainly, while there remain 
 any grounds for fuch complaints as thefe, it cannot 
 be faid, that the Curfe on the Earth is entirely remo- 
 ved ; for wherever thorns and thiftles abound, there 
 the Curfe remains, if Scripture fays true. That 
 ^dam was defign'd for fome employment, Reafon 
 itfelf would tell us, tho' Scripture ftiould be filent ; 
 but that his employment was to be attended with fa- 
 tigue and forrow, we cannot believe, becaufe thefe 
 circumftances are part of the Curfe. And as the 
 bulk of Mankind ftill eat their bread in the fweat of 
 their brow, it will not be an eafy matter to convince 
 
after the Flood, Ji 
 
 them, either from Scripture or Experience, that that 
 part of the Ciirfe is not felt by them. 
 
 His Lordfliip having obferved, that there are fe- 
 vera! paflages of Scripture, which fpeak of the good- 
 nefs of the Earth, and the great plenty it affords, 
 afks with great reafon, p. 112. ' How comes it to 
 ' pafs, that this very Earth curfed with barrennefs, is 
 
 * afterwards reprefented as flov/ing with milk and 
 
 * honey, abounding with oyl and wine, and every 
 
 * thing ufeful and pleafant in life ?* Can you ima- 
 gine, fays he, * this land of plenty to be part of the 
 ' curfed Earth? yet this is the cafe, if no alteration 
 ' has happen'd ; and it will be no eafy work to re- 
 ' concile thcfe contradictions :' Undoubtedly it will 
 not, they are not to be reconciled. But fuppofmg 
 an alteration, the difficulty is folved at once, with- 
 out having recourfe to a total change. 
 
 But there is another contradiftion which his Lord- 
 fhip hath not attempted to reconcile, and which feems 
 no lefs difficult to be reconciled to his Scheme j and 
 that is, the fevere Curie of barrennefs, which God 
 denounced, Levit. xxvi. and Tietit. xxviii. upon the 
 land of the Jews, which he hath fmce fully executed 
 upon it, making it a desolation of many generations, 
 as it continues to be even to this day -, not to men- 
 tion the barrennefs of feveral other parts of the Earth, 
 of much greater extent than Judaa j or the tradi- 
 tions we have of many dearths and famines, fome 
 of which were univerfal, that have happened in fe- 
 veral ages of the world. With regard to all which, 
 it may be alk*d, Is this any part of that Earth, which 
 was reftored to its original fertility, which is curfed 
 in this manner ? or. Is it not fure the old World ? 
 Is it to the Inhabitants of this renovated Earth that 
 God thus addreifeth himfelf ? Curjed fhalt thou he~~ 
 in the City and in the Field — in thy hajket, and in thy 
 ft ore — in the fruit of thy land — increafe of thy kine, 
 
 E 4 cind 
 
72 Remarks on the State 
 
 andfiocks of thy Jheep — 'Thy heaven that is over thy 
 head Jh all be hrafs, and the earth that is under thee 
 jhall he iron — The Lord Jhall make the rain of thy 
 land powder and duji, from heaven fhall it comedown 
 upon thee till thou be deftroy" d, Deut. xxviii. i6, ^c. 
 And Lev. xxvi. 19, 20, Your ftrength fhall be fpent 
 in vain^ for your land fhall not yield her increafe^ nei- 
 ther fhall the trees of the land yield their fruits. Is 
 the Earth fubje^led again to the old Curie, after it 
 was once fully executed and accomplifh'd ? Or how 
 comes it that it is infiidted upon any part of it at any 
 time, after it hath been once wholly and abfolutely 
 removed ? — If it be faid. That God hath turned fruit- 
 ful lands into harrennefs for the wickednefs of them 
 that dwell therein ; I grant it : But how is this to be 
 reconciled with his Lordfliip's fenfe of that text ? / 
 will not again curfe the Ground any more for Ma'iCs 
 fake., though J as he juftly renders it, the imagination 
 cf Ma?fs heart be evil from his youth. But admit- 
 ting the paraphrafe I have above given of it, all in- 
 confiftency difappears. 
 
 The truth of the matter feems to be this, and to 
 lie in the middle, as it generally does, between both 
 extremes, viz. That the Curfe of the Ground, after 
 the Flood, v/as neither entirely removed, nor entire- 
 ly continued. — But that it was much alleviated ; or 
 removed in part, and continued in part — That as it 
 Is moft agreeable to Reafon and Rehgion, to fup- 
 pofe, that from the time the Curfe was firft de- 
 nounced, it increas'd gradually, in proportion to 
 the increafe of Men's wickednefs, till the Flood, 
 when both the one and the other arrived at thc^ir 
 high eft crifis ; fo it is no lefs confonant with both 
 Reafon and Scripture to believe, that the removal 
 of this Curfe en the Ground, hath hitherto been, 
 and will continue to be gradual likewife — That as 
 there is a manifeft conneclion between the natural 
 ^V%c f^4^hS€e/*^i h^ ^ ^/TH^/' /^^^*^ /^ and 
 
 
after the Flood. 75 
 
 and moral world ; and as they both fell together, fo 
 they fhall both rife together — and that the Reftora- 
 tion of the one will bear exad; proportion to that of 
 the other — That Noah and his family being right- 
 eous Perfons, for the times in which they lived, * 
 the Curfe was removed to fuch a degree, as bore 
 proportion to the fiim of their righteoulhefs — and 
 that it generally hath been ever fince, in all the feve- 
 ral ages and nations of the world, abating or increa- 
 fmg in reciprocal proportion to the increafe or abate- 
 ment which there was in thofe nations and ages, in 
 virtue, induftry, and true Religion — and that it will 
 continue fo to do to the End of the World. Tho' 
 God fends his rain upon the j lift and the unjuft^ being 
 mindful of his promife, that he would not again 
 curfe the Earth for Man's fake, tho' the imagination 
 cf his heart he evil from his youth — tho' he vouch- 
 safes to the worft of fmners, in common with the 
 righteous, yet ftill for their fake, and under t[ieir um- 
 brage, Rain from heaven, and fruitful feafons, filling 
 their hearts with food and gladnefs, and fhowers 
 down upon u§ all abundance of Bleffings more than 
 we deferve — yet the general method of his Provi- 
 dence, is to make his temporal Bleffings the re- 
 wards of obedience, and his curfes of that kind, the 
 punifliments of difobedience, and to caufe his rain 
 to come, either for correction, or for mercy. Job 
 xxxvii. 13. 
 
 Tills muft be evident to any one who reads the 
 28th Chap, of Deut. for tho' the Ifraelites were un- 
 der a peculiar Law enforced with Rewards and Pu- 
 nifiiments relating to this Life ; yet was there no- 
 
 F 5 thing 
 
 * Gen. vi. 9, It is faid, Noah tvat a juji Man, and perfeli, or 
 upright, in his generations, i, e. itt his a^e, or for the age in which 
 he lived ; as the word in the original fignifies, which is not m^^n 
 which is ufed in the former Part of the Verfe, and is there and 
 eH'ewhere properly render'd generations, but VrmH vvh'ch 
 ought to be tranflated, in his age. 
 
74 Remarks on the Sfafe 
 
 thing in their Religion, but what was agreeable to 
 the Tenor of Religion in general, and every inftitu- 
 tion and fanclion of their Law, was fiiitable, in their 
 ftate and circumltances, to the natures and fitnefies 
 of things i and accordingly we meet with nothing iri 
 the Gofpel contradiftory thereto, but what rather 
 doth confirm it, making allowances for the change 
 of circumilances under both Difpenfations. And 
 therefore temporal blefTings, under the Gofpel, are 
 likewife promifed as the rewards of Religion. Thus 
 Matt. vi. 33. Seek ye the kingdom of God and his 
 right eoiifnejs^ and all thefe 'Things Jhall be added unto 
 you. So Matt. v. 5. Blejfed are the meek^ for they 
 jhall inherit the earth. And i Tim. iv. 8. Godlinefs 
 is profitable unto all things^ having the ■promife of the 
 life that now is, as well as that which is to come. 
 Whence it appears, that the conditional promife of 
 temporal blelTings made to the Ifraelites, is convey'd 
 down to us Chriftians ; and, by the rule of contra- 
 ries, the fame may be inferr'd of temporal curfes % 
 and that both the one and the other are made part 
 of the fanftions of reveal' d Religion in general ; 
 tho* not in fo eminent a degree, under the chriftian, 
 as for fome ages they were, under the Jewifh Dif- 
 penfation. 
 
 I have hinted above, that the Curfe of the Ground 
 will not be removed for the fake of piety and virtue 
 alone, without the natural means of labour and in- 
 duftry in cultivating the Earth. The invention of 
 arts and implements of Hufbandry, and the improve- 
 ments which one age hath made upon another in ma- 
 nuring and tilling the Ground, have undoubtedly 
 render'd the toil and work of Men's hands, lefs and 
 lefs burthenfome to them. By the art of taming and 
 managing the Eeafts, and, as it were, prefllng them 
 into our fervice, which was not efFe6led at once, the 
 moft laborious part of the work is transferr'd upon 
 
 them ; 
 
after the Flood. y^ 
 
 them ; and by that means Man's Dominion over 
 them is fo far recovcr'd. 
 
 By the improvements hkewife, which in thefc 
 latter ages efpecially, have been made in mechanicksy 
 a great part of the labour of hfe; hath been thrown 
 back upon inanimate matter itfelf ; and by the hap- 
 py inveftigation of the laws of motion^ and a dex- 
 trous apphcation of the mechanical powers^ one Man 
 can now perform with eafe, what hath otherwife fur- 
 mounted the united force of many •, whereby nature 
 is in a great meafure made to do her own work. 
 
 And as Nature hath been thus brought in to the 
 afllftance of Man ; fo Man, by the late difcoveries 
 in natural and experimental Philofophy, and other 
 Sciences, hath learn'd greatly to afliil Nature in its 
 productions •, in meliorating the fruits of the Earth, 
 and improving them to far greater perfection than 
 in its wild uncultivated ftate it was capable of bring- 
 ing them. 
 
 BUT fuch is the prejudice which reigns amongft 
 Men, againll the pfJent ftate of things, that fome 
 may be apt to give a wrong turn to thefe argu- 
 ments, and be induced to ttiink, that thefe helps, 
 which have been found out in later ages, arofe from 
 the greater neceiTity of the times, and that they arc 
 a proof, that Nature formerly was m.ore vigorous 
 and free in her produftions, and tliat the Earth afford- 
 ed a greaterand better fupply with much lefs trouble. 
 
 I cannot better anfwer this objection, than in the 
 mafterly words of the right reverend Author above- 
 mention'd, who in a genteel and handfome manner, 
 peculiar to himfclf, removes this prejudice arifing 
 from the common notion of the prefent and paft ftate 
 of the Earth. — * ' Inftead, fays he, of feeing any 
 * alteration, for the better — Men think they fee an 
 
 *■ altera- 
 
 * Ufe and Intent of Prophecy, p. 94. 
 
yh Remarks on the State 
 
 * alteration for the worfe in every age : Nature feems 
 
 * to them to be almoft fpent and worn out, and lefs 
 ' able to provide for her children now than former- 
 *■ ly. Thefe are the fentiments of the prefent age, 
 ' and they were fo of thofe paft. We meet with 
 ' many refieflions of this kind in grave and ferious 
 ' Authors:' St Cyprian, I remember, complains, 
 ' that things were fenfibly grown worfe, even in the 
 ' compafs of his own time. That the feafons of the 
 ' Year were not fo pleafant, nor the fruits of the 
 ' Earth fo delightful and refrefhing as he remem- 
 ' ber'd them. I wonder not at his judgment, for 
 ' I find myfelf every day growing into the fame 
 ' opinion. The beft and the choiceft fruits ferved 
 ' up at the tables of the Great, have no fuch relifh 
 ' as thofe which they once provided for themfelves, 
 ' when they were young : And many there are who 
 ' can now find but few days good enough to be ar- 
 ' broad, who yet can remember few bad enough to 
 ' keep them at home. Such obfervations, there- 
 ' fore, as thefe, Ihew how much Men alter them- 
 ' felves, but they fhew nothing elfe.* 
 
 Nothing ought to be added to this fine refledion, 
 on which it would be fafer to reft the prefent argu- 
 ment, than to carry it farther. Notwithftanding, I 
 cannot forbear recommending it to fuch as would 
 form a true judgment of the cafe, that they would 
 carry their thoughts farther back than the fcanty ex» 
 tent of their own memories •, and without having 
 recourfe to far-fetch'd inftances, that they would com- 
 pare the prefent, with what, we are told, was the 
 original ftate of this iQand, to be convinced how 
 much it hath been alter'd for the better, by culture 
 and good hufbandry.* 
 
 Who- 
 
 * It is obfervable, that the month September in the Brit'tjh 
 language, is call'd Mis medi ; which fignifies, reaping, or var- 
 c-jejt month; whence it appears, that harveft was much later for- 
 merly 
 
after the Flood, 77 
 
 Whoever confiders, that the only natural produce 
 of this cold northern climate, were hyps and haws^ 
 the fruit of thorns and briars, with which the Earth 
 was originally curfed ; and looks abroad into the 
 gardens and fields, and beholds what variety of ex- 
 cellent fruits flourifh in them — fees how all manner 
 of exoticks are, by art and management raifed and 
 propagated — hozv this wildernefs is become like Kd en y 
 and this defert like the Garden of the Lord, Ifa. 
 >yA; W M^ gn — ^Whoever impartially confiders this,! fay, 
 will be apt to entertain more favourable thoughts of 
 the prefent ftate of the Earth, and will no longer 
 doubt how much the care and induftry of Man, un- 
 der the blefnng of God, contributes to the removal 
 of the Curfe from off the Ground. 
 
 I think, therefore, it may be laid down as a maxim, 
 that the primeval fertility of the Earth is recover- 
 able, in proportion to the virtue and induftry of 
 Man. For as the Curfe was brought on the Ground 
 by fin, what can remove it but its contrary } And 
 as induftry itfelf duly regulated and directed, includ- 
 ing the application of our faculties to the invention 
 of ufeful Arts, is a virtue ; it is undoubtedly the ob- 
 ject of God's bleffing as much as any other -, and 
 the particular blefling adapted to it, is to grant fuc- 
 cels and profperity to its endeavours. When God 
 therefore fees in a people a general difpofition to 
 fcrve and obey him, and an honeft induftry in their 
 refpe(5tive callings, no doubt, but he will open unto 
 them his good treasure \ the heaven to give the rain 
 unto their lands in his feafon^ and to blej's all the work 
 of their hands. Deut. xxviii, 12. Or, as the Prophet 
 Malachi cxpreffes it. That he zvill open the windows 
 of heaven, and pour them out a blejfing, that there 
 fhall not be room enough to receive it. Chap, iii, 1 o. 
 
 THE 
 
 merly in this Ifland Cthe whole of which was poflrefs'd by thean- 
 tient Britont) than at prefent, fince the bulk of it is now gene- 
 rally over in moft parts of it, before that Month begins. 
 
78 Remarks on the Side 
 
 THE Reader is now to judge, whether this ht 
 not the mod eafy and natural account of the remo- 
 val of the Curfe from ofi^ the Ground j and whether 
 it be not the mod fuitable to the prefent ftate of the 
 world, as well as to Scripture, and that which beft 
 reconciles Scripture to itfelf. It feems likewife molt 
 fuitable to the wifdom of God in removing the 
 Curfe from off the Ground^ to make Man an iinder- 
 labourer in this work •, for as it was brought on the 
 Earth by him, it is highly fit and reafonahle, that 
 lie Ihould do his part towards the removal of it, e- 
 fpccially as he alone reaps the benefit. This do<ftrine 
 sdfo affords the nobleft argument for the encourage- 
 ment of induftry : Befidcs, where things can be ac- 
 counted for in the natural way, we never ought td 
 have recourfe to any other. 
 
 THE fuppofition of the Earth's greater fertility^ 
 after the Flood, v/ill ferve to account for a circum- 
 ftance which hath afforded matter of fcandal to the 
 friends, and of triumph to the enemies of Religion. 
 We are told. Gen. ix. 20, 22. That ^odh plan- 
 ted a vineyard^ and drank of the wine, and was 
 drunken. 
 
 Now, tho' it would be no juft impeachment of 
 Scripture, if this ad of intemperance in Noah were 
 left without excufe *, yet if a probable plea be of- 
 fered in his behalf, it ought in good-nature and 
 charity to be admitted. 
 
 Now, on the foregoing fuppofition, Noah, who 
 before was not unacquainted with the juice of the 
 grape, planting a vineyard, and drinking fuch a 
 quantity of wine, as formerly ferved only for a mo- 
 derate refrefhment, was deceived in its ftrength, and 
 overtaken by it, in the manner related in Scripture. 
 For the grape, as well as ail other fruits, being im- 
 proved 
 * See Note, p. 73. 
 
after the Flood* ^^ 
 
 proved in proportion to the improvement of the 
 earth's fertility, its juice became more fpirituous, 
 and powerful ; and might eafily impofe upon, and 
 overcome a Man, otherwife temperate and fober, 
 in the firft trial of it. 
 
 And thus I think. Noa¥s crime is much alle- 
 viated, if not entirely excufed, and freed from 
 any immorality, as it was merely the effed of fur- 
 prize. 
 
 Here likewife we find a foundation for that Je- 
 wijh tradition, that the vine which Noah planted, 
 was not of ordinary terreftrial growth, but was car- 
 ried down the river out of the garden of Eden^ and 
 found by him. * 
 
 * Fide Tiirg. yoiwtkan in locum. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Containing fome farther remarks on the fate of 
 the world in the early ages of it ; particular-' 
 ly with regard to the caufes which retarded 
 its Refortnation in this period » 
 
 MANKIND, when they enter'd upon the 
 new world, had a very fair fetting out ^ 
 and this, if ever, had been the time, one 
 would think, for their recovery from the ill effects- 
 of the Fall, and regaining the original reditude of 
 their nature. As they were fo few in number, and 
 thofe feleded for their piety and goodnefs, out of 
 the whole race of Mankind — as they had been eye- 
 witncfles of God's fevere vengeance upon finners, 
 and had themfelves obtain'd mercy in fo fignal a de- 
 liverance from the common dellruflion ; one might 
 expc6t at firft to hear of nothing but goodnefs, vir- 
 tue 
 
8o State of the TVorld 
 
 tiie and piety, in the Inhabitants of the new worlds 
 and tHat the judgments of God had operated fo 
 llrongly upon their fear, and his mercy on their 
 gratitude, that they would confpire one and all to ex- 
 tirpate all remains of fin from among them •, and 
 take fuch care in the government of themfelves and 
 families, as would effe6lually have prevented the 
 return of it, and reftored them by degrees to the loft 
 image of their Maker. 
 
 But if we take a nearer view of the matter, thefe 
 expeftations will appear to be too fanguine. What- 
 ever comparative goodnefs the remnant which was 
 fiived had to recommend them to God's mercy ; yet 
 that they were far removed from Perfedion, with- 
 out defcending to particulars, appears from that 
 tiniverfal corruption, which, like a fecond Inunda- 
 tion, prevail'dover the face of the whole earth, even 
 in the time of thofe that had been faved out of the 
 jirft^ and while the memory of it muft have been 
 ftiil frefh upon their minds. The Flood was a check 
 to the wickednefs of the fucceeding generations, but 
 not a cure for it : That was to be brought about in 
 another manner. The evil of the Fall was of too 
 obftinate and inveterate a nature to be healed all at 
 once : It was to be removed only by flow advances 
 and degrees, and a long courfe of alteratives was 
 necefiary to effed a thorough and complete cure. 
 Thefe veteres avi^e had taken too deep a root in hu- 
 man nature to be pluck'd out all at once. The poi- 
 fon inftill'd was flow in its infedlion, and therefore 
 the more difficult of cure, and it muft be a work of 
 much time to purge off all remains of it, and reftore 
 and redlify fo vitiated a habit. — Befides, if we con- 
 fider the difadvantages mankind labour'd under in 
 thefe early ages, we can have no great idea of their 
 abilities, nor think them capable of rifing to any 
 great heights of Perfedion. Nature was then, as 
 
 it 
 
/// the early Ages. 8 1 
 
 It were, in its infancy, its powers weak, its own ftock 
 of notions low in kind, and fmall in quantity, and 
 its helps from abroad icw and inconfiderable. Little 
 was to be learn'd from former ages ; and fuppofing 
 Noah to have convey'd down all that was worth 
 pref^rving in the old world, it could not be very 
 confiderable, whether we regard the character or 
 continuance of it. Revelation like wife was then 
 but beginning to dawn, the advantages of which, 
 tho' we are now blefied with its light, we can yet 
 never be fully fenfible of, unlefs we firft, with tliem, 
 had experienced the want of it. Nor did this igno- 
 rance of the divine will, in which the world was 
 fuffer'd to continue, proceed from any fcantincfs or 
 partiality in the difpenfitions of Providence ; for 
 God was never wanting to Mankind in giving them 
 light and aid in their duty, in fuch meafure and pro- 
 portion, as their feveral neceffities required, and 
 capacities would admit. 
 
 The fcheme planned out for the Recovery of lap- 
 fed Man, confiifs of a feries of Difpenfations, each 
 of which tallied exa6tly v/ith the circumftanccs of 
 the world, at the time it was made \ to every peri- 
 od of which it was wifely accommodated, and was 
 the beft fitted to promote its end, that the nature of 
 things v/ould admit, tho' the fitnefs of it, in every 
 refpeft, may not appear unto us. In all his deal- 
 ings with the Sons of Men, God adbs more in pro- 
 portion to their ivants than his own fulnefs. There- 
 fore in the early ages he was more fparing of the Re- 
 velations of his will to Mankind, and accommoda- 
 ted his inftructions to their infirmitfiesand incapacities. 
 
 When the world was in its infancy, it was to be 
 fcdivithmiik, and7iQt'U)ithJlrong meat : Accordingly, 
 the Religion of it was fimple, and its faith confilfed 
 of but few articles. The knowledge of the true 
 God, and fome general expectations of a Redeemer, 
 G together 
 
82 State cfthe IForld 
 
 together with a few plain precepts of MoraUty, fuch 
 as thofe feven precepts fuppofed to have been deU- 
 vcr'd by Noah to his Sons, comprized all that was 
 to be believed and praftifed by them. Thofe times 
 of ignorance God zvinked at, and many imperfe6tions 
 were indulged, which were not to be tolerated in a 
 more perfed; ftate. He had many things to fay unto 
 them, but they could not hear them, all at once : He 
 therefore gave them line upon line, precept upon pre- 
 cept, here a little, and there a little ; fuitably to the 
 fize of their underftandings ; and would not let in . 
 too much light at once upon weak eyes, left inftead 
 of enlightning, it fhould only dazzle and confound 
 them. 
 
 It was in compliance with the groffhefs of their 
 apprchenfions, that God made fuch frequent mani- 
 feilations of himfelf to holy Men of old, under vi- 
 fible appearances -, * that he made imprcllions upon 
 their imaginations, by dreams and vifions, and con- 
 vcrfed with them by audible voices, and fuch like 
 fenfible applications, addreffing himfelf more to 
 their fenfcs and paffions, than to their reafon. 
 
 Hence likcwife it may be prefumed it was, that 
 in all his Difpenfations preceding the Gofpel he did 
 not make clearer and more exprefs Revelations of 
 a future ilate ; that the L.aw of Mofes was inforced 
 by Rewards and Puniihments relating to this Life, 
 which were more fuitable to that age and feafon of 
 the World, and m/ore likely to operate upon them, 
 than any motives fetched from another World : and 
 .that Life and Immortality ivere not brought to Light 
 but by the Gofpel. -f- ' It 
 
 * See Mr. /./jw's Confideiatlons on Religion, Sec. p. 63. 
 
 \ The Jews had a Law of cainal Ordinances to cxcrci!c them 
 for a while, and lead them on to'ilie Expectation of beaer things ; 
 to fpiritualize their notions by degrees, and prepare ihem for the 
 heavenly doctrines of the AlefTiah. And why might not the like 
 method be madeu'e oi in the Government of Mankind in general? 
 Lauj'j TruKjuiiion ofDx. Khig^s Origin of Evil y p. 465. 
 
i?2 the early Ages. 83 
 
 It may be thought JuIl matter of furprize, and 
 has been objedled againlt by the enemies ot Rehgion, 
 that God Almighty fliould fhew fo much favour to 
 the Ifraelites^ a people who feemingly fo ill deferved 
 it, That he Jhould bear them upon eagles wings, a7id 
 bring them unto himfelf, that he Jhould lead them a- 
 bout and injiruul them, and keep them as the apple of 
 his Eye, — that he fhould efteem them a peculiar 
 treafure to himfelf above all people, a kingdom of 
 priejls, and an holy nation. Deut. xxxii. 10. Exod. 
 xix. 4,5,6. And all this, when they requited him 
 with fo much perverfenefs and ingratitude, and gave 
 him fo much reafon to complain of their being a re- 
 bellious andjtiff-necked people. 
 
 God is no refpeder of perfons or nations, and he 
 is not partial in the diftribution of his favours : How yy 
 than Ihall we reconcile his diftinguifliing regard for f/^^^ 
 this undeferving People, with the wonted imparti-J^/^y^^ 
 ahty of hisjuftice? We fliall find it a difficult tafk^^^^ 
 upon any other fuppofition than this, which feemv/*-^>W> 
 to be the real truth of the cafe ; viz. rhat how un- -^Z'*^ 
 deferving foever they were in themfelves, yet in 
 refpe6l of the reft of mankind, they might notwith- 
 ftanding be reckoned a holy and honourable Nation -,* 
 and it was comparatively true, tho' far from being 
 ftriclly fo, that God had not beheld iniquity in Jacob, \J 
 neither had he feen perverjhiefs in Ifrael. Numb, xxiii. 
 21. efpecially, if with fome Commentators of great- 
 eft note, we underftand the iniquity and perverfe- 
 nefs here mentioned, of the fin of idolatry, which 
 the Ifraelites preferved themfelves the treeft from of 
 all the people upon earth ; and witn refped: iicreto 
 I apprehend that God calls them Children that will 
 not lye, Ifa. G^- 8. lying being fometimes ufed in 
 Scripture only as another name for Idolatry. For 
 when the reft of the world was over-run with the 
 
 G 2 grofleft 
 
84 State of the World , 
 
 grolTeft fuperftition, idolatry, and falfe worfhlp, 
 they maintained the worfhip of the one living and 
 true God, and entertained the moft juft and reve- 
 rent ientiments of him -, in whichj and many other 
 refpe(5bs, they greatly exceeded all the nations a- 
 roLind them, even thofe that were moft celebrated 
 for their wifdom and learning. 
 
 Their Law-giver, 'tis true, has frequent occafion 
 to reproach and chaftife them, and lays hold of 
 every opportunity to humble and mortify them, 
 which makes their character appear in the worfe 
 light to us, and fhews it, in truth, to be in itfelf 
 bad enough : But when he has occafion to mention 
 them in companion with the reft of Mankind, it is 
 by no means to their difadvantage. 'The Lord hath 
 avouched thee to be his peculiar people — and to make 
 thee high above all nations which he hath made^ in 
 praife^ and in name^ and in honour^ and that thou 
 mavfi be an holy People unto the Lord thy God, as he 
 hath fpoken. Deut. xxvi. 18, 19. And again, 
 what nation is there fo great that hath God fo 7ugh 
 unto them ? And what nation fo great that hath Jta- 
 tutes and Judgments fo righteousF Dtut. iv. 7, 8. ' And 
 ' great indeed they were in lome refpe6ts, of which 
 ' I think no hiftory affords a parallel. A People 
 ' whofe vaft increafe and power was not, Hke that of 
 ' other nations, owing to numbers of foreign growth, 
 ' ingrafted upon the original ftock, but all natural 
 ' branches fpringing from one and the fame root. 
 ' A People who through various revolutions and 
 ' differing forms of government, preferved their 
 ' conftitution ftill entire : "Who made a noble figure 
 ' tor 2000 years : Who furvived three moft potent 
 « monarchies, and were not broken by the fourth, 
 ' till after cal-i mites and devaluations incomparably. 
 ' more dreadful than anyftate befides was ever able 
 * to fuftain.' * Again^ 
 
 * Sta;d'cj>c'i Sermons. 
 
271 the early Ages. 05 
 
 Again, the LordthyGo-o hath chofentheeto heafpecial 
 people unto himfelf^ above all the people that are up- 
 on the face of the earth. The Lord did not fet his 
 love upon you nor choofe you, becaufeye were more in 
 number than any people, {for ye were the feweft of all 
 people). Deut. vii. 6, 7. where he reckons rhem to 
 be inferior to others, in no other refpe6t than in 
 their number. Whereas had they been fucli a pro- 
 fligate and fottifli race of Men, as the moral Philofo- 
 pher reprefents them, Mofes, who never fliews any 
 tokens of flattery towards them, would undoubted- 
 ly have made his comparifon run in a diff'erent Itrain, 
 and faid, The Lord did not fet his love upon you, nor 
 chufe you, becaufe ye were better than any People 
 {for ye were the worst of all People), Compare Deut. 
 xxviii. 37. with the invedives of the moral Philofo- 
 pher, which are a fort of completion of this Prophe- 
 cy •, and fee Mr Lelatid's Divine Authority ot the 
 O. and N. T. afl'erted, Fol. i. p. 207. 
 
 Upon the foregoing fuppofition we may likewife 
 eafily account for the fins and mifcarriages of many 
 Saints of old, who were, notwithftanding, the pe- 
 culiar favourites of heaven, viz. becaufe with all 
 their failings and infirmities, they were beyond com- 
 parifon fupeiior to the greatell Worthies of other 
 nations, for their true piety towards God, and zeal 
 for his worfliip in oppofition to idolatry and fuper- 
 ftition. 
 
 And what Jofephus aflerts of his Anceflors in ge- 
 neral, in his modeft vindication of them agair.ft the 
 fcurrilous abufes of Apion, the moral Philofopher of 
 thofe times, is no m.ore than what is ftridlly true, 
 viz. ' That tlicy liave proved Authors of better and 
 * nobler examples and precepts than any other nati- 
 ' on in the world can pretend to.' -f 
 
 And hence we may be enabled to form an idea of 
 G 3 die 
 
 f Fl. Joffph. contra /Ipion, Lib. ii. fuh fim. 
 
86 State of the World 
 
 the flate of Morality in thefe ages : For at how low- 
 an ebb muft we fuppofe it to have been among the 
 unenlightened Heathen, when it role no higher a- 
 mong thofe who had the advantages of Revelation 
 to guide them, and who by that means may be fup- 
 pofed to \\dMt made the ^reateft proficiency in it ? 
 
 Great is the Myfiery of Godlinefs — too great and 
 fublime for the narrownefs of our capacities to com- 
 prehend, otherwife than by piece-meal, as it were, 
 or through a glafs darkly. Therefore the fcheme of 
 our Redemption, which was one and tiie fame from 
 the beginning, was opened and unfolded by degrees : 
 The firft difcoveries of it were made by obfcure hints, 
 and geniral intimations given to particular perfons : 
 Then it was Ihadowed out by the types and figures of 
 the mofaic Law ; which was fucceeded by the clear- 
 er predi6lions of the Prophets •, which ftill were but 
 like a light fhining in a dark place^ till at length the 
 day dawn dy and day-Jiar 'arofe. 2 Pet. i. 19. when 
 this myftery was fully revealed in the laft and moll 
 perfect difpenfation of the Gofpel. * 
 
 But perhaps it may be expeded, that agreeably to 
 this gradual procedure of Providence, I ought to 
 fhew, that there hath been, and is a gradual refor- 
 mation in the world — that one age hath improved 
 upon another in knowledge and virtue, in propor- 
 tion to the greater light, and other fuperior advan- 
 tages it has had ; and that the world, the older it 
 grows, grows daily wifer and better. 
 
 Now, tho' I make not the leaft doubt, that the 
 world in general is greatly improved in every refpeft, 
 efpecially fince the Gofpel age, as will be fhewn 
 hereafter, yet I will not undertake to fhew, that 
 
 this 
 
 * See Bin-iop 5^Yr/<7f/^'s ufc and intent of Prophecy; and Dt 
 Berr'maih Boyk\ leftiires entitled, ' The gradual Revelation or 
 * ilie Gofpel ' 
 
i?i the early Ages. %j 
 
 tills improvement was made by llich a regular and 
 gradual procels •, * becaufe my argument no way re- 
 quires it, neither indeed do 1 think it true in fact, 
 or agreeable to the nature of Man, and reafons of 
 things. 
 
 For, 
 
 I. Such an exa(5t correfpondence between caufes 
 and their eifefts is fo mechanical a property, that if 
 it could be made out in particular inftances, and e- 
 fpecially in this general ont^, to belong to Man, it 
 would be a difficult matter to prove him not to be a 
 mere machine, agreeably to a late fyftem of Philo- 
 fophy. NecefTary Agents may be fo impeil'd and 
 operated upon •, but Man, who is a Free-agent, is 
 not to be moved either to good or evil, without the 
 confent and concurrence of his own will. 
 
 God, by the laws of his condu6t towards us, can 
 but propofe, and after all the efforts of divine Grace 
 it muft be left entirely to ourfelves, cither to ap- 
 prove or rejedt. And as the balance of Man's will 
 was by the Fall turn'd towards ill, is it any wonder 
 that he fliouid be found fo often to rejed any affift- 
 ances offer'd him to give it the contrary tendency ? 
 That he fhould be fo perverfe under cure, as to de- 
 feat ail tlie prefcriptions of the great Phyfician of 
 fouls? That the diftempcr, in its prcgrefs, has taken 
 fo many different turns ? That it has often rifen to 
 great heights? Has been attended with tiie mod 
 dangerous fymptoms, and has converted the moll 
 filutary medicines into poifon ? That many mem- 
 bers of the Body difeafed have required cxcifion in 
 order to preferve the whole ? And that even at pre- 
 fent it rages fo much, that a perfeft cure is, I can- 
 not fay defpair'd, but not fo much as thought of 
 But, 
 
 II. The unfuccefsfulnefs of the methods of provi- 
 
 G 4 dencc 
 
 * SeeMrZ-Ws ConfiJerations on Religion, p. 50. 
 
88 State of the World, 
 
 dence for the reformation of Mankind, and the ma- 
 nifeft increafe of wickednefs in feveral parts ana ages 
 of the worki, is not akogeth^r to be afcribed to the 
 perverfenefs and obftinacy of Man. He who firfl 
 plotted our Fall, has undoubtedly ever fince been 
 employ'd in counter-plotting all methods ufed for 
 our Recovery •, and as he was fo fuccefsful in his firit 
 attempt, there is no queftion to be made but he has 
 been too much fo in his fucceeding endeavours of 
 that kind ; of which the ftate of the world ever fmce 
 has furnilhed many melancholy proofs, 
 
 Notwithftanding the many prefervatives and re- 
 medies made ufe of by Providence againil corrup- 
 tion, in all ages of the world, this reftlefs and fub- 
 tle enemy ftiii found means in a great meafure to 
 fruflrate and pervert them. Hence the true Religion 
 came to be fo foon corrupted, and the knowledge 
 of the true God to be in a manner loil i the crea- 
 ture was worjhipped infiead of the Greater^ and ido- 
 latry and polytheifm over-ran the world ; and many 
 abfurd and impious, cruel, filthy, and abominable 
 pradices were impofed upon wretched Man initead 
 of Religion ; whereby that which was defigned for 
 his cure^ became itfelf his greateft bane j and inftead 
 of cleanfing him from the filth he had contraded, 
 plunged him the deeper into it. 
 
 The very end of Religion being thus deftroyed 
 and perverted, it was impofiible for Mankind to be 
 better'd by it ; for falfe religion debafes and cor- 
 rupts the mind, as much as true Religion exalts and 
 purifies it ; and how much the one has prevailed 
 over the other, in all ages of the world hitherto, is 
 too notorious to need an hiftorical account of it. 
 
 Mankind was firfc taught the Wcrlhip of the one 
 true God ; but the grand L>.ceiver found means to 
 change it for that of many falfe Gods. The ufe of 
 Sacrifice was appointed in the former, and it was 
 
 prefently 
 
i?i the early Ages, 89 
 
 prefently adopted into the latter. No fooner was 
 the one Mediator between God and Man revealed, 
 and Men taught to worfliip by him, but the Devil 
 counterfeited Mediators many^ and directed his vo- 
 taries to apply to them. 
 
 When thefe and the like corruptions of Religion 
 began to be general, God called and feparated a 
 certain Family for the prefervation of his true wor- 
 ihip and fervice ; and to this end he inftituted a re- 
 markable Rite, which was to be a note of diiiin6lion 
 between them and all others ; but we find fuch early 
 accounts of the introdudion of Circumcifion into the 
 heathen Religions, that fome learned Men have been 
 tempted to think it firft obtained among them, and 
 that Abraham borrowed it from them, and not they 
 from him, as in truth they did.* 
 
 The fame renowned Patriarch having, for the 
 tryal of his faith, been commanded by God to fa- 
 crifice his Son, it is not improbable, that this was 
 made a pretence for introducing human Sacrifices, 
 tho' God's exprefs prohibition of it, when it came 
 to the point of execution, ought to have been look'd 
 on as a difcouragement of fo impious and abomina- 
 ble a Rite, rather than a precedent for it ; or elfe it 
 fhould have been elleemed as an authority for the a- 
 bolifhing of it, if, as fome think, it had already ob- 
 tained, -f" 
 
 And tho* Abraham and the fucceeding Patriarchs 
 were greatly inftrumental in the prefervation and 
 propagation of true Religion, throughout moft of 
 the known regions of the earth, by means of their 
 ownjourneyings and the difperiion of their families; 
 yet the pageantries of fuperftition, and the numerous 
 pomps and vanities, rites and ceremonies of idola- 
 trous Worfhip lb dazzled the eyes, and captivated 
 
 G 5 the 
 
 * For the proofs hereof fee Shuck/or d"?- cmneff. V. i p. ^z^.i^c, 
 • t See Revelation examined, Fj/. ij. DiITert. 8. 
 
go State of the World 
 
 the underftandings of the vulgar, which then inclu- 
 ded all ranks of Men, that the plain and fimple Re- 
 ligion of the true worfhippers foon grew into difre- 
 gard and contempt. Whereupon the divine wifdom 
 likewife faw it expedient to inftituce a Religion a- 
 bounding with ceremonies j but fuch as were not 
 after the abominations of the heathen^ but dire6tiy op- 
 pofite to them \ by which means they were to ferve 
 as a fort of check or counter-balance to them. 
 
 And furely never did God 'Almighty manifeft him- 
 felf in fo wonderful and dreadful a manner as upon 
 this occafion : For having brought his chofen peo- 
 ple out of Egypt ^ with a mighty hand^ and out-fir etch- 
 ed arm^ he delivered his Laws from mount Sinai to 
 them in the folemn voice of Thunder and Lightning, 
 the mountain at the fame time quaking and burning 
 with fire. And having * train'd them up by a forty 
 years difcipline in the Wildernels, and fupported 
 them during all that time by a conftant ferics of Mi- 
 racles, (the divine prefencealfo being frequently vi- 
 fible among them, direding all their marches and 
 encampments) he at length brought them forth into 
 Canaan •, no lefs miraculouQy exterminating their 
 enemies, and giving them pofleffion of that their 
 land. 
 
 Now tho' God was never prefent with any people 
 in die manner he was with them, upon all occafions 
 remarkably interpofing to reward their obedience 
 and punifh their difobedience ; making his power 
 likewife to be known by judgments upon their ene- 
 mies, and other publick and irrefragable atteftations 
 of the truth of his Divinity, and that he was God 
 alone — yet in fuch blind and abfolute captivity did 
 Satan hold his Votaries, that few, very few of them 
 
 in 
 
 ",-6;*^u o\i<^vhx.^iv. 'Clem. Alex. Psdag. lib. i. cap. g. 
 
in the early Ages. 9 1 
 
 in comparlfon, had power to become Profelytes to 
 the wonliip of the true God. 
 
 On the contrary, he found means to pervert God's 
 own people, and feduce them to the worfhip of his 
 accurled Idols, infomuch that having in vain endea- 
 voured to reclaim them, by denunciations and inflic- 
 tions of fevere judgments, God almighty at length 
 punifhed them with the lofs of their Country and 
 liberty, and ten of the twelve Tribes were fo difperf- 
 ed among the Heathen, that they never after were, 
 with any certainty, known or heard of as a diftindl 
 people. 
 
 NOT to perfue this fubjecl any farther, it ap- 
 pears from what has been obferved, that the Enemy 
 has been ever employed in fowing tares among the 
 wheat — That in confequcnce of the capital enmity 
 between liim, and the true God, He has had the 
 infoknce to maintain a conilant ilruggle and conteft: 
 with his Maker about the fate of Mankind, and by 
 every ftratagem has endeavoured to prevent the Re- 
 covery of human nature from the Fall he gave it, 
 and even to fink it ftill deeper in corruption -, and 
 in this it muft be owned, he has been, and is flill 
 but too fuccefsful. And the conteft hath been ob- 
 ferved to be fo great and of fuch doubtful event, 
 that it very early gave rife to the monftrous opinion 
 ot two independent Principles^ the one good^ the 
 Other evil, difputing the fate of mankind, 
 
 A learned Prelate "f is of opinion, tliat the book 
 ot Job was written in oppofition to this ancient Doc^ 
 trine : Nor indeed can it feem improbable to any one 
 that confiders it in this viev/. On the other hand, 
 it feems every way worthy the Spirit of God to con- 
 vey fome fuch inftruftion as this to the more ferious 
 and confiderate Heathens, as well as Ifraelites, in a 
 
 mattt I 
 Bilhop Sherloci, Diflert. ii. 
 
92 State of the World 
 
 matter fo abftrufe and fertile of fcruples, in order 
 to obviate the prejudices which would be apt to a- 
 rife in their minds, when they confidered th*fe origin 
 of ev'iU both moral and phyfical, and its great pre- 
 valence in the world. The Ifraelites, indeed, were 
 in fome meafure guarded againft the abfurd do6lrine 
 of two independent principles, by the hiftory of the 
 Fall, in the beginning of the book of Genefts. But 
 the defign of the book of Job in this refpect feems 
 to be more extenfive ; as I lliall fhew in its proper 
 place. In the mean time I proceed 
 
 III. To offer another reafon why the progrefs of 
 reformation in this period was fo Qow •, viz. that as an 
 univerfal reformation was not to be accomplifhed but 
 by degrees, fo the defign of Providence in thefe ages 
 was only to pave the way and prepare the world for 
 it ; and in the mean time to Hop the progrefs of 
 univerfal corruption, and preferve a true fenfe of 
 Religion at leaft in one corner of the world. 
 
 The moft remarkable difpenfation that occurs 
 in the times under confideration is the law of Mofes \ 
 yet it appears from fevcral characters and circum- 
 llances relating to it, that it was defigned only for 
 the ufe of one people, and never intended as a 
 o-eneral law for mankind ; tho' at the fame time 
 it excluded none, but received all that were willing 
 to become profelytes to it. And tho' it had been 
 ever fo extenfive in its defign, yet was it not calcu- 
 lated in its nature for the reformation and relfora- 
 tion of the world. It indeed required perfect o- 
 bedience, but gave no ftrength to perform it j it 
 difcovered man's weaknefs to him, but prefcrib'd 
 him no remedy for it ; as it neither convey'd a full 
 and perfed remifTion of fins paft, nor afforded fuf 
 ficient afliftance to withfland them for the future. 
 For the law of Mofes being founded on the firft 
 
 Covenant, 
 
in the early Ages. 93 
 
 Covenant, which was made with man In his inno- 
 cence, it did not condefcend to the Infirmities of his 
 fallen State, nor was it by any means adapted to the 
 Laws of it. For this reafon it was * that it contain- 
 ed 
 
 * Mr. Warburto7i is not miftaken v/here he contends tliat a fu- 
 ture State makes no part of the Mofaic Difpenfation ; but neither 
 he, nor his Adverfaries feem to apprehend ilie true Reafon of it; 
 which I believe is that which in 'itw Words is given above, and 
 which I fhall have occafion in the laft Chapter o'i this Treatife to 
 mention fomething more at large. 
 
 As far as I can judge of this learned Writer's Scheme from the 
 State in which he hath left it, niethinks he might have formed it 
 upon a Plan that would have been lefs liable toObjedtion, without 
 any Prejudice to his Argument, and without granting any more 
 than vvifiat he ha?, as it ftands at prefent, been obliged to allow. 
 For he does not deny that the Law had a fpiritual meaning, and 
 that it was typical of a future (late ; and that Mojes and the an- 
 t\^Xi\.'Jews, their Leaders and Fathers efpecially, believed a future 
 State : Now as he had fliewn that the antient heathen Religion'? 
 and Philofophy had their exoteric and efoteric, their publick and 
 prk'iite'Pins and Doftrines, and as, I think, he fomewhere inti- 
 mates that the Jewifh Difpenfation likewife had a ptbl'tck Part; 
 why might not he have made tlie publick Part of it to have con- 
 filkd of temporal Rewards and Punilhmencs, as \\\t only open 
 and publick Sandtions of the Law, and the prk>at,\ to be the Doc- 
 trine of a future State of Revvards and Punifliments, which he in 
 fome fort allows to be Ipiritually couched under the former, and 
 typified by them ? By this Scheme he might have faved himfelf 
 much Trouble, and greatly fliortned his Work, as this is a Point 
 which nobody would have difputed with him. 
 
 Thus likewife he might have formed a beautiful Contrail between 
 the Jewifh and Heathen Religions and Philofophy ; and might, if 
 he plealed, as very likely he would, have alTerted, that Mojes co- 
 pied after the Heathens in this, as he maintains he did in other 
 Cafes. And, as far as I can perceive, his Argument would ha\*e 
 Hood on the fame Footing as at piefent ; fince it would be ground- 
 ed on the publick Part only, and not at all aflc(iled by i\\c fpiritual 
 meaning. It is the more llrange that he had not gone upon this 
 Plan, as he had a paflage of Bilhop BuWs under his Eye, which 
 llrongly hinted as much to him, and which I the rather chufe to 
 inlert here, in order to relcue him from the fervice into which 
 Mr. IFarb. lias prclFcd him. In the ne.xt fcflion to that ivhich 
 Mr. Warb. quotes this Queilion is propofed : Whether there were 
 any under the Law, who hoped for eternal Life ? In the Difcuffion 
 of which are thefe Words. 
 
 Frtstena 
 
9^ State of the World 
 
 ed no explicit Revelation of a future State, which the 
 firft Covenant made no Provifion for ; but which is 
 a Doftrine abfolutely necefiary for the fupport of Re- 
 ligion in this mortal L:fe, and which nothing elle 
 can fupply the want of. And therefore tho' a future 
 State did not really make any part of the Mofaic 
 Difpenfation, yet as this Difpenfation was typical of 
 Chriftianity, feveral Intimations of and AUufions to 
 a future State are to be found in it. And I am fully 
 perfuaded that the Church of God in all Ages, even 
 from its Infancy, had fome notices, more or lefs, 
 youchfafed it of a Doftrine, without which it can- 
 not well be conceived how it could fubfift, as is fut- 
 ficiently evident it had f[-om the xi Ch. to the He- 
 brews •, tho' it was not brought to full Light but by 
 the Gofpel. 
 
 To return, the Law of Mofes Ihev/ed Man the 
 neceffity there was of a Redeemer, and of a Law of 
 Mercy, but remitted them to the Gofpel to find 
 them : Wherein its ufe was to ferve as a Type, or 
 Shadow of good Things to come^ and a School-majier 
 
 to 
 
 Prteterea fJoruerunt fmndh SecuHs in populo Jndaico Viri Dei ac 
 "ProphctfB ccelitus edoSii, quos inter tot Arcana ipfts patefncia, myf- 
 tkum hunc Legis Senfum penitus igjwr/ijfc, nihil'iue de futura 'Vita 
 intellexij/e, nemo prp.dens fufpicabitur. Cum auiem nefas fit vel 
 (ogitiiffe Viros optimos fapientianiy qua ipfi pollebant, aliis invidijfei 
 crcdendiim ommno efi, eos ficuhi idoneos invcnerint Auditor es evolvijje 
 its obteda in Lege Myfteiia, finguVjque tantuni tiperuij/e, quantum 
 Qaptui ipjorum ec Utilitatis Ratio fc^ebat. In publicis autem Con- 
 (loitibui Prophet a ac Sapientes ita loqticbantur^ ut ncc in Contemptum 
 udducerent Arcana fanilioris Dilciplina?, et tarnen Juditorem atten- 
 tum ad inveftigandi jollicitudinevv excitarent. Atque bine natum ar- 
 hitratur 7naxitHus Grotius dif crimen antiquitus inter Judeeos ceLbra- 
 tum, Jcripta L'gis, ct Legis oralis, quam --Tiii\iionQm vacant i 
 utrnmque dircntes a Mjfe prtfectam : Non quod Res alia fuerint 
 in Trad'ition'i quam in Lege Jcriptte, fed quod ea qua iv Lege fcripta 
 ^ccukius continebantur, Jfudiofis Indagatoribus enodoret accwatior 
 In'-.rt^ etatio. Atgue hac auiiirm djcendi Ratio apud Populum craf- 
 Jio, llnir.Uor ap.'i rQ(; 'STfox.o-^ociloi^ jbtinuijffc vi^etur . 
 
 Uruvmna Jpojtjua. Dijjht. poji. Cap. x. f. 6. 
 
i?i the early Ages. 95 
 
 to bring them to Chriji, their Guardian and Precep- 
 tor in their ftate of minority, defigned only in fome 
 meafare to corredt the ftubbornnels of their Nature, 
 to difciphne and keep them in order for the Time 
 of its Duration, and then to deUver them up to 
 Chrift for their Accomphfhment in Righteoufnefs. 
 
 And if the Mofaic CEconomy was not adapted 
 for the purpofe of reforming the World, much lefs 
 fo muft any preceding Difpenfations have been •, 
 tho' none of them were without their ufe, and each 
 carried on the purpofes and defigns of Providence,' 
 and was moft proper and fitting in its Seafon — As 
 I fhall fhew in the following Chapter. 
 
 CHAP. Vl. ' 
 
 Of the Reformatio?! wrought in the world in the 
 ages precedijig the GofpeL 
 
 NOtwlthftanding all the forementioned diffi- 
 culties and hindrances with which the work 
 of Reformation was embarrafs'd, it went 
 on, and the world was more or lefs benefited and 
 improved by every ftep of Providence for that pur- 
 pofe. 
 
 In order to form the better judgment of the Im- 
 provement of the world in general, from the Flood 
 downward, it will be requifite to flcp back, and 
 take a view of the moft remarkable prefervatives, 
 and antidotes made ufe of by Providence, againft 
 corruption, in the fcveral ages of it. •* 
 
 In the firft age, Noak\ who was invefted with the 
 feveral authorities of Parent, Governor and Preacher, 
 (which laft he cannot be fuppofed to have neglected 
 in the new world, efpecially as it had a greater 
 Weight now in virtue of the other two) Noah, I 
 
 fay, 
 
 * See Lat(j\ Confidcrauon. p, 73, 
 
96 ^ Reformation of the World 
 
 fay, made iife of this threefold authority to Inftil 
 and preferve right notions of Religion in his Chil- 
 dren ; which he had the better opportunity of doing, 
 as they liv^d a great part of his long Life in one 
 fociety under him. 
 
 And we have an inftance of his care in this Refpedt 
 in the tradition of thofe /even famous precepts of his 
 deliver'd to his Sons, which made a fufficient fyftem 
 of Morality for that and feveral fucceeding ages. 
 
 Upon the increafe of Mankind, we are told, that 
 they form*d the projeft of building the Tower of 
 Babel^ the defign of which was to prevent a Difper- 
 fion, and get themfelves a name^ Gen. xi. 4. But 
 God Almighty forefeeing the ill confequences of this 
 proje6l, with regard to the morals and welfare of 
 Mankind, confounded their language and enterprize, 
 and difperfed them abroad over the face of the whole 
 earth: By which means he mortified this vain hu- 
 mour in the difappointment of it, and likewife pre- 
 vented an univerfal Monarchy, and therein univer- 
 fal corruption, which at that time had been the con- 
 fequence of it ; and by dividing Mankind into dif- 
 tindt Tribes, he reduced them to the virtue and 
 difcipline of fmall focicties. 
 
 Thus, however wickednefs might prevail in par- 
 ticular Nations, God Almighty, by this one ad of 
 infinite and adorable wifdoin, fix'd fo many barriers 
 asainfl: the for jading; of it, as there are fbcieties in 
 the world, differing in language, inclination, inte- 
 refl and m.anners, and by this means render'd an 
 univerfal Reformation more feafible. * 
 
 Or fuppoung this confufion did not relate to Lan- 
 guage, but to Religion, or to that part of it call'd 
 Confcflion, according to the new account given of 
 it, the diiperfion was ftill attended with the fame 
 happy effeds, and the confufion in this fenfe of it, 
 
 was 
 * Rci'cladon examin'J. 
 
biifore the Gofpel Age. 97 
 
 was moreover a means of checking Idolatry in its 
 rife, and reftraining its future progrefs. * 
 
 Nor was this divifion and difptrfion of the Na- 
 tions made in a confufed and fortuitous, but in an 
 orderly and regular manner, as Bidiop Patrick ob- 
 ferves •, the over-ruling Providence and fpecial hand 
 of God interefting itfelf in it very remarkably, in 
 providing fit means for the maintenance of a fenfe of 
 God and Religion in the feveral parts of the world. 
 For when the mojl High divided to the nations their 
 inheritance^ when he feparatedthe Sons of Adi'^r[\^ he 
 Jet the hounds of the people according to the number of 
 the children <?/Iirael. Deut. xxxii. 8. And St Paul, 
 yWs xvii. 26, 27, which is a good comment upon 
 this text, gives the reafon of this regard which was 
 had to the number of the Children of Ifrael in the 
 divifion of the nations — He determined the bounds of 
 their habitation, that they fhould feek the Lord, if 
 haply they might feel after him and find him. The 
 end then of this particular and previous regard to 
 the number of the chofen feed (which is ililed a pe- 
 culiar treafure, a kingdom of Priefis, and a holy na- 
 tion, Exod. xix. 5, 6.) was, that they might bear 
 a fit proportion to the reft of mankind, and might 
 be as fo much leaven to the whole mafs •, as a quick- 
 ening and enlivening principle to excite and main- 
 tain due apprehenfions ot God, his worfliip and fer- 
 vice, in the world. 
 
 Now befides, that this is an early and remarka- 
 ble inftance of God's forecaft and care for the in- 
 ftru(51:ion of the world, it moreover lets us into the 
 
 H general 
 
 * See the new Account of the Cnnfufion of Tongues. No'liin? 
 hinders but ihac this Confufion might rtlarc both to Lanniiaee and 
 Religion, lo that both Accounts nuy well be confillcnt with each 
 otiier. Or if that relating to Religioii took place firfl, the oihcr 
 mull in the na:uie of Things foon follow, as it is evident the>e was 
 a divertity of Language in the World much fooncrihan lihe l'.u:ons 
 of the other Opinion arc willing to allou . 
 
98 Reformation of the IVorld 
 
 general methods of l\is Providence in this refpeclil — 
 It fhews us, that it extends to all nations, and all 
 ages — That he from time to time, and at all times, 
 raifes up a fufEcient number of Men to be his witnef- 
 fes, his heralds and arnbafladors to the reft of the 
 world — That, from the beginning, he had people 
 chofen and fet apart for this purpofe — That he is very 
 exaft, and obferves certain rules ofproportion in this 
 refpedt, that there may be no deficiency in their 
 number -, but that they may at all times increafe in 
 due proportion to the increafe of the reft of mankind 
 — That this matter is the particular object of his pre- 
 determinate counfel and toreknowledge, fince this 
 regard to the children of Ifrael was had many ages 
 before either they, or 7/9"<2d'/ himfelf, were in being. 
 
 As Men were not to be reftrained within the 
 Bounds of the true ReHgion, and the torrent of 
 Idolatry and Polytheifm, which began to overfpread 
 the World, was not to be witliftood ; that the wor- 
 Jhip of the true God miight not be entirely loft, and 
 in order to provide for a gradual Increafe of it, and 
 to pave the way for a Reformation, God was pleaf- 
 ed to call his fervant Abraham^ and to caufe him to 
 withdraw himfelf from his own Country, where the 
 Corruption was become univerfal •, and, as fome Wri- 
 ters affirm, had infected his own Family. * 
 
 Whoever confiders the many remarkable occur- 
 rences and circumftances in this renown'd Patriarch's 
 life — His feveral journey ings, and the extraordinary 
 manner in which God was pleafed to diftinguifti him, 
 by numerous bleffings, and many fignal prote(5tions 
 and manifeftations of his Providence, wherever he 
 went — The many Revelations he was favour'd with ; 
 particularly, that of the Mejfiah — That he fhould 
 Ipring out of his loyns ; through whofe name he was 
 
 likewife 
 
 * See Bifliop Patrick on Job. .Append, 
 
before the Gofpel Age. po 
 
 ^ikewife taught to worjfhip-f- — His care in propagat- 
 ing thefe and other important points of Religion, 
 and inftrucling his family in them, attefted by God 
 himfelf — / know him, that he will command his chil- 
 dren and his houJJjold after him^ and they JJoall keep 
 the ways of the Lord, Gen. xviii. 19, — His great 
 power and influence, and the fame of his eminent 
 virtue and wifdom, and peculiar favour with Al- 
 mighty God, which had fpread throughout all the 
 world — Whoever, I fay, confiders thefe and other 
 circumftances in the life and chara6ler of Abraham, 
 will eafily conceive, how great an inftrument he 
 muft have been in the hand of God, of diffufmg 
 true Religion and Wifdom over the moft eminent 
 regions of the world -, and the propagation and dif- 
 perfion of thefe BlelTings far and wide, made him 
 already, tho' in a lower fenfe of that promife, a 
 Blejfing to all the nations of the earth. 
 
 For be it further confider'd, that Abraham had a 
 very numerous family, made up of a great variety 
 of people of different countries : and therefore true 
 Religion and Virtue muft needs be carried along with 
 them, when they return'd to their own homes, or 
 wherever the Providence of God convey'd them for 
 that purpofe. * And not only Abraham and his 
 houfhold, but his contempories. Lot and Melchi- 
 zedeck, and their families, were appointed as Moni- 
 tors and Inftruclors to the neighbouring nations, in 
 the ways of righteoufnefs and piety. Accordingly 
 we have reafon to believe, that the Moabites and 
 Ammonites, Defcendants of JL^j/, long retain' d a true 
 notion of Religion. 
 
 Other methods proving ineffedlual for their amend- 
 ment, fome nations were made dreadful examples 
 of, that others might take warning by tneir tate : 
 H 2 Thus 
 
 ■f- Shttrhford\ Conncdl. Vol. i. p. 291. 
 • See Z,j:f*s CouliJciaaons on Religion, p. 76. 
 
100 Reformatio?! of the World 
 
 Thus Scdcm and Gomorrah were deftroy'd by a moft 
 miraculous and vifible judgment, and left to be a 
 Handing monument ot God's fevere vengeance 
 againft fin, efpecially that moft deteftable fin of So- 
 dom, to all fucceeding generations -, and to imprefs 
 upon mankind a dread of offending him, a hatred 
 of vice, and love of virtue, together with a lively 
 fenfe of his particular infpedion into the affairs of 
 Men; his flriftjufhice in punifhing Sin, and inref- 
 cuing and rewarding Innocence ; as well as his re- 
 markable difpofition to mercy, inafmuch as if there 
 had been but ten righteous Perfons in all thofe wick- 
 ed Cities, he would have [pared them for ten's Sake. 
 
 Befides the Servants, and other Sons of Abraham, 
 which were many, Ifaac and IJhmael muft have 
 been very inftrumental in propagating the true Reli- 
 gion. IJhmael'' % Mother and Wife were both Egyp- 
 tians ; his Sons, twelve in number, and of great 
 power, being ftiled Princes, and their dominions of 
 large extent. Gen. xxv. i6, i8. TJaac marrying his 
 Wife from Mefopotamia.^ this alliance and affinity re- 
 new'd with the Chaldeans., could not fail of good 
 effect, for the prefervation and advancement of true 
 Religion in thofe countries. Efau married two 
 v/ives of the Daughters of the Hittites., and by that 
 means gave them opportunity of acquainting them - 
 felves with the Religion of the Hebrews. He was 
 Father of the Edomites., and of a numerous offspring 
 of Dukes and Kings, who probably profeffed the 
 true Religion. 
 
 Jacob is fent to Padan-aram., to many into the 
 family of Lab an., with v/hom he abode twenty years ; 
 and all that he took in hand profper'd, 'io that there 
 was a vifible power and bleffing of God in it, as La- 
 han confefs'd. Gen. xxx. 27. Afterwards God ma- 
 nifefted himftlf to the Egyptians by a various and 
 wonderful Providence •, tor the fojourning of the 
 
 Chil- 
 
before the Gofpel Age. i o i 
 
 Children of Ifrael^ who dwelt in Egypt, was 430 
 Years, till at laft, by Jigns, and wonders, and dreadjul 
 judgments upon their jirji-bcrn and upon their Gods, 
 they were brought out from thence, and the nations 
 heard the fame of it, and all the earth was filed with 
 the glory of the Lord. 
 
 I'hus Chaldea and Egypt, the moit famous and 
 fiourifhing countries in thofe ages of the world, as 
 well as many other places of inferior note, had the 
 true Religion brought home to them by the Pa- 
 triarchs, who were fent from' place to place to fo- 
 journ, to be a pattern and example to the reft of 
 mankind. And Men who travell'd fo far, converf- 
 ed with fo many nations, and were fo zealous for 
 God's honour — had fach frequent Revelations, and 
 the immediate diretlion of God himfelf in moft of 
 the a6tions of their lives, — and who were fo great 
 and powerful, and numerous, m.uft needs mightily 
 propagate Religion wherever they came •, nor can 
 it be doubted but that they had great fuccefs in all 
 places : For even out of Egypt where they endured 
 the greateft hardfhips, and were held in fuch con- 
 tempt and hatred, yet a mix^d multitude went up alfo 
 with them, befides the native Ifraelites, Exod. 
 xii. 38. 
 
 The wicked Canaanites, indeed, were not wrought 
 upon by the examples and inftrucftions of the Pa- 
 triarchs, tho' their chiet refidence was among them ; 
 nor yet by the dreadful judgments upon Sodom and 
 Gomorrah, the effedls of which were conftantly be- 
 fore their eyes, and therefore having filled up the 
 meafure of their iniquities, God made them an ex- 
 ample to others, fince they would take no warning 
 themfelves. 
 
 How much the true Religion prevail'd by thefe 
 difpenfations of Providence among other nations, 
 befides the Hebrews, v/e have an illuilrious inltance 
 
 11 3 in 
 
102 Reformation of the World 
 
 in Job, and his Friends, who were Princes and Pro- 
 phets in their feveral dominions ; whence it ap- 
 pears, that Revelations were made to thofe nations 
 hkewife, and that the fundamentals of ReHgion were 
 known to them. And there is no doubt but the propa- 
 gation ot Rehgion in other parts of the world would 
 be as evident, if the Scripiiure had on fet purpofe, 
 and not occafionally only, treated of this matter : 
 As we may gather from the footlleps to be found 
 in feveral heathen Authors of what the Scriptures de- 
 liver to us •, and from the feveral allufions and re- 
 prefentations in the rites and ceremonies of their 
 Rehgions, expreffing, tho' obfcurely and confufed- 
 ly, the chief points of Scripture- ftory, as has been 
 Ihewn by many learned Men. Let us now confider 
 what the mofaic Difpenfation contributed to the 
 Reformation of the world, and how it went on in 
 this period. 
 
 I. With regard to the people of the Jews them- 
 felves, notwithftanding they were a rebellious peo- 
 ple, a perverfe and ftubborn generation, tho' not 
 more fo than their Neighbours, as I have fliewn a- 
 bove p. 83, yet they muft iiave been very per- 
 verfe, indeed, if all the warnings given, threats de- 
 nounced againft, and judgments from time to time 
 inflicted upon them, had not v/rought fome good 
 effects in them. Accordingly we find, that the fe- 
 vere difcipline they were under, cured them at laft 
 of their pronenefs to Idolatry fo efre6lually, * that 
 after their Return from the Babylonijh Captivity, 
 they never once revolted from the worfhip of the 
 
 true 
 
 * Jer. xxiv. 5. God expiefly fays that his Intent in fending 
 the two Tribes captive to the Land of the Chaldeans, Wasycr 
 their Good. And c, 7. Izvill <^k-e you an heart to knozutne, that 
 I am the Lord— -for tbey /hall return uttlo vie zvith their zvbole 
 heart. 
 
before the Go/pel Age. 103 
 
 true God, nor difcover'd the leaft inclination that 
 way. On the contrary, they became zealous of 
 their Law, even to fuperllition, and grew (o tena- 
 cious of their Religion, that many of them facrificed 
 their lives in defence of it. 
 
 Indeed, upon the appearance of a more perfe6t 
 Difpenfation, this became their fault, and continues 
 fo to this Day ; but before, their zeal for it was un- 
 doubtedly virtuous and commendable. The cha- 
 radler of the Law above-mention'd, that it was a 
 Schoolmafier^ implies inftru6lion ^ and fome benefit 
 fure mull have accrued to the Learners of it, elpe- 
 cially as they were in fucceeding ages fo diligent in 
 the ftudy of it. 
 
 II. With regard to mankind in general : Tho* 
 the Ifraelites^ by their laws concerning Religion and 
 Governmient, may feem to have been wholly fepa- 
 rated from the reft of the world, and the divine Re- 
 velations to have been confined to one Nation, yet 
 there ftill were fufficient means, and frequent op- 
 portunities for all Nations to come to the knowledge 
 of the truth. 
 
 For tho' the judicial and ceremonial Laws were 
 impracticable out of Judea^ yet the moft valuable 
 part of their ReHgion, the knowledge of the true 
 God, and the moral Law, were indifferent to all 
 parts of the world. And the Law of Mofes did par- 
 ticularly provide for the inftrudion of other Na- 
 tions therein, and the Scripture gives frequent com- 
 mand and encouragement concerning it. Provifion 
 is made for admitting Strangers and Profelytes, 
 who, in the very defign and inllitution of the Law, 
 were join'd with the native IfraeiUes themfelves, as 
 to all the rites and privileges of religious Worfliip, 
 in which they were invited to fliare. 
 
 And in cafe they would not fubmit to become 
 Converts to the whole Law, yet they were not re- 
 
 H 4 jefted 
 
1 04 "Reformation of the World 
 
 iecled, but left to their liberty, being under no ob- 
 ligation, but to worihip the true God, and obferve 
 the precepts of Noah ^ which alone intitled them to 
 partake of their civil privileges, and live under the 
 protection of their Government : Infomuch, that it 
 is cbferved, no Government had fuch particular re- 
 gard for Strangers, or was fo peculiarly contrived 
 for their encouragement to live under it. Accord- 
 ingly, multitudes of Profelytes were made out of 
 all Nations, the Providence of God fo ordering and 
 difpofing of the Jews in all their affairs, as to afford 
 other Nations frequent opportunities of being in- 
 ftr Lifted in the true Religion. 
 
 The miraculous deliverance of the Children of 
 Ifrael out of Egypt, magnified the power of God in 
 all countries, where the report of an event lb won- 
 derful and notorious came. Thus God himfelf fays, 
 that Fie made himfelt knovm to them in the fight 
 cf the Heathen., by bringing them forth out of the 
 Land of Egypt. Ezek. 20. 9. And their various 
 fucceffes in the land of Canaan, not only their victo- 
 ries, but overthrows, and the miraculous power of 
 God vifibly appearing either in their defeat and pu- 
 nidiment, or in their conqueft and deliverance, muft 
 needs raife a mighty fame and admiration of the 
 God of Ifrael, in all thofe countries. Their fre- 
 quent fubjeftions by their Enemies, and deliverance 
 by the Worthies raifed for that purpofe, muft give 
 great occaiion to all the bordering Nations to know 
 and confider that Religion, the obfervation or neg- 
 lect whereof had fuch vifible effects upon its Profef-- 
 fors. 
 
 In the reign of David, their attention was raifed 
 ftill higher ■■, for he extended his conquefts far and 
 near, and the fame of him went out into all Lands, 
 end the Lord brought the fear qf bim upon all Na- 
 tions. I Chr. xiv, 17. 
 
 But 
 
before the Gofpel Age. 105 
 
 But in Solomon's reign, the kingdom of Ifrael be- 
 came yet more famous and flourifhing. Not only 
 Hiram^ King of I'yre^ and the Queen of Sheba^ but 
 all the Kings of the Earth fought to Solomon to hear 
 his wifdom. i Kings iv. 34, x. 24. His dominions 
 were exceeding great — He reigned over all the Kings 
 from the river (Euphrates) even unto the land of the 
 Philiftines, and to the border <?/ Egypt. 2 Chr. ix. 
 26. The trade and correfpondence of the Ifraelites 
 with foreign Nations, was mightily advanced in his 
 time, and caufed their Laws, and Cuftoms, and 
 Religion, to be much obferved and enquired into. 
 AncTthe Gentiles were fo forward to become Profe- 
 lytes in thefe Reigns, that their fincerity became 
 fufpefted ; and therefore a ftop was put to the pub- 
 lick admifTion of them, tho' great numbers were ftill 
 rcceiv'd privately. 
 
 It is an obfervation made by fome of the Fathers, 
 that God placed Jertifalem in the midfb of the Na- 
 tions, that it might be a direction to the Heathen in 
 matters of Religion •, from whence, as from the 
 centre, light might be communicated to the cir- 
 ci^mjacent Regions. 
 
 But the divifion and calamities of the People of 
 Ifrael^ their captivities and difperfions, contributed 
 as much to the propagation of Pveligion, as their 
 greateft profperity could do. The captivity of the 
 ten tribes, whereby they were diftributed among 
 fome of the moll diftant Nations of the Earth, 
 was the means of conveying the knowledge of the 
 true God, whitherfoever they went ; as the fevcnty 
 years Captivity ol the two remaining Tribes in Ba- 
 hylon^ * made their Religion almoif as well known 
 there, as in Jertifalem itfelf. For the Almighty po- 
 wer of God was maniteftcd by miracles, proplie- 
 cies, and interpretation of dreams •, and his Majelly 
 
 and 
 * /7<.V Sui:ingfi^ci\-. O'h.Saave. I. i C. 3. 5. 6. 
 
io6 Reformation of tJje World 
 
 and Honour was proclaim'd in the mofl publick 
 and folemn manner throughout all the Babylonian 
 Empire, at the command of Princes, v/ho were I- 
 dolaters, and were forced to it by the mere convic- 
 tions of their own confciences, wrought in them by 
 the irrefiftible power of God, Dan. iii. 28, 29 — vi. 
 16, 'ij. The Refloration of the Jews by Cyrus ^ who 
 had been long before appointed and named by God 
 himfelf for that work, was ordain'd for this end, 
 that they might know from the rifing of the Sun^ and 
 froyn the wefi, that there was no God bejides him. Ifa. 
 xlv. 6. The conquefts of Cyrus open'd a great cor- 
 refpondence between the Nations of the world, and 
 his particular favour to the Jews^ made them much 
 taken notice of by other Nations. 
 
 The Victories <d^ Alexander likewife made way for 
 a free communication between the feveral parts of 
 tlie earth, to the benefit of mankind in the improve- 
 ment of all ufeful knowledge •, and he likewife 
 granted the Jews feveral privileges and immunities. 
 The fame did feveral of his Succellbrs, particularly 
 Ptolemy Pbiladelphus., who among other favours, 
 caufed the holy Scriptures to be tranflated into the 
 greek tongue, which was an exceeding great further- 
 ance to the propagation of Religion. 
 
 In a word, never had any other Nation fuch vari- 
 ous changes and revolutions to mix it with the reft 
 of the world ; and never were any People fo induf • 
 trious, zealous and fjccefsful in the propagation of 
 their Religion, except thefirft Chriftians. They 
 were difperfed over all the world, but they chiefly 
 feated themfelves in Rome., Alexandria, and Antioch, 
 three of the moft populous Cities in it. In Egyft 
 they had a Temple -, and they had Synagogues in 
 all the chief Cities of Greece and Afia where they 
 dv/elt. 
 
 By all thefe means, and otliers too tedious to 
 
 men- 
 
before the Gofpel Ages. ^ 1 07 
 
 mention particularly*, vaft multitudes of Profelytes 
 were made to the Jewijh Religion in all parts of the 
 world, and thus mightily did it prevail, till fuch 
 time as it had its full period and accomplifhment 
 in, and was fuperfeded by, the Gofpel Difpenfa- 
 tion. 
 
 From all which it appears, that notwithftanding 
 the great extent of Heathenifm^ the worfliip of the 
 true God, in every age, gain'd ground upon it, 
 even before the appearance of Chriftianity j and, 
 tho' it was at firft but like a gram of mufiard feed, 
 fown in one family, yet by the Providence of God, 
 it increafed to that degree, that it became like a 
 great tree, the birds of the air lodging in ils bran- 
 ches. 
 
 Add to this, that where the true Religion was 
 not profclTedly embraced, yet it was by many fecret- 
 ly admired and imitated : This appears from the 
 many memorials-and remembrances of it to be tra- 
 ced among the Heathen. Thus the knowledge which 
 they had of the God Jehovah, and feveral other re- 
 ligious notiors, Scripture-Hiftories, Inititutions, 
 Rites, Cufioms, which they adopted into their own 
 Religions, they could not have had any other way, 
 than as they learn' d and borrow' d them from the He- 
 brews •, by which means falfe Religions were in fome 
 meafure refined from their corruptions, and by de- 
 grees improved, by the true, tho' they were not 
 overcome by it. 
 
 This is particularly obfervcd of the Magian Reli- 
 gion •, which, as it was reformed by Zoroajlres, ap- 
 pears to have been framed after the Jewijh model, 
 
 moft 
 
 * If the Reader has a mind to examine tliis matter more parti- 
 cularly, I refer him to \ix J C7ih':iii\ Rcalvnuhlchcfs of Chrijlidnif^, 
 Vol, 1. Part 2d. ch, 2 f rum wheice this account is mollty extiaft- 
 ed. Or to Mr Arch Deacon LtirS^ Confidciaiions on ihc Su.c 
 gf the World uith regard to Kcligion, p- 73-1 1 7. 
 
io8 Reformatioji of the World 
 
 moft of its doctrines and cuftoms being manifeftly 
 taken from the facred writings and ufages of the 
 Jews : And the Magians themfelves, in a manner, 
 own as much, by their claiming Abraham as the 
 Founder of their Religion •, and indeed the Sabians^ 
 Indians^ and Mahometans^ likewife pretend the 
 fame. * 
 
 In like manner the Laws of the wifeft Heathen 
 Nations were taken from the Laws of Mofes, and 
 their Philofophers too had generally fome know- 
 ledge of the Religion of the Hebrews ; and perhaps 
 the beft and founded part of their Learning and 
 Philofophy was derived from the fame fountain ; it 
 being the opinion of feveral learned Men that Mofes 
 alone in his fhort Hiftory of the Creation hath 
 taught more than all the other Interpreters of Na- 
 ture, and that this is the Fountain from which all our 
 real Knowledge of it is derived. And there is great 
 Reafon to believe, notwithftanding what fome allege 
 to the contrary, that the true atomical or mechani- 
 cal Philofophy, which in thefe latter Ages was re- 
 vived by Des Cartes and improved by Sir Ifaac 
 Newton^ owes its original to our Jewifh Philofopher. 
 
 For this Philofophy is on all hands allowed to 
 have been known to the Antients •, but who the Au- 
 thor of it was is not as yet agreed upon. The com- 
 mon opinion is that its original is Greek, and that 
 Democritus and Leucipptis were the firft founders of 
 it, and this opinion is efpoufed by Dr Burnet, and 
 after him by Mr JVarbtirton. But Dr Cudworth 
 proves from feveral Teftimonies out of Plato's 
 1'hcateius, that this Philofophy v/hich folves all the 
 Phenomena of the corporeal world by thofe intelli- 
 gible Principles of Magnitude, Figure, Site, and 
 Motion, was known to Protagoras, who lived be- 
 fore the times of Der,20critus and Leucippus. That 
 
 there- 
 
 * Sec Pr.V <7<VA% Conncflicn, Part i.B. 4. 
 
before the Go/pel Age. 109 
 
 therefore we have no reafon to difcredlt the Report 
 of Poftdonius the Stoick^ who, as Strabo tells us» 
 affirm'd this Philofophy to have been antienter than 
 the times of the Trojan war, and firft to have been 
 brought into Greece out of Phcenicia, and invented 
 by one Mofchus a Phcenician^ who probably is the 
 fame with t!iat Mochus or Mofchus the Phyfiologcr 
 that Jamblicus mentions in the Life of Pythagoras ; 
 where he affirms that Pythagoras lived fome time at 
 Sidon in Phoenicia^ converfed with the Prophets that 
 were the fuccefibrs of this Mochus^ and was inftruct- 
 ed by them. He therefore makes no difficulty in 
 concluding, that Mochus and Mofchus the Pbceni- 
 cian and Phyfiologer were one and the fame with 
 Mofes the Jewifh Law-giver. And that he accord- 
 ing to antient Tradition being the firft Author of 
 the corpufcular Philofophy, it ought to be called, 
 neither Epicurean^ nor Democrilkal, but Mofchical, 
 or Mojaical, or Phamician.* 
 
 Now if the Principles of this Philofophy can be 
 fairly traced out of the writings of Mofes^ I hope 
 this will be allowed to be decifive evidence of the 
 matter in difpute. I fhall therefore attempt an Ex- 
 planation of Mofes' s, Hiftory of the Creation, as far 
 as the fourth day inclufively on the Principles of it : 
 And if it is capable of being better explain'd on thefe 
 Principles than any other, this will furniffi tlie 
 ftrongeft prefumptive Proof that it was written on 
 thefe Principles, and no other. 
 
 This 
 
 * See Dr Cudworth'i Treatif^ on Morality, Chap. 3. and 4. 
 If Dr Burnet had feen this Trcacife hepcihaps would have foiukl 
 reafon for altering his opinion, and would have clleem'd Danccri- 
 /tfi and Lciuippus, not as the Invcntoif, but Corrupters of this 
 Philofophy, as in truth they were ; at leaft he would have an- 
 fwei'd Dt Cndzvorih''s arguments. Mr. IVarb. has fcen what Dr, 
 Cuuivorth Wrote on this Subject, and yet clpoules thecontrai y opi- 
 nion, without offering any thing of force 10 invalidate hii Rca- 
 fons. 
 
10 1 Reformation of the World 
 
 This tafl<: I find in a good meafure done to my 
 hand in an ingenious Treatile * lately publifh'd, 
 which gave me the firft hint of this defign, and 
 which 1 approve of fo much in its general Hypo- 
 thecs, that I fhall beg leave to make ufe of it, for 
 my prefent purpofe, tho' 1 am obliged to differ 
 from the learned Author in my manner of explain- 
 ing fome particulars. 
 
 Verfe. i . In the beginning God created the Hea- 
 vens (the heavenly Orbs, Sun, Moon, and Stars) 
 and the Earth. Thus I think this firft verfe fhould 
 be underftood, as containing a general Account of 
 the Creation of the whole Univerfe ; after which 
 the infpired writer defcends to a more particular one 
 of this Earth, with which alone we are immediately 
 concern'd. Nor does there feem fufHcient Ground 
 for reftraining the fignification of the word Heaven 
 in this place to the Firmament or Air which fup- 
 ports the Clouds, becaufe this is called Heaven v. 
 7, 8. For I. The former is the more general ac- 
 ceptation of the word Q^Qiy. i. Our Air or Atmo- 
 fphere, when called by the name of Heaven^ may be 
 confidered as the lower Region of it. ■ Accordingly 
 3. It is frequently in this Chapter called the Firma- 
 ment of Heaven., implying that this is but a part of 
 the Heavens. If, 4. We ought not rather to under- 
 ftand the Firmament as extending to the place of 
 the Sun, Moon, and even fixed Stars, which God 
 fet in the Firmament of Heaven, v. 17. 
 
 Verfe. 2. And the Earth was without Form,, and 
 void, and Varknefs was u-pon the Face of the Deep. 
 A total darknefs covered the whole Face of the 
 Globe. This muft have been the cafe, notwith- 
 
 ftanding 
 
 * See Mr 'Jenmv.gi'i. Appendix to his Introdudion to the ufe of 
 the Globe?, &c. anempting to explain the Account of the firft 
 and fourth days Work of the Ci cation in the firll Chapter of GV- 
 
 Vff.S. » 
 
before the Gofpel Age, 1 1 1 
 
 (landing the Sun was already created. For fuppo- 
 fing it to fliine forth in its full ftrength upon this 
 confufed Chaos, which we can form no other Idea 
 of, than that of a thick Puddle confiding of an e- 
 qual mixture of Earth and Water, what Etteft would 
 it have, but the fame that we often fee it have at 
 prefent when it breaks out upon marfliy, or even 
 found Lands, reeking wet after a heavy Fall of 
 Rain, or Waters •, upon which when it calls ai\ in- 
 tenfe Heat, it immediately exhales a thick Mill or 
 Vapour ? This, I fay, was the Sun's immediate Ef- 
 feft on the Chaos, but in a greater degree. It ex- 
 haled fuch a denfe Vapour as prefcntly abforbed its 
 Rays, and made that part of the Earth's furface 
 which was obverted towards it (which I take to be 
 chiefly meant by the Face of the Deep) to be as in- 
 accelTible to its Beams, as that part ot it was, which 
 was turned from the Sun. And this Vapour would 
 undoubtedly in a lliort time become fo great as to 
 fill the whole Atmofphere of that Hemifphere, and 
 would there flagnate, there being not the lead 
 Breath of Air to help to carry it off. Well therefore 
 might Mofes fay, that Darknefs was upon the Face 
 €f the Deep. For this might be called an Horror of 
 great Darknefs^ even thick Darknefs fuch as might be 
 felt, as he elfewhere expreffes himfelf This Effect 
 of the Sun on the Chaos may be illullrated by what 
 it is faid to have produced foon after. Gen. ii. 6. 
 where we are told that there went up a Mifi from the 
 Earth, which being newly feparated from the Wa- 
 ter, mud have had a great deal of moidure in it, 
 out of which the Vapour that afcended from it was 
 exhaled. 
 
 — And the Spi?'it of God moved upon the Face of the 
 Waters. 
 
 The Word here tranQated moved is p^niC, which 
 not being confined in its fignification to any parti- 
 cular 
 
112 "Refer fnatton of the World 
 
 cular kind of Motion, Mr Jennings very naturally 
 fuppofes that hereby is, meant, that the Spirit of 
 God caufed the Face of the Waters to move, by 
 inipreffing upon the Globe its diurnal circumvolu- 
 tion on its Axis. This probably gave it its Orbi- 
 cular Form, and thus, as it is expreffed by Solomon^ 
 He fei aCompafs on the Face of the Deep. Prov. viii. 27. 
 
 Verfe. 3. And God [aid., let there be Light — 
 The Motion above mention'd was communica- 
 ted, not only to the Earth itfelf, but to the circum- 
 ambient Atmofphere likewife, where operating in 
 quality of ajlrong Wind^ * the literal fignification of 
 the Word nil, as well as of Spirit, it agitated and 
 difpelled the thick Vapour, and driving part of it 
 into the other half of the Atmofphere, it by that 
 means affifted the Sun to rarify it : The confequence 
 of which was, that tho' it ftill continued very much 
 to obfcure the Face of the Sky, yet fome of the 
 Sun-beams began to penetrate through it •, and tho' 
 perhaps not directly, yet by frequent Refradtions at 
 laft to reach the Earth : 
 
 and there was Light ; 
 
 tho' probably as yet but a faint and glimmering one, 
 however fuch as was fufficient to diftinguifh it from 
 the Darknefs, and fo to conftitute Day and Night. 
 
 Verfe. 6. And God /aid, let there be a Firmament 
 
 in 
 
 * So DNl'r'^J nn may be tranflated. Thus we trandate i 
 
 Snm. xiv. i $, D^T7t< H'Y^n, ^ I'erf grent trembling: ^118 
 
 *7N goodly Cedars. Pi. 80. 1 1 • And PI. 36. 7- VS mH ftrong 
 Mountains. Accordingly therefore DM 7S ni"l might he ren- 
 der'd, a llrong Wind moved upon the h'aceoithe Waters ; accord- 
 ing to the rule fiipcrlativitm exprimurit Hcbrai adjun8ione alia/jus 
 ex noinniibus Dei, tho' I do not propofe this in oppoiition to, but 
 in conjunftion with the other fenfe of thele word;. The Spirit of 
 God, in quality of n Jlrong Wind, moved. Thus Alis. 2. He 
 ■ is laid to have delccn.ded upon the Apoltles, on the day of Pente- 
 collc, tvith a mighty rujbing Wind. 
 
before the Gofpel Age. 113 
 
 ftarw^ng the Sun was already created. For fuppo- 
 fing \ to fhine forth in its full ftrength upon this 
 confuftd Chaos, which we can form no other Idea 
 of, tharTidiat of a thick Puddle confilling of an e- 
 qual mixtute of Earth and Water, what EffevSl would 
 it have, buf\the fame that we often fee it hav^ at 
 prefent, wheri\t breaks out upon marfhy, or even 
 found Lands, reeking wet after a heavy Fall of 
 Rain, or Waters\ upon which when it calls an in- 
 tenfe Heat, it imrkediately exhales a thick Mid or 
 Vapour ? This, I fay, was the Sun's immediate Ef- 
 feft on the Chaos, buKin a greater degree. It ex- 
 haled fuch a denfe VapVir as prefently abforbed its 
 Rays, and made that papf of the Earth's furtace 
 which was obverted toward^s it (which I take to be 
 chiefly meant by the Face of\the Deep) to be as in- 
 accefllble to its Beams, as that^part of it was, which 
 was turned from the Sun. And this Vapour would 
 undoubtedly in a fliort time bahpme fo great as to 
 fill the whole Atmofphere of thaV Hcmifphcre, and 
 would there ftagnate, there bei\g not the lead 
 Breath of Air to help to carry it off\ Well therefore 
 might Mofes fay, that Darknefs ivaKiipon the Face 
 of the Deep. For this might be calleoi ^« Horror of 
 great Darknefs., even thick Darknefs fiuh as might he 
 felt., as he elfewhere expreflTes himfclf ^his EflTedt 
 of the Sun on the Chaos may be illullrate^ by what 
 it is faid to have produced foon after. G^i. ii. 6. 
 where we are told that there ivent up a Mi ft fvojn the 
 Earth., which being newly feparated from tht Wa- 
 ter, muft have had a great deal of moiilure \n it, 
 out of which the Vapour that afcended from it\was 
 exhaled. 
 
 — And the Spirit of God moved upon the Face of the 
 IVaters. 
 
 The Word here tranflated moz-edxs r\t:niJ2'> by which 
 the rabbinical Writers imagine is meant a fort of /«- 
 
 1 cubation. 
 
114. Reformation of the World 
 
 cuhat'ion. The Word occurs but twice befides in 
 Scripture. Detit. 0^2. 11. Jer. 23. 9. in both which 
 places it fignifies ditFerent kinds of motion, but has 
 not much affinity in either with this fenfe of it. This 
 therefore being a word of latitude, Mr Jennings very 
 naturally fuppoies that hereby is meant, that the Spirit 
 of God caufed the Face ot the Waters to move, by 
 impreffing upon the Globe its diurnal circumvolu- 
 tion on its Axis. To which I add, that the Earth's 
 annual motion round the Sun may herein likewife be 
 included, this motion being neceffary to have been 
 impreffed upon it as early as any other, in order to 
 ferve as a Balance to its centripetal Force, which 
 would otherwife have attracted it to the Body of the 
 Sun. And to convince us how applicable the word 
 is to thefe kinds of Motion, it is obfervable that the 
 Syriac marachophi fignifies the * circular motions 
 which are made in Water by the cafting in of a Stone •, 
 which are remarkably analogous to the Motions we 
 fuppofe to be fignified by the Hebrew word, from 
 which the Syriac is derived. 
 
 Verfe. 3. And God faid^ let there be Light — 
 
 The Motion imprelTed on the Earth was likewife 
 communicated to the circumambient Atmofphere, 
 where operating in quality oi ^.Jiyong Wind^ "f the li- 
 teral 
 
 * Circuli in Aqua per jadlum Lapidls. Callelli Lexicon in locum, 
 
 \ So QNT:?^< mi may he tranflated. Thus we trandate. i 
 
 Zam. xiv. i $, D^"T78 min, a very great trembling: 'HH 
 
 *7« gooil^ Cedars. Pi. 80. 11. And PI. 36. 7. ^8 ^I'MT^ llrong 
 Mountains. Accordingly therefore Din'?H HH might be ren- 
 dered, (I flrong Wind moved upon the Face of the Waters ; accord- 
 ing to the xv\^ fuperlativum exprimunt Hebrai adjm^ione diciijus 
 ex nojninihis Dei, tho' I do not propofe this in oppofuion to, but 
 in conjunftion with the other fenfe of thefe words. The Spirit of 
 God, in quality of a ft rang Wind, moved. Thus ASs. 2. He 
 is faid to have defccnded upon the Apoilks, on the day of Pente- 
 Corte, ivith a mighty rujhin^_ Wind. 
 
before the Go/pel Age. j r ^ 
 
 fceral fignlfication of the Word mi? as well as of 
 Spirit, it agitated and difpelled the thick Vapour, 
 and driving part of it into the other half of the 
 Atmofphere, it by that means afTifted the Sun to ra- 
 tify it : The confequence of which was, that tho' it 
 ftill continued very miich to obfcure the Face of the 
 Sky, yet fome of the Sun-beams began to penetrate 
 through it ; and tho' perhaps not directly, yet by 
 frequent Refra6lions at laft to reach the Earth : 
 
 and there was Light •, 
 
 tho' probably as yet but a faint and glimmering one, 
 however fuch as was fufficient to dillinguifl-i it from 
 the Darknefs, and fo to conftitute Day and Night. 
 
 Verfe. 6. JndGonfaid, let there be a Firmament 
 in the midji of the JVaters, and let it divide the Wa- 
 ters from the Waters. 
 
 The Sun and Wind continuing to operate on the 
 thick Vapour, rarified and raifed it by the fecond 
 day to fuch a degree as to form it into Clouds ; 
 which becoming fpecifically ligiiter than the Air, 
 now likewife formed into a diitinct Element, and 
 being pretty well clear' d and refined from thofs 
 watery Vapours it was before blended with, they be- 
 came fupported by it •, and it became, what we not 
 improperly * tranflate, l^he Firmament to divide the 
 Waters from the Waters. And hence we find a fuf- 
 ficient quantity of Water to furnilh the Regions a- 
 bove the Firmament, and to fupply that great Col- 
 leftion of it, w-iich feems to be intimated in the text. 
 With regard to the Waters under the Firmament, 
 it may not be a.mifs to obferve, that as foon as the 
 Chaos had Being given it, the feveral jmrts of it be- 
 gan to gravitate towards fome common Centre. For 
 
 I 2 / i: 
 
 * See a Vindication of the Propriety of tranilating ^^'^'^ by 
 Firmament, in CafleW Lexicon, and his Animadverfiones ^a'nariticay 
 annext to Billiop Wijlt^h Folyglott Bible, Tom. uit. p. i. 
 
1 1 6 Reformation of the IForld 
 
 it cannot be fuppofed how it could hang together 
 even in that ftate, without being held by this Law 
 at leaft, which perhaps was the only one then impref- 
 fed upon it. And if fo, the terrene Particles, being 
 fpecificaily heavier than the watery, fubfided and 
 tended more forcibly towards the Centre of Gravity, 
 and left the watery Particles to fwim on the furface. 
 
 Verfe. 9. And God faid, let the Waters under the 
 Heaven he gathered together unto one place, and let 
 the dry land appear, 6zc. 
 
 Tho' this and every other day's Work of the 
 Creation is chiefly to be afcribed to the proper and 
 immediate Power of God exerting itfelf by his Al- 
 mighty Word, yet as this almighty Power was di- 
 rected by infinite Wifdom, we mufb fuppofe there 
 were certain Laws prefcribed it, by which it acted 
 and regulated itfelf, otherwife it had been but a 
 blind force : And that as foon as fecond Caufes were 
 produced by it, it immediately made ufe of their 
 Operation, as it has continued to do ever fince : If 
 it be not more proper to fay that fecond Caufes are 
 but different Modifications or Operations of the one 
 great Caufe of all. This being obferved, I fay the 
 gathering together of the Waters, and the dry land 
 being made to appear, feems to have been in a great 
 meafure promoted, ^f not altogether effefted, by the 
 Earth's Revolution on its Axis. For the terrene 
 Particles having, as was obferved above, fubfided 
 by virtue of the Centripetal Force, the Earth's Ro- 
 -tationon its Axis produced another Force, which 
 has been called the Centrifugal ; the refult of which 
 acting in oppofition to the former, was that the 
 terrene Particles were diGodged from the Centre, and 
 the dry land as well as Water was caufed to appear 
 on the furface of the Globe j and the Waters falling 
 into the Cavities which were formed by the Inequa- 
 lities 
 
before the Go/pel Age. i ly 
 
 lities in the Earth's furface, thefe Cavities be- 
 came their Receptacle, wherein they were gathered 
 together. 
 
 The Words of the Text, if duly attended to, 
 will appear greatly to confirm this Account.— The ga - 
 thering together of the Waters implies that they were 
 before dilperfed over the whole Face of the Earth ; 
 and the appearing of the dry land intimates that it 
 was before covered by the Water, and that now it 
 was brought up to the furface of the Globe. 
 
 Another effeft of the Earth's Rotation on its Axis, 
 not improper to be here taken notice of, was pro- 
 bably the giving to it its orbicular Form, as it 
 was without Form before -, which is alluded to 
 by Solomon^ Prov. 8. 26, 27. where he introduces 
 Wifdom difcourfing concerning the Creator and his 
 Works — He had not yet made the Earth — nor the * 
 Height of the Duji in the World. When he prepared 
 the Heavens I was there^ when he fet a Compafs on 
 the face of the Deep. hxAmJob 26. 10. He fet 
 bounds (circular bounds, as the original fignifies) 
 about the Waters. 
 
 The Phasnomena of the three firft days being, as 
 has been Ihewn, aflifted in their Produdiion by the 
 Earth's Rotation on its Axis •, and the Sun, Moon, 
 and Stars, as may be fuppofed, beginning on the 
 fourth day to fhine in a diredt and vifible manner 
 upon the Earth, which the Interpofition of the Clouds 
 and Clofenefs of the Atmofphere might till now have 
 obftru6ted -, the infpired Hiftorian proceeds to give 
 us an Account of this day's work. 
 
 Verfe. 14. AndQox) faid, let there he Lights in 
 the Firmament of the Heaven^ to divide the day from 
 the night \ and let them be for ftgns., and for feafons^ 
 and for days and years., &c. 
 
 I 3 That 
 
 * It is difficult to form any diftirn.^t Idea of thefe Words. The 
 original are "IIT^ n"^Sy tJ'fc<n, which may be re dcr'd ,•* th o> * 
 giTial Jtoms of the fVoriJ, " that is, the firll Trinciples of matter. 
 
1 1 8 Reforjnation of the World 
 
 That this and the following Verfcs are not to be 
 underftood of the Creation of the Sun, Moon, and 
 Stars on this day may be prefumed, i . Becaufe, ac- 
 cording to the Interpretation above given of v. i. 
 they are faid to have been then created. 2. The Ex- 
 iftence of the Sun is fuppofed v. 3. where God com- 
 manded the Light to ihine, which the Sun is known 
 to be the Fountain of to this Earth. 3. As Mr Jen- 
 mngs takes notice ; The Suppofition that this Earth 
 Ihould take up five of the fix days work, and the 
 Sun, Moon, and Stars (in comparifon with which 
 this Earth is but very fmall and inconfiderable) fhould 
 all take up no more than one, viz. the fourth, makes 
 this Account very irregular and difproportionate. 
 Therefore He obferves, " that the original here 
 * may as well be rendered, let the Lights in the Fir- 
 ' mament of Heaven he to divide^ &c. importing not 
 ' their being firft created on that day -, but their be- 
 ' ing made to ferve new purpofes, to which they 
 ^ were now applied and adapted.' He obferves 
 further that^ whereas it is faid v. 16. God made 
 two great Lights^ &c. the Hebrew "Word for 
 7nade in this text is not ^"13, which more ge- 
 nerally fignifies to create, but TW^^ a word of a 
 general meaning, that may be here tranllated, God 
 made^ or appointed the two great Lights^ to rule the 
 day and the night, i. e. He then affigned them their 
 feveral offices in this refpeft. But allowing that 
 this word here fignifies the creating of thefe 
 Lights, I fliould think it might as eafily be tranfla- 
 ted with reference to the time more than pertecflly 
 pafl — For God had made two great Lights •■, the 
 greater Light to rule the day ., &c. And God had fet 
 them in the Firmament of the Heaven, &c. 
 
 There being therefore no neceffity to fuppofe that 
 the Sun, Moon, and Stars were not created till this 
 Day, Mr Jennings conjedures that this Day's Work 
 
 was 
 
before the Go/pel Age. 119 
 
 was God's giving the Earth its annual Motion round 
 the Sun, and the iVIoon its Motion round the Earth ; 
 and endeavours to fliew how thefe two Motions an- 
 fwer the Phsenomena delcribed in verfes 14 — 19. 
 But for Reaibns already alTigned it feems moft pro- 
 bable that the annual as well as diurnal Motion was 
 iniprefled before this time. And with regard to the 
 Phasnomena of this Day's Work, they may as well, 
 if not better, be accounted for by fuppodng, that ber 
 fore this time the Axis of the Earth ilood at right 
 Angles with the Plane of the Ecliptic •, but that on 
 the fourth Day the Almighty and Alwife Creator gave / 
 it its Inclination towards it, making therewith an An- f^A ^ 
 gle of 6^ Deg. 4-- And it is probable likewife, that 'J^^ ^ 
 at the fame time the Inclination of the Moon's Orbit ^^^''^^ 
 was produced : Nay fome of our Aftronomers are of-^>»c/i./i,> 
 Opinion that the IncHiiation of the Earth's Axis was /'/'i^''*^ 
 alone fufficient to have brought about fuch an Effect, 
 and that the one ad:ually proceeded from the other. 
 
 This difpoiition we know, whenever it firft hap- 
 pen'd, is the caufe of that beautiful and agreeable Vi- 
 ciditude and Variety of the Seafons — this divides and 
 marks out Time into certain dlftind Periods, which 
 otherwife would efcape our Notice, being in itfelf too 
 fubtile a thing to fall under our obfervation — and by 
 this means the beginning and end of the year is pointed 
 out to us, and is likewife divided into certain lelTerpor^ 
 tions. Very properly therefore might the great Lumi- 
 naries of Heaven be faid on this occafion to have been 
 appointed for Signs ^ and for Seafons^ and for Days^ 
 and Tears. 
 
 Hence it appears how agreeable this Account of 
 the whole inanimate Creation is to true Philofophy, 
 which in thefe latter Ages was revived by Sir Ifaac 
 Newton. And this is a great confirmation of the 
 Tradition above mentioned, that Mofes was the Au- 
 thor of it, fince his Account of the Creation feems 
 to have been written on the Principles of it. 
 
 I 3 Hence 
 
I20 Reformation oj the World 
 
 Hence likewife it appears, That that which is 
 called the Copernican Syftem was not unknown to 
 our Jewifh Phiiofopher, if he were not indeed the 
 Author of it, as it is certain it was known to the 
 Egyptians, in all whofe Wifdom he was learned, and is 
 allowed to be the moft antient Opinion of all others. 
 Or if Mofes be not allowed to have underftood 
 the true motions of the Earth and Moon, yet this is 
 at leaft an unconteftable Evidence that He muft have 
 written this Account by the AlTiflance of one that 
 did, that is, of the great Creator, who impreffed 
 their feveral motions upon them, and who directed 
 him to draw up a juft Defcription of them. 
 
 The World being now made habitable, the 
 two remaining Days were employed in furnifh- 
 ing it with Inhabitants, and to this end in crea- 
 ting Man and other Animals. But the Philofo- 
 phy hereof is what we cannot pretend to give 
 any Account of, the Laws relating to the Produc- 
 tion of Life and Spirit being out of mortal Ken ; 
 fo that we have nothing left in this cafe to do, but 
 humbly to adore the Wifdom and Power of the 
 great Author of our Being. 
 
 Upon the whole, to ufe the words of the above 
 writer, ' According to this Hypothefis it appears 
 ' that the firfl Chapter of Genefis, inftead of merit- 
 
 * ing that contempt which fome Men have caft upon 
 
 * it, deferves rather to be efteemed, not only as the 
 ' moft antient, but as the moft truly philofophical 
 
 * and beautiful Account of the Creation that ever 
 
 * was publiflied in the World.* 
 
 TO proceed now with the Defign of this Chap- 
 ter — God made ufe of other means befides thofe 
 already mentioned, to declare his glory to the Hea- 
 then, his jnarveUous 'works among all Nations. For 
 he raifed up his Prophets as well among them, as 
 his own People, and Miracles were Ibmetimes 
 
 wrought 
 
before the Gofpel Age. 1 2 1 
 
 wrought among them by invoking the true God : 
 And by many other wonderful and infcrutable me- 
 thods of Providence, they were difpofed and pre- 
 pared for the reception of the Saviour of the 
 world ; whofe coming had, either by the Sibylline 
 Oracles^ or other prophetical notices (which it 
 is not material to examine) been, without doubt, 
 fufficiently made known among them. For it .\ 
 appears from 'Tacitus and Firgil,^ thcLt xht v^hoXtL "V7 » 
 world, about the time of the birth of Chrift, was big 
 with expedations of the appearance ot fome extraor- 
 dinary Perfon, for the general good of mankind. 
 Indeed, both Jews and Gentiles were not only 
 taught to expect a Redeemer, but the fober and 
 confiderate among both were by this time convin- 
 ced of the neceflity of one. Each of them knew 
 enough to be fenfible of the mifery of their condition, 
 but neither of them knew how to help it. They 
 were convinced of their blindnels and ignorance, 
 and of the depravity of their Nature ; and more- 
 over of their utter inability to remove the one, and 
 re6lify the other. This the wifer Heathens faw and 
 lamented •, their own experience had convinced them 
 of the abfurdity of their feveral fyftems of Religion, 
 which Virtue made no part of; and tho' Morality 
 was taught among them, yet was it very imperfeft 
 and inefficacious, as it wanted the authority, cer- 
 tainty, obligation, and fanflions of a Law. They 
 were no lefs fenfible of the vanity of their Philofo- 
 phy, and infufficiency of mere natural Reafon ; tho* 
 it feemcd now to be arrived at as high a pitch of 
 Perfcftion, as mere natural Reafon could arrive at. 
 Tho' they fought all helps and means, that were to 
 be had, to improve it, yet they found all was too 
 little ; no afiiftance lefs than fupernatural being fuf- 
 ficient to remove thofe clouds of ignorance and error, 
 in which their Minds were involved. This feveral 
 
 of 
 
1 2 a Reformation of the World 
 
 of them were fenfible of, and panted after. None 
 of their Se6ls of Philofophy could frame any certain 
 conclufions ; all their knowledge amounted only to 
 opinion ; and all their refearches ended in Scepti- 
 cifm. Accordingly, fome of them confefled, that all 
 they knew was, that they knew nothing ; and the 
 reafon why Socrates was pronounced the wifefb Man 
 by the Oracle, was, becaufe he had the ingenuity to 
 ^3wn his ignorance. 
 
 Nor was this an inconfiderable ftep towards an 
 amendment of our Natures, it being neceffary in 
 order to a cure, to be firft fenfible of the need of it. 
 
 Neither could they who lived under the Law, 
 obtain Juftification by it, any more than thofe who 
 lived without it : Its chief ufe was to convince them 
 of its own unfitnefs, as hath been obferved, to make 
 the Comers thereunto perfect ^ Heb. x. i. as well as of 
 their Inability to perform it ; and by that means to 
 make them betake themfelves to Faith in the MeJJiah^ 
 and build their hopes on him, whofe gracious Con- 
 defcenfion to the neceflity of our Condition was the 
 only adequate means of effefting a Remedy for it. 
 
 Providence having, by a long courfe of prepara- 
 tives, brought Mankind at laft to a due fenfe and 
 feeling of their condition, which was no inconfide- 
 rable point gain'd -, and the human Nature being, 
 in other refpe<5ts, reduced to a fit habit and difpofi- 
 tion, and its difbemper being arrived at its proper 
 crifis for the application of more direct and power- 
 ful means ; The Fidnefs of 'Time being now come,, * 
 the Sun of Right eotifnefs arifes with healing in his 
 wings. The great Phyfician of Souls appears in per- 
 fon, and prefcribes his univerfal Remedy, which 
 fuits every cafe, is fufficient to redify every difor- 
 der, and is to be the great reftorative of our Nature, 
 
 of 
 
 * Thefulnefs of Time for our Saviour's Coming is particularly 
 and judicioufly accounted for, by the ingenious and learned Mr 
 Arch-Deacon Laza, in his Confideradons on the Itate of Religion, 
 p. 1 26. 
 
by means of the Gofpel. 123 
 
 of which truth I ihall hereafter give diftind, and, I 
 hope, convincing proofs. 
 
 And in order to it, I am at prefent to fhew, in 
 profecution of the argument I am upon, how much 
 the World hath been bettered already by the Pro- 
 pagation of the Gofpel. 
 
 CHAP. VII, 
 
 Concerni?ig the Reformation wrought in the worlB, 
 by means of Chrijlianity, 
 
 THE fpeedy Propagation of the Gofpel 
 throughout the whole World is a fad fo 
 well known and unconteiled, that the no- 
 toriety of its great fuccefs made it to be efteemed 
 miraculous •, fo that it is needlefs to trouble the Rea- 
 der with an hiftorical account of it. 
 
 Our Saviour Chrift foretold, that the Gofpel of his 
 Kingdom fhould be preached in all the World before that 
 Generation fhould pafs. Matt. xxiv. 14, 34. And the 
 accounts which are left us of the Travels of the Apo- 
 ftles, and of the feveral Nations converted by them, 
 together with the footfteps of Chriftianity which may 
 ftill be traced among the mod diftant and barbarous 
 People of the World, who at prefent enjoy lead of 
 the light of the Gofpel, leave us no room to doubt 
 of the accomplifhment of this Predid:ion. 
 
 It mufb, indeed, be owned and lamented, that 
 our moil holy Religion, however univerfally it was 
 diffufed and propagated, yet in fucceeding ages loft 
 much ground, by the encroachments of falfe Reli- 
 gions, and much of its influence on Men's Lives by 
 the corruptions, which by degrees crept into it : In- 
 fomuch that at prefent it is computed to poflefs not 
 above one Axth part * of tlie World, And one of that, 
 
 if 
 
 * This is the Computation of Sr^r^zi^oo^ in luj Erquit'cs into 
 the Divirftj oj Languages, Ch. xiv. p. 203. Where lie fays, • If 
 
124- RrfonnatioJi oft he fforld 
 
 if we dcduft fuch of its Profeffors as are not better'd by- 
 it in theirLiVes,the number will be confiderably leffen'd. 
 Now admitting the above calculation to be as near 
 the truth as things of that nature can be fuppofed to 
 be, I defire it may be confidered, 
 
 I. That tho' the extent and influence of Chriftia- 
 nity may appear to be but comparatively fmall in 
 proportion to the whole World ; yet if we either 
 confider it in itfelf, or compare it with the Jewilh 
 Religion, which, before Chriftianity was grafted 
 upon it, was the Religion made ufe of by Provi- 
 dence for the Reformation of the World, we fhall 
 not in either of thefe views think it fo much ftrait- 
 ned in its bounds. True Religion, which at firft 
 was confined to one Family, and afterwards to one 
 Nation and corner of the World, has fince by de- 
 grees fo enlarged its Empire, as to be poiTefs'd of 
 vaft Kino doms and Territories, and is the eftablifh'd 
 Reliction in many Countries throughout the known 
 World i bcfides thofe which it fhares with other 
 Religions, where it is only tolerated j and ftill it is 
 but in its growth and progrefs, in its infancy, indeed, 
 with regard to what we are affurcd the future ex- 
 tent of it will be, as I fhall Hiew hereafter. So fit- 
 ly is the Kingdom of Heaven liken'd by our Saviour 
 to di grain of mitjlard-feed^ which is one of the leafl of 
 feeds •, hut when it isfown and grow eth up^ it fhooteth 
 out great branches^ fo that the Birds of the Air may 
 come and lodge under thefoadow of it. Mark iv. 3 1 , 32. 
 
 II. It is owing to the great Providence of God, 
 that the Gofpel hath flood its ground fo well as it 
 hath done, fmce notliing lefs than his efpecial care 
 and proteflion could have preferved it againfl: the 
 oppofition it hath met with, as well from the obfti- 
 
 nate 
 
 « we divide the kno^vn Countries of tlie World into thirty equa) 
 « parts five of them are Chriftian, fix Mahomrtan, and nineteen 
 « P/j7m!' Notwirhflanding feveral Drawbacks inight be made 
 from thii Calculation. See L^a's Confiderations, ISc. p. i 79. 
 
by means of the Gofpel. 125 
 
 nate kifts and perverfe tempers of Men, as from the 
 malicious efforts of Satan, who hath never ceafed to 
 ftir up enemies againft it, and diftrefs it by all the 
 means his fubtile malice could invent.* 
 
 There have been many AntichrijU from the be- 
 ginning. I Jo. ii. iS. many ftill continue, and one 
 reigns more eminently fo, and is in Scripture parti- 
 cularly defcribed and diftinguifhed from the rcit. 
 Tho' there are two fuch fair Competitors for that 
 title, that it has been matter of difpute, and is ftill 
 undetermined, which deferves it befb. So power- 
 ful are the Enemies of the chriftian caufe ! And, in- 
 deed, it is not eafy to fay whether Chriftianity hath 
 fuffer*d moft from the impoftures of the falfe Pro- 
 phet^ or of the falfe Apojlle^ who prefumptuoufly 
 ftiles himfelf the Vicar of Chrift — Whether the arms 
 oi Mahomet h:3iWt made greater havock oftheeaftern 
 Churches — Or whether the tyranny and ufurpation, 
 the idolatries and forceries of the Church of RomCy 
 have not of the two done greater mifchief to Chriftia- 
 nity in thefe weftern parts of the World, and indeed 
 all the World over. Therefore to compromife the 
 matter, learned Men have fplit the difference, and 
 made them both diftind: branches of Antichrift. ■\ 
 
 'The Sun of righteoufyiefs^ as well as the Sun in the 
 firmament, is fometimes eclipfcd and under a cloud': 
 Satan hath his time of enlargem*-nt, and the Powers 
 ofdarkfiefshayQthcirfeafon, Luke xxii. 53. which 
 their wicked induftry ceafeth not to improve for the 
 advancement of their Kingdom. The old Serpc;nt 
 is fruitful in his devices to counterplot every fcheme 
 and difpenfation of Providence fur the Recovery of 
 fallen Man. And tho' after fuch long experience 
 Man is not ignorant of his devices, yet he ftill liftens 
 too much to them, othr-rwife they would not be fo 
 fuccefsful. The Preaciier tells us, That God hath 
 
 made 
 
 • Seep. 87. Is'c. f See Priugaux, J,ifc oi Mahomet, p. 16. 
 
126 Reformation of the World 
 
 made Man upright^ hut that they hat)e fought out 
 many inventions. Ecclef. vii. 29. And fo infatuated 
 it feems are they with the inventions, which, by Sa- 
 tan's fuggeftions, they have found out, that they 
 will not be wean*d from them, till they have run 
 the whole round of his delufive tricks and flratagems, 
 are quite tired with the fruitlefs chafe he leads them, 
 and have made full try al ofthe vanity and folly of them. 
 
 When they have been led thro' all the mazes and 
 labyrinths of Error, they will at length find the di- 
 redt Road of Truth. It is not fufficient, that they 
 have merely tafted of the 'Tree of Knowledge of Good 
 and Evil to diftinguifh that which is the more eligi- 
 ble, but they muil be quite fatiatcd and naufeated 
 with the latter, before they will unanimouQy be 
 brought to embrace the former in the love of it. 
 Knowledge and Ignorance, like day and night, mud 
 for a time have their viciffitudes •, and like light and 
 fhade, the one ferves to fet off the other. And when 
 human Nature hath been tired with vibrating from 
 the one extreme to the other, it will at length find 
 its center, and fix in it. 
 
 Ignorance and Error feem to have arrived at their 
 full height, in thofe, which are, therefore, defer- 
 vedly call'd, the dark Ages : And the Devil feems 
 to have exerted his mafter-piece of policy to intro- 
 duce and eftablifh them in a part of the world, 
 whence they feem'd to have been once efiedually ba- 
 nilhed, and which feem'd moll fecure againft their 
 return. 
 
 For this purpofe he ftirred up the barbarous nor- 
 thern Nations, who over-running Europe in the fifth 
 and fixth centuries, — and the Churches of Afia foon 
 after lofing their Candleftick by realon of their he- 
 refies and fchifms, and being fubjefted to the rava- 
 ges and impoftures of Mahomet^ both together made 
 fuch a total devaluation of ail forts of Learning, hu- 
 man 
 
ly means of the Gofpet, 12 f 
 
 man and divine, as if they had aded by con- 
 cert to root all knowledge out of the World. * 
 
 During this night of Egyptian darknefs, of Dark- 
 nefs , fuch as might be felt^ ivhile Men Jlept^ then it 
 was that the Enemy took his opportunity of fozving 
 Tares among the Wheat. Then errors crept in apace ; 
 fuperftition the child of ignorance was brought forth: 
 The Devil revived his pagan Idolatries, and grafted 
 them upon Chrifbianity -f •, and then the Man of fin 
 was reveard^ the Son of perdition. 2 Th. ii. 3, 4. 
 
 Serious Perfons therefore have undoubtedly been 
 often perplex'd to account for the permifllon of fo 
 monftrous and univerfal a corruption and perverfion, 
 under which true Religion for fo long a time groan'd. 
 With regard to which, let it be obferved, 
 
 III. That as the chrillian Life is in Scripture re- 
 prefented as a Warfare, fo it is no wonder if Man- 
 kind are fometimes foil'd and worfted in it ; and con- 
 fidering what powei*ful Enemies they have to engage 
 with, it is well if they come off victorious in the 
 end. It cannot be otherwife expedled than that hu- 
 man Nature in its endeavours to recover from its 
 Fall, Ihould meet with frequent relapfes ; which 
 may be attended with this good cffed:, to put them 
 upon exerting themfelves with greater vigour to 
 maintain their ground better for the future. The 
 Way to Perfctflion is fteep and arduous, and Man 
 afcends it with difficulty : When he has advanced a 
 little way he makes a falfe ftcp, and is borne down 
 again, and it colts him much pains and labour to 
 regain the ground he had loil. We are as yet got 
 but a little way up tlie hill : We have had many 
 hindrances, and many more we muO expect to meet 
 with before we gain the fummit of it. Moreover, 
 
 as 
 
 * See a Remark of Dr Pridcaux to this purpofe, uh'i fupra. 
 \ See Dr JiJck/on'sWoiki, Vol. i. p. 933. and Dr Myddlctoi:'^ 
 Letter from Rme^ 
 
128 Reformation of the World 
 
 as God's 'Judgments are unfearchable^ and his ways 
 faji finding out, we are very incompetent Judges 
 what difpofition of things, in all circumftances, is 
 befl to perfed: Nature. As nothing happens in the 
 world but by his appointment or permiffion, and as 
 he has wife ends and purpofes to ferve by every thing 
 that doth happen i fo we may affuredly conclude he 
 had in this ; however inexplicable it may appear to 
 us. Human Nature, it fnould feem, required fuch 
 a difciphne, and true Religion was reduced to this 
 low and diftrefs'd condition, that it might rife out 
 of it more glorious and flourifhing : It v/as put into 
 this Furnace to be refined and purified •, and having 
 purged itfelf of its corruptions, it will better guard 
 againft them, and preferve itfelf the freeer from 
 them for the future. For the Popifh Tyranny on 
 the one hand, and the 'Turks and Saracens on the 
 other, were the fcourges of Chriftendom, and con- 
 tinue too much fo ftill, wherewith God was pleafed 
 to chaftife it for its Sins •, Who in this as well as in 
 other refpefts makes ufe of the miniftry of wicked 
 Men and Devils in the government of his Church,* 
 Accordingly, 
 
 IV. As the divine Wifdom often brings Good out 
 of Evil, fo here our Saviour Chrijl ferves himfelf of 
 his grand Adverfary Anti chrijl •, and the Man of Sin^ 
 whilil he notorioudy perverts the Gofpel, helps in- 
 deed to confirm it, by fulfilling the many Prophe- 
 cies concerning him, and by that means affording a 
 Handing evidence of the truth of the Scriptures, and 
 of the Religion contained in them. 
 
 The Prophet Daniel foretels a tyrannical Power, 
 who had a Mouth fpeaking great things, and a look 
 more ft out than his Fellows^ Ch. vii. 8, 20. and who 
 Ihould make War with the Saints, and prevail againft 
 them. V . 21. 25. He ftoall [peak great zvords againft 
 
 the 
 
 * Sec Scon\ Chriflian Life, Vol. iii. p. 347. 
 
by means of the Gofpel. 129 
 
 the moji High, and Jh all wear out the Saints of the 
 inoji High, and think to change times and laws \ and 
 they Jhall be given into his hand, until a ti?ne, ajid 
 times, and the dividing of time — Concerning the 
 fame Power St Paul fpeaks, when he fays, the Men 
 of Sin fhall he revealed, the Son of Perdition ; who 
 cppcfeth and exalleth himfelf above all that is called 
 God, or wo7-fhipped ; fo that he, as God, fittcth in 
 the temple of God, fhewing himfelf that he is God •, 
 whofe coming is after the working of Satan, with all 
 power and ftgns, and lying wonders, and with all de- 
 ■ieivablenefs of unrighteoufnefs. 2 Thef ii. 3, 4, 9, 
 10. St 7o^« hkewife prophefieth of this tyrannical 
 Power, to whom was given great amhority, and a 
 mouth fpeaking great things and blafphemies — And it 
 was given to htm to make war with the Saints, and 
 to overcome them : And power was given him over all 
 kindreds and tongues, and nations \ and all that dwell 
 upon the earth fhall worfhip him. Rev. xiii. 5, 6, &c. 
 Ch. xvii. 13, I J. Kings fh ah give their power and 
 Jlrength unto the Be aft; for God hath put in their 
 hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree and give their 
 Kingdom unto the Beaft. And the name of this Pow- 
 er is, Myftery, Babylon the great, the Mother of 
 Harlots, and Abominations of the Earth, with whom 
 the Kings of the earth have committed Fornication. 
 And the Seat of its power is faid to be in that great 
 City which ft andeth upon f even Mountains, v. 9, 18. 
 Now, as there was not any footftep of fuch a fort 
 of Power as is above defcribed, in the world, at the 
 time in which either of the fore-cited Writers pro- 
 phefied concerning it — As there never had been any 
 fuch Power m the world before, neither was there 
 then any appearance of probabif ty, that could make 
 it enter into the heart of Man to imagine, that there 
 ever could be any fuch kind of Power in the world, 
 much lefs in the Temple, or Church of God, 2 
 
 k TheC 
 
ijo - Reformation cf the World 
 
 Thef. ii. 4 — Notwithftanding all this, as there is now 
 fiich a Power aftually and conrpicuoufly exercifed in 
 the world — And as no Pidure of this Power drawn 
 after the event, can now defcribe it more plainly 
 and exactly than it was originally defcribed in the 
 words of the fore-cited Prophecies * — This muft be 
 a moil convincing proof of the authority and divine 
 original of that Book in which thefe Prophecies are 
 contain'd, and likewife of the Truth of that Religion 
 which it recommends •, and fuch as ought to awaken 
 Unbelievers of all forts to the ferious confideration 
 of it. But chiefly are they concern'd to weigh this 
 matter well, who have received the mark of the Beajt^ 
 and worjhip him. Rev. xiii. 12, 16 -, whom nothing 
 could hinder to fee and renounce their errors, but 
 that judicial blindnefs and infatuation foretold of 
 them, 2 Thef. ii. 10, 11. that becaufe they received 
 not the love of the Truth, that they might he faved, 
 God pjould fend them fir ong delufion, that they fhould 
 believe a Lye •, or rather as fome tranflate, ru) ■^^/i.v'^ii 
 the Lye, the grand impofture. 
 
 Again, both Daniel and St John foretel the con- 
 tinuance of this tyrannical Power for fuch a deter- 
 minate period of time. Thus the former fays it Ihall 
 h^ for a time, times, and dividing of time, Ch. vii. 25. 
 and again, for a time, times, and a half. Ch. xii. 7. 
 St 'John likewife prophefies of it in the fame words, 
 That it fhallbefor a ti?ne, ond times, and half a time. 
 Rev. xii. 14. for forty and two months^ Ch. xiii. 5. 
 xi. 2. — for 1260 Bays, Ch. xi. 3. xii. 6. All which 
 occult numbers, in the prophetical language, differ 
 only in the manner of exprefllon, and coincide in one 
 and the fame period of 1260 Years. 
 
 Now when the power o^ Antichrifl fliall be deftroy- 
 ed at the end of this Period, which, by tlie defcrip- 
 
 tion 
 
 * See Dr Clinke's Difcourfe on the conncflior. of Piophecier, an- 
 nexed 10 hit Demonlbatioii of the Being and Aunbuics of God. 
 
by mea?2s of the GofpeL 131 
 
 tion of it, Dan. vii. 1 1 . Rev. xviii. will be cffe6bed 
 by fome very terrible and fignal judgments — Such a 
 remarkable Accomplifhment of fo many antient di- 
 re(St Prophecies mull be a new and mighty proof of 
 the Truth of Chriftianity, and be the means of con- 
 verting many to the Faith \ efpecially when, in con- 
 fequence of it, the Church fhall be cleanfed from the 
 profanations and pollutions of Antichrifi. Accord- 
 ingly we find, that immediately after the account of 
 his deftru6lion in Dan. vii. 12, 13, 14. follows a 
 defcription of the Kingdom of the Son of Man, 
 whom all People., Nations., and Languages fjjould 
 ferve., and v. 27. all Dominions /hall ferve and obey 
 him. And in Rev. xix. after the Judgment of the 
 great Whore, follows the Marriage of the Lamb. 
 In the mean time, as the former kind of Prophecies, 
 I mean thofe that concern the coming and being of 
 Antichrifi., have been fo literally fulfil'd, we have 
 the lefs reafon to doubt the accomplifhment of thofe 
 that foretel his Deftrudion. And this the ftate of 
 Religion fince the Reformation, whereby his Power 
 has not been a little weaken' d, gives us the greateft 
 encouragement to hope. For, 
 
 V. The Chriftian World, by long and woeful 
 experience, being at length made fenfible of the ty- 
 ranny and ufurpations of the Church of Rome., a 
 great part of it thought it high time to throw off its 
 yoke, and purge itfelffrom its errors and corrup- 
 tions, whereby they at once obey'd the voice, and ac- 
 comphfh'd the Prophecy. Rev.v\\\. 4. Come out ofhtr^ 
 my People., that ye he not Partakers of her Sins., and 
 that ye receive not of her Plagues. This glorious 
 Work was fuccefsfully carried on and completed by 
 the zeal and labours of pious and learned Men, who 
 from time to time folidiy confuted the errors of Po- 
 pervy and at length elLabulhcd the Frotejlant Faith 
 K 2 upon 
 
132 'Reformation of the World 
 
 upon fiich a Foundation, as we truft the Gates of 
 Hell Jhall no more prevail againjl it, viz. upon the 
 Foundation of the Prophets and Apojlles, Jefus Chrift 
 himfelf being the chief corner-Jlone. By thefe means 
 the Chriftian Religion in Proteftant Countries is come 
 to be as purely profefsM as in the Apoftolical Age -, 
 and if its Precepts are not fo well obey'd, its Doc- 
 trines are better and more clearly explain'd, and 
 more extenfively and explicitely underftood, than 
 they have been ever fince. 
 
 1 am not going to write a Panegyrick on the pre- 
 fent times, nor a Satyr on any that are paft -, and I 
 hope no prejudice in favour of my own way of think- 
 ing will carry me beyond the bounds of Truth : 
 This I think I may venture to fay, without injury 
 to it, that the two lajl centuries of Chriftianity, I 
 mean, as far as the Reformation extended, have ex- 
 ceeded all that went before them, excepting, in fome 
 refpcfts, the three firft. With regard to thefe it 
 muft be confefTed, that the primitive Chriftians were 
 fo eminent for their zeal, and piety, and chriftian 
 fortitude, and many other Graces, that they do not 
 admit of any parallel : They that come next to them 
 were the firft Reformers, as in their circumftanees 
 likewife they refembled them moft. But this is to 
 be obferved of both, that their virtue was fuch as re- 
 quired the difcipline of Perfecution, which had not 
 befallen them if they had not needed correftion, and 
 could have borne the Temptations of a profperous 
 ftatc. The Power of Chriftianity was exemplified in the 
 lives of itsfirft Profeffors, that they might ftand as 
 Patterns for Chriftians in fucceeding ages, and teach 
 them by example how great the efficacy of the Chri- 
 ftian Religion was for the Reformation of Mankind. 
 But on the other hand, it may be faid, that Chri- 
 ftians in thefe latter ages furpafs them as much in 
 
 Know- 
 
hy meam of the Go/pel. 133 
 
 Knowledge, as they fall fhort of them in zeal and ho- 
 linefsof life. This muftnecefTarily bethecafe; Becaufe 
 the knowledge of chri Hianity in its full extent is not, any 
 more than that of other Sciences, to be attain' d at 
 once : The Scriptures, in which a7'e many 'Things 
 hard to be underjiood^ require long fearch and ftu- 
 dy ; and all the Doflrines interfperfed in them could 
 not be fully collected and deduced from them by any 
 human induftry, within the compafs of two or tliree 
 ages •, and fuch is the Myjlery of Godlinefs^ that even 
 ftill many things are hid in it, which are left for the 
 difcovery of future Generations. 
 
 Therefore the Knowledge of the firll Chriftians 
 could ordinarily be but of fmall extent rf Their Be- 
 lief was very fimple and implicit -, and upon their 
 admiflion into the Church by Baptifm, it confiftcd 
 of no more than one article, viz. 'That Jejus was 
 the MeJJiah : And it was enlarged but by degrees, 
 as occafion required by the fpringing up of hercfies ; 
 in order to guard againfl which, additions were from 
 time to time made to it •, and feveral centuries 
 pafs'd before the whole of what is called the A- 
 pojlles Creed was framed, and received into the 
 Church. * Hence arofe the neceflity of the per- 
 mifTion of Herefies, || viz. to excite well-meaning 
 Chriftians to the inveftigation of the Truth. If 
 there had been none to oppofe found Doftrine, 
 there had not been occafion for any to defend it ; 
 the confequence of which had been, that we had 
 not known what found Doctrine meant, the ftudy 
 of the Scriptures had been negleded, and Chriftians 
 had been ignorant of the firft Principles of their 
 Religion. 
 
 But as every part of Reveal'd Religion hath at 
 one time or other been difputed and canvafs'd,'. 
 K 3 ma 
 
 •f- See Z,^w's Conliderations, &cc. p. 165. Sc Jefq. 
 * See King's Critical Hiflory of the CaeJ. 
 \ I Cu. xi, 9. 
 
134 Reformat ten of the World 
 
 may be truly faid, that by thefe means Chriftianity 
 is at this day better underftood,* and more fully 
 comprehended than ever it was- before, or had been 
 otherwife. Ante exortum Pelagiu?n feciirius loque- 
 hantur Patres^ is an obfervation of St Aufiin\. And 
 the fame may be extended to heterodox Perfons in 
 general, whofe opinions gave occafion ro a more di- 
 hgent difcuflion, and accurate decifion of the Truth, 
 as well as to the difcovery of feverai particular 
 Truths, which till then lay conceal'd or negle6led. 
 
 It were invidious to make comparifons between 
 the Antients and Moderns in this cafe. The Fa- 
 thers of the Church were great Men for the times 
 they lived in •, but they had their defeds and difad- 
 vantages \ -f nor ought it to be thought any difpa- 
 ragement to them, that they have taught our mo- 
 dern Divines a more judicious Knowledge of the 
 Doftrines of Chriftianity, than they had theijifelves. 
 On the contrary, it were ftrange if the latter, as 
 they have got the advantage of ground, could not 
 fee a little farther than the former. 
 
 Some People have a fuperftitious veneration for 
 Antiquity, and are ftrangely prejudiced againft their 
 own Times. I hope I have a due regard for pri- 
 mitive Chriftianity, nor am I fo fond an Admirer 
 of the manners of the prefent Age, as to palliate 
 its reigning vices, how well foever I think of it in 
 other refped:s. God knows we need look but 
 little abroad into the v/orld to find abundant matter 
 of lamentation, nor is the honeft zeal of well-mean- 
 ing Perfons againft the Iniquity of the Times, which 
 makes them think worfe of them, than of thofe in 
 which they are not fo nearly concern'd, by any 
 means to be difcouraged. 
 
 ^ut on the other hand, the firft and purcft ages 
 pf the Goipel have not been without their corrup- 
 tions 
 
 ^ S?e i^r'/a Confidsralicns, £:c.p. ;S4.. f ib. 170, 174, 
 
by means of Chrijltmiity. 135 
 
 tions and herefies, * and thofc more monftrous and 
 abominiible than any the church is at prefent infeft- 
 ed with \ tho' too many Doftrines are daily broach'd 
 and maintain'd, which are no lefs oppofite to and 
 dcftrudlive of true Rehgion, and which therefore 
 ought to be abhorr'd by all well-willicrs to it. 
 We know what early abufes crept into the Church 
 of Corinth^ and other more deteftable errors and 
 corruptions fprang up and fpread, even in defpight 
 and defiance of Apoitolical Authority and endea- 
 vours to fupprefs them. There are no fcd:s of 
 Chriftians now in being, who do not hold Morality 
 to be an effential part of Religion ; whereas the 
 Nicolaitans and Gnojiicks^ and many other Herefies 
 of old which fprang from them, profelled and prac- 
 tifed feveral forts of Impurities too offenfive for the 
 ears of Chriilians now-a-days, and that even in the 
 performance of their religious fervices. Epipha' 
 nius, whoever has the curiofity to confult him, is 
 very particular in the defcription of their be- 
 ftialities. 
 
 Indeed there were few opinions of the antient He- 
 reticks, that have not been revived in thefe latter 
 ages •, but then they have either prefently died a- 
 way, and no more hath been heard of them ; or 
 elfe they have been fo refined, as if not to be recon- 
 ciled, yet to be brought nearer to the Truth, as it 
 is in Chrifi Jefus ; whereby it is to be hoped the/ 
 arc in the way of being reconciled to it. 
 
 Even Popery itfelf begins to be afhamed of fome 
 of its grofler Errors, and its Divines of late have 
 been forced to explain thein in a manner more a- 
 greeable to Truth and Scripture. Moreover, that 
 perfecuting Spirit, which was the reproach and fcan- 
 dal ot Chriftians is, God be praifed, in a good 
 mcafure abated among all forts and dcnominutions 
 
 K4 of 
 
 * ib. p. i6g. 
 
136 Reformation of the World 
 
 of them •, and we do not now hear fo much of 
 Chriftians being burnt and tortured by Chriftians. 
 Nor do Papifls at prefent feem to thirfl fo much 
 after Proteftant Blood, tho' there is reafon to fuf- 
 pe6t that they ftill retain too much of the old leaven, 
 durft they fuffer it to work out. It is obferved 
 likewife that there is not that Ignorance and Immo- 
 rality to be objected againfl Papifls now as former- 
 ly j Learning being no lefs propagated among them 
 than Proteflants : Many good and pious Books are 
 publifiied by their Clergy •, nor are they fo fcanda- 
 lous in their Lives as in the Ages preceding the Re- 
 formation, but they in general are exemplary in 
 their behaviour, and afford us Patterns in fome 
 things which we might profit by. 
 
 On the ether hand, there is not that acrimony 
 and virulence in the controverfial Writings of Pro- 
 teftants, for v/hich fome of the firfl Reformers are 
 juftly condemn'd, and which indeed have always 
 had too great a fhare in religious Difputes ; tho', I 
 think it may be faid, in honour of the prefent Age, 
 that Controverfy is carried on with more decency 
 and good manners, than in any former period of 
 time that can be named : Which, together with the 
 Toleration granted by Law, in this and other Pro- 
 teflant Countries, for all Perfons to worfliip God in 
 their own way, and that Chriftian charity and mo- 
 deration, which is generally fhewn towards thofe 
 that differ from us, feems already to be attended 
 with good effect ; and if continued and improved, 
 will nor fail in time to promote an union of fenti- 
 ments and affcftions among Chriflians. And when 
 the Members of Chrift's Body are united among 
 themfelves, they will of courfe be better united un- 
 to him their Head, in their common Faith, and 
 in all good Works. When this once comes to pafs 
 — when Chriftianity fhines forth in the Lives of its 
 
 Pro- 
 
by meant of Chrijlianity. 137 
 
 Profcflbrs, and their Praftice is brought to a con- 
 formity with their ProfefTion — then, and not till 
 then, we may hope the borders of our Sion will be 
 enlarged ; Jews, Turks, and Infidels will no longer 
 fufped the fincerity of Chrijiians, nor be blind to 
 the excellency of their Religion, when it Ihail fhine 
 forth with fo much luftre — Then will be brought 
 about an univerfal Reformation, at prefent wilh'd 
 for in vain ; and then we fhall be all one Fold under 
 one Shepherd, Jefus Chrijl the Righteous. 
 
 To what has been already obferved, may be ad- 
 ded, that the fetting up of fo many Charity-Schools, 
 as have of late years been erected in thefe King- 
 doms — the forming of reHgious Societies, and o- 
 ther good means, have greatly contributed to the 
 promoting of the knowledge and pradice of Virtue 
 and Religion among us. 
 
 Notwithftanding, it has been made a Queftion, 
 whether the World has been really better'd by Chri- 
 ftianity, where it has prevail'd -, and it has been ob- 
 jedled — That the antient Heathens were more emi- 
 nent for their virtue than the generality of Chrijlians : 
 The Mahometans are extoU'd above them for their 
 juftice, veracity and other moral virtues — The Chi- 
 nefe, for the exercife of the relative duties, and the 
 feverity of their difcipline in general — And even 
 the wild Indians, for the fimplicity and integrity of 
 their lives. 
 
 I Ihall begin with a general anfwer to this objec- 
 tion. Now, in order to know what good Chri- 
 ftianity hath done in the world, with regard to the 
 lives and morals of Men, we ought to be well ac- 
 quainted with the ftate of the world, before its ap- 
 pearance in it. But as at this diftance of time we 
 can at beft have but a very imperfed: knowledge of 
 former ages, this objedion isin agreatmeafure founded 
 
 in 
 
138 Reformation of the World 
 
 in ignorance, and for the fame reafon the anfwer to 
 it miift be io far deficient likewife. However, we 
 learn from the antient Apologies for Chriftianity, 
 that there became fuch a vifible alteration in the 
 tempers and lives of Men, upon their converfion to 
 it, that they feem'd to have changed their very na- 
 tures, and to be born again, and become new Crea- 
 ^.ures ; whence Converfion appears to be fitly filled 
 Regeneration. The whole World then lay in wicked- 
 tiefs, as St John teflifies. i John v. 19. which Chri- 
 ftianity, wherever it prevailed, effedually purged 
 it from. 
 
 ' Not to infifb upon the exalted degrees of purity 
 ' and perfe6lion, to which Chriftianity raifed fo many 
 
 * of its firft ProfefTors — Let us take a view of it, 
 
 * not as it was embraced by fingle Perfons or Fa- 
 ' milies, but as it became the received Religion of 
 
 * whole Countries, and fee what effects it had a- 
 
 * mong them. And it is univerfally true, that 
 
 * wherever Chriftianity prevail' d. Oracles ceafed, 
 
 * Idols were deftroy'd, and the worfhip of the true 
 ' God eftablilli'd. 
 
 ' And whereas the Heathen worfhip confifted of 
 
 ' the facrifices of Beafts and Men, and was accom- 
 
 * panied with many foolifh, cruel, and impure 
 ' rites ; Chriftianity banifh'd all thefe, and wher- 
 ' ever it was receiv'd, did eftablifh a Worftiip fuit- 
 ' able to the pure and fpiritual nature of God. 
 ' And there is no Chriftian Country wherein this 
 
 * reafonable fervice is not folemnly perform' d by 
 ' Minifter.% and attended by the People ; to which, 
 ' and to the inftru6tions and exhortations of Chri- 
 
 * ftian Prrjachers, it is to be afcrlbed, that the know- 
 ' ledge of the true God, and the duty we owe him, 
 ' is prefcrved to fuch a degree, upon the minds of 
 
 * the generality of people. And tliat feveral vices, 
 ' v/hich were not only praftifcd, but publickly al- 
 
 ' lowed 
 
hy means of the GofpeL 139 
 
 lowed in the times of Heathenijm^ are fcarce 
 known, and never fpoken of without abhorrence 
 in chriftian countries. Nor can it be faid, with 
 any colour ot reafon or truth, that the general or- 
 der, regularity, and fcnfe of Duty, which is found 
 in chriftian Countries at this day, compared with 
 the cruelties, diibrders, and excelles of all kinds, 
 that are generally praclifed in Heathen nations, is 
 not owing to the chriftian Inftitution and Wor- 
 fhip, and to the certainty of future rewards and 
 punilhments, which Chrift brought to light ; the 
 lenfe of which is preferv'd upon the minds of the 
 people by fuch publick teaching 
 ' And tho', fo great is the corruption of human 
 nature, that notwithftanding thofe means of in- 
 ftruclion, and thofe reftraints from wickednefs, 
 many diforders and exceftes are praftifeu in chri- 
 ftian Countries •, it is fufficient to our preftnt pur- 
 pofe — That if thofe means and reitraints were 
 removed, the excelles would evidently be far 
 greater and more general than they are — That the 
 commifTion of them among Chriftians is by far 
 lefs frequent, and is attended with more caution 
 and fliame than among Heathens — And that be- 
 fides thofe general inHuences of Chriftianity, fuch 
 cxceftes are in fome meafure balanced by the ex- 
 traordinary degrees of piety, purity, and exadl^ 
 nefs of life and manners, which are obferved by 
 multitudes of people in every chriftian country*. 
 Nor has Chriftianity been thus beneficial to thofe 
 only that embraced ic, but likewife to the uncon- 
 verted world. The firft chriftians proved to be 
 what our Saviour call'd them, the fait of the earthy 
 to purify it from its corruptions •, and the light of 
 the worlds to guide and dircd; others in the ways of 
 Virtue : r or by their example and doctrine, they 
 
 foca 
 * Bi/liop of Londorh fecord P.ijiornl Letter^ p. 36, 37. 
 
140 Reformat 1071 of the World 
 
 foon made a confiderable Reformation, even in the 
 heathen world. 
 
 Morality was taught by the Philofophers in much 
 greater Perfedion than ever it had been before, and 
 they became fo much afliamed of the grofsnefs of 
 their idolatrous Worlhip, that they fought out all 
 arts to refine and excufe it •, and thofe Vices which 
 made up fo great a part of their Myfteries, appear- 
 ed too abominable to pafs any longer for Religion. 
 The Im.mortality of the Soul, and a future ftate of 
 Rewards and Punifhments, which at bell amounted 
 to no more than a fufpicion and doubt, before 
 they were brought to light by the Gofpel, have 
 fince been the belief of Heathens as well as Chri- 
 jiians -, and there is fcarcely a nation upon earth fo 
 barbarous, as not to have fome apprehenfions of 
 it. To the light which our Saviour brought into 
 the world, is to be afcribed the belief of one God, 
 which the Mahometan Religion hath derived and 
 borrowed from it -, and which is profefTed likewife 
 by fome of the moft ignorant of the modern Pa- 
 gans^ tho' this great truth was generally unknown 
 to the moft enlighten' d Pagans of antiquity. 
 
 Moreover, as all the world, the Jews only ex- 
 cepted. Were under the impoftures and tyranny of the 
 Devil (which God grant we may ever be ignorant of, 
 nor feel what it is to be under abfolute fubjedion to 
 him) Chrijiianity had this good effeft, that it refcued 
 mankind from that bondage, and made the powers 
 of darknefs to flee before it, as Darknefs itfelf doth 
 at the approach of Light. It every where filenced 
 their lying Oracles •, difpofTefs'd Men of evil Spi- 
 rits, which, till then, had a power of entring their 
 Bodies, and moft unmercifully tortured and plagued 
 them •, and it likewife fpoil'd, and in a great mea- 
 fure, deftroy'd that wicked trade and commerce 
 which was Carried on between this World, and that 
 
 of 
 
by 7neans of the Gojpel. 141 
 
 of infernal fpirits, by forccries, witchcrafts, magic, 
 and fuch like hellifh arts. In thefe feveral refpeds, 
 the power of Satan was manifeftly deftroy'd through- 
 out the world, by the preaching of the Gofpel in 
 all nations •, and that fo effeftually, that he never 
 durft revive it again, in any confiderable degree, 
 not even where he found means to re-eftabliih his 
 Worfhip. Well, therefore, might our Saviour fay, 
 that he faw Satan, like Lightning, fall from Heaven. 
 Luke X. 18. And fuch Good hath Chrifiianity done, 
 even in Nations that are ftill Heathen! For it is obfcr- 
 vable, that there are fuch fmall remains of the power of 
 the Devil, in either of the above-mention'd refpe6ls, 
 now in the world, that people begin to disbelieve 
 there ever hath been any fuch thing. Thus fome 
 refolve the Heathen Oracles into Prieftcraft : Others /fA 
 will believe nothing concerning Witches and Appa- y /y 
 ritions : And others again contend that there never 
 were any Perfons polTefs'd with evil Spirits. * 
 
 To come now to the particulars contained in the 
 obje(5tion — It is far from being true in fact, that the 
 Lives of either Heathens, antient or modern, or of 
 Mahometans, exceed thofe of the generality of Chri^ 
 Jiians. On the contrary, the antient Heathens, even 
 the graveft of their Philofophers, held many Prin- 
 ciples deftrudlive of Virtue, and maintain'd Pradbices 
 of a very vile and corrupt nature. The Chinefe are 
 the moft infatuated Idolaters, and the greateft and 
 moft avowed Cheats in the World : And luft, arro- 
 gance, covetoufnefs, deceit, and the mofl exquifite 
 hypocrify, complete the charafter of a ^urk. For 
 a more particular account of the manners of all three, 
 I refer the Reader to the Cure of Deifm, vol. I. p. 
 io8, ^c. 
 
 With regard to the Natives of America, and the 
 
 Inhabitants 
 
 * Sec a late Controverfy about Dtemoniatks. 
 
142 Reformation of the World 
 
 Inhabitants of feveral other parts of the world, men- 
 tion'd by Travellers, as their innocence proceeds 
 from their fimpHcity, it is not fo much a Virtue in 
 them, as an ignorance of Vice : They owe it more 
 to accident than choice, and therefore it is not pro- 
 perly innocence, but an incapacity of guilt, which 
 are widely different from each other. Having tafted 
 but fparingly of the Tree of knowledge of good and 
 evil, they are equally unacquainted with both, and 
 are no more to be praifed for their ignorance of the 
 one, than they are to be blamed for that of the other. 
 The queilion, with regard to fuch people as thefe, 
 fhould be, v/hether, if the Gofpel prevail'd among 
 them, it would not improve their Morals, and exalt 
 their Virtue ? and this no one, I fuppofe, will be fo 
 hardy as to deny. It would at leall have this good 
 effeft, that it would caufe them to lay afide thole 
 barbarous and cruel Rites, which have obtained 
 more or lefs in the Religion of all Heathen Nations*; 
 and teach them a more innocent, as well as rational 
 kind of Worfhip. But, fuppoling thefe uncultiva- 
 ted people enjoy'd all the plenty, wealth, and af- 
 fluence of politer nations, and were expofed to all 
 the incentives to luxury, ambition, &c. from which 
 their prefent circumftances fecure them — The enqui- 
 ry then would be, i. Whether they would not be 
 as likely to be overcome by them, as European 
 Chriftians are, and run into as great, not to fay 
 greater, exceffes of Vice ? 2. Whether, il thev em- 
 braced Chrifiianity, it would not furjiiih them with , 
 fome helps to enable them to withiland the tempta- 
 tions of the world, the flefh and the Devil, which, 
 otherwife they would be quite deftitute of, and 
 therefore more liable to be overcome by them .? And 
 w that 
 
 » 
 
 Gincerning the corruptions in the vvoifhip, doflrinf , and 
 priflice of the preient Heathen world, Sec Billiop oi Lofiduui Ic- 
 co:vJ Pujl oral Letter, p- 33. 
 
by means of the G of pel. 143 
 
 that the Chrifiian Religion would be equally fervice- 
 able to the 'Turks and Chinefe^ ^c. fhould they em- 
 brace it, I fancy will not be denied, there being fo 
 much room for their improvement by it. 
 
 I hope, therefore, it will be allowed, that the 
 World is aftually grown much better and wifer by 
 means of reveal'd- Religion, and particularly of the 
 Chrijiian, in thofe countries, where it hath been re- 
 ceived, and even in thofe where it hath not. 
 
 I fhall now, according to my method, add a few 
 general obfervations on the ftate of the World in its 
 civil capacity, to fhew how one generation has refined 
 upon another, and every age has generally added 
 fomething to the foregoing, in ufeful inventions or 
 improvements, in order to procure the neceflaries 
 and conveniencivLS of life ; to advance or adorn it ; 
 and to render it comfortable, eafy, and happy. For 
 thefe, as I have obferved, are the natural means of 
 removing the Curfe. 
 
 C H A P. VIII. 
 
 Containing fome gene?'al obfervations on the im~ 
 provemefit of the world in its civil capacity. 
 
 THAT Man, whofe chief, and almoll only 
 bulinefs in life, is to promote his own wel- 
 fare in it, and who is fo adive and indui- 
 trious in this refpedl, fliould, notwithftanding, prove 
 fo dull and ftupid a Creature, as not to gain any thing 
 by experience^ the great Miftrefs of the world, the 
 chief and befl Informer of the mind — That after the 
 revolution of fo many ages. Mankind iliould be j aft 
 in the fame place, whence they firft fct out — Thar 
 they fhould be able to learn nothing, either from the 
 wifdom or folly, the fuccefs or mifcarriage of thofe 
 who went before them — but that one generation 
 
 fhouid 
 
144 Reformation of the World 
 
 fhould be ftill trudging on after another, in thefan^e 
 dull beaten road, without once attempting to ftrike- 
 out either to the right hand or left — To fuppofe this, 
 is not only highly injurious to human nature, but is 
 moreover contrary to Hiftory and Experience, as 
 well as to the nature of Man, and reafon of things. 
 
 For has not there been a time, when Arts and 
 Sciences were not ? Are not the firfl: Inventors of fe- 
 veral of them known ? Have we not the hiftory of 
 the rife, progrefs, and improvements of moft of 
 them ? And is not the ufe and fubferviency of them 
 all in life, too well known to, need any proof? Every 
 fucceeding generation has the advantage of the fore- 
 going, added to its own experience •, and one age 
 may learn wifdom even by the folly of another, and 
 improve by its very errors •, and when the Sons get 
 upon the Fathers fhoulders, they muft neceflarily 
 fee farther, even tho' they fhould be allow'd to be 
 fhorter of ftature. We need only compare the pre- 
 fent ftate of civilized Nations with the accounts we 
 have of the way of living in the infancy of the 
 World, to be convinced of the difference. 
 
 In the firft ftate of Nature, Men differ'd but little 
 from brute Beafts. Roots, herbs, and acorns, were 
 their only Delicacies : Cloathing they had none, un- 
 lefs, perad venture, it were the fkins of wild Beafts, 
 flain by them in defence of their lives ; which were 
 daily expofed a prey, not only to Wolves and Ty- 
 gers, but to the worfer Savages of their own kind -, 
 as they lived without Law, or any other reftraint or 
 fecurity, but what was placed in each Man's own 
 ftrength, or cunning. Afterwards, when they beg^n 
 to unite into Societies, to cloath themfelves, build 
 Cottages, and apply themfelves to Agriculture •, the 
 Perfons who fell upon the firft hints of thefe rude 
 contrivances, were efteem'd fuch mighty Benefac- 
 tors to Mankind, that they could never fufficiently 
 
 \., exprelV ... 
 
by means of the Gofpel. 145 
 
 cxprefs their gratitude to them. Hence they were 
 made immortal, and divine honours were paid to 
 them ; and hence it is well known, arofe the God- 
 Ihip of Jupiter^ Bacchus^ Minerva^ Ceres, and the 
 reft of that tribe of Deities : But there is not a 
 Plcugh-boy now, that would not have been a God, 
 even to Jupiter himfelf, had he lived in his days, 
 with his prefent fkili in Hufbandry. ' Had the 
 ' myftery of Printing been invented in antient times, 
 ' Guttenberg of Mentz might have bt e:i a God of 
 ' higher efteem throughout Germany, than Mercury, 
 * or Jupiter himfelf,' is a remark, which I think 
 Dr Jackfon fomewhere makes. 
 
 Would we be willing to change conditions with 
 our uncultivated Anceftors of this Ifland, and live 
 in thofe days when Men fcarce knew the ufe of 
 cloaths, or of any thing elfe .'' — Had nothing to pride 
 themfelves in, but the paint of their bodies— lived 
 promifcuoufly in little Huts — 
 
 ■Cum frigida parvas 
 
 Praberet Spelunca Domos. Juv. Sit. VI. v. 3. 
 
 and were confined in their diet to Milk, and what *^ 
 Animals they could kill in hunting ? 
 
 What vaft Improvements muft have been made in 
 this country, fince the time it was firft conquer'd 
 and civilized by the Romajis, to bring it to its pre* 
 fent ftate •, abounding with all the necefifaries, con- 
 veniences, and fuperliuities of Life, cultivated and 
 fertilized in its Soil, (See Ch. 4.) adorned with ftate- 
 ly Palaces, large Towns, and flourifhing Cities ; 
 flowing with Wealth •, furnifh'd with the moft valu- 
 able commodities of all the known parts of the 
 world, and polifli'd with every Art that improves, 
 or adorns Life ! 
 ^, Indeed, there are ftill too many Nations in re- 
 
1 46 Reformatio of the^ World 
 
 mote corners of the Earth, who do noc feem to have 
 improved at all upon their Fore-fa(.hers, but rather to 
 have degenerated from them, and funk beneath 
 them in ignorance and barbarity. Thefe are left as 
 fo many melancholy inftances of what human nature 
 in general formerly was, and would have ftill conti- 
 nued to be, if the World had not been meliorated 
 and improved, as fome contend it is not. At the 
 fame t\rr,t they ferve as foyls to the more civilized 
 and enlightned part of Mankind, and by way of 
 contraft, in a lively manner fet off the noble privi- 
 leges and advantages, with which the due applica- 
 tion of the Talents entrufled to us by God is re- 
 warded. 
 
 One great difadvantage which thefe poor Crea- 
 tures generally labour under, is that they have been 
 fecluded, and fliut out in a manner from the reft of 
 the World ; having had no communication by traf- 
 fick or commerce with their Fellow-Creatures; 
 which has contributed as much as any one human 
 means to the civilizing of the world ; efpecially in 
 thefe latter ages, wherein, by the difcoveries and 
 improvements that have been made in Navigation, 
 and other Arts, an intercourfe hath been open'd 
 between the feveral parts of the world ; whereby 
 Mankind fupply their mutual wants and convenien- 
 ces, and copy from each other whatever new cufloms, 
 manners, inventions, i^c. they meet with, which 
 they efteem ufeful and ornamental in life. 
 
 Another Bleffmg which hath accrued to the world 
 in its civil capacity, and which hath greatly contri- 
 buted to promote and fettle the peace, fecurity, and 
 general welfare of Mankind, are the improvements 
 and regulations, which from time to time have been 
 made in civil Government -, which may be reckon'd 
 
 as 
 
by means of the Gofpel. 147 
 
 as fo many fteps towards the removal of the Ciirfe 
 in this refpect ; for as all diforders of fociety are to 
 be efteem'd as confequences of the Fall, and of 
 Man's difobedience to the firft Law, fo thele difor- 
 ders are redlified, and provided againfl for the fu- 
 ture, by the enadling of wife and falutary Laws ; 
 by providing for the defects obferved time after time, 
 in the feveral Forms of Government -, and by the 
 refinements, which able and fkilful Statefmen, one 
 age after another, have made in the Art of Politicks ; 
 by which means the lives, liberties, and properties 
 of all ranks and orders of Men, are well defended 
 and maintain'd in civilized nations : A happinefs to 
 which former times, and worfe regulated Govern- 
 ments at prefent are Strangers ! Nor can it be fup- 
 pofed that fo complicated a Machine, confifting of 
 io many movements, fprings, and wheels, as every 
 fyftem of Government mull have, could be brought 
 into any tolerable harmony and order, without the 
 continued labour of many wife Heads for feveral 
 fuccefllve generations. 
 
 It is the opinion of a great Statefman, and Civilian, 
 ' That there was no Magiftracy, nor any civil Go- 
 
 * vernment, in the Antediluvian world ; it being 
 ' fcarcely to be imagined that fuch abominable li- 
 ' centioufnefs, and the confufion of all Rights and 
 ' Laws human and divine, could have been intro- 
 ' duced, where the power of Magiftrates and Laws 
 ' was exercifed.' And, as he adds, ' It is obferva- 
 ' ble, that after once the rules of Government were 
 ' conftituted, we do not find that Mankind in ge- 
 
 * neral did run into the fame enormities, of which 
 
 * God Almighty was obhgcd to purge the world 
 
 * by an univerfal punifhment •, tho' the root of the 
 
 * evil was remaining, as well after as before the De- 
 
 * luge.'* And a little after the fame Author obferves, 
 
 L 2 * That 
 
 • Puffendoifi Intiod. to Hiftory. Sub initlt. 
 
148 Reformation of the If^orld 
 
 * as no numan affairs come immediately to perfec- 
 
 * tion, fo were the iirll inftitutions of civil Society 
 ' very fimple and imperfed, till by degrees all the 
 
 * parts of the fupreme civil Power, together with 
 
 * ilich Laws and Conftitutions as were requifite for 
 ' the maintaining of a civil Society, were fettled 
 *. and inftituted.' 
 
 And tho', upon the increafe of Mankind after the 
 Flood, the experience of the many evils of a ftate 
 of nature, foon put them upon forming themfelves 
 into Societies under fome fort of Government •, yet 
 how iinperfed: they were for many ages, may in a 
 great mcafure appear from the commotions and con- 
 tufions, the ufurpations, tyrannies, treafons and 
 confpiracies, malHicres, revolutions, and various 
 enormities, which occurr fo frequently in the 
 hiftories of all antient States : And the farther we 
 trace thtm towards their Infancy, the greater ge- 
 nerally are the violences and outrages committed in 
 them -, which were better provided againft when they 
 came to be well regulated and fettled. But when- 
 ever they happen'd, even thefe commotions in the 
 Body politick, like fermentations in the natural Body, 
 generally tended to purify and refine it. 
 
 The Laws of antient times were more fimpIe in 
 proportion to the fimplicity of the world ; and their 
 maxims of Government were more coarfe and fhal- 
 low, and were generally founded on arbitrary pow- 
 er: But as the world grew more fubtile, Laws and 
 Politicks became more fubtile and refined likewife. 
 Formerly, when the leaft difputes arofe between 
 ne«-hbouring Powers, recourfe was immediately had 
 to Arms, as the only way they knew of deciding 
 them ; and how many Lives have been often facri- 
 ficed, not only to ambition, but caprice and mere 
 punctilio's, no one needs be informed, who is in 
 the leaft converfant in antient ftory. And tho' the 
 Sword rages fo much at prefent, and makes its ra- 
 vages 
 
by means of the Go/pel. 149 
 
 vages to be felt in neighbouring Nations, yet it ge- 
 nerally is ufed as the laft expedient, being feldom 
 unflieath'd till the more peaceable methods of ac- 
 commodation have been firfl tried, and found un- 
 fuccefsful. And it is to be hoped, that, at length, 
 all States will fee it their intereft ro fubmit their dit- 
 ferences to Mediation, and that War and blood (bed 
 will ceafe, at lead among Chriflians. 
 
 The Romans were reputed the wifeft People in 
 the World, as undoubtedly they were the moltcon- 
 fiderable, in other refpefts •, yet we can have no 
 great opinion of their Government, I mean the le- 
 giflative part of it, when we confider that it was 
 300 years before they had any written Laws among 
 them ; and thofe which they then enabled were not 
 of their own contriving, having been moftly borrow- 
 ed from a neighbouring (late : And it is but feldom 
 that the Laws of one Country fuit well with ano- 
 ther, whofe Government is different, and the Geni- 
 us of the People different too. 
 
 And that there were fome fundamental errors in 
 the conftitution of the Roman State, which they 
 never had fkill enough in Politicks to rectify (the* 
 Politicks was the h rt which they chiefly ffudied and 
 profeffed) is evident without entring deeper into it, 
 from the many changes and revolutions which from 
 time to time it underwent, fo as to run through all 
 the known forms of Government, and at length ta 
 end in atotal diffolution. 
 
 The fuperftru6lure was too large for tlie founda- 
 tion, infomuch that at length it fell by its own 
 weight : When its period of old age came on, it de - 
 cay'd apace, and by degrees made way for other 
 Powers, which grew out of its ruins ; and for one 
 of a different kind from, and I could wifh to have 
 added, of a better than, all others ; But it muft be 
 
 L z owned 
 
150 Refonnation of the World 
 
 owned to have excellM them in nothing but heUlfh 
 policy and wickednefs. 
 
 Is not this, then, you'll fay, a plain proof, that 
 the World grows daily worfe and worfe ? Agreeably 
 to the Roman Poet's obfervation of his own times, — 
 
 AEtas parentumpejor avis tulit 
 
 Nos nequiores^ mox daturas 
 
 Progeniem vitiofiorem. * 
 
 — And abundance of Authorities more which might 
 be cited to the fame purpofe. With regard to which 
 I might content my felf with faying, that if all the ~ 
 obfervations concerning the growing degeneracy of 
 human nature, which from age to age have been 
 made, were true, what a fad pafs muft the world 
 have come to by this time ! It would have been no 
 better than a mere Hell upon Earth, and Men had 
 been long ago degenerated into very Devils. But 
 to let the Reader fee that the other fide of the quef- 
 tion is not unfupported by Authority, I fhall give 
 him a few Inftances of it, which perhaps may be of 
 fome weight with him. 
 
 I fhall begin with one of the firft Writers of the 
 chriftian Church, Tertullian, who could obferve in 
 his time t ' that the world manifeftly improved 
 ' every day, and was grown more cultivated in 
 * many refpeds, wherein he inftances, than it was 
 ' formerly'. And Arnoh'ms^ another of them, main- 
 tained 
 
 * Uorat. Carm. Lib. iii. Ode 6. 
 
 \ Certe quidein ipfe Orbis in promptu eft, cultior de die, et 
 inftruftior priftino. Omnia jam pervia, omnia nota, omnia ne- 
 gotiofa. Soliiudines famofas retro fundi amoeniffimi obliteraverunt ; 
 iylvas arva domuerunr, feras pecora fugaverunt ; arens; feruntur, 
 faxa panguntur, paludes eliqiiantur, tan:ae urbesjam, quantae non 
 cafe quondam. Jam nee Infu'ae horrenr, nee Scopuli terrent; 
 ubioue domus, ubique populus, ubique refpublica, ubiqvie vita. 
 
 lertul. de Anima, Se5i. 30. 
 
by means of Chrijiianity. 1 5 1 
 
 tained that it was not grown worfe, againft the 
 Heatht-ns, who complained of the badnefs of the 
 Times, and accufed the Chriftians of being the Au- 
 thors of it. 
 
 To thofe properly fucceeds xht judicious Hooker^ 
 who may juilly be efteem'd a Father of our Church. 
 We all make complaint of the iniquity of our 
 times, and not unjuftly, for the xiays are evil. 
 But compare them with thofe times, wherein 
 there were no civil focieties, with thofe times, 
 wherein there was as yet no manner of publick 
 regimen eftabliili'd — And we have furely good 
 caufe to think, that God hath bleflfed us ex- 
 ceedingly, and hath made us behold moft happy 
 days.' * 
 
 ' It is an error,' fays Mr Bayle, ' to believe that 
 the world grows daily worfe and worfe, fince it is 
 certain the age wherein we live, has not been able 
 to furnifh us in the weft, with a Series of enormi- 
 ties in a few years, comparable to thofe which 
 were committed between the years 1345, and 
 1390 1"-' And he mentions an Author, 1| whom 
 I have not feen, who has compofed a difcourfe in 
 cppofition to this error, viz. that the world grows 
 worfe and worfe. X 
 
 And an Author of our own, Dr Hakewell^ about 
 a century ago, wrote a large treatife, entitled, an 
 Apology for the power and providence of God, where- 
 in he thoroughly examines and explodes the com- 
 mon error touching nature's perpetual and univerfal 
 decay. And I have in a former chapter § cited an- 
 other confiderable authority to the fame purpofe. 
 But there is a more confiderable than all ftill in re- 
 L 4 ferve, 
 
 * Ecclefiaftical Polity, B. i. §. lo. 
 
 t Bayle\ Did. Vol. iv. p, 305 a. 
 
 II The Sicur de Ramp.ilU. See /^. F- 563. <?• 
 
 § Sec p. ~ g - _^ J/ 
 
152 Reformation of the World 
 
 ferve, of one who for his knowledge of mankind, of 
 the world, and the whole courfe of nature, and for 
 the judgment which he paflfed upon them, juftly 
 claims the precedence in wifdom of all the Sons of 
 Men. 
 
 The renown'd Solomon I mean, who reproves this 
 querulous humour of magnifying the former times 
 at the expence, and to tlie diminution of theprefent, 
 which it feems prevail'd in his days, as well as it 
 hath done ever fince, tho' no People were ever hap- 
 pier than the Ifraelites under his Reign. Say not 
 thoUy what is the caufe that the former days were 
 better than thefe? For thou dojl not enquire wifely 
 concerning this. Ecclef. vii. 10. * 
 
 To proceed, The permifTion of fuch enor- 
 mous evils in the above-mentioned ages, might be 
 expedient to create in Mankind an abhorrence of 
 them, and fecuring againft the like in time to come. 
 And, bleffed be God, as bad as the prefent age is, 
 it is a golden one in refpe6l of fome former times y 
 and tho' diforders do ftill too much abound, yet 
 there are few amongft us who do not abominate the 
 thoughts of Crimes perpetrated in the days of our 
 Anceftors, a few centuries backward- Hence Peo- 
 ple have been moved to exert themfelves in defence 
 of their lives, liberties, and properties, and have 
 generally obtain'd better fecurity for them j fo that 
 now every Man fits under his own vine and fig tree, 
 and all orders and degrees of Men enjoy their rights 
 and privileges in greater fafety than was formerly 
 known. 
 
 This is the cafe, more or lefs, of all European 
 
 Nations : 
 
 * See a Sermon by Dr Ibbot on the abovcText, wherein he fhevvs 
 the groundiefsnefs of Men's complaints of the comparative badnel's 
 of their own time;-. 
 
 Tiiat there is more Good than Evil in the Wot Id, See Lazv'i 
 Trarflation of Dr A7/;/s Origin of Evil, p. 471. 4. 
 
hy means of Chrijllan'ity. 153 
 
 Nations: But it may be faid without any nat'onal 
 prejudice, that none of them enjoys this Blefllng in 
 fo eminent a degree, as our own. Such is the hap- 
 pinefs and excellency of our Englijh Conftitution, fo 
 equally is the Balance of Power fettled between the 
 feveral parts of it, and fuch is the harmony that runs 
 thro' the whole, that the welfare of every Individual 
 is provided for, and the Peafant has the fame fecuri- 
 ty for every thing that is dear and valuable to him, 
 as the Prince. 
 
 ' A Conftitution wifely moulded out of all the 
 
 * different forms" and kinds ot civil Government, 
 
 * into fuch an excellent and happy frame ; as con- 
 ' tains in it all the advantages of thofe feveral forms, 
 
 * without (baring deeply in any of their great incon- 
 ' veniences — A Conftitution nicely polled between 
 ' the extremes of too much Liberty and too much 
 
 * Power ; the feveral parts of it having a proper 
 
 * check upon each other, by the means of which 
 ' they are all reftrain'd, or loon reduced within their 
 ' due bounds : And yet the peculiar Powers with 
 
 * which each is feparately invefted, are fure always 
 ' in dangerous conjundures to give way to the com- 
 ' mon good of the whole. A Conftitution where 
 ' the Prince is cloath'd with a Prerogative that ena- 
 '' bles him to do all the good he hath a mind to ; 
 
 * and wants no degree of Authority, but what a 
 ' good Prince would not, and an ill one ought not 
 ' to have \ where he governs, tho' not ablblutely, 
 ' yet gloriouily ; becaufe he governs Men, and not 
 
 * flavcs ; and is obey'd by them chcarfully, becaufe 
 ' they know that in obeying him, they obey thofe 
 
 * Laws only, which they themfelves had a Ihare in 
 ' contriving. A Conftitution where the external 
 
 * Government of the Church is fo clofely interwo- 
 ' ven with that of the ftate, and fo exaftly adapted 
 ' to it in all its parts, as that it can flourilh only 
 
 when 
 
154 "Reformation of the World 
 
 * when that flonriflies •, and mull, as it hath always 
 
 * hitherto done, decHne, die, and revive with it. 
 ' In a word, where the Intereft of the Prince and 
 ' Subjedl, Priefl and People, are perpetually the 
 ' fame, and the only fatal miftake that ever hap- 
 ' pens in our Politicks is, when they are thought to 
 ' be divided.' 
 
 Dr /f//fr^z/rys Sermon before the Commons, 1701. 
 But whoever is in the leaft aco^uainted v^th the 
 Hiftory of England^ muft know that our Conftitu- 
 tion was not brought to its prefent degree of per- 
 fection all at once i but that it was the work of ages, 
 and coft much blood and treafure, underwent many 
 violent pangs and convulfions, before it was efta- 
 blifhed on its prefent happy Bafis. And may it 
 long continue ftill advancing in perfediion ! May it 
 be the Model of other States to copy after ! And be 
 the Glory and Emulation of the Kingdoms around 
 it to the lateft Generations ! 
 
 But of all human means, none hath contributed 
 fo much to the improvement and advancement of 
 human nature, as Learning and the attainment of 
 Arts and Sciences. The enlightning and cultivating 
 of the underflanding, the enlarging, elevating, and 
 enriching the mind by ufeful Knowledge and true 
 Philofophy, is the nobleft acquifition, the diftin- 
 guifhing felicity of a rational creature. But how 
 many and great difadvantages Mankind in the early 
 ages of the world labour' d under in this refped, and 
 how confined and low their knowledge was, will 
 not be difficult to conceive, if it be confider'd how 
 unexperienc'd they were — That they were, proba- 
 bly, for many ages unacquainted with the ufe of 
 Letters, as I lliall prefently fhew — That Arts and 
 Sciences were either not at all, or but inperfedly 
 difcover'd at bell— That they had nothing to work 
 
 upon 
 
by means of Chrijlianity. 155 
 
 Tjpon but their own poor flock of Ideas — That little 
 was to be learn'd by converfing with each other, 
 where all were equally ignorant — And that the one • 
 Generation had no way of having the obfervations 
 of the foregoing convey'd to it, but by Tradition ; 
 till liich time as Letters were invented, and the ufe 
 of them became frequently known. 
 
 Of all the Inventions and difcoveries which the 
 world hath had the benefit of, this is certainly the 
 moft beneficial, as well as the moll wonderful. For 
 this art hath been experienced to be the bell means 
 of preferving and communicating Science in all its 
 parts, as well as the moft helpful in conducing the 
 various affairs of human lite : It fixes our fleeting 
 Thoughts ; expreffes the conceptions of our minds 
 with greater clearnefs and precilion than even Lan- 
 guage itfelfi ftamps them in legible charadlers; 
 makes us Maflers of the produdl or other Men's la- 
 bours and fludies, as well as of our own ; and is the 
 moll faithful repofitory of both that ever hath been, 
 or could be invented. 
 
 The learned Mr Shuckford attempts to account 
 for the Invention and gradual improvement of this 
 ufeful Art, in his connection of hillory. Vol. i. B 4. 
 whence, tho' I cannot agree with him in this parti- 
 cular, I fhall take the liberty of tranfcribing a paf- 
 fage, in whith that ingenious Gentleman's reafoning 
 concerning the rife and progrefs of Arts in general, 
 is very juft, as well as applicable to my preft at pur- 
 pofe. 
 
 ' If we confider the nature of Letters', fays he, 
 
 * it cannot but appear fomething llrange, that an 
 ' Invention fo furprizing as that of Writing is, 
 ' fhould have been found out in ages fo near the be- 
 
 * ginning of the world. Nature may eaHly be fup- 
 
 * pofed to have prompted Men to fpeak,* to try to 
 
 ' expreis 
 * See p. 26. 
 
156 Reformation of the World 
 
 exprefs their minds to one another by founds and 
 noifes •, but that the wit of Man fhoiild, amongft 
 its firft attempts, find out a way to exprefs Words 
 in figures or Letters, and to form a method, by 
 which they might expofe to view all that can be 
 faid or thought, and that wijthin the compafs of 
 fixteen, or twenty, or four and twenty characters, 
 varioufly placed, fo as to form fyllables and words 
 — I fay, to think, that any Man could immedia- 
 tely and diredlly', or indeed at all, ' fall upon a 
 projedl of this nature, exceeds the higheft notion 
 we can have of the capacity we are endued with. 
 We have great and extraordinary abilities of mind, 
 and we experience, that by fteps and degrees we 
 can advance our knowledge, and make almoft all 
 parts and creatures of the world of ufe and fervice 
 to us ; but flill ail thefe things are done by fteps 
 and degrees. A firft attempt has never yet per- 
 fected any Science or Invention whatever. The 
 mind of Man began to exert itfelf as foon as ever 
 it was fet on thinking : And we find the firft Men 
 attempted many of the Arts, which after ages car- 
 ried forwards to perfection ♦, but they only attempt- 
 ed them, and attained no farther than to leave 
 imperfect effays to thofe that came after. The firft 
 Men, tho' they had a Language to be underftood 
 by, yet certainly never attain' d to an elegancy of 
 fpeaking. Ttibal-Cain was the firft Artificer in 
 brafs-work and iron, but without doubt, his beft 
 performances were very ordinary, in comparifon 
 of what has been done by later Artifts. The Arts 
 of building, painting, carving, and many others 
 were attempted, very early ; but the firft tryals 
 were only Attempts •, Men arrived at perfection by 
 degrees -, Time and experience led them on from 
 one thing to another, until, by having try'd many 
 ways, as their difi^erent fancies, at different times, 
 
 * hap- 
 
hy means of the GoJpeL 1 57 
 
 * happen'd to lead them, they came to form better 
 ' methods of executing what they aim'd at, than at 
 ' firft they thought of/ And thus, he conckides, it 
 happen'd in the affair of Letters ibiit howjuftly will 
 appear prefently. 
 
 Another plaufible account of the rife and progrels 
 of Writing, is given us by the learned Author of 
 The divine Legation of Mofcs. Book the 4th. 
 Sect. 4. 
 
 He naturally enough fuppofes, that Man's firil 
 effays of this kind were made, by drawing, as well 
 as they could, the pi6lures of the things they had a 
 mind to exprefs. — That thefe were improved by the 
 Egyptian Hieroglyphics — and thefe again by more 
 contrafted marks, fuch as are at prefent in ule a- 
 mong the Chinefe — And that thefe laft were abridg- 
 ed, and by a fmall alteration turn'd into Alphabetical 
 Letters. This deduftion of Writing from piBures 
 to letters., feems eafy and natural enough, with re- 
 gard to the gradual change made in the fhapes and 
 figures of the feveral charafters : But if we confider 
 the difference between an Hieroglyphic and a Letter^ 
 in their nature and ufe, it is not fo eafy to conceive 
 how the one Invention could arife out of the other. 
 For as the one kind of chara6ter was a fign of things .^ 
 and the other oS. founds — As one Hieroglyphic, when 
 refined, was made to Hand for more than one, fome- 
 times for many things, together with their feveral 
 modes, qualities and circumitances — And on the 
 other hand, as there are often feveral founds that go 
 to exprefs one idea., and feveral Alphabetical letters 
 to exprefs one found — This change, as it was far 
 from being natural, fo neither could it be conceiv- 
 ed, before hand, to be more concife or exprefTive. 
 For how could it enter any human mind to paint 
 words, give colour and body to the thought ; or to 
 m2^t figures., and thefe but few in number, to re- 
 
 prefcnt 
 
1 r8 Reformation of the IVorld 
 
 prefent ideas^ or founds^ both which are innumera- 
 ble * i and to imagine again, that thofe fliould ex- 
 prefs thhigs better than the figures of the things them- 
 felves? Nor is it iefs improbable, that they fhould 
 think of abridging the prodigious number of their 
 chara6tersby ynultiplying^ — or o{ contra^ing^ ^J dif- 
 fohing each of thofe characters into ten, twenty, or 
 perhaps a hundred •, which was the cafe in one fenfe, 
 tho' it proved to anfwer the contrary purpofe in 
 
 ^Therefore I cannot be induced to think, that 
 Hieroglyphics c6uld ever lead Men into the Inven- 
 tion of Letters. And what ought to be admitted as 
 a convincing proof hereof is, that the Chinefe (whofe 
 genius and capacity forthelmprovement, if not Inven- 
 tion of all ufeful Arts, do not feem to be a whit inferior 
 to thofe of any people, antient or modern) have not, in 
 thecourfe of fo many ages ftumbled upon a thing fo 
 very obvious and eafy^ tho' they have been ail this 
 while groping upon the very borders of it, and beat- 
 ing about the bufh, when they had but one fiep to 
 advance, to Aide into it. f If the Egyptians could 
 find out this Art fo foon, furely this other People 
 too had, by fome chance or other, lit on it before 
 now : But fmce they have had fo many thoufand 
 years tryal, and are ftill as far from it, as when they 
 firft fet our, we have from hence good grounds to con- 
 clude, that it is not tlie objeft of human Invention ; 
 for Nature, as this learned Author juftly obferves, 
 is uniform throughout. 
 
 Therefore I cannot ftill but think, that the trueft 
 account of the origin of alphabetical Writing is, that 
 it was taught by God to Mofes., notwithftanding this 
 
 opinion 
 
 * '^jii jlv.os Vic'is, qui itifiniti I'idebantur, faudijitcrarum nctls 
 terminavit? Cicero, Tufc. Qusll. Lib. I. 
 
 f See Diving Legntio}i, Vol. ii. Part i. p. 78. 
 
by means of the GofpeL 1 59 
 
 opinion is in fo low and indecent a manner ridicu- 
 led by this learned Writer *. For, 
 
 I The Scripture does not imply, but is repeatedly 
 exprefs, that the 'Ten Commandments were written 
 with /i?^ Finger of God. 
 
 II. This is the oldeft inftance of alphabetical Wri- 
 ting, not only that has been convey'd down to us, 
 but that we have any certain, or even probable tra- 
 dition of; and therefore it juftly carries the claim 
 of priority from every other, till luch time as Ibme 
 other is proved to have been prior to it. 
 
 III. There are fufficient reafons for this unparal- 
 lel'd inilance of divine condefcenfion, arifing from 
 the growing need, and, indeed, neceflity of this In- 
 vention. 
 
 In the firft ages of the world, when the Revela- 
 tions of God's will (as well as knowledge in general, 
 and the bufinefs of civil life) lay within a narrow 
 compafs, the whole was no more than what Men 
 might have carried in their heads, v/ithout over- 
 burthening of their memories, or requiring any ex- 
 traordinary provifion in aid or relief of them : And 
 efpecially as their lives were fo long. Tradition was 
 a fufficient means of conveying what Revelations had 
 been made to them, with fafety to pollerity. But 
 the age of Man being reduced to the prefent ftan- 
 dard, about tiie time of Mofes^ as appears from 
 Pfalm xc. the title of which Ihews it to have been 
 written by him -, and God being then about deliver- 
 ing a large body of Laws by him to the Ifraelites 
 (which were of too much importance, as well as too 
 nunierous, to be truftcd to n-^cmory and uncertain 
 oral Tradition, or to any method of record then 
 found out) more certain and durable means becamt; 
 expedient, in order to prcferve them from oblivion 
 
 and 
 
 • p. 139. He calls it a fancy that only fticb out of the tail of 
 an hypochdii. 
 
l6o Reformatio}! of the World 
 
 and corruption ; and therefore God Almighty 
 thought fit to reveal the ufe of Writing \ which he 
 did by entring down the chiefeft part of his Law in 
 this manner, as a fpecimen for recording of the 
 whole •, which has been ever fince experienced to be 
 beyond comparifon the beft method of recording 
 things, of all others. But, 
 
 IV. The learned Author himfelf hath furnifhed 
 us with another reafon for the ufe of alphabetical 
 Writing at this time, viz. to preferve the integrity 
 of the true Religion from Idolatry. ' All Hierogly- 
 phick Writing', as he fhews, ' was abfolutely for- 
 ' bidden by the fecond Commandment ; and with 
 ' a view worthy of the divine Wifdom •, Hierogly- 
 ' phics being the great fource of the moft abomina- 
 * ble Idolatries and Superftitions.'* In order, there- 
 fore, effectually to abolifh the ufe of them, and cut 
 off all occafion of danger from fymbolic Images^ was 
 it not as becoming the fame Wifdom to teach Men 
 a more commodious way of writing, and fuch as 
 was quite different in its nature, as well as form ? 
 This our Author feems to be aware of ; for finding 
 Hieroglyphics to be forbidden by the fecond Com- 
 mandment, he found it likewife natural to fuppofe, 
 that fome fuch expedient Ihould at the fame time be 
 invented to draw off the People from the ufe of them 
 as much as poffible •, and therefore he is eaftly per- 
 fuaded to believe, that to this end Mofes alter'd the 
 form of the Egyptian Letters, reducing them from 
 the refemblance they bore to the Hieroglyphic Marks 
 they were taken from, to fomething like thofe fim- 
 pie Shapes in which we now find them. So that here 
 is a conceffion of an Improvement at leaft made by 
 Mofes in Alphabetical Writing •, and were it not for 
 his favourite fcheme, perhaps he might as eaftly be 
 perfuaded to yield him the entire honour of the Inven- 
 tion. 
 
 * Divine Legation^ &c. Vol. ii, p. 140. 
 
hy meaiis of the GofpeL i6i 
 
 tion. For what can be more natural to fiippofe, 
 than that God in communing with Mofes on the 
 mount, fhould addrefs himfelf to him in Ibme fuch 
 manner as this ? ' I find Hieroglyphics have been 
 ' greatly abufed to Idolatry, and therefore I think 
 ' fit absolutely to forbid all ufe of them : And to cut 
 ' off all handle of excufe for ufing them, from their 
 
 * fubfervience in civil Life, I here give you an Ex- 
 ' emplar of writing, far more commodious in all re- 
 
 * fpects, and for all purpofes whatfoever ; which 
 ' you may teach the People, fo that they may have 
 ' neither pretence, nor temptation to ufe any other.' 
 
 But, fays the learned Writer, ' If God was the 
 ' immediate Author of the Artifice^ (as he is plea- 
 fed to call it) ' it could fcarce be but Mofes would 
 ' have recorded the hiftory of its Invention, as the 
 ' beft fanclion to its ufe, and beft fecurity from the 
 ' danger oi Hieroglyphic Writing'. As this negative 
 objection is the only one the Author brings againft 
 this opinion, I Ihall confider it the more particu- 
 larly. — 
 
 I. If the ufefulnefs of Jlphahetical Writing was 
 not a fufHcient recommendation of it in preference 
 to Hieroglyphic^ are not we told, that there was an 
 exprefs Command, enforced with a fevere commina- 
 tion, againft the breach of it, exprefly inhibiting 
 Hieroglyphics ? And can we think, that the bare re- 
 cording the hiftory of the Invention of Letters could 
 be a better Sanction to their ufe than this, or a bet- 
 ter fecurity againft the danger o^ Hieroglyphics ? The 
 Author of the Invention was well known at firft, and 
 the knowledge of him fufficiently preferved by Tra- 
 dition, till fuch time as all fondnefs for Hieroglyphics 
 had been worn off. But in truth, we do not find in 
 fad, that there was any need of fuch a Sanction as 
 this, upon this account. For 2iS forcibly 2ls, the Ifrac- 
 lites were inclined to Egyptian manners^ it does 
 M " not 
 
i62 Improvement of the World 
 
 not appear they had any inclination to this. But, 
 
 2. What, if after all I fhould prove, that the Fad 
 ftands fufficiently recorded by Mofes? Will he then 
 give up the point, and fairly own himfelf convinced, 
 when divine Teftimony is produced againil him ? 
 
 The firft accounts we have of writing occur in the 
 books of Exodus and Deuteronomy^ and that we may 
 form the better j.udgment concerning this matter, 
 I fhall confider the feveral Texts which make any 
 mention of it, in the order in which they there 
 ftand. 
 
 The firft that occurs is Exod. xvii. 14. where the 
 "Lord fays unto Mofes, Write this for a memorial in a 
 bcok^ and rehearfe it in the ears of Jofhua. Not to 
 infift that the Words by us tranQated Write^ and 
 Book^ are not neceffarily limited to the itViiOi^ which 
 they are now generally applied to, and underftood 
 in ; * nor that this and the following Text may be 
 interpreted proleptically, as fome underftand them, 
 I am willing to allow that Mofes could write at this 
 time, which was before the giving of the Law. The 
 next mention of Writir g is in ^ ha'p. xxiv. 4. where 
 it is faid, That Mofes wrole all the words of the Lord; 
 and V. y. that he took the book of the Covenant, and 
 read in the audience of the People. Thcfe words of 
 the Law are either all the Laws recorded in the four 
 preceding chapters, or at leaft the principal part of 
 them, The ten Commandments. And as this was be- 
 fore the delivery of the two tables written by God, 
 which are not promifed till afterwards, v. 12. of this 
 24th chapter, it may from hence likevv'ife beinferr'd, 
 that Mofes was fkill'd in writing before God deliver'd 
 him the Tables. 
 
 But what kind of writing this was which he was 
 il-:iird in, is the queftion. It is plain it could not be 
 ^-zlphabetical Wnt'mg; becaufe if it were, what oc- 
 
 cafion 
 
 * Sec Mifcellaneous Rcfleft'ons on Mx Squired Eflayr. p. 5. 
 
in its chil Capacity. 163 
 
 cafion had there been for God's writing thefe very- 
 Laws afterwards in this very manner ? Was it to give 
 any addition to their Authority ? It would hive an- 
 fwer'd that end much better to have written them 
 firfl himfelf, if indeed the bare writing of them could 
 have added at all to their Weight, after fuch a fo- 
 lemn and av/eful publication ot them. Was it then 
 for the better recording ot them ? There was no oc- 
 cafion for that neither, if Mofes had already done it 
 in a manner fufficient for the purpofe. But fince 
 God took upon himfelf to write the Law, after 
 Mofes had once done it, this feems to be a plain 
 proof that Mofes had not done it, and that he could 
 not do it, in a fufficient manner, and that this was 
 the true rcafon ot God's condei'cending to do it him- 
 felf What kind of Writing then was that which 
 Mofes was at this time fkill'd in ? In all probability- 
 it was Hieroglyphical Writing, which he had learned 
 in Egypt, this being the only method of recording 
 matters of importance, hitherto ufed or known a- 
 mong them : And this might ferve well enough for 
 recording Vidories and Triumphs, and other mat- 
 ters of a civil nature, and therefore God commands 
 Mofes to record the Vidlory over ylmalek in the cuf- 
 tomary manner. And as Mofes foon after received 
 the feveral Laws recorded in the 20th and three fol- 
 lowing chapters of Exodus, he of his own accord 
 took down fome memorandums of them in the 
 Hieroglyphical, that is, in the belt manner he could, 
 as he found that fome means of this kind were ne- 
 ceffary for the affillance of his memory in retaining 
 them. But thefe Laws were too numerous and of 
 too great importance to be entrufted to Hieroglyphi- 
 cal Writing, which cannot be conceived to be otiier- 
 wife than very imperfe(St at bell. And therefore 
 God Almighty immediately upon this calls him up 
 to him into ihe mount. Come up, fays he, to -m 
 
 M i into 
 
164 Improvement of the World 
 
 into the mounts and he there, (7*. e, abide with me 
 there fort)'- days, as we find he did, and chiefly, as 
 is probaJDlf, for this very purpofe) and I will give 
 THE£ Tables cf Stone, and a Law and Commandments 
 WHICH I HAVE v/KiTTEN, (This Law and Com- 
 mandments were materially the very fame that Mofes 
 hr.d v/ritten, and God himfelf had deliver'd from 
 the mount, and could differ only in the form and 
 mramer of Writing them) that thou mayeji teach them, 
 i.e. that thou m.ayeil teach the Nobles, or chofenMen, 
 beforementioned i'. 11. to read and copy them, as 
 the late learned Mr Johnfon rightly imderftood this 
 Text. * 
 
 Agreeably to this promife we read, Exod. xxxi. 
 18. 'That God gave unto Moles two tables of tejti- 
 mony, tables of Jf one, writ en with the finger of Gqd\ 
 and Chap, xxxii. 1 6. That the tables were the work 
 of God, and the writing was the writing of God, 
 graven upon the tables. And Deut. ix, 10. thefe 
 fame tables are again faid to be written by the fin- 
 ger of God. Which words are as exprefs as words 
 can be, that both the preparing of thefe two Tables, 
 and the writing or graving upon them proceeded 
 from the immediate efficiency of God himfelf 
 
 But now concerning the Fate of thefe two Tables 
 we learn, £aW. xxxii. 19. Deut.ix. 17. that Mofes., 
 in his anger againft the People's Idolatry in worfhip- 
 ping the golden Calf, brake them in his defcent 
 from the Mount. To repair this lofs, God loon 
 after gives orders for the renewal of the Tables, y^nd 
 the Lord faid unto Mofes, Hew thee two Tables of 
 Stone like unto the firfi, and I will write upon thefe 
 Tables the words that were in the firfl Tables, which 
 thcu brakefi. Exod. xxxiv. i. And this matter is 
 related in much the fame manner in Deut. x. i. 
 
 whence 
 
 * See Mr Johrfoyih preface to the 2d Vol. of his Sermons cob- 
 cer nine the origin efalphabeiical Letters, 
 
/;/ its chil Capacity. 165 
 
 whence we are given to iindcriland, that A'lofes pre- 
 pared this pair ot Tables, and that God wrote upon 
 them. J^ut'm Exodus xxyiw.iy^ 28. this matter i?; 
 related in another manner — For here the Lord lays 
 unto Mofes^ Write thou thefe words — and according- 
 ly He (undoubtedly Mofes) wrote upon the Tables 
 the words of the covenant^ the ten Commandments •, fo 
 that here feem to be two contradi6lory accounts of 
 the lame matter. In one place the Writing is afcrib- 
 cd to God -, in the other to Mofes. There are two 
 ways of folving this feeming contradiLlion, which I 
 fliall lay before the Reader, that he may chufe that 
 which pleafeth him beft. 
 
 I. When God was about to deliver the moral 
 Law in Writing the firft time, he both prepart-d the 
 Tables, and wrote upon them himfelf, which there 
 had been no neceflity for his doing, had not this 
 kind of Writing been at that time ui.terly unknown 
 to Mofes. But when the Tables came to be renesv'd, 
 Mofes., having feen a fpecimen in the former, was 
 capable of making another pair after their pattern •, 
 and accordingly God commands him. Hew thee 
 {f^ ^Ds!,) Hew unto they f elf., i. e. for tii^y own ufe 
 or writing, two Tables of 6 tone like unto the firft. 
 And when this was done, having likewife i>ttri. an 
 exemplar of this new method of Writing, which 
 without doubt he alfo diligently ftudied during his 
 Rrft forty days continuance on the Mount, God 
 farther orders him, Write thou., or according to the 
 original ("[h' nPD ) V/rite unto thy [elf thefe Words \ 
 for after the tenor of thefe words I haroe viade a co'jt- 
 nant with thee and with Ifrael. And he was ther4: 
 with the Lord forty days and forty nights^ he did nei- 
 ther eat bread nor drink water. And he wrote upon the 
 Tables the words of the covenant., the ten command- 
 ments. As the continuance of Mj/^'j on the Mount 
 forty days and nights is mentioned between the com- 
 mand of writing, and his execution of it, this I 
 M 2 think 
 
1 66 Improvement of the World 
 
 think is a plain indication, that his chief employment 
 during the time of this fecond continuance confined 
 in writing the Lav/, and ftudying it •, otherwife why 
 is this circumftance here mention'd ? For Mofes be- 
 ing but a young Scholar mufl have required more 
 time than perhaps we may imagine, to perfect him- 
 felf both in the one and the other. And having had 
 but one copy, * we cannot fuppofe he was very ex- 
 pert at imitating of it; and therefore God Alm^ighty 
 condefcended to fuperintend the work, and vouchfaf- 
 ed him his affiftance and direction as far as was ne- 
 cefTary, in order to the perfecting of it. And thus 
 this ad might properly be afcribed to both, as both 
 may be faid to have bore a part in the work. 
 
 The other account, which was communicated to 
 me by a Friend, fuppofes that, agreeably to Exod. 
 xxxiv. I . God made out a fecond original of the Law, 
 after the deftruftion of the firft •, and that the rela- 
 tion which follows, V. 27, 28. is an account of 
 Mofes taking a copy of it — That the original was to 
 be repofited in the facred cheft, and the Copy to re- 
 main with Mofes for common ufe, that the People 
 might be inftru6t:ed out of it in their duty, and taught 
 to read and write by it. 
 
 This accouftt likewife feems very natural, and 
 Mofes^ according to this fuppofition, having the o- 
 riginal before him, might the more eafily make out 
 a copy from it. The only objeftion that feems to 
 )ie againft it is, that mention is made but of one 
 pair of Tables prepared by Mofes^ v. i. neither does 
 he feem to have had any more than one pair in his 
 hands, when he came down from the Mount, x'. 29. 
 as it is certain, vv'hen he brake the firft Tables, he 
 
 had 
 
 "* Mofis might have gathered up ihe broLen Fragments of the 
 ^a'it Table?, which miglic ferve as Patterns to copy the fecond by, 
 which it is diliicult to li;ppofe how he could have done, barely 
 u^)on Memory. 
 
in its civil Capacity. 167 
 
 had none other j but was to have copied them after 
 his defcent. However, I think it is not very ma- 
 terial, whether the Tables which Mofes was concern'd 
 in writing, was a copy or an original. For undoubt- 
 edly many copies were afterwards made out both by 
 himfelf and others, by the heads of the People at 
 leafl, and carefully compared with the original. For 
 the conftant prefervation of which facred yMf^.n^^nv 
 an Ark, or Archive, which was therefore called the 
 Ark of the Covenant^ was by God's fpecial appoint- 
 ment provided for its reception, and lodged in the 
 moft holy place ; not to be approached but upon 
 fpecial occafions, and by Perfons fpecially appoint- 
 ed. For Mofes informs us, that having been com- 
 manded by God to make an Ark of wood, and to 
 put the Tables in it, he accordingly did put them in 
 the Ark which he had made, and there they he^ fays 
 he, as the Lord commanded me. Deut. x. 5. 
 
 And thus I have endeavoured to vindicate andiif- 
 certain the Invention of alphabetical Writing to its 
 true Author, and have fhewn that fuch extraordi- 
 nary provifion was made for preferving the original 
 ot it, as was never parallel'd with regard to any odier 
 Inflrument whatfoever, perfuant to which it was prc- 
 ferved mofb religioufly for many ages ; (o that troni 
 the whole I hope it appears, that this matter has been 
 fo well recorded., that it ftands upon recwd even to 
 this day. Mr JVarburton therefore was too hafty in 
 objedting tlie want of its being recorded.^ as well as in 
 pronouncing that this opinion has wo countenance 
 from Scripture. 
 
 Let us now fee how the Argument ftands. 
 
 Mr War bur ton afcribes the Invention of alphab-^ii- 
 cal Writing to the Egyptians. If it was known to 
 them before the time of Mcfes., it muft have been 
 
 M 4 known 
 
1 68 Improvement of the World 
 
 known to him likewife, who ixias learned in all the 
 wifdom of the Egyptians. If it was known to him, 
 what need was there for God's writing an exemplar 
 of his Law, after Mofes had already written one him- 
 felf ? And what need was there for his undergoing 
 fo much inftmftion in this kind of writing, as it evi- 
 dently appears he did ? — Of having a fecond pair of 
 Tables written for him, after he had broken the firft 
 — at leafb, of beins aflifted in the writing; of them ? 
 No moral reafon can be affigned for this, as I have 
 already fhewn : Therefore we conclude it was a na- 
 tural one. God wrote the firft Tables, becaufe Mofes 
 could not then write alphabetically — If Mofes could 
 not, neither could the Egyptians — nor probably any 
 other People. Therefore this Invention was com- 
 municated to Mofes by God, and by Mofes to the 
 reft of the world. * 
 
 I fhall only obferve farther, that it hence appears, 
 that the f firft Body of Laws which was ever deU- 
 ver'd in writing to any People was that contained in 
 the Mofaic Tables : Whence it follows, that this 
 method of recording their Laws upon Stone-'Tahles 
 had not then obtain'd among the Egyptians^ and 
 therefore that they muft have borrowed this cuftom, 
 as well as others, from the Ifraelites^ and not thefe 
 latter from them, as Mr Warhurton imagines. Vol. 
 i. p. 178. 
 
 This learned Gentleman promifes to fliev/ that 
 many Egyptian cuftoms were indulged the IfraeliteSy 
 but I cannot find he has made it out as yet with re- 
 gard to any one : And indeed I fliould be furprized to 
 
 fee 
 
 ^ That Letters were derived from the Hebrews to other Na- 
 tions, European and Jfiatic, is proved with great Probability in 
 Bifliop Wiiltarh Prolog. 2. to his Polyglott Bible. See likewife 
 Mr Z-tfff'o Corifidcrations, p. 158. where feveral Authors are meii' 
 tion'd who have written in fupport of this Opinion. 
 
 f Vide Cunai de Repub. Hebraorum, Li'p. i. cap. i. 
 
in its croil Capacity. 169 
 
 fee he did, as I ihoiild then be quite at a lofs to re- 
 concile fuch an indulgence with many paflages of 
 Scripture, particularly with that prohibition which I 
 find in the Law — After the Doings of the Land of 
 Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, fhall ye not do — neither 
 fhall ye walk in their Ordinances. Lev. xviii, ^. And 
 I think it would become Gentlemen, who efpoufe 
 that fide of the queftion upon Principles ofreveal'd 
 Religion, firft to examine its confiilcncy with it, be- 
 fore they declare themfelves fo peremptorily. To 
 proceed. 
 
 The foundations of Learning being laid, thofe 
 who had leifure for Study proceeded to build upon 
 them •, but there were not many in the early ages of 
 the world who could afford time for Speculation, 
 when Mankind was hard put to it to provide them- 
 felves with the necefifaries and conveniences of Life ; 
 and therefore Learning was more confined, till na- 
 ture by degrees became more tradable, and fewer 
 hands were required for the neceffary employments 
 of Life. The fooner any Nation was fettled and ac- 
 commodated in other refpcdis, the fooner it had 
 leifure to cultivate the politer Arts ; and colonics 
 being tranfplanted out of the civilized into the more 
 barbarous countries, carried wliat knowledge they 
 had along with them : And a communication, by 
 thefe and other means, being opened by degrees be- 
 tween the feveral parts of the World and each other. 
 Learning became more difl'ufed, and like the Ri- 
 fing-Sun, extended its rays ftill wider and wider to 
 enlighten the dark corners of the Earth, Hill increa- 
 fing in ftrength, the nearer it approach'd towards 
 it5 Meridian, in the Augiifian Age \ which it had 
 fcarcely reach'd, before it prefently verged towards a 
 declcnfion. And in this declining {late it continued, 
 till at length it fuffer'd almoil a total Eclipfe in the 
 dark and ignorant ages, by the breaking in of the 
 
 barbar- 
 
1 70 Improvetnent of the World 
 
 ous northern Nations. But it is here to be obferved 
 that when Learning left this weftern part of the 
 world in a ftate of Darknefs, it went to enlighten 
 the Eaft, where it was cultivated v/irh great fuccefs 
 among the Arabians ; by the vafb Extent of whofe 
 Language, it has lince been diffufed in all its Bran- 
 ches throughout a great part of the Globe. 
 
 A Writer of * great name and authority in this 
 refped, attributes the decay of Letters among the 
 antient Romans to the lofs of their liberty. And it 
 is certain in fa6t, that Arts and Sciences never flou- 
 rifhed fo much as in free ftates : Witnefs, thofe of 
 Greece^ as well as that of Room, in all which both 
 Arts and Liberty rofe and' tell together. And it is 
 no lefs obfervable, that as it was undoubtedly owing 
 to the Papal Tyranny, that the World was after- 
 wards kept fo long in ignorance, agreeably to its a- 
 vowed principles and intereft •, fo it was when its op- 
 preiTivc yoke began to be fhaken off, that Learning re- 
 vived, and emerged from under thofe thick clouds of 
 darknefs, which had fo long obfcured it. And indeed 
 the reftoring of Learning was one of the chief means 
 of retrieving the Knowledge of the true Religion. 
 
 For the IFickliffites and Hz/^/^j having had recourfe 
 to the Scriptures in order to find out the true Faith, 
 and detect the errors and corruptions of the Church 
 of Rome^ brought the ftudy of the divine Oracles 
 into vogue. Several Univerfities and publick Schools 
 of Learning v/ere erefted in this and the following 
 Century, which contributed much towards the dif- 
 peliing of Ignorance, and popifh Errors and Super- 
 ititions. f The difputes between the Latin and 
 
 Greek 
 
 * Lord SZ'.7//ji:-;'ys Charafterillicks, Vol. i. p. 219. 
 
 \ In the 14th Century there were founded Univerfities at 
 Jie'tddhiirg.^ Prague^ Cologne, Erfird in Germ my, and at Qracow 
 in Poland. In the enfuing Century there were founded no lefs 
 than fix in Germany, viz. in Rojloch, Fribtirg, Tuhiiig, In^oljlad^ 
 Metitx, Br.vdw, one at B/ifil'wx i^zvitzerland, and three in Scotm 
 laud, sYi. at St Andn'uj'i^ Glajcow, and Abtrdctn. 
 
in its civil Capacity. ij\ 
 
 Greek Churches, about the beginning of the XV. 
 century, occafioned the Writers of controverfy to 
 ftudy the Greek and Lati7i Fathers in their originals: 
 And the taking of Conjiantiiiople by the Turks, about 
 the middle of it, having obliged the Chriftians of 
 the Greek Church * to betake themfelves for refuge 
 into Italy, Germany and France^ and being there well 
 received by the Family of the Medici, and other Pa- 
 trons of Learning, the ftudy and knowledge of the 
 Greek Language was ftili farther promoted in thefe 
 weftern Parts, where it was become fuch a ftranger, 
 that it was fcarce known for fome hundreds of Years 
 before. And the Art of Printing having been 
 found out about the fame time, became the Means 
 of reviving ufeful and polite Learning in general : 
 By the benefit of which excellent contrivance, it has 
 made fuch hafte to recover the ground it had loft, 
 that it is become more difflifed and general among 
 all ranks of Men, than ever it was before •, and io 
 quick has its progrefs been, that it hath advanced 
 more within thefe three centuries laft paft, than 
 otherwife it could have done in ten ; infomuch that 
 with regard to the folid and fubftantial parts of it at 
 leaft, if it be ftill queftioned by fome, whether the 
 Moderns excel the Antients, the next age, I doubt 
 not, will decide the controverfy : To which I ftiall 
 therefore leave it, and fliall only fubjoin the Judg- 
 ment of a great Man in this refpccft. ' We are ex- 
 
 * rremely miftaken,' fays he, ' in the computation 
 
 * of antiquity, by fearching it backwards ^ becaufe 
 ^ indeed the firft times were the youngeft •, efpecial- 
 ' ly in points of natural difcovery and experience.' -j- 
 
 With regard to the progrefs of Learning fmce its 
 revival, we may obferve, that as the Hrft thing to 
 be done, was to refcue the remains of anticnt Lite- 
 rature 
 
 * viz. Chryfiioras, Brf/iiiori, Gaa-Jln;, Z-;?,Vrr'.7.";,7, (Jaza^ 
 Cr.Uondii'.s^ 5.:c. 
 
 f Sir//, Wi>tf/c/r*j Remain' , p. 298. 
 
176 Improve?Jtent of the World 
 
 rature from the riibbifh and obfcurity in which they 
 were buried, fo this was the chief employment of 
 one century •, and this tallc was, with great coll and 
 pains, executed by learned Printers, who, excepting 
 Erafmus and a few more, * were the only Men con- 
 fiderable for Letters in that age. But in the follow- 
 ing, the number was much increafed \ and the Learn- 
 ing of thofe times confided chiefly in comparing and 
 adjufting the various readings, and reftoring the 
 true text of antient Authors, which had greatly fuf- 
 fer'd by the carelefTnefs and ignorance of Tranfcri- 
 bers. This kind of Learning, as it was then molt 
 in vogue, fo was it indeed the moft ufeful and ne- 
 cefiary : And it was perfued v/ith fo much diligence 
 and application, that the fubje6l of Criticifin was in 
 a manner exhaufted by the great numbers of thofe, 
 who then exceil'd in the knowledge of t'le learned 
 Languages •, infomuch that they left fcarce any 
 thing, befides fome few gleanings, for the Critics of 
 the fucceeding age to exercife their talents upon. 
 
 But all their great Learning was ftill but low and 
 fuperficial, and often trifling, being employed alto- 
 gether about Words, and confined to the letter of 
 Authors ; but wanted that tafte of their Beauties, 
 and that force and penetration to enter into the Spirit 
 and Genius of them, which is the diftinguifhing 
 chara6ler of the prefent Age : Neither is this now fo 
 much the ftudy as amufement of learned Men. 
 
 TiityBelks Lettres are little more than ornr.mental 
 accomplifhments ; and it may be truly faid, that 
 That is the ;.aft part of our knowledge, which is 
 derived from the fountains of Antiquity : That which 
 makes up by far the greatefl: and moif ufeful part of 
 it, (I need not remind the Reader, that I am here 
 
 fpeaking 
 
 ■* Laurentius Valla, Baptijla Vhtlnn, M. iib Akxandro^ Pi em 
 Mirdndtila, Angeliis Fvlltianus, Cominaui, and foon after, Alcint^ 
 Scaliger ; and Siif Ihimm More, and Linacie here in England, &c. 
 
in its civil Capacity, 173 
 
 fpeaking of mere human knowledge,) the Moderns 
 may properly call their own, as it is chietly the pro- 
 duce of their own brains, raifed out of their own 
 Hock, and built upon their own bottom. Such is 
 that which confiils in good itw^^:, and clofe refined 
 reafoning ; natural and experimental Philofophy •, 
 Aftronomy, and mathematical Learning in all its 
 branches J in which, and in all other parts of uleful 
 Learning, fuch difcoveries and improvements have of 
 late years been made, efqecially by our great lumi- 
 nary Sir Ifaac Newton, as render the prefent age en- 
 lighten'd beyond the hopes and imaginations of for- 
 mer times. * 
 
 I fliall conclude this chapter with the comparifon 
 made by two eminent Critics between the fixteenth 
 and feventecnth centuries. 
 
 ' I am of opinion,' fays one of them, ' that the 
 ' fixteenth century produced a greater number of 
 ' learned Men than the feventeenth, and yet the 
 ' former was not fo enlighten'd as the latter. Whiht 
 
 * the reign of Criticiliii and Philology continued, 
 
 * every part of E^/r^^^ produced prodigies of erudi- 
 ' tion. The iludy of the new Philofophy and of 
 
 * modern Languages having introduced another 
 ' Tafte, that univerfal and profound Literature has 
 ' difappear'd -, but in rccompence, a certain Genius 
 
 * more refined, and accompanied with more exqui- 
 
 * fite difcernment, has fpread itfelf over the com- 
 ' mon-wealth of Learning : People are now-a-days 
 ' lefs learned, and more fubtile.* Thus far Mr 
 Bayk, who prefcntly after brings in Father Rapn 
 
 * to confirm his opinion. 
 
 Thefe are his words — ' We live in an age where- 
 
 * in People attend more to good fenfe and reafon 
 
 ' than 
 
 * For a particular Account of the Improvements made by fhe 
 Moderns in the feveral Bianclies of Learninf, fee Dr V'l'ottoth Re- 
 fleftion: upon anticnt and modern Learning. 
 
174 Improvement of the World, &c. 
 
 ' than any thing elfe ; and it may be faid in our 
 ' commendation, that we are already better ac- 
 ' quainted with the chara6ter of antient Authors, 
 ' and more intimately familiar with their Genius, 
 ' than thofe who went before us. The difference 
 ' between them and us is, that in the laft age, Peo- 
 ' pie were more ambitious of erudition, than they 
 ' are at prefent — 'Twas the Genius of thofe times, 
 ' wherein nothing was more in vogue than a vaft 
 
 * capacity, a great memory, and profound Litera- 
 ' ture. They ftudied Languages to the bottom ; 
 ' applied themfelves to reform or reftore the text of. 
 ' antient Authors by far-fetcht Interpretations •, ca- 
 ' vill'd about an equivocal word \ laid ftrefs upon 
 ' a conjedlure, in order to eftablifh a corredion : in 
 
 * Jhort, they ftuck to the literal fenfe of an Author, 
 ' becaufe they had not force enough to raife them- 
 
 * felves up to his Spirit, and to be thoroughly ac- 
 ' quainted with him, as we are at prefent, becaufe 
 ' we are more reafonablc, and lefs learned, and fet 
 ' a greater value upon plain good fenfe, than an 
 ' extenfive, but perverfe capacity. * 
 
 Prtv/f's Did. Vol, i. p. 92. ^. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
CHAP. IX. 
 
 Contahnng fome Account of Notices grjen to, 
 a?id of the Notions and Rxpeclvtions which 
 prevail' d atnong the Antients, Jews, Hea- 
 thens, and Chriftians, ivith I'cgard to the 
 future Rejloraticn and Re7io^cation of the 
 World. 
 
 TH E learned Dr Burnet^ In his Theory cf the 
 Earth, has collecled feveral tefti monies of 
 the antient Philofophers, together with 
 fome traditions and typical allufions among the Jews^ 
 to which he has added the opinions of the antient Fa- 
 thers of the Church, all concurring in the belief and 
 maintenance of this antient dodlrine, that after the 
 Revolution of certain periods, there will be a Renova- 
 tion of all things, viz. both of the natural and mo- 
 ral World. And tho' I differ from that learned 
 Perfon in the manner of explaining this do6i:rine, 
 and by which this Renovation will be brought to pafs-, 
 yet as I find feveral of his teftimonies are as applica- 
 ble to my Scheme, as his own, and fome of them 
 much more fo, I fhall take the Liberty of cxtnufling 
 from him what relates to the prefent fubjedl. 
 
 ' 'Tis plain to me,' fays he, ' that th^re were a- 
 ' mong the Antients feveral traditions, or traditionary 
 
 * conclufions, which they did not raife themfelv^s 
 
 * by reafon and obfervation, but received them from 
 
 * an unknown Antiquity — The Renovation of the 
 
 * World is an antient doclrine,' of this kind, ' both 
 ' among the Creek and Enficrn Philojophers; but 
 ' they fhew us no method hovo the World may bi*. 
 
 * renewed^ nor make any proof of its future Reno- 
 
 * vation \ 
 
1"]^ opinion of the Antients 
 
 * vation 5 for it was not a difcovery which they firft 
 
 * made, but they received it with an impUcit faith, 
 ' from their mafters and anceftors. And thefe tra- 
 ' ditionary dodrines were fore-runners of that hght, 
 ' which was to fhine more clearly at the opening of 
 ' the Chriilian difpenlation, to give a more full ac- 
 ' count of the Revolutions of the natural World, as 
 
 * well as of the moral. 
 
 ' The Je'ws^ 'tis well known, held the Renova- 
 ' tion of the World, and a Sabbath after 6000 
 ' years, according to a prophecy current among 
 ' them" — Neither can I eafily believe,' as he goes on, 
 
 * that thofe Conftitutions of Aiofes, that proceed fo 
 ' much upon a Septenary, or the Number Seven, 
 ' and have no ground or rcafon in the nature of the 
 ' thing for that particular Number ; I cannot cafily 
 ' believe, I fay, that they are either accidental or 
 ' humourfome, without defign or figniiication ; but 
 ' that they are typical, or reprefentative of fome 
 ' Septenary State, that does eminently deferve and 
 « bear that charader. Mofes, in the Hiftory of the 
 *■ Creation, makes fix days work, and then a fab- 
 
 * bath •, then after fix years, he makes a fabbath- 
 ' year; and after a fabbath of years, a year of ju- 
 ' bike, Lev. xxv. All thefe lelTer revolutions feem 
 ' to me to point at the grand revolution, the great 
 
 * fabbath or jubilee, after fix millenaries •, which as 
 
 * it anfwers the type in point of time, fo likewife in 
 ' the nature and contents of it, being a ftate of reft 
 
 * from all Libour, and trouble, and fervitude ; a 
 ' flatc of joy and triumph, and a flate of Renova- 
 ' tion, when things are to return to their firll con- 
 
 * dition and priftine order.'* 
 
 But thefe are not the only allufions to this reno- 
 vated ftate, which may be traced among the Jews. 
 The land of C^^/<?^;?, when it was inhabited and cul- 
 tivated, 
 * Theory of the Earth . Book iv. Ch.ap. 3, Englilh Treatife^ 
 
on the JForld's Refio'vatiof?'. lyj 
 
 tivated, was the moft fertile country in the world -, 
 and I take it to have been then a Type of the future 
 fertility of the whole earth, when the curfe fhall be 
 entirely removed from it. It is ufually reckon'd a 
 Type of Heaven, and the earthly, a Type of the 
 heavenly Jerufalem : Why therefore may not each 
 of them as naturally fignify that future flourifhing 
 ftate upon earth, which is filled the New Jerufalem, 
 Rev. xxi. and defcribed in chara6ters, of which the 
 fumptuoufnefs, as well as imputed holinefs, of the 
 temple and city of old Jerufalem, was a proper em- 
 blem ? 
 
 Moreover, under the reign of Solomon, the Jewifh 
 ftate was arrived at its higheft pitch of grandeur and 
 magnificence; which, perhaps, forpeace, plenty, rich- 
 es, renown, and all manner of worldly felicity, was ne- 
 ver equall'd by the moft flourifhing ftates upon earth, 
 either before, or fince : And therefore it was a pro- 
 per Type of the future flourifliing ftate of Chriji's 
 kingdom, as Solomon himfelf was a Type of Chrijl', 
 and agreeably hereto, the glorious and beautiful ar- 
 ray of Chriji's fpoufe, the Church, is defcribed in 
 the perfon of Solomon's, Queen, Pfal. xlv. and the 
 book of CanUcks is writ on the fame fubjeft. 
 
 The Jewifh policy and form of government, 
 which was Theocratkal, I apprehend to be typical 
 of that more perfecSl Theocracy which God fliall re- 
 fume and eftablifh, when he, according to his Pro- 
 mife, fhall rejlore the kingdom to Ifrael, and all the 
 kingdoms of the earth fhall become the kingdom of the 
 Lord. 
 
 Again, As Divines have obferved an analogy be- 
 tv/een the Egyptian bondage, and the tyranny ot fin, 
 fo the continuance of tlicone for ilich a precife num- 
 ber of years, may polTibly denote the term of the 
 other's duration, tho' it continues as yet a fecret to 
 us : And as the Tfraclites were dchvcr'd from Egvpt, 
 
 N ' by 
 
178 opinion of the Antients 
 
 by having a pafTage open'd to them thro' the Red 
 Sea, fo the true Ifrael fhall be deUvered from the 
 worfe than Egyptian flavery of fin, by means of the 
 waters of Baptifm, as they were baptized in the fea 
 and in the cloud. Their forty years wandering in and 
 paffage thro' the wildernefs, before they arrived at 
 the promifed land, reprefent the many labyrinths of 
 fin and error, which mankind fhould run thro', to- 
 gether with the tedioufnefs and diliiculty of extricat- 
 ing themfelves out of them : And their entrance at 
 length into the Holy Land, under the Condud of 
 Jojhua, cr Jcfus, aptly fcts forth the future delive- 
 rance and triumph of the Church, the Woman in the 
 Wildernefs^ Rev. xii. 6. and its final fettlement in a 
 ftate of peace and holinefs, under the Conduct of 
 Jefus Chrijiy the Captain of our Salvation. So again, 
 in the many legal wafhings and purifications, and 
 other performances of the Ceremonial Law.^ are ty- 
 pified the purity, fandlity, and other moral excel- 
 lencies to which mankind fhall be reftored by means 
 of the Chriftian Law. Thefe, and the like, were 
 figures for the time then pre fent, and fhadows of good 
 things to come. 'They were our examples, and were 
 written for our admonition. Heb. ix. 9. — x. i. — i 
 Cor. X. 6, II . — In a word, I take the whole CEco- 
 nomy of Judaifm to be typical of Chrijtianity •, and 
 if we were able dextroufly to unravel its myftick 
 fenfe, I am perfuaded, the hiftory of the Jewifh 
 Church and ftate would open us a profpect into 
 futurity, and every difpenfation and revolution in it 
 would appear to have a reference to fomething pa- 
 rallel under the Gofpel. 
 
 Accordingly the antient Jews had very exalted 
 Notions of the Age of the Mefliah, * wherein they 
 ' believed there would be a Change of Nature — * 
 ' the Earth would become Hke Paradife, where 
 
 ' Fruits 
 • Kimchi on Hof. xiv. 8. Jarchi. Maim. 
 
on the IVorld's Renovation, lyg 
 
 * Fruits growing of their own accord. Men fhould 
 
 * lead tlieir Lives in Plenty without Labour or Sor- 
 
 * ror jl — the wild Creatures like wife Ihould be tamed, 
 ' wiien the Jews tamed their Faflions, and War 
 ' Ihould not reach the Country of the Godly — that 
 ' the Meffiah fhall fubdue all Nations, and extend his 
 ' conqueils for the good of the conquered * — that 
 ' the Geniiles fliall be converted, and forfake their 
 ' own Laws and Cuftoms for thofe of Mofes^ -f and 
 ' that God fhall bring forth a plentiful Crop of Vir- 
 
 * tue in thofe days ; infomuch that Man Ihould re- 
 
 * turn in the times of the Mefllah to that primitive 
 
 * ftate he was in before the fin of the firft Man, who 
 ' naturally did whatfoever was good, neither was 
 
 * there any thing and its contrary then in his choice.* 
 All which how agreeable it is with fcripmre will be 
 feen in its proper place. 
 
 Let us now fee what notions and expe(5bations of a 
 renovated State prevail'd among the Heathens. To 
 this purpofe it is to be obferved, 
 
 I. That it was the profefs'd end and defign of the 
 Heathen Philofophy and Religions, to reftore men 
 to the Hkenefs of God, and to their original purity 
 and perfedion. Nothing can be more admirable, 
 nor breathe more of the Spirit of Chrifiianhy^ than 
 what Pythagoras taught in this refped, "jiz. that the 
 ftudy of Philofophy tended to make Men like unto 
 God, which was likewife maintain'd by Socrates and 
 Plato\ to be the true end of it. Thus Hierocles^ in 
 the Introduction of his Commentary on the Golden 
 Verfes of Pythagoras^ fays, § ' That Philofophy is 
 
 N 2 the 
 
 11 Philo de Opific. * Id. de Pracm. & Poen. f Vit. Mofis. 
 SeeBifhop Chnniilerh D.'fence of Xty, Ch, i. S. i. and SMi(i>\Sc- 
 left dilcourfef, p. 294. 
 
 Hlerocl. in Carm. Pychag, 
 
i8o Opinion of the Ant tents 
 
 ' the purgation and perfe^ion of our Naturc5, as it 
 ' doth cleanfe and purify us from the brutal corrup- 
 ' tions of our carnal part, reftores us to our native 
 
 * excellence, makes us whole, pure and perfedt ; 
 ' enables us to recover the form of our firft ftate, 
 ' and to be made like unto God.' — And with regard 
 to Religion, Plato fays, f ' That it was the aim and 
 ' drift of initiation into their facred myfteries, to 
 ' rejlore the Soul to thzt perfeotion, from which, as 
 ' from its original ftate, it firft fell.' But this Doc- 
 trine is fo largely and fully difcourfed of by all the Py- 
 thagoreans and Platonijlst that it is needlefs to infift 
 upon it. Whence it manifeftly appears, that the 
 Heathens had a tradition convey'd down to them, of 
 the original Perfection of Man, and of his Fall from 
 it ; and likewlfe, that they defpair'd not of being 
 reftored to this their original ftate, however obfcure 
 their notions were of that ftate, and however infuffi- 
 cient the means v/ere wh'ch they ufed for the reco- 
 very of it. 
 
 2. That a notion was current among the antient 
 Heathens^ that the world Jhould be reftored to a 
 ftate of great happinefs, peace, and tranquillity, is 
 evident from the Doftrine of Two Principles, and 
 the happy iftlie of the conteft they maintain'd with 
 each other ; as it is reprefented by Plutarch : who 
 tells us, ' That it was a moft antient opinion, deri- 
 ' ved from Divines and LegiQators, the author un- 
 ' known, but the belief of it firmly eftablifti'd, not 
 ' only among the Vulgar, but Philofophers, and 
 ' that it was admitted into the religious Rites both 
 
 * cf Greeks and Barbarians — * That there were two 
 
 * oppofite Principles, the one the author of good, 
 
 'the 
 
 * Nop^tfiTi yocf vi«5 iivcit o^ul Kct^ctiT'-f avltls^vfii'rcj [Ah yxe */«6wi'> 
 
071 the Wo7'U'i Re?iovatiofi. i8i 
 
 the other of evil — that Zoroajires^ the Magian, na- 
 med the one, Oromazes,\\-\t other, Arimanius — That 
 Oromazes co\x\6. not be better compared to any ob- 
 je6t of fenfe, than to Light ; nor Arimanius to 
 any thing more fitly than to Darknefs and Igno- 
 rance — that between thefe there was a middle Be- 
 ing, call'd Mithras^ which in the Perjian Lan- 
 guage, fignifies Mediator. That Oromazes^ the 
 God of Light, and Arimanius, the God of Dark- 
 nefs, conftantly wage war with each other. But 
 that the time appointed by the Fates lliall come, 
 when Arimanius fhall be entirely vanquifli'd and 
 deftroy'd, by the Evils which he himfelf had in- 
 troduced — That the furface of the earth lliould 
 then become fmooth and even — that mankind 
 fhould lead one uniform courfe of life ; fliould live 
 in one happy community together, and all fpeak 
 one and the fame language/ He adds, ' That 
 Tbeopompus relates it as the opinion of the MagianSy 
 that this ftruggle is to continue 6000 Years, where- 
 in both parties fliould alternately prevail, and be 
 employed in demolifhing each others fchemes and 
 operations. And that at the end of this term, the 
 evil Principle fhould be utterly overthrown, and 
 that then mankind fliould be happy.' 
 This antient Tradition has fvich a mixture of 
 truth with its errors, as proves it to be a manifdl 
 corruption of the hiftory of the Introdudlion of Evil 
 by Satan at the Fall, and of the contcft which he has 
 ever fince maintain'd with God. And it is the more 
 remarkable, as its agreement with Scripture may be 
 traced in many particulars. As ift, in comparing 
 the good Principle to Light, and the evil one to 
 Darknefs. For agreeably hereto. Light is in feve- 
 ral places of Scripture made the emblem of the di- 
 vine Majefty. Thus St John fays, God is Light. 1 
 Ep. i. 5, — James i. 17. he is call'd The Father of 
 N 3 Lights^ 
 
1 82 opinion of the Antients 
 
 Lights. Pfal. civ. 2. he is faid to be cloaihed with 
 Lights and to dwell in Light, i Tim. vi. 16. And 
 our Saviour Chrift is likewife frequently call'd the 
 Light of the JVorld, Johnviii. 12. — ix. 5. On the 
 other hand, the Devil is, in Scripture, called the 
 Prince of Darknefs, and his Power, the Power of 
 Darknefs. Luke xxii. ^^. And he and his Angels 
 are call'd Rulers of Darknefs. Eph. vi. 12. And to 
 mention no mere, God, with a particular view to 
 the doftrine of Pwo Principles, tells Cyrus — I form the 
 Lights and create Darknefs : I make Peace., and create 
 Evil: J the Lord do alt thefe Things. Ifa. xlv. 7. 
 With regard to the conteft between them, we are 
 told, there was war in Heaven \ that Michael and 
 his Angels fought againji the Dragon, and the Dra- 
 gon fought and his Angels., and prevailed not, neither 
 was their place found any more in Heaven. Rev. xii. 
 7, 8. So again, we read, that for this purpofe the 
 Son of God was inanifefied, that he might dejlroy the 
 works of the Devil, i John iii. 8. And the Devil on 
 his part is call'd, ' ATroA^iti-^i', The Deflroyer. Rev. 
 ix. II. With regard to the final prevalence of good 
 over evil, the unity and felicity in general confe- 
 quent thereupon, its agreement with Scripture will 
 fuhy appear in the following chapters. 
 
 What is farther remarkable in this Tradition, is 
 the circumllance of time, viz. the period of 6000 
 Years, wherein it fo exadlly agrees with the Jewifh 
 Prophecy above-mention'd, concerning a Renova- 
 tion of the World at the end of that period ; whence 
 therefore it was probably derived : For it is not to be 
 imagined, that fuch an agreement in the precife num- 
 ber of years, as well as in the fubllance of the Pro- 
 phecy, could have happen^ by chance. For which 
 reafon it may be hence inferr'd, that, that Prophe- 
 ry was much more antient than the time of Rabbi 
 Elia'^ to wi^om it is ccnvnonly ajrcinbed, as l.e did 
 
on the World' $ Renovation, 183 
 
 not live but about 200 Years before Chrift -, and that 
 EUas^ the TiftMte^ has a better title to it, if it be 
 not more antient even than his time. 
 
 3, Another Dodtrine uiiiverfally current among 
 the antient Heathen, from which their notions con- 
 cerning the Renovation of the World may be plain- 
 ly inferr'd, was that of the Golden Age, and the 
 renewal of it. 
 
 Whoever confiders the defcription of the Golden 
 Age, which is given us by the Heathen Poets, and 
 compares it with the paft ftate of the world, thro* 
 every period of it, muft be convinced, that the tra- 
 dition of its former exiftence could have no real found- 
 ation but in the Paradifiacal State. For, ( i .) The 
 Golden Age is fuppofed to have been the firftage 
 of the World, and the original ftate of nature. And 
 accordingly Saturn is with great probability by fome 
 fuppofed to have been Adam, under whom the Gol- 
 den Age was. The purity, plenty, and fehcity of 
 it in general, is fuitable to no fucceeding age or 
 ftate. And therefore, as a notion prevail'd, that 
 this ftate was to be reftored, the reftoration of it car. 
 be no other than that of the ftate of man in Para- 
 dife. For, 
 
 1. This Reftoration is not to be till the laft age of 
 the world ; for fo Virgil defcribes it from the Sibyl- 
 'line Oracles.* 
 
 2. It is to be a ftate wherein the natural and mo- 
 ral world will be renovated, and reftored to their ori- 
 ginal Perfection. 
 
 3. As the world is by the tradition fuppofed to 
 have degenerated by degrees, the fucceeding age 
 being ftiil defcribed by the bafer meral, in this or- 
 der, the golden, filver, brafs, and iron •, fo the re- 
 ftoration of the Golden Age is to be brought about 
 
 N 4 but 
 
 * Ultima Cumai venitjam Car mini i Mt.ai. Ec!- iv. r. 4. 
 
184 opinion of the Antients 
 
 but by degrees likewife, as is evident to any one who 
 reads the lines quoted below. * 
 
 4. This defcription of Virgil's Golden Age has 
 a remarkable agreement, in feveral Particulars, with 
 many pafiages of IJaiaFs, Prophecy concerning the 
 flourifhing Kingdom of the Meffiah ; which is none 
 other than the primitive ftate reftored, as I fhall 
 hereafter prove at large. 
 
 Upon the whole, this Tradition of the Golden 
 Age, and of its Reftoration, comes as fully up to 
 the point, and is as plain, as can well be expedted, 
 and as confonant to the Scripture-Do6trine in this re- 
 fpeft, as will appear hereafter. 
 
 Nor is it fufficient to fay, that this ftate has been 
 intentionally reftored by the coming of Chrift, and 
 the preaching of his Gofpel •, for tho' the defign and 
 tendency of the Chriftian Religion is to bring peace 
 upon earth, and all the other blefllngs which confti- 
 tute the Golden Age, yet a defign'd accompHfli- 
 mcnt of a Thing, is in truth no accomplifliment at 
 all. 
 
 This tradition had the authority of the Sihylliyie 
 Oracles for its fupport, which were of great reputa- 
 tion in the old Heathen World : But it was more di- 
 vulged than the contents of thofe books generally 
 were, and was likewife of more certain and greater 
 antiquity -, for we find it defcanted upon by Hefwd, 
 and the old eft Heathen Poets. And as it has its 
 foundation in the earlieft times, fo the rife of it is 
 rot otherwife to be accounted for, than that it was 
 derived from Noah^ the fountain of all traditionary 
 
 learning, 
 
 * Pauca tamen fu'erunt prifca VeJIigia Traudis, 
 ^lute tentare Thitin Ratibus, qua cingere Muris 
 Oppida, qua iuheant TiUuri irjindere Jukos. 
 Jlter erit turn Typhis, &c. 
 Uhic ubijamfrmata Virum tefecerit jEias, 
 Cedet isf ^p e Mart f'eclor: Nee Nautica Pinici 
 Mutabit Merc a : omnisferet omnia Tellui. ib, v. 31 . & fcqq. 
 
on the World's Renovation. 185 
 
 learning, and probably made one of the Dogmata 
 Ncachidariwi. 
 
 4. That the antient Heathens believe the world 
 would be reftored to its primitive ftate, is farther 
 evident from that dodlrine of the Revolution of all 
 things, and Renovation of the World confequent 
 thereupon, which was held by Plato and his follow - 
 ers, and, as Dr Burnet Ihews, was current among 
 the Greeks in general, and among the Barbarick 
 Philofophers likewife, which were more antient, viz. 
 the Egyptians., Perfians., Chaldeans., Indian Brach- 
 mans., * and other eaftern nations. This Doctrine 
 fuppofed an Annus Magnus., or great Year, at the 
 end of which an entire mundane revolution fhould 
 be perforni'd •, when all the celeftial bodies lliould 
 have finifhed their courfes, and be come about to 
 the fame point of the heavens, and the fame pofi- 
 tion with regard to each other they were in when 
 firft created. And that when this great round of 
 time fhould be performed, a relloration of the mo- 
 ral world likewife fliould at the fame time enfue, and 
 univerfal nature fhould be recover'd from all its dif- 
 orders, and reinftated in its priftine happy condition. 
 Accordingly this doftrine is called by the Name of 
 A7ro^7aV<2<7<i", and A7ro»(^TO9a(Ti; xccryu/x/ > which 
 what elfe is it than St Peter's K.-uox^-wLqaLaic, -Truvrc^v ? 
 A^s iii. 2 1, of which 1 fhall hereafter offer an expla- 
 nation. 
 
 It is likewife call'd TlccAiyyiviaict, the fcripturc- 
 term, whereby the Regeneration or Renovation of 
 our natures is exprelTed. 
 
 It is obfervable that Plato, who was a great efpou- 
 fer of this doctrine, from whom, as the fuppofed 
 author of it, it is fometimes called the Platonick-Tear 
 
 — it 
 
 Bpa-^M^s/ati — x«Ta(pfoi'«o-| Sa»«Ttf, xal vyo ndiv riytivra-i to C*)"' ts'- 
 ScvTat yx^ iiKxi •!raAt/y5V£(7if»». Clcm, Akx. Strom.' Lib. 3. 
 
i86 Opinion of the Antimts 
 
 ' — it is to be obferved, I fay, that he placeththis grand 
 Inftauration of all things before the general Confla- 
 gration ; infomuch that he makes the conflagration 
 to proceed from this as its caufe : Tho' Dr Burnet, 
 to fuit it to his fcheme, would fain confound both 
 together.* 
 
 How agreeable the divine Plato's, fentiments are 
 to fcripture in this refpecl, as well as they are known 
 to be in others, will appear, when the fcripture-doc- 
 tiine relating hereto, comes under confideration. 
 
 The Stoicks, indeed, fuppofe a new world after 
 the Conflagration ; but this opinion is not fo uni- 
 verfal as the former ; nor, if it were, would it be at 
 all inconfiftent widi it : On the contrary, this, as 
 well as the other, feems to have fome countenance 
 from fcripture, as there may hereafter be occafion to 
 ihew. 
 
 We have only "now to enquire what the fenfe of 
 the primitive Chriftians was in this matter. And it 
 is well known, that mofl: of the antient Fathers of 
 the Church held a Renovation and Reftoration of the 
 World. The conftant and every- where-repeated o- 
 pinion of Iren^us is, ' That we are to recover the 
 *■ fame happinefs in the fecond Adam^ which we loft 
 ' in the ftrft.' Clemens Alex, very plainly profefTes 
 his Belief of this doftrine ;i" and Jujlin Martyr, in 
 iiis Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, tells him, ' That 
 ' he himfelf, and all orthodox Chriftians, unani- 
 ' moufly maintain' d the felicity of the laft age of 
 ' the world.' Which Teftimony, as it contains a 
 .cloud of witneffes, renders the addition of more 
 quite needlefs and fliperfiuous. This opinion they 
 
 held 
 
 * See Bnrnrfs Theory. Vol. 2. B. 3. ch. 8. 
 
 jt3C-f.«.i; crv^<-7ri(py^t«vji» sVtas, T»! ai«£t'jT)jT» TTjJo^-iii^^o^'T^i. Strom. Lib. 3. 
 
on the JVorld's Renovatiofi^ 187 
 
 held under the notion of a Millennium *, which they 
 conceived to be a ftate of the greateft peace, plenty, 
 and all manner of felicity imaginable. But as I fhall 
 hereafter have occafion to fhow more particularly 
 what their Notion of a Millennium was — what mif- 
 takes they were in about it — and how they fell into 
 thofe miftakes — I fhall wave this matter at prefent, 
 and proceed to the confideration of other arguments. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Wf^erein it isprcved, that this HypotheJiSy which 
 maintains the Rejioration of the World to its 
 07'iginal PerfeBion^ before its fnal Dijfolii- 
 tion, is agreeable to our Notions of the At- 
 tributes ofGoTiy to the Nature of Man ^ and 
 Reajons of T^hings. 
 
 OUR enquiries have hitherto been chiefly 
 employ'd about fact and hiftory : We come 
 now to examine the fubjeft of them by 
 the touchftone of Rcafon. This, it mull be own'd, 
 is of it felf but a very uncertain guide in the cafe 
 before us, it not being fafe to conclude, from what 
 nve conceive fuitable for God to do, that it/ballczY- 
 tainly be done, were there nothing elfe to fupport 
 this reafoning. But tho' this carries not the weight 
 of a fole or principal argument, yet it may be uied 
 as a concurrent or fublidiary one : And efpecially, 
 when God, by wiiat he hath already done, fignifies 
 what he intends to do, and has moreover told us, as 
 will appear hereafter, what he w/// do, we may in 
 this cafe venture to fpeak after him, and lay, that 
 That is fuitable to be done. 
 
 \\^ may, therefore, take ronBdencc, and afTc-rt, 
 
 that 
 
1 88 T/6/i Hypothefis agreeable 
 
 that the Reftoration of the World to its native ftatc 
 of Order and Perfedion, is a work every way wor- 
 thy of God, and fuitable to the Wifdom, Power, 
 Dominion, Juftice, Honour, and Goodnefs of the 
 divine Being. 
 
 For though the almighty creator, in his infinite 
 wifdom, thought fit to permit his works to be dif- 
 turb'd and put out of their regular courfes for a 
 time ; yet the notion we have of the fame wifdom 
 will not give us leave to think that it will be always 
 fo, and that he will permit his power to be infulted 
 to the end, and the defigns of his providence to be 
 finally perverted and triumph' d over by his rebelli- 
 ous and apoftate creatures. For what can be more 
 worthy of his Wifdom to contrive, or of his Power 
 to effeft, than to vindicate his own works from the 
 abufe they have fuffer'd ? It is no more than what in 
 juflice he feems to owe to 'himfelf, to make the 
 world, the workmanfhip of his hands, to appear 
 once more in its native beauty and perfedlion, and 
 to afiert that dominion over it, with which in right 
 of creation he is invefted. Is it to be conceived, 
 that God fhould fuffer his Glory to be thus echpf- 
 ed, in its- Dawn, as it were — in the morning of 
 time — and that it will not emerge and appear again 
 in its firft Brightnefs, till time be fet in the ocean of 
 eternity ? Is it not rather to be fuppofed, that it 
 will break through this cloud in which it is now be- 
 nighted, and appear with double luftre ? He who is 
 fo jealous of his Honour, and has declared he will 
 not give it to another, will hardly be content to be 
 roWd of it. As his own glory, and the good of 
 the creatures he made, were the great ends for which 
 God framed the world at firft, fo it is not to be 
 doubted but thefe ends, upon the whole, will ftill 
 be moft effeftually promoted, by thole very means 
 which to us feem to have a quite contrary tendency. 
 
 It 
 
to the Attributes of God. 189 
 
 It is a favorite maxim in the divine politicks to 
 bring Good out of Evil •, and by how much greater 
 both the good is, and the evil out of which it is 
 brought, by lb much the more does it tend to dif- 
 play that darling attribute of his, hisGoodnefs: Now 
 I need not add, that more good is brought out of 
 the evil of the Fall, according to this notion of our 
 redemption from it, than any other. 
 
 Indeed it is offering violence to Reafon to fuppofe, 
 that he who is the God of Order, and not of Confu- 
 fion, will fuffer Confufion finally to prevail. On 
 the contrary, it is moft natural to think, that he will 
 adjuft and compofe every difference, reform what 
 is irregular, reduce what is out of courfe, correft 
 what is erroneous, compleat what is imperfed:, fill 
 up what is wanting, and in every refpeft red:ify 
 what is amifs both in the natural and moral World. 
 For if God once brought Order out of Confufion, 
 and caufed a moft beautiful and regular Syftem to 
 arife out of an uninform'd indigefled Chaos^ why 
 may, and will he not do the like again ? Is it more 
 difficult to reform the World, than it was at firft to 
 form it ? — To mend than to make it ? Or is it not 
 eafier to rellore things to their firff ff ate of Harmo- 
 ny, than to produce Harmony where there was none 
 before .^ 
 
 If a curious piece of clock-work be put out of or- 
 der, by accident or defign, and be capable of beino- 
 repair*d, and perhaps improved beyond what it was 
 before, the artift who made it will undoubtedly 
 think his fkill well bellowed for that purpofc. And 
 that the prefent ftate of things is not fo bad, as to 
 render them incapable of being fet at rights, and 
 xeftored to their original pcrfedion, is evident, tho* 
 from no other coniideration, yet from this, that 
 God Almighty continues them lb long in being -, for 
 
 which 
 
190 ^his Hypothe/is agreeable 
 
 which no other realbn worthy of him can be af- 
 fign'd. 
 
 No Phyfician of chara6ter will continue prefcrib- 
 ing for a Patient, and keep him upon his hands, 
 when at the fame time he defpairs of his Recovery ; 
 and had the fhock of the Fall been fo terrible, as not 
 to admit of a Cure, or poflibility of recovering 
 from it, I cannot help thinking that all things would 
 have been immediately diffoived, and we fhould, 
 long ago, have had new Heavens, and a new Earth 
 in their ftead. But on the contrary we may obferve 
 that all parts of Nature are eiidued with a principle 
 not only to preferve their ftate, but to advance it, 
 and that every thing has a tendency to its own perfec- 
 tion. This is a general law imprefs'd upon Nature, 
 which muft at length attain its end, unlefs we fup- 
 pofe that Nature, or rather its author, doth fome 
 things in vain, and particularly that this law is given 
 and operates to no end. In a word, either this world, 
 as it is at prefent, is capable of being alter'd for the 
 better, and reflored to its original Beauty, Order, 
 and Harmony, in all and every Part, or it is not : 
 If not, why is it continued fo long in Being ? If it 
 be, we have all the reafon in the world to expeft, 
 that a good and gracious God will in his good Time 
 bring it to pafs. 
 
 ' But the continuance of the World fo long with- 
 ' out any remarkable Change for the better,' as the 
 Objeclor will fuppofe, ' may be rather thought an 
 
 * argument of the contrary. Where is the promife 
 
 * of his coming'^, faid the Scoffers of old, 2 Pet. iii. 4. 
 ' fave that the fathers are fallen afleep^ all things 
 
 * continue as they were from the beginning. He that 
 ' made the World in fix Days, might furely have 
 ' repaired its Breaches in Icfs than 6000 Years, if 
 ' he had been minded to have done it at all : But 
 
 ' iince 
 
to the Attributes of God. 191 
 
 • fince he has delay'd it fo long, it is to be prefum- 
 
 * ed he never intends it.* 
 
 Now, that it is wrong to fuppofe the World is 
 not confiderably reform'd and improved, 1 have al- 
 ready fhewn at large in the foregoing chapters, 
 Notwithflanding, it rnuft be owned, that at firit 
 fight it is matter of wonder, that the works of the 
 Creation, which were finifhed in fo fhort a time, 
 could be thrown fo much out of order by any crea- 
 ted power, as not to be reduced to their firft harmo- 
 ny and regularity in the courfe of fuch a number of 
 ages as have fince palTed. But it the matter be con- 
 fider'd a little more nearly, our wonder will ceafe : 
 For we miiji not be ignorant of tbis^ that one day 
 with the Lord is as 1000 Tears^ and 1000 years 
 as one day — T^he Lord ii not Jlack^ as men count jlack- 
 nefs. 1 Pet. iii. 8, 9. All Time is alike to him, 
 and bears the fame proportion to Eternity, which is 
 none at all. He, for his part, could inftantly liave 
 fet all at rights again, but the Remcra is owing alto- 
 gether to ourfelves. When he made the world, he 
 had only lifelefs matter to work upon, the lav/s of 
 which being few and fimple, occafioned no delays, 
 and therefore he had nothing to do, but to ifllie out 
 his Almighty Fiat^ and at once to fpeak it into be- 
 ing. But when the world came to need his hand a 
 fecond time, the cafe was altcr'd. The great Ma- 
 chine was then in motion, and nature alive in all its 
 parts, conduced by an infinite variety of fecond 
 Caufes, and thefe again fubjefled to an infinite va- 
 riety of Laws, which the great author of nature had 
 impofed upon it. 
 
 The World was alfo ftock'd with various kinds 
 of inhabitants, the chief of which was Man, a com- 
 pound being, endowtd with freedom of will. There- 
 fore the laws relating to him muft be more com- 
 pounded 
 
192 ^his Hypothefis agreeable 
 
 pounded and complicated in their nature, and all 
 confiftent with his native liberty.* 
 
 Now as God governs all things according to their 
 natures, the laws of nature muft be the rules of his 
 conduft, in his Redintegration of the World, other- 
 wife it would be dejir eying inftead of rejloring : And, 
 particularly, no one meafure could be taken, that 
 violated or infringed human liberty. 
 
 Therefore, as the Reformation of the World is 
 not in the nature of the thing to be completed by 
 God alone, but requires the joynt-concurrence of 
 many others — As there are feveral parties that muft 
 be concern*d in it, and contribute their parts to- 
 wards it — In this view of the matter the Renova- 
 tion of the World feems to be a more tedious and o- 
 perofe talk than the firft Creation of it, tho' that be- 
 fpeaks the greateft exertion of power. But, in truth, 
 both are equally above our comprehenfions, and both 
 equally eafy to him in themfelves. 
 
 The only difference is, that in the one cafe Hcl 
 afted alone, in the other, the Concurrence of his 
 Creatures is neceffary ; and therefore God, by the 
 laws of his conduct, cannot proceed any fafter in 
 this great work than Man co-operates with him. In 
 the nature of the thing it can advance but by flow 
 degrees, and that it goes on no fafter, proves no- 
 thing but the long-fuffering of God, and perverfe- 
 nefs of Man. How long this frowardnefs will con- 
 tinue, is among the fecrets of the Almighty, who 
 alone fees the hearts of all men that are, and are to 
 be, and what degrees of depravity are to be over- 
 come in each -, but that an univerfal Renovation will 
 at length take place, can admit of no doubt, unlefs 
 we think the Goodnefs, the Wifdom, the Power of 
 pOD muft yield to the Wickednefs of Man. 
 
 More- 
 
 * See Dr /r,'>?'s Origin of Evil. B 5. Sed. 5. Siibf.a. 3. Or 
 Mr iflfw's Tranflation of it, p. 415. 
 
en the World's Retiovatiori. i 
 
 93 
 
 Moreover, 
 Why was the firft and belt fcene of the World fo 
 fliort, that it pafs'd away hke a dream or Ihadow, 
 if it never is to come on the ftage again ? Why were 
 only one man and woman admitted to be fpedators 
 of it, and all future generations not only tor ever 
 deprived of enjoying it, but moreover mortified 
 ■with the defcription of what had been lb entertaining 
 to behold and bear a Part in? Surely the conclufion 
 of this great Drama will not fall fo far fhort of its Be- 
 ginning ! It miift end with univerfal Applaufe ; but 
 hoiv can it end fo, if it ends worfe than it began ? 
 The confummate Wifdomofthe great contriver and 
 conduftor of it will not permit fuch a thought. 
 
 ' What,' fays a late Writer, who feems to be no 
 hearty friend to Revelation — ' What could 'Tully 
 ' have judged of the formation of a Paradife, and 
 ' all that apparatus and provifion for the blifs and im- 
 ' mortality of the firft Pair ; which was no fooner 
 . ' made than forfeited, and like a theatrical Scene, 
 * changed in an Inftant to a profpe6l of mifery and 
 
 ' barrennefs * ?' Why, prefented thus funply 
 
 and abftraftedly in itfelf, I believe he would have 
 been at a lofs what to have judged of it. But fliould 
 you tell him, that this ftate was defign'd for Man 
 tliroughout tJie whole period of the World's exif- 
 tence— that he very early and unhappily turned him- 
 felf out of it— -but that God, notwithftanding, from 
 that very moment, hath been contriving, and con- 
 tinually making proper difpofitions for his Reftora- 
 tion to it— and that, as foon as his own perverfenefs 
 yields to it, he fhall b.- actually fo reftored, and fe- 
 cured in the enjoyment of it, till the end of time- 
 In this view of the matter, 'Tully would be lb far from 
 thinking the formation of Paradife a vain work, 
 without any final caufe, and would be fo far from 
 
 O cenfur- 
 
 * Letter to Ds Wattrldnd, is'c^ 
 
194 ^f^^^ Hypothefts agreeable 
 
 cenfiiring the Immutability of God upon that account, 
 that he would be prefently ftruck with a profound 
 admiration of the length and breadth, depth and height 
 of the divine wifdom and goodnefs in this great 
 work, and would have left us fome fine reflection to 
 this purpofe. And it is to be hoped, that the learn- 
 ed writer of his life^ when he feriouHy confiders it, 
 will be no lefs affe<5led with a pious adoration of it. 
 
 To draw to a conclufion of this argument. He 
 who has the reins of the world's government in his 
 hands, will undoubtedly guide it at length into its 
 right courfe, and improve it to the perfeft model 
 after which he at firft framed it. He whofe Provi- 
 dence interefls itfelf fo much in the Confervation of 
 all things, will furely think their Reformation like- 
 wife at lead equally worthy of his regard : Nor will 
 he content himfelf with reforming by halves, but 
 will in the end make it a perfect work. On the 
 other hand, if the Continuation of all things in their 
 prefent ftate furnifhes an argument in proof of a Pro- 
 vidence, how is this argument ftrengthen*d and im- 
 proved on fuppofition of a melioration ? In a word, 
 he who is Goodnefs itfelf will furely heal all the ma- 
 ladies and evils of the World, and convert every 
 thing into Good. 
 
 Thus we fee how all the Attributes of God are 
 concerned for the Recovery of the World to its firft 
 ftate, and how the reafons of things concur there- 
 with. 
 
 L-ct us now fee how agreeable this notion is to the 
 nature of Man. And what can be more natural to 
 fiiT:)Dofe, than that Man fhall be what he was before ? 
 'J hat he (hall get the better of an old hereditary dif- ^ 
 temper ? Shall overcome an infirm fickly conftitu- 
 tion, derived to him from his anceftors •, and by a 
 proper care and regimen be reftored to perfect health, 
 
 vigour 
 
to the Nature of Man, 195 
 
 Vigour and vivacity ? It is a common Aphorifm, 
 that what has been may be : And a very wife Man 
 goes farther, and fays, — that the thing which hath 
 been is that which jhall he — and that there is no new 
 thing under the fun. Ecclef i. 9. And again, Ch. 
 iii. 15, That which is to be, hath already been., and 
 God requireth, er (according to the Vulgate) renew- 
 eth that which is pafi. Dens inftaurat quod ahiit. 
 It will then be no new, nor unnatural thing for Man 
 to regain his firft fituation, and become the creature 
 that God made him. 
 
 This cannot furely be thought an extravagant fan- 
 cy, to fuppofe Man not to change his Nature, but 
 to perfedH: it. It is not fuppofing iiim to be changed 
 into a Cherub or Seraph (tho' that is not too great a 
 change to be hoped for in a future ilate) but to con- 
 tinue mere Man ftill, or rather to become more a 
 Man than he was before. As this is a ftate which 
 mankind has been once in, the cafe is different, and 
 the recovery of it much cafier, than if we had been 
 to attain fome exalted (late we never were in before. 
 For fince Man fell from his original innocence, why 
 may he not rife to it again } The diftance and tran- 
 fition being the fame from a fuppofed ftate of cor- 
 ruption, to a fuppofed Hate of righteoufnefs, as from 
 the like ftate of righteoufnefs, to the like ftate of 
 corruption. In a word, this fuppofition has nothing 
 difficult or fupcrnatural in it, except that it requires 
 fupernatural aid to bring it to pafs -, it being really 
 no more than what is every way rational, and fuitable 
 to our nature, and perftcflive of it, and what we 
 may well conceive our natural powers able to pro- 
 duce, when ftrcngthen'd and affifted by divine 
 Grace. 
 
 In moft other cafes Men are apt to think more 
 
 highly of themfelves than they ought to think, and 
 
 they are rarely known to err on the contrary fide : 
 
 O 2 And 
 
196 I'his Hypothejis agreeable 
 
 And yet in this refped they are humble to a fault, 
 being poiTefsMwith a ftrange prejudice againft them- 
 felves and their own abiHties. Nor is it the moft in- 
 confiderable misfortune occafioned by the Fall, that 
 Man fhould defpair of recovering from it, this be- 
 ing the way effectually to prevent it. There is no 
 greater injury done to human Nature, than to have 
 this mean opinion of it. Falfo quei'itur de natura 
 fua genus humanum quod imhecillis fit, * All thofe 
 complaints v/hich are made of the weaknefs of 
 human nature are for the moft part falfe and 
 groundlefs, and are more juftly chargeable on our 
 own indolence : For had we but induftry to make a 
 due application of our faculties, we fhould find that 
 we wanted nothing elfe ; the greateft differences 
 which appear between one man and another having 
 been obferved to proceed generally from this fingle 
 virtue ; but a languid Diffidence is ever a fatal ene- 
 my to great attainments. ' Men feem,' fays Lord 
 Bacon, ' neither well to underftand their riches, nor 
 * their ftrength -, of the former they believe greater 
 ' things than they ihould, and of the latter much 
 ' lefs. And from hence certan fatal pillars have 
 ' bounded the progrefs of Learning,' -f — and, we 
 may add, of Improvement in general. 
 
 As it is more for the honour of our Nature to 
 think the beft of it, fo this principle alone carried 
 into praftice would go a great way towards proving" 
 itfelf. For many there are, who, with a moderate 
 fhare of abilities, have, by dint of refolution and ap- 
 plication, made themfelves mafters of attainments, 
 which at firft exceeded their utmofb hopes and ex- 
 pectations, (I and which greater Genius's never had 
 the courage to attempt. And if Men would ufe the 
 
 fame 
 
 * Salufl. Bell. Jugurth. f Lord Bncoti's Remains. 
 
 ■ ■' ' Cknens Ales, Pa dag. Lio, i. Cap. 12. 
 
to the Nature of Man, 167 
 
 fame diligence in correfting the depravity and vici- 
 oufnefs of their Natures, as they do in mafteria^ o- 
 ther difficulties, it would appear how tar hu.nan 
 Nature were able to go towards perfedion. Difco- 
 veries and improvements have been made in thefe 
 latter ages in feveral aits and fciences, which to for- 
 mer times feem'd as impoflible, and as tar beyond 
 the power of Man, as what I am arguing for can 
 feem to any one now : And no doubt but there are 
 difcoveries referved for future ages, of which we at 
 this time never dream. The ufe I would make of 
 this Refleftion here is only this, that we ought not 
 to be too diffident of ourfelves, nor too raffi in un- 
 dervaluing the abilities of human Nature, and the 
 talents with which God hath endow'd us. 
 
 It is a common faying, that few People know their 
 own JVeaknefs •, but it is as true a one that few Peo- 
 ple know their own Strength, till they are put to it, 
 and refolved in the Profecution of any Defign. And 
 the Obfervation that none ever pufh'd their Capacity 
 in matters of Knowledge as far as it was able to ex- 
 tend, holds as true in matters of Morality ^ that few 
 or none ever exerted their Abilities, as tar as tiiey 
 were able to carry them, to the utmoft ftretch of 
 their power in the puriuit of Virtue. Seed\ Sermons, 
 Difc. I. It is falfe Humility — and Ingratitude to 
 God to have low derogatory Thoughts of human 
 Nature in general^ as if it were entirely and effencial- 
 iy corrupt, without any Mixture of Goodnefs. ih. 
 Vol. 2. Serm. i. 
 
 I fliall conclude this Head and Chapter with the 
 opinion of a great Man of our own, of the laft age, 
 who, from his own experience, ought to be allowe J. 
 capable of forming a good judgment of the matter 
 in hand : I mean the Honourable Mr Boyle -, part of 
 whole excellent charaiter it is, ' That he had great 
 ' notions of what human nature might be brought 
 
 O 3 ' to.' 
 
198 l^his Hypothejls agreeable, &c. 
 
 ' to.' * And it is much to be regretted that any oF 
 his notions ihoiild be lolt, but efpecially, that he 
 was difcouraged from propagating his notions in this 
 refpe(5l, by the incapacity, as he complain'd, of 
 mankind to receive them. This confideration, I 
 mufl own, is a great condemnation of the rafhnefs 
 of this undertaking, v/hich perhaps had been pre- 
 vented and render'd unneceffary, had he made his 
 thoughts known to the world. 
 
 However, as he himfelf was one of the greateft 
 inftances of the capacity and improvement of human 
 Nature, which the age he Hved in, or any other ever 
 produced, this judgment of his was probably form'd 
 upon the experience of his own extraordinary attain- 
 ments -, none of which, however confiderable they 
 were in other refpedis, refined and ennobled his 
 Mind to fo great a degree as the remarkable heights 
 in piety and religion, to which he advanced. Con- 
 cerning which it is obfcrved, ' That it Ihews Merv 
 
 * in the fimpleft and moft convincing of all argu- 
 ' ments, what the human Nature is capable of, and 
 ' what the Chriftian Religion can add to it — how far 
 ' it can both reward and exalt it.* f And a little be- 
 fore, ' what a-thing would Mankind become, if we 
 
 * had many fuch ?' Would it not then incline us to 
 think that the Recovery of human Nature is not im • 
 pofllble ? 
 
 * See his Funeral Sermon, by Bilhop Burnet, p. 25. 
 t ib. p. 28. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
C H A p. XI. 
 
 Wherein it is fiewji, T'hat the Chrifiimi Reli- 
 gion, in the general Defgn and T^endency of 
 it, is calculated for the Recove7'y of fallen 
 Man to his primitive State. 
 
 THE Arguments which have been hitherto 
 ufed in behalf of this Doctrine, were de- 
 fign'd only as auxiliaries to the main force, 
 which lay behind, and is now advancing. As it is 
 the holy Scripture alone which gives an Account of 
 the Fall of Man, it is upon the Scripture we muft 
 build our hope of Recovery, which alone can afford 
 any certain light concerning this Matter. To the 
 Scripture therefore let us repair, ' To the Law, and 
 ' to the Teftimony.* Ifa. viii. 20. And let the pre- 
 fent Hypothefis either ftand or fall by it. 
 
 I'he lad Difpenfation that either hath been, or will 
 be vouchiafcd unto Men, is the Gofpel. It is then 
 in virtue of the Gofpel Difpenfation, that human 
 Nature fliall recover its loft eftatc, if it is to be re- 
 covered at all. Let us therefore examine how tar 
 our Saviour Chrift doth propofe, and the Gofpel 
 doth afford a remedy for the corruption of our Na- 
 ture , and what foundation it yields to believe, that 
 Man fhould be reftored by it to the fame perfection 
 in which he was created. And as we are now come 
 to the merits ofthecaufe, I fhall be the more parti- 
 cular in the examination of it. 
 
 In order hereto, let us confider, firft, the Na- 
 ture and Befign of Chriftianity in general, the Ufe 
 and Ry^d tor which it is intended. 
 
 And this will appear to be none other, than the 
 O 4 rebuild- 
 
200 T'endency of Chrifiianity 
 
 rebuilding of the ruins of our Nature •, healing tlic 
 difeafes of our immortal Souls •, the purifying and 
 refining of them from the Corruptions they are de- 
 filed with i repairing the divine Image in them ; and 
 reltoring both them, and the Tabernacles they fo- 
 journ in, to their primitive Integrity and Soundnefs: 
 Which as it is the nobleft and moft generous defign 
 in itfelf, and the moft worthy of its author, fo is it 
 the profefs'd defign of the Gofpel, as is vifible from . 
 the whole fcope and tenor of it, 
 
 For this purpofe it was that the Son of God took 
 human nature upon him, njiz. to fanftify, elevate, 
 and ennoble it by its union with the divine \ and ap- 
 plied to it the merits of his own fufferings, in order 
 to expiate its guilt, and to reinftate it in the favour 
 of God, and its primitive innocence. This was the 
 end for which, as the Apoflle declares, he gave 
 himfelf for us, viz. 'That he might redeem us from 
 ALL iniquity^ and purify unto himfelf a peculiar peo- 
 ple zealous of good tvorks. Tit. ii. 15. Wi'Ji this 
 view he likewife gave us a moft divine body of 
 Laws, in their own nature admirably fitted for this 
 end, recomm.ended by his own moft holy example, 
 enforced by the moft powerful fanftions, and fur- 
 nifh'd with fuch external means, and internal alTif- 
 tances, as will enable us to perform them. Accor- 
 dingly, very great effefts are afcribed to the Gof- 
 pel, with regard to the Reformation of the World. 
 It is called the Power of God unto Salvation. Rom. 
 i. 16. And the Gofpel-Age is call'd the Time of 
 Reformation. Heb. ix, 10. and the Regeneration. 
 Mat. xix. 28. AndChriftianity is reprefented as a 
 very exalted ftate, as a ftate of great attainments^, 
 both in knowledge, and fanftity of mind and man- 
 ners. Thus the light of the Gofpel is every where 
 in Scripture fpoken of in very high terms, as it real- 
 ly has already brought great light into the world ; 
 
 and 
 
to rejlore fallen Man. 201 
 
 and Chriftians are fuppofed to be greatly illuminated 
 in their minds, and faid to be filled with the know- 
 ledge of God's w///, in all ivifdom and fpiritual un- 
 der/landing. Col. i. 9. And, ch. iii. 10. having 
 put on the new Man, to he renewed in knowUdge af- 
 ter the image of him that created him. 
 
 So likewife in refpedl of Holinefs, wc are faid to 
 he purged and purified from cur fins — to have cfcaped 
 the corruption which is in the world through lujl — 
 that Chrifi may prefent us holy and unhlameahle^ and 
 unreproveahle in his fight. Col. i. 22. And left we 
 Ihould imagine that the improvement and reformn- 
 tion fuppoied to be wrought in us by Chriilianity, 
 amounts to no more than fome partial alteration for 
 the better, we are given to underfcand, that it is de- 
 fign'd to work a thorough change in us. Thus it is 
 reprefented as a llate ot Regeneration, or new Birth ; 
 of Renovation, or new Creation: Which feveral 
 terms fuppofe a ftate of greater purity than the pre- 
 fent, from which we are departed, and to which, 
 by our Regeneration or Renovation, we are to be 
 reftored. Thus, if any Man be in Chriji, he is faid 
 to be anew Creature. 2. Cor. v. 17. Nay, that to 
 this End, it is abfolutely necefTary we fhould be re- 
 generated and born again. Jo. iii. 3. — that we put off 
 the old man, be renewed in the fpirit of our mind, and 
 put on the new man, which after God is created in 
 right eoufncfs and true holinefs. Eph. iv. 22. So again, 
 we are faid, to be wcffd, to be fanSlified, to bejuf- 
 tified, in the name of our Lord Jefus, and by the Spi^ 
 rit of our God. i Cor. vi. 11. Now, to be fandi- 
 fied, in the proper fjiife of the v/ord, is to be made 
 holy i and to be juitified, is to be made juft : Nor 
 are we any farther fantlified or juftified in Chrill, 
 than we become aclually holy and juft in our lives, 
 and are cloathed with real and inward righteoufnefs. 
 Some Divines have fancied an imputative kind of 
 
 riglN 
 
202 1*endency of Chri/rianity 
 
 righteoufnefsjandthatwearenootherwifejuftify'dthan 
 as the righteoufnefsofChrift is imputed, and, as it were, 
 transferr'd to us : But this notion of Julliiication has 
 been fliewn to have no foundation in Scripture, and 
 to be attended with dangerous confequences.* In- 
 deed, in fome places of Scripture, Juflification fig- 
 nifies being accounted juft through the Merits of 
 cur Saviour, when we ar." not really {o in ourfelves. 
 And this is a very neceffary fenfe of it, that finners, 
 as men in this imperfeft ft ate are, can be juftified 
 at all. But then they are no farther juftified even 
 in this fenfe, nor receive the rewards cf Juftification, 
 than in proportion to their feveral attainments of real 
 and inherent Righteoufnels. And this, as I faid, is 
 what is meant by Juftification, in the ftri6l and pro- 
 per notion of the word, viz. adual and inherent 
 Righteoufnels. And in this its proper fenfe, it is 
 neccfTarily to be underftood in feveral places of holy 
 v/rit, as m James ii. 21, 24. and Rev. xxii. 11. 
 Since then the holy Scriptures promife and under- 
 take to juftify and fandtify the difciples of Chrift in 
 the proper fenfe of the words, our holy religion hath 
 undoubtedly in itfelf virtue and efficacy fufficient for 
 that purpofe : viz. to make us holy as he is holy, and 
 righteous., as he is jujl and righteous •, and will ac- 
 cordingly render us lb, and fave us to the uttermofi., 
 when we co-operate with it, and permit it to have 
 its perfect work. 
 
 Moreover, we are taught, that there is a myfti- 
 cal union and communion between Chrift and his 
 Church — that he efteems it as his body., and Chrifti- 
 ans in particular, as his members ; whofe bodies are 
 likewife call'd, the temple cf the Holy Ghojl., to 
 which, when fitted for his reception, we are ailured 
 he will vouchfafe his prefence in fo intimate and ef- 
 feftual a manner, that it is expreiTed by his dwelling 
 and reftding in them, Thefe are fome of thofe ex 
 
 ceeding 
 
 * See Bifi^op BulPaExamen cenfunf, &-c. 
 
to rejlore J alien Man. 203 
 
 ceedmg great and precious promifes which are given 
 us, that, in virtue of them, we may be partakers of 
 the Divine Nature. 2 Pet. i. 4. and be made the 
 fons of God : All which muft give us very exalted 
 notions of the power and influence of our moft holy- 
 religion, and of thofe high degrees of excellence, to 
 which our Nature, in virtue of it, is capable of be- 
 ing advanced. 
 
 But, which is more to my purpofe, the defign of 
 Chriftianity is in Scripture fet forth to be the perfec- 
 tion of our nature -, and accordingly it is, in its mofl 
 advanced ftate, reprefented as a Itate of Perfe6lion. 
 That this is the defign of it is occafionally fhewn 
 by the author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews -, who, 
 to convince them of the fuperior excellence of the 
 Chriftian Religion, and the necelTity of its inftitution, 
 makes a comparifon between it and the Law o^ Mo- 
 fes, in which he fhews the Infufficiency of the one, 
 and the Sufficiency of the other for the perfeding of 
 our Natures. For thus he argues, ch. vii. 11. If 
 perfection were of the 'L.QNiiicdX priejthood, what fur- 
 ther need voas there., that another priefi fhould rife 
 after the order ^/Melchifedec ? implying undoubted- 
 ly, that Perfection was to be attain'd under the 
 priefthood of this latter order. But, v. 19. he ex- 
 preflfes himfelf in moredire6tand pofitive terms. For 
 the Law made nothing (i. e. no Man) perfect, but 
 the bringing in of a better hope — Our 1 ranllation 
 adds — did. But I fhould chufe to fupply the de- 
 I fign'd omilTion of the Verb in the original by — -fliall 
 do, or, is capable of doing i fince this is not aftually 
 done, or efFecfted as yet. To the fame purpofe he 
 reafons, ch, x. i . For the haw having a fhadow of 
 good things to come, and not the very image of the 
 things, can never with thofe facrifices, which they 
 offered year by year continually, make the comers there- 
 mto perfe^. On the other hand , fpeaking of Chrifl, 
 
204 ^tendency of Chrijlianity 
 
 he fays, By one offering he hath perfe5fed for ever 
 them that are fanSiified, v. 14. And the fame dc- 
 fign is perfued throughout the Epiftle. 
 
 That Perfeftion is the deligii of Chriftianity, is 
 evident from other parts of Scripture. Thus, the 
 ufe and end of Scripture in general is faid to be, That 
 the man of God may be perfe^, thoroughly furnifh'd 
 unto alt good works. 1 Tim. iii. 17, And the chrifti- 
 an minifcry was inftituted for no other end, than the 
 ferfeEling of the faints^ the work of the miniflry^ ihs 
 edifying of the body of Chrifi ; //// we all come unto 
 a -perfect man, unto the meafure of the flature of the 
 fulnefs of Chrifi. Eph. iv. 12, 13. 
 
 Accordingly, the great Defign of our Saviour's 
 coming is faid to be, in order to promote and per- 
 fedl an exafl obedience to the whole body of the mo- 
 ral Law ; as he himfelf informs us, that He came not 
 to defiroy the Law, but to fulfil it. Matt. v. 1 7. and 
 that, not only by paying a full and perfe6l obe- 
 dience to it himfelf, but by requiring and enabling 
 his difciples likewife to fulfil it in fuch a manner, as 
 is evident from the following part of the Chapter ; 
 where he lays down the precepts in a ftrifter fenfe 
 than they were before underftood to have : And 
 what may ferve as a confirmation hereof, St. Paul 
 likewife tells us, that the end of God's fending his 
 Son was, That the righteoufnefs of the Law might be 
 fulfilled in, or. rather, by us (as it may be tranllated, 
 more agreeably to the Context) who walk not after 
 the flefh, but after the Spirit. Rom. viii. 4. 
 
 Agreeably hereto, Chriftianity, in its moft ad- 
 vanced flate, is, as I faid before, reprefented as a 
 ftate of Perfedion. Thus Chriftians, as foon as the 
 foundation of their rehgion is laid, and the firft prin- 
 ciples of it learn'd, are exhorted to go on unto Per- 
 fection. Heb. vi. I. And that we may the better un- 
 derftand what is meant by thatwerd, St James com- 
 ments 
 
ryjlore fallen Man, 205 
 
 ments upon it, ch. i. 4. where he exhorts his Jewijh 
 Converts, to let patience have her perfe5i work, that 
 they might he perfe£f a?2d entire, wanting nothing. 
 And St Peter, i £p. v. 10. where he prays in this 
 manner — The God of all Grace make you perfect, ftab- 
 lijh, firengthen, fettle you. And St Paul, Col. iv. 
 1 2 . where he tells them that Epaphras labour'* d fer- 
 vently for them in prayer, that they might ft and per- 
 fect and complete in all the will of God. And to 
 mention no more, our Saviour gives us an exprels 
 command to this purpofe, Matt. v. 48. Beye per- 
 fe^, as your Father which is in Heaven is perfeof. 
 Where we fee there are no bounds fet to this duty, 
 but we are to imitate and afpire to the Perfeftion, 
 not of Angels, or any created beings, but of God 
 himfelf, as far as the limits of our nature will admit. 
 
 This is to be the ftudy and endeavour of Chriflians : 
 Perfeftion is the mark they are to aim at, which is 
 nothing elfe but the moral accomplifliment of hu- 
 man nature. Or, as the Roman Orator defines Vir- 
 tue, ' Eft virtus nihil aliud quam in fe perfecta, ^ 
 ' ad fummum perdue t a Natura.*^ which gives us a 
 juft idea of human perfection. This is to be attained 
 by a diligent cultivation and improvement of our 
 natures, and by making fuch a conftant and vigor- 
 ous progrefs and proficiency in Virtue, as at Lift will 
 bring us to fuch a maturity in it, as Man in this life 
 is capable of 
 
 But low and grovelling minds cannot look up to 
 fuch heights. ' They are ftartled at the very men- 
 
 * tion of Perfeflion, and have entcrtain'd fuchhumbhi 
 ' thoughts, not only of human Nature, but as it 
 ' feems of divine Grace too, and evangelical righte- 
 
 * oufnefs, that all talk of Perfeftion feems to them 
 
 * like the preaching ot a new Ciofpel, and an obtrud- 
 
 ' i"g 
 
 • Ci(. de kgil/tis, Lib. I. 
 
2o6 Chrijiianky calculated for 
 
 *■ ing upon the world a fantaftic fcheme of proud 
 * and pretended Morality.* 
 
 Is Perfection therefore only an empty name ? a 
 mere ideal thing, mention'd and recommended in 
 Scripture only to amufe and tantalize us ? but never 
 feriouQy intended for the attainment of weak mor- 
 tals, however peremptorily commanded and en- 
 joyn'd ? Or rather, does not this fingle confideration, 
 that it is enjoyn'd, fufficiently imply that it is at- 
 tainable •, fince it is abfurd and impious to fuppofej 
 that God would be fo fevere a tafk-mafter, as to re- 
 quire (^nV^ without 7?r<3w, and impofe fuch a com- 
 mand upon his creatures, as were either naturally or 
 morally impoflible to be fulfill'd by them ? 
 
 Notwithilanding, as it is notorious in fadl, not 
 only that the very beft Chriftians of our own times^ 
 but the mod eminent Saints recorded in Scripture, 
 have not been without their failings and infirmities, 
 nay, have fallen into wilful fins, and thofe of the 
 deepeft dye -, and as fo very few have been able to 
 attain Perfe6lion in any eminent degree ; for this 
 reafon, the pofiibility of its being attain' d by any is 
 queftion'd not only by ordinary Chriftians, but 
 moreover by many eminent Divines: And therefore 
 feveral, both antients and moderns, who cannot be 
 perfuaded, that Perfection belongs to this ftate, are 
 contented to place it in a progrefs towards it in this 
 life, referving the full attainment of it for the next. 
 
 Now, tho' I grant, that Man is not capable of ad- 
 vancing to fuch a ftate in this Life, nor perhaps in 
 the next,'}" as not to admit of any Improvement ; yet 
 it is needlefs to obferve, how low and inadequate a 
 notion of Perfection this is, and what an imperfect 
 thing it makes of it. The truth is, the mean opi- 
 nions 
 
 * Lucas, or. Peifcftion. 
 
 f See ScQi\ ChriAian Life. 0/ the La:o of Pafefuon. Part 
 2d. ch. vii. 
 
the Recovery of fallen Men, 207 
 
 nibns which Men have of the abiUties of human Na- 
 ture, form'd upon the poor proficiency which they 
 obferve Chriftians generally to make, have occa- 
 fion'd the ftraining of Scripture, in order to make it 
 iloop to the prefent ftate of Religion in the world. 
 Hereby they fix the ftandard of Perfe6lion, and 
 Scripture is made a leaden rule of, which they bend 
 to their own pre-conceived notions, inftead of rai- 
 fing their notions to a conformity with it. 
 
 Nature, I own, ought to be confulted as well as 
 Scripture •, and if it be alleged, that they are not re- 
 concileable to each other, whilll the former conti- 
 nues in its prefent infirm and corrupt ftate, other- 
 wife than by interpreting Scripture-Perfedioa in 
 fome fuch a reftrain'd and qualified fenfe as this — i 
 grant it : But then I fhould be glad to know why 
 fuch a continuance of Nature in its prefent corrupt 
 ftate is fuppofed, when it is the protefs'd defign of 
 Chriftianity to remove it-, unlefs we think it an in- 
 fufficient means for this end j or that God will fuftlr 
 Ills own defigns to be defeated. 
 
 Various have been the difputes which, from St 
 Aujiin\ days to the prefent, have been agitated be- 
 tween feveral fedls and denominations of Chriftians, 
 cgncerning Perfeftion, and the attainablenefs of it : 
 The chief ground of which I take to have been the 
 fuppofition, that human Nature is not generally capa- 
 ble of rifing above its prefent level. And, there- 
 fore, thofe who have form'd the higheft notions of 
 Perfedlion — have pretended moft to it — have moft 
 ftrongly recommended it to others, and pleaded for 
 the attainablenefs of it, have met with fo little fuc- 
 cefs ; but have generally been look'd upon as not 
 much better than Enthufiafts -, and their labours have 
 cither tended to make odiers fuch, or have been re- 
 ceived with coldnefs and indifference, if not rejeded 
 with contempt. And indeed, while we fuppofe the 
 
 prefer t 
 
2oB Chrijlianify calculated for 
 
 prefent degeneracy of human Nature to be invincH 
 ble, we cannot form any notion of human Perfeftion, 
 but what neceflarily includes a contradiction in it. 
 For, either we muft fuppofe it greatly alloy'd with 
 Imperfection, which dellroys the very idea of it ; 
 or, if we underftand it in its juft fenfe and full im- 
 port, we muft, by the fuppofition, give up the at- 
 tainablenefs of it. So that all talk about Perfection 
 muft, on this fuppofition, be abfurd and idle, and 
 all pretences to it muft become airy and chimerical. 
 
 But if, on the other hand, we fuppofe, that Na- 
 ture fhall by degrees be fo refined by Grace, as at 
 length to be fully recover'd of its prefent diforders ; 
 then all difficulties immediately vaniih, and we may 
 eafiiy apprehend what is meant by Chriftian Perfec- 
 tion in its full extent ; this being but another word 
 for the Recovery of the original Perfection of our 
 Nature, to which, when it is arrived at its full 
 Height, I conceive it will be in no refpeCt infe- 
 rior. 
 
 This, and this alone, in ftriCt propriety of fpeech, 
 deferves the name of human Perfection : But as Per- 
 fection admits of degrees, and as there are feveral 
 intermediate ftages of it, through which we muft 
 pals in our progrefs towards it, our arrival at any of 
 rhefe may, in a lower and lefs proper {(tn'it^ be 
 term'd a ftate of Perfection, and the higher we 
 climb, the more perfeCt we ftiall be ; till at length 
 we are fafely arriv'd at, and firmly eftablifti'd in the 
 higheft and moft confummate pitch of it, from 
 which at firft we fell. 
 
 That human Nature ftiall in this life arrive at fuch 
 a complete ftate of Perfection as this, befides what 
 hath been already obferv*d, may be farther argued 
 from the confequences of the oppofite opinion. For 
 I conceive, that the doCtrine of the impoflibility of 
 attaining Perfection, and ireedom from Sin, is in- 
 jurious 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 209 
 
 jurious to our Saviour Chrift, derogates from the 
 power and virtue of his Sacrifice, and renders his 
 miflion and miniilry, as to the main end of it, in a 
 great meafure inefFedual. 
 
 For Chrift, among other ends, appear'd princi- 
 pally for this, i/'z. to remove and make an end of 
 Sin^ to finijh "Tranfgrejfion^ and to bring in everlaft- 
 ing Right eoufnefs. Dan. ix. 24. Hence he is faid to 
 have given himfelf for us, that he might redeem us 
 from ALL Iniquity y and purify unto himfelf a peculiar ^ 
 or (as the Word ^im^cnoi may as juftly, but in a, 
 more enlarged fenfe, be render'd) an excellent peo- 
 ple, zealous of good works. Tit. ii. 14. This re- 
 demption from all iniquity muft be made in this life, 
 as appears from tlie chara6ter of this excellent Peo- 
 ple, that they are to be zealous of good IVorks, for 
 which this is the proper feafon ; as we are told, that 
 we mufi work the Lord's work while it is called 
 Day, becaufe when the , Night cometh no man can 
 work. 
 
 Therefore to affirm, that we are never to be pu- 
 rified or redeem'd from all Iniquity in this life, is 
 to contradict the Apoftle, and to make Chrlft's gi- 
 ving himfelf for us, in a great meafure, void and in- 
 effeftual. Moreover, it is faid exprefly by St John, 
 as a known truth, that /or this purpofe the Son of 
 God was manifefled, that he might take away our 
 Sins, and deflroy the works cf the Devil. 1 Jo. 
 iii. 5, 8. 
 
 We are likewife told, that all Power is given unto 
 him in Heaven and Earth for this purpofe, and 
 that He is able to fiihdue all things unto himfelf. 
 Therefore, if we deny the poffibility of thefe ends 
 being attain'd, we overturn the do6lrine of Chrift, 
 and are injurious to the power and efficacy of his ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 It being, therefore, evident from hence, that 
 P Per- 
 
210 Chrifiianity calcuhted for 
 
 Perfedlion, not only may^ hwlfhall be attain'd by 
 Mankind in virtue of the Gofpel, however fhort of 
 it they generally are as yet : I proceed now to fhew, 
 that Chriftian Perfection fliall be equal or original 
 Perfection, and evangelical or original Righteouf- 
 nefs-, which I Hiall endeavour to do from certain 
 marks and characSterifticks of our mofl holy Reli- 
 gion, as well as from the conftituent parts ot it. 
 
 I. This may be argued from the character, ofEcc 
 and example of our Saviour Chriit. 
 
 And, 
 
 I. From his charafter and office as a Redeemer, 
 and from the nature of that Redemption which he 
 wrought for us. 
 
 It will not be difputed by any who believe the 
 Divinity cf Clirift, and allow of a Redemption 
 wrought by him, but that it muft be full, perfed, 
 and complete in itfelf, and that, as our Church ex- 
 preffes it, ' our Saviour Chrift, by his one oblation 
 •• of himfelf, once oifer'd, made a full, perfed, 
 ' and fufFicient facrifice, oblation, and fatisfadion 
 ' for the fins cf the whole world.' This, I fay, 
 tho' it be virtually denied, is not openly difputed, 
 even by the Papijls themfdves. 
 
 Now, as our Saviour has paid down the full price 
 of our redemption, commutative juftice requires, 
 that our redemption fhould be full and complete 
 likev/ife. Indeed, if any thing in his part were left 
 undone — If he had not fully atoned and fatisfied for 
 all our fins, original and adual — If he had fail'd in 
 his obedience in any particular — If any one Jot or 
 Tittle of the Law had not beenfulhll'd — In a word, 
 ,if he had been defedive in any one branch of his 
 oftice of Mediator, or Redeemer, that had been an 
 unfurmountable obftacle in our way. 
 
 But fincc he did not give up the Ghofi: till he 
 
 cried. 
 
the Recovefy of fallen Man. 2 1 1 
 
 cried, It is finijhW — Since he accompliflied every 
 thing written in the Law and rrophet^-, and wrought 
 a tuil and pcrl'cdl Redemption for us — have we not 
 reafon to think, that he will make the utmoft ad- 
 vantage of it in our behalf? And ttiat he will, as 
 our Advocate and Intcrcefibr, infift upon the riglit, 
 which he purchafcd at fo dear a rate ? Undoubtedly 
 he will : For cur Redeemer isfirciig, and he will tho- 
 rciighly plead cur Caufe. Jer. 1. 34. Since he hath 
 undertaken our Deliverance, he will uncioubtedly 
 complcat it effedually, and in his due tiir.e bring it 
 to a perfedl Work. 
 
 Now, it may not be amifs to enquire, with mo- 
 delly and humility, as efpecially becomes us wh.vn 
 we enter into the difquifition of the great Myfrery 
 of our Redemption-— it may not, I fay, be amiJs 
 thus to enquire. Whether, according to the com- 
 mon notion of Redemption, it fully anfvv'ers what 
 may be thus reafonably expecled from it, 
 
 A Redemption of perfons fuppofes a ftate of foine 
 great evil : Captivity, for inilance, or flavery, into 
 which they are fallen, and from which its buiinefs is 
 to fet them free, and re-inftatc them in the fame 
 circumftances and fituation they were in before. Now 
 mankind, by the tranfgreffion of our firft parents, 
 are fuppofed to have faU'n into fuch an evil ftate, a 
 flate of captivity and flavery of the worft fort, the 
 captivity and flavery of fm •, which they are bound 
 to chey in the lufts thereof^ and there becom.e obnox- 
 ious to death, and all the other ill confequences of 
 it, tem.poral and eternal. This is the ftate, and 
 thefe the evils, from wliich the Redemption of man- 
 kind by Jefus Chrifi undertakes to deliver them ; 
 which, according to the above definition of Re- 
 demption, it ought completely to do, and to reftore 
 them to the ftate they were in before they fell. Let 
 us, therefore, examine how far our Redemption, as 
 P 2 yz 
 
2 21 Chrijliamty calculated for 
 
 it is commonly underftood, may be faid to be pro- 
 ducflive of thele efFecfts ? 
 
 The evils of the Fall may be confider'd as twofold, 
 Tiz. temporal and fpiritual : And yet our Redemp- 
 tion, in the common notion of it, is not fuppofed 
 to be defign'd as a remedy for the temporal evils of 
 it at all, but for the fpiritual only : Tho' one would 
 think, that what is propofed as a cure for the greater 
 evil, might at the fame time remove the lefs. But 
 becaufe all Adani's, Pofterity have hitherto experien- 
 ced themfelves liable to labour and forrow, pain, 
 ficknefs and death •, therefore they conclude it al- 
 ways will be fo, and that God never in the leaft in- 
 tended to remove thefe ill confequences of the Fall, 
 and therefore our Redemption is not underftood to 
 extend to them. And yet, inccnfiftently enough, 
 they as generally fuppofe it to have obtain'd a con- 
 qutfr over Death ; as if this were no temporal evil, 
 which yet is the grcateft of all. But, as Scripture is 
 fo repeatedly exprcfs, Vv^ith regard to our vi6lory 
 over this enemy, it could not but be taken notice of 
 as an ^^^ct of our Redemption ; tho' the overcom- 
 ing of Sickncfs, which tends to it, and other inferi- 
 or evJs of the fame kind, hath been overlook'd as 
 fuch, and hath not been expelled from it. 
 
 2. Vv^ith regard to the fpiritual evils of the Fall, 
 our Redemi.ition, even upon the moil enlarged 
 fcheme v/liich men have framed of it, notwithftand- 
 ing its univerfality in the intent, yet in reality is fup- 
 pofed to extend but to few ; and with regard to 
 them, not to take place, at leaft as to any confide- 
 rable effecl, till an afcer-ftate. For tho' it is allowed 
 to be dellgned as a deliverance from the dominion 
 and power of Sin here, as well as from the guilt 
 and punifliment of it hereafter ^ yet as it is the cur- 
 rent opinion, that no man can arrive at a ilate of 
 fmlefs Perfection in this life ; but that all men muft, 
 
 more 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 2 1 5 
 
 more or lefs, continue under the power of their fins 
 — if it were really fo, it would follow, that our Re- 
 demption had not fufficient efficacy to free us from 
 Sin, as, on this fuppofition, it dill leaves us in fome 
 degree of bondage to it ; although we are told, 
 That Chriji gave himfelf for us, that he might redeem 
 us from ALL Iniquity. And unlefs we are redeemed 
 and purified from all Iniquity here, we cannot, 
 upon any rational or fcriptural grounds, that I know 
 of, be, in virtue of our Redemption, fo fully glori- 
 fied hereafter, as Adam would have been, had he 
 continued in his Innocence ; which yet we ought to 
 be, in order to render our Redemption from the 
 fpiritual evils of the Fall complete, even in our fu- 
 ture ftite. 
 
 On the other hand, it muft, with the utmoft Gra- 
 titude, be acknowledged, that fuppofing our Re- 
 demption fhould extend no farther tlian it is gene- 
 rally apprehended, and has been hitherto obferved 
 to do (as I dare not be over-pofitive in maintaining 
 the contrary, or any other opinion, wherein I hap- 
 pen to be fingular) yet would it itill be infinitely 
 greater than v/e defcrve, or could hope tor, as well 
 as of infinite value to us, fince therein confiils th^ 
 main end of it, viz. our Reftoration in a future 
 ftate to a bleffed Immortality both in body and 
 foul. And that our Redemption hath not hi- 
 therto been attended with all thofe other effcds abov j 
 taken notice of, viz. the removal of the temporal 
 evils of the Fall, as well as the fpiritual, and o:" 
 thefe latter in a fuller and more abfolute manner, 
 muft, in juftice to the Author of it, be acknowledged 
 to proceed only from the perverfenefs and obltinacy 
 o^ Man, and not from any imperfection in our Re- 
 demption itfeif. And hence it is, viz. from their 
 obfervation of the inefficacy of it, that Chriftiani 
 have accullomcd themfelves to form no higher no- 
 tions of, nor expectations from it — that fome havvi 
 
 P 3 Gon- 
 
214 Chrijiianity calailated for 
 
 confined it within fuch narrow limits, and other 
 have underilood it to be a Redemption, not in the 
 proper, but in an improper and figurative fenfe, 
 and have funk it fo low, as in a manner to explain 
 it away, to tlie no fir.all difparagem.ent .of this great 
 work of our Redemption. The defign of what is 
 here offered, and indeed of this E_lfay in general, is 
 to endeavour, as far as 1 am able, to refcue this great 
 Myftery from the unworthy reprefentations, v/hich 
 have been made, and mduftriouQy propagated con- 
 cerning it ; to reftify all mifapprehenfions of it ; and 
 to aiTift Chriflians in general to entertain juftcr, more 
 confiftent, and more enlarged notions of Chriftian 
 Redemption. 
 
 Accordinsf to the Definition laid dov/n above of 
 Redemption in general, ' The Redeinption of Man- 
 ' kind by Jefus Cfmft is a deliverance from the evils 
 ' of the Fall, and a re-inftating them in the fanie 
 ' circumftances and fituation they were in before 
 * they fell.' z. e. the Refloring them to the fame 
 happy ftate in which they were at firft created, in 
 this life ; and to the fame profpeft, and future pof- 
 feffion of Immortality and endlefs felicity, in the 
 hfe to comr. 
 
 Agreeably to this Definition, my perfuafion is, 
 that our Redemption by Chrifi will, when it hath 
 its perfect work, be productive of all thefe great 
 and happy effects — That the human Nature fhall, 
 before the end of the gofpel-age and confummation 
 of all things, be delivered from fin, forrow, and 
 ficknefs, and all the other miferies and evils of this 
 life, proceeding from the Fall of our firft Parents, 
 and in the end, from Death itfelf •, without tafting 
 of which it fhall be tranQated from an earthly Para- 
 dife, which it fhall once more enjoy, to an heavenly 
 one, which it iliall enjoy for ever. And moreover 
 that all the diforders of Nature in general fhall be 
 
 re 
 
 a-i. 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 215 
 
 reflified, and that there fliall be a Redemption of 
 the whole Creation to ifs firll ftate, as well as of 
 Man, the lord of it. 
 
 Now, if there be any foundation for this notion of 
 our Redemption in Scripture, I prefume it will not 
 be denied but that it is the mofl proper and ade- 
 quate, the moft complete, enlarged, and exalted 
 idea of it that we can frame ; at leail, it is more fo, 
 than what I have happen'd to meet with in any of 
 the received fyftems, or other treatifes on the ilib- 
 jeft. And if I miftake not, it will be likewife found 
 leait liable toxhtSocinian objections againftthis fun- 
 damental article of our taith. For as this is a Re- 
 demption the moil comprehenfive that can be ima- 
 gined, a Redemption from the captivity and (lavery 
 of fin and Satan, from banifhment and from Death, 
 and from all other inconveniences, from which a Re- 
 demption can be thought necellary— fo is it a Re- 
 demption in the moft proper and abfolute fenfe, 
 even fuch as is more fo than that which Socinus con- 
 tends for, whofe Definition of a Redemption is, .^. 
 ' The deliverance of a perfon out of captivity by 
 ' the payment of his ranfom to him whofe captive 
 ' he is.' For our Redemptionby C/^r//? will be effec- 
 ted by leading captivity captive— hy vanquifliing, 
 imprifoning, and finally deftroying the captor him- 
 felf, the grand adverfary of mankind, in whofe 
 chains they have for fo long a time been held cap- 
 tive : Wherein the Parallel v/hich Socinus draws be- 
 tween tlie Redemption of the Ifraelites by Mofes^ 
 and that of Mankind bv Jefus Chrijl^ holds better; 
 as the former was wrought by the overthrow and 
 deftruftion of their enemies, and not by any price 
 paid them, wliich they were neither intitled to, ''r 
 nor in a capacity of receiving, when deftroyed. In- 
 
 P 4 deed, 
 
 * Liberutio cr.ith-i c mambus dcthietiHs, prctia detiiienti d<ito. 
 -j- yicle \[A. lii. 3. cw'i comment, in locum. 
 
2i6 Chrijlianity calculated for 
 
 deed, as Man was a debtor only to the Law, and to. 
 the juilice of God, the Satisfaction was properly to 
 be made only to them. 
 
 But as Socimis and his followers are fuch fbrenuous 
 advocates for the Devil's right to the price of our 
 Redemption, what if, inilead of difputing it, we 
 lliould allow the right, and join ifTue with them for 
 trying the matter on this footing ? And what, if it 
 fhould come out at laft, that the price has been paid 
 to him, and that there is evidence of the payment 
 now upon record ? Would they be any better recon- 
 ciled to the doctrine of Redemption ? — The price 
 of our Redemption was the death of Chrift—Yit 
 that had the Power of Death was the Devil^ who, 
 accordingly, in virtue of this Power which was de- 
 legated to him, rigoroufly exacted this Price of our 
 Saviour : and for that end made ufe of the inftru- 
 mentality of wicked men, by whofe hands, Chrifty 
 as knowing their Hour^ and the Power of T>arknefs 
 for this purpofe, fubmitted to be crucified and flain, 
 to difcharge this Price of our Redemption \ which 
 at the fame time proved to be very dearly bought 
 by Satan, as this very thing became the means of his 
 deftruflion. This is not my argument, but St Paul's^ 
 Heb. ii. 14, 15. where his reafoning is to this effeft. 
 For he tells us, that Chriji took Flefh — that through 
 Death he might dejlroy him that had the Poiver of 
 Deaths that is^ the Devil ; and deliver them who, 
 through fear of Death, were all their life-time fub- 
 ject to Bondage. Where the Ranfom, Death, is 
 fuppofed to be paid to him who had the Power of 
 Death, and in virtue of that Power a Right, viz. 
 the Right of Conqueft, but which is the moil imper- 
 fedl right of any, and as fuch is feldom claim 'd but 
 by tyrants and ufurpers : But even this we fee was 
 iktisfied, to obviate the cavils which the Ploly Spi- 
 rit 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 217 
 
 rit forefaw would be raifed about it -, tho' I do not 
 know that it hath been oblerved by any one before. 
 
 Here then the Socinians may fee, it their prejudi- 
 ces will give them leave, a proper Redemption, on 
 their own principles : Or, to ule the language of 
 one of their own v/riters, whom I am willing to af- 
 fillin his Enquiry concerning this Subjedt, — ' They 
 ^ may here lee a literal Redemption, of a literal 
 * Slave, or perfon in a ftate ot literal Slavery to a 
 *. literal Mafter — and alfo, a literal Price, or valua- 
 ' ble confideration paid by a literal Redeemer, to 
 ' that literal Mafter, in order to ourchafe this lite- 
 ' ral Redemption to that literal Caprive.' * 
 
 Moreover, from this view of our Redemption it 
 appears how great its efficacy will be with regard to 
 the dominion and power of Sin, from which, as we 
 have feen, it will at length entirely let us free, as in- 
 deed it ought, in order to its being complete : Ac- 
 cordingly, the eternal Redemption which Chrifb ob- 
 tain'd for us is reprefented as fanctifying. purifyingy 
 and purging the conscience from dead works to ferve 
 the living God. Heb. ix. 12, 13, 14. The end of 
 his appearance is faid to have been, to put away /in 
 by the facrifice of himfclf v. 26. And, i Jo. i. 7, q. 
 his blood is faid to cleanfe us from all fm and iniqui- 
 ty, and Jo. i. 29. he is call'd, the Lamb of Gon 
 that taketh away the fin of the world. 
 
 When it is confider'd, that our Redemption will 
 have this pov/erful effed:, not on a few feleil perfons, 
 but on the human nature in general, it may help to ' 
 enlarge the narrow notions which a certain fett of 
 Divines have entcrtain'd concerning this great work 
 ot our falvation, and may contribute to decide the 
 controverfy, which hath been kept fo long a-fcK)t in 
 the Chriftian Church, concerning the extent and u- 
 niverfality of our Redemption. And that our Re- 
 
 demp- 
 * Chulb'^ Enquiry concerning Redemption, p. 80, 
 
2 1 8 Chrifiianify calculated for 
 
 demption will be attended with this effeft, in as full 
 a manner as hath been fet forth, may be inferr'd 
 from what the Apoftle intimates, E-ph. i. 14. Where 
 the Spirit is call'd The earnejl of our inheritance un- 
 til the Redemption of the purchafed pojjeffion. Which 
 words, as they imply that our Redemption is not 
 compleat as yet, fo they contain a virtual promife 
 that it fliall be completed hereafter, of which the Af- 
 fiftance of God's Holy Spirit is both an earneft or 
 pledge, and a powerful means of bringing it to pafs : 
 W^hen Chrift will fiilly alTert his claim to that his 
 flock which he hath purchafed with his blood, and 
 redeem them, from all fervitude and mifery, into 
 the perfect liberty of the Sons of God, as will be 
 more fully and particularly made out in the following 
 part of this treatife. 
 
 In the mean time, it is fome prefumption in fa- 
 vour of this notion of our Redemption, that as our 
 Saviour Chrifi hath removed fo many obftacles that 
 lay in our way to the Perfe6tion, to which it is fup- 
 pofcd v/e fnall be reftored in virtue of it — fo, I fay, 
 from what he hath already done, it may be prefum- 
 ed he will complete what is wanting, and finijlo his 
 work. Jo. iv, 34. He hath already difcharged all our 
 old debts, and fully fatistied for our guilt : The in- 
 finite merits of his blood have atoned for all our fins, 
 original and actual : He hath blotted cut the hand- 
 writing of ordinances that was againjl rs, which zvas 
 contrary to us., taking it out of the way., and nailing 
 it to his crcfs — He hath fpoilcd principalities and po- 
 wers., and triumph'' d over them. Col. ii. 14, 15. 
 'I'hefe obftacles therefore need not retard us in our 
 progrefs towards Perfedion. And as our Redeemer 
 has furmounted fo many difficulties, v/ill he not 
 likewife afiift us to overcome whatever lefTer hin- 
 drances arife from the frailty and remaining corrup- 
 tion o\ cur nature ? And fmce he is able to do exceed- 
 
 ifig 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 219 
 
 ing ahundantly, above all that we ajk cr think, Eph. 
 ii. 20. h:tving begun this good work in' us, will he 
 notfinijlj it unto the End? So that we may at length 
 jiand perfe^i and complete in all the will of God ? 
 
 The Prophets have foretold that the Sun ofRigh- 
 teoufnefs Jhall arife with healing in his icings, and 
 that by his firipes wc Jljall be healed. Mai. iv. 2. Ifa. 
 liii. 5. And can thefe Prophecies be fully accom- 
 phihed, tin he hath healed us effectually ? Does it fuic 
 the charafter of the great phyfician of fouls to make 
 a partial cure of his patients ? Or is it not more a- 
 greeable to the notions which Revelation hath taught 
 us to form of liim, to fuppofe that he will at length 
 reftore them to their original foundnefs and integri- 
 ty ? His power over unclean fpirits, and of healing 
 all manner of bodily difeafes, feems an indication of 
 his power to heal the difeafes of the foul Hkewife ; 
 and the miraculous cures he wrought of the former 
 kind, qre a fort of earneft, that he will no lefs effec- 
 tually remove all the remaining maladies both of 
 body and foul in due time.* 
 
 2. Ti:at Man Ihall regain his original Reditude 
 and Perfection may be inferr'd, not only from the 
 character and office of cur Saviour as Redeemer, 
 but likewife, as I faid, from his life and example. 
 For in the Man Chrijl Jefus is exemplified to us 
 what human nature is capable of. He was the im.- 
 maculate Lamib of God that knew no iin, and per- 
 form'd that perfeCt obedience, which it was the ca- 
 pital crime of our Father Adam to fail in. I have, 
 in the beginning of this Trea:ife, p. 25. drawn a 
 Comparifon between the firft and fecond yiVr?;;?, .iiid 
 fhewn that the one, not only equal' d the other, but 
 
 greatly 
 
 * O CI oiya^cx; Tla.i^a.yuylu 17 So^i«, 5 A070J t« war^o?, o or,^^ 
 
 okxiiTon uvra irofvafxr.^ [til. 7rix.vccxY,(;) rn<; uyB^wsjvTr.roi; lar^o?, i 
 Zfc'Ti?^. CUm. Alcx.Padi.g. Lib. \. cup. 1. 
 
220 Chrillianity calculated for 
 
 greatly excelled him, in that he hath exhibited to 
 us, not only what Adam was in his ftate of inno- 
 cence, but moreover what he might have been ad- 
 vanced to, had he continued in that State. It will, 
 therefore, be readily granted, that the human nature 
 in Jefus Chriji^ not only recover'd its former lofs, 
 and was reilored to its original Perfeftion, but that 
 it moreover became a great gainer, and was advan- 
 ced much beyond what it was before, even in this 
 life. 
 
 What, therefore, part of our nature hath already 
 obtain'd, that we may hope the remainder of it fhall 
 in duetinie obtain likewife : And that portion of it, 
 which was perfonally united to the divine Nature in 
 Chrifi^ being thus exalted and advanced, have we 
 not encouragement and grounds to believe, that this 
 is a fort of earneft or firft-fruits, that our nature in 
 general being myftically united to him, fhall, in pro- 
 portion to the ftri6lnefs of the union, and in an infe- 
 rior degree, which may at leaft equal that degree of 
 Perfeftion in which Man was created, be made par- 
 taker of the like exaltation and advancement ? ' For 
 ' this is a clear manifeftation to the World, tliat 
 
 * God hath not caft off human nature, but hath a 
 
 * real mind to exalt and dignify it again.' * St. 
 Paul makes ufe of this argument to prove the gene- 
 ral Refurreftion. viz. 'That Chrifi being rifen from 
 the dead., is become the firft-fruits of them that Jlept. 
 I Cor. XV. 20. Why then may it not be extended to, 
 prove the refurre£lion of human nature from the 
 death of fin unto the life of righteoufnefs ; efpecially, 
 fince the Scripture teaches us that there is fo great an 
 analogy between this and the final refurrecflion ? 
 
 To this end, therefore, vix. that we may be con- 
 
 forrr^d to the image of his fan., to which God halh 
 
 ■pyedrftinated us, Rom. viii. 29. our Saviour hath left 
 
 ■ us 
 
 * :^:.iifb\ Sekd Difcourfes. p. 544. 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 221 
 
 ks an example that we Jhould follow hisjleps. i Pet. 
 ii. 21. And as it follows in the very next verfe, who 
 did not fin, neither was guile found in his mouth. 
 Here, indeed, it may be objecfbed, that however dili- 
 gently we may imitate^ yet we muft for ever de- 
 fpair of a near refemblance of fo perfedl a pattern. 
 Now, befides what the Apoftle fays, as I ob- 
 ferved above, that we are predeftinated to be con- 
 form'd to the image of his Son, and what God hath 
 predeftinated will moft alTuredly come to pafs ; yet 
 in order to a fuller Anfwer to this Obje6lion, as well 
 as for our encouragement to follow the Iteps of our 
 lord and mafter, I Ihall tranfcribe a paiTage to this 
 purpofe out of an approved Author. 
 
 ' Though there be fome actions of our Saviour's 
 
 * life, which are never intended for our imitation, 
 *• viz. fuch wherein he either exercifed or proved his 
 ' divine authority •, yet whatfoeverhe didofprecife 
 
 * morality, and in perfuance of his own laws, he 
 
 * defi2;n'd and intended for our imitation.' * With 
 regard to which he fays a little before, i' ' Though 
 
 * the example of the great mafter of our religion con-'- 
 ' fifts of an unfpotted innocence and perfeft virtue, 
 
 * yet it is every way accommodated to the ftate and 
 
 * condition of human nature and converfation. For 
 
 * he converfed among men with a m.odeft virtue, 
 
 * and fuch as was every way confiftent with an or- 
 
 * dinary courfe of life. His piety was even, antl 
 ' conftant, and unblameable, but fuch as fairly com- 
 
 * plied with civil fociety and a fecular converfation. 
 ' It affected not high tranfports and raptures of de- 
 
 * votion, but was Ibch as was both fit and eafy for 
 ' mortals to imitate. His virtue confifted not in 
 
 * prodigious faftings, or four and impradicablc ab- 
 
 * ftradlions from fenfe ; but in a life of juftice and 
 
 tempc- 
 
 * S'rc/Z's Chriftian Life Vol, i, p. 24.4. 
 t lb. p. 241. 8". Edit. 
 
522 Chrijiianity calculated for 
 
 ' temperance, of humility arid charity, and patience^ 
 
 * and the like -, that is, in fuch a lite as is not only 
 ' proper, but pojjthle for us to tranfcribe. So that 
 
 * in his glorious example, he hath tranfmitted to us 
 
 * an hmtahle virtue ^ tor he took care not to outrun 
 ' the capacities of men in inimitable expreffions of 
 ' fandity and virtue -, but, fo far as he could inno- 
 ' cently, complied with our weaknefs, and kept 
 ' pace with our ftrength ; that fo he might enter- 
 ' tain us all along with the comforts of his company, 
 
 * and the influence of a perpetual guide. And as that 
 ' Ruleof Faith which he hath propounded to us, is 
 ' fitted to our underftandlng, being very fliort, eafy, 
 ' and intelligible ; fo that Copy of Manners which 
 
 * he hath let before us, is not only fitted with ex- 
 
 * cellenciLS worthy, but alfo v/ith compliances pof- 
 ' fMe to be imitated by us.' 
 
 Our Saviour's example therefore being all im.ita- 
 ble, nothing hinders but that we may attain to a near 
 refemblance and conformity, tho' not to a perfedl 
 equality wich it. We maift allow him the prehemi- 
 nencein all things. Col. i. i8. which we may fafe- 
 ty do without degrading ourfelves. And as on the 
 one hand, we need not fear too clofe an imitation of 
 him ; fo on the other, as t'lis is no miore than what 
 is pra6licable and feafible, we need not defpair of fo 
 clofe a one, as will reftore us to our firft eflate. 
 
 But it may be dill replied, that granting it pofTi- 
 ble to imitate, and even equal the moral perfections 
 of our Saviour, yet this would not exempt us from 
 natural evils, any more than it did him, who was 
 made in all things like unto us, and was obnoxious 
 to all the evils of life, and even to death itfelf I 
 anfwer, that thofe natural evils were partly owing 
 to outward circumftances, in that he v/as placed in a 
 world not redeem'd from the curfe of the Fall, but 
 in a o:reat meafure labourino- under all its ill confe- 
 
 quences ; 
 
the Recovery of fallen Alan. 223 
 
 quences •, and partly to his bearing our tranigrefiions, 
 and being made fin for us, which render'd him ha- 
 ble to the effeds of fin, tho' he knev/ no fin himfelf 
 For this reafon it was that he fuffered death, viz. for 
 our fins ; otherwife he would undoubtedly have been 
 tranflated, as Enoch and Eli^s were, and faould ne- 
 ver have tailed of death, as he did but taile of it. 
 This is fufficiently intimated in Scripture in that it 
 fays. He died for us not for himfelf. 
 
 II. It may be inferr'd from the nature and genius, 
 the defign and tendency of the laws and precepts ot 
 Chriilianity, that we may and Ihall, by a due ob- 
 fervance of them, arrive at fuch a ftate ot Perfedion 
 under the Gofpel, as will equal that in which we were 
 created. For as the end and defign of them is to ob- 
 lige us to perfe6t holinefs, fo have they an admirable 
 tendency to enable us for the, performance. 
 
 1 . 1 fhall confider the nature and defign of Chriffs 
 laws. I have already (hewn that the defign of Chri- 
 ilianity in general was the reformation and reditu - 
 tion of our nature to its original Perfe£lion. p. 199, 
 1 am to flieWthis now of C/^r//?'s laws in particular. 
 In order hereto, let it be confider'd, wherein Man's 
 original Perfeftion did confid, viz. in the univerfal 
 rectitude of all his ficulties, in the fubordination of 
 his paffions to his reafon, and in a due regulation 
 and government of all his appetites, or, in other 
 words, in Righteoufnefs ond true Holinefs. And is 
 not this the great end that the Chrillian religion aims 
 to promote by all its laws ? Do not all its precepts 
 tend to this point ? 7\nd if they were as punctually 
 obey'd, as they arc (Iridtly commanded, v/hat would 
 there be wanting to render Chrillian Perfection equal 
 to the original Perfecftion of our Nature? For does 
 not the Gofpel injoin the greateft fanftity of mind 
 and nianners } Do not its laws extend even to our 
 
 thought?. 
 
234 Chrifiianity calculated foY 
 
 thoughts, and to the firft motions and defires of our 
 fouls ? Is not the ijoord of God quick and powerful^ 
 and Jharper than a two-edged [word.? Heb. iv. 12. 
 Doth it connive at any the leaft appearance of evil ? 
 Or difpenfe with the offending in any one point ? 'The 
 law of the Lord is a perfect law, without any defe6t, 
 and without admitting of any evafion to which hu- 
 man laws are fo liable ; and his commandment is exceed- 
 ing broad, conprehending the whole and every part 
 of man's duty. Pf xix. 7. cxix. 96. Such, in 
 fhort, is the excellency of Chriji's lav/s, that they are 
 defigned to promote in mankind all virtue and god- 
 linpfs of living, and, as one well obferves, ' to reftore 
 
 * them to their primitive Jiaie^ and eftablifh upon 
 ' earth the pradiice of univerfal righteoufnefs -, which 
 
 * would have been the religion of Men, had they 
 ' continued innocent, in paradife •, which nov/ is the 
 ' religion of Angels, and hereafter will be the re- 
 
 * ligion of Saints in heaven, and of juft men made 
 
 * perfed.' 
 
 it is true, the Gofpel-Covenant Is a covenant of 
 grace and mercy ; and tho' God Almighty requires 
 an entire and univerfal obedience to his laws, yet at 
 the fame time he has left us grounds to hope, that 
 he will not he extreme to mark iniquity, but will make 
 all equitable allowances for the imperfection of our 
 obedience, provided it be fincere : Whence it may 
 be inferr'd that no fuch heights of holinefs are expe(5t- 
 ed of us. 
 
 But to this it may be faid, that hecaufe of the 
 hardnefs of our hearts, and the hldierto reigning cor- 
 ruption of our nature?, God Almighty fuffcrs this 
 relaxation from the rigour of his laws ; hut that from 
 the heginning, in the original defign of them, it was 
 not fo. Neither is this lenity and indulgence to be ex- 
 peded any longer than the real undiflembled necef- 
 fity of our cafe requires it: And tho' it doth require 
 
 it 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man, 225 
 
 it at prefent, yet it doth not follow that it always 
 will: Nay the ftridlnefs and univerlality of the 
 obedience enjoin'd, implies that it will be one 
 time or other in our power to perform it, elfe 
 why was it enjoin'd in fiich peremptory terms ? 
 The fame may be inferr'd from the tenor of onr 
 Baptifmai Covenant, in which no provifion is 
 made for its renewal upon our breach of it •, 
 neither does God Almighty therein ftipulate his 
 acceptance of an after-repentance. And tho' we are 
 otiierwife aifured of its acceptance, yet why is it ac- 
 cepted of? Why does he pardon our frequent fail- 
 ings and mifcarriages upon repentance and amend- 
 ment, but in order to allow us repeated opportuni- 
 ties of tryal, to the end that we may bring our obe- 
 dience flill nearer to perfeftion, and daily more and 
 more overcome the imperfediions we labour under ? 
 And as this is the end of God's forbearance with In- 
 dividuals, we may, by analogy of reafon, conclude 
 the ground of his conduft to be the fame with re- 
 gard to human nature in general, viz. that by its 
 continued efforts, it may by degrees overcome all 
 defeats and failures in its obedience, and at length 
 render this a perfect work. 
 
 Suppofing, therefore, a Chriftian arrived at fuch 
 Perfection, as to be able to pay a perfect obedience 
 to the precepts of the Gofpel, I would afk how far 
 fhort fuch a one would be of Adam in his Innocence ? 
 The one is fuppofed to have as perfed: a Law as the 
 other, and to live as perfectly by it ; and were we 
 to lit down to draw a Parallel between both, I would 
 fain know what might be faid of the one that would 
 not fuit the other ? I can conceive no other difference 
 between them than this \ that the one preferved his 
 Innocence, but that the other had perform'd the 
 more difficult talk of regaining it, when it had been 
 once loft. 
 
 Ct 2. As 
 
226 7he ^endejicy of Chrijlianit^ ■ 
 
 2. As the laws of the Gofpel are thus holy, juft 
 and goO(', {o have they a natural tendency to pro- 
 mote thefe divine qualities in us. For Chriftianity 
 doth not operate like a charm •, neither on the other 
 hand are its laws mere pofitive and arbitrary inflitu- 
 rions : But the wile Author of it hath fo contrived 
 it, that, like other natural caufes, when duly ap- 
 plied, thefe are none other than its natural and ge- 
 nuine effects, and indeed the moft rational means of 
 reforming and perfefting our nature : Every rule of 
 it, if rightly obferved, hath a natural tendency to 
 produce one good difpofition or other in us ; and 
 v/e may here find an eafy and effeftual remedy for 
 every malady we labour under. It deftroys all the 
 feeds of wickednefs, kills every root of bitternefs, 
 and fo correds, fweetens, and improves the frame 
 and temper of our minds, that it gives us fuch a 
 delightful enjoyment of God, ourfelves, and of each 
 other, as cannot eafily be conceived by thofe who 
 have no experience of it. 
 
 Could Chriftians therefore be prevail'd rpon to 
 ufe their utmoft endeavours to perform, with fmce- 
 rity and zeal, the whole will of God — If, perfuant 
 to the Apoftle's advice, they would ^/t'^ all diligence 
 to add to their faith virtue — knowledge — temperance 
 • — patience — godlinefs — brotherly kindnefs — charity, 
 2 Pet. i. 5, 6, 7. human nature would appear to be 
 quite a different thing from what it is at prefent. 
 Were the Chriftian religion fufFer'd to have its per- 
 fect work upon us, it would foon purify us from all 
 the corruption of our nature, and reftore us to the 
 loft image of our maker. It would enlarge and en- 
 noble our fouls, it would enlighten our underftand- 
 ings, purify our wills, and regulate our affe<5tions. 
 In a word, it would redify all our diforders, and we 
 fhould becoirie new creatures : And fuch good-na- 
 tured, well-difpofed, happy people would it make us, 
 
 that 
 
to rejlore fallen Man. 227 
 
 that were all the Chriilian graces exemplified to our 
 view in a fociety of Ciirillians polTels'd ot them, we 
 fliould then be experimentally convinced of the hap- 
 py fruits of the Gofpel •, infomuch that I am fatisfied 
 we fliould fee little caufe to regret the lofs of Para- 
 dife. 
 
 Thus is Chriftianity its own reward \ it is perfec- 
 tive of itfelf, and of us too. The ufe and pra6lice 
 of every art begets a fkill and perfeftion in it ; but 
 much more fo does it in Chriftianity, which being 
 fo well adapted to the improvement of our natures, 
 cannot fail of producing great and happy effeds of 
 this kind, provided due application be made of its 
 rules in general ; and particularly of thofe inftrumen- 
 tal helps it affords and ordains, as the means of ob- 
 taining all thole graces and virtues which adorn and 
 perfect our natures. 
 
 Thefe divine Appointments are, 
 III. Another confiderable advantage and Privilege 
 of Chriftianity ; as they greatly contribute to the ad- 
 vancement of virtue, and the confequent perfeftion 
 of our natures. For, however well calculated the 
 Precepts of our moft holy Religion are for our moral 
 accomplifhment, yet fuch is the imbecillity and de- 
 pravity we labour under, that we cannot of ourfelves 
 torm our lives according to thefe precepts, without 
 fome additional helps to this purpofe. Therefore 
 the wife Author of our Religion hath, in aid and 
 fupply of our wants and infirmities, appointed cer- 
 tain means, by the due ufe of which we fhall be en- 
 abled to perform all that he requires of us, for the 
 ends of our own edification and advancement. Thefe 
 are chiefly Prayer in the Name of the Mediator, 
 the IVord^ and the Sccrcar.ents ; which are fcverally 
 inftnimental in procuring us conftant fupplies of 
 grace ; nourifhing and improving religion in us ; 
 cultivating, and ftrengthening our union with Chrift 
 Q 2 our 
 
228 The tendency of Chrifiianlty 
 
 our head, and with each other as his members •, and 
 in lupplying our fouls daily with renovated vigour 
 for the difcharge of our duty, and enabHng us to 
 ■proceed from firength to ftrength^ fo as by degrees /o 
 run the way of God's commandments. But particu- 
 larly — I . Prayer, being a dire6l application to the 
 tiirone of Grace, is a ready means of obtaining that 
 Cjrace for us which worketh all in all-, and the great 
 efficacy of it is fet forth fo many ways, by parable, 
 example, and in pofitive terms, that it were endlefs 
 to cite Scripture in proof of it. I fhall therefore ob- 
 ierve but one thing particularly concerning it, that 
 in the excellent Form v/hich our Saviour hath pre- 
 fer bed to his Church, he hath taught us to pray, 
 "i'hcit God's -ivill may he done on earthy as it is in 
 heaven., i. e. that it may be obey'd in the fame 
 pcrk-6L manner by his fervants on earth, as it is by 
 the holy faints and angels in heaven ; which Peti- 
 tion he never would have inferted, if what is alk'd 
 in it were not attainable in proportion to the meafure 
 of man cloathed with flefh : And I think it more- 
 over implies, that it will at length be aftually at- 
 tain'd, in as full a meafure as it is attainable ; for we 
 cannot fuppofe that our Saviour Chrift would diredl 
 his Church to make conftant application for any re- 
 quell, which he does not intend to grant in the end. 
 But, 2. As this perfe6lion of obedience is not to be 
 attain'd without knowing wherein it confifts, fo it is 
 the Word of God that inftrufls us in this Icnowledge : 
 And how excellent a means it is to this en(i, the 
 Apoftle informs us, 2 Tim, iii. 16. where he tells us, 
 that all f crip ture is given by infpiration of God, and 
 is profitable for doctrine, for reproof for corre^ion, 
 * for infiruofion in right eoufnefs ; that the man of 
 
 God 
 
 * w^'o; ivuvo^^uffiv, which properly figniiies Redintegrtition, or 
 Rifor^ition to a right flate^ aad ciien fitly follow s, V:al the Man of 
 f^od miy be ^erfed, &c. 
 
to rejioi'c fallen Man, 229 
 
 God may be -perfect^ throughly furnijhed unto all good 
 works. 3. With regard to the Sacraments of the 
 Chriftian Church, I fliallonly obferve, thatBaptifm 
 is the facrament of our regeneration or neiju birth ; 
 whence it is called, the wajhing of regeneration. Tit. 
 iii. 5. And the neceffity of it under this emblem, is 
 exprefly declared by our Saviour to Nicodrrnus^ Ex- 
 cept a man be born of water., and of the fpirit., he can- 
 not enter into the kingdom of God. Jo. iii. 5. Which 
 fufficiently implies the ufe and confequent defigii of 
 it, with regard to the renovating and purifying of 
 our natures ; that cleanfing our f elves from all filthinefs 
 offlefh andfpirit., we may perfect holinefs in the fear of 
 God. 2 Cor. vil. i. The Lord's Supper may be 
 term'd the Sacrament of Perfeftion : The fpiritual 
 food of thofe who require to be fed ivithjirong meat, 
 in order to their growth in grace and virtue, and 
 to their fpeedier progrefs towards that mark, which 
 it ought to be the aim and endeavour of every Chri- 
 ftian to attain. St Paul teaches us to efteem the fa- 
 cred Elements in the Lord's Supper, as the commu- 
 nion or comjnunication of the body and blood of Chriji; 
 I Cor. X. 16. which furely implies no fmall degree 
 of efficacy for the purpofes above-mention'd, and 
 for all good purpofes whatfoevcr. Wherefore our 
 Church teaches us, ' that our fouls are hereby ftreng- 
 ' thened and refrefhed, as our bodies are by the 
 ' bread and wine — that we dwell in Chrifb, and 
 ' Chrifb in us, and become one with Chrifl:, and 
 ' Chriit with us.' And by virtue of this fpiritual 
 union, we are transformed into his image*., and made 
 partakers of the divine nature. 
 
 All the foregoing means of grace have a natural 
 tendency to promote their ends : But as they are the 
 pofitive inflitiitions of our holy religion, we have 
 
 Q^ 3 reafon 
 
 * €>xoW T«0£8/x£9' ojxoiwVfWf, as Cicnen^ Akxcid. oxprefTe" 
 himfelf, Protrept. juxta finen. 
 
230 ^he T'endency of Chrijnanity 
 
 reafon to think that the author of it is more imme- 
 diately interefted in their efficacy and fuccefs. For, 
 
 IV. He is undoubtedly concern'd for the honour 
 and fuccefs of his Religion in general : And as he 
 hath already enforced it with the moft powerful fanc- 
 tions, fo we may conclude, he will not ceafe to pro- 
 mote the due obfervance and influence of it, by ail 
 methods confident with the liberty of free-agents. 
 'Tis true, his laws have hitherto been but too much 
 • negledec', defpifed, and even trampled upon : But 
 are we hence to conclude that it will be always fo ? 
 If that indeed be the cafe, we muft either infer, that 
 they are infufncient in themfelves for the end de- 
 fign'd by them, or elfe that the law-giver is uncon- 
 Cern'd for their fuccefs — That they have nothing of 
 that excellency in them, which I have above been en- 
 deavouring to fhew •, or elfe that they are proftitut- 
 ed to very unworthy purpofes, and our Saviour, con- 
 trary to his own Advice, has given that which is 
 holy to the dogs^ and caji his pearls before fwine. But 
 as thefe are fuppofitions too impious to make, we 
 have nothing left but to conclude, that God will 
 arife and vindicate his laws from abufe — that in his 
 good tim.e he will affert their dignity — that he will 
 convince mankind, by degrees, of their worth and 
 excellence, and caufe them to be obey'd in the love 
 of them. 
 
 Then will they appear in their native beauty and 
 luflrc, when they fhall be written in our hearts, and 
 fairly copied out in our lives ; and then, and not till 
 then, will the efficacy and virtue of the gofpel pre- 
 cepts for the reformation and renovation of our na- 
 ture clearly demonftrate themfelves; which great 
 truth is at prefent too much obfcured and beclouded 
 by the wicked lives of Chriftians, the fcandalous be- 
 haviour of fome, the hypocrify of others, and luke- 
 warmnefs and imperfeftions of all. Thia caufeth un- 
 
 fpeaK - 
 
to rejlore fallen Man. 231 
 
 fpeakable prejudice againft Religion; gives Men 
 low and unworthy opinions of it ; and tempts them 
 to think that it hath no fuch power to reform our 
 minds and manners, as is here attributed to it. Thus 
 the faults of the profeffors of Chriilianity are charged 
 upon the profeflion itfelf, which is furely very inju- 
 rious treatment of it. Let it but once have its full 
 and perfed: work, and then it will vindicate itfelf 
 from all the mifconceptions and wrongs which it fuf- 
 fers in the opinions of men. 
 
 V. This reafoning drawn from God's regard for 
 the due obfervance of his laws, in favour ot their fu- 
 ture univerfal prevalence, is confirm*d by what I 
 have to offer in the next place, concerning the Aid 
 and Affiilances of his holy Spirit -, which is an actu- 
 al proof, and the beft that can be given, in behalf 
 of his concern for the obfervance of them, fince he 
 vouchfafes them fuch extraordinary helps for this 
 purpofe. The obtaining of thefe internal fupplies 
 of Grace and Afliftance, is indeed the main end of 
 thofe external means above-mention'd : And for this 
 purpofe chiefly do they feem to have been inftituted. 
 That the holy Spirit of God is prefent with all good 
 Chriftians, by his reftraining, converting, prevent- 
 ing, aflifting, ftrengthening, and fandtifying, i^c. 
 Grace, is evident from feveral pafTages of Scripture. 
 Thus Rom. viii. 26. the Spirit is faid to help cur in- 
 firmities^ and we are elfewhere faid to be fanctified 
 and purified by the Holy Ghofi. And fo plentiful an 
 effufion is fometimes given of him, that God, by 
 his prophet Joel promifes, / will pour out my Spirit 
 upon all fie/h^ ch. ii. 28. And this prophecy was in 
 an eminent manner fulfiU'd on the day of Pentecofie.^ 
 to wliich it is applied. Acts ii. 17. when we are told, 
 'U^4. the Apoftles were all filled with the Holy Ghofi;. 
 And Jo intimately prefent is he with fuch as endea- 
 vour to fit themfelves for his reception, that he is 
 
 0^4 faid 
 
232 Chriftianity calculated for 
 
 faid to refiupon ibem, 1 Pet. iv. 14. and to dwell in 
 them, Rom. viii. 11. And accordingly they are call'd 
 the'J'e^vpk of God, i Cor. iii. 16. and their Bodies 
 ftiled the Temple of the Holy Ghoji, ch. vi. 19. And 
 fo powerful a principle of fpiritual life and adtion is 
 he, ?:hat it is by the Spirit of God that we are Jlreng- 
 theit'd with might in the inner man. Eph. iii. 16. 
 And our ahcunding in hope, and being fdledwith all 
 joy and peace in belie'uing, is afcribed to the power 
 of the Holy Ghoft. Rom. xv. 13. Hitherto may be 
 referr'd what our Saviour, for his comfort, tells St 
 Paul, 2 Cor. vii. 9. My Grace isfufficient for thecy 
 for my firength is made perfect in weaknefs •, as well 
 as that triumphant exultation of his, grounded un- 
 doubtedly on experience, lean do all things through 
 Chrift that Jlrengtheneth me. Phil. iv. 13. 
 
 The pious Mr Hales, in his Sermon on this text, 
 entitled, Chrijiian Omnipotence, has thefe remarka- 
 ble words, which tho' they run in fo high a fbrain, 
 yet it cannot be faid, but that they have fufficient 
 fupport from St PauVs Authority. ' From hence- 
 ' forth,* fays he, ' let all complaint concerning the 
 ' frailty and weaknefs of man's nature for ever ceafe : 
 ' For behold our weaknefs is fwallowed up of 
 
 * firength, and man is become omnipotent — The 
 
 * firength we loft in Adam, is with infinite advan- 
 
 * tage fupplied in Chrifl — who is ten-fold better un- 
 ' to us than all the good of paradife — the lofs of 
 
 * that portion of firength wherewith our nature was 
 ' originally endued, being made up with fulnefs of 
 ' power in Chrift. — Again, let us conceive unto the 
 
 * utnioil what our firength might be in our firfl 
 ' eflate, yet fhall we never find it to be greater than 
 *^"what is here exprefTed — For greater ability than 
 •^ power to do all things is not imaginable.' 
 
 To proceed. 
 Agreeably to the above teftimonies concerning 
 
 the 
 
the Recovery of fallejt Man, 233 
 
 the afiiftance and efficacy of divine Grace, God Al- 
 mighty was pleafed, in fa6t, to give a mod power- 
 ful Demonjlration of the Spirit, and of his mighty 
 working in the minds of men, at the firft planting 
 of Cnriilia^iity, not only in thofe extraordinary and 
 wonderful gifts and graces with which he infpired 
 the holy Apoftles, but alfo in his common opera- 
 tions in the primitive Believer. For, ' what won- 
 ' derful alterations,' by means of his powerful aid 
 and influence, ' were made in the lives and mati- 
 ' ners of men, transforming in an initant the de- 
 
 * bauched and diflblute into patterns of the ftrideft 
 
 * temperance and fobriety — turning wolves into 
 ' lambs, and vultures into turtle-doves ! Which 
 ' wondrous efi\;(5ls were fo very frequent, that the 
 
 * Heathens themfelves took fpecial notice of them -, 
 
 * which, as St Auftin tells us, made them to attribute 
 ' the fuccefs of the Gofpel to the power of Magic, 
 
 * thinking it impolTible it Ihould do fuch wonders, 
 
 * without the afiiftance of feme powerful Spirits.'* 
 In the lives of the primitive Chriflians we have a 
 
 (landing monument of the efficacy of this and other 
 gofpel means for tlie perfefting of holinefs. This 
 lively fpecimen is an undeniable proof of the fuffi- 
 ciency of thefe means for this purpofe, and at the 
 fame time may ferve as a fpur and incitement to all 
 future Chriftians to imitate and equal, if not to out- 
 do them. For why need we defpair of this, fince 
 the fame affiftance is offered us as was afi'orded them? 
 For, as the fame Author goes on, though * now 
 ' that Chriftianity hath gotten fuch footing in the 
 
 * world, and is become the religion cf nations, the 
 *• divine Spirit does not ordinaiily work upon men 
 
 * in fuch a ftrange and miraculous w..y ; but pro-^ 
 ' ceeds in more human methods, by jv fining in 
 t with our underftandings, that whatfoever aids it 
 
 * affords 
 • S«//'s Chriftian Life. Vol. iv. p. 246. 
 
234 Chrijiianity calculated for 
 
 affords us, they work in the fame way, and after 
 the fame manner, as if all were perform*d by the 
 
 * ftrength of our own reafon. We have however a 
 ' flanding promife which extends to all ages of 
 
 * Chriftianity, that to him who improves the grace 
 ' which he hath already, more grace fhall be given 
 ' — That if we work out our fahation with fear and 
 
 * tremblings God will work in us to will and to do — 
 ' that he will give his holy Spirit to every one that 
 ' ajks and feeks it.* Nay moreover, we have his 
 own infallible promife, that he will abide with us 
 for ever : And in affurance hereof it is obfervable, 
 that the plentiful etfufion of the Spirit vouchfafed to 
 the firfl Chriflians, is by the Apoille called the 
 First Fruits, and Earnest of the Spirit, Rom. 
 viii. 2, 3. 2 Cor. v. 5. which plainly implies, that 
 there is to be a ftill more plentiFul effufion, when the 
 prophecy of Joel, abovementioned, will have its full 
 and final accomplilTiment. / will pour out my Spi- 
 rit upon ALL Flefh : I fay more plentiful, in pro- 
 portion as the harveji exceeds the firft-fruits, and 
 as the remainder of that, whereof the earneft is one 
 part, is by far the more confiderable. 
 
 In the fecond Chapter of this Effay, I endeavour'd 
 to (late the meafures of grace, and to trace out the 
 laws of the divine conduit in the difpenfmg of it. 
 And if the pofitions there laid down are true, the 
 divine grace, tho' the gift of God, is in our own 
 power to obtain in what meafure we pleafe: For as, 
 according to the reafoning in that place, to which I 
 refer the reader, it depends altogether on our own 
 free-w;ll — by aflferting and increaling our freedom to 
 good (which the very notion of freedom implies to 
 he in our power) we proportionably increafe our por- 
 tion of grace : And as it is in our power to increafe the 
 one in a manner as much as we pleafe, fo is it no lefs to 
 increafe the other-, except thatFreedoin muft ftill con- 
 tinue the more powerful and governing principle ; the 
 
 other 
 
the "Recovery of J alien Man. 235 
 
 other as an inferior force tending towards the fame 
 end, co-operating with, and acting in Subfervience 
 to, and Aid of it ; and both together fuch as will be 
 tully fjfficient to enable i:s to recover our loft up- 
 rightnefs. For there is fuch an analogy and clofe 
 connexion between thefe two Principles, that Grace, 
 according to the moft rational definition I ever met 
 with of it, is nothing elfe than an improvement or 
 heightening of the taculties of our nature. 
 
 But in oppofition hereto, it may be faid, that as 
 Grace is here made to depend entirely upon Free- 
 Will — as it is no lefs in our power to diminifli our 
 freedom to good, than to increafeit, and to increafe our 
 ireedom toevil, thantoleffen it, andconfequently todi- 
 minifh Grace in proportion— it may hence be argued, 
 that we make Grace a very precarious thing ; and that 
 there is as great a probability, as well with regard to 
 individuals, as human nature in general, of their 
 lefTening, as improving their talent of Grace -, nay 
 greater, fince the balance is deftroy'd, and the biafs 
 inclined to Evil •, and confequently that no argument 
 can be drawn from God's otfcrs of grace and affif- 
 tance, for the recovery of our original ftate •, nor 
 from any other methods of his providence, fincc 
 they all may, and mod probably will, be rejefted. 
 
 For an Anfwer to this Objection I refer the reader 
 to the inference, p. 46. To what is there proved I 
 fhall here only add, that as the hearts of the fons of 
 men are in the hand of the Lordy and he turnctb 
 them whitherfoez-er he zuill. Pro v. xxi. i . fo he may 
 eafily influence them to good by the fecret impulfes 
 of his Spirit, as well as by feveral other ways, with- 
 out over- ruling, or in the leaft infringing their Li- 
 berty •, even as we fee, in civil affairs, one man, by 
 luperior management and addrefs, to difpofe whole 
 bodies of men to promote his viev/s and purpofes, 
 and to make his defigns the fubjeft of their own free 
 
 choice. 
 
236 Chrijlianity calculated for 
 
 clioice, even without perceiving the firft mover. 
 And is it not much more in the power of the Al- 
 mighty, who knoweth whereof we are made^ and who 
 hath fajhioned all our hearts^ by working upon the 
 lecret fprings of their minds and actions, to turn the 
 difohedient to the wifdoni of thejuji? And may we 
 not conclude, that what is thus in his power, is no 
 lefs in his will, and that he, the Lord, will hajien it 
 in his time, and moft allured iy bring it to pafs ? 
 
 If thefe Principles are right, they may be of fer- 
 vice to put an end to thofe various difputes relating 
 to Grace and Free- Will, which have fo long difturb'd 
 the peace of the Church, and which are ftill unde- 
 termined. And that they are right, may be prefumed 
 from their agreement with Scripture, which exhorts 
 us to grow in Grace, and improve our talents -, and 
 promifeth that to him that hath, it fhall be given, 
 and htfjall have more abundantly. And Jo. iii. 34. 
 it is faid of our Saviour Chrift, that God giveth not 
 the Spirit by measure unto him* {(k pLirpi) 
 whence it may be inferr'd, that he giveth it by 
 Meafure unto other men •, and in fo doing obferves 
 certain rules of proportion, for fo the word fxiTPQv 
 fometimes fignifies, as will be fhewn hereafter. 
 
 Nor are thefe principles lefs agreeable to the di- 
 vine attribute of Goodnefs, which cannot be re- 
 ftrained from exerting itfelf towards us by any thing 
 but its oppofite, i. e. man's wickednefs, i. e. his in- 
 creafing his liberty to evil, and diminifhing his liber- 
 ty to good. 
 
 I fhall conclude this Head and Chapter in the 
 words of Dr Scott. * From hence we may difcern 
 
 * the poffibility of keeping the commands of God, 
 
 * in that, God, by his Spirit, doth fo powerfully 
 
 * aid and aiTift us. For fuppofing we cannot keep 
 
 * the divine law by our own fingle fcrength and po- 
 
 * wer, 
 * F'ae Syrpjin Cnf in locum. 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 237 
 
 ' wer, yet it is apparent, that we can do that which 
 
 * will engage the divine Spirit to afTift and enable us 
 ' to keep it •, that is, we can do our endeavour, 
 ' which being done, entitles us to the promife of di- 
 
 * vine Grace and alTiftance. And tho' we cannot do all 
 
 * ourfelves, yet fince we can do fo much, as will 
 
 * certainly fwg-<?^^ God to impower us to do thereft, 
 
 * it is already in our power to do all, if we will.' * 
 Thus I have endeavour*d to fliew— from the ge- 
 neral Defign of Chrillianity — the Charader and Ex- 
 ample of our Redeemer— the Nature and Tendency 
 of the Gofpel-Precepts---the Concern of their Au- 
 thor for their Succefs — and the Means, Helps and 
 Afliftances he affords to render them fuccefsful— that 
 the Gofpel-Difpenfation is calculated for the Reco- 
 very of our firft Eftate, and that in virtue thereof 
 Mankind fhall at length be reftored to it. 
 
 I fhall now proceed to the confideration of fome 
 particular Pafiages of Scripture, which concur in 
 proving the fame great truth. 
 
 * $cotf^ ChrilVian Life, ib. p, 258. 
 Bifhop Bull lays down this Thcji:, and largely pro^'e" it from the 
 reftimony of the Father?, as well as from Reafon and Scripture, 
 that the Gofpel, or Law of Chriil, iho' it prefcribes a Religion 
 of great excellencc,--yet erjoins nothing to fallen Man, which 
 may not be fulfilled by theaifilbnce of the Grace which it prc- 
 miles for that purpofe.' Append, ad Examer, &c. Animad, 
 
 7. Vide etam Harm. Apoft. Dilitr. z. cap. 7. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Containing particular P?'oofs jrom Scripture^ 
 of Mail's future Recovery of his primitive 
 State. 
 
 I SHALL begin with fuch texts as relate to the 
 enlargement and univerfal extent of Christ's 
 Kingdom, and the converfion of Jews and Gen- 
 tiles to the Chriftian faith. For as it is in virtue of 
 
^3^ Scriptia-e Proofs of 
 
 Chriilianity that nature is to be perfected, if at all, 
 the whole world mud become Chnftian, before this 
 Perfedlion can be fully accomplidied. 
 
 The mofl remarkable prophecies concerning the 
 future prevalence and eitablifl-iment of Chrift's king- 
 dom, are thofe of Daniel^ chapt :rs n. and vii. In 
 the firft of thefe the Mejfiah^ as is generally under- 
 llood, or rather his Kingdom, is reprefented by a 
 ^tone cut out without hands^ which jmote the image^ 
 reprefenting the four great monarchies, and brake ;/, 
 and became a great mountain^ and filled the whole 
 earthy v. 34, 35. which is thus explain^, v. 44. 
 And in the days of thefe Kings (i. ^. while fome of 
 thefe kingdoms are yet in the height of their power, 
 viz. the Roman) * fhall the God of heaven (begin to) 
 fet tip a Kingdom^ which fjall never be defrayed •, and 
 the Kingdom f mil not be left to other people (i. e. it 
 fliall not be fupplanted and fucceeded by any other 
 kingdom, as it happen'd to the former kingdoms 
 of this world) but it fJjall break in pieces and confume 
 all thefe Kingdoms (not at once, but by degrees •, not 
 by open force, but by a fecret inviffole power : nor 
 will they be entirely demolifhed at its firft ereftion ; 
 on the contrary, the total deftruftion of them will 
 not be accomplifhed but in its fnal eftablifliment, 
 to the end of many ages) and it fhall fl and for ever .^ 
 i. e. till the confummation ot all things, -f 
 
 This Kingdom of Chrift is no lefs clearly prophe- 
 fied of, ch. vii. 13, 14. in thefe words— y/^ie; /k the 
 night -vifions., and behold one like the Son of Man 
 came with the clouds of heaver^ and came to the An- 
 tient of Days^ and they brought him near before him. 
 
 And 
 
 * See Bifhop Chi:uttdlcr\ Vind'cation of his Defence of Xty, 
 Vol. I. p. 260, 
 
 * See ihis Prophecy explain'd at large in Bifhop Chaundler'^ 
 Defence ot Xty, p. 95. and Vind. CL. 2.S. 2. 
 
the Reco'Vcry of fallen Man. 239 
 
 ^fid there was given him dominion, and glory, and a 
 Kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages 
 Jfjould ferve him : His dominion is an everlafiing do- 
 minion, which Jhall not pafs away, and his Kingdom, 
 that which Jhall not he dejiroyed. -\ This Kingdom is 
 to have its full eflablifhrnent in the deftrudion of 
 Antichrijl, which tht beft interpreters agree to be re - 
 prefented by the little horn, v. 8. 20, cjff. which 
 had its rife out of the fourth, viz. the Roman mo- 
 narchy : And then the kingdom and dominion, and the 
 greatnefs of the kingdom under the whole heaven Jhall 
 be given to the people of the faints of the mofi high, 
 whofe kingdom is an everlajiing kingdom, and all do- 
 minions Jhall Jerve and obey him. v. 27. 
 
 There are feveral other Prophecies no lefs exprefs 
 concerning the amplitude of Chrift's Kingdom. Of 
 him it is that the Pfalmift fays. He Jhall have domi- 
 nion from fea tojea, and Jrom the river to the ends of 
 the earth— All kings fh all fall down before him, and 
 all nations fhall do him fervice. Pf Ixxii. 8, 11. So 
 again. All the ends of the earth fjj all remember end 
 turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations 
 fhall worpip before him ; for the kingdom is the Lord^s.^ 
 and he is the governor among the nations. Pf. xxii. 
 27, 28. And Pf ii. 8. AJk of me, and I will give 
 thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the utter- 
 moji parts of the earth for thy poffejfion. Perfuant to 
 which promife, and agreeably to all the foregoing 
 prophecies, St John, in the vifion he faw relating 
 to this great event, fpeaks of it in fuch peremptory 
 terms, as if it had already happenM. The Kingdoms 
 of this world are become the Kingdom of our Lord, 
 and of his Chrijl, and he Jhall reign for ever and ever. 
 Rev. xii. 15.* 
 
 All 
 
 ■\ Sec ChaundUr^ ib. p. ig6. 
 * ^etlix. ix. 7. Lukei. 32, 33. Micah v. 4. Zech, xiv. 9. 
 
24.0 Scripture Procfs of 
 
 All this miifl fignify fomething more than mefe 
 right and title to the Kingdoms of the world, which 
 were always the Kingdom of Chriit in this fenfe ; 
 and in confequence of which, we muft conclude, 
 that the time will come, when he fhall be invefted 
 with the dominion and adiial pofTeffion of them, 
 and fhall receive their homage and obedience ; which 
 is what thefe Prophecies do fo exprefly foretel. But 
 as nothing hke this hath as yet happen'd, this fuffi- 
 ciently authorizes us to conclude, that thefe Prophe- 
 cies have not had their accomplifhment in any paft 
 Hate of the Church, either Jewijh or Chriftian^ as 
 Grotkis and fome others imagine : And to put the 
 matter out of all doubt, our Saviour has, in the 
 Form of Prayrr which he hath taught us, inferted 
 a Petition for the coming of this Kingdom •, whence it 
 appears that it is yet to come, and to continue ad- 
 vancing till the end of the world ; fince probably the 
 ufe of this Prayer may continue in the Church, as 
 long as there is a Church upon the eartli. 
 
 On the otiher hand, by comparing the petition 
 for the coming of Chrifc's kingdom, with the pro- 
 phecies relating to it, we are led into a more diilinft 
 notion of what we afk therein, and enabled to pray 
 with the underjlanding •, which, if it be not confi- 
 der*d in this view, hath no great fhare in it : And 
 yet I doubt this is too generally the cafe, notwith- 
 itanding it is among the fiifl: rudiments of Chriftian 
 knowledge, and is of fuch frequent and neceffary 
 ufe. 
 
 That which I apprehend to be the true fenfe of 
 this Petition, I find well expounded in an extra^l 
 out of a Latin Catechifm publifh'd in the time of 
 king Edward VI. and by his authority, which is to 
 be feen in Mr Mede^s works, and which is to this 
 etFe6l * — ' In the fecond place, we pray, that his 
 
 ' King- 
 * Secnru'c loc: tctimui, ut adveniat Regnum ejus j Adkue enim 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 24 1 
 
 * Kingdom may come : For as yet we do not fee that 
 ' all things are fubdued unto Chrift — We do not 
 ' fee that the ftonc, cut out of the mountain without 
 
 * liands, hath broken in pieces, and confumed the 
 ' ftatuc defcribed by Daniel — that that Rock alone, 
 ' which is Chrift, is in a6bual pofTcfllon of the do- 
 ' minion of the whole world, which was conferr'd 
 ' upon him by the Father. Antichrift is not as yet 
 
 * deftroy'd: and therefore we pray, that this at 
 ' length may be brought to pafs, and that Chrift a- 
 
 * lone may reign with his faints, perfuant to the di • 
 
 * vine promifes •, and that he may live, and bear 
 ' rule over the world, according to the inftitutions 
 ' of his holy Gofpel, and not according to the tra- 
 
 * ditions and laws of men, and the arbitrary diftates 
 
 * of the rulers of this world.' 
 
 For our further aftiftance in forming right concep- 
 tions of ChriJTs Kingdom, it will not be amifs to 
 make fome enquiry into the nature of it, together 
 with the manner of its growth and progrefs. 
 
 The antient Jews, of whom were our Saviour's 
 firft difciples, had very grofs notions of the Mejfiah^s 
 Kingdom, as appears particularly from Matt. xx. 
 21. Luke xv'n. 20. A^s \. 6. for they imagined it 
 confifted altogether in earthly glory and grandeur : 
 Nor have their defcendants to this day learned to 
 corred their opinions, or to form much better judg- 
 R ments 
 
 mtt z'idemus Res omnes Chrijlo ejje fu'ijeSIas ; Non videmui ut Laph 
 de monte nbfd£us fit fine Opcre hiimnnOy qui contrivit, i^ in mhihm 
 redegit Statu am drfcriptant n Danicle : Vt Pctra join, qui eji Chri- 
 ftus, occupet y cbtiveat totius Muudi Imperium a Patre coiicejfum. 
 Adhuc Jien ejl occijus Antichrift us : quo fit, ut ms defideremus iff 
 precemuty ut id tandtm aliquando contitigat i^ implcatur ; utquefiolus 
 XHhrifius regnet cum fiuis Sanfiis, ficcundum divinas Promifiiones i 
 iitque vivat ijf dominetur in Mundo, juxta fauSii Evangelii Decreta, 
 vonautemjuxtaTraditioties Iff Leges Hominum, iff Fo/untatem Ty- 
 r>vimrum Mundi. 
 5ce Mr M.\k\ Work?, publifli'J by Dr irorthitigion, p. 8 f ^ 
 
242 Scripture Proofs of ' 
 
 ments concerning it ; for they dream of no lefs tanh 
 reing invefted with iiniverfal monarchy, when the 
 beign of their Mejfiah fhall commence. On the other 
 hand, fome modern Chriftian divines feem to be as 
 far gone towards the other extreme, who would 
 ftrip Chrifi's Kingdom of all temporal authority and 
 power, and make it to be of fo abflra(5ted and fpi- 
 ritual a nature, as if it were to be no more z>, than 
 it is (?/ this world. 
 
 That this Kingdom will not be altogether fpiri- 
 tual, but that it will be likewife invefted with tem- 
 poral power and polity, and all other outward elTen- 
 tials of a Kingdom, cannot be doubted, if it be con- 
 fiderd, that when it comes to be fully eftabliflied, 
 there will be no other form of government : There. 
 will be then no fuch thing as hnperium in Imperio — no' 
 two diftindl Powers independent of, and clafhing 
 with each other, but the civil and ecclefiaftical will 
 be duly tempera together, and run into each other ;.' 
 or rather both will be loft in the divine, which (hall, 
 then be eftabliflied. However abfurd or ridiculous 
 this conclufion may feem to fome, it is what the fore- 
 cited Prophecies of Da7iiel authorize us to make, as 
 they are exprefs that the MeJJiaFs Kingdom Hiall be 
 erected upon rhe ruins of the other kingdoms of the 
 earth, and fucceed in their ftead : And hence, I fay, 
 it follows, that it muft have a form of outward po- 
 lity, and be fupported likewife with fome outward 
 far.itions, fuch as are at leaft equipollent with thofe 
 of the kingdoms it iliall have deltroyed : For this 
 much is included in the very eflence and idea of all 
 Government, and without which no Government 
 can be conceived capable of being adminifter'd, or 
 even of fubfifting. Befides, it is hardly credible, 
 that our Saviour would make fuch frequent mention 
 of the Kingdom c/God in his Gofpel, which he like- 
 wife fometimes calls his Kingdom^ if it were not to 
 
 be 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man, 243 
 
 be a Kingdom indeed : For why elfe does he chufe this 
 idea of a Kingdom to reprefent his Church on earth 
 by? 
 
 If the controverfy about Church-Government, 
 which, fome years ago, was, with more heat than 
 light, carried on among us, had been confined to 
 this its firfl and moft proper view, I humbly con- 
 ceive, with fubmiflion to the great writers concern'd 
 in it, that the difpute might have been fooner ad- 
 jufted, and a more fatisfaftory decifion given of it. 
 
 On the other hand, as this Kingdom is not to be 
 eftabhfhed by human means, and as our Saviour 
 himfelf not only doth not require, but even exprefly 
 difclaims the affiftance ot the fecular arm, Jo. xviii. 
 36. here is no ground of umbrage given to earthly 
 ppwers on the one hand, which other wife are all 
 fubjecft to the over-ruling power of God's provi- 
 dence, who removeth kings, and fetteth up kings. Dan. 
 ii. 21. nor, on the other hand, is here any en- 
 couragement for Subjedis to rebel againft their earth- 
 ly Sovereigns, under pretence of fetting up King 
 jefus, as was the cafe of fome mad Enthufiafts, who ' 
 appear' d in this nation about the middle of the lafl: 
 century. The fifth monarchy will be erefted in a more 
 peaceable filent manner. Thus our Saviour correds 
 the grofs notions of the Pharifees concerning his 
 Kingdom, when he tells them, that the Kingdom of 
 God Cometh not with obfervation. Its progrefs will 
 be lb fecret and invifible, that men Jhall not [ay, to 
 here, or lo there •, for, as he adds, behold the King- 
 dom of God is within you. Luke xvii. 20, 21. or, 
 rather, is among you, which is the more proper ren- 
 dering of the Fhrafe iv1S<; v/ul'£v i^iu- The Mejt- 
 ah is among you, and his reign is already commen- 
 ced.* 
 
 Or, according to the former fenfe, it is to be be- 
 R 2 gun 
 
 * See Archbiihop TiIUtfon\ Sermon x!. 
 
244 Sa'ipfure Proofs of 
 
 gun by fubdiiing mens unruly lufts and paflions,' 
 bringing their wills into fubjeflion, and their hearts 
 and lives to the obedience of Chrift's laws. And 
 hence likewife the fecret and fpreading influence of 
 it is compared in the Parable to a little leaven hid in 
 a large quantity of meal, and by degrees leavening 
 the whole mafs. Luke xiii. 21. 
 
 To give us a farther infight into the nature of this 
 Kingdom, he who is Lord of it hath told us, that 
 it is not of this -world, tior from hence, as in the fame 
 place he farther explains it, Jo. xviii. 36. that it is 
 not of earthly and human, but divine and heavenly 
 original — that it is not of the fame tranfitory totter- 
 ing nature with mere earthly kingdoms •, nor built 
 upon fuch wretched maxims of policy, as they are •, 
 -nor like them liable to be difturb'd and overthrown 
 by diforders, tumults, and convulfions : but that its 
 conftitution is of a more firm and permanent nature, 
 as well as more peaceable, flourifhing and happy in 
 every refpedt ; as it is founded, and will adlually be 
 eftabliflied on the moft unerring principles of divine 
 government. 
 
 But we cannot, from fuch fhort hints, as are gi- 
 ven us in Scripture concerning it, pretend to trace 
 out a juft defcription of it ; efpecially while it is as 
 yet but in its infancy, as it were, being not grown 
 to fuch a ftate of maturity, as thoroughly to unfold 
 it felf. Notwithftanding, if 1 may be allowed a con- 
 jecture, I imagine, that when it fhall come to have 
 its thorough eftabhihment, it is to be an Universal 
 Theocracy ; fuch as the Jewilh ftate, in fome re- 
 fpe6ts, under its Kings, David and Solomon, and in 
 other, under its Judges, bore a diilant refemblance 
 of, as I am perfu.nded this was a type of it. For thus 
 we are told, Ifa. i. 26. / will rejlore thy Judges as 
 (it iheTiKST, a?id thy Counsellors, as at the be- 
 c,i>:NiNG j afterward ihou floalt he cdkd the city of 
 
 righ- 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 24^ 
 
 right eoufnefs^ the faithful city. Zion fhall be redeemed 
 ivith judgment^ and her converts 'with righteoufnefs. 
 Judges as at the firjl — i. e. fuch as Mofes and AaroUy 
 Jofhua and Eleazar^ ^c. Then all apparent inequa- 
 lities in the ways of providence fhall difappear. E- 
 'very valley fhall be exalted, and every mountain and 
 hill fhall be made low : and the crooked floall be made 
 flraight, and the rough places plain. Ifa. xl. 4. 
 which I apprehend to be one fenfe of this Prophecy, 
 in which it Ihall be fulfilled, by redlifying all the dif- 
 orders, unjuftly charged upon God's providence in 
 the government of the world, but really proceeding 
 from the wickednefs and finfulnefs of mankind, the 
 genuine caufe of all irregularity and confufion •, as 
 God himfelf complains. Hear now, O houfe of Ifrael, 
 // not my way equal ? Are not your ways unequal ? 
 Exek. xvii. 25. Which words plainly imply, that 
 the feeming inequalities in God's ways are owing 
 to the real ones in the ways of men. 
 
 I fhall now proceed to fome Prophecies which 
 predift the converfion of all nations to the Chriftian 
 taith, under other characters no lefs plain than the 
 former. Such is that in Ifa. ii. 2, 3. It fhall come 
 to pafs in the laft days, that the mountain of the Lord 
 fhall be eflahlifjed on the top of the mountains, and 
 exalted above the hills, and all nations fhall flow into 
 it. * Which Prophecy harmonizes with that ot Da- 
 niel already cited, 1^ he Stone became a great 'moun- 
 tain, and filled the whole earth. Where we fee an 
 agreement in the ufe of the fame image, a mountain^ 
 and in the fame application of it. 
 To proceed -, 
 
 The Gentiles fhall come to thy light, and Kings to 
 
 the brightnefs of thy rifing. Lift up thine eyes round a- 
 
 bout and fee ; all they gather themfelves together, they 
 
 come to thee ; thy fons fljall come from far, and thy 
 
 R 2 datigh- 
 
 • Sec 7y"^. xlix. 6. J(y- iii. 17. xvi. 19. Mkah iv. i, 2. 
 
246 Scripture Proofs of 
 
 daughters Jhall he nurfed by thy fide — the abundance 
 of the fea Jhall be cowverted unto thee^ the forces of 
 the Gentiles fh all come unto thee. Ifa. Ix. 3, 4, 5. As 
 it is generally agreed, that thefe and the like Prophe- 
 cies are to be underftood of the converfion ot the 
 Gentile world to the Chriftian faith, fo it is plains to 
 any one who confiders the force of the words, and 
 the univerfality of the terms, that they cannot have 
 their full and final completion, till the fulnefs of the 
 Gentiles he come in •, which the Apoftle St Fatd like- 
 wife fpeaks of as a thing to be. He at the fame 
 time acquaints us that there fhall be likewife a na- 
 tional converfion of the Jews, who fhall once more 
 become a famous and flourilhing Church. / would 
 not that you fhould he ignorant of this myjlery^ that 
 Vlindnefs in part is happened unto Ifrael, until the 
 fulnefs of the Gentiles he come in. And fo <3// Ifrael 
 jhall be faved -, as it is written., 'There fhall come out 
 of Sion the Deliverer., and jhall turn away ungodli- 
 nefs from Jacob, for this is my covenant unto them^ 
 when I fhall take away their fins. Rom. xi. 25, — 27. 
 from li'a. lix. 20. The Apoftle' s appHcation of this 
 Prophecy juftifies our interpreting others in the fame 
 manner. In Deut. xxx. i — 5. we find a remarka- 
 ble promife, that upon their converfion, God would 
 at all times reftore this people to their own land. It 
 Jhall come to pafs when — thou fhalt return unto the. 
 Lord thy God — that he will turn thy captivity., and 
 have compajfion upon thee., and will return and gather 
 thee from all the nations whither the hard thy God 
 hath fcattered thee. If any of thine he driven cut unto 
 the outmojl parts of heaven., from thence will the Lord 
 thy God gather thee., and from thence will he fetch. 
 thee. And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the 
 land which thy fathers poffeJJ'cd., and thou Jhalt poffefs 
 it. Compare Nehem. i. 9. Agreeably to this Promife 
 Ifhiah prophefies, In that day the Lord flj all fet his 
 
 hand 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 247 
 
 hand again the second time to recover the remnant 
 of his people^ and fljall ajfemble the outcafts <7/irrael, 
 and gather together the difperfed of Judah from the 
 four corners of the earthy Ifa. xi. u, 12. where men- 
 tion is made of the fecond time undoubtedly in con- 
 tradiftincftion to the deliverance from the Babylonifb 
 captivity; that being iho. firfi and only time hither- 
 to, that there hath been any national return of the 
 Jews'. And that was only out of Babylon, and not 
 out of all the other countries mentioned in the Pro- 
 phecy ; fo that xht fecond time is yet to come, when 
 not only the two Tribes of Jz/^^^^ and Benjamin, but 
 all the other Tribes of Ifrael, fhall return to their 
 own land, out of all the countries, where they are 
 difperfed, as is evident from this and many other 
 Prophecies, which the Reader may think too tedious 
 to be cited particularly, and therefore I fhall only 
 refer to fome of the moft remarkable of them, * 
 which generally relate as well to their converfion as 
 return. 
 
 The whole nation being thus reftored to, and re- 
 poiieffed of their native country, fhall no more be 
 difpoffefied of it. / will bring again the captivity of 
 my people Ifrael — and I will plant them upon their own 
 land, and they fhall no more be pulled up out of their 
 land which I have given them^ faith the hard. Amos 
 ix. 14, 15. And they fhall worfhip the Lord in the 
 holy mount ^/ Jcrufalem. If xxvii. 13. 
 
 For which purpofe their city and temple Ihall be 
 R 4 re- 
 
 * See T>eut. xiv. i, z, 3. xlix. 12. Ifa. xliii. 5, 6. xlix. 22. 
 l£c. !xvj. 20. 'Jer. iii, 18. xvi. 15. xxiii. 3, 7, 8. xxxi. 8, I2. 
 xxxii. 37. (ifr. Exek. xi. 17. ijc. xx. 41. xxviii. 25. xxxiv. 12. 
 l^c. xxxvi. 24. xxxvii. 12, 21. xxxix. 27. Hofea i. 10, 1 1 . com- 
 pared with Ro7n. ix. 2!;, 26. Hof. iii. 4, 5. xi. 11. Miaih ii, 12. 
 (v, 3,4.^viii. 20. vt'n\\ Grot: Hi's Annor, upon it. Ze^b. iii. uJt. Zecb. 
 viii.7, '^•^- 6, 10. xii. 6. tffc. Note, Zeckiiriah prophefied after tiiC 
 Bab^lmjh Captivity, lb that none of liis Propiiccies can relate to it. 
 
24S Scripture Proof of 
 
 rebuilt : For fo hath God promifed, to glorify the 
 houfe of his glory ^ beautify the place of his fanhuary^ 
 and make the place of his feei glorious. Ch. Ix. 7, 13. 
 But in what manner fhall it be rebuilt ? And for 
 what Purpofes ? For the Revival of the Jewilh Wor- 
 ihip ? The Re-eftabli{hment of the Type, v/hen the 
 Antitype had taken place ? This is a notion too ab- 
 furd, one would think, for any Chriflian divine to 
 entertain. 
 
 The Temple indeed fliall be rebuilt, but after the 
 Chriftian model, and the Chriflian worfliip Ihall be 
 eftablifhed in it, as is fufficiently intimated to them 
 by their own prophets. Thus Jeremy affures them, 
 that in thofe days the ark of the covenant, the fym- 
 bol of the divine prefence under the law, Jljall no 
 piore come to mind, nor be vifited, or defired any 
 more by them. Jer. iii. 16. The Circumcifion, 
 which upon tlieir reftoration will take place and be 
 required of chem, is the circumcifion of the heart, 
 as their own lawgiver Mofes informs them, Deut. 
 XXX. 6. Vv'hich is the Chriflian Circumcifion. And 
 the Covenant which will then be eftabliihed with 
 them, Ihall be the Chriflian Covenant. For, Be- 
 hold the days come, faith the Lord, that I will make 
 /7 NEW Covenant with the houfe of Ifrael, and with 
 (he houfe of Judah: Not according to the Covenant 
 which I made with their fathers, in the day that I 
 took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of 
 Egypt — But this flo all he the Covenant that I will 
 make with the houfe of Ifrael, after tho[e days, faith 
 the Lord : I will put my law in their inward parts, 
 andzurite it in their hearts, and I will be their God, 
 and they fJjall be my people. Jer. xxxi. 31, 32, 33. 
 * And St Paul interprets this of the Chriflian Cove- 
 nant. Heb. viii. 8. 
 
 The xlth and following Chapters of Ezekiel con- 
 
 taii> 
 * Compare Ezekiel xvi. 60. 6 1, 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 24^ 
 
 tain a prophetical defcription of this Temple and 
 City, as they are to be built, and of the divifion of 
 the land among the twelve Tribes, and their fettle- 
 ment in it. And that this ftatc is ftill future is mani- 
 feft, as the twelve Tribes have never returned, to 
 make any fuch divifion or fettlement. The dry bones 
 of the houfe of Ifrael, mentioned Chap, xxxvii. have 
 not as yet been breathed upon^ nor reflored to life. 
 The two Tribes and the ten, reprefented by the two 
 fticks of Judah and Ephraim, v. 15. &c. have ne- 
 ver been re-united. No iuch fignal Deftruftion of 
 their Enemies hath happen'd as is foretold. Chap, 
 xxxviii. xxxix. Neither hath any fuch City been 
 built, or Temple raifed ; as maybe concluded from 
 the unfuccefsfulnefs of the Attempts of FillalpanduSy 
 and other learned men, to fuit this defcription to 
 either of the former Temples. For as the event 
 clears all Prophecies, fo tlie obfcurity which this 
 Prophecy ftill labours under, is an unconteftable 
 proof that it hath not been as yet fulfill'd. 
 
 It is indeed fuppofed by many, I believe, I may 
 fay, by moft, excepting the Jews themfelvcs, that 
 the ten Tribes v/ere fo difperfed among the Hea- 
 then, that all diftinction between them and the na- 
 tions they mixt with hath been long ago deftroyed : 
 But even this ought not to be made an argument a- 
 gainft the poiTibility, or even probability of their 
 reftoratipn. 
 
 For not to enquire, whether they are continued a 
 dillindl people * or not, which I take to be an en- 
 quiry 
 
 * Jefuita qui in China vixerutit, re/eiufit, Judasorum SynagO' 
 gaiquafdam rtpcrt-is fiajfe, Ju'jicos vero iftos de Ch rift o nihil ur.- 
 qua7n audivijjl' ; (undc liquet ante ejus adz'entum eos illuc tippnlijfc) 
 imovome7i JudjEOiuni ign'jrahant, fed Ifraeliias fe eJJ'e dixeruut. 
 Vnde prctbahile ejl, eoi it/iqiiias qunjJ.imfuiJJe decern tribuum qui a'^- 
 duilt erant ; nam pnjl iilud teinpus nomen Itraelitarum in ufu vulga- 
 ri non crat, fed JudjEoriim. 
 
 W'lltoui Prolcg. iii. p. 24. ex Samcdo, 1. 3. c, 13; 
 
 lu 
 
2^0 Scripture Proofs of 
 
 quiry rather curious than neceffary for this purpofc, 
 is it not as eafy for God Almighty to gather them 
 out of all lands, whither he hath fcattered them, 
 from the eaft, from the weft, from the north, and 
 from the fouth, as it is to colled: the fcatter'd par- 
 ticles of every individual body of all the tribes of 
 the earth, at the refurre6lion, to make the hones come 
 together, bone to hone^ and the finews and flejh to 
 come upon them^ and to make thefe dry hones live f 
 This, however wonderful in itfelf, as it is at prefent 
 the firm belief of Chriilians, ought to remove all 
 fcruples with regard to the other. And this Em- 
 blem is probably made ufe of to convince us, both 
 of the gre^tnefs of the thing, and the feafiblenefs of 
 it to God, by comparing it with what is fo miracu- 
 lous, and the belief of which is at the fame time be- 
 come fo familiar to us. And in further confirma- 
 tion hereof we have another very exprefs afTurance 
 of God himfelf to this purpofe, Amos ix. 9. Lo, I 
 ■will command and I willfift the Houfe of Ifrael among 
 all nations, like as Corn is fifted in a fief, yet fh all 
 Hot the leaji grain fall upon the Earth. 
 
 Some learned men * indeed underftood thefe Pro- 
 
 phe- 
 
 In confirmation hereof I (hall tranfcribe a Paffage from Dr 
 Bundy^s Preface to his Tranflation of L^my's Apparatus BibUciis. 
 ' The Rev. Mr Long, lately return'd from Forf St George in the 
 « E^^ hdies, aflures me, and gives me leave to dt-chre it to the 
 
 * world from him, that the Gentous (a People in the Eaft, who, 
 
 * from their Cuftoms and other Circumftances, are by the moll ju- 
 
 * dicious believed to be the defcendants of thofe of the "Jcwifh ten 
 
 * Tribes who never returned ftom the Babylonifh Captivity) have 
 
 * a Temple at ChilUmbrum near Porto Novo on ihe Coaft ofCoro- 
 
 * mandel, which they call Zullmans Temple, which they refort 
 
 * to with the fame Devotion as the Jetos formerly did to that at 
 
 * Jerufalem: and that it is divided into Courts, in the fame man- 
 
 * rer asPere Lamfi is, and is built much after the fame Plan which 
 I is there given. 
 
 See Dr. Light/oofs WorL's. Vol. i. p. 375, 737. 
 
the Recovery of falle?i Man. 251 
 
 phecies concerning Judah and Ifrael^ of the fpiritu- 
 al Ifrael, the Church of Chrijl in general, and feem 
 to doubt of a national Converfion and Return of the 
 native Ifraelites. But as thofe who are the imme- 
 diate fubjefts of thefc Prophecies feem to have a 
 right to fome fuperior privileges, why may they not 
 be very confiftently underllood of the univerfal 
 Chriftian Church in the fpiritual fenfe, and of the 
 Jezvs in the late literal » wherein I fee nothing abfurd 
 or incredible, as it is above cxplain'd ? 
 
 On the contrary, the belief of it feems to be not 
 a little facilitated by their continuing, I mean the two 
 Tribes, for fo many ages a dillinft tho' a difperfed 
 people, and by the continuance of their country in 
 its prefent defolate and uninhabited Hate, whereby 
 it feems to be rcferved, after the performance ot its 
 Sabbaths, for the return of its antient inheritors to 
 inhabit and cultivate it ; when it will be reflored to 
 its former fertility, as might be fhewn from numer- 
 ous Prophecies concerning it, if it would not carry 
 me too far out of my way. * 
 
 To the foregoing Prophecies it may not be amifs 
 to add that of Tobit^ Chap. xiv. which tho' it be 
 Apocryphal, may ferve as a good comment upon 
 them ; efpecially according to the Hebrew copy pub- 
 lifhed by Fagius, which Mr Mede prefers as the 
 moft genuine — ^which indeed is preferable in itfelf, 
 as upon other accounts, lb efpecially for its clearnefs, 
 coniifttncy, and diftind: mention of both Captivities 
 and Returns -, ^ and which therefore I fhall here folr 
 low, — and prefent the Englijh Reader with a tran- 
 flation of it, having never, that 1 know of, appear* 
 ed in our language before. 
 
 But the reft of our Brethren of Ifrael, who are in 
 Jerufalem, pjall all go into captivity, and Jerufalem 
 Jhall become as heaps, and the mountain of the houfe 
 
 ■\ Sec p. 337. I Chron. 17. 9. 
 
'2^2 Scripture Proofs of 
 
 as the high places of the for efi*', and fhall continue de- 
 folate for a fhort time. 
 
 'Then fhall the children of Ifrael afcend and rebuild 
 it and likewife the Temple ; but not according to the 
 fanner buildings and they fhall abide there many days 
 until a certain period of time be fulfilled. 
 
 Then they fhall again go into a captivity the great- 
 eft and mofi grievous of any : But He the holy and ble fi- 
 fed One fib all remember them., and gather them toge- 
 ther fir om the fiour corners ofi the earth. 
 
 Then fihall Jerufalem, the holy City., be rebuilt in 
 a beautifiul and glorious Manner., and the Temple like- 
 wifie fijall be built with a glorious Building -, a build- 
 ing which fihall never be defiroyed, nor pulled downj 
 while the world endures., as the Prophets have fpo- 
 ken. 
 
 Which laft words fliew whence Tobit derived his 
 knowledge of thefe events, viz. from fuch of the 
 Prophecies (above taken notice of) as were extant in 
 his times ; and what his fenfe of thofe Prophecies 
 was. 
 
 When the Jews fhall be thus converted and em- 
 brace the Gofpel, then fhall Salvation be again de- 
 rived from them to the Gentiles, and they fhall be 
 the means of converting fuch of them as remain to 
 be converted. For., faith the Apoftle, ifi the fiall 
 €ifi them be the riches ofi the world., and the diminifijing 
 of them the riches of the Gentiles., how much more 
 their fiulnefis ! 
 
 And ifi the cafiling away ofi them be the reconciling 
 ofi the world., what fihall the receiving ofi them be, 
 hut lifie firomthe dead., to the fame world ? Rom. xi. 
 12, i5.t And thus it appears, that, bytheaccef- 
 
 fion 
 
 * Compare h£re\vith MV^^ iii. 12. y^r. xxvi. i8. 
 •^ JFy/V/^ys Treatife of the xwx?. Millennium, p. 725. See alfo 
 Dj- Scott''?, Account of tlie Enlargement oi Cbrifi'^ Kingdom. 
 Cbrijiian Lfe. Vo}. iii. p. 486. 
 
the "Recovery of fallen Man. 253 
 
 fion of both JeiD and Gentile^ the whole world fiiall 
 become Chriftian, and that all the kingdoms of the 
 e<irlh JJjall become the kingdom of our Lord and of his 
 Chrift. 
 
 I'he qiieftion is, whether the Chriftians of that 
 age will be better than thofe of all the foregoing ? 
 For, notwithftanding the univerfality of it, if Chri- 
 flianity be not practifed, as well as profefled, it will 
 avail us but little towards re6tifying the diforders of 
 our nature. 
 
 For the fatisfying of our doubts in this refpcft, it 
 need only be confidered, that thefe Prophecies, 
 which are conceived in fuch ftrong terms, can never 
 be fully accomplifhed by the converlion even of the 
 whole race of mankind to the bare outward profef- 
 fion of Chriftianity -, fince this, after all, would be 
 but a partial converfion, which is of little value in 
 the fight of God, who difowns and reje<5ts the mere' 
 nominal Chriftians. 
 
 But Scripture itfelf prevents our reafoning on this 
 head. For, with regard to the ftate of religion in 
 general, God, among other blefTings which he hath 
 promifed to his Church, tells her, that her people 
 Jhall he all righteous. Ifa. Ix. 21. And Ch. Hi. i, 
 he addreffeth himfelf unto her in this manner, Aivake.^ 
 awake.^ put on thy Jlrength., Zion, put on thy 
 beautiful garments^ O Jerufalem, the holy city ; for 
 henceforth there jloall no more come unto thee the un- 
 circumcifed and the unclean. * Parallel to which 
 Place is Rev. xxi. 27. (which I fliall hereafter fhew 
 to relate to the future fbate of the Church in this life,) 
 And there fl J all in no wife enter into it (the holy City, 
 the hew Jerufalem) any thing that defileth., neither that 
 zvorketh abomination., or innketh a lye., but they which 
 are written in the haniVs hook of life. To this pur- 
 
 pofe 
 
 • See alfo Ch. liv. 14. Ixi. 10, w. iv. 3. Hof. ii. I 9, 20- Munh 
 vii. 19. Zcph. iii, 13. i*/, Ixxxv. 11. 
 
254 Scripture Proofs of 
 
 |)ofe is that of Ifa. xlii. 4. //^ (the Mt^idh) Jhall not 
 fail, nor be difc our aged, till He have fet judgment in 
 the earth. And that of JerA. 20. In the fe days, and 
 in that time, faith the Lord, the Iniquity ofliradjhallbe 
 fought for, and there Jhall be none-, and the Sins of 
 Jiidah, and they Jhall net be found, for I will pardon 
 — or (according to the Vulgate) / will be propitious 
 to-- 'them whom I referve. And hkewife that of 
 Zech. xiv. 20, 21. In that Day there fhall be upon the 
 lells of the horfes. Holiness unto the Lord, "t" 
 and every pot in Jerufalem and Judah (hall be Ho- 
 liness UNTO the Lord — and in that day there fid all 
 he no more the Canaanite in the houfe of the Lord of 
 hofts : Intimating, that the time will come, when 
 God lliall aiiert his dominion over the world in fo 
 abfolute a manner, that men fliall entirely devote 
 themfelves and theirs to his worfhip and fervice ; and 
 that the Church of Chrift will be brought to that de- 
 fireable ftate of Purity, that all Chriftians will ferve 
 God in fincerity of heart, neither fhall it have any 
 corrupt or hypocritical members to profane it ; as 
 Calvin upon the place obferves- 
 
 ' Thus the Kingdom of Chrijl in this world being 
 • arrived to its full extent and growth, truth and 
 ' peace, charity and juftice, fliall reign and flourifli 
 « over all the earth : Now all the World fliall be 
 ' Chrifliendom, and Chrifl:endom fliall be reftored 
 *• to its antient Purity j for now he who is to come 
 
 ' with 
 
 \ This being the Motto which was only on the Higli Prieft's 
 forehead, the placing it on the bells of the horfes, things which 
 feem moft remote from a fpiritual ufe, fliews the great meafure 
 and degree, and even commonnefs of Holinefs that is to be under 
 the Golpeliiate, the great height and progrefs of which is further 
 defcribeJ in the latter part of the Verfe under that Phrafe, that the 
 Pots in the Lord's houfe Jhould be as bowls before the altar, i. e. 
 fliould be advanced from a lower and more ignoble fervice, to a 
 higher and more fpiritual degree of Holinefs. 
 
 StilliNgfleet\Ortgines facrte, B„ z. C. 6.S. 8. 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 25^ 
 
 * with his fan in his hand, will thoroughly purge 
 
 * the floor of his Church from all chaff of fuperfti- 
 
 * tion and idolatry, fchifm and herefy, irreligioa 
 
 * and immorahty, with which it is almoft totally 
 
 * covered ; and the true faith, the fincere piety, the 
 ' generous and unaffected virtue, which Chriftianity 
 ' teaches and prefcribes, fhall be the univerfal livery 
 ' and cognizance of the Chrillian world. * 
 
 But that Perfection of Holinefs which the whole 
 body of Chriftians is to arrive at, is no where fpoken 
 of in fuch ftrong and plain terms, as by St Paul^ Eph. 
 iv. 12, 13, 15, 16. where he tells us, that the end 
 for which fhe feveral officers of the Church were or-, 
 dained, is — For the Perfecting of the Saints^ for 
 the isjork of the minijlry^ for the Edifying of the body 
 of Chriji : Till we all come in the Unity cfthefailh^, 
 and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto ^ per* 
 FECT Man, unto the meafure of the Jiature of the Ful- 
 ness of Chriji — That we may grow up unto him Ik 
 ALL things, which is the head, even Chriji. From 
 whom the whole body Jitly joined together, and cont-* 
 parted by that which every joint fuppiieth, according 
 to the effectual working in the meafure of every part, 
 maketh increafe of the body mi to the 'Edifying of it- 
 fef in Lve 
 
 The force of thefe words is generally much ener- 
 vated by the Commentators, for want of attending 
 to the juft import and meaning of them, which if 
 ihey had done, they would not fo flightly have pafs'd 
 over fuch an ineftimable treafure of divine know- 
 ledge as is convey'd to us in them. The Pafiage in 
 its full fenfe feems to afford ground for the following 
 Conclufions. 
 
 I . That the defign of the Chriftian miniftry being 
 the perfecting of the faints, and edifying of the body of 
 Chriji, this miniftry is not to ceafe till this end be 
 
 fully 
 * Scott's Chriftian Life, ib. p. 489.' 
 
2^6 Scripture Proofs of 
 
 fully attained, viz. till we all come unto a perfe^ -man^ 
 unto the full meafure of the fiature of Chrift. 
 
 2. From hence it appears to What heights ofper- 
 fedtion human nature fhall be raifed under the 
 Chriftian difpenlation. For as Chrift is the great 
 ftandard of its perfedlion, agreeably to the Maxim, 
 Perfe£fiffimum in fuo genere ejl menfura reliquorum : 
 Or, as it is otherwife exprefied to much the fame ef- 
 fe6l, Specimen nature capi debet ex optima quaque 
 natura * : fo it is evident trom hence, that the hu- 
 man nature in general, which is here confidered in the 
 aggregate, as one man, fliall come up to this ftandard, 
 as near as mere man is capable of approaching. 
 
 For diftinftion ought to be made between the 
 perfedlion of a nature merely human, and of fuch as 
 is both divine and human -, tho' the words under 
 confideration feem not to imply the leaft' diftinftion 
 or referve, but rather the contrary — 'T'ill we all come 
 unto a perfeoi man^ unto the meafure of the fiature of 
 thefulnefs of Chrifi : Which expreffion, as it feems 
 to be too ftrong, might be rendered in a more qua- 
 lified fenfe, in proportion to the fiature of the fulnefs 
 of Chrifi — Or elfe, leaving the Hebrew idiom, in 
 proportion to the full fiature of Chrifi. For why 
 may not the Word /uiTpcv be render'd by propor- 
 tion here, as well as it is thought to require that inter- 
 pretation by Dr Hammond^ and after him by Whitby .^ a 
 little lower down, viz. in the 1 6th verfe of this chapter ? 
 
 3. From hence it appears by what means, and in 
 what manner the faints are to be thus perfe6ted, and 
 the body of Chrift to be thus completely edified, or 
 built up ; viz. by means of the continued labours of 
 a ftanding miniftry, i'. 1 5, 1 6. whereby the whole 
 body of Chriftians being brought to an agreement in 
 the faith and knowledge of Chrift, and being thus 
 united unto him its head, and compared and cement- 
 
 ^ ed 
 
 * Cic. Tufc.^lueeJi.Uh. i. 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man, 257 
 
 ed in itfelf, each member in its place and office, and in 
 proportion to its power and ability, contributing to this 
 end — This Body, I fay, being thus happily difpo- 
 fed, groweth up unto Chrijl in all things, and maketh 
 increafe of itfelf, to the edifying of itfclf in love. 
 Whence it appears, 
 
 4. That Chriftianityj and, in virtue of it, the hu- 
 man nature is in a growing, progreffive ftatc, and is 
 to advance to its perfe6tion by a gradual increafe * ; 
 and that the fpiritual body of Chrift, like his own, 
 or any other natural body, is to arrive at its matu- 
 rity no otherwife, than by a leifurely growth in 
 wildom and all other Chriftian Graces -f. Hence the 
 Kingdom of Goo is compared to 2i grain of mufiard- 
 feed becoming a great tree ; and to a little leaven 
 leavening the whole mafs. And in this ferife I un- 
 derftand 2 Cor. iii. 18. fVe all are changed into the 
 image of Chnji, from glory to glory., i. e. from one 
 degree of glory to another. 
 
 5. Here is a promii'e of what the Church at prc- 
 fent hath great caufe to mourn the v/ant of, bile which 
 will be an eminent and effential chara6ler belonging 
 to that perfect ftate of it, which is here fuppofed,^ 
 viz. Chriftian Unity. Till we all come in the unity 
 of the faith (or rather) unto an unity of faith. Sac. 
 I'hat this happy end will at length be attained, is 
 intimated in feveral other Places of holy writ. Thus 
 Jer. xxxii. 39. I will give them one hearty, and on: 
 way (i. e. ot worfnip) that they may fear mc for ever. 
 And Zeph. iii. 9. Then will I turn to the people a 
 
 S pure 
 
 * Provchitur Religio grada'Jm una aim gerere hurmnoad fuam 
 puritatcm & pcifcdlioncni. Burnet de Jlafu mort. p. 258. 
 
 Progrcluim ProviJeniiie in munJo enlim aa pcrteino.icm pro- 
 moven.jo, & in illuminanua gente humana, Icmper ante oculos, 
 lemper inconiiliis habere oporter. ib. p. 309. 
 
 f Compa"-e Cc/. ii. ig. 
 
 \ Compare Lxtk. xi. 19. wish Calvin upon Ic 
 
25S Scripture Proofs of 
 
 pure language, that they may all call upon the name cj 
 the Lord, toferve him with one confent. A pure lan- 
 guage ? What can that mean ? Shall all mankind be 
 brought to fpeak one and the fame language, agree- 
 ably to the tradition above-mentioned, p. 181.? 
 That indeed has been talked of as what would be 
 vaftly convenient, and fomething towards it hath 
 been projefted.-f And fome of the JewiJJj inter- 
 preters imagine, that the confufion of tongues, fup- 
 pofed to have been introduced at Bahcl, fliall be re- 
 moved, and that the Hebrew fhall again become the 
 univerfal language •, but with regard to this, I be- 
 lieve nothing cither one way, or other. The word 
 (nsii;) in the text tranflated language, is in the mar- 
 gin rendered, lip, that being the ilrift fignification 
 of the word •, which learned men begin to think, 
 ought in fome other places, § to be interpreted by, 
 cotifejfion of faith, or religion ; and the context in this 
 place feems to determine it to the fame fenfe — / will 
 turn unto the people, or, turn the people unto the 
 
 pure rel'gion (That they may all call upon the 
 
 name of the Lord] or rather, as I have obferved, p. 
 68. concerning this Phrafe, mn^ UDI K^ipb that they 
 may in-vcke in the name of the Lord, Jehovah -, which 
 particularly fpecifies the pure religion before-men- 
 tioned ; there not being a jufter defcription of Chri- 
 ilianity than that it is the worlliiping of God thro* 
 the mediator, the Jehovah of the O. T. (to ferve 
 him with one confent) or, as it is in the Margin, with 
 one flooiilder, which denotes not only their unanimi- 
 ty, but zeal — They fhall ferve him with the united 
 application of all their might. Thus the Apoftle 
 tells us, God hath piirpo fed in himfelf in the difpenfa- 
 
 tion 
 
 •j- Bp. WilhrJi, ElTay towards a philofopliical Language. 
 
 § SdTi? New Account of the Confufion of Tongues : And Mifcel- 
 lancous Rcfledions on Mr Squirin Eilays, p. 9. 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 259 
 
 tion of the fulnefs of time to gather together in one^ 
 dvazipct.\xi-j()(jct(j'^cthforecapitulateallthings in' hrifi^ 
 both which are in Heaven^ and which are on Earth. 
 Eph. i. 10. Then, according to the Apoftle's defire, 
 we fliall be all perfe£fly joyned together in the fame 
 mind^ and in the fame judgment.^ i Cor. i. 10. in an 
 unity of fentiment, as well as afFe6lion. Then one 
 King fhall he King unto us all. Ezek. xxxvii. 22. And 
 there fhall be one Fold and one Shepherd. Jo. x. 16. 
 Notwithftanding therefore Chriftians differ fo much 
 at prefent from each other in their rehgious fenti- 
 ments, and are fo greatly divided among them- 
 felves, we may hence alTuredly conclude that it will 
 not be always fo. A fubtile adveriary hath indeed 
 concluded, ' that a variety of opinions is the natu- 
 ' ral confequence of the exercife of private juclg- 
 ' ment ; and that while men think and reafon for 
 ' themfclves, they will be more likely to differ flill 
 'wider, than to clofe and unite.*' Nowtho', as has 
 been feen, we have a furer word of Prophecy for our 
 guide, yet the contrary to what this author has ad- 
 vanced may be evinced upon mere principles ot 
 reafon. For Chriftianity hath nothing to fear from 
 a free and candid enquiry, and hath no occafion to 
 fhun the light, as this, of all other things dcth it 
 the greatefl fcrvice, in difcovering daily new beauties 
 in it, and difplaying the juil proportion and fym- 
 metry of all its parts. And when it hath been 
 thoroughly examined and underftood, it will appear 
 in one uniform ccnfiitent view to all. For tPJth 
 being uniform in itfelf, the v/ay to difcovcr this uni- 
 formity is by a thorough difcullion of it •, and when 
 it is univerfally difcovcred, it will be univerfally re- 
 ceived and affented to -, and nicn will conu- to think 
 alike concerning it, by that very means which this 
 S 2 author 
 
 * Chrift.iar.hy not foanced on Aigurr.cnr. p. 6. (s' alb'i. 
 
266 Scripture Proofs of 
 
 atithor imagines will be attended with the quite con- 
 trary effect. 
 
 To proceed now to the confideration of other par- 
 ticulars—One thing which renders the future exiftence 
 of fuch a ftate as 1 am pleading for highly credible, 
 is, that there are fome Precepts in the Gofpel, which, 
 in their juft and llridcft fenfe, are by no means fuita- 
 ble to the prefent ftate of the world, but feem calcu- 
 lated for one much higher and more advanced. Of 
 this kind I conceive thofe precepts to be, which abfo- 
 lutely forbid, going to law^ repelling injuries^ Jwear- 
 ing^ refifiance of the higher powers^ and fome others 
 that might be mentioned ; a ftri6l obfervance of 
 which, as it is hardly reconcilable with civil pru- 
 dence in our prefent diforderly corrupt ftate, fo a 
 more qualified fenfe, and fuch as is more confiftent 
 with it, is put upon them by the more humanly 
 wife part of Chriftians ; which yet the necelTity, arifmg 
 from the danger and inconveniencies apprehended 
 from a rigid adherence to them, is the only ground 
 of But it is eafy to conceive a ftate of fuch Per- 
 V:' fection, in which even worldly Wifdom would diftate 
 to take wrong and fnffcr ourfehes to he defrauded, ac- 
 cording to the Apoitle's advice, i Cor. vi. 7. rather 
 than have recourfe to law or force, to right or defend 
 ourfelves : Which methods are much lefs neceffary 
 than they are apprehended to be, as the world ftands 
 at prefent. But if a bearing and forgiving temper be 
 attended with advantages fufficient to recommend it, 
 as bad as the world now is, how unexceptionably ad- 
 vantageous would it be in a world wherein no danger 
 would enfue from it ! Then would our Saviour's 
 Beatitude appear to be founded in nature, and its truth 
 verified, viz. that hleffed are the meek., for they flmll 
 inherit the earth. 
 
 The ufe of Oaths is confeffed by the wifeft men of 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 261 
 
 all ages and denominations, to have arifen from per^ 
 fidy and corruption, and to be continued only as a 
 medicine in cafe of necefTity, and in condefcenfion to, 
 and fupply of defeft. Therefore in a itate of per- 
 fedlion, Oaths muftceafe of themfelves, and fall into 
 difufe, when men's integrity will be fuch, that their 
 bare affirmations will be of more weight than their 
 moil folemn appeals to Heaven are at prefent. And 
 fuch will be the mutual confidence and harmony be- 
 tween fovereigns and their fubje6ts, that all occafions 
 for difputes about paflive obedience, and the law- 
 f ulnefs of refiftance will be taken away. 
 
 The future prevalence of univerfil Holincfs may 
 be farther inferr'd from the peculiar prefence of 
 God, and that plentiful effuHon of the Holy Ghofl, 
 which is promifed to the Church. For concerning the 
 former we are told that He will fet his fan£luary in 
 the midji of his people for evermore \ his tabernacle floall 
 be clfo with them^andhe will dwell -vjith them ^ and he 
 will be their Gon, and they Jhall be his People. Ezek. 
 xxxvii, 27. Rev. xxi. 3. And with regard to the latter 
 — I will pour water upon him that is thirfiy., and floods 
 upon the dry ground. I will pour ray Spirit upon thy 
 feed^ and my hleffing upon thine offfpring^ Ifa. xliv. 3. 
 So Ezek. xxxvi. 27. I will put my Spirit within you, 
 and caufe you to walk in my fiatutes. And it floall 
 come to pafs in thnfe days., that I will pour cut my 
 Spirit upon all flejh^ and your fons and your daughters 
 fhall prophefy, your old men Jhall dream dreams, and 
 your young men floall fee njifions ', and alfo upon your 
 fervants and handmaids ., in thofe days, zvill I pour out 
 my Spirit. Joel ii. 28. Thefe Prophecies, 'tis true, 
 have had one remarkable completion by the de- 
 fcent pf the Holy Ghoft on the day of Pentccofte ; 
 but that they had not then their full and final accom- 
 pliihment is evident from Ac'ls ii. 39. where St Peter 
 
 S 3 tcKs 
 
262 Scripture Proofs of 
 
 tells the firft converts, that the promife of the gifts of 
 the Holy Ghofi^ was not only unto them^ and to their 
 children^ hut to all that were afar off^ even as many as 
 the Lord our God fjall call. And therefore thefe Pro- 
 phecies, as they imply fomething more than the ordi- 
 nary afiiftances of the Spirit, are underftood to point 
 more efpecially to the future ages of the Gofpel, 
 when the Jews., to whom they are particularly ad- 
 drefs'd, fhall be converted to the Chriftian Faith. And 
 fome there are that do not feem capable of any other 
 meaning. Thus, I will pour upon the houfe 0/ David, 
 and upon the inhabitants of Jerufalem, the Spirit of 
 Grace and Supplications., and they fhall look upon me 
 whom they have pierced, &c. Zech. xii. 10. And 
 Ila. xxxii. 15. contains a Promife to the Jews., that the 
 Spirit fJoall be poured upon them from on high., and like- 
 wife affigns the time of its completion, viz. when 
 their land fliall be reflored to its fertility •, that is, not 
 before their return to cultivate it. The circum- 
 flances of both thefe Prophecies limit them to the 
 people of the Jews — Thefe people are hitherto far 
 enough from enjoying the blefling promifed in them, 
 as they feem to be rather under a kind of dereliftion 
 of the Spirit, than to be influenced by him — There- 
 fore this influence is yet to come, and feems referved 
 for their converfion. 
 
 Having fhewn above, p. 234. the pofTibility of at- 
 taining to Perfeftion in Hoiinefs by the affiftance of 
 God's holy Spirit, and that it is in our power to have 
 that affiftance in what meafure we pleafe, by con- 
 forming to the laws of the divine conduct in difpenf- 
 ing of it. To I have here fhewn that mankind actually 
 fhall have his affiftance in a very plentiful manner, 
 if the divine promife is to be credited : Which con- 
 firms this hypothefis in general, as well as the particu- 
 lar reafoning on this fubje6l, p. 45. For as the di- 
 vine affiftance is not to be expeded otherwife than 
 
 ill 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 263 
 
 in God's flated methods of voiichfafing it, and as we 
 cannot imagine he will voiichfafe it at all in iiich 
 eminent degrees, but to proper and worthy objedts 
 of it ; fo it is mod rational to fuppofe, as we have 
 hence good grounds for the fuppofition, that man- 
 kind will gradually increafe their liberty to good, and 
 proportionably improve their talent of Grace, till it 
 comes to that remarkable pitch here prophefied of. 
 When God Ihall communicate his holy Spirit in 
 this plentiful manner, we may well fuppofe that 
 men's Underftanding will be greatly illuminated, as 
 well as that their Wills and Affections will be purified 
 by the powerful influence of his Grace. Accordingly 
 , we learn that in thole days they Jhall teach no more 
 every man his neighbour^ and every man his broth er^\ 
 faying^ Know the Lord: For they jJ jail know me from 
 the leajl of them unto the greateft of them^ faith the 
 Lord. Jer. xxxi. 34. Many fl jail run to and fro., and 
 knowledge fljall be increafed. Dan. xii. 4. -f All thy 
 children flj all be taught of the Lord., faith Ifaiah, Ch. 
 liv. 13. Jo. vi. 45. And the Earth fo all be full of the 
 knowledge of the Lord., as the waters cover the Sea §. 
 Ifa. xi, 9. Hab. ii. 14. The waters ib cover the fca, 
 that nothing but water can be feen -, therefore fo the 
 
 S 4 know- 
 
 * It is far frcm the Prophet's meaning here to exclude all ufe of 
 teaching under the Goipel (which is contiary to the end of all the 
 ordinances of the Gofpcl) but bccaufc Teaching doth commonly 
 luppole great ignoiancc, he fets forth the abundance of knowledge 
 which Hull be then, by the exclufion of Teaching, which implies 
 Ignorance. S////;.'.'o-/Ar/'s Or/fw^i 2/icr^e, B. z. C/!p. 6. 5^:?. S. ^ 
 
 There will be much /ffs need of fuch teaching in the days of the 
 Mfjjiah, when there will be a more admirable, a divine lenching 
 by the plentiful Eiuifion of the Spirit. Bp IVcJl/ih Sermons. 
 Vil. z.Difc.xv. 
 
 \ See Claggtt's Sermon entitled, The State >:/ the Church in Jges 
 to cm?. Pf. XIX. 2. 0/:e da'^telitb miotber. 
 
 § The Author of Ecdn gives us a beautiful Dcfcription of the 
 Progrefs and Inci cafe of Knowledge, Ch. 24. 31. Lo ms Brook 
 hccame a River^ mid ;/;y River bccaw.e a Sea, See Chandlir\ 
 Def Cluilliani;y, p. 3o3- sxidi Jc-jq. 
 
264 Scripture Proofs of 
 
 knowledge of the Lord Ihall be propagated and dif- 
 fufed all over the Earth. And it fliould feem from 
 the increafe of Knowledge of all kinds, both divine • 
 and human, which hath been made in thefe latter 
 ages, that thefe Prophecies are beginning to w^ork 
 towards a completion. 
 
 Now laying together what hath been faid— There be- 
 ing fo many remarkable palTages of Scripture which 
 (\it^k in fuch high terms of the amplitude of Chrift's 
 kingdom •, the righteoufnefs and holinefs, perfe6lion 
 and unity of its fubjeds -, and of the divine prefence 
 and affifhance to encourage and influence them to all 
 things good and praife- worthy, to purify their affetfli- 
 ons, and enlighten their underftandings-r- it cannot be 
 affirmed that there hath been fuch a ftate of things, 
 as is her^ defcribed, in any paft age of the Church; 
 that Chrifi's kingdom hath been To univerfally ex- 
 tended ; or that there hath been fuch a lively and vi- 
 gorous fbate of Religion in refpecl either of perma- 
 nency or degree ; which yet it ought to be, to make 
 it anfwerable to the import of the Prophecies •, the 
 concluiion therefore is unavoidable, viz. that this 
 bielTed ftate is to come. 
 
 And how highly muft we conceive of human na- 
 ture when it is arrived at this pitch ! When all -\ the 
 world ihall become Chriftians, and good Chriftians 
 too •, fupported and infpired by Heaven ; knit and 
 bound together in one common band of love -, anima- 
 ting and outvying each other, and even themfelves 
 in all good works ; aiming at ftill higher degrees of 
 perfetflion •, and daily proceeding from firength to 
 Jlre'rtgth^ being changed from glory to glory., and the 
 luilre of their lives refembling thefhining light which 
 fidineth more and more unto the -perfeSl day. Prov. iv. 
 
 18. Surely 
 
 * Want of UniveiTality a*- prcfent obje£>ed to Chrifiianity, by 
 our modern. Unbelievers, \\i]l then be entirely removed, and iher^- 
 fo c ought not to be too much triumphed in at prefenc. 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 265 
 
 1 8. Surely this muft be the paradifiacal flate ! And 
 there will then be a Heaven upon Earth ! 
 
 But here it may be obje6ted, " that whatever 
 countenance from Scripture is pretended in favour of 
 this do6trine, which fuppofes that mankind fliall in 
 this hfe attain to finlefs Perfection, it muft be falfe, 
 or contradictory to other pafifages ot Scripture, which 
 Item to be exprefs againil it. Thus it is faid, "There 
 is none that doth goo d^ no not one. Pf. xiv. 3. That 
 there is not a jujl man upon earth that doth good., 
 andfinneth not. Eccl. vii. 20. That all havefmnedy 
 and come Jhort of the glory of God. Rom. iii. 23. 
 And that the Scripture hath concluded all under Jin., 
 that every mouth may he flopped., and all the world 
 may become guilty before God. Gal. iii. 22. Rom. iii. 
 
 19. with many more texts to the fame purpofe." 
 
 It may be father objected, " that this is a Pelagian, 
 or enthufiaftic dodrine -that it dedroys the covenant 
 of grace, fetting up that of works in its Head -, efta- 
 bhlhing a righteoufnefs of our own, exclufive of that 
 by faith in Chrift ; and rendering his atonement and 
 fufferings for fin unneceffary ; as it likewife feems to 
 do the ufe of that Prayer which he hatli taught us, 
 one Petition of which is. Forgive us our trefpafj'es, as 
 ■wejorgive them that trefpafs againjl us." 
 
 To thefe feveral Objections which I have thrown 
 together into one, lanfwer/r/?, that thofe Scriptures 
 which maintain man's unavoidable fmiulnefs are to 
 be underllood either of the natural man, deftitute of 
 the aids of divine grace •, whofe inherent corriiption 
 and infufficiency for good is not denied, but all along 
 necefiarily fuppofcd by this do<5lrine : Or elfe, fecondlyy 
 they are to be underftood of the llate of the Chifrch X 
 when thofe Scriptures were v/ritten, or to which they 
 refer. Thus it is evident that the xiv Pfalm was 
 defjgned only by the author as a character of the 
 
266 Scripture Proofs of 
 
 Jews in the age he wrote it : And that it was appUed 
 by St Paid to both the Jews and Gentiles of his time ; 
 but it doth not appear that the Ploly Ghoft defign'd 
 to extend it any farther. But admitting, thirdly^ that 
 forne texts of Scripture, which mention man's finful- 
 nefs, are to be underftood in their utmoft latitude, 
 of human nature in general, including every individual 
 of every age -, yet as I have fhewn in the beginning 
 of this Treatife, p. lo. that Man in his ftate of in- 
 nocence might have been liable to fome lefler infir- 
 mities, which in ftri6lnefs of account muft Dartake of 
 the nature of fin ; fo neither, when he regains this 
 ftate, is there any neceffity for fuppofing him entirely 
 exempt from fin. 
 
 And therefore, ' as now, (to ufe the words of St 
 Aujlin) ' by reafon of certain ignorances and infir- 
 ' mities of her members, the whole Church hath 
 ' caufe to fay daily. Forgive us our trefpajfes*,^ fo I 
 will not maintain that the fame reafon for the ufe of 
 this Petition may not in fome meafure fubfift as long 
 as there is a Church upon earth : Tho' even at pre- 
 fent not only vain pretenders to Perfection think 
 themfelves too holy to ufe it, but this Prayer is in a 
 great meafure laid afide by fome of the more fober 
 difciples of Chrift. And tho' men fhould have no 
 aftual fins which they needed pardon of, yet the ufe 
 ofthisPetition might not mifbecome peccable beings, 
 in token of their dependance upon God, without 
 whofe fupport they would not be able to ftand-f". 
 
 Not- 
 
 * Retract. Lib. z. Cap. 18. 
 
 f Thus thinks Laffantius—\Jt fit Deo carus CfciLjullus homo) 
 omnique macula careat, mi^ericordiam Dei Temper Jmploret ; ni- 
 hilque ai'iid precetur, nili peccatis fuis veniam; l:cct nulla jiut 
 Inftit. lb. e. Jul fine. 
 
 Nos vero, etiamfi milium fit Fccrntum, confireri tamen debe- 
 mus, & prodebitis noftrisi identidem depiecari,gratias agere etiam 
 in mali?. Hoc Temper obfequium Domir.o dejcramus. Humilnas 
 enJm tarn cara & air.abilis Deo ef:, qui cum magis fufcipiat pecca- 
 
 10 rem 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 267 
 
 Notwithftanding the concefTion here made, the 
 characters of Righteoufnefs and true HoHnefs, above- 
 mentioned, may (till belong to the Church in an 
 equitable and favourable fcnfe. Nor need it be teared, 
 that man will then afiiime any felf-fufficiency, either 
 upon the fchemes of the Catharijls or Pelagians of 
 old, or of our modern Deijis on the one hand, or 
 enthufiaftic Perfe£licnifts on the other. For mankind 
 will then underftapd themfelves and their religion 
 better than to repofe any confidence in their own 
 good works, as in themfelves meritorious of jufti- 
 fication •, becaufe however good and perfeft they 
 Ihall be, they mud know, that their goodnefs can- 
 not proceed from themfelves, but from the Grace 
 and Spirit of God, who worketh in us both to will 
 and to do of his good plealure •, and therefore ail 
 boafting is utterly excluded ■\. Befides, as our works 
 can never be lb perfeft before God, as to ftand the 
 feverity of hisjuilice, Iliould he be extreme to mark 
 what is done amifs., fo we fliail ever ftand in need of 
 the merits and atonement of our Redeemer : And 
 the nearer we approach to perfection, the lefs we fliall 
 lean to our own Righteoufnefs, and the more we fliall 
 repofe our faith and truft in him, who alone is able to 
 keep us from falling., andto frefcnt «i Faultless be- 
 fore tbeprefence of his G/ory. Jude 24. 
 
 In a word, the Covenants of Grace and Works 
 will then coincide, but no way interfere with each 
 other. For it is very obfervable that the Law of 
 Works is fo far from being abolifhed by any formal 
 abrogation in the New Teltamcnt, that, on the con- 
 trary, there are fome plain intimations in it of its be- 
 ing ftill in force. Matt. v. i j. Rom. viii. 4. And 
 when this happy union of both Covenants fhall be ef- 
 
 fefted, 
 torem confitentem, quamjuftum fuperbnm, qunnto magis jutlum 
 luicipiet confitentem, cumque in Rcj^nis ca;!eilibiis f^ciec pra 
 humilirate lublimem ! IJ. Epitome, c. 8. 
 
 ■f See Eph. ii. 8. wr.h lyiih-j in l.cuv. 
 
2 68 Scripture Proofs of 
 
 fefted, then will thofe proplietical words of the Pfal- 
 mift be fully verified, mercy and truth will meet to- 
 gether^ right eoufnefs and peace will kifs each other. Pf. 
 Ixxxv. lO 
 
 When the Church fliall thus be arrived at its high- 
 eft flate of earthly purity — As foon as it may truly 
 be faid to be without spot or wrinkle, or any 
 SUCH THING, then Chrift will prefent it to himfelf 
 a glorious Church. Eph. v. ly. And when our 
 nature fhall have attained its utnioil accomplifh- 
 ment, its moil confummate pitch of Perfection in 
 this world ; then thefe things fhall be all done away, 
 and it fhall be tranflated to a ftill more perfect ftate 
 in the celeftial regions. 
 
 - It may be here replied, that, contrary to, this fup- 
 pontion, there will be wicked men in the world as 
 long as the world lafis^ which Scripture may be 
 thought to warrant. Thus fome may think as much 
 to be implied in thofe words of our Saviour — A^^- 
 *verthekfs when the fon of man co?neth, (hall he find 
 faith on earth? Luke xviii. 8. The fame likewife 
 may be inferr'd from the Parable of the tares., which 
 he would not fuffer to be pluck'd up from among 
 the zvheat^ but order'd that both fibould be permit- 
 ted to grow together until the harveft^ Matt. xiii. 30. 
 whence it hath been thought, that there will be a 
 continuance of both tares and wheat, good men and 
 bad, till the end of the world. 
 
 Now with regard to the former text — The coming 
 of Chrift therein mention'd is underftood by many 
 to be meant, not of his laft coming., but of his com- 
 ing to avenge his chofen fervants, the Chriftians, on 
 the perfecuting Jews in the deftrudion of their City 
 and Nation. And accordingly Dr Hammond tran- 
 flates the words, floall he find faith^ not, on the 
 earth., but ^ Ti^$ y^c^ in the laruU i. e. of Judea. 
 l^ht ' For 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 269 
 
 J^or it is remarkable, that when lUtus came to be- 
 fiege Jerufalem^ all the Chriltians had I'^ft it, by a 
 divine Monition, and retired beyond Jordan^ info- 
 much that there was not one remaining, but the un- 
 believing Jews only. Well therefore might our Sa- 
 viour alk, when the fon of man cometh^ fhall he f.nd 
 faith in the land? This text therefore hath nothing 
 ro do with the end of the world j Which is alfo evi- 
 dent from the occafion of it : for the defign of his 
 coming here mention*d, was to avenge his ele£f^ 
 which agrees with his coming to, the deftrudion of 
 the Jeivs, but not with his laft coming at the end 
 of the world. As to the Parable, I obferve, 
 
 t. That the defign of it is only to caution the 
 o;overnors of the Church againft the exercife of too 
 rigorous a difcipline in ejecting offenders out of it, 
 left the innocent fhould be involved with, or mifta- 
 ken for the guilty ; but in all dubious cafes to refer 
 them to the laft judgment. This, I fliy, being the 
 only defign of the Parable, there is no nccefllty of 
 extending it any firther. 
 
 2. There will be wicked men and hypocrites 
 enough at the end of the world, after the general 
 Refurreclion to be feparated from among the good 
 Chriftians, without fuppofing a mixture of each to 
 continue throughout all ages, till that time. Ac- 
 cordingly, Dr. Clark^ to avoid t\v:X fuppofition, 
 paraphrafes upon the words in this manner — ' Let 
 
 * them alone till harvcft, and then I will order my 
 
 * reapers to pick out the tares firft, and burn them., 
 ' and then gather the wheat into my barn.' 
 
 3. I fhall hereafter produce evident proofs from 
 Scripture, that the Lift generation of men fliall be aU 
 righteous, and that there v/ill not be a v/icked per- 
 fon among them. 
 
 But ftill it m.ay be objefted, that admitting man 
 
 may 
 
270 Scripture Proofs oj 
 
 may recover the purity and perfe6lion of his primi- 
 tive condition, yet he cannot be faid to be fully re- 
 inflated in it, unlefs he Ukewife be polTefTed of its 
 happinefs — be exempted from all the other evils of 
 his lap fed condition, as well as from fin, and ht in- 
 veiled with the privilege of uninterrupted felicity of 
 all kinds, and in the end with immortality itfelf. 
 
 All this I readily grant, and therefore, if the fe- 
 veral things here infnied upon can be fully made out, 
 I hope nothing farther will be expefted. 
 
 In order to which, I fliall begin with examining 
 what the future State of the Church will be, chiefly 
 with regard to outward Circumftances. And here 
 we Ihall find that the Scriptures fpeak much of the 
 flourifhing and peaceable ilate of it ; but generally 
 in conjunction with its Purity and Holinefs. Thus 
 the Pfalmifl gives us a very fplendid and pompous 
 defcription of the fpoufe of Chrift, and among other 
 lively and magnificent emblems by which he repre- 
 fents her, he tells us, that the king's daughter is alt 
 glorious withiii, and that her cloathing likewife is of 
 ivrought Go'.d. She Jh all be brought unto the king in 
 raiment of needle-work^ with joy and gladnefs Jhall 
 floe he brought^ and Jloall enter into the kings palace. 
 Pf xlv. 14, 15, 16. i/^7/^/^ likewife introduces her 
 exulting in her beauteous and goodly apparel, and 
 at the fame time gives us to underftand wherein the 
 nature of it doth confiil. / will greatly rejoyce in the 
 Lord, my fcul Jhall be joyful in my God, for he hath 
 cloathed me with the garments of fahation; he hath 
 covered me with the robe of right eoufnefs •, as a bride- 
 groom decketh himfelf with ornaments, and as a bride 
 adorneth her f elf with her jewels : For as the earth 
 hringeth forth her bud, and as the garden caufeth the 
 things that are f own in it to fpring forth, fo the 
 Lord God will caufe nghieoufncfs andpraife to fpring 
 forth before all the nations, Ifa. Ixi. 10. In words 
 
 m uch 
 
the Recovery of fallen Ma7i. 271 
 
 much to the fame purpofe doth St Jchn defcribe the 
 marriage ot the lamb. Lei us be glad and rejoyce^ 
 and give honour to him, for the marriage of the lamh 
 is come, and his wife hath made herfclf ready. And 
 to her was granted that foefhould be arayed in fine lin- 
 en. Clean and white; for the fine linen is the right e- 
 oufnefs of faints. Rev. xix. 7, 8. And that meta- 
 phorical defcription of the fpoufe of Chrift, which 
 Solomon gives us in his Canticles, is of the fame na- 
 ture \ in which he not only ufes m.any ftrong fi- 
 gures to fet off her charms, but addreffes her in plain 
 language, Thou art all f^ ir, my love^ there is no 
 Spot in thee, Ch. iv. 7. And none other than this 
 is that glorious Church mentioned by St Paul. Eph. 
 V. 27. WITHOUT Spot, or wrinkle, or any fuch 
 thing, but fuch as is holy, and without blemifh. Thefe 
 feveral chara6ters and defcriptions imply fuch a con- 
 fummate pitch of outward fplendor, and inward pu- 
 rity, as can, in no juftice or propriety of fpeech, be 
 applicable to any pail Hate of the Church ; therefore 
 they muft be meant of fome future ftate, and that 
 It will be an earthly one, will be fliewn hereafter. 
 
 Nor, as 1 faid, doth the Scripture lefs magnify 
 the perfed: harmony and peaceablenefs of this future 
 Itate of the Church, the moil happy effed that can 
 be produced by religion among men, confider'd as 
 fociable creatures. This follows from the charafter 
 of unity above-mentioned : But there are many ex- 
 prefs teftimonies to this purpofe. 
 
 Ifaiah dwells much upon this fubjeft. Thur, 
 Chap. ii. 4. he prophefieth that, it fijall come to pafs 
 in the lafi days — that they f]j all beat their fwords in- 
 to plough -flares, and their fpears into prmiing-hocks ; 
 nation f J all not lift up fword againft nation, neither 
 fhall they learn war any more. We have the fame 
 Prophecy in Micah iv. 3. who adds, — But they fJoall 
 Jit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, 
 
 and 
 
2y2 Scj'ipture Proofs of 
 
 end nonejhall make them afraid^ for the mouth of tP. 
 Lord of Ho ft s hath fpken it. ftlo again, I will make 
 thy officers peace, and thine exactors right eoufnefs^ 
 violence fJoall no more be heard in thy land^ wafting 
 fior deftru^ion within thy borders ; but thoufhalt call 
 thy zvalls Jahation, and thy gates praife. Ifa. Ix. 1 7, 
 18. And, Ch. Ixvi. 12. 'Thus faith the Lord, Be- 
 hold I will extend peace to her like a river, and the 
 
 ' glory of the Gentiles like a flowing ftream. 
 
 To the fame purpofe the Pialmift hkewife pro- 
 phefieth concerning Chrift's kingdom, that the 
 mountains ftoall bring peace to the people, and that in 
 his days there flo all be abundance of peace, fo long as 
 the moon endure th. Pf. Ixxii. 3, 7. And this is no 
 more than the natural fruit of that State of Righteouf- 
 nefs, to which, as we have fecn, the Church will 
 then be advanced ; For the work of righteoufnefsfhall 
 he peace, and the effect of right eoufnefs, quietnefs and 
 affurance for ever. Ifa. xxxii. 17. Agreeable hereto, 
 in the metaphorical fenfe, is that remarkable Pro- 
 phecy which we have in the xith Chap, of Ifaiah, 
 tho' I cannot confent to exclude the literal Senfe, 
 which I fhall confider hereafter. The wolf fhall 
 ^well with the lamb, and the leopard fhall lie down 
 with the kid ; and the calf, and the young lion, and 
 the falling together, and a little child fo all lead them. 
 And the coiv and the bear fhall feed, their young 
 ones ftoall lie down together, and the lion fall eat 
 
 fir aw like the ox. Jnd the fucking child fhall play 
 on the^ocle of the afp, and the weaned child fhall put 
 his hand on the cockatrice-den. They fhall ?wt hurt 
 nor deftroy in all my holy mountain. Ifa. xi. 6, — 9. 
 
 Calvin, whofe expofitions of the Prophecits are 
 efteemedche moft judicious * and valuable of all his 
 
 works, 
 
 f See Hrf. ii. 18. Zeph. iii. 13, 16. Z.r>. ix. 10. Deut. xxxiii. 
 
 28, 
 
 * See the Preface to che third Volume QiVoofi S_^mpfs, 
 
the "Recovery of fallen Ma?i. 273 
 
 Works, and who often talks as if he expe6led a Re- 
 novation of the World by means of the Chhfti an 
 difpenfation, exprefles himfelf, in his interpretation 
 of this place, to this cffecl— 
 
 ' The Prophet here promifeth a blefled rcflora- 
 ' tion of the world ; for he defcribes the good order 
 ' and harmony which fubfiiled at the beginning of 
 ' the world, before the difobedience of man occa- 
 ' fioned that unhappy fubverfion of it under which 
 
 * we now groan — llierefore at Chrifi\ coming to 
 ' reconcile the world to God by abolifhing the 
 
 * curfe, the reftoration of that perfect ftate is not 
 
 * improperly attributed to him — Again, tho' Ifaiah 
 ' fays, that there fhall be a mutual agreement be- 
 ' tween wild and tame beafts, yet what he princi- 
 ' pally means is, that Chriji\ fubje6ls will harbour 
 ' no injurious thoughts, nor retain any fiercenefs or 
 ' inhumanity in their tempers. For if it will be in 
 ' the power of Chrift to tame and pacify the brute 
 
 * bealls, much more will he be able to promote a 
 ' brotherly union of affections among men, who 
 ' fhall be all governed by the fame fpirit of mes-k- 
 
 * nefs*.' 
 
 When this happy ftate of things fhall take place, 
 there will then indeed be Peace upon earthy and good 
 will towa?'ds men. The weak fhall no more become 
 a prey to the ftrong, nor Ihall the fimple hill into 
 the fnare of the crafty. None fliall be lb wicked as 
 to thirfV after innocent blood •, none fhall opprefs, or 
 any way injure another on the one hand, neither fh.iU ' 
 
 T there 
 
 * Prophetocjoratio perindc efl: ac ii proniitterct beaiam munJi 
 reparaiionem. Ordincm cnim defcribit qualis 'ait ab initio, an- 
 tequam hominis dcf.'dlione acciuerec uiUis et inielix con^'crfi i, 
 fub qua nunc geminm?--f^ium ergo veneri: Ciiullof, ut aljo'ici 
 malcdidione mimdum reconciliarec Deo, rion abs re ei tribuui:r 
 inllauratio pcrfeiti fta'us, Sec. 
 
 See likevvife Dr Claigec\ Scnnon f.'i-.i'.IeJ, The St'te of the 
 Church in Ages to ccme. 
 
2 74 Scripture Proofs of 
 
 there be any fear, jealoufy, or diftruft on the other : 
 all difcord and faction fhall die away, and all par- 
 ties fhall be united : the moft oppofite intereft and 
 tempers jQiall be reconciled, and the moil untoward 
 and iintraftable fpirits fliall become tame and govern- 
 able. In a word, love and charity Iball univerfally 
 prevail, and a perfed: harmony fhall reign among 
 Men. Then the fiercenefs of man Jhall turn to thy 
 'praife^ O Lord, and the fiercenefs of them then floalt 
 refrain. 
 
 To proceed now to fome other teftimonies of this 
 renovated ftate, the firft fhall be that of our Saviour, 
 ^. who faith, that EUas truly fJj all come and reflcre all 
 r^ things. 'M.2iXX. 17. 11. Which words, as they were 
 fpoken after the Death of John Baptifi, are not ap- 
 plicable to him, nor has there any perfon appeared 
 fmce in the fpirit and charader of Elias, much lefs 
 any one to whom an univerfal reftoration can be at ■ 
 tributed. The conclufion therefore is, that in con- 
 fequence of this prophecy fuch a perfon is yet to 
 come, who is to be a reftorer of the world to fome 
 better ftate from which it degenerated and fell. St 
 Peter, in his Sermon to the Jews, exhorts them in 
 this manner — Repent and be converted, to the hloi- 
 ting out of your Jins, that the times or feafons of ^y.- 
 FRESHiNG may come from the pre fence of the Lord, 
 and that he may fend Jefus Chrift, which before was 
 preached unto you : PThom the Heaven mufl receive 
 until the times c/ Restitution of all things, which 
 God hath fpoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, ■ 
 fince the world began. A6ls iii. 19, 20, 21. The 
 original words are thus render'd by feveral of the 
 beft commentators, vv'ho make the times of refrefJjing, 
 and the coming of Chrift to depend upon the repeh- 
 tance and reformation of the World, and to be haft- 
 ened forwards by it. And it is obfervable, that 
 --^, this dodrine is none other than v/hat is elfewhere 
 K VX^ i^t^A ^ e^f^/t^O^ ^*--'^-'^' ^Ar ^Yi deii- 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man. 275 
 
 delivered by the fame Apoftlc — Seeing then that all 
 theje things Jhall be dijfohed, ivhat mariner of perfons 
 ought ye to be in all hcly cowcerfation and godlinefs^ 
 looking for^ and hajlning the coming of the day cf 
 God. 2 Pet. iii. 11, 12. But this Text will be 
 more particularly confidered hereafter. As the 
 ti?nes of refrefhing is an expreflion ufed by the He- 
 brews to fignify any remarkable deliverance, fo v/hy 
 may it not be here meant of the deliverance of hu- 
 man nature from the evils of the fall, in which fenfe 
 it feems beft to agree with the other parallel expref- 
 fion, the times of rcfiitution cf all things ? For both 
 exprclTions refer to the fame leafon, or period, and 
 are explanatory of each other. 
 
 Dr IVhitby fays, thefe words cannot be meant of 
 a reftitution of all things to their former ftate. * But 
 I fee no reafon from any thing he offers, why they 
 fhould be underftood any otherwife, this being the 
 plain obvious fenfe of the words. And they con- 
 tain fo direct a proof of the point in hand, that I 
 muft ov/n it is fomething firange, how learned w.cw 
 could mifunderitand or overlook them. To me 
 this text feems fo ftrong and weighty, that tho' it 
 flood alone, without any others to fupport it, I 
 fhould think it of itfelfa fufficient foundation for the 
 dodlrine I have advanced, provided on the other 
 hand there were none to contradift it, as I know 
 not of any. But as it is here faid that God hath Ipc- 
 ken of thefe times of rcfiitution of all things by the 
 mouth of all his holy prophets^ fol have produced feme 
 of thefe prophecies already, and Oiall hereafter pro- 
 duce more. 
 
 I cannot therefore, think with this learned aiitlior, 
 
 that there is any impropriety in faying there vvill in 
 
 a reftitution of all things to their former fta'jc, 
 
 which God hath fpoken of., <yc. But as he thoug|-.t 
 
 T 2 this 
 
 * Treatifc cf \hc iri-.e 7.'/;//-7-7;mv. p. 736. ' 
 
^7^ Scripture Proofs of 
 
 this made againft his hypothcfis, which in truth it 
 did not, he therefore has recourfe to authorities for 
 underftanding the word d-noaccTzlcacnr in a diffe- 
 rent fenfe, viz. as fignifying a perfe£iing or con- 
 fummating^ &c. which fenfe tho' 1 do not exclude, 
 yet I fee no reafon for departing from the primary 
 and natural fignlfication of the word. I agree with 
 him that Chriil is to continue in Heaven till the com- 
 pletion, or confummation of all things fpoken by the 
 holy prophets ; and therefore till the reftitution of 
 all things to their former ftate be likewife complet- 
 ed : For I do not underftand this text, as fome do, 
 as if this Reflitution were to ccmmence, but that it is 
 to htfiniped and perfected at the fecond coming of 
 our Saviour \ which will not, by what we learn 
 from Scripture, be attended with a reftitution of all 
 things to their former ftate, as its confequcnce •, but 
 with a total change of them to fomething quite dif- 
 ferent from what they ever were before. 
 
 K'iTOt(jmiigct(y[c, is an aftronomical term made 
 ufe of to exprefs the annual revolutions, real or ap- 
 parent, of the heavenly bodies \ which having per- 
 formed, they are reftored to and replaced in the 
 fam.e point of the heavens from which they fet out ; 
 which may ferve to give us a clearer idea of it in 
 this place. 
 
 And it is obfervable, that the great mundane 
 Revolution * above-mentioned, p. 185. when the 
 Annus magniis fhall be ccm.pleted, being called by 
 the Name of K'Tio>(a.'zia.^a.aic, t^r" ^^oyh't ox 
 AirozctTa^aai; tfxxjfMic^j this notion feems to be al- 
 luded to by St P^/^r in the text, ftnce he makes ufe 
 
 of 
 
 * Tliis Revolution, afcribed by the antients to the heavenly 
 bodicF, but which the moderns have dilcovercd 10 proceed from 
 a deviaiion of the earth's axis from its paiallclifin, occaiioned 
 piob<)bIy by the iphojioidica) figure of the canh, will, according 
 to ali.ioi;omical calcuhuion, take up 25920 years in completing. 
 
the Recovery of fallen Man, 277 
 
 of the fame term, AnozctTTxi^xai; iravn^jV •■> but whe- 
 ther that be the grand period which the Holy Ghoft 
 here points to, mull rem.ain among the infcrutablc 
 Arcana of the Almighty. It is not however impro- 
 bable from the analogy which runs thro' the whole 
 creation, and which the natural and moral world 
 bear to each other, that the celeftial and t:rreilTiaI, 
 the material and fpiritual reftitution do keep pace, 
 and fliall be made to meet and coincide with each 
 other. 
 
 But this reftoration and renovation of the natural 
 and moral world, which is here only occafionally 
 mentioned, is moreover directly prophefied of, by 
 Ifaiah in the old iejia^nent, and by St John and St 
 Peier in the new, under the Emblem of nev/ Hea- 
 vens and a new Earth. 
 
 But before I enter upon the confideration of thefe 
 Prophecies, I fliall bellow a few thoughts upon the 
 Saints reigning with Chrift a thousand Years. 
 This is often confounded with the new Heavens 
 and Earth, and thought to have relation to the 
 fame (late of the world, being but a different expref- 
 fion of the fame thing. 
 
 But tho' they are near a-kin to each other, yet I 
 take them to point at two diftiivct periods. My rea- 
 fon for it is, that they are fuhiciently diftinguiihed 
 by St John, who is the only inlpired writer that 
 mentions this thousand Years Ret n. For i. 
 he places a great and remarkable Revolu ion 1 etween 
 this millennial (late, and that reprefented by the 
 new HdAVENS and earth. 2. This latter is not 
 by him, or either of the other two facred authors 
 confined to a thoufand years, as the former precife- 
 ly is. . 3. There arc fomc internal marks of dilie- 
 rence between them, which I fhall have cccvii-'in to 
 rnention hereafter. 
 
 T3 ' 
 
278 The DoBrine of 
 
 I fhall therefore take the hberty of confidering 
 thefe two Prophecies apart, and iliall bellow upon 
 them a diftincl Chapter. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Of the MILLENNIAL State, diid that which 
 is reprefe?2ted by new Heavens and a 
 NEW Earth; Wherein feme Terrors relate 
 ing to thefe States are attempted to be rec- 
 tified^ and the true Notions of them fat- 
 ed. 
 
 I A M firfc to confider "that Prophecy, or pro- 
 phetical Vifion relating to the Millennial 
 State, which we have in Revel, xx, i. — 6. 
 y^nd I fw an Angel come doivn from Heaven — And 
 he laid hold on the Dragon that old Serpent, which is 
 the Devil and Satan, and hound hi'm a thotifand 
 Tears, — that he Jhould deceive the Nations no more, 
 till the thoufand Tears fljoidd be fulfilled ; and after 
 that he 7nuft be loo fed a little Seafon. And I faw 
 Thrones, and they fat upon them, and Judgment was 
 given unto them : And I faw the Sou^.s of them that 
 'were beheaded for the Witnefs ofjefus, — and they li- 
 ved, and reigned, with Chrift a thoufand l^ears. But 
 the Refi of the Dead lived not again till the thoufand 
 Tears were finified. This is the firfl Refwrreofion. 
 Blejfcd and Holy is he that hath Part in the firft Re- 
 furreSiion : on fuch the fecond Death hath no Pozver, 
 but they Jhall he Priefts of God and of Chrijl, and 
 fj-iall reign with him a thoufand Tears. 
 
 The learned reader needs not be informed, that 
 by too dofe and literal an interpretation of thefe 
 words, an opinion obtained very early in the Chiirch, 
 
 and J 
 
the Millennium explained. 279 
 
 and, as Juftin Martyr teilifies, * prevailed fo univer- 
 fally, that it was entertained by ail who were eiteem- 
 ed ilriftly orthodox, 'viz. that there fliould be a 
 true and literal refurreftion of the primitive m.ir- 
 tyrs--- that they fliould reign with Chrift upon 
 earth, who fhould be perfonally prefint with them 
 — and enjoy all manner of worldly felicity, for the 
 fpace of a thoufand years before the general refur- 
 red:ion. 
 
 And the* this docffrine of a Millennium., as it is 
 called, hath been revived and refined in thefe latter 
 ages, yet is it at prefent, I think, generally laid 
 afide, and this pafTage is underftood in a more qua- 
 lified and rational manner, and in fuch a fenfc as is 
 more agreeable to the analogy of f lith. 
 
 Nor doth this liberty in departing from the fenfe 
 of the Fathers, argue any contempt of their judg- 
 ment on the one hand, nor on the other invalidate 
 their authority in other reipeds. It is true, apoflo- 
 lical tradition, as weil as Scripture, is pleaded for 
 this Doclrin'e. Thus Iren<£us defcribing the millen- 
 nial ftate, fays, ' that then the juil" rifing from the 
 ' dead fliall reign -, when the creature lilcev/ife be- 
 ' ing renewed and ftt at liberty Ihall yield plenty 
 
 * and abundance of all tiling's, beinp; blefled with 
 ' the dew of heaven, and a great fertility of the 
 ' earth, as thofe ecclefiafticks have related, who, 
 
 * having feen St Joht, the difciple of our Lord, 
 ' heard of him wiut our Lord had t:.u2;ht concern- 
 ' ing thofe times.' -\ 
 
 T 4 In- 
 
 * Y.yu^\xai ft Tivs? Its-Jv o^^o'y,W|M,oi'=; >;aTfi; Trasvra %^iri«i'i'> Ka» cjcp- 
 Dial. cu7;t Trypb. Jiui. 
 ■\ Regna^ant jiifti rnrgcntes a mortuis ; quando & cieaiura ic- 
 novata & liberatri m'ai;i udincm frudtificabit u: ivfri'je c!cs:, ex roic 
 crtli, & ex fenilitH'e lerrgc, cjuemadmodom Pio.foy-.e'i memine- 
 runt, qui Jnli;innei)> dii* ipuluin Domini vicleiim-', audiiieie ab co, 
 qucm dmodum dc umponbus illis doccbat Dominu-. 
 
 In;:. Lib, v. c. 23. 
 
280 T'ke DoBrtne of 
 
 Indeed the relation, which follows as our Saviour's 
 own words concerning the prodigious increafe of 
 the fruits of the earth, feems too hyperbolical to have 
 been deli-^'ered by him : And therefore it is probable 
 that Papias^ on whole credit it Hands, and who is 
 reprefented by Eufebius as a Man of more rhetorick 
 than judgment— P^/j/^j-, I fay, might in the wan- 
 tonnefs of his fancy, have alFefted to put our Sa- 
 viour's doflrine into his own extravagant drefs. 
 
 Notwithftanding, as no candid man will fuppofe 
 that he built without any foundation, we may from 
 this teftimony infer, that our Lord had frequently 
 entertain' d his difciples, and St John his like wife, 
 with the happy and flourifhing (late to which the 
 world fhould at length be brought by the Mejfiah's, 
 reign. Lut as this was of the nature of Prophecy, it 
 was not fit it fliould be delivered in the fame plain 
 fimple manner with other more practical truths ; and 
 theretore the revivifcence of the Church in order to 
 enjoy thefe bleffed times, after a long perfecution, 
 was reprefented in an allegorical manner, by a Re- 
 furredion of its Members. It is not therefore to be 
 wondered at, that they fhould miftake the Letter 
 for the Figure : * nor does it feem to me to be any 
 great impeachment of their underftandings. The 
 acuteft moderns might eafily fall into the fame error, 
 and it might employ the labours of many learned 
 men for a fucceffion of ages, as it hath done, to rec- 
 tify the miftake. They were right as to the doctrine, 
 and err'd only in their manner of explaining it ; 
 which error, by the v/ay, ferves this purpofe, viz. 
 to prove the genuinenefs of this paffage and book 
 of St Joht]^ fip.ce it hence appears Iiow confonant it 
 is with the doctrine he delivered by word of mouth. 
 
 The 
 
 * It is thus that Evfcbim accounts for Pnp'ias his miftake of the 
 Apnftles doftrine, who fays oT him, ra? aVor&Ai/ia? r;;c/niKhia.i/.iva> 
 
 Eccl. hijl. lib. iii, c. 3c), 
 
the Millennium explained. 281 
 
 The learned Dr PP^hitby has written a treatife of the 
 true Millennium^ in which, after giving an account 
 of the Millennium of the antients, he tells us, Ch. 
 ii. what his notion of it is, viz. ' that after the fall 
 of Antichrift^ there fliall be fuch a glorious State 
 of the Church, by the converfion of the Jews 
 to the chriftian faith, as fhall be to it life from the 
 dead — that it Ihall then fiourifli in peace and plenty, 
 in righteoufnefs and hohnefs, and in a pious off- 
 fpring — that then fhall begin a glorious and undif- 
 turbed reign of Chrift over both Jew and Gentile^ 
 to continue a thoufand years, during the time of 
 Satan's bondage — and that, as John the Baptift 
 was Elias^ becaufe he came in the fpirit and pow- 
 er of Elias i fo fhall this be the Church of the 
 Martyrs, and of thofe who had not received the 
 mark of the Beaft, becaufe of its entire freedom 
 from all the doftrines and practices of the anti- 
 chriftian Church, and becaufe the fpirit and puri- 
 ty of the times of the primitive martyrs fnall re- 
 turn.' 
 
 In proof of this dodlrine he fhews, ' That as the 
 Jewifh Church was formerly the chief of all 
 Churches, fo it fhall become a famous Church a- 
 gain, by the converfion of tlie Jews to the chri- 
 ftian faith— that the defcription of this their con- 
 verfion made by their own prophets and writeii 
 anfwers fully to the Millennium of St John^ which 
 he fpeaks of in the very words of the faid pro- 
 phets — And that the cliaradicrs which the patronsf 
 ot the Millennium give of thofe times, accord ex- 
 a6lly with the charaftcrs given by the prophets of 
 the converfion of the Jews.'' lie likewife anfwrs 
 all the arguments from Scripture for a literal rellir- 
 redion of the Martyrs, and their millennial reign, 
 and produces feveral arguments againif it -, particu- 
 larly that it is inconfiftent with the genius of the 
 
 chriftian 
 
282 T'he Doctrine of 
 
 chriftian faith, and the nature of the gofpel-pro- 
 mifes. 
 
 What this hypothecs chiefly turns upon, is, the 
 interpreting of the refurredion of the Martyrs in 
 an allegorical, not literal fenfe. Now in juftifica- 
 tion of this expofition he proves, that the refurrec- 
 tion of the two witnejfes. Rev. xi. 7, 11. is allowed 
 to be underftood in this fenfe, and that this is the 
 prophetic ftyle, by which the Scripture conftantly 
 reprefents the glorious reftoration of God*s church 
 and people : For the converfion of the Jews is fre- 
 quently fet forth as a revivifcence and refurredlion 
 of their dead church and nation by the MeJJiah : 
 And St Paul moreover, fpeaking of this their con- 
 verfion, faith it fhall be, even to the Gentiles^ life 
 from the dead. But I refer the reader to the trea- 
 tife itfelf 
 
 Flence it may be fafely concluded, that the mil- 
 lennial ftate is none other than this : When the power 
 of Satan fhall be reftrained from deceivine: the na- 
 tions, and Antichrift fhall be deftroyed-, fo that neither 
 ^^^__ the idolatries and impieties of the church of Rome, 
 /^ nor the impoftures of Mahomet Ihall any longer ob-" 
 fcruft the reception of Chrifiianity. Then both Jews 
 and Gentiles fhall flow into the church, and enjoy 
 great peace, plenty, and all manner of outward pro- 
 jfperity ; as well as be endued v/ith great knowledge 
 /and righteoufnefs, and all other fpiritual gifts and 
 ■ graces ; and in this happy ilate fliall reign, during the 
 time fpecified, under the fpecial guidance and di- 
 rection, the influential, tho' not perfonal, prefcnce of 
 "^Chriil:, their head. 
 
 The Jews particularly fliall then be reflored to 
 their own land — fliall have their city and temple 
 Tebuilt, but after the chriftian model, as hath been al- 
 ready fliev/n, — be united with the reft of the v;orld 
 in one tlieccracy under Chrill, the common head 
 
the Millennium explained. 283 
 
 and king of both — but with this difference, that 
 under this theocracy the Judaical Chriftians fhall 
 enjoy Ibme peculiar privileges above all other Chri- 
 flians. For the law Jhall once more go forth from 
 Jerufalem. Ifa. ii. 3. Micah iv. 2. and the holy and be- 
 loved city fhall again become The perfe^ion of beauty^ 
 and the joy of the whole earthy Lam. ii. 15. Pf. xlviii. 
 2. the mother of us all, and the metropolis of the whole 
 chriflian world. * 
 
 It may be thought a vain and idle curiofity to in- 
 quire, when thefe things fhall be ? But fince the holy 
 Spirit hath thought fit to deliver fo many prophetical 
 writings to his Church, they undoubtedly become the 
 objeclof our ftudy and meditationas wellas otherparts 
 ot Scripture, efpeciaily fince a bleiTing is pronounced 
 upon all who duly fearch into them. Rev. i. 3. And 
 why the calculation of the accomplifhment of pro- 
 phecies, for the exercifeof our faith, as well as know- 
 ledge, is not as edifying and commendable an em- 
 ployment, as calculations of lefs confequence, with 
 which ingenious men amufe themfelves, I am to learn. 
 
 I fnall therefore prefume upon the reader's can- 
 dor and indulgence, while I offer a con] edlure concern- 
 ing the commencement of the happy days defcrib- 
 ed above, and the great and remarkable revolution 
 which is to precede it, I mean the fall of Antichrifi. 
 For it appears from Dan. vii. that the Meffiah's king- 
 dom is to be eredted upon the ruins of that of Anti- 
 chrifi : And the marriage of the lamb. Rev. xix. and 
 the millennial reign of Chrill, ch. xx. fucceed the 
 deffruftion ot zht great ivhore^ and the fall oi Babylon^ 
 ch. xxvii. xxviii. And that thefe prophecies oi Daniel 
 
 and 
 
 * If the chriflian reader thinks all this is too much to believe 
 concerning them, let him farther conlult, //v?. xlix. 22, 23. Iv. 5. 
 Ix. 3. — 16. Ixi. 5,6. Ixxii. 2. Ixvi. 12, 20. — 24- y^r .iii. 17. Deut, 
 xxvi. 19. xxviii. i, i Chron. xvii. g. Jmos ix. 12. Micah iv. 
 8. Zech.viu. 22, 23. ch. xiv. 16. and \\]. And rJlcrC-. State 
 of tht Church infutun y4'^-'> P- 200. 
 
284 ^^^ DoSiririe of 
 
 and ^X. John relate both to the fame event, to one and 
 the fame kingdom of the Mejfiah, appears from fe- 
 veral internal characters in them compared together. 
 Daniel defcribes his vifion in thefe words, ch. vii. 9. 
 ^he antient of days did fit — whofe throne was like the 
 fery flame, &c. And v. 22. Judgment was given to the 
 faints of the mofi high — St John, Rev. xx. 4. de- 
 fcribes his thus — I faw thrones, and they fat upon 
 them, and judgment was given unto /^^m. It follows in 
 Daniel — And the time came that the faints poffeffed 
 the kingdom •, and, v. 27. 'The kingdom and dominion, 
 and greatnefs of the kingdom under the whole heaven 
 fhali he given to the people of the faints of the mofi 
 high. In the Revelations it is faid, that thofe that had 
 not worfhipped the beafi, &c. reigned with Chrifi 
 a thoufand years, v. 4. and, that they fhall be Priefis 
 cf God, and of Chrifi. v. 6. * 
 
 But here it will be readily objeded. That in Rev. 
 ^- . XX. the reign of the faints is fixed to the determined 
 nM- (^'^ XitnoA of a thoufand years ; whereas in Daniel it is 
 N^o^-^ faid, that the faints cf the moji high fhall take the 
 
 **^V^- ^^^^^^^■> ^^^ pojj^fi ^t fo^ ^'^^^ ^^^ ^'^^'^- ^^ anfwer 
 
 i.QCi^nuA to this, let it be obferved, that both thefe reigns com- 
 
 tri^^^ mence at the fame time, viz. at the deftrudlion of 
 
 a^Uj^*:^ the kingdom of Antichrifi, as hath been already 
 
 tMt^jb'^ obferved: And therefore they muft be one and the 
 
 r w^ f^ fame, unlefs we make the Meffiah to have two king- 
 
 ^^tAifc^doms diftinft from and contemporary with each 
 
 ylJi^ii^ffCi Other, And tho' a period feems to be fct to it in 
 
 ^^i/^^ .the one place, and none in the other, yet we are not 
 
 uf^^ifyyhence to conclude, that it is to have its final dilToluti- 
 
 on at the end of that period, but only afliort intcrrup- 
 
 on during the little feafon of Satari's enlargement. 
 
 Rev. XX. 3. after which it is to be continued. And 
 
 accord- 
 
 * If the reader confulw Mr Mede's Comment. Apocolyft. p. 532. 
 he will find hisfenfe of thefe Prophecies to be the lame, who tncrc 
 firavvs much the fanie parallel between them. 
 
the Millenmum explained. 285 
 
 accordingly it is exprefsly faid, ch. xxii. 5. Thai the 
 fervanis of the lainb jhall reign for ever and ever. To 
 which we may add that the Prophecies of Daniel^ 
 being, as Mr Mede fomewhere calls them, Apocalypjii 
 contra^a^ we are not to expert him to be fo particu- 
 lar and explicit in the delivery of them, as St Jehn^ 
 to whom the fubjed: of them was more fully and 
 openly revealed. To proceed. 
 
 In order to help our enquiry concerning the 
 commencement of the millennial reign, it will be 
 proper previoufly to enquire, when that of Antkhriji 
 is to have its period, which being firft in order of 
 time may ferve as a clue to lead us to the other. 
 
 It is generally agreed that the reign o^ Antkhriji is 
 foretold, both by Daniel and St John, to laft 1260 
 years. And were the commencement of this period as 
 eafily to be fixed, there would be no difficulty in the 
 calculation. The year of our Lord 606 is the year from 
 which learned men now generally date it j as from 
 his rife. For in that year it was that Pope Boniface 
 III. by a pretended grant of the emperor PhocaSy 
 ufurped the title of Univerfal Bifhop, and Supreme 
 Head of the Chrijlian Church. But Antichriji was 
 rifen long before this, for St John intimates that he 
 was come even in his time, i Ep. ii. 1 8. — iv. 5. And 
 feveral learned men are of opinion, that the 1260 
 years are not to be reckoned from the rife of Anti- 
 chriji., but from the AK/utri, the full age of the 
 Beaft, and his eftablifliment in the height of his 
 power. 
 
 Now the Queftion is. When Antichriji may be 
 faid to have been cilablilhed ? St John fays, Rev. xiji. 
 18. that the number of the beaji is 666. The num- 
 ber of the beaft — what can this mean? Several learn- 
 ed men have amufed themfelves with finding out 
 names for him, the feveral numerical letters of which 
 
 make 
 
286 'The Doclrine of 
 
 make up that precife number, as mention is made 
 likewife of the number of his name. 
 
 But however fuccefsful they have been herein, I 
 cannot think that this precife number would be pitch- 
 ed upon for the fake of the name only, and that 
 fo much ftrefs would be laid upon it, unlefs it were 
 of fome farther ufe, and that fomething of greater 
 importance was alluded to by it. 
 
 Therefore others * underftand this particular 
 number to fignily the full age of the beajl, viz. the 
 year of our Lord in which he was arrived at the 
 maturity of his ftrength and power ; and accordingly 
 they feem apprehenfive that his reign ought to be 
 computed from hence. 
 
 And, indeed, the tranfadions of this year furnifh 
 fufficient grounds for this fuppofition. For after many 
 other idolatrous and fuperftitious innovations, in the 
 year 666 it was, that to compleat and fecure this 
 myftery of iniquity, to extend its dominion, damp the 
 devotions, and lock up the underftandings of the 
 people in ignorance, the Latin fervice was every 
 where eftabliflied. 
 
 But on the other hand, the year 606 bidding faire 
 for the commencement of the computation, being 
 the fuppofed time of the rife of Antichrifi., they itt 
 themfelves to reconcile thefe two periods, and make 
 them coincide with each other : Which they did by 
 beginning to compute the 666 years, 60 years before 
 the Chrillian Mr a. But they fliould not have need- 
 ed to betake themfelves to fo abfurd a fliift, if they 
 had not been under the important error, that the 
 i26oyears took their beginning from the fuppofed 
 rife, not eftablilhment of Antichrift. 
 
 To compute, therefore, from the year of our Lord 
 6.66, the full age of the beaft, his fall is to happen 
 A. D. MDCCCCXXVI. 
 
 There 
 * Vide Sjn»pfin Criticorum in locum. 
 
the MUlenntum explained. 287 
 
 There are in the viii. and xii. Chapters of Daniel^ 
 feveral other predidtions to be accompliflied in cer- 
 tain determinate periods of Time, which tho' pro- 
 bably once fulfilled in the Ihort perfecution of the 
 Jewijh Church by Antiochus Epiphanes •, yet as he 
 was a type of Antichrifi^ I cannot help thinking that 
 they are to have a fecond acconiplifhment under the 
 Chriftian difpenfation, and that they finally relate to 
 events yet to come. 
 
 Chap. xii. 1 1 . we are told, that from the time the 
 daily facrifice Jh all he taken away, and the ahomination 
 that maketh defolate fet up, there Jhall be 1290 days, 
 i. e. years ; which being thirty years more than the 
 term above-mentioned, fixed both by Daniel and 
 St John for the downfal of Antichrifi, perhaps he is 
 not entirely to be deftroyed at the end of the 1260, 
 but that he is to have his fecond and final over- 
 throw at the end of the 1290 years, i. e, A.D. igs6. 
 when the rejl of the beajis, the accomplices of Anti- 
 chrift, whofe lives were prolonged for a feafon and 
 time (Dan. vii. 12.) fhall be dellroyed. 
 
 In the next verfe follows another predi(5lion, Elcff- 
 ed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 days : 
 By which time probably the peace of the Church 
 will be fettled after the commotions ocrufioned by 
 fuch great revolutions, and better and happier days 
 will commence -, for the prophecy plainly points at 
 fome blefied and joyful period. 
 
 And what period can better anfwer that character 
 than the millennial reign of the Mcffiah, and the 
 eftablifhment of his kingdom •, when the marriage of 
 the lamb fhall be celebrated, and the faints of the 
 moft high fhall pojfefs the kingdom, and be inveftcd 
 with the highclt lionoursof it ? When the people of 
 God fhall enjoy that fabbatifm which is in refcrve 
 for them, Heb. iv. 9. and live in a ftate of perfect 
 tranquiUity and fecurity, having nothing to fear 
 
 from 
 
•288 'fhe DoSfri?ie of 
 
 from their grand adverfary, but on the contrary fliall 
 triumph over his impotency to hurt them. 
 
 Now, if from the year of our Lord 066, we rec- 
 kon 1335 years, this brings us down to A. D. 
 MMI ; which falls in with the very firft year of the 
 feventh millenary of the world's age, according to 
 archbifhop UJher^s calculation ; which, from the 
 traditions, types, and allufions relating to it, and 
 taken notice of ch. ix. is fuppofed to be the happy 
 Millennium. 
 
 About this time therefore we may conclude, that 
 the Gentiles will begin to flow apace into the Church 
 of Chrift •, and when the fulnefs of the Gentiles fhall 
 he come in, then the Jews likewife fhall be convert- 
 ed; and both together will make one fold under one 
 fhepherd, Jefus Chrift the righteous. 
 
 How long a time the converfion of the Gentiles 
 firft, and of the Jews afterwards, will take up, is 
 difficult to fay. 
 
 Some learned men think, that the converfion of 
 the Jews will be fudden, * and it muft be owned 
 that they feem to have fome countenance from Scrip- 
 ture for their opinion. This they fuppofe to be the 
 fenfe of this paffage in Ifaiah ; Before fhe travailed, 
 jhe brought forth : before her pain came, fhe was de- 
 livered of a man-child. Who hath heard fuch a thing? 
 Who hath feen fuch things? Shall the Earth be made 
 to bring forth in one day ? Or fhall a nation be born 
 at once ? For as foon as Zion travailed, fhe brought 
 forth her children. Ifa. Ixvi. 8. 
 
 But however fpeedy their converfion will be, the 
 aftembling of them together from all the known re- 
 gions of the earth where they lie difperfed — their re- 
 turn to the holy land— their fettlement in it— the 
 cleanfing of the fandluary— the rebuilding of their 
 
 city 
 
 • See Dr $cotl\ Chriftian Lifs. Vcl. i '. p. 488. And Dr 
 Jatkfm is of the fame Opinion. 
 
the Millc7inium explained. 289 
 
 city and temple — the fettling a form of outward po- 
 lity and government— all thefe arc works ot time ; 
 infomuch that it may reafonably be fuppofed tn.t 
 fome centuries of the feventh millenary may pais 
 before their thorough re-eftablifhment will be ac- 
 complifhed : which will appear to be the more pro- 
 bable, if it be confidered that the like work wi s 
 near one century in accomplifhing, when their an- 
 ceftors returned from only a feventy years captivity, 
 when the defolation muft be fuppofed to have been 
 much lefs than this of fo many generations will be. 
 For, from Cyrus his proclamation for the return of 
 the Jews to their own country to build the temple, 
 Ezrai. tiW Nehemiah had, by the permifiion of Jr- 
 taxerxesy finiflied the building of the gates and walls, 
 and made all proper regulations, was 93 years. 
 
 But to give this matter the utmoft degree of con- 
 firmation, of which it is capable, I think we have 
 an exprefs prophecy, which fixes the very year of 
 the Jews reftoration and complete eftabliilimcnt. 
 For I apprehend, that that hitherto obfcure prophe- 
 cy contained in Dan. viii, 14. can relate to none o- 
 ther than this great and remarkable event. And I 
 am the more confirmed herein, becaufe learned men 
 have not been able to account for it fatisfaftorily, as 
 relating either to the perfecution of Antiochus Epi~ 
 pbanes, or Antichriji •, and hence the great Scaliger 
 ingcnuoufly own'd, that this prophecy was the only 
 one in the whole book of Daniel., which proved too 
 hard for him. 
 
 The peculiar folemn'ty with which it is introduced 
 fufficienrly denotes the importance of it, v. 1 3. Then 
 I heard one faint /peaking., and another faint faid un- 
 to that certain faint which fpake., How long jh all he 
 the vifton concerning the daily facrificCy and the tranf- 
 grejfton of defolation^ to give both the fan^uary and 
 the hcfi to be trodden under foot ? And he faid unto 
 
 U mCf 
 
290 T'he DoStrine of 
 
 me. Unto 2300 days\ then Jhall the fan^iuary he 
 deanfed. And v. 26. the vifion is faid to be foi' 
 many days, and therefore he is ordered to Jhut it up, 
 which Ihews that it refers to fome diftant period. 
 
 Therefore the tranfgrejfion of defolation here prin- 
 cipally meant, I think, can be none other than the 
 defolation and deftrudlion of Jerufakm by '•Titus, 
 defcribed in the latter part of the next chapter in 
 much the fame words ; and likewife in Matt, xxiv, . 
 where among other characters of it, it is faid, that 
 the fun fhall he darkened, and the moon fJoall not give 
 her light, and the ft ars fhall fall from heaven, and 
 the -powers of the heavens fhall he fhaken, v. 29. 
 
 In like manner it is here faid v. i o. that the horn 
 waxed great, even to the hofi of heaven, and it cafl 
 doivnfome of the hofi, and of the fl ars to the ground, 
 mid ft amp upon them. In Luke xxi. 24. Jerufalem is 
 faid tohe trodden doivn of theGentiles, fo here the fanc- 
 ary and hofi are trodden under foot, v. 13. And in 
 chap. xii. 7. we have a key to the whole, where it is 
 faid, that all thefe things (the foregoing prophecies) 
 fhall not he finifhed, till he fJjall have accomplifhed to 
 fcatter the power of the holy people, that is, till the 
 end of the term of their difperfion. Therefore rec- 
 koning 2300 years from the deftrudlion of Jerufa- 
 lem, which happened A. D. 70. the refloration of 
 the Jews will not be fully accomplillied till J. D. 
 2370. — Then fhall the fan^fuary he deanfed, and the 
 land flmll have enjoyed her fahhaths. Lev. xxvi. 
 
 34. 43- 
 
 After all, I am far from determining any thing in 
 fo obfcure and myflical a matter. ' Thofe that fliall 
 ' live to fee the extirpation di Antichrift, and the fub- 
 * fequent events' (to ufe the Words of a learned Au- 
 thor well fkilled in the prophetical writings) ' will 
 ' bell be able to unfold this matter, it being of the 
 
 * nature 
 
the Millennium explained. 291 
 
 • nature of fuch prophecies not thoroughly to be un- 
 ' derflood, till they are thoroughly fulfilled.' * 
 
 Whenever therefore the millennial period fliall 
 commence, we mud needs have very exalted ideas 
 of human nature, when arrived at that ftate. For 
 how quick mull its progrefs towards perfe6tion then 
 be, and how confiderable, during lb long a term 
 of exemption from Satan's temptations ! When he 
 fhall be no more allowed to go about like a roaring 
 lion, but be reftrained from prad:ifing his wiles, and 
 2.\\ his fiery darts Jhall be quenched. Then, and not 
 before, will be fully and effeftually performed the 
 oath which God fware to Abraham, that his feed be- 
 ing delivered out of the hands of their enemies., might 
 fervc him without fear : In holinefs and righteoufnefs 
 before him all the days of their lives, Luke i. 73, 74, 
 jc^. In a word, there lliall then be nothing to retard, 
 but every thing concurring to animate and encour- 
 age this highly favoured generation to proceed from 
 firength to ftrength, and from glory to glory. Blef- 
 fed and holy is he that hath part in this firft refur- 
 re^ion I Surely m.ankind will by this time have ful- 
 ly recovered the original perfedlion of their nature, 
 and overcome all remains of their primitive difor- 
 der. 
 
 No : things are not yet ripe enough to make that 
 conclufion. Some feeds of the old leaven ilill lie 
 concealed, which upon Satan's releafe, after the ex- 
 piration of his thoufand years imprifonmenr, break 
 out afrefh and difcover themfclvts. For then the 
 reji of the dead, the fynagogue of Satan, revived, v. 
 5. /. e. when Satan upon his enlargement went out 
 to deceive the nations, he found multitudt-s, v. 8. 
 who had palled for plaufible Chriftians, di:ring their 
 feafon of exemption from his temptations, who had, 
 notwithftanding, fo much depravity in their hearts, 
 
 LI 2 as 
 
 • Pr'ulciuis Conrccl. Part u. Bock \\\. fub finr. 
 
292 'The DoBrine df 
 
 as to be capable of being perverted by him, and 
 made his inftruments to perlecute the true religion, 
 breathing the fame fpirit of enmity againft it, with 
 thole who had been flain. Ch. xix. 2 1 . And ever 
 fo little attention to the place before us will con- 
 vince us, that it is with refpect to thefe^ to the reft 
 cf the dead, who lived again after the thoufand years 
 v/ere finifhed, v. 5. or rather to the revival of the 
 fame wicked fpirit, and not with refpe6l to the ge- 
 neral refurreuiiGn, that the living of the fouls of them 
 that were beheaded, i. e. of the dead Church, is call- 
 ed, the /r/^ refurre6tion. So that here are, plainly, a 
 firft cLudfeccnd refureftion, both to be underftood in 
 the fame metaphorical fenfe, entirely exclufive of 
 the general refurreition, to which this place bears 
 no relation. 
 
 As this is to be the laft effort of Satan, fo will 
 it be the moft vigorous and formidable •, for we are 
 told, thzt he Jhall go out to deceive the nations which 
 are in the four quarters of the earthy Gog and Ma- 
 gog, to gather them together to battle^ the number of 
 whom is as the f and of the fea. And they went up on 
 the breadth of the earthy and compaffed the camp of 
 the faints about, and the beloved city, v. 8, 9. But 
 his malicious attempt will be foon blafted ; for he 
 v/ili be loofed but for a little feafon, v. 3. and then 
 fire fhall come down from God out of heaven, and 
 devour him and his accomplices. 
 
 After this the Devil fhall be configned to the lake 
 of fire and brimftone, where, together with the 
 Beaft and falfe Prophet, he fliall be doom'd to en- 
 dure perpetual and everlafdng torments. 
 
 The judgment inflifted upon this rebellious hoit 
 will be fo remarkable, that prefcntiy follows a vifion, 
 as it is generally underftood, of tlie laft Judgment j 
 and to which undoubtedly it finally belongs, there 
 
 not 
 
the Millennium explained. 293 
 
 not being a more folemn defcription of it in any part 
 of Scripture. 
 
 But I am apt to think it fhall have its primary 
 completion in the condemnation of Gog and Magogy 
 and their armies •, at leaft, that it is here connected 
 with the hiflory of their punifhment, to denote the 
 feverity of it. For it is not unufual in Scripture to 
 defcribe great and terrible judgments in terms fuita- 
 ble to the final judgment. Tlius is the judgment 
 anddeftruclion of-'^^/zV/^r//? defcribed, Dan. vii. 9, 
 10, II. And fuch is the defcription of the deftruc- 
 tion Q^Jerufalem^ Matt. xxiv. Such likewife is that 
 of the judgment inflidled on this fame Gog and Ma- 
 gog., Exek^ xxxviii. 20, 22. But I cannot be per- 
 fuaded, to think, with fome learned men*, that the 
 end of the world, and the final judgment are in the or- 
 der of things immediately to fucceed this difmal ca- 
 taftrophe of theirs. Far otherwife -, as any one will 
 be convinced who reads the xxxviii and xxxix chap- 
 ters of Ezekiel^ where, befides many other argu- 
 ments, mention is made that thehoufe of Ifrael fhould 
 he /even months in burying them,and cleanjing theland.^ 
 Chap, xxxix. 1 2 . and [even years in burning their 
 arms., which could not be, if the world were burni 
 before. Nay, the bell and moft glorious fcene of it 
 is ftill behind, and perhaps too that which is to be 
 of much the longeft continuance. 
 
 This is that which is reprefented by new Hea- 
 vens and a new Earth. And I faw a new hea- 
 veny and a new earth., faith St John, for the f.rfi 
 heaven and the firfl earth were pajjed awaj'-'And I 
 John faw the holy city., new Jerufalem, coming down 
 from God out of heaven prepared as a br'.de adorn- 
 ed for herhujhand. And I heard a great voice out of 
 Heaven^ fafing., Behold th'' tabernacle of God is with 
 
 U 3 me?}^ 
 
 • Dr S(ct('s ChrWvAn l.\{i, Vol. iii. p. 491; 
 
294 The "DoBrlne of 
 
 men^ and he wdl dwell with them ^ and they Jh all he 
 his people^ and ^-iod himjelj JJjall be with ihem^ and 
 he fh ir God, Rev. xxi. i, 2, 3. 
 
 We have much the fame defcription of this happy 
 flate in Ifa. xlv. 17, ^c. and 2 Pet. iii. 13. And 
 that this is a ftate quite different from, and of more 
 exalted perfeftion than, the millennial ft ate is evi- 
 dent, not only from the reafons above-mentioned, 
 p. 277. but alfo, 
 
 1. Becaufe Satan is to be finally condemned to 
 everlafting torments in the lake of fire and brim- 
 ftone before the commencement of this ftate : And 
 not bound for a time, hut for ever, to be let loofe 
 no more ; fo that this blelTed generation lliall be en- 
 tirely exempt from his temptations. 
 
 2. Becaufe there fto all in no wife eyiter into the new 
 .Jerufalem, atv^ thing that defileth, thatworketh abo- 
 mination, or maketh a lye. ch. xxi. 2 7. But this can- 
 not be faid of the millennial ftate, fmce Satan, with 
 his abominable train, is, as we have feen, to enter 
 and defile it. 
 
 3. Becaufe in the millennial ftate the Saints are 
 faid to reign only a thoufand years ; but in this 
 which fucceeds, it is faid, they ftoall reign for ever 
 and ever. i. e. for an indefinite number of ages, 
 Ch. xxii. 5. 
 
 4. The bleffednefs of the millennial ftate confifts 
 in this, that on the fubje6ts of it the fecond Death 
 fhall have no power : But the bleffednefs of the 
 ftate of new heavens is fuch, that Death of no kind 
 Ihall have power over them. 
 
 On the ether hand, it may be faid, that as the 
 marriage of the lamb was Come, and his bride had ad- 
 orned and made herfelf ready, Ch. xix. 7. which 
 ■was before Satan'^s binding, and the commencement 
 of the millennial ftate — and as it is only the fame 
 thing in a manner which is repeated concerning her 
 
 in 
 
the Milletmium explaified. 295 
 
 mch. xxi. therefore that it is only one and the fame 
 ftate which is rtferr'd to in both places. 
 
 In anfwer to this let it be confider'd, thattho' the 
 Lamb"'?, Spoufe^ the New Jerufalem^ might be pre- 
 pared and efpoufed to him fo long before •, yet as 
 there are degrees of perfection, fo it is not to be 
 fuppofed, but that during the thoufand years flou- 
 rifliing ftate, as well as the Ihort fucceeding diftrclf- 
 ed one, (he made very confiderable advancements, 
 fo as by this time to be arrived at far more glorious 
 degrees of purity and hohnefs : And accordingly we 
 find the defcriptions of her at thefe two feveral times 
 to be different from each other. In ch. xix. Jhe is 
 arayed in fine linen, clean and white : But ch. xxi. flie 
 is garniflied with gold and pearls, and all manner of 
 ■precious ft ones. v. 19, 21. Thefe then are two diffe- 
 rent ftates of the Church — different in fucceffion of 
 time, and degree of purity and perfc6tion. 
 
 On the other hand, tho' this ftate of the new 
 Heavens, ^c. be different from t\\^ millennial, and 
 fuch glorious things be faid of it, yet there are cer- 
 tain charafters belonging to it, which will not give 
 us leave to think any otherwife of it, than of an 
 earthly ftate, at which human nature ftiall arrive be- 
 fore thefe things ftiall be diffolved, and the world 
 come to an end. Thus much may be inferr'd, 
 
 1. From its Name, a new Earth and new Hea- 
 vens, the latter fignifying the region of the air or at- 
 mofphere, which fliall then be renewed, and ren^ 
 der'd more pure, ferene, and temperate. 
 
 2. The 7iew Jerufalem is here faid to come down 
 from God out of Heaven, v. 2, 10. the feat of this 
 ftate therefore muft b:^ upon earth. 
 
 3. The kings of the earth are faid to bring their 
 glory and honour into it. v. 2 1 . 
 
 4. In the midft of the ftreet of the new Jerujakm 
 is defcribed the tree of life, the leaves of which are 
 
 U 4 fiid 
 
296 'The Do^rhie of 
 
 faid to be for the healing of the nations, ch. xxii. 2. 
 Now if the new Jerufakm were fituated in heaven, 
 the inhabitants of it would have no occafion for any 
 fuch remedy ; but as God makes nothing in vain, 
 fo this provifion is a clear demonftration, that hu- 
 man nature is ftill in fuch a ftate as is not entirely 
 exempt from all manner of infirmities both of body 
 and mind, but rather that it is in fome meafure lia- 
 ble to leffer ones of both, as Adam was even in pa^ 
 radie. Seep. 15. 
 
 But as it may be inferr'd from the tree of lifey 
 that this is an earthly flate, fo it no lefs proves it to 
 be a paradifiacal one, correfponding to the firft -pa- 
 radife ; the tree of life from which Adam was banifti- 
 ed in the former, being reflored to his pofterity in 
 the latter, in all its intents and ufes, whatever is my- 
 llically rcprefented by it. To proceed, 
 
 5. Ifaiah in his defcription of th's ftate ch. Ixi. 21. 
 fays, They floall build ho ufes, and inhabit them, and 
 plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them -, and in 
 feveral other refpeds he reprefents it as an earthly 
 frate. And it is obfervable, that part of the de- 
 fcription of this ftate in the Revelations, viz. from 
 V. 23. to the end of chap. xxi. is taken out of the 
 Ix. and V. i. of the Hi. chap, of Ifaiah, which no 
 one ever imagined were to be underftood of any o- 
 ther than an earthly ftate. From alLwhich we may 
 conclude, that it is to be fuch a ftate : efpecially if 
 we add, 
 
 6. That there being fuch frequent mention of 
 the Lamb in this defcription of the nczv Jerufakm, 
 and of his Throne, ch. xxii. i, 3. it from hence ap- 
 pears th::: he ftill continues to govern and rule over 
 his Churcli as King, and that he has not yet refign'd 
 his office of Mediator ; which, if this were an hea- 
 venly ftate, he muft have done, fince as foon as the 
 carrhly ftate of the Church is at an end, he is to de-^ 
 
 liver 
 
the Millennium explained. 297 
 
 liver up liis mediatorial kingdom to God the Father, 
 as appears from i Cor. xv. 24.. 
 
 Indeed many Commentators of the greateft note 
 are agreed, that it is none other than an earthly (late 
 that is reprefented by new Heavens and a new 
 Earth : But then they either apply it to fome paft 
 Itate of the Church, or to fome future one, which 
 they conceive will not much exceed, if they think 
 it will equal the paft ; the bell and pureft of which 
 times do yet fall fo vaftly fliort of this defcription, 
 that it cannot with any propriety of fpeech be ap- 
 plied to them. Such flrong metaphors muft furely 
 have an adequate meaning : But if we examine the 
 common interpretations given of them, we fliall ge- 
 nerally find them very flat and unfatisfacStory* ; which 
 occafioned other learned men to conclude, that this 
 muft be an heavenly ftate, as they had no notion of 
 any earthly one, that could anfv/er the defcription of 
 it. Allowances undoubtedly ought to be made for 
 figurative expreiTions : but then, on the other hand, 
 this, I think, is one rule of interpreting them — that 
 the more elevated the figure is, the more in propor- 
 tion ought the fenfe likewife to be raifed. 
 
 But the ftyle of this defcription of the new Jerufa- 
 lem is not altogether metaphorical : There is no me- 
 taphor in this verfe ; Jnd God Jhall wipe away all 
 tears from their eyes, and there jloall be no more 
 Death, neither SoRKoWy nor Crying, iieit her Jhall 
 
 there 
 
 * ^am dilute iif frigide p/erufnq; interpretnntur adverfarii 
 noftri ea qute tarn fpUnuide i^ magnifice diaa Junt a Prophet is, tff a 
 Joanne in Apccahpji ! Qnmiuo juxta tlloru7n tJiterpretationes verba 
 txuperant res, fif minus adimpleri vidctur quain quod promittitur j 
 resipfa ^ eventus longe fubfiuunt infra majefi<xtctn vocum—^zy%V)x 
 Worikington on this iubjci:!, in a Jjiio treaiUc entitled, Dijfertntio 
 (tc EccLpte in terris Juturii felicitate ; in which he lolidly confutes 
 the opinion of Grotius, Havimond, and others, who interpret the 
 Millennium, and i\\z new-JeruJaUrn State, of ioniepalt Uateof the 
 Church ; as he docs lil-:ewilc in his obfervauons on the MHUmum. 
 ^ee \ii% Mtfcel'anics, p. 2^,. and 167. 
 
298 ^b^ DoBrhie of 
 
 there be any more Pain ; for the former things are 
 faffed aijo ay ^ ch. xxi. v. 4. nor here. And there Jhall 
 be no more CuRst. ch. xxii. 3. Thele words are 
 plain and literal, and yet I do not know of any con- 
 fiftent expofition that comes up to the full force of 
 them, upon the fuppofition that the new Jerufalem 
 State is an earthly one, befides that which I Ihall 
 prefently offer. And that it is not an heavenly one, 
 I have proved already. 
 
 Dr Burnet indeed has very exalted notions of 
 this ftate, which he likewife fuppofes to be an earth- 
 ly one : But then he makes the feat of it to be, not 
 in this earth, but a future one, which is to rife out 
 of its afhes. That towering genius rehfh'd no a- 
 mufements lower than thofe of demolilhing and re- 
 building worlds. This prefent world was by no 
 jneans for his purpofe : no wonder therefore he was 
 fo much prejudiced againfl it *, and looked upon it 
 as fuch a heap of ruins and diforder, that it was im- 
 polTible to reftore and reftify it without pulling it all 
 to pieces. And yet he could not help allowing that 
 it was capable of a melioration. ' He does not deny, 
 ' that there will be a reformation and improvement 
 ' of the Church, both as to peace, purity, and pie- 
 * ty — that knowledge may increafe, mens minds be 
 ' enlarged, and Chriftian religion better underftood' 
 — This and a great deal more he allows may be, 
 and hopes will be ere long -f. 
 
 The evidences for thefe truths were fo glaring and 
 irrefiftible, that he could not withftand them, and 
 therefore he is obliged to make thefe conceflions : 
 But then he takes care to itop fhort, and not grant 
 too much, left he fliouid find the Millennial State, 
 together with the new Heavens and Earth, too near 
 
 home ; 
 
 * Dr 5«r»f/'s Theory of the Earth, Vol.W. p. 274. l^ alibi. 
 Eng. treatife, ^vo. edit. 
 
 ■\ Reviczo of the Theory y p. 397. 
 
the Millemiium explained, 2gg 
 
 home ; whereby his fancy would be confined with- 
 in too narrow bounds, and be prevented from roam- 
 ing into other worlds in queft of tliem. Therefore 
 he prefently adds, ' Suppofe what Reformation you 
 ' can in this World, there will ftill remain many 
 ' things inconfiftent with the true Millemiial State. 
 ' Antichrift, tho' weakened, will not be finally de- 
 ' ftroy'd till the coming of our Saviour, nor Satan 
 ' bound. And there will be always poverty, wars, 
 * difeafes, knaves and hypocrites in this world, 
 ' which are not confident vv^ith the New Jerufalem* 
 ib. 
 
 It is true they are not, if this indeed will be the 
 cafe. But is not this begging the queflion? For 
 why may not we fuppofe an improvement and re- 
 novation of the natural world, as well as of the mo- 
 ral ? I am fure we have good grounds from fcripture 
 for it, as I have already fliewn. And if he allows 
 us to fuppofe what Refonnation we can of the latter^ 
 we may fuppofe a Time when there will be no wars, 
 knaves, nor hypocrites even in this world. His ar- 
 gument therefore from the prefent conilitution of 
 Nature is of no force, becaufe we fuppofe Nature 
 fhall be greatly changed for the better.* 
 
 As to his other argument, ' That Antichrifi will 
 ' not be deftroy'd, nor Satan bound, till the coming 
 * of our Saviour' j that is true in one fenfe, but not 
 in that which he would have it underftood in : For it 
 does not appear from any part of Scripture, that he 
 will not come to deftroy Antichrift^ till he comes to 
 judgment at the end of the world •, there being many 
 comings of our Saviour which this author confounds 
 altogether, making them to be but one and the 
 fame. On the contrary it is evident to any one who 
 reads the hiftory of the fall of Babylon^ the feat of 
 
 Anti- 
 
 * 5fr Theory, l£c. p. 274. wlie-c thcfc objcdions arc drawn 
 out to a greater Icngrh. 
 
3 00 The DoBrine of 
 
 Antichrifi^ in the xvii, xviii, xix chapters of the 
 Apocalyffe^ that it is fo far from having any con- 
 nexion with the end of the world, that it all along 
 fuppofes the contrary. The Kings who are fubje6t 
 to him, are made to be the inftruments of his de- 
 ftru6lion, ch. xvii. i6. His votaries are reprefented 
 as bewailing his fall, ch. xviii. 9. i£c. which furely 
 fuppofes that they mufl furvive him. And this is 
 no lefs implied in the triumph of the true Church 
 over Babylon^i v. 20. The fame is evident from 
 Dan. vii. 11, 12. where after the account of the 
 deftru6tion of Antichrifi (for fo Dr B. himfelf un- 
 derftands the paffage) immediately is added, as con- 
 cerning the reft of the Beafts, they had their dominion 
 taken azvay -, yet their lives were prolong' d for a fea- 
 fon and time. Befides, as Scripture is exprefs be- 
 yond difpute, that before the end of the w^orld Chrift's 
 kingdom is univerfally to prevail, and all people, 
 Jews and Gentiles.^ to be converted to the Chriftian 
 faith ; this cannot be done till Antichrift be firft de- 
 ftroy'd, and Satan reftrain'd from deceiving the na- 
 tions. Nor do any of the texts which he produces, 
 p. 280, to prove that the kingdom of Antichrift 
 will not be totally dellroyed till the end of the world, 
 nor even all of them together, come up to the point. 
 This fuppofition of his, therefore, is not only 
 groundlefs, but contradi6tory to Scripture. No- 
 thing hinders then, from any thing that hitherto ap- 
 pears, but that the feat of the new Heavens and 
 Earth may be in this world — That it is not in his 
 future one, is evident, tho' from no other confide- 
 ration, yet from the abfurdities he is driven into in 
 explaining the do6i:rine of Gog and Magog., and re- 
 conciling the irruption of fjch a monftrous wicked 
 race into his blefled abodes, whence he had before 
 excluded all kinds and degrees of evil, both moral 
 and natural, all enemies and fmners v/hatfoever. 
 
 We 
 
the Millennium explained. 301 
 
 We may well fuppofe him in a great ftreight when 
 he would luffer fuch an account of their original to 
 fall from his pen, as, to fay no worfe, is very un- 
 fuitable to the character of a Chriftian philofopher, 
 i;/z. ' That they were the fons of the earth, gene- 
 
 * rated from the flime of the ground, and the heat 
 
 * of the fun,' p. 313. But what fliifts will not fan- 
 ciful men betake themfelves to ? What abfurdities 
 will not go down with them, rather than quit their 
 beloved notions ? 
 
 This may be thought fufficient to fliew how 
 groundlefs Dr Burnef^ opinion is with regard to the 
 i'eat of the new Heavens and Earth. But for the 
 reader's farther fatisfaftion, I fhall confider an ar- 
 gument or two more of his in defence of it. 
 
 The firll, and indeed the moft weighty of all that 
 he advances, is that drawn from St Fcter\ account 
 of the new Heavens and Earthy compared with the 
 context. 2. Pet. iii. 13. Neverthekfs we, according to 
 his promife, look for new Heavens and a new Earthy 
 wherein dwelleth Right eoufnefs-, which words refer to 
 what goes before — Looking for and haftning the com- 
 ing of the day of God, wherein the Heavens being on 
 fire, fhall be diffolved, and the Elements floall melt 
 with fervent heat. This defcription of the worWs 
 deftruftion by fire, and its renovation afterwards, 
 following an account, v. 4, 5. of the deftrudlion of 
 the old world by water •, hence he concludes, that 
 as the one mud neceflarily be undcrftood in the liter- 
 al fenfe, fo muft the other — that real and material 
 Heavens are meant in both places alike — And there- 
 fore that the ftate reprefented here by new Heavens 
 and Earth, is not to be till after the conflagration, 
 when he fuppofes the Millennial State is to com- 
 mence. 
 
 Now in anfwer hereto, T admit, (i) that the 
 words are to be undcrftood in the literal fenfe, tho* 
 
 not 
 
302 ^he DoBrine of 
 
 not to the exclufion of the allegorical (2) That 
 fuch a ftate will fucceed the general conflagration, 
 and the end of the world, as may fitly be reprefent- 
 ed by nezv Heavens and a new Earthy tho' I deny it 
 to be the Mi'lennial State. For C3) I ftill maintain 
 that both this Hate and that of the new Heavens and 
 Earth, in the fenfc; I am contending for, will be be- 
 fore the conflagration and the end of the world. 
 
 To explain myfelf — I apprehend that the Pro- 
 phecy contained in this chapter refpe<5ls three great 
 periods, or revolutions ; and that it is to have three 
 feveral completions, before it will be fully and fi- 
 nally accomplifhed. 
 
 t. In the deflrudiion of the Jews^ the defolation 
 of their city and temple, and difTolution of their 
 ftate and polity, on the one hand •, and in the eflablifh- 
 ment of a more excellent difpenfation, and the re- 
 novation which fhould enfue in the moral world by 
 the preaching of the Gofpel, on the other •, the de- 
 fign of this Epiflle being, as Dr Hammond on the 
 place obferves, ' to confirm the perfecuted, affli6ted 
 ' Chriftians in their expe6lation of that deliverance, 
 * which they fliould now fhortly meet with by the 
 ' deftruftion of their perfecutors.' And as it is not 
 iinufual in the prophetic language to reprefent God's 
 judgments on his enemies, by the tragical expref- 
 fions of burning up the Earthy and dijj'olving the 
 Heavens^ fo this is particularly the ilyle in which the 
 deftrudtion of Jerusalem is elfewhere defcribed, Mat. 
 xxiv. A^s ii. 19, 20. And accordingly this is the 
 fenfe in which Dr Hammond explains it. 
 
 2. This Prophecy is to have another completion 
 in the judgment of \\\^ great Whore., or Antichrijiian 
 Church, \ntVi.t\ovL<\ Rev. xvii. i. and in the happy 
 Millennial State, which is to follow, and the more 
 happy one of new Heavens and Earth which is to 
 fucceed that. The feat and nature of that ftate repre-- 
 
 fented 
 
the Millennium explained. 303 
 
 fented by St John under this emblem, hath been in 
 part confidcred already, and fhall be confider'd more 
 fully hereafter. Now as St Peter agrees with him in 
 ufing the fame terms, the new Heavens and Earthy 
 it is natural to fuppofe that he ufes them in reference ^ 
 to the fame ftate: except perhaps with this difference; 
 that as St John is the only one of the facred writers 
 that dillinguifhes between the Millennial State, and 
 the fucceeding one of the new Heavens, &c. fopro' 
 bably St Peter'' s new Heavens, &c. include both. 
 
 With regard to the propriety of this defcription 
 of the deftrudtion of Antichriji, it is to be oDferved, 
 that this judgment, according to the predictions con- 
 cerning it, is to be executed upon him by fire. So 
 Dan. vii. 11. The Beafi was jlain, and his body de- 
 Jiroyed, and given to the burning flame, which agrees 
 with the account which we have of the judgment 
 of the Whore. Rev. xviii. 8, c^. jhall be utterly burnt 
 'with fire, forftrong is the Lord thatjudgeth her — And 
 the kings of the earth jhall bewail her — when they 
 Jhall fee the fmoke of her burning. So of the de- 
 ftrudlion of Babylon, whofe name was written on 
 the fore- head of the great Whore, God fpeaks thus-. 
 Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel and with 
 fierce wrath, to lay the land defolate — For thefiars of 
 Heaven, and the conftellations thereof, Jhall not give ■ 
 their light : the Sun fid all be darkened in his going forth, 
 and the Moon fhall not caufe her light to Jhine — And 
 I willjhake the Heavens, and the Earth fhall remove 
 out of her place, Ifa. xiii. 9, 10, 13*. But, 
 
 3. This Prophecy is not to have its final ac- 
 complifliment till the confummation of all things, 
 which it feems principally to aim at -, when the 
 Heavens being actually on fire, fJjall be diffolved, and 
 the Elements fhall melt with fervent heat, and the 
 Earth alfo, and the works that are therein, fhall 
 
 (without 
 * See Dr Whitb-jh preface to 2 Peter. 
 
^04 ^^^ Dot trine of 
 
 (without a Figure) he burnt up^ 2 Pet. iii. 'u. 10. 12- 
 For this being the flrongeft and livelieft defcription 
 of the end of the world, which all antiquity is agreed 
 iliall be by fire, if it were interpreted allege ricaliy, 
 to the exclufion of the literal fenfe, it would be ta- 
 king fuch a freedom with Scripture, as might be 
 attended with bad confequences. 
 
 But on the other hand, it does not from hence fol- 
 low, that Dr Burnet''?, Millennial State is to fucceed 
 the general conflagration, which is here admitted to 
 be defcribed. 
 
 I. Becaufe the general judgment is conftantly, 
 throughout the Scriptures, joyn'd with the end of 
 the world, and no intermediate ftate is any where fup- 
 pofed to interpofe between them ; and thus par- 
 ticularly in the place before us, they are mod in- 
 timately connected together, and confider'd as two 
 contemporary events, v. 7. where it is faid, that the 
 Heavens and the Earth which are now^ are kept in 
 fiore^ being referveduntofre, againfi the day of Judg- 
 ment^ and perdition of ungodly men. 
 
 1. Tho' it is faid, v. 13. Neverthelefs {nolWith- 
 ftanding this total diffolution of this prefent world) 
 we look for new Heavens., and a new Earthy wherein 
 dwelleth Right eoufnefs., we are not hence neceffarily 
 obliged to conclude, that the Millennial State is not 
 to take place till after the defirruftion of the world: 
 For I take the words, in their iiterr.1 \cv\{q., to be a de- 
 fcription, not oi t\\Q Millennium^ but of that itate of 
 blifs, to which the righteous in general Ihall be receiv- 
 ed after the general reliirredtion, and the fentence of 
 approbation pafs'd upon them. And accordingly^ 
 not only the Saints and Martyrs, but all Chriibians 
 are admoniflied, in expectation hereof, to be found 
 cf God in peace^ without fpot, and blamelefs. v. 14. 
 And I am apt to think, tho* the new Heavens and 
 Earth of St Johnv^crQ primarily defign'd as a re- 
 
 prefen- 
 
the Millennium explained. 305 
 
 prefentation of the future flourifhing ftate of the 
 Church on Earth, yet that this is only typical of its 
 triumphant ftate in Heaven : Thofe glorious and re- 
 fplendent characters, exceeding all metaphor, be- 
 ing too bright ftridlly to fuit any mere earthly ftate, 
 the' ever fo perfed. And here I have Dr Burnetts, 
 own countenance •, who intimates that fome of the 
 charadlers of the new Jerufakm are incompatible 
 with a terreftrial ftate, and fome of them with a celef- 
 tial one, p. 196. 
 
 As it is not unufual for Prophecies to have more 
 afpefts than one, fo this, as we have feen, has three; 
 each of which is efpoufed by learned men, each hath 
 its advantages, and each muft be acknowledged ta 
 have its difficulties, if the Prophecy be confined to it 
 alone. But if it be extended to all three, agreeably 
 to the richnefs* of Scripture-Prophecy, no diiiicul- 
 ties can be ftarted, but what may be folved on one 
 or other of the three hypcthefes : Nor do I fee that 
 they are any ways inconfittent with each other. 
 
 It is moreover obfervable, that fultably to the 
 three Completions, there are likewife three parallel 
 Prophecies of the fame import, and conceived in 
 the very fame general terms : And if one of the Pro- 
 phecies has three views, we may fuppofe that the 
 
 X other 
 
 * Non gravate concedimus qusedam — Scriptuise loca non in- 
 commode cxponi de rebus tunc gefli?, adeoque tunctemporis (puta 
 in prime Chiifti adventu, &cj adinipleta fuiiTe: At vel ex illis 
 Promiflis qusedam etiam ulterius adimplenda fore, non uno loco 
 docet Scripturae proprietas. Teftatiflima res eft ; fcilicet, Scriptura, 
 vel Prophetia, non uno modo (uti nee uno tempore) impleri dici- 
 tur. Eft enim quoddam Incrementum Senjus ; Implctio Vaticinio- 
 rum & Promiflbrum pofiit efl'e in fluxu & progreflu. Eft, ubi pri- 
 ma & inchoata impletio eft quafi pignus cc arrha futurx impletio- 
 nis, prailudium quoddam adimpletionis longe illuftrioris Sc uberio- 
 ris. Tunc Scriptura impleri aliquando dicitur, cum id ipfum quod 
 per Prophetiam aut Scripturam didlum erat, quamvisjam faftum 
 fuerit, lamen magis ac magis fit ; (cilicetcum fit cumulatiflime » 
 cum impletur fecundum fenium fublimiorem ;quod firmari pofBt e;^ 
 plur-mis Scriptura: Teftimoniis. DilTert. fupcrius laudatse, cl. 
 lyorthington/p.x/!^^. 
 
2o6 The Dodirine of 
 
 other two have each as many and the fame : But t 
 conceive, with this difference — 
 
 The evangehcal Prophet Jfaiab, whofe Prophe- 
 cies generally relate to the firlt coming of our Sa- 
 viour, by his new Heavens and Earth, feems to 
 point chiefly to the firft ages of the Gofpel -, and 
 therefore his defcription is not fo refined and exalted, 
 as St Joh-ns. He lifing higher, and writing about 
 the beginning of the age that Ifaiab has principally 
 in view, muit be underftood to prophefy chiefly of 
 an age diftant from, and better than his own ; and 
 what age can that be, but the laft age of the Church, 
 which, we elfewhere learn, fhall in every refpeft far 
 exceed all preceding ages ? St Peter's prophecy in- 
 cluding both thefe periods, aims ultimately at one 
 ftill higher, and foars above this world to one that 
 is yet better. But that it is not to be underftood 
 folely of a heavenly ftate, exclufively of all refpect 
 to this Eardi, is iufficiently implied in the words 
 themfelves. Neverthekfs^ we, according to his 
 Prom I ST, look for new Heavens, &c. Now, what 
 Promife can this allude to, unlefs it be that in Ifaiah 
 Ixv. 17. Behold, I create tieiv Heavens, and a new 
 Earth, God having made none other Promife of 
 this nature, that we know of, when St Peter wrote 
 this Epfilc ? Therefore the one is to be interpreted 
 by the otlier ; and tliat, That pafTage of Ifaiah is to 
 be underflood rnoft naturally of an earthly ftate, and 
 of a ftate on tliis Earth, will appear on the firft view 
 to any one that will but look into it. 
 
 But this, as I fiid, is only an inferior fenfe of St 
 Peter's prophecy. As it exprefly fays, that the Hea- 
 vens (i, e. the region of the air, or atmofphere) and 
 ■the Earth which are nozv iliall be deftroyed by fire, 
 .it is probable, that the 7iew Heavens and Earth fhall 
 be formed out of the materials, and, as it v/ere, arife 
 out of the allies of the old ; and being purged and 
 
 purified 
 
the Milleftnium explained. 307 
 
 purified by the fire of the general conflagration, 
 ihall again become the refidence of the righteous part 
 ,of its antient inhabitants, after they fhall have put 
 On their refurre6tion-bodies. For as our bodies 
 themfelves fhall undoubtedly be refined at the re- 
 furrefbion, fo this our native habitation, our mother 
 Earth, from whofe bowels they v/ere taken, will 
 then receive a proportionable refinement, and be as 
 fit for their reception, as it was before. But this 
 is offer'd only as a probable conjedure, and as fuch 
 no flrefs is laid on it. I have yet a remark or two 
 to add on this pafTage of St Peter, before I leave it. 
 I. It is faid, V. 7. that the Heavens and the 
 Earth that are now — are kept in jlore, refervedunto 
 fire, a^ainft the day of judgment, and perdition of un- 
 godly men. Whence it may be inferr*d, that as the 
 ungodly are to be deltroy'd by the fame fire with 
 which the world fhall be burnt, this implies that at 
 the end of the world there will be ungodly perfons 
 to be deilroyed, contrary to the fuppofition of an u- 
 niverfal prevalence of righteoufnefs. In anfwer to 
 this let it be confider'd, 
 
 1. That the perdition of ungodly men is not 
 meant particularly of any ungodly men that fnall 
 then be found alive, but of all the ungodly in general, 
 from the beginning of the world, who fliali then be 
 raifed up ; which is plain from its being join'd with 
 the day of judgment, in which all are equally con- 
 cern*d. There will, then, be ungodly perfons e- 
 now, and alas too many, for the laft tire to prey 
 upon, without fuppofing any of them who fhall 
 then be found alive, to fhare in the fame wretched 
 fate. But, 
 
 2. I think it is evident from another pafTage of 
 Scripture, that none of thofe who fhall be found a- 
 live at the end of the world fliall be fufferers by the 
 fire which fhall then deftroy the ungodly. For St 
 
 X a Paul 
 
3o8 "Tbc DoBrine of 
 
 Paul tells us, i ^he[. iv. 1 6. 17. that at our Lord*s 
 comings the dead in Chriji Jhall rife firfi ; then we^ 
 fays he, which are alive and remain^ Jhall be caught 
 up together with them in the clouds^ to meet the Lord 
 in the air ; and fo Jhall we ever be with the Lord ; 
 which expreflion, we which are alive (or more pro- 
 perly, we the livingy the quick, yijuihg ot ^mrn;) 
 as it runs in general terms, without excluding any, 
 muft be underftood to comprehend all the quick at 
 the end of the world. And as they fhall all be 
 caught up in the clouds, together with the dead in 
 Chriji, to jneet the Lord in the air, hence it appears, 
 that both will be then joined together in their fates 
 and fortunes, as well as company — both Ihall be 
 exalted to fuch a region of the air, as will be out of 
 the reach of the deftroying element, which feems to 
 be one chief end of their being taken up thither — and 
 both will be ever with the Lord ; whence it plainly 
 appears that there will be no ungodly perfons among 
 the quick at the end of the world. 
 
 But the reft of the dead fbeing then, as well as 
 the dead in Chrift, invefted with their own bodies) 
 fhall be left to the fury of the flames, as an earneft 
 of the eternal torments, to which they then Ihall 
 fpeedily be configned. 
 
 As to the Apoille*s exprefling himfelf in the firft 
 perfon, we the quick, that does not at all affect the 
 prefent queftion. As it was not for him to know the 
 times and the feafons — As he was not fure but that 
 the end of the world might happen before the then 
 prefent generation fhould be extindl, fo it furely be- 
 came him to fpeak of it, as what he expected, to 
 make it the more intereiling and affecting to that 
 and all fucceeding generations. 
 
 Rem. 2. St Peter in the 9th v. of this 'i^d.ch. has 
 thefe words^— T'i'^ Lord is not Jlack concerning his 
 prQmife-'^hnt is long-fuffering to us-ward, net willing 
 
 that 
 
the Millennium explained. 309 
 
 that any Jhoiild perijh, but that allfiould come to re- 
 pentance. Now as this is given as a reafon for the 
 Lord's delaying his coming to put an end to the 
 world, and to fit in judgment upon it, viz. that he 
 defers this great work in hopes of men's repentance ; 
 can we imagine that he would defer it thus long, un- 
 lefs he forefaw that- all at length would be brought to 
 repentance, and that an univerfal reformation would 
 enfue ? He either forefees that this will happen, or 
 that it will not : if he forefees that it will not, why 
 does he then wait and delay his purpofes in expecta- 
 tion of what he knows will never come to pafs ? Ob- 
 ferve what follows, v. 11, 12. Seeing that all thefe 
 things Jhall be dijjolved, what manner ofperfons ought 
 ye to be in all holy conversation and godlinefs, looking 
 for and hajling unto, or Cmore agreeably to the Ori- 
 ginal) hajtening on, the coming of the day of God ? 
 But how is this pofTible ? Where fhall we run to meet 
 the Lord ? or how fhall we quicken his pace, and 
 haflen his coming ? The Apoftle indeed here tells 
 us, that this may be done by our holy converfation and 
 godlinefs. But how can this affect our Saviour's com- 
 ing, and the end of the world ? Which way can it 
 accelerate the one, or fhorten the period of the other's 
 duration ? No otherwife than as it will contribute to 
 that univerfal repentance and reformation, which, it 
 fcems, is to precede it. 
 
 This is another Argument in favour of this Hy- 
 pothefis, which 1 know not how it can be evaded : 
 And this, as well as the former Remark, fhews that 
 Chrift's lafl coming will not be in wrath to punifli 
 the generation which fhall then be found alive, but 
 in mercy to them, and to all according as their works 
 fhall be. It will be a6lually terrible to many, and 
 therefore it is often, and fitly reprefented as fuch, 
 that men may be excited to ufe their diligence, that 
 
 X 3 they 
 
3IO I'he DoBrine of 
 
 they may he found without fpot and btamelefs^ fo as 
 to avoid the terrors of it. 
 
 Hence likewife it appears that, as the earth, ac- 
 cording to what was obferved above, will be refined 
 by the general Conflagration, fo the refinement and 
 renovation of it feems to be the only end for which 
 it will be fubjeded to the Conflagration ; which 
 therefore will be voiichfafed unto it as a blefllng*, 
 and not inflidled as a judgment or curfe for the fins of 
 men ; which would likewife be contrary to God's 
 promife. Gen. viii. 21. / will not again curfe the 
 earth for man's fake. 
 
 I fhall only add, that thefe two Remarks furnifh a 
 full anfwer to any objedlions that may be drawn from 
 th.t parable of the tares above-mention'd, p. 268. 
 from Luke xviii. 8, or any other places of Scripture, 
 againfl: the univerfal Prevalence of HoHnefs in the 
 lail Age of the World. On the contrary, I hope I 
 have made my Promife good, p. 269. which was, 
 to prove, ' that the laft generation of men fhall be 
 ' all righteous, and that there (hall not be a wicked 
 ' perfon among them.' 
 
 It may be here expefted, thatfome notice fhould be 
 taken of the xxiv. chap, of St Matthew -, which tho' 
 primarily belonging to the deftrudion of Jerufalem^ 
 yet as it is generally allowed to be underftood like- 
 wife of the end of the world, at leaft in a typical 
 fenfe j fo there are feveral circumftances in the de- 
 
 fcription 
 
 * Neque promiflloni huic [nempe qu/^ patci. Gen. viii. 21. Non 
 maledicam ultra terrje propter hominem) — non promiffioni huic 
 adverfatur comminatio ilia, qus extat apud Pctrum, de Muiido 
 hoc per Confiagrationem perdendo — Nam Conflagratio ilia nee 
 liet malcdicendo, rec propter hominem, quomodo faftus eft in- 
 teritus mundi per diluvium ; fed propter converfionem, lullratio- 
 nem, & muiationem rerum omnium in mcliuf, adeoque propter 
 Aituri feculi ilatum, in quo c^(iei, feu figura hujus mundi non 
 atnplius locum habef. 
 
 Heidegger Hifi. Patriarch. Exercii. ii). de Palh^genrJ:a. Mundi. 
 
the Millennium explained. 311 
 
 fcription of it, which may "hot feem reconcileable 
 with the Doftrine here laid down : I (hall, therefore, 
 beftow upon tliis Chapter a particular examination, 
 as far as concerns the prefmt llibied:. 
 
 In the 3d V. the Difciples afk, Tell us ivhen thefe 
 things (the deftrudion of the temple) Jljall be ? and 
 what /hall be the fign of thy comings and of the end 
 of the world ? Or the conclufwn of the age^ the final 
 period of the Jewijlj (late and polity •, as Dr Ham- 
 mond trandates and interprets it, fuitably to his fenfe 
 of this whole C aptcr, which he underitands to re- 
 late to the deftruftion of ferufalem only. 
 
 In confirmation of which it may not be amifs to 
 obferve, that the antient Jews reckoned tv/o Ages, 
 "jiz. ivv ctrjovy the Age in which they lived under 
 their own form of worfhip and government -, and 
 6 /ui\\u)Vy the Age of the MeJ/iah "Nhich was to 
 come ; and as his coming would of courfe put an 
 end to the Jewifh Age, therefore thefe two Quefti- 
 ons are very properly joined together. What fhallbe 
 the fign of thy comings and of the conclufwn of this 
 our Jge ? 
 
 But admitting that the Difciples meant their quef- 
 tion of the End of the World likewife, thereby con- 
 founding two very diftinft things ; yet as they v/ere 
 not to know the times and the feafoiis^ it was not ex- 
 pedient for them to be otherwife inform'd : And 
 therefore our Saviour gave them fuch an anfwer, as 
 fully fatisfied the firft part of their que ftion, in which 
 alone they were concerned \ at the fime time leaving 
 them at liberty to underftand it alio of the end of, 
 the world : tho' if they had carefully weighed his 
 wliole difcourfc, they migiit have inferred from fe- 
 veral parts of it, not only that the end was not to 
 be yet^ as he told them, but likewife that this dif- 
 courfe of his had very little relation to the confum- 
 mation of all things •, which we of after-ages have 
 X 4 bet- 
 
312 ^he Dodlrine of 
 
 better afllirance of from our Saviour's own words, 
 verified by the event, i;. 34. where he fays, with an 
 affeveration, Verily^ I fay unto you^ this generation 
 jhall not pafs till all thefe things be fulfilled. Whence 
 we muft neceffarily conclude, that all the events 
 here predicted by him have been long ago fulfilled, 
 in the deftruftion of Jerufalem, which happened in 
 the life-time of fome who were prefent, and heard 
 the predidion. 
 
 But was not the deftruftion of Jerufalem typical of 
 the end of the world ? For the refolving of this quef-r 
 tion, thefe feveral things are to be confidered. i. 
 The calamities preceding, and the terror and tribu- 
 lation attending this deftruftion, contained in 1;. 6, 
 7, 8, 21. 2. The awefulnefs and folemnity of the 
 defcription, 1;. 30, 31. 3. The fuddennefs and 
 iinexpeftednefs of this vifitation, and the fecurity 
 and unpreparednefs of men for it, v. 27, 37, 38, 
 Q,g. Laftly, the diftinftions reprefented to be made 
 on that occafion between different forts of men i the 
 ele5l and reprobate •■, believers and unbelievers •, good 
 and bad., v. 40, 41. 
 
 With regard to the firft ; the calamities defcribed 
 in this Chapter, fuch as wars., famines., ■pefiilences., 
 earthquakes., are certainly very inconfiftent with that 
 peaceable, plentiful, and every way fiourilhing and 
 happy ftate, which I fuppofe the world, in the laft 
 ages of it, will be advanced to. 
 
 But as it does not appear from any other part of 
 Scripture, that any fuch calamities as thefe Ihall hap- 
 pen in the end of the world, but the contrary, as I 
 have, and ihall have fhewn, fo neither does it from 
 hence : fo far otherwife, that our Saviour expresfly 
 fays, 1;. 2 1 . that then (at the deftmftion of Jeruja- 
 lem) fhall be great tribulation., fuch as was not Jince 
 the beginning of the world to this time., no nor ever 
 SHALL BE. Can this tribulation then be typical of 
 
 any 
 
the Millennium explained. 313 
 
 any in time to come, when our Saviour aflferts pofi- 
 tively, that there never Ihall be any Ike it in all fu- 
 turity ? It is of the nature of a type to be ever infe- 
 rior to its antitype — of the fhadow, to be more faint 
 than the fubftance -, but this can have no antitype to 
 equal or come up to it ', that is, indeed, no antitype 
 at all, as the words in effedt tell us. There will 
 undoubtedly be many fuch circumftances of terror 
 attending the conflagration of the world, and the kit 
 judgment, as are not to be conceived by us ; and 
 of this, that figurative defcription of the deftru(5bion 
 of the Jeivijh ftate and government, reprcfented v. 
 29. by the fun's being darkened^ &c. may be a pro- 
 per emblem ; but this is very difi"erent from wars^ 
 famines^ &c. and for the above reafons, I cannot 
 think that any fuch calamities fliall happen towards 
 the end of the world, as prefages of its deftru(5lion, 
 or that they fhall then happen at all. 
 
 2. The aweful and folemn manner in which the 
 appearance of the Son of Man is defcribed, is figu- 
 ratively to be underftood of his coming to the deftruc- 
 tion of the unbelieving Jews^ and the deliverance 
 of his ele5i •, and literally, of his laft coming to judg- 
 ment to reward the good, and punifh the bad, and 
 to deal with every one according to his works : But 
 this does not affedt any thing I have offered. I 
 therefore proceed, 
 
 3 . To confider the fuddennefs and uuexpeclednefs 
 of Chriji's coming, and the fecurity and unprepared- 
 ncfs of Men for it. Chrift's coming, which bears 
 many different fcnfes in Scripture, may be quick 
 and fudden to all ; but it cannot furprize any, but 
 thofe that are carelefs and fecure, and unprepared 
 for it. Such were the Antediluvians, the SodomiteSy 
 and the Jews, when our Saviour came to inflict ven- 
 geance upon them : Such are many other wicked 
 people, who are frequently vifited with fudden judg- 
 ments : and fuch are many particular perfons, whom 
 
 death 
 
2 14 ^h^ Do Brine of 
 
 death and judgment overtake unawares : But that 
 this will be the cafe of the laft generation of men, 
 cannot be granted; becaufe it hath been proved 
 that they Ihall be all righteous, and therefore pre- 
 pared and ready for their change, and their Lord's 
 coming. And to fuch as thefe the Apoftie addreff- 
 eth himfeif, i Th. v. 2, 4. Tour [elves know per- 
 feSilyy that the day of the Lord fo cometh as a thief 
 in the night ; hut ye^ brethren^ are not in darknefsy 
 that that day fhould overtake you as a thief. And 
 confequently, 
 
 K /i^thly^ As they will be all righteous, there will be 
 no diftindions made between the laft generation of 
 men, and each other •, for they fhall be all caught 
 up into the air^ together with the dead in Chrijh, 
 and Ihall all he, ever with the Lord. At the final 
 judgment indeed, which fucceeds, diftindlion will 
 be made between the juft and unjuft in general ; the 
 Iheep and the goats : But that does not regard the 
 prefent queftion, and is far from being queftioned 
 by me. Upon the whole I cannot find that the xxivth 
 chap, of Matt, furnifheth any objedion againft 
 what hath been advanced above. 
 
 To return to Dr Burnet. — There is one other ar- 
 gument of this learned author's in defence of his 
 opinion concerning the feat of the new heavens and 
 earth, which I promifed to confider; I mean that 
 which he draws from that particular chara6ter of 
 them which St John gives us, viz. that therein 
 there was no fea •, and which falls more immediate- 
 ly in my way here, as I propofe for the reader's 
 ■fatisfadion to fpeak to the feveral charafters of 
 the new Jerufalem Jiate, as they occur in the xxift and 
 jcxiid chap, of the Revelations. The firft of which 
 is this. — And I faw a new heaven and a new earth, 
 fer the firft heaven and the fir fi earth were paffed a- 
 way, and there was no more fea., Ch. xx^. i . 
 
the Millennium explained. 31^ 
 
 This Circumftance of there being no fea in the 
 new heavens and earth fo exactly hits Dr Burnet* s 
 hypothefis, that no wonder he catches at it, and in- 
 terprets it in the literal fenfe *. But others, who are 
 not under the fame prejudices, tho' they fliould be 
 at a lofs how elfe to underftand this text, yet would 
 hardly be perfuaded to underftand it in this man- 
 ner, for this very reafon, becaufe of the abfurdity 
 of this fenfe of it ; whereby it is made to fupport a 
 world fo unphilofophical, and uninhabitable. As 
 well might he underftand this whole chapter in the 
 literal fenfe — fuppofe the new Jerufakm to be actu- 
 ally built v^'ith. gems cind precious Jiones, and exclude 
 fun and ?nocn from his new heaven and earth, as ex- 
 clude the fea from it. And fomething like this he 
 feems to do elfewhere, p. 318. where (fomewhat in- 
 confiftently with his main fcheme) he makes a fe- 
 cond transformation of the new Jerufakm, and brings 
 it at laft to 2Lfixt Jlar. When he confiders that the 
 city had no need of the fun or moon, and that there 
 was no night there, he make this grave reflexion 
 and concludes, * that this can be no terreftrial body ; 
 * it nAift be a fubftance luminous in itfelf, and a 
 ' fountain of light, as a fixt ftar.* 
 
 To turn every thing into allegory is to explain 
 away the fenfe of Scripture -, but too clofe and fcru- 
 pulous an adherence to the letter does it no lefs dif- 
 fervice, by making it appear abfurd and ridicu- 
 lous. 
 
 If we would come at the fenfe of the bright cha- 
 racters in this chap, we muft interpret them in a fpi- 
 ritual manner. The glorious light which the neiv 
 Jerufakm fhall enjoy can be none other than the 
 light of the gofpel, the glorious gofpel, as St Paul 
 more than once calls it, 2 Cor. iv. 4. i Tim. i. 1 1. 
 which will then fhine forth in its full luftre, difpell- 
 
 ing 
 ♦Theory, p. 195. 
 
^ 1 6 *Ihe Dodirine of 
 
 Jng all the dark clouds of ignorance and error, and 
 greatly enlightening the underftandings of men. 
 This interpretation is the more probable, becaufe St 
 John in his other writings conftantly reprefents the 
 gofpel and its author under the image of light -, and 
 here likewife he fays, ch. xxi. 23. That the city^ i. 
 e. the Church, had no need of the fun, neither of 
 the moon to fhine in it : for the glory of God did 
 lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof — 
 the fun of right eoufnefs, whofe tabernacle Ihall be 
 then with men, v. 3. and of whom the fun in the 
 firmament is but an emblem. And is not this fpi- 
 ritual light far more excellent than the natural light 
 oi 2ifixt Jlar? and a more worthy and fubhme ex- 
 plication of this divine portraiture? When God 
 Ihall caft the bright beams of his Hght upon his 
 Church, and it fhall be fully illuminated with the 
 doftrine of Chriji and his Apollles — When the ex- 
 cellence of the Chriftian difpenfation fhall thus be 
 difplayed, and its divine precepts Ihine forth with 
 double luflre in the lives of its profefTors — When the 
 king^s daughter fhall by this means be all glorious 
 within, and her cloathing of wrought gold, Pf xlv. 
 14. i. e. when the outward decency and majefly of 
 ChrijFs Church, the lamFs bride, fhall be fuitable 
 to her inward excellence and purity, worjhipping the 
 Lord in the beauty of holinefs, Pf xxix. 2. When 
 we confider, I fay, that the holy city, the new Jeru- 
 falem, fhall defend from heaven, prepared in this 
 manner, as a bride adorned for her hufband. v. 2. 
 we fhall not think it unfuitable to the figurative 
 ilyle here ufed to reprefent her garnifhed with gold, 
 and^^;«j,and all manner of precious flones, as the em- 
 blems of thefe excellent endowments and privileges. 
 
 To refume the Argument — As the defcription of 
 the holy Jerufakm is in a manner entirely allegorical; 
 fo that of the new Heavens and new Earth, 
 
 which 
 
the Millmniim explained. 317 
 
 which differs from it no othcrwife than a whole does 
 From a part, ought to be taken allegorically Ukewife. 
 For by the new Heavens and. Earth I underitand the 
 whole renovated World, natural as well as moral ; 
 as by the holy City, the new Jerusalem, I underftand 
 the Chriftian Church. And as the whole in a man- 
 ner is to be interpreted figuratively, fo that particu- 
 lar charafter belonging to it, that therein was no 
 onore Sea, required as much as any other to be inter- 
 preted figuratively likewife. 
 
 And what can it mean, but that this element be - 
 ing the emblem of trouble, difquiet and inconftan- 
 cy, by there being no more Sea is fignified, that the 
 renovated world fhall not be fubjed: to the vicifTi- 
 tudes, commotions, and diforders, which in its pre- 
 fent corrupt ftate are, more or lefs, unavoidable ? 
 That there fhall be a greater tranquillity, liability, 
 and certainty in all things here below, and that they 
 fhall flow on in a fmoother, more regular, and uni- 
 form courfe, than hitherto they have done ? Then 
 every individual fhall regulate his conduct by the 
 niceft rules of wifdom and prudence, and fhall 
 know his own fphere fo well, as never to deviate 
 from it to the difturbance of another ; neither fhall 
 there be any ftrife or emulation between particulars, 
 but who fhall contribute mofl to the good of the 
 whole. The politicks of all ftates fhall then likewife 
 be refined, and placed upon a more generous foot- 
 ting, than to be employed in diflrefTing and out-wit- 
 ing each other. They will then fee it their intereil 
 ratlier to promote their mutual welfare, each feek- 
 ing its own in the general good. And agreeably 
 hereto, the courfe of nature Ihall be proportionably 
 altered for the better -, the feafons ihall be regular 
 and conftant in their return, the air temperate, the 
 earth fruitful, and nature in general reflored to its 
 primitive and paradifiacal flate. 
 
 This 
 
^i8 ^he Dodfrme of 
 
 This is what I take to be obfcurely hinted In th is 
 exprefiion, that in the new Heavens and Earth there 
 Jhall he no more Sea ; and I find Eftius and St Aujiin 
 iikewife underftand it in this manner. And what 
 inclines me the more to think that this is the true 
 fenfe of it is, becaufe otherwife there would feem to 
 be an omifTion in St John's, defcription, with regard 
 to the peace, tranquillity, and fbability of enjoyment 
 in his new Heavens and Earth, in which Ifaiah is 
 very exprefs and particular, ch. Ixv. 21, 22, 23. 
 
 That there is foundation in Scripture, as well as 
 in the analogy of Nature, for interpreting the Sea 
 as emblematical of difquiet and viciffitude, the read- 
 er may be fatisfied from Ifa. Ivii. 20. where the 
 Holy Ghoft compares the wicked to the troubled Sea, 
 which cannot rejl^ whofe \vaters cafi up mire and 
 dirt. And from James i. 6. where he that waver- 
 €th is faid to be like 'a wave of the Sea, driven with 
 the wind and tojjed. 
 
 I have now only to confider the remaining cha- 
 rafters of the new Jerufalem ftate, which being for 
 the moll part plainly and literally exprefTed, are lefs 
 liable to miftake, and require lefs pains to fix the 
 meaning of them. 
 
 The firft that occurs is in v. 3. And I heard a 
 great voice out of heaven^ f'^y^^S-y ^^^old the taber- 
 racle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, 
 and they fhall he his -people, and God him f elf fh all he 
 with them, and he their God ; which words imply 
 that this ftate fhall be blefled with the divine Pre- 
 fence and communion * in a peculiar manner. I 
 have elfewhere mentioned the divine Prefence as a 
 character of this ftate. p. 254. but havereferved the 
 particular confideration of it for this place. WJiat 
 may be affirmed in general concerning it is, that it 
 
 muft 
 * Mr Lazo'i, Cenjiderations en Religion, $cc> 
 
the Millennium explained. 31^ 
 
 muft needs be of an extraordinary nature, and very 
 different from what is vouchfafed the Church at pre- 
 fent. Chriit indeed has promifed to be with it al- 
 ways, throughout all ages of it, even unto the end of 
 the world : But we cannot fay that he is hitherto 
 any otherwife prefent with it, than in the common 
 methods of his providence, and by the ordinary in- 
 fluences of his Spirit preferving, conducting, and 
 fupporting it, that the gates of hell prevail not againft 
 it. But there feems to be fomething more implied in 
 the words above-mentioned, otherwife why are they 
 inferted here as the peculiar charader of this ftate ? 
 And why are they introduced in fo pompous and 
 folemn a manner? / heard a great voice from heaven^ 
 faying^ i^c. But if we confider what follows. 1;. 11. 
 that the ne^ Jerufalem which defcended out of hea- 
 ven had xht glory of God; and v. 22. that St John 
 faw no temple therein, but that the Lord God Al- 
 mighty, and the Lamb were the temple of it ; and v. 
 23. that the glory of God did lighten it, and the 
 Lamb was the light thereof; and ch. xxii, v. 3, 4. 
 that the throne of God and the Lar,ib was in it, and 
 that his fervants faw his face. And t^at Ezekiel 
 concludes his defcription of this fame new Jerufalem 
 in thefe words, 'The name of the city from that day 
 fhall be. The Lord is there. Ch. xlviii. tilt. From 
 all this we cannot avoid concluding, that the divine 
 Prefence will be with the Church in this happy flate 
 of it in a moft eminent and diilinguifhing manner, 
 to all good purpofes whatlbever. 
 
 It is thought by fome that God Almighty reveal- 
 ed himfelf by a vifible appearance to Adam in Para- 
 dife ; however it is certain he did to feveral other holy 
 men of old, not only upon particular occafions, but 
 moreover that he vouchfafed a (landing manifefta- 
 tion of his glory to the Jewijh. Church for many 
 ages. And who can tell but he will again converfe 
 
 as 
 
320 ^he Dodtrine of 
 
 as freely and familiarly with men, when the paradi^ 
 fiacal ftate fhall be reflored ? When his tabernacle 
 .fhall be once more ptch^d among men, the divine 
 Shecijiah may ag.dn appear in it. For it is not im- 
 probable to fuppofe, that wh.t has been vouchfafed 
 to a lefs perfeft oeconomy, may be reflored under a 
 more perfedl one. But whether the divine Prefence 
 will be any way vifible, or no, its influence will be 
 as efFedual to all intents and purpofes, which is fuf- 
 ficient to fatisfy our enquiries concerning it. 
 
 Another diftinguifliing charader of this ftate we 
 have in the next verfe. A?id God Jhall wipe away 
 nil tears from their eyes •, and there Jhall be no more 
 deaths neither J orrow^ nor crying^ neither Jhall there be 
 any more pain : for the former things are pajfed away. 
 And he that fat upon the throne f aid., Behold I make 
 all things new. v. 5. which words are plain and 
 exprefs as words can be, that all the natural evils of 
 life Ihall be removed, and that man fhall enjoy a 
 ftate of indolency, or freedom from pain of all kinds, 
 — that evenDeath itfelf ftiall be done away,and human 
 nature ftiall become immortal. But the particular 
 confideration of this head I propofe to referve for 
 another Chapter. 
 
 Agreeably hereto, and which this is no more 
 than a neceflary confequence of, we are told, v. 2 7. 
 that all the moral evil likewife ftiall be intirely ex- 
 cluded from this ftate. 'There fhall in no wife enter 
 into it any thing that defileth, neither that worketh 
 abomination., or maketh a lye., but they which are writ- 
 ten in the LamFs book of life. And as the new 
 Jerufalem will be too holy for the wicked of any 
 denomination to be admitted into it, fo v. 8. we are 
 told where they are to have their portion — The fear- 
 ful and unbelieving., and the abominable^ and murder- 
 ers^ and whoremongers, and forcer ers^ and idolaters, 
 
 and 
 
the Millcnnhim explained '321 
 
 'land all lyars^ Jhall have their fart in the lake which 
 burneth ivith fire arid brimjlone, "juhich is the fecond 
 death. Rev. xxi. 8. 
 
 The manner wherein, and the extent to which 
 moral evil fhall be removed, I conceive to be this 
 —That it will at length be worn away to that de- 
 gree, that the laft generation of men fliall have no 
 more fin of any kind, than will render the good 
 offices of their redeemer neceflary for the pardon 
 and removal of it ; all remains of which will be fo 
 effectually overcome by the aids of his grace, that 
 they fhall in the courfe of their lives entirely recover 
 their original innocence, and arrive at fuch a con- 
 firmed habit of virtue and godlinefs as to be moral- 
 ly incapable of finning ; as this fame Apollle elfe- 
 where obferves — He that is born of Ggd, /. e. tho- 
 roughly regenerated by his holy Spirit, cannot fin- 
 I Jo. iii. 9. where he feems to allude to this con- 
 firmed ftate, this obfervation being applicable only 
 to fuch as are thus finally fettled and rooted in the 
 love of Gqd^ and religion. Having thus fuccefsful- 
 ly finifhed the term of their probation upon earth, 
 they fhall at length be received into glory, and tranila- 
 ted to a heavenly immortality without tailing ofdeath. 
 
 But farther, to fhew how exa<5l i refemblarice there 
 is between the primitive and future paradifiacal Hate, 
 or rather that this is but the fame ffate reftored, we 
 have in the beginning of the next Chapter a defcrip- 
 tion of the river and tree of life. v. i. He fjci^edme a 
 'pure river of -water of life^ clear as cryjlal^ proceeding 
 out of the throne of God, and of the Lamb •, which 
 plainly anfwers to the river that went out of Eden 
 to "Water the Garden of Paradife. Gen. ii. 10. and v. 2- 
 In themidjl cf the flreet of it^ which iv as enconipajfed 
 en either fide by the river, there ivas the Tree of 
 l-ifcy zvhich bare tzsehe manner of ^r:vts^ and yielded 
 
 Y ■ " her 
 
322 State of the New Heavens 
 
 her fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree 
 were for the healing of the nations. Thus I chufe, 
 with Mr Mede, to render the words, whereby they 
 become more inteUigible, as well as more fuitable 
 to the defcription of the firft Paradife, which is fup- 
 pofed to have been fituated between the two rivers, 
 Tygris and Euphrates. However, the "Tree of Life in 
 the midji of the fircet manifeilly correfponds with, 
 and alludes to, the Tree of Life in theniidjl of the 
 Garden of Eden. 
 
 But it is not fo eafy to unravel this myftical repre- 
 fentation, lb as to find out the true fenfe couched 
 under it, and fix what it particularly points at, in 
 this happy ftate. 
 
 I'hus much in general may be affirmed concern- 
 ing ir, that it is a lively emblem ot the bounty and 
 fufficience of that provifion, which God fhall then 
 make for his Church, of fpiritual bleffings, as well 
 as temporal good things -, which will be fo inex- 
 prefiibly great, as vaftly to exceed our prefent con- 
 ceptions. For eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, nei- 
 ther have en t red into the heart of man the things which 
 God hath -prepared for them that love him. i Cor. ii. 9 . 
 By this tree of life fume underftand the tree of the 
 crofs to be m.eant \ which, as it bears the greateft ana- 
 logy to the tree of life in the firft Paradife, fo, if 
 taken emblematically to fignify the whole of chrifti- 
 anity, it iikewife beft anfwers the end and defign 
 of it. For when the chriftian religion is grown up 
 to its full maturity of ftrength and power, fo as to gain 
 entire poilcffion of men's hearts and lives, it will 
 recover to them all thofe great bleffings and privile- 
 ges, which the tree of life was defigned to procure 
 for them in Paradife, and of which it will fecure to 
 them the enoyment. 
 
 And particularly, the medicinal virtue of the 
 leaves of t.ie gofpel-trec of life^ menrioned Iikewife 
 
 Ezck. 
 
nnd New Earth explained. 323 
 
 Ezek. xlvii. 12. may fignify the means of grace, 
 the externals ofrehgion, the conftant applicition cf 
 which will remedy all the lefler infirmitivis ot our 
 Nature; to which, as I have fhewn, p. 10, Adam 
 in Paradife might have been liable, confidently with 
 his ftate of innocence, and from which creatures of 
 fuperior orders may not perhaps be entirely exempt. 
 
 The concluding Chara6ler of the jzew Jerufalem 
 '*ftate is contained in the three next Verfes. ylnd there 
 Jhallbe no more Curse ; But the throne of God and 
 of the i^amh Jhall he in it : and his ferv ants Jh all ferz'e 
 him. And'fhey Jhall fee his face^ and his nanieffoalli/e 
 in their forehls^ds. And there fhall he no night there ^ 
 and they need no candle., neither light of the fun •, fcr 
 the Lord God giveth them light ; and they fhall reign 
 for ever and ever. Here is an exprcfs declaration, 
 that the curfe and ill confequences of the fall fhall be 
 entirely removed and done away. Indeed had the 
 holy Ghoft been filent, and left us to have made the 
 conclufion ourfelves, we could not well have avoid- 
 ed it, after what he was pleafed to reveal in this, 
 ■and the foregoing chapter j where the fsveral parts 
 of the curfe, natural and moral evil, are faid to be 
 removed ; man reftored to his native innocence, in- 
 tegrity, felicity, and immortality : And where we 
 have as lively a defcription of Paradife as in the fe- 
 cond chapter of Gcnefis. 
 
 But after recounting thefe particulars, the Spirit, 
 by way of confirmation, adds in general^ And there 
 Jhall he no more Curse. It is more ftrongly exprefs'd 
 in the original, ;ca; ma^v zxratvci^ivuy^ i<k i'cxi sV;. 
 *There foall he no more Cur fe cf any kind. Tiie origi- 
 nal Curfe, in every branch of it, fiull be dene a- 
 way •, thereby, one would think, putting the matter 
 beyond all poffibility of doubt. Hereto is fubjoin'd v. 
 5. and they flj all reign for ever and ever, thereby int".- 
 
 Y 2 mating 
 
3 24 State of the Neii) Heavenl 
 
 mating that this Itate lliall be of long continuance on 
 earthy and be perpetuated by the tranflation of it into 
 heaven ; when, the mediatorial fcheme being complet- 
 ed, and the redemption of our nature fully accom- 
 pliflied, all thefe things jhall he dijjolved^ and our glo- 
 rious Redeemer yZ;^// deliver up the kingdom to God, 
 'eveji the Father^ ofwhofe kingdom there Jhall be no end, 
 
 I would now fain know what is wanting to make 
 this ftate truly and completely paradifiacal -, all the 
 charafters of fuch a ftate being thus diftinftly laid 
 down, and in fuch plain and exprefs terms, as are 
 not frequently to be met with in the prophetical 
 writings, efpecially in the Revelations of St John. 
 
 It is fome prefumption in favour of this opinion, 
 that the beginning and ending of the facred code 
 have a remarkable Reference to each other : It begins 
 with the creation of the world, the planting of par a- 
 dife, the placing of m.an in it, and his lofs of it : It 
 ends with the renovation of the world, the rejlitution 
 of paradife, and the ref oration of man is the enjoy- 
 ment of it, and particularly of the tree of life, to 
 prevent his eating of which he had been expelled out 
 of it. 
 
 The facred* writings are not only confiflent through- 
 out, but they have moreover a wonderful connexion 
 with, and dependence upon each other, notwithftand- 
 ing the feveral parts of them were written by fo 
 many diilerent authors, at fuch long intervals and 
 diftances of time from each other, than whicli there 
 can be no better proof of their divinity. But this 
 connection is more ei'pecially remarkable in the cafe 
 before us, and is a circuraftance which deferves par- 
 ticularly to be regarded. 
 
 I fhould now have finiflied my defign, and fluould 
 v)rocced to a. conclufion ofthistreatifei but that I am 
 
 lenfible 
 
and New Earth explained, 325 
 
 ^enfible men's prejudices are fo great againft iome 
 things advanced in it, tho' they have accuinulated 
 evidences of ScHpture to fupport them, th itl doubt , 
 they will hardly be perfuaded to believe Mofes and 
 the Prophets^ or even Chrift and his Apolliies con- 
 cerning them, whatever deference they may have for 
 their authority in other relpr.6ls. 
 
 The points concerning which I differ fo much from 
 the received notions, and wherein I moll doubt of 
 overcoming them, are the Natural Evils oi Utc -, 
 which are fo many and various in their kinds, fo great 
 .and vifible in their effeds, and withal fo unavoida- 
 ble, as the world at prefent is conftituted, that it is 
 no wonder men fhould think them infeparable from 
 this life, as necefTarily refulting from the laws of our 
 being here. The miferies of human life have been 
 always felt in ib many inftances, or at lead feen in fo 
 many objects of them, that this has been the con- 
 ftant topic of men's complaints in all ages paft, and 
 therefore they conclude it will be no lefs fo in all 
 ages to come. And however fome may efcape 
 through life without tailing much of the evils of it ; 
 yet the evil of death, the greateft of any, iscommor> 
 to all, and none can find any refuge from it. 
 
 It is an adventurous undertaking to attack notions 
 grounded upon the experience of all men in all ages : 
 Nor lliould I be fo rafli as to engage them with any 
 other weapon than that wherein I truft, the [word of 
 the Spirit^ Eph.vi. 1 7. The warrant of Scripture in this 
 behalf hath in fome meafure been produced already ; 
 but as the reader will exped: more particular proofs 
 in fupport of fo ftrange a paradox, I have therefore 
 referved it till laft, and not to interrupt the th.read 
 of thedifcourfe, fhall beftowa diflindl confideration 
 upon it, that the reader may form the better judg- 
 ment of it, and rejedl or approve it, according as it 
 (hall appear to Iiim to deferve. 
 
 Y 3 C H A P. 
 
326 T roofs of the Re?mval 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Concerning the Removal of the natural Evils of 
 Life in general^ and in their fever al Kinds ^ 
 
 Have proved at large in the foregoing Chapters, 
 as well from the general defign of Chriftianity, 
 as feveral particular confiderations, that the Gofpel- 
 difpeiifation was calculated for the recovery of our 
 nature to its firfteltate in its moral capacity ; anda- 
 greeably hereto I have produced many conciirrent 
 paiTages of Scripture, all tending to prove, either di- 
 reftly, or by jull confequence, that mankind aftual- 
 ly fhall recover from all their moral diforders, and 
 be once more reftored to a (late ot finlefs perfeftion, 
 t-.ven in this life. Now this alone, v/ere there no 
 other, is a fufficient argument to prove, that we 
 iliall recover from our natural diforders likewife ; 
 fince the cure or removal of moral evil neceflarily 
 infers the removal of natural evil too. For fuch is 
 the connexion between the moral and natural world, 
 that they are infeparabje in their fates \ and as they 
 fell, {Bfe -p. 33.) fp Oiall they rife together. Moral 
 and natural evil may be look'd upon as caufe and 
 effe6l ; for it was m.oral evil that gave birth to natural 
 evil, and introduced it into the world. Thus par- 
 ticularly it is laid of Death, that it entered into the 
 world by fin^ Rom. v. 12. And ever fince, the 
 one has borne proportion to the other. Every in- 
 creafe or diminutipn of moral evil caufes an increafe 
 or diminution of natural evil, as its neceilary effect 
 and confequence : they conftantly rife and fall, 
 ebb and flow together. Wherefore upon the total 
 cure of m.oral evil, natural evil, being a kind of 
 fymptomatic diforder^ will prefently vanifh. The 
 
 c^ufe 
 
of Natural EviL 3 2^ 
 
 caufe being removed, the effeft will ceafe of 
 courfe. 
 
 Befides, upon the removal of moral evil, the end 
 and reafon of natural evil will no longer fubfift ; it 
 being defign'd by way of difcipline and corredion 
 for the other, of which there will then be no need. 
 For men having regained the redlitude and pcrfed:i- 
 on of their natures may be trulled with happinefs, 
 which otherwife would be a worfe evil to them tlian 
 any they at prefent feel from their fins •, which if 
 they were to caufe no inconvenience to them here, 
 they would foon conclude they neither deferved, nor 
 fhould fufFer any from them hereafter, but perhaps 
 would think themfclves entitled to reward : And it 
 need not be laid how great an encouragement this 
 would be to continue in fin. 
 
 Thefe arguments are conclufive with rcfpc6l to all 
 natural evils whatfoever -, but there are fome of them 
 fo vifibly and immediately the refult and punifh- 
 ment of fin, that with regard to them they are felf- 
 evident. Now, if we were only to reckon up thofe 
 of this latter fort, they would make a great draw- 
 back upon the number of natural evils, and con- 
 fiderably leflen their catalogue, were thofe fins ab- 
 ftained from, which are the immediate caufes of 
 them. It v/ere cndlefs to recount all the mifchiefs 
 tliat flow from the indulgence of the irafcible and 
 concupifcible pafTions. Excefs and intemperance of 
 every kind conllantly carries its own punilLment a- 
 long with it •, neither is there any other vice th.it is not 
 attended with one inconvenience or other in this life ; 
 and nothing is more certain than that all the evils we 
 are obnoxions to here, are the genuine offspring of fin, 
 and may be either immediately or remotely deduced 
 from it •, however fome of them may feem, to fuch as 
 confider them lefs attentively, to be altogetlier inde- 
 pendent of it. 
 
 y 4 It 
 
'328 Proofs of the Removal 
 
 It is true, poverty, ficknefs, death, and other or- 
 dinary evils are common to the beft wifn tlie -worft 
 of men; and fo are the more extraordinary ones 
 likewife, fuch as famine, peftilenre, and other pub- 
 lick calamJties, in which the innocent are often in- 
 volved with the guilty •, whence perhaps it may be 
 concluded that they ibmetirrjes proceed from other 
 caufes than that of fin. 
 
 But as men are not yet advanced to fuch perfedi- 
 on, but that the molt upright of them have many 
 failings, and offend in 'many things \ and as the affli(fti- 
 ons ot good men are reprefented in, Scripture as cha- 
 Jlifements^ which imply guilt ; fo no argument to, 
 this purpofe can be drawn from the fuffering inno- 
 cence of any rner:; man that has ever yet lived, fmce 
 none are really, but only comparatively innocent ; 
 nay not from that of our Saviour Chriji himfclf •, 
 inafmuch as he likewife fuffered for lin, in his life as 
 well as death, thp' not for any of his own. 
 
 There being therefore none of the natural evils of 
 life, which are not either immediately or remotely 
 the effefts of fin, we mufl: refume our firft conclu- 
 fion, That when human nature Ihall have made a 
 complete conqueft over fin, as I have proved it fhall,, 
 all thefe leffer enemies which annoy us under its 
 banner, (hall be likewife vanquifhed. 
 
 But we are not obliged to depend altogether up- 
 on confequential reafonings for the proof of this 
 truth i fince it will, upon examination, appear to be 
 founded upon the exprefs authority of Scripture^ 
 whether it be confidered in general, or in its feveral 
 parts. 
 
 I . With regard to the removal of natural evil in 
 general. We have an exprefs promife of a redemp- 
 tion and reftitution of the whole natural creation, 
 Rom. viii. 19 — 23. The earneji expe^ation of the 
 creaturs ''jjaitcth for ths ma?iifeJiation of the fons of 
 
 God. 
 
of Natural Evil. 329 
 
 QoD. — {For the creature was made Juhje^ to vanity^ 
 not ivillingl)\ but by rc.ifon of him "uvho hath Juhjcci- 
 ed the fame) — in hope : Becaufe the creature itfelf al- 
 fo fioall he delivered from the bondage of corrupt ioriy 
 into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For 
 lue know that the whole creation groaneth and travaik 
 €th in pain together until now : And not only they, 
 but ourfehes alfo, which have the fir ft fruits of the 
 Spirit ..even we ourfehes groan within ourfehes, waiting 
 for the adoption, to zvit, the redemption of our Body.-f 
 Grotiusy as well as feveral o;hers, underftands 
 this paflage of the whole vifible creation. Concern- 
 ing which he very juftly obferves, ' that as it was 
 ^ made for the fake of man, fo it ought not to be 
 ■ reformed nnd reduced to a better ftate, but when 
 
 * men fhall be reformed themfeives.'* Nor ought 
 it to be looked upon as any objedlion againfr un- 
 derllanding the creature here men'-ioncd, of the in- 
 animate creation, that the Apon"le atLrib^.t^^s a kind 
 of pf-rfonality to it, thi:. being a figure which he, in 
 common with other writers, f:cred as W'il ..s pro- 
 fane, frequently ufcs for the imprefling of :.. greater 
 weight and emph:fis upon h's '.'ifcourfe. 
 
 Thus much being premifed, it may not b;^ amifs 
 to attempt a paraphrafe of the whole pail'ge. 
 
 ' The v/hole viiible Creation, which '<V£a made for 
 ' the Sake of m;.n, and which is joined •vith him in 
 ' its fate, having been made fubjed: tc trie curfe of 
 
 * corruption x?. 21. and vanity (agrcibly to the 
 ' Preacher's obfLrvation, that all is verity) but this 
 
 * not willingly, not like man, having this curfe infli6l- 
 ^ ed upon it for any voluntary tranfgreflion of its 
 
 * own — but by reaibnof the fmofhim {Adam) who 
 ' fubje<5led it thereto — Tly; whole Creation, I fliy, by 
 
 ' a kind 
 
 •j- SceT^.'/. li. 16. with Cdhln and oihcr Commentators up'T ir. 
 ? TiVj kac tiatura rcrum itjpe8abilh hcmiiiutn cnujd coiidita — non 
 debet reforf,iari i:i fia!:i:x :;i;lLrein nif cum homines refoimabuntur^ 
 Cr.t, in Iccuni. 
 
330 Proofs of the Removal 
 
 ' a kind of natural inftin6l, whereby every tiling 
 
 * hath a tendency to its own recovery and perfeftion, 
 
 * waiteth in earneft expectation, for the time when 
 
 * the adoption of the fons of men, v. 23. jfhallbe 
 < manifeftly completed by their attainment of the 
 
 * perfection of their natures, and by that means be- 
 
 * coming the Sons of God in a higher and more 
 ' proper fenfe than that appellation can at prefent be- 
 
 * long to them in. Seeijo. iii. 2. And the reft of the 
 
 * Creation waiteth for this happy event, in hope that 
 ' it too fhall then be renovated, and thereby be de- 
 ' livered from the bondage of corruption under 
 
 * which it hath long groaned, and even till now 
 ' fympathizeth and travaileth in pain together 
 
 * with us •, who tho' we have the firft fruits of the 
 
 * Spirit, whereby our refl oration may be prefumed 
 
 * to be in greater forwardnefs than that of the reft of 
 ' the Crearion, yet we ourfelves likewife groan 
 ' within ourfelves, waiting for the completion of this 
 
 * fame adoption, to wit, the redemption or reftitu- 
 
 * tion of our bodily part, and of the whole body of 
 ' mankind. 
 
 It is obfervable that the antient Jews exped:ed a 
 renovation of the natural world in the age of the 
 Mejfuihj whence probably the JewiJIo converts, not 
 feeing it immediately take place, might begin to 
 dcfpair of it j and therefore the Apoftle, by way of 
 provifion againft any fcruples of this kind, on xht 
 one hand tells them that the Creature groaneth^ 
 &c. a>p(T8 v^-y even till that prefent time, not 
 withftanding the MeffiaJfs reign had commenced 
 fome time before, thereby intimating that this re- 
 novation was not as yet to take place, nor to be ef- 
 feded all at once : and, on the other hand, he great- 
 ly animate? and raifes their hopes of it, v;hen he tells 
 them that the Creature is in earnefi expeHation * of it: 
 
 Whence 
 
 * ATi;r^c(t;xh>t^.», attmia 13 fduifa e.^f'e^nti-^, faSla arre^o capite. 
 
' of Natural Evil 331 
 
 Whence it is moft natural to conclude that as this re- 
 novation was expedttd, fo it is to be made in this life. 
 
 If this interpretation be allowed, it confirms the 
 kypothefis laid down ch. iv. concerning the removal 
 of the curfe from off the ground. For as it is here 
 laid, that the whole creation groaneth, and travaileth. 
 in pain together until now, i. e. till the time when 
 this Kpiftle was written -, it is evident that the curfc 
 was not then entirely removed ; nor, as may be add- 
 ed, is it as yet, there not having been any fuch ma- 
 terial change fince : And, on the other hand, here is 
 a plain Promife, that it fhall be removed hereafter. 
 In confirmation of which it may not be amifs to add 
 fome farther teilimonies from Scripture. 
 
 To this purpofe, it is obfervable that the Prophets 
 fpeak much of a paradifiacal flate, and of the great 
 plenty and fertility of the earth in time to come.Thus 
 Jfaiah fays, that wndar x\\q Mej[fiah\ reign, the fruit 
 of the earth fJo all be excellent and comely, Ifa. iv. 2. 
 And, that the Lord will comfort the zvajle places of 
 Zion, and make her Pl^ildernefs like Eden, and her 
 Defer t like the Garden of the Lord, ch. li. 3.* 
 Than which words what can be plainer, or more ex- 
 preis to the purpofe .'' Thus again does he defcribe 
 the flourifhing flate of Chrtft's kingdom, Ch. 
 XXXV. I, 7. The wilder nefs and folitary place fmll be 
 glad, and the defert fhall rejoyce and bloffom as the 
 rofe. And the parched ground fioall become a pool^ 
 and the thirfty land fprings of water. And, ch. xlii. 
 18, 19. / will open rivers in high places, and 
 fountains in the midji of the "tallies : I will make 
 the wildemefs a pool of water, and the dry land, 
 fprings of water — / will plant in the wilder- 
 ncfs the cedar, the fliittah-tree, the myrrh-tree, and 
 the oyl-tree ; I will ft in the defert the fir-tree, 
 end the pine, and the box-tree together. And, wliicli 
 
 is 
 • Compare Ezek. xxzvi. 35. and Dcut. xxxiii. z8. 
 
332 Proofs of the Removal 
 
 is yet more remarkable, rnftead of the thoyl^ Jhalf 
 come lip the fir-tree, and infiead of the l:.iar Jhall 
 come tip the myrtle-tree j and it fball Ic to tbe lord 
 for a Name, for an everlasting Sign that jh all 
 not le cut off. ch. iv. 13. The increafe of thorns and 
 briars being the efFeft of the curfe, this predidiion of 
 their being overcome by the growth of more ufefut 
 trees, is a plain intimation of the removal of the curfe 
 in this refpe6l, efpecially it being added, tha,t this 
 Jhall he to the Lord for a Name., i. e. will redound 
 to his Glory — and for an everlafting Sign that fjall 
 -not he cut off. For a fign of what can this be, but 
 of the reftoration of the earth to its paradifiacal 
 ftate ? Agreeably hereto we read, Amos ix. 13. Be- 
 hold the days come., faith the Lord, that the plow- 
 man fhall overtake the reaper ., and the treader of 
 grapes him that foweth feed \ and the mountains fhall 
 dropfweet wine., and all the hills fhall melt. So Joel iii. 
 18. And it fhall come to pafs in that day., that the 
 onountains pjall drop down new zvine, and the hills fhall 
 flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah Jhall Jlow 
 with waters., and a fountain fhall come forth of the 
 houfe of the Lord., and fhall water the valley ^/Shittim. 
 So likewife that text in Hof ch. ii. 2 1. 22. 1 will hear 
 the heavens., and they Jhall hear the earth ; and the 
 earth Jloall hear the corn., and the wine, and the oil^ 
 is underftood of the favourablenefs of the heavens, 
 and fecundity of the earth in its renovated ftate un- 
 der the MefTiah. Thefe paflages have undoubtedly 
 a fpiritual meaning couched under the literal, but 
 there is no neceflity of reje6ling the letter for the fake 
 of it, as both are very confident with each other * 
 and fo the commentators frequently underftand them. 
 On thefe and the like Prophecies probably were 
 founded the great notions which the antient Jews had 
 of the univerfal plenty and fertility of the earth, un- 
 der the reign of the Meffinh, at the lead this was the 
 chiefeft and mod certain foundation of them. As 
 
of Natural Evil. 33^ 
 
 As there will in this happy ftate be great plenty 
 of the fruits of the earth, fo there will be a propor- 
 tionable increafe of men to enjoy them, and of cattle 
 likewife for the fervice of men, as is fiifficiently'' 
 intimated in the following texts, If a. Ix. 22. Jer. xxx. 
 19. xxxi. 27. and £2c4. xxxvi. ii. 
 
 And when man fhall fully return to his obedience 
 to God, the brute creatures fhall likewife rcturi. to 
 theirs*, and become fubjecl to man the lord of this 
 lower world ; of which thofe animals that are already 
 tamed and made ferviceable to us, feem 10 be an 
 earnefl. Thus Hofea ii. 18. /;z that day will Im <c- 
 a covenant for them with the beafts of the field, and 
 with the fowls cf heaven^ and with the creeping things 
 of the ground. And this is the literal Senfe of the 
 above-cited Prophecy oi Ifaiah, 'it he wolf do all dwell 
 with the lamb, 6zc. and accordingly it is fo under- 
 ftood by feveral Chriftian * as well as Jewijh inter- 
 preters. 
 
 As the creatures in general fhall recover their firfl: 
 mildnefs, fo we learn that beafts of prey particularly 
 fhall ccafe to annoy man, and to devour each other, 
 but be content with vegetable food ; the lien /hall eat: 
 Jlraw like the ox. 
 
 Naturalills indeed have obferved that the ftomachs 
 
 of 
 
 T« ya.^ uvBpuTri! 's:xpxQ(m\o<; m^ uvto. (fcil. 6vip',ci) ffvy.Trxoi'ori' oTTora,:' 
 'i* tna^v uv^PUTToi; aJxopctfA'o si; to k»,x (pvan f*.YiX-iTt JixKOroiuv" kukiZ/x 
 «7roxa1aoTaGr;3-elaj il; rvj a^p^vjG;'/ riftfgoTyja. I'heoph. Atittocb. ad 
 Autplycuni^ lib. 2. Vide ettavi Calvitium in hcuvi. Ano:her more 
 anticnr, even an apoftolical Father, having cited this text. En- 
 creafc, mid muitlpl'^ — and have domivhr: over thefi7:es. Sec. afks the 
 following QLicllion, " But who is there that is now able to have 
 *' this dominion over the wild beafts, or fiflies, or fowls of the 
 *' air ? For you know (as he proceeds) that 10 rule, is ro have 
 •' power, that a man llioiild be let over what he rules. But for- 
 *' afmuch as this we have net now, he tells us when we fhall have 
 *' it : Namely, when we fliall becomw* perfefl, that vve may be 
 '' made inheritors of the covenant of the Lord." 
 
 St Barnab:^;-, CtUhcUck Epipl'\ /Ihp Wahe'; TruKjI^ticT:. 
 
334 Cmcer72wg the Removal 
 
 of carnivorous creatures feem to be formed for ani- 
 mal food j but this might not have been by any ori- 
 ginal conilitution of nature, but at firft contrafted 
 by habit, and derived down through their fuccefiive 
 generations ; and therefore may be worn off again 
 by degrees, and the original form and tone of their 
 llom.achs be recovered. 
 
 Ifaiak in his repetition of the lafl cited Prophecy, 
 cb. Ixv. 25. adds, and dufi pall be the fcj'penf s nieat^ 
 intimating thereby, that as the Serpent was pro- 
 nounced accurfed above every beafl of the fields fo that 
 he fhall continue under this curfe, after his fellow- 
 brutes fliall be delivered from it. At the fame time 
 his inoffenfivenefs under his fentence may hence like- 
 wife be inferred, in that he fliall be content with this 
 vile food, and not offer to annoy man or other crea- 
 ture •, as is more exprefsly fignified, ch. xi. 8, 9. 
 'The fucking child Jhall play on the hole of the afp^ and 
 the weaned child fjnll put his hand on the cockatrice 
 dm. They floall net hurt nor defiroy in all my holy 
 mountain. Moreover, 
 
 It being faid, Mark i. 1 3. that our Saviour w<2 J w//^ 
 the wild heafts in the wildernefs^ his continuance in fafe- 
 ty among them is an evident proof that the firft 
 Adam\ original dominion over the creatures was, in 
 virtue of his perfect innocence, and fovereignty over 
 the whole creation, rcilored to the fecond Adam; info- 
 much that he awed the whole tribe of lavage creatures 
 into obfequioufnefs and fubmiilion to him. Arid I 
 apprehend, that tho' Daniel's deliverance out of the 
 lions den was truly miraculous, yet that his innocence 
 contributed not a little to apprafe their rage, and con- 
 ciliate them to him ; as it is exprefsly fignify'd in the 
 hiftory— A^ God hath fent his Angela and hath fljut 
 the hens mouths^ that they have not hurt me •■, foraf- 
 m'Ach as before him innocency was found in me. ch. vi. 
 22. Thcfe inflances may be looked upon as an 
 
 earncik 
 
cf Natural Evil. 33^ 
 
 carneft that when man recovers his innocence, and 
 is in peace with God, he Pail be in league with the 
 Jlones of the fields and the beojts of the field JIj all be at: 
 peace with him^ as we are alliired. Job v. 23. 
 
 As it appears from the foregoing fcriptures that 
 there fhall be a renovation of the whole natural 
 World, animate and inanimate; that the ground Ihall 
 be delivered from the curfe infiifted upon it, and re- 
 cover its primaeval fertility •, the air of courfe be- 
 come mild and temperate, the feafons regular, and 
 the whole face of nature paradifiacal ; a confidera- 
 ble clafs of the evils we labour under muft confc- 
 quently be removed. I mean more immediately the 
 ordinary hardfhips of life ; toil, labour, and drud- 
 gery in providing the necelTaries and conveniences 
 ot it, together with the inclemencies of weather, 
 rigour of feafons, and other inconveniences refult- 
 ing from the prefent ftate of nature •, which be- 
 ing originally owing to the Curfe, muft v/ear off a- 
 long with it, as they and it have in a good meafure 
 done already. For this curfe mufl; originally be fup- 
 pofed to have extended to all mankind, v/ho were 
 all concluded under it ; and yet we fee many at pre- 
 fent exempted from it ; who know nothing of hard- 
 Hiip or want, but live in eafe, affluence and plenty, and 
 feel little of any external inconveniences, having 
 ways and means to guard and flieker themfelves 
 from them j and the labour of Hfe becomes in e- 
 very age eafier to thofe that are a6tually engaged 
 in it. (Concerning which fee Chapter IV.) 
 
 And when Nature fhall be entirely delivered from 
 its bondage, fuch will its freedom, bounty, and 
 fufficicncy of all things be, that the m.oft laborious 
 employments of life will be rather a pleafure than 
 toil, neither fliall mankind know what want, or 
 hardfliip of any kind, means. They fhall not hunger, 
 
 nor 
 
32^ ConcerJilng the Revio^'al 
 
 7ior ihirfi, 7ieither Jloall the heat nor fun [mite them, 
 Ifa. xlix. lo. But, they JIj all come and fing in the 
 height of TAoRy and fJjall flow together to the goodnefs 
 cf the Lord, for wheat, and for imne, and for oyl,fof 
 ihe young of the flock and of the herd : And their foul 
 fhallhc as a watered garden, and they fh all not forrow 
 any more at all — And 1 will fatiate the foul of the 
 ■priefl with fatnefs, and my people floall he fatisfied with 
 my goodnefs, faith the hord^ Jer. xxxi. 12, 14. And, 
 for hrnfs I will bring gold, and for iron Izvill bring 
 filver, and for wood brafs, and for fl ones iron, Ifa. Ix. 1 7 i 
 
 As mankind will then abound with riches, and 
 plenty of all the good things of life, fo fhall they 
 have a more certain enjoyment of them, and be 
 free from that precarioufnefs of tenure, againft which 
 the moil cautious poflcfTor of them at prefent can- 
 not fufficiently fi-cure himfelf. I'hey fhall build houfes 
 and inhabit them, and plant vineyards and eat the 
 fruit of them : they fhall not build, and another 
 inhabit ; they /hall not plant, and another eat, as it 
 frequently happens at prefent, but mijie ele£l fhall 
 long enjoy the work of their hands. 'They fhall not 
 labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble. Ifa. Ixv. 
 21 — 23. 
 
 And as every one by this means will have enough 
 to fatisfy all the reafonable demands of nature, {o 
 neither will any one's defires be fo immoderate as to 
 covet more. The boundaries of right and wrong 
 will be better adjufled, juftice better regarded, and 
 property better diftinguiflied, and a more juft value 
 put upon it ; whereby in a manner all the contenti- 
 ons that are in the world v/ill be dropt and die a- 
 way ; the fcripture-proofs of which have been given 
 already, p. 271. 
 
 But themoft confiderable clafs of evils is ftlll be- 
 hind. Notvvithilanding tiie earth fliall be thus fruit- 
 ful, 
 
cf Natural Evil. 337 
 
 ful, tlie heavens favourable, the world all love and 
 harmony without, and, which is above all, the mind 
 ferene and peaceable within, — tho' all thefe favoura- 
 ble circumftances fhould confpire to make us hap- 
 py, yet what fignifies all this, while we carry thefe 
 iickly, crazy bodies about us ? What avail all the 
 good bleflings of heaven, without the greater blef- 
 fing of heaven to enjoy them ? Or what ftability 
 can there be in the enjoyment to a creature of fuch a 
 fhort, precarious life as man ? 
 
 I grant, if this were really the cafe, that a man 
 might be miferable even in Paradife. But as all the 
 other parts of nature fliall be improved, fo Ihall 
 thefe bodies of ours, both with refpe61: to health and 
 long life, be improved likewife. 
 
 With regard to Health, the Scripture is fufficlent- 
 ly exprefs, where it tells us, that there Jljall be no 
 Sorrow, nor Crying, neither Jhall there he any 
 more Pain -, for the former things are pajfed awa)\ 
 Rev. xxi. 4. The former things — /. e. the pains, 
 infirmities, and difeafes, under which nature labour- 
 ed, before its recovery to this hale, healthy Hate, 
 fhall, together with their feveral caufes, be removed. 
 Agreeably hereto God promifeth the Ifraelites^ who 
 were a type of his future true Ifrael^ that in cafe they 
 would be obedient unto his commands, he 'xould 
 take ficknefs away from the midji of them, Exod. 
 xxiii. 25. And Jfaiah likewife prophefieth, that 
 the inhabitants of the new Jerufalem, fJjall not fay, 
 I am fick — But they that wait on the Lord Pall re- 
 new their Jlrength : They Jhall mount up with wings 
 as eagles, they floall run and not be weary, and they 
 fhall walk and not faint, Ifa. xxxiii. 24. xl. 31. 
 So Zeph. iii. 1 5. Thou fhalt not fee evil any more. 
 Our Saviour, when on earth, cured all manner of 
 bodily difeafes with a word's fpeaking, and impow- 
 ered his Difciplcs to do the lame ; which polTibly 
 
 Z might 
 
338 Concenting th Removal 
 
 might have been an earneft of the future efficacy of 
 his gofpel in this refpecl. For when once it hath 
 gained full and univerfal influence over men's lives, 
 as it -will then prove the moft fovereign remedy for 
 all the difeafes of the foul, io I doubt not but its fa- 
 lutary virtue will be as efficacious with regard to the 
 health of the body likewife *. 
 
 How much the prudential pradlice of the fingle 
 virtue of Temperance in its feveral parts, as well as 
 Religion in general, contributes to the Health of the 
 Body, is fo well known, and hath been fo much 
 infilled upon by Divines, that it is needlefs here to 
 expatiate upon it. But the teltimony of one who 
 profelTedly ftudied the nature of the human body, 
 and the means of promoting its health, deferves 
 efpecially to be regarded. ' The love of God,* 
 fays he, (that is, religion) ' as it is the fovereign re- 
 ' medy of all miferies, fo in particular it effeftually 
 ' prevents all the bodily diforders the paffions in- 
 
 * troduce, by keeping the paffions themfelves 
 
 * v/ithin due bounds •, and by the unfpeakable joyj 
 
 * perfedt calm, ferenity and tranquillity it gives the 
 ' mind, becomes the moft powerful of all the means 
 
 * of health and long life *. ' And when natural 
 means are made ufe of, in conjun6lion with, and fub- 
 fervience to religion, it doth not feem improbable, 
 that, what with the ftudy of the noble and ufeful 
 fcience of phyfic in its feveral branches, the improve- 
 ment and fl^ilful application of the materia medka, 
 and efpecially, proper, temperate, and abftemious 
 regimens, continued for fome generations, and all 
 
 under 
 
 * Chrijli/i venit ut reparet vires noflrar, ac reftituat, flatumque 
 noftrum integrum fervet — fi vere & perfefte in nobis rcgnaret 
 Chrijius, florerethaud dubio virtus ejus in nobis, corpufque &ani- 
 mum vegetarer. Eft vitiis noflris imputandum quod morbis. Sec. 
 fiimus obnoxii, quianqs plene a Chrijlo poffideri non patimur, nee 
 i;a prolecimus in novitate vit^e, ut omnem vetuftatera exuerimus. 
 
 Calv. in likiah, cap. hv. v. 29. 
 
of iSlafural E'viL 339 
 
 linder the divine aufpices — it doth not, I fay, fecrn 
 improbablt^ that, by thefe mearis, the manifold dif- 
 eafes, which human nature labours under, may by 
 degrees be for the mod part overcome, hereditary 
 diftempers cured, and acquired ones prevented. 
 
 And when nature Ihall co-operate herewith, the 
 air become mild and temperate, the feafons regular 
 and favourable, and the juices of the earth whole- 
 fome and falutary, mankind may not know what 
 pains and aches are. Thus the -voice of joy and health 
 JJoall he in the dwellings of the righteous^ for the right 
 hand of the Lord bringeth mighty things to pafs, Pf. 
 cxxviii. 15. 
 
 Under this head, there is a particular cafe proper 
 to be taken notice of ; I mean that of the Wom.an ; 
 the fentence on whom is denounced in the followinsr 
 words — I will greatly multiply thy forrozv and thy con- 
 ception^ in forrow thou fJoalt bring forth children. 
 Gen. iii. 1 6. that is, as I underRand the words, 
 'Thou fhalt not only bring forth in forrow., but thy 
 forrows fhall be greatly enlarged., as well in thy deli- 
 very, as in the whole courfe of thy pregnancy ; and 
 thy conceptions likewife fhall be much more fre- 
 quent than otherwife they would need to be — Tliou 
 fhalt have many falfe conceptions and mifcarriages. 
 See p. 16. 
 
 Now, that this fentence on the Woman fhall in 
 procefs of time be removed, there needs no other 
 teftimony than that of the fore-cited words, which 
 tell us, that there fhall be no more Sorrow, nor Cii y- 
 iNC, nor Pain ; which expreffion being general, 
 furely includes the removal of the Woman's pain 
 and forrow i« child-bearing, as well as all other kinds 
 of it. 
 
 But I think v/e have moreover a particular text to 
 
 this purpofe, viz. i Tim. ii. 15. Notwithfianding 
 
 jhe fhdl be failed in child-bearing., if they continue in 
 
 Z 2 faith 
 
340 Concerjiing the Removal 
 
 faith and charity^ and holinefs withfobriety-^ i. e. not' 
 withftanding the Woman, being deceived by Satan^ 
 was firft and chiefly /;; the tranfgrejfion. v. 14. and 
 therefore the punifhment of great forrow in child- 
 bearing was juftly infli6led upon her ; yet this 
 punifhment fhall by degrees be moderated to her ; 
 the conceptions of the fex fhall not be fruitlefs, nor at- 
 tended with forrow, as they commonly are -, and at 
 length child-bearing fhall become perfedtly fafe and 
 eafy to them : But upon condition that they grow 
 and perfevere in faith, charity, holinefs, purity, 
 chaflity, fobriety, modefly, and fuch like virtues and 
 graces, which are the ornaments of the fex ; for it is 
 ftill upon our attainments in moral and chriftian 
 •perfedion, that the removal of all our natural infir- 
 mities and diforders mufl depend. 
 
 Several interpreters admit that a temporal deliver- 
 ance is here meant, and the change of the number 
 from fingular to plural, was made to include the fex 
 in general ; whereby they feem apprehenfive that 
 this is the moft natural and obvious fenfe of this 
 paflage. But when they compare it with the pre- 
 fent ftate of nature, they find fo little agreement 
 between them, that they are obliged either to reject 
 it, and chufe fome more forced interpretation, or 
 elfe to explain it away •, whereas if they would 
 take it in this view, all difficulties would prefently 
 vanifh, and it would fland clear of all objedlions, 
 which other expofitions of it are more or lefs liable 
 to. Part of IfaiaFs, chara(5ler of the 7ie'w Jerufalem 
 flate is, 'They fhall not labour in vain, nor bri'ag forth in 
 trouble : for they are the feed of the bleffed of the Lord, 
 and their offspring with them. Ifaiah Ixv. 23. which 
 fome underftand in this fenfe, viz. that In this blefTed 
 flate, women fhall not be liable to mifcarriages, and 
 flmll be delivered without pain. And I apprehend 
 
 that 
 
of Natural Evil. 341 
 
 that, E:<od. xxiii. 26. There Jhall nothing caft their 
 youngs alludes to this (late likcwife. 
 
 It is the general opinion that the fentence denoun- 
 ced on the Woman did not extend to the BlelTed Vir- 
 gin ; but that fhe was delivered of her holy burthtn 
 without pain, becaufe it was conceived without fin. 
 Nor is it impofTible that in the holy ftate we are 
 fpeaking of, when all our appetites fhali be fubdued 
 and redlified, the defire of the fexes likewife to- 
 wards each other fhall be fo refined and purified 
 from all brutal and carnal lull, that what with this, 
 and the full flow of health and fpirits which they 
 fhall then enjoy, woman fhall be freed from the 
 pains and perils with which at prefent child-birth is 
 attended. We read that the Hebrew women in E- 
 gypt were lively^ and delivered themfelves before the 
 midwives came in unto them, Exod. i. 19."!" Even 
 now-a-days we fee thatflrength of nature alone goes 
 a great way to this end, which renders it very 
 eafy to fome women ; nay we are told that the 
 Hottentot women feel little or no pain in bringing 
 forth. It is not therefore incredible but that the fex 
 in general may come aseafilyand fuccefsfully through 
 it, when they fhall have every advantage of nature 
 on their fide, and when the reafons are ceafed for 
 making child-birth painful to them •, I mean, when 
 it will be no more a punifhment for fin, nor will be 
 needed as a reflraint from lufl. {Seepage 50.) 
 
 Z 3 In- 
 
 -f- Cl(m. At. writes of fome women in the neighbourhood of 
 Iberia in this manner. 
 
 Old"* Ta; 7r^»o■^w th? I^y,pia; yvvoiiKctq I'pyoi «a; ttokw ^gpw/x/i/a? eci^encu, 
 xeiv Trpo? TO cnroKviiii yivuvraty uSiv avuiaeci ruv vfaixTtuv' aM* h etvrt) 
 TToMaw? T») afXiMi) ruv ttovuv, ri yvirj cfrroKvnaocax, to $ci(poi; dnMuivTi^ 
 oi*a^£ (p/ptt. ^trum. lib. 4. p. 498. Upon which vvoiUi his Anno- 
 taior Writes thus : 
 
 P. Vinorius hunc ClemnitiflocMm citat, illuftrans ilium Varronis 
 de re rufticd: Nam in lllyico hoc amplius prsgnantem faepc, cum 
 venit pariendi tcmpus, non longe abopeie dil'cedere, ibiquc enbcum 
 puerum refcire, cjuera non peperific, led invcniile putcs. 
 
342 Concerning the Removal 
 
 Indeed a late Author * infifts that the forrow oj 
 child-bearing is not inflicled as a ciirfe, Gen/m. i6. 
 I would wilhngly concur with him in giving it a 
 fofter name, but tliat will not at all alter the nature 
 of the thing. For under what other notion than that 
 of a curfe or punilhment can it be conceived, when it 
 was denounced a.c;ainft the woman as a criminal, the* 
 God, left it iliould deter her too much, forbears to 
 give it that namie. 
 
 Nor was it, confidered as fuch, at all inconfiftent 
 with, nor intended to exclude the original Bleffing, 
 Be fruitful and multiply \ neither could the repetition of* 
 that bleffing to Noah be inconfiftent with, nor exclude 
 it, as this Author w'ould have it ; becaufe it was not 
 a Curie of Barrennefs that was inflifted upon the 
 Woman, (as it ought to be, to make it inconfiftent 
 with the Bleffing, Be fruitful and multiply) but of 
 undergoing great pain and forrow in the procreating 
 and multiplying of her kind. 
 
 I heartily v/ifh this Author could have proved, to 
 the conviftion of the fex, that their original fentence 
 is entirely repealed ; that is, that they undergo no 
 punifiiment in their travel •, which it will be very 
 hard for him to do, in oppofition to the pangs they 
 feel at that hour. However, he is kind in attem^pting 
 it, and in offering them fome confolation under it j 
 and to concur Vv-ith. him in the fame compaffionate 
 defign, I have pointed out fome of the wife ends of 
 providence in inflicting this punifhment upon them, 
 and the good ufes which may be drawn from it. I 
 have obferved how it is alleviated and mitigated to 
 many of the fex, and proved from the word of God, 
 that it ihall be entirely removed from the fex in ge- 
 neral 
 
 "^lontaigne fays there a>e whole nations who make nothing of ic. 
 See likewife Religio Medici, f. lo. 
 
 * Mr Tn'flcr in his Supplement to his Treatife on Oiig'nal 
 ^••r, p. 48. ' 
 
of Natural Evil, 343 
 
 neral hereafter : An5 this is all the comfort that I 
 can adminifter to them, which however is attenckd 
 with this advantages thai it is Iblid and real •, and 
 therefore preferable to that which in effc6t only- 
 mocks them, and alfords them no profped ot relief, 
 
 People accuftomedto a narrow way of thinking 
 will hardly be perfuaded that the length of man's 
 life Ihall greatly exceed its prefent extent, which has 
 been the common ftandard for above 3000 years ; 
 their own miftaken obfervations on the fancied tee- 
 blenefs and degeneracy of thefe latter generations 
 perhaps incline them rather to imagine, that, if 
 there be a change of any kind, we are falling lliort 
 of it, which feems quite inconfiftent with this no- 
 tion of the recovery of our primitive Hate. For 
 yldam^s, life, after he had loft paradife, was extend- 
 ed to a very great length, and it is probable it had 
 been ftill longer, had he continued in it. Therefore 
 before Man can be reftored to his firft condition in 
 every refpecl, it may be urged that his life muft at 
 leaft equal that of the A?ilediiuvians, which may feem 
 to be a pofition too abfurd to be maintained. 
 
 But if we lay afide our prejudices, and enter a 
 little into the confidcration of it, it will not perhaps 
 appear fo improbable as at firft fight may be 
 imagined. 
 
 For why is it not pofTible that what hath been 
 once, may be again ? Man's age, 'tis true, hath 
 been pretty much ataftand for above thefe laft 3000 
 years •, but for near 1000 years before, it v/as con- 
 ftantly upon the decline ; and during the 1656 
 years before that, its period indeed was fixed, but 
 it was fuch a one as exceeded the prefent, as twelve 
 to one. 
 
 Now is there any abfurdity in fuppofing, that 
 
 fince man's age hath alter'd fo greatly, it may alter 
 
 Z 4 . again? 
 
3;44 Concerning the Removal 
 
 again ? As the ftandard of human life was once un- 
 fixed, and moved downwards to this the lowed 
 fjeriod of its declenfion, may it not as eafily be un- 
 settled again, and moved upwards to its firil pitch, 
 or even higher than that ? 3000 years indeed to us 
 iliort-lived, fhort-fighted creatures, is a long term ; 
 and it is no wonder we conclude that what continues 
 fo long fhall not undergo a change at all. Prefent 
 appearances, efpecially ifpi:olonged for a time, give 
 us a ftrange prejudice in favour of their continuance, 
 tho' it be fuch as we have no temptation to wifh 
 for. If the weather hathbeen.bad for a confiderable 
 time, we in a manner defpair of feeing it become 
 fair again; and if the fun be but under a cloud, we 
 hardly exped: to fee his face again that day. 
 
 But 3000 years in God's account are but as three 
 days, and may perhaps bear butfmall proportion ta 
 the world's duration. And does it follow, that be- 
 caufe a variable thing has been for fome time fixed, 
 it will continue fixed always I 
 
 I mention it as fixed at prefent, tho' it is really 
 faj from being fo. As there are infinite numbers in 
 every age that fall fliort of the common ftandard,, 
 lo feveral exceed it. And fome late inftances we 
 have had of perfons who have lived above double 
 the prefent age of men, and have equal'd and even 
 e;cceeded that of the patriarchal age. * 
 
 Nov/, 
 
 * In our own country, Thomas Parr lived above 152, Hemy^ 
 J'enkins 168 or 9, and Margaret Fatten 137 Year?. 
 
 In the Bannat of Temejwar in Hiwgary, John Rozn?i, aged 
 17.2, and bis wife 364, v.'ere both alive in the year 1740, and 
 the 147 th year of their marriage ; had 2 ions and 2 daughters then 
 living; the youngeft for, who was 116, had 2 greatgrandfons, 
 the one 35, the other 33 years old. Peter TortoKyZ peafant oiTeme- 
 Jvjar likewife, died January 1724 aged 185 ; which exceeds the 
 age of ]faac five years, of Abraha7n ten — falls flaort of Te> ab\, J~ 
 brahartii father, twenty yean — exceeds that of Nahor, Abraham''^ 
 grand-father, 37. See Ld Bacon^s Hijiory of Life and Death, few 
 cfwhofe inftances of longevity come up to thefe more mcdein ants. 
 See Sir WUllam Templet Trails likewiie. 
 
pf Natural Evil. 345 
 
 Now, as providence miift have wife ends in pro- 
 longing men*s lives, tho' but in a few inftances, fo 
 much beyond tlie common period, what other end 
 can we think of, than to convince us by living ex- 
 amples in our own times, of the credibility of the 
 fcripture-account of the length of men's lives in the 
 early ages, on the one hand ; as well as of the future 
 pofTibility and purpofe of God to make them as 
 long-lived in time to come, on the other ? For no- 
 body, I fuppofe, will queftion his power to effefb it. 
 
 The various diftempers our bodies are at prefent 
 obnoxious to, notwithftanding all the care we can 
 take of them, greatly impair our conftitutions, fhat- 
 ter our frame, and haften its decay. 
 
 The inclemencies of air and weather, the irregu- 
 larity of the feafons, and the different Mediums of 
 hot and cold, wet and dry, which we pafs through, 
 and often inftantly exchange the one for the other, 
 are likewife juftly fuppofed to contribute largely to 
 their diflblution ; as doth no lefs the unwholefome- 
 nefs of the diet we take for their nourilhment and 
 fupport. 
 
 Now, if we were to exchange our prefent confti- 
 tutions, which at bell are but weak and fickly, for 
 fuch as fhould be quite firm, hale, and healthy ; if 
 we conftantly were to breathe in a pure, mild, and 
 temperate air — were liable to none of thofe fudden 
 changes from one extreme to another — were fubjeft 
 to no injuries of weather, nor other violences from 
 without, nor received any nutriment inwardly, but 
 what were perfectly agreeable to nature, and contri- 
 buted to its health and fupport ; do not we think 
 that all thefe favourable circumftances concurring 
 would make a very confiderable difference in the 
 length of men's lives ? Nay, is it not probable that 
 the human fabrick would be able to abide the im- 
 pairs of 800 years then, as well as 80 under ail its 
 
 pre- 
 
54^ Concermng the Removal 
 
 prefent difadvantages ? Some very feeble and crazy 
 conftitutions have, with a proper care and regimen, 
 been fpun out to a very great length ; and nature 
 often by dint of its own flrength hath made furpri- 
 zing efforts tov/ards longevity ; how much there- 
 fore might it have done in fuch inftances, with the 
 affiftance which the art of medicine might have gi- 
 ven it ! 
 
 This brings to my mind the wifh of a great Au- 
 thor, which I cannot help fubfcribing to, ' That! 
 ' the nobler fort of Phyficians might not employ 
 ' their time wholly in the fordidnefs of cures, nei- 
 
 * ther be honoured for necefllty only-, but become 
 ' co-adjutors and inftruments of the divine omnipo-' 
 
 * tence and clem^ency in prolonging and renewing 
 ' the hfe of man;, and in helping Chriftians who 
 
 * pant after the land of promife, fo to journey 
 ' through this world's wildernefs, as to have their 
 *■ fhoes and garments (thofe of their frail Bodies) 
 
 * little worn and impair' d.' * How much this great 
 Genius thought nature v/as capable of being affilled 
 by art in this refpedl appears not only from hence, 
 but from the treatife in general of v/Iiich this is an 
 extraft, and particularly from his recipe's. If God 
 could make the fhDes and garments of the Ifraelites 
 capable of enduring a forty years march in the wil- 
 dernefs, why may he not confer on thefe bodies of 
 ours with which we are cloath'd, a firmnefs and du- 
 rablenefs, in proportion as they are of a lefs perilhing 
 nature ? And is it not poffible that thus much is ty- 
 pified by this circumilance relating to this typical 
 people ? 
 
 But it w^ill be expected fome pofitive authority of 
 
 Scrip- 
 
 ■■* Ld ^^ro/?'s HiHory of Lm'c and Death. And I think St 
 Auftin liath fomewhere a thoiiohc much to the fame purpofe. 
 Avicinna, and lome other Arabian Phyficians, who are allowed 
 to h'rive CTCcelled in that art, are Taid to Jiave prolonged iheVr lives 
 to 12^, 130, and 180 years, by prai^ihng upon theinrdves. 
 
of 'Natural Evil. 347 
 
 5cript'jre fhould be produced for fuppofing that 
 men's lives fhall be thus prolonged ; becaufe with- 
 out that, what hath been hitherto faid will be look'd 
 upon as no more than idJe conjed:ure. 
 
 Now with regard hereto it is well known, that 
 lengib of days is in feveral places of Scripture pro- 
 mifed as the reward of religion, as the reader may 
 fee in Prov. iii. 16. ix. 11. Exod. xxiii. 26. DeuL v. 
 16. and Ch. W. 40. xi. 21. God doth promife 
 the Jeivs, to prolong their days upon earth for ever^ 
 to r/iiiltiply their days as the days of heaven upon earthy 
 on condicion of obferving his laws. 
 
 Agreeably hereto Ifaiah in his defcription of the 
 flate he rcprefents by nev; Heavens and a new Earthy 
 ch. Ixv. 20, 22. has thefe remarkable words — 
 'There fldall he no more thence an infant of days, ncr an 
 old nan that hath not filled his days : * For the child. 
 JJjall die an hundred years old ; but the /inner being an. 
 hundred years old fhall he accurfed. The plain im- 
 port of which words is this — that fuch will be the 
 ftrength of nature \vv this (late, tint there will be no 
 inftances of children dying in their infancy, and that 
 men will then live to a great old age, infomuch that 
 a hundred years will be reckoned to be but the ao-e 
 of a child -, and thus fome of the Jewifh cxpofitors 
 underftand them. And if fo, the Age of Man muft 
 furely equal that of the Antediluvians. 
 
 As to the fuppofition that there Ihall be finnersin. 
 this ftate, contained in thefe words, the finner being 
 Oil hundred years old fhall he accurfed — the reader may 
 remember what was obferved above p. 295, That 
 as Ifaiah\ charafters of this ftate are not lb refined 
 as St John's, fo this particular charadler may be un- 
 dcrftood as applicable only to the beginnino- of it ' 
 bctore it fhali be arrived at its full perfedion, v/hen 
 
 it 
 
 * Comp. Zuh. viii, 4. which I take to belong chiefly to this 
 flatc. 
 
34^ Cojicernmg the Removal 
 
 it £hall have no Sinners in it, according to St John^ 
 nor Death, as will prefently be particularly Ihewn : 
 And therefore St John's defcription relates moft pro- 
 perly to the laft and moft confummate period of this 
 ftate •, which muft always be remembered, like the 
 preceding ones, to be progreflive till it arrives at its 
 full height. — To return to T/'^/^i?, ini;. 22. he adds, 
 '^hey pall not hiiild and another inhabit, they pall 
 not flant, and another eat : For as the days of a 
 Tree (The lxx tranflate, as the days of the Tree 
 OF Life) are the days of my people, and mine ele5f 
 pall LONG enjoy the work of their hands. Thefe 
 words again very emphatically exprefs the longevi- 
 ty as well as ftability of man's life in this future ftate. 
 There is efpecially great propriety in the comparifon 
 of it to a tree, as the cedar, and oak, and feveral other 
 trees are known to be of very long duration.* Then 
 will that Ffalm of David's be moft pertinently fung 
 and applied — Blefs the Lord, O my foul, and all that 
 is within me blefs his holy name. Blefs the Lord, O 
 my foul, and forget not all his benefits -, whoforgiveth 
 all thine iniquities ; who healeth «////:?)' Diseases ; 
 whofatisfieth thy mouth with good things, fo that thy 
 youth is REN h WED like the eagle's. Pf. ciii. 1,2. i^c. 
 And Ff 90. T^hou turneft man to deftrucfion -, again 
 thou fay ft. Turn again, ye children of men. For 1 000 
 years in thy fight are but as yefierday, feeing that is 
 pafi as a watch in the night. This whole Pfalm 
 feems to be a lamentation of Mofes for the fhortnefs 
 to which man's life was reduced in his days, with a 
 Prayer for the reftoration of it to its original lengths 
 There is a fenfe in which thefe latter generations 
 
 in 
 
 * The curious may confult PUny\ Natural Hiftory, B. xvi, Ch. 
 Ixiv. concerning the long life of fome trees; and Bs^WtUiOi. 
 Art. Jhraham and Bnrcochebas^ Rem. G. where he will find an 
 dcco'.int of the long duration of the oak ot Mamre, and of the tur- 
 pentine tree of the lame place, if it be noc one and the fame trce- 
 ♦hat li meant by both. 
 
of Natural EnjiL 349 
 
 in general have the advantage of the Antlents, and 
 in which they may be faid to out-hve them, which 
 yet I fliall not much infift upon, viz. in that they 
 live more in lefs time. It is a common obfervation 
 that children ripen and become men fooner in thefe 
 latter ages than formerly they did •, and how much 
 foever they are fuppofed to degenerate from their 
 fore-fathers in other refpeds, yet that they furpafs 
 them in acutenefs and quicknefs of parts. Thefe 
 fuppofitions indeed feem a little contradi6tory, but 
 it does not concern me to reconcile them. The 
 fa6t is, that notwithftanding our prejudices in other 
 refpefts, we efbeem lb well of ourfelves in this, that 
 we think we are more knowing in every fcience and 
 profefTionin life, and more capable ofbufinefs, than 
 our anceftorsj, not far backwards, were at double 
 our age. And in confirmation hereof, fome tra- 
 ces in Scripture may be obferved, whereby it ap- 
 pears that the flate of child-hood continued much 
 longer in the infancy of the world than at prefent, 
 and feem'd to bear proportion to the greater length 
 of men's lives.* And the fame is obferved by hea- 
 then Authors.-f 
 
 Now, tho' our great fore-fathers counted more 
 years, and our more immediate anceftors as many 
 as we do ; yet when thefe drawbacks are made up- 
 on each, we may be faid to out-live the latter, and 
 
 not 
 
 • In the Story of A'jrah(i?rC% calling out Hainr^ and her fon, 
 ^Wi^^/isreprcfented as a helplefs child ; and yec it is computed 
 that he was eighteen years old at that time. Gen. xxi. 
 
 •j- Thus Hejiod, in liIs defcription of the fccond age of the 
 world : 
 
 ATkA \x.a/to)) fjLH 7ra~? Inx 'rra.pa. fx,y, Tfpi Kioyn 
 
 Erg. U Hem. Lib. i. r. 130. 
 
 A hundred years the o'ergrovvn boy home-fei. 
 Was by fond mother a great boyby bred. 
 
3 5<3 Concerning the Removal 
 
 not to fall fo much fliort of the former, as in com- 
 mon account we are reckon'd to do. For the Hfe of 
 reafonable creatures is not to be eftim.ated by the 
 ' number of days and years, but by the capacity of 
 applying reafon, and the actual ufe of it : otherwife 
 it is no more than an animal iite, till our reafoning 
 faculties begin to exert themfelves. 
 
 If this obfervation bejuft, we may be faid, irl 
 one fenfe, to be noW beginning to recover the lon- 
 gevity of the firft race of men. Neither, after all^ 
 is it necefifary that m.en (hould come fully up to the 
 antediluvian ftandard in the literal fenfe, if they can 
 attain the perfe6tion of their natures in a fiiorter 
 compafs of years, when the reafon will ceafe for 
 their longer continuance on earth •, an inftance where- 
 of we have in Enochs concerning whom it is obfer- 
 ved, that being perfected in a JJjort time^ he fulfilled 
 a long tlme^ Wifd. iv. 13. If, therefore, the reader 
 doubts of the recovery of man's longevity, he is at 
 liberty to think as he pleafes, without prejudice to 
 the main dodrine. 
 
 There is but one charadler more wanting to com- 
 plete man's refloration to his primitive ftate. 
 
 When God forbad Adam to eat of the tree of 
 knowledge of good and evil, he added, For in the 
 day that thou eatefi thereof thou fhalt furely die. 
 Whence it is inferred, that \^ Adam had not eaten of 
 it, he had been immortal, and in God's due time 
 had been tranilated from an earthly to a heavenly 
 paradife, without tailing of deatli. 
 
 Now, before man can be reilored to this his firft 
 feftate, he muft be invefted with tliis as well as all 
 the other fore-mentioned privileges — He muft not 
 only live long upon earth, but muft become im- 
 mortal, and be tranflated immediately into heaven, 
 without paffing thro' the regions of death. And ac- 
 
of Natural Evil, 351 
 
 cordlngly I have obferved above, p. 2 1 4, where I en- 
 deavourto ftatethetruenotion of our redemption, that 
 in order to its being complete, it is neceflfary it fhould 
 deliver us, as from all other temporal Evils, fo like- 
 wife from Death.* 
 
 But is not this that infatiable, all-devouring mon- 
 fter, that inexorable tyrant, who fpareth none of the 
 Ions of Jdam ? Is not Death a debt which all muil 
 pay to nature ? Which the captain of our falvation 
 was obliged to fubmit to ? And can we hope to e- 
 fcape it ? Is it poffible for man, who is lb frail a 
 creature — has the feeds and principles of corruption 
 in him — feels in himfelf fo quick a decay, that he 
 feems to be dying daily, and hath fo many other 
 arguments of mortality about him — Is it poffible 
 for him, you'll fay, to efcape this law of his natur^^.v,- ^ 
 and to become immortal without tafting of Death ? ,^ .^,;. 
 
 Indeed if we argue irom experience and obferva- 
 tion, we can draw no other conclufion than this, 
 ihai duji he is, and to duji he nwji return, agreea- 
 
 bly 
 
 * This truth the famous J/gi/was aware of: he faw that our 
 Saviour Chrill could not properly be faid to fave us from our Sin% 
 unlels he likewife faved us from Death, the wages and punifhment 
 of them. But his miftake wa?, that he did not pay a due regard 
 to the conditions on which, and which alone this deliverance was 
 to be wrought for us. Thefe conditions are, faiih and perfcft 
 obedience, with the former of which only he contented himfelf 
 entirely overlooking the latter; and herein confifted the great er- 
 ror on which his argument is built, and which runs through lifs 
 whole book. And, which renders it the lefs cxcuieable, he (eems 
 to be not in'.cnfible of the fallacioufnefs and deficiency of his rca- 
 foning. For, p. 52. he acknowledges, ' that as a mere Ranfom 
 
 * doth in ufclf amount to no more than to rcflore us to the fame 
 
 * life wc had before we were captive, fo this Uanlom by Chriil 
 
 * would only have rc-inllatcd man into that law of life conditional^ 
 ' in wh'xch A/iim flood before the Fall.' i.e. of being immortal 
 upon the condition of performing the terms of that law, perfcJl 
 Obedience. And to make his title to eternal life ^i/f/cfJu^e; ■ \\h\ch is 
 wl\at he contends for, he is forced to have r.'.courfe to the fuper- 
 abundancy ofChvitVs meritf, which, contrary 10 the whole tenor 
 of Scripture, he fayy, purchafcd this for us over and above our rr. 
 dcmpiion. 
 
3^2 Concerning the RejUoval 
 
 biy to the fejitence denounced againft him. Nel* 
 ther can we from the principles of nature conclude 
 any otherwife : becaufe all bodies have the feeds 
 and principles of corruption in them ; and as they 
 confift of parts are diflbluble, and therefore naturally 
 mortal. 
 
 This was the cafe of Adam at his creation, as well 
 as of all his pofterity : as his body was formed out 
 of the dull of the earth, it was in itfelf liable to re- 
 turn to duft again ; and had nature been left to it- 
 felf, mud have returned to duft, tho* no fentence 
 had been paffed to that purpofe. For immortality 
 was not his portion any otherwife, than as it was in- 
 tentionally conferred upon him by God. 
 ^ On the other hand, it may be faid, that tho* 
 
 |^ ^^^^kiktidam was not natural immortally , yet it hence ap- 
 y^fnPrtiJtV^^'^^ that he was" capable * of being made fo ; and 
 That he adually would have become immortal, had 
 he performed the condition of it.f 
 
 For, as the author of the 5<7o^ of fFifdom juiWy and 
 finely ftates the cafe, God made not Deaths neither 
 hath he pleafiire in the defiru5fion of the living. For 
 he created all things that they might have their being ; 
 and the generations of the world were healthful ; and. 
 there is no poifon ofdeJlru5fion in them ; nor the king- 
 dom of Death upon earth. Fjr right eoufnefs is immortal 
 — ^Again, God created man to he immortal, and made 
 
 him 
 
 * Thcophilus of Jntwch exprelTes this matter thus 
 
 M/a-o; 5 a.'vSgw7ro5 iyiyovei, are Si/r/To; l'Kw)(i'^uZt kn cc^xvaroc, to x.cSo>Jif 
 
 ^iKTMoi Je ExaTsgwv. ^^ Juto/yam, Lib. ii. 
 
 f Uus Grotius — Hebrsi (dicunt) Abfq; peccafo non 
 
 eft Mors; non quod Deo jus non fit earn aliter homini infligere 
 (cftenim Dominus creature) fed quod ipfius bonitati aliter vilum 
 
 fucrit Non negamus hominem, cu;n conditU3 eft, {inSAe ^oixau 
 
 (terrenumj ac proinde earn fuiffe corporis conditionem, ut 
 
 Deo non fuftentante interitura fuerit; attamen ex diviiio decreto 
 non fuiffe eum morirurum, fi in innocentia perftitilFet, coatendi- 
 mus. De Satisjac^ione, &c. cap. i. 
 
of Nataral Evil 353 
 
 him to he an image of his oivn eternity. Never thelefsj 
 through envy of the Devil, came Death into the world : 
 and they that do hold of his fide do find it. Wifd. i. 1 3, 
 
 I4» 15'— ii-23» 24. 
 
 There is, therefore, no contradiftion in the fup- 
 pofition, no impoflibiUty in the thing, nor natural in- 
 capacity in the fubjedt, but that God, if he pleafes^ 
 may give a man exemption from df^ath, and inveft 
 him with immortahty, without pafling through any 
 intermediate flate. 
 
 And to convince us of this truth, as well as of his in- 
 tention to reftore to man this privilege of an uninter- 
 rupted immortality, God Almighty hath vouchfafed 
 us two inftances, the one in the old world, the other 
 in the new, I mean Enoch and Elijah, whom he 
 tranflated immediately to Heaven without tafting of 
 Death. 
 
 God never capricioudy alters his conduct, nor 
 departs from the Itated laws of nature, without 
 fpeciai and weighty reafons. And among other 
 reafons for this extraordinary exemption of thefe 
 two perfons from the common fate of mankind, 
 this may be one, that they were defigned as an 
 earneft of the privilege to be vouchfafed to the laft 
 generation of men, of being affumed and tranflated in 
 like manner. Probably our Saviour's afcenfion might 
 hereby be likewife typified •, but I am apt to think 
 if this had been the only, or the chief antitype de- 
 figned by thefe events, it had been prefigured in an- 
 other manner, viz. by the aiTumptionoffome per- 
 fons, whofe bodies had been raifed from the dead, 
 which had been more appofite, than that of living 
 perfons who had never died. 
 
 But farther, with regard to the credibility of this 
 
 fuppofition, the Refurredtion of the Dead is con- 
 
 fefledly a fundamental Article of our Faith : And 
 
 yet I imagine one would find it difficult to aflign a 
 
 A a reafon 
 
3 54 Concerning the Removal 
 
 reafon in nature * why death, i. e. deprivation of 
 life liiould be a necelTary qualification for immor- 
 tality : or why a living perfon, or rather a living 
 body (which only is immediately concerned in the 
 prefent queftion) — I fay, why a Ihing body is not as 
 capable of being made immortal, as a dead one. 
 There is fome analogy, fome relation, between this 
 life and the next j the life temporal, and life eter- 
 nal ; they are both Species of the fame Genus, as the 
 Logicians term it •, but Death is the oppofite to both. 
 
 And if we make no difficulty in believing, that 
 we fhall be raifed from the dead to a life immortal, 
 we cannot think it a ftrange fuppofition, any other- 
 wife ftrange, than a5 it may appear new, that we 
 fhould be m.ade imm.ortal without dying. For fure* 
 ly the tranfition feems at leaft as eafy and natural 
 from I'fe to lifey as from death to life. Therefore 
 fince St P^«/ asked, Why it jhould he thought a thing 
 incredible that God jhould raife the dead ? may we n6t 
 likewife prefume to ask. Why it fhould be thought 
 incredible that God fhould make men immortal 
 without dying ? The Refurreftion, when it was firit 
 preached, was believed with difficulty •, and fo afe 
 all new dodlrines, tho' ever fo true, till time hath 
 made them familiar. 
 
 But it may be objefled to this do6lrine, that it is 
 contrary to St Paul, who fays that flejh and blood 
 cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth cor- 
 ruption inherit incorrwption, I Cor. XV. 20. 
 
 In anfwer to which it may be fufficient to reply 
 
 — That 
 
 * Vlato indeed, in his Pb^do, puts an argument into the mouth 
 o^ S'ocrates, Vih&TQhy he would endeavour to prove, that life and 
 death are naturally prodiiiSive of each other. But it is built upon a 
 luppofition diredlly oppofite to all the kndwn properties of Nature, 
 viz. that Contraries produce their Contraries, and the inllances by 
 which he chufes to illullraie it are wide of the purpofe, nor had 
 he bey-n led into this uay of thinking, but by his favorite notion of a 
 Rcvotuiicn cfSru/:, 
 
cf Natural Evil. 355 
 
 * — That that fiejh and bloody that corruptible body 
 which is laid in the grave, is not fitter to inherit the 
 kingdom of Goo, and to put on incorraption, than 
 that which is fuppofed to be exempted from it 
 — That therefore it is exprelsly faid in die next verfe, 
 that both the one and the other muil undergo a 
 Change for that purpofe ; for tlio' voe jhall not all 
 Jleep^ we jhall all be changed — and that this Change 
 is to be effected in a moment^ in the twinkling of an 
 eye, at the lajl trump \ whence it appears that as 
 this Change is to be a fingle inftantancous aft of the 
 divine power, and that not to be exerted till the end 
 of the world, at the laft trump \ thofe who fhall 
 then be found alive will be as proper objects of it, 
 as thofe who will have lain in their graves ever fo 
 long. 
 
 I grant indeed that thofe who die in the Lord may 
 in their intermediate ftate be in fome fort qualiiied 
 and pre-difpofed for their Change -, as by the death 
 of the body, its carnal lulls are likewife mortified, 
 and deftroyed, by which means it is better fitted to 
 be raifed d.fpiritual body : and the foul at the fame 
 time is, by its feparation, weaned and purified from 
 bodily affedions •, and both are the better difpofed 
 for a happy and glorious re-union. In this Icnfe, 
 ^72. in a moral one, I deny not but Death may be 
 a qualification for a happy immortality, tho', phy- 
 fically fpeaking, it cannot \ that is. Death, or a de- 
 privation of life', hath as fuch no natural tendency to 
 a rc-vivifcence, but the contrary, as hath been already 
 obferved. 
 
 On the other hand, as thofe who die in the Lord 
 will thereby be thus qualified for their Change, fo 
 the laft generation of men, who Ihall live in the 
 Lx)rd, will enjoy no kfs advantageous a privilege : 
 For as their natures in general will be greatly purified 
 and exalted, fo their bodies particularly will be fo 
 A a 2 rarified 
 
356 Concerning the Removal 
 
 rarified and refined, as to approach in fome degree 
 the nature of Spirit •, whereby their natural^ or mate- 
 rial Body will be better difpofed for its tranfmutation 
 to a fpiritual glorified Body ; For that material Sub- 
 fiances may be transformed into fpiritual, is not only 
 agreeable to Scripture, but Philofophy likewife *. 
 
 In a word, the prefent caufe and necelTity of Death 
 will then be entirely removed. The caufe of Death 
 the Scripture tells us is Sin. Thus Rom. v. 12. it is 
 faid, that Death entered into the world by Sin, and 
 that Death hath hitherto pajfed upon all men, for that 
 ell have fumed; and Ch. vi. 23. that Death is the 
 wages of Sin, and i Cor. xv. c,6. that Sin is the fling 
 of Death. 
 
 Now as it hath been Ihewn, that when our nature 
 fliall be arrived at its perfection, there fhall be no 
 Sin, cor.fequently there can be no Death -, for the 
 Caufe being removed, the efFeCl muft ceafe of 
 courfe. 
 
 It is faid indeed, i Cor. xv. 22. that in Adam all 
 die ; and that Death reigned from Adam to Mofes, 
 even over them that had not finned after the fimilitude 
 0/ Adam' J tranfgreffion, Rom. v. 14. and Heb. ix. 27. 
 that it is appointed unto men once to die ; whence it 
 may be argued that it is appointed to (all) men, all 
 the defcendants of Adam to die, even tho' we fhould 
 fuppofe them free from all Sin, both his and their 
 own. 
 
 Now with regard to the laft text it is not faid, it is 
 appointed to (all) Men, but, to Men (the Generality 
 of them) to die. And as to Rom. v. 14. it may be. 
 fufficient to obferve, that tho' thofe whom Death 
 reigned over from Adam to Mofes did not fin after 
 the fnnilitude of Adam'j tranfgreffion, i e. did not 
 
 fin 
 
 ■* See Chfjrc's Phil. Principles of Religion, Part 2, p, iig. 
 where the muoner how a material fubftance may become a IpirituaJ 
 
 one is demon lira tcj. 
 
of Natural Evil. 357 
 
 fin in that prefumptuous manner he did, againft a 
 known reveal'd law ; yet fin they did notwithftand- 
 ing againft the law of their minds, and therefore 
 theyjuftly received the wages of fin : Or fuppofing 
 they had not been guilty of adlual fin at all, which 
 was the cafe of infants, yet their obnoxioufnefs to 
 Death might proceed from the corruption of their 
 nature only, the efFeft of yidam*s Sin, which was 
 not then, nor is yet done away ; tho' it does not 
 hence follow but that it may be done away here- 
 after. 
 
 As to the firft text. In Adam all die — Thefe words '^ 
 may be underftoodtwo ways, i, That all have the 
 principles of Death derived to them from Jdam ; 
 which tho' it be allowed, yet it ftill may be denyed 
 that all fliall a^ually diej becaufe we have good 
 grounds to believe that the laft generation lliall fo 
 entirely overcome thefe principles, the original and 
 actual corniption of their nature, in this life, that 
 Death fhall ha've no dominion over them : for as they 
 will have no principles of Corruption, they will have 
 no principles of Death in them •, and it will not be 
 confiftent with the divine juftice to continue the 
 punilhment, when the caufe of it is cealed. Or 
 2. The words, In Adam all die^ may be under- 
 ftood thus — Not that all that defcend from yldam 
 Ihall die in him -, for that is not true, as will be 
 Ihewn prefently — But that all tiiat do die, die in 
 him. This is not my interpretation, but Sx.Auflin''T. 
 Accordingly the following words, which make the 
 antithefis to them, are underftood with a like re- 
 ftridtion •, Even fo in Chriji fhall all he v:ade alive, i. 
 e. all that are made alive, all the faithful, are made 
 alive in him, i. e. are in virtue of his merits either 
 raifcd, or tranflated to a life immortal. 
 
 But however the words are to be underftood, it 
 
 is necelTary they fliould be underftood with feme 
 
 ^J^h^ S^ti^€i^^^jHjQ fjj/ 4^/3 ^ V rcftriclion; 
 
35^ Concerning the Removal 
 
 reftri6licn-, it not being true that all men without 
 exception acftually die. For two men, as we havfe 
 ieen, have been already exempted from Death j and 
 the Scripture fays exprefsly, or in v/ords to the 
 fame cfttdl, that we Jhall not all die. Behold., fays 
 St Paul, IJhew you a myfiery : We shall not all 
 SLEEP, l^ut weJJjall all be changed in a moment., at 
 the twinkling of an eye., at the lafi trump ; i Cor. xv. 
 51, 52. Where we fee that thofe which fhall be 
 found alive at the lafl day IhaJl nave their change 
 inllantly without dying: 'Their mortal jhall put on 
 immortality., in a mom.ent., at the twinkling of an 
 eye. This is no lefs plainly cxprelfed elfewhere, i 
 Thef. iv. 15, i^, 17. For this we fay unto you hy 
 the word of the Lord., that we which are alive^ and 
 remain unto the coming of the herd., fhall not prevent 
 them which are afeep. For the herd himfslf fijall 
 defc end from heaven with a fhout., with the voice of 
 the arch-angel., and with the trump of God : And 
 the dead in Chrift fhall rife frrjl : fhen we which 
 ARE ALIVE and remain., fhall he caught up together 
 with them in the clouds., to jneet the Lord in the air. 
 And fo fhall we ever be zvith the Lord. 
 
 Thefe words are plain, and need no comment •, 
 and they confirm the account given above of the 
 new Jerufalem fiate., one of the chief characters of 
 which is, that in it there jQiould be no more Death, 
 Rev. xxi. 4. And accordingly at the clofe of the 
 chapter before, it is faid that Death and Hell were 
 cafi into the lake of fire., \. e. before the commence- 
 ment of tliis fcate. Thefe feveral pallages eftabliih 
 the fact beyond all contradiftion, that the laft gene- 
 ration fhall be exempted from Death. 
 
 Nor do I know what can be objeded here, un- 
 lefs it be faid, in order to leiTen the importance of 
 it, that this privilege is merely accidental, and 
 proceeds only from the circumilance oi time in 
 
 which 
 
qf .Natural Evil 359 
 
 which thefe perfons happen to hve, and not from 
 Any extraordinary moral quahfications in the perfons 
 thv-mfelves. 
 
 In anfwer to which it might be fufficient to fay, 
 That this is a mere prefumption, not only unfup- 
 jDorced by either Scripture or Reafon, but contrary 
 to both. For it is moll agreeable to the divine at- 
 tributes to fuppofe, that he who doth every thing 
 hy weight and meafure, who refpedleth not tne per- 
 fons of men, and beftoweth not the leaft of his fa- 
 vours cafually and at random, will not confer fo 
 great a one but on fuch as fhall be proper objefts of 
 it. Accordingly with regard to Scripture, it hath 
 been obferved already, p. 370, from the fore- cited 
 paflage, i Thef. iv. 1 5, &c. that all the quick who 
 ihall be found on the earth at the laft day, ihall be 
 joined in their fates and fortunes, as well as compa- 
 ny, with the dead in Chrifi^ and confequently Ihall 
 all be in the number of the righteous. Indeed it is 
 not faid exprefly that they fhall be more righteous 
 tiian their predeceflbrs i but it is implied, becaufe 
 there will be no unrighteoufnefs among them. But 
 what will you fay, :f it be proved from the exprefs 
 words of Scripture, that this privilege -of immorta- 
 lity fhall be conferred as the reward of perfed: obe- 
 dience ? 
 
 St John^ the beloved difciple, was admitted to a 
 greater intimacy with his Lord, and had a deeper 
 infight vouchfafed him into the fecrets of his king- 
 dom, then the reft of his Apoftles. He was him- 
 felf madean emblem or type of this future privilege 
 of the Church, for wnich I ain contending. For as 
 our Lord's coming to the dellruclion of Jerufalem 
 was an emblem of his final cpming to judgment, fb 
 I take his appointment of John, Ch. xxi. 22. to tar- 
 ry till this firft coming of his, to be an emblem^ that 
 Xyme of his beloved difciplcs fliould furvive, and be 
 
 Aa 4 wir- 
 
360 Concerning the Remo-cal 
 
 witneffes of his laji coming to the deflru6lion of all 
 his enemies at the end of the world -, elfe why fhould 
 he exprefs himfelf in fuch ambiguous terms, as to 
 give occafion to the fpreading of that report among 
 the brethren, that that difcipte Jhculd not die? This 
 however is certain, that if we examine his writings, 
 we fhall find, that he talks more of our life in Chrift, 
 and of his being the Author of life to us, than any 
 other of the infpired writers. But with regard to 
 the quellion before us, I fhall fingle out a paflage 
 or two, which, I think, prove that exemption from 
 Death fhall be conferred as the reward of perfe6t 
 pbedience. 
 
 Our Saviour in his reply to Martha^ Jo. xi. 25, 
 26, exprefles himfelf thus — / am the refurre^ion 
 and the life — He that beliei-eth in me, tho* he were 
 dead, yet fhall he live, and whofoever liveth and he- 
 lieveth in me fhall never die. W here he diftinguifh- 
 es his difciples into two clafies — into thofe that he- 
 lieve in him, and thofe that live and believe in him. 
 By the forrner I underftand fuch as have a true faith 
 in him, but who, through the infirmity of their na- 
 ture, cannot live up to that faith •, with regard to 
 whom he fliles himfelf the refurre^ion, and pro- 
 mifes, that tho^ they die (a temporal Death) j^/ they 
 pall live (fhall be raifed to an eternal Life) — By the 
 latter are meant thofe v/hofe lives ai-t ilridlly and 
 perfectly conform to their faith : Thefe, and thefe 
 only properly live as well as believe in him ; and 
 with refpefl to thefe it is that he ililes himfelf, the 
 life, and promifes that they foall never die. 
 
 The words in the original are very remarkable — 
 ov iJir\ a'Tro^lvy\ Uc, Tbv d^j^vct — Which do nor 
 mean, as fome render them, he jhallnot die for ever^ 
 intimating that tho' he dies a Death temporal, he 
 (hall efcape an eternal one, which is no more than a 
 repetition of what was f^id before in other v/ords — 
 
 But 
 
of Natural Evil. 361 
 
 But the true rendering is, He Jhall never die, as it 
 is in our Tranflation — Or 00 fjuh oLn^^at.vty ^c. he 
 fliall in no isjife die to all eternity — He (hall neither 
 die a temporal, nor eternal Death •, which interpre- 
 tation bell anfwers the force of the two negatives, 
 which were not inferted for nothing -, and it likewife 
 conveys the promife of a fiiperior reward to him that 
 both liveth and believeth in Chrift, as indeed it 
 ouglit. The feveral parts of this pafTage, in this 
 view of it, are diftindl and clear, hang well together, 
 and rife by a juft gradation above each other. 
 Whereas otherwife it is not eafy to apprehend its 
 confiftency either with itfelf, or indeed with truth : 
 For which reafon, Mr Locke, not being aware of 
 the juft import of the pafiage, makes it a queftion, 
 
 * Whether this faying of our Saviour's can with 
 ' truth be tranflated, He that liveth and believeth in 
 
 * me jl J all never die' * 
 
 Hence we may be enabled better to apprehend the 
 meaning of another paflTage of our Saviour's — Tour 
 fathers did eat manna in the wildernefs, and are dead. 
 This is the bread that comet h down from heaven •, that 
 a man may eat thereof and not die. Jo. vi. 49, ^o. 
 To underftand the former member of this fentence 
 of a temporal, and the latter, of eternal Death, as 
 they are generally underftood, is not doing jiiftice to 
 our Saviour's reafoning, and makes it conclude no- 
 thing. For we believe that the Fathers under the 
 law efcaped eternal Death, as well as all good Chrif- 
 tians. But if we fay that by fpiritually manducating 
 Chrift, the bread of life, fo as to be vitally and per- 
 fe6lly united unto and incorporated with him, we 
 fhall become exempt even from that temporal Death, 
 which the fathers underwent — This preferves a juft 
 Antithefis bttwcen both terms of the oppofition, by 
 ynderflanding them in the fame fenfe, and furnilhes 
 
 an 
 
 • Reafonablends of Chrjllianity. p. 104, 
 
J 62 Concerning the Removal 
 
 an eminent proof of the excellence of the one manna 
 above the other. 
 
 To proceed, — Our Saviour arguing with the Jev)s^ 
 tells them with an afTeveration, Verily ^ verily^ if « 
 man keep my saying, he Jhall never see Heaths 
 ^henfaid the Jews unto him. Now we know that thou 
 baji a Devil. Abraham is dead, and the Prophets \ 
 and thou fayefi. If a man keep my saying, he fhall 
 never taste of Death. Jo. viii. 51, 52. My fay- 
 ing — roV Ac^/Oj' tov ijnov — an emphatical word, by 
 which the Second Perfon in the BlelTed Trinity cha- 
 fes to be entitled ; but here it fignifies the precepts 
 or commands of this divine Perfon, with an affu-. 
 ranee of exemption from Death to fuch as keep them 
 as they ought. 
 
 But the Queftion is, what Death is here meant ? 
 It is indeed generally taken for granted, that eternal 
 Death only is fpoken of by our Saviour. 
 
 But the two phrafes here made ufe of, not feeing 
 Death, and not tafling of Death, if examined in their 
 true import, .cannot with juftice be underftood to 
 relate to any thing but temporal Death. Becaufe, 
 
 I. This is the natural import of the words, it be- 
 ing too light and foft an expreflion concerning eter- 
 nal Death, to call it feeing Death, or tafling Death ; 
 which terms of fpeech on the contrary imply the 
 Death meant by them to be of a tranfient nature. 
 And accordingly our Saviour, whofe continuance in 
 the ftate of the dead was but for a very fhort time, 
 is therefore, with great elegance and propriety, faid 
 to have tafied Death for every man. Heb. ii. 9. 
 But furely it would be very improper to fay of a 
 man that had died a natural Death, tho' he efcaped 
 an eternal one, that he had never feen, nor tafted 
 Death. 
 
 2S Wherever thefe phrafes occur in Scripture they 
 conftantly fignify temporal Death. Thus concern- 
 ins 
 
ef Natural Evil. 363 
 
 ing feeing of Death it is faid, Pf Ixxxix. 48. JVhat 
 man is he that liveth^ that JJj all not si-e Death? 
 Shall he deliver his foul from the hand of the grave ? 
 So likevvife it was revealed unto Simeon by the Holy 
 Gholl, That he fhcuid not see Death, before he had 
 feen the Lord^s thrift. Luke ii. 26. So again, Heb. 
 xi. ^. By Faith Enoch was tranjlated, that he 
 Jhould not SEE Death. — All which places are neceffa- 
 rily underftood of temporal Death. 
 
 In like manner with regard to the other parallel 
 phrafe, tafting of death, it is faid, Matt. xvi. 28. 
 Verily I fay unto you there be fome ftanding here, who 
 fhall not T AST \L of Death until they fee the Son of 
 Man coming in his Kingdom -, and the fame thing is 
 expreifed in the fame manner, Mark'ix. i. Luke ix. 
 27. And as we have juft now feen, Jefus is faid 
 for the fuffering of Death to be crowned with glcry 
 and honour, that he, by the Grace of God, fhould 
 TASTE Death for every man. 
 
 5. The Jews underftood our Saviour to fpeak 
 
 Mncerning temporal Death, as appears from their 
 fwer, Art thou greater than our father Abrahanrx 
 .which is dead? And the Prophets are dead: Whom 
 makeft thou thy felf? v. c^^. For it is obfervable 
 that the Jews believed, that when the Meffiah fhould 
 come, thofe of their nation that received him fhould 
 not die •, but that they, with thofe who, being dead, 
 fliould then be raifed again by him, flionld enjoy 
 eternal Life with him. And in this fenfe they un- 
 derftood Chrift when he faid, that // a man kept his 
 faying, he ftjould never fee Death ; and therefore they 
 af]< him, IVhom makeft thou thy felf ? Doft thou pre- 
 tend to be the Meffiab ? Our Saviour does not charge 
 them with any miftake, either of his meaning, or in 
 their own expedations of this kind, as it may be 
 prefumed he would have done, and have fet them 
 right, had they needed it : On the contrary, he both 
 
 here 
 
364 Concerning the Removal 
 
 here, and in feveral other places befides thofe we 
 have already feen, confirms them in the opinion, 
 that he, as Mejfiab, would procure his followers 
 exemption from Death. 
 
 Thefe confiderations, I think, make it evident, 
 that the Death which thofe that keep Chn^' s fayingy 
 are promifed exemption from, is not eternal, but 
 temporal Death, tho' this likewife implies the other -, 
 or rather an ablblute freedom from Death in gene- 
 ral, both temporal and eternal, is here ftipulated. 
 
 But how, it will be afk'd, is tliis Promife or Co- 
 venant performed ? I anfwer, it will actually be 
 performed upon the performance of the Condition. 
 It is not as yet ftriftiy true of any Chriftian, that 
 he keeps Cbriji's faying, i. e. that he pays univerfal 
 and perfe6t obedience to his commands •, therefore 
 the performance of the promife is not as yet to be 
 expected : But when the condition is made good, 
 the promife (hall be made good hkewife. And this 
 was probably the cafe with Enoch and Elijah, viz. 
 That they were enabled in an extraordinary manner 
 to overcome the corruption of their nature, fo far 
 as to be qualified for immortality without tailing of 
 Death. It is certain that the tranllation of the one, 
 .aiid afilimption of the other, were the rewards of 
 fliperior virtue. Thus the Scripture tells us expref- 
 ly concerning the former — By Faith Enoch was 
 trayiflated that he jJoould not jee Death, and zvas not 
 found hecaufe God had tranjlated him ; for before his 
 iranflation he had this tejlimony, that he pleafed God. 
 Heb. xi. 5. His great and intimate converfation 
 with God is denoted by the phrafe which Mofes 
 makes twice ufe of, importing thus much, viz. his 
 'Walking with God. Gen. v. 22, 24. And the au- 
 thor of the book of Wifdom gives him this character 
 . — Ch. iv. 3C, 13, 14. That he pleafed God, and 
 ivas bdo-ved of him, fo that living among finnsrs he 
 
of 'Natural Evil, 365 
 
 was trnnjlated — He being made perfect in a Jhort 
 time^ fulfilled a long time •, for his foul pleafed the 
 Lord^ therefore hafied he to take him aivay from a- 
 mong the wicked. And concerning Elijah^ the au- 
 thor of the firft book of Maccabees gives this teili- 
 mony of him — Elias/^?;- bei'ng zealous and ferve'at 
 for the law, was taken up into heaven, i Mace. 
 ii. 58. 
 
 That exemption from Death temporal as well as 
 eternal is the reward of perfed: obedience, may be 
 farther inferr'd from the nature of the law of Mofes, 
 ■compared with the firft law given to man. For to 
 ufe St. Paulas words, Rom. x. 5. Mofes defcribeth 
 the righteoufnejs which is cf the law, that the man 
 which doth thofe things fhall live by them. Lev- 
 xviii. 5. 
 
 But it is certain that thofe who were under the 
 Law died like other men, and could not live by it ; 
 becaufe they could not do the things of the Law ; 
 could not perform an exad: and perfect obedience 
 to it ; which if they had been able to do, they 
 fhould have lived, and have been exempted from 
 Death, as Elijah was. For the Law of Mofes was 
 founded upon the firft Covenant, of which it was a 
 fort of renewal or re-publication : The terms of both 
 were the fame, viz. perfe6l, unfinning obedience ; 
 and their fanftions were the fame likewife, viz. 
 Life and Death : This Life indeed doth not appear 
 from the laiw o^ Mofes to have been any other than 
 temporal, but from the firft. law given to Adam, it 
 is juftly inferr'd, that his Life temporal had been 
 exchanged for an eternal one, without tafting of 
 Death, had he performed the condition of it j and 
 fo confequently had the lives of thofe who were un- 
 der the law of Mofes, on fuppofition of their paying 
 a pcrfeft obedience to it. 
 
 Hence by the way may be inferred the true rea- 
 
 fon 
 
366 Concerning the Removal 
 
 fon why. the dodrine of a future ftate is not more 
 infifled upon in the Law of Mofes : A point which 
 has been much controverted of late, but I think not 
 fatisfactorily cleared up as yet. As the Law of 
 Mofes was founded on the firft Covenant, its fanc- 
 tions were the fame, Life and Death — Life without 
 tailing of Death, and Death without promife or 
 hope of a relloration to Life. Mofes therefore had 
 no concern with a future ftate after Death, as the 
 iirft Covenant fuppofed no fuch thing, nor gave 
 any hopes of it. It had therefore been not only 
 quite foreign and fuperfluous, but even contradicto- 
 ry to his purpofe, to have made it a part of his 
 Law i becaufe it was armed with fanftions equally 
 noble, and equally forcible, not to fay, more fo -, as 
 it cut off all hope in Death on the one hand, and 
 conferred, a right to the moft perfeft and abfolute, 
 i. e. to an uninternipted Immortality on the other. 
 But an open Revelation of a future ftate after Death 
 muft have greatly weaken' d, if not totally deftroy'd, 
 the great fandions of his Law ; which were built 
 upon the contrary fuppofition.* 
 
 For, 
 
 * Hence it maybe inferred, that McJ. s zvanoX properly be faid 
 to have omitted a future Hate, even luppoiing he had made no 
 mention of it. For an omifficn implies a defedl, and confifti in 
 leaving out fomcthing that ought to have been inferted, or taken 
 notice oh Confequently this can be no medium for any argument 
 either \x\ favour or prejudice of the divine original of it ; fo that, on 
 •the one hand, it is to be doubted, that the foundaiion of a certain 
 Author's pretended demonftration if the divine legation of Mofes is 
 as faulty, as that of his hypothejh concerning the Book oi Job. 
 And yet, on the oher hand, Infidel?, in this view of the matter, 
 have as little ground to triumph in Zifi^yt'j's filence concernirg a 
 ifuture flate : Nor need pious Chriilians be in any pain about 
 finding this Dcdlrine in his Law, fince they may there find what 
 .is tantamount to \t. As in Lev. xviii. 5. Te fia/l keep myjia- 
 •iutes, and my judgments, which if a Man do, he jh all live in them. 
 And, Dcut XXX. 15. See 1 have fet before thee this da\. Life and' 
 Good, ^/;^/ Death wvi'^.-Evil. — And r. 19. / call heaven- and 
 
 Edrtb 
 
ef Natural Evil. 367 
 
 For, as a difcerning Author juftly obferv-es, 
 
 * Righteoufnefs, or an exact obedience, feems by 
 
 * the Scripture to have a claim of. right to eternafl 
 
 * Life. Rom. iv. 4. To him that worketh^ i. e. doth 
 
 the 
 
 Earth to record this day againjl you, that Ihave fet before you Life 
 and Death, Blefling and Curling, tkercflre chiije Life, that both 
 thou and th-i feed may live ; with more to the (ame purpole. Comp. 
 WkcvflitNehem. ix. 29. Deut. iv. 40. ch.x\. iS, 21, ^^nd Ezek. 
 XX. II. Thefe are the great fardions of the Law, clearly lai4. 
 down, and flrongly enforced, as t'hings of fuch a nature ought to 
 be. And this I apprehend is thehiglieft Argument of its Divini- 
 ty, much better than fuch as are deduced either from the I'uppofed 
 omiffion or infertion of a future ftate. ForMiy?j's filcnce concern- 
 ing this Do(flrine is founded upon a good and wife reafon, and 
 inpplied in a much better manner than that which the above men- 
 tioned Author has fancied J and fuch, if I miflakenot, as will bet- 
 ter aniwer the Obj^ftions of Unbelievers. And with regard to the 
 mention of a future ftate (for it is not yet agreed whether it be men- 
 tioned in it exprcffly or not) it might be pleaded, that this is a 
 Doctrine which all Law-givers have conftantly inculcated, as the 
 fame Author hath fhewn, and therefore is not peculiar to the Law- 
 giver of the Jews j nay Infidels would not ftick to fay he had bor- 
 rowed it from fome other. But it can never be faid, that any hu- 
 man Law-giver has pretended to carry the Sandtions of his Laws 
 fo high as to confer a perpetuity of Life, as the Reward of Obe- 
 dience to them; or to vifit TranfgrefTors with immediate Death ; 
 By which I do not mean that which was infl idled by the Magiftratc, 
 butby divine Judgments, of which many dreadful examples were 
 made at the firlt publication of this Law. 
 
 Moreover, as this was a Death from which there was no hope 
 of a deliverance by any other means befidcs the performance of a 
 perfeft unfinning Obedience, which was morally impoilible to be 
 performed in the ftate mankind was then in ; this I take to be the 
 true reafon why David, Ilezckiah, and others under the I-aw,- 
 fometimestalkin fuch a ilrain, as if they had no hope in a future ftate, 
 ziz. becaufe they groaned under thc<everity of the fiift Covenant 
 which afforded them fo little proJpcft of it. Here therefore the 
 fecond Covenant came in to their relief, with which the firlt was 
 tempered in this Difpenfation, and which mitigated the feverilty 
 of it, by refpiting the execution of the lentencc of Death on the 
 one hand; and on the other by vouchfafing them fo much lig;ht 
 concerning a Life after this, as afforded them a comfortable Hope 
 of it, ftill referving tiie full Revelat'on of it for the Gofpel. Ahd 
 this I take to be a true Hate of this Qucftion, which people have 
 been fo long dilputing ia the dark about. 
 
368 Corner fling the Remonjal 
 
 ' the works of the Law, the reward is not reckoned 
 
 ' of Grace, kit of Di.bt. And i?^i;. xxii 14. Blef- 
 
 * fed are they that do his commandments, that they 
 
 * may have Right to the tree of life. Therefore^ 
 ' as he farther obferves, if any of the pofterity of 
 < Jdam wtrt juft, they fhould not lofe the reward 
 
 * of it by being his mortal ifilie — For immortaUty 
 
 * and bhfs belong to the righteous, and thofe who 
 ' have lived in an exa6t conformity to the law of 
 
 * God, are out of the reach of Death.'* 
 
 Hence therefore we may juftly infer, that exemp- 
 tion from Death temporal is the reward of perfe61: 
 obedience, which v/as the thing to be proved, the' 
 not the fole nor greateft reward of it. Here are 
 two undeniable inftances of it, viz. in the Law firft 
 o-iven to Jdam, and in that given by Mofes. 
 
 And when mankind fhall by means of the fecond 
 Covenant be enabled to keep the terms of the firft, 
 they Ihall be made partakers of the rewards of it ; 
 they fhall live by it. And that they fhall be enabled fo 
 to do, appears from St Paul, who fuppofes as much 
 when he fays. If the uncirctimcifion keep the righte- 
 oufnefs of the Law, and fulfill the Law, fhall it 
 not be counted for circumcifton ? Rom. ii. 26, 27. 
 And Ch. 8, 4. he fays that God fent his Son that the 
 right eoufnefs of the law raight he fulfilled in us. The 
 Law of Mofes will then no more feem to command 
 impolTibilities, but what was iw-poffille with Men, 
 will appear to be ■poffihle with God. Then our Sa- 
 viour's faying will be fully verified, that he came 
 not to defiroy the Law, but to fulfill it ; and then 
 Law, and Gofpel, firft and fecond Covenant, will 
 co-incide : they will appear to be but different parts 
 of the fame wife and great ceconomy -, the main 
 end of both, one and the fame ; and that end will 
 then be fully attain'd, viz. the reftitution of our 
 
 nature, 
 • Mr Lofke'^ Rearonablenefi of Chrillianity, p. 1 4. 
 
of Natural E'viL 369 
 
 nature, and its re-eftabliHiment in its primitive 
 ftate. See p. 204. & 267. 
 
 When this is brought to pafs, the full import of 
 that faying of our Saviour's will be clearly underftood, 
 / came that they might have life^ and that they might 
 have it more abundantly, Jo. x. 10. Then may 
 he be faid, through his Death, to have fully dejlroycd 
 him that had the power of Death, that is, the Devil-, 
 and to have completely delivered * them who through 
 fear of Death were all their life-time fubje^f to bondage. 
 Heb. ii. 14, 15. And then he will have entirely 
 •ABOLISHED Death, and have brought Life a'ud Lnmor- 
 tality to full light by the Gofpel, 2 Tim. i. io> 
 This truth, as it was heretofore under great un- 
 certainty and obfcurity, as to the reality of it •, io 
 neither is it flill but very darkly apprehended^ as to 
 the feveral circumftances of it ; tor it doth not yet 
 appear what we fljall he, i Jo. iii. 2. And eye hath 
 not feen, nor car heard, neither have entered into tha 
 heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for 
 them that love him. 1 Cor. ii. 9. Then we fliall ob- 
 tain the adoption we now with groaning wait for, 
 viz. the redemption of the body. Rom. viii. 23, from 
 its prefcnt corrupt mortal ftate. I'hen the lafl 
 furviving happy generation of men fliall at Chrifl's 
 coming be found cloathed, and not naked. 2. Cor. 
 V. 3. i. e. fliall be found alive in the body, not di- 
 vefted of it by Death ; and fhall be cloathed upon 
 with their hcufe which is from heaven, ^^ 2. i. e. 
 their fpiritual, heavenly bodies fhall be fuper- indu- 
 ced upon the natural and earthly : And of this (as 
 the Apoftle in the fame place obferves) Nature it- 
 B b feif 
 
 * It is obfervable that the Greek word aVaMa^jj,- being a com- 
 pound from the fimpie verb aAAairaw to cb.ir.ge, ele2,antly points 
 out what kind of Lkliverance from iJeath is here principally meant, 
 viz. a Deliverance by way of change, which is the moit abloiute 
 and only proper Deliverance Itom it. 
 
37© Concerning the Removal 
 
 felf feems to have fome inftindt and prefage, even 
 in this corrupt, mortal ftate : For we^ fays he, that 
 are in this tabernacle, do groan, being burthened -, 
 not for that we would be uncloathed, but cloathed up- 
 on. V. 4. i. e. Notwithftanding all the pains and 
 preffures which our bodies do now fufFer, we are 
 not willing to put them off, and part with them, 
 however weary we may be of them -, but our defire 
 is, if it might be, to have them cloathed upon with 
 that glorious, incorruptible body, without fuffering 
 a feparation from them by Death. 
 
 And this inftind or defire implanted in us by 
 nature, which doth nothing ih vain, is an argument 
 that this will be the cafe of the laft Generation, viz. 
 that they fhall not fufFer a feparation of Soul ar^d 
 Body at all. That they fhall not put off their ter- 
 reftrial Body •, but that the celeftial one, as hath 
 been obferved before, Iliall be fuper-induced upon 
 it: For fuch a Body, it feems, the glorified Saints are 
 to have, into which their earthly Body will be as it 
 v/ere incorporated, and both make one glorious 
 Vehicle. And that this is the true fenfe of this paf- 
 age mod of the commentators are agreed. 
 
 When matters are brought to this crifis, then 
 mortality Jhall be /wallowed up of life, as the Apoftle 
 here adds, v. 4. And then cometh the end, when 
 Chrift Jhall deliver up his mediatorial kingdom to God, 
 e\jen the Father^, having reigned, till he hath put all 
 enemies under his feet : and Death the laft of all : 
 For the last enemy that fhall be deftrofd is Death. 
 1 Cor. XV, 24, 25, 26. This corruptible Jhall then put 
 OM incorruptlcn, and this mortal/hall put on immor- 
 tality ; and then floall be brought topafs the faying 
 that is written. Death is swallowed up in Vic- 
 tory. V. 54. 
 
 Kere our refearches are at a ftand ; Here we muft 
 fcal lip the vifion and the prophecy, for here all pro- 
 phecy 
 
of Natural Evil 27^ 
 
 phecy is at an end. the myjlery of Godisnoiafinijhed^ 
 Rev. X. 7. and the great fcheme of Man's Redemp- 
 tion is wound up and completed, as far as the wife 
 Author of it has through fit to reveal it to us. 
 
 By the light of the facred Oracles, which have all 
 along been our guide, and which is the only fure 
 guide in this cafe, we have (ttn what the firfl: happy 
 ftate of man was by his creation — how he fell from 
 that ftate — what the confequences of his fall were 
 — and how he fhall by degrees recover from it, and 
 be rc'eftablifhed in his original condition : And the 
 reader, upon the whole, m aft be left to judge con- 
 cerning the view in which thefe important points are 
 here placed. 
 
 The revolutions which our nature, and the world 
 about us have hitherto undergone, are pretty well a- 
 greed upon : Thefe are Ldls which have been eftab • 
 lifhedupon the credit of the facred hiftory, and con- 
 firm'd by the experience of men in all ages. What 
 is future is not fo certain, for this very reafon, becaufe 
 it IS future. Scripture indeed treats no lefs of this ; 
 but then as it neceflarily treats of it in the way of 
 Prophecy, and as all Prophecy is dark, and more 
 difficult to be underftood before the Completion, fo 
 no wonder that thofe Prophecies which relate to the 
 future Renovation and Redintegration of Man and 
 Nature are no better apprehended. 
 
 That I have hit upon the true fenfe of them, 1 
 will not peremptorily affert — That muft abide the 
 teft of examination, to which I very willingly fub- 
 mit the foregoing Treatife, being no otherwife con- 
 cernM about the fate of it, than as it will appear to be 
 agreeable to Scripture, or otherwife. Ifl have gone 
 upon a wrong hypothefis, I defire nothing more 
 than that it may appear to be fo, both to myfelf 
 and every other perfon into whofe hands thefe 
 
 B b 2 papers 
 
^'j2 Concerning the Removal 
 
 i3apers fhall fall ; for kt God he true, and ev'&}1nAfi 
 a lyar. 
 
 In the mean time, I would beg leave to offer thus 
 much in its favour — That as we muft have very 
 partial and imperfed notions of the great Myftery of 
 our Redemption, if we look upon it any otherwife 
 than as a Scheme contrived by infinite Wifdom^ and 
 conduced by gradual Advances (*), till it be bro't 
 to its utmoll Accomplifhment \ fo it is here confidered 
 as fuch. And that this is ajuft, tho' faint and im- 
 perfedl Iketch of it, is humbly apprehended, be-. 
 Caufc it feems worthy of God, and agreeable to our 
 notions of the divine Attributes : It gives us more 
 enlarged and exalted ideas of the great work of our 
 Redemption, and of its Author ; and £it the fame 
 time does honour to human Nature, and makes us 
 entertain higher and nobler fentiments of it, than we 
 are otherwife apt to do. 
 
 1 . This Hypothefi^ feems worthy of God, becaufe 
 it is agreeable to our notions of his attributes, that he 
 fhould relcue his works from the confufion and dif- 
 order they were thrown into, and re-fettle them in 
 the ftate and condition he firll placed them in. 
 
 2. It gives us more enlarged and exalted ideas of 
 the great work of our Redemption, becaufe much 
 more is attributed to it on this hypothefis concern- 
 ing it, than by any other reprefentation of it that I 
 have met with. It better anfwers the true notion of 
 Redemption, and fuppofes it to be carried further 
 than is ordinarily apprehended — It tends to the 
 greater difplay of the excellency of our moft holy 
 Religion, which contains the means for accomplifh- 
 ing all the great ends defign'd by our Redemption ; 
 as it alfo makes thofe ends greater and more worth/ 
 tiie Incarnation of the Son of God, and of tile Em- 
 
 bafiy 
 
 * Pret'ium redemptloinsjam foJutum ej}, 'ejus avtem ofpUcatio fit 
 c'rVii gr/idihus. Tolecus in Rom. viii. 2 ^, 
 
of Natural Evil, 373 
 
 bsiTy on wliich he came down from Heaven — In in 
 the end crowns that important Embaffy and Under- 
 taking of his with full fiiccefs, and illuftrates the 
 virtue and elEcacy of all that he hath done and fuf- 
 fer'd for us. 
 
 3. This Hypothefis tends not only to the Honour 
 of our Redeemer, but to that of human Nature like- 
 wife, in as much as it fuppofes it not fallen fo low as to 
 be pall ail hopes of Recovery •, but on the contrary, 
 that it is capable of great improvements, and, with 
 the aids of divine Grace, of being reftored to the loft 
 Image of its Maker, and of aflerting and regaining 
 its original Dignity and Excellence. But thefe 
 Heads, which were hinted in the Introduction^ are 
 treated of more largely in Chapters icthand i ith, to 
 which therefore I refer the Reader. 
 
 Some reprefent Mankind as Devils, and that 
 tends to make them fuch : Others reprefent therr^ 
 as mere natural Men, and that tends to continue 
 them fuch : Others again reprefent them as more 
 than Men, as Creatures poiTeffed ot fuch a ftock of 
 Sufficiency within themfelves, as if they needed not 
 to alpire after a greater Perfe6tion, at leaft as if they 
 were -not fallen men; but this is a fufficicnt proof 
 that they are fuch. Here they are reprefented in a 
 quite different vie;w from all thefe. It is Ihewn not 
 only what they heretofore have been, what they are 
 by Nature at prefent, and what by Grace — but more- 
 over what they may, and (hall be hereafter -, and 
 this tends at once to make us think more humbly of 
 ourfelves, and at the fame time elevates our aims, 
 excites our endeavours, and infpires us with the hopes 
 pf the greateft attainments. 
 
 From thefe confiderations, that this Hypothefis 
 tends to the Honour of God, and of his Son Jefus 
 Qhrifi^ of the Chriftian Difpenfation, and of human 
 Nature — This, I f^y, is fome prefumption that this 
 
 Bb 3 rough 
 
374 Concerning the Removal y &c. 
 rough Draught may rudely exprefs fome of the out- 
 lines of the myfterious and incomprehenfible fcheme 
 of the redemption of the world by Jefus Chriji i the 
 perfect model and archetype of which is framed only 
 in the divine mind, and is not to be copied out with 
 exaftnefs by any creature. This is that myfterious 
 and facred book^ which none in heaven^ in earthy or 
 under the earthy is able or worthy to read or open-t 
 but the Lamb who was Jlain, and hath redeemed us to 
 God by his bloody out of every kindred, and tongue, 
 and people, and nation. Rev. v. 3, 9. 
 
 I am fenfible fo fublime a fubjedt muft have great- 
 ly fuffered by falling into fuch unfkilful hands, and 
 that it had appeared to much greater advantage by 
 the help of an abler and more learned pen. But the 
 truth, if I have found it, will fhine through all the 
 obfcurities and imperfeftions of ftyle and method. 
 However, this pertormance, mean as it is, and er- 
 roneous as it may be, may have its ufe notwithftand- 
 ing, xxi giving occafion to a more accurate and clear 
 examination and difcuflion of the great dodtrine of 
 our Redemption j as fome of the moft important 
 dodrines of Chriftianity have of late, by occafion of 
 unfl<:ilrul treatifes concerning them, to fay no worfe, 
 been judicioufly and folidly explained, by the la- 
 bours of learned men in defence of them ; to which 
 Chriftianity is much indebted, being better undeij-- 
 ftood, at this day, than ever it v/as fince the firft 
 promulgation of it. 
 
 ^T H E 
 
375 
 
 The CONCLUSION. 
 
 By 'way of Application to three Sorts of Men^ 
 viz. Jews, Deists, and Christians. 
 
 I. T F any of you who have been the chofen people 
 X of God, and are ^A\ beloved for the fathers 
 fakes, Rom. ii. 28. Ihouldfo far lay afide your pre- 
 judices, or gratify your curiofity, as to look into a 
 book written by a Chriftian, and profeffedly for the 
 honour of Chriftianity ; you may fee that the author 
 conceives very highly of your future flourifhing llate, 
 as highly as even you yourfelves can — hath as iirm a 
 faith, and as ftrong hopes, that all Ifrael fhali be fa- 
 ved. Ifa. xlv, 17. and that the Lord will turn again 
 the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole 
 Houfe of Ifrael. E-zek. xxxix. 25. — That the time 
 will come, when Hefhallfet his hand a fecond time 
 to recover the remnant of his people, and f jail ajfem- 
 ble the out-cajls of Ifrael, and gather together the dif- 
 perfed of Judah from the four corners of the earthy 
 Ifa. xi. II, 12. and plant them in their own land, 
 that they foall no more be pulled up out of the land 
 that he hath given them. Amos ix. 14, 15. — That 
 they fjall build up Jerufalem glorioufly, and the houfe 
 of God glorioufly in it, as the Propl>ets have fpoken. 
 Tobit xiv. 5, 6. and that they fy all again worJJjip 
 the Lord in the holy mount in Jeruialem. Ifa. xxvii. 
 13,— that the fons of fir anger s f jail build up their 
 walls, and kings Jhall minifier unto them. Lh. Ix. 10. 
 — that they Jhall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and 
 boflfi thcnifclves in their glory. Ch. vi. 6. All this, 
 and much more contain'd in your Prophecies, I be- 
 lieve, with you, fliall conic to pafs. But I differ 
 B b 4 from 
 
37^ Application U 
 
 from you in the manner of explaining it : And would 
 you but !ay yourfeives open to convi6lion, and im- 
 partially examine the title of the crucified Jejus to 
 the Mejfiah-pip, you would foon fee all your Pro- 
 phecies fulfilled, and your hopes accomplilhed. 
 This being the appointed means whereby you may 
 fhorten the period of your difperfion, and haften 
 your return to your antient inheritance, and your 
 eflablilhrnent in all the promifed power and glory 
 of it. 
 
 But to this end, you'll fay, you m.uft have a con- 
 quering, triumphant Mejfiah^ agreeably to your 
 conftant expedations : And herein you are very 
 right, a conquering, triumphant MeJJiah you fhall 
 have ; and you will be convinced, that Jefus Chriji^ 
 at lafb, is the perfon, to whom you v/ill find your- 
 feives obliged to have recourfe -, and having in vaiq 
 looked for others, to loGk upon him whom you have 
 fiercedj for hopes of deliverance. The fooner you 
 do this, the fooner you fhall obtain it •, and the lon- 
 ger you (land out, the longer you will continue 
 yourfeives in your prefent difperfed and defpifed con- 
 dition. 
 
 You ought at lead to abate fomething of your 
 hatred of Jeftis Chrift, and of your prejudices againft 
 Chriilianity, face we Chriilians hope lO well ot you, 
 and agree with you in lb many points. Chriftiani- 
 ty is the means of your being reftored to your pro- 
 mifed land ^ it is not tiie deftru6lion of your religi- 
 on, but the perfcftion of it, and is defigned ^oxyour 
 as v/ell as ciir eternal faivation : For obedience to its 
 precepts will in time enable you to perform what 
 hath hitherto exceeded all your abilities, viz. an 
 exa^l obedience to the moral part ol your own laWy 
 which is all that will then be required of you : For 
 you have feen it proved from the writings of your 
 ovvn Law -giver, and Prophets, that you have no 
 
 ground 
 
the Jews and Deijls^ ^77 
 
 ground to exped a reftoration of your own form of 
 worfhip, or any part of the Ceremonial-Law — That 
 the Circumcifton^ which upon your Reftoration will 
 tal<.e place, will be the Circumcifion of the hearty 
 which is the Chriftian Circumcifion— That the Ark 
 of the Covenant Jh all no more come to mind, nor be 
 rememi^ered, nor viftted by you — And that a new Co- 
 venant fhall be made with you, which what other 
 can it be, than the Chriftian Covenant? ^ee p. 
 247. 
 
 I ftiall conclude this addrefs to you with the ad- 
 vice which Gamaliel, a reputable dotftor of your 
 own law, gave to your fore-fathers with regard to 
 this matter. Te men of Ifrael, take heed to your 
 felves — If this counfel, or this work, had been of 
 Men, it would long ago have come to nought -, but if 
 it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, lejf haply ye be 
 found even to fight againfi God. 
 
 II. With regard to thofe who are ftiled Deifis, 
 and other Free-thinkers in Religion, who tho' they 
 have not entirely apoftatifed from their Chriftianity, 
 yet are tempted to entertain flight and unworthy no- 
 tions of it, and are accuftomed to treat the Holy 
 Scriptures with too much difregard and contempt — • 
 If fuch think that I have built without foundation, 
 and have afcribed more to our Redemption than 
 they can be induced to believe will be effected by it, 
 as fuch will be the moft likely of all others to think 
 fo — The favour I would beg of them is, that their 
 cenfure may fall where it ought, viz. on the faulti- 
 nefs of the performance ; but that they would not 
 take occafion from hence to treat Scripture or 
 Chriftianity irreverently, which are not anfv/erable 
 for the miilaken notions of Men. 
 
 But on the other hand, if fuch perfons, upon the 
 perufal of the foregoing EJfay, can be perfuaded but 
 tp think, thiit poflibly there may be truth in it — If 
 
 they 
 
37^ Application to Deifis^ 
 
 they cannot deny but that the records of Reveard 
 Religion afford fome foundation for the great things 
 here afcribed to it — If they cannot difprove, as I 
 think they cannot, that human Nature, and Nature 
 in general already have undergone, and hereafter 
 fhall undergo, the Revolutions here maintained con- 
 cerning them — If they cannot with reafon difallow, 
 but that the Scheme of the World's Redemption, in 
 this view of it, is a confiftent Scheme, worthy of 
 God, and highly beneficial to Man — If it ferves to 
 remove any of their difficulties, or furnilhes an an- 
 fwer to any of their objedions againft Revelation — 
 Particularly, if they admit of the above account of 
 the origin of moral and natural Evil, which hath 
 been made the greateft pretence of all others for 
 quarrelling with Religion •, as they mull admit of it, 
 if it be Demonftration — and if they admit likewife 
 that there is any probability of the removal of it 
 upon the gofpel-fcheme — Should this prove to be 
 the cafe, it is to be hoped, if they will not hence be 
 induced intirely to lay afide their prejudices againft 
 Chriftianity, and heartily to embrace it in the love 
 of it — -at leaft, that they will begin to think more 
 favourably of it, and treat Reveal'd Religion, and 
 its facred records with decency and refpedl ; becaufe 
 it may, and, for ought they know, it doth, deferve 
 their utmoft efteem and veneration. Were there 
 nothing elfe to recommend it, yet the grandeur and 
 noblenefs of its pretenfions alone, nothing like to 
 which hath ever been fet up upon any other fcheme, 
 ought to place it above fcorn and ridicule, and pro- 
 cure it fome degree of awe and refpedt, till luch 
 time as thefe its pretenfions can be manifeftly prov- 
 ed to be falfe, abfurd, and groundlefs i which I con- 
 ceive they never can. 
 
 LI. With regard to all fincere and good Chrifti- 
 sXir, whom I am in the laft place to addrefs, if this 
 
Free-thinkers, and Chrifliam, 379 
 
 EJfay hath in any meafure contributed to the difco- 
 very of any Truths, which before lay concealed — 
 If they find thtimfeives infpired by it with nobler fen- 
 timents of Chriflianity and human Nature — If it 
 gives them more enlarged and exalted notions of the 
 great work of our Redemption ; or particularly ex- 
 plains any do£trines or texts of Scripture, or puts 
 the whole or any part of Reveal'd Religion in a more 
 advantageous light to them — I fhall have my reward 
 in the fatisfa6lion of contributing my mite towards 
 the inftrudion and improvement of mankind, in or- 
 der to xhcir going on unto Perfe5lion — of being a weak 
 inftrument in God's hand in carrying on the Great 
 Scheme of Man'j Redemption, and Restora- 
 tion to his primitive State. 
 
 The Profpeft we have that this gracious and glo- 
 rious undertaking will be brought to a happy end, 
 however diftant it may be, is not without its ufes 
 and advantages even to us of this prefent time. For, 
 
 I . It affords a proper exercife of our faith in God*s 
 promifes, and in the truth of the many Prophecies 
 which foretel this great event, that they fhall at 
 length be moft affuredly fulfilled : And it hkewifc 
 is a fource of great joy and fatisfa6lion to good men, 
 who wifli well to the intereft of God and Religion, 
 to reflect that Chrijl^s Kingdom fhall in due time uni- 
 verfally prevail. Abraham, as Chrift himfelf tells us, 
 rejoyced to fee my day^ and hefaw it, and was glad. 
 Jo. viii. c^6. And all generous minds, who arc 
 children of the faith of Abraham, will in like man- 
 cer rejoice and be exceeding glad to fee, tho' afar offy- 
 nas he did, and as it were in a glafs darkly , the boun 
 tiful goodnefs of the Lord to his Church, and the 
 happy end towards which his difpenfations through- 
 cut all ages have been working. 
 
 The blefjing promifed to Abraham in his feed wa 
 
 ablef. 
 
^8o Application 
 
 a blefBng to himfelf i and all true lovers of mankind 
 have a natural regard and concern for their mofl dif- 
 tant poiterity, which miift give them an agreeable 
 relilh and fore-tafte of whatever good they believe to 
 be referved for them. 
 
 2. This confideration may ferve to prevent our 
 being too much difcouraged by the bold advances 
 of Aiheifm and Infidelity, and the great increafe of 
 Trofanenefs and Immorality in the prefent age. Thefe 
 daring offences and impieties fore-bode indeed but ill 
 to the reformation and improvement of the world 
 in Virtue and Religion : They even threaten the to- 
 tal corruption and diflolution of Morality as well as 
 Religion, in principle as well as practice. Notwith- 
 ftanding, thefe Overflowings of Ungodlinefs ought 
 not to make us afraid.^ or to be difmayed at them. 
 For this is our confidence, that he who hath faid to 
 the Sea, Beftill, and hitherto /ball thou come, and no 
 farther, hath like wife fet to this deluge of impiety 
 its hounds^ which it cannot pafs, nor return to cover 
 the earth : So that how much foever it may rage and 
 fwell for a time, yet at length its -proud waves will 
 be flayed^ and its rage will be fpentinvainj becaufe 
 we have a moil fure Word of Prophecy that the Gates 
 cf Hell fhall not prevail againft the Church ofChrifi; 
 but that notwithftanding the prefent low eftate of 
 Chriftianity, the time will come when it will yet 
 have its due influence, and finally triumph over the 
 obftinate prejudices, and unruly lulls of Men, and 
 every thing elfe that exalts itfelf againft it. Therefore, 
 
 g. This fhould excite ourbeft endeavours for the 
 promoting of this great end, by ufing all diligence 
 to overcome the remaining corruption, each or his 
 . own nature, in all holy converfation and godlinefs,^ 
 looking for, and hafienmg the coming of the day of 
 God : And by uniting, one and all, in our refpec- 
 tive places ana ftations, to promote, or at leaft pre- 
 pare 
 
to Chrifliafis. 381 
 
 pat^e the way for, what hath been often wiflied and 
 talked of by good men, tho' hitherto fcarce hoped 
 for, viz. An universal Reformatiox, but which 
 this Scheme affords encouragement to attempt, as it 
 gives us at leafl a diftant profpedl of it. 
 
 Laftly, as a chief means of obtaining tliis end, we 
 fhould make conftant apphcation to the Throne of 
 Grace, ' that God,' to ufe the v/ords of our excel- 
 lent Liturgy, ' would be pleafed to make his ways 
 known unto all forts and conditions of men, and 
 his faving health unto all nations ;* particularly, 
 that he would have mercy upon all Je'ujs, Turks^ 
 Injideh, and Her clicks, and take from thern all ig- 
 norance, hardnefs of heart, and contempt of his 
 word •, and fo fetch them home to his flock, that 
 they may be faved among the remnant of the true 
 Ifr.ielites, and be made one fold under one fhep- 
 herd •, befeeching him likev/ife to infpire continu-* 
 ally the univerfal Church with the fpirit of truth, 
 unity, and concord, that all who confefs his holy 
 name may agree in the truth of his holy word, 
 and hold the faith in the unity of the Spirit, in the 
 bond of peace, and in righteoufnefs of life.* That 
 all Chriftians being brought to an agreement in the 
 faith and knowledge of God, and to a ripenefs and 
 perfeclnefs of age in Chrift, there may be no place 
 left for error in religion, or vicioulhefs of life.* 
 And efpecially, when we put up our petitions to 
 God in the Lord's prayer, we fliould never fail moft 
 zealoufly and fervently, in this fenfe, to fay, tky 
 Kingdom come. Even fo. Lord Jefus, come 
 quickly ! 
 
 * Offici/nr crSeritig Priejls. 
 
 A D I S 
 
A 
 
 DISSERTATION 
 
 O N T H E 
 
 DESIGN 
 
 AND 
 
 ARGUMENTATION 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 BOOK o(JOB, 
 
 With a Vindication of feme particular PafTages 
 in it againft the Objedtions of the Rev. Dr, 
 Richard Grey, 
 
 Hearken to me^ I alfo will Jhew mine Opinion. 
 Elihu in Job xxxii. lo. 
 
[385] 
 
 A Dissertation on the T)efign^ Sec. of tkc 
 Book of Job. 
 
 TH E Book of Job hath been always efteemed 
 one ot the mod difficult in the whole Canon 
 of Scripture ; and therefore many learned meri have 
 bellowed much pains about it. But their enquiries 
 having been generally confined either to the age, 
 country, and family of Job and his Friends, or to 
 the reality of the pcrlbn, the author of the book, 
 the nature of the compofition, and thcoccafion of it, 
 feldom penetrating much into the main defign, or 
 the argument debated in it ; but all in this refped:, 
 in a manner treading in each other's lleps, and, as 
 it were, by general confent, taking it for granted — 
 hence little has been done in reality towards clear- 
 ing up what I apprehend to be of greateft impor- 
 tance, as well as difficulty in this very difficult 
 book. 
 
 A late Author indeed hath gone out of the com- 
 mon road, fo far as to interpret this divine compofi- 
 tion allegorkally \ but the literal meaning, which he 
 does not exclude, and on which his Allegory is found- 
 ed, is undertfood by him in much the fame man- 
 ner as by all that went before him. 
 
 As I cannot acquicfce in his Hypoihefis^ it may be 
 expefted as a piece of ceremony due to fo ditlin- 
 guifhed a writer, as the Author of the divine Lega- 
 tion c/Mofes, that I fliould give the rcafons of my 
 diflent, before I Offer a different one. 
 
 This, therefore, I fliall do in as fhort a way as I 
 can, without any inclination of erecting my fcherne 
 upon the ruins of another, much lefs of entering the 
 lifts with a gentleman, who for his great learning 
 
 Cc and 
 
386 A Dijferfation on 
 
 and abilities, as well as for other confiderations, is 
 by no means an eligible adverfary. 
 
 This Book, Mr War bur ton fays, was written for 
 l^t ufe of the people of the Jews^ foon after their 
 return from the Babylonijh Captivity, in order to 
 convince them that they were no more to expecl to 
 be governed by an extraordinary and e^ual Provi- 
 dence, as formerly •, and to reconcile them to an 
 ordinary and unequal one, by which he fiippofes that 
 they, as well as the reft of the world, were thence- 
 forward to be governed*. 
 
 A perfon who is going to build, ought firft to be 
 very careful in laying a good foundation, left he 
 jQiould render himfelf obnoxious to the fate and cha- 
 ra(5ter of the man in the gofpel, who built his houfe 
 upon the [and : the pertinency of which refiedlion will 
 prefently appear. 
 
 The foundation on which the fpecious pile of 
 
 building now before us ftands, is, as we have feen, 
 
 ■ the fuppofition that the Jewijh ftate after the Capti- 
 
 . vity was not governed by an extraordinary and equal 
 
 Providence. Let us examine it. 
 
 I. With regard to an equal Providence. The 
 diftindion of an equal and unequal Providence is 
 what this learned writer feems very fond of, and fo 
 confident of its being juft, that he thinks ' it cannot 
 ' be made matter of difpute^ whether God admini- 
 ' fters his government of the world by an equal or 
 
 * unequal Providence, all ages and countries having, 
 
 * as he fays, experienced the adminiftration of it to 
 ' be vifibly and confefledly unequal.'' — And more- 
 over, that ' in all the vaft variety of human opinions, 
 
 * as extravagant as many of thofe are which philofo- 
 ' phic men have fome time or other held, we do 
 
 •' not find any of them ever conceived or maintained, 
 
 ' that 
 
 * See the Divine Legation, l5fc. Part II. B. vi. § 2. 
 
the Book of Job. 387 
 
 that God' J Providence was equally adminiftred. p. 501. 
 
 But the truth of this obfervation may notwichftand- 
 ing bejuftly queftioned*. For, tho' it muft be own- 
 ed that the inequality of the adminiftrations of Pro- 
 vidence hath been too much the topic of complaint 
 in all ages, yet hath it never received any counte- 
 nance from the Author of Providence. 
 
 The Jews in Ezekiel's time, particularly. Were 
 of the fame opinion with this learned Author. They 
 faid, Tbe way of the Lord was not equal.f But God 
 complains of the wrong, expoftulates with them up- 
 on it, and retorts the charge upon themfelves. Te 
 fay, the way of the Lord is not equal: Hear now, O 
 houfe of Ijrael, is not my way equal ? Are not your 
 ways unequal? Ezek. xviii. 25. Where he plainly 
 fignifies to us, that the inequalities and diforders 
 which are in the world, are not in his ways^ but our 
 own. And, indeed, to fuppofe that there are any 
 real Inequalities in the adminiftrations of Providencf!:, 
 what elfe is it than fuppofing that the Lord of the 
 whole earth doth not do right ? fince every kind and 
 degree of inequality is a deviation from right and 
 equity. God is the God of order, notof confufion ; 
 and to fay that he deviates from order and right, tho' 
 in ever fo fmall a degree, or for ever fo fhort a time, 
 is very unworthy of him, and is a betraying of his 
 juftice, and other attributes. 
 
 It is true, there are many feeming inequalities in 
 his difpenfations -, but that proceeds from our par- 
 tial view of them •, whereas, if we were able to com- 
 prehend the many reafons upon which they are found- 
 ed, they would appear to be moll equal, as well as 
 juft. But fo clofely connefted and interwoven are 
 men's interefts with each other -, fo infinitely diver- 
 C c 2 Tified 
 
 • Sec Mr. Sett's Anfwcr to the Divine Legation, p. 89. 
 f See Bifhop Stilling fleet' i Aofwcr to Crtllius, ch. 3. f. 6. 
 throughout. 
 
^SiS A Diffhrfafion m' 
 
 •fified'ar^ their virtues and vices •,' fuch an rnfinitE 
 variety of cafes is hereby conftituted ; and fuch 
 a multitude of circumftances, and very exterifive- 
 relations concur in each cafe ; that it is impolTibte 
 for us to judge of the right of any one cafe, not even 
 of our own. It is therefore rafh and prefumptuous to 
 judge of the- ways of- providence by outward ap- 
 pearances. Scripture, and the notions we have of the 
 divine attributes, are the only fure guides in this caf^. 
 The fliort of the matter feems to be this. : Thot' 
 there are apparent Inequalities in the diftributions of 
 Providence, yet we ought not, upon that account; 
 to pronounce Providence itfelf to be unequal^- -this 
 being harfh language, and injurious to Providence. 
 The proper diftindtion here I conceive is this— Ine- 
 quality, when applied to the diftributions of Provi- 
 dence (tho' I think it ought not to be abfolutely af- 
 firmed even of them) is to be underftood in a natu- 
 ral fenfe. But Providence itfelf being one of the 
 moral attributes of God, no epithets are applicable 
 to it but moral ones, or fuch as are to be underftood 
 in a moral fehfe. And therefore to fay that God's 
 Providence is unequal^ is the fame as to fay it is un- 
 equitable, or unjuft ; which I am fatisfied the learn- 
 ed author is far from thinking it to be at any time. 
 He therefore muft admit that God continued to go- 
 vern the Jews by an equal Providence after the Cap- 
 tivity, as well as before, becaufe his Providence is 
 always equals with regard to them, arid all the 
 World ; tho' there were apparent Inequalities in the 
 adminiftrations of it, no lefs before the Captivity, 
 than after ; as not only Jeremiah^ but David, Afaph, 
 Habacuc, and others before his time were tempted 
 to complain. 
 
 • -Had this learned writer impartially confidered the 
 above-mentioned text of Ezekiel, it would have 
 Jielped him to corred his notion?, concerning Provi-' 
 
 dence. 
 
the Book of Job. 389 
 
 dcnce. But it was not for his purpofe in point of 
 Chronology. Had Ezekiel wrote in the days of the 
 Judges, when he fuppofes an e(iual Providence was 
 at the height, he had not failed to have made good 
 ufe of it. But as the time when he prophefied was 
 under the Captivity, whei;i Mr PK fuppofes an 
 eqtial Providence was in a manner ceafed, any men- 
 tion of an fj«^/ Providence, at that time, did not at 
 allfuit his Scheme; and therefore he thinks fit not 
 to take any notice of this Text ; . tho'; it boje, fuch an 
 obvious relation to his fubjedl, that it is'the onlj? text S-^x, 
 I can at prefent recoiled:, that makes exprels, men-/'£fG^ 
 tion of the Equality of God's ways j and tho' inXxy:/ z 
 treating of it, he cited other texts in this Chapter, 
 even the next verfe to it, p. 457, with which it has 
 an immediate connexion. But his purpofe in citing 
 them was quite different : God here tells tlie Jews, 
 that they (hould not any more have occafion to ufe 
 that Proverb, The fathers have eaten four grapes^ 
 mtd the childrens teeth are fet on edge : becaufe the 
 fon Jfjould not bear the iniquity of the father^, hut that 
 the foul that finned fhould die, * and afl fliould be 
 dealt with according to their perfonal deferts : And 
 then he cxpoftulates with them, Tet ye fay — not- 
 withilanding the juftice and equity of thefe proceed- 
 ings, ye fay, the way of the Lord is not equal. 
 Here we fee that God produces this inftance on 
 purpofe to prove the equality of his ways, or, in 
 Mr py.''s language, an equal Providence. But he, 
 Mr IV. in direft oppofition hereto, as well as to all 
 our notions of juftice and equity, makes this to bj 
 the inftitution of an unequal one. ^.453. 
 
 Whom Ihall we believe? God himfelf, or this 
 Cc 3 pre- 
 
 • See Dtut. xxiv. i6. 2 Kings xiv. 6. whcrce it appears there 
 \V39 lodflctcnce before the Captivity and afrtrwards, with re- 
 giid to this Law, that every one was to die tor his own fin. 
 
2go A Dijfertation on 
 
 prefumptuous man, who, to eflablifh his own fond 
 notions, feareth not to pervert the right ways of the 
 Lord ? 
 
 Hence it appears that the Adminiftration of an equal 
 Providence was fo far from being withdrawn after 
 the Captivity (which is one part of Mr /F/s founda- 
 tion of his Hypothefts concerning the Book of Job) 
 that we have the moft exprefs teftimony that the 
 whole Scripture affords for the future continuance of 
 it in that period -, and that the diftinftion of an 
 equal and unequal Providence is groundlefs, odious, 
 and injurious to Providence. * 
 
 Let us now fee, whether the other part of his 
 foundation fiandeth more fure : I mean, Whether 
 the Adminiftration of an extraordinary Providence 
 was then withdrawn or not. 
 
 And that it was not v/ithdrawn may be inferred 
 from his own reafoning, notwithftanding that he 
 maintains the contrary. 
 
 The '^dife^ion of his 5th book treats of the durati- 
 on of the Jewijh theocracy^ and is fpent in proving 
 that it continued till the coming of Chrift. The firlt 
 pofition laid down, inlifted upon, and fupported 
 with arguments, in the next fe£iion is. That an ex- 
 traordinary Providence was apecuhar confequence 
 necejfarily attending fuch a form of government, viz. 
 a Theocracy, and infeparable from it. What now is 
 the inf rence to be made from hence, but that the 
 one, b ingfo effential to, and infeparable from the 
 other, both muft have been of the fame continuance; 
 and if the Theocracy continued till the coming of 
 Chrift, an extraordinary Providence likewife continu- 
 ed ti 1 that time? Mr/iF. therefore m.ufthave great- 
 ly forgotten himfelf, when in his chapter concern- 
 ing the book of Job, he maintains, that the admini- 
 ftration 
 
 * See Bp Stilllvgjieet ubi fupra. ch. 3. f. 6. 
 
the Book of Jo^. J91 
 
 ftratlon of an extraordinary Providence entirely ceafed 
 upon the return from the Captivity. 
 
 This matter might be refted here, but two or three 
 fads will put it beyond all difpute. 
 
 Andfirft, I might mention the continuance of the 
 Spirit of Prophecy after this time •, but Ihall not infill 
 upon this, fmce the learned author acknowledges, 
 ' that Prophets were raifed up •, and an extraordina- 
 * ry Providence forfome fliort time was adminifter- 
 ' ed , as appears from many places in thofe pro- 
 ' phets,* fome of which he refers to, p. 417. tho' he 
 might have chofe fome more to the purpofe. * 
 
 But there are inftances of the exercifeof an extraor- 
 dinary Providence, which continued for a long time 
 after theCaptivity,eventothe end oixhtJewiJh^^XG, 
 It was required by the law of Mofes^ that all the 
 males of the land fhould appear three times in they ear y 
 kef ore the Lord in Jerujalem. This law we find re- 
 ligioudy obfferved by them till the lateft times of the 
 republick, in numerous paflTages of 7o/^/>^//J, the four 
 Gofpels , and the Ai:is of the Apofiles •, nor do we 
 learn that they ever fuffered the leaft inconvenience 
 at thefc feafons from the incurfions of their enemies, 
 during all the wars of the Maccabees^ and others in 
 which from time to time they were engaged -, tho' 
 their frontiers and whole country muil at thefe times 
 have been left in a very defencelefs ftate, and muft 
 have become an eafy prey to any invader, if the di- 
 vine Providence had not always in an extraordinary 
 manner reftrained their enemies from all thoughts of 
 C c 4 it, 
 
 * It appears from the Prophecy of Uaggal, that the Jeivs 
 after rlie Captivity were puni(h'd with a famine for negleftirg to 
 rebuild the temple. And the fame Prophet upon their obedience 
 in this refpeft, makes them a promife of great plenty, ch. ii. 19. 
 than which I queftion much whether Mr W. can produce any in- 
 iVances of an extraordinary Providence before the Captivity more 
 remarkafale. S»c likewife Zech. viii. \i. x. i. xiv. 17. Mai. 
 ili. 10, 1 1.. 
 
392 A Dijferfation on 
 
 it, purfuant to his promife, neither Jhall any man 
 dtjir e thy land^ when thou Jloalt go up to appear be- 
 fore the Lord thy God, thrice in the year. Exod. 
 xxxix. 24. Tliis is the more obfervable, as their 
 enemies did not fail upon other occafions to make 
 their advantage of their ftrid obfervance of the fab- 
 bath, wherein they were fo fcrupulous, that they 
 would not defend themfclves when attacked by them 
 en that day ; till at length they fuffer'd fo much for 
 their fuperftition herein, that they found it advife- 
 able to be laid afide. See i Mac. ii. 34. 
 
 The continuance of an extraordinary Providence, 
 during the period under confideration, may be fur- 
 ther interred from another remarkable inftance of a 
 very extraordinary nature. The inftitution of the 
 fahhatical year., which was to ht2iyear of refi to the 
 land, wherein it was to be neither yc-ie;^^^, nor reaped, 
 could never be obferved without an extraordinary 
 increafe beforehand, for the fupply of it. Accord- 
 ingly God promifeth to command his blefftng on the 
 jixth year, that it fhould bring forth fruit for three 
 years. LjCV. xxv. 21. Now it appears that the y^<^- 
 b^iticalyear was obferved after the Captivity as low 
 dovv^n as the time oi Alexander, nor have we any ac- 
 counts of its difcontinuance afterwards. For Jo- 
 fephus tells us that this prince when he vifited Jeru- 
 falem, at the requtil of the high priefl:, remitted the 
 fevemh year's tribute * : And that this was on no o- 
 ther confideration, than that of their not tilling their 
 lands in that year, appears from the account which 
 follows concerning the Samaritans, applying for the 
 
 fame 
 
 * Jofeph. Ant. lib, xi. cap. vii. 
 
 It is queftioncd by infidel writers whether Alexander ever was 
 in Judea. But Jofphus is vindicated, as to the probability of 
 the ' !• .'. riters of better Credif, parucuiariy by Bp 
 
 lloyd, Dr Pridea'x Conn. i. and B^Cbay.ndi'ers'Vir.d.ofhic 
 Defence of Chriltianity, p 17S. 
 
the Book of Job. 393 
 
 fame favour, where he mentions this as the reafon 
 of it. 
 
 Now the treble crop of xhtfixth year was no lefs 
 neceflary for the obfervation of xhtfabbaticalyear^ af- 
 ter the Captivity, than before, and much more fo 
 when this ftate became tributary to others : But it is 
 obftrvable th.U this was quite contrary to the courfe 
 and philofophy of nature, which ordinarily throws 
 out its ftrength moll plentifully in the firji years af- 
 ter it hath lain fallow ; and the longer it hatii been 
 driven, the more its vigour is impaired, and the 
 lighter its crops prove : fo that the Irrength of nature 
 being thus referved, as it were, for xhtfixth year, 
 in which it proi^uced as much as in any three of the 
 foregoing, could proceed only from the wonderful, 
 efficacy of tiie divin r'rovidence, in an extraordinary 
 manner impregnating it for that purpofe. 
 
 And as a means to this ?nd, it may hence be infer- 
 red, that God in a particular manner ftill cared for 
 this land, and that his eyes, as he declares, were al- 
 ways upon it, from the beginning of the year, even 
 unto the end of the year, Deut. xi. 12. And that ac- 
 cording to his cxprefs Promife, he gave them the rain 
 cf their land in his duefeafon, the firft rain, and the 
 latter rain, that they might gather in their corn, and 
 their wine, and their oyl. v. 14. which may be rcckon- 
 ied as another remarkable inilance of the continuance 
 of an extraordinary Providence. 
 
 For God Almighty, it feems, vouchfafed to blefs 
 and fertihze this foil, and promote the growth of its 
 produce in a peculiar manner, different from that of 
 any otiicr country under heaven ; by caufing hisrain 
 to come down at two fixed and ftated feafons of the 
 year : The former rain at feed-time, which was about 
 October, to bring up their corn, and the latter rain 
 in the frfi month, Joel ii. 23. which partly anfwers 
 to our March, and which was about three -months be- 
 fore 
 
• 394 -^ Dijfertation on 
 
 fore vrhe^t-harvefi, Amos iv. 7. in order to -make 
 it grow, and fill the ear. And that this extraordinary 
 blefling was continued to the Jews after the Captivi- 
 ty, is evident, not only from the great plenty which 
 Hag. and Zech. frequently promife them, as already 
 taken notice of, but likewife from an exprefs encou- 
 ragement given them by the latter, ch. x.i. to ajk rain 
 in the time of the latter rain., tiyip^O, with an afiiirance 
 of obtaining it. Compare likewife Ezrax. 9, 13. 
 
 And thus, I think, it plainly appears, that God 
 continued to exercife an eq^ual and extraordinary Pro- 
 vidence over the JewiJIj ftate, in the period that 
 fucceeded the Captivity, as well as before -, and con- 
 fequently, that the foundation of Mr IV.'s Hypothe- 
 fis concerning the book of Job., is not only faulty, 
 but that it hath indeed no foundation at all : and if 
 fo, it needs not to be faid what the fate of the fu- 
 perftruclure muft be. 
 
 In the following courfe of this Difiertation, I pro- 
 pofe, firll, to point out fome difficulties, which this 
 book feems to labour under, and which it is prefum- 
 ed the Hypothefts here offered will remove. Second- 
 ly, to make fome enquiry concerning the age, fami- 
 ly, and religion of Joh., and his Friends, and the 
 author of this book which bears his name. And, laft- 
 ly, to confider the ftate of the world in thefe ages 
 with regard to religion and philofophy. Thefe 
 points being previoufly difcuffed, we fhall then be 
 better able to apprehend the defign of the book 
 itfelf, and to profecute without interruption the argu- 
 mentation that runs through it. 
 
 The great difficulty in this book is to underiland 
 x!nt true ftate of the controverfy carried on in it, 
 to have a right apprehennon of the queftion difcufled, 
 arid of the drift and . aim of the feveral difputants, 
 
 without 
 
the Book o/" Job. 395 
 
 v/ithout a clear conception of which it is impoflible to 
 judge of any controverfy. 
 
 That it hath been the fate of the book of Joh^ to 
 have hitherto been widely miftaken, and the grounds 
 of the debate wliich runs through it to have lain un- 
 difcovered, will be allowed to amount to a fufpicion 
 at leaft, if the following particulars be confidered. 
 
 I. The conduft of Job^s Friends -, which is fo 
 ftrange and unaccountable, that it is very difficult to 
 reconcile it with that character, in the view it com- 
 monly appears in. Their feeming uncharitablenefs 
 and inhumanity, their acrimony, virulence, un- 
 juft cenfdre, and pertinacious obftinacy, and the in- 
 decency of their behaviour in general, towards a 
 perfon in fuch diftrefs, looks as if they came v^^ith a 
 defign to mock and infult, and not, as they profeffed, 
 to mourn with^ and comfort him -, and, as Mr 
 Warh. fuppofes, not without an appearance of rea- 
 fon, that they were nox. real, hui pretended ¥v\f:\ds. 
 
 And yet there are other circumftances relating to 
 them, that will not fuffer us to think thus of them, 
 or that the motive of their vifit was any other than 
 pure friendfhip and compaflion. For it is exprefsly 
 faid, that they came by appointinent to mourn with, 
 and comfort him. Accordingly, as foon as they faw 
 him, they burft out into tears, rent their cloaths, co- 
 vered themfelves with a cloud of dufi, and fat down 
 fympathizing with him in filent ^nti fenjen days and 
 nights \ which were all tokens of deep mourning 
 in the eaftern parts of the world. 
 
 And that this their deportment was dictated to 
 them by their difcretion, as they faw his afflidtion 
 to be fo great as to admit of no other comfort than 
 that of fympathy \ and that their filence was not the 
 effc<5l of obftinacy and ill fufpicion, as fome ima- 
 gine *, appears from the context, in which it is add- 
 ed 
 
 • Vidt CI. Grey in Ucum. The 
 
'^g6 u4 Dijfei-tatwn on 
 
 ed as the reafon of their conduct, they f aw that hh 
 grief was '-eery great. 
 
 And 
 
 I was greatly furprized to iind that this learned Author (in his 
 Ai.lwer to Mr Warburtcn^ p. 6z) had taken fo much oflFence at this 
 reference, which affords fo little ground for it.The reader fees that the 
 only epithet I give him is that of clarijpmus, which ca/inot furely be 
 unacceptable to him. And when I faw reafon to difapprove of the ac- 
 count he had given cf the filence oi yell's Friends,! was fo cautious of 
 giving citence, that I think I have, in the inoffenfive little I faid 
 (See ib. p. 127) excrefTed my difient with as much refpeB and de- 
 cency as he did his from Mr Warb. notwithftanding at the fame 
 time that he is making heavy complaints of the undeferved feveriry 
 with which Mr JVarb. had ufed liim, he endeavours to be no lefs 
 fevere upon me, and no lefs undefervedly. So eafily does he fall 
 into his adverfary's way of returning civilities, in the fame breath 
 that he is exclaiming againil ii ! 
 
 I might therefore cxpollulate with this learned Gentleman in 
 Kis own words to Mr. Warb. " What mud no man prefume. Sir, 
 " to conrradidl your opinion, or deliver his own fentiments, tho' 
 ** with ever fo much Modelty and Candour, when they happch 
 *• not to coincide with yours,, without being immediately drag*d 
 •' into a Controverfy, or elfe fufier what he has faid to be made 
 " the fubjefl of your contemptuous raillery ? &c. Or could you 
 *' really believe that any perfon of common fenfibility, who had 
 ** ufed you with decency and refpeft, would think you had ufed 
 ** him fo, when he fhouid at every turn meet with little fneers and 
 *' infultsr" &:c. Sec. p. 20. 
 
 Mtitato nomine de tefabuh norraiur. 
 What this learned writer complains of me for is, that I have 
 notafted fairly by him, in not quoting him at length, but inftead 
 thereof in coviradiiting him with his own opinion: Whereas I 
 thought 1 had a£led fairly enough by him, not to lay tenderly, in 
 referring to him infiead of quoting him. For, had I quoted him 
 as fully as he deHres, I could not well avoid fhewing that he con- 
 tradiSied hiiKfelf, as he now indeed i:i pleafed to tell us. For when 
 he fays, that 1 contrndicl him with his own opinion, this is fa'-rly 
 owningf that his oion opinion does coniradid him, or implies a Con- 
 tradition in ii, as in truth it does. For fince he will have it our, 
 here it is — Omnino qui albcuturi veneran^, altijpmum tentierur.tfi- 
 hntium, erga Amicum telis divinitus confixiim., partim prudens if^ 
 (Oimnijsratioiie plenum, ne videreniur importuni conjolatorcs ; partim 
 imprudcns, ob/Iinntum, atque, tit 7nox paiebit, finijh'is fufpicionibus 
 Jubulceratum. An admirable Account of the filence of thcfe per- 
 fons! It was vv.<c\.\y pnident, and partly imprudent : it was full of 
 compaffion. and yes: not fo fulL but ilieie was room for as ?nucb 
 ' ' Ail- 
 
fhe Book of Jo6. 397 
 
 -—And this friendlhip of theirs appears to have had 
 the more merit in it, as they gave this proof of \t at 
 a time, which fails not to bring it to the tefl ; and 
 when his neareft kinsfolk, his brethren, and event 
 the wife of his hofom, (hunned and deferted him, as 
 he complains, ch. vi. 1 5. xix. 1 3. Solomon obferves^ 
 that^ friend loveih at all times, and a brother is bom 
 for adverftty — nay that there is a friend that fiicketb 
 clofer than a brother. Prov. xvii. 17. xviii. 24- 
 and thefe Friends verified the obfervation. Accord- 
 ingly, Job calleth them his Friends, ch. xix. 21. 
 after they had been fo long altercating v/ith him. 
 And the fincerity of tlieir friendfhip was fo far froni 
 being queftioned, that it became proverbial among 
 the Hebrews, who were ufcd to fay, that death was 
 more defirable than life, without fiich a Friend, as 
 were thcfe which Job had. We muft therefore ftill 
 conclude that they were true Friends, and yet there 
 is fomething very unaccountable in their behaviour. 
 2. As fucha friendfhip as this mufb have had its 
 foundation in a fmiilitude of manners^ as all true 
 friendfhip has, fo mufl it have been contracted like- 
 v/ife and continued by an intimate acquaintance •, by 
 which means his Friends had an opportunity of form- 
 ing the truefl judgment of his private life. And 
 Job muft have been an exquifite hypocrite indeed^ 
 and muft have managed more artfully than ever hy- 
 pocrite did, t o have concealed his true charadterj 
 and impofed upon his mofl intimate acquaintance, 
 without ever being difcovered by them, or betraying 
 
 the 
 
 fullennefs and ill rnfpicion. Where fo many inccnfiflcnt opinions 
 are jumbled together, it is odds but a man will fall in with feme 
 of them ; which happened to be my cafe. I afcribed the filencc of 
 thefe Friends to prudence and compafTion ; which forfooth I could 
 not do without borrowing this npinion from him ! Whereas I (Tiew 
 whence I borrow'd, and whereon I ground ir, viz. on the coii- 
 texr, which ftrongly implies ir, but givei no countenance to'Kis 
 fullsnncf:! and ill lufpiclon. 
 
•398 A DiJJertation on 
 
 the leaft ground of fufpicion, befides what his pre- 
 fent calamities fiirnifhed them with. For that he 
 gave them no caufe of fufpicion is evident from the 
 holy Spirit's tellimony of him, that he was a good 
 man^ and therefore could give none. 
 
 * How then came his Friends to judge fo unchari- 
 
 tably 
 
 * The above Author thinks to folve this difficulty by faying, 
 ^' that how fair an appearance foever of virtue and religion Jolf 
 *' might make in the eyes of his Friends, none but God alone 
 ** could peiredtly know the lincerity of his heart, and the purity 
 ** of his private converfation/' (p. 56.) A folution which. I can 
 by no means comprehend. That God alone knows the heart, and 
 the fir.cerity of our intention?, is an argument commonly ufcd 
 agaiiij} uncharitable cenfure, even where the outward conduft af- 
 fords fome ground for it. But thi?, I believe, is the firft time it 
 iias been made ufe oi ^ojuftify the judging hard of a man, in oppo- 
 fition to a fair appearance of virtue and religion. A man //itiynot- 
 withftanding be a hypocrite, therefore you may venture to judge 
 as feverely of him as you pleaie. An excellent confequence, and 
 as excellenc morality it eftablifhes; whereby cenl'ure is free from 
 all bounds, and the falfeil accufations are pronounced innocent .' 
 
 I have often call about in my thoughts what could run in this 
 learned Author's head, when he fuffer'd fuch an argument as this 
 to fall from his pen. Did he fancy that yoi> poffibly might have 
 been a hypocrite, and that it was by the diftates of GoJ's holy 
 Spirit, that his Friends judged fo of him ? On this i'uppofition in- 
 deed his reafoning is jull: but then when he made iuch a fuppoii- 
 tion, he mull have forgot that this is direftly contrary to God's 
 exprefs teftimony of him. In whatever light we view this matter, 
 it can be deem'd no othcrwife of, than an egregiou-, hallucination, 
 or, to ufe his favourite phrafe, i Saliva fomisoleiiti a". Bu; leil the 
 Reader fhould be at a lofs to know what this elegant phrafe means, 
 take his own definition of it. Saliva fomuokntia gnaz'iter ^gMnrt 
 poteft jejunam futilttatetn verborum Jomniantis quail j Anglice, 
 ^be Driveling! of a drozvfy fit. 
 
 Nor does Mr /Ftfr^.'s.lolution of this difficulty, which he adopts 
 with great cnmplacency, much mend the matter, viz. " that this 
 •' ftrange captious humour of ^o^'s Friends was neceffary to pro- 
 " duce a piece of that integrity of aflion which a fcenic repreien- 
 *• tation demanded." But is this fpiritof contradiflion foeffential 
 to dramatic performances ? Is there no juft one without it ? On the 
 contrary are there not many without any, or with very little of it ? 
 Thif, 1 am fure, is neceffary, that all the Perfons of a Drama be 
 
 drawn 
 
the Book of Job, 3^9 
 
 tably of him ? Were his prefent fufferings a fufficient 
 proof of his guilt, contrary to the whole tenor of 
 his paft condu(5t, their thorough knowledge of him, 
 and all the moral evidence that fenfe and experience 
 could furnifh them with ? Would they with one 
 voice condemn him for a vile hypocrite, and hein- 
 ous offender, merely from his outward circumffances, 
 and ftill perfiil in it, notwithftanding all the afTuran- 
 ces he could give them to the contrary, and all his 
 appeals to God for his innocence ? This is not the 
 ufual condudl of Friends •, that efteem and tender- 
 nefs, implied in all true friendfhip, would fcarcely 
 fuffer a fufpicion of this kind. An Enemy indeed 
 would be forward enough to pronounce fuch a vifi- 
 tation as this to be judicial, and ftrangers to his cha- 
 racter might be tempted to put the fame interpreta- 
 tion upon it : it is but what we daily fee. But this is 
 the time, when Friends, from their affedion for the 
 man, as well as their better knowledge of him, ftand 
 up in his defence, and vindicate his charader to the 
 world. This did not the friends of Jch ; nay they 
 not only accufe him of hypocrify, but one of them 
 charges him with crimes of a notorious and publick 
 nature. Is not ihy wickednefs great , and thine ini- 
 quities infinite ? For thou hajl taken a -pledge from thy 
 brother for nought, and firipped the naked of their 
 cloathing, &c. ch. xxii. 5, 6, 7, ^c. Now here is a 
 dired charge of down-right fads, of fuch notorious 
 inftances of cruelty and opprefTion, as no one durfl: 
 make againft another without good proof of them. 
 And yet no proof of this kind could be produced, 
 becaufe there was no foundation for it. How is this 
 conduct reconcileable with the character of friends ? 
 How is it to be reconciled with any character ? 
 
 3. From 
 
 drawn in charafler, and that Friends flhouM not be reprefcnred as 
 Ensmic,% vyhich yet thefe appear to be in every view cf them, 
 but that I have given. 
 
400 A Di/ferfafion on 
 
 3. From the grounds bf the Charge, let us pro- 
 teed to the management of it. The great queftion 
 controverted between Joh and his friends, with fo 
 much warmth and obftinacy, was concerning the 
 caufe of his fufFerings. They affirm that this ex- 
 traordinary vifitation was a judgment upon him for 
 his fins, and that he mull have been an enormous 
 offender to have drawn down fo fore a vengeance 
 upon himfelf. To this what reply does Job make ? 
 In the conclufion of his firft anfwer to Eliphaz he 
 makes confeiTion of his fins, and implores God's 
 pardon and remiffion of the punifhment he then fuf- 
 fer'd for them. ch. vii. 20, 21. Here then the con- 
 troverfy furely is cut fhort, the queftion is given up, 
 and the opponents are fatisfied? Nothing like it. 
 Bildad roundly takes him up, and does not under- 
 ftand him as if \\t had yielded any thing — Job^ in his 
 reply to him, one while condemns himfelf, as in ch. 
 ix. 21. and prefently after, ch. x. 7. in the fame 
 fpeech appeals to God for his innocence. And elfe- 
 "where he fometimes juftifies himfelf, as in ch, xiii. 
 15, 18. and vindicates his innocence (which indeed he 
 perfifts in the maintenance of to the laft) and almoft 
 m the fame breath, viz. v. 2^. not only acknowledges 
 himfelf a finner, but even confefles that his fins were 
 the caufe of his fufferings. Thou makefi me to pojjefs 
 the iniquities of my youth, ch. xiii. 26. the very thing 
 his adverfaries feem to be contending for. But yet 
 this does not feem to be meant by way of conceffiori 
 to them, nor do they underftand it as fuch : but 
 they go on to accufe him, and he to de-fend himfelf,- 
 as before. There feems to be fom.e diftinclion want- 
 ing here, better than any I have yet met with. 
 
 4. As the queftion is generally ftated, it relates 
 only to a matter of fa^f., viz. whether Job had been 
 a wicked liver or not ? And whether it was not for 
 his wickednefs and hypocrify tliat he was puniflied ? 
 
 Whereas 
 
the Book of Job. 401 
 
 Wliereas I think it fufficiently appears, from his own 
 v/ords, that it was a matter of opinion^ and not fatl 
 which was fo much debated between them. For 
 thus he tells them, ch. xix. 4. Be it indeed that I 
 have ERRED, mine error remaineth "with myfelf — 
 
 * Suppofing I am miftaken herein, I already fuiFer 
 
 * fufficiently for my miflake, without the addition 
 
 * of your reproaches : It is T, not you, that am to 
 
 * bear the ill confequences ot it.' But how could 
 Job be miftaken in a matter of this nature ? Did not 
 he beft know himfelf ? And was it poffible for him 
 not to know, whether he were a wicked or juft 
 man, a hypocrite or fincere fervant of God } Or 
 would they maintain fo long a difpute about a faft 
 of this nature, when they muft allow him to be the 
 beft judge in the cafe ? It will not bear reafoning 
 upon — The difpute was about matter of opinion, 
 the proper objed of error, fome abftrufe fpecula- 
 tive point, that admitted fo much ftrenuous con- 
 tention, without advancing a ftep, or coming to any 
 eclaircilfement about it, as we often fee to happen 
 now-a-days. What that is will appear hereafter. In 
 the mean time let us, 
 
 5.. Examine the religious Charadler and Deport- 
 ment of Job on the one hand, and of his Accufers on 
 the other ; together with God's judgment of both, 
 in the view wherein this mattter at prefent appears. 
 
 The general principle which J^b'^s friends argue 
 upon is, That fin is the caufe cf all fiiffering — And 
 can there be a principle more juft or pious ^. They 
 were therefore quite right in this general dodrine, 
 however wrong they were otherwifc. And if we ex- 
 amine their feveral fpeechcs, we ftiall find them fo 
 far from betraying any difrefpeft for God or Reli- 
 gion, that we may perceive them animated with a 
 warm zeal for both, and a vein of piety to run thro* 
 their feveral difcourfes : They all along fhew a great 
 
 Dd jca- 
 
4o2 A Dijferfatton on 
 
 jealoufy for God's honour, vindicate his attribute?, 
 and at every turn reprove Job for impiety, impa- 
 tience, or other offences. 
 
 For take his conduft as it appears in itfelf, and 
 how frowardly does he behave under the Hand of 
 the Almighty ! How bitterly does he curfe the Day 
 of his Birth ! How does he abandon himfelf to De- 
 fpair ! And what do we hear him vent, befides incef- 
 fant Murmurs and Complaints ? How vehemently 
 does he expoftulate with his Maker 1 And how free- 
 ly does he cenfure the Methods of his Providence ! 
 In a word, how boldly does he ftand on his own 
 juftification, and how obflinately perfift in the main- 
 tenance of his innocence ! Great allowances ought 
 certainly to be made for the infirmities of flefli and 
 blood under fuch a fevere tryal ; but it is difficult 
 to bring thefe daring offences under the clafs of fins 
 of infirmity. And yet Job is acquitted, and his op- 
 ponents are condemned. My wrath is kindled againji 
 thee, fays the Lord to Elipbaz, and againft thy 
 two friends ; for ye have not fpoken of me * the thing 
 
 that 
 
 * Dr Gr^j, in his Anfwer to Mr Warburtony p. 59. cenfures me 
 for following our Eng/ijh tnnHidon of this text; inftead whereof 
 he gives us two or three other tranflations, ye have not fpoken 10 
 ME— or BEFORE ME, the thing that is right, with a paraphrafc 
 on each. The particle el I acknowledge is generally tranflated, to, 
 and fometimes before \ But this learned Hebrean needs not to be 
 told, that in fome places it requires to be tranflated, of. As in Ge». 
 XX. 2. And Ahrz}\dim f aid {el Sara) of Sarah his Wife, Jhe is m) 
 Sifter — nor can ir,in any commodious fenfe, be render'd otherwife. 
 Vide I Sam. iv. 19. 2 Sam. iii. 18. zChron. vi. 32. cumSy^ 
 ■Hopft Crit, in loco. And in the place before us it is fo tranflated, 
 by feveral learned men, befides our Englfh tranflators, andj 
 among the reft, by Albert Schultens, and The Rev. 
 Dr. RtcHARD Grey, in his Edition of the Book of y?^, cap. 
 xlii. c. 7, 8. p. 298 1 queftion now whether the Reader be- 
 lieves me, when I tell him this ; for indeed I could hardly believe 
 my own eyes. But let him examine for himfelf, and he will find 
 it thuj — I'lon loctiti cftis reRum de me ; with this note upon it, 
 Hoc (nacov.ah) ad Statum CoNTftovERSi.ffi revocare res dsf 
 ratio ju'ient. In co Jobus (naconah) reSlim oa Deq d'Jeruitt 
 
 qsamm 
 
the Book of Job, 403 
 
 tifal is rights as my fervant Job hath. ch. xlii. 7. 
 
 Whence it appears that their crime did not confift in 
 
 D d 2 their 
 
 quamvis in drcumjitintils ulterius eveBus fuerit, &c. What a per- 
 fedl Harmony is here between Dr. Grey and my felf ! My very 
 defign in quoting this text being to infer the ftate of the contro- 
 v«rfy from it in the fenfe he here paraphrafes upon it. Now in his 
 Anfwer to Mr Warb. he quotes th's Note at length ; but as he had 
 departed from hisfirft tranflation {de me) of the Text, fo he thinks 
 fit to leave de deo put of the Note ; and with good reafon, becaufe 
 he was then endeavouring to fix fome other fehfe, no matter vvhat» 
 upon this paifage —How valuable are thefe Notes that with fmall 
 ■Iteration may be made to fcrve quite different purpofes ! But I am 
 afhamed of fuch wretched prevarication. 
 
 What muft the reader think of a man that thus renounces and 
 perverts his own fenfe of Scripture, and glaringly contradifts him- 
 lelf, for the fake of cavilling at another, who had not given him 
 the leaft provocation to excite his fpleen againll him ? Surely my 
 performance is not fo free from error and imperfedion, but that he 
 might have employ'd his critical acumen more happily upon ir, 
 than at the fame time to criticife himfelf ! But I leave the Reader 
 to his own refleflions upon this conduft, as well as upon the mo- 
 
 defty and ingenuity of the manner in which it is introduced 
 
 •* This it is for gentlemen of learning to be arguing from Tranfla- 
 ** tions, or not accurately tp examine for themfelves the Original." 
 He to be fure had examined it accurately, and yet while he was 
 free from prejudice, he tranflated in the lame manner. And I 
 • can afTure him that when I firft had this Text under confidera- 
 tion, it was not without as accurate an examination of the Origi' 
 nal as I was capable of, and now upon a review of ir, I Ice no 
 reafon to depart from our Englijh Tranflation ; and it had been 
 more for his credit if he had fluck to it too. And, after all, I 
 think he has not been very fuccefsful in his Emendations of it, 
 cither in this place, or wherever elfe he has attempted it ; tho' he 
 fo often alFeds^to condemn ir, as being quitewrotig, wretched, hard- 
 ly Jenje, Sec. with an intent, as it feem?, of magnifying his own 
 Tranflation at the cxpence of it. But what muft the Engiifhrtad' 
 cr think of his Bible, when he fees it at every turn thus traduced } 
 Happy is it that its authority is too well ellablilhed to be brougl t 
 into difreputc by him, notwithftanding he lo confidently fets up 
 as a ccnfor of it. Perfons efteem'd among the bell judges have had 
 quite different fcntiments concerning it. Bi(hop Walton (in his 
 Proieg. to his Pofyghtt) prefers it to all our modern lVanf]ation.', 
 and Mr Se/den to all the Trandations in the world. And particu- 
 hrly with regard to the Book oijjb, Bilhop Patrick^ tliD'hefays 
 be has not always tied himfelf lo our Engl'Jh Tranflation in his 
 
 Pa. 
 
404 A Dijfertation oft 
 
 their hard cenfures of Joh — not in the application of 
 their doftrine, but in the do^rine itfelf, as it con- 
 cerned God and his attributes — ye have not fpoken 
 of ME (not of Job) the thing that is right. And yet 
 the general doftrine which they maintain. That fin is 
 the catife of fuflrering — Or, that moral evil is the 
 caufe of natural evil,, is an undoubted and funda- 
 mental doftrine both of natural and revealed religion. 
 This is the principle they build all their reafoning- 
 upon, and which they never vary from ; and I think 
 I may defy any one to point out wherein either of 
 them derogates from the divine attributes, in any 
 view we have yet {ttn of the part they aft. 
 
 On the other hand, Job feems to argue upon no 
 fixed principles : Befides the inconfiftences above- 
 mentioned, he feems to contradid; himfelf likewife 
 with regard to the great doftrine of a future flate. 
 In one place, he declares his faith in the Refurredli- 
 on in as ftrong terms as that do6lrine is delivered in,- 
 in any other part of Scripture ; I knoijo that my Re- 
 deemer liveth, &c. ch. xix. 35, i^c. But in many 
 other places he feems to aflert the contrary fo pe- 
 remptorily, that I fhould think myfelf obliged to 
 fubmit to the opinions of feveral learned men, who- 
 think this text hath no manner of relation to the Re- 
 furredion, if I could not find out another meaning, 
 in thofe that feem to contradid it. Such are the 
 following — Let me alone — before I go whence I floall 
 7wt return^ even to the Land of 'Darhiefs. ch. x. 20, 
 2 1 . And ch. xiv. 7, &c. There is hope of a tree 
 
 'f 
 
 Paraphrafe upon if, yet acknowledges that it ever gives an excellent 
 fcnlecf the original Words. And tho' in fome particulars it may 
 need Amendment (as no human compofuioncan boaft of perfec- 
 tion) yet if it is to be altered, I hope it will ht for fomething 
 better than his nihil co7ivulJum, and (aliva pnmckntia (fee his An- 
 Ivver to Mr Warb. p. 66. 72}, As he has been plealed to give his 
 rc-ideri a tafte of my performance, or rather to prejudice their' 
 talle agiinft it, fo here they have a lalle of hi.s j but whether they 
 cun have any taftc for it, I know no:. 
 
ihe Bcok of Job. 405 
 
 tfii be cut down^ that it will fpr out again — hut Man 
 dieth and ivafieth away j yea Man g'veth tip the 
 ghofi, and where is he ? And v. i/\.. If a Man die, 
 Jhall he live again ? So Ch. xvi. 22. }Fhen a few 
 years are come^ then Jhall I go the way whence I jhdl 
 not return. 
 
 In a word, read the Controverfy throughout in 
 the view in which it is commonly taken, and it will 
 appear that Eliphaz and his Friends all along have 
 the right fide of the Queftion. Confult the Com- 
 mentators, and you will find they are either forced 
 to yield it them, or elfe to ftrain hard to give it Job^ 
 Notwithftanding all this, God himfelf declares, that 
 Eliphaz and his two Friends had not fpoken of him 
 the thing that was rights as his fervant Job hadJ^ 
 What are we left to conclude from hence ? What, 
 but that there is fomething worfe in the doflrine of 
 Eliphaz and his Friends, and fomething better in 
 that of Job, than hath been yet difcovered ? 
 
 What that is will appear hereafter ; in the mean 
 time let us proceed, 
 
 II. To our Enquiry concerning the Age, Family, 
 and Religion of Job and his Friends, and the Au- 
 thor of this Book which bears his Name. 
 
 Concerning the age and family of Job, we have 
 no better authority than that of the I .XX. who, in 
 their additions to the laft chapter of this book, tell 
 us that he was of the pofterity oi Abraham, and the 
 fifh in defcent from him, whence he is dippofed to 
 have been contemporary with Mofes, who was like- 
 wife defcended from him in the fame degree. And 
 Dd 3 if 
 
 * With regard hereto Mr ///jr^ar/i-;; very juftly obferves, * that 
 the fevere lemcncc pafl'cd upon tlie ihne Friends for itvpiely is a 
 thing to be admired, being utterly inexplicable on the common 
 inierprctaiion. For let thera be, fays he, as guilty as they would 
 to Jcb, they arc all the way advocates forGoo, and hold nothing 
 concerning him, that did not become his nature and providcRce.' 
 Vol. ii. p. 538. 
 
40 6 A Dijfertation on 
 
 if they were both born about the fame time, Job^ 
 of courfe, mufl have been the furvivor by many 
 years ; in which cafe Mofes could not have been the 
 writer of his ftory, and fome other author muft be 
 fought for it. 
 
 Many of the facred writers have had this honour 
 conferred upon them by one or other ; nor is it any 
 thing materia] to my purpofe, which of them it be a- 
 fcribedto : but if I may be allowed my conjefture a-?. 
 mong others,! fhould think,from the nature and fubjefl 
 of the compofition, the beft rule that is left us of 
 judging by in this cafe, there feems none whom it 
 fuits fo well as the renowned Solomon. 
 
 1. Becaufe of the frequent fimilitude of fentiments 
 and expreffion, which is obferved between this book, 
 and the books of Proverbs^ and Ecclefiajies -, as well 
 as Pfdms, which does not render it the lefs probable 
 %o be his, as it was natural for him to fall fometimes 
 into his father's thoughts. 
 
 2. If this be confidered as a Poem, Solomon hath 
 left other fpecimens of his genius this way in the 
 Canticles^ and book of Proverbs. Nay he is faid to 
 havecompoled 1005 Songs, none of which, except 
 the above-mentioned, are come down to us, i Kings 
 iv. 32. 
 
 But 3. Solomon was a Philofopher, as well as a 
 Poet ; and there are difcovered in the latter part of 
 this book the fublimeft conceptions, and deepeft in- 
 fight in JJironomy^ the works of nature, and all 
 parts of the creation •, and it will hereafter appear 
 that the general fubject of it is philofophical. Who 
 therefore could be fo capable of being the author of 
 it, as he who was fo famed for his wifdom and know- 
 ledge of all kinds in all nations round about, and 
 whofe wifdoM excelled the wifdom of all the children 
 cf the eajl- country (Chaldsea) and all the wifdom of 
 Egypt, I Kings iv. 30, 31. the two moft renown- 
 ed 
 
the Book of ]oB, 407 
 
 cd countries for philofophy and learning of all kinds 
 at that time upon earth ? Who could give better 
 Defcriptions of the wild afs, unicorn, horfe, the 
 peacock, Jiork, ojirich, and eagle, &c. the behemoth^ 
 and leviathan, as they occur in Job, Ch. xxxix. xl. 
 xli. than he who profefTedly treated of beafts and of 
 fowl, and of creeping things, and offifhes ? i Kings 
 iv. 23' And it is not improbable that the de- 
 fcriptions which we have of thefe feveral kinds of 
 animals in Job, is that which is alluded to here, to 
 dired us to the author of that book. From thefe 
 internal charaders, therefore, I am induced to think,, 
 with feveral of the antient Fathers, that Solomon has 
 the faireft title to this fublime book. 
 
 The ReHgion of Job and his Friends, wliich is 
 moft material in this Enquiry, remains yet to be 
 fpoken to. Job, as hath been faid, was of Abra- 
 ha-tn's family, and his Friends, as is conjedured 
 from the patronymical namesof fomeof them, were 
 defcended from him likewife ; and it being part of 
 God's character of Abraham, that he would cora- 
 mand his children after him to keep the way of the 
 Lord, it is probable that thefe his defcendants pro- 
 fefled the religion of their father Abraham, tho* not 
 all with equal purity. 
 
 The Religion of Abraham, which diflinguifhed it 
 from that of all others, confifted in the worlliip of 
 the true God through the Mediator*. The fame 
 likewife, as may be inferred from feveral places in 
 this book, was the Religion of Job, which he pro- 
 bably received by tradition from his anceftor. Mr 
 Shuckfcrd, '\' indeed, concludes the contrary, be- 
 caufe we do not find in the worfhip of Job any ex- 
 prefs mention of his invoking God in the Name of 
 the Lord Jehovah. Notwithftanding, we find he 
 mentions him by name, and moreover acknowledges 
 Dd 4 his 
 
 See W»</yir «/'5 Conneif\:pn, Vol. ii. p. 130 f Ih. 
 
408 A Dijfertation en 
 
 his fovereign right to the difpofal of all things hers 
 below, and thereupon bk][eth his name^ which is a 
 fufficient acknowledgment of him, and his worfhip. 
 Jehovah ^^t'f, urA^t\iOW2^ hath taken away^ blejjed 
 he the Name of Jehovah * Ch, i. 2 1 . And it is the 
 fame Jehovah who addreffeth himfelf to him out of 
 the whirlwind, and at length decides the controver- 
 fy in his favour. Ch. xix. 25, he declares his faith 
 in him as his Redeemer with great aflurance, I know, 
 that my Redeemer liveth, &c. And ch. ix. 3. he 
 no lefs ftrongly profefles his belief in him as Media- 
 tor and InterceiTor, -f as that paffage is tranflated 
 and interpreted by a very learned author. If he will 
 contend with him, fhall not he who is called, by way 
 of eminent dillinClion, one among a thcufand, anfwer 
 him, and plead the caufe in behalf of mankind § ? 
 And hence probably it is, viz. in virtue of his reliance 
 on Chrift's merits, that he prefumes to plead with his 
 maker, and to juftify himfelf fo much as he doth, 
 which at leaft renders him the more excufable in, 
 this refpecl. In Chrijl Jeftis he had holdnefs and 
 accefs to God ivith confidence, hy the faith of him, as 
 St P/3«/ exprefles it, Eph. iii. 12. 
 
 Elihu profeffed the fame Religion with Job, and 
 in the fame uncorrupt manner. For he no lefs 
 clearly delivers the great do6trine of a Mediator in 
 the following words. If there be a Meffenger 
 with him, an Interpreter, or as the laft cited Author 
 more properly renders it. If the Angel-Mediator be 
 over him, one among a thoufand, to fhew unto man his 
 uprightnefs : Then he is gracious unto him^ and faith. 
 Deliver him from going down into the pit, I have 
 found a Ranfom' Ch. xxxiii. 23, 24. 
 
 Nor 
 
 * Thus the Chaldee Paraphraft underllood it, who renders, 
 Verhum domini dedit, &c. 
 
 ■\ He alludes to him likewife 'v. 33. of which hereafter, and 
 mentions him by name, ch. xii. 9. 
 
 § See Mifcellaneous Refledlionson Mr ^^KzVff's Eflays, p. 16. 
 
the Book of Job. 409 
 
 Nor had Eliphaz and the other two Friends of 
 y^^ entirely renounced the worfliip 0^ Jehovah^ as 
 appears from his addrefling himfeifto them, ch. xUi. 
 direfling them to offer facrifice, and from their o- 
 bedience therein. On the other hand, their faith in 
 the Mediator feems to have been but loofe and wa- 
 vering, as may be inferred from the words of 
 Eliphaz to Job in the entrance of his firft fpeech. 
 Js not this thy fear*^ thy confidence^ thy hope^ and the 
 iiprightyiefs of thy ways ? ch. \v. 6. Where he feems 
 to upbraid him with his rigid adherence to the reH- 
 gion of his fathers, ridicuhng it for its infufficiency 
 to preferve him from, or fupport him tinder that 
 load of calamities which he fuffered. ' Lo ! this is 
 ' what your religion comes to, and fo little benefit 
 f do you receive from it. And I am apt to think, 
 for reafons which will appear hereafter, that their 
 error confifted in fetting up their own Reafon in 
 rivalfhip with this the true Rehgion (a vice to which 
 men are at all times too much addidted) and in cor- 
 rupting it with the Philofophy then in vogue. Let 
 us therefore in the next place enquire what kind of 
 Philofophy that probably was. 
 
 III. When the Gentile world had loft the Hiftory 
 of the Fall of our firft Parents , the tradition con- 
 cerning it, by length of time, the general corrup- 
 tion, and negled: of divine matters, being quite worn 
 out among them — as foon as they began to turn 
 their thoughts to fpeculation, the Origin of all that 
 Evil which they obferved in the world was a fub- 
 ie6l, which, we may fuppofe, prefented itfelf to their 
 view, as early as any other. This problem may 
 well be prefumed to have greatly perplexed man- 
 kind to account for, when they had only the dim 
 
 light 
 
 * This verfe may be rendere.1, 7s not thy Fear (i. e. Religion) 
 thy FJ')? 8cc. which is agreeable both to theHfi. and LXX ; the 
 Syrian and Jrai'U reiader it, thy Reproof. • 
 
^lo A Dijfertation on 
 
 light of reafon, and that in its dawn, to guide them ; 
 ^nc^ it ftill continues to fill their heads with fo 
 many fcruples, now they enjoy the full fun-Ihine of 
 Revelation. 
 
 They bethought themfelves of two ways, where- 
 by this abftrufe matter might be accounted for. 
 The firft was by means of the dodtrine of two in- 
 dependent principles ; the one, the author of all the 
 good J the other, of all the evil in the world. This, 
 I fay^ was probably the firft folution they found 
 out, becaufe it was the moft grofs, and therefore 
 has the beft claim to a firft invention -, and, I believe^ 
 may likewife be traced higher. For Plutarch tells 
 us, it was the moft antient and univerfal account he 
 had met with. 
 
 But this being fo abfurd and impious an opinion, 
 the better and more philofophical Heathens grew 
 diflatisfied with it (tho* it is ftill efpoufed by fome 
 barbarous atheiftical people) and therefore another 
 more plaufible, and lefs offenfive Hypothefis, was 
 ftruck out. This was the famous Dodrine which 
 was ufually ftiled by the Pythagoreans the metem- 
 ffychofts^ and by the Platonijls, palingenejta ; which 
 is known to have been invented in order to account 
 for the Origin of Evil, without which the wifer 
 Heathens thought the Ways of Providence could 
 not be juftified. But by the help of this fuppofition 
 they could in fome fort account for the introduftion 
 of Evil into the world, without making God the 
 Author of it, and without impeachment of his mo- 
 ral attributes. 
 
 For they looked upon this ftate as a ftate of punifti- 
 ment, and thefe bodies as a workhoufe into which 
 the foul was caft, and therein condemned to hard 
 labour ; which, including all the miferies of this life, 
 it was to undergo, by way of penance for the tranf- 
 gre^Tions it had been guilty of in a pre-exiftent ftatq. 
 
 This 
 
the Book o/" Job. 411 
 
 This Doflrine, tho' commonly afcribed to Pytha- 
 goras^ yet is known to have been much more an- 
 tient, * and efponfed long before his time, not only 
 in Egypty but over all the Eaft, where it is ftill 
 taught by feveral carts of their Philofophers, and 
 makes the principal foundation of their idolatrous 
 religions. And there cannot be aftronger prefump- 
 tion of the antiquity of both thefe opinions, than 
 that it is not known, who the firft author of eitha* 
 of them was. 
 
 This notion of a Metempfychofis being fpread fo 
 much around them, it is no wonder if the Jews 
 likewife were tindtured with it -, it were rather to be 
 wondered if they fliould efcape it, notwithftanding 
 they were otherwife taught. 
 
 Accordingly we find the opinion was common a- 
 mong them, as appears particularly from that pafT- 
 age in the Book of Wifdom, Iijuas a witty child, ani 
 had a good fpirit, yea rather being good, I came 
 into a Body undefled. Wifd, viii. 19, 20. and that 
 other in the Gofpel, where the Difciples ask our 
 J_.ord, Majier, who did Jin, this Man or his Parents^ 
 that he was horn blind ? Jo. ix. 2. which queftion 
 fuppofes that the man might have finned in a former 
 ftate, and that he was punifhed with Windnefs for 
 it in this. Nor was this a do6lrine lately broached 
 among them, but was probably infufed into them, 
 as early as any of their neighbours, fmce their own 
 writers mention it is an opinion current among them, 
 ■f and that it was particularly held by a certain fet of 
 
 their 
 
 xoAaftSai. yoj(pb. dc Bella Jud. lib. 2. cat. 8'./. 14. ' 
 
 kxhimtik; te X7 rtf^cct; 6.? a^sT'i? vi'iccix\oc(; ETriTjj^ytri; in tui Q.u yeyovi' x^ rxTf 
 u-ii/ heyu,l\i ut^iov TrpcffViBtcQui, t«k ^t pcccurriv t« ANABIOYN. 
 
 ■ ' '■ ^ jKt.JudJit.i'S.cap.i.r.i, 
 
412 A Differtafion on 
 
 their wife men or Philofohers, Sapientes Mechar, 
 who were diftinguifhed by it. 
 
 Nor were the tavourite people of God entirely free 
 from that other opinion of two principles, as ap- 
 pears from Ifa. xlv. 5, 7. lam the Lord, and there 
 is none elfe, there is no God hefides me, I form the 
 light, and create darknefs, I make peace, and create 
 evil, I the lord do all thefe things. For light and 
 darknefs were the fymbols, the one of the good, 
 the other of the evil principle. And tho' God 
 here addrefles himfelf to Cyrus, in whofe dominions 
 this notion chiefly prevailed, yet as he was not 
 then in being, this pafTage was undoubtedly defigned 
 in the mean time as a needful prefervative againft 
 this dangerous error to his own people, during the 
 tim.e of their captivity, for whofe benefit all the 
 facred writings were chiefly intended. 
 
 Now as the gentile world in general had quite loft 
 the hiilory of the Fall, and were bewilder'd with thefe 
 ftrange notions concerning the Origin of Evil, which 
 were derogatory from the honour of God, and 
 defl:ru6live of all true religion •, and as the Jews 
 themfelves were not altogether free from the in- 
 fection, it became the wifdom of providence to re- 
 fute thefe errors, and to give to mankind a jufter 
 notion of their ftate : And with this defign I conceive 
 the Book of Job was written. 
 
 IV. Tho' I differ with the learned author above- 
 mention'd, concerning the defign of this book, I 
 agree with him in this, that it is an allegorical poem ; 
 * and have hinted, that it is a, philofophical one like- 
 
 wife. 
 
 * Here again I fall under Dr Gre/s cenfure. Indeed this is 
 the whole Ground of his Quarrel with me, that I have prefumed 
 to differ from him in the Interpretation of this Book. After 
 complimenting me with my Faculty of fmelling out an Allegory 
 (an exprefllon not very decent to be ufed towards one joined in 
 the fame well-meant endeavour with himfelf, of making the fa- 
 cred 
 
the Book of Job. 413 
 
 wife. From the extraordinary chara61:er given by 
 God of Job — the folemn manner in which he in- 
 troduces 
 
 cred oracles of God better underftood) he goes on to give an ac- 
 count of my Allegory, and allows it to be at lead as fpecious, 
 and even more fo, than what had appeared before it. " But the 
 " mifchief is that this fame Allegory carries me on to fomething 
 ** elfe, that is not altogether fo fpecious." This, if I underfland 
 him, is the dodrine of the Tranfmigration, which difpleafes hinx 
 fo much, that he falls into this piteous Exclamation. Poor Job! 
 What will thefe allegorical " Refiners make of thee at lad]'* 
 But why all this averfion t(f fcripture allegory ? The only two 
 reafons he brings againft it are. The Scope of the book, and 
 Age of the Writer. As for the fcope of the book, it appears at 
 leaft that it admits of an Allegory ; for here is one deduced from 
 it, which he himfelf cannot deny to be fufficiently fpecious. The 
 Writer he fuppofes to be Mofes. Now allowing the fuppofition, 
 why is an Allegory fo unfuitable to him or his Age ? Was not 
 this fame Mofes founder of a law which abounds with Types and 
 Allegories, nay which was all a (hadow of other things ? And 
 has not St Paul found out an Allegory even in his hiftorical 
 writings, which feem lefs capable of it, relating to times long 
 before his own ? Gal. 4. Abraham had tn.ij3 fans, the one hy a 
 bond-maid, the other by afree-nuoman ; nuhich thingi, fays he, arx 
 an Allegory ; for thefe are the tvuo Co'venants. The one from mount 
 Sinai, nvhich gendereth to Bondage, nuhich is Agar : For this Agar 
 is mcu7it Sinai in Arabia, and anf'wereth to Jerufalem tvhich naiv 
 is, Sec. Toot Jgar! What will this allegorical refiner, Paul, 
 make of thee ? 
 
 This, I hope, may fuffice in general to juftify the interpreting 
 of the Book of y©^ allegorically, even I'uppcfing it written by 
 Mofes, which is of equal fervice to my Friend Mr Warb. and 
 myfelf. I muft take leave to add a word or two in defence of 
 the particular Allegory which I fuppofe contain'd in it. The 
 Origin of Evil from the Fall of Man ir. a Doftrine highly worthy 
 of this divine Book, and the Author of it, whoever he was ; and 
 fuch moreover as, if fully made out to be taught in it, would be 
 of fingular fervice to Chrillianity.at this time of day, for the con- 
 viction of fuch as do not deny the authority of Revelation, and 
 yet will not allow that we fuffer'dany thing by the Fall. That 
 this dodtrine is contain'd in the Book oi Job was feen before me 
 by a right rev. author, whom Dr Griyi himfelf makes honourable 
 mention of, particularly on account of his Oblervations on this 
 Book ; and he has indeed a juft claim to the honour and eftcem 
 ©f all well-wifiiers to revealed religion, a;id iias done more to- 
 wards 
 
^I^ A Tiijferfntibn oh 
 
 torduces him — his uncommon tijumph m him— and 
 the fingular diftin(5lion he makes between him and 
 other men, both in profperity and adverfity — hence, 
 I fay, there is reafon to conclude, that this extraordi- 
 nary perfon bears a publick charafler ; which I 
 conceive to confift in this — that Joh is fet forth as 
 a fort of reprefentative of Adam, or rather of man- 
 kind in general j and that in his private life human 
 nature is drawn, as it were, in miniature. For 
 ■whoever confiders the plan of his ftory attentively, 
 may fee therein a lively emblem of the different ftates 
 of man, and of the various changes and revolutions 
 which he has, and fhall have undergone in this life. 
 The happinefs of JoFs firft condition, and the up- 
 rightnefs of his life, well agree with the ftate of our 
 firit parents in paradife : Satan's temptation was 
 common to both •, and the deplorable condition to 
 which Job was reduced, in confequence of Saian*s 
 permifTion to aflault him, fitly enough reprefents 
 the miferable condition of fallen man, ftript of the 
 riches of God's grace, and fmitten all over with 
 the leprofy of fin, which is more noifome to the foul, 
 than the moft loathfome difeafe that can befall it, is 
 to the body. So likwife the cure and reftoration of 
 yob — the blefling him with a portion of earthly 
 felicity, double to what he enjoy 'd before, and the 
 
 prolonga- 
 
 wards clearing up the fubjedl of this Book by a few incidental 
 obfervations, than moft who have gone before or followed him, 
 tho' they wrote profeffedly upon it. He has fhewn that this 
 Book was written in oppolition to the doftrine of two Principles, 
 a doflrine well known to have been invented in order to account 
 for the Origin of Evil, otherwifc than from the Fall. This is 
 what I likewife have maintained, and thus far am not without 
 iauthority on my fide. Now if this be allowed, where is the 
 imi/ch ie/ in go'mg a ftep further, and afferting, not I think with • 
 out fufficient Proof from the Book itfelf, that it was likewife cal- 
 culated againft the doftrine of Tranfmigration ? A dodrineno lefs 
 oppofite to the Origin of Evil from the Fall, but more fpecious, 
 ad that obtain'dmore in fhe world. 
 
thf Book of ]oz, 41^ 
 
 pTolongation of his life beyond the common extent 
 of the times he Uvedin * : All this feemsto intimate 
 ^opes of the future recovery of human nature, to 
 its firlt happy State, in full as great perfection as 
 our firft parents enjoyed it, if not greater. 
 
 I cannot therefore, for this as well as other rea- 
 fons, come into any of the received opinions, that 
 this book was written, either for the confolation of 
 the Ifraelites, under the Egyftian bondage -, or of 
 their defcendants in the Bahylonijh captivity \ nor on 
 any other of thofe particular occafions which learn- 
 ed men have conjeftured, which have all their feve- 
 ral difficulties -, tho' at the fame time it is Angular- 
 ly well adapted to adminifter comfort in the day 
 of adverfity, to any people as well as to private per- 
 fons, indillrefs- 
 
 But I take this book to have been calculated with 
 a more noble and extenfive view, viz. for the com- 
 fort and fupport of mankind in general, groaning 
 under the fpiritual bondage of Satan^ and waiting 
 for their redemption from it \ of which pofTibly thefe 
 temporary fervitudes and deliverances of the Jews 
 might themfelves be only typical. 
 
 There is one circumftance, indeed, in which this 
 parallel does not feem to hold ; which is, that Job 
 preferved his integrity, which Adam and his pofteri- 
 ty did not. With regard to which it may be faid, 
 that thefmfulnefs and mifery of fallen man is here 
 imaged in another and more beautiful manner, agree- 
 ably to the poetic genius of the compofition, which 
 
 hatU 
 
 • It is fuppofcd by fome of the Amients, and not improbably, 
 that Job lived 70 years in prolperity, and that God in reward 
 of his lufferingj, as he bleffed him with a double increafe of hw 
 fubftance, doubled likcwile the number of hb years, fo that Ki» 
 vvholelife was equal to thrice the then age of man : and therefore 
 no argument can be diawn from the Jength of it, in behalf of the 
 opinion of thofe that fuppofe liim 10 have lived in earlier liaitf;, 
 Ssc Shuck/iris Conncfl. Vo!. ii. p. 134, ^ J'q^, 
 
^i6 A Dijfertation on 
 
 hath been already taken notice of. But wherein di(i 
 Job indeed preferve his innocence ? In afcribing his 
 afflictions to their juft caufe, and acknowledging 
 the abfolute fovereignty of the one Lord of all 
 over his creatures, and his right to deal with them 
 he thinks fit. In this refped we are exprefsly told 
 it was that Job did not fin with his lips^ nor charge 
 God foolijhly : And we have the Authority of a 
 great Writer for underftanding it thus * . 
 
 But that Job did not preferve himfelf clear of 
 guilt, either before or after his vifitation, we have 
 already had occafion to fhew -, which further ap- 
 pears from his acknowledgment of his offences, 
 when he came to his right mind, and his repenting 
 of them in dufl and afhes. 
 
 From the reprefentation exhibited to t hem in 
 the Hiflory of Job^ mankind might learn to cor- 
 red: their notions concerning the Origin of Evil : 
 For here they were inftrufted that Man was ori- 
 ginally upright ; but by the divine permiflion, and 
 the practices of a wicked apoftate Spirit, he was 
 reduced from a ftate of perfection and great felicity, 
 to a filthy wretched condition •, under which his 
 imbecillity, ignorance, and various infirmities are 
 here likewife but too jufdy depictured : But at the 
 fame time, not to leave us in defpair at the fight of 
 fo melancholy a profpect, the fcene brightens up 
 atthelaft, and gives us a comfortable hope of being 
 refcued out of this deplorable ftate. And for our 
 farther comfort it is obfervable, that the whole of 
 Job^^ misfortunes are attributed to Satan^ as he was 
 indeed the author of them, as well as of thofe of 
 mankind in general : Nor are they at all imputed to 
 Job himfelf, notwithftanding it is hinted that he was 
 not whithout his demerits ; and that therefore he 
 
 was 
 
 * See Bp Sherlock's Difiert. on the Senfe of che Antlents upa» 
 the Circumflances, &c. of the Fall, p. 236. 
 
the Book of Job, 417 
 
 was afflicted. — That they were not imputed to liim, 
 and that after all his tVowardneft, he was accepted of 
 God, can be accounted for only through the merits 
 of the Mediator. 
 
 It is farther obfervable, that this document con- 
 cerning the original dignity of our- Nature, the lofs 
 and recovery of it, the Holy Spirit thought fit to 
 give us, not by dry Precept, but in the more livcfy 
 way of Example -, whereby his Mercy to Job^ in 
 rcftoring him out of the rnoft abjed and feemingly 
 remedilefs eftate, to an highly exalted one, is a molt 
 ■illuftrating proof of his kind intentions towards man- 
 kind in general, and an earneft or pledge both of 
 his power and good- will for that purpofe. 
 ■'•■ But God Almighty not thinking it fufficient to 
 give us a right reprefentation ot our Hate, the inrro- 
 du<51:ion of evil, and the removal of it — Therefore 
 for our better inftru6lion and fecurity in adodlrine of 
 fuch importance, and which fo nearly concern'd 
 his own attributes, he moreover in this Book fets 
 himfelf direftly to confute the dangerous errors 
 which mankind had imbibed concerning this matter. 
 Thefe, as hath been faid, were chiefly two. The O - 
 pinion oiiwo Principles, and thQ' MeUmpJychq/is. 
 
 With regard to the firlt of whicli, an eminent Au- 
 thor has proved, to the general fatisfaftion, that this 
 Book was written in oppofition to it * , and at tlie 
 fame time flicws that it contains fcveral allufions to 
 the Fall of our firft Parents ; which favcs me th..' 
 trouble of fpeaking in a worfe manner tothofe points* 
 But I believe it v.'ill appear tliat the far greater, 
 that is, all the controverfial part of it, was levelled 
 chiefiy againft the other of thefc, two opinions, viz. 
 that of the Metemp/ychajis, if the following particulars 
 be confidered. 
 
 Jo/b and his Friends have been tommonly efteem'd 
 Ee fhilo- 
 
 * Bp Shfrlock, uhi fupra. 
 
41 8 A Differ fatiori 6n 
 
 Philofophers •, as the Arabians in general were an- 
 tiently famed for wifdom : And the remarkable cir-* 
 ciimftance of their long filence ftho' very proper 
 and fuitable to the occafion, and cafe of Job, as 
 hath been obferved j might be taken notice of chiefly 
 to point out what Se6l of Philofophers they were ; 
 the Se<5l, afterwards called Pythagoreans, being fo 
 remarkable for their profound Taciturnity, that they 
 kept a flri6t filence fometimes for years together. 
 * A week's filence therefore is not at all to be won- 
 dered at inperfons of this tribe ; tho% otherwife one 
 would be apt to think the Writer had made ufe of a 
 figure before he entered upon the poetical part of 
 
 the 
 • Dr Grey here obferves that the Text does not fay that thefe 
 Friends did not fpeak at all during that time, but that they 
 did not Ipeak to Job ; which is very true. But though the 
 Text does not fay, yet the context does imply, that they faid lit- 
 tle or nothing even to each other ; for their clofe attendance on^ 
 and deep fympathy with him, did not, in the nature of the thing, 
 admit of much fpeaking or converfation even among themfelves. 
 Admitting therefore that they did not obferve a ftridl filence all 
 this while, yet, as it is probable they brake filence but feldom, 
 they furely may be faid, in an equitable conftrudlion, to have 
 cbferved filence, even great filence, during this whole week ; 
 which manner of expreflion might be eafily vindicated by ex- 
 amples out of many authors, facred and profane. But to go no 
 further than this very verfe, thefe Perfons are here faid to have 
 fat do^vn nvith Job Jifon the grormd /even days and Je'ven n'tghtSy 
 which is not to be underllood, as if they had never ftirred from 
 him, nor changed pofture ; fince it is probable they frequently 
 relieved themfelves and each other. But this is fuch anotheryrr- 
 *volou5 Di/pute, of no great importance to religion or learning, as 
 that he maintains with Mr Warb. according to his own account 
 of it, p. I, raS ; fo that I do not think it worth the contefting. 
 Neither am I concerned whether I gain any converts to my opi- 
 nion, that the filence of thefe perfons might indicate what feft of 
 philofophers they were, it being no more than a conjefture, that 
 little affefts the merits of my Hypothefis, and as little ftrefs is 
 laid upon it. 
 
 l^ote, Seultetus, whom I take to be as good a Commentator 
 as Scultens, is of opinion that Job''s Friends obferved a ftrift 
 filence, plane nihil loquebantur. And fo the Ixx. Syriac, and Ara- 
 bic translate. 
 
the Book of Job. 419 
 
 the work •, fince it can hardly be fiippofed, how fo 
 many perfons could ordinarily retrain fpeaking for fo 
 iong a time. 
 
 Thefe fpeculative Friends, we may fuppofe, had 
 often before this time difcufied feveral Queftions in 
 Philofophy \ one of which was the Origin of Evil : 
 but this was a point they could never fettle. Three 
 of them were agreed in opinion upon it, but they . 
 could never bring Job into their way of thinking. 
 But now he lay under fuch a load of affliftions and 
 lufFerings of all kinds, and that feemingly fo unde- 
 fervedly, they thought this a proper time to renew 
 the difpute, as they flattered themfelvcs, that JoF^ 
 fufflrings, the mod cogent of all arguments, would 
 experimentally convince him of the truth of their 
 do6lrine, and oblige him to alter his opinion. And 
 we fhall fee hereafter that JoFs complaint, chap. iii. 
 ■furnirtied them with a pretence for attacking him 
 on this fubje6t. 
 
 In Ch. iv. Eliphaz begins the controverfy. FIcre 
 
 therefore we may exped:, he fhould lay down his 
 
 general the/is, as the foundation of the difputations 
 
 " pro and con that follow, which therefore ought to be 
 
 carefully attended to. * x\ccordingly we find he 
 
 E e 2 intro- 
 
 • Dr Grf^ is pleafed to make this Remark his own, and that 
 it might pafs as iuch, he exprefl'es himfelf as the' I had borrow'J 
 it from him, who wrote in anfwer to me ; " Mr Worihingtan, 
 " fays he, was fcnfiblc of the truth of tliis Remark, tho' lie 
 " happens to be miltaken in applying it." h'or he adds, that if 
 I had carefully attended to the btginniiig of the Controverfy, I 
 would have feen that it begins a liillc higher. Why really f 
 have beftowcd upon it all the attention I can, and yet cannot 
 trace it any higher in my Bible tlian the beginning oi Elipha'z\ 
 fpecch; the former part of whicJi I had confidcred as iniioduc- 
 tory to what follows. For any unprejudiced pcrfon mull allow, 
 that tho' the Conirovcrfy begins a few vcHo.s before, yet that the 
 main Itrefs of it lies in the Doftrinc which is fo folemuly intio- 
 duced, and fo often inlitlcd upon, 'vix,. •' That in the holy 
 " i\ngeJs themfelves, the pureft and moft exalted of Ciod's 
 
 " crea;urc5 
 
420 A Dtjfertiition on 
 
 introduces it in a very pompous and folemn manner " 
 Fur after ridiculing the religion of Joh^ in order to 
 give his own opinion the greater weight and fanftionj 
 he pretends^ or ehe perhaps fancies, he had feen an 
 apparition which had revealed it to him. Now a 
 thing zvas fecretly brought to me,^ and mine ear re- 
 ceived a little thereof. In thoughts from the vijions 
 of the night., when deep fleep falleth on men ; fear 
 came upon me and trembling., which made all my bones 
 to fJoake. Then a fpirit paffed before my face ^ the 
 hair of my jiefh flood up. It food fill., but I could 
 nctdjfcern the form thereof: animage was before mine 
 eyes., there was filence., and I heard a voice, v. 12. 16. 
 
 The fubflance of this revelation is undoubtedly 
 
 the 
 
 " creatures, there was a degree of failure and imperfcftion, 
 " which rendered them unclean in his fight." I have given it 
 the Reader in his own words, couched, you fee, in general 
 terms, and it is applied to man in general, not particularly to 
 J oh. And yet he will not allow that here is any general l^hejis 
 laid down, but only a perfonal charge, and aflerts thnt the open- 
 ing of the Debate is entirely perfonal, relating to ^oi's charafter 
 and behaviour, I'hat this is a perfonal Debate is what I no 
 where deny, but all <;long fuppofe ; but the Principles on v^hich it 
 is carried on is what we differ about. This learned Writer is 
 very free in charging me Vv-ith Overfights and Errors (which I 
 own myfelf liable enough to) fays I have miltaken the chief and 
 immediate fubjeft of the Controverfy, and intimates that I was 
 not careful enough in attending to the beginning and conclufion 
 of 'it, when I point out both to the Reader in this v&xy Page- In 
 f'.ipport of all this, might it not be expetled he iTiould produce 
 his p. rang rcafons, or at leafl: invalidate thofe en which my fup- 
 pofed miilakes are founded ? But inllead thereof he contents him- 
 felf v/ith bare afiertions, and then taking what he had afferted 
 far granted. As I pretend to no uncommon (hare of dexterity 
 a:id dlfcernment, I fhould be glad of any aiTiftance in unravetlir.g 
 the difficulties of this intricate Book, and in difcovering the fub- 
 jeft matter of it, if it Hill lies concealed ; or, in the doctor's 
 phrafe, " in unravelling the thread, and knowing the materials of 
 " which it is compofed ;" but I expeft but little from this me- 
 thod of proceeding, which does but entangle and perplex mat- 
 ters the more. 
 
the Book 0/ Job. 421 
 
 t3ie general doftrine which he maintains, and which 
 the lublequent arguments ufed by himlelf and Friends 
 tend to confirm. Let us fee therefore what that is. 
 The words of tlie Oracle are thefe, — Shall mor- 
 tal man be juftified hy God, JImU a man be pure 
 before his maker ? Behold he put tto trufi^ or flabih- 
 ty, in his fervants, and his Angels he charged with 
 folly. How much lefs on them that dwell in houfes of 
 day., whofe foundation is in thedujl ! &c. v. ly. 
 
 In his firft reply to Job he repeats the fame 
 thing — PFhat is man that he Jhould be clean., and he 
 that is born of a woman that he fhould be righteous ! 
 Behold he putteth no ft ability in his faints., yea the 
 heavens are not clean in his fight. How much more 
 abominable and filthy is man., which drinketh iniquity 
 like water! ch. xv. 14, 15, 16. And jB///^^(i clofes the 
 controverfy in much the fame words. How can riian 
 hejufiified with God .? or how can he be clean which 
 is born cf a woman ? Behold even to the moon^ and it 
 Jhineth not ; yea the fiars are not pure in his fight. 
 How much lefs man that is a worm., and the fon of 
 man., which is a worm ! Ch. xxv. 4, 5, 6. Now what- 
 ever be the meaning of thcfc words, it is plain they 
 are of great importance, and that great flrefs i<? 
 laid upon them, fince they are fo often repeated, and 
 the controverfy is begun and ended with them. 
 
 Were they intended only to mortiiy Job, and to 
 convince him that he was not poU'eHed of abfolute 
 and finlefs perfedion, but that he had his imperfec- 
 tions cleaving to him, as well as all other Created 
 beings ? Alas! this was a needlefs difcovery •, fure- 
 ly Job did not want to be convinced either of his 
 own fins and iuaperfeflions, or of the corruption and 
 frailty of human nature in general •, efpecially from 
 fjch liigh topics as thefe, as if he had arrogated to 
 himfelf a more than angelical, and even divine per- 
 iedlion. It is true, he (fands much on his own Juili- 
 E e 3 fication i 
 
422 A Differ tat ion on 
 
 fication •, but it is as true, that he makes frequent 
 confelTion of his fins — that he acknowledges the uni- 
 verfal corruption of human nature, proceeding from 
 the Fall of our firfl parents. Who can bring a clean 
 thing out of an unclean ? Not one. Ch. xiv. 4. And 
 that he declares liis faith in the Mediator, which im-. 
 plies the fame thing, being built upon, the fuppofi- 
 tion of the Fall. 
 
 It was not, therefore, for this, but fome other 
 reafon, that the fuppofed impurity of the holy An- 
 gels, and of the material Heavens likewife, the ce- 
 leftial orbs and firmament, is fo much infilled upon. 
 Which reafon I conceive to have been this, becaufe 
 this was the foundation of the afterwards Platonic 
 notion of the revolution of all things : For the end 
 and defign of this Revolution was to renovate and 
 purge them from the defilements they were fuppo- 
 fed to have contrafted in their former itate. 
 
 Th^Metempfychofis., or rather Palingenefta^ of Souls,^ 
 by pafling from one Body to another, was but a 
 part of this univerfal Palingenefia^ or Apocataflafis. 
 This Argument, therefore, fo often repeated, was 
 not ufed to convinceJcZ' of the corruption and frailty 
 ofhisprefent flate, but tliat he had fome pollutions 
 adhering to him contradled in a prae-exiftent one, 
 for which he now fufFer'd. Whether or no this be 
 the true fenfe of thefe paffages let the Difputants 
 themfelves declare. Elifha-z^ in the conclufion of 
 his firft fpeech, fets forth the advantages of being 
 tried and purified in the furnace of afflidion. Happy y 
 fays he, is the man "juhom God corre£feth. Ch. v. 17. 
 Among other benefits of which, he reckons this as 
 one — 1'hou fhalt knoiv that thy tabernacle jh all be in 
 peace y and thou fhalt 'vijit thy habitation, and fijalt 
 120 1 fin ; i;. 24. or, as fome tranllate it, thou fJoalt 
 reviftt, or return to, thy habit atioti, &c. Now this 
 15 exactly agreeable to the dodrine of the Revolution 
 
 of 
 
the Booh of Job. 423 
 
 cf Souls ', for thereby a man was to be reftored, not 
 only to his former ftate, but to the fame fpot of 
 earth, or earthly manfion, he inhabited before ; and 
 in proportion to his improvement and reformation 
 in that his former life, he was in his future one to be 
 advanced to a ftate of greater freedom from fin and 
 imittx^^-^Thou Jhalt revijit thy habitation^ and /halt 
 710 tfm. 
 
 Let us now compare Job'^s Anfwer herewith, and 
 fee what countenance he gives to this interpretation. 
 Ch. vii. 6. i^ feq(i. he bewails himfelf in this man- 
 ner. My days are fwifter than a weaver'* s Jhuttle^ 
 and are [pent without hope. O remember that my life 
 is wind, mine eye Jh all no more fee good. The eye of 
 him that hath feen me fhall fee me no more; thine eyes 
 ure upon me, and I am not. As the cloud is confumed, 
 ^nd vanifheth away -, fo he that goeth down to the 
 grave fhall come up no more. He ^all return no more 
 to his houfe, neither fhall his place know him anymore. 
 What can thefe words mean ? Do they contradi6l the 
 dodlrine of the Refurredion, which he elfewhere fo 
 flrongly profeffes his faith in, as he is underftood by 
 our Church, and moft Divines both antient and mo • 
 dern ? *And even thofe who underftand that paffage, 
 ch. x\x. 25. of a Rcfurredlion, not in the literal, but 
 metaphorical fenfe, do not pretend that Job any 
 where elfe advances any thing inconfiftent with it*. 
 How then are we to underftand thefe words, mine 
 eye Jh all no more fee good ? Or, as it is in the margin 
 of our bibles, mine eye fhall not return to fee, i. e. en- 
 joy, good? which is the jufter tranflation. 
 
 E e 4 Mer- 
 
 * Mr ^r/,'rii////o« mu ft here be excepted, who underftands the 
 above pa fiagc, with many others parallel lo it, in oppofition to a 
 Rcfurrcdlion, and a future ilaic : And yet he would fain perfuade 
 us that he does not contradict the Doftrine of the Church o*^ Eng- 
 iand in her VII. y/r/zV/-, where flie fay?, That the old^ejiii merit is 
 K'.t contrary to the ficzv. Compare Dk\ Leg/it ion , Vol, iii. p. 465 
 and 545 wiih 5S7. 
 
424 A DiJfe7'tafion on 
 
 Mercenis explains them thus, ' that man after 
 
 * death fiiall not return to this life, to fee and aft 
 
 * the fame fcene over again, as fome Philofophers 
 
 * maintained he fliould after the revolution of the 
 
 * great year,' afcribed by him to Plato^ but known, 
 to have been invented long before his time. And 
 the fame Author ;;.clds, that all fuch like pafiages in, 
 this Book (and many fuch there are, as we fliall pre- 
 fently fee,) in the Pfahns, and in other parts of 
 Scripture are to be underftood in the fame manner. |f 
 
 I his opinion is yet more plainly oppofed by Job 
 in the wqrds immediately following, and in direct 
 contradiction to what Eliphaz advanced, ch. v. 24. 
 As the cloud is confumed and vaviJJjeth away^ fo he 
 that goeth down to the Qs'^hNY.jhall come up no more,. 
 He JI J all RETURN no more to his House [alluding to, 
 liovsES of Clay, mentioned Ch. iv. i^.)neitherjhall 
 his Place know him any more. i. e. tht place of his 
 abode upon earth, his habitation, ch. v. 24. 
 
 Now what think you ? Was Job here combating 
 with the winds ? Or, is it not more reafonable to be- 
 lieve he was engaging with his opponents ^ It is not 
 ufual for people to take abundance of pains, as it 
 will farther appear he does in this cafe, to overthrow 
 opinions which nobody endeavours to eflabhrii: Nor 
 ciid Job want adverfaries, that he fhould fet up a 
 
 mau 
 
 II ^od nojiintclligas (fell diBum J obi. Cap. viii. v. 7) gu^ij: Rc- 
 funeHionem neget, fed quod in banc vitam non fit redttwus, tit 
 nirjum felicitate aut u^Ij bono hie fruatur. In qua ta?nen fentcjUia 
 vonnulli Philofophorian fuerunt, quafi eadem fit homo, vita rejtiiu • 
 ttiS, hie vifiuus Iff experturus atq; aBuru^, qiice hie quondam rgc- 
 raty revoluto Anno magno, quern finxit Plato. — quo modofum mici- 
 ligcnda quaeunque tahamkoe librOy in Pfalmis, ^ a/iii //oris Ser'p- 
 iitra cecurruit. Mercerus in ljcu?n. 
 
 Take the Senfe of another very learned Commentator on this 
 pali'dge — Sapientgs Mecar — in ea fententia dim juerunt, ut exifti- 
 marent animas defanLtorum pcft aliquot rnilha annorum reuituras in 
 jua corpora, quod job hie aperte negai i^ inficiatur. 
 
 Drufius in locum. 
 
the Book of ]o'bI 425 
 
 man ofjlrazv, only in ordtr to demolifh him again. 
 Thtrc^tore if we think the dilputants underitood each 
 other, v/e could not help concluding from this Tin- 
 gle paHiige, that the doctrine of the Palingene/iaw^s 
 that which Eliphaz maintained, tho' he hadexprefs- 
 ed himfclf concerning it in much obfcurer Terms 
 tlian he has done. 
 
 But to convince us that JoFs, adverfaries held this 
 opinion in oppofition to him, let us hear what Bil- 
 4<2d fays to him by way of reply, ch. viii. After ha- 
 ving appealed to antiquity for the truth of his opi- 
 nion, V. II. he compares the hypocrite to a rujh or 
 fidg^ which cannot grow without moifture, but pre- 
 fently withereth and dieth away, without ever revi- 
 ving again •, which, as I fhall fhew prefently, is a- 
 grecable to the dodtrine of the Talingenefia. In op- 
 pofition hereto, V. 16. he compares the righteous 
 (as many commentators underftand it) to a plant in 
 a garden, that preferves its moifture, notwithftand- 
 ing it bears the heat of the fun. It even ftrikes its 
 roots thro' heaps of ftones, and fiourifnes in fpite of 
 all oppofition. He is green before the fun^ and his 
 branch Jljooteth forth in his garden. His roots are 
 wrapped about the heap^ and he feeth the place of 
 fiones. If it be deftroy'd, or (as fome underfland it) 
 if it be tranfplanted, and taken up fo entirely that 
 no remains of it are left in the place j this will not be 
 any detriment to, but an improvement of it: for it 
 will grow again, and flourifli anew, either there or 
 in another Ibil, x?. 18, 19. If he dejlroy him., or take 
 him up, frc;n his place., and it fhall deny him., faying., 
 I have not fcen thee ; Behold this is the joy of his way^ 
 and out of the earth fhall others grow. Or, as it is 
 otherwife rcnder'd, out of another foil fhall they 
 grow, or flourifh again •, the fingular number, a- 
 greeably to the Hebrezv idiom, being changed into 
 the plural, to denote the improvement of it. v. 20. 
 
 All 
 
426 A Diffeftation on 
 
 All this is accommodated to the perfed man, who 
 fhall greatly profper and triumph in his tranfplanted^ 
 ■ if I may fo call it, /*. e. in his tranfmigrated ftate. 
 
 In anfwer to this, Joh^ after fome fublime reflec- 
 tions on the infinite and uncontroiilable power of di- 
 vine providence over his whole creation, fubjoins, 
 ^.12. Behold he taketh away (man's life in this ftate) 
 and who can hinder him, or rather, who can oblige 
 him to refiore it, as the verb iJi^i in Hiphil requires" 
 to be tranflated. It is true there is no mention 
 made of man in the text, but the Chaldee Paraphraft 
 does fo render it. Ecce auferet hominem in feculo, et 
 quis erit qui reducat ilium ? quis dicet ei, quid tufacis? 
 Not to infift here upon every pafiage in this fpeech 
 which glances at the opinion which Job combats, 
 becaufe fome of them will foon fall under our notice 
 elfewhere, he concludes it in thefe remarkable words, 
 Ch. X. 1 8, 22. Oh that I had given up the ghoft, and 
 no eye had feen me! I jhould have been as though T 
 bad not been (which plainly fuppofes no prae-exiftcnt 
 ftate -, and it is obferveable that the fame fcntiment 
 runs thro' JoFs> complaint, Ch. iii. which undoubted- 
 ly gave occafion to Eliphaz to fcart the controverfy •, 
 and it is plainly exprefled, v. 1 6. of that Ch. As an 
 hidden untimely birth I had not been, as infants which 
 •never faw light.) But to proceed with y<?Z''s words 
 in this place, I Jhould have been carried from the 
 womb to the grave. Are not my days few ? ceafe then 
 mid let me alone, that I may take comfort a little: Be- 
 fore I go WHENCE I fid all not return, even to the 
 land cf darknefs, and the fhadow of death. A land of 
 darknefs as darknefs itfelf, and of the fhadow of death 
 without any order ; and where the light is as dark- 
 ?iefs. 
 
 Zophar is highly exafperated at thefe v/ords, in- 
 fomuch that he falls a railing at Job in a more inde- 
 cent manner tlian cither of his companions, who had 
 
 fpokcn 
 
the Book oj Job. 427 
 
 fpoken before him. He is greatly offended that 
 Job Ihould maintain that his doctrine was pure and 
 found, and that he himfelf was clean in the liglit of 
 God, /. e. clean from any defilements contrafted in 
 ^ former Hate -, for this was v/hat he could not fay 
 with regard to this life. He then proceeds to fhew 
 the unfathomable profundity of God*s wifdom. O 
 that God would /peak and open his lips againjl theCy 
 and that he would Jhew thee the fecrets of wifdom^ 
 that they are double to that which is ! Ch. xi. 6. 
 Here he intimates that there are many myfteries un- 
 known to us ; and therefore that we ought not too 
 peremptorily to deny the pofTibility of any do6lrine, 
 which we cannot clearly difprove. Then follows, 
 according to our tranflation, Know therefore that 
 God exatteth of thee lefs than thine Iniquity deferveth. 
 '. — But others with greater juftnefs render it, God 
 caufeth thee to forget concerning thine Iniquity*. 'Now 
 what Iniquities could he mean that God had caufed 
 Job to forget^ except thofe of a former ftate ? It is 
 difiicult tor a man to forget any wickednefs he has 
 been guilty of in this hfe : Let him do all he can, 
 he has a remembrancer within him, that will ever and 
 anon revive the thoughts of it. 
 
 But it is certain that God caufeth no wicked per- 
 fon to forget his fins, but on the contrary frequently 
 reminds us of them, by the twitches he gives our 
 confcience concerning them. It can therefore be the 
 Iniquity of a former ftate only, which Zophar fup- 
 pofes God had caufed Job to forget •, for that is a- 
 grccable to this do6lrine -, and we know what ftories 
 the poets have told us concerning the waters of Lethe, 
 which each perfon is made to drink of before he re- 
 turns 
 
 * Thus it is rendered by many of the bed Interpreters ; and 
 the fame Veib occurs Cb. .xxxix. 17. where it is necetlarily Co to 
 W iindcrllooH, and accord. ng!y diey generally tranflate HK^n O 
 rCDH nl/Ji Qu'u4 ilLirc! fait mm DiUiSapUniia. 
 
'4^8 A Dijfertation on 
 
 ^Lirns to a fecond life*. Which Pable was Invented in 
 order to weaken the force of the objeftion -f againft 
 a pr£-exiftent ftate, drawn from our having no con- 
 fcioufnefs of it, and confequently the injuftice and 
 abfurdity of puniOiing a man tor crimes he knew 
 nothing of. And this objeftion J oh had not failed 
 to make in his reply to Bildad. Ch. ix. v. 21. 
 'Though I were perfe^^ yet would I not know my foul. 
 I fhould be utterly ignorant of the ftate or quality 
 of it. And 1;. 29, 30, 31. If I be wicked^ why then 
 labour I in vain ? If I wafh my f elf with fnow -water ^ 
 end make my hands never fo clean^ yet fhalt thou 
 ■plunge me in the ditch^ and mine own clothes ffoall ab- 
 hor me. § For labour in vain it is to endeavour to 
 preferve one's innocence in this ftate, if he is never- 
 thelefs to be puniftied for he knows not what fins in 
 a former. 
 
 Let us make ourfelves ever fo clean^ yet if this be 
 the cafe, we do but endeavour to zy ^7^ the Ethiopian 
 white. This is an unanfwerable argument, and fo 
 ftrongly urged, that it ought to have filenced his 
 adverfaries : But Zophar is refolved to fay fome- 
 thing to keep the controverfy a going. He re- 
 folves all this into the divine Wifdom. He fays, 
 God had caufed him to drink of the river Lethe, 
 and tho' he had forgot his Iniquity, yet God him- 
 
 felf 
 
 • Ha! ow«r;' uh! ni.ll: rot am vclvers per /inncs, 
 Lethxum (it^fi'ivivjn Deusevocat ngmine msgno: 
 Sc'Ucet hnmemnre? fupera nt convexa rei'ifant, 
 Rurjus et incipimtt in corpora vclle reverti. 
 
 Virgil. jEn. Lib. vi, v. 74.8. 
 -)- This objeftion is mentioned by Lucretius in thefe words, iho' 
 it is pullicd too far — ■ 
 
 P rater ca jlirnmort alii natura animai 
 Onftat, 6f in corpus nafcentibus injinuatur. 
 Car Juper ante a ^am (Statem vieminiffe nequimus ? 
 Kcc feiJigia gcftariint rerutn ulh temmus ? 
 ^ V. 33. He add.', tliac on this fuppofition ihere c-mld be no 
 da'js-man between him and God, .'. e. no Mediator, MEsrir';?, as 
 tiis LXX. rranilaie it. 
 
the Book of ] OB. 429 
 
 felf had not. For he knoweth vain man^ he feeth 
 wickednefs alfo ; will he net then conjider it ? Or, as 
 it may be rendered, tho' Man iinderjiands it jiot, 
 or is not confcioiis of it. He concludes with exhort- 
 ing Job to forfake his fms, and make fupplication 
 unto God for them, v. 13, 14. Which if he did, 
 that he JJjould forget his mifery\ and remember it as 
 waters that pafs away\ (but flich m.ifery as his could 
 not well be forgotten in this life.) And thine Age * 
 (thy future Age) jhall arife Qip^ clearer than the 
 noon-day ; thou Jhalt go into darknefs (as the verb 
 T\^'^T\ ought to be render'd) yet thou Jhalt be as 
 the morning. And thou Jhalt be fecure^ becauje there 
 is hope^ yea thou Jhalt dig \\ (thy grave), and thouJJjah 
 take thy rejt in Jafety. Alfo thou JJjalt lie down^ and 
 7ione JI: all make thee afraid, yea many Jhall make Juit 
 unto thee. § 
 
 Let us now fee what account Job makes of all 
 this. No doubts fays he, in a larcaftical manner, 
 but ye are the -people., and wijdom Jhall die with you. 
 Ch. xii. 2. But he does not yield a whit to them. 
 I haveunderjianding as well as you. And, ch. xiii. 2. 
 What ye know., thejame do I know alfo., I am not in- 
 ferior unto you. And v. 4. Ye are forgers of lyes^ 
 ye are all phyjicians of no value. And again -y. y. 
 Will you fpeak wickedly for God, and talk deceitfully 
 for him ? It needs not to be fhewn how applicable all 
 this is to the dodlrine they maintain, which as it was 
 all a groundlefs forgery, lb it muft be allowed to be 
 
 a 
 
 ^ 77t ChalJ. P/imph. renders the 1 7 and 1 8. :'. thru. Et dc tr.e- 
 ridic Jicriim tuorum coiifurgct corpus mum, quoJ abu in glebim ; 
 qiiin obfcuriiu? tcnebrarum qu:;li lux matutina ciir. Et confides 
 quoniini eft tibi fpcs, <&: prxparabis doinum kpuhuia;, & lecurus 
 dermics. 
 
 I The vul^ — Et defofili'! fecurus dermic?. 
 
 % The LXX, tranllate the latter pirtcl r.igt after this manner, 
 f*,!Ta.0xXoiA,noi ('but according -o qmtALx. M.S. |iA£T«/3«Aof*/>a) h vafv 
 
430 A bijfer'fation on 
 
 a well-meant one ; it being, in the opinion of thofe 
 who contrived and efpoufed it, the only expedient 
 that could be thought of, for falving God's honour 
 with regard to the introdu6lion of evil into the 
 world, at the fame time that it betray'd his juftice in 
 making him to punifli perfons for fins they were not 
 confcious of. And therefore the abettors of it are 
 here properly faid tofpeak wickedly^ and talk deceit- 
 fully for God — to accept his perfon^ and contend for 
 him, and at the fame time to mock him. v. 7, 8, 9. 
 They are here likewife called Phyftcians of no Value ; 
 and elfewhere, Ch. xvi. 6. their doftrine for its in- 
 Bpidnefs is compared to the white of an egg. And 
 truly an infignificant, comfortlefs, infipid do6lrine 
 it is : For what comfort, what relief can it yield a 
 good man ftruggling under all the miferies and hard- 
 ihips of lifci to be told, that thefe evils are inflidled 
 upon him as punifhments for fms he had been guil- 
 ty of in a former ftate ? Was not this infulting liim 
 in his mifery, inftead of affording him comfort un- 
 der it ? This was pouring vinegar inftead of oyi into 
 his wounds, and adminiftring fuch lenitives as were 
 likelier tofharpen than ajfuage his pains. 
 
 And this was the effedl they really had upon Jol^. 
 For hence it is in a great meafure that he makes fuch 
 pafTionate expoftulations with God, and that, in op- 
 pofition to this charge, he appeals fo often to him 
 for his innocence. It was the contradi^ion of [inner s 
 that vexed and grieved his righteous foul — the obfti- 
 nacy and perverfenefs of his adverfaries in maintain- 
 ing an opinion, which, tho' he was not able clearly 
 to confute, yet he was fully fatisfied was abfurd and 
 wrong in itfelf, and in its confequences injurious to 
 God — This, 1 fay, threw him into fuch confuQon 
 and diftradlion of thought, as he complains, that he 
 loft all patience, was betrayed into great indifcre- 
 tions, and feem'd to be fometimes deftitute of all 
 
 fcnfe 
 
the Book of Job. 431 
 
 fenfe of behaviour even towards God himfelf. For 
 whoever confiders the feveral fpeeches of Job^ will 
 be apt to look on them as the pafTionate rhapfodies 
 and exclamations of a man confcious of the truth and 
 goodnefs ofhiscaufe, rather than a folid vindication 
 of it. Indeed neither Job^ nor his opponents, feem 
 to be maftcrs of the argument they handle •, and tho* 
 each in his turn occafionally utters many noble and 
 fublime fentiments, many excellent fayings^ arid 
 even whole leflbns of morality, fuch as are worthy 
 of the holy Spirit to indite, and greatly exceed any 
 human compofition -, yet, with regard to the fub- 
 jeft of the debate, they feem rather to talk like men 
 got out of their depths.* And this judgment of 
 them is fupported by the authority of Elihu and God 
 himfelf, who feverely cenfure their ignorance and 
 errors. 
 
 To return; Ch. xii. 14. jfob makes this among 
 other refleflions on the divine wifdom and power :' 
 — Behold he breakeih down, and it cannot be built 
 again : h.tjhutteth up a man (in death or the grave)"!- 
 and there can be no opening. In the xivth Ch. Job en- 
 ters upon a fuller and more dired refutation of the 
 
 dodrine 
 
 • Dr Grey feems to cenfure this judgment on Job, in defence 
 of which I need only refer the Reader to the whole tenor of 
 £//-&«'s fpcech, particularly io chap. xxxw. 35. — xxxv. 16. 
 
 This learned Author obfcrvcs that here, and in two or three 
 points more, I agree with Mr fVarb. but whether he had any 
 meaning in his obfervation docs not appear. I hope it is no 
 crime to agree with him. Whatever he thinks of it, I can af- 
 fure him it would be a great pleafure to me to agree both with 
 Mr Warb. and himfelf in every point wherem we happen to dif- 
 fer ; but I fee no great likeliliood of it, as yet. Ehewhere he 
 endeavours to play us againft each other, where he fays I have 
 the hardinefs to attack and dellroy Mr IFarb.'s foundation : A 
 Talk he might have fpared me the trouble of, if he had fet about 
 it to purpofe ; and perhaps have fpared himfelf too the trouble of 
 a Reply. 
 
 f Ecce deftruit & non cedificabitur ; concludet homincm in fe- 
 pulchro, nee aperiatur. largum. 
 
432 A Dijfertatioti on 
 
 dodlrineof hisadverfaries, and of their arguments in" 
 fupport of it, which he* continues almoft throughout 
 the chapter, and illuftrates by mmy apt fimilitudes. 
 Thus 17. 7. ^ feqq. Thtre is hcpe^ fays he, of ;z 
 tree, if it be cut down, that it will fpr out out again^ 
 ^nd that the tender branch thereof will not ceafe \ tho* 
 the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the fiock 
 thereof die in the ground ; yet through the fcent of 
 water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. 
 But man dieth and wafieth away, yea man giveth 
 up the gh oft, and WHERE is he ? 
 
 In which words he manifeftly alludes to Bildad's 
 comparifon of a righteous man (Ch. viii. 16. above 
 taken notice of) to a plant or tree, which after it is 
 Cut down fhoots up again more vigoroufly. This is 
 true, fays he. There is hope of a Tree that is cut down, 
 &c. but what proof have you of fuch a revivifcence 
 in man ? He giveth up the ghoji^ and where is he F So 
 again, yfy the waters fail from the fea, and the flood 
 decay eth and dryeth up •, fo man lieth down, and 
 RisETH NOT, TILL the hcavcns hem more'-, they 
 fh all not awake, norberaifedoutcftheirfleep. Im^ 
 plying not that they fliall not rife at all, but that 
 they fhall not rife //// the general Refurreftion, 
 which will not be //// the heavens pafs away, and 
 the prefent ftate of nature be diffolved. Thus like- 
 wife is to be underftood what follows, v. \\. If a 
 Man di-e, (hall he live again} No. There are inftances, 
 as he goes on, of things of a much more durable 
 nature, which perilh, and that irreparably ; what 
 hopes therefore can there be of fuch a frail creature 
 as man, being reftored again after death to his former 
 ftate ? Surely the mountain falling cometh to nought 5 
 and the rock is re-moved out of his place : The wa^ 
 ters wear the ftones ; thou waffjefi away the things 
 that grew out of the diifi of the earth, and thou de^ 
 Jiroyefi the hope of man. Thou prcvailefi for ever a- 
 
 gainfi 
 
the Book of ]o'B. 433 
 
 gainjl him, and he pajfeth •, thou chr,ngefi his cottnte* 
 nance, andfendejl him away. His Jons ccme to honour, 
 and he knoweth it not ; and they are brought lo'-j;, 
 but he perceiveth it vM of them. Tliefe lalt words 
 feem to be particularly meant in oppofition to what 
 Eliphaz had faid above, Ch. v. 25. ^hau [bait knoi>j 
 alfo that thy feed fro a II be great, and thine offspring 
 as the grafs of the earth. 
 
 Now what occafion was there for multiplying i^ 
 mages, and heaping comparifons one upon another, to 
 exprcfs the fame thing fo many difrerent ways, unlefs 
 it had a near relation to the fubjecl in hand, and were 
 particularly ferviceable to the caufe Job maintained? 
 Eliphaz in his reply to this, after fome unjuft 
 reproaches, flies to authority — What know?fi thou, 
 that we know not ? What underfiandefi thou, which 
 is not in us ? With us are both the grey-headed and 
 very aged men, much older than thy father. This 
 confirms what was obferved above, p. 400, that it 
 was matter of opinion they were debating about, con- • 
 cerning which alone authority could be of any 
 weight. He then repeats his firft pofition, ch. iv. 
 that there are no creatures of God fo pure, as to be 
 entirely free from corruption •, and thence con- 
 cludes, as before, a fortiori, againfb any fuch puri- 
 ty and prrfeclion in man ; which has been already 
 explained. 
 
 Job notwithftanding perfifts in his former per- 
 fuafion. For having fpent the next Chapter in dole- 
 ful complaints of the mifery of his condition, he 
 concludes it in th;.^fe words ; When a few years are 
 come, then fhall I go the way whence I fh.iil not 
 RETURN, Ch. xvi. 22. And Ch. xvii. 14., 15. / 
 / have faid to corruption, thou art my father ; to 
 the worm, thou art my mother, and my fijier. And 
 where is fiow -my hypo? Js fur my hope, who fhall fee it^ 
 y^'i'conftantly talks in a defponding wj.yandfrt:quent- 
 
 F f 1/ 
 
434 ^ Dijfertatton on 
 
 ly complains of his hope, and what fmall grounds 
 he had of it. His opponents likewife often touch 
 on this fubjeib, always promifing good hopes to the 
 righteous, but none at all to the wicked, or hypo- 
 crite •, which is ftill agreeable to the opinion they 
 maintained : with .regard to which, this, I think, 
 may be laid down as a rule — That wherever any 
 mention is made of hope, or its contrary, either by 
 the one, or the other party, it is meant in reference 
 to a return to this life after death. And it is farther 
 obfervable, that in every reply which Job hath hi- 
 therto made, he does not fail to declare againfb this 
 notion ; which had been idle and impertinent for 
 him to have done, had not his adverfaries as ftiffly 
 perfifted in maintaining that opinion againft him.. 
 
 As they had no notion of any future flate other 
 than this, they undoubtedly thought it great impiety 
 in any one to deny it ; and therefore Eliphaz accuffs 
 Job of irreligion. Ch. xv. 4. 7'hou ccifiefi off fear, 
 i. e. religion, and rejlrainefi prayer before God. 
 And, Cb. xxii. 13. Thou fayefi. How does God 
 knoiJi) ? Can he judge through the dark cloud? Hence 
 it is likewife they lb often charge him with hypocrify: 
 For, notxvithftanding the feeming holinefs and in- 
 tegrity of his life, they could not reckon him any 
 better than fuch, fince, in their opinion, he denied a 
 future fiate. This was dov/nright impiety, and e- 
 qual to the greateft wickednefs. 
 
 Their repeated provocations at laft forced him 
 to declare himfeif more fully on that head, and to 
 make his appeal to the final judgment, when he was 
 confident he fliould triumph in the goodnefs and ju- 
 ftice of his caufe, notwithftanding it was its fate at 
 prefent to be decried and vilified. 
 
 To this purpofc he makes a mofl noble and ample 
 Confefiion of his Faith in his Redeemer and Judge, 
 and of his Hope in the. general Refurre^ion -, and lie 
 
 intru- 
 
the Book of ]q-^. 435 
 
 introduces \t with fb it much zeal, that thefe his 
 fentinients might be perpetually preferved and re- 
 corded, as is fuitable, not only to the dignity of the 
 fiibjeft, but to the importance of it likewife to the 
 matter in difpute, which fhould awake us to a more 
 careful confideration of them. Ch. xix. 23. 
 
 Oh that my words were now written ! Oh that they 
 were printed in a book ! "That they were graven with 
 tin iron pen and lead, in the rock for ever ! For I 
 know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he Jhall jiand 
 at the latter day upon the earth. And tho* after my 
 Jkin, worms dejiroy this body, yet in my fiefh fball I fee 
 God: Whom I fh all fee for mv self, and mine 
 eyrs f jail behold, and not another. Some learned 
 men deny that thefe words have any relatiom to the 
 Refurrcfbion, and others will not allow them to have 
 any other fenfe. But tho' this be undoubtedly the 
 flrfl and moft obvious fenfe of tliis palTage, yet 
 I fee no reafon why it may not admit of another 
 confidently with it •, viz. that as Job here repre- 
 fents human nature, why may not this be likewife 
 intended as a comfortable affurance ot the future 
 rtfloration of our nature out of its prefent miferable, 
 into its firft happy ftate ? 
 
 It is firther obfervablc, that Job, in thefe words, 
 doth not only profefs his faith in the refurredlion 
 in general, but moreover explicitely declares his be- 
 lief of the Refurreclion of the fame numerical Body 
 he lived in, when he uttered thefe words ; — In ai y 
 fefifjail Ifee God, whom I jhall fee for mv self, and 
 MINE eyes fjall behold, and not another : Which 
 Grotius tranQates thus — In came tanien mea Dciim 
 videbo ; ego, inquam, hifce oculis meis ; ego, non. 
 autem alius pro me. Upon which an eminent Au- 
 thor asks him this very natural Queftion — Had he 
 ' ever feen atranfmutationofperfons in this world? 
 
 '• Or 
 
436 A Dijfertat'icn on 
 
 ' Or heard of any man who ceafed to be himfelf, and 
 ' became another ? * 
 
 No. But "Job was then difputing with perfons 
 who maintained fuch an opinion, in direct oppo- 
 fition to which he thus ftrongly and particularly de- 
 clares himfelf. 
 
 Wdentity of perfon confifts in an union of the 
 fame foul with the fame body, (as learned men, with 
 all their endeavours, have not been able to fix it up- 
 on a better bottom) then this identity muft be de- 
 ftroyed by the fuppofed paflage of the foul from one 
 body to another, and a kind of tranfmutation mult 
 in part enfue. This was the tenet maintained by 
 JpFs opponents, againft which he could not have 
 expreffed himfelf more pertinently than in thefe 
 emphatical terms, but for which there feem no 
 grounds upon any other fuppofition. -j- For fuppofe, 
 with Grotiiis, that the words are meant of a tempo- 
 ral deliverance only, and the abfurdity of yob''s 
 exprefling himfelf in fuch a manner cannot be bet- 
 ter expofed than by asking the Queftion above- 
 
 menti- 
 
 * Bifliop Sher/oci's fecond Diflertation. 
 
 •\- This feems the more probable, fincc Dr Grey, after baviqg 
 furn'd the words (It i^"?!— '"'? nTHi^ '':3l^ l^i^) fo'inany difFercnc 
 ways, cannot fatisfadorily, as it ihould ieem, even to hrmlelf, r-e- 
 concile them to the notion of a Refurredion, but is obliged to 
 leave them in great uncertainty at laft. On the other hand, Mr 
 Co/lard is for any other fenie rather than this, and I agree with 
 liim that to fee for erne's felf would be a fenfelefs phrafe in any other 
 view of it. But for a man who was arguing in defence of his 
 own felf as it were, againft thofe who maiiuain'd a kind q{ another 
 fdf-r-zvhcm 1 [hall fee for my felf^ and not another I know not 
 who in my Head, was not only a very fenfible, but a very proper 
 and pertinent way of fpeaking. We may therefore acquiefce in the 
 literal tranfiation, and literal fenfe of thefe words, as well as of 
 the whole palfage, of which they make a part, without having 
 recourfe to any forced and foreign explications. See Mr Coftard*; 
 Ohfervations on Job This Genileman may fee the word fehov/ih 
 iifed in the i 2th ch. and 9'.h v. of the Beck of Job, as well as in the 
 beginning and conclufion of it. See p. 408. of thh Dijfcrtation. 
 
the Book of Job. 437 
 
 mentioned •, ' Had he ever feen a tranfmutation, 
 ' ^c ?' Or fuppofe them meant of a Rcfurredion 
 in the literal fenle, yet if this docflrine were either . 
 altogether unknown to, or abfolutely denied by his 
 adverfaries, it had been quite needl-fs, at leaft, for 
 him to have exprelTed himfelf in fuch particular, 
 and indeed redundant terms. They mull, there- 
 fore, have believed a Refurreflion in fome fcnfe or 
 other : But what fenfe could that be ? Did they, 
 with feme of our modern Scepikks, queftion the 
 ftridt propriety of it ? Indeed JgI could not have de- 
 livered himfeif with more precifion and exadnefs, 
 had he been, in profefs'd oppofition to thefe, efta- 
 biilhing the doftrine cf the Refurredion of the fame 
 numerical, identical Body. But the Refurre<5tion 
 was not then, nor many ages after, become fuch a 
 known and fettled point of faith, as to be thus 
 minutely canvaffed : It remains, therefore, that they^ 
 could have no other notion of a Refurrcdion than a 
 Pythagorean one •, which indeed was not properly 
 a Refurrediion at all, but which no lefs required 
 that he ihould cxprefs himfelf in this manner in op- 
 pofition to it. 
 
 This was the root of the whole Matter: Here was 
 a Revivifcence granted, and a much more proper 
 one than they contended for, which they ought to 
 reft fatisfied with, and to leave off teazing him 
 any longer with their vexatious contentions. To 
 this eifeft Job immediately adds to the foregoing 
 words — JVherefors (as the conjunction O? which is 
 fometimes illative, requires to be here tranflated)j^ 
 JJjoidd fay, JVhy per fe cute we him, feeing the root of 
 the matter is found in me ? v. 2S.* 
 
 But all this was to no purpofe. They were fo 
 bigottcd to their own opinion, that they would not 
 
 recede 
 
 • Rar/ix verbi nihil alii'd eft quam Rindamentum caufae, quod 
 Cicero vocai Stirpc/r, quaJliiMs, lib. 4. Jt' Fiitil/us. Car, 
 
43 B A DiJferfafiGn on 
 
 recede a tittle from it. Therefore let Joh make 
 ev?r fo ilrong profcilions of his faith in a Refurrec- 
 tlon, it would be little regarded by his adverfa- 
 ries, becaiife this was not the Refiirredtion they con- 
 tended for; and fmce he did not admit of that, they 
 would not hear of any other ; he was flill a wicked 
 hypocrite. Ch. xx. 5. Zophar proceeds to defcant 
 largely on the miferable ftate and portion of the 
 wicked, and among other things he fays, 'The eye 
 alfo which fdvj kim-i Jhall fee him no mcre^ neither 
 jhall bis place any more behold him, v. 9 . the very 
 words of ^(Ji^ already taken notice of, Ch.vn. 8, 10. 
 Does Zophar then come over to Job^s opinion ? Far 
 irom it. Job denied the Palingemjia in general : 
 Zophar denounces it as part of the punifhment of 
 the v/icked, to be deprived of the benefit of this pri- 
 vilege ; which is the very doctrine delivered by Pla- 
 to m his Ph^edo, ' That thofe, v/hofe Sins were 
 ' fo enormous as to render them incapable of be- 
 
 * ing cured and purged of them, lliould never 
 
 * emerge into Light, but be thruft into Hell, there 
 ' eternally to fuffer the Torments due to them *. 
 
 The point which they raoftly dwelt upon was, 
 that Job was punilhed for his fins ; and at this point 
 all their defcriptions of the judgments which betall 
 the wicked undoubtedly are aimed : All their oblique 
 infinuations drive at the fame end, and are levelled 
 againft him. Nay, they do not ftick fometimes to 
 charge him directly with particular crimes. Job 
 owns, over and over, he was punilhed for his fins in 
 general, and particularly for the fins of his youths 
 as hath been already obferved. What then would 
 they have .'' They wanted he ihould go farther, and 
 
 own 
 
 * Oi ccv oozua-iv aviccraii; I'y^eiv, d>« Ta [Myi^y) Ta:y a.i^x^ryi[Aoc,Tuv, ^ 
 
 i^icycci7fA>evoi, i) uSha, oaa. rcy^ccvH ovroc Toteivr», Toinrovi oe t, TTCoariKovaa. 
 
 Plutonis Phado. Vidt etiam Gorgiam, (S" de lie». 
 
the Book of Job. 439 
 
 own he was puniflied for Tins he had been guiky 
 of in a former ftate, otherwife they mull have been 
 fatisfied with the confcfiion he made in his firfl re- 
 ply 10 Eliphaz. Ch, vii. 20, 21. This was what 
 they never could bring him to •, in this refpe^t 
 he conftantly maintained his innocence, and this oc- 
 cafioned the continuance of the debate with fo much 
 heat and violence. 
 The ccntroverfy -was at length rifen to fuch a height, 
 that Eliphaz^ in his lail fpeech, by way of fare- 
 well, draws up a diredl charge againft Job^ and 
 recites a catalogue of crimes of the deepefb dye. Is 
 not thy 'zvickednefs great, aytd thine iniquities infinite ? 
 For thou haft taken a pledge of thy brother for 
 nought^ and ftripped the naked of their cloathing. 
 Thou haft not given water to th<^ weary to drink, arcl 
 thou haft witholden bread from the hungry — Thou hajt 
 fent ividows away empty, and the arms of the 
 fatherlefs have been broken. Therefore fnares cire 
 roundabout thee, &c. Ch. xxii. 5, 6, 7, 9,10. Job was 
 as clear as the fun from thefe offences ; nay was re- 
 markable for the contrary virtues. Ch. xxvii. and 
 xxxi. Was this then a mere groundlefs calumny ? 
 Call upon him by his friend too, who came to com - 
 fort him in his af?iidicn ? And all this for no end, 
 as far as appears, unlefs it were to r,iake him believe, 
 what he beft knew to be falfe, that he was a vile, 
 wicked mifcreant, a merciiefs tyrant, cpprefibr, 
 and what not } Contrary to what his cor.fcicnce 
 told him, and what theirs too might have told them, 
 as the whole tenor of his hfe bore witnefs ? For 
 thefe were overt at5ls of a publick nature, which no 
 art or hypocrify could conceal. It is remarkable. 
 Job docs not take any pains to clear himfclf cf 
 thefe crimes, in his reply, where he ought to do it, 
 tho' he afterwards m.akes a folemn proteitation c^f his 
 fincerity and integrity in the difcharg- of kyerai du- 
 ties. 
 
440 A Dijfertation on 
 
 •ties. Ch. xxvii. and xxxi. But, methinks, if Job 
 had underftcod Eliphaz to have charged him with 
 the commiiTion of that great wickednefs, thofe 
 infinite iniquities, in his prefent hfe, he would 
 immediately have taken fire at him — would have 
 lolt all temper, as he often does upon feemingly lefs 
 provocations, and have complain'd bitterly of the 
 abufe and calumny. 
 
 But inftead of this, what does he do ? and what 
 refentment does he fhew of the barbarous treat- 
 ment ? Why nothing like what one would have 
 expedled from a perfon fo accufed ; for he feems to 
 take little or no notice of it. He breaks out, indeed, 
 with thefe v/ords, Even to day is ray complaint bitter, 
 my Jiroke is heavier than ray groaning. He then ex- 
 preifes an earnefb defire that he might appear before 
 God, in confidence that he would decide this in- 
 tricate controverfy in his favour. He afterwards 
 makes a general declaration of his regard to God's 
 Jaws ; but fpends the fubflance of his ani-vver in 
 .Ihewing that wickednefs often efcapes unpunifhed 
 here, fo that we can conclude nothing from a per- 
 fon's fuffering in this fute, with regard to his hav- 
 ing been an enormous offender even in this, much 
 lefs in any other. Bildad hereto makes a fhort reply, 
 v/hich is only a repetition of E]iphaz his firll pofi- 
 tion concerning the univerfal corruption of all crea- 
 tures, to fignify that they ftill perfifted in their firft 
 opinion. C^^^f/'.xxvi. contains yoi-'sanrv/er, in which, 
 after fome ironical refie61:ions and reproofs, we read 
 in our tranflation, I'. 5. Bead things are formed from 
 under the waters, and the i^ihabitants thereof. The 
 v/ords in the original are thefe : iV^in*' □"'SS^'in 
 D.TJDU;'! D^Q QPnn which, notwithilanding the com- 
 mentators are fo perplexed about them, admit of 
 two very eafy interpretations, both v/hich I ihall lay 
 before the re.ider. i. Tlicy may be underftood of 
 
 the 
 
th Book of Jo i. 441 
 
 the Refurrcdion, in confirmation of what Johhad 
 before declared concerning it, chap. xix. And then 
 they are to be rendered. The dead jhall he brought 
 forth from under the waters^ and the inhabitants 
 thereof. This is the literal interpretation of the verb 
 iV'^inS ■^^2:. to be born or brought forth., which is 
 very fignificant of what it is here applied to, as the 
 Refurreclion may be termed a fort of new Birth. 
 And as Job had before made confeflion of his faith 
 in this dodlrine in general, he here declares particu- 
 larly, that even the fea fhouldgive up its dead., not- 
 withftanding their bodies were diflTolved in water, 
 or devoured by lifhes, the inhabitants thereof. And 
 left it fhould be doubted whether the divine power 
 itfelf were fufficient to produce fuch a wondertul ef- 
 fe6l, he adds, Hell is naked before him., and defiru£ii- 
 on hath no covering. And continues to defcant on 
 the divine omnipotence in a noble fublime manner, 
 to the end of the chapter. Bur, idly., thefc words 
 may be underftood as oppofed dire(^tly to the doc- 
 trine of the Palingenefia, if they be but rendered 
 interrogatively, as they may, and are by feveral in- 
 terpreters •, Shall the dead be brought forth., or born 
 again., from under the waters? Sec. Thus the Ixx. 
 tfandate it, except that inftead of the dead they ren- 
 der Giants *, as the word Q^i^S") fometimes fignifies. 
 M^"; yiyxvrz; f/.cLi'-je^ATOvryj v-no^tartM^iv v^ctro^ ; 
 which may be rendered, Nunquid Gigantes objietri- 
 cnhiintur {fcil. ab objietricefufcipientur) fubter aquam? 
 The Chaldee Paraphrafe exprclfes it thus : Nunquid 
 pojfunt gigantes qui contremifcunt regenerari ? The 
 very fenfe I have tranflated it in. To this fpeech of 
 Job*s> his adverfaries did not think fit to make any 
 
 G g reply 
 
 * According to Mr Metle, Hell is fometimes defcribei by the 
 place of giants. Thus he tranflares Prov,v.x\. i6. The mr.n that 
 teandretb out of the way of underflanding, p^all dtoell in the Con- 
 grcgetiott ^Giantf. And thus this text of Job. 
 
442 A Dijfertatioji on 
 
 reply, whereby they left him in poirefllon of tlie vic- 
 tory, and at leifure to perfue his own reflexions. 
 
 At length Elihu^ a new perfonage, appears on 
 the ftage, who efpoufes neither party, but acls rather 
 as a moderator than difputant. He reproves both 
 in their turns. He upbraids Eliphaz and his Friends, 
 that they managed their caufe fo weakly, and after 
 fpending fo many words, made fo little of it at laft. 
 As to Jo-b^ he Ihews wherein he likewife was faulty, 
 and points out feveral particulars, wherein he had 
 fuffered himfelf in die heat of the difpute to be carried 
 beyond the reverence that was due to God, fo as to 
 let fall fome expreilions offenfive to the divine 
 majefty, and which favoured too much of prefump- 
 tion. With j-egard to the merits of the queftion, he 
 does not enter into it, but feems to refolve it all into 
 the divine power and wifdom, as becomes us to do 
 in all n^^ters above our comprehenfion, and as St 
 Paul does that of de5lion and reprobation. Rom. ix. 
 1 1 . And leaves the decifion of it to God. 
 
 Who at length defcends in terrible majefty : And 
 firft he reproves and humbles Job for his confidence 
 in challenging his maker to contend with him, by 
 convincing him of his weaknefs, and ignorance in 
 the works of nature and leveral parts of the crea^ 
 tion i thereby intimating, how much more ignorant 
 he muft be in metaphyfical enquiries, which lie 
 further out of the reach of our facilities ; agreeably 
 to what the author of the Book of Wifdom obferves, 
 ^hat hardly do we guefs aright at things that are up- 
 on earth, and with labour do we find the things that 
 ere before us : But the things that are in heaven, 
 who hath fear ched out ? Wifd. ix. 1 6. God having ' 
 by thefe means brought Job to a due fenfe of his 
 Qwp blindnefs and nothingnefs in comparifon of the 
 
 Almighty, 
 
the Book of ]o-&. 443 
 
 Almighty, vonchfafes at laft to determine the con- 
 troverfy, and gives it in liis favour. 
 
 The Reader is now to judge of the View I have 
 given of this difficult Book, which as it muft be own- 
 ed to be every way worthy of it, fo I flatter myfelf 
 it isjuft in itfelf, and confident throughout. And, 
 
 I. Of its Dignity. The fubjeft of this poem is 
 the mod noble that polTibly could be conceived, 
 with which thofe oi heathen poetry, fo much admired, 
 are not to be once named in comparifon. For the 
 drama reprefents t\\t^xt2iX. drama of theuniverfe, artd 
 therein are exhibited, not the travels and fortunes, nor 
 the caprice and humour of fome one man ; but the 
 fortunes, if I may fo fpeak, of the whole race of 
 mankind. 
 
 The Hero of it. In his private capacity, is a 
 pattern of the greateft fuffering virtue, in which 
 confifts more true courage, than if he had flain his 
 thoufands. But view him in his repref^ntative 
 capacity, and it is not a fingle man, but man in the 
 aggregate that is the Hero of the poem ; which in a 
 lively and affecting manner reprefents the various 
 changes and revolutions allotted him throughout 
 this whole /^^;/f of things, from the beginning to 
 the end of time. And the fubje<5t which is debated 
 is not the criminal amours, intrigues, or paflion of 
 this or that weak man, but the Origin of Evil in 
 general, from whence thefe and all others evils fpring. 
 
 Laftly, the Machinery of this Poem is the mod 
 grand imaginable ; for therein the Lord Jehovah^ 
 making the clouds his chariot, and riding upon the 
 wings of the wind, defcends, and accods Job out 
 of the whirlwind in thefe tremendous terms — J'Fho 
 is this that darkneth counfel, by words without know- 
 ledge ? The whole fpeech, for fublimity of dyle 
 and matter, is worthy of the divine majedy, and fo 
 far above being equall'd by any human compoliti- 
 
 on, 
 
444 -^ Dijfertatlon on 
 
 on, that I am fatisfied no one can have the vanity 
 to attempt it. The occafion hkevvife cf the Al 
 mighty's interpofition was of im.portance worthy of 
 it, and vhich indeed required it •, for it was to de- 
 cide an intricate controverfy, which could not o- 
 therv/ife be decided, relating to himfelf, and his own 
 attributes. It was therefore highly requifite the 
 Pcst'z rule fhould here take place, as this may jullly 
 be faid to be dignus vindice nodus. 
 
 2. The light in v/hich this controverfy here 
 ftands, removes thofe diHiculties, which, as was 
 pointed out in the beginning of this difcoufe, the 
 Book of Job otherwife labours under. 
 
 1. It furnifhes diXi apology iov the condu6l of JoFs 
 friends. As it had been uncharitable to pafs fuch a 
 fevere cenfure ori fo upright a man as to prefume 
 him guilty of fome very heinous crimes in this ftate, 
 merely from outward appearances ^ fo he might 
 have been fuppofed a finncr in fome former ftate, 
 v/ithcuc breach , of charity, from his fuffering fo 
 much in this ; becaufe this was no more than what 
 their own principles di6lated to them, and at the 
 fame time v/as confiftent with their good opinion of, 
 and efteem for him as a friend. 
 
 2. As they are thus acquitted from paOlng any ur^- 
 juft and uncharitable cenfures on their friend, fo that 
 acrim.ony, violence, and obftinacy with which they 
 maintained the difpute,isina great meafure excufable. 
 Mens prejudices for their ov/n favourite notions, 
 their impatience of contradiflion, and ambition of 
 triumph, naturally beget heat, and paffion, and 
 perverfnefs. And we nov/ fometimes fee very 
 good friends fall into great indecencies towards 
 each other about fmall differences in opinion, efpe- 
 cially where religion is any way concerned. 
 
 3. The I'ght in which the matter now ftands, 
 vindic;.t:s J^^'j conduct hkewifc, and rtconciks it 
 
 to 
 
the Book o/* Job. 445 
 
 to Itfelf. It fhews how he might acknowledge him- 
 Iclf a iinner, and at the fame time infift upon his 
 juftification, viz.xhxo' the merits of a Redeemer, in 
 whom he believed, and trufted for Redemption 
 himfelf jand thro' whom the Reftoration of mankind 
 in general, of which his own was an Emblem, is to 
 be accomphlhed. And itfliews us at the fame time 
 how he might maintain his innocence — his innocence 
 from any guilt contra<5ted in a former ftate, and of 
 courfe the original innocence and perfeftion of hu- 
 man nature, of which he is here luppofed to hive 
 been a rcprefentativc. 
 
 Hence, lafcly, it appears how juftly God was 
 incenfed' againli Eliphaz and his two friends ; and 
 how, in vindication of his own attributes, he was 
 engaged to decide the contrcvcrfy in favour of Joh^ 
 the merits of it being on his fide, notwitliftauding 
 the faultipefs of his bchavour. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
Texts of Scripture, 
 
 Occafionally atte77ipted to be explahied in the fore- 
 going Eflay and Diflertation. 
 
 QEnefu 
 
 ^elis \. I. Page loi 
 ji. 9. 12 
 
 21, 22 18 
 
 iii. I, 5 29 
 
 iii. 6. 16 
 
 iii. 16. i6 and 339 
 
 56 
 5+ 
 67 
 
 73 
 68 
 
 IV. i-l. 
 iv. 26. 
 
 V. 29. 
 
 vi. 9. 
 
 viii. 21, 22 
 
 ix. 20, 21. 78 
 
 Exadui xvii. 14. 162 
 
 xxiii. 25. 337 
 
 xxiv. 4. 162 
 
 xxiv. 12. 164 
 
 xxxiv. 1, 27, 28. 
 165 
 
 xxxix. 24. 392 
 
 Leviticus XXV. 21. /^. 
 
 Nurnhers xxiii. 21. 83 
 
 Deuteron. vii, 6, 7. 85 
 
 X. I. 165 
 
 xi. 12, 14. 393 
 
 XXX. 1,5. 246 
 
 XXX. 6. 248 
 
 xxxii. 8. 97 
 
 I Kings xiii. i — 22. 3 1 
 
 Job. Defign of the whole 
 Book. 
 
 Chap. i. 21. 408 Pfalms 
 
 iii. 16, 424 
 
 iv. 6. 409 
 
 iv, 17, l^fc. 421 
 
 ^^- 2^3- 335 
 
 V. 24. 42:2 
 
 vi. 6. 4-30' 
 
 vii. 6y^ feqq 42 ;5 
 viii. 165 19. 425 
 ix. 3, 408 
 
 ix. 2r, 29, 30, 3T. 
 428 
 X. 18 and y^^^ 426 
 >i- 33- 428 
 
 xi. 6. 427 
 
 xx.il.lty feqjif2() 
 xii. 14. 431 
 
 xiii. 4, 7—9 429 
 xiv. 7, i^ feqq. 
 
 431 
 XV. 4. 434 
 
 XV. 14, 15, 16, 
 
 421 
 
 438 
 
 433 
 tbid. 
 
 401 
 
 XVI. 2. 
 xvi. 22. 
 xyii. 14, 15 
 xix. 4. 
 
 xix. 25—27 435 
 xix. 28. 437 
 
 XX. 9. 438 
 
 xxii. 5,y/f??439 
 XXV. 4, 5, 6.421 
 xxvi. 5. 440 
 
 xxxiii. 23, 24.408 
 xiii. 7. 403 
 
 ii. 8. 239 
 
 xiv. 3. 265 
 
 xxii. 27, 28. 239 
 Ixxii. 8, II. ibid 
 Ixxxv. 10. 268 
 xc. 34 
 
Occafionally 
 
 xc. 34 348 
 
 ciii. I, z. ihid 
 
 cxxviii. 19. 339 
 
 "Prov. viii. 26, 27. 117 
 
 Cant. iv. 7. 271 
 
 //2?/i?/; i. 26. 244 
 
 ii. 2, 3. 245 
 
 iv. 2, 13. 331-2 
 
 xi. 6 — 9. 263, 
 
 27i» 333 
 xi. 11,12, 247 
 xxxiji. 15. 262 
 xxxiii. 24. 337 
 XXXV. I, 7. 331 
 xl. 4. 245 
 
 xI; 31- 337 
 
 xlii. 4. 254 
 
 xlii, 18, 19. 331 
 
 xliv. 3. 261 
 
 xlv. 5, 7. 412 
 
 xlix. 10. 336 
 
 Ji- 3- 331 
 
 lii. I. 253 
 
 llv. 13. 263 
 
 Ix. 3, 4, 5. 246 
 
 Ix. 7, 13. 248 
 
 Ix. 17. 336 
 
 Ix. 21. 253 
 
 Ixv. 25. 334 
 
 1XV.20— 23. 336, 
 
 340> 347- 
 Ixvi. 8. 288 
 
 'Jeremiah iii. i6. 248 
 xxxi. 12, 14 336 
 xxxi. 31— .33.248 
 xxxi. 34. 263 
 xxxii. 39. 257 
 
 Ezekia xviii. 25.245, 387. 
 xxx\'i. 27. 261 
 xxxvii. 27. ibid 
 
 Danid ii. 34, 35, 44. 238 
 
 vii. 8,13, 14, 20, 
 
 27. 238 
 
 explained, 44^ 
 
 Daniel vii. i2, 13. 287 
 
 viii. 14, 289 
 
 xii. 4. 263 
 
 xii. II. 287 
 
 Hofca ii. 18. 333 
 
 Joel n. 23. 393 
 
 ii. 28^ 234, 261- 
 
 iii. 18. 332 
 
 Jmos iv. 7, 394 
 
 ix. 13. 332 
 
 ix. 14, 15. 247 
 
 Zephan. iii. 9. 257 
 
 Xech. x. I 394 
 
 xii. 10. 262 
 
 xiv. 20, 21. 254 
 
 Tohit xiv. 251 
 
 Wifdom IV. 10. 13, 14. 364 
 
 Matthew V. 17. 204, 267 
 
 vi. 10. 228, 240 
 
 xiii. 30. 268 
 
 xxiv. thronghout 
 
 310 
 
 Mark i. 13. 334 
 
 Luke i, 7^ — 75. 29* 
 
 xvii. 20, 21. 243 
 
 xviii. 8. 268 
 
 John V. 46. 265 
 
 vi. 49, 50. 361 
 
 Viii. 51, 52. 362 
 
 ^■"i- 53- 363 
 
 ix. 2. 411 
 
 X. 10. 369 
 
 vi. 25, 26. 360 
 
 xviii. 36. 244 
 
 xxi. 22. 359 
 
 Jcfs ii. 39. 261 
 
 iii 19 — 21. 274 
 
 xviL 26, 27. 97 
 
 Roni4ii$ iv. 4. 367 
 
 V: 14- 25, 356 
 
 •viii. 4. 204, 267 
 
 viii. 19 — 23. 234, 
 
 3a 8 
 
 X. 5. 365 
 
44^ text's of Scripture explained. 
 
 XI. 12, 15. 252 
 
 I Ccr'm. vi. II. 201 
 
 XV. 22.. 356 
 
 XV. 24— 26> 54. 
 
 . 370 
 XV. 45. 25 
 
 XV. 51, 52. 358 
 7. Cor In. iii. 18. 257 
 
 V- 2, 3, 4. 369 
 V- 5- 234 
 
 xi. 14. 28 
 
 Ephejians i. 14. 218 
 
 iv. 12 — 16. 255 
 V. 27. 268, 271 
 iv. 13. 232 
 
 iii. 10. . 20 
 
 iv.15,16,17.308, 
 358 
 
 "• 15- 339 
 
 ii. 14. 209 
 
 ii. 14, 15. 216, 
 
 361 
 
 Philip. 
 Colojjians 
 I Thef. 
 
 1 Timothy 
 
 Titus 
 
 Hebrews 
 
 I Peter 
 1 Peter 
 
 Revela. 
 
 vii. ig, 
 ix. 27. 
 iii. 21. 
 iii. 9—13 
 
 203: 
 
 356 
 
 63 
 
 301, 
 
 308 
 
 239 
 285 
 
 278 
 
 292 
 
 358 
 
 xn. 15 
 xiii. 18. 
 XX. I — 6. 
 XX. 5, 8. 
 
 XX. 14. 
 xxi. I, 2, 3. 261, 
 
 293> 3H> 318 
 xxi. 4. 358 
 
 XXI. 5. 320 
 xxi. 23> 316 
 xxi. 8, 27. 320 
 xxii. I, 2. 295, 
 
 321 
 xxii. 3, 4, 5. 323 
 xxii. 14. 638 
 
I^.._ i.^. 
 
'■"^y- 
 
 — ifftf'